Earth Based Seasonal Celebrations

10 November 2010 By Rebecca 0

The Earth is a living being and everything is part of her 'body', animals, plants, even rocks, mountains,streams, rivers, stars and clouds. Although we are separate individuals we are all made up from the Earth. All her elements provide us with life. We all need AIR to breathe. We all need WATER to drink. We all need the sun's FIRE to grow our food and provide us with energy and warmth. All our food, minerals, and solid parts of our bodies come from the EARTH.

Our bodies, minds, spirit and life transitions are also strongly affected by the earths cycles; birth, menstruation, pregnancy and death etc. The seasons change from warm to cold, rainy to dry and back again. The moon shifts in a monthly cycle. Plants grow as green shoots from the Earth, blossom, set seed, die, bury in the earth and rise again in the spring. They are all cycles within the web of life that we are inextricably linked to.
Each living being is sacred and yet we have become disconnected from the Earth that made us, seeing it as just a resource to use.
"This world in which we are born and take our form is alive. It is not our supply house, it is our larger body" Joanna Macy

Honouring the Earth through seasonal celebrations e.g. the fire ceremonies, moon ceremonies, Solstices, Harvest, Equinoxes etc. reconnect us to the land we live and depend upon for our very survival, allowing a sense of gratitude. They are like time and life transition signposts.

The celebrations create a container for our strengths and vulnerabilities, build a sense of community and belonging, enabling us to live in balance and harmony. They re-root our spirits and our day-to-day life in deep relationship with the Earth. Some people have an 'intellectual' realisation of our interdependence with the Earth but earth based seasonal celebration facilitate an experience to remember our direct intimate connection. It can help dissolve apathy as they help provide a larger authentic context as we realise with integrity we can live our lives and act on behalf of our larger self- the Earth- with the support of over 4 billion years of Earth's evolution backing us.

See our 'Autumn Equinox Celebration' as an example of how we used a seasonal celebration at one of our growing projects. See also our Yule page.