An Intentional Equinox Gathering + Fall Tablescape with Bloomist
In partnership with Bloomist
I am a lover of nature and the transitions from one season to the next are sacred to me. Rather than celebrate hallmark holidays, I elect to root into each seasonal transition by observing the natural phenomena that occur at the change of seasons. I use the changes in nature as cues to reflect inward and discover bits of personal wisdom that aid in navigating my own seasons in life. For example a predominant theme of autumn is senescence, the phase in aging where the physical form wanes. I observe nature’s process of aging and gracefully letting go, then dive into those concepts and unearth ways to embrace the season of senescence within myself, my relationships, and my work. This is how I continually work to rewild myself.
The eight seasonal transition days (on the Wheel of the Year) serve as my holidays, and I celebrate them through gathering in community (with my Rewilding Club), nourishing myself with seasonal food, and engaging in meaningful quandary and dialog. Sometimes I keep these seasonal celebrations low-key by spending the day at home with my husband. Other times I love dressing up, hosting a dinner party featuring a seasonal menu, and cultivating intentional nature-conversation with my friends and family.
This autumn equinox and the current happenings in nature serve as my inspiration for hosting this intentional equinox dinner party. Someday soon I hope to host an in-person gathering like this for you. Until then, know that you have a seat at my virtual table in the Rewilding Club where we explore the realms where nature meets personal growth as a community.
Today I’m sharing a behind the scenes look at how I create these intimate seasonal gatherings with the intention of providing inspiration and tips so you can recreate a similar experience in your home. In partnership with Bloomist, I’ve curated a beautiful tablescape that sets the stage for intentional conversations shared over an autumn meal.
An Autumn Tablescape with Bloomist
September is the season when verdant greens give way to dried golds, blush, and tones of russet. I love the color story and textures that surround me at summer’s end. It’s a visual symbol for how beautiful the aging process can be. I wanted to bring that color story and seasonal symbolism into my home for my Fall Equinox intentional dinner party. With the help of Bloomist I gathered the vessels and a few of their gorgeous dried botanicals to make it possible. I’m obsessed with their stone flower frog and stone vase; they make any scene look so organic. The tall ikebana vase acts as the perfect focal point filled with pink dried heather, purple majesty millet, cream globe amaranth, showy banksia blooms, and nigella pods.
In preparation for the dinner I meditatively craft the delicate flower arrangements, gently placing and rearranging the botanicals until it feels just right. I’m not a professional, I just let my creativity and intuition lead the way. It’s simultaneously playful and mindful - a perfect way to prepare for an intentional equinox dinner party.
This autumn table comes together with fading vines clipped from my yard, a few relics of gnarled wood collected on a hike long ago, simple tea candles, and my kitchenware. Bloomist recently launched a gorgeous new kitchen collection filled with stunning artisan-made textiles, utensils, and utility pieces. I’m swooning over every single item! In line with my (and Bloomist’s) aesthetic and values, I keep my table setting organic and minimal so the focus remains on the energy of the communal dining experience. It has to look good and feel good too.
Each of the natural elements on my table are sourced and styled with care to communicate the underlying themes of the season that we’ll be discussing over dinner. I chose vines that are withering to reflect the physical from deteriorating. I chose gnarled wood to show age. I selected dark florals to contrast the light vessels and table. The florals are dried, because many of the plants in nature are drying up in this season. As always, I stage a blank piece of natural paper and a pencil with each place setting so guests can write down their insights then take them home in tangible form.
The Meal
A deep green lentil stew with shiitake mushrooms and gold potatoes features the flavors and colors of the season. It’s an earthy, heart-warming meal that combines harvest ingredients from the farm at summer’s end and autumn’s beginning. Paired with a fresh loaf of rustic sourdough and a mineral-rich dry white wine, it’s a beautiful meal easily whipped up any day of the week in autumn. This vegan stew has a depth of flavor and richness that sustains well into the evening through all of the yummy conversation to be had.
Intentional Seasonal Dialog
Conversation throughout the meal is best when it flows organically - full of laughs, considered, thought, questions to connect, statements of validation, and above all, personal stories. At these seasonal dinners I like to facilitate meaningful conversation that enriches dialog within the context of why we’re gathering. I do this by considering the themes of the season in advance and formulating a few questions centered around those topics. At this dinner party we’ll be exploring the themes of senescence and balance.
Senescence
The phenomenon of senescence is one of the most predominant themes during Autumn. Plants are cued to dry up, drop their seeds, and revert their energy downward into their roots. The physical body above ground deteriorates or goes dormant. In fall, animals are foraging, mating, and preparing their nests for winter. Their survival depends on building an abundance of preserves to sustain themselves during the dark months ahead. Nature is letting go and releasing her grip on active physical growth; she’s turning her attention to resting, nesting, ensuring a generation of tomorrow, and preparing for her final task - death. She is deteriorating and passing away. It is beautiful.
The phenomena of aging and moving towards death is a universal truth none can deny. There are many threads to pull just from this one topic and that’s why I love conversing in this way. Everyone inevitably presents unique perspectives and insights on these concepts rooted in nature’s happenings.
The season of senescence prompts us to explore ways we can embrace aging within ourselves. How do we understand beauty, experience, and wisdom within the context of aging? It also prompts us to consider what aspects of ourselves, relationships, or work we need to release and allow to die. Perhaps we (or someone close to us) is going through a season of senescence. It could be manifesting physically, in a relationship, or it could be occurring in an identity or spiritual change. How can we bring awareness and empathy to this experience? How can we embrace this natural stage in the life cycle?
Balance
Another theme that crops up around the Autumnal Equinox is the notion of balance. On the equinox days, day and night are equal around the globe, so the energetics of this season are rooted in duality and the balance that opposing forces create. This is a time to unite the outer-world and inner world, subconscious and conscious, intuition and action. As the natural world declines into darkness and death, the autumn equinox is a time to delve deep into our inner landscapes and prepare to rest, nest, and hibernate. This concept offers great conversation to open up the dialog about the notion of balance. Is balance achievable? How do we define balance in our lives? What do we need to do to unify our intuition with our actions? How can we adjust our daily or weekly routine to make more time for rest in order to counter-balance a rushed experience?
Regardless of the season or the seasonal themes, we can always use the shifts in nature as inspiration to curate meaningful dialog around our belief systems, cultural norms, and life perspectives. As you can tell, there are many ways an intentional dinner inspired by the seasons can nourish us. On this autumn equinox, I implore you to explore these topics with intentionality for yourself. Better yet, explore it with trusted friends and family members to connect deeper with one another. I assure you that experiences like this facilitate vulnerability and deep authentic connection - with our wild selves, with our earth, and with our community.
Deep Green Lentil + Potato Stew with Shiitake Mushrooms
Prep Time 25 mins
Cook Time 35 mins
Total Time 1 hr
Servings: 4-5
Equipment: Blender + heavy bottomed soup pot
Garnish
½ cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
Stew
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for serving
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
½ lb small shiitake mushrooms
1 lb yukon gold potatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 cup green lentils, rinsed
4 cups vegetable stock, plus extra to thin if necessary
½ cup dry white wine
3 cups baby spinach
½ cup packed flat leaf parsley, chopped, plus extra for serving
½ cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped, plus extra for serving
Juice of ½ a lemon, plus extra for serving
1 teaspoon tamari soy sauce
Instructions
Make garnishIn a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest and garlic, Stir to mix and set aside.
Heat a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the oil to the pot. Add the onions and celery to the pot. Saute the onions and celery until very soft and slightly browned.
Add the mushrooms, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper to the pot and stir. Cook for a few minutes to allow the moisture in the mushrooms to cook down.
Add the potatoes and lentils to the pot and stir. Add the white wine and the vegetable stock to the pot and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. The mushrooms will rehydrate with the flavors of the pot.
Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer stew with the lid on for 25 minutes, or until the lentils and potatoes are both tender.
Add the spinach, parsley, and basil to the pot. Stir until the spinach wilts.
Carefully ladle half of the stew into an upright, vented blender. Blend until the stew is totally smooth. You may need to add a little vegetable stock to get it moving.
Scrape the blended stew back into the pot and bring the now unified stew up to a boil. Squeeze in the lemon juice, add the Tamari, stir, and then taste the stew.
Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
Serve the deep green lentil stew hot with the garnish on top.
Necessary Objects
