Circle up, fellow Commoners - we are sharing ALL the details of our Autumn Equinox Tea Ceremony & Foraging Walk. Why spill the tea? We want you to be able to hold your own ceremonial walks, and deepen your connection with the earth and others.
Gather your friends, try it out, and tell us what you think!
Overarching goal: honor the blossoms and fruits of the summer & what we’re rooting into in the fall.
On the day of the autumn equinox, Sarah Naciri , Nicole Cormier, and CommonsKeepers co-founders Elspeth and Jaye gathered with everyone in the parking lot. As we sipped tea that Nicole had brought, we introduced ourselves with names and one word to describe how we were feeling. (You could pick a fun prompt or ice breaker to do with your friends when you arrive. )
On our way to a good spot, we picked cranberries and other plants and flowers that called to us. Once we found a good gathering spot, we placed petals and plants on a woven mat as an altar to the space and intentions of the gathering. We put a pot on to simmer and added both foraged and brought ingredients.
Some of the ingredients included freshly dug roots from Nicole’s garden and Sarah’s garden—echinacea and marshmallow roots to honor the energy going back down into the roots. It also included leaves and blossoms that are still hanging on in the late summer/early fall garden, such as tulsi, echinacea, calendula, anise hyssop. Fruits and berries that were collected through the summer and either dried or frozen for preservation were also brought: blueberries, rose hips, chokecherries, and elderberries.
People brought notebooks and mugs and we circled up to reflect on these four prompts from Nicole:
What ripened in you this summer? What grew, opened, strengthened, or surprised you?
What are you ready to harvest and carry forward? What experience, relationship, lesson, or practice feels nourishing enough to bring with you into the fall?
What can return to the earth? As the plants begin releasing leaves and seeds, what are you ready to compost, release, or stop tending?
What do you want to root into this fall? As energy begins moving inward, what deserves your attention, protection, or deeper nourishment?
Feel free to adapt this tea ceremony to best serve you and your personal goals and intentions, and to share your experiences with us. We are so grateful to Sarah and Nicole for the energy, expertise, and guidance they brought to this walk. And, always, make sure you have the tools and resources to ensure you are consuming safe plants if you do include self-foraged ingredients into something you’re eating.
