🎆Moontime Musings turns 2!🎆
🌹plus some musings on Rosehips and Halloween🎃
Dearest friend,
Welcome to this anniversary edition (and the 60th) of Moontime Musings!
As we stand on the threshold of the dark half of the year, marked by the festival of Samhain at sunset on Thursday, there is magic in the air and whisperings of transformations unfolding as we wind down into Winter.
As the Wheel of the Year turns once again, this edition is open to everyone, with six more in the archives for this year so far. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive all editions by clicking the button below and share this edition with a friend. Thank you.
Samhain (pronounced SOW-ain) or November Eve, begins at sunset on 31 October and ends at sunset on 1 November is otherwise known as Celtic New Year; and believed to be a time when the veil between physical and spiritual worlds is thinnest. This sabbat (sacred/rest day) also marks the end of the harvest season punctuated by 3 key harvest festivals:
Lughnasadh ~ the grain harvest (1 August)
Mabon ~ the fruit harvest (21 September)
Samhain ~ the blood harvest (31 October)
This is a time of integration and introspection - an opportunity to rest after the abundance of Summer and a time to plant overwintering seeds (physical and metaphorical!) based on what we’ve learnt about ourselves this harvest season.
🕯️Rituals for Rest
As you may know, I have an exciting new journey to share with you that has a handful of spaces left.
Rituals for Rest is a 13 week journey from 31 October to 1 February designed to help you wind down and discover what you need for deep rest as we approach the darkest point in the Wheel of the Year - the Winter Solstice on 21 December.
Each week you will receive an voice note from me which will contain suggestions for a ritual that you may wish to incorporate into your week.
We will meet in online circle 6 times to explore how to layer each ritual so that you can integrate those which you love the most, into your daily life. Our first circle is on Thursday 7 November.
If this journey sounds like the right fit for you please click the button below to sample some of the course materials and secure your place. If you know someone who needs this journey, please consider sharing it with them too. Doors close midnight 31 October.
✨Ritual for Samhain: Dumb Supper - lay a place at your table for a loved one who’s passed on and reminisce about happy times you spent together✨
Next, I’ll share some musings on All Hallows’ Eve, my coveted rosehip syrup recipe and some notes on the New Oak Moon.
But first, here’s what’s coming up in early November:
31 October: All Hallows’ Eve (Christian); Halloween
31 October sunset - 1 November sunset: Samhain (Celtic)
1 November: All Saints’ Day (Christian)
1 November: New Oak Moon in Scorpio 12:37 GMT
5 November: Guy Fawkes Night (U.K)
11 November: Martinmas/St Martin’s Day/Old Hallowmas eve/Old Halloween (Christian)
10 November: Remembrance Sunday (U.K)
🕯️All Hallows’ Eve/All Saints’ Day
The name ‘Halloween’ is derived from the Christian celebration ‘All Hallows Eve’ which became popularialised by Christians in the 8th century. On the 1 November All Saints’ Day is celebrated.
Much of the meaning behind this festival has now been swallowed up by commercialisation, with many associating Halloween with plastic pumpkins and inflatable ghouls. In the introduction for November’s chapter in Amy Jeff’s fascinating book, Saints1 she tells us that this was the feast for those who had died without becoming a saint and were therefore suffering in the pit of purgatory. Christians believed that praying for the dead souls could lessen their pain. This gives a hint as to why Halloween is now so associated with skeletons and ghosts!
🌹Rosehip Syrup
In the U.K, October is a time of auburn abundance in the hedgerows with rowan berries (pictured below), hawthorn berries (haws), sloes and rosehips be-jewelling the bushes. Looking back to the first edition of this newsletter, 2 years ago, I shared that:
[Rosehips] protective properties were first made common knowledge during WWII when UK government scientists realised that, weight for weight, rosehips contain over 20 times more vitamin C than oranges! As a result the Ministry of Food recommended rosehip syrup for children’s health and created a national week for rosehip foraging with Scouts, Guides and other groups would head out to harvest this powerful gifts from nature.
Source: The Woodland Trust2
The week leading up to Samhain is an excellent time to gather Rosehips - before the first frost. Click on the button above to access my easy recipe for rosehip syrup - a powerful tool to have in your cupboard to protect against the inevitable Winter colds.
🌳New Oak Moon
There are a number of names for November’s moon including Oak moon, Frost moon, Ancestor moon and Beaver moon. Beavers are very much on the up here in the U.K thanks to reintroduction programmes such as those that have been successful in Argyll and Tayside in Scotland and in the (not-so-aptly-named) River Otter in Devon. There is some debate around why November’s moon is named after beavers - some say it’s due to the time when they’re most active - building dams for Winter; whilst others attribute the name to the setting of beaver traps by folks in First Nation lands. Since the latter seems more likely as many of the more commonly cited moon names are taken from Native American culture, I’m choosing to honour the name Oak moon for this month’s moon; and will be reminded of her when I spot frosted Autumn Oak leaves as the temperatures drop and the light wanes throughout November.
That’s all from me for this seventh free edition of 2024. Please consider sharing this newsletter with anyone who you think would like it. Your reciprocity is greatly appreciated 🙏
The next edition comes out in the week of the the next Full (Oak) Moon on 15 November 2024 and full access 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.
Thank you so much and Samhain blessings.
Love,
Charly x
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Raw Rosehip Syrup: How to Make and Use - Woodland Trust