Week three: Why this is the perfect time for forest dwelling

Quiet. Contemplative. Mystical. Moody. Calm. Slow. Intentional. These are states of being in which I dwell these days. It’s late October + it’s getting quite dark up here in the northern hemisphere. Not the time to head out into the wild for a little forest dwelling, right?

Wrong. This is the perfect time for forest dwelling.

It is in the dark that we can bask in the states of being I mentioned before. Deep in the dark forest we can be alone. We can tap into our wild soul. And we can sense our intuition. Ultimately, all we have is our intuition + the light of the moon to guide our way. But that’s all we really need.

As we move closer + closer to ending of this cycle of seasons, we walk deeper + deeper on the dark journey home to our own souls. To the place where we sink into the deep space of darkness, where mysteries + secrets + magic + potential live.

We have to encounter the dark. We need to dwell in the dark. It is the place where the sacred + the wild meet. It is the place where we sense + hear + feel + experience the quiet nudges of our own spirit.

Without wandering in the dark forest, without allowing ourselves to dwell there for a bit, we miss out on the magic of our own souls. We miss out on caring for ourselves + on grounding down so that we can evolve.

This week, more than the past weeks in October, I feel the shift. We have definitely entered the deep, dark space. We have arrived at the beginning of the darkest season of the year. And, should we want to fully prepare for 2019 + continue to grow to discover the wild + sacred + soulful life that we are meant to live, then we must allow the darkness to come. Well, it’s coming anyway. It has arrived. What I mean is that we must allow ourselves to dwell in it. To pause, accept, and surrender to this season in our life. No matter what the season is. Because it has so much to teach us.

So, dare to enter the darkness. Dare to embrace it. Dare to be alone + to feed your wild soul. Dare to let your intuition guide you. And dare to let the moon show you that her phases are symbolic for the journey that we also make… from new birth to action to full illumination to releasing to resting to resetting + beginning again. From dark to light to dark to light.

Dwelling in the dark forest is frightening, I get that. Embracing the darkest season of the year is a struggle, I know. But, the magic + mystery + meaning of it all is worth letting go + settling in. No, we can’t see what’s happening. We often don’t understand what’s happening. And many times we don’t want what’s happening to be happening. But, it’s all a part of the cycle of life, of evolution, of growth. And, on the other side, we will be transformed. We will see + understand + even appreciate the shadows + struggles of the dark.

Luckily, as we enter the end of October and these witchy, spirit-filled nights, we have a full moon to light up our place in the dark. Right now, today + tomorrow, October’s full moon vibes are glowing through the dark night. Almost as a reminder that, even in the darkest of forests, even when we feel like we are dwelling in the forest for an eternity, it is never completely dark.

October’s full moon is here to shine a light in the shadows, to shake us up so that release what is not working for us, and to help us see our way forward to the life that we so deeply want to live.

But, we can only come to know these secrets of our soul when we take time to be alone in the dark, when we set our wild heart free, and when we get quiet so we can sense our intuition guiding us back out from the dark.

Yes, darkness has fallen. And we will dwell in it for a while. But we need not be afraid. We have everything we need right now: our souls, the moon, and the power of living in the present moment. No need to run. No need to hide. No need to escape. This is exactly where we are supposed to be for this moment in time. We need this part of the cycle of the seasons to teach us + prepare us for the amazingness that comes next.

Breathe deep, wild soul. You belong to the earth. And the dark forest is your home. You’re safe here, and you are ready to learn all that the wild + sacred darkness has to offer to you. Slow down. Rest. Reset. Listen. Trust the dark. And know that, as you dwell in the dark forest, roots are growing, magic is happening, your potential is expanding. This is not a time of nothingness. This is a time of silent, sacred, wild growth.

Descend into the darkness of the forest. Dwell there. And let her whisper to you the secrets of your soul.

Full moon blessings, wild ones. xoxo. liz.