Autumn Gratitude Ritual

When the trees are losing their leaves, I like to honor the end of their yearly cycle with a gratitude ritual. This is often done on the eve of the Autumn Equinox. Throughout the year the trees give us shelter, oxygen, food, and beauty. This ritual is essentially an offering, giving something of meaning in exchange for all that the trees have given us. Achieving balance. The best offerings in my opinion take effort - in this case I made bread from scratch (an overnight process) and apple cider (a full day undertaking). So there was effort a-plenty! Choose a tree that is special to you - maybe one you pass daily on your way to work, or one that looks especially beautiful this time of year. The tree we chose is a young maple that I stare at through the kitchen window while doing the dishes. It also looks gorgeous this time of year.

Our offering is ready

We tie the bread to one of the branches with string

Flowers adorn the base of the tree

We thank our beautiful maple tree

This ritual can be accompanied with singing, a declaration of gratitude, silent thought - anything! Whatever you feel moved to do is fine - as long as it is done with a genuine heart. I usually hum while I put out the offering, and end by saying a few things aloud. When the offering was complete, we went inside and enjoyed apple cider hot from the stovetop. Happy Autumn everyone!