Transitioning to the Dark Time of Year – Embracing Nature’s Rhythm

This time of year is deeply transitional. In the past, I absolutely dreaded the dark time of year—the darkness, the death of nature, the lack of light, and the biological/seasonal depression. It felt so limiting and dire. Every year, I would start dreading it before it even arrived, expecting it to be horrible.

Things are different now. I see and feel the dark time of year in a completely new way.

As humans, our ancestors hunkered down during this season. They slowed their pace, did less, and conserved their energy. The focus was on staying warm and safe while the natural world hibernated. Technically, we are going against our own nature in many ways today—we don’t slow down. Instead, the holidays bring high expectations and stress, along with the constant pressure for it to be “the most wonderful time of the year.” We’re busy. We’re overwhelmed. We focus on the death around us, sometimes even internalizing it.

But now, my mediumship and magickal practice have taught me to embrace this time. As a medium, I can feel the shift in energy. With the celebrations of our beloved dead—Hallowmas, Samhain, Day of the Dead—spirit feels excited and active. Death is about letting go, willingly and unwillingly. It’s about releasing control and, in many ways, surrendering. Not giving up, but surrendering to what we can’t control.

The dark time of year calls for releasing control and surrendering. I give myself more mental and emotional TLC during this season to care for my mind and heart. I don’t wait until the darkness arrives to begin—I start now. I prepare mentally, I unwind, and I follow my nature as best I can. I let go of control. I give myself permission to slow down, to be still, to listen to spirit.

Right now, I’m embracing late summer—its fullness, the abundant plant life, the hum of active insects, and the energy of the animals. I’m being present with it. Fully. I savor it. I also savor the slow release of nature: the first leaves drifting to the ground, the cooler nights creeping in. I can dread it, admire it, and learn from it all at once. It’s the slow, needed descent into the dark time.

We are nature, and we are meant to slow down. I remind myself of this when that old, outdated dread starts creeping in. My body reacts to the seasons in its own way—sometimes uncomfortably (spring, I’m looking at you)—but I am still nature. This is the time to release, to surrender, and to let certain things die so they can be reborn in the spring.

I spend more time in nature during the fall and winter, especially. The nature spirits are still present—though they may feel different now. Some are quieter, while others stand out more because this is their time to shine. And this is my time to shine too. To go into the darkness. To let it envelop me.

When I embrace the stillness, when I listen, when I live more minimally, spirit becomes clearer and crisper. The wise crone energy rises as a source of power. Our loved ones in spirit feel closer, more present, because I have slowed down. I am still. I am bare—just like nature.