When I first started pondering the ‘Seasons of Soul’, it came to me that the four seasons of the year are similar in many ways to the seasons in our human lives. I began looking at the seasons of pregnancy, birth, childhood, adolescence and young adulthood as the Winter of our lives. It’s about the darkness and withdrawal that gives birth and growth to produce a future life that’s ineffable. We begin in the darkness of Winter; December, January and February and the first twenty two years of our lives where love and fear, darkness and light, warmth and cold, gain and loss, wonder and mystery rule our lives.

Springtime begins with March which leads to April and May, corresponding to the second quarter of human life between the ages of twenty two and forty four. This is a time of generativity, of growth and change leading to pollination and new birth for further growth and development of the species. It’s a time of expansion, changing weather, new possibilities, verdancy, awakenings, dreams and aliveness. It creates a perpetual sense of awe while demanding patience, flowering ideas and lots of work.

The Summer of our lives extends from age forty four to sixty six. These are the years that move us into maturity and eventual harvest. In June, July and August of our lives, wonderful things happen to people who seek a quieter life. Summer opens the doors of  new life that invites us into new ways of being and doing. Life continues to unfold before us like the flowers of summer and the much needed rest that seeks to draw us home. We find ourselves listening to the murmurs of the water, watching the clouds float across the sky and giving thanks for the ‘down‘ time we use to call a ‘waste‘ of time. 

Finally, the Autumn of our lives appears which takes us from sixty six to eighty eight if we’re so blessed to experience the harvest of these times. Life seems to start all over again when the autumn air gets crisp, the leaves turn colors and begin to fall from the trees. September, October and November become the definitive season of Soul for those who experience the depth of its cycles. It’s a time for thanksgiving and generosity for all that’s taken place and the infinite possibilities that await the movement beyond. 

In this month of October, this season of Autumn, what are you experiencing as you ponder your many seasons of soul? Wherever you are in your chronological age, what are you willing to let this season teach you? Is this moment in time an ending or a beginning for you; could it be both? What have you been hiding that this season is inviting you to reveal? How could this autumn be a second spring for you where every leaf becomes a flower? As the days and nights are cooling, what in you is ruling?

• Take a few moments out of everyday over the next week to review your life trajectory. Look at where you’ve come from, where you’re going and why you’re here. Check in with your Soul Self as to what this season of Autumn might be saying to you. Open your heart and mind to the prompts that come in the cool thin air of this season.
• To help with the above process, take the lead from a piece of Celtic spirituality and give yourself some quiet alone time in Nature. Listen to the silence, to the wind and leaves speaking to one another and to you. Allow your intuitive knowing to touch you.
• Reflect on where you are in your life trajectory: Winter, Spring, Summer or Autumn. Take note of how you’re resisting this season and/or how you’re accepting it, flowing with it, embracing it and growing with it. Awaken to the gifts. Lovingly receive them!