A Song For Autumn
Because this season deserves odes and sonnets galore!
I guess I’ve always thought of myself as a witch, or that there is something witchy about all women. Not the evil, demonizing connotation but with that mother nature intuition women seem to fundamentally hum with. If woman reflects all seasons, Autumn is her vibrating with power. There’s something about this time of year that intuitively feels inexplicably female and powerful. The word itself is utterly delightful. Latin, which if languages were a season also, Latin would be autumn right?! An autumnal sunshine is like no other, a warming deep relief upon up-turned faces (instinctively seeking her orange rays) from the cold snap that threatens the air, as she gently melts away the early morning chill. Autumn is Friday, it’s a vibrant burst of colour oozing through monotonous grey, it’s the cold side of a pillow, it’s a homecoming. At least, it is for me...
Being an autumn Scorpio-baby, it perhaps makes sense why I come alive this time of year. Breathing in the crisp morning dew and exhaling visible puffs of air swirling up through a blue autumnal sky, smudged with pastel candy floss clouds and illuminated by a sunrise you’ll actually be up in time to wipe away sleep and watch - I am an exhilarated fire sprite stalking her realm for these three months of the year. I feel my most self, my most confident and defiant.
Autumn food - my god the food - is unquestionably the pinnacle of foodie cuisine. I’ve gone a tad crazy this year and stuffed pumpkin and squash into every dish I reasonably can: pumpkin chilli, pumpkin-spiced granola, butternut squash and sage risotto, the list goes on and each one has been a heavenly warm and comforting delight. I’ve even tried my hand at a pumpkin pie - unfortunately the visuals were fall-terrific, the taste: horrific.
Halloween was birthed smack in the middle of autumn and also happens to be my birthday eve. Perhaps this is why this seasons feels as though it belongs to me, why I feel such glee glancing at the glisten of spider webs in between railings, and the urge to pluck rouge rosehips that look like puckered lips, ripe for kissing, from my neighbor’s front gardens, and harbour a need to hear my footsteps rustle among fallen leaves deep within a scarlet, amber, saffron wood. To lie amongst the pumpkin patch as spirits tread lightly and peacefully for a time, while the veil between realms wanes just enough to feel the ghost of history return with its tales. My birthday will never not be predicated by the annual pumpkin picking and carving day with my family, and I bagged myself some in gorgeous gourdy colours, an unusual peach, burnt orange and spooky white - because nature just knows how to spice up our lives, and my home decor!
The gift this season brings best of all is the universally accepted post-summer pass time of a 'cosy-on down with a good book’. Fire roaring, sipping away at hot chocolate in the early eve, nose concealed deep within storied pages - and not a soul to disparage this autumnal anti-social event.
Some autumnal gems I’ve read this season have been: Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood, an original witchy tale about a relatable ‘teenage-30 year old’ who must prove her magical majesty or else lose her powers for good (check out my full review for my book of the month Instagram post).
Brightly I Burn by Molly Aitken, is another witchy recommendation but with a more historical realism angle, considering the life of the first woman in Ireland accused of witchcraft, this book questions what this real-life figure would have not only endured, but what her convention-breaking life would have been. It breathes a voice into all women condemned for their individuality, survival, self-determination - their power. Lyrical, yet well researched, this is an excellent historical fiction read.
However, if you’re looking for something a little more fantastical, halloweeny and action packed, then I would suggest House Of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland. Don’t let the YA rating fool you, this book genuinely gave me the goosebumps and had me scrunching my face in disgust at the ghoulish gore and fear. You’ll love the three Hollow sisters, each one ethereal and other-worldly-cool in their own way. The story itself is unique and written so beautifully you’ll be enthralled by it’s haunting grace.
I’m not a huge detective novel fan, that being said I have read a few excellent murder mysteries that have kept me guessing from start to end and would recommend you give a go: Kala by Colin Walsh, How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin, The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore, and The Little Sparrow Murders by Seishi Yokomizo.
If there’s one fantasy you must read this season (and one that is woefully underhyped) it is the The Shephard King duology by Rachel Gillig. Set in a magical medieval land, a young girl living with a demon inside her must navigate a dangerous land, threatened by an infected mist that is slowly creeping from the bordering dark forest, and lorded over by a King and a group of elite families who monopolize over a limited set of mysterious magical deck of cards. Seeped with original lore, eclectic characters, slow burn love affair, unexpected twists, and some seriously creepy and atmospheric scenes - it’s unputdownable!
I called this piece A Song For Autumn inspired by a book (shocker) I once loved called A Song For Summer by Eva Ibbotson, a wonderful book which at the heart of the Austrian-set period piece story is the author’s ode to the hazy summer months. And so this is my autumnal answer to that gloriously bright tale. An ode to the most primal of times. Summer is bright and brilliant. Autumn is vibrant and the last ablaze burst of life.Â
I know, for some, it is tempting to deck the halls and whisper the frosty words of Christmas as soon as midnight strikes November 1st but I implore you, let’s not dash away autumn so immediately. She still thrives for another month, let us relish in her remanence of warmth, of gentle daylight, her determined battle against hibernation; winter stays for such a long time, can we bask in the autumnal spell a while longer before the darkness truly sets in.