There is a wonderful warm breeze today; the leaves dance, the chimes sing and shadows play against the wall.  Fall is here and it feels wonderful.

When I was a child I noticed that at this time of the year the feline members of our household would become very frisky.  I thought they were reacting to static electricity in their fur, I would be jumping around too, but I believe it was more than that.  I believe they were expressing that perceptible change of seasons and the playful energy which is Fall.

In the western world we have been taught that the cycle of the seasons begins with Spring, so for some people Spring feels like the beginning of the year or the cycle of the year.

Our calendar year, however, begins in January.  This no doubt would seem quite odd to ancient peoples who gauged the world through symbols.  How can a cycle begin in darkness and cold, in the season symbolized by sleeping and death?  Well, I suppose if we consider the seed sleeping in the ground, readying itself for birth, that makes some sense.

The ancient Celts, however, were a lunar-oriented culture.  Their days began at twilight , and their year began in Autumn.  Samhain, what we now call Halloween, was in fact their New Year.

How appropriate then for the leaves to fall.  For when that which is spent is acknowledged and released, the cycle can begin anew.  Now that should make you feel lighter–and perhaps even frisky.