Hi First name / friend, 

 

Welcome to our Harmony In Nature October Samhain Issue. To ensure you receive our emails without issue, please add katieandjo@harmonyinnature.uk to your ‘safe sender’ list.

🍂 October carries us deeper into autumn, as the days shorten, temperatures begin to fall and the landscape takes on its rich seasonal palette. Leaves turn through shades of gold, amber and russet before drifting to the ground, fungi flourish in damp woodland places and the fruits, nuts and seeds of the season provide an autumn feast for wildlife. Nature is beginning to draw her energy inward, reminding us that letting go and resting are as much a part of the natural cycle as growth and abundance.

🔥 As the month unfolds, we move towards Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival traditionally marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of the year. It is a time associated with thresholds, reflection and honouring those who came before us, offering an opportunity to notice what we, too, may be ready to release as we prepare for the quieter months ahead.

🌳 In this Samhain issue, we celebrate the richness of the deepening autumn, alongside inspiration for connecting more deeply with the natural world. We’ll also bring you details of our forthcoming gatherings and opportunities to experience the restorative benefits of spending time consciously immersed in nature.

🍃 Perhaps you’re new to Forest Bathing, or already know how different it feels to slow down and experience nature through all the senses. Either way, you can discover more about this gentle practice, the research-supported wellbeing benefits it can offer, and what to expect when you join one of our guided Forest Bathing sessions by exploring Forest Bathing with us.

If you are not already a subscriber and would like to be, you can sign up here.

October brings a noticeable deepening of autumn. The days are shortening, the air has a cooler edge and woodlands are gradually transformed by shades of gold, copper, russet and red. Leaves loosen from the trees and gather underfoot, fungi appear in an extraordinary variety of shapes and colours, and squirrels and other wildlife are busy making the most of the season’s abundance.

As nature begins to draw inward, October offers a gentle invitation for us to do the same. Trees release the leaves they no longer need, conserving their resources for the quieter months ahead. We might take inspiration from this natural process, considering what we are ready to let go of and where our own energy might be better conserved or redirected.

There is something wonderfully sensory about being outdoors in October. Fallen leaves crunch beneath our feet, damp earth and woodland carry their distinctive autumn scents, shafts of lower sunlight filter through the changing canopy and the landscape can look different from one day to the next. Even a familiar walk can become an opportunity to slow down, notice these subtle changes and experience the season through all the senses.

🔥 Towards the end of the month, we approach Samhain, traditionally marking the transition into the darker half of the year.

🌿 Our guided sessions at the Harry Edwards Foundation offer an opportunity to slow down beneath the trees and experience the sights, scents, sounds and textures of the changing woodland. You’ll find details of our forthcoming autumn gatherings further down this newsletter. Please note that this year we do not have an event in October, but have two in November.

As October draws to a close, we approach Samhain, traditionally observed from sunset on 31st October into 1st November. One of the great seasonal festivals of the ancient Gaelic world, Samhain marked the ending of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of the year.

At this point in the seasonal cycle, the natural world is visibly withdrawing. Leaves fall, growth slows, seeds lie dormant within the earth and many creatures prepare for the colder months ahead. Yet this apparent retreat is not an ending: beneath the surface, nature is conserving energy and preparing quietly for renewal.

Samhain has long been associated with thresholds, remembrance and the relationship between the seen and unseen worlds. Traditionally regarded as a liminal time, when the boundary between worlds was considered more permeable, it became a time for remembering and honouring those who had gone before.

For us, this turning of the Wheel of the Year can also offer an opportunity for reflection. Just as the trees release their leaves, we might consider what we are ready to relinquish – old habits, expectations or ways of being that have served their purpose – and what we would like to nurture quietly within ourselves during the months ahead.

🔥 Fire has traditionally held an important place in Samhain observances, bringing light into the gathering darkness and symbolising protection, transformation and renewal. Even something as simple as lighting a candle, spending a few quiet moments outdoors or offering gratitude for the abundance of the year can provide a meaningful way to acknowledge this seasonal threshold.

Whether you celebrate Samhain as part of the Wheel of the Year, observe Halloween, or simply notice the deepening autumn around you, the end of October offers a beautiful opportunity to pause, remember, release and reconnect with nature’s continuing cycle of growth, decline, rest and renewal.

Book any of our public sessions, below, at the Harmony Shop 

Autumn and early winter are wonderful times to experience the woodland through Forest Bathing, as the landscape changes in colour, texture and scent.

A short 36-second film, kindly created by Hunter Delves, Community Engagement & Fundraising Manager at Harry Edwards, beautifully captures the atmosphere of Forest Bathing at this special venue. You can watch it on YouTube here.

 

By November, the woodland has moved deeper into autumn. Fallen leaves bring new textures beneath our feet, the woodland opens as the canopy thins, and the earthy scents of the season become increasingly noticeable.

It is a particularly rewarding time to slow down and experience the woodland through all the senses. As nature begins to withdraw its energy and prepare for the quieter months ahead, Forest Bathing offers us an opportunity to step away from the demands and distractions of everyday life and settle, for a few unhurried hours, into nature’s slower rhythm.

During the session, we offer a series of gentle sensory invitations designed to encourage mindful awareness and a deeper connection with the natural world. There is nothing to achieve and nowhere to rush to – simply time and space to experience the woodland in your own way.

✨ You may discover:

• A deeper sense of relaxation and restoration
• Space for reflection and a clearer, calmer mind
• Greater awareness of the sights, sounds, scents and textures around you
• A renewed connection with nature, yourself and others

Whether this will be your first experience of Forest Bathing or you have joined us before, autumn offers something distinctive: the opportunity to immerse yourself in the richness of the autumn woodland and experience first-hand nature’s gradual journey towards the quieter part of the year.

Book any of the above public sessions through the Harmony Shop

October brings several opportunities for meteor watching, including two of the month’s best-known displays.

🐉 The Draconids are active from approximately 6th–10th October, reaching their maximum around the night of 8th into 9th October. Unlike many meteor showers, the Draconids are best watched during the evening rather than in the hours before dawn. Their meteors are unusually slow-moving, and with the New Moon following on 10th October, skies will be beautifully dark in 2026 if the weather cooperates.

✨ The Orionids are active throughout much of October and into early November, reaching their peak around 21st October. Created by debris left behind by the famous Halley’s Comet, they can produce around 10–20 meteors per hour under favourable conditions. This year, however, a bright waxing Moon will make the fainter meteors more difficult to see, although patient observers may still spot some of the brighter streaks.

The Southern Taurids are also active during October. Although generally producing relatively few meteors, the Taurids are slow-moving and are particularly known for occasionally producing impressive bright fireballs.

As always, the best way to watch is simply to find the darkest safe location you can, allow your eyes time to adjust and look across a wide area of sky rather than concentrating on one particular point.

 

If you’re reading this newsletter before the end of September, there is still time to experience the Vine Harvest Full Moon, falling just days after the Autumn Equinox and bringing together themes of harvest, gratitude, balance and seasonal transition.

🌿 Joanna’s live Vine Harvest & Equinox Full Moon Meditation – Integration, Gratitude & Soul Ripening takes place that evening, offering an opportunity to reflect on what has come to fruition and what we wish to carry forward into the quieter months ahead.

🔗 Discover more – join live or get the meditation recording

October’s Ivy New Moon arrives as the natural world is visibly drawing inward. Evergreen Ivy brings associations of resilience, continuity and connection, offering a natural moment to consider what sustains us through changing circumstances and what we wish to nurture quietly during the darker months ahead.
 

Reaching fullness during Sunday night into Monday morning, October’s Hunter Full Moon falls within the Ivy month and just days before Samhain. Together, these energies bring themes of resilience, inner direction and the quiet strength to continue growing as the outer world begins to retreat.

🌿 Joanna’s live Ivy Hunter Full Moon Meditation – Persistence, Inner Tracking & Soul Resilience takes place on Sunday evening as the Moon approaches fullness, exploring resilience, inner direction and what we wish to sustain through the darker half of the year.

🌕 Find out more and book either meditation at the Harmony Shop.

We also arrange private bookings and/or corporate sessions at a selection of locations in the Surrey Hills (Shere, Bramley, Guildford, Woking & Tadworth) and London (SW20, SW14, NW3).  Contact us for details at katieandjo@harmonyinnature.uk

Through Harmony Healing, Joanna offers a variety of online esoteric and energy healing courses, including online and in-person self-empowerment courses, intuitive readings and 1-2-1 energy healing sessions. 

 

Joanna also hosts monthly Full Moon Meditations online from 7.30-9.30pm (UK time) and produces a monthly Celestial Forecast, which includes insights on Moon Phases, Meteor Showers, and Ancient & Modern Festivals, subscribe here.

 

Katie offers intuitive health mentoring and 1:1 places for Nurtured by Nature One-day Reset Retreats (Facebook Link, or message Katie without obligation for details). These retreats are designed for those needing a complete mind and body reset, away from their usual work and routines. Tailored to your needs, they include a selection from nutrition, breathing awareness, mindful movement, sounding or chanting, essential oils, ‘de-chemicalising’ your lifestyle, natural first aid, Reiki, and sensory nature connection through Forest Bathing. You will take away tips to transmute stress into calm.

 

This full-day retreat can be arranged for 2–3 people and is available on request. To discuss, message Katie directly on 07596 830910.

 

 

mob. 07930 414525 Jo
mob. 07596 830910 Katie