The Excess Drops Away, Like Leaves
My manifestation talisman station at the Beauty Boost’s Fall Glam & Glow party. We had a great time, so glad to hang with all of you who came and made magic with me!
When I was growing up in Massachusetts, the first sign of fall was always the first loss of summer heat. Here in North Carolina, and as I’ve attuned more to the seasons, I’ve started to measure the shift into autumn in a different way. First come the yellow walnut leaves falling in my yard. This happens in mid August, and I take it as a sign that the large amount of Life I’ve been holding, in the form of barbecues, swimming, traveling, creating, and processing, is about to wane.
This is a welcome sign! Summer is not only the season when nature’s growth is at it’s height, but I believe it’s also the time when our own growth for the year, when the things we’ve focused on and spent time with, are at their peak abundance. Emotional growth, creative projects, life goals - these things gestate in winter, bloom in spring, and grow grow grow in summer. By the end of August, I can more clearly see what have emerged as the themes of my year.
This year, they’re something like:
Learning to be creative without burnout, even when the slowness pisses me off
Becoming differentiated in my relationships by taking things less personally and letting go of controlling others’ behavior (especially when this masquerades as caring for them)
Learning how to make art and offerings based on what I want and need, and to trust that this will reach the right people
Healing PTSD so I’m less reactive and more self-loving
Rather than take on more themes after a summer’s passed, I’ve learned to let the cycle play itself out. Next turn of the wheel, I’ll get a whack at new things, but for now I’d rather focus on what I’ve already started, and on completing it with poise and pacing. As a triple fire sign / recovering over-maker and over-doer, this is more fulfilling for me.
I enjoy fall so much because all the excess drops away. Decisions are simpler because much has already been made and decided; I can continue to make things at a gentler pace, influenced by what came out of spring and summer.
Like the leaves falling away from the trees, I feel all the unnecessary focuses, worries, and energy fall away from my body. This process has started, and I’m looking forward to the rest.
One seed that has grown this year, that I planted with my friend Karen early in the year, is Decolonizing Creativity: a series of workshops that we created, inspired by our own desire for conversation and playfulness around serious themes like systemic overhaul, and questions like what to do when the news crushes your spirit.
We hosted our first workshop in May. It was great.
We developed that first idea into a short 3-workshop series called Composting Our World:
The purpose:
Visioning for a more hopeful future involves learning to let go of comfortable, familiar structures and composting them in order to grow something better.
But how do we actually learn the skills to do this?
The content:
In this 3-part workshop series, Karen and I will lead participants through an arc that begins with getting to know each other, shifts into learning to let go of harmful but comforting systems, and culminates in transforming our fear of collapse, endings and death into enthusiasm for building something new.
The inspiration:
We made this series because it’s daunting to look at systems that can feel safe (even when they are not safe for all) and choose to do something different, and because this becomes easier when we gather to share our struggles and connect with our inspiration.
The activities:
The time will include a mix of conversation, journaling, art making activities, and collaboratively visioning for something new. It is for people who say yes to these questions:
Are you at a loss for how to show up in this moment of social injustice?
Do you want to build towards a better future, but feel drained by the news?
Do you like being creative and having a little fun with serious topics?
Do you want to build community by grappling with these challenges alongside others?
Does our world feel really heavy? Are you over it?
I’m proud of what Karen and I have grown together, and excited to see the next places it takes us.
It’s also almost time for my September Patreon post - I’m thinking of making something about the harvest moon, the autumnal equinox, and getting clear on what this year has been about and then riding it out with poise and pacing, like I mentioned above. If you’re a Patreon subscriber (paid or free), reply and let me know if this sounds up your alley, or if you have something else you’d like more!
And if you like what I’m doing out here in the world and want to reciprocate with some support, consider becoming a paid subscriber over there on my Patreon.
Okay, enough housekeeping! Now it’s time for Pictures of Canning Tomatoes and Other Fun Cozy Stuff. Thanks for being here, and happy early autumn.
xox
Isabel
I like to can tomatoes at the end of summer as a way to gift Winter Me some summer abundance
The Beautiful Tomatoes
Tulip sleeping / communing with Satan
Events & Offerings
Composting Our World
3 part workshop, Nov. 2026
Visioning for a more hopeful future involves learning to let go of comfortable, familiar structures and composting them in order to grow something better.But how do we actually learn the skills to do this?
Come learn how with me and my friend Karen!
Talisman Creation at The Beauty Boost Events
Throughout Fall
TBB event details here
Author Cauldron
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