New Beginnings…

September is a funny time of year, don’t you think? The summer holidays are over, the leaves are beginning to turn colour, and the temperature is cooling. We’re about to head into the long, dark nights of Winter, and yet we are reminded of the beauty and abundance of nature in one final flourish as we celebrate the Harvest.

Autumn is my favourite time of year, and I’m far from alone in this. In many ways it makes little sense – we know we’re about to enter the grey and often harsh months ahead. But think about all the things that are yet to come – Halloween, Guy Fawkes, Christmas…The long, Winter months don’t even begin in earnest until January, so we’ve still got a good 3-4 months of joyful celebrations ahead of us. And we know it will be glorious.

There’s something truly magical about snuggling up by the fire, eating hearty stews, and slowing down a little bit. We’ve worked hard and played hard throughout the year, and now is a time to sit and reflect for a while. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many people feel like September is a good time for a fresh start. In this I think we are often more aligned to the Pagan Wheel of the Year, which begins afresh at Halloween, rather than in the dismal light of post-Christmas blues!

We know that this is the time to start dreaming of our future, considering where we have travelled over the past 12 months and where we’d like to be another year from now. It is a quieter time – we aren’t worn down by bitter weather, or exhausted by the busyness that comes with Spring. No, we’re able to enjoy a bit of luxury as we slow down a little and reflect, and it is within that reflection that I think our greatest dreams come alive.

For me, this year, it means actually having the time to devote to all the things I have wanted to achieve here at Spirit Kid Network but haven’t had the chance to do during the past year. It has been a challenging 12 months, to say the least, and many times I have felt like I’d never get anywhere with my dream. But now, as I face the final quarter of our calendar year, and the final couple of months of the Pagan year, I feel a renewed enthusiasm and excitement for the work I’m doing here. And it feels wonderful.

I’m going to be back later this week with a post on the Autumn Equinox, and I’ll be sharing more about my plans for a major resource on celebrating the Pagan Wheel of the Year with you in due course. But for now I wanted to simply share this wonderful feeling of renewed excitement that always seems to find me at this time of the year. It seems like the perfect start to September, and also a brilliant way to introduce yet another new venture I’m starting this Autumn…

Share The Joy is a linky that I have previously taken part in here at Spirit Kid Network, but only in a very haphazard way. From now on, I’ll be co-hosting it with 3 other brilliant bloggers, and every 4th week you’ll find the sign up form here at Spirit Kid Network. It’s a wonderful way to share the things that have brought you joy over the past week, and also find other blogs to read. I do hope that you’ll join us. Find out more about the linky at virtuallyallsorts.com, our host for this week!

Head on over to Carol’s blog to find all the other bloggers joining in with Share The Joy this week, and maybe even add your own! Click on the image below to be taken directly to the link up…