November: The Art of Letting Go
October taught me how to pause.
November teaches me how to release.
There’s a kind of honesty to this month — a bareness. The trees no longer pretend to be lush; they let go with grace. The light softens, the air bites and we are reminded that not everything needs to be held onto.
This is the season of compost — of trusting that what falls away still has purpose. The dreams that didn’t bloom this year, the relationships that couldn’t stay, the versions of ourselves we’ve outgrown — all of it becomes fertile ground for what’s next.
I light incense in the early morning dark and give thanks for what is dying. It’s a strange gratitude, one that smells like smoky sage. The kind that understands endings are holy, too.
Maybe November isn’t about striving or becoming. Maybe it’s about returning — to simplicity, to soul, to the warm corners of our homes and hearts. We trade urgency for presence, noise for stillness, growth for rest.
Let this be your gentle reminder:
You don’t have to bloom right now.
You just have to breathe.
Ways to Nourish the Body & Soul This November
1. Sip what soothes you.
Brew warming teas — hibiscus roselle for vitamin C, ginger for digestion, chamomile for calm. Drink slowly, without multitasking. Let your cup be a small altar of presence.
2. Eat what grounds you.
Root vegetables, stews, roasted squash, and herbal broths. November is not the month for restriction — it’s for nourishment, for feeding the flame within.
3. Move in rhythm with the dark.
Take slow walks at dusk. Stretch by candlelight. Let your movement be an offering — not to burn calories, but to honor your body as it transitions with the season.
4. Tend to your space.
Clear the clutter that feels heavy. Burn herbs or diffuse cedar and orange. Let your home smell like renewal. Create warmth where the cold creeps in.
5. Rest without guilt.
Nature is resting. You are allowed to, too. Let sleep be your medicine, silence your prayer, stillness your strength.
6. Release through ritual.
Write down what you’re ready to let go of — fears, habits, expectations. Burn the page or bury it beneath a tree. Trust the earth to transform what you surrender.
7. Offer gratitude daily.
For the food, for the body that carries you, for the small joys that remain. Gratitude keeps the soul supple through change.
Energetic Allies for November
1. Archetypal Ally: The Crone / Wise Woman
November invites us to embrace the Crone — the archetype of wisdom, endings, and deep insight. She teaches surrender, intuition, and trust in the unseen. Work with her through journaling, meditation, or simple quiet reflection.
2. Crystal Allies:
Smoky Quartz: Grounds and clears lingering energy, helping release what no longer serves.
Citrine: Sparks gratitude and joy, even in the darker months.
Moonstone: Supports intuition and emotional balance during times of transition.
3. Herbal Allies:
Sage or Cedar: For smudging and cleansing your space.
Chamomile and Ginger Tea: Warming and grounding for body and soul.
Rose Hips or Hibiscus: Packed with vitamin C, supporting health as the cold sets in.
4. Animal Allies:
The Owl: Guides inner knowing, wisdom, and seeing in the dark.
The Wolf: Calls us to honor our instincts, courage, and wildness.
This month, let the act of letting go become your nourishment.
Let it soften you instead of harden you.
Let it make space for what wants to be born next.
The Woman We Honor in November
Clarissa Pinkola Estés
November is a month of descent — of shedding, of returning, of listening.
It reminds me of Clarissa Pinkola Estés, the storyteller and Jungian psychoanalyst who has spent her life helping women reclaim their wild, instinctual selves.
Clarissa teaches us that there is power in endings. There is wisdom in letting go. And there is a fierce, tender strength in remembering who we are beneath the demands of the world.
She says,
"Within every woman there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity and ageless knowing."
Her work reminds us that this “wild self” is not lost — it is waiting. Waiting for us to stop pretending, to stop conforming, to stop dimming our fire. November asks us to meet her call: to notice what falls away, to honor what remains and to walk quietly with our own instincts.
Another of her truths resonates,
"The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door; if you have an old, old story, that is a door."
In the bareness of November, we find our own doors — our own stories — waiting to be honored. We may see the endings of projects, relationships, seasons or old habits. We may feel the cold, the quiet, the letting go. And yet, in this surrender, we discover our deepest resources: intuition, courage, and creativity.
Clarissa reminds us to trust this process,
"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop."
This month, we honor her by stepping into the wildness of our own lives.
Here are some of her most impactful books (and audio works) that align with letting go, returning and wild renewal:
Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype (1992) — Her seminal work exploring the wild woman archetype.
The Faithful Gardener: A Wise Tale About That Which Can Never Die — A lyrical tale about creativity, loss and renewal.
The Gift of Story: A Wise Tale About What Is Enough — A reflection on what it means to tell our stories, to own our voice.
Untie the Strong Woman: Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Love for the Wild Soul — A work that addresses the fierce and tender love of the feminine soul.
The series titled The Dangerous Old Woman series — including volumes like The Power of the Crone: Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype, The Joyous Body: Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype, The Late Bloomer: Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype, and How to Be an Elder: Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype.
Other works worth noting: Warming the Stone Child: Myths & Stories about Abandonment and the Unmothered Child, Seeing in the Dark: Myths and Stories to Reclaim the Buried, Knowing Woman, The Beginner’s Guide to Dream Interpretation: Uncover the Hidden Riches of Your Dreams with Jungian Analyst Clarissa Pinkola Estés, and The Red Shoes: On Torment and the Recovery of Soul Life.