End of Year Shedding

Around this time of year where I live it is shedding season. Tree bark begins to crack and fall like a beautiful wooden skirt around its trunk. Cicada shells appear everywhere as if by magic, their former tenants heralding their rebirth in deafening chorus. My animals too are surely tossing pawfuls of hair over their shoulders everywhere they go, shaking like summer snowcones in a cloud of falling fur.And at the end of the year, just shy of the solstice and deep in the last dark moon of the year, it feels utterly appropriate to shed.The process is partial and messy. It feels uneven and looks even worse as some parts shed easier than others. It is the embodiment of all becoming, our dance with death before we get to jig with rebirth.This dark time is well starred for ritual to let go, the perfect cauldron space. Riddle ye this darklings as the moon hides her face one last time. Each question taken in with a deep circular breath and a commitment to listen and act on your soul's guidance. First answer is the right one, whether you like it or not. Intuition cares little for what you think of it. Hand on hips : what prevents me moving forward? Hand on head : what old track do I no longer need to let play on repeat? Hand on heart : what is my greatest barrier to joy in my life as it is right now? Hand on high belly : how do I hide my light? Hand on low belly (womb if you be woman) : what blocks my rampant creativity?Dark moons are for musing and making space. Take each of your answers and scribe them on a fallen leaf. In the hours before the moon is new, let your leaves go and so too that which holds you back from within. Choose your element and your method of disposal : surrender them to fire, crunch them to dust, set them floating away down a moving stream, bury them far away.Exfoliate your life, in every sense.A dark moon done well is its own reward. This dark moon done well paves your path to the new year horizon.The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come~ Joseph CampbellWords © Kerrie Basha, 2017