Wild Words for the New Season

Equinox blessings to you all! Autumn or Spring, wherever you are – may this shift usher a flow good energy into your life.

Equinox Meditation Alter
All month long, I’ve been working with the vibration of Spring flowers, drawing on their inspiration, beauty and healing qualities, making sage flower essence, drying flowers for tea and many things more. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that my equinox meditation alter is mostly made up of flowers too – along some seashells, a medicine bundle of sorts and a beautiful little Spring Equinox artwork print by Caroline GullyLir that I got at the Goddess Temple in Glastonbury. I want this meditation alter to be a vibe trigger that inspires thoughts of life, growth, celebration and vibrant health, especially vibrant health. This something I seem to be struggling to give myself right now because I’ve been slipping back into unhealthy habits that are not good for my body at all. I’ve made this equinox a fresh start, an opportunity to eat well, love myself, honour my body and make healthier choices one day at a time.

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Spring Wild Word Mantra
My wild word mantra for Spring was inspired by the delicate beauty of freesias. I love the sound of the word freesia. It reminds me of childhood when this flower’s name passed from my grandmother’s lips from time to time. Back then, I’d never heard anyone speak of them, except for her, the passionate gardener whose talent I aspire to live up to someday. Freesias are so dreamy, dainty and have a delicious honey scent. I couldn’t help brushing their soft creamy petals every time passed them in their vase and then just sniff in their sweet honey-laced aroma.

The wild words that came from the freesias are: Sweet(ness), Delicate, Smile, Simple Pleasures and Beauty.

My Wild Word Mantra: When I smile and celebrate the beauty of the season, I awaken the delicate parts of my soul to simple pleasures and the sweetness of life.

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Dear hearts, I’d love to hear from you. What is the energy of the Equinox stirring within you? Have you made a seasonal meditation alter? Have you experimented with wild word mantras and if so what came up for you?

Lavender New Moon

My New moon is full of soft shades of lavender and violet, along with touches of dreamy yellow too. The morning was made of flower picking in the herbal garden – borage, lavender and jasmine blossoms for tea. I put some in a small vase next to my writing desk as well. Late afternoon will be spent making calendula balm as gifts for a cousin and a friend, both who’ve been struggling with eczema.

Overhead, grey tufts of cotton clouds are gathering in the sky. I’m longing for the soothing touch of rain, but I know that this time of year the clouds often come to tease. They bring false promise, maybe a just few minutes of light rain before they disappear again. October/November is usually when the real spring rains begin. But we’ve already had some unusually early showers this year. So perhaps my wishes will be fulfilled today. I live in hope

Emotions are rising from my shadows and stirring some chaos within. Yesterday, I found myself feeling down, angry, frustrated and out of sorts for reasons I couldn’t understand. The new moon card I pulled from the Medicine Woman tarot seems to speak directly to that, encouraging me to work through fears and release my internal resistance so that the seeds and dreams I plant this cycle are imbued with clarity, faith and love.

What I like about using these Medicine Woman cards is that I don’t have a proper guide book. Each card comes with a simple one line explanation (in this case “Allure through opposition or inertia”) and the rest of the message is left up to my intuition. I love that the card I picked mirrors the subtle lavender and yellow colours that I’ve been noticing around me in recent days. I feel that the medicine woman in this card is blowing her pan-pipes to draw the shadowy creatures out from the dark corners of the wild forest into the light. Shadowy creatures are scary when hidden in the dark places of our wild unknown forest within. Yet, when we draw them out into plain sight, surrender them to the light and become better acquainted with these unknown parts of ourselves that we often learn to fear, they are no longer frightful things. Instead, they are transformed into treasures, newly claimed aspects of our wild essence that can begin to serve us and restore us to wholeness again.

As I set out to sit with my feelings, exploring my internal resistance, my fears and whatever else my arise from my shadows, I’ve been burning purifying sage, incense and aromatherapy oils to cleanse my aura, my writing space and my home. Already I feel things shifting and a lightness returning in spaces where energy has been stagnant and stuck for a while. Now is a good opportunity for me to practise the patience and tenderness that I’m learning to approach myself with, so that I plant seeds of self-compassion, acceptance and self-love.

What is this New Moon bringing up for you? What kinds of seeds are you planting?

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How to Meet Your Vulnerability with Tenderness

Delicate things are incredibly beautiful. I held a single jasmine blossom in my hand this morning, amazed at how something so small could offer such powerful perfume. I noticed how I softened in awe of the jasmine flower’s fragile nature. Delicate things do that to us. We are touched by the understated beauty of their vulnerability.

But can we meet the soft and vulnerable parts of ourselves with the same kind of tenderness? Can we release the judgements that we place on our intricate feminine qualities or flaws and see them as things of beauty instead of weaknesses?

I was taught to judge myself harshly and I’ve spent many years on a self-healing path learning to undo this thinking, learning to treat myself with compassion instead. Somehow, holding that tiny flower in my palm offered a new kind of guidance back to wholeness. Is this what I need to do when I project negative judgement towards myself and my so-called ‘weaknesses’?…Hold a tiny flower (or a silky rose petal, a butterfly or a little lady bug) in the palm of my hand. Look at its smallness, its softness and its delicate nature for a moment. Allow myself to shift into gentleness and then hold the vulnerabilities, flaws and things that frustrate me about myself in my heart so that I transfer the same kind of compassion to them.

Every day I am reminded of how important it is for me to be my own nurturer if I want to live in grace and return to wholeness. Using a simple little flower to teach me that may be an inane way to do so, but I am willing to try nonetheless.

How do you meet your vulnerability with tenderness and compassion?

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