Magical windswept path

October is filled with powerful energies and magic, bubbling and sparkling as the rain falls. A recent storm arrived as the veil was lifted and that was no coincidence. This then resulted in an abundance of leaves and twigs at my doorstep. 

Big wild mushrooms sprouted overnight. A couple of fallen trees close by then blocked a lane, preventing cars using it. However it allowed plenty of time for birds and other animals to gather as much as they could for their nests. A stream broke its banks, causing a flood that turned into a new lake where families of ducks and swans all enjoy a cool Autumn swim. Various roots of trees dipped in the water!

The rough winds brought over extra seeds for the soil that went dry in the Summer, carrying seeds over to the farmlands and lawns, helping to plant new shrubs and develop into new saplings. Be thankful of the rain and wind as it gives us water and fresh air. Animals can find new homes where older trees fell from past storms.

Just like any Autumn and October, strong gusts of wind bring rain and always misery, but once again, it can also help the environment, cleaning it, sowing upon the ground, sweeping away dead leaves and dried shrubs that burned in Summer heatwaves, to wash them away up river and down into drains and tunnels. Spirits of majestic trees accept the storms that come seasonally. For their own fertile seeds will be sprayed across the soil far and wide. 

 

(All photos used on this post belong to ©Storm Valkyrie).

Storm Valkyrie 🌱🍃

The veil thinning and hunters moon

 

This is a time of Samhain, with the thinning of the veil, or to be more detailed, when energies become stronger and humans are more sensitive to the world. The full moon lies on the 28th this month and it's called "Hunter's Moon". This is near Halloween/Samhain/Alfablot and the full moon's influence will be strong. Other October moons are also called Blood Moon and Red Moon, which is symbolic of the season, the Autumn leaves and the warmth of food and hearth. Samhain is the last of the three harvest phases, and it's best to go for a walk and pick food carefully, foraging and cleansing. 

Here is a page at Farmer's Almanac about Hunter's Moon: Follow this link

It's a time you can choose to honour ancestors. You can remember them by lighting a candle, leaving red roses for them, walking through a graveyard, meditating and placing an apple under a tree. It shows your thanks for them, and that you keep them in your thoughts. You can also look at old family photos of loved ones, looking at your family tree, researching your ancestry, and carry dark coloured stones with you. Enjoy the season.

Storm Valkyrie   

Autumn news

 

There's a few minor things to discuss briefly on a quarterly news round-up, about things happening this Autumn so far in 2023. This concerns the state of plants, harvest news, astro news, magical news and interesting findings news. 

It's been observed that many tree leaves have gotten black spots and some look like small burns, with holes appearing. It seems to happen around a span of several miles from the river, and alongside it each side are lush gardens that grow a variety of fresh flowers and exotic flowers but mostly rose bushes. It seems possible that the disease Rose Black spot has spread to other plants in the wild. This rose disease is caused by a fungus and it can be treated. So please go outside and check out your local tree leaves and report any sign of spots and disease.

Due to a damp summer this year, it was predicted that it could make a bad harvest, well, as if by magic, harvests across the country has been successful. Vineyards have noticed an abundance in berries and grapes. It's believed it was caused by a very warm September, as many call it an Indian Summer, which saw a rise in temperatures. Many pumpkins have been growing a lot in moist warm conditions and it's expected that large pumpkins will be ready in time for Halloween.

For astronomy news this October, the website Astronomy.com mentions a number of starry events that will happen this month. If this interests you, click on the link and it will open in a new window. HERE: Sky this month October 

On magical news, there's a development in the University of Exeter offering studies in witchcraft and magic. It's going to be a multidisciplinary degree, will begin next year and it will cover many aspects of magic as through the lens of  academia and science. This was in reaction to the growing public interest in folklore. 

Discovery news, there's something in the Oz fantasy saga, written by L Frank Baum, with regards to the yellow brick road. They found something amazing and similar to that in a recent dig in Dartmoor near a sacred site. It's an ancient path made of crystals! That must've led to somewhere magical.

This is all for now.

Storm Valkyrie