Practically Fall
I know it won’t technically be autumn until the equinox, but as always, once September arrives, my thoughts turn to fall. To be honest, they do it during about the last week or so of August (basically once we tip into Virgo season on the 23rd) , when the light is suddenly more golden, and the shadows begin to lengthen, and—just sometimes—you get a whisper of a cool breeze that lets you know things are about to turn.
Since it’s practically fall, it’s time for fall cleaning.
In my recent emails, we’ve been talking about making a brain dump list, and then about getting things back OFF that list. Maybe it’s something that just doesn’t have to be done after all, or something you can outsource (to a partner, child, or even to a hired person or service). Maybe it’s something that you just have to DO (like make that appointment for your mammogram or colonoscopy, or talk to the bank about a fee that you want refunded). Maybe it’s something you can schedule for down the road . . . in which case, I suggest actually putting it in your planner or on your calendar, or to set a reminder for some future date.
Doing a brain dump is part of decluttering.
When you are holding all those thoughts and ideas and plans in your head, you are essentially creating a ton of open loops.
Open loops take up a lot more space than regular thoughts do. Your mental “operating system” has to keep humming along at a somewhat taxing rate in order to make sure you don’t forget any of them or drop any of the many balls that you are juggling. Imagine your laptop trying to keep all your tabs open, running hot with the fan on high; that’s basically your brain when you don’t write your shit down.
Do yourself a favor, and do a brain dump. This past post gives good guidance on how to go about it.
Declutter and tidy for Virgo season.
It’s also Virgo season now, and if you know anything at all about Virgo, you know she likes a tidy house. Maybe you have kids who have gone back to school, so it’s a great time to get things sorted and reorganized for the new school year. Not for nothing, but for those of us who are part of the Jewish faith, the new year is coming soon (like, really soon this year, as in September 11th). It’s good to start a new year (or new week, or new day) with a tidy house.
Today, I went through my clothing and weeded out things that I haven’t worn in an age, or that no longer feel like me. I managed to free up seven hangers, and also to create a bit more breathing room in my dresser drawers. I’ve also gone through the stash of “backup” products under our bathroom sink to weed out things I won’t use or that were pretty much empty—why was there a big plastic bag with literally one small thing in it? Now there’s a bit more space and a LOT more order to that basket of things.
Other simple ways to declutter:
Return all kitchen or eating/drinking things to the kitchen so they can be washed and put away.
Throw out all trash and recycling that’s lying around. Once those bags or bins are full, take them out of your dwelling place and put them in the appropriate bin.
Fold and put away any clean (or clean enough) laundry.
This doesn’t have to be a solo job, and it doesn’t have to be drudgery, either. Make a game of it if you’re doing it with your kids or a willing adult. Put on happy tunes. Put together a simmer pot, light some candles, generally treat your home like it’s a welcoming, happy place, and it will do its best to become that for you.
Speaking of . . .
It turns out that the spirit of my house has a name.
Over on Threads about a week or two ago, I read a post about a woman whose house spirit has a name. This is not a ghost, but the energy of your actual house. As I sat reading, I started thinking “I wonder if my house spirit has a name,” but I only got about five words into the thought when the name EMILY! was pretty much hollered at me (okay, internally . . . I’m claircognizant). And the house spirit was SO HAPPY that I had asked.
So now when I talk to my house (what? like that’s weird or something?), I use her name. And the house seems even happier than before. Also, she has been demanding some energy clearing as a result, but that’s all good.
If you are a person who talks to your house, or believes that it holds its own energy, then you might want to ask your house spirit for its name and see what comes up for you. Perhaps you will suddenly “hear” a name in your head, as I did. Or maybe you will switch the radio on, and the song that’s is playing will tell you the answer. Or a book will fall open to a page, and there the name will be. Just ask the house spirit when the house is a bit quiet (not when folks are zooming around), and be open to getting an answer.
If you opt to do it, and you’re comfortable sharing, I’d love to know what comes up for you.
Magical cleaning supplies
Finally, I’ve made some magical cleaning supplies.
First, I blew some cinnamon through my front door for abundance. (Perhaps that falls under “making a mess”, but I’ve never had it actually result in a mess. I swear that Emily must just eat it.)
Then I made a simmer pot, which has been on the stove for three days now. I just top it off with more water. My particular simmer pot had an entire sliced orange (for happiness and health, luck and money), two bay leaves (for protection and purification), three cloves (protection, love & money), two large cinnamon sticks (success, wealth, protection, health), three black peppercorns (protection), 2 sprigs of thyme (health, purification, love), some chamomile (for peace and calm, money, love and purification), and some star anise (luck).
I initially used moon water from the full moon in Sagittarius several months ago, plus some Jupiter water that I made during the Jupiter cazimi in Leo back on July 29th. Using those particular waters helped add another level of luck and intention to my simmer pot. Since then, however, I have topped the pot off several times using tap water, because practical is practical.
I turn it on to simmer any time I’m home. My house smells divine.
Finally, I made some cleaning spray using citrus and herbs. Specifically, I put lemon peel, some thyme springs, and some dried rosemary from my rosemary plants that I gathered last summer. Then I filled the tiny glass spray bottle with white vinegar. It included some prior infused vinegar, so it smells divine already and is delightful for cleaning things like windows and stovetops, but also doorjambs and thresholds.
This was the prior bottle I made in April. Isn’t it pretty?
And now, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to my cleaning, clearing, and decluttering. Emily says I’ve had enough of a break for now.