October 2024
Welcome October!
Ohhhhhh October!
The most witchy time of the year! Every month is the time of the witch, but October is extra enchanting. In the pagan calendar it is the final month in the wheel of year and culminates with Samhain, the “Witches New Year’s Eve.” I have felt for a very long time that the four seasons of the year leaves something to be desired. In my bones I feel a fifth season; the dark time between Samhain and Yule when we descend into the dark womb of the Earth to reflect and regenerate. With the onset of Yule and Winter Solstice, we are brought up into the light where we can experience new growth until the Spring Equinox in March.
Thus, October is a beautiful month to begin a descent into the underworld. The underworld is not synonymous with depression, isolation, or hardship. Rather, it is a rich environment where we can explore our relationships with the wise dwellers of the dark; gods and goddesses, spirit animals, mycelium, and microbes. The underworld is teeming with relational opportunities if we enter the crystal caves below with a sense of respect, reciprocity, and curiosity….
Warmly Yours,
Jen
“For every world, there is an underworld.”
~ Krassi Zourkova
questions for reflection
What have been your assumptions about the underworld? Is it a metaphorical place in time and space that has a dark, edgy connotation and if so, is this a place that you feel drawn to or fearful of?
Have you ever traveled to the place of the under or lower world? Meaning, have you either journeyed, astral traveled, or dreamt of the underworld OR have you physically been to a place like a cave that reminded you of the lower world. What was your experience there and what wisdom did you glean from experience this place?
Think of a few times in your life where you felt that you were dwelling in the lower world. This could reflect a difficult time, but it may also symbolize a time in your life when you were very contemplative, needed rejuvenation, or felt quiet and reflective. Does this re-frame of the underworld change how you felt about that time in your life? If so, write about this re-frame and notice how your story about that time may shift.
~ October VIDEO MESSAGE ~
Season Ritual PDF
Seasonal rituals will be released in Pdf format during the months of September, December, March, and June.
Reflect on this past seasons ritual; are you still in process with the ritual? Did you notice any shifts as a result of completing the ritual? Take a moment here to reflect on your time with this ritual.
“Any ritual is an opportunity for transformation.”
~ Starhawk
monthly ritual
Each month you will be given a ritual in Pdf format. These rituals arise from a combination of experience, divination, guidance, and natural cycles. Create the time & space to bring regular ritual into your life using these pdf’s as guideposts.
“The queen of the underworld, the goddess of chaos,
is also the force that eternally renews.”
One of the central aspects of the shamanic Lower world is that it has a deep relationship with power and transformation. The spirit helpers of the Lower world often have the shape of animals: the so-called power animals that shamans worldwide work with. But there are also spirit helpers in the form of trees, the wind, ancestral healers or guides… There is no restriction on the form that the helpers can adopt to share their strength with us.
~ Roel Crabbe
Growing up I had a borderline obsession with the Greek Goddess Persephone. She fascinated me as traveler between the worlds, not by choice, but by circumstance. She was an archetype that I felt strangely connected to. Perhaps it was my often overly dramatic plight as a teenager feeling trapped by people who did not understand me (aka. that means parents). Like Persephone, I too felt trapped in a foreign world; a world of misunderstanding, judgement, and materialism. My underworld of teenage-dom felt akin to Persephone’s and in her I found companionship.
Fast forward into adulthood when my spiritual exploration took a turn towards core shamanism (yes, a controversial topic and languaging not to be addressed now). It was during my studies in core shamanism and the mode of the drum journey that I discovered the realm of the underworld (or lower world). What I learned in my continuous journey’s to this magical and mysterious place was a topography of a living landscape, an abundance of allies waiting to be understood, and womb of comfort and restorative energy.
The underworld is a place where guides of a denser vibration roam. Dense in this case does not mean difficult or afflicted; rather, it simply means that the vibratory nature of such beings is a slower cadence. Angels vibrate at a higher cadence then animals. This does not indicate heirarchy, it just indicates a difference in frequencies. The underworld is home to animal spirit allies, gods and goddesses that embody the healthy shadow, ancestors, and those beings whose energies just move slower.
Everyone’s experience of the underworld, both as experience and metaphor, has similarities. I invite you to explore the underworld for yourself in a ritually safe way. In this month’s Video Message I will guide you on a journey to the underworld.
Perhaps you will meet Persephone. If you do, give her regards and let her know that the teenager who once identified with her has grown into a understanding parent ;)
~ Jen
Ritual Invitation
Take some time to make art in relation to the underworld! Consider drawing, using pastels or charcoal, mixed media, painting, etc.
October meditation
October’s Meditation is part of the Video Message.
Adventurer Monthly Gift / Discount (changes each month):
ANCESTRAL HEALING
Use the code ANCESTOR to save $40 when booking an Ancestral Healing Series. The Beginner’s Path (6 sessions) for new clients or The Long Road (5 sessions) for returning clients. Code expires 10/31 and is good for one use.
Book THE LONG ROAD HERE
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
~ Joseph Cambell
RESOURCE ARTICLE
This article outlines some misconceptions about the Underworld and although I disagree with the author the that gateway to the underworld is through Shadow Work, I do appreciate the points he makes. This is a good, quick read!
