Lesson 4 of 7
As Above, So Below
The heavens, the earth and our own bodies reflect one another.
Genesis 1:14
For signs, and for seasons
Modern life asks us to live the same way every day of the year. The land never does.
The turning of the year
Harvest, gratitude, letting go
We mark each season together with potlucks, bonfires and ceremony.
This week
Go out and find the moon
Each evening, note its shape and where it sits in the sky.
The order of the heavens, the order of the earth and the order of our own bodies reflect one another. The old mystery schools expressed this in a short phrase: as above, so below. When we learn the rhythms of the sky and the seasons, we begin to understand our own.
Scripture tells us the lights in the sky were made “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Genesis 1:14). And the Preacher reminds us: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Modern life asks us to live the same way every day of the year. The land never does.
The turning of the year
We mark the seasons together with potlucks, bonfires and ceremony. Each season carries its own teaching:
- Spring: new beginnings, planting, hope
- Summer: growth, abundance, the fullness of light
- Autumn: harvest, gratitude, letting go
- Winter: rest, stillness, the light born in the darkness
Whatever season you begin this course in, let it be your teacher. The dark half of the year, for example, is a time for turning inward, for rest, and for tending the inner flame, much as we tend the fire in the circle.
The night sky
Stargazing is one of our oldest practices. The same stars our ancestors used to plant, travel and pray still turn above us each night. Learning a few constellations is like learning the faces of old friends. You can explore the sky with our interactive star map.
On the land: watching the sky
Each evening this week, go outside and find the moon. Note its shape and where it sits in the sky. On a clear night, find one constellation. On autumn and winter evenings, Orion rises in the east and is easy to spot by the three stars of his belt.
In your journal
How does the season we are in right now feel in your body and your mood? What would it look like to live a little more in step with it?
Bring to the circle
What you noticed about the moon this week, and one thing you would like to let go of, or rest from, this season.
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