How to celebrate the Autumn Equinox with your Shamanic Drum
The Autumn Equinox marks one of two points in the year when the day and night are of equal length. This time represents balance, as well as marks the shift from light to dark, from a focus of without to within.
With our Shamanic Drums, we can attune ourselves to this change to connect with the wisdom and medicine of this upcoming season..
What most people associate with Autumn are the changing colours of the leaves, the transition from warmth to cold, from sunny summer days to dark winter nights. However, the Autumn Equinox, which is known as the beginning of the Autumn season, is not chosen at random. This date marks the point where the sun passes the Equator on its journey south, giving us a day and night of equal length. The Autumn Equinox can occur between the 21st and the 23rd of September, depending on the year. This year, it falls on the 23rd September 2023.
Just as there is this change in the land, there is also this change within ourselves, and we also transition from a time of being outward focused to a time of being inward focused. The autumn equinox, as the transition point, offers us a time to find some balance.
In our regular drumming circles, we drum to connect and attune ourselves to the seasonal changes in the land, to remain connected and in tune with the wisdom and medicine each season brings. You can join us for our regular drum circles which we hold in Ashford, Kent. Click here for more information.
How to use our drums to connect with the upcoming season
1. Balance in the home
To help in times of transition, and connecting with the energy of Balance, it is a good idea to restore some balance within the home. While this is then a good opportunity for a declutter, and general tidy, your drum can help you clear away old energy in the home.
This is a great thing to do to revitalise your living space, and allows space for new creativity and inspiration, by clearing away the heavy or stagnant energy that inevitably accumulates in our homes.
To do this, move around the house from room to room, drumming a steady rhythm to all the directions, and all the walls. Don’t forget the corners of the rooms, cupboards, and the space down the edge of the sofa - just as these are the places where old newspapers may fall and get forgotten, these are also a place that needs clearing.
You may also want to combine this with other practices of space clearing, such as smudging, and invite the healing, cleansing and protective energies of the plant spirits into your home, too.
2. Drum for Balance
The act of drumming itself can help us escape our busy minds and settle into a balanced space within ourselves. When we play these healing tools, we do so with an intention, prayer, or focus, giving direction to the powerful energy that drumming creates.
At this time of the Autumn Equinox, take some time to drum for yourself, holding an intention for “Balance” as you do so, and let the healing rhythms of the drum work their magic on you.
If you can get out in nature for this drumming practice, sit at the base of a tree and let yourself be held in its energy and strength while asking for its support in helping you find Balance. This is also a great way to connect with the changes in the season, feeling the cool air of the arriving Autumn as you drum. Give an offering to the tree of herbs, oats, or salt as a thank you when you are finished.
3. Journey to meet the Spirit of the Season
The Shamanic Journey is practice where the rhythm of the Drum guides you into an inner visionary landscape, for guidance and healing. We often journey with an intention or a question, with the hope of meeting a spiritual being in this landscape to give us the answer or guidance that we need.
Journeying to connect with the Spirit of the Season can help us find guidance and direction as we move into the Autumn months. It can be an opportunity to ask questions around things we may need help letting go of, just as the trees do with their autumn leaves,
If you are familiar with the practice of journeying, you can use the sound recording below to help you with your journey. If you would like to learn more about journeying, and how you can develop this practice for guidance and healing, take a look at our Shamanic Journeying online course, with recorded lessons that you can work through in your own time.
We hope you find this guide useful! Please share your experiences celebrating the Equinox with us either in the comment section below or on our social media @HeronDrumsUK
Want to deepen your understanding of the Drum and learn more ways of working with it? Join one of our online courses.