“The beauty you see in anything, is a reflection of the beauty in you.”
Welcome back to madelemoiselle. I hope you guys have had some peaceful days winding down from the hustle and bustle of Halloween, now settling into the darker days of autumn. Although the school work is picking up and exam season is lingering upon us, there is a tiny little sense of peace that this month offers to us.
Upcoming posts for this month will be more about my appreciation for the art that is writing, where I want to express more of that thought-provoking side instead of solely the fun aspects of it. This month triggers that side of my brain, the parts that think, ruminate, and are inspired, so we are going to travel down that route for the time being. I hope to bring some softness and calmness to these next posts and am hoping some of you guys like these upcoming types of posts more than the fun bloggy ones. You are my people, thats for sure.
Without further ado, let’s get lost together amongst the last of the golden foliage of fall.
I want to make this post have a sprig of me, describing aesthetics just gives ambience in my opinion, so, of course, here is the November aesthetic (according to myself):
Colors are plum purple, golden yellow, any shade of green and charcoal.
The weather it would be is foggy, with a hint of mist.
Places that perfectly embody it are the Scottish isles or the Moors.
Animals are the snake, doe, owl and lowkey, a coyote.
Dark academia feel, like a turtleneck and trench with tortoise glasses and a leather boot.
Slytherin’s month, Harry Potter is SO November, same with Twilight.
Nosferatu, Frankenstein, and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland ;)
Very Hecate or Persephone.
It is definitely a she, a spooky, gothic, ‘weird’ girl with a comforting soul.
I know guys, I know. I must have some sort of synesthesia but in aesthetics because everything becomes a Pinterest board in my brain. I don’t even know. Let’s begin.
November feels like a month for change and renewal, the beginning of a new cycle, the release of old ones, and preparation for not only the holidays, but the New Year. It is commonly regarded as a boring, filler month that is depressing, gloomy, and a drag, at least that is all I hear those around me say about it. It is between the two major holidays, Halloween and Christmas, so it being a bit of a drag is an understatement for sure. Where the excitement from Halloween has died down, but the excitement for Christmas is just beginning to bloom. However, I used to think November was the most depressing, useless, and mundane month, strongly disliking it up until recent years, but I have begun to build a strong liking and appreciation for it, coming to find it almost comforting. It is quiet, consists of slowing down, a hint of uncertainty, and a time to reflect before a new chapter opens. There is beauty in these periods of life - sometimes more beauty than the times full of excitement, purpose and constant movement.
I see this month as the bridge between lightness and darkness - saying goodbye to the crisp, light fall days of October and hello to the long, dark days of winter. It is the transition from the peak of true fall into the glum of winter, the in-between. I almost envision it like a man in a top hat, tailored suit, and posh jacket, the ones who would go around Victorian London lighting all the street lamps. Instead, he is leading us down a Prague-like bridge with a candlestick, preparing us for the long winter ahead, taking our hands into his cold one to lead the way. One end of the bridge is Halloween, with autumn laying behind it, the other end is Christmas, with the New Year and winter laying ahead. The unknown future and the soon to be forgotten past.
The long bridge is November, a slow transition from all the bright colours of fall into the leafless trees that have begun to die. It has all the gothic aspects that we love from Halloween but the cheerful side of Christmas as well, just a tiny little sprinkling of it, like fairy dust. Why it’s so spooky can be explained in Celtic folklore, where there is beliefs that the veil between the spirit world and ours is open for the whole of November, where spirits are walking freely amongst us. Must be why it has such a spooky feel - it is a liminal season. Since December is such a busy month within itself, November is really the last of the breaths we get before life picks up drastically and winds down and plummets again. And while it quite literally is the end of the year, the eleventh month of twelve, November does have a feel to it that it is the final month - the release of a year well spent, the shedding of one’s skin.
An image that keeps appearing in my head is of the asp consuming its own tail, forming a circle, more commonly known as the Ouroboros. This image represents an endless loop of what is said to be creation and destruction, life and death, and the continuous renewal of time and nature, which in this case, can be similar to the changing of seasons. It symbolizes that a beginning and an end are joined as one, “he who eats the tail.” It portrays opposing forces, such as light and dark, that balance and sustain each other. Light and dark could be so many things, I mostly mean for it to be related to the release of the longer days of sunlight, daylight savings, transitioning into the darker days of the year, but also the beginning of the dreadful winter. Winter to me has always felt like a great death - of spirit, nature, and the lands.
However, there is a flicker of light from the opposite side of the bridge, the promise that joy lay ahead. The dark days that are to come are just a stepping stone for a day full of light and peace, the day that is Christmas. A time full of warmth and love that we can look forward to, followed by a year full of hope and promises. While Novemeber definitely is a month that is depressing and gloomy, that is what makes it so beautiful to me. A month full of comfort where we can enjoy the final days of somewhat warm weather and sunshine, but also have the long nights where we curl up in a ball in our blankets with a cup of hot cocoa. It is the time to relax, wind down and relish before life gets crazy again for two of the biggest holidays. And although the fun aspect of Halloween is long gone, we can carry that spooky aspect and let it linger into the darkness of November, dance around with it a final bit - for one last symphony.
November is autumn’s gentle farewell, its final kiss goodbye. Its promise that it will return again, to greet us with its chilled bite and hopes of warmth once more.
