Ashes and Earth; An Autumn Ritual for Grounding and Gratitude

The Autumn Equinox is a sacred invitation — but not a fixed appointment. The ritual included in this blog post can be practiced whenever you feel the energetic shift from summer’s outward momentum to autumn’s inward pull. That transition might come with the first chill in the air, or when you begin to see the fruits of your labor ripen. It might arrive as a subtle nudge, a sense that a cycle is closing, and the next step is integrating what you have learned within solitude and stillness.

The visible changes in the natural world around us— golden leaves, longer shadows, cooler mornings — mirrors the internal shift we’re being invited to honor. This is a time to pause and reflect. To hold deep gratitude for the efforts you’ve made this year. To celebrate the wins, preserve the habits and choices that supported your growth, and surrender what hinders your progress to the ashes and earth for purification and transmutation.

This ritual is not about perfection. It’s about presence. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or simply feeling called to mark the moment, let this be a guide you shape to your own personalized practice of grounding into a new season with gratitude.

Ritual Theme: Reaping, Reflecting, Rooting

This equinox inspired ritual invites you to:

• Celebrate the growth and lessons of the past year
• Release outdated dreams, fears, and failures with reverence
• Ground your energy into the Earth as the season shifts inward

Suggested Ritual Tools

• Fire-safe bowl or cauldron
• Dried herbs for smoke: lavender leaves or cedar
• Small papers - to write out your hopes, fears, dreams, or failures
• A handful of soil or sand - salt will also work in a pinch
• A grounding crystal - smoky quartz or black tourmaline

Optional: Reiki symbols, essential oils (see below), soft music or chimes

Ritual Steps

1. Cleanse & Prepare: Begin by energetically cleansing the space you will be using during this time of reflection. You might wash your front door with cedar infused water to invite grounding energy or smudge with dried lavender to encourage loving empowerment.

Set up your tools in a way that is easiest for you to work with and light a candle to mark the beginning of the session.

This step is where you can get creative! I offer some examples of elements I have used time and again with success, so let them inspire you.

Above all else - follow your intuition, and work with the type of elementals that resonates with the outcome you desire or that you just know will add a boost of vibrational medicine required.

2. Reflect & Write: Jot down the dreams you chased, the fears you faced, and the failures that taught you. Write each situation, goal, relationship or hopes on torn pieces of paper. These represent the seeds of your soul that you are now looking to harvest with gratitude. Honor them, and be honest about how you participated in the outcome of any given situation or relationship as you write each of them down.

3. Burn & Release: Burn each paper separately in your bowl. As the smoke rises, imagine, know and feel the energy of transmutation. Whisper words of gratitude for each experience and all it had to show you. You may trace Reiki symbols (like the Reiki Sandwich) over the ashes to enhance the process and experience.

4. Ground and Purify with Earth: Mix the cooled ashes with soil or sand. As you mix the blend with your hands and fingers, hold the intention of purification and release. Image, feel or know that any residual non-contributing ties, attachments or debris peacefully detach from your subtle energetic bodies and become absorbed by the ash and earth.

5. Anchor with a Crystalline Allie: Place your grounding crystal atop the ash-earth blend. Let it stabilize the energy over the course of 24-72 hours.

6. Close with Reiki or Meditation: Close this ritual time with a few minutes of a Reiki self-treatment, breathwork routine, or other form of meditation. I love to do a visualization technique I call " I am a Tree and Light".

Side Note: Keep your ritual bowl secured in your sacred work room, alter or somewhere it will not be disturbed in the time between the end of the ritual and disposal. When you feel guided - you can bury the earth ash blend, add it to a firepit/bonfire, or release it to a flowing water source for added emotional purification. Please make sure these disposal sites will not interfere with your neighbors or the public.

Elemental Allies to Enhance the Experience

These vibrational medicine additions are optional but I wanted to include the reasons behind the chosen remedies I highlight in this blog;

Fire: Burning the small notes of paper initiates the transmutation, purification, and release process.

Air: Lavender smoke is used to clear the air ( and subtle bodies) of any energy or attachment that does not align with loving power, emotional clarity, and self-empowerment. Cedar will harmonize the heart center, cleanse + ground the biofield and purify the air.

Earth: Sand and soil is the perfect physical element used for purification and transmutation. Burying the ash and earth blend not only recycles the physical debris, but also uses the conditions of darkness and stillness to purify and transform non-contributing energetic debris.

Crystals: Smoky Quartz amplifies grounding, protection, dissipating of negativity. Black tourmaline is also a great crystalline ally for this ritual, and would add some power deflection properties - adding an extra layer of spiritual protection and alignment to an higher outcome void of interference.

Essential Oils: Sweet Orange opens the circulatory system and increased the energetic alignment to emotions like joy, optimism, mindset shifting. Sweet Orange is also very grounding to the scattered mind and subtle body. For those who are looking for added vibrational medicine for spiritual wounds, Benzoin is a beautiful option that brings calm to the nervous system and brings in feelings of gratitude.

Affirmations to Shift Mindset - Inspiration for Your September Ritual and Mindset Homework

Release & Transmutation

• “I release what no longer serves me with grace and gratitude.”
• “I surrender outdated energy into the Earth for purification and renewal.”
• “I detach from all non-contributing patterns with peace and clarity.”
• “I allow the ashes of my past to nourish the roots of my future.”

Gratitude & Prosperous Harvest

• “I honor the journey that brought me here — every lesson, every blessing - especially those in disguise.”
• “I celebrate the fruits of my labor and recognize my personal growth.”
• “I am grateful for the wisdom gained through challenge and change.”
• “I preserve the choices that uplift me and release those that dim my light.”

 Empowerment & Forward Movement

• “I move forward with grounded confidence and trusting in my intuitive clarity.”
• “I trust my inner rhythm and honor my energetic needs.”
• “I am empowered by inner knowing of what is right for me and feel aligned with my purpose.”
• “I walk into the next season with devotion, discernment, and divine support.”

Closing Reflections

We each learn our own ebb and flow — the rhythm of our personal energy signature, the pulse of Mother Nature, and the weight of collective expectations. Devotion to your energetic hygiene and seasonal deep dives isn’t just spiritual maintenance — it’s the foundation of a successful, inspired lifestyle.

Consistency in practice demonstrates your commitment and affects your progress toward your goals. Good and bad. Your commitment to your daily and seasonal energetic ritual is not just a moment — it’s a mirror. It reflects your growth, your alignment, and your willingness to keep peeling back the metaphoric layers of the onion in your personal and spiritual development.

So express gratitude. Celebrate your wins. Release perceived failures with grace. And root yourself in the wisdom that you are always evolving — always becoming more and more of your truest expression and essence.

Are you looking for a more meaningful journaling experience? I curated some guided experiences that support those independent learners, reiki practitioners and those interested in diving deeply into their energy and psychic senses. Find the right fit for your journey right now here: