I can smell the shift in the air. The green hills are turning gold and everything is blooming and growing.
Back from the Pacific Northwest the turning of the season is even more tangible here in Northern California. The earth is warm, the days long and reminders of the fertility and abundance of the earth are everywhere. Although Spring has not quite let go of her grip on the land Summer is near and everything is alive with the hum of growth. It is this time of year, that I find myself feeling most connected to all of the elements all at once. The Spring breezes are frequent and still cool, pulling my hair and tugging at my skirts, the heat of sun in growing in intensity, the dewy mornings and green leaves of the trees and the rich smells of earth and plants are everywhere. The elements are at the heart of my practice. A foundation on which everything else stems from. Their energy is powerful and can be worked with in a myriad of ways. How are the elements showing up for you? How are you connecting to their energies and associations? Simple Practices Sit in a natural setting. If you like you can set a timer for five or ten minutes. Close your eyes. Listen. Feel. Breathe. What do you notice? Move through all your senses. Discover the world through sensing. Then begin to feel for the elements. Can you find them all as you sense the world around you? Are there certain elements that stand out more powerfully in this specific place at this specific time? When your timer goes off or you feel complete, journal about your discoveries. Impromptu Altar Magic to grow your relationship with the Elements What happens when you hear the word AIR? What associations do you have with this element? Take a look around your house and find an item that represents air to you. Then do the same process with the other elements. Use these items to represent the five elements Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. Create an altar with these items and take time each day to visit it for a week (or longer). As you do notice if there are more things you want to add or if your original choices no longer fit the way you are feeling into a particular elemental energy. Change, add and subtract as needed. Let’s get outside! There is still room at the outdoor retreat June 7-9th in Sonoma County. (bonus day/night June 6th) I’ve been cooking up some plans for us and I can’t wait to gather with you around the fire and make some magick! During our time together we will be tapping into the energy of the land, community and ourselves, as we create ritual, spellcraft, play with divination and spend time out of time in our sacred space. (plus my Witch Next Door Co-host will be joining us and will be offering morning yoga classes) Not a camper? There are plenty of other lodging options open to you. Spend your nights indoors and your days with us under the trees. Details and registration information here Have you been looking for a way to bring more energy and focus into your magical practice? A community to share your experiences with? A deepening into familiar knowledge and an opening to something new? The Priestess Path Awakening Journey begins June 21st! In this 12 lesson, 13 moon path, you will learn everything from the basics of creating a ritual to spellcrafting and divination. You will also be invited to explore your inner realms and cultivate a more powerful relationship with yourself! Come and discover your inner Priestess! Check out the details and take advantage of Early Bird Pricing here (Early bird ends June 1). Questions? Reply to this email.
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I’m sitting in a friend’s living room in Seattle this morning, sipping tea and petting her dog. A long awaited break from my day to day washing over me like the coming rain I can smell in the air.
I’m weary. I knew this. But it wasn’t until I got here that it really hit me. I’ve been reflecting Alot On my flight here I was overwhelmed with memory of my grandmother. Of the many many times I boarded a flight to Seatac to see her. Of the way I would tell her I was planning a trip and she would excitedly get her calendar out and block off time for us. I miss her all the time, but this memory and missing of her was so visceral. Aloft in the clouds i felt as if I was back in time. Traveling once more toward my grandmother’s house and our long chats, and respite. The Pacific Northwest has always been a respite for me. I lived here for 5 years as a child and some of my most formative moments were born of that time. With my grandmother no longer here (first because she was living in California to be closer to us and then because she passed away), my friends here in this land of water and trees were my safe asylum. These friends are the ones that are easy. The ones I can settle into spaces of conversation or silence together, be authentic with. Stepping out of the responsibilities of my day to day only allows me to connect deeper. The salt smells of Puget Sound, the familiar bonds of friendship, the thread of magick that ties us, it has all made space for me not to fall apart but come back together. To rediscover myself. The women here are a part of my heart story. And these relationships are medicine for me. Medicine I really needed right now. These relationships are sacred. Revered. We are not meant to be solitary creatures. Not really. And our relationships are a mirror. What parts of yourself are you seeing in the people you surround yourself with? What is your Sanctuary? Where? Who? Sometimes looking into the mirrors of friendships that exist outside of your everyday allow you to remember who you are, who you were and who you are becoming. I invite you to ponder who your mirrors are. Where your sacred spaces live. How often you allow yourself to lay down responsibilities and those daily routines (even for a couple of hours), to rediscover the parts of yourself that might be tucked away or neglected through the mundane machinations of daily life? Perspective shifts create internal shifts and have potential to open whole new worlds inside of us (or show us ones we forgot existed). When I was small I thought my Mom had the most beautiful singing voice in the world. I honestly couldn’t understand why she wasn’t famous. But I also felt so grateful that her voice belonged to me. She was MY mom, and I didn't have to share her with anyone. (At least not until my sister came along).
As an adult, I know my mom’s singing voice is average and yet hearing her sing or even talk, still comforts me like nothing else. Here in America we celebrate Mother’s Day today. It’s a complicated day for many. The Mother archetype is a strong one and this day invokes that, yet it does so often in a way out of sync with our own relationship to the idea of Mother and often with the actual relationships we had with our mothers and ourselves in this role. ‘ The Mother is the nurturer, the boundary setter, the one who grows and creates. She is unconditional love and a fierce protector. Yet the Mother holds a shadow too. She can be overbearing, or passive, neglectful or hovering. She can hold the energy of a martyr or expect payback for her role. Mothering is messy. It is the hardest job on the planet and perhaps the most rewarding. I am not a Mother of children. I have not given birth or adopted kids. I will never know what it means to be a mother in this way. This holds grief for me, but the sting of that is far less than it once was. I chose to remain childless and in this choice opened other doors for myself. But there are many moments where I still long for that sense of family and being a “mom” I share this because it is only one prism in a many faceted stone that is the relationship to the Mother. When we explore this aspect of ourselves, the beliefs and expectations we hold of Mothering (both in the way we bring this into the world and in how we hold it for others), we begin to make space for all these facets. We expand the way we hold mothering, and our compassion grows and wounds begin to heal. We can also begin to see the ways we bring our Mother self into the world through our relationships with others, our creativity, our protectiveness, our boundaries and our love. Whatever your relationship is to the Mother, I wish you a blessed day of honoring the Mother within you. Priestessing in the Modern World Some of you may be familiar with the class I offer called Priestessing in the Modern World. In our time together we explore the energy of the word Priestess and what it means to Priestess in the world today. Then we will go on a journey to meet our Priestess Self and connect with her energy. I’m hosting this class tomorrow Monday, May 13th at 5 pm PT. If you’d like to join you can sign up here Speaking of Priestessing! The next cohort of the Priestess Path Awakening Journey, begins June 21st. I’ll share a bit about this at the end of our class tomorrow and will be offering a discount code to attendees. Let’s go Camping! If you’re still on the fence about the Wise Woman WItchery Outdoor retreat, there is still time to sign up! We gather June 7th through 9th (with an optional bonus day on the 6th), for time out of time, where we will create ceremony, spells, connect with the land and each other, and dip into our wells of magick! Details and sign up can be found here Have questions and want to chat about them? Reply to thai email to set up a call to get those questions answered. See you soon! Once Beltane hits the natural world around me always feels like it’s kicking everything up a notch. The last budding trees have finally begun to leaf out and my roses are exploding.
The pink jasmine is in full bloom and the white jasmine is starting to create little buds that come mid June will likely be fully awake. This is the time of year when I feel the Fae folk peeking out from their realm and into ours. This is the time opposite Samhain when the thin veils allow easier passage between worlds. The word fairy only dates back to the Middle ages, but the Fae folk and their ilk have been popping into folklore across cultures and time, under different names and manifestations. I have always been fascinated by the Fae. There is something so alluring about their mystical nature. Some believe the Fae are otherworldly or other dimensional beings, some believe they are the spirits of the land, and others believe they are another race of humanoid creatures that we share space with on this planet. Lore suggests that the Fae folk can be seen as both friend or foe. They are full of trickster and often playful energy. Leaving offerings for the Fae is said to be a helpful way of keeping in their good graces. Such offerings include cake, honey and cream. Tending the natural world is an offering too! So plant your gardens and amend your soil. Whether or not you believe fairies to be real, there is a certain magic and delight in delving into these stories. Spend some time outside and you might just spy these beings peeking out of the foliage just there in your peripheral vision. Beltane crafts This year to celebrate Beltane I tried something new. I harvested roses petals from my burgeoning bushes and make rose beads. The process was simple and it was wonderful way to honor the season in a way that will carry this energy through the year. You can check out the reel I made about the process on instagram or just follow the recipe here You will need: 2 lightly packed cups of rose petals (the more scented the better!) ¼ cup water A food processor A pot and stove and spoon wire/pins/paperclips Blitz the rose petals and water in the food processor until it reaches a gel like consistency Cook this mixture on medium heat storring almost constantly until it become clay like Roll mixture into beads (these will shrink by at least half when they dry) If crumbly-blot water out with cloth or paper towels And insert wire or pins to create hole and hold them until they dry Let air dry for a couple days rotating periodically to keep air flow even Use for jewelry projects. Gather the Witches By now you have likely read about the outdoor retreat I’m hosting here in Sonoma County in early June. If you’ve been thinking about joining but not sure if it’s for you, let me share a few of the sweet details about this event. We have our own private group campground complete with private bathrooms and showers as well as an ample fire ring. We have loads of space to spread out including areas for altars and our morning yoga (led by the fab Veronica Wade Lewis), a big fire pit and outdoor kitchen. I provide meals and snacks and can help with camping gear if needed. We will be stepping out of the day to day and into a sacred space, where we will connect with the earth and each other, through ceremony, spell work, divination and a little crafting too! Although the retreat is scheduled for June 7th-9th, I’ve rented the space a day early so you are welcome to come before we officially begin and take part in a new moon ceremony with me on the 6th. You can find all the details and sign up form here And finally my friends, I am once more offering Priestessing in the Modern World, a free 45 min workshop that invites you to explore the concept of Priestessing and takes you on a journey to meet your Priestess Self. This year I also have a companion guide for you all that includes journal prompts and a tarot spread. You can sign up of the first round of this class on May 13th is here |
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Emily Morrison MA, MFTArchives
October 2024
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