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If the weather here wasn’t already cluing me in to the shift in the seasons, my psyche is.
The last two nights since the equinox I have been dreaming of the dead (and the living too). The blending of worlds has been vivid. Are they just rememberings or messages? I’m unclear. But they left a mark and invited deeper rememberings and conversations. They spurred my hand to pen a letter to people I haven’t seen in years but who were an integral paper of my life in my twenties. In a text to my mom this morning I shared that I’d dreamed of my grandparents vividly last night and she replied that it must have been a night for dreams as she too had vivid interactions in her sleeping hours. What is it about the Autumn that brings us closer to the other world? The shortening of days and the dying back of plants and trees are a death of summer and growth and can ignite the memories of those we have lost or bring us closer to reflection on our own mortality. Throughout the world there are festivals that celebrate and honor the dead during the fall season. In North and South Korea the festival is called Chuseok and it is a time for tending to graves and honoring those that have come before. In Hindu traditions the celebration is called Pitru Paksha and spans 16 days. In Mexico and other parts of South America, El Dia De Los Muertos is a time of celebrating and leaving offerings for the beloved dead, it is a celebration of connection and some say an acknowledgement of our own mortality. In Witchcraft we celebrate Samhain. This is actually an ancient Celtic festival that was added to the Wheel of the Year celebrations by Wiccan traditions (most cross quarter holidays have their roots in Celtic origins). This is a time when the veils are said to be thinnest between this world and that of the dead. As Autumn begins so too does the thinning of this veil. In our home we have an altar up year round for our beloved dead. This is also my working altar where spells and intentions live as they are being worked. In the Autumn (usually around October 1st), I bring a little extra care to the space, dusting and reorganizing and adding flowers and decorations of the season. My dreams suggest I might want to do this today instead of next week. I think I might also pay a visit to my Dad’s grave and bring him a bouquet of some autumnal flowers. What have you been dreaming? Who is visiting you? Simple Spell for Connecting with your Beloved Dead. Drink a dream tea before bed. Chamomile on it’s own can be good for this and very gentle too Other herbs to consider are catnip, mugwort, lavender and valerian root. If you are unsure of how your body might respond to these herbs (ex: mugwort tea often gives me a headache), you can sleep with the herbs beneath your pillow or stitch them into a pouch to hang above your bed. Take a picture of your loved one and place it beneath your pillow or next to your bed. Then think about what you might like to ask your loved one, or say to them and write this on a piece of paper or the back of the photo. As you fall asleep think of your loved one and in the morning write down any dreams you may have had that you remember. Not everyone remembers their dreams and most of us do not remember ALL of our dreams so also take time to note how you feel when you awaken and if you had a question how does that live in you today vs yesterday. Sometimes our visitations and dreams change us and our perspective without our conscious mind being aware. Did you register for the Season of the Witch? If not, you can still sign up and I promise you won;’;t be disappointed that you did. We gather in just under two weeks. I will kick things off with a little preconference Ritual/Workshop, Rewild Yourself on Thursday evening October 5th. The conference will begin in earnest on Friday the 6th with two full days of classes, ritual, giveaways, community and a whole lot of magic. If you are feeling the pull to deepen into your practice, this is a fabulous way to inspire yourself to try new things and gain new perspectives. If you are new to the Craft and curious about different topics this is a great place to explore and discover what might be calling most to you at this time. I am looking forward to seeing you there! (the full line up can be found at the bottom of this email.) Register here Everyday Magic As I mentioned in an email I sent out on Friday, there was a bit of a miscommunication about the timing of the free Every Day Magci class I taught for the Parsippany library last week. As a result many people missed the livestream. This is a very foundational, beginners class, looking at a brief history of Witchcraft, modern day Witchery and its ties to natural cycles, Intention and Intuition and several practices you might bring into your day to day to make Every Day more Magical. I will be offering this one hour class LIVE one more time, this Friday, September 29th at 4 pm PT. You can sign up for this free offering here. With Love and Blessings, Emily Schedule for 4th annual Season of the Witch conference 8:30 Opening Ceremony 9-10:15-Alchemy in the Cave of the She-Wolf with Rachel S. Roberts 10:30-11:45-Dancing with the Divine Lover - Solo sexual magic for every witch with Halo Quin 12-1:15-Ancestral Death Doulaship: Ceremony, Rites & Rituals with Jess the Death Empath 1:15-2-Break 2-3:15-Dancing with Deity: Relating to the Divine with Irisanya Moon 3:30-4:45-Voodoo and African Traditional Religion with Lilith Dorsey 5-6:15-An Alliance with Elemental Dragons with Angelina Caporale 8:30-Welcome to Day 2 9-10:15-Song of the Soul: Voice as a Divine Gateway- with Jessica Fein 10:30-11:45- Create Your Magical Herbal Apothecary with Erin Lafaive 12-1:15- Longing- Energy & Manifestation Workshop with Karena Osborne 1:15-2-Break 2-3:15- Self Care for Your Sun Sign with My Tarot Lady Christine Michele 3:30-4:45-Working with Crystal Skulls with Celena Spolarich 5-6:15 pm - Creating Your Personal Relationship and Rhythm with the Moon and Lunar Cycles with Pati Diaz 6:20-Closing Ceremony Join us here
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The smells and light of Autumn abound mingling with the scent of Summer and the heat of her sun.
I am finding myself tired. As someone who is often described as “always in motion” and “too busy”, it is not surprising that as the light begins to wane, my body is whispering “rest, rest”. Living in sync with the seasons is an integral part of my witchery. As the days become shorter, I feel the longing in my bones to nest and craft, to harvest and bake. Yesterday I surrendered to the pull of this in between time and watched Practical Magic and took a bath and read a book and napped. When I finally settled into bed I slept 9 hours (this is unheard of for me). And I awoke today feeling clearer, more grounded and less pushy with myself. I let it be ok that there were dishes in the sink and that my clothes pile at the foot of my bed was not getting any smaller. I made delicious salad and sat outside. I pruned a tree and tidied the garage pantry. And I did it all slowly and intentionally. I so often equate my productivity with my value. Yet this only makes me so busy that I miss out on the feeling of wanting to do something, of following my desire and drive instead of forcing it. This is part of my journey as a Self employed person running two businesses. It is also part of my journey as me. I am full of fire and it creates big ideas and sometimes builds my life up bigger than I can live in it. So I’m using this in between to reflect, to slow down and to find a sweet longing and follow it. This lunar cycle we are in is a bridge between Summer and Fall. As it waxes toward Full we can ask ourselves about our own rhythms during this time of transition. Simple Practices Journal using the following prompts My Summer self is… As the seasons shift I feel… My Autumn self longs for… You might also do a little work with your Tarot or Oracle deck. The overarching question being Who am I at each lunar phase of this bridging moon? You can draw a card for the new moon that has just passed The first quarter Full Last quarter And New Spend some time journaling about what you see and equate the cards with energetically for you at these times (past and future) Are you counting down with me? The 4th Annual Season of the Witch Virtual Conference is just 3 weeks away!!! The line up this fall is truly spectacular with everything from Voodoo to Sex Magic, Working with Deity to Crystal Skulls and so so much more! (The full schedule and line up can be found here) I will be hosting a pre-conference workshop/ritual on the evening of Thursday October 5th, and then we will delve into two full days of workshops, community, giveaways and of course so much magic. This conference is guaranteed to leave you feeling inspired and ready to step more fully into your power to embrace your magic! Plus your registration includes an invitation to two live rituals. Autumn Equinox and Samhain. Grab your seat in this magical circle and I’ll see you soon! I was looking through some books today and found a few from my early days of Witchcraft exploration.
Flipping through the pages I found notes my younger self left behind, in margins, on receipts, and slips of paper too. I said “I see you” to that girl that I was back when I was 18, and 21 and 24 too. I remembered how excited I was to have found a spiritual path that spoke to me so powerfully. I remembered how afraid I was that I was going to do it “wrong”. I remembered my firsts from that time (first spell, first ritual, first trance), and the way those firsts reminded me that they were not in fact the first times only the first times where I was doing them intentionally, when I was doing them as witchcraft. I had cast spells for ages in whispers and prayers, in lit candles and friendship bracelets. I’d done rituals with May Day baskets and good luck charms, and I’d tranced through day dreams and mesmerizing moments of stillness in nature. I’d crafted potions with plants, and spices and kitchen witched my way through folk medicine and food made with love. Being a Witch wasn’t new. But the language was. The structure was. I felt excited meeting my younger self with her already terrible handwriting, and whimsical notations. Her questions and fierce underlines reminded me of all the learning I have done. It reminded me of all the learning there is left to do. And my heart skipped a beat at the excitement of it all. Even all these years later, the evolution of my craft brings me so much joy! Where did you begin? When did your Witchy Wise Self begin their intentional journey? What were the elements that drew you in? How have you grown? How are you growing? As the Summer winds down and we move toward the darker half of the year, I invite you to remember. I invite you to rediscover the joy in growing your practice and deepening your wisdom. The Season of the Witch Virtual Conference Back at the start of the pandemic, I attended a paranormal online conference. I had such a good time I was inspired to create my own. So I gathered friends and asked them to teach on topics they knew and loved and the first Wise Woman Witchery conference “A Mystical Gathering” was born. In the last three years I have hosted a total of 8 conferences, and had the absolute pleasure of expanding the teaching team beyond my initial friend base, allowing me to meet some amazing witches in the world and experience a myriad of wisdom. The 4th Annual Season of the Witch Virtual Conference is the 9th one I’ve hosted and this year we have a combination of familiar faces as well as a few new folks coming to share their wisdoms and passions with us. These events are always a blast, bringing with them learning, community, connection, and inspiration along with experiential practices, exploration, giveaways and more! As each year has passed these conferences have gotten better and better. The content has always been amazing, but I have learned a thing or two about holding this container along the way and have worked to facilitate an event that lets you be as much a part of it as you desire. Want to ask questions and interact? Great! Want to watch quietly while you go about your day? That's ok too! Can’t make the livestreams? No problem, you have lifetime access to the recordings. Want to chat with your fellow conference goers? You’ve got a Facebook group for just that thing! We gather together October 6th and 7th. I hope to see you in the Circle! You can view the full schedule of classes and register here After several smoky days the reprieve was a deep relief.
Friday night I slept better than I had in some time. Yesterday I felt soothed all day by the clouds and breeze. I felt grounded. Slower. A quieting of my inner fire. Autumn is coming. And with it a respite. As much as I enjoy the lengthy days and warm temperatures the Summer brings. The heat and vibrancy exhaust me. By mid July I am usually longing deep in my bones for Fall. I have learned that this is my relationship to the seasons. To the shift of energy from outward to inward. From long days to long nights. From action to stillness. Yet not everyone has these same rhythms. I know many people that lament the end of Summer and the quieting of warmth and light. Learning the way you respond to these cycles is part of your own magic. When you can find ways to mindfully tend to your own body (physical and emotional), during the different seasons you discover more harmony in the way you move through the world energetically and can connect more fully and intentionally to other energies around you. ‘ Summer can make me cranky and exhausted. I temper that with drinking lots of water, spraying myself with hydrosol often and making sure to move my body the most when the sun is still low in the sky. It is then I am able to tune in more deeply to the energy of Summer’s growth and work with this energy in my own life and magic. Ask yourself the following questions What seasons fuel you? What seasons drain you? How do you ride the tides of change? How can you temper the highs and lows of these? Make a list or free write and discover your map to tending your own rhythms. Last Call! Tomorrow night , Monday September 4th at midnight, the early bird pricing for the Season of the Witch Virtual Conference ends. Join us October 6th and 7th for two full days and a total of 12 classes covering topics from Voodoo and Traditional African Religions to Working with Crystal Skulls, from Sex Magic to Creating your Own Magical Apothecary and so so much more! PlusThursday evening I am hosting a pre conference ritual workshop focused on Rewilding Yourself. These conferences are one my favorite offerings, bringing together community, wisdom from so many different backgrounds and traditions, ceremony, practice and of course magic! As a registrant you have access to all the livestreams, plus replays, community in our private Facebook group, giveaways and lots of inspiration. Use code CROW20 at checkout to get 20% off when you register before Monday at midnight. See you there! So many projects in the works at once, means my attention is split. And since I haven’t got a spell for cloning myself or the ability to stop time for a little while, I’m having to lean into my practices of grounding and centering.
Of taking extra moments to clear my energy throughout the day and come back to myself and my task at hand. My brain is like a chaotic blowing of a dandelion seeds in the wind. This thought pings that one and that one and pretty soon I’m 12 different places and none of them are what I sat down to do. So I’m taking a lot of deep breaths and mini dance breaks, burning herbs that smell amazing and misting hydrosols when there are no herbs on hand. I’m making lists (and trying to keep these in one notebook), and I’m crossing things off as I go. I’m talking to my spirit team and asking for support and guidance. And I’m connecting with loved ones to help me remember who I am in relationship with others and not isolate with my pinball brain. When I can stay connected I have more access to my magic and my magical allies. How do you connect? To the earth? Your allies? Yourself? Pick one thing on that list today and do it. Notice how amazing it can feel to come back to presence. So what are these projects that have me all over the place? The 4th Annual Season of the Witch Conference is October 6th and 7th! (Plus we have a bonus ritual workshop, Thursday October 5th in the evening). This means you get 13 classes available livestreamed and as replays, a chance to win prizes in our giveaways, and connection and community with other wise witchy humans. The early bird pricing is available until September 4th. Use CROW20 at checkout to get 20% of your sign up. You can check out the full schedule and line up here! Then join me for an enchanting and mystical time round that virtual cauldron. Everyday Magic I will be teaching a free class called Everyday Magic for the Parsippany Library September 21st. In this class I will cover a brief history of Witchcraft and discuss some ways to make everyday more magical. And the timing couldn’t be better as it lines up with the Autumn Equinox. If you would like to come hang out for this class you can register here (please note that the time posted is Eastern time). And speaking of everyday magic. I just finished up the 2024 Daily Planner. I’ve ordered a copy to make sure it all prints as [planned, and this should be available to you no later than September 5th. This year My Tarot Lady Christine Michele has added astrology for each month! So we will have some astrological guidance plus some witchy tips for each month and a calendar and guide to help you in your working with the moon. Stay tuned for the link to get your planner! In the meantime if you are wanting to help support a daily practice the Inner Alchemy journal is still available on Amazon. You can get yours here Book Club I’ve been wanting to do some mediumship work/practice and was looking at starting a book group, using the book Evidential Mediumship as the guide. This would entail meetings that last an hour and a half to 2 hours and give participants a chance to discuss what was read and practice the exercises in that section. If you think this is something you might be interested in reply to this email with Book Club in the header and I’ll add you to the list of folks interested. And Finally… I had this really overwhelming feeling that I needed to offer the Priestess Path again before the year is out. I had no plan for this. As far as I was concerned the next cohort was to begin in Spring. I reached out to the wait list and have a few interested folks. I need a minimum of 6 to make it a go. If you’d like to step onto the path before the year is over, reply to this email and let me know. I’m looking at starting the group end of Octoberish. We would be meeting on a Thursday or Friday evening two times per month. You can read the details here (scroll down past the Membership bit) Whew! That’s it for now. I am really looking forward to sharing all of these events and magical craftings with you! I did. Longer than most of my friends in fact.
You see there was a universe unfolding everyday afterschool at my house. My neighbor and sister and I created an elaborate soap opera with our dolls, where we played out scenarios from our lives, our fantasies and the stuff we watched on 80’s television. Barbie was amazing in my eyes. She was so versatile, could do anything, had the best clothes and was pretty too. Wait! What? I liked Barbie because she was pretty? Yup. Truth. I wanted to be Barbie. Yup. Truth. (Although Gem was pretty freaking rad too. If you know you know) But it wasn’t just Barbie. I wanted to be anything but me. Older, thinner, shorter, more popular, desirable. I could tell you all the details about this that I have since unpacked in therapy, but I’ll spare you. And yes, Barbie did influence my own sense of self. But honestly no more than television, magazines and the general culture that was brewing in my elementary and middle school. The thing is, Barbie also opened up an imaginary realm. She gave me something tangible to create and imagine with. And I loved her. And still do. And in fact I still have Barbie’s. I saw the Barbie movie last week and it spoke to me. I hope you take some time to see it and notice if it speaks to you too. (It will speak so perhaps just notice the how). In magic we often use tangible objects to hold the energy of the in tangible, whether that be a wish, intention, person, ally, element or…the list goes on. In college I took a psych class where we crafted dolls from muslin forms to symbolize a part of our personalities. Later I took this idea and morphed it into different classes, one where we created our shadow selves with the dolls and one where we created dolls that represented our super powers. I’ve used this in therapy as well, asking clients to craft dolls that represent certain aspects of themselves. There is something really powerful about bringing these parts of self into the concrete tangible world. So why not do this for your magical witchy self? Make a $10 investment in a simple no frills barbie. They have them in different hair colors and skin tones and these days us curvy girls can get one that is a little closer to our frame. Choose one that speaks to you. Then create some sacred space for yourself, grab cloth, old clothes that were headed for the rag bag ribbon you have lying around, and even old jewelry then craft away. Is your magical self naked in forest or gothed out? Is she wearing flowy clothing or skin tight leather? Is she tattooed or scaly or even covered in fur? The sky's the limit here! When I was a kid and I fashioned and sewed all kinds of clothes for my Barbie, there was no “right” way to do it. I just let the muse guide me. What if you did this now? What if you took this project on as an ode to your magic, to one facet of your magical self (or more). What would it be like to use this iconic doll with so much history and one might say even baggage and strip it all away to make her your own? I ordered a Barbie for just such a project today. I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours 😉 The Season of the Witch Virtual Conference is open for registration. Early Bird pricing begins now! If you register before September 4th you can get 20% off your registration. This investment includes: 2 full days of classes plus one pre conference ritual/workshop for a total of 13 classes. Access not only to the livestreams but lifetime access to the replays as well Opening and Closing Circles A chance to win all kinds of amazing giveaways (one for each presentation plus two additional chances to win) Connection with your magical community A private Facebook Group where we will be connecting before during and after the conference. The line up this Fall is really exciting. Be sure to grab your spot Use this link or the code CROW20 at checkout to take advantage of the early bird discount. Thursday 6pm Rewild Yourself (a ritual workshop with-Emily Morrison Friday 8:30 Opening Ceremony 9-10:15-Alchemy in the Cave of the She-Wolf with Rachel S. Roberts 10:30-11:45-Dancing with the Divine Lover - Solo sexual magic for every witch with Halo Quin 12-1:15-Ancestral Death Doulaship: Ceremony, Rites & Rituals with Jess the Death Empath 1:15-2-Break 2-3:15-Dancing with Deity: Relating to the Divine with Irisanya Moon 3:30-4:45-Voodoo and African Traditional Religion with Lilith Dorsey 5-5:45-An Alliance with Elemental Dragons with Angelina Caporale 8:30-Welcome to Day 2 9-10:15-Song of the Soul: Voice as a Divine Gateway- with Jessica Fein 10:30-11:45- Create Your Magical Herbal Apothecary with Erin Lafaive 12-1:15- Longing- Energy & Manifestation Workshop with Karena Osborne 1:15-2-Break 2-3:15- Self Care for Your Sun Sign with My Tarot Lady Christine Michele 3:30-4:45-Working with Crystal Skulls with Celena Spolarich 5-5:45 - Creating Your Personal Relationship and Rhythm with the Moon and Lunar Cycles with Pati Diaz 6-Closing Ceremony And Finally I’ve had two different community members inquire about a daily planner for 2024. I’ve got one in the works with a few additions and improvements over last year's version. (including astrology for each month) It should be available to order by September 1st. Stay tuned here for details. This Tuesday Lughnasadh/Lammas, is sharing the day with the Full Super Moon!
This Sturgeon moon is the first of two full moons in the month of August and comes to us in the sign of Aquarius. It is illuminating the first harvest festival and amplifying the energies all around. I’ve written about Lughnasadh in the past and you can check out last years blog on the subject here. Just a few additional tidbits about this celebration as well as some reminders. Lughnasadh is a Celtic festival and specifically means Lugh’s Assembly. This is a time when many fairs and events occurred bringing communities together. Games played during these gatherings were often tests of strength and agility, bringing a warrior energy to the forefront of these gatherings. During this time Siruis, the dog star has risen and this change in the skies marked celebrations across many cultures outside of the Celtic realms, most tied to some type of harvest festival. It was traditional to bake bread from the grain of this first harvest and we sometimes hear this celebration called lammas or loaf mass. Another tradition includes crafting a corn dolly. It was believed that the spirit of the corn must be cared for and preserved until the next crop was planted. The last harvested corn husks were crafted into dollies and given a place to reside safely until the spring when they could be planted in the fields, bringing the energy of the corn back to life once more. Warrior magic can also be performed during this time. Consider calling on animal allies for strength and crafting symbols of them out of natural items, painting their images on stones, or creating a talisman to hold the energy of this animal and bring strength. You might also consider making a warrior mask. You can do this with paper mache or get a “blank” mask from the craft store. You could even use a white paper plate as your base for this project. Paint and decorate this mask imbuing it with warrior energy so that when you don this you become the warrior within. You can use the amplification of the full moon to charge up your warrior magic! Following the tradition of baking bread on this day, you might do just that and pair it with a soup or salad crafted with seasonal veggies and even edible flowers. However you choose to celebrate this holiday, be sure to take some time for considering what you are harvesting with this first gathering of crops. What have you been growing within your garden of Self? What has come to fruition? Honor the work you have done. For a little inspiration you might check out this Lughnasadh playlist (I did not make it but I am enjoying it) or create your own! I wish you all a blessed Lughnasadh! Community Playlist If you could pick one song that embodies you, one song that you feel in your bones whenever you hear it, what song would that be? I’d like to craft us a community playlist made up of these song essences. Reply to this email with an artist and song name and I’ll add it to the list, then share that list with you when it is complete. Daily Practice Are you going to be joining me for our August invitation? After crafting up the Inner Alchemy Journal I wanted to get a chance to use it with all of you! For the month of August I will be posting in the Facebook Group, Instagram and Facebook Stories and the Diving Deeper Community to share my own daily practices with this journal. If you are not already in the Facebook group, be sure to join in so you can share your own practice with all of us. Need the journal? You can get it here We begin Tuesday. See you then! the air is still warm from yesterday's heat. The crickets are chirping and the first of the birds is peeping it’s morning song. The sun hasn’t yet started it’s ascent and the Summer season is all encompassing.
Yet somewhere on that Summer scented air, I detect a hint of Autumn. Maybe it’s the ripening apples, or the windfall plums rotting on my lawn. Or perhaps it’s the breeze, with its constant shift from movement to stillness reminding us that change is always here. Even in those moments of feeling stuck, we are guaranteed that change will come. During this new moon in Cancer, you might consider using the following prompts pull cards and/or journal to work with this idea of change in the emotional body.
A companion exercise to these queries might look like this: Sometimes when we are feeling stuck or stagnant emotionally and/or energetically we need to see things from a different vantage point. Choose a space and cast a circle Stand at the Eastern quadrant of this circle facing outward and take three deep breaths while you take in your surroundings from this vantage point. Notice what you see, hear, smell, taste and feel (physically and emotionally) Step to your right to the Southern quadrant of your circle and repeat. Do this again in the West and North Repeat in the Center- perhaps even spinning slowly as you take your breaths to notice what this space looks like from all the directions. If your space and body allow lie on the floor looking up repeating these breaths and awareness Then roll over face down and take three breaths and notice what you notice. Sit in the center of your circle and reflect on what you discovered both from the outside (what you saw, heard etc.) and the inside (what you felt). Open your Circle When we look at situations from a different perspective we can often discover things we have not seen before, and in turn begin to change how we think and feel. Just in the time it has taken me to write this, the sun is lighting the overcast sky and more birds have added their voice to the morning chorus! Let the new moon remind you that we too move through phases and there is always an opportunity not just for change, but for beginning again. We are less than a week away from the Gift of the Labyrinth workshop . Perhaps you are familiar with the labyrinth. Or maybe you have never set foot upon one. Maybe you have experienced them in a way that has never led you to think of them beyond that moment. I want to invite you to explore this sacred tool with me. Together we will learn: About the history the labyrinth Discover the different types of labyrinths How to create your own Ways to work with this pattern And journey to the center and back out again. This class is offered live, July 22nd from 9-11 am PT. The replay is available to all who register. I look forward to walking this path with you! Register here! Wise Ones, have you noticed all of the in between times in our journey as a human?
Those liminal spaces between toddler and child, child and adolescent, young adult to adult and adult to elder? This week on the Witch Next Door Podcast we discussed one such space. That one defined by modern medicine as peri-menopause. That in between when hormones shift and the experience of being in one’s body is not quite as it was before. What does this have to do with magic? Listen in and find out! Wandering the streets of Guilford, CT this last week, my friend Sara and I stumbled upon a labyrinth. Even as a resident of this town for many years, Sara did not know this labyrinth resided there. It was a secret treasure discovered by accident, or fate (depending on the lens you see the world through). We walked the sacred geometry of the twists and turns, and as we did I felt my consciousness shift. My heart rate settled, my mind felt clearer. Into the center where I stood and let the air play with my hair, breathing in the moment. Then out again, reset, refocused regrounded. You are invited to make the acquaintance of this ancient path in the two hour workshop the Gift of the Labyrinth, Saturday July 22nd at 9 am PT. We will couple our book learning with experiential exercises to build a relationship with the labyrinth in both mind and body. Register here and I’ll see you there! Visiting my friend Sara of the Sisters Enchanted.
It is always a strange and unusual adjustment to time travel from one coast to the other. I feel slightly out of sorts and between worlds. As if I have portaled to some other realm where time no longer has the same meaning. And I think that’s the point. Stepping out of the normal day to day and into a different reality shifts the narrative. Inner rhythms are disrupted. There is a sense of being in time out of time. There is a world moving all around and yet my world is no longer on the same track. It is a place of surrender and of opening. I like my schedule and my rhythms. But I also really like adventure, seeing new places, being in new ways. The two can be hard to reconcile. They can create an unsettling sensation and even confusion. Yet the more I lean into presence, the more I am able to suspend the challenges of this and just “Be”. I can begin to take in what is all around and discover the magic and awe of whatever time and place I am in. This sounds simple but it is not always easy. Simple Practice: Look around yourself in the place you are at. Place your hands on your body. Perhaps one on your heart and one on your belly. Or perhaps place them somewhere else that feels comfortable to you. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Take a big breath in and a slow breath out. Do this three times. Gently open your eyes and take a look around. How has the landscape changed? How has the way you see it shifted? What do you see? Feel? What stands out to you? Use this practice liberally and discover the way the world changes and the way you feel within the world with this new perspective. Interested in other ways of finding perspective? Gathering information? The Labyrinth is a helpful tool for both of these things. As we walk the path within, our perspective starts to change. As we make our way back out we integrate what we have discovered and learned. July 22nd at 9 am, we will journey into the Gift of the Labyrinth together. Regsiter here for this 2 hour workshop. |
Emily Morrison MA, MFTArchives
September 2023
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