I feel so lucky to be dating a man who actually asks ME to go Christmas shopping with HIM. And who is secure enough (and loves his niece enough) to spend a whole 20 minutes in the pink-and-girly plastic-toys-with-hair aisle at a large and busy store on a Friday Night while we agonize over which MyLittlePony is the right one to give a well-loved four-year-old. And then he bought her two.
Also, there are three cats snoozing on my bed right now. Mostly because I turned the heater on in my room, and cats like to be warm. The grey boys are all curled up together in a ball on one end, and Abbigale rests in majesty on her heated pet-pad with the flannel pillowcase on it (washable) at the other end. And there is a bit of half-hearted eyes-closed paw-licking going on, which is the very best kind, except when they take turns cleaning each other's faces.
Showing posts with label Four Seasons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Four Seasons. Show all posts
Saturday
Tarot, Intuition, and Personal Symbology
So I'm part of a monthly Journaling Group through SisterSpirit. SS is a local nonprofit whose focus is on providing safe space for women to practice their personal spirituality, with an emphasis on Paganism. And they offer a lot of donation-based monthly workshops.
So the one I'm personally most at home in is the Journaling Workshop. We usually have a set theme for so many months in a row, and then a new set theme. Our last theme was so amazing and powerful-- we journaled our way through the seven primary chakras. Now, we are creating our own Tarot decks. For me, these two topics have become entwined in a really wonderful way.
I find myself working more and more with the concepts of Chakra energies in the body. And while my special Tarot Deck, the Medicine Woman Cards, are truly a gift to work with... There are more symbols that hold various personal meanings to me. And I wanted to find a way to access those symbols as I do the messages in the Tarot. So I started by making lists of symbols I find important in my spiritual journey-- symbols found either in my reading and research into various existing sets of symbols (like the Trees or the Chakras), or in my personal life story.
And I promptly got very overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the list. Our world is FULL of meaningful symbology. So I decided to start with something simple and central. I decided to start with the Chakras. With the first Chakra-- Root Chakra. I made two cards that to me hold so much power and meaning that they have become precious and beautiful. Then I bogged down. And right about that time, SS Journaling took up the "make your own Tarot Deck" mission. I got inspired all over again. And I've done the preliminary work on any number of cards since then. I'm not done, either. There are a lot of workshops left to Journal my way through, and I'm staying open to inspiration as those meetings of spirit and pen emerge.
What I find is that the cards I've made that I am most drawn to-- their power and their intuitive meaning-- are the ones most specifically geared to my personal awareness of symbols in my life. For example, I find Universal Wisdom most clearly represented in two forms-- the Guide in the Forest, and the Wise Old Fish. And I've combined those two forms over a background of stars. I just love that card. I could spend a long time sitting and meditating on Universal Wisdom, with that card in my hand as a focal point.
There are other cards that hold a more general meaning-- the symbols are ones easily identified by more than just me. For example, I have an intricate glittery silver fabric, and inset over it is a moon with horns and wings. The Goddess, in a somewhat traditional form. Silver. The Moon. Wings. Cow Horns. And while I think it's important to have a Goddess card in my deck... I am not particularly drawn to the one I've created.
I may need to try again. To look with a more specific eye to my personal intuitive and internal representations of the concept of Goddess. A fiery mountain, a woman standing with her feet in the water, a lit candle, a windy night. A sense of Her strong will and Her power-- filtered by Her love for all living things, and the elements that are Her tools.
Maybe that would draw me to contemplation of deeper things like the fish and the trees. Maybe She is already sprinkled throughout other meaningful cards in my deck. The footprint in the ocean. The heart-shaped leaves on a bed of menstrual blood. The hearth fire of Hestia, the apple and the carafe of herbs, marked with a star for healing.
And with this energy and strength to CREATE flowing through me so strongly, it is harder still to buckle down to my work of applying for mundane paying day jobs. Jobs I need in order to keep body and soul together. Sigh. It is so tempting to live fully in the light of Spirit, and forget the shadow of the Mountain in whose caves grain must be stored for the winter.
In fact, I've tapped so strongly into my creative strength of late that I dream of being pregnant. Of creating something vital and dependent on me for its health and well-being in the world-- something physical and precious. An embodiment of what I have to give the world that is good. But the day job has not emerged, even while the life work has been clear for months. And so I dream over and over of being pregnant, and of lacking the resources and the strength to take charge of my (and my baby's) destiny.
In every dream, I am never the one who drives my car. I am too busy trying to make safe spaces in the car for the baby that represents my pregnant potential, and for any other living being in the car who is dependent on me for their safety-- and I lose my chance to be the one driving and determining where we will all end up. Me and my creativity and my life work. Maybe it is time I trust it to take care of itself, while I take charge of my own car, and drive directly and sturdily to where I really want to go. I'm tired of being forced (by my fear of failure to birth/protect this wondrous thing I hold inside) to take a back seat in my own life.
So the one I'm personally most at home in is the Journaling Workshop. We usually have a set theme for so many months in a row, and then a new set theme. Our last theme was so amazing and powerful-- we journaled our way through the seven primary chakras. Now, we are creating our own Tarot decks. For me, these two topics have become entwined in a really wonderful way.
I find myself working more and more with the concepts of Chakra energies in the body. And while my special Tarot Deck, the Medicine Woman Cards, are truly a gift to work with... There are more symbols that hold various personal meanings to me. And I wanted to find a way to access those symbols as I do the messages in the Tarot. So I started by making lists of symbols I find important in my spiritual journey-- symbols found either in my reading and research into various existing sets of symbols (like the Trees or the Chakras), or in my personal life story.
And I promptly got very overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the list. Our world is FULL of meaningful symbology. So I decided to start with something simple and central. I decided to start with the Chakras. With the first Chakra-- Root Chakra. I made two cards that to me hold so much power and meaning that they have become precious and beautiful. Then I bogged down. And right about that time, SS Journaling took up the "make your own Tarot Deck" mission. I got inspired all over again. And I've done the preliminary work on any number of cards since then. I'm not done, either. There are a lot of workshops left to Journal my way through, and I'm staying open to inspiration as those meetings of spirit and pen emerge.
What I find is that the cards I've made that I am most drawn to-- their power and their intuitive meaning-- are the ones most specifically geared to my personal awareness of symbols in my life. For example, I find Universal Wisdom most clearly represented in two forms-- the Guide in the Forest, and the Wise Old Fish. And I've combined those two forms over a background of stars. I just love that card. I could spend a long time sitting and meditating on Universal Wisdom, with that card in my hand as a focal point.
There are other cards that hold a more general meaning-- the symbols are ones easily identified by more than just me. For example, I have an intricate glittery silver fabric, and inset over it is a moon with horns and wings. The Goddess, in a somewhat traditional form. Silver. The Moon. Wings. Cow Horns. And while I think it's important to have a Goddess card in my deck... I am not particularly drawn to the one I've created.
I may need to try again. To look with a more specific eye to my personal intuitive and internal representations of the concept of Goddess. A fiery mountain, a woman standing with her feet in the water, a lit candle, a windy night. A sense of Her strong will and Her power-- filtered by Her love for all living things, and the elements that are Her tools.
Maybe that would draw me to contemplation of deeper things like the fish and the trees. Maybe She is already sprinkled throughout other meaningful cards in my deck. The footprint in the ocean. The heart-shaped leaves on a bed of menstrual blood. The hearth fire of Hestia, the apple and the carafe of herbs, marked with a star for healing.
And with this energy and strength to CREATE flowing through me so strongly, it is harder still to buckle down to my work of applying for mundane paying day jobs. Jobs I need in order to keep body and soul together. Sigh. It is so tempting to live fully in the light of Spirit, and forget the shadow of the Mountain in whose caves grain must be stored for the winter.
In fact, I've tapped so strongly into my creative strength of late that I dream of being pregnant. Of creating something vital and dependent on me for its health and well-being in the world-- something physical and precious. An embodiment of what I have to give the world that is good. But the day job has not emerged, even while the life work has been clear for months. And so I dream over and over of being pregnant, and of lacking the resources and the strength to take charge of my (and my baby's) destiny.
In every dream, I am never the one who drives my car. I am too busy trying to make safe spaces in the car for the baby that represents my pregnant potential, and for any other living being in the car who is dependent on me for their safety-- and I lose my chance to be the one driving and determining where we will all end up. Me and my creativity and my life work. Maybe it is time I trust it to take care of itself, while I take charge of my own car, and drive directly and sturdily to where I really want to go. I'm tired of being forced (by my fear of failure to birth/protect this wondrous thing I hold inside) to take a back seat in my own life.
Monday
Quick
I was reminded today of how quickly I make assumptions. The need for something solid to use as a framework for new ideas sometimes overrides my ability to slow down, and let the new idea emerge in its own good time. Slow is just not something I do well. Perhaps that is why the universe gives me so many opportunities to slow down, to experience something slowly. Because if I had my way, I'd often be out the door and down the street before I found out dinner was followed by dessert!
Today was also a difficult one because of a small event that cut me to the quick. It is so very hard to break a tendency toward emotional self-denial. We stop paying attention to our internal processes for a week or two, and suddenly we are flooded with emotions that surprise us in their intensity and focus. For me, this was the experience of going to the volunteer arm of the Small Business Association, and talking with a marketing coach. With two, actually. They were both clearly experienced, intelligent, and capable. I'm sure they've had (or continue to have) highly profitable careers in the field of marketing.
But one had never heard of an Aura before. And the other tried to connect with me by adding "Feng Shui" to the list of my possible skills as an Empathic Listener and Tarot Healer, because it was the only other semi-respectable alternative healing thing he knew of that didn't require a certificate on the wall. Both of them felt that the best thing I could do for my business was drop the word "Tarot" from my job description and from my marketing. I have to believe that it was good advice. But it cut me to the quick.
And I went in there KNOWING these people were probably not going to speak my language, nor I theirs. I've always been rather dismissive of the cliche about "snuffing out the sunshine," but not after this. I felt like suddenly nothing about me was worthy of success. That I'd have to make-do and half-exist all over again if I want to pay my rent again next month. Like I did in other jobs. I may still have to do that. Although my clientelle is growing faster than most new small businesses collect new clients, and I really appreciate and honor my clients and the opportunity to facilitate their healing process, it still hasn't grown enough to support me fully at this point. I suppose two part-time jobs DO add up into one full-time one for now...
The good news is that I went straight from that dis-heartening marketing meeting to a Tarot client. And my internal balance was thus restored. I hope the session was as beneficial for my client! I also got out for a brisk walk just as the sun was low enough to make the yellow and red leaves on the trees glow. THAT was a magic moment.
It's hard to head into the unknown. It's hard to cope with the stress of a down-economy and a difficult job market. But it's even harder to deny our inner selves, as we make our way in the world. And really, the more skills we have, the more resources are waiting in our back pocket to remind us of how beautiful the sun's illumination can be in our lives. Maybe it's time for me to start learning yet another something new.
So I scrubbed the frown off my face, washed the stress from my fingers, and decided that a positive outlook, and a strong resume, are worth their weight in gold. Or gasoline, that being slightly more expensive at the moment... I also realized that if I didn't post a blog entry QUICK, I'd miss October all together.
As the observant author wrote about the confused cat, "When in doubt, wash."
Autumn Blessings to you.
Be Well, and when frustrated,
Be Cleansed.
Today was also a difficult one because of a small event that cut me to the quick. It is so very hard to break a tendency toward emotional self-denial. We stop paying attention to our internal processes for a week or two, and suddenly we are flooded with emotions that surprise us in their intensity and focus. For me, this was the experience of going to the volunteer arm of the Small Business Association, and talking with a marketing coach. With two, actually. They were both clearly experienced, intelligent, and capable. I'm sure they've had (or continue to have) highly profitable careers in the field of marketing.
But one had never heard of an Aura before. And the other tried to connect with me by adding "Feng Shui" to the list of my possible skills as an Empathic Listener and Tarot Healer, because it was the only other semi-respectable alternative healing thing he knew of that didn't require a certificate on the wall. Both of them felt that the best thing I could do for my business was drop the word "Tarot" from my job description and from my marketing. I have to believe that it was good advice. But it cut me to the quick.
And I went in there KNOWING these people were probably not going to speak my language, nor I theirs. I've always been rather dismissive of the cliche about "snuffing out the sunshine," but not after this. I felt like suddenly nothing about me was worthy of success. That I'd have to make-do and half-exist all over again if I want to pay my rent again next month. Like I did in other jobs. I may still have to do that. Although my clientelle is growing faster than most new small businesses collect new clients, and I really appreciate and honor my clients and the opportunity to facilitate their healing process, it still hasn't grown enough to support me fully at this point. I suppose two part-time jobs DO add up into one full-time one for now...
The good news is that I went straight from that dis-heartening marketing meeting to a Tarot client. And my internal balance was thus restored. I hope the session was as beneficial for my client! I also got out for a brisk walk just as the sun was low enough to make the yellow and red leaves on the trees glow. THAT was a magic moment.
It's hard to head into the unknown. It's hard to cope with the stress of a down-economy and a difficult job market. But it's even harder to deny our inner selves, as we make our way in the world. And really, the more skills we have, the more resources are waiting in our back pocket to remind us of how beautiful the sun's illumination can be in our lives. Maybe it's time for me to start learning yet another something new.
So I scrubbed the frown off my face, washed the stress from my fingers, and decided that a positive outlook, and a strong resume, are worth their weight in gold. Or gasoline, that being slightly more expensive at the moment... I also realized that if I didn't post a blog entry QUICK, I'd miss October all together.
As the observant author wrote about the confused cat, "When in doubt, wash."
Autumn Blessings to you.
Be Well, and when frustrated,
Be Cleansed.
Almost October
The Autumn Wind is blowing, whooshing through dry leaves, and stirring up the dust. It is a warm wind tonight, strange for almost-October. It is a relief from the unmoving oppression of the summer sun that we continue to experience during the day.
I recently read Tarot for a good friend, someone who speaks the Pagan language of Earth and Energy and Elements and Change. She told me that the "homework" I had given her-- just hearing about the ceremony I described for her to do-- it had shifted the energy in her body. It had created the opportunity for the healing of a wound that she's slowly cleaned of all it's filth over the course of many decades. She was exhausted. She was excited. She was surprised that the ceremony I described, and the pieces of it that I suggested for her to perform or work into the whole, fit so perfectly her need.
It was a gift, her description. I give all of my Tarot clients "homework." It is always unique to them and their personal path to healing and positive change. It is always about moving energy and about communication and intentional connection-- with a partner, with our own bodies, with our feelings or fears, even with ancestors or animals. I hadn't thought too closely about these "homework assignments" other than to know that if the person could find the energy and the courage to do these things, however small they might be, a shift would occur.
Sometimes the work is as simple as picking a special scented candle, and lighting it for five minutes every night, at a time when that person knew she was safe. The bigger goal was to help her associate that smell with safety, so that she could eventually use that scent as a tool for managing her panic attacks. The first step was becoming conscious of the times that she did feel safe. Learning to recognize the good feelings, and finding a positive trigger to balance out the many negative triggers she holds in her subconscious.
Sometimes the work is harder. Asking the person you love to give you what you need. Just something small-- a hug, or to be left alone-- one thing every night, for a week. Learning that it is okay to ask. That it is okay to receive. That love is a two-way street, and being able to give is in equal importance to being able to receive. Or watching for the tell-tale gut-clench that always happens when you feel helpless and out of control. Learning to identify that physical feeling so that you can stop, and recognize the emotions underneath.
Or even intentionally giving up control of a project or activity to someone who may not do the job you would do on it, but will free you up to do other more important jobs. Yes, you could make that call and get the exact info you need in ten minutes. Yes, it'll take five to tell your assistant what you need, and it'll take her another 20 to get all the information-- 30 minutes of work for the ten minutes it'll take if you do it yourself. But that 30 minutes of work mean she can do the same thing for you in ten minutes next time around-- and you have five free minutes to spend somewhere else on your over-crowded work schedule.
Anyway, having these "homework assignments" explained as ceremonies that shift embodied energy was a really affirming thing. It clarified and increased the way that I value and offer these projects for my clients. It added to my resume. I offer personally tailored ceremonies to shift my clients' embodied energy into alignment with their higher purpose or goal. I offer opportunities to create space for the best self to develop. Truly, I offer healing when I Read Tarot, and my empathic listening skills are a central key to my work.
I thank the Goddess who set me on this path for the gift I now wield of embodying connection between injury and healing, between desperation and intention, self-exploration and universal knowledge. Wisdom and Intuition. Isolation and Acceptance. Loss and Love. Living and Growing/Changing/Improving.
May my blessings continue in the winter, and the new year that follows the old.
May my words and understandings continue to heal.
May all that is needed be known.
-SBE
I recently read Tarot for a good friend, someone who speaks the Pagan language of Earth and Energy and Elements and Change. She told me that the "homework" I had given her-- just hearing about the ceremony I described for her to do-- it had shifted the energy in her body. It had created the opportunity for the healing of a wound that she's slowly cleaned of all it's filth over the course of many decades. She was exhausted. She was excited. She was surprised that the ceremony I described, and the pieces of it that I suggested for her to perform or work into the whole, fit so perfectly her need.
It was a gift, her description. I give all of my Tarot clients "homework." It is always unique to them and their personal path to healing and positive change. It is always about moving energy and about communication and intentional connection-- with a partner, with our own bodies, with our feelings or fears, even with ancestors or animals. I hadn't thought too closely about these "homework assignments" other than to know that if the person could find the energy and the courage to do these things, however small they might be, a shift would occur.
Sometimes the work is as simple as picking a special scented candle, and lighting it for five minutes every night, at a time when that person knew she was safe. The bigger goal was to help her associate that smell with safety, so that she could eventually use that scent as a tool for managing her panic attacks. The first step was becoming conscious of the times that she did feel safe. Learning to recognize the good feelings, and finding a positive trigger to balance out the many negative triggers she holds in her subconscious.
Sometimes the work is harder. Asking the person you love to give you what you need. Just something small-- a hug, or to be left alone-- one thing every night, for a week. Learning that it is okay to ask. That it is okay to receive. That love is a two-way street, and being able to give is in equal importance to being able to receive. Or watching for the tell-tale gut-clench that always happens when you feel helpless and out of control. Learning to identify that physical feeling so that you can stop, and recognize the emotions underneath.
Or even intentionally giving up control of a project or activity to someone who may not do the job you would do on it, but will free you up to do other more important jobs. Yes, you could make that call and get the exact info you need in ten minutes. Yes, it'll take five to tell your assistant what you need, and it'll take her another 20 to get all the information-- 30 minutes of work for the ten minutes it'll take if you do it yourself. But that 30 minutes of work mean she can do the same thing for you in ten minutes next time around-- and you have five free minutes to spend somewhere else on your over-crowded work schedule.
Anyway, having these "homework assignments" explained as ceremonies that shift embodied energy was a really affirming thing. It clarified and increased the way that I value and offer these projects for my clients. It added to my resume. I offer personally tailored ceremonies to shift my clients' embodied energy into alignment with their higher purpose or goal. I offer opportunities to create space for the best self to develop. Truly, I offer healing when I Read Tarot, and my empathic listening skills are a central key to my work.
I thank the Goddess who set me on this path for the gift I now wield of embodying connection between injury and healing, between desperation and intention, self-exploration and universal knowledge. Wisdom and Intuition. Isolation and Acceptance. Loss and Love. Living and Growing/Changing/Improving.
May my blessings continue in the winter, and the new year that follows the old.
May my words and understandings continue to heal.
May all that is needed be known.
-SBE
Sunday
Hearth Friends
When we were little (especially if we were little in the '50's), we often immortalized our friendships by carving everybody's initials with a heart between-- S.B. -heart- R.O. or I heart Johnny, for example. It was a way of saying we loved someone-- they were a friend of our hearts. It was a hope that we would always have that loving connection in our life.
I have just returned from a Fall Festival. I went there with a friend, I came back from there with many friends. Friends of my heart. It was a very intense event, and yet also very restful. I learned so much from the experiences that others shared with me while I was there-- and I was also able to facilitate the learning of others. My favorite times were sitting at my booth, working through some big self-realizations with a Tarot client... and the evening bonfires.
For me, those bonfires were a gathering of family around the sacred fire-- the hearth fire that represents both home and safety, blessings given and received. We beat drums, we danced, and we cemented friendships new and old. These were our offerings around the hearth altar of our sacred gathering. These were the times of true community.
Our blood relatives and our "parents" are often chosen by biology or by someone else's decisions about marriage or responsibility. As children, we rarely have the opportunity to choose our family. Many of us are lucky. We have a parent, or maybe two, who really love us and wish the best for us and work hard to help us grow. Many of us cope instead with adults who hurt us, or who are hurt. As we mature, regardless of what came before, we learn to find folks we can trust outside of our original family.
Often, these people begin as friends, and then we realize that our bond is deeper than mere friendship. We share a connection that is truly special, truly magical. These people become our chosen family-- our "spiritual family," if you will. The folks who love us and who we love as if they have always been a part of our lives, as if they always will be. Understanding that we can create a support network that is stronger (and often stranger) than the family we were born into brings a special kind of freedom with it. Particularly when this is a community in which we can truly be ourselves-- fully reveling in the release of our unique and healing energy into the universe. A community of individuals. A community of acceptance.
I deeply enjoyed the friendships and experiences of this past Festival weekend. I look forward to our next meeting, whether at an organized retreat or at a local coffee shop. And I know that just because I don't hear from someone I really felt a moment of connection with-- it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate what that moment held. The time I spend with this special community-- with these friends-- is carved into my heart. Each meeting is a gift, and all the distance in between visits can never take that gift away from me.
Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet Again.
I have just returned from a Fall Festival. I went there with a friend, I came back from there with many friends. Friends of my heart. It was a very intense event, and yet also very restful. I learned so much from the experiences that others shared with me while I was there-- and I was also able to facilitate the learning of others. My favorite times were sitting at my booth, working through some big self-realizations with a Tarot client... and the evening bonfires.
For me, those bonfires were a gathering of family around the sacred fire-- the hearth fire that represents both home and safety, blessings given and received. We beat drums, we danced, and we cemented friendships new and old. These were our offerings around the hearth altar of our sacred gathering. These were the times of true community.
Our blood relatives and our "parents" are often chosen by biology or by someone else's decisions about marriage or responsibility. As children, we rarely have the opportunity to choose our family. Many of us are lucky. We have a parent, or maybe two, who really love us and wish the best for us and work hard to help us grow. Many of us cope instead with adults who hurt us, or who are hurt. As we mature, regardless of what came before, we learn to find folks we can trust outside of our original family.
Often, these people begin as friends, and then we realize that our bond is deeper than mere friendship. We share a connection that is truly special, truly magical. These people become our chosen family-- our "spiritual family," if you will. The folks who love us and who we love as if they have always been a part of our lives, as if they always will be. Understanding that we can create a support network that is stronger (and often stranger) than the family we were born into brings a special kind of freedom with it. Particularly when this is a community in which we can truly be ourselves-- fully reveling in the release of our unique and healing energy into the universe. A community of individuals. A community of acceptance.
I deeply enjoyed the friendships and experiences of this past Festival weekend. I look forward to our next meeting, whether at an organized retreat or at a local coffee shop. And I know that just because I don't hear from someone I really felt a moment of connection with-- it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate what that moment held. The time I spend with this special community-- with these friends-- is carved into my heart. Each meeting is a gift, and all the distance in between visits can never take that gift away from me.
Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet Again.
Thursday
Summer Journeys
Well, there went June... and hey-- most of July, too!
June was amazing. I joined in the Sun Fest celebration 2008 in Oregon, and met many new and wonderful artists and friends. Because of the rain, we were able to build our bonfire high every night, with sparks shooting 10 and 20 feet in the air. Gorgeous!
Truly, I celebrated Midsummer in all her glory and release.
Since then, I've struggled with my proclivity to expect the universe to order herself to my expectations. I'm learning, slowly, to let go, and to be open to possibility. Amazing and serendipitous events occur if we are only open and available to notice and enjoy them. Truly, it has been a magickal summer for me. My body is healing, my network of healthy and intelligent friends is growing, and my life tastes very sweet. Almost as sweet as the berries that someone hand-picked and left as a surprise on our doorstep one early morning! Such a loving and thoughtful gift from someone.
Blessed Be...
June was amazing. I joined in the Sun Fest celebration 2008 in Oregon, and met many new and wonderful artists and friends. Because of the rain, we were able to build our bonfire high every night, with sparks shooting 10 and 20 feet in the air. Gorgeous!
Truly, I celebrated Midsummer in all her glory and release.
Since then, I've struggled with my proclivity to expect the universe to order herself to my expectations. I'm learning, slowly, to let go, and to be open to possibility. Amazing and serendipitous events occur if we are only open and available to notice and enjoy them. Truly, it has been a magickal summer for me. My body is healing, my network of healthy and intelligent friends is growing, and my life tastes very sweet. Almost as sweet as the berries that someone hand-picked and left as a surprise on our doorstep one early morning! Such a loving and thoughtful gift from someone.
Blessed Be...
Monday
For Every Season a Purpose...
There's an old song that my parents used to listen to about how everything and time turns turns turns, and for every season there is a purpose, for everything... At least, that's my vague memory of it. My parents were fringe hippies, and are now in denial about it all. At least when their daughter might hear them.
And I really think this is a great time, and it is serving an important purpose. On many levels. We're coming up on Midsummer-- on the Summer Solstice. We celebrate our parents on their special days. We celebrate the turning of the Earth, and the longest day of Sun. We're coming to the fulcrum of change. On this day, traditionally, bonfires are lit, and couples dance around them and leap over the flames for good luck and prosperity. They celebrate courage and fire and the importance of the hearth and the home, around which the rest of our lives spin. From Spring Maiden to Summer Mother to Fall Crone to Winter's rest-- around and around we go.
Coincidentally, I've been doing a bit of deep research on Wisdom, on Hestia (Goddess of the Hearth) and Athena and a host of other central Goddess figures from the Ancient Past. Astarte, Inanna, Ishtar, Saraswati and others. Midsummer is a celebration of the Goddess, and a celebration of Abundance. An opportunity to ground ourselves in the warmth and the strength of the Harvest and the central hearth. I learned that Hestia is the One who receives first and last offerings-- always. Every altar and offering fire was considered a hearth, and Hestia-- who was first and last daughter of the ancient gods, and both oldest and youngest sister of Zeus-- Hestia's right was to receive the first of any offering or any meal or any honor.
Without grounding ourselves, without being centered around our home hearth (whether our childhood home, the home we created for ourselves as adults, or the core grounded center of our being-- the deep red of the root chakra at the bottom of our spine)-- Without that strong base on which to build, our lives would be only dreams and ideas and wishes and wind. Every chakra-- every sense and energy center in our bodies-- is important. But MOST important is our individual connection to Mother Earth-- to our root and our foundation of being, of existence.
Following this train of reasoning and awareness (it may not be yours, but it makes sense to me), I suddenly remembered that my journey into Paganism and into self-hood started with my root chakra. I was searching for a way to feel sturdy on my feet. My whole life was new, with only a few blocks for a foundation and the rubble of my old life laying all around. (divorce, move, new job, buy a mattress and a chair, start going to school...)
I found a book about Chakras on sale, and picked it up. It reminded me of the wise woman (my Aunt) who had once been my anchor, so I took the book home and began to read. I realized that I felt no connection to my physical world-- to my reality-- and I started to follow many of the book's suggestions about unblocking the first chakra, about strengthening my roots and my spiritual/energy foundation. This led me to remember my wise Aunt's work with Essential Oils, with crystals and rocks. And that, my friends, is how everything started. One random book.
It was exactly what I needed. More books followed the first, and I learned that there were names for the things I believed, for the energies I sensed and the ideas I had about how one could truly connect with Spirit. Other people had the same ideas, and had more knowledge to share with me-- via their books-- me, to whom each thing was somehow new. I became caught up in my journey of exploration. I studied herbs, crystals, oils, symbols, tarot cards and trees. My intellectual and spiritual world expanded. And I forgot about my root, my need for a sturdy foundation.
So here we are, nearly two years later. About to celebrate the foundation of society-- the Earth, her Bounty, the Goddess who gives us Life and Courage and Love, and the Fire that gives us light, heat, and a place to call home. And I am reminded of my own beginning steps along this path. I am reminded that my own foundations still need attention. I've been dreaming of my ideal job, living on student loans, and wishing for something amazing to happen. I've been searching for a job (which means I'd finally live someplace intentional-- have a home; I'd finally have a livable income-- have security and a way to create the things I've only dreamed; I'd finally have started a career-- have a foundation for my future to grow from) ...I've been searching for a job for six months. Granted, part of that time was spent still in school, but it's been long enough for something good to manifest.
I just couldn't figure out what was missing. Why all my aspirations remained as dust in the wind, and none of my grand plans seemed to work out in real life. But that's the thing of it. I may have built a foundation of education, of knowledge and ideas (all related to the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chakras)-- but I didn't build a physical foundation, I didn't ground and center my dreams and my efforts in reality-- not even my Spirit had a solid grounding. How could I hope to build a fine big (earth-friendly) structure if I didn't have anything to build it ON?! So I've returned to my Root Chakra practices. I'm unblocking my connection and my Earth Energy. I'm choosing to embody my dreams in a very real sense, and I look forward to experiencing the results.
Best wishes this Season, to you and yours. May your harvest be plentiful, your family strong, and your dreams of a beautiful future grounded in the reality of today.
And I really think this is a great time, and it is serving an important purpose. On many levels. We're coming up on Midsummer-- on the Summer Solstice. We celebrate our parents on their special days. We celebrate the turning of the Earth, and the longest day of Sun. We're coming to the fulcrum of change. On this day, traditionally, bonfires are lit, and couples dance around them and leap over the flames for good luck and prosperity. They celebrate courage and fire and the importance of the hearth and the home, around which the rest of our lives spin. From Spring Maiden to Summer Mother to Fall Crone to Winter's rest-- around and around we go.
Coincidentally, I've been doing a bit of deep research on Wisdom, on Hestia (Goddess of the Hearth) and Athena and a host of other central Goddess figures from the Ancient Past. Astarte, Inanna, Ishtar, Saraswati and others. Midsummer is a celebration of the Goddess, and a celebration of Abundance. An opportunity to ground ourselves in the warmth and the strength of the Harvest and the central hearth. I learned that Hestia is the One who receives first and last offerings-- always. Every altar and offering fire was considered a hearth, and Hestia-- who was first and last daughter of the ancient gods, and both oldest and youngest sister of Zeus-- Hestia's right was to receive the first of any offering or any meal or any honor.
Without grounding ourselves, without being centered around our home hearth (whether our childhood home, the home we created for ourselves as adults, or the core grounded center of our being-- the deep red of the root chakra at the bottom of our spine)-- Without that strong base on which to build, our lives would be only dreams and ideas and wishes and wind. Every chakra-- every sense and energy center in our bodies-- is important. But MOST important is our individual connection to Mother Earth-- to our root and our foundation of being, of existence.
Following this train of reasoning and awareness (it may not be yours, but it makes sense to me), I suddenly remembered that my journey into Paganism and into self-hood started with my root chakra. I was searching for a way to feel sturdy on my feet. My whole life was new, with only a few blocks for a foundation and the rubble of my old life laying all around. (divorce, move, new job, buy a mattress and a chair, start going to school...)
I found a book about Chakras on sale, and picked it up. It reminded me of the wise woman (my Aunt) who had once been my anchor, so I took the book home and began to read. I realized that I felt no connection to my physical world-- to my reality-- and I started to follow many of the book's suggestions about unblocking the first chakra, about strengthening my roots and my spiritual/energy foundation. This led me to remember my wise Aunt's work with Essential Oils, with crystals and rocks. And that, my friends, is how everything started. One random book.
It was exactly what I needed. More books followed the first, and I learned that there were names for the things I believed, for the energies I sensed and the ideas I had about how one could truly connect with Spirit. Other people had the same ideas, and had more knowledge to share with me-- via their books-- me, to whom each thing was somehow new. I became caught up in my journey of exploration. I studied herbs, crystals, oils, symbols, tarot cards and trees. My intellectual and spiritual world expanded. And I forgot about my root, my need for a sturdy foundation.
So here we are, nearly two years later. About to celebrate the foundation of society-- the Earth, her Bounty, the Goddess who gives us Life and Courage and Love, and the Fire that gives us light, heat, and a place to call home. And I am reminded of my own beginning steps along this path. I am reminded that my own foundations still need attention. I've been dreaming of my ideal job, living on student loans, and wishing for something amazing to happen. I've been searching for a job (which means I'd finally live someplace intentional-- have a home; I'd finally have a livable income-- have security and a way to create the things I've only dreamed; I'd finally have started a career-- have a foundation for my future to grow from) ...I've been searching for a job for six months. Granted, part of that time was spent still in school, but it's been long enough for something good to manifest.
I just couldn't figure out what was missing. Why all my aspirations remained as dust in the wind, and none of my grand plans seemed to work out in real life. But that's the thing of it. I may have built a foundation of education, of knowledge and ideas (all related to the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chakras)-- but I didn't build a physical foundation, I didn't ground and center my dreams and my efforts in reality-- not even my Spirit had a solid grounding. How could I hope to build a fine big (earth-friendly) structure if I didn't have anything to build it ON?! So I've returned to my Root Chakra practices. I'm unblocking my connection and my Earth Energy. I'm choosing to embody my dreams in a very real sense, and I look forward to experiencing the results.
Best wishes this Season, to you and yours. May your harvest be plentiful, your family strong, and your dreams of a beautiful future grounded in the reality of today.
Thursday
Equinox, Full Moon, Eostara
This is an auspicious few days! We have an intersection between the Spring (vernal) Equinox (today), a Full Moon (tomorrow), and the official day of celebration for the Goddess Eostara, whose symbols include red, eggs, and bunnies. Officially, this became Easter, the day Jeasus rose from his cave, I think. Funny that the day of fertility, celebrating birth, mothering, and the Goddess should be turned into the day of rebirth-- but keep it's symbolic eggs, bunnies, and dyes.
I know Astarte is usually celebrated around the Winter Solstice, but I truly feel a connection to her today. As if the evening star has some greater significance in the advent of Spring. She, like Eostara, is a mother figure, and Spring is the time of birth, or rebirth of the son and the Sun... Perhaps it is not so strange that I should be drawn to Goddess as Mother at this time, then.
To celebrate, I'll be doing a bit of Spring Cleaning, taking a walk in a truly beautiful garden that bursts with fresh new leaves and growing things, and laughing with an old friend. Today it is my gift to honor the Mother that encourages me to spend time preparing my home and hearth, and to spend time honoring Spring, honoring changes and growth, new possibilities, and Creative Energy. I also intend to devote some time to my crafts today. Mixing ointments for healing, sewing a few final touches onto my latest hand-crafted Tarot Bags for PaganFaire, and of course, loving the bold beauty of the full moon as she bathes me in hope for the future and in the wilde pagan light of my ancestors this night.
The world is full of possibility, and all that is needed is hope, intention, and good living.
Blessings Be.
I know Astarte is usually celebrated around the Winter Solstice, but I truly feel a connection to her today. As if the evening star has some greater significance in the advent of Spring. She, like Eostara, is a mother figure, and Spring is the time of birth, or rebirth of the son and the Sun... Perhaps it is not so strange that I should be drawn to Goddess as Mother at this time, then.
To celebrate, I'll be doing a bit of Spring Cleaning, taking a walk in a truly beautiful garden that bursts with fresh new leaves and growing things, and laughing with an old friend. Today it is my gift to honor the Mother that encourages me to spend time preparing my home and hearth, and to spend time honoring Spring, honoring changes and growth, new possibilities, and Creative Energy. I also intend to devote some time to my crafts today. Mixing ointments for healing, sewing a few final touches onto my latest hand-crafted Tarot Bags for PaganFaire, and of course, loving the bold beauty of the full moon as she bathes me in hope for the future and in the wilde pagan light of my ancestors this night.
The world is full of possibility, and all that is needed is hope, intention, and good living.
Blessings Be.
Wednesday
Apples and Pumpkins
All-Hallowe's Eve is coming. It's a time, traditionally, when the veil between the world of the living and the dead, the body and the spirit is lifted. There are many traditional activities, but my favorites are these:
- Bury apples to honor the ancestors on their journey and give lost spirits a meal.
- Set an extra place at the table for any visitors on this night.
- Light candles in your windows, either to guide good spirits to your door, or to keep bad spirits away-- your choice. (These are often placed in pumpkins-- an offering of peace.)
I invite the Holy Ones to my table.
Come, sit with me, eat and drink with me.
I offer you the hospitality of my home.
You are always welcome here.
----
I pray to all the gods of death,
of darkness, of sorrow.
Though I do not love you, I respect you.
Though I do not welcome you, I honor you.
Though I do not invite you into my life,
I know you are already there.
----
Eat with us, Ancestors,
on this night of the dead.
Share our meal with us
and then go on your way.
----
At the end of my life, I put my trust in the gods of my people.
Ancient Wise Woman, cover me with your cloak
as I walk the last path that leads to your land.
----
Lock up carefully, Earth's guardians,
and keep life safe until spring.
----
It is only fair to thank you, blessed ones:
You have given me so much;
I give to you from my little.
----
Enter my home, and find your own,
for the old ways are kept here
and hospitality is a law all are proud to honor.
Come, sit with me, eat and drink with me.
I offer you the hospitality of my home.
You are always welcome here.
----
I pray to all the gods of death,
of darkness, of sorrow.
Though I do not love you, I respect you.
Though I do not welcome you, I honor you.
Though I do not invite you into my life,
I know you are already there.
----
Eat with us, Ancestors,
on this night of the dead.
Share our meal with us
and then go on your way.
----
At the end of my life, I put my trust in the gods of my people.
Ancient Wise Woman, cover me with your cloak
as I walk the last path that leads to your land.
----
Lock up carefully, Earth's guardians,
and keep life safe until spring.
----
It is only fair to thank you, blessed ones:
You have given me so much;
I give to you from my little.
----
Enter my home, and find your own,
for the old ways are kept here
and hospitality is a law all are proud to honor.
All-Hallowe's Eve is also a great (but dangerous) time for divination, for communing with your dead loved ones, for thanking those who came before and letting go of those who travel the paths before us. Thresholds, offerings, honor and respect. Is not all life and death contained in these words? Offer what you have. If it is your concentration and thanks for a few minutes, give that. If it is a sprig of juniper or an oak branch in your hearth fire, offer that. Bread and milk are always welcome feasts, and laughter is beautiful.
Blessings Be.
Blessings Be.
Saturday
Colors of the Season
Ornamental chili peppers are purple, red, orange and yellow-- all on the same branch. The leaves on the trees are doing the same thing, and the colors are beautiful. Orange and yellow and green pumpkins-- and hey, the leaves are doing that, too! Yummy squash, ornamental corn, warm soups and bonfires. It is a beautiful time of year!
Tuesday
Autumn Comes
The Autumnal Equinox is coming!! Sept 22-23 this year. One of my favorite things to celebrate. I'd better start looking up fun traditions and rituals, just in case I want to do them.
Generally, I plan to have a mini bonfire, eat bread and honey, and spend as much of my weekend as I can manage outdoors. I'll also be changing out my four-season wreath decor. It's a very simple thing made of dried grape vines, probably eight inches in diameter. I wrapped a string of mini-mini purple lights around it, and then I have a simple little sprig of something representative of each season-- a red silk flower for early summer, and a mini cornucopia with fall leaves and an acorn for fall. A twig of evergreen with an apple and pine cone attached for winter, and a little frond of light green ferns (all fake, so they can be reused and they last the whole season) for spring.
I do occasionally bring some real flowers or tree branches or apples or whatnot into my home-- but this is a permanent display, and I don't want to take too much from Mother Nature just to decorate indoors. I'd rather enjoy the decorations where they naturally occur.
Generally, I plan to have a mini bonfire, eat bread and honey, and spend as much of my weekend as I can manage outdoors. I'll also be changing out my four-season wreath decor. It's a very simple thing made of dried grape vines, probably eight inches in diameter. I wrapped a string of mini-mini purple lights around it, and then I have a simple little sprig of something representative of each season-- a red silk flower for early summer, and a mini cornucopia with fall leaves and an acorn for fall. A twig of evergreen with an apple and pine cone attached for winter, and a little frond of light green ferns (all fake, so they can be reused and they last the whole season) for spring.
I do occasionally bring some real flowers or tree branches or apples or whatnot into my home-- but this is a permanent display, and I don't want to take too much from Mother Nature just to decorate indoors. I'd rather enjoy the decorations where they naturally occur.
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