It feels strange to write about fall when I’m experiencing lots of heat and sunshine in Pasadena. It’s around 86 now, yesterday was over 90. But this fall I’m excited to feel the joy and fun of the seasons. I bought a little pumpkin – it’s so perfect; it’s beautifully, classically orange, and rather than being one of those “mini” pumpkins (which are also super cute!) it’s like a perfect mini replica of a regular-sized pumpkin. So happy to start adorning my home with all the little markers of seasonal celebration!
Mabon Blessings!
I recently came across (through a share in Marshall the Witch of Southern Light‘s stories) an interesting and enlightening post on Mabon (the Pagan/Wiccan/Traditional Craft holiday celebrated at this time of year) in which Mhara Starling explains the Welsh history of the hero Mabon. I loved learning more about this. Whether or however you celebrate the Fall Equinox, I hope you enjoy the magic and mysteries of entering a fresh new season, full of possibilities….
Libra New Moon
We’re also in a Libra new moon! Via Sarah Regan at mindbodygreen:
“As the AstroTwins previously explained … new moons under the sign of Libra are all about balance, justice, beauty, harmony, ideas, and the element of air, so this will likely feel like a very mentally stimulating time, albeit a bit disorienting, thanks to the retrograde planets.
Luckily, though, we have a supportive trine between Libra and Mars in Gemini under this moon, as well as a brief conjunction between the moon, and Mercury and Venus in the late degrees of Virgo. All that to say, the energy is ripe for trying new things and getting a fresh start, just in time for the change of seasons.”
Speed for Your Process Toolkit
On the topic of trying new things, here’s a little something new I’m trying – I want to create something for you here everyday. Ideally at least one new article every day, or if not, at least a post or share in another channel or context. As someone with ADHD, I have a lot of feelings about consistency, and a deep awareness of the flaws in expecting (and often, possibly, falling short of) a standard approach to being consistent. For instance, I literally just found this meme on the ADHD_memetherapy Instagram page today on “ADHD people doing things the wrong way but it works regardless.” (Relevant, for my purposes here, of finding your own way to do “consistency.”)
I have a lot more that I want to share with you about life with ADHD too. I’ve likely mentioned on this page (or in my socials) that part of my vision for Magdalene is as a platform that supports neurodiverse individuals and creators, but I haven’t yet really opened up about my personal experience with this and why this area is so incredibly important to me. This week, hopefully, I’ll be diving more into this topic. I also think the concept of doing things in a non-standard way, has so much value for anyone of any identity, even if you don’t identify with the terms like neurodiverse and/or consider yourself to be neurotypical.
Another kind of new process I’m trying (and for me, this falls into “new” in terms of actually implementing it, rather than being an entirely new process for me!) is doing and implementing things more quickly. This can be excellent if perfectionism keeps you from actually putting your work out there!! Especially for a craft like writing, it can be easy and fun and in-the-zone to get absorbed in your work, but in a manner in which time spent in flow stretches more and more…. Like many rounds of drafting, doing more research, finding the just-right accompanying photos, finding the perfect word choice, finding the perfect examples to illustrate your points. As an alternative to the sheer amount of time our crafts can take, I believe a benefit of working quickly, as an exercise, is that it can open you to the quality of prolific-ness. Remember, this is just an exploration of speed as one practice. Not saying everything you work, write, or create has to be done quickly. But playing with speed can work as part of your toolkit to override the inner critic, the fear, of actually completing work and sharing it with others.
Happy creating! Love, Erica Magdalene
Photo from Pixabay.
Magdalene Journal 