Aligning Intentions with Nature's Rhythm

As the leaves turn and the air cools, many of us feel an intuitive shift, a quiet invitation to look inward.  The end of October and the arrival of Samhain (pronounced Sow-en), the ancient Celtic festival marking summer’s end, offer a powerful moment to pause, reflect, and realign before the deep winter sets in.

The modern calendar urges us to “start strong” on 31st December.  To charge into a new year full of resolutions and new routines. But when we look around, nothing in nature supports that kind of beginning.

In the northern hemisphere, the turn of the year happens in the coldest, darkest season. Our bodies crave warmth and stillness.  Our minds often feel heavy, introspective, or slow.  Yet, we’re encouraged to sprint forward with motivation and renewal, a message that can feel jarringly out of sync with how we actually feel.

This isn’t a personal failing or lack of discipline. It’s biology.

During deep winter:

• Our energy is lowest

• Our natural drive is to rest and restore

• We are emotionally and spiritually processing the year just passed

• The earth itself lies dormant beneath the frost

Perhaps winter isn’t a fault line in our motivation but a necessary dormancy.  Expecting ourselves to “begin anew” when nature is spiralling inward is like planting seeds into frozen ground: they simply cannot take root.

Why October and Samhain Hold Power

Samhain, celebrated around 31st October, is the midpoint between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.  Traditionally, it marked the end of the harvest and a time to honour what had been gathered, grieve what was lost, and prepare for the dark months ahead.

Energetically, this season is a threshold, the veil between past and future, between light and dark, between the outer world and the inner one.  It’s a time for clarity, not for sprinting forward, but for turning inward and asking:

• What have I gathered from this year?

• What am I ready to release?

• What intentions are beginning to stir quietly within me?

  
  

These are not resolutions.  They are seeds.  Ones that need the stillness of winter to germinate.

Living and Growing Seasonally

When we allow ourselves to flow with the natural cycles of the year, growth feels gentler and more sustainable.   Instead of forcing change in January, we can:

• Use autumn for reflection: Gather insights, acknowledge endings, and plant the first ideas for what’s next.  What will we focus on, where will we place our energies.

• Use winter for rest and gestation: Let plans form quietly beneath the surface, without pressure to act.  Take time to uncover and understand our own path.

• Use spring for renewal: Begin new actions as the light returns and energy rises naturally.

• Use summer for flourishing: Nurture what’s growing and celebrate progress.

October and November remind us that true beginnings rarely announce themselves with fireworks.  They arrive quietly, in falling leaves, in earlier nights, in the whispered instinct to slow down.

So instead of pushing yourself to set resolutions when the world turns cold, try this: light a candle, take stock, and listen inward.

Trust that the ideas taking shape now will find their full expression when you are ready to bloom again.