The Priestess’ Blog
The Medicine in the Transitions
From light to darkness, warmth to cold, weakness to strength, chaos to calm, and joy to grief; These are the transitions that ignite our path. It is within the transitions that our power lies in wait. Waiting for the shift from sitting to standing to grace us with the gift of it’s power.
I like to hold ceremony in the transition time of sunrise and sunset. To start when the sun is high, and finish in the quiet of candlelight adds an unspoken specialness, and the magic of transition. To sit and watch the sun rise is to witness the awakening of the Universe’s power. A rebirth of Mother Earth herself.
I often remind myself of this in yoga class. Its the transition from bent knee lunge rising into full crescent lunge that makes me want to roar like a lion. You can not stay in the same position, place, or pose and get stronger. You must feel the discomfort of the change and explore what it is to learn, grow, and expand.
Patience is Love
My whole life I’ve been under the assumption that I’m an impatient person. Maybe it’s my Sagittariusness? Maybe it’s my impulsiveness and immaturity? I remember times of waiting to hear news of my grandfather’s health, or waiting for a job offer–when I really needed one. Waiting was so uncomfortable I could barely wear my own skin. I would pull oracle cards, or consult an intuitive, desperate for a peek into the future. Without fail, the cards would tell me to wait; That wisdom, or truth, or results would be revealed at the right time. I was told that my astrological chart had overall themes of “change” so, just get used to waiting, she said.
I surrendered to this solitary truth: That I am a messy person, sentenced by The Gods to serve a life-sentence of impatience.
Always with eyes on the future, it makes my challenge to simply Be. To BE is to be divinely feminine. Without competition, or proving, or busyness. That place in meditation where you forget that you’re meditating and the only thing that exists is the breath… So feminine.
For the last 3 months, I have been with my son in his special education 4th grade class. He started suffering from anxiety and fear of separation in November, and with limited language his little mind turned it all into rage. The only way to get him to agree to go to school is if I went with him. In the beginning it was fun to be a part of his day. But, quickly saw that he wasn’t going to just let me leave – ever. I surrendered to the idea that I might need to get a job at the school, just so he would feel safe again. I was confident that home school would exacerbate the anxiety he was experiencing and could morph into trauma that could linger for years.
My clients and my healing practice paused. The idea that it might all be lost made me want to rage and scream. My teacher, Marin, asks “Is this a womb or a tomb?”… are you in a space of growth or are you dying? This became my mantra and prayer. I took a course on trauma response and applied for my son to be a part of an academic study on Autism and Anxiety.
I truly saw my own womb and it looks like the inside of I Dream of Jeannie’s bottle.
I started hearing – DAILY – from the teachers, aids, case workers, friends: YOU ARE SO PATIENT. Although I was stunned and surprised by this reflection, I had to agree. I am so loving and patient with my kids. And my friends. And my family.
So, maybe I changed the story. Freeing myself from any definition.
I can be impatient with things like passwords and minimal cell reception. I get impatient with too much doom and gloom without a silver lining.
Patience is Love. Therefore, I cannot be without patience. Because it is an aspect of who I am. I am Love.
The Medicine Wheel Continues to Turn
The weather is cooling and the mornings are gray. I’m so happy to welcome Autumn. To me, this is the crossing of the threshold into the season of festivities. I’m giddy at the lights, decoration, music, foods and treats.
We celebrate. We celebrate the cycles of the earth that mirror the cycles within us. Celebration, laughter, and community is the nourishment we need right now. So we gather. We gather because we know deep within that it is what we are meant to do. We gather in the ways that keep us all healthy and thriving; In body and in spirit. Because the nights are growing longer and colder and we are preparing for the quiet cocoon of winter where the days are short and the nights, long.
Before modern times, work stopped at dark. Because you couldn’t see much by candlelight and because it was cold. Humans would work less hours in winter and there was more space and time to be tending to family and holidays. Baking was purposeful to warm the hearth and nourish cold bellies. It wasn’t a task or expectation to be completed between end-of-year work stress, sacrificing sleep, and proving your holiday worth. It was a quiet time of rebalancing, releasing, resetting, and reflecting.
Wishing you a season of contemplation and clarity so that you can create all that you wish.
Peace.
Elephant Medicine Wisdom
There is much stirring. Much action. Much to do. Looking to the spirit medicine of the Elephant: He walks heavily on the path. Heavy on the earth. Each step rumbles the earth with intention and purpose. To follow elephant wisdom is to trust him to clear the pathway for you. Much like Ganesha, he removes obstacles. But! This wise and mysterious creature can also create obstacles to keep you focused on the path with his gentle and confident ways.
I have deep reverence for this path of animal spirit wisdom. For me, it is the balance of the divine feminine (trusting/be-ing) and the divine masculine (do-ing/action) wrapped up in Divine Balance. It feels so good in my heart and body to walk this path of Priestess. Thank you for being here with me. We hold each other in this work and I feel held by this community.
