Full Moon In Taurus
Nov. 8th
New Moon In Sagittarius
Nov. 23rd
In November, we embrace the energies of life & death, the past and future, of memories and hopes, grief and gratitude - all woven together in wholeness through a grateful and humble heart.
We celebrate the last of the year’s harvests, grateful for the abundance we rely on from the Earth.
We cover the bare garden soil supporting the Earth in her rejuvenation and rest, giving back to the gardens that gave us so much.
We root our practices and time in nourishment, fostering togetherness and intimacy as we prepare for the winter ahead.
We honor the ancestors while restoring relationships on behalf of all life to come.
Cyclical Insights
The nights are longer and colder and our nourishing ways bring us into preparing warming soups, roasted roots, and herbs that both strengthen our bodies and help quiet our minds.
We say goodbye to the business of summer and create ceremonial pauses to honor the more invisible aspects that make life rich. It takes intention and will to untangle ourselves from the over productive tendencies our capitalist culture pushes us into, but Nature is here to remind us that now is the time to find beauty in depth, in release, in darkness, in death.
In this time between the Fall and Winter it is said the veil is thin between realms. Many cultures celebrate the day of the dead, honoring their ancestors. As humans, we feed all that is not seen — by lighting candles and speaking the names of those who came before us both in our families and by acknowledging those whose land we live on in the United States.
Those of us living in the Los Angeles Basin of California on Tongva and Chumash land would not be here without those who knew how to care for the Oaks and the rivers, collect acorns and tend the wild lands.
It is time to connect to the invisible and the visible, the past and future, bringing healing through our hearts and presence.
What would you call this Moon based
on where you live and what you are noticing?
Themes of This Moon
Restore - Give Gratitude - Nourish your Heart - Befriend the Invisible - Acknowledge the Land & Ancestors
Movement: The Scorpio energies of deep waters and the cold nights invite us to leave behind rigidity and enter the depth of our senses through intuitive dance, meditative stretching and embodiment practices. Go outside with some music, close your eyes and move in a way that feels good. Dance like nobody’s watching.
Atmosphere: The chill and darkness of the longer nights invite us to strengthen our closest relationships, bring healing, and feed the forces of renewal with gratitude and reciprocity.
Earth Connection: Get to know the land you live on and how you can feed it’s restorative energies. If you have a garden, cover the soil with leaves, mulch or grow cover crop to build topsoil and ensure the Earth’s fertility for years to come.
Healing: Find out the name of the people whose lands you live on. This is especially important on colonized land such as the US, but also deeply healing and important around the globe in all countries. By acknowledging those who came before us, the gratitude for the trees, water, earth, shade, and clean air we breathe becomes more vast. Here is a beautiful interactive tribal map: native-land.ca
Herb: Motherwort is a supreme ally for the heart - physically, emotionally and spiritually. She is known to balance blood pressure, help those with irregular heart beat, strengthen the heart muscle while relaxing and releasing tension and stress that can lead to heart disease. As a nervine, Motherwort is a wonderful ally to those with anxiety, stress and heartache. Used for centuries to make a new mother’s heart more vast, loving and compassionate toward herself and others, this plant can be an ally for the holiday season when ancestral wounds or family stress can tighten a heart that is ready to open and heal.
Food Medicine: Tumeric is an ancient medicinal herb and antioxidant rich culinary spice that tonifies the heart, strengthens the immune system, supports the cardiovascular system, improves memory and brain function, protects DNA, fights free radical damage and reduces inflammation in the body. Add Turmeric with Black Pepper (for better absorption) liberally into your dishes, root roasts, soups and even desserts and elixirs like Golden Mylk.
What’s In Season (Fall)
Vegetables: Root vegetables: Carrots, Beets, Onions, Pumpkins, Yams, Potatoes. Brassica family: Brussels Sprouts, 
Cabbage, Cauliflower, Squashes & Pumpkins. Mushrooms
Fruits & Seeds: Pomegranates, Apples, Pears, Cranberries, Dates, Figs, Persimmons, Quince, Sapote, Walnuts, Pecans, Pumpkin Seeds
Seasonal Ritual:
Create an altar in your home honoring the wholeness of life and death. You may wish to include photographs of your ancestors or family, a bowl of Earth from the land you call home, a cup of water, a candle, some incense or dried herbs you can burn as an offering, and beautiful elements from nature such as leaves, stones, feathers, pumpkins, etc. On a beautiful paper, write the name of the tribe whose lands you live on, and the name of the watershed that provides water into your faucet. Look up your watershed on a map and draw a simple, artistic map that shows and honors the source of water you receive every day. Collect items that are meaningful and that represent the prayers in your heart. Light the candle of your altar and spend some time with it throughout the month.
Healing The Earth: Regenerative Gardening Tip
The way we garden and take care of the land can either be extractive or regenerative. Extractive practices like spraying pesticides, mining the Earth’s resources and pushing the land to produce more food with chemicals, depletes the Earth’s natural ability to regenerate and create more life. Regenerative gardening practices like covering the soil in the fall with leaves, compost, mulch or planting cover crop feeds the microbes in the soil and actually helps replenish lost topsoil, healing the Earth and ensuring she is fertile for years to come. Cover your garden this year and leave some plants that have dried so the birds have seeds to eat during the colder months. Plant a cold cover crop mix of seeds such as pea, vetch, fava, and you will find the Earth rich, moist and fertile in the spring to come.
Holistic Home : Compost
Fall is a great time to start composting at home. Your food scraps will quickly become incredible nourishment and food that replenishes the vitality in your garden and the Earth. When we throw our food scraps in the garbage, they rot in landfills causing methane gas which contributes to the climate crisis. 
When your home becomes a composting home, you take your trash out so rarely and it is never messy. Composting spiritually and physically connects you with the depth and magick of the life - death - rebirth cycle. There is a reason why everyone who composts loves it – it feels great! Feed the invisible forces of the Earth’s vitality by composting at home and at work.
Contributing Writer Marysia Miernowska
Marysia Miernowska is an herbalist, teacher, author and the Director of The School of the Sacred Wild. She can be found on instagram @Marysia_Miernowska & information on her courses are on her website: www.schoolofthesacredwild.com
