In the dark of this Covid winter, I have been feeling the deep need we all have for connection. For the past year, being in deep relationship with the Earth (and a few very good friends!) has been the balm that has soothed my loneliness and fear, my anxieties about what lay ahead. If I rise each day and greet the sun, and end the day looking at the sky as the sun sets, I know that I am still part of the cycles of life that keep this planet spinning. Perhaps you, too, have been finding ways to connect to these greater perspectives about our place in the world?
Today, the snow was falling lightly, coating the ground once again, renewing the cloak of winter on the Earth. The crows picked at chicken feed in the snow outside the run where I deposited a pile of snow from the last storm. The four of them called back and forth, flying up to the pine tree above and then returning to pick at corn and sunflower seeds in the icy pile. It was cold, but the light had noticeably changed. The chickens are laying more consistently. The sun hangs in the sky a little later each evening, and I can feel spring beginning to ignite underneath the crust of ice. There is power in this time of stillness. Listening helps our visions become clearer and our intentions stronger. As I sip my tea made with flowers dried during the summer, I know that soon, I will slip seeds into blocks of soil to begin the process of sprouting and growing into food and medicines that I will tend to create the stores of food and medicine for next winter.
One of the seeds I am planting right now is the vision of a gathering of people who want to connect to the seasons, the plants, and the elements as a way of healing ourselves and each other. I have been practicing Earth-based spirituality for many years, and so basing the gatherings on the Celtic cross-quarter holidays and the equinoxes and solstices felt like the ignition of a spark inside of me.
Introducing a new series: Leaf, Blossom, Seed: Honoring the Seasons
You’re invited!
This series of gatherings will help us return to deep connection with the elements and the cycles of emerging and falling away that define our lives. We will use our creativity and our attention to explore the energies of each point in the wheel of the year and develop our intuition and trust in the ancestral wisdom we can access through listening and attuning ourselves to the messages we receive from all around us.
We will meet April 24, June 19, July 31, September 18, and October 30 in person, with Covid protocols in place.
Find the full description and registration information here.
Sign up for one of the sessions or all of them, whatever works for you!
Wishing you inspiring end-of-winter visions.