The Season of Fall

Autumn is here - the autumnal equinox arrives, balancing day and night in perfect harmony, preparing us for the shorter days to come and the darkness of winter up ahead.

I've always loved the Fall, ever since I was a child growing up on Staten Island. From my window, the trees lining the street of Hamden Avenue would come alive in a riot of colors ranging from yellows to reds to oranges as the green chlorophyll of summer slowly ebbed away, revealing the true colors of the leaves in all their glory.

Seeing someone's "true colors" has always had mixed meanings for me - it could be that you're seeing the wolf underneath his sheepskin, or perhaps seeing someone for the first time, realizing the person you've known for so many years is actually a complete stranger. It could be that someone has finally stepped forth and shown their mettle - or that their actual motives for action have come to the forefront.

Did you know that the energy of a dragonfly is that of displaying one's true colors? Of showing the world who you really are inside, beneath the layers of emotional baggage and old tapes from old relationships?

There is a "clan" of dragonfly women at WytcheHaven - a group of brave souls who followed the lead of one and had dragonfly tattoos imprinted on their skin, as if saying to the world - Here I am, this is me - like it or leave.

What a perfect time of year to strip away the layers of false hopes, masks of expected behaviors and smiles of protection and reveal the true colors underneath, much as the leaves are doing now - now that the green chlorophyll that masked them for so many months is ebbing away.

What would you see in the mirror, if your chlorophyll of expectations and pretensions was stripped away? Would you like what you see? Would you recognize your own soul in the reflection?

I'm taking my cue from the leaves, and stripping away the layers to my true self, and my true purpose - and I'm planning on joining the Dragonfly Trybe at WytcheHaven come October, and proudly saying to the world - This is me - these are my true colors.