Sabbath for Souls

Today is my Sabbath, and it's also the time of the doorway to the dark half of the Celtic year, the opening of a new cycle. 

The early Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin at this time of year, and so spirits of the dead could visit the living.

This is the time of year to welcome home the souls of your ancestors. But I definitely feel some angst regarding my relatives who moved here to the "New World" to take it away from the Native Peoples, and who bought into the false American Dream, built on the subjugation and decimation of so many other living beings. 

It has become my custom at this time of year to open my heart to healing the soul connection between me and my ancestors.

Agenda:

1. Unity Art for souls

2. Make Soul Cakes

3. Throw the runes

4. Have a soul ceremony

5. Offer ongoing support for my ancestors

The July Garden

July is hot in our valley - hotter than I enjoy. We are experiencing 100+º weather most of this week (which is nothing compared to other parts of the world but more than we are generally used to.)

Luckily, we still have cool mornings. Most big garden projects have been completed, the yard is blooming with lots of flowers, and we have dragonflies and all sizes of bees. It's too late to plant most summer veggies, and too early to start fall crops, so my focus is on garden care - watering, weeding, mulching - and on HARVEST.

Agenda:

1. July harvest

2. July tasks

3. Drying peas

4. July planting tips

A Birdseed Garden and a Duck Cafeteria

This spring I'm planting food for the birds, both the wild birds and my ducks, as part of my Unity Arts practice. 

Unity Arts is designed to open the doors of creative healing, to heal our connection to the earth - to Creation. We are all (de facto) connected because we are a part of nature, but we have built walls to keep nature separate, because our culture is human focused; we've been taught that we are more important than other parts of nature, and that's a hard lesson to unlearn.

Unity Art includes these parts: 

1. Set an intention
2. Collect seed and plants
3. Observing
4. Prepare the beds
5. Plant the beds
6. Creating

7. Sharing and giving thanks.

Seeds in Winter (Unity Art for Pollinators, Part 3)

I've been seeking unity with pollinators, and this week I finally planted seeds.

The darkness of winter is important for seeds. They need dormancy before they can germinate. Dormancy is a protective mechanism that prevents seeds from sprouting too early. Some seeds stay dormant for years waiting for the right survival conditions, and only a complete set of favorable environmental conditions will cause them to begin growing. The seeds of some plants germinate only when triggered by very specific light levels.

Agenda:

1. Read a novena

2. Read "Nature's Best Hope"

3. Light a candle for Unity with nature

4. Plant some seeds

5. Bee art

6. Donate to bees

Infinite Possibilities

I open to the infinite possibility of grace; as we balance on the cusp of winter, and our days grow darker, I rest in the knowledge that my life will unfold as it will. I am guided by my inner light, but also by my inner darkness - they are both integral parts of me. But ultimately, I am not in control of events, only how I respond. 

Agenda:
1. Read "How to Manifest"

2. Make a bucket list

3. Gratitude

4. Unity Art vision

Unity with Autumn Leaves

Last year I designed a Unity Art practice that opens the doors of creative healing, to heal our connection to the earth and Creation. 

We are all a part of nature, but some of us have built walls to keep nature separate; we've been taught that we are more important than other parts of nature, and that's a hard lesson to unlearn. And when we begin to care more about nature it's easy to become overwhelmed, and then we need more walls to protect ourselves from feelings of anger and guilt.

My practice includes the intentional steps of collecting, observing, preparing, creating, sharing and giving thanks. What I'm finding is that it's easy to find ways to connect to the earth, and  - with intention - any simple task becomes a path to healing.

Agenda:

1. Set leafy intentions

2. Collect leaves as a sacred activity

3. Observe leaves

4. Create leaf mold to cultivate abundance

5. Leaf mold thanksgiving