Crisp gold twirling leaves..

 ... falling downwards far from me; and into the gust.

This is one of my favourite haiku's I wrote at age 14 (there are three more verses but this is my favourite). Autumn is by far my absolute favourite season. The beauty of the leaves changing colour, the last berries and veg of the season being harvested, the slight chill in the air meaning I can wear a wooly jumper. I'm a big fan of the pinafore dress and turtleneck look. So I've been really excited to see how this autumn goes.

But lets talk about something fun! Autumn Altar décor This is by far my favorite and I can't wait to get started.

You can use pretty much anything you want to decorate an altar all year round, as long as you keep it tidy and clean, anything is a go. This year for autumn I have opted for my home made pentagram star and orange candles as my base, and quartz as my crystal of choice. Buttttt .....it needs that little pinch of pumpkin spice and autumnal flare... so I'm planning on going foraging for some decor! and yes i mean some decor from the outside! Leaves that have fallen to the ground and changed colour can be a fantastic altar addition, as can feathers, flowers and wild herbs ( as long as you know they're safe for you to touch and you vocalize your gratitude for using them)

Wild berries such as wild blackberries and mushrooms (I can not stress the need to be careful for wild mushrooms and berries- if you don't know what is safe, avoid picking anything!). Make great altar offerings and decor. Horse chestnuts and acorns are also easy to find at this time of year! ( Bonus: Horse chestnuts can help ward off spiders!) As are seasonal vegetables like gourds ( Pumpkins, Marrow, Courgettes etc.)

I'm quite fortunate that my family and my grandfather both have allotments (small pieces of farm land that is rented to the general public to grow fruit and veg on) which means seasonal fruit, veg and even wild flowers ( and on the rare occasion eggs) can be found quite well. I've actually managed to claim some pumpkins already from the allotments ready for October so will attempt to make a spiced pumpkin soup! Anyway back to the subject at hand... Autumnal Altars can include just about anything, some people even like to add bones, twigs, shells and other things they've found. Personally I'm not keen on animal altar items but as long as your finding these items, not hurting an animal to create these items, feel free to use these in a respectful manner.

I've created ,as a loose guide, a list of what you can include in your own altar. This is available to download from here Autumn Altar Ideas for free!

Until next time, blessed be

Why the long silence

 Hello everyone, 

Firstly happy Mabon (Autumn Equinox)! Hope you all have a fantabulous day.

It's been a very long time since I've updated on here- and I know I'm not the most regular person when it comes to blogging. I'm really sorry. I could list a number of reasons to you as to why I haven't written everything but to put it quite simple. I'm not doing so great in terms of my health, the old mental health and anxiety department and I've been dealing with quite a heavy workload whilst studying my apprenticeship at my local county council. SOooo this means I've have had very little time and energy to post anything.  There's a lot of pressure on me financially at the moment as I'm trying to save for a house, whilst paying rent, various loan repayments ... and it's just a bit stressful. I'm also playing the role of confidant and stress reliever to my friends as they are all going through something important so my time has just been filled with taking care of them. 

I've found that this all can sometimes be a bit too much for me mentally though, so I've been studying up a little on self care over the last few months; and am trying to ensure that I don't take on other's problems as if they are my own. As an empath this is very difficult to do as I'm pretty much a sponge absorbing any energy around me. However I have recently been releasing this energy and reclaiming my own. I've found just saying allowed " I release all energy that is not my own, especially that which is negative . And I reclaim what has been taken from me without my permission"  I've found that saying this allowed has just given me a bit of a breather- though I'm not sure if this is because it could be considered an incantation, because it's fueled with intention... or if it's simply because it's allowing me to release a deep breath as I say it.

So... on to something a bit more positive what have I been up to that's witchy.

Well I've been making Mabon/Samhain decorations. I've painted a ceramic pumpkin for Mabon and have nearly finished a skeleton themed bit of art for Samhain, I've also created a couple of new candle holders, created herb mixes for my witchy friend, completes a couple of spells to bring good luck and health... and as always have spent wayyy to much money on crystals. I quite easily am in the mid 200's for crystals now... oops.

Things I have done that's not so witchy?

I've started going to the gym 2-3 times a week after work, granted I've had to put it on pause due to some awful blister from my work shoes ( my pinky toes were the size of massive grapes-ewwww) 

I've , with the help of my dad, repaired , stained and reupholstered some free chairs we found in a skip.  All about the whole re-use and revamp nowadays and i can't let good things go to waste. 

What about you all, what are you up to?