November
As the last leaves surrender to the Release, and the air becomes crisp, it’s time to embrace the energy of this last month of Autumn by diving into your inner world. Slow down, say a ‘fare well’ to old stories, and allow yourself just to be carried through Life.
As we enter the last month of Autumn, it’s time slowly turn inward, as we are approaching the Winter Season.
November is a scorned month by many with it’s gray and foggy days, but if we embrace its energy, it can be a soft threshold month, where we are given the time to slow down and process, and in the modern Western world, where time feels like its going ever faster, November is needed!
As we stand before a new month, where no major events are at the horizon, we can give ourselves a breather after the busy Summer, where we have been out and out and hard labour, we have put into Harvest in the Autumn Season.
We can finally slow down to a point of stillness and peace and as a platform to connect to our inner world and emotional state-of-mind. As the days grow shorter, and the darkness embraces us, we are called to take care of our inner world(s) more and start practices that nurture our inner light.
Think of this month as a soft cushioned meditation mat, that welcomes you each morning with a soft whisper:
““Lay down Lovechild. Rest for a bit. Breathe. Tell me your stories. Release your tears. Whisper your dreams in my ear.” ”
November offers a powerful time of profound transformation, where deep emotions come to the surface and be transmuted into powerful personal growth. Hello November!
Endings as Transformation
Astrologically, we are entering an intense and mysterious energy of Scorpio Season, that promises to be a transformative and powerful time for all of us.
Scorpio season arrives as the season in Northern hemisphere is growing colder, darker, and the trees are losing their leaves. Crops are dying, animals are scurrying to stock up for winter and preparing to retreat into their caves and burrows.
There is death, endings, and transformation happening all around us in nature, which is reflected in our psyches as well. It’s the end of the harvest season and the beginning of our descent towards winter.
Scorpio is associated with deep emotions, passion, and profound change, and Scorpio Season offers a period when we can dive into the depths of our psyche and emerge stronger and more empowered than ever before.
In many ancient cultures, the ‘Mother Scorpio’ greets the souls of the dead in the afterlife. The Scorpio archetype teaches us to become intimate with darkness, when the veils between this world and the invisible realms become thinner, allowing for a stronger transference of energy between our world and the hidden world of Spirit.
The Ancient Celts celebrated Samhain during this season, and we have Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) all during Scorpio season. These traditions all in some way honor, revere, and connect us to death, to our fears, to our ancestors, and to the mysteries that lie within our inner darkness.
Gate of the Great Mystery
The Scorpio constellation in the sky is referred to as the ‘Gate of the Great Mystery,’ where the path of the Sun intersects with the Milky Way, the center of our galaxy lying just behind Scorpio. Through this gateway of Scorpio, we come face to face with death to remind us what life is all about, and to teach us how to live.
Throughout the month of November it is a great time to investigate the darkness, become comfortable in it and sit with the answers, clarity, and epiphanies that rise up to the surface during the days ahead. This is the time to slowly awaken the night vision of winter. A vision that appears only after some time spent in darkness.
“Say goodbye to old versions of who you were, as you honour that version of you as the one that got you through and to where you are now”
Discarding the Old
Just like the trees are dropping their leaves, this is the season to drop the old parts of you. It may hold some sadness, even though it feels necessary. Like saying goodbye to a friend, that was with you during hard times. This is ok. As the Autumn energy stirs up old emotions and memories, they are being processed in order to be released and recycled.
Think of this process as a cleansing of your emotional nervous system. Our nervous system holds memories from our lived experience in our system in order to protect us from future danger and hurt. But the downside of this is, that at the same time, this mechanism also can hold us back from new experiences to enter our lives because of the very same reactions and defense mechanisms.
November is the month to (gently) say ‘fare well’ to old versions of who you were, as you honour that version of you as the one that got you through and to where you are now. This doesn’t happen overnight, and a process like this really shouldn’t. Just like a grief process, time is the medicine, we need to come to term with the goodbyes in our lives – whether it’s a good bye to others or to parts of ourselves.
November is a good time to experiment with somatic and soul-led practices like journaling, walking in nature and yoga and sound baths. Slow-practices that move you in and out of your inner landscape in a process, that is not linear. Practices that befriend your emotions and memories and allow them to come forwards to be released. Invite in whatever feels good to you, and be gentle with everything that arises.
The Energy of November is a soft, gentle transition from the Harvest Energy of Autumn to the deeply resting energy of the Winter months. This is a good time to re-kindle any practice, habit or ritual, that would serve you as well during the winter months.
Trust
As we learn to let go, trust becomes a huge part of the process. Trust that when we release, we also create room from something new. Trust that our bodies will inform us, what we need, whether it’s an extra nap, a healing cry or a releasing workout.
When we look at the trees during the month of November, we are reminded of the deep trust, that is encoded in Nature’s design. That when we let go, we allow for rest. When we rest, we allow ourselves to simply be with Life. We allow our bodies to lean into the truth, that rest and re-lease are necessary remedies in the cycle of life as the conditions that allow for the miracle of new growth–after the pause.
Wishing you a beautiful month of November.
November Rituals
Journal.
The introspective energy of November is a great time for writing and journaling. If you are new to this practice, November will be especially supportive of getting you started. Get a notebook and a pen, bring it with you and use your daily breaks to write something instead of hopping on to social media feeds. Put a notebook next to your bed and try to start your day with writing a few pages every morning as the writing coach Julia Cameron swears to in her ‘morning pages’ practice.
Whatever you do, try to experiment a bit with the power of the word - your word. The benefit of a journaling practice will not only help you in gaining clarity of your mind and/or any important questions that might present themselves, it will also refine your responses and expression in the conversations your have in the outer world.
Speaking of questions, if there is one questions you can start asking yourself on the top of your page, and try to work around in the beginning of this new cycle, it’s this: How can voice my opinion better while still giving room to others? Try to ‘live with the question’ as the poet Rilke famously said. Leave it open for the next few weeks, and see what arrives.
Meditate
The astrological eclipses of October and November have brought high-octave energy and change into our lives. And, when there is change, emotions have to be processed, and things have to be released
Just like the leaves fall in autumn, consider what you need to release from your life. Letting go of attachments, grudges, or old patterns can create space for new insights and growth.
November is a good month for the shamanic art of ‘sitting with’ it. Whether you already have a meditation practice or simply just find time during the day to turn off distractions and grant yourself a little ‘sitting time’, these times will do wonders to your soul.
Before the internet and social media, we had much more pauses in our lives, idle times, and our soul craves these moments to simply ‘be’ without pressure or to-do-lists as a constant back-burner. Go into a different room at home out outside to dwell. In fact, mark periods of ‘Dwelling Time’ in your calendar time!
Go for a Sandwalk
Move your mind by moving your body. Go for a walk. Experiment with new ways of ‘unloading’ the mindchatter and allow for it to arrange itself in a new way. Try the art of the ‘Sandwalk’ practice of one of the world’s greatest naturalists Charles Darwin, who solved his puzzles on foot on his daily ‘thinking path’— a kind of moving meditation that enriched his scientific work, and gratified his constant curiosity. You can read more about the Sandwalk here.
New MOON in Scorpio
The headline of this New Moon will be ‘A New You.’ As Mother Moon retreats to a barely visible state, she presents a blank page for you to write an entirely new life chapter on.
Beaver Full Moon
As you transition into the energy of the New Year, use the clarity of this illuminating moon to see both sides of a situation to make a balanced decision. Forecast and ritual here.