Summer Solstice and the Mother

Those who have been following my blog may already be aware when I ‘relaunched’ this blog back in October last year I also started a brand new women’s circle, and through my circle, and my social media channels I started working with the wheel of the year. We started working through a cycle of the elements with each season- we did fire at Samhain, and then worked with different elements as each season came. Then on the last season- Beltane – as we had finished with the elements we started a new cycle within the cycle- we started working with Goddess Archetypes and we started with the Maiden.

Today is the Summer Solstice- and our circle gathered online to honour the sun but also to start our season in the mother archetype. It feels like the perfect season to work with the Mother energy- the Summer Solstice represents a time when the Goddess is pregnant and is about giving and service to the Earth. It’s the longest day in the year and the first day of summer. In the female cycle, when we ovulate that is considered our ‘Mother’ archetype week and in this week we feel at our brightest just like the sun on this day.

At Beltane we set our goal intentions, today we checked in on those and discussed how we could keep on working to reach them, and then also set an extra goal more oriented towards relationships in any forms.

Happy Summer Solstice to you and wishing you a bountiful season, May the Mother bless you with her nurturing presence!

Faery Oracle Course

My second brand new course I am starting up this coming Sunday 31st May. This course will also take place bi weekly (so will be on the Sundays that the Goddess course is not on for those taking part in that)
This online workshop is based on The Faery Oracle card deck by Brian Froud and Jessica Macbeth. You don’t need the deck to take part but it would enhance and help your experience.
Each lesson will go deep into each card of the deck. You don’t need to do the whole course- you can dip in and out if you choose.
Each lesson focuses on a specific card/faery energy in the deck, we will discuss how the card makes us feel, journey to the different faeries on the card and look at the intended meaning of the card. We will work with faery energy to guide us, so I will encourage and help you to create your own relationship with the fairies through homework and guidance. You can have no knowledge of the cards or be very familiar, as you will be able to learn, feel your own meanings as well as exploring the intended meaning.
Each lesson is £5 that can be paid by Paypal address mysticus.22@gmail.com or bank details available on request. If you wish to buy multiple lessons in advance, discounts are available, contact me for details. On your Paypal payment please put in the note it’s for the Faery Oracle Course and what email address you will want to use- the video call is done using Microsoft Teams. Teams can be used on the Web or you can download the app to your computer or phone (although does work better on a computer). Once payment is recieved I will send you an invitation to join the Faery Oracle Team, and you just sign up through the link sent to your email, then log in on Sunday to join the group call.

We will be starting with the card ‘Unity’

Goddess Introduction Course Online

Starting from this coming Sunday.(24th May)

Goddess Introduction course online! Every other week we will be learning about a Goddess starting with Kali. Investment £5 per lesson. There will be 35 lessons in total with discounts available for purchasing either the whole course or multiple lessons.
You do not need to attend all the lessons, you can attend as many or as little as you like.
When payment received you will be sent the link to join the video call. You can pay using paypal mysticus.22@gmail.com and put a note to say it’s for the Goddess Course. Bank details are available on request. If you wish to purchase multiple lessons please message for details on prices.
What to expect: Learn about a different Goddess each lesson- learning the stories behind who they are, their symbols and significance, and also look at how each one influences our own lives. We will do guided journeys to each Goddess, receiving her guidance. There will be complementary exercises and homework given to help you connect introduce her energy into your daily life.
I look forward to guiding you on your Journey to the Goddess!

Full Moon in Scorpio

Tonight in the UK we have the final supermoon (where the moon is closer to the earth so looks bigger) of 2020 and it is the sexy, mysterious sign of Scorpio.

The energies of this full moon are intense as frustration mounts as people are getting tired of being indoors, or real fears about money and how people are going to cope long term come to the surface.

However the card I picked from the Faery Oracle is Geeeooo the Slow.

Geeooo is encouraging us to slow down and have patience.

He reminds us good things come to those who wait, and this full moon is a real test of that theory.

Blessings

The Power in Our Blood

Wash Your Aura! (Spiritual Hygiene)

So we know the world is rather surreal at the moment with pretty much everyone in lockdown. I am sure the vast majority of us are doing our best to maintain the advice given of washing our hands regularly, and taking sensible precautions, social distancing etc. Hygiene is more important now than ever. The fact that we’re being asked continually to wash our hands is interesting in a spiritual sense in itself. Why? Because we are bringing a lot of focus to the element of water (which I wrote a bit about in a recent post). The element of cleansing, purification. It seems to be many the world is in a process of a major cleansing. You just have to see the photos of clearer rivers and wild animals appearing in urban settings, to see the Earth is beginning to cleanse itself. I know myself and many others believe there may be a bigger cleanse to come, just knowing what that might look like is not clear yet. But it feels like once this has passed there will be a new beginning, and things won’t be the same again. That this is the storm, and once the storm has passed the skies will feel fresh and clear.

Anyway, what has come up strongly for me in this time, is that we not only need to be maintaining our physical hygiene, but our spiritual hygiene. There is a lot of emotions flying around right now- fear, anxiety, uncertainty and beyond.  Tensions are running high as we all adjust to a new way of living. Especially if you are an empathic healer like myself, then you will be picking up on those emotions, and it can be harder now to detect what emotions are yours, and what are someone else’s. And the emotions are amplified! We need to protect ourselves and take measures to help us to stay in our centres. Yes, we will get knocked down now and again, but the more we practice our spiritual hygiene, the easier it will be to come back to our centre. We can build ourselves up like the phoenix, so that we may rise with every fall, building strength each time.

So many of you may already have ways you use to help you maintain your centre- you don’t need to be a healer to practice spiritual hygiene. Here are my suggestions that may help bring you protection and cleanse yourself – mind and spirit. For all-not just healers! Have a look for ideas, maybe you can think of others, hopefully some will resonate for you if you’re not sure where to start.

1. Daily Smudging- you can use sage, frankincense, copal, ethically sourced palo santo, even an incense stick if that’s all you have/can get. Use the smoke to cleanse yourself from negative energies. You could also use Sweetgrass to bring in positive energy afterwards.
2. if you have Aqua de Florida- use this regularly to cleanse your auric field, bonus- it contains a high percentage of alcohol so will also help to kill germs!
3. have a hot bath- for protection you can add bath salts (or even regular salt)! or essential oils with protective properties like clove, cedarwood and black pepper. (just a few drops so not too overpowering)
4.  every morning use your imagination to imagine putting on a cloak of protection, or you can envision yourself in a protective bubble, or a mirror deflecting the bad energy off
5. chants- you could make one of your own or you can find many protection ones online. I particularly like this one from the Isis Oracle Deck:  Pillar of light burning bright, earth star below, soul star above, burn away all that is not light, transform all into unconditional love, star of Isis descend, your blessing and peace without end, grace me now with peace and protection, completely embraced by divine perfection
6. crystals! Carrying them with you or wearing them as necklaces etc- particularly good protective stones include- black tourmaline, obsidian, and I am also finding Carnelian and Amber really helpful too
7. staying connected even when apart- take part in online circles, zoom chats, community online events. This will help you feel centered, knowing you can still enjoy communication with others, and sometimes learn new things, or meet new friends, who might not even be in the same part of the world as you.
8. meditation- there are many forms of meditation- you don’t have to be able to empty your mind! You can even just focus on your breath for 5 minutes.
9.  Prayer- to whoever/whatever you believe in
10. going into nature- we’re able to do this still, which I am very grateful for! Just being with the new flowers, and the blossoming trees makes me feel better very quickly
11. resting- rest when you need to, slow down, we’re always going fast fast fast, make time for yourself to rest
12. light a candle and watch the flame dance, you can add more to this if you want, saying a prayer, some of the other suggestions also could be done the same time
13. taking essences such as Bach Rescue Remedy if you are able to get- for calming
14. Herbal teas- Camomile tea, rose tea, valerian for help sleeping
15. spend time with pets
16. shake it off!! Have a good shake and imagine everything falling off you
17.  Connect with oracle cards- Messages from the Sacred Rebels Deck has been particularly helpful for me.
18. Scream. cry, make space for yourself to release emotions you’re feeling. Let them out and let them go
19. Smile, laugh, sing, dance- then do something you enjoy- watch a funny film, listen to your favourite music, anything that lifts you
20. Be gentle on yourself. You don’t have to start a new project or learn something new TODAY. Follow your own personal rhythms.

 

Please comment any other suggestions you have!

Poetry Dowsing Week Seven

Note: This follows on from a series of blogs I’ve been writing. following my progress of a creative course I am taking part in. If you haven’t been reading my previous blogs and are interested to know what it is I’m doing, please read my first blog about it here

The focus for Week Seven was ‘Uncovering a Sense of Resilience’. So this week when I felt I was failing or not doing so good, I would have to remember dark/hard times I’ve managed to get through in the past. To remember my own strength to overcome fear, stress, pain etc.

For the ‘Dowsing’ Exercise this week, we had to think of those who we turn to for support when we need them. Then think of qualities and traits those people have that you appreciate. Remembering this list when things get tough. I have a lot of friends but not many I have really close friendships with, and no one at this time I would consider a ‘best friend’ (I did have but sadly I recently had to let go of that relationship) but there are people I do feel I can talk to, that’s a good thing of being part of a larger shamanic community. As we’re all going through the same process (in our case of the Peruvian medicine wheel), we tend to support each other when it’s needed. My supportive friends are from this community and the Moon Mother community, also the wider spiritual community. I appreciate friends who listen as well as talk, who are patient, understanding and kind.

The walk this week was in nature briefly with a friend yesterday, I went to visit her in her area to give her some help with job hunting, she knew I was feeling a bit low, so before getting to the work bit, we had a walk in a nearby National Trust site with a lovely flowing river and plenty of trees, and both talked out things that were on our mind.

My artist date was listening to music, and I did the morning pages everyday although I almost didn’t yesterday, but in the end I just did them later in the morning than usual.

I managed to write two poems this week, the first one I’m really pleased with, the second I’m only sharing on this blog for now as it feels very vulnerable and exposing for me.

Dancing with my shadow 💙
I see the side of me that’s been hidden
Hidden in the dark
Out of sight out of mind
Locked up emotions
Not to be acknowledged
It’s not ladylike to be angry
She never says anything
We can walk all over her
But the shadow and I now dance
A dance to embrace it all
A salsa and a tango
With a side of ballroom to go
We dance step by step
The shadow and the light
Acknowledging all that is
Becoming whole
Seeing the truth of who I am
A real and vulnerable soul
Can’t always be good
Can’t always be bad
Just have to to be complete
Forever dancing with my shadow 💙
Dancing for all eternity
Becoming true and free
Dancing with my shadow 💙
Because it’s the best way to be
To navigate this jungle of illusion we call life
No need to fear
Otorongo is on our side
She’s got my back
As I dance with my shadow 💙
Twirling round and round
The journey never ends
The wheel ever turning
Bringing me back to my self

2nd Poem

I feel like I’m falling falling

into a trap

of my own self creation

putting the blinkers on

Not seeing the truth

Hiding from what’s inside

Falling Falling

Into a rhythm

Of emotional breakdowns

Puncuated by Breakthroughs

I want to be strong

but sometimes I am weak

Knowing what to do

but blocking myself.

I need your help

Can’t you see

I know it’s all about me

But please help me to be free

Help me to find the key

of understanding life’s emotional rollercoaster

sometimes not even knowing

what it’s all about

I need to find my own feet

and sleep so deep

That I can wake up as a new born

Seeing life for the first time

For the first time

for what it truly is

Remembering all there is now

Joy is not found in the past or the future

Time to live in the present

It takes time to be truly alive

Now I know the secret

The falling’s not so hard

and just a part of this beautiful mess called life

Thank you for catching me

Holding me when I’ve needed it the most

A solid foundation is what we have

underneath the occassional tremor

We know what we have is true

No matter what

I will hold space for you

as you hold it for me

Together we watch the wheel turn

even when we’re not facing in the same direction

we’re heading for the same destination

the heart is stronger than the head

Let’s hold each other tight

we’ll soon forget the fight

no need to be afraid

our souls are tied like a braid

I feel like I’m falling falling

this time in deeper love with you.

 

Imbolc and Air

Since I have relaunched this blog, I/ my ‘brand’? have worked with the wheel of the year and the elements. So far we had Samhain, when we started working with the element of fire, and then from Winter Solstice we worked with Earth. The work has been through my social media channels, my women’s circle and also within my own life. For the fire season we had a fire ceremony in the women’s circle- and the fire was sparking within y own life, for Earth season we worked with flowers and I have to say the season since Winter Solstice has been very grounding for me- a lot of changes in my life like moving house and moving stores for my job. I also worked with the earth medicine Cacao.

Yesterday the wheel turned again, and we have now fallen into the Imbolc season. Imbolc is the Goddess Brigid’s day. Brigid is the Goddess of all creative endeavours and the keeper of the sacred flame. I have had some very powerful experiences with this Goddess, I experienced a vision of her rebirthing me on the top of the Tor in Glastonbury, and last year I went to several of her sacred sites in Ireland. So she is a special goddess for me.

Imbolc is the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. It’s a celebration of spring beginning and all the new life that is starting to emerge.

My chosen element for this season between now and the Spring Equinox is Air. I associate air with creativity, but there’s also something about this time of year that is refreshing, as we start to settle into the year, and the sun is starting to come out a bit more. Air brings clarity and clears our head!

We’re just choosing a date for the next circle at the moment in the next week or so, we are very likely to work with incenses, but I’m still thinking of ideas at the moment!

Thanks very much for the recent likes on my blog they’re all really appreciated! I’d love to read your thoughts on anything I post, so please leave comments and say hi!

Cacoa Dieta Days 4-8 and Conclusion

For those who have been reading my recent blog posts, you may have read that I have been doing a dieta with the sacred heart opening medicine of Cacao. If you haven’t read the previous posts, you can see them here and here

I completed my 8 day dieta of a cup of ceremonial cacao daily yesterday. Here is a run down of what happened days 4-8 and then I will write my concluding comments about this process.

Day 4

On Day 4, I prepared for ceremony in the same way but I decided to try another method of making the cacao, so instead of in the cup, I made it on a saucepan, by putting some water in the saucepan warmed up but not to boil, then added the cacao to melt in to it then adding cayenne and the stevia to sweeten it up. I think I used 250ml of water so there was more to drink then I had made previously so it took longer to drink but the taste was better and it was actually easier to make this way.

I found an ecstatic dance cacao mix on Youtube as from my previous experiments it seems that the cacao spirit responds well to this sort of music. Again as I listened I felt I wanted to move and dance, I was feet tapping etc but still journeying at the same time. This time the archetype of the medicine wheel I am working with at the moment= Jaguar came and took me inside a cave. Inside the cave I met the Mayan Goddess IxCacao. She was wearing a lot of green which made total sense to me as green is the colour of the heart chakra. She said to me she is here to help me find joy and pleasure again, and that healing can be done in a joyful way (i.e ecstatic dance) even if ‘dark’ /’negative’ emotions do come up as part of this healing process. I was experiencing exactly that in that moment as tears were falling down my face but I was still tapping along and enjoying the music I was listening to. I asked if there was any other reason I came to the Cacao and she confirmed it was for me to hold ceremonies. I said but so many people are doing it but she said I will find my own unique way to hold them.

After the journey I felt like writing.

Cacao Day 5

Day 5 was Christmas Day so I decided to make some for my husband Miguel as well. So I followed the same method and just doubled the amounts of the previous day.  (except the cayenne- just a smidgen more)

Decided not to journey this time so just chatted for a bit, but then I did lay down with music on and I got a clear glimpse of Hummingbird (the next archetype on the medicine wheel path I’m walking). I can’t remember what else happened but I just felt very content and happy. Miguel started playing the steel tongue drum we recently bought and it sounded beautiful.

Cacao Day 6

This time I put an extra teaspoon for cacao in and used half the water than previous so it wouldn’t be such a full drink.

I blew my intent into the drink before drinking, to be about friendship, to honour those who have been, those to come and those who are there.

After drinking, I didn’t journey but decided to have a play on the steel drum playing it for friendship. Then I just laid down with music and did some writing. I discovered a Cacao Spirit song which was really lovely and listened to another spiritual song I love (Mother I feel you under my feet) and really felt like singing and dancing.

It had been coming up for me since the process began about a friendship I possibly needed to let go of and that day the cacao was helping me find the words that I needed to say.

Day 7

Made 7 teaspoons worth again and this time no cayenne- just a little rose water. I was surprised to find this made the drink quite bitter and even adding extra stevia didn’t seem to make a difference. So as I drank I had to take sips of water.

It felt quite strong as I felt it quite quickly (there was less time between eating this time). It was the 3 year anniversary of losing our beloved cat Roxie so I blew in the intent of honouring her and Mitzi (our other cat we lost 6 months later) and the new cat we are hoping to get in the near future, and then all animals.

I got the word ‘Lakota’ pop into my mind. I started by listening to the Cacao Spirit Song then intended to journey but instead sat and enjoyed music just for the pure sake of listening to it although I couldn’t seem to settle on listening to one particular song! I listened to Lakota Music and in the process I also discovered an artist called Liquid Bloom which I really enjoyed. I was just appreciating music.

Day 8 Cacao

Prior to the ceremony, I finally sent the message to the friend I had been thinking about. It was not an easy thing to do and I really hoped it was the right thing to do but I had been thinking about it for a few weeks now and it felt like the cacao was showing me in my heart it was the right thing to do.

I made for the two of us again this time and I had to open the second bag of Cacao I had bought but it was in much bigger clumps in the 2nd pack so harder to measure in teaspoons so I think it was probably very strong!! I had to add extra stevia , no rose this time, just the cayenne.

This time I blew in it would be my concluding ceremony of the dieta to find out my path with Cacao. I was chatting with Miguel for a bit about the Cacao (he was really impressed with it – yay)! but then I did some channeled writing and got more detail of the type of work I will be doing with Cacao.

 

CONCLUSION

I already knew cacao was a beautiful medicine (it’s pure chocolate after all)! but I have never experienced it the way I have since making it myself. It doesn’t get you ‘high’ but does bring a feeling of joy/love. It connects you to your self. It awakens the creative aspects of yourself (for me it was writing). The lessons Cacao brings: healing doesn’t always have to be difficult, appreciation and gratitude of even the very simple things. She opens and heals your heart. She helps you see your truth and your light. She brings the fun back into living again! On the downside I did experience some digestive issues and dehydration during my dieta that may or may not have been because of the cacao- so please remember to hydrate yourself if you are taking part in Cacao Ceremony and start off with small amount not large! It might be raw chocolate but it’s very potent!

I now know I had to do this dieta for my own healing path but also to bring into my healing for others (I have some ideas for this already).

DISCLAIMER: There are medical contradictions with Ceremonial Cacao meaning it’s not suitable for everybody. Also please note I am not ‘trained’ with Cacao this has been my own experimentation so the doses I have done may not be suitable for you. Please do your own research first or seek advice from a practicer)

Winter Solstice and Earth

If you read regular you may remember I relaunched this blog on Samhain and said I’d be posting about the wheel of the year and the elements which started with fire, that’s what I am working with in my women’s circle also and in my own work to some extent.

I’m a bit late posting this one about the next stage of the cycle has come round on 22nd December Winter Solstice and now we move from Fire onto the element of Earth.

We did our women’s circle about a week early as this time of year is busy for most. We took part in the worldwide womb blessing and worked with flowers to begin our earth ‘season’.

Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year. It’s when we begin to celebrate the sun’s return as it slowly begins to come back after this date bringing more and more light back to our days again. A lot of the traditions we see at Christmas actually came from Winter Solstice from instance the Christmas Tree was the Yuletide Tree and the exchange of gifts. It too is a time of gratitude and love for what/who you have in your life.

Earth seems to fit this season until Imbolc in February perfectly to me. We are spending more time around family and friends, wanting to keep warm, and it feels like a season of grounding.

My own personal work right now if you might have seen is with using the Earth’s bounty of the medicine of Cacao and it’s beautiful!