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

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!! :-)

Bella Luna & the Cosmic Tsunami

Now that we are beginning to feel the incoming pulse of massive energy, I wanted to pass along some Information that I downloaded recently in the privacy of my own wetware. Yes, it's an actual channel from Yours Truly! (lol)

~Do not discount the influence of the moon in the unfolding "Cosmic Tsunami," the significant pulse of energy that is scheduled to wash over and through Mother Gaia from now through the first week of August. She will be felt in three distinct phases:

Phase 1 (full to dark moon) is going to be analogous to scraping the barrel completely clean. ANY Shadow-energy or "stuck" place that is still present in one's system will be permanently removed. Whether you release it in Serenity or have it pried out of your grip as you're kicking and screaming - well, that's your choice. Be prepared for some massive first and/or third chakra upheavals for these two weeks, but only for two weeks! :-)

(Chakra 101: The first chakra is the energy node at the base of your spine; the third is the one at your solar plexus - the one that I'm clearing out, as I've mentioned previously.)

Phase 2 (new to full moon) is going to be analogous to filling the newly cleaned barrel completely up to the top with water. Do not be surprised if all of your chakras open very widely, particularly the fourth, sixth, and seventh ones. Authenticity and True Power are going to be the themes, as the next steps (yes, plural!) of your journey are going to be revealed! ALL shall not be revealed just yet, but many questions shall finally have answers. Huzzah!
(Chakra 101: The fourth chakra is the energy node at your heart, the sixth is the node at your third eye - between your fleshy eyeballs - and the seventh chakra is the node at the crown of your head.)

Phase 3 (full to dark moon) is going to be analogous to sweeping the water in the barrel with a fine net to fish out any detrius. Okay, so you're crystal clear and you've got tons of new support to travel in the direction you've chosen - which may very well be the one you've been moving in all along. ;-) Now is the time for a check-in: am I completely aligned with this journey? What really resonates within me right now? What needs to be released right now?

This phase also aligns perfectly with Lammas, the first of autumn's Harvest Festivals, which traditionally requires one to "sacrifice" that which is no longer of service within you in order to receive the fullness of Nature's Bounty.

~VSD 6/10

Holler back with any questions, yo. :-)

Shedding the Sleepwalker's Skin

Call this "Third Chakra, Pre-Clearing." (Balboa Park, 7/09)

Whether I'm cutting out images from catalogs or snapping pics with my camera, every now and again I come across something that moves me, and I need to capture it. I might not know why at that moment, but it becomes the perfect image to use in the fullness of time.
The image above would be a good example. It spoke to me about a year ago, but it's only now that I understand the message...

The closer we've come to the "Cardinal Cross" alignment in the sky (an alignment formed by Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto this weekend, lasting until the first week of August), the more antsy I've been. These last two weeks in particular have felt like a collective holding of breath, waiting for the massive surge of energy that is predicted to course through & by our planet, and all who inhabit her, as a result. Or as I tweeted recently: The whole Universe feels Void of Course and I feel like I'm experiencing a bout of Cosmic PMS! ;-)

Several of my friends say I wasn't too far off...
By degrees I've been brought low as of late, feeling various levels of doubt, frustration, anxiety, even incompetence and powerlessness. My first clue was in recognizing the last time I'd felt such "blah" energies was before I had embarked on my Journey of Spirit; in other words, when I still thought myself a muggle, to use JK Rowling's lovely terminology. :-) My second clue was in recognizing when my Indigo Diva was having a tantrum, insisting that life should be unfolding on HER terms, and feeling very rigid.
I realized: I am clearing out my third chakra, the energy node found at the solar plexus, connected with thoughts of individuality. This is where I hold all beliefs about My*Self; these are the Shadows that are being brought up for me to recognize and release.
A multi-step ritual spontaneously arose within me - I'm unfolding it one night at a time as we speak, with the next steps beginning to come together as I conclude this part of it.

In this time of surging energy and Waking Up, I find myself shedding the last vestiges of who I was...a Sleepwalker in the Nightmare of the Shadow-Matrix. Many others will be releasing these dregs as well; others will be at the beginning of the process, realizing that all the blood and thunder playing out around them is one Grand Illusion, and that Something Far Greater lies just beneath the surface. Many people are experiencing this awakening as a very rude one - this is a "necessary evil," if you will, for many people have been caught in the grips of the Nightmare and sleepwalking their way through life for a very long time.

The alarm clock is going off.
It's time to Wake Up - NOW!

tiny adventures, on a tuesday :-)

Seeking out treasure in the Golden State. @ Home, 6/10

No worries, I haven't forgotten my promise to show off my TAT's as I get 'em. ;-)
It's been a most interesting roller coaster as energies pulse and ebb within and around me...and under me as well. Felt an earthquake last night that broke some dynamic tension within me as well as within Grandmother Earth! More on that later...

To the first Adventure, which was a Civic one:
English, Spanish, Filipino, and Vietnamese, I think. @ Home, 6/10

Yea, I exercised my rights as an American Citizen and executed my civic duty by voting last Tuesday. They moved my polling place to the same block where I live, just across the street - which made it ridiculously easy to go and vote and made it completely absurd to transport myself there by car. So I was happy to hoof it. :-)
One question, though, am I the only one to scratch my head and ask, "What's wrong with this picture?" Viz...
What happened to "Separation of Church & State"? @ Home, 6/10
And yes, I think the "Happy Hour" advertisement is a bit amusing as well... ;-)

As you can tell, I took my camera along to record the journey. Didn't take any pix in the voting venue itself - that might have been rather gauche - but here's some eye candy for y'all:
Glorious Purple Bouganvillea. @ Home, 6/10

This particular Tuesday, I found myself drawn to explore a lovely site closer to home: Kit Carson Park, at the southern end of Escondido.
I love the symbolism of this open gate. Kit Carson Park, 6/10

Today was an exploratory mission, looking around and seeing what I could find, and what had changed.
What has changed: they've added a "golf frisbee" course in the park, for peeps to walk around and have some fun.
What I found: Power spots galore...
Massively cool meditation spot besides a network of groves. Kit Carson Park, 6/10

...and some trails "into the bush" that I didn't take this time. Next time, though, I'm going on a mini-walkabout. ;-)

I was also very relieved to find that a pair of ponds which had been drained in a recent missing person's case had been refilled, and were still extant. Again, I saved visiting & meditating at the ponds for later.
With the upcoming energy surge that's expected to bring radical & dynamic transformation throughout the world, I suspect there will be a lot of "laters" for me to choose from!
I feel much more grounded and centered already... :-)