The Medicine of Autumn 🍂

Sep 6

3 min read

The transition from summer to autumn asks us not only to let go, but to soften. To find comfort—and even joy—in the darkness 🖤

Summer is filled with warmth, light, long days, and freedom. When autumn comes around, many of us cast judgment on its darkness instead of welcoming the time to rest and renew. To create our own light in the darkest of times. There is so much to learn from the sweet season of autumn.

Just like nature—and yes, it may sound cliché—it is a time to shed what no longer serves. When you look at nature, you see everything die back. The leaves change colours in the most beautiful, glorious final show before they let go and return to the earth. Plants and gardens fade, turning brown, returning to Mother Earth after working so hard all year.

There is no resistance. There is trust.

Nature knows it will return when the time is right, after a long winter’s rest. And sometimes, it doesn’t return in the same way—it needs to be replanted, a new seed sown.

Animals hibernate. They grow sleepy, they slow down, and they prepare for deep rest and restoration.

All of nature knows the medicine of autumn—of its darkness, its death—and yet we still complain bout how dark it is or how short the days are.

But we ARE nature.

We are cyclical beings who need all of the seasons—their medicine, their lessons. When we live in tune with the wheel of the year, we allow the seasons to transform us. It becomes natural. Our rhythms begin to align, adapt, and heal us.

So how can we use the medicine of autumn?

We embrace the darkness. We rest and recuperate.

Instead of fighting it, we let it in. We go to bed earlier. We curl up under blankets with tea and a book by the fire. We allow ourselves to truly enjoy it.

We take a break from the high-energy “produce, produce, produce” of summer. Nature spends summer creating—flowers, fruit, vegetables—constant outward energy.

But autumn is different.

It holds a different kind of creativity. One rooted in rest, renewal, and relaxation. We can still create—but in a softer way. A quieter way. Finding joy in the release, the rest, the healing.

Autumn asks us to…

Soften—dress cozy, pull on wool socks and oversized sweaters, and breathe.

Release—take a look at your life and notice what no longer serves you in this season

Renew—go to bed earlier, sleep longer, take warm baths, light candles.

Relax—pour a warm tea, sit by the fire, read something cozy, and recognize what a gift that is.

Bake—your body craves comfort now. Make food from scratch. Put a roast and some root vegetables in the slow cooker.

Nourish- yourself deeply in everyway

Slow down—choose yoga, gentle movement, and time in nature. Listen, learn, and honour your body and your soul’s desire to live in harmony with Mother Earth.

Create—paint, write poetry, knit, cook, decorate your home. Bring beauty into the season until you fall in love with it.

All parts of life deserve to be loved.

Autumn is a time of quiet celebration—of everything you have sown and grown through spring and summer. A time to reflect, to give thanks, to root into deep gratitude.

Truly, autumn is my favourite season—but honestly, every season teaches us so much. I’ve learned to love them all.