Wildheart

In this week’s episode we chat about richness, and why this feels so apt right now, both in the wild world and in ourselves.

Why have we chosen to talk about richness?

* The season of autumn is full of richness! Think jewel-like colours (flowers, berries, fruit), hearty soups and stews, and deep orange sunsets

* There’s an invitation at this time of year to ‘sink in’ to life - deepening into our inner world

What do we chat about?

* The abundance of harvest season, and materiality of a very different kind - a sensuousness and earthyness

* The contrast between wealth and power, and this wilder version of richness

* The process of enriching the quality of existence or experience

* Recognising the ways in which we are rich, even if we don’t feel like it

In this week’s episode we chat about gathering, the continuation of harvest season, and how / why we might welcome in a more reflective month.

Why have we chosen to talk about gathering?

* It’s the guiding word for September in our Rewilding Wheel framework

* There is a strong association with the harvest theme that continues from August into September (and even October) - ‘gathering’ from the land

* We might also think of ‘gathering in’ after the drifting of summer - reintegrating, realigning, reconnecting with our rhythms and routines

What do we chat about?

* Gathering as a way to help us ground and re-centre

* Gathering as an act of recalibration; seeking wholeness again after the dissolving that can happen during the summer months

* How the Weaver archetype encourages us to consider where our lives or our sense of self have ‘come loose’ or become knotted, and how we might work towards the process of re-weaving or untangling

* Coming back to self, and actively, intentionally engaging in this process

In this week’s episode we chat about the concept of the ‘edge’, and what it means to embrace this in our lives.

Why have we chosen to talk about edge?

* The sense of an ‘edge’ symbolises the threshold between summer and autumn

* There’s a sense of blurred boundaries within ourselves at this time of year, and often we can struggle to find and hold our ‘edges’ when everything feels fluid

* Autumn usually tends to bring quite a lot of reflective energy, which can cause us to push up against our edges in terms of self-exploration and self-development

What do we chat about?

* Outer limits and boundaries

* Blurred or fluid edges vs. a hard or sharp split

* Edging towards something - inching, moving gradually

* The idea of using or embracing your edge; what makes you unique

In this week’s episode we chat about what it means to pause and still in the liminal month of August, and in our lives.

Why have we chosen to talk about lingering?

* It captures the liminal feeling of August - the sense of it being a month that almost exists outside of the usual rhythm of life, when our relationship with time can often feel a bit different.

* However you feel, when we look to the wild world at this time of year, there is a real sense of slowness and intention: grains, nuts, fruits, berries, seeds are all biding their time, ripening, waiting to be ready - just taking the time they need. The process can’t be rushed, it will happen when it happens - and meanwhile they’re all just existing; absorbing what they need.

* Combine this all seems like an important lesson in ‘being here now’.

What do we chat about?

* What aspects of a season / situation we can take with us on our onward journey - what do we want to linger in the air as we move into the next phase that will be helpful or pleasurable to carry with us?

* Being present in the moment and not wishing away the current phase / season

* Connotations of softness, caressing - being gentle and compassionate, connecting with the senses

* The value of lingering vs the stagnancy of lingering

In this week’s episode we chat about the magical, golden, transformative process of alchemy.

Why have we chosen to talk about alchemy?

* Our seasonal symbol for August within our Rewilding Wheel framework is golden fields - gold is a colour that’s very present in the British landscape at this time of year as all the grain and grasses dry and mature, and on a breezy day the rippling movement through these fields can resemble liquid gold.

* Alchemy, of course, is traditionally associated with the idea of turning base metals into gold, so it feels like a concept that is very connected to the land in this season - not only for its link to gold, but also for its essence of transformation, which is one of the key themes of autumn.

* When we think of alchemy, we might also think of actions like melting, dissolving, mixing, combining - all things that are present in August.

* Alchemy is also considered by some to be connected with seeking the elixir of life, and that feels relevant to the vibrant, vital Leo energy that guides us through much of August from an astrological perspective.

What do we chat about?

* What deep transformation really means

* How and why we might chooose to transform instead of release

* Holding uncertainty as part of alchemical transformation

* Trusting in magic

In this week’s episode we chat about making a conscious choice to soften, especially as we navigate the shift from late summer into harvest season and beyond.

Why have we chosen to talk about softening?

* ‘Soften’ is our word for August within our Rewilding Wheel framework

* It reflects the slowing of the wild world throughout this month - the mellowing as green turns to gold, the ripening rather than growing, the noticeable dimming of the light at the end of the day

* Much like ‘drift’, the final word we explored last series, it encapsulates the blurring of time and structure that can happen at this time of year

* It reminds us to be kind and gentle with ourselves as we navigate the remainder of summer, and to replenish ourselves where we can before the bustle of autumn

What do we chat about?

* Subverting the cultural narrative that ‘softness is weakness’

* Holding and sharing our tender parts without shame

* Flow, fluidity and the wisdom of the incoming water element (being flexible, moving with life rather than against it, allowing rather than forcing)

* How the Alchemist archetype of August can support us to soften

In this week’s episode we chat about what it means to drift, both in terms of the season and in our lives.

Why have we chosen to talk about drifting?

* We’re now moving into late summer, whcih can be a time of year when all our structures and routines start to stretch, loosen or even dissolve completely.

* It can feel very much like a season of floating or flowing, especially when the weather is as hot as it has been across much of the UK recently!

* There’s something quite soothing about the word ‘drift’ - as though it’s a slower, softer state of being; a kind of loosening that feels good rather than scary.

What do we chat about?

* Whether drifting is aimless, rooted, or both

* Drifting as a phase of change and transformation, and its essential role in the wider cycles of the year and of our lives

* How drifting can help us to loosen our grip and trust the unfolding of our lives

* Why drifting is connected to rest without (or with less) guilt, as well as dreaming, imagination and re-invention

In this week’s episode we chat about tending to ourselves, and also the wider ecosystem of community and the earth.

Why have we chosen to talk about tending?

* There is a slowing of the season/year - we’re nurturing what’s already come into being rather than pushing for new growth

* We can see the Summer Solstice as an invitation to pause and take stock - to tend to ourselves, our needs, our desires

* At the same time, we’re anticipating harvest season and the tending that comes with this time of ripening and gathering

What do we chat about?

* Why it’s time to slow down and pay attention after the ‘quickening’ and ‘flourishing’ phases of the year

* Directing our resources - both in terms of physical resources (money etc) but also mental/emotional resources (time, thought/awareness, attention, effort, love/care)

* Considering how we can mother ourselves in the ways we need - taking responsibility for our own development, wellbeing and safety

* Avoiding the societal trap of continual striving

In this week’s episode we chat about feeling alive, and what that actually means.

Why have we chosen to talk about being alive?

* We’ve now reached the peak of the year, when seasonal energy is at its height and the wild world is visibly most vibrant

* This is a time when many of us can feel ‘recharged’ by the sun (though not true for everyone)

* Aliveness is a word we use all the time in our work to describe the felt experience of living more wildly, and we haven’t talked about it in depth before so midsummer feels like a good time to do so!

What do we chat about?

* Authenticity; realness - the true sense of someone/something

* Physicality and sensuousness - feeding the senses

* Being ‘in it’ - immersed, engaged, actively participating

* Being connected - feeling part of the world

In this week’s episode we chat about reach, and how it’s actually much more complex than we might imagine.

Why have we chosen to talk about reach?

* We’re coming to the solar zenith of the year - the highest point of solar energy. Back in early spring on the podcast we were talking about the word unfurl and how the journey through spring and summer is a kind of unravelling and stretching out - so this point in the year feels like the moment when we’re fully extended, reaching towards the light and towards our vision for this cycle.

* This idea of being extended feels quite relevant generally during the summer, which, as we’ve talked about previously, can be a season in which we can feel over extended - like we’re reaching beyond our capacity. So we thought talking about the concept of reaching might open up some new ways to think about what it could mean, especially at this time of year.

What do we chat about?

* How reach can be connected to a sense of pushing or striving - moving towards something but not quite being there yet, so things always feel just out of reach

* Reframing reaching out as a reciprocal act

* Imagining the process of reaching out as the exploration of mycelial threads as part of a thriving ecosystem, with an awareness of capacity

* The arrival fallacy - how there isn’t one end destination, and reaching is more a continual process