We work with the dark, not against it. We move toward it for our highest good, as to not sell our souls to that which is inauthentic. Happiest Samhain, or for those who just look at it as Halloween. With these last few full moons/closing eclipses, and the tomorrow Scorpio new moon, right along with the thinning of the veil, there are some really intense energies all around the collective as we get closer to winter. Since I’ve been absent for some time (see the end of the newsletter) I’m sharing little things I’ve enjoyed during since September as well as this resource which is happening all weekend for anyone whose seasonal changes are encompassing a very broken heart.
The cover photo for this newsletter was taken in a bath incorporated with the never disappointing bath bombs sold by Witch Baby of Cranford, NJ. I have reached out to this small business owner with questions for my own practice and she is so helpful sells some really powerful things for your body and soul. A bath bomb is good for ritual, while a soap is good for daily cleansing. She also sells oils and other beautiful witchy things for use. Pictured is the “blood and milk” bath bomb which allows for a unity of duality. If you’ve been vacillating between the extremes of both your light and dark, this can be helpful to bring the two of you together for some balance. I’ve also experienced “holy smokes” soap for a daily cleansing of energy, which contains palo santo as well as the “hex breaker” bath bomb to annihilate negative energies all around. That’s a strong and intense one, so be aware. It’ll turn your tub into a black sea. Witch Baby bath bombs will never stain your tub, that’s really the beauty of her best selling product.
I’ve struggled with seeing Stanley cups all around but nothing goth enough. I am sure Amazon sells a variety but I don’t really shop there. When I stopped looking for a goth cup, I found this one. It is 30oz, which is perfect as 40oz is too big for me. I drink about 80oz. of water a day due to health concerns. The inside of this is not stainless steel which is another perk. The material is not acrylic, but some type of durable poly-plastic. They may not show them online but these came in orange with pumpkins and white with ghosts and were in the kitchen section.
I’ve been doing a lot of dung beetle work to go along with all the transformational energy that has been in the air back from August. The dung beetle is a powerful symbol of release, just give it all your trash and anything you don’t need anymore. There is a lot of Egyptian history surrounding scarab beetles, you can read about it here. They roll dung for a living and lay their eggs in it, so regeneration is a major theme with them. Something as simple as drawing a dung beetle on a dollar store notebook like the picture, and getting plastic ones to place under your pillow at night to instigate dreams of what you need to release or bringing things to the surface in your waking life to push forward movement can be very helpful and magical.
Persephone the goddess is another helpful figure during this time and especially as we move into the cold dark season to go inward. I coincidentally found some pomegranate vanilla soap this year, if you are able to incorporate any of her symbols into your daily life in a very mundane way, her presence will be felt and she will help you through your transitions. The mini black pumpkins pictured were painted by me and the botanicals are dead mums. I just love buying a bouquet of flowers and letting them just sit in their wrappings and die. Then I go open them up and I smell the most amazing smells. To me dead flowers have a beautiful smell because death is life.
I also love to buy Pomegranate juice to drink to really connect with her. Short, small mason jars are not common but I think they make marvelous containers to drink out of it. I always feel as though I am drinking my own blood when I drink Pomegranate juice because it is so dark in color, connecting to all my pain and Persephone knows about all of it. Consuming it means moving into acceptance of it. The incredible mini cauldron candles and dripping one are from Joann’s.
There is a house in South Jersey which is part of a farm and they decorate outside every fall very elaborately. I walked down to see it while at the farm and found this set up of a makeshift church and the newest Halloween movie being shown in the window. With “pews,” a resident skeleton, and popcorn in a basket, I absolutely had to sit down and grab a bag to enjoy the movie for a bit. This was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen anyone do for decorations outside their house. And the people who lived there were so very welcoming, kind, and generous, refilling the popcorn basket and greeting passersby.
The last two months have had me going through some intense changes on every level. Whenever this happens my absences both here and on social media can be quite extreme, I appreciate you all still being present with me, as I grapple with my own insecurities and transformations.
