Of magic “they” didn’t cover in school…

I learned a new thing this week. Well, ancient really, but new for me! You see, in all my years in school, we never covered Beltane! Just in case this is new for you, too… Beltane is also known as May Day, the ancient Gaelic festival marking the beginning of summer, especially in places like Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man.

And, yes, I have ancestors from those parts of the world.

The painting you see, above, from a couple of years back, was feeling chatty on Friday night and I could hear her in my dreams, even though she lives way out in the studio. Some research was in order!

First, though, the Moon. I love fingerprint dots… especially for elements of nature. I think it lets me imagine what Creators must have felt when they looked out on the Moon that first evening.

Then, the being. Her name is Isla which is Scottish for moonlight or halo.

Her hair insisted on being amethyst crystals, also made with fingerprint dots. Amethysts carry the energy of peace, clarity, and spiritual wisdom. Some consider them to be nature’s tranquilizer… soothing anxiety, enhancing intuition, and improving sleep. (And yes, I already found the biggest amethyst crystal in the house and placed it on the table beside my pillow!)

Then, there’s the crystal at her throat. Blue Kyanite is used in crystal healing for aligning all the chakras, aiding meditation, and enhancing communication. One source describes its power as helping to unblock, activate, and align our authentic voices. The biggest one I have sits by the chair where the writing happens!

Given the fact that the Legendary Husband and I had early-voted on Thursday afternoon, all that authentic voice stuff sure feels like it fits!

And you’re right, of course, if this conversation seems a bit far afield for a grandmotherly, USA public school educated nurse, teaching elder and pastoral counselor. Here’s the thing… I believe in learning new things. Even the really, really old kind! In fact, I’m working on a book chapter about the Dead Sea Scrolls and continuing to learn along the road. Continuing to learn and make choices!

For this moment, though, there’s a very important teal-colored line ready to join my #Apothecary painting and you can’t keep that kind of energy waiting!

This is one of those days when I’m pretty sure that creating is one of the very best ways to learn!

ps… my non-gmo, heirloom Mugwort seeds are making their way to the garden even now and, yes, there’s even more new learning going on! (Stay tuned!)

pps… there is, indeed, broth in the freezer which means it’s time to fire up the cauldron and make soup! Soup is magic, too! Ready for some magic in your world??? Just click here for my legendary secret formula! (I suspect you’ll love the title…)

Good Trouble!

Tomorrow’s calendar is overflowing. A family birthday… long distance.

Prayer dots to make for a dear friend having surgery… also long distance.

EARLY VOTING! Not so much long distance as – hopefully – long lines!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve about reached the way-too-full level on news. Well, crazy news.

My personal plan has a lot to do with putting my friend, Glinda, in charge of the world. Sadly, I’m pretty sure that’s not going to actually work which means it’s time for my magic! That leads us back to my all-time favorite question:

What am I trying to accomplish???

I want sane people to be making choices. I want food and shelter and healthcare and education for everybody. I want skin color and gender and faith traditions to help us marvel at the complexity of humanity, rather than being used as wedges to divide us.

All of which is, admittedly, a pretty big goal for your average Thursday. Here’s the thing, though…

I’m going to do my best, anyway!

One day at a time. As many days as I can manage. And grace for the days when Joan Baez and cacao feel like all I can actually pull off!

And here’s the surprising part – the odds are good that I’ll actually dream up something useful, even in the midst of the crazy. You know… like creation out of chaos!

Just in case it gets scary, my tiger has agreed to join me. My courage spirit animal from way, way back in the day! You could adopt one, too!

ps… that magic you’ve had all along – Are you ready to set it free??? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up! You bring your dream, a cuppa, and something to write on & with. We’ll name your next step and talk about what might help, around the next curve…

Post Cards from Wonderland!

As Tuesday morning dawned, I woke, wrapped in the magic weighted blanket, and trying to figure out how a whole book skeleton had appeared in my dreams. Then I decided to just be grateful for the gift! And really excited!

You’ve Had the Magic All Along® lives! (Again!!!)

Most of my day was spent graphing out the design, listing chapter titles, and matching them with art to create wisdom cards for tweens & teens. Talk about huge fun!!!

Next came a meeting with my publisher buddy who asks really good questions. All things considered, it beats the socks off the news!

Then, the magic went on. I woke this morning, humming Somewhere Over the Rainbow! Literally!

A bit of research was in order. Turns out that song (which you are quite possibly humming, too) was written for the film, The Wizard of Oz, in 1939, which just might have felt much like today feels! This was the first time, by the way, that one of my paintings has serenaded me in my sleep!

And the magic went on…

My #Apothecary paint videos which, mysteriously, weren’t working yesterday, were feeling much more cooperative today. It was time to ponder a sigil (sort of like a symbol) for the presence of my sovereign self in the world! That felt like an enormous question, especially now!

I watched and wondered and doodled. I mused and muttered and doodled some more. And then, I knew! I couldn’t think of something to add to my canvas because that exact symbol was already there! (Well, my version of it!)

Yep… I’ve shared it before, when I didn’t know why it had appeared. And, I’m counting on you to understand that I didn’t follow the directions so much as I noticed and wondered!

That’s it! The thing that looks rather like a purple eyeball. Technically, it’s my I Am Here! mark and it’s located next to an upper case “E” which is the last letter of the word Courage, deep in the under-layers of paint. The red “pupil” is my thumb print. An ancient sign for I Am Here!

That feels like the clearest thing I can possibly claim in this world, now. I suspect Dorothy would have related!

Glinda, who graciously volunteered for art duty on the upcoming book cover, gave me high fives for listening deep!

ps… as it happens, listening deep is one of my favorite things! Especially with folks like you, plotting magic in the world. If you’re ready for some help along the way, let’s talk! 45 min. My gift! You bring your dream, a cuppa, and something for notes. A Red Thread might be handy, too. We’ll ponder next right things and what it could look like to work together… Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up. And hurry… my calendar is filling up!

I would say “Ooops!” but…

Real truth? My inner calendar is all haywire what with holy-days and chaos and what not. And today got pretty hectic in an inner sort of way. Thus, this is late in appearing!

The highlight was our Red Madonna circle meeting. Holding space. All the feelings welcome. Support along the Red Thread. And the beginning of plans for the coming year. (Stay tuned!)

Then, painting progress. In an odd way, kind of like watching the news. Chaos. Feelings. Meaning. Tears, too. And absolutely no idea what comes next!

Yep, it’s #Apothecary, which has a lot to do with the “medicine” we need. Blessedly, I’ve done this before so I’m in for the road trip because I know I’ll wind up in a place with information I need.

I’m grateful for that knowing… especially with new writing hatching in my dreams. And, that’s where I’m headed, now!

May your dreams be the medicine you long for in this moment!!!

ps… you ARE enough!!!

My knees had an idea!

Ali Velshi, one of my favorite MS NOW buddies, is telling stories on TV. Stories, we might say, of how we got to this day, known as NO KINGS DAY #3.

Here’s one of my favorite quotes…

“IN AMERICA, TRUE POWER RESTS IN THE HANDS OF PEOPLE!”

My inner editor, who lives inside a body with challenges like sore hands and cranky knees, might make one little change, though:

“IN AMERICA, TRUE POWER RESTS IN THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE!”

And, realistically, in their WORDS!

I began my personal march with organic ginger tea and one of my favorite red pens. Yep… Morning Pages! The photo, above, is a peek. And, yes, I am definitely in Grammy Tales® mode!

As I scribbled, the magic began to happen. This idea connecting with that thought. Book characters carrying signs. (Okay… in my imagination!) What would Glinda and Lily Rose and Madam Margaret (aka, my 8th grade English teacher!) have to say in this moment?

Then, an important piece of the puzzle appeared! You see, I needed a bad guy character. The kind who thinks everybody needs to think what he tells them to think. (You hear me!) Not so much a specific person, as an archetype. Familiar, from age-old stories, way before cable news. Research was involved!

Turns out the dusty answer was lurking in long-ago memories of Baby Greek School! Perhaps, you’ve already guessed…

Kratos!!!

…this character embodies the very essence of the name – an unstoppable force driven by both vengeance and the pursuit of strength.

And, yes… they live on. That’s where we come in!

People literally dancing in the streets. A familiar woman who’s probably either a congressional rep or a newscaster, clad in a sweatshirt reading And Still I Vote!

Bill Nye the Science Guy claiming emphatically, It is time to act!

It’s time to consciously re-claim our power from the Kratos of our time. And, yes… there’s a whole lot more to come!

ps… my Cathar forebears are quite probably dancing in the streets, somewhere in the great beyond!

pps… claiming our own magic – and setting it free – can be really hard. Scary, too. It helps to have a friend along for the journey and that could be me! We’ll work together to name, claim, and create your version of the place where you feel called. (Actual marching is totally optional!) If you’re curious – even scared & curious – just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 min. My gift. We’ll explore next right options over a cuppa, a bit of Red Thread, and a place to scribble.

The Void!

Buckle up, dear heart, for the real deal! #Apothecary goes on… And, as is often the case, it feels scary-timely!

First, you should know that I don’t always follow the directions. In this case, the step included covering everything already on the canvas with black paint, creating the void!

Frankly, the void feels pretty close, in this world, already! I’m grateful, though, that there are other stories in my head, too. Including one I learned in #RedMadonna, way back at the beginning of this year, about the earliest known artists, making marks.

Yep… thumb prints. Red clay, perhaps. Or blood. Hunting? Birthing? Perhaps we’ll never know for sure, but – in my tiny corner of the world – I’m going with birthing!

Right there in the midst of the the void!

My mark. My birthing.

Not the original one, of course… but NOW! My becoming. My choosing. My beginning what’s next. Now.

And, then, I woke up this morning with a whole lot of book happening inside me! Cards, too. Different iterations of me, with learning to share.

And I wonder if, maybe – just maybe, humans have always felt like this! If we were created to feel like this… to keep doing new things, even when it’s terrifying!

So, I did what I often do. Research! I looked up my name. Susan. (Just type girl’s name ________ into your favorite toy.) What I discovered is that this name I have – supposedly because both my parents liked it – calls forth both Rose and Lily.

And, that, dear heart, brings up a whole lot of other stories! Some of which will play big roles in that book borning inside me.

First, though, I’m going to need to practice claiming me! So… that red thumb print in the middle of the void. And a whole lot of questions!!!

ps… Curious about YOUR magic??? Glinda & I would love to help! Just click here and the calendar elves will be delighted to hook you up up with 45 min. My gift. The time to step through the door is now! Fix a cuppa, grab your journal, and bring a dream!

Of chaos and knowledge and wisdom…

Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, came out in 1987… the year I began my studies at Columbia Theological Seminary. That was a time in my life that felt quite full of chaos. The knowledge and wisdom are still growing.

Kind of like now. Well, a lot like now… at least when it comes to the chaos. Here’s Morrison’s quote:

…chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge – even wisdom.

She also urged that, in times of crisis, there is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear.

Here’s the part that really grabs me, though… her belief that such times are when artists and people must go to work!

I agree! And not just because I have two grandteens growing up in this world, but because almost all of us have beloveds searching for their paths. For their freedom to be. For their marks to make.

And, frankly, there is a bit of local chaos around here. In the studio, to be exact. Turns out that getting the orthopedics of creativity all sorted can be a challenge! The Legendary Husband and I are on it!

As it happens, it’s also major mark-making time! #Apothecary, to be specific. Though this isn’t the official description, in my experience, #Apothecary journeys are a lot like the old John Denver song that goes…

comin’ home to a place you’ve never been before…

I’m only just getting started. The first step is called coding. Well, in my case, the second step. The first one, which appeared of its own volition, was a question…

What medicine do I need in this moment???

This is exactly what happened in my journal, now enlarged a bit on the canvas. (It almost fit!)

The void comes next, which feels somehow timely. Here’s what I do know, though… I’m all in for the whole adventure!

ps… blessedly, Monday will come complete with a couple of kind helpers, for studio chaos-wrangling!

pps… Toni was right… it IS time!!! If you have things on your heart-list that could use a bit of wrangling, let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. Your deep vision. Cool new guide-tools. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up! It is the next right thing!