Balance, Roots & Ancestral Flow: Honoring the Autumn Equinox

In this episode of Sh8peshift Your Life, we align with the Autumn Equinox and the Yoruba New Year, a sacred time to honor balance, surrender, and ancestral wisdom. Your host takes us deeper into the story of Oye Polu, reminding us of the power in returning to our roots and trusting the guidance of those who walked before us. Together we explore how to celebrate our harvest—our wins, our lessons, our growth—while feeding our bodies with seasonal foods and strengthening our communities for the journey ahead. Tap in for ritual, reflection, and realignment as we welcome the shift into f

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the New Format
• 4:39 Understanding the Yoruba New Year
• 13:39 The Significance of Autumn Equinox
• 19:41 Celebrating Harvest and Community
• 23:26 Preparing for the Future

Transcript

Sh8peShift YourLife (00: 0:00

53) Welcome back, Shapeshifters, to another amazing episode of the Shapeshifter Life podcast. It's been a while. I know it took me a long time to edit the last episode and I did some summer travels and I'm shifting to a new format where I'm now going to be coming to you twice a month instead of every week. So thank you so much for your patience and understanding. So let's get into it. Today's episode is all about balance, harvest, and ancestral veneration. Now, if you know anything about me, you know that this is my favorite time of year. You also know that here at ShapeShift Your Life, we work with the seasons. We work with the benefits of the universe. We are not trying to go against the universe. We're trying to align. to receive the blessings, the boost, the optimization, if you will, right? If your body is a vessel and you are living in this ecosystem, then being able to optimize your vessel with the ebb and flow of the universe is just gonna make your life easier. So why add more difficulty when you can just add more ease? So where are we in this moment? It is 2025. two plus zero plus two plus five equals the number nine. Nine represents the signature of this year in the Gregorian tradition because we know that we are in this world but not of this world. So even though we come from many other calendars, there's the Ethiopian calendar, there's the Yoruba calendar, there's the Chinese calendar, right? many cultures have their own calendar, which are far longer than the Gregorian calendar, that we are still living under the frequency of the Gregorian calendar, if you will. And so that adds up to the number nine. Nine in numerology represents death and rebirth. And so the invitation during a nine years when we have opportunities and we have challenges, we get to tell the universe what is ready to be reborn or to be birthed and what are we ready to let go of? What are we ready to compost? What are we ready to allow to die? So this entire year, when seeming opportunities and challenges come up within our own lives, they're an invitation for us to tell the universe what we're ready to receive more of and what we are ready to let go. And we can see this very clearly in our governmental system and our political climate. We can see it in our personal relationships. We can see it in our finances. We can see it in our career. We can see it in health challenges that we're experiencing. What are we ready to bring more in? What's working, It's almost like reverse hacking. That's why I call this work lifestyle design. many times we think that when things come up in life that it's like, my God, I haven't learned this lesson because we see something emerging that we're definitely ready to let go of. Maybe we thought we put it to rest and maybe it's popping up again. And there's no need to be alarmed. These are just invitations, opportunities for you to take that final exam, if you will. The final exam of your own highest good, your highest purpose with the universe and say, you know what? I learned that lesson, yeah, I see you popping up. And like I said, I don't need any more of this or I see this coming because I want even more of it. So that's 2025 as a whole. Also, we are in now the Yoruba New Year. Now I did not do an episode on the Yoruba New Year, but we celebrated the Yoruba New Year at the second week of June where priests from all throughout Yoruba land went to the sacred city of Ile Ife and they come together to perform a divination. In that divination we consult our oracle, which we call Odu. and Odoo represents a feminine principle that basically holds the divine matrix of all life. There are 256 paths, 256 walks, 256 models, if you will, that our ancient oracle created over 10,067 years ago because that is the current year in the Yoruba calendar. And in that, it's an invitation for all of those who are devotees of Ifa to receive the divine messages to support us in how we want to navigate in our new year. So the Odu that fell for this year, the year that began in June, which we're still in remember, is called Oturupon Meji. Meji means two. it's magnified, it's intense. It's like the real, real, the for real, for real, you know, when you have to say something twice, And there are many, many messages in that Odu There are many warnings. There are many stories and wisdoms that we can glean to support us and how we want to move forward. And there's one I want to share with you. And this was shared with me by my teacher, my Oluwo Baba Ajisafi. the story of a young man named Oye Polu. When Oye Polu was a young man. And he found himself at a crossroads. He was not in the employment that felt like it was aligned with his purpose. He was seeking new partnership. an opportunity for spiritual grounding. He just was kind of feeling unfulfilled in life, And so Oye Pulu went to a Babalawo a trained priest, and said, look, I'm not seeing the appearances of how I really want to live. And so the Babalawo said, You need to go to the sacred burial ground of your family and and bring offerings And this was very significant because Oye Pulu actually came from a lineage of divine priests that his parents were high priests and unfortunately Oye Pulu had been orphaned and he was no longer connected to his parents he had become disconnected from his bloodline. And so him going to the ancestral cemetery of his people was a way for him to reconnect with that lineage. materials. So Oye Pulu set off, he gathered all of his offerings and he set off to the ancestral burial ground of his forefathers and foremothers. And he laid all of the materials out in front of him. And as he began to start to honor them, he realized, I don't actually know what I'm doing. I don't know how to pray. I don't know the special song. Is there a special chant I'm supposed to do? Do I give them food first? Do I give them drink first? He realized that he had been so disconnected from his ancestors, so disconnected from the lineage of his bloodline, so disconnected from his own spiritual awareness that he didn't have the skill set, the guidance. of what the protocol was, what the order of operations was. And so Oye Pulu cast his head up to the heavens and he just asked for help. He just asked Olodumare he just asked Spirit, help me, guide me, show me the way, show me what it is that I'm supposed to do right now. Guide me in moving forward with this ritual because I'm ready to connect with my people. I'm ready to change and transform my life. And so Oye Pulu listened to the messages that he was given and he proceeded to complete the ritual. And when he went back to the Babalawo the Babalawo, and he said, look, I did everything. I don't really know if I know what I was doing, if it was right, if I had the order right, but you know, I just, I humbled myself. I surrendered. I did the best that I could. the Babalawo told him not to worry that his offering had been accepted. with full support of his ancestors. And soon after, Oyepolu bit by bit started to see his life change. He started to see his career opportunities open up. He found himself in a loving relationship. He was able to cultivate land and receive more financial blessings. He started a family and all of a sudden his life was transformed by being obedient. One, to the message of Ifa which told him, to go out and to honor his ancestors and also to be humble and surrender enough to say, hey, I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm going to go anyway, He had the intention. So I want you to follow me here. I know I'm going off to different timelines and different years, but I promise you I'm gonna put a bow on this. So when we think about the significance of this story, when we think about the fact that our ancestors had maintained a uninterrupted. pattern and pace for 10,067 years to give messages to its people, to support them during these times. What do we learn from this story? Then in many ways, the story of Oye Pulu is the story of many of us living in the African diaspora, that many of us are the inheritors of sacred lineages, whether we were priests, we were blacksmiths, we were builders, we were farmers, And although we may know a couple generations, four or five generations back, you know, if we keep going, we kind of lose track of where we actually came from. And Spirit wants us to know, Ifa wants us to know this year that even if you don't know who you came from, that you came from a spiritual inheritance of power. And particularly in this story of Oyepolu, his parents were priests, so there was a spiritual power and lineage that he was connected to. and that it was through the honoring of his lineage, Through the honoring of his ancestors and being obedient. enough to say I'm going to take this pilgrimage, I'm going to bring items and offerings and I'm going to pray and sit and eat and drink with them and fellowship with them even if I don't know the order of operations, even if I don't know what to do. And that intention of a pure heart, of his Iwa of his character was enough for him to fulfill his destiny and receive all of the blessings that he had wished for in life, But the key of this story is he didn't know what to do, And how many of us are sitting in a place right now And we're looking at our life and our life is not maybe matching up to what we know it should be. Maybe there's a deep calling within you that says, I know that there's a grander purpose for me. And we're seeking counsel and counsel is telling us to go back to the root, go back to the earth, The earth that birthed us, that in that earth, there's ancestral wisdom. And in that ancestral wisdom, having the ability to surrender and throw our hands up because surrender is powerful, We're all taught that to surrender is to be weak, but surrendering, when you get to that moment where you throw your hands up and they say, look, I'm not in control anymore, And that's what the dominant paradigm is always seeking to do, is to think that we are controlling everything. We can control the weather, we can control food, we can control humans, we can control entire nations, But it's the power of surrender to say, you know what, I'm gonna let go and I'm gonna let God. because I know that there is another force that is at play here. And when I tap into that force, even if I can't see it with my own physical eye, I come from a lineage. I come from something, I don't have to know to receive. That is the story of Oye Pulu. That is the story that your ancestors want you to remember when you're looking at the news, when you're looking at your bank account, when you're looking at the world, when you're looking at war, when you're looking at the government. They're saying you don't have to know. It's through your surrender and it's through your intention to stay connected to who you are at the root and that that will be enough. not just to live, not just to survive, but to fulfill your divine purpose, to fulfill your divine destiny, to receive all that it is that you're seeking. And that was just one of many messages, but that story keeps sitting with me as we are now navigating this time of year, Where we're coming out of our summer celebrated on June 21st. June 21st, I did a whole solstice event in the Bay Area and I also did a whole episode about it And now we are coming out of that season This Sunday, September 21st marks the beginning of autumn. It marks the change where we are moving from the sun being at its highest place, everything coming to light. To now where the days are starting to get shorter, the nights are starting to balance out and the day and night is equal. We're reaching the time of year of Ma'at, of divine balance, of the reset. This is the time where farmers who have been planting now they're starting to harvest. And they're saying, What is it that we're ready to harvest? What is it that we're ready to remember? Doesn't mean that we don't have health goals and we're not trying to improve. But we're here. And so this is a sacred moment to remember, to reset, To do everything with the word re in front of it, realign, reimagine, revision. This place of equilibrium where we get to harvest the messages of our ancestors. the wisdoms, the insights, and the work that we've done all year. Again, we still have that energetic of the nine, the rebirth and the death. So whatever it is that you're ready to harvest, You don't have to know everything. You have to know what you know right now to come forth, to step up, Because Oye Pulu stepped up. Showing up is half the battle. Showing up with a clear mind, with a clear intention, with an open heart, being able to surrender, to call on the power of our ancestors. And it's so beautiful as I'm recording this episode in Mexico, a time where we're getting ready to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, a time. where people literally go out to the graveyards, go out to the cemeteries of their loved ones and they bring food and they bring drink and they bring song and they fellowship and bring prayer, So we can see this indigenous wisdom between both cultures of the Yoruba people, as well as the indigenous people of this land, Muertos predates colonization in this country. But we see the similarity. We see this even in our Gede tradition of our Haitian brothers and sisters, that this is a time where we come together to honor the dead. So this is a time where we want to build our ancestor altars. If you have an altar, I would say refresh it. If you don't have an altar, it's a time to set one up. A very simple altar is a clean piece of white fabric. You can place it on the floor, on a shelf, in a corner. A white candle, a vessel of water. and pictures of your loved ones. If you know the names of your loved ones, I would invite you all to do some genealogy work and see how far you can trace the mothers and fathers of your mothers and fathers of your mothers and fathers to be able to chant the names of those that came before us, to chant the names of the dead. This is a time to bring them food, bring them drink, bring them the things that your ancestors loved, Even if you don't know them personally. There's cultural foods, This is a time where you can talk to the elders in your family and to start collecting those stories of wisdom about their parents I know that there's some of you listening who may become from an adopted family. Some of us don't know, people don't know their mothers and fathers. Some people have just a lot of family trauma, but you still can go beyond your family trauma. And one simple phrase is, give thanks and praise to my revered ancestors, those names that I know and those names that I don't know. But take some time. to step up your ancestor veneration, a time where you're in an intentional reverence of that. area of your home. can add fresh flowers. You can play music. You can tell stories. This is something that if you have children that you should definitely be engaging your children in. These are the types of lessons that are bigger than any math lesson, any grade that your child can get in class. We need to be teaching our children these spiritual rituals and ceremonies so they can have when they leave your household, This is how you raise expansive humans that are able to navigate the times of the world, When all life is in transition and in turmoil, it is our ancestors that we can stand on. It is them and their prayers that have come before us that allow us to stand in the seats. that we occupy at this time. So this is a time where The veil is thinning between those of us who are in the realm of the living and in the realm of the ancestors, in the realm of the dead. And it is Western civilization that teaches us this notion of ghosts and goblins and zombies and horror films, It's no coincidence that this same time of year, Western culture wants to teach you ghosts and goblins and being scared. But it is the indigenous people all over the world that say, don't be afraid of who you are. Don't be afraid of your ancestors. So this is the season for that. So that is one thing that you can take away from this is to step up your ancestral veneration, to take some time and to harvest. Many of us are living the life right now that we prayed for years ago. And we're so focused on where we're trying to go next. We can't even take the time to just celebrate that. This is a time of celebration. to bring some loved ones together, to pour some libation and give a toast and to say, yeah, I did that shit. Yeah, this is who I am. Yeah, this is what I got. Yes, it doesn't mean that we're not striving for more, but we want to take this season and take this time to celebrate. Also, as we're shifting into this season of autumn, this season of the fall, our diet has to shift, I'm a big believer in eating with the seasons. One of the things that Western culture has done is it disconnects us from eating the food that is growing in your area. One way to know what's growing in your area is to go to farmers markets because farmers markets are going to bring local farmers together that are growing food in your region. But when you go to these big box grocery stores, they're bringing in pineapples and mangoes and coconuts and If you don't live in a tropical area, although that food might be delicious, it's imported, And we know that our bodies actually do better when we're eating the food that grows in the regions that our bodies are located in So now we're moving more into our root vegetables, our sweet potatoes, our beets, our turnips, having more soups, more broths. This is a time to get into slow cooking, vegetables that are also going to ground Also building in our teas, Identify some fall herbs in your area that you resonate with start working with this herb. Also, our movement practice maybe needs to shift. Maybe your workouts are now indoors. Maybe you're adding more stretching, more slowing down even your skincare, maybe you're adding more moisture to your skin, moisture to your body. You're hydrating, Really take the time and think about from my mind, body, and spirit, what are all the ways that I'm realigning, reassessing, and resetting my spirit for this new time. So it's time for us to slow down. And as we realign, We want to be the most optimized vessel because the world is going to keep being the world. Military takeovers and assassinations. We can't change what's happening outside, but you have full 100 % agency over your physical body, over your mindset, right? So here's where we want to start those reflection prompts. We want to start reflecting on the harvest and think about what is a mantra that is going to support you. Invite people over. Go out and commune with each other. There's healing that we do alone, and there's healing that we have to do in community. So get with your community, like-minded people, I have a small circle and that's okay, but they're a mighty small circle. They're dedicated. They believe in me. I believe in them. I don't have to wear a mask. I'm fully my authentic self around these individuals. So you want to gather with people who see you and you want to be able to celebrate your harvests and accomplishments together and hold each other accountable. And the people who are like kind of hanging on, but they're not a value add. They gotta go. Nobody has time for humans that are not a value add. And I would even argue that people who are not a value add in your life, not only are they a waste of time, they're dangerous. Because We are living in a world where the stakes are high and you can't afford to have fake friends energetic vampires, who only want to hang around you for what they can gain, but aren't bringing value back into your life. We want reciprocal relationships in 2025 and beyond. the reason why we want to set ourselves up for success this season is because after the season, we're going to be in the winter where things get even slower. And in the Gregorian calendar, even though we'll still be under the messages of the Yoruba New Year, we'll be moving into 2026. 2026 represents the number one. One is a new beginning. That's how numerology works. You go from one to nine and you start over just like it takes nine months to have a baby, nine months to birth a new vision. So this is our third quarter opportunity to clean house, to harvest, to deepen our relationships with our ancestors, to surrender, to know that we don't have to know anything. in order to receive everything. Let me say that again. You don't have to know anything in order to receive everything. That is the message that your ancestors want you to know. So use this time. Be intentional with this time. Set up a shift blueprint for yourself, and what that's going to look like for you and utilize those new practices, those new foods, those new rituals for yourself all season long. And I promise you, while the rest of the world is pretty much going to shit. You're going to be the Oye Pulu. You're going to be the one that they're like, well damn, how come they're still doing so well? How come their business is still thriving? How come they still have a great relationship? How come they're healthier than ever? How come they have all these wonderful friends in this amazing community? Because you know that you're tapped into something that they can't even touch. You're tapped into spirit. You're tapped into the ways of your ancestors. You're connected to the divine universe and you're the victory is guaranteed. All right. So that's what this season is all about. For those of us in Mexico City, we are going to be gathering in my home for the autumn equinox. We're having an amazing circle of amazing humans coming together to fellowship. It'll be about 15 of us sitting in circle, harvesting, releasing, receiving, singing, dancing, praying. in movement together doing fire ceremony and so I'm really excited about that. I hope that you find some time to set up your own shift blueprint for the autumn equinox. Happy autumn equinox, until next time keep shifting. Bye!