I love fall, I always have. There is something in the air: it's cool but not cold, often breezy but not super windy, and there is this smell that I just adore. And a huge part of this is the leaves falling off of the trees. I think that is where the scent is rooted...in the drying leaves. They come in all colors of the rainbow, and the wind makes them dance across the ground.
Even when I was little, and had to rake leaves as a chore, I loved fall. And of course, part of the process of raking leaves involved jumping into the piles you had made (which meant more raking...but it was worth it)! There is something very satisfying about feeling the leaves crunch around you.
This time of year brings a rainbow of fire colors. The leaves turn all shades of yellow, orange and red. There is something fantastically beautiful about seeing one tree with a healthy mix of colored leaves, and a carpet underneath of fallen ones.
I'm also a fan of unconventional beauty. I appreciate monochromatic themes, and leaves that have fallen to the ground often come in shades of brown. But there is still something about the different shades and the variance of shapes that creates an intricate landscape.
Beyond simply taking in the splendor of the season, there are many ways to work with falling leaves. They speak to me of transitions and of letting go. The leaves must transform, changing their color and very essence from living receptors of sunlight to dried bits that will become fertilizer, returning to the soil to enrich it and helping new growth. The tree must let go of what had been a vital part of itself, in order to make itself ready for the coming winter.
One of the simplest ways to work with fallen leaves is to find one, and imbue it with something you wish to release. You can cup it between your hands and send the energy of what you are letting go of into it, or blow your intention into it. If you want a more elaborate ritual, consider painting your release onto the leaf (you can even paint one side to represent what you are letting go of and the other side for what you are making space for by letting it go). You can also sew your focus into the leaf, just like you might sew a word into cloth. Once your leaf is infused with your intention, you simple release it to the wind, and let it get blown away from you!
If you have a lot of things to release, or something that is made up of a lot of little parts (like clearing your house of unwanted junk, or letting go of a bunch of Facebook friends who you don't resonate with), add this clearing to your physical clearing of leaves. Find a spot outside, with at least a handful of fallen leaves.
First, you will name the leaves as things that you want to release. You can name them specifically: the person who always posts hateful memes on Facebook or the stack of old magazines that has been growing in your living room corner. You can also name them in a more general way: anyone who will bring conflict to your news feed or things that serve no purpose in your future.
Then, gather up all the leaves, keeping your focus on pulling together the things you are wanting to be rid of. If you have a yard, you can rake up all the leaves in your yard, but if you don't have a yard that isn't a problem either. You could sweep together leaves on your front porch or on a balcony. If you don't have either of those, you can also go to a park or public place, and gather up a handful of leaves to use.
Once your leaves are gathered, you will want to dispose of them. If you have a large yard and typically mulch your leaves, feel free to do that! When you have added them to your mulch (even better if you shred them first...), visualize them anchored to that place now (instead of free to return to you). Another great option is to burn the leaves. If you gathered a small pile (like from a park), you can burn them in a cauldron (or other fire safe container), or even one by one in a candle flame. If you have quite a lot, you can pile them into a fire pit!
When you are burning the leaves, you are not burning them as representations of the things you named them...but as the connections between you and the things named. So don't worry if you named leaves after people! Your intention isn't to cause harm to them, simply to cut the ties between you so that you can each go your own separate ways. The same holds true for items named. It is perfectly fine to donate, give away or otherwise share the items you no longer need!
Another fun project with fallen leaves is to use them for a transformation goal. If you are working on creating change in your life, you can harness the energy of the fallen leaves to not only enhance your work, but also serve as a reminder and reward! You will want to gather a selection of leaves, so that you have one for every step you are working on. For example, you might be working on studying runes, you you can get a leaf for each rune.
You can mark your leaves however you like, either simply writing on them, painting them or sewing on them. Once you have marked them, you can display them somewhere that you will see them (and thus be reminded of your goals). If you were lucky enough to find some fallen branches with leaves still attached, you can put them in a vase as a centerpiece. Or you can find some nice branches and use glue or florist tape to attach loose leaves to them. You can also make a garland with them, fixing the leaves onto a string. Alternately you can create a collage or painting representing your goal, and then stick the leaves on top of it.
But as you complete each step, you remove the leaf from your display! This leaf can be released to the wind, buried or burnt, giving thanks as you do for the progress you have made. This becomes quite a visual reminder, either making your display more sparse (great for goals that involve letting go or reducing something) or revealing the picture underneath (wonderful for transforming).
You can also use it for building habits, either having several leaves for the same thing or using each leaf to represent doing the habit for a set period of time. So if your goal is to improve your physical health, you may have a leaves for eating healthy portions, working out or getting enough sleep. If you have one leaf for each time you do it, plan out how long you want to work on your goal, and make sure you have enough leaves for each step! Then, every day you do a workout or feel you ate an appropriate meal, you can pull a leaf off! If you want your leaves to represent periods of time, then you can remove a leaf when you go through an entire week without indulging in guilty snacks or when you workout three times that week.
The flipside of this practice is to have your leaves represent bad habits that you want to let go of. You set a goal date, for example you might want to avoid posting negative thoughts on social media, and you want to work on it for the next month. You would make your leaves represent those negative thoughts, and make your display, but this time, every time you falter, you remove a leaf. When you do, pause for a moment, and remember why you want to stop this habit. Thank the leaf for reminding you to keep strong in your focus, and then release it. Whenever you see your display, take a moment to appreciate how many leaves are still up there! And, when the time has come to an end, you can bury, burn or throw away the remnants, offering up your gratitude for the progress you have made!
Falling leaves are a wonderful tool, that are plentiful this time of year! They teach us to not only see the beauty in the changes all around us, but also to be able to transform when we need to and that letting go of things that don't serve us helps us make room for new growth. So take some time, this fall, to work with the falling leaves, and see what changes they can bring to your life!
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