Leaves, Gourds, Chestnuts – Oh My! The Hunter Moon is approaching.

Happy Magnificent, Magical, Mysterious, Merry, Manifesting Monday!  Thank you to all of you who shared “M” words with me, we are going to use them for the next while!  How are you? How was your week? Did you have time to get outside? Did you feel connected to self, others, and the elements in a way that nourished you?  I really hope so.

The weather for this last week here has been stupendous!  Sunny, mild and bright every day which has been awesome. The trees are bedecking themselves in a myriad of colours and they are so gorgeous, it makes me wish I could paint.  The reds are bold and bright, the oranges sassy and sexy, the yellows strong but mellow and the greens so vibrant and everywhere I seem to walk is a carpet of chestnuts and acorns (so my advice, don’t wear heels!)  It’s as if all the trees are putting on their glad rags and dancing the last dance in the sunlight. I love it!

As much as I love Fall, with all the colours, and the invitation to celebrate all the gifts and bounty we have received (think fields filled with gorgeous fat orange pumpkins).  The smell of the air, and the crispness of the early mornings, the harvest fairs and yet there is a sense of urgency in the air. However, for me there is also a melancholy that goes with Fall as I watch the trees release their gorgeous leaves and the ground starting to frost and chill, there is a sense of loss as the snow is coming and the clouds are going to drop down.  

To me Autumn offers us delicious lessons that run parallel with our lives.  A lesson could be that of Impermanence/Change.  Spring brought the glorious buds, Summer brought the flowers and expansion and now Autumn brings the leaves falling and bare branches.  Things change and they move through their cycles, they don’t stay in one space, or place. Imagine if you were a flower and you had gone through your budding process into your glorious blossoming period and then it was demanded of you that you continually stayed in that state.  It isn’t sustainable, you need to be able to turn inward, nourish your roots, cocoon if you will so that you can go into another state of budding and blossoming.

Another lesson I see with Autumn is it reminds us of is Letting Go.  Think of the gorgeous leaves that gently flutter down to the ground.  The tree isn’t trying to cling onto them, nor are the leaves struggling to stay where they are, they are gently released and offered back to the earth to nourish the soil.  With this we are reminded that fall is a fabulous time for putting down our burdens, for letting go of things that no longer serve us and to get out of our way and allow Spirit/Universe/God to take charge for a while.  

What I have found interesting for myself over the last week is whether consciously or unconsciously I decided to explore, to let go of the drama of last month and to create space to BE.  So daily I have walked about 14km. Yes, I have a great vehicle that I could drive around, however, it was more a case of what do I see as I walk. I have seen gorgeous gardens, glorious trees, I’ve rescued plants (that are now in my new garden), talked to people I wouldn’t have been able to do that with if I was driving.  This has helped me feel as if I am putting down lovely roots and that in turn gives me a delicious feeling of strength. Oh yes, and in honour of all the fall colours on Saturday I decided it was time to release my “accidentally” blonde hair! Thus, my lovely niece gave me a hand and it is a gorgeous flaming red again – I will say IT FEELS GREAT!  I feel more like myself, which is quite bizarre when you think it is just a hair colour.

On Sunday I went to a beautiful service at the nearby Unitarian church and the whole theme was on “Sanctuary”, and you were invited to think about what that meant for you, where do you find sanctuary and have you ever been sanctuary for another person.  Now as we know Sanctuary means refuge, a safe place, a haven or a harbour. As I pondered this I realised for me that nature is definitely a sanctuary for me, whether it is sitting by the ocean, or walking in the woods. Sitting on a bench and just watching the birds as they dance in the sky.  Certain people have been sanctuary for me at various times. My dogs have most certainly been sanctuary for me, and I really notice their absence right now. On off days my bed has felt like sanctuary! It’s safe, cosy and I can hide out under the duvet! So I invite you to think about what sanctuary means for you, where is it for you, who is it?

On my walk this morning I gathered up some of the lovely fall leaves and brought them into this week’s reading.  When I asked the cards who wanted to come and guide us this week the Oracle of the Dragonfae came surging to the top.  The crystals that were adamant that they wanted to join in are – Morganite, Amethyst and Citrine.  I have created a little guided visualisation to help you release your worries, come to a place of sanctuary and be present.  If you don’t feel inclined, that’s fine. Just breathe and allow your thoughts to slow along with your breathe and see in your minds eye your glorious sanctuary.  Then when you are ready pick the card or cards that resonate for you.

Did you remember to pick?

Let’s go have a look-see, shall we?

WU-WANG

In times of olde, they said that only those who were pure could connect with those like myself.  That the virgin could connect with Unicorn. That the child could see the meaning of God. That the fae would truly see into your heart, and finding it corrupt, would never appear to you.

I am here to tell you that your heart is pure and wild and innocent.  It is that you have forgotten how to see us, that you have been told that in order to see us, you must be perfect.  That in order to see us, you must be mad, unclean, broken, and if you say you have seen us, you face being shunned.

I am here to say to you that we appear to those who have looked into their hearts and have seen beyond the woundings….because within you there is a wild and untrammelled heart space which is free of any taint.  In that space we can enter and therefore, we can and we will be seen again. You were not born into this world wrong or sinful. There may be karmic markings, but you are no sinner, nor are you corrupt or unworthy.  Foster that which is wild and pure and good with you, and we will begin to appear and come forth. You will feel us on the wind, in the water, see us in the fire and hear our voices emanating from the heart of our mother, the Earth.

You are a child of the Mother, call her what you will, and at your core you are one of the wild ones.  That is my message for you.

DREAMCATCHER

I am the Dragonfae being who comes in the night, who travels through the dimensions to the doorway of the worlds.  I will stand while you sleep and send you messages that you can unravel in your waking hours. All that is no longer needed will come to me, if you allow it, and I will catch it in my web between my hands, lit up by the light that travels from the solar plexus of this Universe, the being you call Sun, but which I call Bel.  This Bel shines through your day and at night I reflect that light into you, cleansing what is irritating and difficult for you, but keeping all that which you need to go forward.

There is nothing to fear from the presence of we dream beings…I am yours, and in your dreams we will journey, we will explore, we will share and we will be happy together.  I will help you reach your goals and if you believe, great blessing from Spirit will be yours. We are part of the same tribe and your blood is mine. This dreamcatcher is at your service.

Every night you allow me to visit, I will be your protector, your solar plexus will be opened a little further and your light will shine a little brighter in this world.  I can help you see the threads of your future and to follow them. Let me into your dreams. Invite me in. This is my request of you.

The import of dream oracles has been spoken of in many ancient cultures, from the Greeks to the Lakota, from the Celts to the Norse.  We are all being given chances to learn and to dream into being the truth of who we are while we do this thing called sleep, in which our being is trained and worked with in the spirit world.  

TATSUYA

We will go through the crucible, every one of us, and emerge changed.  Ourselves but not ourselves. Now it is your turn, and you need not be afraid.  For your fear will only hurt you, while your courage, in being tested and exercised, will show you so much of your great potential.  For you are heroic, noble and able to pass through this. And while it may change you, it will do so in magnificent ways. Are you ready?  No? Well, put aside your fear and follow me anyway. I will teach you how to face that which you fear, and move forward anyway.

You are now in the process of deep transformation and by entering this door and facing the unknowable, you will find new hope dawning before you even dare to dream of it.  The second you take action is the moment you will be changed. The more you explore and investigate this capacity of yours to be courageous, the more astounded you will become at your own ability to miraculously, naturally transform yourself.  Intellectually, you understand this. But your body hesitates at the commitment you know this change will take. Trust this courage, and the blossoming of it; do it now. You will then start the process of moving through to a new stage.

Your fear masks a deeper dilemma; that of not being your true self and of not knowing that self.  This stage will see you reveal your spiritual beliefs, live with integrity, open up emotionally, and become richer and more blissful in every way.  With this test of courage, you will shatter the illusory barrier that lies between you and true self-love and self-worth. From this test you will learn to love this individuality, to recover from conditioning and to emerge truly yourself, beautiful and ready to fly.  Come through the door. There is nothing to fear. You will see. Now it is your time to become who you have previously only dreamt of being.

Wow!  All cards of transformation, which totally ties in with Autumn and change.  I so love the cards, so love, love, love them! Well my delicious lovely, I wish for you a glorious week of sunny skies, bright leaves, sanctuary and an overwhelming sense of peace.  Oh yes, and huge piles of leaves to jump in! See you next week! Huge hugs and squeezes.