Written by Ivo Dominguez Jr • Narration by James C. Welch Chants: "Harvest Time” from Awakening The Dream; “Feral Beauty” from A Dream Whose Time Is Coming by Ivo.
Pathworking:
This pathworking is a journey to the heart of the setting Sun.
Close your eyes and move inwards. Take a deep breath and become aware of any distractions from the outside world— sounds, sensations, thoughts and feelings that came with you to this moment. Gather these distractions together ••••• and bid them depart until you return from this journey. •••••
Open your eyes briefly and then close them again holding within yourself the image of where you are in the here and now. See a sparkling mist rolling, slowly filling your vision. See it grow thicker, and thicker, and thicker until you are enveloped in swirls of pearly mist, rosy mist, that glistens with sparkling motes. ••••• Although you are still, you feel motion all around you. Although you are still, you feel the fog swirling all around you.
You open your eyes and find yourself sitting on a bunk in a cabin. • You shift your gaze upward and see a window that reveals that you are in the midst of a wooded campground in the hills. • You are with a group of friends and members of your community gathering together for the Autumn Equinox. • Bring to mind the people you would wish to have with you. •••
The breeze coming in the window is cooler than you expected so you grab an extra layer of clothing and put it on. • You hear voices outside and get up and go out the cabin door to see what’s going on. • Some people are weaving wheat and leaves together to create crowns, giving them to whoever will wear them. • Some people are filling baskets with food and drink for the celebration. ••
There are carts and wagons, that are being prepared for a hay ride. Some are set to be pulled by horses and others by tractors. • One of your friends is giving a slice of an apple to a horse and they smile at you. ••
You take a deep breath and enjoy the crisp cool air and the musky sweet smell of the Autumn. You walk over to your friend and you help them load bales of straw into the carts for the hay ride. ••• It feels good to do work that will be enjoyed by yourself and others. •• Some people have gotten dressed in festival garb. • Garlands are being placed on the carts and wagons. • There is a sense of excitement and expectation filling the air. You pause as someone comes by with cups and a pitcher filled with apple cider. • People are starting to be seated in the carts for the hay ride. ••
Someone dressed in renaissance fair garb steps up onto a tree stump and says:
Good Morrow your Graces!
This eve as we enter the gloaming we will take a woodland ride to the lake
to honor the setting Sun and the setting of the year.
Find the sweetness of life and your balance
for tomorrow the days will wane again.
You and the rest of the people climb into the carts and wagons. •• To the side of the path a group of singers offer a song as the hay ride begins. •••••
The cart lurches into motion and you have to catch yourself and push back against the bales of hay. You settle in and relax and watch the trees go by. • You feel the gentle rocking of the cart’s progress into the woods. The rhythm of light and dark of sunlight coming through the leaves and branches is soothing. The breeze on your face is gentle and alternates between slightly cool and slightly warm. •• The quiet conversations in the background drop away and you only hear the sounds of the journey.
As the ride continues you notice that more and more of the leaves in the trees are changing color. Here and there you see yellow, orange, and red splashed among the green. •• The air is cooler and dryer and sweet with the faint scent of apples. • The sun is moving lower in the sky and the sky’s colors remind you of both the flowers of Spring and Autumn’s leaves. • You just breathe deeply and take in the beauty around you. •••••
Your thoughts begin to move through your memories of the year up to this point. ••• You think on what began and what finished. •••• Think on what you must release and what you must hold close. ••••You are your own harvest. •• What will you save for the future and what will you enjoy in the here and now? •••••
The cart goes around a bend in the path and exits the woods. • Before you is a small lake reflecting the colors of the setting sun. On the opposite side of the lake there is an apple orchard. Several people are standing together next to a table with baskets of apples beneath a tent pavilion surrounded with banners of setting suns, cornucopias, and the glyph of Libra. •• The hay ride comes to a halt. • The people approach, singing and carrying baskets of apples. •••••
A woman that reminds you of one of your favorite teachers comes to your cart with a basket. She pulls out a cutting board and a white handled knife and starts to cut the apples in half. She flicks out the seeds with her knife and collects them to plant later. • She smiles and waves everyone over making sure that all take an apple. • Each apple is different and you don’t recognize the varieties. •
She says,
Those of you that sat back down get up if you can.
Now all of you take the apple in both hands and see the star at its core.
You see that the apple was cut horizontally and see the star within the apple.
She says,
Now hold the apple up and out so it covers the setting sun in your line of sight. The glorious clouds and the darkening sky will give you what you need.
With the apple covering the sun the colors of the clouds become more vibrant. The clouds are changing shape and you see fleeting images forming and dissolving. •• The message you need is in the clouds. Look closer. ••••
The sun has dipped lower and is about to touch the horizon. Rays of light pierce through the clouds. You hear someone yell,
We Give Thanks! We Give Thanks!We Give Thanks!
You say We Give Thanks!. • The person next to you is taking a bite of their apple. You wonder for a moment then take a bite of your apple. •• Sweet and tart and crisp. The juices run down your chin. It is just the way you like it• You feel the the warmth of the sun, the work of the year, and the satisfaction of tasting the fruits of your efforts. The blessings of the Autumn Equinox are upon you. You know this in your heart and soul.
A fog rolls in from the lake. All is a soft gray. • You feel the swirling and the turning all around you. ••
Little by little, the fog lifts and you flutter your eyes open and find yourself back in the here and now. Back in the place where we began. Back in the place you held in your memory so that you could return. •••
Take a deep breath. Move your toes and fingers. Be here and in the now. Be here and in the now. And you are here!