Circle-of-Life Teachings | Autumn Equinox, Yucca

Yuccas historically carry symbolism in many cultures, notably for their enduring strength, resilience, protection, and purification.

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

A midafternoon rainstorm was a gentle nudge from the universe to clean out my patio and start bringing a few plants back indoors for the season with the cooler temps arriving in Colorado. I had been dreading throwing out two beautiful yucca plants that did not last; they (like us) needed more of the Earth to fully take root.

More accurately, these infamous drought resistant yuccas were drenched in too much snowmelt this spring without an adequate drainage system. For months on end, I couldn’t bear to return these sacred yuccas back to the Earth, as they were a memorial of a beloved horse of the same namesake who had transitioned to Spirit last summer.

The yuccas’ previously vibrant green leaves now dried golden-yellow, carried a new resonance, a marker of time, a reminder of the transitory nature of life’s impermanence. I debated saving the leaves to weave into a new art piece or canvas, yet nothing felt it could capture the sentiment of the gallant horse’s imprint on my heart.

With wind gusts picking up, it finally dawned on me. I had to look at where I was like the yuccas; previously drowning in grief and in a standstill, longing to plant roots. It was time to “let, go” on a deeper soul level. It was time to start joyfully living again, back in sync with the determination, knowingness, and ease of the remarkable thoroughbred’s most memorable cantor. In light of this Autumn Equinox, may we open our hearts to honor the transformational season, sacred partnerships, the interconnectedness of being, and all that lies true within.