Reflections on October

October’s vibrant beauty is about facing the transition from light to dark. This is the door to the season of death, and serves at a metaphor for releasing as we wane so as to make room for a new kind of introspection. But rather than fighting the darkness, we should embrace it, celebrate it, use it as fuel to keep those we love warm and well-fed. Likewise, now is a time of spinning cocoons and settling in for a cozy winter.

October is full of beautiful wonders with every brightly-colored falling leaf and every fertile tree laden with apples. But if you want to make your own, I’ve come up with 20 ways to bring a little more wonder into your season! And if you want to gift a little wonder to someone special, why not make them a magical and soothing gift like these bath potions?

Finally, this is the season when the veils between worlds are at their thinnest - whether between the living and dead, the solid and spirit, or the real and fae. Explore those thresholds through two very special cakes - a traditional Irish barmbrack studded with orange gems and foraged fruits, and a show-stopping rowan ginger cake with edible raven skulls! After all, this time of liminality calls for plenty of comfort and energy, and a delicious cake provides both. ;)

I have so loved sharing all of these autumnal wonders with all of you this month! And whether or not you’re one of my patrons, I deeply appreciate your support. Every like, follow, comment, or contribution truly does mean so much to me, and reminds me why I spend all of my best days creating more wonder to share with all of you.

If you are one of my wonderful Patrons, head on over to your membership area to find a high-quality digital download of October's beautiful mandala for your personal use! If you're not familiar with this program, it's a way for generous like-minded people to support my efforts to share wonder with all of you, for free. I believe in generosity and am so grateful that others do too, otherwise I wouldn't be able to share all of this goodness with you! If you'd like to sign up, you can simply choose an amount to contribute every month and get some lovely goodies (like the mandala download) as thanks for your contribution. 

If you'd like to get this beautiful mandala in another form, please take a look at my Society6 Shoppe! There you can get this lovely design in everything from wall prints to clocks to tote bags to pillows. I get a percentage of the profits to help fund running this blog. Good stuff all around! And doesn't this design look lovely as a sturdy tote bag? (Perfect for doing a little fall foraging!)

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Huge thanks to my Patrons that make sharing all of these lovely posts with you possible (without all of the annoying pop-ups and ads that make browsing other blogs so annoying). If you’re feeling generous, you too can support the wonder with a monthly contribution of your choice. Even $1 helps a lot! Your donation will help to fund this blog as well as my surprise free events and gifts for strangers. Learn more about this program at the link below: