Happy Autumn Equinox!

A time to wrap up the season of abundance and harvest our final goodness before entering into the darker season of the year.

Our modern cultures often view things like progress as being very linear. One of the side effects of this is swinging between extremes like a pendulum - in the case of cycles of burnout, we swing between being full on and being shut down… with very little space in between.

But our long-ago ancestors understood cycles very differently, in part because they observed the seasons - they practiced noticing the subtle shifts and transitions. And they viewed cycles as spiral or more circular. This allows us to be in a rhythm, rather than feeling ourselves at the mercy of extremes.

If we can reclaim these practices and seasonal celebrations, perhaps we can notice the seasons of our own lives with more richness and complexity… and catch the signs it’s time to rest before burnout has to take us out completely.

Today there’s a bonus podcast episode for you, using the story of Persephone’s Descent to explore this cyclical understanding of seasons, and musing on transitions and some self-inquiry prompts this time of year is perfect for exploring as a way to better align ourselves with seasons and rhythms of aliveness.

Although most of the episode is geared towards the Northern Hemisphere, I offer some brief thoughts for those in the Southern Hemisphere at this point of your Spring Equinox, too.

And if you’re finding yourself curious about using seasons to help you navigate your own aliveness, and using stories to connect with ancestral wisdom and lessons of your own life; we do a lot of that in Sanctuary. Folks from the last cohort found it nourishing in ways that they find themselves hungry for - different from most other conversations they find themselves in.

If you’re someone who’s looking at the madness happening around us and wondering if there’s something deeper, more soulful, more humane, more sane… if when you dream of running away from it all, where you’d run to would be a fairy glen in the woods or Baba Yaga’s hut… you might feel yourself at home in our circle and in our conversations.

Our first gathering is in a week, at which point registration will close until the next cohort. If you’re feeling a gentle tug to join us, we’d love to have you.

May your leaves be colorful, your cider be warm, your sweaters be cozy, your whisky be golden, and your air be just the right amount of crisp with just the right amount of moody rain and fog.

with Love,

Kate

P.S. If Sanctuary and 1:1 work don’t feel right for you at this time, but you want some perspective on something from outside your own head, you can always come to a Wisdom Wednesday.

Our next one is Oct 2, coinciding with the new moon and solar eclipse, closing the two week eclipse portal which opened last week on the Full Moon with the lunar eclipse. A potent time! It’s a PWYC gathering. I’d love to catch up with you there.

P.P.S. Here are some pictures of Scotland from this day last year - with just the right amount of moody rain and fog...