Celebrating the harvest at the September New Moon

Ancestral traditions

The new moon in September occurs at one of the most important periods of the year for all beings living on the land in the northern hemisphere, as the time marking the change from Summer to Autumn.

Yet, knowledge of any specific rituals or celebrations marked by our ancestors hasn’t been passed down to us. As much of the body of knowledge we have of the ancient rituals which occurred on this land comes from farming communities, this omission is understandable.  

For farmers, this would have been an incredibly busy season, focused on bringing in the harvest of ripening crops in the fields. For them, the community celebrations happened at the end of the month, at the Autumn Equinox, when much of the hard work was done.

Yet when we turn to the older, pre-farming communities of Britain, this time would have seen much preparation for the annual move inland from the coast, which we can imagine may have included much ritual and celebration.

In the summer our pre-farming, hunter-gatherer, ancestors would have lived along the coast, taking advantage of local migrations of fish and crustaceans, whilst foraging for the abundant sea greens growing beyond the shore.

As the weather changed and berries ripened on bushes along the coastal cliffs, people would have prepared to move inland, to take advantage both of the harvest of fruits and nuts ripening on the trees, and the creatures also taking nourishment from the abundance. 

We can imagine the shamans carefully observing the weather and growth cycle of the berries, ready to advise the clan of the right time to prepare for the annual migration. When this point arose, perhaps towards the end of August, everyone would gather by the fire to celebrate the remaining days of coastal abundance.

Stories would be told to the young ones about the long walk inland to their winter settlement. Hunters would craft new arrows and knives from flint gathered on the beaches. Foraging baskets would be made from available fibres, including brambles and nettles. People would be busy preparing to travel inland. 

Celebrating abundance

Despite many of us no longer living so close to the land, we can still tune into the shifts occurring in the season relatively easily, if we give ourselves opportunity to observe.

The heat of the high summer has noticeably passed, the days are shorter and there’s both a lingering mist in the morning and a beautiful soft orange glow in the sky towards the end of the day.

Fruit is ripening and abundant on the trees and bushes in the hedgerows, the sugary smell wafting through our open windows, inviting us to forage, bake and gather with friends and family.

These Autumn rituals of gathering and celebrating the abundance in the land are deeply important, yet we don’t often prioritise them, nor acknowledge them to be rituals.

Energy of organisation

September is often the month of organisation; where we look ahead and plan the remaining year and beyond.

It can be seen as our personal harvest - where we review the year so far and take stock of all that has occurred – where we have been successful, where we have over-extended, what we haven’t tended to enough and where we have wandered off course.

Whilst much of the reflection occurs in the next couple of months to come, when we start to slow down and become more introspective, September is often the month where we begin to bring our “business” in order.

It’s no surprise that schools and parliament resume early in September after their summer breaks. It’s time return home from holiday, root down and get back to our day-to-day routines.

All this urge to organise comes from our need to prepare for winter. Despite central heating and abundant year-round food, our instincts to prepare for the cold times ahead, when food in the land is scarce, remain strong.

New moon in Virgo

The new moon, marking the beginning of a lunar cycle, is in the astrological sign of Virgo, ruling the energy of this month. Virgo is a mutable earth sign, making it both grounded and practical whilst being able to go with the flow, adapt and change as needed.

The themes of Virgo are aligned with the wider seasonal changes and our instinctive responses. For instance, the energies encourage us to organise and focus our attention on practical and domestic tasks, particularly that focused on the land.

There is an emphasis on responsibility and of being in service. If you are unclear on what your gifts are or how to bring them into the world, the energy of Virgo will help you to get down to the finer details; to plan, organise and create.

Virgo is the opposite sign of Pisces, which means they are linked and share similarities. Pisces and Virgo are both mutable and connected with the heart. They share the quality of merging with the Gods in the upper world. Where Pisces can get too absorbed in those energies, Virgo grounds them back down to the Earth. 

Virgo encourages self-care, which is especially important as we may feel obligated to become very busy, very quickly after the summer break. Try not to get caught up in this pressure, remembering to take breaks to look after yourself.

It’s a time of natural abundance and the social and nature loving energy of Virgo can help you to gain perspective if you find yourself doing too much organising or work.

Energy of the month

The message this month is to come fully back to Earth and ground yourself in the present moment, in all things physical and sensual and Earthy. Enjoy and share abundance. Not the economic kind but the physical kind. The kind that is free. 

It’s a great time for gathering with people, working on the land, foraging and sharing in the abundance of the Earth.

Spend time preparing, organising, making things ready, clearing out, being domestic. Purifying your heart, your space and your intentions.

Work with the energy of Virgo to truly feel your own light and the gifts that you have to bring to the Earth, to enable you to walk in service to the greater good.

If you’ve had the blessing to walk on a beach this summer and sense the energy of the sea, feel the wind on a mountain top, watch a beautiful sunrise or sunset, then you have felt the power of the Earth and what she is capable of. 

This is the time to truly feel the love of all beings on the Earth. To feel your strong heart and feel supported. This is the time to give your gifts freely in service to others for the greater good, feeling truly supported by the light.

May you walk with ease this month.

Love Samara

September 3rd 2024