SNOWSHOES FOR THE SOUL

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Despite this mad year with all its tragedy and upheaval, there is still seasonal magic in the air. I hope you have a peaceful Thanksgiving and wish you a blessed Christmas ahead next month, full of treats, soul, love, beauty, and peace. Glad tidings and god rest ye all. In these badass times, the nourishment of the holidays lifts the mundane and deeply feeds the spirit. I love celebrations and rituals and special dates such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love November and December.

Simplicity, festive joys, time with family, rest from work and screens, escape from the Covid-news chaos, gifts galore (books, candles, oils, soaps, perfumes, crystals and herby incense - I hope all these will be in your Christmas stockings) help to remedy all ills. I’m incredibly grateful for my enchanted life and everyday practices. I am grateful for my resilience.

After Diwali then Thanksgiving, a cosy Yule is ahead of us - a chance, a spell, to uplift and unleash the soul within, to let it find it’s true north and be wild. And to appreciate with thankfulness all the gifts of life that we are given on this soul's journey.

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I’ve enjoyed making this blog all year since April and devouring books. I’ve loved learning about all sorts of magical things: Coaching, Druids, Nature Magic, Tarot, Candle Magic, Folk Catholicism, Green Magic, Saints, Celtic Magic, Runes, Norse, Faeries, Herbalism, Astrology, Cleansing, Aromatherapy, Plant Magic, Folklore, Permaculture, Depth Psychology, Analytical Psychology, Religion, Resilience Coaching, Gardening, Mythology, Rituals & Celebrations, Home Remedies - you name it. This became for me more than the sum of its parts - it became the basis of my own Resilience Magic.

I’ve weaved, healed, gardened, bathed, ritualised, mashed, baked, pinned, Instagrammed, blogged, purified, banished, prayed, grounded, smudged, brewed, opened, divined, intended, meditated, yogi-d, goal-set, perfumed, worked, playlisted, rhythm cycled, HIIT and candle-lit my way out of the darkness.

My year so far has been full - of musk, myrrh, frankincense, cinnamon, orange, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, bayberry, sage, rose and sandalwood - and full of hope and love. Freedom over fear. Faith over anxiety and conviction in a bright shining future ahead. 

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Photo by Eugene Zhyvchik via Unsplash

I've cleaned stuff out and de-cluttered. I created and practiced lovely little domestic rituals in my home to enhance the wellbeing of our living space. I've used salt to purify and amplify the charge of cleansing. I've healed, shielded, protected, and set intentions to attract prosperity around my home. I've taken course, read a trillion books, worked my arse off at work, parented fiercely and have been on a radical mission of self care - bringing together mind, body & soul

I've also tried to push away and banish feelings / spirits of scarcity, lack, sadness, and unease. I focused instead where possible on abundance, wholeness, overcoming, bliss, light, luck, joy, good fortune, and a happy soul. I went for the uplift in 2020, the uplifting bounce in uncertain times.

In a period of challenge such as these coronatimes, my soul just wanted to survive and then SPARKLE. Soul wants to be filled with stardust and love and magical things. Soul craves our personal care and our being glad of heart to devote tenderness to that cause. Souls needs enchantment. Soul - mine, yours, everyone's - is always resilient. 

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Bewitched by Autumn then Winter, my soul has been warmed and comforted in these soothing seasonal rituals, weather, and recipes for cosiness. Soul indeed all by herself has been the perfect whole remedy for the knocks and bruises of our times. Soul has enabled me to fall back in love with the ordinary world, the everyday – the mundane has been her remedy. She comforted. She let it snow, resiliently.

Soul was nested and blanketed away from the storm and in turn she wrapped me up in her protective soft love. She uplifted. She blessed. Together, we weathered storms. And we carry on. Despite all the unpredictability of life, everything is still a miracle. Living is still something to lean into. Leaning in could be as simple as down-to-earth straightforward holding on and grounding. It could be developing character, practicing wisdom, and appreciating the simple things that bring joy to this human experience, in lockdown or otherwise. 

And now now in the safety of soul's comforting and cosy embrace, now I'm ready to rise again - to get UN-comfortable, the transform and to change. To go beyond my comfort zone into unknowns.

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Even though at times this year things have felt frightening and awful, life has carried on and life is still a gorgeous beating thing to behold. Even in the darkest days, we cope. We are strong, we wrestle and tussle with uncertainty. We whip up hope like a crumble in the kitchen. We brew up magic and blessings, we embrace deep resilient living and adaptation. We shield our loved ones from the chaos outside the door. We crackle, we soothe, we warm and nourish. 

We garden our own comforts and normalities in this new normal wild jungle ride of change. We went deep and we kept the faith, we chased happiness and we stayed on course. We believed, we nursed, we did brave things, we responded, and we reimagined futures. Then we started creating them from the dust of the remains of the past. We are badass. We are warriors. We are resilience magicians. 

We dance between comfort and discomfort, between the tension that vibrates amidst certainty and uncertainty, the dualities. 

Out of the pandemic a new year sits just around the corner, waiting in the wings in January just a few weeks away. A new magic, a new resilient year will tick on, a new deep snow flurry. I hope it will be a snowstorm that is slower, cosier, softer, more soothing, comforting for us all. And yet simultaneously I hope it pushes us forward into our futures, I hope it is uncomfortable too so that we stretch ourselves and achieve new goals. I hope 2021 is sweeter and kinder and a remedy for all of 2020. I hope that Year of the Rat ends and ushers in a more benevolent Chinese Lunar New Year of the Ox next February. I hope our souls are merry & bright! And I hope we don't get too cosy either, we need that icy chill on our necks that winter is coming, the cold reminds us never to settle - to keep striving and striding. 

Photo by Eugene Zhyvchik via Unsplash

This is sweater weather season for the soul, I hope next year brings warmth and protection from the coldest elements and darkest forces and that the snow melts. Until then keep you snowshoes on! For when the thaw is here, baby it is time to chase those dreams forward. It is time to RUN into that future, no matter how wet and slippery the terrain. It will be time to venture our of the safe cave, into the wild.

Wrap up well in these next few weeks of this year, through November and December, out to beyond -and you’ll be ready for anything. we'll all be able to leave the safe cocoon which has been like a pretty duvet for the sleeping self. It will be time to go outside and dance in the rainstorm, to walk in its wild magic of life. An invitation beckons soon ahead, to leave the safe retreat and den and to venture forth anew in the deep dark forest. The lockdowns will lift, our spirits will lift, the happy soul will rise again.

Soul wants this moment to be the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end.

We are being invited to get off our arses and realise our vastness, it’s time to live magically and with brave courage. We’ve survived, now we need a collective spell for the soul of the world to thrive. 

In these emergency times, you must be the remedy for the world soul and heal its badass blues. You are the hope, the care, the magic with which to flourish. You are a haven of hope, a cure for the pandemic in our hearts & souls. 

Together then, let's go fix this, heal the trauma, fight the fears and – with practice and purpose – with security, strength, and survival – let us bring comfort and joy to all. Let's go set hearts on fire - with soul, beauty, positivity, optimism, empathy, compassion and truth. We can do hard things. We've got this. You've been resilient, you've been magic - now, take comfort. And then, then - you'll be ready to scream and run and spring forth anew- invigorated, motivated, frustrated - whatever it takes to MOVE!

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Let the new normal bells ring this Fall-to-Winter. The leaves fall and the snow of change is deep and crisp and even. Under it's icy chill, a new spring glistens and waits below. Until spring bursts forth though, let's make the most of it and see the good wherever we can find it. Life is magical. Because, REALITY is magic. The real world is magic darling. The real is my magic. And it brings me great wonder and joy. Hey, c'mon November - wanna go outside, do you want to build a snowman?⛄❆

Photo credits: (Left) by Nery Zerate and (Right) by Naomi Irons - both on Unsplash