Pink Coyote

Beltane Getaway and Interview with Stephanie Ladd

I'm off again to the central coastlands of my native California, this time as a magical group of eight to celebrate the season of Beltane, which begins May 1st and marks the mid-point between Spring and Summer. Light your own mighty fire for fertile prosperity and I'll tell you all about my adventure when I return.

The Goddess Maia, Queen of May.

I've interviewed someone precious to me to hold you over until I come skipping down the lane, flower garlands and maypole streamers clinging to my gown. I digress.

What I love most about Stevie Ladd, of Owl and Crow, is that she has fearlessly created something she'd always had in her. Her book, In the Lap of the Goddess: Connecting with the Divine Feminine, contains the meaty questions we've all been faced with-the ones that seem to come up again and again, but she takes you down into the deeper levels for new insights. I'm so proud to share her with you.

Enjoy!

 

What inspired you to create your SoulWork book, In the Lap of the Goddess: Connecting with the Divine Feminine?

Since I moved from California to North Carolina almost 3 years ago, I was determined to find a more creative way to do my work as a psychotherapist. I wanted to open up more as a writer and artist and find a way to bridge the two.

Both you and Leonie Allen have inspired me in the way you have built a strong following through your blogs and have created your art and other products that are so tied into who you are and your evolutionary process. It's so fun to watch and be a part of. I ordered Leonie's Creating My Goddess Year e-book and got inspired to write my own e-book about my favorite subject from an archetypal psychology point of view.

So I designed this book to be interactive, to help women plumb their own depths and find their way into the lap of the goddess by doing soul work.

Can you tell me more about what you mean by soul work?

I mean the deep questioning and exploration of our psyches, our purpose, life's meaning, our past, present and future. Ultimately, it is the work of connecting to our Self, with a capital S. And our higher Self is but a reflection of the divine feminine--the goddess of your choosing, or the goddess that chooses you.

I love the idea that a goddess figure would choose me to work with her. Which one called to you first as you went about beginning this book?

Well, when I got to North Carolina, I kept meeting Yemaya. Rob (my husband) had brought back a handmade Yemaya doll from New Orleans about 10 years ago and she had been packed away for a long time. I put her on my altar in my studio in North Carolina, surrounded by shells and other things I found at the ocean.

Yemaya is a mermaid and I kept being drawn to mermaids. At the same time, I was feeling this oceanic, watery energy calling me to create and flow. I made several dolls, SoulCollage® cards, and a shadow box, all with mermaids. I started looking into Yemaya's qualities and realized she was a Creator archetype and that's what was being activated in me. I started this book with her guiding me, acting as a muse. I feel I have gotten to know her quite well and have a relationship with her that helps me feel guided and protected.

What other goddesses make appearances in the book, and what drew you to them or them to you?

Kali was actually the first goddess I did a chapter on because I needed to clear out some old garbage before I could move forward with Yemaya and the book I had started. I had gotten stuck and needed help.

Remember how our teacher, Irene, used to say that when she created her retreats, whatever theme she chose she had to go through it herself, as she was preparing to teach it? That's what happened with me. I had to face some old creative blocks, so I worked with Kali, the Destroyer goddess, and she helped me burn up these fears and let go of some old ways of seeing myself and my work.

I've been exploring the Triple Goddess since I got here, too. I chose the Greek triple goddess represented by Persephone, the Maiden, Demeter, the Mother, and Hecate, the Crone because I love their story. The maiden and mother have been strong with me as I have watched Chloe (my daughter) transform from a 12-year-old girl when we first moved here, to a young woman of 15. There's been a little grieving involved with that, and I've revisited and healed some more of my own relationship with my mother in the process.

And then I've got one foot in the Mother and one foot in the Crone since I had Chloe late in my childbearing years. So Hecate has helped me own the wild woman and the wise woman. I love her magical, witchy, medial nature. She is truly the dragoman of the Soul.

What do you hope women will come away with by doing the exercises in your workbook?

I hope they will have an experience of how the goddess lives within them. I offer suggestions for rituals, totems, and altars so they can work with the goddess not only internally, but externally. It's important to create and surround yourself with likenesses of her when you work with goddess energy to make it a richer, deeper experience.

I've used a lot of pictures in the book because images are the language of the soul. Metaphor and archetypes allow us direct access to the soul as well. So I'm hoping women will have fun exploring some themes of feminine psychology through the goddesses presented in these pages. It's really a stepping stone, a way in. They can then take the relationships they develop as far as they want. I hope to expand on these goddesses more over time.

Who is likely to get the most out of your book? What does this reader look like? If I may be so bold to ask.

I think fearless women who like to journal and create will especially enjoy getting to know themselves better through these goddesses, and those who want to discover or explore their inner yearnings and their own divinity.

I'm starting to feel like Oprah here. How do we get the workbook? Because I want it now. It's Kali the Destroyer my inner wild woman needs to hang with. I've already been chosen! I know my wild self is tied to experiencing Kali as a creative-destructive-creative superhero, embodying the Life-Death-Life cycle I write about so much here.

It's available for download as a PDF on my blog, on the order page for In the Lap of the Goddess. You can buy single chapters, or the whole book to download and print.

I'll have copies ready to mail by May 20, and accepting preorders now, but if you order it before then, it's $22 instead of $24.

And there are 3 free audio versions of the guided journeys in the book that anyone can download and listen to available on my blog.

Ooh, I'm exploring your order page now-well done. Easy. I love it. I'm so excited about this book, and I'm loving that you're offering it as a PDF. All I need is more paper around here. Thank you for doing that-being as green as can be. I may want to print some of the goddesses images and hang them about, however. What else can you share with us?

I would love to know how women use the book, and what they get out of it, so feedback is welcome.

And thank you, my dear friend, for featuring me on Pink Coyote and sharing my book with your wonderful circle of wild, creative and fearless women.

Yip! Awroooooo!

Stephanie Anderson Ladd is a Marriage and Family Therapist, SoulCollage® Facilitator, and an amazing, awakened wild woman living her creative life in Chapel Hill, NC. I call her Stevie, as all of her sisters do. All I needed to know about trust, relationship and communication began with our longs talks and mountain walks, during what seems like a lifetime ago. Everyone needs a Stevie. I know I do. I hope you'll be as inspired by her work and stories as I am.

Writer's Retreat in El Capitan

View coming up to tent at El Capitan Canyon just north of Santa Barbara. We're so lucky to have the oaks and sycamores be as abundant as they are here. They are so very strong and sturdy.

The writing tent. No internet connection, but an outlet was all I needed.

Snacktime.

 

Room with a view.

Even my toes were thrilled to claim time away to create. Those willow trees run all along the creekside in the camp. So beautiful. I found a branch with a right angle in it, and I'm just learning that the way plants grow, their directions have lessons to teach, too.

I stopped at my favorite point on the coastline between SB and home and caught sight of a seahawk, better known as Osprey. I'd never seen one before and I don't think they're common in these parts. They teach us to grasp onto what it is we're aiming for, and about commitments. He or she sat atop a lightpost looking down at the empty beach where I gathered shells and pieces of bone for a very long time.

Paradox

The way that you all define and experience WILD has brought me to tears again and again. I can feel my own hairs standing up on my arms when I read the words of hair flying tangled in the wind and of juicy colors and rolling down hills, of sitting still and listening to the wind and that quiet truth. I love the circular nature of inspiration, it never ends-it just feeds itself, totally nourished by the movement back to the wild, into the deeper places, far less frightening when you know there are women standing on mountaintops and diving down into the waters, just as you are. Perfectly sustainable momentum is wildness. Instinct. Ferocity to identify with everything and the beautiful emptiness of it, all at once. You women are killing me. Softly ;)

Winners are:

ROSE-for the Rabbit Bundle.

BRANDI MARIE-for the print of Go Wild Believing.

NOELLE: for the Deck of postcards.

I wish I were sending something to every one of you!!! Giveaways hurt a bit because I want everyone to win. Which means I'll have to cook up another one...*winkety wink* I just thought of one.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the coast for a couple of days of solitude to write a book proposal for a love affair that will no longer be quiet. I was reminded of a story I wanted to share with you when I saw the above painting across from me.

About five years and a few months ago, I attended a gathering of about ten women in a blogger's home in which we all sat in circle and talked about possibility and our dreams. I've loved watching the lives unfold of everyone who was there. It fascinates me to witness the big shifts that take place when women do what they've done for millenia: sit, nosh, share stories, chew the proverbial fat, and name those places waiting for them out in the not-so-distant future. I'm loving expanding my range this year by doing some teaching (here and here) and bringing that energy to some of you whom I've never met, some who've shared that you've never sat in circle and can't wait any longer.

When I met with those women, Miles was about three months old. His Daddy brought him to me throughout the day to nurse and have Mama time while I communed with my kind and then I joined them for bedtime each night. I was the first of that group to have a baby, but was behind a bit on establishing my voice in the art and writing marketplace. And kind of had my hands too full of new baby buns to do much about it. (Funny how we compare and judge our journeys when we *know* inside that we're always right where we're supposed to be.)

Just before we went, Brandon helped even more than ususal with Miles one afternoon, while I cranked out two small paintings in our travel trailer- which we were living in while our house was being built. It was such a mess! I had glue and paint everywhere, but I was like...on fire with creative energy. I didn't know if it was because I'd just become a mom, or if I was spurred on by a sort of healthy competition with these women, and I wanted to have something to share...all I knew that day was that I felt ALIVE, in several dimensions-creative in every way possible.  I felt proud of my work, one of which is the piece you see above, entitled Paradox.

My Wild was already busting through cages, and seeking meaning outside all of the boxes. I got brave enough to share my work at one point and one woman sat next to me, someone who I considered to be quite successful and deeply admired- and literally, like...the first blogger there ever was. At one point, after a long silence and looking at me....looking at my work, and back again, she asked, thoughtfully,

"So............ It can be done?"

And of course I was thinking, what in the hell is this madwoman talking about? YES, two paintings can be done, woman, you who have created countless paintings, drawings, ads, websites, books...what is fascinating to you, of all people, about this? (But I kept that to myself.)

"Art. And.....life. Parenting. The two can co-exist?"

She was asking me? Oh shit. I felt no authority to comment in that moment. However, later it made me realize that not only can it exist, that for me, it MUST exist. My art and my life were inseparable. My creativity would not peel away from my life. It would not be quiet. It would not lie down and let me be mom only. It would not cooperate. Of course, she went on to write a dozen books in the span of several years and have a baby or two, and prove it to herself in a big way.

Lesson learned: When we feel the drive to make a creative life-to open up and get our hands messy, and name it as such- the Universe helps to coordinate the logistics, right? This is what I trust. And one manifestion has a way of unfolding into another and another, and the worst I felt I could do for myself was not to name it. To hold back. To stay inside of what Amelia Earhart referred to as "even an attractive cage".

The cage, however, from where I sit, was never motherhood. It was never the town I lived in. It was not the day job I had to take when Miles was eighteen months old. It was not my age, or the fact that I didn't finish art school. The box was nothing more than the way I thought of myself and my creativity in relation to the world. It was nothing more than fear of letting my soul out to play on the wild wind so many of you spoke of. Fear that it wouldn't want to come back...

I never sold that painting. It sits on top of the bookshelf that faces me, Coyote peering out of her profile, reminding me as she exits Stage Left, that before I knew....I knew. I knew that what I considered to be impossible would show me otherwise. That what I feared would not come true, but appeared as a real obstacle, instead of the cardboard figure it really was. Because that's how Coyote operates. I could play small all I wanted, it wasn't going to work. She was already up ahead frolicking in the daisies, waiting for me to catch up and take a ride on her bristly back, so she could tell me she'd told me so back when.

 

 

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Wild Giveaway

The most common page-turners in my stash. I've been asked a lot of questions lately, which is kind of exciting because it tells me that all around me there is an energy about going deeper within and a kind of collective willingness to gather the tools right in front of us, in nature, to do that deeper work with. To reconnect with one's wilder aspects.

Knowing my environment and what it's gifts are have helped me feel more comfortable here, where I live, which does not really feel like my home. It's also made living here much more fun and interesting while I do what I need to do to thrive. Knowing my inner landscape has helped me navigate through the things I struggle with, as if carrying a compass, helping me find my way with relative ease over the bumps.

Wolves and other beasties have that beautiful inner compass which helps them make decisions that protect and honor them, without having to think about it all the time. They trust themselves. It seems like this is made up of instinct and senses working together with a well-tuned perception device. There is no right and wrong about it. Just...trust that they are where they are, and they are going where they are going. Something I love about the creatures is that they do respond to information coming in based on what has happened to them, what they've learned through experience- yet they don't use their defenses unless there is reason to do so. Observing the natural world teaches me how much *basura* I carry with me needlessly.

I watched a large ant cart a moth wing higgeldy-piggeldy toward his hill today. Of course, I thought of the rubber tree and what ants aren't supposed to be able to do and all. But it also occurred to me how present he was to dropping the wing, getting lost under it, figuring it out-he just kept moving steadily towards his goal. He didn't stop and ask himself if he should be carrying his prize to the destination. He didn't overanalyze how frustrating it was. He didn't look for someone to coach him through the process. He just knew he needed that wing *real bad* and so he claimed it, patiently working his little ant ass off to get to where he wanted to go. He trusted that he would eventually get there.

What does wild mean to you? How does it express in your life?

Share to have your name in the cauldron for a copy of the print, Go Wild Believing, the DECK-a FULL set of postcards (20), and a Rabbit medicine bundle. Three winners to be announced Thursday. Be sure to tell me which item you love the mostest.

 

 

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Surprises from the Pony Express

There is such bounty everywhere. I am blessed to have gifts coming and going each day, coming more than going, it seems! I wanted to share a few of them that I was quick enough to snap photos of before they got tucked away into their loved and useful spaces, or little hands carted them off. Think of it as a random sampling of lovin'...it reminds me to keep sending out mail love, something I enjoy tremendously, because it feels soooo good to receive surprises. Don't you agree?

This is homemade healing salve from a herby desert mama friend.

She also sent a bagful of Datura, a deadly nightshade that I must find a magical use for...

Yummy sugar scrub from another mama friend.

A piece of honey calcite which has hardly left me since I opened it. This came from a very faraway friend, so it is extra special, having made such a long journey! I keep wanting to call it Honeyed Calcite. The note that came with it says that it is a powerful amplifier and cleanser of energies and that it helps to speed up development and growth.

Rainwater collected by yet another beautiful sister from a salmon stream near her home in the Pacific Northwest. Of course, I opened it right up and took a giant swig, and I swear, it is the freshest water I've ever tasted. It has a very clean feeling about it. Makes me want to head north.

Bobcat fur remnants from a taxidermy job, from an amazing Native American man who sells me deerskin from time to time. He just tucked this little handful of scraps into my last package, knowing that I would scream and meow and be delighted.

On that note, another friend who is local, brought over two giant trashbags filled with scraps of mule deer, elk, black bear, and some sort of mountain goat hides today from his friend, a taxidermist, who was going to throw it all in the garbage. I get asked a LOT where I obtain claws, fur bits, feathers. Now you know how some of it finds it's way to me. Black Bear is not legal to buy or sell in California because it is our state animal, in fact, each state has it's own specific laws about which animals are legal to possess parts of, and it varies widely. But it is nice to be gifted a bit of this and that to have onhand for special purposes. Especially if it was headed for a trash bin! Native peoples and those practicing native ways have a lovely way of sharing medicine with each other. Remember my coyote leg that my friend's dog dragged out of the forest that is one of my treasures? Sharing is caring.

Surprise chocolate! Which is always a good thing. This is that yummy chocolate that helps one to RELAX, which I'm very much in need of assistance with. Wei of Chocolate (pronounced Way of Chocolate) are very good peeps. RELAXED and JOYFUL are my favorites. The flower-infused flavors are otherworldly.

Bunnies for babes, from one of the kids' most important aunties.

And that concludes this synopsis of lovemail for now. Blessings on all. xoxo

 

MayaLove & the Ramblins of a Night Owl

I sit down here at night, (after the buzz has settled into a quiet drone) and I've marked black lines through everything I could cram in. Then I try to think of something meaningful to share here with you.

Well,  there are more medicine bundles listed in my shop than ever before. I've tried to include every one possible since the requests are rolling in each day and I seem not to be able to keep them well organized. And there are plenty of BEAR to be had-I've replenished stock on what I need to keep those flowing because, my stars, mama Bear and her love of her beautiful body is a popular one.

I'm scaling back on doing custom work for a bit just until I can restructure to handle the load and find my own feet again. Oh, there is a Grandfather Bear that I am woking on for a client and so a version of that will appear this week. It does seem like so many of the bundles have a feminine angle, and so this might speak to the elders or the men whom I seemed to have neglected a bit.

There is always SO much to share. But I'm so wasted at the end of the day, it sits untold. Let me begin with Maya.

I LOVED taking Maya Stein's Quick and Dirty Poetry e-course.

She sends out easy email prompts and recommends no more than thirty minutes be spent on writing-which means five for me because I didn't know where to pull the time from when I signed up, I only knew that I love Maya and her ways, and I needed to grease the ol' pen up. I'm literally, as I sit here with very little energy, SO EXCITED to share the best part, which is the way this woman gives feedback. Oh my god. It's like she went to artwritingcritique school and got her freaking master's degree! Not only was her feedback thoughtful and really succint, but I felt very seen for my particular style of writing and also for what I was able to crank out in literally five minutes on the days I was able to participate. Here is one of my poems:

underneath it all there is a molten core
of light and shining colors,
of poetry, and that
life force of passion for which
there is no name in the western world.
of layers slathered on i say that
it takes a lifetime to peel them away
from my gentleness that got lost.
of skins added for armor and protection
they now wish to slide off down
the muddy chute like the one in romancing the stone
when kathleen turner seemed much more feminine
than she does now.

and here is Maya's feedback:

"I keep thinking about those 5 minutes you talked about. And how wonderfully free your writing feels, even in this tight-packed stolen-ness of this time. There's a glee here, too - I feel it underneath it all (hah!). A real sense of self, of knowing, surety. Maybe glee is a funny word, but that's the one that came to me and I'm sticking to it. I don't know, it's just that I feel such wholeness in your writing, like a deep-down understanding that underneath it all (hah again), you know exactly what moves you, and you continue to be electrified by that, energized, revived again and again. It's like some base element keeps replenishing itself with each discovery, and there's a glee in that, a kind of energetic nourishment. It might be too late at night to be using words like these, and maybe I've stopped making sense, so forgive me if this sounds oblique and weird. But I suspect I will re-read note tomorrow and agree with myself all over again."

I mean, who says these things?! Someone who takes care of her students and cares about their writing very much. She's just the greatest teacher. What I find most astounding as I fan myself at her flattery and Aw Shucks her approval of my use of very limited time and energy, I know that what she is saying is true. That I do know what moves me and there is a consistency coming forth which is very me and it is energized. And it is what so many of us are seeking...to know a bit more about our own ways, to have our gifts seen, how deep they run inside of us.

And so basically, it's been the most life- and path-affirming ninety dollars I ever have spent. Go where she is. She knows how to see what is at the core, she has that gift of reading between the lines and a colorful language to show you what she sees in YOU.

This is my share for the night. There is so much more to tell, vlogs to upload, postcard decks to tell you about, personal growth things I'd like to rattle on about, so many gifts that have been pouring in my door-physical gifts I want to photograph and share with you, gifts of connection that I want to describe to you...I will get to these things and more. Plus! Fancy, distracting, shiny things I keep noticing in my Etsy Circle friends' favorites that have me drooling while my photos and listings upload...colorful baubles that keep me up past my bedtime scrolling and wishing. Like this:

Loom-beaded bracelet by daughterofthesun.

Amy, who makes these bracelets and more beautiful and amazing adornments (oh my goddess, the earrings...) is shown on her blog page in full yogic headstand while her gorgeous baby Naia sneaks a suckle! I'm smitten with her already. What wonderful work she and her peeps are doing with community and lovin' in Kauai.

Rascally Raccoon

RACCOON

This bundle is about using cleverness, dexterity, positive energy, intelligent skill and disguise to harness the wealth of possibility in front of you. Raccoon is tricky and nocturnal, humor his inspiration. Raccoon realizes that it can be “Mine! All mine!”, while maintaining healthy compassion for others.

It contains:

*a pinch of organic tobacco, as a traditional offering to the Spirits.

*cinquefoil, or five finger grass is here to sharpen the focus on the things that matter most: love, health, prosperity, protection and power. some of these things, we tend not to prioritize until we come to a crossroads in life where no action but that which builds us up to our potential will do. cinquefoil is used as a magical charm for luck and positive spells. but i think of it as a herb which helps eliminate those things which are no longer important, which prove as obstacles for our completion. it is associated with the flow of chi, and the liver, the filter organ and great eliminator. it's five leaves or "fingers" seem to act as a hand of destiny, healing transgressions and giving a nudge of support. Like Raccoon, it's skillful, dexterous, little fingers make acquisition a cinch.
It is often reminisced that during medieval times, the five leaves of the cinquefoil symbolized the body’s five senses. Its image was highly sought by knights, who were only permitted to display the plant on their shields if they’d demonstrated mastery over themselves and showed self-awareness.

*highly scented (and sensual) cloves warm the mind up to receive information and tuck it away for future use. they stimulate the application of what has been received in the dreamtime or spirit work. clove buds evolve from a light cream color, to a bright green and then a vibrant red just before blooming, at harvest time. this is akin to Raccoon's ability to shapeshift. cloves are used in protection spells and serve the medicine of this bundle well by offering the camouflage of the mask when necessary. cloves are an alterive herb, and will assist the mind and body with making the permanent or temporary changes needed in order to meet with success.

Red Clover is seen in Britain as a charm of good fortune. It is thought to bring “good health, wealth and a faithful lover.” The three-lobed trifolium represents the three branches of learning: Bard, Ovate & Druid. “Living in clover” is an old phrase that indicates possibilities of long-held dreams coming true. Considered a magical plant throughout Ireland, Beltane and seasonal equinoxes are popular harvest times for the green leaves. In the medieval period, the “humble leaf” had become a symbol of both wordly and divine true love.

Hematite is a strong, reflective and magical stone. It grounds, protects, and harmonizes out of body experiences-important to the medicine of this bundle in which deeper realms will be accessed. It protects the soul as it journeys outward, slightly vulnerable as it seeks sacred messages and experiences. It brings attention to the unfulfilled desires that are driving life. It boosts self-esteem, and survivability, enhances willpower and reliability, and imparts confidence. This stone removes self-limitations and aids expansion. Hematite helps you to come to terms with mistakes and to accept them as learning experiences rather than disasters. Mentally, hematite stimulates concentration and focus. It enhances memory and original thought. It helps to sort out technicalities which have become obstacles over time. It also strengthens and regulates the blood supply, regenerates tissue, treats leg cramps, and relieves anxiety and insomnia. Hematite opens the door for you to go get the job done.

In this application, Raccoon uses the positive aspects of his Mask to become something he is not, or is not yet. He knows when to share information with others and when to hold it close. His mystery becomes magic when used thoughtfully and with good intentions. A little Merlin, he is an expert at disguise and secrecy. Raccoon is a powerful animal when change is sought. He can thrive in any environment, making his dreams attainable if he will but name and pursue them. Working under the cover of night, the nocturnal wizard finds tools for transformation in unexpected places. Shamanic journey, active imagination and work with the dreamtime can produce magical results when practiced diligently, and with care and reverence for the medicine. Raccoon's tricky nature can commit to this work, by making personal growth a fun and thrilling puzzle to be solved. As his dexterous fingers pick the locks of the soul's desires, wisdom and booty are uncovered with glee. At his best, Raccoon does not hide who he really is. Rather, he sets himself up for success, and follows through without revealing his methods unless it serves him. Raccoon people can avoid becoming overly secretive, isolated and surly in old age by being social and having fun with their friends. Deep change is inspired by what Raccoon discovers when he is out of his comfort zone, exploring and seeking treasure.

 

Seeing as how I've been too busy to write, I figure I may as well share with you what I've been working on that's been keeping me from here! Raccoon was a very fun and wily character to work with. I had no idea what he ws going to reveal. This was a custom bundle for someone very close to me. I'm so grateful to be able to do this work! Do I sound like a broken record yet?

 

Deep Magic

This magic has taken me to places I've never been as a healer. I wanted to call it Kicking Cancer's Ass, but decided against it. But you know from where I'm coming...

TURKEY VULTURE and COYOTE

The medicine of this bundle is about transmuting disease and balancing the body during a health crisis. It employs Turkey Vulture's willingness to work deeply in the trenches to rid the environment of disease, toxins and waste. It calls upon Coyote for vitality, adaptability and humor during the long process of treatment and healing.

It contains:

A pinch of organic tobacco, a traditional offering to the Spirits.

A pinch of cornmeal to create a sacred container for the elements to reside in.

Black tourmaline is protection from negative energy, particularly that of radiation, electromagnetism, and environmental toxins. It grounds, while increasing physical vitality. It encourages a positive attitude, no matter the circumstances and defends against disease. It strengthens the immune system, provides pain relief and stimulates creativity. I've called upon it in this application to create healthy cell growth and as a powerful protector against cancer treatments and drug side effects.

Black kyanite is tied to the top of this bundle and I was struck by it's wing shape after I was directed to ask Turkey Vulture to work this medicine. Kyanite is a spiritual mineral which connects an individual to their higher selves during a time of transition. Kyanite dispels blockages, anger, stress, fear, and encourages truthful self-expression. It heals infection and restores Qi to the physical body and organs.

Sugilite is a wise and loving stone that I like to think of as the gentle existentialist. It protects the soul from shocks, trauma, and disappointment. I brings light and love into the darkest situations. It aids forgiveness, and helps resolve group dynamics difficulties. Sugilite promotes deep understanding, alleviation of emotional turmoil and channels healing energy into the body, mind and spirit. The manganese in sugilite clears discomfort, relieves pain and purifies lymph and blood.

Yarrow is known as nature's bandaid, able to heal the deepest wounds. In this application, and according to Matthew Wood, yarrow "is suited to conditions where the mind is sometimes dim or restless,” or in some cases a bit numb from the lack of connection to what we most value about life. Yarrow will help you find your way back to singing in the garden, reconnecting with the Earth and the Plant People with the sun on your back when healing has taken place.

Nettles break down mucous in the body, cleans the organs of the first through third chakras, relieves joint pain and allows gravel and waste to pass easily through the elimination systems. Matthew Wood describes nettles as a stern Grandmother, using a whip or a broom to hustle things along, keep them moving and commanding action. For some reason I can hear her giving orders in Spanish and keeping everyone in line. Wood explains that nettles' extremely high levels of protein articulates nitrogenous waste products into proteinacious structures. They remove uric acid waste by working with complicated building blocks to build some of the most complicated molecules used by the body. Nettles are the most protein-rich green growing native in the west.

Red clover cleans the blood and detoxifies. It breaks up coagulated blood and relieves lymphatic congestion. It is known as a second chance remedy and is indicated in cancer treatments because of it's abilities to dissolve that which swells the glands, and stores excess calcium.

Vulture is purification, and an unsung hero for keeping environments clean and disease-free. Oft misunderstood, Native Americans see Turkey Vulture as one who restores harmony, limiting infection and bacteria, a tremendous force of balance for the Earth. She uses her energy wisely and gracefully, catching thermals and soaring with ease, rather than expending precious energy flapping. She is a patient matriarch, with highly developed intuition and powerful healing abilities. Her digestive tract contains chemicals that kill violent, infectious bacteria, allowing her to transcend ingested toxins and use only what is necessary to her purpose of survival. Ted Andrews writes that “Vulture is a promise that the suffering of the immediate is temporary and necessary, for a higher purpose is at work, even if not understood at the time. In my own healing journey, Turkey Vulture has always existed as an affirmation of life, and often of the rebirth that follows a major life event or trauma.

A Coyote claw is included in this bundle. Coyote is tricky, funny, and adaptable. He offers you his companionship, his celebratory howl, his wit, and teachings of life as they appear without warning. He is the wise and bumbling fool, on a new journey, sometimes learning things the hard way. What makes Coyote such a spectacular companion on what can sometimes feel like a hayride to hell, is his humor. There is magic in his ways, as he gets lost on side roads, scavenges for nourishment wherever he can find it, and amuses himself along the way. Coyotes are very close with their loved ones, snuggling in the den, and cooperatively hunting and parenting. They are nurturing, playful and spirited. Wild, free and never to be extinct, his lesson is one of endurance, longevity and a fulfilled life of meaningful song and dance. Coyote is, in many ways, invincible.

Making Magic

There are so many ways to do it. For Ivy, it's Clover Stirfry.

 

For me, it's embracing healing, changing energy.

 

For Miles, it's creating beauty.

 

How do you make magic?

Plants and Stones

It has been a full few days. Sunday, I tinctured with Grandmother Nettles well into the night. I'm going to do a seperate post on making the mother tinctures, because it deserves it's own post. I will say that I loved being up late making magic like a kitchen witch on the night of New Moon while all lay quiet in the house.

Monday I had a little minor surgery in the morning and came home all shot out of the gate, and sat in bed with my laptop ordering supplies and returning emails. Not even the pain pills keep me down, and I say this with no pride.

I needed to replenish many stones I'd run out of, plus charms, deerskin, and of course, along the way I fell in love with some new ones. I'm making a custom bundle for someone with Stage 4 Lymphoma and this black kyanite wing appeared and tapped me on the shoulder...this thing is incredible, I can hardly put it down.

Bornite, also called peacock ore, is my new love. It is a supercharged positive mineral associated with pure joy and spinning the chakras to a blissful tune.

The wisteria is in full flower, making our arbor smell heavenly.

Miles discovered the biggest clover we've ever seen...

...and presented me with a sunny day bouquet.

I'm working heavily with the birds again, having begun three paintings tonight-the first since January! I could feel that quiet settle over me...I've missed it so much. Big birds. Hawks. Eagles. Griffin. Phoenix. Turkey Vulture. Raven. They are swooping in and removing, building, hatching, rebirthing...doing the work they're so good at.

Who's rapping at your chamber door?

Ode to Hafiz by Christine Mason Miller

This was made when Christine and I were in Big Sur in January. I love the beautiful art she created from our time spent. Music is Andvari by Sigur Ros and poetry belongs to Hafiz.

Early Birds Catch the Nests and Fairies

It's not to early to shop for Mother's Day, seeing as how it falls right on the heels of Easter, right? Here are some of my favorite items I want to pimp for the occasion. I'm betting you'll see more here in the coming weeks.

Mamanest necklaces by Wendy Cook. Last I checked, there were only five of these rustic beauties left. She will include any amount of eggs that you like, in pearl or turquoise. Funds raised benefit her magnificent Mighty Girl Art Camp, an empowerment day camp for girls in the D.C. area. Wendy's vision is something I truly believe in. I love the sacred way she conducts motherhood and her art camps. And I can't wait to wear my Nesty!

Erin Darcy's ethereal Faery Mama card sets are so soft and goddessy. Erin and her angelic baby Claire have become my sweethearts and I'm in love the work that Erin creates.

Both of these wild women are close to my heart. I love sharing their work with you.

 

 

Rabbits of Possibility

Possibility Rabbit Fine Art Print.

Rabbit has the amazing ability of expansive growth and fertility, accomplishing the seemingly impossible in a short amount of time. She never paints herself into a corner, she's the one with a plan and she always leaves herself an out. She nourishes herself first, then is able to take care of those around her. She is economical, taking careful measures to balance rest with work and play. She is earthy and grounded, yet focused. Rabbit can shift into high gear quickly and move with great speed, seizing opportunity or retreat when it is presented. This little cottontail is ready to take you on an adventure down the hole...

SALE on Rabbits n More at Animama this week. Use SPRINGSPRUNG at checkout. I've gone fishing for a few days, but stay tuned for all of the rabbits I have to offer in my stead. :P

 

Shop Sale and a Week of Rabbitses

There is a 15% sale in my shop, Animama, this week. It could be the perfect time to grab those things piling up in your favoriteses ;) Enter code SPRINGSPRUNG at checkout. This is me saying THANK YOU because I really can't say it enough. I'm so blessed you guys.

RABBIT MEDICINE BUNDLE: The Energy Behind Fertility

The medicine of this bundle is about the prolific creative and fertile power of Rabbit, and unconditional Self-love.


It contains:

*a pinch of organic tobacco, a traditional offering to the Spirits.

*a generous amount of mugwort, for eliminating disparaging inner voices, strengthening the feminine aspects and welcoming in the curandera or healer archetype. mugwort is a true Woman's herb and folklore tells of it springing up at the doorsteps of healers.
(Mugwort can cause allergic reactions in those sensitive to ragweed).

*a handful of dried rose petals, for love that flows from the 1st chakra all the way up to the crown, for softening the ego, bringing love to fearful places within, for sensuality, and sweet dreams.

*a hunk of tumbled rose quartz for unconditional love of the Self, which is required at all times, but especially when asking it to do miraculous, creative tasks. rose quartz is most commonly associated with the 4th, or heart chakra, and teaches the true essence of love. it purifies and opens the heart, reassures doubt, and attracts love to it. it is also said to transmute emotional conditioning and heal heartache.
when i lost my first pregnancy to miscarriage many years ago, a wise healer gave me a large rose quartz heart, which i carried with me and slept with until the grief began to shift and move through. i think of it as a soft, feminine healer, capable of great and fertile magic.

*Rabbit is well known for her propensity to create large batches of babies. from a creative standpoint, I experience Rabbit as the Keeper of Possibility. she deeply nurtures herself and her nest, gathering the energy needed to bring forth the wonders that are just waiting to hop and leap their way into her world. she opens herself up to the vulnerability required to carry the miracles. whether calling upon rabbit for physical or artistic fertility, it is important to note that she is well equipped, in body and Spirit, to succeed. she confidently maintains that she deserves to give birth to her deepest and most beautiful offerings.

 

I Virtually Love You

Blurry and imperfect, me and Nina Beana in Portsmouth New Hampshire for ETA last Fall.

It's been a while since I've ranted frothily here, so in the spirit of intimacy, I'm going to give it a go.

I have crushed on many bloggers and artists since my capacity to virtually love increased one millionfold six years ago. And the subject has come up among peers again and again, the notion that how someone appears online is never who they really are. I don't want to spoil anyone's lofty vision of anyone else, because I believe there is a purpose in idolotry to a certain extent. It helps us strive to claim that power within us that they seem to personify and reflect back at us.

[Insert random thought] If it wasn't late at night, I would go snapping photos of how imperfect my own life is to demonstrate. Baseboards undusted for ....er... months? Laundry heaped up. Gunk on fridge shelves. A checkbook with gaps between entries for things I know I've forgotten and need to check online banking to decode. Piles. More piles. Half finished supplies orders. Children's toys all over the floor of my studio. My studio space is appearing extremely un-sacred in this moment. Nine large post-its of to-do's. In a world where so many of us value that one has one's proverbial shit together, I am earning about a C minus. But still, I feel valued, adored even, in this space. Which perhaps goes to show that the gunk doesn't matter as much as the heart, but still. I know because I'm guilty of it, too: we project perfection. But I digress yet again.

Here's my beef, and it has nothing to do with comparing our weaknesses to what we perceive a virtual acquaintance's strengths to be. What is disheartening is that I've experienced with several real life friends a false sense of intimacy with me because they follow my blog or tune into my feeds at social network sites. Even my own mother is guilty of it. (Hi, Mom.) Twice in a month I've lost touch with a couple of friends that do not have the online presence that I do. When I've shared with them that I feel disconnected, both of them explained that they have felt connected to me because they read my blog or posts, etc.

This leaves me sad. The reason is because a virtual experience is no substitute for really knowing someone or checking in with them to connect, at least voice to voice, if not face to face. While life is full of busy challenges that I can more than relate to, I just want to point out-not that I want more from these folks-but that it isn't the same. Appreciating the work Misty Mawn does (one of my artistic heroes) is not the same as telling her so in a personal email (at very least). Seeing my grieving friend pour out her heart on her blog about loss is not the same as calling her and asking if she wants to cry in my ear. Admiring my cousin's new baby on Facebook is not the same as making time to meet her or hear her cooing on the other end of the phone line.

I'm asking myself to take a deeper look at how much I rely on technology to keep me connected. I'm happy to report that I have dates to camp with an amazing close group of warrioresses at the end of the month, catch a show with a friend I have a mostly virtual relationship with, help another one pack to move to her dream home, and sit in sacred ceremony with a handful of local medicine people mid-month. If not for these "dates" on the calendar, I think I'd be feeling very out of balance.

Blessed we are to have this space to connect to each other online, but I am also responding to a wild, deeeep yearning within to get my arms around those I hold dear, kiss their babies, take them food, send them on their journeys, see them loving their partners, and touch their art in person.

Because I'll be at June and September SAW and October SERENDIPITY, I will be face-to-face with many of you. And that's how I like to connect best. I like to hug and cuddle, what can I say? Blessed, blessed, blessed. We are so blessed.

The Mystic Vixen formerly and affectionately known as Blue Poppy,
Elizabeth Macrellish, and I, Squam Art Workshops Vendor Night, 2009.