Doreen Virtue writes about Freyja this way: “Goddess of fertility, celebration and passion, Freyja rides her chariot pulled by mighty cats (Leo) across the rainbow bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. Unafraid of her sexual power, Freyja teaches us to appreciate our attractiveness and enjoy ourselves.”

Freya Day Sparkle Ritual
Let go of any remaining Holiday sludge and clean yourself up today! Maybe you get your nails done, make an appointment for a massage, shave your legs or pluck your brows, brake out the sexy undies, shine up your jewelry, buy a new mascara, throw out old beauty supplies or whisper sweet nothings to yourself in the mirror!  For all the boys our there, take care of the weird hairs (eyebrows) and throw out the ripped jeans, old underwear and stained tshirts (pits) – get it done! Let’s get moving everyone… go for a run, pump some weights, and toss the clothes that no longer fit for public consumption. It’s time to sparkle yourself up.

Enjoy the day, TGIF!

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First, I have to laugh. Without realizing it, I’ve drafted this blog post twice now. My first draft was written as we approached the Winter Solstice last year with the Sun & New Moon moving into Capricorn. Now, six months later, I am picking up the thread of aligning our schedules with our values as the Full Moon shines in Capricorn this Thursday/Friday and the Sun continues it’s journey through Cancer (home). Any connection? Of course.

Everyone knows how hectic it can be during the Winter holidays and Summer Break, especially if you have kids. Lots of do do do. Here is an excerpt from the first draft on Values written last December:

The Season of Light is upon us. I have to admit, I’m both excited and afraid (because I often do too much.) When looking at our quickly-filling social calendar I start to wonder… how is it all going to work out? How is it all going to get done? and I question, is this what I really want to be doing? Rushing and prepping. Prepping and rushing. When is it ME-TIME?

Now, 6 months later, we are still working with the same question, but it has a different feel to it. The ambitious Capricorn likes to get shit done and the Cancer Sun says bring it home. Both signs are internal, like to build, and love stability and stepping into their own rhythm. So the question for me is – can we allow ourselves to become more discerning so that the shit we are getting down nourishes us and builds us up, rather than leaves us drained and falling apart? The truth is, most folks are simply not aligned with their present tense values and thus, have the stressful experience of the eternal “run around” - extremely busy doing and yet, never having the sense of really getting things done (because there is always more to do, right?) The Rolling Stones wrote a song about it – “I can’t get no… Satisfaction.” And that is what is really upsetting. We may get a lot of shit done, but there is no real lasting feeling of satisfaction. Read that last sentence again. So, what would life feel like if you gave yourself permission to align your schedule with what you truly valued – first and foremost?

In my work as an Intuitive Consultant, I have found that the way home can often be found by going inside and connecting to what we truly value (in the present tense), and then to align our daily schedule to reflect the things that we currently value.

Things to Consider or Beyond the List of Things-to-Do

The Reality of Energy. There are many things that you value. In fact, you may love something so deeply you can’t imagine your life without it and yet, you “don’t have the energy” for it in the present tense. Trust this information. SAVE YOURSELF some suffering and let it go for now. See Only Human below.

Only Human. I have to remind my clients and myself of this fact all the time. We are not meant to do it all. We are only meant to do our part. I use this question to get clear: What do I have energy for right now? The rest of it I pass over to the capable hands of the Universe/Goddess/Divine/Mystery… trusting there will be another season, another turn of the wheel, and more unfolding. Right Timing will inevitably lead to Right Action.

Comparisons Suck. Time to let go of comparing your values to those of the other important people in your life. Each individual is unique. It’s a fact we must learn to celebrate. This is not about your father’s values, or your mother’s values or your culture’s values. Nor is this about your friends, children, siblings, loved ones or pet’s values. This is about you. Getting clear about you and what you value is the surest way to experience true satisfaction and the joy of living.

Values change. What you value right now, in the present tense, might not be what you valued last year, last season or even last week. It’s incredibly important to identify what your current values are. For example, I found that my Winter list of values is different than what I value this Summer. Even though I love and appreciate all the things on my lists, I let myself be drawn to what I have energy for.

WINTER

1. time with my daughter & husband
2. health & fitness
3. work
4. time spent doing ritual
5. celebrating with friends
6. crafting

SUMMER

1. alone time & rest
2. time with daughter
3. health & fitness
4. work & meeting financial commitments
5. organizing & downsizing
6. time outside – in garden and in nature

Start here: Identify What you Value
The Dictionary defines value (verb) as such: (1) to consider with respect to worth, excellence, usefulness, or importance (2) to regard or esteem highly.

Make a list. I use a dry erase board. You can use whatever you want, but I suggest that once you have your values identified, put them up in a place where you can see them on a daily basis.

Step 1) Answer the question, what are the things/areas that are the most important TO ME right now? Write down 6 – 10 things/areas you currently value. Remember, it’s not about what you think you should be doing, but what you feel drawn to be doing. It does not have to make sense to you or anyone else in your life – leave your judgment behind. This is not about pushing or holding back. It’s about telling the truth and trusting the process, the Mystery.

Step 2) Looking at your list, circle 3 – 4 things that you truly have energy for. You may be attracted to everything on your list, and most likely will find yourself engaging in these activities here and there, but the focus should remain on what you feel energy for. From these few things, you will be creating your schedule of priorities. If you are feeling troubled by this limitation, see Only Human above.

Once we are clear on what we currently value, we can stop all the bullshitting and start to honor what really has heart and meaning for us. We can move out of the whirlpool of despair and back into the downstream flow of the river. Connecting to what you currently value can give you clear information about what makes you happy in the present tense and offers you the experience of true satisfaction.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I will talk about externalizing your values by creating a structure, specific to and aligned with your current values. Until then, have fun dipping into YOU!

Resources
Image: Only Human by Heather Bleasdell 2011, embroidery

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Supporting Your Morning Routine

So I hope that having an Evening Routine is supporting your  Morning Routine in a good way. Again, way to go! Starting new habits is not easy. Let’s look at some magical ways to support yourself and your morning ritual that motivate on a whole other level… inspiring self-love, self-respect and increased flexibility.

Magical Support
The heart of practicing Art & Magic is about connecting to what motivates us – in other words, what moves us to action. Knowing that something is “good for us” and that we “should do it” is not always what gets us out of bed in the morning. Having a Morning Routine is not about being good or looking good, it’s about feeling good. It’s about creating time for yourself and saying to the Universe, my needs matter. As Caroline W. Casey expressed in her latest summer solstice invitation, “Magic is simply a hoisting our sails of willingness to collaborate with everything.” So, how can we hoist our sails to partner with the Mystery and receive help in doing the things that make us feel good about ourselves? Here are some ways I’ve found to be helpful in my own practice.

1. Set a Clear Intention. This requires an understanding of the basic principle that of energy follows your intention. Keep your intention simple. What makes you feel good about yourself? When you give yourself the thing that makes you feel good about yourself, you literally lighten up. For example, if quiet time, reading and writing are what make you feel good. Your morning routine might be to read the paper alone in your kitchen with a big cup of coffee and than write 2 pages in your journal within one hour. For me, my intention is to connect, move, & have some alone time so I feel the best when I say hello to myself at spirit, move my body first thing in the morning and have some quiet alone time outside. I don’t invite anyone to join me, not even a doggie.
2. Create a Motivational Mantra. A short 1-6 word phrase. I mentioned mine in part 1, but I’ll say it again here: It’s worth it to feel good. Unfortunately, I like to reason with myself (my mind tries to get out of doing good things for my body), so when imagining myself exercising outside and how good that will feel to me and my body doesn’t work I look to #3.
3. Create an InSight Collage. Based off your intention and what you would like to experience, create an image to motivate you (move you to action) and put it on your altar or in my case, on the side of my nightstand. Instead of battling with the Mystery, partner with it – I set my sail with my intention. For myself, I am extremely motivated by the thought of running trails again (post-pregnancy.) In fact, there is a famous local trail race that I am dying to do – The Dipsea. It’s the oldest trail race in America and it’s practically in my backyard, so the image you see above currently hangs next to my bed… for an extra push to get up. The race isn’t until June 2012, but staying in the best shape I can will not only benefit my current mental state (very important) and help me maintain a higher level of fitness for childbirth (ugh) but give me a good start for my post-pregnancy training (yeah!!!!) Am I sick? a little, but I really like running on trails.
4. Be Friendly with Yourself. What would a good friend say or do? If the circumstances are beyond your control, can you ask for help? Change it up? Shorten the routine? Use the mantra, “Just for Today, I give myself permission to _____.” Being a friend to yourself first is the easiest way to step back into the flow, reopen to creativity and see what wants to happen. Starting, let alone maintaining, a morning routine will take some time. There will simply be some days that it does not happen for any number of reasons (you don’t sleep well, your alarm doesn’t go off, your partner has to leave for work early, your kids wake up early, or simply “i don’t feel like it” is stronger than your motivational magic.) Here is my current practice: I do my best to “let go” of what I wanted to have happen and compromise – I still do something. And, I try not to miss 2 days in a row. (I learned that part from Zen Habits.)
5. Seasonal Awareness. Every season is different and brings it’s own unique flavor to your Morning Routine. For instance, there is no way I am getting up and going outside to exercise in the dark of Winter. But in the Spring & Summer, I love to wake up with the morning light and get outside before the family awakes. There are also seasons & cycles connected to your body, your emotions, or perhaps your family is sick. Letting your Morning Routine shift and change to reflect the season you are in is both friendly and smart.
6. Ask for a Healing. If you are experiencing trouble giving yourself a structure that really works for you, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Help can come in many forms. Do you need a coach, a therapist, a friend, a morning buddy, an online group, etc.? Do you want to schedule an Intuitive Consulting Session with me to go deeper into the challenges you face around giving to yourself? You can also ask for help from your own inner-guides and helpers. Write what you are longing to experience - ease in creating and maintaining a morning routine - on your altar and look for signs that your call is being answered.

As Ms. Caroline W. Casey suggests in her magical quote above, let everything help you out! If there is something magical that has helped you create a morning routine that works, please feel free to share in the comments. Be well, be happy! xo heather

Review
Part 1: Creating a Morning Routine
Part 2: Practical Support for your Morning Routine
Part 3: Magical Support for your Morning Routine

Resources: Caroline W. Casey, Zen Habits, coaching with Anne Marie of Goals for the Week!
Image: My motivational collage to help me get up in the morning.

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So now you have created a Morning Routine (Part 1) that feels good to you. Way to go! Everything is going along smoothly when all of a sudden, you morning routine gets squashed – either by you, your people, or circumstances beyond your control. So, what do you do when you run into interference/resistance energy? Let’s look at some practical ways to support yourself and your morning ritual with self-love, respect and flexibility. In Part 3, we look at some Magical ways to support your Morning Routine.

Practical Support
Create a good Evening Routine. I’m sorry to say it, but a good Morning Routine starts the night before. Committing to getting up and creating the conditions for your success is half the battle.

1. Tell someone: Let your husband, partner, roommate, friend, child know that you are getting up and what time you are getting up. Communicate any concerns and get on the same page about who is doing what and when (if you are in a family.)
2. Set your alarm: We talked about this in part 1, but make sure you choose a reasonable time. Then, set your alarm. Some people would say to put it at a distance from your bed. I’m not a huge fan of this, because it’s annoying to my partner or could wake my sleeping child…. and any momma knows, this is NOT AN OPTION. I keep it close, but if I don’t get up right away, it becomes harder and harder. I chant my current mantra… “It’s worth it to feel good” until I get my feet on the floor.
3. Set Up your Supplies: This may sound dorky, but I put my fresh running clothes in the bathroom next to a bottle of water. It makes it a world easier to get dressed if they are sitting in front of me, post-pee. I also clear off my desk and make sure I have a fresh candle on my altar, journal with pen and Oracle Cards sitting right there. (Benefits: No commotion to wake others up getting things ready or wasting precious sleeping time gathering supplies.)
4. Reasonable Bedtime: This is a tough one, because for many of us, our time at night might be the only time we have for ourselves. That being said, you have to do what feels reasonable for you. For me, being pregnant and having a 3 year old, I start my bedtime routine around 9:00 PM on weeknights and am usually turing out the light by 9:45 PM. That is the easiest way for me to wake up early and feel good.

Here are some more practical ways to stay engaged with your Morning Routine:

• Think SMALLer. Keep it simple. If you have a strong “someday” conversation about starting your routine, being ready or having more time… than let me break it to you gently, it’s never going to happen. This is not about “finding the time” it’s about making the time. Everyone has 5 minutes. What can you commit to do for 5 minutes every morning that is simply all about you feeling good about yourself?
• Make Adjustments. I’ve been committed to my current morning routine for about 5 weeks now. After about 3 weeks, the novelty wore off and it’s been harder to get up and keep my commitment. I have a great excuse (I’m 6+ months pregnant) but the truth is, I feel better when I do my routine. So one adjustment I make is, I get up later… around 6:30 AM sometimes (instead of 5:45-6:00) and I tell myself I don’t have to do any jogging during my jog/walk.
• Get a Buddy. Share this idea with a friend and commit to supporting each other. Set up a checkin call, or txt each other on your progress. Accountability can be very motivational.
• Techie Motivation. I use an iPhone. If I take it with me when I exercise I can not only Track My Ideas on the digital notepad, I can track my distance with the handy little app Run Keeper. It is a free app for iPhones that has a GPS function to map your route and measure your fitness level. I don’t normally listen to music while I exercise outside because I like the natural sounds better, but on occasion,  I will listen to NPR or put on a talk that I have downloaded from the internet on my iPhone, if I am meeting a lot of resistance getting out the door.
• Treat Yourself. I play games with myself and offer treats if I do my routine, like Lattes and imaging the feeling having alone time during my walk.

Interference Energy
The truth is, shit happens. No one is immune. The best way to deal with change is to acknowledge that you are not in control of everything and be kind to yourself by doing a little something.

• Shorten your Morning Routine. If you can’t do your whole routine – for whatever reason – do part of it. Do 5 minutes. Do something for yourself. If you have one minute – say your motivational mantra and affirm your grounding “I am grounded.” Than move along.
• Create an Alternate Routine. For myself, I do the part of my routine that I call “connecting to spirit” – I light my altar candle, say hello to myself at spirit, draw an Oracle Card for the day, and write down my prayer and what I would like to experience. If I have 10 minutes, I’ll do a little stretching as well.

Okay friends, that’s it for now. Remember, no body is perfect. Having a morning routine is all about feeling good about yourself not finding more ways to beat yourself up! If you have any practical ideas you’d like to share about how you support your morning practice, we would love to hear about them in the comments section. When you are ready, check out Part 3 to dive into ways you can Magically Support your Morning Practice.

Review
Part 1: Creating a Morning Routine
Part 2: Practical Support for your Morning Routine
Part 3: Magical Support for your Morning Routine

Image: My clothes for exercise, set out in the bathroom the night before. Not very exciting, but extremely motivating for someone who does not like to figure out what to wear.

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Have you ever felt like the day just slips away from you? What is the difference between those days and the days that you feel on top of it? Everyone probably has a different answer but for me, having a consistent morning routine makes all the difference. Now, I’ll be honest with you, creating and sticking with a Morning Routine is not easy and it’s doubly not easy if you are a mom of little ones. That being said, a morning routine – no matter how simple it is – can create just the right amount of stability to really anchor your day. I’m not talking “productivity” necessarily, that comes and goes, ebbs and flows like the tides (and your commitment to organization.) I’m talking about connectivity – having the feeling that you are connected to something bigger than the spontaneity of your daily experiences. I’ll use my own Morning Routine as an example.

STEP 1: Reality Check
Tell the truth about your situation. Not how you would like it to be or how it should be, but how it is. Here is my reality:

I have a 3 year old and I’m 5 months pregnant. If I don’t go to bed at a reasonable hour (for me) or do too much the day before, I have trouble getting up the next morning. If I don’t get up in the morning and do my routine, I tend to have an off day. And when I say “off day,” it doesn’t mean that things go badly necessarily, it just means it doesn’t feel so great because I find myself waiting most of the day to do (get to) the things that are most important to me. And sadly, it often doesn’t happen at all. That is my True Story.

Step 2: What do I need to do to feel good?
Pick three things you need to feel good about yourself. Again, don’t choose things that you think you should be doing. You will be honoring the “should” many times during your day. The Morning Ritual is about YOU only. If nothing comes to mind, brainstorm a list. Don’t hold back, don’t edit. Once the list is written, circle 3 things that make you feel good about yourself. You can add more activities later. For now, pick only 1-3, you can build more into your routine later. Ideas: meditate for 5-10 minutes, read a chapter of my book, stretch, light candles on my altar, eat a healthy breakfast, write for 10 minutes in my journal, make a list of the 3 MIT (Most Important Tasks*) I need to do today, etc.

Here are my top three feel goods: 1) exercising 2) connecting to spirit 3) alone time … which leads me to 4) taking care of my body (water, vitamins, breakfast). There are other things that I do during my day but if I start off with these few things in the morning, I tend to feel good about myself and my day, regardless of what happens.

Step 3: Create & Commit to a Routine
Based off of the reality of your situation and the three things you need to feel good,  how early do you need to get up? Again, start off with simple and easy steps. If you need to get up at 4:00 AM to accomplish your morning routine… and you currently get up at 6:30, it’s probably not going to be sustainable so think small and doable. Once you come up with a time you can manage, how many days a week can you commit too? Again, as you get used to a morning routine, you get get up earlier and add more. Here is my approach:

My Sun is in Aries so I love spontaneity, however, if I don’t plan the night before, I will spontaneously decided to sleep in when the alarm goes off. So for me, the most effect morning routine starts the night before. I lay out my clothes for my jog-walk in the bathroom next to a big glass of water, before I hit the sheets. I set my alarm and get up between 5:45 and 6:00 AM, before my family awakes. (Note: my 3 year old wakes between 6:30- 7:00 so I have to negotiate with my hubs or get up earlier – depending on what is going on.) Getting up and getting dress are the parts I don’t like the most, so I do those things first. Then I drink my water. After that, I light a candle on my altar, burn some sage to clean off the night, draw an Oracle Card for the day (currently working with Doreen Virtue’s Archangel Deck), listen for any messages, write a short prayer in my journal and express one thing I would like to experience that day. (NOTE: I do this part quickly without a lot of ceremony. If you are new to the magical part, consider doing one thing here. I’ll say more about this in Part 2.) Then I leave the house and take a brisk jog-walk for 30 minutes by myself (alone time!) If I do my morning routine… drinking more water, breakfast and vitamins are sure to follow. Sometimes my family is up by the time I get back, sometimes not. Either way, whatever follows that day seems to be okay because I took care of MYSELF FIRST. (Oxygen mask on yourself, before putting it on your child theory.) I am committed to doing this 5 days a week. My week is Sunday through Saturday. More often than not, I do it 6 days a week. Once it is a part of your life, you feel weird not doing it.

Benefits
Besides feeling good about myself, which is a big deal, I get LOTS of great ideas on my walks. In the past, I used to get a lot of ideas while I lay in bed daydreaming in the morning but those days are few and far between with a 3 year old and spotty pregnancy sleeping. I am also less angry and resentful of “_______” (fill in the blank: my family, job, circumstances, etc.) and their needs (RE: Oxygen Mask Theory.) Finally, I get the obvious benefits of taking care of my health and spirit. TA DA!

For Part 2 – The Practical & Part 3 – The Magical, I’ll talk about how to deal when your morning routine gets squashed – either by you, your people, or circumstances beyond your control – with practical and magical steps. For now, start thinking about what things make you feel good about yourself and how you might be able to incorporate some of those things into a morning routine.

Review
Part 1: Creating a Morning Routine
Part 2: Practical Support for your Morning Routine
Part 3: Magical Support for your Morning Routine

*Resources: Zen Habits

Images: 1) Addie Sleeping while I do my Morning Routine. Her cuteness actually makes it harder for me to get out of bed… but it’s worth it to feel good about myself and hopefully, be a better mommy for it. iPhone photo. 2) Birdhouses – an early morning snapshot of one of my favorite homes along my morning exercise route. iPhone.

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Last Friday a woman jogger was attacked in the early morning around 5:45 AM (read news story.) She fought back and thankfully got away. There are a lot of lady runners in my town, including myself, and it’s a shock for all of us. This morning women runners gathered at the Pete’s coffee downtown at 5:30 AM to run the same route to Take Back the Morning Run. My friend Anne Marie to drive over from Sonoma to join the group run, so I set my alarm and went to bed early. Throughout the night I woke up with anticipation only to miss my alarm! When I did look at my watch it was 5:38! I jumped out of bed and into my running clothes, texting Anne Marie as I ran out my front gate thinking – “isn’t this ironic that I have to run by myself, in the dark, to meet a group protesting the attack of another lone female runner!”  I hate that getting up early nor doing the run isn’t the only thing I have to worry about. I also have to be cautious of some misogynistic a**hole who might attack me. Just as these thoughts passed through me, my friend John runs by my gate. (Now that guy goes on a very early run!) He offered to run part of the way with me… so what can I say, I was off and running. Shortly after saying goodbye to John, I saw a group of bobbing headlamps bouncing towards me. It brought a tear to my eye.

I was moved by the community of lady runners who woke up early, put their shoes on and went out into the world saying – your actions might scare us but WE ARE RUNNERS. We are women, mothers, workers who run to keep our sanity and for a thousand other reasons. Even though I missed the beginning of the run, Anne Marie told me that they made a blessing beforehand. Not just for the mother runner who was attacked, but for the entire community – that with each step of our running shoes, light and good feelings would be sparkled throughout the neighborhoods. This morning, I was proud to be part of a group who took back the morning run.

As a woman, I will always be Leary of running alone in the dark, but now I know women who run ridiculously early so I know I will not have to run alone. Love this town. Loved this community ritual.

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“Ofrenda,” soft pastel on amate bark paper, Emily K. Grieves, 2010

By Guest Blogger, Emily K. Grieves

Copal. Papel picado. A kilo of guavas. Sugarcane. Chocolate skulls. A dozen candles. Marigold petals. A shopping list for Days of the Dead reads like a poem, and creating an altar out of the items on the list feels like poetry. I have the good fortune of calling Mexico my home and so I have inevitably adopted the traditions of this place. Since my first experience of Dias de los Muertos, when I built my own tiny little ofrenda, it has become my favorite holiday of the year. Now I dedicate a large table in my house to my yearly offering to the spirits, and I have helped groups create huge altars that are as much installation art as they are communal connections to the dearly departed.

Whether the ofrenda, or “offering,” created for the dead is large or small, its effect on me is always the same. When the billowing warm scent of copal incense, candle wax and ripe guavas hits me, I remember that all of creation is made of energy and that the barriers between “physical” and “non-physical” are thin indeed. The offering reminds me that life and death are just flip sides of the same coin. The ofrenda lights up the doorway where death and life meet. I remember that thousands of years ago the ancestors of Teotihuacan, this magical place where I live, buried their dead in the fetal position, knowing that death was simply a birth into a new life.

The symbolism and traditions of Dias de los Muertos are as variable as the convoluted history that went into its making, merging numerous pre-hispanic festivities with the Catholic holidays of All Souls Day and All Saints Day. Each year a bit more tradition is lost to the barrage of Halloween consumerism, plastic pumpkins and cheap costumes streaming down from the States, but core symbols remain the same in any celebration of Dias de los Muertos. Marigolds are important, sold by the armload, stuck in vases, heads plucked off and dotting the altar, a fiery orange line of petals laid out from the front door to the offering table. Marigolds symbolize fire. The spirits returning to this realm from dark Mictlan can find their way by the light of the bright path of petals pointing to their fiesta. Because the journey is long, the living welcome the spirits with something to drink, water or a shot of tequila. The living “sweeten” the journey for the spirits by offering treats – sugar-glazed breads, chocolate, big clay cazuelas full of fruit. On November 1st, children go door to door “asking for skulls” as physical stand-ins for the dead children honored this day, receiving treats off the altars and eating them on behalf of the spirits. On November 2nd, the spirits of dead adults are honored, and the church bell rings the death toll all night long.

I recently looked back at a description I wrote of my first little celebration of Dias de los Muertos, to see the holiday again through new eyes: “I sent my prayers to all the dead coming, all those I didn`t know and the few that I did, to the friends, to all the ancestors. You could almost imagine them flying overhead, peering down on this little village perched between train tracks and pyramids, chuckling at our sweet blind humanity. You could imagine them watching us as we laid out chunks of sugar cane and chocolate. You could feel their smiles, knowing they live always in the light in the atoms in the air right next to us. I asked the powers that be to send healing through all my past and future ancestral lineages, knowing that on a night like this there is no past and no future.”

I think, what an amazing culture – where the ancestors buried dead babies in clay pots to return them to the womb, where the ancestors buried family members directly under the floors of their house to keep them close, where to this day the dead are laid out on the kitchen table all night for a wake, then carried through the streets with mariachis and marching bands on their way to church, where the dead are celebrated every year, where they get to come back to this world for a couple of days to eat their favorite meal, where the living have a sweet window to death, and the dead always have a doorway back to life.

What do these kinds of traditions mean to us? How can these poetic colorful symbols and practices speak to us in our own lives about celebrating both the dead and the doorway between life and death? What can we “offer” to the spirits to show our own appreciation and gratitude for Life? That is what this holiday is really about, giving thanks for the wondrous opportunity to live a life, to be Life, no matter on which side of the doorway we find ourselves. Leave a comment if you feel inspired.

Emily K. Grieves is an artist and healer dedicated to helping people find connections to the sacred in their lives. She explores symbolism, mythology, and ritual in her artwork, drawing inspiration from the celebrations and mysteries of Life. She has also dedicated herself to the healing arts as a practitioner of shamanism and hands-on healing energy work for over 10 years. She lives with her family in Teotihuacan, Mexico, where she has painted murals in the Dreaming House, and where she helps lead groups into the transformative energies of the pyramids. To learn more, visit www.livingwithpyramids.blogspot.com and www.thedreaminghousemx.com.

Image: “Ofrenda,” by Emily K. Grieves, 2010 – soft pastel on amate bark paper

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Today the Full Moon is in Aries AGAIN. It was last in Aries a month ago, so whatever you did not get started then, you have a fresh boost to make it happen now. For me, this looks like putting some of my magical creations out in the world.

I co-created Prosperity and Abundance Mantra Cards with my friend Mary Swanson a few years back. (She is a master mantra mama.) I’ve issued them in several forms over the years, as has she, but this iteration is by far my favorite. For me, I wanted them to feel handmade while being practical and of course, ridiculously cute. Beyond that, I also wanted to open an ETSY store. Opening an online store has been on my wishlist for years – no joke! Well, I got it done. None of it was easy or fast. I experienced a ton of resistance AND I took one tiny step at a time and eventually got it done. And do you know what helped me achieve this feat, more than any other thing? Committing to it on my blog 2 weeks ago as the thing I would do to Stir the Pot. I’m not sure how many friends are reading this blog, but when I tell someone I’ll do something I become incredibly motivated. (Except of course, if that someone is my husband – sorry sweetie!) So there you have it.

Now, I hope to be slowly posting some of my stuffed animal friends to the store for the holiday season because let’s face it, my studio is only entertaining for so long and these curious creatures are dying to get out and see the world.

Here’s an exercise I like to do with myself and my clients: Make a list of all the things that are on your mind and/or distracting you. Then close your eyes, take a breath and consciously “take a step back” from the list. Allow the top three things to rise to the top of your consciousness. Say hello to them. Then let the one that has the most present-tense energy come forward. Now, let yourself be aware of ONE step that you can take in this area and commit to doing that one step by a certain date/time that is both reasonable and doable. Put the rest of your TO DO list on the altar – handing it over the Mystery. That’s it.

Leave a comment about the one step you will take and/or what you are laying down on the altar.

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I saw this image on a wonderfully interesting Swedish blog,  Fine Little Day. Folks have hung all their pacifiers from a tree. It’s called the soother tree. Making a ritual of the habits that no longer serve us. How can we commemorate and honor the important transitions in life, in a meaningful way, that acknowledges that we all suffer, we all need soothing, we all let go, we all change, and that we are all in this together?

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SPRING EQUINOX – Saturday, March 20th

The Spring Equinox or Vernal Equinox is right around the corner – bringing equality between day and night… and marks our passage from darkness and cold to warmth and light. As the newly reborn sun moves across the sky, the days become longer, the air warmer and, once again, life begins to return to the land. The equinoxes mark the time in which seeds would be planted (spring) and then harvested (fall.) In the old tradition of celebrating Springtime, the ancient goddess, Eostre, a Saxon deity who marked not only the passage of time but also symbolized new life and fertility, was the key symbol of the celebration of the Vernal Equinox, which was also known as Ostara. Legend says that the goddess was saved by a bird whose wings had become frozen by the cold of winter. This process turned the bird into a hare. Yet this was no ordinary bunny; this long-eared rabbit could also lay eggs! I think you know who I’m talking about…

MORE IDEAS

TIP +  Spring Ritual for Abundance The planting of the new crops would often be held during the new moon closest to the Equinox (Monday, March 15th – New Moon in Pisces). In honor of this tradition,  gather seeds to represent the things you want to grow during the new year (refer to your vision board/resolutions) — abundance, wisdom, understanding, patience, love, partnership, unconditional love, etc. As you plant your seeds in a pot of soil or in your garden, visualize those qualities coming into full bloom in your life. As you plant them, bless the seeds honoring the 4 elements: pat the seed in the dirt (earth), water it, blow on it (air) and light a candle by it (fire) or hold up to the sun. Express your gratitude to all the people, places and things that have gotten you to this point in your life. Invite the seeds out the formlessness of winter’s dreaming…asking them (and yourself) to awaken to the light of spring – to grow and thrive with new life and new possibility. YES!

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