By Brandon Alter:
Autumn awaits winter's arrival. I'm not going to pretend that I like the shorter days or the cooler temperatures, but I love these last days of Fall because it is a time to get free.
In Chinese Medicine, Autumn connects to the lungs, which express our grief. I know that sounds slightly melancholy, but the meaning of this is profound and beautiful. Essentially, the Autumn is when we mourn what hasn't happened in our lives: the disappointments, the dreams that are no longer alive for us. This is a season to surrender the old and stale, to lay down your burdens and grow light and easy. Let the past be the past.
The trees drop their leaves. The sun moves farther and farther away from our tender planet. We can feel the impermanence of our lives and how one day our own body will fall from our spirit, and we will be truly free.
But while we are still here, living our strange and wondrous lives, how can we grow more liberated each day? How can we lighten our load? How can we truly let go?
Let these last days of the season teach you. Pay attention, and you will be shown the seasons of your own heart. This is the time to be thankful for the light while we have it—to treasure our lives while we have them. Don't let your history muddy your present. Fall is almost over, and if you let her, she will gently remove your burdens, your miseries, and your sad old shit.
BRANDON ALTER is a queer healer, Tarot reader, teacher, mystic and writer living in Los Angeles. He is passionate about sharing spiritual tools that have helped him reconnect to the wisdom of his heart. He is the Tarot reader in residence for The Numinous and he co-hosts The Spiritual Gayz with his husband, a twice-monthly podcast dedicated to exploring the wide reaches of spirituality, without pretending that it all makes sense. Brandon’s mom took him to his very first psychic when he was seven and gave him his first Tarot deck when he was eleven. Since then he has devoted himself to the study of Tarot, Yoga, Pilates, Reiki, Astrology and Shamanic Skills. Visit www.brandonalterwellness.com to learn more. And to sign up for his twice-monthly newsletter, click here.