TRANSITIONING THE CYCLES

As the depths of Autumn lead us through the thinning Veil towards Winter and the Moon flows towards Full in Scorpio and we prepare for the partial Lunar Eclipse, it is a powerful time to consider where we are on our path and where we wish to be.

As the season deepens into the darker cooler months, it is time to go within, to reflect on all that has passed and to take time to allow processing, healing and resetting. This contemplative time of year supports taking time to be more present and in the doing so to be more real with ourselves, to cease the comparison to others, the constant striving, the need to be always busy and to allow time to wind down and to really feel who we are in our own skin.

As the Moon flows full she supports this process by illuminating all that needs to be dealt with as well as supporting us to ripen our goals into being, this next Full Moon resides in Scorpio, planet of transitions and transformation, and is time to ask ourselves:

Where do we need to make changes to better flow with the cycles?

Where are the little deaths occurring in ourselves and our lives?

Who/what are we surrounding ourselves with that may be undermining our worth?

What do we feel passionate about and where may those passions lead us?

How might we better access our internal landscape, connect better to our own perceptions, our awareness of self and others.

Embracing the deeper more hidden and often mysterious depths of ourselves helps us to gain a better understanding of who we really are and where the roots of our magick lays, the more we understand ourselves the more we are aware of our own energy and the more we are able to sense what is ours and what is not.

As witches we have the ability to change the energy around things to utilise our gifts and various tools to create what we wish to see in the world, make some time for your favorite form of divination to help you see more clearly, sit with how you are feeling and the climate of changes that flow through you, mediation, breathwork, journeying and trance support this and it does not have to be performed in utter stillness, you may wish to use movement to help you shift the energy if it feels stuck or heavy. Music also helps move with and through energy, make it gentle, make it heavy, make it loud and raw, whatever makes you feel better, allow yourself to sing, to scream to howl, whatever you need.

Commune with the Elements, don't always gravitate towards the element you feel secure with, push yourself to acknowledge them all and how they make you feel, but go to the level of your ability in this moment and put an anchor and support team in place if you need them, especially if you are utilising these suggestions to process trauma.

Call upon your guides, your guardians, your ancestors and deity if you work with the gods and goddesses; chthonic deities such as Hekate, Medousa, Anubis, Sekhmet, Kali, Lillith, Dark Aset (isis) Nephthys may be valuable allies, protectors and teachers for this deeper work. Seek them out, introduce yourself, do your research, make them offerings, write them prayers and chants, dedicate movement to them, allow yourself to feel the connections, it is ok to be afraid, communing like this can be intense at times, make sure your journal your experiences to reflect upon later.

Put your boundaries of protection in place but remember your filters to allow in the positive, rather then blocking our everything in your attempts to block out the negative. Have regular warm baths, immersion in the ocean or flowing stream to cleanse and clear yourself, honour yourself as you would a loved one, even if you are not feeling ready to wholly love yourself, at least allow self nurture.

With the Full Moon in May also comes the annual Hekate - Rite of her Sacred Fires, an international celebration of the light of Hekate, and a reminder to rekindle and stoke your own internal flame, Hekate is the Light in the Darkness, she is lamp bearer, key bearer, goddess of crossroads and communion with the collective energy of other Hekatean Witches may further support your journey at this time. The creator of these Rites has an online live ceremony each year, head to the Covenant of Hekate website to see the Rites and to find our more about them.

With the Scorpio Full Moon you may wish to connect to Egyptian Scorpion Goddess Serket, she is goddess of healing, magick and protection, shes supports the journey to finding the balance between toxicity and health, being the goddess of bites and stings, linked to scorpions and serpents.....we all know that the difference between kill and cure is the dose....! So make sure you know the dose.

Serket is both "she who makes the through breathe" and "she who stiffens the throat". Ask Serket to help you find your voice and speak your truth without restrictions from fear or others, without your words poisoning you or those you love.

If you wish to know more about her, I wrote a piece for my Instagram and Facebook feeds earlier today - see my social media as The Wayward Path, if you would like to read more.

Here is a prayer to Serket from the tomb of Nefertari to support you to integrate darkness and light as you journey through the cycles:

I am Selqet, Mistress of Heaven and Lady of All the Gods

I have come before you, O Great King’s Wife,

Mistress of the Two Lands,

Lady of Upper and Lower Egypt,

Nefertari, Beloved of Mut,

Justified Before Asar, He Who Resides in Abtu,

And I have accorded you a place in the sacred land,

So that you may appear gloriously in heaven like Ra.