The Hearth Ceremony is different from what we did at the Summer Solstice. The other three ceremonies at the solstices and equinoxes that we are developing are collective land blessing and healing ceremonies. We want to map the earth healing rituals. However, the Fall Equinox ceremony is for you and your family/community. Thus, we will not be mapping this ritual–it is personal and for you.
We will be doing a call about our experiences on September 28 at 8:30pm via zoom. Our new order-wide Rituals for the Earth are a work in progress for our community and we look forward to sharing and growing them together. Please participate if you feel led and we would love to hear your experiences.
Lovely ceremony suggestions, thank you! I’ve had to seal off my hearth, literally, over the last few weeks with the wildfire smoke seeping in through every crack. I can’t wait for the cooler and rainier months, and I look forward to the dark, damp cool, moist, crisp, and clean air. I will definitely be weaving in healing elements into the time of the Hearth, and hopefully find some ways to contribute to the community healing of those affected by local wildfires.
Hi, Scott! Dana’s post at the top of this thread should have several links embedded within it that you can click. In case technology is not cooperating with you, here’s a cut and pasteable link to the information about AODA Rituals for the Earth (http://aoda.org/earthrituals/) and to the hearth ritual (http://aoda.org/earthrituals/fallequinoxhearthritual/).
I’ve been wondering too about how to do this ritual as an offering—do it in a way that is not just about my hearth, but that can offer care and healing to the wider web of human community. There is not a day on this planet now when humans aren’t losing their homes to wind, rain, or fire. So just like we radiate that healing outwards in the other rituals, I’m curious about that with this one too.
Hi Babs,
This one is open to the possibility of healing the human sphere, but it’s not a requirement. When we were developing the hearth ritual, we realized that each person’s capacity and circumstances are different. Thus, hearth ritual can take on different kinds of energy. For some, it is a chance to dig deep and heal from our own grief (about climate change, etc) is important. For others it may be working for healing in that broader human sphere. So this one is a lot more flexible, where the other three are very much intentioned as large group land healing rituals.
One thing that I thought about was doing random acts of kindness for the people in your life that don’t live in your house, such as cards or snacks for the people you work with, because without them you wouldn’t be able to maintain the physical aspects of your hearth and home. Another thing might be to volunteer for a soup kitchen, a community trash cleanup or habitat for humanity project. It would be a way to connect with the community at large and build connection. In the area that I live in, community bonds are important, and it seems that if you are known around town as the person who helped with xyz, then they tend to overlook your “eccentricity” LoL.
I’m making fingerless gloves and probably some hats for the homeless as my irl life offering for the autumn season. I sometimes start too late, so this year I’m starting while the weather is still warm so I will have them available when the cold comes.
This afternoon I had a wonderful journey for two hours picking up trash from my local neighborhoods and got a full trash bag too! I always imagine a path of clear light and healing behind me. I love to look back and see a trash free area. I love to imagine the school children on their walk to school, seeing no cigarette butts, no discarded masks, only trees and pathways. It also helps heal neighbors, as sometimes there’s that one neighbor who just tosses stuff about, and it blows into everybody’s yards. In my experience the other neighbors wish they could do something, and then this stranger walks in and cleans up the area. They are thankful, and I always stick to the public walkways only.
The other reason I love trash picking so much is that people always talk to me on my walk. For some reason, it creates an opening. I love talking to folks along the way. People often don’t want to hear lectures on Natural beauty, but when they stop you, it’s more open. This time a woman was running by and stopped to ask about my trash picker. She wanted to get one for her partner who also picks up trash. An elder man road by on a bicycle and stopped to say a word, and a young boy found some trash to “contribute” to my bag. I took a moment to look this young man in the eyes and really make it a moment and said, “Thank you for putting trash in its proper place!” I hope he remembers that moment.
It’s interesting how when you’re picking trash people just flock to you as some sort of expert on the topic, and over time I actually have become a trash expert. I recently attended a 3 day conference on litter, trash, and trash reduction. I love this work. It’s never something I imagined, but I’ve become a bit of the trash expert in my circle
I love the conversation here! I think the idea of random acts of kindness is such a powerful way of taking the energy of the hearth ritual out into the world in some way!
