Hello my loves,

This week we find ourselves at another sacred seasonal juncture. Depending on how long you’ve been receiving these notes you may or may not know that I like to have an annual Halloween foot-stamp. Essentially it galls me that in the last few years Australia has blithely adopted Halloween, with more and more people stringing up the faux cobwebs and slapping on the skeleton outfits each October 31st. The problem isn't the celebration itself - I have no issue with that (although I would like there to be a few less mass-manufactured, disposable props involved). It's the date that we're doing it.

Halloween isn’t tied to a calendar date, it’s tied to a season. And that season is autumn. Halloween has its roots in All Hallows’ Eve, an ancient, seasonal celebration of ancestry, death, spirits and the other side, and it occurs at the time of year when nature is also undergoing her annual autumnal death. For us in the Southern Hemisphere, that's right about now. If you live at this end of the earth and you wish to observe Halloween in its original and sacred sense, the time is now. The time is most definitely NOT in October, when riots of colourful buds are bursting everywhere, baby animals are bounding, and spring is at her full force of fertility and rebirth. It just does not make sense.

Traditionally one makes the most of this time of year, when the veil is thinnest between worlds, to connect with and honour one's ancestors and all those who guide you from the other side. And it doesn't have to be spooky (although it most certainly can be if that's the vibe that's calling to you). There are many gorgeous, vibrant traditions associated with Halloween all over the world. Mexico's Day of the Dead is one of the most beautiful - with death honoured in SUCH a glorious way, in 'an explosion of colour and life-affirming joy' (thank you National Geographic, those words are so perfect that I wish I had written them myself!). There are parties, parades, dancing and music, and of course food - special dishes are prepared and left on altars to nourish those who've passed on. In my own spiritual practice, I spend time in meditation honouring all those from other realms who are with me on my earthly journey.

And then, there's the pumpkins. Pumpkins are popping everywhere right now, even in my own garden where this week I discovered A SECRET PUMPKIN THAT HAD BEEN GROWING IN MY WISTERIA PERGOLA. The intrepid pumpkin vine that birthed her had first climbed a camellia tree in search of the sun, then made its way into the wisteria pergola that juts out from the first floor of our house. And that is where the magic happened. A pumpkin was secretly born, snuggly supported in a nest of wisteria vines, where she grew right above our heads for the entire summer and half of autumn, while we were none the wiser. Was it a coincidence that she revealed herself to us right on Halloween? I'll leave it to you to form your own view on that. Rather than carving her into a Jack-o'Lantern, she's destined instead for a sour pumpkin curry that I'm completely obsessed with right now.

It has not escaped my notice that Covid-19 has made itself known at this time of year, when one half of the world is in autumn, which carries the energies of death, release, reflection and rebalancing, and the other half is experiencing spring, with all of its rebirth and creation and newness. It’s almost as if the earth is a giant seasonal metaphor for what’s happening energetically right now: the dying off, whether temporary or permanent, of old ways of doing things, which in turn creates space for newness to birth into the world. What this says to me is that right now, as is always the case, the world is in perfect balance, holding all of the energies that we need to support us in our individual experiences of these times.

So my darlings, wherever you are in the world, I wish you a beautiful weekend. I'll be baking a cake, finishing off my current book, and attending a lovely online celebration of autumnal All Hallow's sacredness (more on that below). Till next week my loves 🍁.

Love, Rachel xxx

PS If you'd like to delve deeper into the traditions surrounding Halloween, the incredible Rebecca Dettman is holding an online Festival of All Hallows this Sunday 3 May. She'll be sharing ancient wisdom around how this time of year has been observed in cultures around the world, and also speaking about how re-remembering and aligning ourselves with All Hallow’s ancient themes can help to support, heal and nurture us amidst the challenging lockdown period of Coronavirus.