Welcome to Month Map, a pinch-punch first of the month temperature check, mood board, and inspo list.
I’ve learned to love summer, its long nights and everything so light, light, light. Iced matcha! Birkenstocks, rosé. But, the air has turned sharp again, crisp, electric, hinting at frost. Summer’s angelic whispers have faded.There is magic in the dark now. Candlelit bars are for telling secrets, even if it’s only 4pm.
October is for rituals. The start of the ‘Winter Arc’, whatever that looks like for you. I’ll be drying my flowers, patiently waiting for preserved petals. Holding memories of sun and rain. I’ll be planting spring bulbs in hidden corners of the garden, imagining the blooms that will erupt months from now. Lighting candles that smell of palo santo, leather, iris. Reading, writing. Slathering myself in oils and balms.
There’s a different kind of sociableness to October. Dinner parties, cocktail hours, gym partners for getting home safe, and escaping to a cabin in the woods. FaceTime is magic, too, if you really think about it. In a recent essay, Joy Sullivan sets out “When to Call the Witches,” and I think: perhaps the alternative answer is always, in October.
I have a work trip to Boston coming up, and I plan to visit Salem. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to smell traces of ancient fire and hear fallen leaves crackle underfoot. To buy a little talisman and pet a black cat. How lucky the work event falls during the month of Samhain. Perhaps the witches are calling me.
October Rituals
Become religious about skin care, add something new to your routine. I’ve started using the French miracle A313. Cicaplast Repairing Balm is a wonderful protectant against the cold. Get into tinctures. I personally love Trip Dream Drops. Keep all your bits on your bedside table.
Dry flowers and herbs by hanging them upside down. It gives your home a real ‘eccentric cottage spinster’ feel to it. Smells divine, feels like getting something for free.
Plant spring bulbs in mismatched pots and planters, even if you don’t have a garden. Here’s a guide to indoor planting. They don’t take much work for the reward of flowers and being the kind of person who plants flowers.
Write daily pages every morning. Your free-flowing thoughts feel like therapy. It helps you to understand your emotions and work through them on paper. Make them unhinged. The kind that, if discovered, would have you sent to the seaside for melancholia.
Throw a dinner party. It doesn’t have to be fancy, and you don’t have to be a great cook. Dim the lights, open some wine, and cackle around the fire.
On that note, Sunday dinner is back. Have it early, make it luxurious. Go out or stay in and let the scent of it permeate your afternoon. Have a special little drink. Post it on social media; I want to see it.
Use indoor public spaces bby. The library, museums, a gallery. Make a list of all the places you could go and make a point of actually going to them.
Reading
For the Romantics: Wuthering Heights, Perfume, Phantom of the Opera, Dracula
For Reflection: When to Call the Witches, The Creative Act,
For Escape: She’s Always Hungry, Skipshock, literally any multi-book romantasy series.
Watching
TV: Cabinet of Curiosities, Dune Prophecy, Agatha All Along, American Horror Story, Penny Dreadful, The Witcher, Fall of the House of Usher
Film: The Pale Blue Eye, Interview with the Vampire, Nosferatu, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Wonder, Poor Things
Style
Burgundy, espresso brown, crisp white
Suede, leather, knits
Time to shift into deeper scents. Classic fire with Santal 33 or I’m loving Liberty’s Ianthe Oud
Things I’ve actually bought with this season in mind: APC tote bag, Ganni handknit cardigan, Ganni collared shirt (massively discounted via the link!) Ganni cropped hooded puffer (also huge discount), bargain rib knit trousers, budget tabis.
Taste
Host more dinner parties. I’m serious. Bring it back.
I’m looking forward to getting my hands on Chelsea Fagan’s ‘Having People Over’. Pre-order as a gift for the future you (released 21st October).
Some ideas for this month’s meals:
Butter paneer curry — cook the night before (it tastes better this way). Make your own naan (so easy! Use literally any internet recipe!)
Miso butter noodles — quick, glossy, weeknight magic.
French onion soup — bubbling cheese toasts, need I say more?
Harissa roasted veg with halloumi — fiery, colourful, effortless. A great meal prep.
Chipotle beef — smoky, slow-cooked, pair with a mezcal negroni on a rainy Sunday.
Mushroom tarragon pie — I adore tarragon, try to get a good mix of mushrooms. Waitrose has mad things.
Before you go
I hope this October you gather moments like leaves. That you laugh over the dinner table with people you haven’t seen in a while. That you leave rambling voice notes to each other on an infinite loop, that end with love you, bye.
I hope that you find new paintings you love in a gallery you forgot. That you crunch leaves with boots broken in just right. I hope your dog is happy. Or cat, or whatever familiar you keep.
I hope your rituals feel magical and not like a chore. That ‘locking in’ doesn’t make you feel locked up. That you see changes, and look yourself in the eye to smile and say ‘ I can do hard things’. That you treat yourself with compassion first of all.
I hope that every candle you light, every page you write, every glass you raise, and every hot soup you taste, is a spell against the cold.
That October is simply asking: what will you choose to keep alive?