photography – Victoria Firth

It is said that this time of year is when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest, when connections with ancestors and lost loved ones are felt most easily.

I’m noticing a different closeness with the past…that the space between me and unwanted feelings and experiences has shrunk. Glimpses of people I’d rather not see again, ghosts of bad experiences, whispers of mistakes made, pickled fears, are all scratching at my back. Little micro haunts and taunts provoking another round of navigating old wounds.

But although they feel close by, they also remind me how far Ive come, my provenance, and Ive decided that there are occasions when it's OK not to look over your shoulder. That to always have your eye in the rear view mirror brings its own challenge. Sometimes you can leave what's behind, behind, and face forward even if it feels impolite to your own experience.

The chatterings are still there, dark and toothy, but I’m not going to turn my head.
It's the most vibrant autumn I can remember and there's much more pleasing things to look at.

Image from ELEMENTAL a performance photographic collaboration with Holly Revell.

22nd September 2024

I can find this time of year difficult, the shift between seasons…

I love autumn but I’m not ready for summer to be over yet. Sometimes, it takes me a long time to slow down and a stretch of space to remember how to play. The earlier, darker nights seem to impinge on possibility and suggest harder times ahead with less light and more layers to wear, plus the long shadow of festive expectations.
I know when I revel in the joys of autumn there are many new pleasures to be had, but it often takes until Halloween for me to embrace and embody them, for my mind and body to catch up. In the meantime I pass through weary, restless, heartful, heavy places. Things land deeply and slip rootlessly at the same time. My sleeping shifts, and so does my dreaming. Thoughts and emotions try to burrow in before the den is built.

…change is afoot and in the air. And all change means letting go, as well as opening up, and dealing with now. So this Equinox I am being intentional. Noticing my resistance, my yearning and paying attention to the small truths of what is. The days the ground is a little drier and the days when it’s more muddy. The colour of the leaves, some already turned and some just ripening to their autumn palette. I’m resting a little more than would be my habit, and I’m going outside a little more than is my usual.

Nature is a good friend and it’s nice to just go see her.

#autumnequinox #happymabon #lightanddarkness #seasonchange #noticingthesmallthings #outsideinside #rest #beingwithwhatis #witchingabout

Images from ELEMENTAL a performance photographic collaboration with Holly Revell.

**************

Tag: photography

Samhain

Mabon