The Otherworld
The days are dipping towards cold and dark. There’s an eerie feel in the golden air. Maybe you’ve been seeing shadows in the corners of your eyes, making you look twice? Maybe you’ve been feeling a sense of not quite being alone.
My Celtic ancestors believed in a veil between this world and the Otherworld, the realm of the unseen. The realm of spirits, faeries, Goddesses, the Green Man, the ancestors. The Otherworld is not high in the sky, it’s not down under ground, but all around us, invisible. The tales of those who’ve seen ghosts, or made deals with faeries, are the tales of those for whom the veil between this world and the Otherworld dropped. Either the Otherworld chose to reveal itself, or the traveler stumbled into it by some accident.
Our modern celebrations of Halloween are rooted in the ancient Celtic holiday Samhain (pronounced SAOW-when), celebrated November 1st, the mid-point between Fall Equinox and Winter Solstice. At this time of year the veil is at its thinnest. The membrane that separates the worlds is permeable, visions and visitations are more likely.
Some of us perceive these subtle shifts more readily, and those of us who do are sometimes called “sensitives.” Sensitivity can take many forms. Introversion can be considered a form of, or a symptom of sensitivity. Empaths are people who perceive and feel the feelings of others. Highly Sensitive People, or HSPs, are people for whom the dial on their nervous system has been turned up. They’ll experience smells, sights, sounds, etc. more intensely than about 80% of humans. And of course intuitives, psychics, clairvoyants, etc. all experience their own particular flavors of awareness.
Personally, I’m an introvert, an empath, an HSP, and an intuitive. I spent the first part of my life not knowing any of these terms, or having any explanation for why I didn’t seem to function the way I was expected to. I felt like I needed to be an extroverted type-A to succeed in this world, and I was miserably unhappy living in a big city. It wasn’t until I went to a boarding school in the middle of the woods that I realized there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with me. I just needed an environment that was less overwhelming to my nervous system. As I was allowed more and more time to be in the woods, I learned more and more about the gifts my sensitivity brought me.
This type of receptiveness can feel like a handicap in the modern world, but it is in fact a valuable skill. We're built this way for a reason. Psychologist Dr. Elaine Aron, who coined the term HSP, estimates that HSPs make up about 20% of the human population, because they would be the first to perceive impending danger, like a change in the weather, or the approach of an animal. Empaths make incredible listeners and mediators, skills that are integral to a functioning community. Sensitivity can also help us perceive the messages that come to us from the Otherworld.
If you’re sensitive, things can quickly get overwhelming! Holding effective boundaries, and protecting yourself from unwanted energy are so important if you want to develop your skills and allow your innate gifts to shine. I created the course Herbs For Boundaries & Protection with my fellow sensitive babes in mind, to help keep us from getting drained, and allow us to share our gifts with the world.
Purchasing this course gives you lifetime access. That means there’s no time limit for completing it, and it’ll be here for you whenever you want to return to it.
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