Thursday, July 29, 2010

Opportunity Knocking! (wetware download)

Some ironing may be necessary once you've gone through your karmic wardrobe. (Asheville, NC 7/10)

The influences of Earth and Sky are coming together in these magnificent two weeks to produce some radical (and I daresay delicious!) opportunities for transformation and Lasting Change!

From Grandfather Sky: we're in the last phases of the Cosmic Tsunami. As I advised a while back, this is the time of sorting...what is staying in your life? What is needing to be released? The full moon last weekend provided a major energetic boost to ensure this process would be moving forward. (This would explain why I wanted to sleep a LOT before/during/after the full moon; I had very important Work to do in the Dreamtime!) If you were experiencing insomnia at night during the full moon, or general restlessness around that time - here's your explanation.
Remember: the waning moon cycle (as she disappears in the night sky) is the time of releasing and letting go, which is going to be very important for the upcoming Harvest of Lammas!

From Grandmother Earth: Lammas (the "loaf mass") is the first of the three Harvest celebrations observed by many pagan traditions. The emphasis is on wheat and whole grains, as these were the first of the crop-foods that were ready to be gathered up and prepared for mass consumption in the form of bread. Lammas also has a tradition of "sacrifice" associated with it; the wheat plants must "die" for the village to eat.
For our purposes today, we can consider this question: What are you willing to let go of in your life right now in order to receive the Divine Bounty? What is ready to be released, its time of service in your life now complete?

As we navigate through the energies that are swirling about us - and trust me, they ARE swirling about, in spades! - the keywords for this portion of the journey are Surrender and Acceptance.
Surrender is not a bad word. If you're balking at seeing this word, believe me, I can relate. I used to believe it was a bad word, before I did the needed Shadow-Work to clear the negative associations around it. Let me put you at ease: to surrender simply means to recognize that your life is a Co-Creation, between you and Divinity. It means you don't have to do all the work by yourself; you have a very willing and help*full partner assisting and (when you're open for it) guiding you through the Grand Illusions and the Great Mysteries present in life. It's a lovely thing when you realize - I'm not alone in this. I have help when I need it.
Acceptance means that you place yourself firmly in your life as it is. No more whining about what happened in the past; no more wishing for something different in the future. You don't have to be madly in love with where you are, what you have, who you're with, in this moment. You simply say, Okay. Here I am. Right Now...and you really pay Attention to your surroundings, to your life! Amazing things can then rise into your awareness - and you just might see a doorway to that happy place that you've been looking for all along!

So.
Cultivate your surrendering to, and acceptance of, the present moment. Go through your karmic wardrobe and clean out everything in your life that is no longer serving you. Make room for the Bounty to come...because the energies of the new moon are going to dovetail nicely with the energies of the 8/8 Lion's Gate opening this year! This means another huge energy boost coming our way; this time, with the promise of Marvelous & Miraculous Manifestation - for those who are ready to receive!
If you say, "but I'm not ready," my first question would be, are you sure about that? You might be more and better prepared than you realize! If you truly aren't "ready," no worries. The influx of energies will help you along quite nicely with your works in progress. You'll BE ready soon enough, for there are oodles more energetic pulses (both clearing and manifesting) on their way. Trust me on this one! ;-)

If you feel at all spacey or disconnected during this process: get out into Nature posthaste! She will help you ground, center, and reconnect with the true energetic grid, and not the smoke and mirrors of the Grand Illusion. Even a simple plant will help you return to your center. Viz...

Beautiful Blooms @ Amalya's. 7/10

There. I bet you're feeling better already... :-)

Monday, July 26, 2010

Butterfly Nation

Very real. Very gorgeous. Mebane, NC 7/10

I was dancing in North Carolina roughly a week ago, gathering anew with my home tribe.
It was my third visit to this fine lush green state, but my first as checking it out to see if it would be my home state. Yes, this is the place where I have been considering relocating. Before you scratch your head and ask, "Why on earth would YOU, of all people, go THERE?" I would invite you to Google "Asheville, NC" and see what comes up. You'll be pleasantly surprised, if you're not in the know already
Before you do, a wee sampling:

Actual water running through an actual riverbed! (Near Chimney Rock)


Peace pole at the Light Center. (Near Asheville)


View from inside "Malaprops Bookstore," which gets beaucoup points for the name alone! (Asheville)

City art in downtown Asheville.

I did have another pair of ulterior motives for visiting early: one, it was cheaper to fly in on a Thursday than a Friday. Two, I wanted to plant a crystal grid around the property of my friend D., who had just recently moved onto said property with the intention of turning it into a communal home and nexus-point for peeps to gather in the name of Sanctuary. That it is, in spades.
I know that it will be a good place for me to rest, renew, and recharge - and I can see myself living there.
Someday.
But not today. I have Work to do here, in Cali. :-)

Driving to the retreat was an experience and a half for this Cali-girl. About halfway there, I got the opportunity to drive through rain. And I mean RAIN, as in the heavens opened up All The Way and these giganto drops were being thrown at my windshield in insane quantities and I could barely see the road at times with all the spray being kicked up and everyone else was driving with their hazard lights On & Blinking so when in Rome, ya know...
Yeah. THAT kind of rain - the kind we almost never see in SoCal!
However, if I do say so myself, I am pleased to report I drove like a native; or at least, someone from Seattle instead of San Diego. ;-)

This time, my home tribe came together to Glow for four days instead of three. Loved the extra day; I didn't feel as rushed this time as I had in the past. I reveled in the opportunity to commune more deeply, and absorb more of the lovely gestalt energies...

Bounty of the gathering. Mebane, 7/10

Lammas is just around the corner!

The Faerie Grove. More than fireflies hang out here... ;-)

Gratuitous chicken shot. Yes, they have an actual free-range chicken colony there!

The Blessed Mother, with offerings at Her feet.

...and I'll admit, this time, I got rather verklempt on the drive to my friend T's home about an hour away. This time, I didn't want it to end. The Bard was right; parting IS such sweet sorrow.

The unofficial theme for our retreat was "Awakening to Spiritual Freedom." It was more than that for some of us; it was also awakening to our Spiritual Destiny.

Butterfly Maiden~
Symbol of transformation
As She spreads Her wings...

We are the Butterfly Nation. Viva La Revolucion! :-D

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Still~Point

Let's call this, "Cosmic Tsunami washes away the Shadow Mass." Balboa Park, 7/09

Today is apparently a day of rest for me, for the plans that had spontaneously manifested over the past few days just as spontaneously melted away a few hours ago. I find myself in a still-point, a cosmic pause between momentous activities and shiftings of shape...so I say HO! and relax. Today has been a "geek day" for me, as I've been frolicking in cyberspace. ;-)

So, to sum, I have been doing Deep Work these last two (and a little bit) weeks. Viz:
Take one juju bundle of shells, stones, and sea glass...


Add one mermaid (for Yemaya, the Ocean Goddess, who appears as a mermaid now and again)


...and voila! Healing Ocean Juju, primarily for the Gulf of Mexico, and also other spots in the sea that need some Divine Intervention!
While I'm thinking about it, I invite you to go here to see the inspiration behind the creation of this juju bundle. :-)

As Within, so Without - simultaneously, I've been Working very intensely on myself (what else is new? lol!), clearing out some lingering Shadows. The difference this time? I am doing the Work from the stance of being a Whole Soul, instead of a "fragmented" one.
I put fragmented in quotes because I never truly was fragmented, but that was a part of the Illusion I had to work through. I'll spare y'all the details right now, because I have a suspicion said details will wind up in the book I'm writing. ;-)

It hasn't been all Work for this Priestess, though.
I've also been engaging in some Deep Play:
I went hither and yon in Balboa Park recently as part of a Scavenger Hunt. It was organized by this marvelous hippie. (No, I'm not telling you where this vase is in the Park. You'll have to find it yourself.) ;-)


I never skip an opportunity to commune with the koi fish at the SRF Meditation Gardens.


This is the front of my "altered art" book, which will be making its way to Canada shortly. I'm sending it along with the similarly created Canadian book that has been sitting in my house for way too long. ;-)
See, I have this very bad habit of getting away from a great source of Play - the creation of art - when I'm deeply engaged in gazing at my navel, aka "Doing the Heavy-Duty Work." As I refine myself yet again, I'm looking to bring in some more Play...and the Universe is becoming an excellent co-conspirator in the process! :-)

The first phase of the Cosmic Tsunami is passing. The Special High Intensity Transformation is calming down. I feel the Changes that have been wrought within me as an absence; something that was present in me is not, anymore. Rather than feeling this absence as a big gaping hole with jagged edges, though, I feel it as a gentle emptiness, waiting to be filled.
It will be filled, big time, over the course of these next two weeks. Can we say it's just about time for another serving of Beyond Awesome?
Happy dance!! :-)