Significant dates from folklore, lunar and meteorological activities this month in dark turquoise
Selected Events (Harmony Healing and other events as notified) in Violet, Forest Bathing Events in green.
Timings given are UK time (GMT), click here to convert to your time zone
December in Britain is the month with the least hours of daylight, but sunlight hours increase from 21st onwards, after the Winter Solstice. The increased daylight - promising optimism - is celebrated as Yule, and here in the UK, Christmas Day on the 25th, which pre-Christianity, in Roman times, was celebrated as the birth date of Sol Invictus (Roman Solar Deity).
Landscapes and gardens are skeletal now, except for the evergreens, looking charming when snow-covered and laced with spider's webs kissed by frost. Keep the shivers at bay with seasonal soups utilising Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, carrots, beetroot, parsnips, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, potatoes and winter squash. Enjoy nutty snacks from chestnuts, hazelnuts and walnuts. Late fruiting apples, pears and quince also remain plentiful together with mushrooms and black truffles.
The month of December was named after ''decem' meaning 10th in Latin, as November was the 10th month when the year started in March. To the Anglo-Saxons, December was called Ærra Gēolameaning “before Yule" or "First Yule".
During December, we can also look forward to the British Celtic Festival of Yule (Winter Solstice = 21st December) followed by the Christian Festival of Christmas (25th) which is also the Zoroastrian Celebration of Zartosht-no Diso and St Stephens Day/Boxing Day (26th) plus two annual Roman Festivals Bona Dea (3rd) and Saturnalia (17th), and the month culminates with New Year's Eve (31st), celebrated as a two-day festival called Hogmanay in Scotland. We have Forest Bathing events on Saturday 4th (Newlands Corner, Guildford), Monday 6th (Horsell Common, Woking) and Saturday 11th (Harry Edwards, Shere). Our Mindful Chakra Alignment Course runs for three consecutive Wednesday evenings commencing 1st December (see listing below for details and link) and our Full Moon Meditation takes place 7.30-9.30pm (UK time) on Saturday 18th, with the Solstice Full Moon peaking the following morning at 04:36. Aligning with the moon cycle is very therapeutic, and our next Lunar Alignment Programme commences with the New Moon on 2nd January 2022. We also have the Geminid Meteor Shower peaking 13th/14th.We have Forest Bathing and Harmony Healing vouchers available as Christmas gifts.
Wednesday 1st December is the start of Harmony Healing Virtual Module: Mindful Chakra Alignment and Unity Consciousness(£66), 7.15pm - 9.30pm (UK time/GMT = UK & USA friendly evening hours), 2¼ hours for 3 consecutive weeks ending 15th December, worth ½ unit towards RSE Level 1. Held remotely on Zoom.
Friday 3rd December is the Roman Festival of Bona Dea, this being a smaller festival than the one celebrated on 1st May but similarly for women only. In Roman mythology, Bona Dea (literally "the good goddess") was the goddess of fertility, healing, virginity, and women.
She was the daughter of the god Faunus and was associated with supplying medicinal healing herbs in her temple garden. Bona Dea was also invoked for freedom from slavery; many of her worshippers were freed slaves and plebeians, and many were women seeking aid in sickness or for fertility.
Saturday 4th December, 10.30am - 12.30pm, Forest Bathing+ at Newlands Corner, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the Surrey Hills, £25 (+ Paypal fee = £26.25). This is a 2 hour Forest Bathing+ session which will take place in all weathers except 30+mph winds.
A deeply relaxing and rejuvenating experience, and which, despite the title forest bathing, does not involve any swimming! Some of the scientifically proven benefits of spending time in woodland include reduced stress levels, stronger immune system response, and a stabilised cortisol cycle. Booking link.
Email to go on our forest bathing mailing list.
Important News about Newlands Corner. Newlands Corner, our beautiful ancient forest site in Guildford Surrey, have put up our site rental price so much that we don't know if we will be able to continue offering public sessions there. We had to cancel our September event as the venue hire cost wasn't going to be covered. So, if you want to join us Newlands Corner, please book in ASAP for our final 4th December session as it is unlikely to feature as a 2022 destination. We will be forced to cancel Newlands events one week before if numbers are low, so please don't leave it to a last-minute booking or you stand to be disappointed.
Saturday 4th December @ 07:43 is the New Moon, Supermoon and a total Solar Eclipse (only visible in Antartica but partially visible in South Africa and Namibia). More details at timeanddate.com. A solar eclipse happens whenever the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, hence partly or totally obscuring the Sun for anyone viewing from Earth. This eclipse will not be visible in London but will affect all of us energetically.
The New Moon Abundance Ritual should be carried out within 24 hours after the New Moon. It needs to be after the New Moon because the moon should be waxing (getting bigger again) to carry the manifestation energy. There are video instructions on my You Tube Page.
The New Moon is great time to create Vision Boards. How about creating one for 2022?
Monday 6th December, 10.30am - 1pm, Forest Bathing+ with Joanna & Katie at our new Woking (GU21) location in Horsell Common, £35 (+ Paypal fee = £36.75).
Immerse yourself in the healing elements of nature and connect deeply with all your senses. Spend 2½ hours in the woods mindfully connecting to netaure through simple sensory exercises and a treelaxation. Join us at this mixed woodland and heath location, featuring many Scott's pines and silver birches. This historic common land was featured in HG Wells' best selling novel.
A deeply relaxing and rejuvenating experience, and which, despite the title forest bathing, does not involve any swimming! Some of the scientifically proven benefits of spending time in woodland include reduced stress levels, stronger immune system response, and a stabilised cortisol cycle.
This session which will take place in all weathers except 30+mph winds or electrical storms. Booking link. Email to go on our forest bathing mailing list.
Saturday 11th December, 11.00am - 1pm, 2 hours Forest Bathing+ session with Joanna at Harry Edwards Healing Sanctuary (shere, near Guildford, Surrey), £25. See for more. This Winter Forest Bathing+ session will take place in all weathers except 30+mph winds.
A deeply relaxing and rejuvenating experience, and which, despite the title forest bathing, does not involve any swimming! Some of the scientifically proven benefits of spending time in woodland include reduced stress levels, stronger immune system response, and a stabilised cortisol cycle.
Book via our the Harmony Healing shop. Email to go on our forest bathing mailing list.
Monday 13th - Tuesday 14th December is the peak of the Geminid Meteor Shower. The Geminids are considered by many to be the best annual meteor shower and are known for producing multicoloured meteors 65% being white, 26% yellow, and the remaining 9% blue, red and green.
Rates typically peak at 100-120/hour; this high activity lasts for several hours. It is certainly possible to see 80-100 Geminids in a single hour, but only from a dark site! The Geminid Meteor Shower is expected to peak in activity on the night of December 13th-14th, although some meteors should be visible from December 7th – 21st. The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation Gemini. Best viewing is usually to the east after midnight. The waxing Gibbous Moon approaching the Full Moon early on 19th December will hamper viewing due to light pollution. Go to timeanddate.com for further information.
Friday 17th December is the Roman Festival of Saturnalia. This was the popular banquet commemorating the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn. It was marked by tomfoolery and reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters ostensibly switched places.
The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public feast, continual partying with private gift-giving, gambling and a celebratory atmosphere that reversed the usual Roman social norms with masters provided table service for their slaves. The poet Catullus referred to it as "the best of days."
Saturn was an agricultural deity who, in Roman Mythology, was associated with the Golden Age, when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labour in a state of innocence. Further information, courtesy of Wikipedia.
Saturday 18th December is our Full Moon Unity Consciousness Meditation, 7.30-9.30pm UK time (GMT/UT). This is the night before Full Moon takes place at 08:58 on the 19th.
During this session, we connect with other like-minded people and together we work through a mindful chakra balancing process using colours and etheric crystals, with the aim that all participants will experience a degree of unity consciousness. Participants all receive a deeply healing experience. Cost to participate is £20 by online BACS payment (small admin fee added for PayPal). This activity serves as a good taster of Joanna's work in general. For more details and to book, see Harmony Shop.
Sunday 19th December @ 04:36 (Winter Solstice Micro Full Moon).
Click here for Angela McGerr's Full Moon Meditation with Gabriel, from Angela McGerr's A Harmony of Angels, available from the Harmony Shop (signed by Angela).
Between this date and the next New Moon is considered as a good time energetically for detoxing the body. A brilliant time for oil pulling.
Full Moon Image by Ruvim from Pexels.
Tuesday 21st December is the Pagan Solstice @ 15:58. It's the Winter Solstice here in the UK - the shortest day of the year with just 7 hours and 49 minutes daylight. The solstice itself is the moment the sun is shining farthest to the south, directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, so the time varies every year, between December 20th and 23rd.
The solstice marks the moment the sun shines at its most southern point and has been celebrated as a major Pagan festival, with rituals of rebirth, for thousands of years. Revellers gather at Stonehenge to watch the sunrise on the shortest day. Then, in the Northern Hemisphere, our days will gradually get longer until the summer solstice on Tuesday 21st June 2022 at 10:13.
Many of the traditions now associated with Christmas had their roots in Pagan Winter Solstice celebrations; including Yule logs, mistletoe and Christmas trees. The Druids - an ancient Celtic order of priests, teachers, diviners and magicians who gleaned knowledge and enlightenment from sacred landscapes and ancient trees such as ‘Tutorial Oaks’ - used evergreen trees, holly and mistletoe to represent everlasting life. Druids would consider the cutting of trees as an offence against nature, but would decorate them with colourful rags tied on the branches.
Saturday 25th December is the Christian Festival of Christmas, commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.
This is also the Fasli Zoroastrian Calendar is Zartosht-no Diso, commemorating the anniversary of the death of the prophet Zarathustra.
Sunday 26th December is St Stephen’s Day in the Christian Calendar, also known as Boxing Day.
Friday 31st December is New Year's Eve and Hogmanay in Scottish tradition.
Many Scots had to work over Christmas because celebrations were virtually banned in Scotland for around 400 years, from the end of the 17th century to the 1950s.
The Protestant Reformation led to the Presbyterian outlook, branding Christmas as a Popish or Catholic feast which was therefore prohibited. As a result, their winter solstice celebrations took place at New Year when family and friends gathered for a party and exchange presents, especially for the children, which came to be called Hogmanay. Historians believe that the Vikings who, coming from even further north than the UK, paid strong attention to the passing of the shortest day and hence may have initiated the post-Solstice celebrations. Image of fireworks over Edinburgh Castle by Chris Flexen.
There is no definitive view on the origins of the word Hogmanay. Many Scottish words have derived from Flemish, so one popular view is that Hogmanay came from hoog min dag which means great love day, whereas the Scandinavian word Hoggo-nott described the feast preceding Yule (itself a Scandinavian word commonly used in Shetland where the Scandinavian influence was strongest).
Alternatively, Hogmanay could source from the Anglo-Saxon, Haleg monath, Holy Month, or the Gaelic for new morning, oge maidne. Phonetically, a good candidate night be the similar sounding French expression Homme est né which means Man is born. Also, in France the last day of the year when gifts were exchanged was aguillaneuf, though specifically in Normandy presents given at the year-end were hoguignetes.
In Scotland a similar practice to that in Normandy was noted, rather disapprovingly, by the Church.
"It is ordinary among some Plebians in the South of Scotland, to go about from door to door upon New Year`s Eve, crying Hagmane." Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence, 1693.
Common Scottish practices on 31st December, before midnight, involve a thorough cleaning of the house (including taking out the ashes from the coal fire) plus the superstition to clear all your debts. Immediately after midnight, the long-held tradition to sing Robert Burns's For Auld Lang Syne has now evolved into a popular international custom.
Many areas of Scotland often developed their own local Hogmanay rituals such as the fireball swinging rituals in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, in northeast Scotland. Chicken wire structures - filled with old newspaper, sticks, rags, and other dry flammable material - are attached to lengths of wire, chain or non-flammable rope. When the Old Town House bell marks the New Year, the balls are set alight and the celebrants set off along a heritage route, swinging the burning balls around their heads as they go. At the end of the ceremony, any fireballs that are still burning are cast into the harbour.
Saturday 1st January is New Year’s Day and is a Bank Holiday in the UK and time for New Year’s Resolutions!
Saturday 1st – Wednesday 5th January (peaking on the 3rd, 4th January) is the Quadrantids Meteor Shower; visible from 1st – 5th January after midnight and peaking in the early hours of the 4th. With the New Moon on 2nd January, it could be a good year. Typically, 40 or so bright, blue and fast (25.5 miles per second) meteors will radiate from the constellation Bootes, some blazing more than halfway across the sky. A small percentage of them leave persistent dust trains. This shower usually has a very sharp peak, usually lasting only about an hour.
The particles that cause the Quadrantid meteor show originate from the asteroid 2003 EH1 an asteroid that is probably a piece broken off from an obsolete comet. Since the orbit of 2003 EH1 is highly inclined to the orbit of the Earth, the Earth passes through it very quickly. Thus, the Quadrantid meteor shower is an extremely short one, lasting only a few hours. With the recent Full Moon on 30th December, there could be too much light pollution to see much.
Harmony Healing Blog updates can be emailed to you
The Harmony Healing regular Blog update can be emailed out with more information as the events above happen (updates are headed with a title detailing the occasion so you can choose whether to open it or not), featuring New and Full Moon, meteor showers, eclipses and other meteorological events, interesting anniversaries, ancient festival dates plus notification of dates of numerological significance. See https://harmonyhealing.co.uk/blog for typical Blog entries. Sometimes Blogs will appear on successive days and at other times there will be no messages for a while. The sender e-mail address is j (and the sender will show as Joanna Bristow-Watkins @ Harmony Healing). You may need add this email to your safe list and check your junk filter initially.
Acknowledgments
Celestial Forecast is compiled by Joanna Bristow-Watkins of Harmony Healing, the original is published at Joanna's Monthly Celestial Forecasts. It is created using many sources but notably the Moonwise Calendar and Lia Leendertz's 2021 Almanac. Whilst considerable effort is made to ensure accuracy, this is not an exact science and sources are sometimes contradictory!
These monthly Celestial Forecasts (CF) are generally uploaded to the Harmony Healing website a fortnight ahead and can be accessed via the drop-down box on the right. They are sent out to the main mailing list and CF subscribers a few days before the month starts.
Extracts from the Celestial Forecast are reproduced in Glyden Magick, an online magazine offered via Gylden Fellowship which is a fabulous resource for Neo-Pagans (particularly in the South of England when physical meet-ups can resume).
Extracts also appear in Jovi Hoonjan's Alchemical Voice magazine, an initiative to support small businesses in the UK. Jovi is a Shamanic Healer & Reiki Master, do visit her love2meditate.com website. Try Jovi's free online shamanic drumming guided meditation, the levels of consciousness for all her meditations have been calibrated as equal to Enlightenment.
Significant dates from folklore, lunar and meteorological activities this month in dark turquoise
Selected Events (Harmony Healing and other events as notified) in Violet, Forest Bathing Events in green.
Timings given are UK time (GMT+1), click here to convert to your time zone
October in Britain features the full splendour of autumn colours with an array of brown, red and golden yellow mixed with the remaining green as trees shed their leaves. Nature is truly remarkable; this process eliminates environmental toxins which have collected, and trees do it to protect themselves. In winter sunshine, water would continue to evaporate from the leaves, and should the ground water freeze, the tree's water supply would no longer be guaranteed. Hence the plant produces phytohormones and directs them to its leaf stalks. These hormones cause a corky layer to form, then the leaves fall off. This cork prevents pathogens such as fungi or bacteria from penetrating. Furtthermore, should it snow, the tree will not have to bear the additional weight of snow on the leaf surfaces.
This month is the ideal time to harvest chestnuts, conkers and apples and on the allotments we have many seasonal vegetables including broccoli, leeks, turnips, potatoes, kale plus of course squashes including pumpkin. It's easy to see why apple bobbing and pumpkin carving became associated with Halloween, celebrated on the 31st. We also have two separate sets of Meteor Showers, the Draconids (peaks 8th/9th) and the Orionids (peaks 20th/21st).
The month of October was named after 'octo' meaning 8th in Latin, as October was the 8th month when the year started in March. To the Anglo-Saxons, October was called Winterfylleth, or the “winter full moon,” because winter was said to begin on the first full moon in October.
During October, we have a plethora of international festivals such as World Vegetarian Day (1st), World Mental Health Day (10th), World Food Day (16th), International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17th) as well as Thanksgiving in Canada (11th). We can also look forward to the London Traditions Pearly King Harvest Festival (3rd) and October Plenty (usually a Sunday at the end of the month, but looks to be going online again this year), Christian Festival of St Francis of Assisi Day (4th), two annual Egyptian Festivals Going Forth of Isis (6th) & Isia (28th) and Roman October Horse (15th) annual commemorations, plus of course the Pagan Festival of Samhain (better known as Halloween) on 31st. Sarah Jane's Women's Circle Moon Lodge is meeting on Friday 15th. We have Forest Bathing events on Tuesday 12th (Woking), Thursday 14th (London SW20), Sunday 17th (Shere) and Saturday 30th (Guildford). Aligning with the moon cycle is very therapeutic, and our New Moon New Vision: Moon Alignment Course runs for a full lunar cycle from New Moon on 6th October to New Moon on 4th November. Our Full Moon Meditation takes place 7.30-9.30pm (UK time) on Wednesday 20th, with the Hunter Moon peaking earlier in the day at 15:57.
Friday 1st October is World Vegetarian Day.
Established by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 and endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978, it is a day of celebration "to promote the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism." It brings awareness to the ethical, environmental, health and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle and hence is a time set aside to raise awareness of the positive effects of a vegetarian lifestyle on “humans, other animals and our shared earth.” See more details on the Awareness.com website.
World Vegetarian Day marks the start of Vegetarian Awareness Month throughout October, which ends with World Vegan Day on 1st November, marking the end of that month of celebration. Apparently, Vegetarian Awareness Month.
Sunday 3rd October, being the first Sunday in this month, is traditionally the Pearly King Harvest Festival at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, offering a spectacular display of historical London. More at ProjectBritain Website.The Pearly Kings & Queens are a popular Cockney tradition dating from the 19th century. It started when a young boy covered a suit with pearly buttons to raise money for the poor at fairs and charity events. Other boroughs followed suit and got their own Pearly King or Queen. The Pearly King image is the author's property. The model is unknown but willingly posed for the photograph; there is no commercial gain from the author's use of this photograph.
Monday 4th October is the Feast of Francis of Assisi in the Christian Calendar, so it is appropriate that it is also World Animal Day since St Francis is the Patron Saint of Animals and the Environment. It is a popular date for animals to be blessed.St Francis, who founded the Catholic Church’s Franciscan order, lived in Italy between approximately 1181 and 1226. He is remembered for his love for animals and nature and his generosity to the poor, as well as well as his willingness to minister to the lepers.
St Francis was cannonised (pronounced a Saint), shortly after his death (in 1228) by Pope Gregory IX. The Pope also laid the foundation stone for the UNESCO World Heritage site, Basilica of St Francis d'Assisi, Italy.
Tuesday 5th October is the final part of Harmony Healing Virtual Workshop: Violet Flame of Ament (Level 1), 7.15pm - 9.30pm (UK time/GMT+1 = UK & USA friendly evening hours), £88. See Violet Flame of Amenti page for details and to book. Missed sessions are recorded so late applicants can be accommodated. 3 x 2.25 hour evening course, worth 1 unit towards the RSE Level 1. Held remotely on Zoom.
Wednesday 6th October @ 12:06 is the New Moon.
The New Moon Abundance Ritual should be carried out within 24 hours after the New Moon. It needs to be after the New Moon because the moon should be waxing (getting bigger again) to carry the manifestation energy.
There are video instructions on my You Tube Page.
Wednesday 6th October is the start of New Moon New Vision; Lunar Cycle Alignment Programme.
This lunar cycle applies the transformational properties of spiritual alchemy to help you feel rejuvenated and purposeful about the rest of the year, via the creation of a Vision Board. It's a special one lunar month empowerment and attunement programme combining the solar & lunar balancing with various ceremonies throughout the month. The next Moon Alignment Programme begins with the New Moon on the 6th October and culminates with the New Moon on 4th November. This takes in the Pagan Festival of Samhain (31st October, also known as Halloween).
Thursday 7th October, though some sources say Sunday 10th October, is Going Forth of Isis (Aset) in Egyptian Tradition. Apparently, her heart is pleased on this day because 'the heritage is granted to her son Horus (Heru)'.
On this special day, a specially selected team of Priests and/or Priestesses would commence a procession to take their most treasured image or statue of Aset (Isis) to another temple, with many planned stops en route. At each stop a sacred rite would be performed by the Priests/Priestesses and often divinations would be offered. When the final temple destination was reached, the image or statue would be placed in an honoured location and a joyful fesival celebration would ensue.
Informative posters of Isis, as per the sample shown here, are by Jacqui Taliesin El Masry from Alkhemi.co.uk. Laminated versions of this and other Egyptian Posters by Jacqui, are available to purchase from the Harmony Shop.
Friday 8th & Saturday 9th October, is the Draconids Meteor Shower. The radiant point for the Draconid meteor shower almost coincides with the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon in the northern sky. That’s why the Draconids are best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, and, surprisingly in the early evening soon after dusk.
Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour.
In 2021, the recent New Moon (on the 6th) should provide relatively moon-free viewing for a few hours after nightfall which is the best viewing time this year. See Earthsky Website or timeandate.com for more.
Sunday 10th October is World Mental Health Day. Initially it was as an annual activity held by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH), but World Mental Health Day has been observed since 10th October 1992.
It's now officially commemorated every year on 10th October and this year's theme is 'mental health in an unequal world'. This year, in collaboration with ITN Productions, they have created a film entitled Forward Together for Mental Health - there's a trailer on the mentalhealth-uk.org website, where you can also register to be notified when the film is released.
Monday 11th October is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, sometimes called Canadian Thanksgiving to distinguish it from the American holiday which is the 4th Thursday in November (this year it's Thursday 25th November).
Canadian Thanksgiving occurs on the second Monday in October, is an annual Canadian holiday, celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year.
Tuesday 12th October, 11am - 1.30m, Forest Bathing+ with Joanna & Katie at our new Woking (GU21) location in Horsell Common, £35 (+ Paypal fee = £36.75).
Immerse yourself in the healing elements of nature and connect deeply with all your senses. Spend 2½ hours in the woods mindfully connecting to netaure through simple sensory exercises and a treelaxtion. Join us at this mixed woodland and heath location, featuring many Scott's pines and silver birches. This historic common land was featured in HG Wells' best selling novel.
A deeply relaxing and rejuvenating experience, and which, despite the title forest bathing, does not involve any swimming! Some of the scientifically proven benefits of spending time in woodland include reduced stress levels, stronger immune system response, and a stabilised cortisol cycle.
This session which will take place in all weathers except 30+mph winds or electrical storms.
Book via harmonyinnature.uk or our Surrey Meetup. Email to go on our forest bathing mailing list.
Thursday 14th October, 11am -1.30pm, Forest Bathing+ with Joanna & Katie at our new London location (woohoo) in Cannon Hill Park, £35 (+ Paypal fee = £36.75).
Immerse yourself in the healing elements of nature and connect deeply with all your senses. We will take you on a 2½ hour journey through the beautiful landscaped park, nestled in this little known oasis of calm within Greater London. Through a selection of simple sensory activities, you will learn how to enhance your perceptions and slow down to focus on what could easily be missed. We end with a treelaxtion; a deeply relaxing and rejuvenating experience, and which, despite the title forest bathing, does not involve any swimming!
Some of the scientifically proven benefits of spending time in woodland include reduced stress levels, stronger immune system response, and a stabilised cortisol cycle.
This session which will take place in all weathers except 25+mph winds or electrical storms. Book via our the Harmony Healing shop or our London Meetup. Email to go on our forest bathing mailing list.
Friday 15th October is the Roman celebration of October Horse being the Ides of October.
The October Ides featured a two-horse chariot race on the Campus Martius.
Friday 15th October 
is the Moon Lodge Healing Women's Circle, 7-8.30pm GMT, £15 + Eventbrite fee = £16.76.
Run by Harmony Healing collaborator Sarah Jane Dennis, this is a sacred circle for women in the community to come together as we once did, to connect in a safe and loving space to the energies of the moon and our own cycles. It is being held in person by Sarah in the TW13 postcode area, full address will be given on receipt of payment.
Talk, support, heal, celebrate, and hold each other. Book at Eventbrite.
Contact Sarah-Jane via crystalhealingbysarahjane.co.uk or email .
Saturday 16th October is World Food Day; a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger.
This day, declared by the UN General Assembly, aims to heighten public awareness of world food problems and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. The theme for World Food Day 2021 is 'Our Actions are our Future.'
The theme is to highlight the fact that the food we choose and the way we consume it, affects our health and that of our planet. Our actions have impact on the way agri-food systems work. So we all need to be part of the change.
Each year, on 16th October, Concern Worldwide joins organisations around the world in commemorating World Food Day, marking the day the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) was founded in 1945. Concern Worldwide, whose motto is tackling hunger, transforming lives highlight some incredibly worthy causes on their website.
Sunday 17th October, 11am - 2pm, Forest Bathing+ in the grounds of Harry Edward's Heaing Sanctuary, £35 (+ Eventbrite fee = £38.32). We have small groups of maximum 12* including guide(s) to allow us to adopt COVID precautions and social distancing.
This is a 2½ hour Forest Bathing+ session which will take place in all weathers except 30+mph winds. Booking link.
Sunday 17th October is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to 17th October 1987, when over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris. This was the location where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. These convictions are inscribed in a commemorative stone unveiled on this day.
Since then, every year on 17th October, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor.
Wednesday 20th October is the Hunter Full Moon @ 15:57.
Between this date and the next New Moon is considered as a good time energetically for detoxing the body.
Click here for Full Moon Angelic Meditation.
Image of Gabriel by Richard Rockwood from Angela McGerr's Harmony Angel Cards, available from the Harmony Shop (signed by Angela).
Wednesday 20th October is our Full Moon Unity Consciousness Meditation, 7.30-9.30pm UK time.
During this session, we connect with other like-minded people and together we work through a mindful chakra balancing process using colours and etheric crystals, with the aim that all participants will experience a degree of unity consciousness. Participants all receive a deeply healing experience. Cost to participate is £20 by online BACS payment (small admin fee added for PayPal). This activity serves as a good taster of Joanna's work in general. For more details and to book, see Harmony Shop.
Wednesday 20th - Thursday 21st October is the peak of the Orionids which is the most prolific meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet and lasts from 15th until 29th October.
The Orionids are so-called because they appear to come from, the constellation Orion. In some years, meteors may occur at rates of 50-70 per hour.
This year, on the night of the Full Moon it's not likely to be good viewing. In 2021, the annual Orionid meteor shower is expected to rain down the greatest number of meteors before dawn on October 21st, perhaps as many as 20 meteors per hour. Sadly the light pollution from the Hunter's Full Moon will obscure viewing.
But the hours between midnight and dawn on the mornings of October 20th and 22nd may offer a decent sprinkling of meteors as well, and you might see some anytime in October if you have a dark sky for viewing. See also EarthSky website where you will also find more details about the event.
Thursday 28th October is the Egyptian celebration of Isia, marking the 7 days that Aset (Isis) spent searching for the body parts of Asar (Osiris) following his death and dismemberment by his brother Set.
This culminates on Wednesday 3rd November with Hilaria when she resurrected him by re-membering him; no doubt contributing to the definition of our word remember meaning to recall someone from memory.
Informative laminated posters of Isis by Jacqui Taliesin El Masry (from Alkhemi.co.uk) and other Egyptian Posters by Jacqui, are available to purchase from the Harmony Shop.
Saturday 30th October, 10.30am - 12.30pm, Forest Bathing+ at Newlands Corner, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the Surrey Hills, £25 (+ Paypal fee = £26.25). This is a 2 hour Forest Bathing+ session which will take place in all weathers except 30+mph winds. Booking link.
Important News about Newlands Corner. Newlands Corner, our beautiful ancient forest site in Guildford Surrey, have put up our site rental price so much that we don't know if we will be able to continue offering public sessions there. We had to cancel our September event as the venue hire cost wasn't going to be covered. So, if you want to join us Newlands Corner, please book in ASAP for one of our pre-Christmas dates as it is unlikely to feature as a 2022 destination. We will be forced to cancel Newlands events one week before if numbers are low, so please don't leave it to a last-minute booking or you stand to be disappointed.
Sunday 31st October is the end of the Summer Daylight Saving Time in 2021, so the UK clocks go back an hour at 01.00 hrs (Saturday night).
Sunday 31st October traditionally marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the Celtic and Pagan New Year. Samhain is Irish-Gaelic for 'the Summer's end', and is pronounced 'sow-in'. Samhain represents the death of the summer sun god, Lugh. This festival celebrates Nature's cycle of death and renewal. This is traditionally known as Halloween. Samhain is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals; along with Lughnasadh, Imbolc and Beltane.
In the Northern Hemisphere, Samhain heralds the beginning of Winter, when the world starts to darken and the days are getting shorter; the 'dark half' of the year and the demise of the sun's uplifting influence. The crone, personified as Cailleach - the Queen of the Winter - was reborn on every All Hallow's Eve, returning to bring the Winter and protect animals through the coldest months. She turned to stone on Beltane Eve, Beltane being 1st May.
This year 31st is the final Sunday in October so this could be the chosen date for the annual October Plenty Festival traditionally held in Southwark on London Bankside. If it takes place at all in 2021 it will be an online event. In the past, this autumn harvest celebration would begin on the Bankside, by Shakespeare's Globe and would feature a mix of ancient seasonal customs and theatre with contemporary festivity, joining with historic Borough Market, Southwark. The procession would normally feature a Berry Man - an autumn version of the Green Man but covered in fruits and foliage, plus a Corne Queene effigy comprised of wheat, barley and grain with apples and root vegetables supplied from the Borough Market.
Harmony Healing Blog updates can be emailed to you
The Harmony Healing regular Blog update can be emailed out with more information as the events above happen (updates are headed with a title detailing the occasion so you can choose whether to open it or not), featuring New and Full Moon, meteor showers, eclipses and other meteorological events, interesting anniversaries, ancient festival dates plus notification of dates of numerological significance. See https://harmonyhealing.co.uk/blog for typical Blog entries. Sometimes Blogs will appear on successive days and at other times there will be no messages for a while. The sender e-mail address is j (and the sender will show as Joanna Bristow-Watkins @ Harmony Healing). You may need add this email to your safe list and check your junk filter initially.
Acknowledgments
Celestial Forecast is compiled by Joanna Bristow-Watkins of Harmony Healing, the original is published at Joanna's Monthly Celestial Forecasts It is created using many sources but notably the Moonwise Calendar and Lia Leendertz's 2021 Almanac. Whilst considerable effort is made to ensure accuracy, this is not an exact science and sources are sometimes contradictory!
These monthly Celestial Forecasts (CF) are generally uploaded to the Harmony Healing website a fortnight ahead and can be accessed via the drop-down box on the right. They are sent out to the main mailing list and CF subscribers a few days before the month starts.
Extracts from the Celestial Forecast are reproduced in Glyden Magick, an online magazine offered via Gylden Fellowship which is a fabulous resource for Neo-Pagans (particularly in the South of England when physical meet-ups can resume).
Extracts also appear in Jovi Hoonjan's Alchemical Voice magazine, an initiative to support small businesses in the UK. Jovi is a Shamanic Healer & Reiki Master, do visit her love2meditate.com website. Try Jovi's free online shamanic drumming guided meditation, the levels of consciousness for all her meditations have been calibrated as equal to Enlightenment.
January in Britain is the month when our daylight hours continue to extend bringing positivity and hope. Whereas December benefits from warmth still trapped in the land, the chill of our tilt away from the sun toward dark, cold space is felt now in January. The landscape still presents a stark beauty with occasional evergreens and frost is a regular morning visitor. Warm up with bashed neeps (turnips) and/or swede, together with carrots, beetroot, garlic, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohl rabi, cabbage, kale, potatoes and winter squash.
Saturday 1st – Wednesday 5th January (peaking on the 3rd, 4th January) is the Quadrantid Meteor Shower; visible from 1st – 5th January after midnight and peaking in the early hours of the 4th. Typically, 40 or so bright, blue and fast (25.5 miles per second) meteors will radiate from the constellation Bootes, some blazing more than halfway across the sky. A small percentage of them leave persistent dust trains. This shower usually has a very sharp peak lasting only about an hour. 
Sunday 2nd January is New Moon @ 18:35 and the start of our New Year New Vision Lunar Cycle Alignment Programme. Forget resolutions, set intentions for 2022! 
Sunday 2nd January to Tuesday 1st February is Joanna's Harmony Healing New Year New Vision 2022 initiative to reconnect with nature through closer alignment with the lunar cycle. This is achieved by working through the 28 Mansions of the Moon with the unique angel guardian of each lunar mansion. 
Thursday 6th January is 12th Night - or Epiphany - in the Christian Calendar. 
Monday 10th January is Plough Monday in England! 
Friday 14th January is the Hindu Celebration of Makara Samkranti, which is the Winter Festival of the reborn sun. It is traditional to wear yellow clothes and eat yellow food. Bathing in sacred waters, lighting bonfires, kite flying, dancing and offering prayers are also traditional activities over this festival, with rural children going from house to house, singing and asking for treats.
Monday 17th January @ 23:51 is Wolf Full Moon.We are holding our Full Moon virtual healing circle tonight at 7.30pm GMT, see entry below for details. 
Monday 17th January, 7.30-9.30pm UK time (GMT) is our Full Moon Unity Consciousness Meditation.
Thursday 20th January is St Agnes Eve; a night for meaningful and deep dreams. 
Tuesday 25th January is Burns Night in Scotland. Burns Night is a revered date in the Scottish calendar and celebrates, on the anniversary of his birthday, the life and works of their national Bard, Robert Burns. 
Celestial Forecast is compiled by Joanna Bristow-Watkins of Harmony Healing, the original is published at Joanna's Monthly Celestial Forecasts. It is created using many sources but notably the Moonwise Calendar and Lia Leendertz's annual Almanac. Whilst considerable effort is made to ensure accuracy, this is not an exact science and sources are sometimes contradictory!
Monday 1st November 
Monday 1st November
Thursday 4th November
Thursday 4th November
Friday 5th November 
Wednesday 10th November
Thursday 11th November
Poppies are traditionally used for this occasion. 
Sunday 14th November,
Tuesday 16th & Wednesday 17th November 
Friday 19th November
Sunday 28th November 
Monday 29th November 
Tuesday 30th November 
Meteor Showers take place at the same sort of time every year, but what changes is the light conditions depending on proximity to the Full Moon (dates for this year listed under