Reclaim Your Magick – Page 2 – The Cauldron Goddess

Imbolc Wisdom- In the Belly We Grow

We are now entering the season of Imbolc, celebrated in early February. The word Imbolc comes from Gaelic meaning ‘In the Belly’ referring to the peak of lambing season in the UK, where the ewes are pregnant and/or nursing their young.

The goddess Brigid, who later became St. Brigid is venerated this time of year. She brings new life and fertility to the land, as well as healing and inspiration to our lives. As a goddess of fire, she is associated with the hearth and smithcraft as well as poetry and inspiration. She awakens the earth and the spark of life within us to be reborn anew.

Here in Canada, it is often our coldest time of year with everything still under a lot of ice and snow, spring seemingly eons away. Yet, the light is noticeably increasing, bringing us the hope and reassurance that indeed spring will come!

Funny enough however, here in Toronto, I saw snowdrops sprouting through the ground last year at Imbolc! I had never seen them so early, as it was a very mild winter, the warmest on record, I believe.

Snowdrops are a common Imbolc symbol of hope and new life in the UK as they begin to sprout at this time. I am not sure we’ll be so lucky to see snowdrops here this year, but even if we don’t see the physical evidence of new life sprouting, we must have faith that life is forming, incubating, and stirring beneath the ground, just waiting for the perfect moment to be born.

Imbolc is very much a season that asks us to cultivate faith and patience. There is so much we just can’t see yet. Trust the process. New life is stirring, forming, becoming. We must hold space for some mystery yet and allow for some things to unfold in divine timing.

This is an incubation period energetically, but it is not passive. In fact, it is a perfect time to strengthen and nourish ourselves for the journey ahead. It is a ripe time to gather our resources and prepare. Not from a place of fear, but from a place of love and hope. We must tend to our inner strength and light. This might mean prioritizing self-care or positive connections, anything that brings us a sense of inner peace, happiness and warmth.

This is a wonderful time for gentle nurturance of new dreams, goals and aspirations that may be stirring within. It is a time for some tenderness and care as we are not quite who we were and not yet who we wish to become. Allow for innocence and childlike dreams imaginings to surface, for they may become seeds of rebirth. Honor your inner child.

Imbolc is the season opposite Lammas, held in early August. Both times of year are considered times of preparation. At Lammas, we are harvesting the outcome of our work and toil of the warm months and gathering our resources for the inner journey coming in fall. We separate the wheat from the chaff in our lives, give thanks for all we have and begin to slowly draw our energies inwards as the darkness increases.

At Imbolc, we have come through an inner journey and are preparing to slowly come out of our cave and into the light, as the sunlight increases. We have gleaned wisdom from the dark terrain we’ve traversed and must decide how we’d like to put that into action in the world. We cannot rush the process, but can use this time to sift through our dreams, visions and yearnings and decide what will see the light of day in manifestation and what will wait in the ethers for now. This requires some receptivity and deep listening, as we turn our ear to the whisperings of our heart and soul.

Brigid reminds us to tend to the creative spark within ourselves. This light is our unique essence, love, and medicine we carry. The world needs us to shine. We each have a purpose. We all matter right now, and the more of us that are lit up inside, the stronger we become against the powers that strive to keep our light diminished.

Energetically, love is extremely powerful and brings us together to make us stronger. I am not talking about romantic love (not specifically), but rather a universal love, the love that motivates us to shine our light in the world, to care for others, and for the planet, to create works of art, to start movements and communities. While we can’t be in a state of love all the time, cultivating it in small gentle ways within ourselves and then connecting with others who share that love increases our ability to move mountains.

Whether it is people, a cause, the earth, animals, a creative or spiritual practice, tend to that which you care most about now. This increases your power. Also, let yourself receive love and care in return! We all have nurturing ability within us, and we also have that nurturing energy available to us through the Earth, the Goddess or Divine Mother energy. Let yourself receive what you need.

I invite you to imagine we are literally in the belly of the Goddess, held and nurtured right now. We are not who we were last year and not quite who we are becoming yet, but we are changing, and we are growing. She is holding us safe and helping us become who we are meant to be with her divine love that is available to us all.

There are some unknowns of what life will be like in the future. During these times we may feel restless, impatient, and want to control some things that we cannot control. We may ignore the things that are completely within our control. We may wish to see things we are not yet meant to see or look away from things we must see. We may wish to jump into new life before we are ripe and ready for it.

While we may feel like we need to make everything happen now, or we just simply wish to escape to anywhere but here, there are other ways to use the energy of this time:

We can begin to envision the future we’d like to experience. We can prepare ourselves, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually for what we wish to create or cultivate in our life. This might look like:

Resourcing ourselves with love– Connect with loved ones, friends, kindred spirits, pets, nature, a passion or cause you care about. Who brings warmth to your heart? Can you let yourself receive it? Where can you offer love to others? Becoming aware of our connections and networks help us forge a supportive container for our creations.

Healing our wounds, doing our trauma work and releasing blockages that are holding us back. What do you feel is preventing you from living the life you desire? What can help you heal and move forward? Baby healing steps make a big difference! Notice how far you’ve come already. All types of healing are well-supported during this season.

Looking for inspiration in new places, spaces and people. What helps you feel inspired? Music? Art? Nature? Spiritual ideas? Open to new sources that feed and brighten your inner fire. They just might be the seeds of your magnificent manifestations in the future.

Experimenting with small shifts in our habits, thought patterns, diet or our daily life. What helps you feel more energized? What could you release to feel lighter? Every small thing you do for your own energy right now will serve you well in the months to come.

Planning, visioning, brainstorming- This is a great time to tinker with ideas you want to manifest in the future. Is there a creative project you wish to begin? An experience you wish to have? A community you wish to start? Sketch it out, write it down, envision it happening, make a draft, start the foundation.

Cleansing, clearing, making sacred space- Your space reflects your inner self. Optimize the energy in your home or space by getting rid of clutter, fixing broken things, redecorating or changing the energy to reflect your goals. Create an altar or make changes to your existing one(s).

Awakening your inner Hearth- Your own energy field requires cleansing and protection too. Become aware of the flow of energy in your body. Is there an area of your body that feels blocked or rigid and needs softening? Or an area that needs a bit more light, energy and vitality? Bodywork, energy work, chanting or meditation practice can help. See resources I created below to help your energy flow!

I have created a couple of Imbolc resources for you. A chant and a meditation:

Chanting helps to open up our creative energy channels and ease the flow of expression. May my ‘In the Belly’ chant inspire you to sing along and help you move forward gently through these times:

Lyrics:

In the Belly song lyrics:

In the belly we are, in the belly we are, in the belly we are transformed again.

In the belly we are, in the belly we are, in the belly we are reborn anew.

In the belly we are dreaming

In the belly we are healing

In the belly we are nourishing

In the belly we are strengthening

In the belly we are, in the belly we are, in the belly we are transformed again.

In the belly we are, in the belly we are, in the belly we are reborn anew.

In the belly we are reclaiming

In the belly we are remembering

In the belly we are reweaving

In the belly we are rewilding

In the belly we are, in the belly we are, in the belly we are transformed again.

In the belly we are, in the belly we are, in the belly we are reborn anew.

Awakening the Inner Hearth Meditation:

Here is the meditation I created that we will do together at our upcoming Imbolc Circle followed by a ritual and craft. May it support your Imbolc journey this year:

May we turn to face the direction our heart is pulling us to and trust that what we seek is also seeking us. May we find our way forward with clarity.

Remember that you ARE the light, the flame, the warmth of the hearth. In the belly of the Great Mother we grow and patiently await our rebirth!

*If you are in the Toronto area and would like to celebrate Imbolc with me, register for the upcoming in-person Imbolc Circle: Awakening the Inner Hearth at my home on Friday, Feb 7th, 2025 @7pm!

Much love and bright Imbolc blessings,

Serena

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Coming Home to Ourselves- Hearth Craft & Belonging

So much of my spiritual path is entwined with coming home to myself and cultivating a sense of belonging within and in the world.

Many years ago, I became interested in hearth craft, which was a way to integrate my witchcraft into my largely home-centered life working from home and as a mom.

On the surface, some might think hearth craft to be a bit mundane or repressively domestic. But this is not the case, and over the years I discovered just how deep and fulfilling this path was, with immense healing potential on both a personal and collective level.

Hearth Craft is the practice of weaving magic into your home and daily life. It embraces being present with mundane tasks, gratitude & simplicity, and creating spiritual sanctuary in the home. The home is seen as a reflection of the self- and caring for it physically and energetically is just as important as caring for yourself. It honors the home as a sacred container for our nourishment and becoming.

(You can learn more about hearth craft in this blog post)

Being a hearth witch is also more than making home-keeping rituals a sacred practice or creating a sanctuary in your physical space. While these are deeply meaningful practices of hearth craft, I feel there is very little discussed about some of the larger spiritual themes of this path, which can be a part of any spiritual practice.

This brings me to the question- what is ‘home’, anyway?

My sense of ‘home’ is not only contained within the walls of my house, or a geographical location, but exists on other planes. It includes my spiritual sense of connection with all of life while also feeling rooted on this earth in my body and in my emotional wholeness- the light and dark within myself.

I feel that my original home is spiritual. It is the feeling of being at one with everything.

The separation from our spiritual connection with all that is, is a separation from our first home.

Coming back to that spiritual sense of home and belonging is not something our modern society makes very accessible.

I would say we as a species are in a crisis of belonging. Due to the industrial machine we live in, we all have a wound around this. Modern life encourages separation from each other, from the earth, and from our spiritual nature.

For me, the hearth witch path is about cultivating the feeling of spiritual oneness within myself and manifesting it in the world around me. I concentrate my magic not only to the physical home, but into becoming a hearth of spiritual remembering for self and others.

Along this path, I’ve been cultivating the art of coming home to myself- to my body, my roots, my ancestors, my spirit, and the land I walk on.

I invite you to explore these 5 spiritual themes of my hearth craft path to help you feel a greater sense of home and belonging:

Remembering our spiritual home
Coming home to our body & the energetic hearth within
Reconnecting with our kin in nature: the elements, plants, animals and other allies.
Ancestral healing & reconnection to our roots
Reclaiming the value of home & hearth keeping from patriarchy

Remembering our spiritual home:

Like many people, I always wished to feel I truly ‘belonged’ somewhere. My instinct has often been to look outside of myself- to groups and communities, to geographical locations, to workplaces, to movements and causes, to even other times and worlds- you name it, I’ve looked for belonging there. Yet, in this seeking, I often missed the real feeling of belonging, because I felt I couldn’t fully be my authentic self in any place. I knew I needed to find belonging within myself first and foremost.

It’s often through taking some time with a nearby tree, or sitting silently by the lake, or reconnecting to one of my spirit allies, that I remember Spirit flows through me every day, and everywhere I go. I am home all the time, wherever I am, it just takes a moment of remembering. We often simply need reminders that our sense of home is not necessarily a place in the external world- our home lives within us.

We all come from the mystical source of life, however you call it- the Universe, the Great Mother, God, Creator- this is our first home, which holds the feeling of oneness with all life that we long to return to. We are just visiting here on earth, and we long for that home our spirit remembers.

This Earth, I feel is meant to be a reflection of our spiritual home. It currently isn’t in great shape, however, because so many have forgotten our original home and have abused this reflection of it. It needs our care and still offers itself to our memory, to help us come back to being in good relationship with it.

Our longing can eventually become our belonging, if we remember where we come from and strive to keep coming home to that memory within us. Then we can weave that memory into the land, into our relationships, work and creations as best as we can, and let it serve as a beacon of remembering and coming home for others.

Questions for reflection:

What if our desire to belong comes from spiritual home sickness?

What if we are meant to re-create that spiritual sense of home here on earth in our own unique way?

What helps you come home in a spiritual sense?

2. Coming home to our body and the energetic hearth within:

The word ‘hearth’ is very special to me and warms me up inside. It contains both the words ‘heart’ and ‘earth’, depicting the sacred connection between both. I feel the hearth is where our heart meets the earth, where our love manifests in physical form to nourish and support us.

I also feel energetically the hearth holds a womb-like quality, reflecting our first physical home in our mother’s womb.

The sacral chakra, which is the energy centre that also houses the physical womb, has often been referred to as our lower heart. It is the heart’s sensual, earthly counterpart. In Sanskrit, the sacral chakra is named Svadisthana, which means ‘in one’s own abode.’

My inner hearth is a warm, loving, nurturing energy and tends to feel strong in the sacral chakra and in my heart chakra as well as the crown chakra. Others may feel it quite differently, which is all good and well.

Often, to feel our inner hearth, we can think about what ‘lights us up inside’, and notice where we feel that in our body.

What awakens love, warmth and that feeling of spiritual home within your body? Sometimes visiting a certain place in nature, cuddling a pet, hearing a song or type of music or doing something nourishing helps us kindle the flames within.

It took me a long time to feel a sense of being at home in my body. There are so many factors, especially trauma, which can make this challenging. It can take time investing in a mind-body practice or healing support. It may also spontaneously arise when in the right frame of mind or situation.

Another aspect of cultivating the hearth within is to pay attention to our need for boundaries and self-protection. I take on others’ emotions very readily and have had to learn how to cleanse and protect my own energy field. This is something I practice daily as well and recommend as part of cultivating one’s energetic hearth.

Questions for reflection:

What lights you up inside?

Do you feel a place of warmth and love in your body physically or energetically?

What does ‘being at home’ feel like in your body?

3. Reconnecting with our kin in nature- seasonal cycles, plants & animals, the elements & other allies:

Coming to this earth from our spiritual home can be disorienting. Essentially, we ‘forget’ where we come from to some degree and are not given a clear set of instructions, schedule or map.

We are left to find the breadcrumbs ourselves, to hopefully connect with our kin here in earthly form- our soul family- and allow our memories to resurface.

Our soul family may include other humans, as well as animals, plants, trees, rocks, bodies of water, places on the land itself, and other spirit helpers all serving as reminders of home. We all come from the same place, after all. Our soul family can rekindle our inner hearth-flames of remembering, and help us become a beacon of remembering for others.

There have been many places and beings in nature that have helped me greatly over the years. For example, since I was a child, I always felt most at home when I was near or in a body of water. I always felt the sacredness of the water element. Whenever I am near a lake, ocean or river, I remember that I am part of everything.

Swimming- especially in lakes- is one way that I can instantly feel a sense of belonging again. To a lesser extent, during the winter months, I rekindle that feeling by taking baths. Perhaps it’s the memory of living in surrounded by water in the womb. Or maybe it’s a deeper, more ancient connection to coming from the ocean. Either way, connecting with the water element is a very easy, quick way for me to regain a sense of belonging when I feel alone.

Living in a big city with millions of people, I have had to be quite intentional about seeking out allies in nature to rekindle my sense of belonging. Thankfully, Toronto has lots of trails, parks, critters and sits on the edge of beautiful Lake Ontario. We always have a reminder of home nearby.

Also, the energy of all the humans in the city, while overwhelming at times, can also increase our chance of finding other humans in our soul family. Even if we haven’t met them yet, there are likely others a lot like you who have found their way here.

Questions for reflection:

Is there a place in nature that helps you remember your belonging to this earth?

Is there an animal you’re drawn to or have a strong relationship with? A tree that helps you feel at home?

Who in your life feels like soul family?

4. Ancestral healing & Reconnection to our roots

Learning the stories of my ancestors has greatly strengthened my sense of belonging and feeling at home on this planet. So many of us have been removed from our roots and our elders, displaced for many different reasons. This is one of the reasons I feel we are in a crisis of belonging.

I wasn’t really interested in my ancestors much until around the age of 30. Then, thanks to the internet and a keen aunt, uncle and other relatives who loved genealogy, I was able to find lots of information about my relatives with ease.

Slowly over time, I collected photos, stories, names, and scrapbooks. I am still learning more every day about my ancestors. There are definitely things that have been passed down to me that I feel proud of. And some things, like inherited wounds, I am working on.

For the most part though, getting to know my ancestors not only on paper, but spiritually- through prayer, talking with them, going to their lands, speaking their language and honouring them in my daily life has been a balm to my soul.

Not only has my relationship with my ancestors helped me– by showing me just how loved and protected I am, reminding me of my gifts and helping me feel more rooted with purpose here on the planet- I feel it has helped them, too. I feel their joy and relief when I connect with them. I feel like they’ve been with me my whole life, just waiting for me to hear, listen, pay attention to them. When I do, they get positively giddy, and that warms my heart so much.

I feel hearth craft is essentially an ancestral-reclaiming practice, because in a very short span of time-maybe only a generation or two for some of us- daily life went from cooking over an open fire, hunting and fishing off the land, farming, sewing and washing by hand, to modern technology doing most of our chores for us and food sourcing shifted to large corporations. Hearth craft embraces a reclaiming of the old ways, reconnecting our lives to the land and to the crafts and wisdom of our foremothers.

Many of my ancestors on my mother’s side were homesteading pros. Voyageurs, Metis and French Settlers who lived across Quebec, the Great Lakes and the prairies, they knew how to build a home and community from the ground up in various landscapes. They lived off the land, and some even formed a village, St.Leon in Manitoba.

Some of my ancestors/relatives from St.Leon, MB

Some of my foremothers bore up to 16 children all the while working hard to survive the harsh prairie winters. Some spoke French, English, Cree or Michif. They had tough lives, a strong faith, a good sense of humor and took great joy in playing the fiddle and spoons, writing, singing and dancing. They put me to shame with my modern convenient life, but inspire me deeply with their joy, resilience and strength.

When I feel lost or lonely, or like this world is too much, I can rest assured I carry their gifts within my blood and bones. They overwhelm me with gratitude.

Questions for reflection:

Do you feel a connection with your ancestors or the lands they walked?

What gifts and strengths were passed down to you?

How do your ancestors help you feel a sense of belonging and home in this world?

5. Reclaiming the value of home & hearth-keeping from patriarchy

While much has changed since our foremother’s times, women are still under immense pressure. We’re expected to ‘do it all’ and somehow do it perfectly and happily, which is humanly impossible.

I sometimes feel the hardship, pain and lost dreams of my foremothers, as they had to make many sacrifices to ensure survival of their families. Having been raised in the 1980s and 90s, I absorbed a lot of mixed messaging around what a woman’s role should or shouldn’t be- as independent woman, mother, wife. Basically, whatever we do, society won’t find it acceptable, and there is always a sacrifice of some kind.

We are always subject to criticism, whatever our choice or circumstances are in regard to having a family, career and value in this world. Patriarchy still has a hold on us, and this requires some unpacking and healing.

Deciding to embrace hearth-keeping as a sacred calling in my life brought up insecurity and wounding. Internalized social conditioning had me belittling the ways I weaved magic into my home and family life. I felt I was not doing enough to save this very messed up world. While I always worked or volunteered in some way serving the community at large, I always felt like what I was doing for my home and family wasn’t considered valuable work and I should somehow be doing more, even though I was exhausted.

Tending the home and hearth was held sacred through much of history in many cultures. While patriarchy designated this area of life to women and devalued this work to keep control over us, the home has never ceased to be a foundation upon which everything else stands.

Our early experiences with home, nourishment and love from our early caregivers deeply influence who we grow up to be. While we and many of our foremothers have known this, having all the burdens of emotional, physical and mental labor placed on women is unacceptable. Social systems are still deeply lacking in support for parents, elders, those in caring professions and caregivers in many ways. These roles are part of the hearth-tending needed in society at large.

Sacrifices have always been part of the package. While sacrifice is noble and sometimes necessary, martyrdom is not. I’ve had to unpack this inheritance from my own lineage and conditioning quite a bit.

I wish to invite us back to an expanded view on what the hearth is. It is very much a feeling of being home and belonging- an energetic quality, which is not limited to the walls of our dwelling. It is an energy we can cultivate within ourselves, and in our interactions with the world at large. We can create a hearth energy in our workplace. We can cultivate a hearth in our intimate relationships, communities and those we care for in various ways.

Whether you bring your love, magic and nurturing energy to your house plants, pets, home, partner, friends, children, co-workers, clients, customers, a cause, passion, art form or a special place on the land, you are feeding the hearth fires that keep us all going!

It’s really about your intention and the energy you bring to what you are doing.

Also, remember that in order to be the hearth for others, your own inner hearth needs stoking first.

Reclaiming the value of home and hearth keeping is about finding out what it means to you, rather than what society or culture thinks. We can experiment. We can use it as an opportunity to heal broken lineages, childhood wounds, start new habits and transform our relationship to it.

How do you feel about home keeping and domestic work? What perspectives did you inherit or absorb from society/culture about it?

How does the idea of hearth-keeping as a sacred act of care for self and others sit with you?

How does hearth-keeping show up in different areas of your life?

As I mentioned before, for me, the hearth witch path is about cultivating the feeling of home within myself and manifesting it in the world around me. I strive to concentrate my magic not only to the physical home, but into becoming a hearth of spiritual remembering for self and others.

May your your inner hearth fires be nourished and burn brightly!

Serena

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Flowing Gently into 2025 + Oracle Reading!

A quiet, liminal energy flows through this gateway, as we enter a New Moon in Capricorn on Dec 30th, right before welcoming a new calendar year. So much has transpired over the past year, and there is much to come. This moment of reflective pause is an opportunity to just exhale. Let go. Rest. Reflect.

Allow for spaciousness and emptiness to hold you in its potential. Allow silence to surround you so your heart’s voice can be heard.

Take a moment to reflect on all that you’ve accomplished. Not just external things that society values, but the subtle, internal ways in which you’ve changed- the quiet shifts no one else noticed, the spiritual, emotional or physical challenges you overcame. Give yourself the recognition you deserve, for you’ve come a long way. You’ve made it here. And you will flow into 2025 with so much potential to grow, change and offer your gifts to the world!

There is no rush to get the next year all figured out now. We don’t need to prove ourselves by fitting in or keeping to imposed timing. We can take our time to truly listen in to the beat of our own drum and let our goals organically flow from there. Mars- planet of action- is retrograde until Feb 23rd, slowing us down and allowing us to ponder our next moves more deliberately, ensuring our New Year’s goals are aligned with our heart and souls’ authentic needs.

This Capricorn New Moon on Dec 30th is a grounding one and asks that we turn our focus to the structures and foundations of our lives over the next few weeks. It asks that we start getting real and begin creating sustainable structures that support our well-being, dreams and goals. So, there is a very productive energy here we can work with, it is just best to think slow and steady, small steps forward. Rushing ahead into a big drastic change, or on something we feel we should do, but that isn’t aligned with what we desire won’t work for us.

Capricorn is realistic and conscientious, valuing sustainability. This is why its planet Saturn, rules commitment. When we truly commit our heart to something, we must think about how we can sustain that over the long-term. It is often easier to sustain a commitment when we have realistic expectations of ourselves. Not exceptionally low ones based in self-limiting beliefs or exceptionally high ones that are unattainable. We must find the balance. Also, our heart and soul’s investment in the goal is key to being able to sustain our efforts!

This New Moon, we can reflect on what our heart and soul needs are at this time. Then we can decide what goals feel compelling enough to commit our energy to. We can then begin to create a pathway forward with realistic baby steps. We must decide where we’d like to commit our precious energy in the weeks to come and slowly build something nourishing and abundant for ourselves and others in the future.

Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn is direct in Pisces, reminding us that our actions in daily life are like a devotional prayer to what we believe in. Whether it is a dream, a cause, an ideal or an energetic vibration we are trying to manifest on Earth, we must get clear on what it is we are devoting our energy to, and how we’d like our daily actions and commitments to reflect that.

A reminder that commitment is a process and doesn’t have to be a rigid set of rules that never bend! Give yourself grace to experiment and change your approach if needed along the way. Process is progress. Commitment requires flexibility to be sustainable, too.

This Capricorn New Moon can teach us the art of commitment. Let it be a process, a learning experience, an expression of your passion and devotion- not something you either succeed or fail at.

Capricorn New Moon Reflection Questions:

What am I currently committing my energy to?

Does this align with my physical, emotional and spiritual needs at this time?

Do my commitments align with my values and my ideals?

What am I truly devoted to? How can my commitments reflect that?

What do I wish to commit my energy to in the coming year?

2025 – A year of change and rebirth

It feels wise to take these quieter, slow-moving winter months to fortify our mind, body and spirit for the journey ahead. Soak up gentle and slow medicine while we can, because the upcoming year portends to be one of transformation and rebirth!

All of the outer planets will eventually be in new signs this year, as well as the lunar nodes, which is rare. This means that we will all be moving into some kind of new territory, collectively and personally. If you’ve felt things have just not been moving forward fast enough, or like you can’t shake the past, 2025 will help you feel the change you’ve been waiting for, starting in Spring. New beginnings are afoot.

It is the Year of the Snake, helping us shed old skins and grow.

2025 is also a numerology year 9, which is a year of letting go, change, gratitude, spirituality and humanitarianism.

New energies will flow in as the year progresses, and two planets move from Pisces to Aries in the spring which is a huge ‘new beginning’ energy. We may find that who we are in a year is very different from where we stand now.

I am excited for the changes the year will bring and also feeling the call to stay grounded and centered in my spiritual practice to help root me as things shift.

Oracle Reading- Themes for Contemplation

To get your reflective wheels turning for this new moon and new year, choose an oracle card from my new deck I got this Solstice!

It’s called the Old Ways Magick oracle by Naomi Cornock. Each card holds a theme for you to contemplate, with both positive and negative manifestations as well as wisdom to help you navigate. It leaves freedom for you to interpret as you feel called. Words are of the deck creator, Naomi Cornock.

Take 3 cleansing breaths. Then, choose your card. Remember that number! Scroll down to find its number and meaning…

The World- Lughnasadh

As the Wild Goddess brings abundance wherever she treads, so as we gather in the harvest. We give thanks to her for her wonderful bounty.

Welcome: Grasp hold of bounty or boon and a world of possibilities is before you.

Warning: Disappointment, lack of reward for efforts made.

Wisdom: Be aligned with the rhythms of nature, and a world of endless bounty opens up.

2. The Cauldron

The Welsh Goddess Cerridwen is often associated with witches and magick, as well as nature, creativity, herbs, poetry, spells and knowledge. Her cauldron holds all potential and possibilities.

Welcome: A time to stoke the fire and harness the creative energy brewing in your cauldron.

Warning: Your cauldron is empty, your fire is out and energy gone.

Wisdom: Light the fire, fill your cauldron with creative magick and potential.

3. Community

Wolf can teach us to embrace community and understand it is there for us in times of need. In wolf we find courage to trust and lean on others.

Welcome: Reach out, connect with others when support is needed.

Warning: Unable to ask for community support.

Wisdom: To Wolf I ask, guide me to hold others with courage and love.

4. Sacred Journey

Find the quiet space inside you. Hear your own truths, recognise that everything is connected and you will not only heal yourself but all the world around you.

Welcome: A time for internal healing, look inwards to prepare for a new journey to begin.

Warning: Feeling unprepared and lacking the tools necessary to begin a journey.

Wisdom: Awaken to a new day, beginning of a sacred journey of healing.

5. Journey’s End

Sit under the long branches of wise old oak, soaking up quiet strength. Time to rest again and be still and grow moss. Steadfast and sustained, at one with the spirit of the land, sea and sky.

Welcome: Steadfast, stable, quiet strength.

Warning: Feeling unsupported and unstable.

Wisdom: A journey is complete, be uplifted and sustained.

6. Illuminate

Arianrhod is mother, lady of the silver wheel and queen of the citadel in the stars. She is Goddess protector, healer and wielder of justice.

Welcome: Shine a light in the shadows so hidden obstructions can not trip us up.

Warning: Be careful not to be ruled by the fear of what is hidden by the light.

Wisdom: Shine starlight on shadows which diminish their power to hinder progress.

7. Bounty- Mabon

Artio reminds us to balance the dark and the light in order to gather all the bounty the universe provides. And so it is at Mabon, we sees this reflected again, we must equally embrace the light and dark to grow and transform.

Welcome: Face our shadow fears, strong in the knowledge that our blessings are bountiful.

Warning: Unable to find balance and equilibrium between fear and love.

Wisdom: Gain a fuller and deeper understanding in order to make the most of bountiful blessings.

8. Pathways

Elen of the Ways is one of the shining ones who walks with me when I journey on the web of life, illuminating the old ways and showing me the paths to take.

Welcome: Follow the paths which wind down old ways to find what we have been looking for.

Warning: Don’t turn away from the paths lest the way is lost.

Wisdom: Elen lights the paths trod by the old ones, there we may find wisdom for today.

Did your card resonate? I hope it did! If not, perhaps it will stir some feelings or thoughts to expand on later. There is so much magick to behold in this moment. Trust your heart to lead you where you need to be. Trust in your own divine timing. All is flowing as it should.

Sending you blessings of hope, renewal, love and wellness for this New Moon and for 2025!

If you are interested in a more personalized reading for the new year, I am always booking Tarot Readings! You may also explore my other spiritual services here.

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Daily Rituals for Embodying Your Magick

We are spiritual beings with a physical body, and the Earth is too. Every tree, rock, and animal have a spirit and yet must contend with living an embodied life.

As humans, we find all kinds of ways to forget our body- through trying control it, deny it, or avoid it due to trauma, social conditioning, oppressive systems and more.

Our mind, heart, soul and body are all connected, so when one is out of balance, the others can be too. During stressful times, it is easy for our nervous systems to be dysregulated, which can affect our overall health.

We can choose to feed the fear, feed the numbness, or feed our body and soul with what nourishes us. This helps us to be energetically strong and present to navigate our daily life.

We can meditate, pray and connect to Spirit, but if we aren’t integrating the needs of our body (and whole self) with our spiritual work then we can’t fully come into our power as spiritual beings living in this physical world. Likewise, we can diet, exercise, take supplements and do all the ‘right’ things for our body, but if we aren’t connected to our Spirit (and whole self), we also may struggle to embody our power.

What Does it Mean to Embody our Magick?

Embodying our magick means that we live, breathe and express our spiritual practice through our body and into our daily life. It means that we bring our spiritual energy into form through how we carry ourselves and interact with the world around us. We become a physical channel of divine energy on earth.

For example, if being attuned to the element of water is a central part of your spiritual practice, then you may wish to try moving your body with more fluidity or softness, bless your glass of water before drinking it, express your emotions more freely, wear blues and greens, and spend lots of time in and around water. In a sense, you strive to embody the water itself and express its energy into the world.

Perhaps you are feeling connected to an animal ally right now. To embody that animal’s energy more in your life, you can do a bit of research- What do they eat? How do they move? What environment do they thrive in? And then you can emulate them to some degree in your life, transforming your own energy in powerful ways.

Embodying our magick is essentially a self-healing tool and practice. Some may call it shapeshifting, some may call it cultivating your inner Priestess, Witch, Mage, etc. It is essentially becoming a clearer channel for the Divine to flow through you and actively grounding that energy into your body.

What is central to your spiritual practice right now? How can you manifest that quality or energy more within your body, actions and in the world around you?

Perfection is Not the Goal

In the process of becoming a clearer channel for the Divine to flow through, we may come up against some challenges. There may be trauma, illness, injuries or chronic habits that inhibit the fullness of our spiritual power from flowing with ease through our body. This is very normal and simply part of the spiritual journey. Perfectionism itself can be a barrier to overcome.

You are not less spiritual or less powerful if you have physical or mental health challenges to contend with. In fact, integrating them and navigating through them can bring you more capacity for expressing your spiritual energy in the world, as the healing process brings deepened self-knowledge, empathy and wisdom. The body doesn’t have to be ‘perfect’ by any means for divine energy to flow through!

Nature is perfectly imperfect and fully divine in all its diversity.

Many powerful healers have met great obstacles on the mental, emotional and physical level, and that healing process enables them to hold great spiritual energy and help others more compassionately.

Our healing is never truly done, so trying to achieve some kind of embodied spiritual perfection is not the goal. Just being more integrated and self-aware is.

Depending on your needs, a therapist who is familiar with somatic work, a bodyworker or energy healer may be helpful.

Have you experienced barriers to feeling comfortable in your body? What have you learned about yourself through the process?

A Relaxed Body is a Powerful Body

I recently became aware of a fabulous quote by embodiment facilitator Prentis Hemphill:

“One of my teachers says, ‘A relaxed body is the most powerful body that we have.’…Because when we are relaxed, we can do almost anything. I can make any kind of move from a relaxed body. I have a lot of choices from a relaxed body. From a body that is tight, tense, or protective, has taken on a protective shell, there’s only a limited number of moves we can make from that body. We’ve already foreclosed certain options.”

This is such a succinct way to put it. When we are relaxed, we have options. We can shapeshift into anything we need to, and that is powerful.

What makes you feel more relaxed?

Daily Ritual Ideas for Embodying Your Magick

simply holding a rock can help ground us

There are many ways to align body and spirit in our daily life. Here are some simple rituals to support embodying your magick in your practice. The possibilities are endless of course, so these are suggestions you can embellish or combine together to create your own:

Morning Grounding Rituals: Yoga or any movement that expresses your devotion and supports your body; My Grounding Tree Meditation; Morning herbal tea with prayer; Mindful eating of breakfast with gratitude, Walk in nature to attune to the land; Smoke Cleanse attuning to the plant medicines.

Evening Relaxation Rituals: Essential oil/salt bath with intention stirred into the water; Slow movement or mindful breathing with devotional music; Evening Walk in nature to process the day and attune to the land spirits; Journal writing for processing as well as a tool of connection with your higher self/spirit.

Regular Check-ins: Starting and ending the day with a ritual is great, but it’s also important to check in with how we’re doing during the day as well. Take a break from work to simply ask: What do I need right now? First ask your body, then your heart, then your mind, then your spirit.

Pleasure Rituals: Many spiritual traditions eschew pleasure- however paganism recognizes pleasure as our birthright and an essential aspect of practice. Keep it simple. What scent arouses your sensuality? What sound brings you peace? What color makes you feel good when you wear it? What activity makes you giddy with joy? Surround yourself with the things that nourish your senses. Take it a step further and create a perfume for the deity you are working with, or if you enjoy singing or drawing or another art, create something that is fun as well as devotional.

Dress up: Adornment and costuming are great ways to bring a spiritual aspect of yourself into form! You can do some more subtle forms of adornment such as jewelry, or a change to your hair and makeup, or go full out with a new wardrobe to help you channel the vibes you are working with.

Communing with Nature: Visit a nearby tree in a park for a conversation; Talk to/sing/water your houseplants; Give your pet some love; Sit on the earth and merge with its wisdom; Swim or spend time near a body of water and let it cleanse your energy.

Movement: Any type of movement that is done mindfully or with intention can become a spiritual practice. Whether it is taking a few deep breaths and stretching in your office chair; Dancing to music that helps you feel connected to all life; Moving intuitively to the sound of oceans waves; Or merging with your animal ally and dancing it into form, spirit loves to move through us when we let go of our rigid habits and move our body organically.

Music: Make a playlist of songs that evoke the energy you wish to embody more of. I create playlists for every sabbat/seasonal celebration that helps me attune to its energies. I also create playlists for deities I work with, and animal allies I work with too. Use the playlist alongside any other rituals you do or listen to it while you cook, drive, or do other daily activities.

Color Therapy: Color is energy and holds the power to transform how you feel and interact with the world. What color have you been feeling drawn to lately? How does it make you feel? How can you incorporate it into your wardrobe, jewelry, environment or daily life? You may wish to connect with crystals, flowers, herbs or environments with that color.

Crystal Therapy: Crystal beings hold powerful energies and are medicine for our body and spirit. You may have a favorite or feel drawn to one in particular at a certain time in your life. Go to a crystal shop (in person preferably) and notice which crystal draws you- it may carry an energy your spirit wants to emulate. If you take one home, spend time connecting with it. Notice how it makes you feel. You can place it on your body regularly or wear it or carry it with you.

Trees- Grounding tree meditation: I admit I am a huge tree-lover and they remain one of my favourite ways to connect with the Divine on a regular basis. You may wish to spend some time hugging or leaning against your favourite tree and listening to its wisdom. You may also wish to emulate tree energy in your practice.

I have recorded a variation of my Grounding Tree Meditation. Each time I do it it’s a bit different. This one is approximately 13 mins long, check it out here:

I hope you feel inspired to incorporate a new ritual to support embodying your Magick! If you have any other ideas you wish to share, please feel free to share in the comments below!

May your body and spirit be nourished, supported and well during these times of change,

Blessings,

Serena

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Samhain Wisdom + Oracle Reading!

Roots & Ancestors. The Soul, Death & the Otherworld. The bonds we share here and beyond the veil. Letting go and shedding old skins.

Samhain season carries some heavy themes, yet this is ultimately a season of liberation. The invitation to dance with our shadows and contemplate death serves to remind us of who we truly are and how we want to live. It helps us open to something greater than we originally imagined life could be and pushes us to release anything that holds us back from living authentically and aligned with our highest good.

This is also Scorpio season, which is reflected in Samhain’s meaning. Scorpio teaches us how to reclaim our power. Past wounds, betrayals, or triggers of powerlessness that rear their heads now are ways the universe is actually conspiring to help us heal and be free. We must feel our pain fully in order to transmute, understand and learn from it. We are called to be brave warriors of the heart here, and take our heavy armor off for a moment to simply feel what we feel. If we do this, and tend to our healing in earnest, we may not need to wear that armor ever again in the future.

Thankfully, we are not on this healing journey alone. We are gifted easy access to the insight of our beloved dead, spirit guides and healing allies, just in time for our healing. We simply need to slow down and tune in to hear their whisperings. Whether you do this through paying attention to your dreams, prayer, trance work, meditation, movement or simply walking through the forest, Spirit is waiting for you to hear its message.

Samhain means ‘summer’s end’ in Gaelic and has been traditionally a time to honor our beloved dead and ancestors. Our loved ones beyond the veil watch us and protect us from harm, and sometimes we may take this for granted. This is an opportune time to connect with our spirit kin, and show them gratitude by speaking their names, reading their stories, creating an altar in their memory, making a dish they enjoyed or passed down, or praying to them. While they may not be in the flesh, they have much wisdom to bestow on us to help us live here on this earth walk, if we choose to listen.

Samhain is opposite Beltane on the Wheel of the Year. As opposites, they share a natural bond. Beltane in the spring is the season of earthly fertility and visible growth of the plants. Samhain falls in the season of visible plant death and dormancy, yet it is a very fertile season for soul growth- as the growth happening now is in the invisible realm.

We must shift our awareness from the surface of things to the inner depths to notice all the fertility that lies beneath. Our inner garden awaits our tending.

We can ask ourselves, what seeds of healing do we wish to plant in the depths of the night? What potential lies within that simply needs some care and attention in order to flourish?

This season of darkness reminds us that there is no such thing as death. Fertile soil and blooms can come all year round if we decide to till our inner soil.

Energy never ends, it only transforms.

Ready to receive a message to help you on your Samhain season journey? Take a moment to ground and centre yourself. Take 3 deep, cleansing breaths. Then ask your guides “What do I need to know for this Samhain season?” and choose a card below:

Season of the Witch Samhain Oracle by Lorraine Anderson, Juliet Diaz
& Giada Rose

Now remember that number and scroll down to find it’s description! (Descriptions are by the deck’s authors.)

Reflection- Truth, Fear

Reflection shows you the person you’ve become, for better or worse. It shows the parts of yourself you wish you could hide and the parts that are to your liking. Your reflection has no desire to hide your truth. You are being guided to acknowledge who you are at this time. Looking to the future is great and so is setting goals. But how can you make a plan for where you’re going if you haven’t come to terms with where you are now?

It can be a challenge to stand in the truth of who you are today. No one wants to say ‘I’m overweight’ or ‘I’m in debt’ or ‘I’m sabotaging my goals’. However, pretending these circumstances do not exist is like hiding under a sheet of paper in a rainstorm, it will protect you for a few moments, but eventually the water will soak through and you will be forced to face your reality. Or, in this case, your reflection.

Reflection has come to ask you to be honest with yourself. Stop hiding from the situation you are facing. You must use where you are as a starting place for any real change to occur.

2. Silence- Stillness, Nothingness, Presence

The world moves at such an alarming rate. Sitting inside a coffee shop I can hear sirens, cars, construction, people talking and moving. I find myself seeking the quiet of dawn when the Earth is still and muted.

There is a presence in the silence. There is space to fill it with the sound of your voice and the beat of your heart. This is the space where all of creation is free to roam wild. Stillness is the presence of nothing and the potential for everything.

A witch knows she must take time to find stillness. It is within nothingness that creation is born. One must be still to hear. One must be still to receive the subtle messages left for a few moments to guide you on the path.

If Silence has come, take this opportunity to be still. This card is a reminder to spend time each day to clear your mind. The answer to your question will come when you stop searching, allowing the solution to be presented to you. There is no need to rush in this situation, even though you think you must. Remove your expectations of the situation you are inquiring about. Give this up to the silence, the nothingness. Spirit will take your query and answer when the time is right.

3. Greet the Darkness- Self, Inner Truth

Darkness. You might get a sense of terror from what you can’t see. But not all hidden things are bad. There are many things that you cannot see that hold the secret to life, abundance and renewal. Like the lotus flower that blooms from the darkness of muddy waters, there is beauty in the darkness for those who know where to look with their heart.

You have pulled Greet the Darkness as a call to go deep into your dark corners. There are parts of you that are beautiful yet remain undiscovered. You must allow yourself to open to the unknown. You can so this by confronting old wounds, lost memories, feelings of shame, guilt and disappointment.

This is called shadow work, a practice that allows you to make friends with your demons rather than hide from them. What seems like a monster is really a lost part of you needing love and support. When feelings such as anger, resentment and chaos come round, it is because those feelings are trying to protect you in the only way they know how. Anger only knows anger and can only offer its support in that way. Chaos only knows chaos so that is the only way it can get your attention. These feelings are trying to help you find the beautiful gems that are waiting in the dark spaces of your being.

Confront whatever feelings you have surrounding your situation. Allow those feelings to surface and face them without fear. Greet them and ask them how you can work together. Journal your meditative conversations with your dark parts. Within their words of advice you will discover the lost or missing pieces of yourself.

4. Potions and Spells- Manifesting, Calling

Potions and spells are how a witch weaves her magic spell, calling into existence her deepest desires. Potion making and spell crafting are two rituals that, when done correctly, can bring about dozens of manifestations. Adding little pinches of this and that here and there can change your creations ever so slightly and is an art that has been passed down through hundreds of generations in as many cultures.

One of the best nights of the year to create potions and work spells is on Samhain, when the veil is at its thinnest. Weaving your magic on this night is like supercharging your magical creations and rituals. Our ancestors would work spells on Samhain to survive the winter. For a time, magic was the very bread and butter of survival, a way to protect, nourish and support through good times and bad.

Should you receive the Potions and Spells card, know that you should begin learning the art of potion making and spell crafting. The more personal a spell or potion, the better the chance of a favorable outcome.

You are capable of manifesting anything you wish. You are the director of your life, as as a witch you are better equipped to manifest exactly the life you desire and deserve. Think big! The potions and spells available to you are endless. You can have and create anything you choose. Make it your mission to craft your life.

5. Healer- Guide, Facilitator

We all come into the human experience with the use of energy and intuition. Among us are those who are called to be Healers. They are the wise ones who’ve made a conscious choice to devote themselves to guiding others on their paths.

Healers can be found in all religions and traditions, each with something beautiful and unique to contribute to the collective energy of the world. You may know them as shamans, medicine men and women, priestesses, wise ones, great ones, the list goes on.

If you have pulled the gift of Healer, know that you are being called to initiate yourself as one of the wise ones. You are meant to be a guide for those who are finding their way and there are many ways you can do this- as a healer for your family and neighborhood, or through building a community on social media offering wisdom. It doesn’t matter how you choose to heal. All that matters is that you do.

If you have through about becoming a healer this card is a resounding YES! Some healing practices are crystal therapist, Reiki practitioner, tarot reader, psychic, doula, death doula, herbalist and so on. You may have something you’ve practiced for years or you may feel called to learn a new skill. Trust your intuition.

You can become a facilitator of healing. Creating healing tools such as guided meditations, healing jewelry, candles and even creating your own oracle deck can provide others with a path to heal themselves. You create the path for others to walk. You are unique and have something to share with the world.

6. Protection-Safety, Hidden

Many of us have had to search out our own safety since beginning our journeys as spiritual healers, students and teachers. We’ve faced criticism for being witches, faced jealousy for being true to our own paths and had to withstand attacks from our own egos. But we rise and keep going with fearless determination. We know we have our spiritual team (our ancestors, guides and angels) to support us and keep us from harm.

You are always protected, my dearest witch, no matter how scary the world may seem or how many things go bump in the dark night of your soul. Within you is a space that cannot be harmed, penetrated or shaken. Here you can retreat to heal and find comfort. You need only step through the veil into the arms of those who love and care for you.

If you have drawn Protection know that all is well and you are safe. Your spiritual support team will protect you from harm. You are protected from hexes, evil eyes, danger, psychic attacks; you are even protected from the dangers of your Earth-based ego. Know that you can handle anything.

When you are feeling unsafe, speak to the powers that be. Ask them to guide you where you do not have eyes and to keep you safe when you are in harm’s way. They are always walking with you and are ready to provide you with additional support whenever you feel the need to ask.

7. Altar- Devotion Worship, Individuality

Your altar is a sacred space created to honor something in your practice, a space dedicated to worship and the devotion of your craft. It should not hold things that are not sacred to your energy work. It should be the place in your home where spirits of the wise gather and share their knowledge with you.

Each altar you create is a beautiful expression of who you are. It’s where you hold your connection to something in Spirit that resonates with your inner self. Some things naturally belong on an altar such as ritual candles, crystals, herbs, an athame or a chalice. Personal items are welcome too. There is no right or wrong item to put on your altar as long as it holds special meaning for you.

If you have pulled Altar it is because your guides are thrilled to see you making an effort. There needs to be an intention, a worshipping and space so that you can harness your energy without disruption. Either a physical space such as an altar or metaphorical space like opening your heart- it is even better to have both- where you can come back to your true self. Know that you have the power deep within that needs a place to land.

Your guides need a space to speak to you. They can reach you anywhere on the planet and you can call on them at any time. Worshipping at your altar gives them an open invitation. They know they are welcome and that you are ready to receive their gifts and messages in your sacred space.

8. Frog- Transformation, Serenity

Butterflies are often what comes to mind when we think of transformation. But let us not forget, frogs are also a symbol of transformation: Going from a tadpole that lives in water to a frog that adapts to land and water. For some species, this process takes a couple of weeks. For others, it can take months and even a year to transform from one thing to another.

When Frog comes croaking, know that you are transforming or the process will begin soon. This is a positive transformation, an easy-going one, so you might not even know it is happening. It’s a subtle shift that occurs in the background until one day you realize things are different. There is nothing you need to do to move this change along. Like the frog, your higher self will take over and guide you through instinct. You need only pay attention to the urges you feel and follow those urges when they strike.

Be patient and note that this transformation has come to your awareness. This is not something that can be rushed or forced. Like the frog, this transformation may take days, weeks or maybe even a year or two to transform completely. All unfolds in accordance with divine destiny.

Did your card resonate? I hope it did!

Wishing you a blessed Samhain, and all the love and support you need to navigate the journey.

Serena

If you are in the Toronto area and interested in celebrating Samhain with me, there’s still a bit of space in our Samhain Circle: Blessings Beyond the Veil, if you wish to join! If you are not in this area, know that the next Hearthfire Circle will be online for Winter Solstice. I hope to see you then!

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Staying Grounded Through Eclipses & Times of Chaos

There are times in life when our feet barely touch the earth. Where we just don’t feel centered or like ourselves. Our consciousness may be immersed in the future or past, or so preoccupied with a situation or person that we can’t see the forest for the trees. We may feel unsettled, anxious, spacey, depressed or simply outside of our body and the present moment.

These challenging feelings can come with any big transition, change, chronic stress or traumatic event.

These feelings are common during Eclipse Season- the duration of approximately one month that spans the Solar and Lunar Eclipse cycle. Its energies reverberate through the next six months, as we integrate and embody its lessons. If you are a highly sensitive person, then you may feel eclipse seasons with greater intensity as you are attuned to the collective emotions as well as your own, which can be triggered at this time.

We are still in eclipse season now, as we are experiencing a Solar Eclipse in Libra, after the Lunar Eclipse in Pisces a couple weeks ago. This eclipse is about reclaiming our inner sovereignty and creating a healthier balance in our life. Themes of give and take, relating, justice, peace and harmony reign.

We may notice how people-pleasing or giving our power away to others no longer serves us. How trusting ourselves and caring for our own needs first is necessary if we are to dance in harmony with another in a healthy way. It is a great time to ground into what brings us true peace and inner strength. It is an opportunity to take our energy back, patch up leaks and drains, and move forward in a more sustainable way.

Eclipses are not to be feared, but to be respected. They are a great time for inner work, healing and transformation. They are not a time to assume the smooth hum of everyday life will be our status quo. Eclipses aren’t ‘bad’, but they are chaotic and can be stressful, because they are meant to unsettle us. This is to help us evolve, heal and grow. They bring an opportunity for us to walk into the future in a new, more liberated way. Eclipses gift us with new perspective, inner awareness and alignment with who we currently are and where we need to go.

But these gifts don’t necessarily come easily. Oftentimes, eclipse season brings unexpected things out of the blue. Things that were hidden from us come into the light, while the full truth of a situation may still be obscured. Old wounds and deeper issues get triggered by a conversation, an unexpected event or reminder of the past.

Doors may suddenly close, while unexpected windows open. Endings and beginnings take place. This process can take the few weeks surrounding the eclipses. It can be confusing, like a fog has set in around us. Once it clears, reality looks different.

Eclipses require extra space and time to process- as we are processing much more information, emotions, memories, feelings than normal through our body, mind and heart.

If we choose to pay attention to the deeper energies at work, we may notice how they are teaching us how to navigate uncertainty and strengthen our intuitive muscles. Like driving through fog, we need to slow down, get present, and begin using some of our under-used resources.

Navigating uncertainty is one of my least favourite things to do, so that must be why I find myself doing it a lot. It’s a life lesson I can’t seem to run away from. I have anxiety and there are times it gets the better of me, this eclipse season being no exception. I feel the collective anxiety is very high right now.

So, I thought today I’d share a few simple things that helped me manage anxiety and stay grounded through this eclipse season, so we can experience not only its challenges but its gifts!

Faith: The Calm Eye in the Middle of the Storm

Times of change can put our spiritual practice and faith to the test.

In this soup of collective fear and anxiety, it can be hard to hear the loving voice of our inner wisdom speaking. It is easy to get caught up in the flurries of fear and the many distractions thrown at us.

But our Spirit is bright, calm and clear, all the time. We can tap into this light any time we need a reminder of who we really are, like the calm eye in the middle of the storm. Our Spirit can see how this moment is an important part of our whole journey, in ways we could never see.

There is a call to have faith in the process here, to be willing to trust the unseen forces- our spirit guides, deity, our higher self, ancestors, etc. and trust they have our back! When life looks like a mess of obstacles, mistakes, fears and challenges to us, Spirit sees a sparkling pathway we cannot see, one made just for us to collect the gifts and experiences we need to move forward on our path in a better, stronger way. We are loved and cared for, always, especially during our darkest times.

It can be hard to have faith, especially when there is so much suffering. But faith in something is what helps us put one foot in front of the other. It keeps us grounded. Faith doesn’t need to be blind, conventional, nor unwavering. It only needs to feel true to you, a beacon of light in the darkness, something that fuels hope and peace for you in this moment.

Whether you access your faith through prayer, joining with others in spiritual community, sitting at your altar or going for a walk in the woods- The important thing is that you connect with Spirit regularly to strengthen your bond.

What strengthens your Spirit? How does your faith support you in challenging times? What is one way you can tap into your faith right now? How can you grow your faith each day?

Grounding: Trees, Water, Food and Plant Medicines for Support

For those of us on the earth-based path, grounding is not only steadying for our body and mind, but an essential part of our spiritual practice. Earth and Spirit are on the same continuum.

A tree is not just a tree but a wise elder with deep roots here that can help guide and strengthen us when we feel lost.

Walking in nature and connecting with the Tree Beings can be very helpful for anxiety.

Each Tree has its own special medicine and personality. I highly recommend getting to know the Tree Beings around you and find even just one to visit on a regular basis to lean up against, relax with, and listen to for its advice. Ask if they are interested in starting a new friendship, and give an offering of appreciation, such as cleaning up any garbage, giving it water, or putting down herbs or animal safe food at its roots.

Once you establish a connection with your Tree, just be present and receptive to them. Get a sense of their energy. Feel free to ask them a question about your life or situation.

The Oak trees have been giving me very specific advice about my health and my movement practice. They also encourage me to strengthen some boundaries and be more ruthless in keeping my mind out of harmful thought patterns.

The Willows I visited have been helpful in softening areas of tension in my body and energy field. They encouraged me to breathe and release trapped emotions, as well as reminded me to be much kinder to myself.

A nearby Spruce helped me understand how my energy was influenced by the collective energy and gave me information about timelines, cycles and protection.

Is there a Tree you’d like to connect with in your area?

Another grounding activity I love is sitting on the beach. Being where land, water and sky connect is a sacred place of liminality. It helps us connect with the divine and the earth in balance. I often get my most powerful healing messages when sitting by water.

Wading in Lake Ontario, I let the waves gently cleanse away old ways of being that are no longer serving me. The waves remind me that this is simply part of a cycle and ‘this too shall pass.’

When at the beach, I hold the local rocks in my hands and place them on my body where I needed grounding. When I do this, I feel immediately safe. I have a few at home to do this anytime I need.

Grounding foods are another great way to stay rooted through chaotic times.

Drinking tea made of roots such as ginger and turmeric, and warm spices ease digestion and help us stay rooted.

Eating root vegetables, hearty grains, nuts and seeds can be helpful. if you eat meat, then increasing your intake of unprocessed, lean meat can be very grounding and restorative.

Adaptogens such as Reishi mushroom and Holy Basil have been helpful at keeping me in balance during stressful times.

Getting enough rest is paramount. If you have insomnia, or have trouble sleeping during eclipses like I do, there are many things you can do. In general, activities that relax you before bed such a yoga or meditation, exercising earlier during the day, and avoiding screens before bed may help. Sleep inducing herbs and teas may also help. Weighted blankets, blackout curtains, eye pillows can also help. Everyone is different however with sleep needs.

What activities or foods ground you? Do you have a special place in nature you can go to feel safe and supported? Are you getting enough rest and sleep?

Being Present: Right Now is the Only Thing That Exists

We live in a very distracting world. Our senses are constantly bombarded with stimuli, especially here in Toronto, and it can be very overwhelming to our system on every level.

But even aside from noise, traffic, people, screens, computers and phones, we can distract ourselves with work, relationships, addictions, or constant ruminating and destructive thoughts about the past or future.

The less things we are doing at once, the more we can be present and access the steady, eternal calm beneath the moment. Like the ‘eye in the middle of the storm’ I mentioned. No matter what is happening externally- in the environment, in our emotional body or our mind, there is a still lake of deep peace and eternal serenity we can attune to.

Meditation has been around for thousands of years for a reason. Most of our stress originates in our minds. The mind itself is but a movie screen of our thoughts, not a true reflection of reality. Learning to watch our thoughts come and go, and attuning to the eternal oneness that is underneath it all can be a powerful grounding and centering practice.

Mindful Breathing is another great way to get present. When feeling anxious, inhale for 4 counts, pause with full lungs for 4 counts, then exhale for 4 counts. Repeat a few times, gradually extending the length of the exhale so that it is longer than your inhale. This helps to engage the parasympathetic nervous system to calm your nerves.

For some folks, becoming still, focusing on the breath or noticing thoughts can be an overwhelming, anxiety-inducing activity. In this case, staying engaged in a daily task or physical movement is a more accessible way to be present.

Focusing on physical tasks in daily life– such as cleaning, vacuuming, preparing food, cuddling pets or brushing their fur, folding laundry or exercising can become sacred rituals to help us focus on the here and now, on what is in front of us. This can help pull us out of the projections of our mind into the future and the past and remind us of the peace inherent in our everyday existence.

Naming 3 things you see, smell, hear, or feel is another great way to ground into the moment, and helps a panic or anxiety attack. This can be practiced daily. For instance, on your break at work, you can just take a moment to notice and name 3 sensations you feel- ie) The cool breeze on your cheek, your shirt caressing your lower back, tension in your shoulders. Then notice how that changed your demeanor. You can add complexity to it as well, such as ‘name 3 things you can see that are red’. This helps you to bring your awareness back into the reality in front of you, rather than the mind’s projected fears.

Mindful eating can help you stay in the moment. Instead of eating while talking to others, listening to a podcast or thinking about your to-do list, try immersing your attention on the act of chewing the food, the sensations in your mouth and body, the full experience of the act of eating.

What activities help ground you into the present moment? What thoughts or distractions pull you out of it? What is one way you could become more present to this moment right now?

Sharing and Connecting: We are never alone

My husband and I on the Friends set reproduction a couple years ago

As someone conditioned to be low-maintenance and highly attuned to others, it can be hard for me to open about my struggles and reach out for support. I tend to reserve my venting and vulnerability for my partner or professional healers. I always find though, that whatever I am struggling with, there are always others going through the same thing. Often it is part of a larger, collective struggle as well. We are all connected and we experience things like eclipses altogether. Many of us are likely experiencing the same themes and feelings in our lives, just in slightly different situations.

Every time I hold my circles and we share what’s been going on for us, we discover that others in the room are feeling the same. We all learn from each other and support each other.

Guaranteed, you are not alone in whatever you are going through right now. If you have even just one person in your life that you trust, that is a willing, caring listener, connect with them and share.

One thing I am slowly learning is that sharing our struggles with others doesn’t necessarily mean we are burdening them. When we share our problems with others, it can also heal them too, as they may have felt the same in the past or right now in the present, too.

Now, this isn’t to say that you should use your friends or loved ones as a dumping ground or get in the habit of sharing and not return the favor of listening. If you are someone always on the listening end, maybe try sharing. If you are someone always on the sharing end, maybe ask how others are feeling and listen.

If you don’t have any humans right now in your life that you feel comfortable connecting with, what about a pet? A spirit helper, tree, plant, or body of water? Are there any folks you follow on social media who inspire you or share your struggle? Any communities or support groups you feel drawn to connecting with online or in-person?

I often like to speak with my ancestors and spirit guides as well. They are always listening and happy when we connect! Even writing in my journal is a therapeutic form of expression when I don’t feel I can talk to anyone.

Who in your life do you feel comfortable sharing your feelings with? What communities, friends, family or professionals do you have in your life to inspire or support you? How do you support others? Is there a balance?

Play: Leisure, fun and play are essential aspects of life

My lovely friend Jazzie and I playing with veils

Last but not least, during heavy or transformational times, we need to remember how to play. This may look like trying out a new exciting recipe for dinner, playing a game with your child or pet, playing a board game or card game with a friend, creating art just for fun, coloring, exploring a new part of your neighborhood, traveling, watching a movie or dancing to one of your favorite songs. Whatever gets you out of your funk and reminds you what it feels like to have fun again!

What do you do for fun? What would happen if you did that a little more often? Is there something new you’d love to try?

I hope that you are navigating this eclipse fog with some support. We are getting through this together, and flowing forward into a more liberated and aligned future. Remember that you are not alone and the Earth Mother holds you, always. May we come out the other side empowered and renewed!

If you would like some guidance or support, such as a Tarot Reading, Spiritual Coaching or Earth-Based Healing, please check out my services which are offered online and in-person.

Sending love and stability for these chaotic times,

Serena

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Fall Equinox Wisdom + Oracle Reading!

Ahh, the Fall Equinox. Introverts rejoice, as we begin to naturally follow the Earth Mother’s lead and draw our energy inwards. Time to cozy up with some tea and our favourite book, movie or do some journaling!

As the trees drop their leaves and the earth energy flows down to nourish its roots, we too must release any excess burdens or energy drains. Our energy also draws downwards to our roots- Our internal, emotional foundations, our ancestral inheritance, as well as our spiritual needs.

We often associate Fall and Winter with barrenness. However, much life is continuing beneath the earth, even if unseen. Likewise, Fall reminds us of the fertility that lies in the rich soil of our inner lives, which will be the garden we tend over the colder months ahead. Our attention turns to the life that is stirring in the invisible and intangible realms.

Our spirit has so much to say to us now- we simply need to slow down and tune into its whispers. Take a walk in the woods, clear your mind with meditation or movement, soak in a warm bath or engage in your favourite hobby to let your deepest thoughts and feelings bubble up to be felt, seen, heard and noticed.

As the sun energy wanes, we enter a point of balance between light and dark, before the darkness reigns. This point of balance is something very special that only happens twice a year at each Equinox. I find the Equinoxes to be very powerful times that show us where we are out of balance and how to correct it. We are given the gift of a balanced perspective that takes both outer realities and inner needs equal consideration, which is ideal for decision-making, implementing better habits, and making plans and goals for the future.

This is also a ripe season for shadow work and healing. We may feel waves of grief as some things naturally end or are released, and we may feel desires or emotions we’ve repressed coming up to be felt or expressed. It is a time of transformation, as we compost the old and make space for the new. It is a wonderful time to allow parts of ourselves we may have pushed away to come into our awareness for integration.

It is also a season of awakening to our inner magic and connecting with our inner Witch. Whether you identify as a Witch, Priestess, Pagan, Mage, Druid, or other earth-based or alternative practitioner, this is a time where we can notice and heal any areas of shame or fear of this part of ourself, any conditioning we had growing up or simply from being in a society that has for centuries demonized earth-based spiritual traditions.

Many of us carry a ‘Witch Wound’, which is a collective wound rooted in our ancestral memory and DNA from persecution and death related to the burning times in Europe, colonisation, patriarchy, capitalism and religious extremism, which for many is still carrying a traumatic charge. This can make it challenging for us to fully embody our power and nourish our spiritual life.

Healing this wound is layered and takes time, patience and gentle reconnection and reclaiming of our magic and power. This wounding can manifest in many ways, namely in fearing our own power, intuition and voice. If you wish to explore this more, and begin the process of reclaiming your magic, you can join us at our online Fall Equinox Circle: Season of the Witch on Sept 20th!

Perhaps this autumn will be a ripe time to explore your magical self in new ways or begin a path of inner healing? May this season bring you a harvest of abundance for all that you’ve been giving and doing, and initiate a rewarding inner journey for the months to come.

Fall Equinox Oracle Reading:

Now, let’s see what this season has in store for you!

Take a moment to ground and centre yourself. Take 3 deep relaxing breaths. Then ask: “What do I need to know for the season ahead?“

You also may wish to ask a specific question, such as “How should I approach _____?“

Then gaze at the image below and choose your card:

Seasons of the Witch Mabon Oracle by Anderson, Diaz & Lukovic

Remember that number! Now scroll down to find your card. Descriptions are by the deck’s authors.

Scarecrow: Guardian, You have help, Support

Remember that you are not alone. Move with confidence as you are guided. Your higher self chose this card because you need to be reminded that you are looked after, cared for and protected. You may feel as though there are many dangers lurking about, and while they may be near they will have little impact on your life as a whole. You can move forward with your plans knowing a favorable outcome is in your near future.

You may feel the presence of your spiritual guardians through a sudden feeling of warmth spreading through your body, a tingling on the back of your neck or a sense of peace, as though suddenly all your troubles have been washed away. These and similar sensations are your guides sending you support and confirmation that you have cosmic help working on your behalf.

Trust in the cosmic forces and know that the timing may not be what you’re expecting, but it will always be right on time. Scarecrow may also present itself to you when you have been facing a particularly difficult situation that seems too great to face on your own. Receiving this card is your confirmation that physical help is on the way and you won’t have to struggle for much longer. You may receive an unexpected windfall, a call from someone offering support, a chance encounter or a life-changing opportunity.

2. Cranberries: Ancestral Roots, Connections, Power, Claiming or Reclaiming

Devour the truth and let it sink into the depths of all that came before and all that will come after. Your higher self chose this card because your ancestors are waiting for you. The red color of cranberries instantly brings to mind the blood connection of ancestral healing, and it is through your ancestors that intuitive wisdom is passed down. They wait patiently for you to connect with them so they can offer the wisdom, strength and power that is available to you by right via the blood within your veins.

You don’t need a connection with your living relatives to establish a bond with your ancestors. They are available to you even if you don’t know their names, faces or the details of your family tree. You will recognize them through a feeling of comfort and familiarity, offer up your troubles and ask for your ancestors’ support. They will clear away blocks, push away dark clouds looming over your life and open the floodgates of abundance.

To establish this bond with your ancestors, simply close your eyes and offer up your prayers. Ask that only benevolent, loving ancestors seek you out, then speak with them as you would any other guide, the universe, god or god-like figure.

3. Crow: Something’s Coming, Messages, Pay Attention

Pay close attention to the winds; there’s a message making its way. Your higher self chose this card because a message is coming your way and is warning you to keep an eye our for important signs and clues of what’s to come. Nothing truly manifests without some warning; the signs might be subtle but they have been prompting you your entire life.

You might feel a sensation such as a tingle in your neck or perhaps a decision gives you a sense of dread. You might have an idea that instantly lifts your spirits or feel some electricity when you meet someone new. All of these sensations are clues that attempt to steer you towards a rewarding life.

Pulling the Crow card is a sign to trust in your intuition, especially in the coming days. You may be quick to dismiss your feelings as being silly, and perhaps they are in many societies. However, you’re connected to the spirit realm, where all things are possible and the only right answer is the one that gives you a feeling of peace, joy and success. Trust in your ability to read the messages of the universe and know there is always a pathway to safety for those who know where to look.

4. Peppers: Breakthrough, Protection, Respect, Allies

Be fierce about the ways in which you protect yourself. Allies await. Your higher self chose this card because not everyone can handle the sting of hot peppers and will go out of their way to avoid them at all costs. The heat is too overwhelming and feels like too much of an effort in pursuit of a great meal. In a strange way, boundaries are a lot like peppers: Some people will try to step on you and take advantage of you, and are only willing to be in your personal orbit as long as you agree with them. However, the moment you begin to demand respect, you might find that many people simply cannot handle it when you serve them a little heat.

The Peppers card is here to confirm that anyone or anything you lose by establishing boundaries will be replaced with people who can stand your heat. You will go on to find people who understand your need for respect and won’t try to take advantage of you, and will listen in earnest without dismissing your opinions because they don’t align with theirs. Establishing boundaries also helps build confidence. The more you practice saying ‘No’ the more you take back your power from those who seek to steal or stamp it out.

Some believe when eating very hot peppers it’s better to keep going than to stop, because stopping makes the heat more intense whereas continuing allows you to slowly desensitize. Habits are no different. They are difficult at first, but with time you’ll begin to expect respect and will make no time for those who don’t offer it.

5. Apothecary Cabinet: Tools, Need to Develop Skills, Hard Work

Without practice, without befriending them, they are strangers on your path. Your higher self chose this card because your journey is just beginnings, even if it feels as though you have walked this road for ages.

There are skills, resources or tools you need before you can begin the work of calling in those big dreams. For example, when attempting to manifest more wealth, consider whether you need to overcome limited financial stories or destructive money habits that are sabotaging your efforts. Receiving a loving partner may be blocked to you until you do inner work on loving yourself. Experiencing supportive friendships may require you to eliminate friendships that are toxic and draining. Taking the time to do this inner work now will save you many days, months or even years of starting over.

Your soul has selected this card to gently encourage you to be honest about where you are in your journey and what’s realistically needed to begin to see results. All transformation begins with awareness, and starting where you are is the first step towards a radical shift in your situation. Your life could be completely different six months from now with the right tools at your disposal and a willingness to do the work.

6. Grieving: Grief, Mourning, Deep Sorrow, Heartbreak

The chambers of your mourning are surrounded by nothingness, emptiness waiting to be seen. Your higher self chose this card because grief isn’t just about the death of a loved one. Mourning is defined as ‘feeling regret or sadness about the loss or disappearance of something’. You can grieve the end of a career, a move from one place to another, letting go of a dream, or seeing your children leave the nest.

While grief isn’t pleasant, it’s important to acknowledge the loss of something or someone that was important to you. Doing so doesn’t reduce the love you had for what you’ve lost but it does give you a way to let go an move on. To ignore your sadness is to deny a meaningful part of your life story.

Pulling Grieving is an opportunity to embrace the heavy emotions you have been carrying. Express the fullness of your heartache as a tribute to what once was, and then once you have cried, screamed, gotten angry or sad, your spirit will be free. It’s only when you deny your grief that it becomes baggage. Will you be sad from time to time? Of course. Memories have a way of creeping in even with a healthy grief process, but it won’t be a constant thorn in your soul.

7. Queen of the Dead: Embracing Your Dark Side, Naughtiness, Using Darkness for Good

Fear not the rage of fire living within, for it is the power of your fierceness waiting to taste you fully. Your higher self chose this card because you need to learn to be unafraid of your soul’s darker, naughtier side. There is a deep power within you that you may feel would be scary or too much to handle if you unleashed it.

Perhaps you fear what you might become if you were seduced by your shadowy aspects. Would you become too ambitious or power hungry or sacrifice your beliefs in pursuit of fame and fortune? Would you hurt people or forget your roots? Would you succumb to anger and find yourself difficult to get along with? These are all noteworthy fears but they shouldn’t prevent you from integrating both sides of your spiritual being.

Queen of the Dead is tempting you to explore and use darkness for good. Rage, ambition, jealousy and manipulation can be channeled for a good cause. Rather than viewing them as being bad, see them as opportunities for evolution and growth. These energies can be useful, and your willingness to work with rather than against your demons is key for showing them the way to the light.

8. Foraging: Authenticity, Hidden Talents, Acting Upon Your Uniqueness, Effort

There is no better feeling than having gone after what you desire. Your higher self chose this card because sometimes you need to go out looking for food even though the grocery store is just down the road. Although the store is convenient, your life dish may require an ingredient the store can’t offer, or perhaps your soul is seeking a more authentic flavor experience that is unique to you.

The Foraging card has found you because it’s time to get up, go out into the world and discover all that is waiting for you to pick up and put inside your basket. It’s tempting to take the easier road, but that path is crowded with hoards of people attempting to do the same. They look the same, do the same things, and are ultimately lost in a sea of conformity and ordinariness: nothing that stands out from the crowd. By taking the road less traveled you could stumble upon an undiscovered patch of greatness. What makes you unconventional, strange or completely different? You may not think being eccentric is a strength, but your quirks are what set you apart from everyone else.

Receiving this card is an opportunity to discover and embrace your hidden talents and act on them. Perhaps you feel like you have nothing special to offer, but you most certainly do. Truffles are one of the most coveted and expensive foods yet they are notoriously difficult to find. They are always at the base of a tree, and generally buried below the soil, hidden from the naked eye. What makes you unique is just the same, and you may need to dig deeper. It may require significant effort, but what you’ll discover will be worth its weight in gold.

Did your card resonate? I hope it did.

If you’d like to receive a more personalized reading, join us for our online circle on Friday Sept 20th, 2024 at 7pm EST for Fall Equinox Circle: Season of the Witch! We will discuss the themes of the season, talk about the Witch Wound, go on a guided meditation journey and each participant receives an oracle card reading and $15 off a Tarot Reading or Spiritual Coaching session with me! Hope to see you there.

Fall Equinox Blessings to you,

Serena

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Letting Go of Spiritual Boxes & Embracing Your Unique Path

Life is full of ideals and expectations about who we should be- and this also goes for who we should be as a Witch, a spiritual person, or a follower of a certain tradition. Sometimes these come from the current culture and trends, other times they are passed down through generations or through long-held traditions. Often we internalize them.

While sometimes ideals and expectations help us grow, other times they hold us back and become a stifling box that we struggle to fit into or get stuck in over time.

Social media floods us with specific ideas about what being a Pagan, Witch or having a spiritual practice should look like or be like. These days there are pressures to fit your spirituality into an existing aesthetic, to create an entire brand around it and spend many hours a day making inspirational yet illusory content to gain followers which now includes a lot of AI generated stuff.

This isn’t to say that everyone making spiritual content is expressing something inauthentic, fake, or is stuck in a box (myself included here!) just that this is an expectation that social media puts puts on us. This can lead to some unrealistic ideals as to what a witchy life really is and what it actually looks like. It really is time consuming as well, and I’d rather be doing my spiritual practice than trying to fit it into social media’s tiny boxes for consumption.

Glamour and Illusions

Seven of Cups- Not all is as it seems, choose wisely

Most of the images we see in media can be deeply inspiring but not necessarily a reflection of our daily reality. Images of women in hooded shawls meditating with ancient standing stones, dancing in white dresses in misty forests, or drawing handmade Tarot cards by candlelight are beautiful and inspiring, but can set an impossible ideal of the ‘magical life’ that folks may feel they need to attain to be a ‘real witch’.

While my own practice includes rituals of card-pulling, nature walks, yoga , meditation, chanting or journeying, it’s not necessarily aesthetically pretty, upholding an ideal nor something I feel is meant to be shared.

Sometimes my practice looks like lying in my pj’s journaling a disturbing dream, ugly-crying through old emotional pain the shower or breathing a quick and desperate prayer on my way to sleep after a stressful day.

My practice also looks like vacuuming, washing dishes or cooking a meal with intention. Sometimes it’s just doing nothing, taking a nap or cuddling my cats. It’s also asking existential questions while I look blankly into my fridge for the answers, or tuning in to my inner wisdom while standing in line at the grocery store or sitting on the subway.

I hope to remind us all, whether a newbie or experienced on the path- that magic is everywhere, all the time, including within us.

Your spiritual or witchy practice can be anything you do that brings meaning into your daily life. Mindfulness and intention are what can make a seemingly routine or mundane action, like eating breakfast, magickal.

For example, you can eat your breakfast with gratitude to the Earth Mother and connect with your food’s origins. As you eat, you can give thanks to your body and appreciate it. You can recite a daily affirmation, receiving the positive energy of the words as nourishment with your food.

Living a spiritual life can be as simple as integrating meaning and perspective into your daily existence.

Magickal practice is called such because it is like working a muscle, a repeated remembering of our wholeness and power, which can be called upon in times of stress or suffering.

It’s also about being true to you and honest with yourself. Your practice may fit into an existing tradition or current trend just fine. Until maybe it doesn’t. Then it’s ok to step out of the box!

Some examples of trying to fit into a spiritual box:

Eight of Swords- Free your mind, free yourself

Portraying your spirituality on social media to please an algorithm, gain popularity or fit into an aesthetic: You don’t need to conform to these expectations or share everything. Some spiritual experiences are meant just for you and not others.

Conforming within a spiritual group or tradition that conflicts with your true values: Perhaps you’re attracted to something within this group or path but there are things that make you feel uneasy or like you have to put away or hide an important part of yourself or your beliefs/values to follow it. This will eventually make it really hard to stay or move forward.

Sticking to a ritual, practice, tradition or path because you feel you should, even if it isn’t resonating with you anymore: Perhaps you’ve always done something one way and it used to support you but now it feels meaningless or like you’ve outgrown it. It’s ok to evolve out of something! Commitment and repetition can be strengthening and supportive, until it’s not and you need to change it up somehow.

Following spiritual trends to be trendy: Is this helping you grow spiritually or is it stemming out of ego, or a need to belong and be accepted? Or, is it just not truly resonating with you?

Following a teacher that isn’t really helping you grow: Maybe this teacher is highly recommended, or popular with others. But if they don’t resonate with you, your values, or they raise red flags- you don’t need to stick with them.

Engaging in a spiritual practice because it helps you avoid reality: Spiritual bypassing is a common trap on the path. It may feel good at first, but ultimately asks you to not love or accept your whole self- light and shadow. While we all need some time out from the heaviness and negativity of this world, I feel the purpose of spiritual practice is to help us live our earthly life with more presence, meaning, and faith, rather than avoidance.

One thing I have learned over the years is that I need my spiritual path to allow me to be who I already am, as well as who I want to be. In my light and my darkness. In my bliss and in my daily responsibilities.

It does however, take some time and experimentation to figure things out. So, don’t feel bad or beat yourself up if you’re stuck in a box. These lessons are part of the path! They make us wiser.

Following Traditions vs Forging Your Own Path

Eight of Cups: It’s ok to leave it behind and follow the call to a new horizon

I’ve often felt like something was wrong with me for not feeling 100% devoted to one path, one tradition, one deity or pantheon in my life. I wondered, was I too weak, lazy or not committed enough to keep going in that one direction? Why was I failing? Why did I always feel I was hitting a wall and unable to keep going? Why couldn’t I just find ‘the one’ path for me?

My Spirit would only lead me so far down an existing path before guiding me elsewhere. My mind would get confused by this. I didn’t want to be someone who just dabbled, or took spirituality lightly. Truthfully I wasn’t someone like that. But what my Spirit was showing me, was that I didn’t need to be more committed to an existing path, I needed to learn to commit to my own unique path and my own intuition, rather than the path I was immersed in at the time.

I often spend years immersed in one tradition before I move onto another one and do the same, like a serial monogamist. But these days, different aspects of my many paths (which are all under the Pagan umbrella) come and go as needed into my daily practice, and they’ve kind of formed their own beautiful tapestry where I can easily access an entire thread if need be.

I appreciate and respect wisdom traditions, teachers and the roots of spiritual practices. I respect those who’ve forged paths before me. But I am here to forge my own path. I let my intuition guide me, which comes in the form of a strong internal pull coupled with signs in my life pointing in that direction.

As we get older, I think most of us understand that life is too short to waste our precious time and energy squishing into stifling boxes, or pretending to be someone we are not. We also learn to embrace the limits of our energy and the curveballs thrown into our path.

Spiritual growth is never linear for me, and so my commitment is to my own process of becoming wiser rather than to a fixed set of beliefs or teachings.

Quieting the Inner Critic & Letting Go of Control

The Hanged Man: New perspective is gained from surrender and letting go

As August brings with it a reflective vibe (and Mercury retrograde), I have been assessing my ‘progress’ on my dreams and goals I made at Imbolc and have been hard on myself for where I’ve fallen short.

I started scolding myself for not having met a creative goal I made at Imbolc. In fact, I haven’t even started the project. Instead, my body and soul called for some deep healing, cleansing and rest. I’ve learned to listen to this call when it comes.

So, I spent the last month focusing on healing with a liver and diet cleanse, as well as some shamanic and energy healing with my healers, which brought up some past life pain and emotions. I am just coming out of this process and am a bit exhausted, but also much lighter and freer, energetically.

Another Imbolc goal I had was to gain more herbal knowledge, but instead of intentional study, I have been spending hours with my indoor plants dealing with bug infestations and out in my garden trying to save my Mugwort and other plants from hungry rabbits.

I learned through months of trial and error that nemetodes are a decent remedy for fungus gnats, and rabbits are very sneaky. I suppose this has furthered my knowledge in a certain way, just not in the way I’d intended!

At Lughnasadh/Lammas, I didn’t do any traditional baking of bread, nor did I hold a circle, because I needed a break. I celebrated Lammas in a more internal, reflective way this year, but criticized myself for ‘not doing enough’ anyway.

Conditioning runs deep!

Just because we have a tradition of baking bread at Lammas doesn’t mean we have to do that. Just because we had a beautiful plan or goal, doesn’t mean circumstances and timing support it. We may like to think we can manifest things we want, but sometimes the universe has another (better) plan.

Many folks are drawn to witchcraft because they want to feel more in control of life or circumstances. They want to have the power to manifest their desires. Yet, I’ve learned all we can really control is ourselves and how we respond to what life puts in front of us. Our inner work is really where it’s at.

Over the years, my practice has moved away from manifestation and spell work and towards my inner work- healing and shadow work, as well as surrender, and embracing the Mystery. This is where my path has taken me and it has helped me grow.

It doesn’t mean we are any less of a witch or spiritual person if we do things differently than someone else or how culture dictates it to us. You don’t need to do spells, grow herbs, chant, worship deity or wear shawls at dusk in the forest, to be a ‘real’ witch. Witches come in all forms, and magick does too.

A Full Moon Calling for Freedom

The Star: Aquarius, pouring the waters of inspiration on Earth.

I am writing this as we head into a Full Moon in Aquarius on August 19th- the sign of liberation from outmoded boxes, traditions and expectations. This full moon is brimming with the energy of freedom, inspiring a change in perspective and the release of chains that we may have wrapped around ourselves or boxes we are ready to climb out of-mentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually.

It may feel tense or unsettling, like we are being pushed out of our comfort zone and there may be some resistance. Know that we don’t need to overthrow our whole life, of course. Even a small adjustment to an existing container can have profound effects.

This is a great Full Moon for bringing our awareness to where we can release some tension or stagnancy- a massage would be great, or softening some mental knots and listening to the unique song that is only ours within our heart.

It can be helpful to journal, move, exercise, dance or process your feelings in expressive ways. Listen to your inner voice and remember that you are the creator/creatrix of your own life. Release any chains or old stories that hold you back.

Reflection questions: These can apply on the mental, emotional, spiritual or physical level.

Where might I need to loosen up a bit?

Where am I forcing myself into a box that just doesn’t fit?

Am I clinging to any outmoded ideas about myself, my life or my spiritual practice that are no longer serving me?

What structures or containers are supporting my growth and which are not?

What small adjustment can I make now to allow more space to be myself, to move, flow or grow?

I hope that whatever path or practices you embrace, they nourish you deeply and give you the spaciousness, support and freedom you desire.

Can you think of a time you felt stuck in a box- a spiritual or mental expectation or ideal that was holding you back? How did you free yourself? Please feel free to share in the comments!

Serena

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Horse Spirit- An Unexpected Teacher & Ally

My Spirit Allies always bring me back into balance. I feel that’s why they’re there for us.

Spirit Allies are our Spirit Guides or Teachers that keep us on track, support us through stressful times, help us heal from old traumas and transmute unhealthy habits. They’ve got our back and are looking out for us on our Earth path.

Spirit Allies come in many forms. They may appear to us as the spirits of animals, trees, plants, crystals, rocks, the elements or other beings. The belief that all lifeforms on earth are sentient beings and have a spirit is rooted in Animism. This is a commonly held view by many Indigenous people across the globe, and by most (or perhaps all) of our ancient ancestors.

The relationship we cultivate with our Spirit Allies is a two-way street. We must honor and respect these beings if we want to work with them and receive their help. By connecting with them regularly through meditation or physical connection, giving offerings and heeding their guidance, we can heal, grow and thrive spiritually, physically and emotionally.

I have been consciously cultivating relationships with my Spirit Allies for well over a decade, and less consciously since I was very young.

I think it’s natural for us to feel kinship with animals, plants and spirits as children, as we haven’t yet crystallized into our ‘separate self’ we grow into as adults. We may talk to trees, see beings that adults don’t see, and understand animals much more easily when we’re young because we still feel the interconnectedness of everything and remember that we are in kinship with not only humans, but the non-human beings around us.

Healing Grief & Loneliness

When I was sixteen, my mom, sister and I moved from my home city of Winnipeg to a small lake up north in Ontario’s cottage country. It was a beautiful location but a very stressful move as I had to leave my dad, close friends, pets and childhood memories behind.

The rural Ontario culture was different from what I was used to. I came from a French-immersion city high school where classes were all in French and we generally all got along with each other. I had also just gotten my learner’s permit to drive and was hoping to get my license. I wanted to improve my French through an exchange program. I had just started to feel some stability and hope for the future. But the move to Ontario knocked my bearings and I felt lost.

My new school was only English speaking, cliquey and many of the kids had known each other since kindergarten. My credits didn’t transfer into the new province, so I had to take courses I wasn’t interested in and missed out on ones I wanted. My learner’s permit didn’t transfer either and we no longer had a car for me to practice driving with. I felt trapped and did not know how I could fit into this place, or feel a future for myself. I eventually made some friends, but was always felt very much an outsider.

I started exploring the area by taking long walks along my country road surrounded by woods, water and many nature beings. I felt nature helped to heal my grief, anger and loneliness.

I would often go sit on this one particular large rock, which sat half-submerged in a lake down the road from the one I lived on. I would just go into a fully receptive state to feel, sense and listen to the land. I shared my feelings with the lake. I could feel the love of the nearby trees, the voice of the lake soothing my grief, and the ancient wisdom and strength of the rock. They made me feel safe and like I belonged, in a different way than I had known.

Many frogs lived in this area, and their singing always helped me feel less alone and scared at night walking down the dark country road. Same with the fireflies that lit the way in summertime.

Even though I felt lost in my life, the spirits of the land reminded me that there was so much yet to come, so much love to receive, so much life yet to live. Slowly, I felt something deeply ancestral awaken within. This gave me hope and helped me want to stay here on this planet and try to get through high school.

The Horse- My Unexpected Teacher & Ally

At this time of feeling lonely and lost in a new place, I was given the opportunity to work with horses- which are associated with freedom, power and mobility. Qualities I felt I had lost from the move.

I was never a ‘horse girl’ growing up. I never dreamed of having a horse, riding one, or even spending any time with them. I thought they were a fine animal, but not one I was particularly attracted to. However, sometimes our Spirit Allies are not beings we would normally seek out- we attract them and they are attracted to us, because of unconscious need rather than want.

It is sometimes only in hindsight that we understand why a certain Animal Ally has come into our life. This was the case for me with the Horse, as I made no connection to my experience with horses during that time until much later.

I got a job grooming horses on weekends and learned to ride, too.

Cleaning and grooming the horses and keeping the corral and stables clean was hard work. Every Saturday I was covered in sweat, horsefly bites, dirt and horse feces. I filled many wheel-barrows full of their waste, and got my toes stomped on a few times. I routinely pulled dead mice out of their water bins. Often, after I was done cleaning them, the horses liked to go and roll in the mud, making it look like I’d done nothing, and their owner would question if I had done my job. It was frustrating.

The work demanded strength and grit that I had to pull from within to do. As a sixteen-year-old city girl who didn’t really care about horses at first, and whose mind and emotions were in a dark place, it was actually a good grounding job to keep me in the present and focus on the tasks at hand.

Despite the feces and dirt, I really enjoyed being with the horses. They had such big character and strong spirits. I bonded with them, which eased my loneliness.

I realized how sensitive they could be, just like me. They could be unpredictable, wild, and stubborn, just like me. They could also be gentle, deeply loving, like me too. Often it seemed they could see into my soul. Their strength impressed me.

Working with horses, I learned how important it is to be attuned to them- You can’t just waltz into their space and jump on their back for a ride. They are super sensitive to the energies around them and your mood. They often mirror your mood, so if you’re a bit angry or nervous, they feel it and may kick you away or try to run. You must become aware of your own energy and theirs before approaching them. You must approach them calmly and respect. They are super-powered beings and bigger than us, so we quickly pay the price when we make a mistake.

In hindsight, I realise that the horses were teaching me how to discipline my energy- how to ground, how to be self-aware, how to attune to them and my environment, how to harness my own power and use it wisely, productively and consciously.

They taught me how to handle and accept the horse-like part of myself- the sensitive, temperamental, freedom-loving spirit within me. They were teaching me how to be more grounded, patient and disciplined. How to use my sensitivity to know what was safe.

Again, this is all hindsight. At the time, I was just happy to be making a few bucks while getting to know horses. I didn’t think any of it had to do with me.

Freedom and Discipline

When I was learning to ride, I got thrown off several times, as most new riders do. When we fall, we just gotta get back up and try again. Another lesson from Horse.

Once, I was riding without a helmet (bad idea, I know) on a wooded trail with the horse’s owner riding alongside me. My normally chill horse suddenly got spooked by something, pulled us way off trail, knocked to the ground, and took off at high speed. The owner immediately went after him, while I was left to fend for myself after hitting my head on the ground. I was very dizzy and couldn’t get up without falling. The sun was setting and getting darker. I didn’t know where I was. I was alone and had to get back on the trail, which wasn’t marked in any way.

The layers of autumn leaves on the ground spun around in my head in a blur as I stumbled and crawled along, trying to sense the direction I was moving in. I followed my intuition, as I couldn’t see well. I followed my ears, which could hear the odd car woosh down the closest highway, helping me sense where I was. I prayed to find my way back home, and eventually I did- thanks to some spirit help, I’m sure.

Freedom cannot come without discipline and discernment. I learned the importance of wearing a helmet. I also learned that as a new rider, I should only ride on trails with people who care about my safety as much as the value of their horse. I also learned to rely on other faculties than sight when trying to find my way. We can’t always see what’s in front of us, so we may have to use other senses.

All the tumbles and lessons were worth it, though. I got to taste the power and freedom of riding. I was invited to go on a ride in a group setting in another town. My horse was in a good mood that day and we went loping freely and swiftly along a wooded trail I was completely unfamiliar with. I became one with the horse, in perfect unison and trust, and we flew together. It was the freest I had ever felt.

In hindsight, I see how the horses made me stronger. They gave back to me a gift. They transferred some of their power and strength to me to help me get through that time. I gained so much from bonding with them, caring for them, even if I didn’t always see it. I believe they were a healing ally that entered my life when I most needed it.

Horses taught me importance of staying grounded and how patience and discipline can bring freedom and power. But also how freedom and power come with limitations. To wield and experience it, we must respect earthly limits and laws.

Flowing with Change and Unpredictability

I did not even plan on writing about the Horse in this blog. I was going to talk about other spirit allies I encountered on my path. But the Horse wanted to come through. Perhaps because their energy and lessons are relevant again now for me? Maybe they are for you?

Allies often come to us unexpectedly, like Horse did for me. In the couple days surrounding my writing this, I’ve had three synchronistic appearances or mentions of a horse on the TV shows I watched which normally have nothing to do with horses.

Maybe the Horse also has a message about change and unpredictability? Who knows, but Horse is here to say hello.

So, I am opening to the wisdom of this mighty being to hear what it has to say to me right now. I am contemplating some of Horse’s many themes, such as:

Freedom, travel, strength, power, stamina, resilience, grounding, discipline, spirit, sensitivity, temperament, change, unpredictability, overcoming challenges and handling the unexpected.

Maybe Horse is coming right now to ask us:

What do we sense and feel about a situation or challenge we’re dealing with?

Where can a bit of grounding, discipline or patience help us reach our goal?

How are we wielding our power? Are we using it humbly and constructively? Are we on our ‘high horse’ about something? Are we afraid of misusing our power and so deny it expression?

Where are we craving more freedom in our life?

Are we willing to respect earthly limitations in pursuit of this freedom?

How do we approach the unpredictable when it comes up? Can we adapt while staying grounded?

Do you have any experience with the spirit of Horse? Feel free to share in the comments.

Serena

Healing Perfectionism- You Do Not Have To Be Good

Nature is perfect in her own way- and you are too.

Like each tree, plant and flower, you belong here and carry your unique medicine and gifts. You have an important part to play in the universal story and believe it or not, your existence is enough. All of your flaws, vulnerabilities, wounds and insecurities- they are part of your medicine. You are perfect in this moment, right here and now.

Our Environmental Stresses

Our culture is steeped in image-obsession and perfectionism. It seems every day there is a new level of pressure to adhere to impossible standards- not only of beauty and youth, but parenting, career, social media behaviour, in every aspect of life.

I am a recovering perfectionist. Like most women, I grew up in a culture that expects girls to always behave like a young lady, please others and put others’ needs first. As I became a teen and young woman, I realised how impossible it was becoming to meet the expectations placed on me by society. It always felt I was ‘too’ something or not enough of something. My goodness wasn’t inherent. It was to be earned.

Some of us may have had childhoods where being ‘good’ was internalised as a matter of survival, and later as adults, it manifests as the need to please our bosses, clients, partners and the public at large. Rather than feeling good, we feel we must act or look a certain way to be considered good.

We all have an internalised authority figure- an inner judge or critic, or some almighty spiritual being or God that we feel is watching our every move. We may serve this judge on a daily basis and not even realise it. Guilt and shame are used in our society to control us and have been for a long time.

We may have idealised in our mind about what our ‘perfect’ self looks like, acts like and strive to meet that. This may be part of a spiritual ideal, or a social ideal. We may succumb to social media’s pressure to romanticise or glamorise our lives, to perform activism or do whatever is necessary to look good and be good in the eyes of the inner judge.

Social media makes it so we no longer have privacy. Our words, photos and videos are available for the masses to consume and criticise, so we curate them appropriately. The widespread use of Zoom forced us to see ourselves on video far more than we normally would, inviting excessive self-consciousness and self-criticism.

I know I sound old, but I miss the days of simply BEing ourselves, in 3D, finding friends and sharing our interests without the unnecessary public scrutiny.

The religious underpinnings of our society mixed with capitalism create an environment where our desire to be loved and accepted is constantly used and manipulated with guilt, shame and image-consciousness to keep us buying things and doing things that are not authentic to our true, whole selves.

Beauty Standards

My 15 yr old daughter is really into makeup and loves Sephora. I recently read an article about ‘Sephora Kids’, who are often age 10 or younger, insisting they use products designed for middle-aged women lest they wither and lose their youthful glow. But they haven’t even been hit by teen acne yet. These girls are inundated with Tik Tok influencers selling anti-aging products they don’t need, which can actually be harmful to young skin. It is becoming more normalised than ever for teen girls and young women to get botox and cosmetic surgery as well.

Thankfully, my daughter has enough sense to do her research and see the BS behind a lot of social media pressures, but she is not immune to it and neither am I. I think today’s youth have it harder than I did at that age. Sure, they have better makeup and acne products, more access to information on anything, and can text their friends instead of writing notes. But they’ve got way more pressure to look good and act a certain way. More ways to be bullied and publicly shamed on a larger scale. More risk of internalising beauty standards that are completely unrealistic.

As I embrace middle age and walk with my daughter through her teen years, I see how deeply we’ve both been conditioned to dwell on our appearance, our behaviour, our need to be ‘good’ as girls and women. How our bodies will never fit into the box and neither will our spirits. I hope my own process of liberation supports hers, and we can embrace the wholeness of who we are as we grow older.

We are Spiritual Beings Having a Human Experience

So, how do we live authentically, without falling into these traps of idealisation, perfectionism, guilt and ‘not-enoughness’?

How do we invite our wounded, flawed, wrinkled, imperfect selves into a dance of wholeness with all that noise in the background?

How do we embrace the limitations of our earthly existence- the body, our survival needs, our desire to simply be loved and belong- amidst the pressures to constantly prove our worthiness?

Perhaps the most healing poem I’ve ever come across that acts as a balm to my perfectionism is Wild Geese by Mary Oliver:

Let the Soft Animal of Your Body Love What it Loves

I was introduced to this poem over 20 years ago when I first became a Yoga instructor. It has been a great support to my embodiment practice over the years. When I find myself getting rigid about my diet or body image, I often have to remind myself to simply ‘let the soft animal of my body love what it loves’. Every day I do an authentic/free movement practice to help me ground into the sensations, pleasures, and limitations of the body. This helps me reclaim my body as my own, as an organic process, as a living being- rather than an object for others to look at.

Having lived with a painful chronic disease, I have had to overcome a lot of inner perfectionism and embrace new levels of acceptance. Daily, I must come to terms with this body and its form, its limits and embrace what is, in the moment.

Unlike choreographed dance forms, authentic movement (and ecstatic dance) help me to embody and feel my beauty, rather than just try to see it. When I feel the satisfaction of a deep stretch, the powerful pulse of my heartbeat, the shivers of excitement when I shake my hair out- I am whole. I am happy. I am ecstatic. I feel beautiful, and this helps me see that in the mirror.

Through movement, I shapeshift into many forms. My body mirrors the movements of animals, birds, trees, fish and otherworldly creatures of all kinds.

When I put on music, I am transported to the sky realms, the sea, the mountains. I travel and flow with it, with my body, letting it move however it wants to. Some days, I just want to lie still. Others, I want to shake, jump or sway. I don’t have to look good while moving. I also activate my voice with sounding, which doesn’t have to sound good.

Movement helps me remember that my body is a channel of energy, that it is part of everything, that it is both finite and connected to the infinite universe at the same time. Movement is magick.

Free, authentic movement is a balm to our wounds of body objectification and separation from our animal instincts. By being fully in our body, the sensations coming from within it, we can transcend it at the same time, and feel the wholeness of our Spirit.

How do you let the soft animal of your body love what it loves?

Tell Me About Your Despair, Yours, And I Will Tell You Mine. Meanwhile, the World Goes On

Our journey through this life eventually etches itself on our body, and in our psyche. We become a collection of experiences- of love, pain, anguish, grief and joy.

I am ok with my laugh lines and crow’s feet. But the furrowed stress lines between my eyebrows, less so.

It’s easier to embrace the good parts of life, harder to embrace the pain. I don’t want to remember painful parts of my past. But embracing and remembering doesn’t mean I have to dwell in it.

The poem Wild Geese reminds us that while our pain is real and must be felt and processed, it is a small part of the big picture. For every moment of pain and sorrow there is a multitude of joyful moments to join in on, if we choose to.

No matter what dramas befall us, the natural world keeps going. The instinct of animals is to keep living their life as best as they can. They don’t waste time trying to fit into anyone’s expectations or worrying about the past. They remind us to live fully in the here and now. They continue to generate life, no matter what else is dying or falling away.

The sun always rises again the next day. We’re given another chance to begin again. To breathe new life into ourselves.

Nature asks us to merge with her rhythms and trust they will bring us into a new place all on their own.

When I’m in emotional overwhelm, I go for a walk in the ravine, cuddle my cat or tend my houseplants. Other times I just stare at the moon outside my window. All I know is that these small acts immediately bring me into a deeper calm when I’m frazzled or caught up in life’s dramas. I know I’m held and supported, that there’s a bigger rhythm and cycle I’m part of. These cycles are a reminder that we cannot control everything. That there is a divine wisdom unfolding in its own timing.

What rituals do you have that help you feel part of nature and its cycles?

Announcing Your Place in The Family of Things

We have a collective wound around belonging. This creates a deep insecurity within ourselves, that can rear its head and make us feel we have to ‘earn our keep’ or prove our worthiness to exist here. But we all belong here.

You belong here. Right here on earth, right where you are now. You’re part of the Earth family. You are exactly where you’re meant to be. Imperfections and all. You are deeply loved and supported by all your kin- your fellow humans, trees, animals, ancestors, the little flowers on that windowsill, and the big beautiful full moon in the sky.

The human experience can feel super lonely. Even though I have a strong animistic spiritual practice, I still feel loneliness sometimes. I have often become overwhelmed by this world and felt like I must be from some other place. While perhaps our spirit may be from another dimension or the stars, we were born on this earth, for a reason and purpose. We are meant to be here, and we belong here now.

My animistic practice is what has healed the deeper loneliness I used to feel, and it is what I turn to whenever loneliness comes up, because it heals me every time.

Animism is the belief that everything has a spirit. No matter what form we are in, we all have a spirit, and maybe that spirit is from here and maybe it isn’t, but we’re all here nonetheless. We’re all spirit in a physical form on Earth.

When I hear the croak of my neighbourhood raven, or touch the trunk of a nearby tree, I feel their kinship. When I sit on the beach, I listen to the waters and speak my pain to them. When I pick up a rock I listen to its wisdom. Everything has a soul, an intelligence. This is what I believe, and how I live. It takes away the loneliness.

I know that while I have human family, my family extends far beyond that. I have the nature beings, ancestors and spirit guides. This is my family and my home. It is yours too.

Do you have a favourite spot in nature that helps you feel at home? What helps you feel a sense of belonging on this earth?

As I recover from my own perfectionism, I hope to share these little nuggets of healing, in the hopes that we all feel a little better in our bodies, on this planet, just as we are.

Do you struggle with perfectionism? What helps you heal and feel whole?

May any perfectionism you struggle with soften into a deep knowing of your innate worthiness. Your existence is enough. You belong here. You do not have to be good.

Serena

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The Fertile Darkness- Dwelling in the Dark Womb

The Fertile Darkness- Dwelling in the Dark Womb

We live in a world obsessed with growth, light and productivity. Capitalist conditioning runs deep within our bones, urging us to behave like a machine rather than a fleshy, sensitive human that requires rest in mind, heart, body and soul.

There is rarely an allowance for receiving, waiting, or incubating. There isn’t much room for uncertainty or mystery. We must always be ‘on’ rather than flow with our creative cycles, which have dormant periods and transitional spaces.

Nature teaches us that growth is a cyclical process with distinctly different phases. While I’ve been facilitating circles and centering my work around these teachings for years, the phase I feel is most important to focus on is the dark season, which we are in now.

The dark season is here to show us how darkness is a source of massive creative potential, healing, and inspiration.

The dark time of year, specifically this time nearing Solstice, the seemingly fallow ‘death’ phase of late autumn/winter, corresponds to the dark moon, old age, the Crone archetype, and the Dark Goddess. In addition to it being an earthly season, it is also an inner season that we may experience for varying lengths of time, during periods of personal transformation, loss, creative dry spells, natural aging or moving from one phase of life to another.

This is the aspect of life I feel we most need to collectively reclaim, and explore in our personal lives, as we typically resist it. It is not inherently negative; we have just been conditioned to think of it as such.

Darkness dwells in us all, and the Dark Goddess teaches us that this is a place of fertility, magick, beauty and mystery within us. It is where our potency and power lie. But we must be willing to do the work of unraveling our conditioning to access its gifts.

Rather than running or numbing out the discomfort of difficult emotions or being in a fallow phase, it is much more empowering to embrace it.

Our darkness may show up when we’re triggered emotionally, when we meet with shadow aspects of ourselves, through life changes or loss. These times can trigger fear, anxiety, ‘fight, flight or freeze’ responses in us.

Perhaps something has ended, and we just want to rush into the next thing- like a rebound relationship, job, or activity. Or perhaps we simply feel stuck or frozen in the status quo as we resist acknowledging it.

We may reach for our favourite numbing agent or try to escape by traveling or distraction. This is fine and human. But the feelings will likely just come back again in the future, as things are cyclic, so we might as well use the opportunity to grow.

If we practice embracing the darkness, the uncertainty, the grief or the fear and shame- if we feel the feelings, sit with the discomfort rather than running or numbing, we actually evolve, learn and heal.

Embracing the darkness begets growth.

Nature’s Teachings on Dormancy

Currently, the weather is getting colder, the sky darker, and it seems as though everything is dying around us or going to sleep. But this is a crucial stage of growth and magick happening behind the scenes.

Many seeds require several months of dark, cold dormancy for them to take root. This is why we plant tulip bulbs in autumn, as they need the dormant period first, to grow in spring. Some seeds take weeks, months or even as long as 50 years of dormancy before sprouting!

Dormancy is not death. It is a waiting period of transformation and uncertainty. This ‘not-knowing’ makes us uncomfortable, as we are conditioned to always have a sense of clarity on where we are going, but the reality is, much of the time life just doesn’t go how we imagine it would or how we want it to.

The dark dormancy period may last a short while or a very long time. It is a mysterious, magickal, fertile stage. It’s where one could say life truly begins. It is where energetic potential and physical potential slowly merge and mingle, doing the actual work that begets visible growth. This is where the roots grow, drawing nourishment into the seed that will one day sprout and grow into a beautiful plant. Even if it seems not much is happening, a lot is. New foundations are forming.

Tending to our Roots

Roots are the most important part of a plant, but grow downwards, not upwards. They’re not always visible to the outside world, but they are essential. We humans are like plants, and tending our roots is a tender, sacred, vulnerable act.

Like plants, so much that is essential for our own well-being and growth goes on beneath the surface and lies within our roots. Our roots are connected to our foundations in life- childhood, home life, family and ancestry, our spiritual beliefs, values, and of course in our physical body. They are found in the basic building blocks of who we are.

When we get triggered, or feel low or in pain, it can be wise to follow the feeling down to its roots. We can follow it into our body, into our childhoods, beliefs or even our ancestral inheritance.

Once we find the root of something, we can bring a tender loving energy towards it and then the pain it holds will lessen. The pattern shifts. This inner work is transformative, healing and has impact not only on us but all those connected to us. It is one of the gifts the darkness brings us- Stronger, healthier roots, which help us personally and collectively thrive in the future.

The Importance of Rest and Retreat

We all began in the darkness of the womb. Our instincts know on a deep level that darkness and retreat are required for living life. As humans, we spend about one third of our lives sleeping! This is our daily dose of resting in the dark womb.

During the dark season we require more sleep, more solitude, more time in the dark womb.

In the dark times of our lives, we often feel this pull by our soul. Just like our body gets exhausted at the end of the day, our soul gets weary over time and longs to come home. Our soul requires rest and renewal too.

When we feel we are going through a dark or fallow period in our life, it is often because an old part of ourselves is changing and a new part of ourselves is taking root. This requires a lot of energy and can make us feel weary and tired.

We may feel disoriented, confused, like everything around us is dissolving. We don’t know what to do next, or how to manage or control the situation. A relationship, project or dream dear to us dissolves. Things end, and we may be carrying grief, confusion, frustration or give up hope as we descend into what seems like a dark chasm, meeting a void of nothingness, as we cannot see ahead or even understand where we are now.

But in these times, we are in the Dark Womb of the Great Mother, or The Dark Goddess. We are held by Her warmth, and by the grace of Her Mystery. We are beneath the soil, letting go of our previous form, to become something new and beautiful.

Like the tulip bulb, our growth can only happen if we are willing to surrender and rest in the darkness for as long as is necessary. We must trust in the process, let go of our need to control it, and have the courage to be present to the magick unfolding, as quiet or subtle as it seems.

The Art of Surrender

While the process of transformation often requires surrender, I don’t think of surrender as passive or powerless. Surrender, I am discovering is quite an art. It requires our active participation and presence. It may require extrapolating our perception of surrender from powerlessness, which for some of us go hand in hand.

When in a process of change, we are meant to surrender by letting go of certain conditioned habits, stories about ourselves or ways of doing things that are holding us back. Often the resistance to change is more painful than the change itself.

Surrendering doesn’t mean we do absolutely nothing, give our power away or self-victimize. It means we consciously soften into a new way of being that our soul is longing for. When we choose to soften into our soul’s longing, stay present with all that are feeling, and accept all that we are experiencing, we are practicing the art of surrender. This is a courageous act.

In times of darkness, it often means we are simply taking root. We are incubating a new birth. We are meant to trust the process, and trust that we will know when it’s time to come up into the light of day again.

How to Embrace the Darkness as Your Ally

If you feel called to work with the darkness this season or anytime in your life you feel in a dark period, here are some practices to work with:

-Turn the lights off completely or light a single candle as you just sit in the darkness as a nightly ritual. You may wish to do this while you relax in the bath, or at your altar, or sitting up in bed before going to sleep. Rather than reaching for your phone or another activity to ‘unwind’, try just letting the darkness enfold you, and imagine it holding you like a mother. Feel its peace.

What feelings come up for you when you sit in the dark?

-Go for a nighttime walk. Perhaps you already walk in the dark with your dog in the evening or just coming home after work, but instead of it being routine, let it be an intentional, sacred walk for your heart and soul. Look up at the stars and moon. Feel the energy of the trees whispering in the night, notice the night creatures- raccoons, cats, possums, bats and the nightlife that surrounds you.

What feels different when you walk at night vs in the daytime?

-Get to know a Dark Goddess and work with Her. What makes a goddess ‘dark’? She may be associated with harsh weather such as winter, storms, wind or cold. She may also be associated with war, strife, or death. She may be associated with transformation, nighttime, old age, wisdom, or healing. Dark goddesses’ myths may depict them in frightening ways; however, they are often the strongest, most protective and healing goddesses that come to help us when we are going through the most difficult times in our lives. Some examples are: Hecate, Persephone, Medusa, Nyx, Kali, Sekhmet, Nepthys, Nut, Ereshkigal, Lillith, Hel, Pele, Baba Yaga, Cerridwen, The Morrigan, An Cailleach.

Is there a Dark Goddess you are drawn to? How might her story or personality reflect your own?

-Go to bed earlier and pay attention to your dreams. The longer we sleep the better chance we will have more dreams to remember! Often our dreams communicate to us the truth about how we are feeling, and deeper wisdom coming from our Spirit and Guides about our life. Keep a dream journal. Notice how you feel when you awaken.

What emotions or symbols come up in your dreams? How do you feel when you get more sleep?

-Practice acceptance and the art of surrender. What part of your life is asking you to soften and change? Is there something that you need to accept but are resisting? Perhaps there are signs in your life that something has come to an end or needs to shift for greater well-being. What isn’t worth fighting anymore? One way to embody surrender is to move your body. Put on some music you enjoy and move in whatever way feels good. This can help prevent us from getting stuck or rigid and open to ways of being.

Where in your body can you invite in some more softness, gentleness or acceptance?

May your journey through this dark season be rich with healing, rest and the love and protection of the Dark Womb and the Dark Goddess.

Serena

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Heeding the Call Inward at Equinox

Autumn calls us inward, urging us to release that which we no longer need, and gather what sustains and nourishes us for winter. Autumn is not only a season outside of us, but an inner season as well- one that favors deep spiritual renewal and growth.

As we descend from the lighter half of the year into the darker half, we are invited to tend to aspects of ourselves we may have neglected over the summer months. We can integrate shadow parts that may have cropped up into our awareness, as well as discover hidden seeds of wisdom and new creative beginnings within our soul.

Like the acorns that fall from the oak to the ground now, creative ‘seeds’ are planted in our energetic womb for incubation, growth and birth in the light half of the year.

This is where it’s important to slow down so we can hear our inner voice, sense the deep longings of our soul, and allow for these seeds to find fertile ground within.

What has been whispering for your attention lately? Is there a part of you that perhaps has been neglected, forgotten, or simply not given a voice?

As we prepare for the inner journey, we must pack light. We don’t want to carry any burdensome energy drains with us into winter. This is the season to lighten our load, simplify and release. Let our emotions bubble up and into our consciousness to be transformed. Let any excess be composted into the soil. Create space.

What are you carrying on with that is draining your energy? What can you let go of to lighten your load? Can you simply sit and be with your feelings?

We are invited to be open, embrace change, cry, grieve, to feel it all and let it move through us; To enter the realm of mystery, shadow, longing, and hidden gems of passion that we’ve forgotten.

A cool breeze can awaken new inspiration or a jolt of clarity on your daily walk. The falling leaves may bring up an old grief or a reminder of the fleeting nature of life.

Rather than trying to cling onto the familiar or hold rigid to ideals and old habits, autumn teaches us to simply allow things to shift and flow into their new form.

Surrender is our superpower. Gratitude is our anchor.

Gratitude & Grief- They Go Hand in Hand

Autumn Equinox is also called ‘Witches’ Thanksgiving’, as it is the harvest season. It is a time of gratitude for the abundance of the Earth Mother, for the support we have in our lives, for all the good things, big and small.

The harvest season can be a time where we reap what we have sown in our own lives- projects, relationships, personal growth etc. We can reflect on our efforts of the last several months, notice what has bloomed and produced, as well as what didn’t.

We may have grief to process, and an awareness of what we need to accept or let go of, existing alongside gratitude for what we have lost, as well as what we still have. While seemingly odd bedfellows, grief and gratitude go hand in hand.

Gratitude often helps us flow through grief. Gratitude can act as an anchor for us during times of change, reminding us that we are taken care of and loved even when things feel chaotic or challenging.

After a very hot, chaotic summer, I am even more grateful than usual to be at this point in the Seasonal Wheel. It’s been a busy time of obstacles and setbacks in most areas of my life- work, home, relationships and personally. It’s been a year of disappointments, frustrations and waves of burnout for me, accompanied by lots of shadow work. To be honest, I’m pretty exhausted. Yet, each day, taking time to feel gratitude is helping my energy come back. Focusing on the love and abundance in my life shifts me out of negative thinking patterns around what didn’t work out and what is naturally ending.

I’ve been making a point of walking more and simply taking in the beauty around me. The cooler air has been a harbinger of clarity and renewal. A reminder that new seeds are awaiting, and my spirit is calling me on an inner journey.

What do you feel grateful for?

The Power of Pause

Over the summer, I was keenly aware of my need for darkness, coolness and quiet. As is typical for me in summer, I slept terribly, didn’t have much alone time, and operated mostly in survival mode, as I don’t do well in hot weather and excessive sunlight. (I’m more of a night plant or winter-bloomer!)

I knew I needed to have that quiet space to hear my spirit speaking. But as I often do, I let life’s busy-ness override that need. I kept putting it on the backburner- knowing I’d have more time later.

Now that it is later, I have the time, but I’ve really had to coax myself to slow down and allow for the necessary pause. It’s been a practice working on letting go of the need to fill free moments and instead hold space for my spiritual renewal.

Energy seeks to fill empty space, so it is important to open to receiving what you need, while having an intention. In my case, I wanted to hear what my spiritual life was asking of me. So, I opened to that, and almost immediately, my spirit whispered to me my next steps, which was to take an upcoming course on Welsh Goddesses and to continue learning on my path of Welsh Witchcraft.

What has your soul been calling for? What can you shift in your daily life to honor that?

Nurturing Boundaries for Energetic Health & Integrity

Over the last two years with The Cauldron Goddess, I have found it challenging to balance creating spiritual content and offerings while also tending to my own spiritual needs.

My spiritual path is very personal and dear to me, and there is pressure these days to share everything all the time, with the public, constantly, which I feel is unnatural and invasive. Also, as an introvert, I don’t get the dopamine hits extroverts do off social media. I find it exhaustingly inauthentic, and irritatingly manipulative of people’s desires for validation and attention.

Leading an online existence is draining for me. So, I have paused posting online and drastically lowered my social media scrolling for several weeks now and I am much better for it! Reclaiming my spiritual need for privacy, living in the moment and experiencing life in 3D has been a positive shift. These boundaries have helped me feel more nourished by my spiritual practice, and more relaxed in general.

I will still post online and share in my blog, but only on my own terms, rather than in service of an algorithm or social pressure to be a content-machine. I will decide what and when to post based on how authentic it feels to me.

Are there boundaries you’d like to create to support your energy or personal integrity at this time?

Letting our Harvest Ripen in its Natural Timing

When it comes to spirituality, I like to take my time, years in fact, to fully digest what I learn and experience before sharing it with others, especially if it’s in any type of ‘teaching’ capacity.

Over the last few years, I have been learning Welsh, studying The Mabinogi and learning from Welsh Witches, Druids and scholars in the ways accessible to me. I went on pilgrimage to Wales, am learning about Celtic history and have been keeping a consistent practice in devotion to the Goddess Cerridwen. There has been a lot of inner growth and change related to this, however, I rarely share my experiences in these matters publicly, despite the name of my blog and social media pages!

This is because my sense of spiritual integrity demands time for integration and ripening. Boundaries and privacy are necessary to allow that ripening of creativity and wisdom. Sharing unripe fruit with others not only tastes bad but can cause indigestion.

I’ll only share something when it’s ripe and ready. Everything I share is something I have been working with for some time already, (years), and feel confident about.

My recent reflections have made it clear that I need to focus more on my own path for a bit so I can bring new insight and offerings to The Cauldron Goddess. If you hear from me a bit less, that is why. But I encourage you to stay tuned, as I will bring any ripe fruit to the table from my harvest!

In the meantime, I continue to trust in life’s natural cycles, and urge you to do the same, even when in a difficult season or phase. The wheel only keeps turning and each turn brings us new experiences, wisdom and inspiration. Every plant has its own timing in which it flowers or bears fruit. Some plants bloom only at night, and some only produce colourful berries in winter.

There is no such thing as a barren season. Every phase has its fruit- whether on an inner level or an outer one. You only need to tune into your unique cycles.

What is ripening in your life? What still needs some time before harvesting? What is going to seed? Can you patiently embrace this phase for what it is?

I wish you much love, healing and gratitude during this harvest season. May whatever phase you find yourself in bring you into deeper wisdom and inner sovereignty. May you enjoy your unique bounty to its fullest!

*If you’d like to read my post from last year’s Fall Equinox on Dancing with Our Shadow in Relationships, please read it here.

Thankyou for reading,

Serena

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Being Present & Embracing our Inner Seasons

I talk alot about cycles- seasonal cycles, astrological cycles, moon cycles, and the menstrual cycle.

I’ve always found it fascinating how our own psyches and bodies are mirrored through these cycles around us. Knowing that whatever we are struggling with is temporary and part of a natural cycle, is deeply comforting. Understanding the nature of the energy we are dealing with and how to work with it rather than against it can be so empowering.

Aligning with the cycles of nature can be a healing act of resistance, too. When we remember we are nature, we tap into a power that our capitalistic cultural conditioning seeks to suppress.

But, we are complex beings. Sometimes how we feel doesn’t match the season or phase we are in. Just because it is summertime outside doesn’t necessarily mean we are feeling happy, expressive and social and aren’t experiencing grief, loss, or death (so-called ‘winter’ feelings). Just because it is the waxing moon doesn’t necessarily mean we feel energised and creative. We can have our bleeding time at any moon phase, even if bleeding resonates with the dark/new moon. We can experience a relatively chill and relaxing Mercury Retrograde or chaos and delays when it is direct!

This is partly because there are several cycles happening within us and around us at the same time- for instance, we could be going through a long Saturn transit (planet of restriction & loss) that goes on for years, and it overlaps with a season of abundance, or a transit of benevolent Jupiter.

It’s also partly because we are not meant to always look for explanations and answers outside of us- in theories, systems and patterns. Sometimes, we’re just meant to experience life in the moment and not overthink it! Sometimes, we just need to embrace whatever our current feelings and needs are and listen to them, and trust they are part of our growth.

Embracing our Inner Seasons and Cycles

None of these cyclical systems- astrology, the seasons, or the moon- is a perfect template for our life, nor is our understanding of them meant to be rigid, or fully understood so we can control our lives and make them foolproof.

After studying and living with this awareness for so long I feel that it is impossible to fully understand how cycles overlap and play into our lives. Leaving life to the Great Mystery is part of the fun, as well as a key spiritual ingredient to our growth and wisdom.

Increasingly, I’ve been feeling our human analysis of ‘how this cycle is supposed to go’ can be a trap that prevents us from flowing through our own phases more organically, in a more honest, authentic way.

Oftentimes in life, simply knowing ‘this is a temporary phase’ is enough. Remembering that death and rebirth happen simultaneously, and that energy is always changing is enough.

It’s ok to be in whatever phase you are in, for however long you need to be. It’s ok to flow back and forth between phases. There is no right way or wrong way. It doesn’t have to match up with anything outside of yourself. Your experience may resonate with a seasonal or lunar energy, or it may not, and it can happen any time, and its all good. It’s part of your path. You are not doing life wrong or misaligned somehow if your plans don’t match up with the moon or you’re not feeling the effects of Mercury retrograde!

Information vs Wisdom Gained from Experience

I’ve been thinking about this whole thing more lately because there’s been a huge increase in astrologers, psychics and witches- and all kinds of random people without any astrological knowledge or study behind them- talking about astrology, the moon and sharing information online. Some of it is parroted info, lacking in any substance or actual knowledge of its complexity or delineation.

I see lots of superficial cookbook associations such as ‘Venus retrograde means it’s the season of the ex!’ ‘Leo season means it’s time to sparkle!’, ‘Plant your intentions, it’s a fabulous new moon!’ (even if it’s under conflicting aspects). I know that friendly bite-size bits of info are all folks want to consume these days, so I get why this is a trend. However, it bothers me that this is where it usually stops.

I started studying astrology formally with a mentor with the Canadian Association for Astrological Education in 2001. Social Media wasn’t a thing back then. We were fringe-y weirdos into hidden knowledge. Ever since, I have been continuing to learn and live the knowledge, which gives a more nuanced perspective than when you simply read an article and parrot things other astrologers say for your own online content. When you study the cycles in-depth, you realise you have to actually live the knowledge and experience it yourself before you can say you know it or understand it. And even then, you still can’t truly know the secrets of the universe or even fully ever understand any of it.

The more I live it, the more I realise I don’t know. I also realise how spiritual systems of understanding are quite limited and can hinder our spiritual growth by encouraging us to continually measure our experience with external patterns, or gaze towards the future instead of fully being in the present. Especially since so much of our existence is online now, I feel it is more important than ever to instead gaze within and live more in the present 3D moment.

Being Present & Leaving Space for the Mystery

What makes life what it is, is its mystery. We’re not always meant to understand it or feel we can control it.

In witchcraft and astrological communities online, I repeatedly see the message that when the season is ripe, we should grab the bull by the horns and go for it! Every new moon, we are reminded to plant those seeds of intention. Every full moon, we’re told to release, let go, or watch what we say to avoid drama. I’ve repeated this narrative too, of course.

But, my practice has been shifting away from harnessing energy to create a desired outcome and instead just flowing with the energy and experiencing it within myself with no agenda.

This idea that we need to harness the energy around us at all times- do something with it, create with it, use it, feels kinda capitalist and colonial to me. I get that it can also be empowering sometimes, so I don’t mean to diminish that, but the messaging often feels steeped in our cultural shortcomings- The fear of being rather than doing, the fear of resting and not producing- and perhaps our biggest fear- being fully present within ourselves.

I feel it is too easy in today’s witchcraft to fall into this trap of needing to be in control, to overly focus on manifesting, to keep ‘using’ nature’s cycles to get what you want, and to spend more time creating online witchy content than living your actual witchy life.

What if we live fully in the moment? Without analysing, or striving to understand its context or place in the whole. What if we spend less time doing and more time being? What if we stop looking outside for validation and listen to the whisperings within?

My practice has steadily been shifting away from manifestation towards surrender over the years. It’s more about connecting with myself and my environment more deeply, rather than spellwork or ‘harnessing the energy’ all the time. I’ve been spending less time online in favor of staying present within my body and self.

I have been outgrowing practices I used to do and making shifts to honour where I am at now.

Midlife Weirdness and my Inner Fall-Winter

I feel I have been in a ‘fall-winter’ phase within for the last few years. My creative and social drive is low, my sensitivity, introversion and spiritual antennae is high.

My solace is the cave of the Dark Goddess, merging with the fertile darkness of Her womb, where all life begins. Cerridwen has been my companion through this. I have been in a process of simplifying, clearing and turning inwards.

I am in a particularly challenging phase of parenting, as my daughter nears her 15^th birthday. I have hit middle age, and my role as mother, as partner, as healer and all the things I identified with is changing.

I am aware of my current astrological, hormonal and life cycles. However, this awareness hasn’t really helped me navigate the path as much as I would expect. My mind wants to analyse and understand but it is being quieted by my heart and soul who just want to experience. I am making space for this transition and doing my best to simply be present rather than grasp at activities that distract me away from it.

I can’t see more than this very moment in time right now, so I am embracing this call inward, this call to self, to letting what needs to fall away go.

I am letting go of my need to know and trusting the mystery before me no matter how strange and uncomfortable it is.

I trust that this process will help me on the next step of my journey.

Being called to the Cauldron of Change and Rebirth

There are times when the metaphorical cauldron calls me to deepen my spiritual lessons. I envision this cauldron as much larger than me, sitting in the earth, tended by Cerridwen. I sit on the edge and dangle my feet in for a while, testing the waters. I may stay there for days, weeks or months, just slowly dipping in, one part at a time, like entering cold water, gathering the courage to let go of the rim and drop all in. Cerridwen is patient with me, most of the time.

I try to go voluntarily or else I know I may just get pushed in. I currently feel I’m headed in for another journey. I’m already quite immersed, I just need to let go of the rim. I don’t know how long it will be, or where it will take me, of course. Not knowing is key to its purpose.

Letting go is a practice. It takes practice to really tune into our internal creative rhythms and listen to the call of our soul- especially if it doesn’t align with our idea of where we ‘should be’ or with our environment.

Change is the only thing we can rely on. This is always a bit uncomfortable for me to accept.

What season are you in?

The seasonal energy I feel within is on the dark side- it resonates with the Last Quarter Moon, the Fall, Midlife, The Enchantress and the planet Pluto. Yet, it is none of those, exactly. This is my own unique experience, my own personal ‘season’- the spiritual phase I embody, as I type this under the high noon July sun and waxing moon. My season is my own.

I am on a journey of renewing my creative energies. Composting the past and incubating new seeds of growth for the future.

Following our creative rhythms takes courage, as it can go against well-worn patterns we’ve become stuck in, or the outside world’s demands- to constantly and consistenly produce and share all the time.

But as a creative soul, I know the importance of doing what is necessary to renew my energy, to keep my creative waters flowing without stagnating. To regain inspiration and motivation requires change and many journeys inward and down to the deep.

Is there a particular aspect of your life, where you feel in a reflective winter phase? A blooming summer phase? A change-filled spring or release of fall?

How do you feel when the focus of your energies is quite different from the energy around you?

What spiritual practices ground you into this moment?

If you are interested in learning practices for renewing your creative energy, as well as celebrating the season of First Harvest, please join me for my online circle on Tuesday, August 1st for First Harvest Circle- The Cauldron of Creativity! This will be my last seasonal circle before I take a pause to renew my creative energies. More on my journey to come, I recommend you sign up for my newsletter below for details.

Wishing you acceptance and love as you move through whatever phase you are in!

Xo Serena

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Healing the Witch Wound

What is the Witch Wound?

Healing the Witch Wound is a bit of a hot topic these days, which I feel is a good thing, because it means folks are waking up to a call deep within to heal ancestral pain and reclaim their power.

The Witch Wound is a layered, collective wound rooted in our ancestral memory and our DNA from persecution and death related to colonisation, the burning times, patriarchy, capitalism and religious extremism. It is a deep and collective ancestral wound we all may carry to varying degrees, and for many, it is still carrying a traumatic charge.

The Witch Wound can manifest in our current life as several fears, including fears of:

Speaking up or speaking our truth
Persecution
Being different or an outcast
Standing in our own power
Success or being in the limelight
Trusting our intuition
Our body, its natural functions & aging
Being feminine, female or gender non-conforming
The wild/nature
The unseen and spirit world
Pursuing a spiritual or alternative lifestyle or profession
Calling yourself a Witch, Pagan, Priestess, or other similar identification publicly
Issues around sisterhood, belonging, trusting other women

As a result of these fears, we may resort to excessive people pleasing, dismissing our intuition, dissociating from the body or present moment, distrust of the body or fear nature, and more. There are many avenues and layers to the healing process, and I feel that each generation and everyone is drawn to their own way of healing it for themselves.

Having some of those listed fears may not be connected to the Witch Wound specifically. Many traumas can create these. However, having a lot of that list activated in your life along with a sense of being persecuted for your spiritual gifts in the past (a past life or ancestrally) may mean you carry the Witch Wound. You do not need to have literally been persecuted for Witchcraft in a past life to feel the Witch Wound active within you.

One interesting exercise is to simply notice what thoughts and feelings come to you when you hear the word ‘witch’?

Witch!

What comes to mind?

A warty, ugly hag with a crooked hat riding a broom?

A powerful, sexual, but immoral or ‘evil’ woman?

A woman speaking her mind bluntly or exerting her will?

A strange healer or non-conformist who lives in the woods, mumbling to plants?

Our negative associations with the word Witch are often rooted in the Witch Wound. For hundreds of years those that lived on the fringe, had spiritual abilities, utilized plant medicine, were women or gender non-conforming, or who held Indigenous perspectives and traditions, have been ostracized, oppressed or targeted through violence or even genocide.

Witch is a charged word, one that I choose to identify myself with, because I feel it is an act of reclaiming of its power to do so. It’s a way of bringing the word back into it’s true meaning of a Wise Woman, Healer and Magickal Person. Calling myself a Witch means I’m someone who lives in tune with the spirits of nature, lives by their intuition, who creates and transforms at will- and proud of it.

Even to this day, however, I sometimes struggle in being openly a Witch. While there is much more acceptance than a generation or two ago, it’s still sometimes scary to identify.

Even if you would never identify as a Witch, you still may carry the Witch Wound, which would show up in the list of fears above.

Persecution & Practical Magic

Practical Magic- My fave witchy movie with Sandra Bullock & Nicole Kidman

One of my most recurring fears is that of persecution. I feel a familiarity with the scene in my favorite witch movie, Practical Magic where the mob of children yell at the young Owens sisters ‘Witch, Witch, you’re a Bitch!” repeatedly, pointing their accusing fingers at them. Even at a tender young age, the girls were tormented for being descendants of Witches, making them immediate outcasts who had to find their magic within to empower themselves.

The girls’ Witch ancestor, Maria Owens was persecuted and set to be executed in the Salem Witch Trials. She used her magic to escape, but eventually died of a broken heart, and cursed her entire line of descendants that any man who falls in love with an Owens woman will die.

This, of course, sets the plot around the adult Owens sisters, Sally and Gilly, who are struggling with their love lives, losing the men they love. They attempt use magic to fix things, only to make them messier.

My favourite part of the movie is at the end, when Sally and Gilly need a full coven of 13 women to complete a ritual to de-possess Gilly from her abusive dead ex-boyfriend. They are forced to call upon the local, judge-y townswomen to come over to help. The women could empathize with wanting to banish an abusive ex, so they managed to put aside their supposed differences, and reconnected with their own power in a circle to heal Gilly. The women found and accessed their own Witch-Power within, through sisterhood and empathy- and made some magick happen! From then on, the Owens family could walk through town being themselves, torment-free, perhaps for the first time in generations.

I love this movie so much because it illustrates how we carry biases, curses and shame for generations, and how it only takes one person making a new, bold decision to end the chain of suffering. Sometimes the only action we need to take is to be ourselves, authentically and openly. It also illustrates how we all have a little ‘witch’ within us, and when we become more comfortable with that part of ourselves, we can love it in others too.

“There’s a little witch in all of us”
Aunt Jet Owens

I feel the ancestors are smiling upon those who dare come out of the broom closet, who dare be themselves and live a magical life in this very uncertain world. To all those who are doing this work, take a deep breath, and remember that you are very brave.

The Healing Spiral

Healing the Witch Wound is a lifelong process. I naively thought a few times that I had healed this wound within myself over the years as I started getting more comfortable with who I am, committing to this path and moving away from conditioning. However, it’s been more like a healing spiral that comes around again and again for new layers of deeper work to do. I have come a long way but am nowhere near ‘completely healed’ if that’s a thing.

I still fear persecution. I still feel insecure in myself. I still make myself small, so others feel safer. The world keeps changing and it’s sometimes hard to know when to stand my ground and when to adapt. When to be visible and when to be invisible. When to share my spiritual gifts and when to have boundaries. Like Sally Owens from Practical Magic, I sometimes just long to feel normal and fit in. But life often teaches me that I’m not meant to fit in, and that’s ok!

“My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage!”
Aunt Frances Owens

When we are doing this work reclaiming our authenticity, being bold and brave and ‘out’- I feel we still need to be discerning and it’s ok to have boundaries that keep us safe. What feels safe for me here in Toronto, may not feel safe for a Witch living in a small town in the US Bible Belt. The cost of being oneself is different for every individual.

While it takes courage, bravery and a willingness to start a fire here and there, it can be wise to remember that ‘You don’t need set yourself on fire just to keep others warm’. Self-sacrifice isn’t necessarily the way to help or create change. Courage to be yourself in the capacity that you can handle is a powerful act. In being yourself, you give others permission to do the same. While we may not always fit in, we are never as alone as we think we are.

Gentle Reconnection with your Inner Witch

The first step of healing the Witch Wound is connecting to your Inner Witch. Your Inner Witch may have many facets, and it’s ok if you’re not ready to explore them all yet. She may have been persecuted, exploited, oppressed, or hidden for survival over generations, and you carry that memory in your nervous system and DNA. Some parts may feel more comfortable to connect with than others. For instance, connecting with plants more intimately may feel safer than ritual, spells or doing shadow work.

I am a fan of gentle reconnection to one’s Inner Witch. This is a tender, yet very powerful part of yourself that cannot be rushed or forced out. And even when the Witch IS out, it may be a long journey of fully accepting and embracing her.

If you are interested in healing your Inner Witch, here are a few suggestions that have helped me:

Intentionally commune with nature as often as you can. Whether it is tending an indoor plant, spending more time outside, or talking to a neighbourhood tree, remember that you ARE nature, and it is YOU. You don’t need to have a green thumb or extensive herbal knowledge to be a Witch. You don’t necessarily need an intermediary to teach you. You have a right to a relationship with the earth. Cultivate your own connection with nature. Choose a tree to have a relationship with. When the sun shines on your face or when you dip your toes into water, acknowledge the elements as beings in their own right, that offer themselves to you and wish to get to know you in return. Even if you are sitting in a fluorescent-lit office in a downtown high rise, you can take a deep breath, close your eyes and connect with your favourite place outdoors in your mind. Surround yourself with reminders of the natural world on your desk or whenever you can’t be outside.

Practice Gratitude. As cliché as it may sound, taking a few minutes every morning and evening to connect with what you are grateful for opens you to the abundance that supports you, and this is essential when doing brave work of healing. It reminds you that you are loved and supported, you are not alone. It may be interesting to note who you are giving thanks to. What higher power do you believe in? When you cultivate gratitude, you grow your spiritual support system and strengthen your trust in yourself, in others and in the unseen, which is a trust that the Witch Wound often erodes.

Tap into your intuition. It’s easy to bypass this wisdom as we are conditioned to dismiss intuition for logic in every situation. Take some time to regularly practice re-connecting to your innate knowing. You may feel intuition as a flash of insight, a gut instinct or a tug in your body somewhere. Next time you need to make a decision, even as small as deciding what to eat or where to park you car, check in with your sixth sense. Discerning intuition from other parts of ourselves may be tricky at times. To navigate this process, you may wish to read my blog ‘Is it my intuition? 5 Ways to Tell.’

Explore different beliefs and paths. There are many different Pagan paths, so it can take some time and experimentation to find what resonates with you. If your chosen path deviates from how you were raised or the dominant belief system in your environment, this can be where the Witch Wound fears show up. Know that you are not alone. We often rely on the trailblazing of others, so seek out elders who have paved the path before you. Perhaps YOU are the Trailblazer of your generation, making it easier for the younger generations to be themselves, OR you may be a Bridge-Maker who facilitates movement between different belief systems and ways of thinking.

Explore your fears. When you are more comfortable with the above suggestions, you may wish to look at the list of Witch Wound fears from the top of this blog and choose one to work on. Perhaps the one that stands out strongly or comes up most regularly for you. Take some time to reflect on where this fear stems from. Childhood memories or trauma? Social conditioning growing up? A deep memory in your bones, in your DNA, or a past life? It may be something worth exploring through journaling, reflection or a therapist.

Connect with community. The digital age has made it much easier for Witches to find each other! Whether it is through social media, a local gathering, or just emailing a Witch blogger like me to say hello or ask a question- connecting with like-minded souls is very healing! I know how intimidating it can be to reach out or meet new people. You are welcome to email me any time with your questions or comments!

Your Inner Witch is beautiful, wise and powerful. Your journey is unique and sacred. May you thrive and grow as you break generational curses and stand tall in your power!

If you are looking for witchy community, you may with to check out my Hearthfire Circles– which are both online and in-person.

Serena

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Healing Allies for Transitions, Grief & Sensitive Souls

I am one of those people who feels grief in the spring, like many do in the fall. My introverted, sensitive soul likes her winter cave of darkness, reflection and inner work. The call of spring to sprout, grow, move upward and outward sometimes blares overwhelmingly like a morning alarm clock, bringing up resistance, grief and also hope within me, all blending into an overwhelmingly emotional breakfast smoothie.

This year’s 28 C weather in mid April (normal high 10 C), has been a tad jarring, thrusting us from a thundering snow storm into full-on summer mode. The city heat came in pounding with traffic, noise and chaos whilst new leaves bud on the trees and birds sang their sweet praises to the awakening Earth. The city has been a cacophony of new life in both lovely and stressful forms.

Although we are soon to get cold weather again, the process of changing seasons can be volatile and challenging to our body and mind.

On the first hot day, I instinctively went for a walk in the nearby cemetery to soothe my dark witchy soul amongst all the new light, heat and noise. I traded my black boots for light walking shoes and went out to greet the sun in one of the only reliable anchors of peace in an urban landscape.

Cemeteries are those rare places reserved for sanctuary, reflection and rest. A place where we can tap into the inward season of Samhain any time of year, giving space to our grief for what’s passing away while new life begins.

Growth and grief always flow together, and yet our patriarchal, capitalistic culture only values the ‘growth’ aspect of life.

The spring season sometimes triggers the feminine wound within me, around the cultural binary that associates growth, light, extroversion, productivity, logic, masculine and yang energy as preferable and superior; Whilst release, darkness, introversion, rest, receptivity, feminine, intuitive and yin energy are considered bad or inferior. Yet one always lies within the other, and beauty is found within both.

I tend to lean towards the Dark Goddess as a Witch, as I work with Cerridwen and resonate with Crone/Wise Woman energy. I was born in deep winter during a waning moon, and a heavy dose of Scorpio energy in my astrology chart. We carry the energies of the moon phase and season we were born in. For me, transformation, release, and darkness feel like home, even though they can also be difficult and painful.

While transition and loss are painful, when I speak of darkness, it is not equated with evil in my mind. To me, darkness is equated with the Great Mystery, the Sacred Womb, the Source of Life. It is peace, surrender, the quiet void of death and the nascent beginning of life. It is the metaphorical Cauldron that holds us safe as we shed old skins and grow into new ways of being. It holds great beauty, power and solace. It’s essence, to me, is the Dark Goddess. The unknowable void of darkness brings up fear, which is why we don’t like it. But it’s only through moving through our fears that we grow. Like spring seeds sprouting through the ground to greet the sun for the first time, our growth processes may have us feeling tender, exposed and vulnerable.

Even if the old reality we are letting go of was toxic, stunting our growth, or holding us back from our potential- it likely still comes with grief- which is simply a reflection of our capacity to love and live with passion. So this dance we feel during seasons of transition can be emotional and complex, as growth and grief dance together.

As anyone who’s had a baby knows, you can feel intense loss and overwhelm along with the excitement new life. You may also feel a sense of pride, excitement and intense grief as they grow up and become adults.

It’s ok to grieve as you sprout, or sprout as you grieve!

As we are now entering eclipse season, it may feel we are crossing a threshold. Emotions may be close to the surface as we feel something is ending as something else begins. We are in a ‘Cauldron Time’, as I call it, a crucible of death and rebirth.

Perhaps some new beginnings are emerging in your life that ask for you to let go of an old way of being in order to grow. Are you ready to take the plunge? Or are you overwhelmed and paralysed with fear? A bit of both?

We can navigate these times of transition without losing our soul in the process. We can nourish our resilience and support our sensitivity, too. In times like these, we call upon the healing allies in the natural world- trees, elements, herbs and crystals that can help. Simply by being with them in nature, connecting with them through medicines we can move through change with greater ease.

Here are some healing allies I have worked with over the years that can help us navigate times of change, vulnerability and loss. Let me know your experiences with them or feel free to share some of your own!

Trees: Black Willow, Weeping Willow, Pine, Cedar

Trees are beings dear to my heart. I think of each and every one of them as a friend, with their unique personality and energy. You can connect with a tree ally by visiting one in person and giving it an offering, such as an herb, animal-safe food, cleaning up any garbage around it, or simply your loving words and energy. Ask it for permission to be with it, sit against it or lean against it. Become open and receptive to its energy. Ask it for it’s advice.

Willows are my favourite allies for helping us to feel our emotions. Ruled by the moon and most often growing near water, the Willow reminds us that it’s ok to feel what we feel. They hold us in a gentle embrace of unconditional acceptance and love.

Weeping willow is an especially tender ally that can bring tears out to release what we’ve been holding back in our hearts, bringing lightness and clarity. They comfort us in their embrace and soften the rough edges that developed from holding our armor on too tight for too long.

Black Willow looks a bit different- they have very textured, darker bark, more gnarly branches and they do not droop quite like the Weeping variety. They hold more of a Crone/Grandmother energy that offers us a soft shoulder to cry on, along with a bit of extra strength, honesty and down to earth wisdom to keep us grounded. These are native to this land and I hold a special place in my heart for this wise ally.

Pine is thankfully abundant and native here as well, offering us a strong yet soft, cleansing energy to support us through dark times. The refreshing smell of Pine sap offers a new perspective and breath of fresh air. Burning Pine needles is a powerful smoke cleanser. Leaning against a Pine tree and asking it to help transmute heavy energies we are carrying can bring strength and help us to clear old baggage. The Bach Flower Remedy Pine is helpful for releasing guilt, which can come with loss.

Cedar is of course native to this land as well and is one of the 4 sacred medicines of Indigenous communities. Cedar to me, feels like ‘home’, more than any other tree. Perhaps, because this is where I call home. It also harkens to my ancestors who relied on this tree for medicine and shelter. When we are feeling uprooted, out of touch with our body, or our sense of home, this can be a helpful ally. It also has strong protective and cleansing properties. Cedar tea is supportive to the immune system, and its leaves are very protective. Cedar wood is extremely resilient and repels bugs. Sitting, leaning against or hugging a Cedar can bring grounding and protection to the sensitive soul.

Bach Flower Remedies: Walnut, Olive, Rescue Remedy, Olive, Rock Water, Water Violet

I am a huge fan of the Bach Flower Remedies! These are excellent for sensitive souls. They are vibrational medicines created from plants in the tradition of Dr Edward Bach, a British physician and homeopath who developed them in the 1930s.

Each remedy carries the energy of the plant it is made with, which is associated with healing a specific emotional state. They are designed to bring us into balance. I’ve been using them for about 15 years and took a Bach Flower course to understand them better. They are available at many herbal shops and health food stores.

Walnut is my number 1 go-to for sensitive souls in times of transition, such as moving, pregnancy, menopause, relationship breakups, seasonal changes, new job or lifestyle situation. It brings a protective shield of safety when we are feeling vulnerable, when we are sensitive to the energies in the environment and opinions of other people.

Rescue Remedy is a combo of remedies that supports us through trauma and shock. This is a remedy for when the change is too much for our nervous system to process and we are struggling to cope. It is great for sudden accidents, illness/diagnosis of serious illness, sudden loss, coping with changes that have us rattled and shaken, or any situation that has us stressed or anxious. It brings comfort and stability.

Olive is for exhaustion. Whether we’ve been caregiving for others or ill ourself, this is the remedy for the weary soul who can’t seem to get the rest and restoration needed to bring one’s energy level back up. Olive feels energising and protective, bringing more resilience.

Rock Water is made from water flowing over rocks. It is a remedy for those of us who deal with stress by getting overly rigid and perfectionistic. Rock Water helps us to soften our need for a certain state of perfection and embrace the messy processes of life. It smooths our rough, idealistic edges, and lets us relax into the flow.

Water Violet is one of the remedies that help those who get very withdrawn and pull away from other people. It helps to open us up to connecting with others and allows grief to process.

Willow helps when we are feeling vicitmised by our circumstances, having suffered bad luck or problems, making us feel bitter or resentful. It helps us to forgive ourselves and others, and take responsibility for what is ours.

Crystals: Black Tourmaline, Jet, Smokey Quartz, Selenite

Crystals hold powerful vibrations that can help transform and/or protect our energy when placed on the body, worn, placed under our pillow or in our environment.

Black Tourmaline is a strong grounding and protective black crystal, excellent for empaths and spongy-sensitive types who pick up other’s emotions and environmental energies. It’s a good one to wear on one’s person if you are out and about a lot or in contact with people regularly.

Jet is also a black crystal but with a very different energy. It is a type of coal, derived from wood that was changed under extreme pressure. It is soft and can easily absorb excess negative energies such as anger, grief, sadness or fear. It was historically worn as jewelry to funerals. I have often used it to help alleviate physical pain such as headaches and menstrual cramps as well. It requires regular cleansing because of its absorbant nature- you can bury it in the earth, run it under water or smoke cleanse it.

Smokey Quartz is one of my favourite protectors for sensitive souls! Like clear quartz, but a smokey grey-black colour, it helps us to focus and organise our thoughts while warding off negativity beautifully. It is great to wear on your person or carry or have in the environment, like in windowsills or other places you wish to ward off outside vibes.

Selenite is a type of gypsum. It is soft, white and looks like moonlight, named after the Greek moon goddess, Selene. Selenite is one of those crystals that cleanses other crystals that are near it. Unlike Jet, it doesn’t hold onto the energy, but helps it flow, like a stream of cleansing moonlight. When your life or energy feels stagnant, stuck or heavy, place a piece of Selenite on your heart centre, under your pillow or beside your bed. I find it helps protect against heavy and negative energies by transmuting them.

The Elements: Water, Earth, Fire and Air

The beautiful thing about the elements is that they are always around us! All we need to do is pay attention and connect! Whether we take a moment in our busy day to just lean against a tree, splash water on our face, or breathe the air more consciously, the gifts of the Earth Mother are here for us, waiting to connect. Once we begin a relationship with an element, we start to notice it everywhere. Like with trees, you can give thanks by leaving an offering of your energy and gratitude, an herbal offering or animal safe food.

Water helps our emotions to flow and release. Drinking more water, taking baths/showers or simply stepping into a stream or lake can help us flow through the changes upon us with great ease and acceptance.

Earth grounds us and calms the nervous system, helping us to feel safe while things are changing. Anxiety pulls our energy upward, which requires a downward flow for balance. Walking barefoot, massaging our feet or holding a squatting position helps to pull energy downward again. You may also find increasing your protein and iron intake helpful as well.

Fire warms and energises. If the changes we’ve been undergoing have depleted our hope, our spirit or lust for life, the simple act of lighting a candle and receiving its light into your heart can bring a shift in how you feel.

Air brings lightness and can help clear our mind. Using a bird feather to sweep away the negative thoughts or herbal smoke to cleanse your energy and space can bring some peace when chaos is swirling around you.

What remedies or healing allies do you find support you during times of transition? Please share in the comments!

The Earth Mother offers Her healing abundance to us as we navigate stressful times. We simply need to take the first step and connect, remembering we are worthy of support, and that acts of self-care are not selfish, but necessary.

Thank-you for reading,

Serena

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