|
You may have heard me mention this in a podcast or a class but I don’t talk about it often. It feels far away. And I guess by now it kind of is.
In August of 2007 I quit drinking. I had started the habit when I was 12 and had continued to use alcohol recreationally (read this as “to get drunk”) until that day. Mostly I was a weekend binge drinker, but that Summer my drinking had gone from a couple of times a week to almost everyday. After a particularly regrettable drunken escapade, of which I remember little but whose blanks were filled in for me later, I realized I had to stop. It was my last semester of graduate school. I was actively seeing clients as a trainee therapist and I knew that if I kept going I was going to throw all that hard work and my career goals away. So I stopped. And my nervous system went into a perpetual state of fight or flight for the next 8 weeks. I would wake up feeling ok but by 10 am I would be in a panic, dysregulated and terrified. I still went to school (it was a miracle I passed my classes), I still managed to see clients and to do the basics of everyday life. Yet all of it was in a haze. I started extra therapy, I had friends check on me, I took supplements and when those failed I saw a psychiatrist and took valium (which I hated). And I prayed. Alot. A friend in my Circle recommended a book at that time called Mysteries of the Dark Moon- the healing power of the dark goddess. It was a little bit of a dense book for the time I was in, but it did remind me of the ways my practice could hold me, it reminded me that I could be supported and cradled by the goddess and I remembered that there is medicine in the arms of the dark goddesses. I brought in ritual to connect with these energies and made and found talismans to carry with me through my days. Today as I was doing my reading of Witch Crafting for our Summer book club, the words in the chapter on the Goddess brought this memory of that other book and other time into focus. I don’t often work with deities. From time to time they creep into my practice or make an appearance for a ritual, yet something in my body is asking me to revisit the energy of the goddess. Something inside of me was lit up by the this reading and this memory. Do you work with deities in your practice? What is your relationship to the Goddess (or Goddesses?) Is the divine feminine an entity? An energy? A culmination of all the facets of the archetype of “the mother”? As Summer gives the gifts of her bounty and the slow dying away begins, I find myself reflecting on all of these things and more. (and yes, for those of you wondering, I am still sober all these years later). Upcoming events in the Diving Deeper Membership Circle! If you are not yet a part of Diving Deeper, now is a great time to join! Not only will you get all the usual benefits of this group (monthly calendars guiding you through the library and lunar rituals, live seasonal ceremonies, deep discounts and more), but for September I’ll be bringing back live Moon ceremonies for both the New and Full Moon and will be going live via zoom each week day in the wee hours (5:30 am PT), to meditate with those who’d like to join and pull a card for myself and one for the community. In addition the 5th annual Season of the Witch Virtual Conference is coming up and members get a deep discount on registration. You can join the circle and get your first month free here use code FREEMONTH25 at checkout. Ghost Stories Have you had a spirit encounter? I’m beginning the collection of ghost stories for the spirit encounter episodes for the Witch Next Door podcast. If you would like to share your story you can reply to this email in one of three ways
Readings I’ve been having such a lovely time doing intuitive card readings that I am opening up more time in my schedule to offer these. I have simplified the offerings and you can choose from a recorded reading or a 30 minute zoom meeting. Reply to this email for details. Birthday Gifts Finally, I want to share with you all that Wise Woman Witchery turns 6 this year! It was September first 2018 when I decided to begin this journey officially. Pay attention to your inbox in the coming days as there will be some celebratory gifts headed your way.
0 Comments
The pull of this moontime has been strong for me. My dreams the last few nights have been exceptionally loud and my intuition has been cranked way up!
This full moon is called a super moon due to its closeness to the earth at this time. And perhaps the super moon vibes are what have my psyche making louder and more prominent connections. The season is shifting and in this shift, I can feel the veils beginning to thin. With harvest season underway I often discover my connection to other realms feeling stronger, but with the Full moon this seems even more amplified. What are you noticing under this Lunar energy? To honor this Aquarian Full Moon, consider taking some time beneath its glow to open yourself to the messages and wisdom that live within you. You might imagine the rays of the moon washing through you and clearing out any of the background noise of the day to day. Then sit quietly for ten minutes. Notice what thoughts, stories, messages come through. If your mind wanders, bring yourself back to your breath. When you feel complete you can take a few minutes to journal about your experience. You may choose to follow this practice up with a Tarot or Oracle card pull, using the following questions for guidance.
Coming Soon- As we get ever closer to the Season of the Witch, there is a lot of behind the scenes action happening at Wise Woman Witchery. The Autumn Circle- a 6 Circle seasonal celebration begins at the end of September. The Autumn edition of the Cauldron digest is in production and will be available soon The 5th Annual Season of the Witch Virtual Conference is scheduled for October 11th and 12th And the Witch Next Door Podcast is going to be shifting gears as we move into the last part of the year. Stay tuned for updates. If you are not already a part of the Diving Deeper Membership Circle, now is a great time to join! In addition to monthly calendars with suggestions for exploring the library of classes, rituals, meditations and workshops, you will also get to join us live for Wheel of the year rituals and get deep discounts on all upcoming offerings. You can learn more about membership and sign up here (Membership is month to month and you can cancel at any time) The New Moon in Leo was this morning in the predawn hours. New Moon, new possibilities, new ideas, new paths.
In the cycles of the moon, the seasons, the calendar and our lives, there is always an opportunity to begin anew. The energy of Leo brings a vibration of self expression and confidence to this time. When you ask yourself what parts of you have been hiding or shoved into the back of the closet of your psyche, what do you discover? In what ways have you shrunk or been small? What would happen if you let yourself take up some room? What would it be like to stretch out your wings and be seen? Scary? Liberating? Empowering? When you watch a lion move through the world, you do not ever question the strength and confidence of that being. They are powerful, watchful, stealthy and they know it. They don’t apologize for their power. They just live it. I invite you take some of this Leo energy and try it on. Dust off those parts of you that haven’t been getting enough sun, and shine your beauty into the world. Weave this into your new moon intention and let this lunar cycle bring your authentic self forward! Like I said, there is always an opportunity for a new beginning. Speaking of new beginnings…there have been so many time over the last 2 plus decades that I have found myself so entrenched in the responsibilities and happenings of everyday life, that I have set my practice down. Not intentionally. But simple by accident. By not having enough space or support to carry on the actions associated with my witchery. There are gifts with having practiced my craft for so long. One is that I know I will eventually make my way back to my cards, creating ceremony, casting spells and tidying my altar. The other is that my craft isn’t just these actions. My witchery is part of the fabric through which I see the world. The way I connect with each day and the energies in it, the way I know where the moon is at in its cycle, the way I hear the messages that arrive on the wind or on the earth, in the form of knowings and synchronicities, feathers and stones (and sometimes bones too). The way the elements guide, fuel inspire and inform me. And the magic that pulses beneath the surface of everything. This is what it feels like to embody your craft. You are invited to step across the threshold and onto the Priestess Path with me. Where you will deepen into your connection with your magic. Learning and practicing skills both new and familiar, being both witness and witnessed in this circle of women. Stepping into your gifts and your power and letting your inner Priestess shine! Early Bird registration is open! Take advantage of 20% off when you use the code PMW20 at checkout Want to learn more about what we will be exploring? I’ve been offering mini lessons Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 am PT and you can find the first 8 replays here. We have two more weeks of these bite sized classes. Reminders are sent out 90 minutes before we gather. As always reply to this email with any questions you might have. Lammas/Lughnasadh is just a few days away!
This is the first of three harvest festivals and in Christian traditions is called loaf mass, as it is the time of the wheat harvest, flour making and thus bread baking. If you would like to learn more about this festival you can read about it here. Thai Harvest often brings reflection with it. What am I harvesting? What is still continuing to grow into fruition. This has been a year of cultivating and tending to slowness. Moving slow. Saying no. Focusing attention close to home and heart. My broken foot made me slow way down and just now as I am casting my boot aside and just learning to walk with two shoes once more, my dear pup Bella has undergone surgery for a torn ACL (CCL is what it’s called in dogs). The surgery requires a bone cut and plate installation and four months of recovery. And so the cultivating and harvest of slowness continues.. My girl is in a pen in the living room and I have shifted to complete work from home mode and sleeping next to her on a cot. I’ve started planning a Autumn/Winter garden for the first time in years, since I’ll be here to tend it, and I’m settling into a different pace and rhythm, rediscovering balance in my body (literally without a boot elevating my hip) and in my days too. In this time I am both harvesting slowness and continuing to tend new ways of growing it in my body, my mind and my life. What are you tending? Cultivating? Harvesting? Lughnasadh Card Spread
Book Club Some time ago I asked if you’d be interested in a Summer Book Club. Many of you replied with a big YES! I was all prepared to have us read a fiction book together and I got a head start to begin the ground work to create discussion questions and journal prompts. After the first few chapters, I discovered something very important. I do not like to discuss fiction books I’m reading. I want to dive completely imaginatively into a story and lose myself there. I don’t want to share it. I want to savor it. And so I scrapped my notes and let myself just enjoy. And I highly recommend the book. Weyward by Emilia Hart is a bewitching work of historical fiction and a wonderful venture into other lives and places. That being said, I don’t feel the same way about non-fiction. I enjoy chatting about it and am inviting you to chat with me. We will be reading Witch Crafting by Phyllis Currot. This book was written in 2001 and was one of the books I read and practiced with early in my witchery. It offers information and exercises through the Wiccan lens and I will be both interesting and fun to share with each other. This 6 week, 6 meeting book group, will meet for an hour on Saturdays starting August 17th. We will chat a bit about the book and then do one to two exercises from the chapters we have read. I have also crafted an off Facebook group where I will post questions for reflection/discussion and where you can also share your thoughts and questions. You can check out the details and sign up here Shadow Work Tomorrow (Monday the 29th) is our 7th sneak peek into the Priestess Path. During our mini lesson, we will chat about shadow work, its place in witchery and do an exercise to play with the concept. We gather at 10 am PT here https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86242100576 And you can catch all the replays here, also be sure to add your name to the waitlist for pre-registration for the next cohort that begins August 23rd! The Cauldron-Autumn Equinox Edition I am accepting submissions to the Cauldron digest, Autumn Equinox edition. Autumn witchery abounds! Bring your magic to the community, by submitting, poems, recipes articles or a spell/ritual. These submissions are not paid but you will receive a copy of the Autumn Digest and some Wise Woman Witchery swag for your entry. Email your submission to me at [email protected] with the subject “Fall Digest” no later than August 15th. Sending you all some slow Summer vibes, from my inner garden to yours. Last night I watched the Moon rise above the hills of Saratoga while watching an outdoor concert. It was stunning to behold such a gorgeous sight with a background of trees and hills and music.
I wrote earlier this week about this Full Moon in Capricorn and mentioned that Full Moon energy can be used for both amplifying and clearing workings. That was before I started reading up on the astrology for this particular moon. Everything I have been reading has been pointing to clearing practices during this 2nd Full Moon in Capricorn. This is a time to ask ourselves what we are letting go of, what do we need to wipe clean? I have been thinking about this for myself and, can feel some of the things I’ve been slowly pulling away from my ego self this year. Patterns and beliefs that trip me up or keep me from being not only present but at times totally absent from the moment I am in. Today I filled a pitcher with water and herbs and set it out beneath the sun to warm and steep, and when the sun sets I will let it soak in the moon beams. Tonight before bed I’ll soak in the tub with salt and crystals, imagining that first layer that has been tearing away come fully loose and bluffing off. And tomorrow the pitcher of herby solar and lunar infused water will join me in the shower for a final step in ritual purification. Simple. Powerful. Magic. Tonight I am also pulling cards, to explore some of the themes around wellness and strength I want to weave more deeply into my days. What are you brewing up under this moon? Tomorrow we have our 5th mini lesson of the sneak peek into the 12 sections of the Priestess Path Awakening Series. The 5th lesson focuses on the archetypes of the Maiden Mother and Crone. In case you haven’t seen them yet, these mini lessons are happening every M and W for the next few weeks at 10 am PT and last between 15 and 30 min. All the replays are housed at the bottom of the page here One of the gifts of a broken foot has been that I have had to be much more aware and intentional with my movements. Everything I do in my body is approached differently.
There are so many things I take for granted in the way I move. Yet I didn’t really know that until I had to do things differently. There has been a lot of learning, moments of both patience and impatience and even gratitude. Today I was trying to feed my chicken who has recently become blind and no longer has the perception to connect with her spatial awareness in the same way. As I watched her trying to navigate the distance from her beak to the bowl, I recognized that same shift I’ve been working with in myself. That testing of edges and the challenges that come when you try to do things in a new way. Our magical practices can also become something we take for granted. The way we pull and read cards, or the herbs we use or the deities we connect with and the way we work with them. I have a clear structure for my rituals and the way I enact them, yet when I have the opportunity to try something new, to step into a differently led ritual or discover new ways to practice my craft, I find I am able to go deeper, to open more, to peel back another layer and in this way my magic grows. Over the course of the last year I led a part two of the Priestess Path Awakening Series. This was open to those who had completed the program in the past and provided an opportunity to learn, teach and co-create ritual. In essence a place to grow their Priestess skills. Yesterday we ended our time together with a naming ceremony that was beautiful and magical too. This year long journey was such a powerful reminder to me about how taking the role of both student and teacher, leader and led, allows us to grow in ways taking only one role does not. Questions to ponder or journal about: How are you showing up for your Witchery right now? What has become so habitual and familiar that you just might be taking it for granted? What edges are you feeling ready to grow? What new roles and practices might you play with to do this work? The 3rd Mini Lesson in the Priestess Path curriculum sneak peek is tomorrow. We will gather via Zoom at 10 am PT to chat about Creating Sacred Space and do a quick exercise together. These mini lessons are happening Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 am and last 15-30 minutes. There are five weeks left of these lessons. I’ll send the link to join in the morning. If you are interested in joining us for the Priestess Path Awakening Journey, it begins August 23rd. Pre registration will be opening for those on the wait list soon. Get on the waitlist here Summer Digest The 40 pg full color Summer Digest is still available for purchase. You can order your copy here If you live outside of the United States the printing company I use does not deliver to you, but I do. I order a couple of extra copies of the digest and if you would like one and are open to paying international shipping let me know and I’ll send one your way. With Love and Blessings, Emily (Not yet sent) Book Club Update I made a discovery. I do not like to discuss fiction books I’m reading. I am selfish and want to keep the story as mine. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but true nonetheless. I was putting together discussion questions in preparation for offering a Summer Book Club and found all kinds of push back happening inside of me. So…here is what I’m going to do instead. I am going to choose a non fiction book, one that includes exercises and practices and we will start a “book club” using that as our foundation The New Moon in cancer just sent us awash in feeling and possibility on Friday.
I don’t know about you but there is a point in the height of Summer heat where the longing for cooler Autumn days starts to stir within me. After the heat wave we have had (and are continuing to have), I’d say that time is now. However there is also something to be said for leaning into the heat and discovering what resides around the places we get uncomfortable. During this Cancer season will your experiences overwhelm you and send you into a pinching or retreating mode? Or will they instead bring you closer to yourself, your truth and the people around you. When we lean into discomfort we can teach our nervous systems that we can tolerate something difficult, that we can respond instead of react and that every feeling and experience actually has a beginning middle and end. In other words, this too shall pass. This week I got called out by an Oracle deck. I met a girlfriend for lunch and I was in a tizzy by the time I arrived. Having written the time down wrong, I was late and having just gotten some bad news about a surgery my dog needs, I was also emotional. To make matters worse this was supposed to be a lunch to celebrate my friend as it was her birthday. So I arrived, ungrounded and in a rush. As we sat down together, she handed me an Oracle deck. She had seen it and thought it was perfect for me. Never mind that it was her birthday, she had brought me a gift. (I know some incredibly thoughtful people) I glanced through the cards and set them aside focusing instead on my friend and trying to not to be too self centered in my inner chaos. I came back to those cards the next day though and my first three card spread called me out. It reminded me to reground, that my roots needed to run deep to manage both the now and future things. That part of my work in this moment is to reconnect with my shadow self and discover the gifts that reside there and that it was time to call in energetic allies. I’ve been avoiding myself a bit. I’ve been rejecting my Shadow. As one thing after the next has been coming down the pike this last year, I’ve been managing what I can and doing my best to act like I’ve got it under control. But I don’t. There are so many things outside of my control. I “know” that. But my own responses to these situations are generally about doing. What can I do to get things moving, to manage to make it all pass by quicker or be less intense? My Shadow is reminding me that I don’t have control and that it’s ok, perhaps even crucial to stop trying to hold back the flood. To instead, retreat, or let the water carry me where it will before coming back up for air, My Dad always told me to let the rip tide take you. He swore it would pop me back up eventually. And he was right. It will. So I am following the advice of the cards. I’m hanging with my Shadow and digging my roots deep and surrendering the best I can. I guess Cancer Season is in full swing. Want to work with the Cancerian energies? One of the themes Cancer brings up is feeling at home in yourself. For me right now that’s about embracing and working with my shadow self. Maybe for you that’s something different. Meditation for feeling at home in yourself Sit in a comfortable seat Tune in to the rhythm of your breath Scan your body from top of your head to the souls of your feet Notice any places that feel uncomfortable, or tense Notice if any thoughts creep in, Acknowledge them and let them float through Continue to breath Imagine your breath loosening tight spots Easing discomfort Releasing Continue to breathe and settle into your body Be with you Explore the Journey We begin tomorrow, Monday July 8th at 10 am PT with a series of 12 mini lessons at 10 am PT Monday and Wednesday for 6 weeks. These classes are glimpses into the curriculum of the Priestess Path Awakening Program that begins August 23rd. I’ll send out reminder emails with the link to join an hour and a half before each lesson. Although the Summer technically just began, already the hills have turned browns and gold and everything is dry dry dry!
Here in Northern California we are in the starting days of a heat wave. Our cool fog is taking a vacation and we will be under the heat and power of the sun. When you delve into the energy of the Sun what comes up? Sun provides, heat and light. It illuminates everything (and can either banish or deepen the shadows too) The Sun in the Tarot is a card of positivity and success. It is portrayed in the Ride Waite-Smith deck as a happy (albeit creepy) baby riding atop a white horse beneath the sun. This card is connected to your inner child and inner light, it is playful and fun, but also powerful. One interpretation of this card from Rachel Pollack, in the book Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom says “The card signifies joy, happiness, and a great sense of the beauty of life. In its deepest sense it means looking at the world in a wholly new way, seeing all life united in joy and light. Above all it a card of optimism, energy and wonder.” With the literal sun above us now is a great time to work with these energies. Sun meditation: find a place to sit in the sun (or at least be surrounded by its light if not in direct sun). Begin by closing your eyes and turning your face toward the light. Breathe. Feel the sun inside of you. What is it illuminating? Where is your joy? Your playfulness? Let your mouth curve into a smile and really feel the light that is surrounding you and inside of you. What shadows are being cast away by this light. What shadows are deepening? Now slowly open your eyes and take in the world around you with this same lens. What do you see? What is being illuminated (literally). What shadows are gone and which ones have deepend? Notice what you notice. Then take a few minutes to journal about your discoveries. Simple Practice-make a Sun Altar Choose items that represent the Sun and its energy to you. Choose oranges and yellows and reds and golds as your color palette. Light candles or use mirrors to reflect light. Come to your altar to connect with these solar energies. Mini Lessons! The Priestess Path Awakening Series begins August 23rd Starting next week I will be hosting a total of 12 mini classes held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am PT. These will be available for you to join live and will be recorded if you can’t join us in real time. Each mini class will cover a section of the Priestess Path, offering a bite size example of the journey itself. I’ll send out reminders on those days and the replays will be posted on Facebook and emailed out My own celebrations were quieter than usual. My own movements tempered by my broken foot. But still that solar energy was (and is) palpable.
The fire that Summer brings is both figurative and literal, as those of us in California have been remind of in this past week. What is your relationship to fire? My own is complicated. Fire is strong in my astrological chart, and I have always loved fire in its many forms. It is mesmerizing the way it dances and moves, the way it heats with flame and coals and leaves behind ash. Yet in 2017 when a firestorm blazed through my county and town, I found myself afraid of fire for the first time. All the elements exist on a spectrum, fire included. From a slow steady bed of coals to the quick moving flames of a wildfire, the energy of this element is powerful yet varied. How does fire live in you? How do you seek it out? In its true form or in the energy of fire that lives in experiences, relationships and people. Do you look for the slow burn or the crackling flame? Are you mesmerized by it? Drawn to it like a moth with papery wings? Or do you run the other direction when you feel the energy of fire near? The elements are at the heart of my craft and my relationship with world around me. And although some things are always holding steady (ex: my inner fire is almost always cranking out another “great idea” I want to do “right now”), my relationships with the elements shifts and changes and I invite them in a myriad of forms depending on both what I need and how I’m relating to that energy at a given time. The more you understand your relationship to the elements the greater allies they become. So in this Summer Fire energy, explore your relationship with this elemental power. Sit around a campfire, cook on the coals, let your evening be lit by firelight, discover the way you respond to heat (yes it’s getting hot outside). Play, laugh, dance, move! Happy Summer Wise Ones! Did you get your Summer Edition of the Cauldron digest yet? You can grab your full color 40 page copy here In other news, as I mentioned last week, I have put the next cohort of the Priestess Path on hold until the end of August. If you want to be the first to know when registration reopens, be sure to get on the waitlist! You can add your name here (Please note, if you were on the waitlist for the last registration, the list has been renewed so please resubscribe) In the coming weeks I’ll be sharing some mini chats on the topics covered in the Priestess Path and will be sure to include the links to watch in future newsletters. Summer Reading I’ve been considering offering a book club for some time now and Summer seems like a really good time to do it! If you think you would be interested in something like this, please take a minute to fill out this form as you will be the first to be notified of this opportunity and your answers will help guide the layout. For now, I’m sending you all Summer blessings! The Solstice is the longest day of the year and the shortest of nights.
Although it is the astronomical marking of the start of Summer (meteorological Summer began June 1st in the Northern Hemisphere), it is sometimes called Midsummer. The Solstice is a celebration of light, fire, and the energy of the sun. Everywhere the land is in full bloom and the war and long days are calling us outdoors and onto the earth. What do you notice inside of you as the wheel turns and the season shifts? What Summer traditions do you hold? For many years my women’s circle would trek to the coast to walk a very special labyrinth there, celebrating the sun and the light inside of ourselves. How do you connect with the light inside of you? The Summer calls us into motion. This is a powerful time for prosperity and manifestation rituals, and to supercharge any other intentions you have been working with. This is also a time for connecting with the natural world and all her elements. How are you connecting to Air, Fire, Water and Earth? There are many simple practices you can do to celebrate the season. Here are just a few
Want to celebrate with me? I host 8 wheel of the year ceremonies for the Diving Deeper Community each year. Our Summer Solstice Ceremony is this Saturday June 22nd. If you are not already in the community and want to join us for this event you can register here! Looking for more inspiration for this Summer Season? Have you ordered your copy of the Cauldron Summer Digest? This 40 page digest is loaded with Summer stories, poems and recipes straight from our community. You can order your copy here. |
Emily Morrison MA, MFTArchives
August 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed