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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.
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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 |
Emily Morrison MA, MFTArchives
February 2025
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