Nature Connection With Pumpkins And Magic

In this workshop you'll explore and discover your own unique magic through writing prompts, learning about pumpkin magic, fairytales, and folklore, and creating a magic symbol. You'll use your voice and body to embody your magic. Carve out time for yourself to connect with nature and your own creativity. Grab your journal, a sketchbook and art supplies, and come dive into pumpkin's wisdom and your own unique magic.

*Pumpkin Folklore and Fairytale excerpts from Home Upgrade Place-Blog

Transcript

Welcome to pumpkins and creating magic.

Let's get all comfy cozy into our pumpkin and magic cocoon today.

And if you are joining us online,

Then why don't you grab yourself a journal and a pen,

A few pieces of paper and some art supplies,

Anything I really like colored pencils,

Markers,

Crayons,

But you could even play with paint,

Anything goes.

And just make sure that you feel comfortable in your surroundings,

Have a glass of water,

Get nice and comfy in your clothes and in your,

In your environment,

Because we are going to be doing a little bit of gentle movement,

Vocal play some creativity today is just all about embodying pumpkin and tuning into your unique magic within.

So thank you all for joining us today.

So we're going to do a little bit of introductions.

And then we're going to share about magic and some pumpkin story time a little bit of folklore and why are pumpkin so magical and what is magic anyway,

And then I'll be guiding us through to intuitive writing prompts,

Which is why you have your journal with you,

Then we'll be creating your magic symbol.

And if we have time,

We could actually do two today as well.

And then Sarah will be guiding us in vocal play for your unique magic.

And this is where we use our voice and also our body to really embody our unique magic.

And then we'll just be sharing some ways that you can then infuse your magic into your life.

And we'll do a little bit of sharing and you feel free to share with us what you discover,

We would love to hear about any pumpkin stories,

Any magical things that you discovered today.

Yes.

And with expressive arts and creative embodiment,

Anything you're feeling within your body to any insights you discovered or observations or sensations,

Feel free to share.

We'd love to hear it.

Because that's how we move the energy within us and out us and keep it flowing and keep our connections with ourself and others around us.

So Laurie,

I just want you to tell me a little bit about what brought you here,

What excites you and what is on your heart today.

I feel like pumpkins are this magical portal into the next season.

And I love that they start to arrive right before the autumn equinox.

And I feel like they just inspire so much creativity to me.

And I don't know,

I just start to get all into the magical mood at this time of year.

So I've already read,

I think,

Four or five books that are a little bit leaning toward the more magical,

Magical realism and witchy kind of vibe like herbal magic.

And I just I feel like I just want to like,

Consume magical stories and folklore.

And I want to ground myself into the earth again,

And just like start to kind of start that like descent into the into the darker time of the year,

While also just like soaking in like the last rays of late summer magic sun.

So I don't know,

I just I'm,

I'm here because I'm here for all of it.

I love the seasonal transition.

I love the magic.

I love pumpkins.

You and I have done multiple pumpkin chats at this time.

I think we've done two now.

So this will be number three for like learning even more about how magical pumpkins are.

So yeah,

That's,

That's why I'm here.

I'm here for all of that.

What about you?

I was like thinking as you were saying,

Like what comes up for pumpkin and you know,

We're like everything pumpkin and trying to even infuse it throughout the whole year.

Not just this time,

But this is the kickoff time.

Pumpkin.

Just Yeah,

It feels so much end of summer beginning of fall.

For me pumpkin is connection because what comes up is all the connections and traditions with my family I grew up in whether it's picking a pumpkin or drying out the pumpkin seeds or having pumpkin pie and gatherings and social and I know I've mentioned this in previous pumpkin chats,

But me and my younger sister had a pumpkin like a little pumpkin diddy little vocal play me and pumpkin,

We bonded,

We bonded,

Because we had to pick out our pumpkins and it's like a really important time like what pumpkin you're going to pick.

But I was realizing as I revisited that memory again,

Just now I'm like,

Oh,

No,

That's when me and my sister bonded because we were,

We are quite a few years apart.

So I feel like even with that pumpkins like I'm gonna put these two together a little bit so that magic,

That magic of connection and that nostalgia and I also thought about for a moment those times that I would pick out pumpkins and it's a huge tradition here in my family of four that we now create every year.

And when I do go to pick out the pumpkin when you're talking about becoming one with the earth,

As a kid and still to this day,

I avoid the round ones,

I usually pick one that's got a nice flat side.

And I think I think I want to just be that pumpkin that's been chilling with a big part of its side connected to the earth.

So that kind of came through just now to that's,

That's what's going on.

And I could really infuse some pumpkin magic because when I think about pumpkin and transformations,

And all the things pumpkin can become,

That's where I'm feeling right now in my life that someone said,

Bibbidi bobbidi boo.

And I'm like,

What am I becoming?

So yeah,

Ready to see what that is what magic beholds.

Bibbidi bobbidi boo.

Right?

I love that.

Thank you.

Oh,

Yeah,

That rounded it all out.

There's just so much about this time of year and that pumpkin spring.

So let's get into it.

How do you define magic?

Why is it so alluring and mysterious?

Do you ever feel a longing to live in a more magical world where anything was possible?

What made Harry Potter so popular?

And have you noticed how many different kinds of which there are now?

You can be a green witch,

A kitchen witch,

A cottage witch,

A hearth witch,

And I'm pretty sure we could probably be pumpkin witches today.

I think you get my point.

Magic is here.

It's not going anywhere anytime soon.

So what is magic?

And I've got a definition for us from the Webster Merriam Webster Dictionary.

And here are just a few of them.

So the use of means such as charms or spells,

Believed to have supernatural power over natural forces,

Something that seems to cast a spell and enchantment,

And then the art of producing illusions by sleight of hand.

I find it fascinating that magic is described as supernatural,

Meaning beyond the laws of nature,

What we humans can observe,

Like spirits or ghosts.

So maybe there's this reason we're so vexed and intrigued by it.

It's something we can't simply explain,

Or control.

But what does magic mean to you personally?

What faces,

Locations,

Memories,

Pictures or feelings come to mind when you hear this word,

Magic?

And while we're thinking about that,

I'm going to share a little piece from this book out by Elizabeth Gilbert called Big Magic.

I really love this section.

So she says,

I say with confidence,

I happen to believe we are all walking repositories of buried treasure.

I believe this is one of the oldest and most generous tricks the universe plays on us human beings,

Both for its own amusement and for ours.

The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all,

And then stands back to see if we can find them.

The hunt to uncover those jewels,

That's creative living.

The courage to go on that hunt in the first place.

That's what separates a mundane existence from a more enchanted one.

The often surprising results of that hunt.

That's what I call big magic.

So today,

We are all going on a creative exploration to find our big magic.

So why pumpkin?

Like,

Why?

So here's some pumpkin magic.

Pumpkins are a symbol of the harvest.

And when we think of harvest,

We often think of abundance,

Prosperity,

And happiness.

Also,

Pumpkins inspire our creativity and imagination.

So you can look at all of the ways that we use pumpkins at this time of year,

Both in the kitchen,

And then with our loved ones or simply for ourselves,

Even if we want to be a pumpkin witch and putting them into rituals and spells.

Pumpkins also support our health and well being.

And I highly recommend that you do a quick internet search to see all of the health benefits of pumpkins and how they support our bodies in so many ways.

Pumpkins also represent potential and transformation.

So just think of how full each pumpkin is with seeds,

And they become so many more pumpkins.

And pumpkins also offer protection and important life lessons.

And we'll see a little bit more of that in the next slide where I'm just going to share a few of the world fairy tales and folklore that we can find with pumpkins,

Pumpkin fairy tales and folklore.

Yay.

So in the United States,

We have this tradition of carving pumpkins,

And we call them jack o'lanterns.

But I don't know about you,

Sarah,

But I didn't know where this came from.

And there are many different sort of renditions of this tale.

So some of them are are different from each other.

So you might want to do your own search on this.

But it does come from an old Irish Scottish tradition of carving turnips to scare away Stingy Jack.

And you can find out more about who Stingy Jack is.

But basically,

He sold his soul to the devil and then was sort of haunting people.

And these scary turnip faces would be put outside to scare away Stingy Jack.

And so when people moved over to Turtle Island or North America,

They found that pumpkins were a much better choice for carving,

You could do so much more with a pumpkin.

And so now we have our jack o' lanterns.

So that's our little jack o' lantern fairy tale.

And then in India,

There is a magical pumpkin tale,

Where a man named Kundan,

Who like Cinderella is searching for true love,

He actually uses a magical pumpkin to win his true love named gory.

And then the enchanted pumpkin of China.

And this is a tale where a farmer found a glowing pumpkin that had inside a magical fairy who came out and granted him and his family three wishes that changed his life.

And afterwards,

She actually went back inside the pumpkin.

So she went back to being a pumpkin.

It was just a very sweet tale.

And then in Japan,

There's a tale of an old man,

And his name is Kotobori Jisan.

And he befriends forest creatures and is then rewarded with a magical pumpkin that also grants wishes.

But it can also transform into different objects,

Helping him overcome challenges and restore balance to the world.

I really want to read more about that one.

And then in Native American culture,

There is the great pumpkin,

Who was a powerful deity who controlled the seasons and the harvest.

And the pumpkin was believed to be a sacred gift,

Providing sustenance for the tribe.

And all of this is from this website,

Homegrade up homeupgradeplace.

Com pumpkin related folklore.

And there are actually many more stories.

So highly recommend checking out how much pumpkin shows up around the world.

For so many years now it's been part of our folklore.

I'm just going to transition us to some intuitive writing prompts now.

So you can grab your journal and take some time to come back,

Stay within yourself,

But come back into a writing position.

Our first writing prompt is how do you define magic?

And allow yourself,

I'm going to give us about five minutes here.

So allow yourself to just flow with whatever comes to you.

And let all of the definitions to what is magic just flow out of you can wrap up that one.

And we'll go to our second writing prompt,

Which is what unique magic do you carry within?

And again,

Just allow whatever bubbles up,

Just let yourself write.

Sometimes it's helpful to just keep writing and see what else wants to appear on the page.

And yeah,

Really allow this to flow out of you.

What unique magic do you carry within?

So we'll take about five minutes here.

So now we're going to take these intuitive answers.

And we're going to take some time to create a symbol.

So for our intuitive art process today,

I invite you to maybe pick out a few key words that really stand out to you uniquely for your unique magic.

So you might actually find some things from how you define magic,

As well as what unique magic you bring,

And maybe come up with a two to three key words that you can use as inspiration to bring into a symbol that you create.

And a symbol can be anything from what we typically see like a peace sign,

Or a heart.

These are symbols,

But you can also create your own symbol.

So if you want to be elaborate with it,

Feel free,

This is your unique symbol.

And it's something that you can then infuse into your life.

So you can make it into a bigger painting,

You can draw it into your food,

You know,

You can put it on your mirror.

So something that's going to be simple enough to be able to bring into your life.

But that definitely like exudes the feeling of your unique magic.

And I don't have an example to share because I'm going to be creating this with you.

But I know that so far,

I can feel a direction.

So I know that magic for me has to do with light,

And awe,

And inspiration.

And so I can already feel something that's going to be similar to a sun or a star type symbol coming through,

But I don't know what it's going to look like yet.

So be open to being surprised by your symbol.

I think we'll just take about 15,

15 minutes.

Yeah,

To do that.

From here,

We're going to transition into our vocal play section with Sarah.

It's all kind of landing like magical bits in my space over here between our intuitive writing and our symbol.

And now we get to take it one step further beyond words to create our vocal play.

So for those of you who don't know what vocal play is,

It's just creating a unique sound to you to connect with something within yourself or the world around you or with others.

And it's going beyond words to tap into what you're feeling in your body,

Putting it with gentle movements,

And cycling through until you get some kind of body sensation.

Aha,

This is my sound.

And you can,

It could be a sweet smile,

It could just be like a calm that you feel,

I get teary eyed,

Could be a yawn,

A chill.

During this process to use your voice to release it into the world.

And so today,

You can guess,

We're going to create a sound for your unique magic.

The other reason that Laurie and I infuse this into creative embodiment and expressing ourselves is vocal play is very fun.

We keep it light,

Lots of smiling,

Lots of laughing.

And that's just an important part to us being human beings.

And it helps us release stress,

Increases serotonin levels.

And it can even help us with our sleep cycles and things like that.

So there's a nice little reasoning behind why we do the voice work,

And get goofy and get silly together.

So I'm actually,

I'm going to demonstrate this,

I already started feeling some things coming in while I was doing my writing and while I was doing my symbol for my unique magic.

Anything goes for sound,

It can be a hum,

It can be oohs and ahhs.

It can be a tune that you know of a song or a made up tune.

It can be nature sounds,

Animal sounds,

Anything goes,

And putting some gentle movements to it.

And then after you can receive some messages.

Did your voice go up?

Did it go down?

Did it get high?

Did it get low?

Were your movements fast?

Were they slow?

And so I have a song that is coming in from when I was a child.

I don't know anyone born in the 80s.

It's a little cassette tape had your name on it.

I think it's like celebrations or something.

But I had one and so did my family members.

And it was called Sarah.

And so the first song and I'm going to play around with it to demonstrate the beginning of my vocal play.

And then we're all going to go off and create our own for our unique magic.

So the beginning of mine is the beginning of that cassette,

Which is Hello,

Sarah,

How do you do?

I'm gonna sing some songs for you.

Some fast songs and slow songs and funny songs too.

So come in and join along and have some fun too.

And and then there's this whole like,

We're gonna sing about Sarah.

We're gonna sing about Sarah.

She's a special girl.

And I see Laurie laughing hysterically.

So I'm going to take that because I can feel that that's the beginning but it hasn't landed because I'm not getting the body sensations.

So I invite you to take 5-10 minutes,

Record your process,

Or even once you've landed your vocal play.

So you can see you can just video record yourself on your phone.

So you can see how your body moves and anything that changes and what your vocal play is so you can infuse it into your day later on and remember it.

Thank you,

Sarah.

I had some nostalgic,

But updated experiences.

It was very interesting,

Similar to what you were showing us with your example.

So I think I needed that.

So thank you.

Mine transformed with you know,

How Pumpkin does that.

Oh,

Yeah,

I took my words changed and it was just connecting with all different things and people in my world with some fun movements with that.

So great.

I can't wait to share more.

Thank you for exploring with us today all of your creativity and tuning into your unique magic.

Thank you everyone for joining us today.