Samhain (Halloween) marks the moment we start walking down the basement stairs into the dark half of the year.
From November 1st to February 1st, we’re in that deep corridor — the heart of darkness. Every day, a few more minutes of light disappear and a few more minutes of darkness arrive until we’re fully submerged by the Winter Solstice.
But darkness doesn’t have to mean doom.
It’s not something to fear, and it’s definitely not a call to “slay the dragon” or “eat the frog" or any other productivity aphorism meant to spur us forward with adrenaline and dread.
Darkness, during this next phase of the year, is a gentle container.
A place for rest, recuperation, and dreams. This is a fallow season, a necessary pause.
One we desperately need.
But that doesn’t mean it’s always comfortable.
Allowing yourself to rest, to dream, to do nothing — that’s a muscle most of us barely use.
If that's you, reflect on these questions:
- How can you prepare your dream space? How can you make space to listen for good ideas? Not to act on them, just to capture them and incubate them.
- What are your sure-fire resilience breakers — the things that pull you away from yourself? Identifying them now will help you put up boundaries around them to prevent burnout.
- And what are the things that reconnect you to yourself — that give you the kind of rest you can feel in your soul? Because soul food is what keeps ups going when we're not sure what comes next.
This is what this time of year is really about. It's a transitory experience and transitions are always about preparation.
Which means, Autumn isn’t the slowdown — it’s the setup.
So, how can you engage with this process now, so that when winter comes, it doesn’t feel like punishment, but permission?
Our animal bodies already know this. 👆 There’s a part of us that senses the subtle shortening of the days, that quiet instinct that says, prepare.
Some people translate that into panic or urgency — Q4 hustle energy — and sure, maybe that’s part of it, especially if your work ramps up right now.
But I think most of it is just instinct.
We are not separate from nature. We are nature.
Think about it: Squirrels are stashing acorns. Bears are preparing to hibernate. Trees are pulling their sap back into their roots.
👉 So what about you?
Maybe it’s not “nesting” exactly, but something like it:
- preparing nourishment
- preparing rest
- preparing a soft place to land.
Not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually, too.
How are you cultivating your cozy landing spot for the cold months ahead? How can you use TODAY to take inventory for what you'll need for the road (well, *rest*) ahead?
