I love October.
It's the month I was born, just three days shy of my favorite holiday—Halloween. It’s also the birth month of my sweet Auntie Gladys, my cousin Debbie (RIP my darlings), and all my favorite Scorpios. I live for this time. Yes, I'm one of those overdecorating, gotta-have-the-best-costume, all-things-pumpkin-spice basic bitches.
I was born into this world this way.
There is something that supercharges my energy the first cool fall day, and I feel more connected to my soul than any other time of the year. Throughout most of my life, I was literally the lonely weirdo who left Halloween decorations up all year. Friends tolerated this spooky side of me, chalking it up to my being their eccentric, somewhat creepy, Scorpio friend. I never apologized for my love of mystery, my connection to the other side, and my curiosity about death, afterlife, and seeing the unseeable. I always knew who I was. But it still wasn't easy for me to share that in the open for a long time. I didn't choose the Halloween life—it chose me.
Believe it or not, there was a time when psychic work was not popular, not acceptable, not mainstream. Salem, Massachusetts, was literally a ghost town on Halloween night. I remember those days because I grew up near there. These days over 100,000 flock to the small town for an entire week in October, and every psychic within 100 miles finds work— tucked in the little shops and corners of the Witch City Mall, doing readings for the newly curious.
Many of you may remember when there was a time when Halloween decorations showed up on the shelves mid-October and were completely gone November 1. Those who were like me breathlessly waited for that once-a-year event when everyone, for a brief moment, wanted to dabble in the world in which I lived all year long. People would ask me questions about “what I did,” and it seemed like the world was so much more open to Tarot, Mediumship, Astrology and intuitive abilities. Psychics were rockstars for a few weeks. Afterward, we went back to our hidey-holes.
It cracks me up to see so many obsessed with the Halloween life now. I'm not sure what caused this surge of interest in it, but it seems like all of a sudden, everyone has become a Halloween enthusiast. Billions of dollars are spent on Halloween decorations and costumes that show up on the shelves in August, and by this time my calendar is booked solid with people who have finally mustered up their courage to get a reading after hesitating all year. The internet, availability of so many cheap and fun decorations, and a desire to embrace taboo subjects is driving so much of this psychic interest. Many are relating because they, too, have been in the shadows for so long and now feel safe to speak their truth. For others, it may represent a chance to dip their toe into “scary” waters just for a thrill. Others grab onto the trend for a little while and will soon be bored with it and on to something else. But overall, millions are waking up and this holiday makes it okay somehow.
Maybe a big part of the obsession is that everyone just loves (and needs) to get in touch with who they really wanted to be in the first place. Halloween kind of gives you permission to be sexy, smart, silly, mystical, magical, or a hero… all the things that you might honestly not feel like most of the year. This is obviously a generalization, “cuz some ho’s gonna ho” at Halloween just like the rest of the year… But for the most part, we get to choose a costume that reflects an unexpressed segment of ourselves. We spend so much of our lives worrying what we look like, how people are perceiving us, trying to conform to what society wants from us so we can live our lives with as little conflict as possible—we can be overly focused on what others might think of us. My husband loves to remind me of something he heard, “What do people think about you? They rarely do.” (LOL!) We're not as top of mind to everyone as we think we are. It's amazing how hung up humans are on other people's perceptions of them. So we feel safe letting it out only one day a year. The costumes I choose every year are so often unconsciously deliberate, and as I look back, I can see direct correlations to my life experiences/spiritual growth, etc.
My earliest costumes were Bewitched (first grade) and a gypsy fortune teller (I wore versions of that for many years). I told you I knew who I was! (LOL!) One year, a costume of cotton balls glued to my clothes and a sign that said “keep your cotton pickin’ hands off me” was no accident. It was during the years I was a victim of sexual abuse by my stepfather. As I stepped deeper into my abilities, traditional witches costumes, handmade with unusual twists became a staple for me. A mermaid costume I made came to me as I was literally drowning in my addictions. Even more recently, I can see the connection to what I want to call into my life through the different costumes I look for. A gorgeous Snow White costume was my go-to for about three years when I was literally desperately looking for someone to rescue me from my loneliness and tell me how beautiful I was—I seriously wasn't feeling it at all. When I was a ghost tour guide and organizing a lot of events, I picked a PanAm Stewardess costume. An elaborate Queen of Hearts costumes came in when I needed to set better boundaries and speak my mind. I'm not sure what the Twister Board costume was saying...probably that I was twisting myself into a pretzel trying to be too many things to too many people—or maybe it was “just have some damn, silly fun.”
So think back to your most memorable costumes. Piece together the connection between where you were in your life—what authentic piece of yourself was trying to emerge? What aspect of your life are you denying the other 364 days of the year? How can you integrate that into your daily life? What if we let a little more of that superhero energy we feel in that costume sink into our consciousness on a daily basis and give you permission to stand up for yourself like a superhero does for the underdog? How can picking from the “sexy” costume rack help you feel better about your body image and remind you to love yourself every day?
So, as you pick out your costume this year, even if you think you're not paying much attention to what you grab off the rack in the Halloween store, maybe there's an unconscious message in there for you. What about the serial killer costumes? Freddy from A Nightmare on Elm Street? Yeah, there's messages in there, too. Assuming you're not actually a serial killer yourself, maybe you simply need to embrace your shadow side, or you're trying to “kill off” a part of you that is no longer serving you. What about your favorites from a TV series? Ask what that character represents to you. What do you most admire about them? Do you need more of that energy in your life? What about those who don't dress up on Halloween? That's okay. Ask yourself what you would wear if you DID have to pick one? And maybe even push yourself out of your comfort zone and try wearing one. You might unleash a whole new aspect of your personality that you absolutely love.
Regardless of what you do and how you do it, I wish you a happy and safe Halloween season. I'll be over here just being my normal self in this year's costume choice—Celestial Queen— celebrating my arrival to crone, teacher and sage goddess of all things metaphysical.
Ahhhhh, homecoming.
Suzie Kerr Wright is an Astrologer, Psychic Medium, Reiki Master, Spiritual Life Coach and the recipient of a 2020 Lightwork Award. Visit www.astrogirl12.com and follow her on Facebook @Suzie Kerr Wright and on Instagram @astrogirl12.musiccitymedium.
Audio Credit: Voice-over by Kirem Marnett.