Here we are already, moving our way deeper into Autumn – my favourite time of year!
Artwork by Janie Olsen
The smells, the beautiful misty mornings, the low sun in the sky, cooler temperatures, the beautiful shades of reds and gold in the trees and hedgerows…and then there are all the Autumn foods! Casseroles, soups, pumpkin pie, hot chocolate, bonfires, being able to light the wood burner and sit around the firepit snuggled in a blanket, the opportunity to turn inwards and be more reflective… for me the list is endless. But I know not everyone feels the way I do, for many people this time of year brings dread – the darker evenings mean less sunlight, suffering from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) can really put a cloud of melancholy and dread over this time of year, it’s very real and hard to just “snap out of” as some people think its easy to do, but taking a little time to connect with others, making sure you up your level of self care and put into place some new rituals and practices, you can navigate through the darker days with a little more joy.
Photo Credit to Deborah Macgillivray’s Blog on Good Reads
Self-Care
To begin with, I invite you to look at your self care routine. Do you take time out to have a regular holistic therapy for example? It’s amazing how something like booking yourself in and having a treatment can boost your feeling of wellbeing, and on a physical level it actually increases your immune system. That could be anything, from Reiki, which can be also done really effectively remotely, so you don’t even have to leave your home!, to reflexology, very nurturing and healing, to massage, a hot stone massage this time of year is just wonderful – really gets deep into the bones and tissues! Check out your local therapists and see what type of treatments they have on offer, experiment with different ones, try something new! This benefits you in several ways, the brain gets bored easily, if you go for the same treatment every time it gets to know what’s coming, but if you mix it up a bit and try new treatments then it stimulates the mind as well as the body, lifting it out of the usual routine. Also, you are supporting local businesses, which during these times is vital for keeping everything going, and the feel good boost you pass on to your therapist. At AuroraStar I offer a large range of different therapies, energy and sound work from all around the world, which I combine into a unique treatment giving your mind, body and soul exactly what it needs at that moment.
And speaking of therapists, if you are one, this includes you too! We are the worst for neglecting our own self care – get out there and get some in! You may pick up a little knowledge too, and by connecting with other therapists it helps you socially as well.
Use beautiful uplifting essential oils, I change the usual citrussy summery ones like lemon and lime to more autumnal pumpkin spice inspired ones, such as orange and ginger, cinnamon and clove, sandalwood and pine. Again, these work two fold, the smells of essential oils work on the limbic system of the brain, affecting our mood and wellbeing, but also essential oils work on the physical level, they are antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal, so they keep the atmosphere in our homes clean and healthy, helping to boost our immune systems, which is vital for this time of year when we spend less time outdoors, the central heating goes on, we shut the windows, and coughs and colds start to multiply.
Learning a new skill or taking a course is another great way to keep our minds and spirits boosted, as well as doing something creative or that fills us with joy on those darkening Autumn evenings.
Bring lots of candle light into your home, keep the light low and have lots of cozy snuggle blankets around. The Danes call this Hygge, and you can read more about it in my Winter newsletter.
My On-Going Self-Development
Which brings me to what I’ve been up to. Some of you may know that in September I spent a week in the Isle of Avalon, Glastonbury, the heart chakra of the world, training to be a Sacred Elemental Celebrant with the world famous Sacred Celebrants Academy, within the Glastonbury Goddess Temple.
I’d had this booked for a year, and it’s been in the back of my mind to do it for a few years now. With all the craziness of this year none of us knew right up until the very last minute whether we would be able to go ahead, but we did, and wow!!! It was one of the most amazing and life transforming courses I’ve ever done!! Of course, the location helped, and the wonderful Priestess who I stayed with… all these little things the Universe conspired to help me confirm that I was on my right soul path. It was a super intensive “boot camp” of a course, but I can now hold sacred space and create meaningful personal unscripted rituals for people, using ceremony to mark rites of passage such as handfastings, unbindings, baby and adult naming ceremonies, passing over ceremonies, vow renewals, house and land blessings, saging, croning and eldering and any other rite of passage ceremony you can think of, your imagination is the limit!! In fact I plan to create my own croning ceremony this Autumn. If you’d like to learn more, my Facebook page has some info and photos on, and my new webpage for it will be up and running soon.
Artwork courtesy of Wendy Andrew of Painting Dreams
Inner Ritual Work, Ceremony and Meditation
I mentioned earlier that this time of year is perfect for turning within and doing that deeper inner work. Beginning with the Mabon ritual and meditation on 20th September, where we connect with the goddess Persephone, and journey to the Underworld to reconnect with our inner darkness and initiate healing. I host these events as an online zoom connection every 6 weeks, to coincide with the seasons and cycles of the Pagan wheel of the year, the investment is £6 and they usually last for around an hour to an hour and a half. The next one will be around Samhain, Halloween, where we will journey to meet with and honour our Ancestors. Please message me if you would like to attend. These events are a great way of us all connecting with one another as well as ourselves. I also record a shorter mediation for each festival that I put on YouTube for free, and these are there to access any time.
I’m also excited to share with you that this year I have been asked to participate in the Barefoot Witch Festival, an online event that is bringing together all sorts of magical mystical people sharing their knowledge, wisdom, insights and skills. I will be doing my Samhain ritual and meditation.
In other news, I have a new 5 week meditation and mindfulness course beginning on the 22nd September. This is the perfect time of year for bringing in a mindfulness and meditation routine into your life, with many health benefits, some of which you can read about here, and if you are on Facebook the event link is on my page. If you have attended any of my previous meditation courses you can jump onto any or all of these sessions again for an investment of only £5 a class!
I also have a Reiki 2 Practitioner level course booked in October. This one is already fully booked. For quality training and to keep within the Covid-19 government restrictions I keep my class sizes small, and I can also offer all my Reiki training as 1 to 1.
In October, to coincide with Samhain, I am running my online end of life skills workshop, but this one is with a difference, its aimed specifically at Pagans! We will be discussing how our end of life rituals may differ from other peoples, as well as all the usual things I have in these workshops. It seemed very appropriate to do this, especially at this time of year, as Samhain is a time when we honour our ancestors. It’s almost fully booked, but I do still have some places left.
Work on the cabin continues….we are on the downhill run!! I am confident we will be up and running before Christmas! And hopefully this will coincide with us being able to connect in the physical more fully, and we can gather round the firepit and strengthen those connections with one another with more hands on workshops, drum journeys, circles and rituals.
However we connect, I look forward to seeing you!
Much love and blessings, Sam XXX
