Autumn Equinox: the Second Harvest
Photo: Czapp Botond on Unsplash
Everything is cyclical. Time is a perpetual cycle of growth and retreat, reflected in the sun’s annual cycle of death and rebirth. We can see this in the turning of the year, as the days shorten. We can also see this within the days, hours, and minutes of our lives. As Annie Dillard said: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.”
On the Wheel of the Year, the wax and wane of the seasons are marked by the Solstices and Equinoxes. Modernity tells us that Autumn begins at the Fall Equinox but the solstices and equinoxes are actually the height of the seasons. Previously, we looked at Lughnasadh, the First Harvest, the Harvest of the Sweet. This is the Second Harvest, the harvest of the grain.
As the days shorten in the Northern Hemisphere, we feel the long dark approaching. It is time to slow down, to prepare, to take account of what we need to focus on for the second of three harvests. What do we need to harvest of our learnings of this turn of the Wheel? What do we need to store to sustain us through the dark half of the year and the Dreamtime, and what do we let fall away as we review this past season? What seeds will we keep to plant when we once again turn toward the light?
This is not a season of sadness, although letting go can sometimes have moments of anguish. This is a time to celebrate the work that we’ve done to reach exactly this point in time. It’s a time to share this gratitude and to slow down and prepare for the sweet rest of the Dreamtime which is the winter months to come.
Original version of this chart: https://theses.hal.science/tel-02499463/document
The Seattle Anarchist Book Fair, mutual aid, and degrowth
The Seattle Anarchist Book Fair was so regenerative. Thank you to everyone who joined our mailing list! It was amazing to see people from all over the Salish Sea who are dedicated to mutual aid and hospicing modernity.
Often people ask: what can I do in the face of the global capitalist system, which pursues exponential growth at all costs, causing human exploitation and environmental destruction? Much of what we saw and heard at the Anarchist Book Fair is a part of the degrowth movement.
From degrowth.info: The degrowth movement advocates for societies that prioritize social and ecological well-being instead of corporate profits, over-production, and excess consumption. This requires radical redistribution, a reduction in the material size of the global economy, and a shift in common values towards care, solidarity, and autonomy.
From degrowus.org: Learn and act together. Educate each other and the degrowth-curious. Oppose the forces of growth in your community. Dispense with the surplus in festive gatherings. Forge alliances with other groups fighting for justice and ecology.
Check out the many excellent community resources such as tool libraries, mutual-aid groups, learning orgs, and more on the Rewild Salish Sea community map. Are we missing something? Contribute more resources here.
Andrewism is a great YouTube channel about degrowth, by Andrew Sage, an anarchist writer, video producer, and organizer from Trinidad and Tobago.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is Monday, October 9th
Indigenous Peoples Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October. This day has been reclaimed by Indigenous Peoples, who have denounced Columbus Day as a celebration of genocide and colonialism. This year, join us in taking powerful action on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Monday, October 12th, which will mark the official launch of the #LANDBACK Campaign.
#LandBack aims to reestablish Indigenous political authority over territories that Indigenous tribes claim by treaty. Scholars from the Indigenous-run Yellowhead Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University describe it as a process of reclaiming Indigenous jurisdiction. The NDN collective describes it as synonymous with decolonization and dismantling white supremacy. #LandBack advocates for Indigenous rights, preserves languages and traditions, and works toward food sovereignty, decent housing, and a clean environment.
Watch this short film to learn more about the land-back movement and why it’s necessary: Why It’s Time To Give Native Americans Their Land Back
Watch this video about the launch of the #LANDBACK movement in South Dakota and read their manifesto about the reclamation of everything stolen from the original peoples, including land, language, ceremony, food, education, housing, health care, governance, medicines, and kinship
Engage with this set of land-back depth-education diagnostic exercises created by Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures as a thought experiment for settlers to engage with some of the tensions and complexities that often emerge in discussions about returning land to Indigenous peoples in what is currently known as Canada.
If you are in the Seattle area, come join Rewild Salish Sea to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, October 9th with a land tending day from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Heron’s Nest. The first 15 people to RSVP will be invited to slow down, listen, and tend this land in the service of Land Back to The Duwamish Tribe.
We will have opportunities for reflection, information on land stewardship, Indigenous solidarity, and Real Rent Duwamish as well as snacks to share. Please bring a lunch, water bottle, and any other items you will need for the day. You are invited to bring your favorite tools and gloves. Heron's Nest will have tools and gloves on site as well.
Please RSVP here, along with adding your accessibility needs.
A sweep, sometimes referred to by government agencies as a “clean up,” is the forced disbanding of encampments on public property and the removal of both unhoused individuals and their property from that area.
Practices may vary between cities as to how much advance notice individuals are given before the government comes to sweep their place of living and how personal belongings and property are seized and stored. Sweeps are costly and ineffective and make homelessness worse. The city often fails to properly store belongings collected from encampments and throws most of them away without storing them.
A lawsuit filed by ACLU-WA claims that the City of Seattle illegally seizes and destroys the homes and property of people who are unhoused without an opportunity to be heard or a meaningful way to reclaim any property that was not destroyed.
Join your local group to get involved and help prevent disruption to our communities. Be part of the fight against inhumane and unjust displacement:
Bellingham: HomesNOW!
Olympia: Just Housing
Seattle: Stop the Sweeps Seattle
Vancouver, BC: Stop the Sweeps
Upcoming events around the Salish Sea
The Heron’s Nest Landback Project: Outdoor Education & Restorative Justice Volunteer Land Stewardship Day
Every Monday, 10 am - 2 pm
”Work includes general landscaping, blackberry root removal, ivy and invasive species removal, new plantings, weeding, small building projects, and more! All ages activities, Gloves, tools, snacks, and drinks are available. Come as you are, feel free to bring what you like. On leash dogs welcome.”
Heron’s Nest, 4818 Puget Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106 (above the Duwamish longhouse)
Seattle Spoon Club
Every third Friday of the month, 6 - 9 pm
”A gathering of spoon enthusiasts in the Seattle area. Come join this wonderful community. We will have spoon blanks available, but we asked that you bring your own tools." More information on Instagram: @seattle_spoon_club (Instagram)
Seattle Spoon Club at Pratt Fine Arts Center, 1902 South Main St, Seattle, WA 98144
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Tracking Club (Duvall)
Sat Sep 30, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (please arrive by 8:45, carpools leave at 9:00 am)
“The mission of Tracking Club is to develop tracking skills for all ages, prepare adults to pass on tracking knowledge to youth, and to prepare children for a lifetime of learning about the natural world. You can never be sure what cast of characters we may be following: elk, otter, coyote, bobcat, bear, cougar, and more! At Tracking Club, participants are led by skillful naturalists into a world of mystery and intrigue that we call tracking.”
More information
Duvall Park & Ride, 16011 Main St NE, Duvall, WA 98019
Bellingham Carver's Guild
Sun Oct 1, 2023, 12:00 - 3:00 pm
“The Bellingham Carver’s Guild is a group of Green Woodworkers looking to socialize, craft, and learn! Come join us to work on a project, like a spoon, spatula, spreader, wood spirit, and more!”
More information
Chuckanut Center, 103 Chuckanut Dr N, Bellingham, WA 98225
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Tracking Club (Seattle)
Sat Oct 7, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (please arrive by 8:45)
“The mission of Tracking Club is to develop tracking skills for all ages, prepare adults to pass on tracking knowledge to youth, and to prepare children for a lifetime of learning about the natural world. You can never be sure what cast of characters we may be following: elk, otter, coyote, bobcat, bear, cougar, and more! At Tracking Club, participants are led by skillful naturalists into a world of mystery and intrigue that we call tracking.”
More information
Seward Park, Pottery Studio, 5900 Lake Washington Blvd S, Seattle, WA 98118
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Bird Language Club
Sun Oct 8, 8:00 – 11:00 am (please arrive by 7:45 to get oriented)
“Bird Language is an ancient interspecies communication system known to all our ancestors and still accessible to us today. To learn bird language is to tap into events occurring across entire landscapes, including which predators are present and where.”
More information
Riverview Wildlife Refuge, 2129 2nd St Snohomish, WA (meet at the entrance on 2nd street at the junction of Riverview Rd just west of the Route 9 overpass)
Rewild Salish Sea and Heron’s Nest honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Mon Oct 9, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
“The first 15 people to RSVP will be invited to slow down, listen, and tend this land in the service of Land Back to The Duwamish Tribe. We will have opportunities for reflection, information on land stewardship, Indigenous solidarity, and Real Rent Duwamish as well as snacks to share. Please bring a lunch, water bottle, and any other items you will need for the day. You are invited to bring your favorite tools and gloves. Heron's Nest will have tools and gloves on site as well.”
RSVP here, along with adding your accessibility needs.
Heron’s Nest Outdoor Education, 4818 15th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106
Sawhorse Revolution & LMN Architects invite you to Cocktails at the Shop
Wed Oct 11, 5:00 - 8:30 pm
“A fundraiser for youth skills & environmental justice education”
Fundraiser tickets
The Shop at LMN Architects, 723 1st Avenue, Seattle WA
Handmade Spoon Carving
Sun Oct 15, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
“It’s a wonderful feeling to cook and eat with utensils you’ve made yourself! In this introductory carving class, learn to make beautiful handmade wooden spoons from wood using a knife, axe, saw, and gouge.”
More information
Ravens Roots Naturalist School, 3577 Aldergrove Rd, Ferndale, WA 98248
Songs On Fire: A Song Circle Playshop
Thu Oct 19, 6:00 - 8:30 pm
“...a fun, monthly community song circle. We will sing together and play a few warm-up games to get our juices flowing. We believe in song as a doorway to the healing our ecosystems need. Come and cast song spells with us!”
Private residence (address provided upon RSVP), Duvall, WA
Cultivating Community: a retreat to nourish our ecological resilience
Sat Oct. 21, 1:00 - 5:00 pm
“... an afternoon of radical rest and play to find pathways of ecological belonging in our challenging times. Through mindfulness + embodiment practices, we will explore how to relate to ourselves and the Land in deeper ways. We will meet local plants, learn about ecological gardening, plant a food forest, and nourish ourselves with locally-grown foods and herbal teas.”
Tickets and more information
Dragonfly Farms, Duvall, WA
How To Build A Food Forest
Sun, Oct. 22, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
“We will learn the basics of ecological gardening, explore the “layers'' of fruiting plants that make up a food forest, and plant one together. Learn how to design and create a thriving plant community that feeds you in return. Stay afterward for a food forest potluck and work party (1-4pm)!”
Tickets and more information
The Duvall Food Forest, 26524 NE Cherry Valley Rd., Duvall, WA 98019
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Night Club
Fri Oct 27, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
“Night Club invites you to explore your relationship with darkness and light by practicing nature connection beyond the realm of day. Through games, discussion, modeling, art, sensory play, and more, you’ll experience astronomy, awareness, games & challenges, nocturnal critters, and campfire connection."
More information
Linne Doran Campus, Cedar Lodge, 20410 320th Ave NE, Duvall, WA, 98019
Grow A Medicinal Garden
Sat Oct. 28, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
“Learn the basics of growing your own medicine in the PNW. We will explore the benefits of planting medicinals in the home garden and learn how to choose plants for the right conditions—from roots to flowers. Includes a hands-on opportunity to plant a medicinal garden at the Duvall Food Forest.”
Tickets and more information
The Duvall Food Forest, 26524 NE Cherry Valley Rd., Duvall, WA 98019
Vashon Wilderness Project’s Ancestor Feast
Sat Oct 28, 4:00 - 7:00 pm
“You’re invited to bring food from your family or ancestral heritage, as well as pictures/objects that honor those in your life that have passed on. We’ll feast, sing, share stories, and celebrate our diverse lineages and connection to the nature of all beings.”
More information
14500 SW Camp Sealth Road, Vashon, WA 98070 (directions)
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Tracking Club (Duvall)
Sat Oct 28, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (please arrive by 8:45, carpools leave at 9:00 am)
“The mission of Tracking Club is to develop tracking skills for all ages, prepare adults to pass on tracking knowledge to youth, and to prepare children for a lifetime of learning about the natural world. You can never be sure what cast of characters we may be following: elk, otter, coyote, bobcat, bear, cougar, and more! At Tracking Club, participants are led by skillful naturalists into a world of mystery and intrigue that we call tracking.”
More information
Duvall Park & Ride, 16011 Main St NE, Duvall, WA 98019
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