Election Blues and the Dark Season
Death, renewal, transformation and small joys.
It was four months ago when I wrote about The Summer Solstice and Sensual Body, and how the light of the season draws me outside.
I was indeed drawn outside! Summer was lived in between work through jumping in lakes, paddling, and harvesting food and medicines now stacked in my kitchen shelves.
As I write this, light peers through the trees. I gaze outside my window as I work, preparing to chase the last bit of light before the day ends.
I’m pleased to be writing again, and you will hear from me more these coming months!
I am feeling nervous. I am sensing from the wider field of my body how we are collectively holding our breath. Although I live in Canada, what happens in the US election affects us all.
The dark season greets me with a sort of gloom mixed with relief. It’s time to go in. To help me lean into the seasonal change, I participated in a Cailleach Ritual from Claire Davey.
Samhain, pronounced sow (as in cow)-in (as in Inn), is an old Celtic festival. In the northern hemisphere it is marked on November 1st. Traditionally, Samhain takes place over three days from October 31 through November 2nd.
Like the Mexican festival, Día de Muertos, this is a time to honor our ancestors. The veil between our world and the otherworld, the world beyond the physical realm, is thinned. We may be able to connect with our ancestors, guides, spirits and deities with stronger perception.
Autumn brings with it the smell of composting leaves. Plants once blooming are now dying. It naturally feels like a time to let go.
I believe most of us want change, but we are bounded within Imperial powers that refuse to compost and die. Powers refusing to let go and be buried.
But this is the time of year when death energy is pervasive. So is transformation. Beneath the surface of the earth and within so many of us lies a determination for renewal.
Our longing is important. I hope we can collectively address scarcity and the places where we over-control and over-extract from the earth. I want to acknowledge the violence’s around us are real, especially more so to some than others.
I think many of us are being called to reach into the roots of what our ancestors want for us, which is healing and liberation.
In non-linear time, the past calls us forward. Our ancestors have wanted changes to happen that we desire now. I’m not only thinking of blood line ancestors, but queer and trans ancestors. I’m thinking of witches who knew how to be with the seasonal changes of death and rebirth, and what it takes to heal. They are supporting us to create the world we dream of.
We will all pass. We will all let go. This life guarantees that. Whatever happens today, on November 5th, I have a feeling that it won’t be over quickly. But it also won’t be forever.
During these difficult times, I want all of us to connect to what is dying and what is growing beneath the surface of death. Beauty is moving through us, despite all that is happening. Each of us are building something. We can come together and share this knowledge and wisdom collectively.
Let’s converse. Let’s help each other out. Let’s move together. Where is your joy? Perhaps it’s a causal meeting with a neighbor at the post office. Maybe it’s giving or receiving help from a friend.
To support yourself somatically these coming days, notice what you feel. If you’re dissociating somewhat, that’s okay. If you feel angry, good. Feel that.
Focus on your basis needs. Have you had enough water and food? If you need support, can you talk with a friend or counsellor?
When I teach a somatic movement class, something I often begin with is orienting toward what gives you pleasure in your space. We can do this through our eyes if we are sighted, or through touch.
Can you orient to the birds on your neighborhood trees? Notice the crunch of decomposing leaves under your wheels or feet. Create art. Sew.
If it’s available to you, listen to music that soothes you, with eyes closed and body open to receiving the vibrations and tones. Orient to these small joys.
If it’s available to you, engage with the world through your hands. In Body-Mind Centering® terms, we reach and pull towards us what we want to be in relationship with. Practice reaching and bringing what you want toward you. Be in relationship with it. You can hold on to it for as long as you’d like.
Then put it down. Let it go. Is it still with you? Can you leave it where it is?
During these next few days, I’ll be engaging my hands with playing the ukulele, and putting the last bit of straw down on the garden beds to encourage new life to shoot up come spring. I’ll be practicing rituals around death and transformation, keeping in mind what I hope we bury.
We must collectively feel what is vulnerable and tender. We must work toward accountability and justice.
Whatever happens in this election, remember that it’s not the end. I don’t think it will be easy. But there are fertile dreams that have been seeded by so many wonderful people. Like the resting plants in the earth waiting for spring, they will emerge.
I’m choosing to close comments on my posts but I’d love to hear from you! Email me at: contact@kellygordon.ca.
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