In the spirit of the current Virgo-Mysteries saturation, it's perfectly timely (very Virgo) to revisit The Virgo Mysteries - Keepers of the Flame musing. Virgo's essence is wholeness, though other Virgoan qualities include: mindfulness, discernment, the power of the word,... Continue Reading →
Happy Lùnastal and Full Moon lunar eclipse at the mid-Aquarius power gate. I've already written a bit about some of the Heartistry-inviting Energies (and themes) of Now, so I'll share a few things that surfaced intuitively this morning as I... Continue Reading →
This recent musing on the "Walkers Between the Worlds," the "thresholders" and boundary-tenders of the in-between places, from the An Elegant Mystery blog: "I think that every culture worthy of the name recognizes the need for such folks. These persons... Continue Reading →
"Without vision, the people perish." Most of us, maybe all of us, have experienced those times of vision-drought, times of vision-bounty, and those times of being in-between. Or those times of "vision shakeup" -- something that has happened recently for... Continue Reading →
Any time that the Scorpio Mysteries are afoot -- as they are with this New Moon, as well as whenever the depths, the lengthening nights, or other deep-Mystery phases and cycles are more noticeable -- we are in the liminal... Continue Reading →
When we think of grief ... or well, when we think of much of anything ... we might not consider the grief that we inherit along our ancestral lines, that's in our cells and bones. Nor might we consider what... Continue Reading →
Cornucopia, by Rachel Ruysch (3 June 1664 – 12 August 1750). Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia.
Happy Samhain, All Hallow’s, All Souls, or All Saints week!
May you be enriched by the actual and metaphorical ‘fruits of the harvest’ and the blessings of the Season, and may the Wisdom within grow stronger, deeper roots.
Autumn Vintage Festival, 1877, by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema
Nowadays, with so much wisdom forgotten, many people think of Samhain or the cross-quarters as evidence of pagan ancestors or ‘ancestor worship’.
Or, among those who self-describe as more learned or intellectual, such seasonal festivals might be seen as holdovers from more ‘primitive’ or ‘superstitious’ times.
That’s all so much inaccurate thinky-thinky blah-blah that, caught up in the fog of self-righteousness, misses the point entirely.
Starting October 31st on the calendar, and/or when the Sun reaches mid-Scorpio (15 degrees) in the Northern Hemisphere’s Autumn Season, we note the Samhain, or All Hallow’s, All Souls, or All Saints festival. The ‘Halloween’ of modern times.
This year, 2015, the solar or astrological cross-quarter midpoint occurs over November 7th or 8th, depending on where in the world you are (in New York, it’s just about ‘exact’ at 1:00 p.m. on November 7th).
‘Tis the season, given the ‘thin time‘ of All Souls and Samhain days coming up at the end of the month and early November — and the general Transformation Times Zap Zone energies we continue to live in and dance with.
Here’s an updated Resources for Empaths and Sensitives Series musing, along with the link to the garden-bouquet of posts for Sensing-Empaths and other energy sensitives, and transformation-catalyst kindred spirits who are feelin’ it just about now.
Ahhh, to be an actual, ‘just wired that way’ Empath — One who is naturally made to be more sensitive to the energy currents (subtle and not-so-subtle), including the thoughts and emotions wafting and swirling around us at any given moment.
To be a Sensing-Empath, oran Empathic-Sensitive as some might say, is to have a set of unique innate gifts or medicines for our times.
In this case, Empathic Sensitivity is an inherent or natural trait — the way we’re made — not a learned-behavior.
But the inherent capacity to actual sense and feel subtle and ‘unseen’ energies? That’s innate, not taught.
I’m not sure — in fact, I don’t actually think — that actual empathy can be taught, though certain awareness or ‘having a clue’ might be increased, and skillful communication and interpersonal behaviors taught (or mimicked).
That said, empathic sensitivity may not always feel like a gift…
This is such a beautiful, soulful, evocative piece from Andrea — have a look at these photos and her musings about these abandoned, neglected places.
I resonate because it’s something I’ve noticed since I was a wee snippet of a child and wandered such places, or passed by them and wondered about the stories held in their walls and in the ground on which they were built.
Sometimes, after visiting with or reflecting on these places that are like liminal, in-between ‘eco-tones’ or portals, I’d follow the whispers that surfaced and write them into a story that took shape.
I pass by some on my regular walkabouts, but this topic reaches out for me from time to time too, as with Andrea’s post or this bit of inspiration I came across a few months ago and that’s stayed with me, working like a seed in my awareness:
“In a symptomatic way vandalism — which favors schools, cemeteries, and churches — paradoxically draws attention to the sacredness of things. Frequently when we have lost a sense of the sacred, it reappears in a negative form.
The work of dark angels is not altogether different from those who wear white. Here, then, is another way to interpret the abuse of things – as an underworld attempt to reestablish their sacredness.”
~ Thomas Moore, as shared in this reflection from photographer David Masters.
… when we have lost a sense of the sacred, it reappears in a negative form.
… an Underworld attempt to re-establish sacredness.
Well there’s a theme … and that is what the Underworld attempts to do.
Let Andrea take you on a short walkabout and visit with a few of these richly storied abandoned places …
Every town has its abandoned places. Weed-choked, pigeon-haunted, windows toothed with shards of glass. These are the crumbling, forgotten parts of town, where graffiti blooms in shells of rooms, trees cleave foundations and girders grasp the sky. Spiked pewter fences and nailed plywood defend the carcasses of buildings or the spaces where they once were. Perhaps a battered for sale sign or a warning to keep out: nature and man conspiring to repel visitors.
Nature is quick to claim the things we discard. These are the buildings that have served their purpose. Unlike ruins, which are valued and preserved, these are the unloved spaces. The broken warehouse that was once a canning factory; the tilting façade that was a town hall. Buildings with an uncertain future – to be demolished, renovated, or left to collapse. Buildings that attract the wrong kind of attention: graffiti, vandalism, bad behaviour. They are the forgotten history of the town, unwanted relics of old ways of life. Reminders that everything is temporary. If…
"The wilds outside the gate ..." "The art of outrageous trust ..." These are powerful words and metaphors, intended to invite and invoke. Or do they stir something else for you? Both evocative musings came up recently; here's a snippet... Continue Reading →
Odyssey noun od·ys·sey \ˈä-də-sē\ : a long journey full of adventures : a series of experiences that give knowledge or understanding to someone 1: a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune 2: an intellectual or... Continue Reading →
Midsummer Eve, 1908, Edward Robert Hughes. Public domain image courtesy of WikiMedia.
“The hope of the world lies in the restoration of the ancient magic that is part of your lineage.” ~ Steve Nelson
Yes, yes, yes!
So much of what we’re doing is re-discovering the magic of place, of Life, of our own beings, and the magic in all that’s around us.
The magic that nearly gets snuffed out of us early on. The magic that has been ignored by a perceptual worldview that ‘everything else’ is just inert ‘stuff’ that’s for our perpetual consumption.
To me, the magic is the Holy Divine … or at least the Holy Divine’s way of speaking to, playing with, guiding and Big Loving us!
Thanks to my friend Molly Hall for sharing Jon’s post with me, and thanks to Jon for writing it … particularly the bit about the “inoculation of reality aimed at suppressing magic.”
“Those people who recognize that imagination is reality’s master we call ‘sages,’ and those who act upon it, we call ‘artists.’” —Tom Robbins, Skinny Legs and All
In the human psyche, from the moment a newborn baby emerges into the light of day, he/she has a desire for magic.
We are told this is an early fetish that fades away as the experience of the world sets in. As maturity evolves. As practical reality is better understood.
In most areas of psychology, sensible adjustment to practical reality is a great prize to be won by the patient. It marks the passage from child to adult. It is hailed as a therapeutic triumph.
In truth, the desire for magic never goes away, and…
"My Life Came to a Standstill..." That's what Leo Tolstoy wrote in his Confessions about the period in his life when his old priorities and accomplishments no longer held meaning for him, but a new sense of meaning and authenticity... Continue Reading →
There are some cycles, passages, or even life-purposes that fly (or flow) in direct opposition to the more Saturnine, Capricornian, structured, hierarchical, "Puritan work ethic" oriented norm that is celebrated in much of Western culture, and certainly in the U.S.... Continue Reading →
“So this is how the healers who are attempting to be born are treated in this culture." "What a loss that a person who is finally being aligned with a power from the other world is just being wasted.” ~... Continue Reading →
“While our culture is all gloss and pace on the outside, within it is too often haunted and lost." "The commercial edge of so-called ‘progress’ has cut away a huge region of human tissue and webbing that held us in... Continue Reading →
“When women reassert their relationship with the wildish nature, they are gifted with a permanent and internal watcher, a knower, a visionary, an oracle, an inspiratrice, an intuitive, a maker, a creator, an inventor, and a listener who guide, suggest... Continue Reading →
"What do you yearn for? What vision stirs and beckons you from your inner depths?" At this point, it's no secret: Constant, frantic, frenzied 'busy' gets you more of the same, along with the stress and burnout that go with... Continue Reading →
I originally wrote this article for Samhain in 2014. It's timeless and rooting, so I'm updating it freshly for November 2017. Nowadays, with so much wisdom forgotten, many people think of Samhain or the cross-quarters as evidence of pagan ancestors... Continue Reading →
“There is an ability, or the need, here to read spiritual understandings into concrete, everyday objects. Several different aspects can be combined to result in a truly wise outcome, piercing through appearances to see the inherent truth of a situation... Continue Reading →
This will likely be one of several additions to my blog posts for Energy for Empaths & Energy Sensitives, since I'm hearing from quite a few E&S's who are feeling challenged these days or full-out under siege by the transformative energies, solar... Continue Reading →
"I must be a mermaid. I have no fear of depths, and a great fear of shallow living." ~ Anais Nin I've shared this quotation from Anais Nin's writings before. There's a truth to it, for some. And yet it's... Continue Reading →
Autumn Vintage Festival, 1877, by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema ‘Tis the season, given the ‘thin time‘ of All Souls and Samhain days coming up at the end of the month and early November — and the general Transformation Times Zap Zone energies we continue to live in and dance with.
