WATER

We have entered the gateway of Samhain and the Season of Scorpio

Leo moon is here as we transition to help us to keep our hearts open - giving us the courage to meet the softening and surrender - to loosen our grip and walk with hearts open into the depths

Scorpio Season aligns to the Priestess of Death

She who surrenders to the waters knowing the intimate relationship between death of the old and rebirth of the new

Holding on will only serve to create resistance and stop us experience the ecstacy of shedding these tight well worn skins

These old ways of being and doing need to die

There is no evolution without revolution

There is a deep yearning for presence with these fixed waters

The deep inky black pools of the scrying bowl reflect our hidden hurt - revealing it to allow us to fully integrate and love all of ourselves and one another

The moon is now in her last quarter lunar water phase in Leo (fire).

In traditional observances Samhain falls with the Sun at 15o degrees Scorpio. 15o degrees is half way through a sign. The wheel of the zodiac is 360o, each sign makes up 30o and so 15o is the midpoint. This is why it is called the cross quarter. This is the traditional Solar observance of Samhain (Saw~ain). Between this and the Moon going dark in the sign of Scorpio (1st November - All Souls) we have portal. A chance to lean into the energies being reflected by the Sun before the Moon goes dark. The New Moon in Scorpio represents Lunar Samhain and the beginning of the descent into the darkest quadrant of the year. This is a time where traditionally we would call our energies inwards until the Winter Solstice and the return of the light. Astrological Samhain is set to fall on Wednesday 6th November. Martinmas was traditionally celebrated as a lantern festival that marked the end of the harvest. It falls on 11th November. 11:11 certain offers the double gateway - a moving through from one passage to another.

Ritual

Breast Massage for supporting grief to flow. Supporting our grief tending with warm oil massages - with spices for warming rubs or poultices. Create a sacred space which is warm in which you can practice heart opening breast strokes and tender loving care of whatever needs to arise. Gentle, tender strokes, lying on a warm compress, hot water bottle or heat pad. Swaddling yourself in a warm blanket of love.

Grief hangs heavy on our lungs ~ you may notice how many people struggle with seasonal chest colds and congestion when the season of water sets in. I deeply acknowledge the connection with us suppressing the grief that needs to flow. When we release our tears we create a river for spirit to move.

Plant Allies

This time of the year is about supporting the land to rest. As I move about the world I love to consider how, if my roots feel strong, I might notice a tree or plant ally that looks less so and send it some love and acknowledgment. In the same way, we may notice those who need our support and offer contact and community. Ask what is needed. The smallest offering is a gift of kinship that carries the torchlight through the darkness for one another.

You might consider blessing the wood we fell for fires and consider planting trees for however many you use in an act of reciprocity. Bless these beings who literally fill our lungs with fresh air to breathe

Hearth Craft

Making candles with intention for support and healing from our elders and land spirits. Creating candles with soy or beeswax - anointing the candles with intention, prayers and wishes. Painting them with sigils and keeping them for specific use - such as a soul candle for ancestral healing work.

Keeping the hearth fire strong supports us to ‘see in the dark’. Cultivating a practice of keeping our metaphorical lantern oil full and our wicks strong will help us stay strong through the winter months.

You may like to create a simple paper lantern - these are a beautiful eco craft that create a warm glow and a sense of primal peace in the darkest months.

Traditionally candles in the windows at a port or harbour town created a guiding light for sailors and fishermen out in wintery and treacherous seas before lighthouses were built. Keeping our home fires burning refers to us being a port in the storm and connected in a web of light. This time of year reminds us of the power of a lit window in the darkness.

Lets bless the path for our kin as we go

Blessings of astronomical Samhain and the Witches New Year from my hearth to yours