An Unusual (but Powerful) Autumn Equinox Ritual to Survive the Damn Winter

The Autumn Equinox is on September 22nd. I’m not going to lie to you, readers. I can see the cold season on the horizon and it’s freaking me out. (In Chicago, winters can be brutal.) I’ve come up with some unusual Autumn Equinox rituals to lay the foundation for your mental and spiritual health this winter. Since I’m in the northern hemisphere, an Autumn Equinox ritual for me is to help set the tone for my spiritual practice through the cold season.

First things first, though – I’m not like other spiritual folx. I’m much worse. I have no fixed framework for my spiritual practice. I don’t have much of a spiritual community, but I’ve drifted in and out of online ones for over a decade. I’m often disillusioned by the “what are we doing here” of it all. I don’t consider myself a witch, and I do consider myself a Muslim. (It’s complicated.) I have a daily spiritual practice that includes an oracle card and 5 minutes of journaling whenever I damn well feel like it, and sometimes I tarnish its sanctity by taking pics for the ‘Gram.

The good thing about all this: through nothing but sheer time spent, I have big ideas about why one might have something like an Autumn Equinox ritual in their repertoire. This is missing from the billions of pins, posts, and comments I see about ritual work. I want to share the “what” AND the “why” of these rituals with you for a little cold season prep.

I started writing this post and realized it was getting toooo long, so I’m holding on to two more rituals for next week’s post. There’s no need to rush everything out the door, and no need to rush all the spirituality into your life, either!

So why engage in ritual, let alone an Autumn Equinox ritual?

What’s the damn point of this? Well, ritual serves a number of purposes in my life.

1. Mindfulness. The main reason why rituals are a part of most people’s lives, I think. Consider a secular ritual like making coffee. Occupying the body in a familiar, repetitive task, however small, creates space for your mind to slow down. It can allow you something as simple as a break from thinking or something as profound as clarity on a difficult topic. It’s similar to meditative physical habits like weightlifting. Occupy the body, free the mind.
2. Checking in with yourself. A repeated daily (or weekly! Or monthly! Or annual!) task – a task that you do just for the hell of it – quickly turns into an instinctive check-in. This is because you notice variation in your mind, body, and heart when you do the same physical thing all the time. An autumn equinox ritual is meant to be done annually, so I encourage you to write down how you’re feeling during or after completing one. Journal entries for these rituals will be available on my Pinterest after this post.
3. Rituals are foundational for a spiritual practice. If you’re interested in having a spiritual life (maybe one outside of the social media content mill of pick-a-card tarot readings – SORRY, I SAID IT), you won’t get there overnight. Creating a spiritual system for yourself is just like building a relationship with another person. Rituals are how you show up for your spirit, just like the way you show up for other people. See where it goes. Try a lot of different things. See what starts taking on meaning to you. I urge against the idea of doing what “feels good.” Instead, repeat the rituals that take you to the realizations you feel the strongest about.

Anatomy of a ritual

To help you navigate the Autumn Equinox rituals I’ve created, I’m including a list of “parts” of a ritual. I mean, what’s the difference between a ritual and going for a regular old walk in the woods? Answer:

• Location – does not need to be a special or sanctified place. I’ve done rituals at my work desk. This is part of the ritual only in the context of “I’m bringing my energy to this place.”

I firmly believe that with all spiritual workings, folx should understand that what they do impacts the place. The place impacts you, too, but try focusing on the energetic impact of your actions first and foremost. Think of the location as the place that is going to hold and absorb the energy you’re bringing.

• Person – this is a special, sanctified part. It’s you. Congratulations.
• Cue – I stole this concept from weightlifting. A spiritual cue is what I use to begin my ritual. Think of this ahead of time. It can be anything. If I’m outside, I like waiting for a nice breeze. This forces me to chill out and do nothing until it happens, and I love the spontaneity of “Oh! There it is; let’s begin!” You can also use a physical cue. Maybe you turn a special object over in your hands, or snap your fingers. Maybe you wait until you see someone with a certain word on their shirt, or a certain breed or color of dog. (Pick a common-ish breed, though. We don’t have all day. Unless you do. Idk, it’s your life.)

That’s probably enough preamble. Here are 5 Autumn Equinox rituals to set the tone for your winter:

Finally: an Autumn Equinox ritual as a farewell to the good weather

Supplies: journal + something to write with or a device to write on. I prefer doing this with pen and paper, but it’s not a requirement. (There are no requirements.)

• If you have a favorite outdoor area to hang out in, pay it a visit. It doesn’t have to be a park or shoreline. Hit up a cafe with patio seating if you want. I plan to do this on the beach because I love squeezing the last of the good weather out of the beach.
• Wait for or enact your cue.
• Think of your intention to deliver a goodbye to the weather. Express gratitude for the good times you’ve enjoyed outside this summer and write them down. For each one, come up with a word to describe how you felt during that activity.
• Now turn your attention to the location you are in. Mentally remind the space that you aren’t saying goodbye to it – just the weather – and that you’ll see it again soon! It will just be wearing new weather. Tell the space that you’re looking forward to seeing how it looks when it’s dressed for autumn, and later, when it’s dressed for winter. Write down your thoughts toward the space.
• Finally, return to your interior. Express gratitude for the sensations you’ve had in your body this spring/summer. I have chronic pain, so this is a real thinking exercise for me. Then, express gratitude for any strong emotional moments you’ve had in the spring/summer. It doesn’t have to be positive emotions only. I prefer to consider the big emotional turning points that I learned something significant from. Write all this down.
• Spend some time reflecting on what you’ve written. Meditate on your own handwriting if you’re using a paper journal. Consider the mood or tone that your handwriting conveys. Do any words or phrases stand out to you? Make a mental note of them.
• Close out your ritual by picking up your shit and walking away. Make sure you leave the space as you received it, preferably a little improved. You can think or write your gratitude to the space for allowing you to use it. If you’re at the coffee shop, say goodbye to the employees and wish them well! Take the realizations you’ve had with you and carry them into the cold season. No, I don’t cast circles. It’s too much work, y’all.

Gratitude is a big focus here because nothing fixes my terror of the cold like expressing how thankful I am for what I have, plus finding reasons to appreciate what’s coming!

You’ll notice that this ritual is largely free of paraphernalia. My opinion on this is based on what I’ve learned from the book Trance-Portation by Diana Paxson. Dialing into your spiritual self not only doesn’t need to involve many (purchased) objects, I believe that objects can diminish your practice. One should be able to achieve a sense of tranquility or a meditative trance in any state, under any circumstances. This is a difficult skill to learn, and I believe that relying on “things” to get there just sets you back.

So, especially if you’re currently building your spiritual practice, resist the urge to go out and buy everything available at your local occult supply shop. The most powerful spiritual tools are your mind, body, and heart, and you can’t put a price tag on any of those.

I hope this post helps you figure out how to ring in the cooler season. And remember to keep an eye on the blog for two more Autumn Equinox rituals next week!

Looking to develop your own Autumn Equinox ritual? Try riffing on a 5-minute self-care activity.

Still need more inspo? Riff on a solo date idea.