Happy Full Moon in Taurus, Lunar Eclipse and Samhain!
Saturday sees the last Lunar Eclipse in Taurus for nearly 20 years and on Tuesday we celebrate Samhain ('Summer's-end') - the penultimate festival in the Wheel of the Year
|| 🌑Briefly: My next Moontime, myths and medicines course begins at Samhain (31 October) ✨Click here to enrol✨|| I’m hosting a FREE Samhain Circle (online) this Sunday at 8-9pm GMT. Click here for the link🍂 ||
The Wheel of the Year has turned once again which means that this newsletter edition is open to everyone, with six more in the archives for this year so far. Follow the link via the button below to read them. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive all of the editions by clicking the button above. Thank you.
Hello lovely one,
Welcome to the 7th of this year’s eight free editions of this newsletter in line with the Pagan Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year and the 27th edition which marks the anniversary of when I began this writing practice at Samhain in 2022.
I hope you and yours are avoiding the Autumn coughs and colds which always seem to coincide with the drop in temperature and rise in wet weather, reminding us of our animal bodies, responsive to the changing weather and season. I always find this liminal time of year one during which I feel a strong tug to dig deeper into my spiritual practices - some of which fell away over the Summer but are now needed more than ever. I’ve clung tight to my daily 10 minute meditation ritual and for the past 10 days have swum outside in bone-tingling chilly waters. When I wrote to you on the last Full Moon in Aries a month ago, I shared my intention of taking part in Surfers Against Sewage ‘Dip a Day’ throughout October as one of the practices which lifts my mood when I’m feeling bogged down and sad about the shortening days and chillier weather. As you can see from my running total so far, I’ve not managed to dip for all of October, but started my daily practice a little late on 18 October. That said, now that I’m on day 10, I know I’m hooked and the urge to get to the lake where I swim has metamorphosed from a tiny impulse to an essential ritual that lifts the clouds in my mind and relieves challenging emotions. And so far, touch wood, I’ve not succumbed to the colds that are doing the rounds in my office so I think there are some physical benefits to this daily cold water immersion too!
What practices do you lean into at this time of year to lift your mood and maintain good mental health?
🌔Gathering in circle
Another practice which helps keep me grounded at this ethereal time of year is making my inside space beautiful, specifically my altar space which always has natural artefacts representing the 4 elements of earth, air, fire and water. I’d love to share this practice, plus some journalling prompts, with you this Sunday at 8-9pm GMT in my online Samhain Circle. Click the button below for the link to join.
Doors are also open for my Moontime, myths and medicines course where we meet monthly throughout the dark half of the year on the New Moon from November through to March. If you’d like to join us, click below. Doors close on Tuesday.
🌕Full Moon in Taurus and Lunar Eclipse
As you may know from reading previous editions of this newsletter, we are now at the tail end of eclipse season (phew!) with the partial Lunar eclipse occurring on Saturday night and being at its fullest at 21:14BST.
If you read this edition back at the beginning of this second eclipse season of 2023, you’ll know that:
Eclipses bring news of life’s big events which usually have a theme with Solar eclipses tending towards new beginnings and bright new opportunities whereas Lunar eclipses are more emotional; they may bring about final endings.
Tomorrow’s Lunar eclipse brings with it some very potent closing energy though as she will close a window that began on the first Lunar eclipse of this series on 19 November 2021. Take time on tomorrow night’s eclipse in Taurus to reflect on what was happening in your life around this time 2 years ago and consider whether something has come full circle or a chapter in your life has ended.
With the moon being full in the Western Zodiac sign of Taurus and the Lunar eclipse highlighting the Taurus/Scorpio axis, there is also an opportunity for you to explore the dichotomy between security (Taurus) and risk (Scorpio). This is a beautiful time to harness sensual embodiment and connection to yourself as we sink into the dark half of the year. If feelings of restlessness arise on this Full Moon, movement practices such as dancing and yoga alongside practicing embodiment through breathwork and cold water exposure can help make this journey a transformational one.
🍂Samhain
This 7th festival in the Wheel of the Year marks the anniversary of this newsletter and I’m delighted to have committed to this bi-monthly writing practice for a whole turn around the sun. Here’s a snippet about Samhain from that very first edition:
The name ‘Halloween’ is derived from the Christian celebration ‘All Hallows Eve’, now more commonly known as All Saints Day which became popularialised by Christians around the year 800. Prior to this, Celtic communities celebrated Samhain (pronounced SOW-ain, SAH-wen or SOW-en). This important festival in the Wheel of the Year, would have traditionally been a New Year celebration, marking the end of the Harvest season and acknowledging that we’re now entering the dark part of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere). Now-a-days few of us retain the connection to the sowing, growing and harvest seasons that our ancestors would have once had, so here are some suggestions for how to mark the occasion and take a step along the path to rewilding yourself and reconnect to the land.
Samhain (also known as ‘November Eve’) is a time to remember our ancestors, reflect on the year’s harvest (physical and metaphorical) and consider what we wish to let go of as we move through Autumn and into Winter. To mark this sabbat (celebration), take time to observe the changes in nature, slow down, spend time in quiet solitude and reminisce about happy times with loved ones who’ve passed on.
That’s all from me for this edition.
The next edition of this newsletter, which comes out on the next New Moon on 13 October, will be for paid subscribers only. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber for less than the price of a good coffee each month (£3.50) or £35 a year. I’m freezing the subscription price to honour the devotion of my regular readers. If you have a moment, please consider sharing Moontime Musings with someone who you think would like it.
Thank you so much and Samhain blessings,
Love,
Charly x
p.s. don’t forget that there’s only 4 days left to join the next cohort of my Moontime, myths and medicine course. I’d love to see you there.