This is one of my favorite times of the year– a time that I feel close to the earth and celebrate the changing seasons. Michaelmas is a highlight.

I learned of Michaelmas from the Waldorf schools that my children attended. They present an assembly dedicated to the enactment of the taming of the dragon by St. Michael the victorious with a real horse and rider. There are also sword and flag dancers and a lot of red clothing being worn (as red is the color of courage). The magical celebration ends with the eating of a loaf of dragon-shaped bread.

The dragon represents our shadow parts that we want to kill, but the idea is that we identify in ourselves that which we want to fight. Instead of killing, we strive to tame the dragon in order to move forward more consciously and with new found freedoms.

Sometime in mid-August (it coincides with my annual painting and camping retreat), we are gifted with a splendid meteor shower in the night sky. The Perseid meteor shower rains iron down into our blood to give us the courage we need to face our own inner dragons.

Bio-Dynamic Harmonizing Spray

This is also the time that I come together in community to prepare a biodynamic spray that take 6 weeks to ferment called the Harmonizing preparation. It is one that is offered to the elemental beings on Michaelmas by stirring the mixture for one hour and then walking around the property to apply the droplets on the land and on the trees/plants/flowers. It includes grape juice, the whites of hens eggs, honey, salt, sunflower oil, raw milk and wheat groats in specific measurements.