There and Back Again - October in a Nutshell

I honestly cannot believe how quickly October was here and gone. The leaves were vibrant and filled my heart with joy. I love the changing colors, the smell of cool air, the sun casting a mellow golden warmth on the cooling earth, and the harvest of beautiful hard-shell squash and other spiced beverages and food.

Winter Night’s/Samhain/Halloween whichever you choose to call it, is still and will always be one of my favorite holidays. There may be some bias with my birthday being so close to it, or fond memories of trick-r-treating and getting as much candy as I could, but I honestly feel it has more to do with the weather and the shifts in energy that as a youth I never could identify.

Rather than take the kids out for the annual sugar-rush (which in all honesty didn’t really happen anywhere as far as I know) we opted to stay in and celebrate the coming of winter and the power of the full moon. My daughter and I made incense prior to the event in honor of Hel and a way to help guide the spirits that are lost to Helheim and across the veil. We chose cinnamon, thyme, vanilla, allspice, and a little ginger.

I honored our ancestral dead, both known and unknown with a blot put on virtually by a group I follow on Facebook. It was lovely and well put together. So many people raised a glass with beautiful tributes to their loved ones, and those who remain unknown.

My German ancestors were on my mind this year with a meal of pork and sauerkraut, a squash soup, baked beans, and some lovely, braised greens brought by one of our guests. We finished with s’mores by the fire pit and bathed in the moonlight.

While it wasn’t our traditional Samhain festival, it was quite nice and allowed us all to really feel the energy shifts. While the children didn’t get to go door-to-door, they still celebrated in a different way. They still ate chocolate, played outside, and in some level, I feel they felt complete, and yet just like the rest of us, still longing for what once was. But the new year will always be about looking ahead, not behind us.

Shifting gears brings me to the spark of RowanWolf Rune Craft! The site has gone live after some transition with major help from a fantastic friend who has spent countless hours, and continues to do so, to make this website what it is. Thank you so much! As the site grows, you’ll be able to order custom made rune sets, take classes on the runes and how to work with them in your life, and book divinations! In the future there will be some mini videos focusing on individual runes and later a paid subscription program with even more information and some freebies! If you haven’t signed up to receive notifications make sure you do so!

Since I’m on the topics of businesses I wanted to give a shout out to a new company that I have been an active beta tester in for the past few months. Inner Realms Journey might be one of the most unique, fun, and spiritual experiences I’ve encountered. If you want to really expand your meditations, have some fun in a game-like scenario, but also grow spiritually this is the program you’ve been looking for. Inspired by the lore and cosmology of Norse mythology and northern traditions Aaron Pyne and his team have created a unique experience that blurs the line between shamanic journeying and Role-Playing Games. Each training or Journey is roughly 10-20 minutes, with a few of them a little longer either by nature of the story or free exploration in that realm. The quests allow you to grow in your love of nature, self-empowerment, and spiritual growth. While you journey and complete journeys, trainings, and the sort you earn manna points which you use to level-up giving you access to more trainings, journeys, and quests. They’re offering a free trial and I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you like guided meditations or have had difficulty meditating in the past. Check out Inner Realms Journey here: https://innerrealmsjourney.com/. You can use this link to sign-up for your trial or subscription to help me out in gaining some extra manna points! https://www.innerrealmsjourney.com/?irj=Jarrod%20May.

As November is almost a third over…. wow…that’s some real insanity! We are quickly approaching Thanksgiving here in the US and I can’t wait to begin preparing for one of my favorite holidays next to Winter’s Night. With the waters finally settling a little I should be back on target with my bi-monthly blog entries…now if I could get the podcast in the same direction that surely would be a feat of magick!