I wish I’d known, long before now, that sowing is a way to grieve.
As hands scatter seeds into earth beneath feet, they are really sculpting loss.
With careful, repeated movements, the hands are moulding
it into a thing like light on stone.
— From Solas, Solace, an essay from IN THE GARDEN, published by Daunt Books.
It’s the eve of equinox, and I’ve been with the earth.
Hands & words deep in the soil.
Gathering, preparing, harvesting, sowing.
Making ready for all that lies ahead.
And what a time to be thinking of the darkness.
Of all she holds.
Of her heart, her hearth, her wisdom.
I had the honour and deep joy, just as we made our way towards the eclipse full moon, of speaking with
for her exquisite new podcast THE ELEMENT SESSIONS. You can listen here, and if you’re not yet subscribed to beautiful BEAUTY & BONE, you really should.I’ll quote Layla’s summary of our conversation, if you’d like a sense of where we journeyed before listening—
‘We talked about soil and safety and seeds,
We talked about motherhood and mycelium,
We talked about gardening and expectations and failure,
We talked about outer space and time,
We talked about broken bones and heartbreak,
We talked about grace and grief.’
— If you listen, I’d love to hear if any of this resonated with you at this particular portal . . .
How have you marked this moment of our year; this turning towards the darkness?
How do you feel about moving inwards, earthwards, as we move into Autumn in this part of our earth?
Are you feeling a call towards the dance of your own becoming?
In brightness,
X
Listening to you both today felt like the perfect pre-equinox ritual, I loved so much of what you had to say, of the deep realisation about one-anotherness through being in the garden and that growth happens in the darkness. I have been thinking and writing about this rich and beautiful time of late summer/early autumn and what it means to me, much more like a deep integration and completion of everything that has come before rather than just a seasonal shift, as well as the beginning of a new cycle with autumn seed sowing and bulb planting. I feel very much immersed in this time, it is a fully body and earth experience xx
This was a gorgeous conversation and as ever, your words landed like a gift. Growth happens in the dark. Thank you. x