When the children’s echoing laughter through the streets on Halloween fall silent, a presence rises along the edges. The wind blows a little longer and colder. The golden light hangs lower now, casting strange shadows where curious shapes are conjured only to quickly disappear. There was a shift that took place while we were not looking. It was a shift that now pulls the sunlight low across the horizon and lulls the vibrant life around us to begin its long winter slumber. For the time has come for her to walk across the landscape once again, preparing us for the growing dark days and lingering cold nights. It is time to slip from what we think we know and travel into the liminal spaces once again. It is in these mysterious places, where we can open ourselves up for exploration and contemplation. In the borderlands, we can do the deep work in order to slough off the parts of us that weigh us down and open ourselves to release and healing. It is here, where we can dream. And if we choose to walk with her through these spaces, we may be granted glimpses of what can be, as long as we don’t fall prey to the illusions of shadows at play.
November is a special time. It is not a time of laughter and celebration that we shared on summer days and nights. It is a time of reflection and observation. During these transitioning days, we are beginning to tune into the growing darkness that calls us to turn inward. Our pace slows down. We begin to come in from the cold. We find ourselves in the warmth of our homes, wrapped in comfort with a blanket and glowing candlelight. This is how we welcome the stillness and silence of the season. It is also when the Cailleach, The Crone, The Bone Mother, rises from the depths and rules landscape once again. In the weeks between Samhain and Yule, she walks with us. We held sacred space as The Great God walked towards the west and into the Underworld at Samhain. With The Great God now dead, we wait for The Great Mother to give birth to the Child of Light at Yule. This is the time for reflection as we make our pilgrimage into ourselves. Only we can walk our inner path, yet with the Cailleach, we are not alone.
From the shadowy edges she calls, “Come with me, child. For these last few years have been heavy. You have seen and experienced many things, yet you still carry the weight of your burdens. Tied to forgotten and failed dreams along with manipulations of the past and present, you will not be able to move forward until you break free from them. Walk with me and you will discover the ways of stillness, silence, surrender, and deep healing. We will undergo the processes and cycles of death, transmutation, and regeneration. These acts must take place before you can experience rebirth in the light. Our journey is not an easy one. It will be messy and necessary. For what you will discover about yourself, is infinite.”
What bubbles up for you when you ponder the words of the Cailleach? What burdens do you carry that are ready to be released? Are you comfortable allowing yourself to surrender and slip into the stillness and silence that call to you? As you pull yourself inward and begin your reflection, are there issues that may be too much for you right now? If so, simply hold yourself in sacred space and allow your thoughts, feelings, and emotions to be witnessed. This is where you begin your journey into the liminal lands. Take all the time you need for yourself. We will take this journey one step at a time.
Through November and December, we will explore these liminal lands and the powerful magick it holds. We will explore ways to work with the Cailleach, the land, and the energies of your own being in order to prepare yourself for rebirth in the fresh new light of Yule. I would love for you to walk with me.
Be well today and hold yourself close to your heart.
Blessed Be
Renee Bedard – The Whispering Crow
The Whispering Crow 