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juniper stokes 4/7/24 juniper stokes 4/7/24

Um…maybe it’s not your intuition (How to tell true guidance from mind chatter)

Have you ever sat down to do a bit of meditation, journeywork, or intuitive practice…and as soon as you close your eyes, your mind is flooded with images?

Images that go by so fast you don’t know how to interpret them. Images that seem frightening or stressful. Images that are just plain confusing…

While assisting Sandra Ingerman during one of her workshops on intuitive development, I facilitated a breakout room for folks to explore their journey experiences.

One woman shared that when she entered the journey, dozens of images flashed through her mind, and t she didn’t know what to make of them. She wondered if she could trust what came through since it was so immediate.

First thought, best thought, right?

This was the consensus of the group. Everyone piped in with “Yes! Trust yourself, trust what you see. Maybe you work fast. You can do this!”

I expected this reaction. In nearly every shamanic or intuitive development course I’ve attended, the refrain is the same: Trust your intuition. No, you aren’t making it up. This is how spirit communicates with you!

And this messaging makes sense…to an extent.

Probably the number one hurdle when it comes to cultivating your intuition is doubt. Our society values evidence-based results, the scientific method, and logical explorations of our challenges.

Most of us live in our left brains and have been enculturated to doubt anything beyond our ordinary 3D reality. It truly is an ongoing process to rewild ourselves back into right relationship with our inner knowing.

But…. (you knew this but was coming, right?)

This approach ignores the fact that our minds constantly create millions of thoughts all the time that have absolutely nothing to do with our intuition.

We do our students and ourselves a disservice when we ignore the very real possibility that it’s actually not your intuition this time.

Of course, this makes intuitive development tricky. How do you know the difference?

There’s no simple answer to this question. Like I said, it’s a process. Fortunately, understanding just a bit about what might be happening instead of your intuition is a good first step.

Is it intuition, or a purge?

Let’s go back to the woman in Sandra’s workshop. Maybe her intuition really was coming in quickly. Or maybe, she was experiencing a “purge”.

Our minds are so full and capable that they have a hard time shutting off. And we live in a world where we are constantly bombarded by information.

If you don’t create space for all this input to flow, it’s almost as if it gets dammed off and stuck in your mind. Then, when you finally do sit down for some sort of meditative practice, it bursts through the floodgates all at once.

The result? You’re immediately flooded with quickfire images and thoughts — even if you’ve set the intention for spiritual communion. Generally, once this influx if mental activity has a chance to move through your awareness, your mind can calm down enough for true insights to come through.

This phenomena is really easy to take care of by — you guessed it — meditating.

The more often you create space for thoughts to flow through your awareness, and the more you cultivate the ability to focus and quiet your mind at will, the easier it will be for you to more quickly and intentionally access your intuitive guidance.

Related to the purge above is a different kind of purge — a purge of psychic material.

Just as we all pick up on physical gunk as we go throughout our days, we pick up on energetic gunk, too.

A lot of this is your run of the mill dense energy, negative thought forms, and collective psychic activity that gets lodged in your own energy field.

When this happens, the first images you receive are often the result of psychic processing. Just as information needs to move through your mind, foreign energies need to move through your psyche.

This is totally normal, and as before, simply allowing it to happen usually creates space for you to receive true information.

Just as meditation helps keep our minds ready for spiritual practice, a good energy hygiene routine can help keep your psyche ready for intuitive insights.

Remember your negativity bias.

Humans were gifted with a lovely little mental trick called the negativity bias. And thank goodness! The mind’s natural tendency to focus on and remember negative experiences has played a major part in the survival of our species.

I’m pretty sure that my personal negativity bias is on steroids.

Every time a loved one simply goes to the grocery store, my mind creates a story that they’ll get in a horrible crash, or there will be an active shooter, or the apocalypse will suddenly happen and they’ll have to trek back to me (without groceries!) while I wonder if they’re alive…

Seriously — that’s just a taste of the amazingly awful stories my mind creates for me.

(As my partner once said, in response to another one of my disproportionate fears about daily life, “If that were true, every other person would be an ambulance driver.” He’s good for me.)

Learning how to discern a fear that’s been programmed into your mind from a real intuitive warning comes down to understanding your nervous system. This takes time, practice, and a lot of self-knowledge.

When it comes to spiritual practice, however, you have an advantage: Effective spiritual practices usually have nervous system regulation built in.

Take time for a body scan, breathwork, or visualizations that help you come into a state of calm. Practice bringing your brain into a meditation state with binaural beats, a drumming track, or even sacred fragrances.

When you combine this somatic work with clear intentions and prayers, you are much more likely to receive true guidance rather than fear-based stories.

Does this mean you’ll never receive scary guidance? Not at all. But when it comes through, you will feel your own power to respond in a healthy way, rather than the panicked kind of response you’ll get from the negativity bias.

To really trust your intuition, you must know yourself.

Everyone has different intuitive strengths and weaknesses. Different ways of caring for their nervous systems. Different ways of receiving and discerning information.

The more you get to know your own uniqueness, the more you’ll naturally know when to trust what arises intuitively.

Whenever I teach on this topic, I share a few keys for unlocking your intuitive gifts:

Know your clairs. The “clairs” are different sensory ways we can receive intuition. You need to learn not only which ones are strongest for you, but the unique ways they work together for you to really understand your intuitive guidance.
Know your symbolic language. Sometimes we’ll get lucky and intuitive insights come through like a how-to guide for your life. Quite often, however, insights come through symbols and metaphors. The more you know how to interpret your personal dictionary of symbols, the easier it will be for you to receive intuitive messages.
Know that you actually are imagining everything. And this is a good thing! Imagination is absolutely one of the languages of spirit and our own subconscious. When you’ve done the prep work to tend your nervous system, clear your mind and psyche, and set your intentions, you may very well “imagine” the intuitive guidance you need.

Resources

If you’re just getting started with shamanic journeying, I go into more depth with all of this my mini course, The Art of the Shamanic Journey.

This course is included with paid subscriptions to my Substack, The Mythoanimist Path. Subscriptions are only $5 per month, and you can totally binge the entire 7-lesson course in one month if you want :)

The absolute best way to go deeper with these teachings and more is to join me in person this June! I’m offering a 3-day immersive workshop all about spiritual rewilding, shamanic practice, intuitive development, ritual, ceremony, nature communication…all the good stuff.

Early bird registration ends April 19th and there are a few spots left!

Learn more & Register

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Am I making this up? (And other common shamanic journey mistakes)

Have questions about your shamanic journey practice? Facing some obstacles? Wondering if you’re doing it right? These are the top 7 mistakes I see people make when it comes to taking a shamanic journey.

Shamanic journeying is a practice that brings us into direct contact with spirit. It allows you to travel to different dimensions of our reality and various spiritual realms, communicate with spirit helpers who love you, and clearly access the wisdom of your own higher self.

Sounds amazing, right?

It definitely can be. But most people encounter some stumbling blocks along the way.

When you’re just getting started, you might feel a little confused…wondering if you made everything up, or did it right, or can trust what came through.

At other times you might feel really frustrated or disappointed, like nothing happened and you just can’t do it.

This is normal. All of these experiences are normal. And none of them mean that you’re special or more of a natural, or that you're not good enough, or that you can’t do it.

The truth is that a million things can affect our shamanic journey experiences.

Even experienced journeyers encounter obstacles sometimes. It could be as simple as the time of day was off, or you were feeling too distracted. Or, maybe something that seems totally unrelated was getting in the way, and the next time you try it will go so much easier (or vice versa!).

Ebbing and flowing with the intensity and clarity of your journeys is normal, especially at the beginning.

Give yourself grace and know that spirit has your back, even if things feel challenging at times.

Over the years, I’ve taught hundreds of students and clients how to journey successfully, and I’ve seen the same questions arise again and again. Let’s look at some of the most common obstacles that arise when you’re exploring the world of shamanic journeying.

7 mistakes people make when taking a shamanic journey

1. You think that you’re making everything up

One of the most common questions I receive around journeying is...How do I know if I’m imagining it or if it’s real?

Here’s the thing—it’s always both. Imagination is the language of spirit. So yes you’re imagining it, and yes it’s real.

Of course, this can be hard to believe because our very creative minds imagine horrible things all the time. We have that lovely negativity bias to ensure our survival, so not everything our brain comes up with is real, clearly.

The key with your journeys is your intention and your state of consciousness. This combination—setting the intention for spiritual guidance and shifting into a calmer brainwave state that supports spiritual insight—ensures that you can trust whatever comes through.

But this doesn’t mean that what comes through will make sense right away, which leads us to the next important point around our journeys—spirit also communicates through symbols.

2. You take your journey too literally

One of the biggest mistakes beginning journeyers make is trying to take what happens in their journeys literally.

For example, you might see yourself writing a book. Does this mean you’re supposed to write a book? Maybe. Or maybe it means your guides want you to look at your life story like a book, focus in on a particular chapter, or change the story you tell about your past.

Wondering how to learn your own symbolic language? Here’s the thing—shamanism is a results-based practice.

If you’re worried you're making things up, or you don’t know what something means yet, wait and see what happens! Do you feel better afterwards? What happens if you follow the guidance you receive?

3. You haven’t found the best way to alter your consciousness yet

Another common obstacle people encounter has to do with your unique style of journeying and getting into a shamanic state of consciousness.

Maybe you listened to a drumming track, but you actually need breathwork to help shift your awareness. Maybe you laid down, but moving and dancing would work better. Some people have a much easier time staying in their bodies rather than sending their awareness out, as well, so this is another style to explore. Just keep experimenting, and eventually you will find what works for you.

4. You haven’t found the right length of time for your journeys.

Related to finding the journey style that works for you is finding the length of journey that works for you.

Some people simply need more time to move through the arc of the journey, and they continue to go deeper and deeper. Others might find that they lose concentration if the journey goes on too long, getting their best insights right away. Again, there’s no right or wrong way here—just another element to experiment with.

5. You expect the journey to be like watching a movie

The next obstacle that might arise comes from expecting the journey to be like a movie rather than fully experiencing it through all your senses. This can take practice, as we’re all trained to passively consume information and entertainment in this way.

But the more effort and intention you can bring to engaging all of your senses and feeling yourself experiencing vs watching the journey, the clearer and deeper your journeys will become.

6. You need to learn how to work with your unique intuitive gifts.

At this point, I think it’s really important to mention that we all have different intuitive strengths related to our senses, as well. Some people have a really hard time visualizing but can feel energy shifts in their bodies. Others see perfectly clearly but struggle to hear anything.

All of us have some intuitive senses that are stronger than others—and all of us can strengthen every intuitive sense.

I call these the clairs. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Clairvoyance—seeing
Clairaudience—hearing
Clairsentience—feeling
Claircognizance—knowing
Clairolfaction—smelling and tasting

Obstacles in our journeys can arise when we expect to see things, but we’re actually much more clairsentient, or vice versa. And to be fair, it can seem a lot harder to interpret journeys that are mostly clairsentient or felt, rather than laid out in a visual and auditory story. (I have some tricks to help with this though, which I share in my intro classes!)

Look back at your own journey. Which senses felt strongest to you? If you thought that nothing happened, maybe there were actually feelings that came up for you to explore. Or maybe you had “thoughts” come out of nowhere that you assumed were distractions, but are actually your claircognizance! Give yourself time and freedom to explore here.

7. You’re taking things too seriously.

There’s one last obstacle I want to touch on, and this one is really important: Taking your journeys too seriously!

Yes, this can be serious work. But it’s also lighthearted and joyful! True shamans, and great spiritual teachers from all paths, are always laughing!

Laughter neutralizes our perfectionist tendencies and joy elevates our spirits. Can you bring more levity to your practice? Your helping spirits are already giggling with delight waiting for you to join them.

Resources

Which of these obstacles have you encountered in your own journeys? Know that you aren’t alone, that your experience is normal, and that you absolutely can cultivate strong, clear journey skills over time.

Want to develop your own journey practice?

If you’re just getting started, take my intro course, The Art of the Shamanic Journey.
If you already have a journey practice and want to go deeper, you need 144 Shamanic Journey Prompts.
If you’ve met your spirit animal and want to go deeper, The Spirit Animal Workshop will help.
If you want personal support for your own shamanic practice, you might be a good fit to work with me.

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juniper stokes 3/17/24 juniper stokes 3/17/24

How to take a shamanic journey

Want to learn how to take a shamanic journey but aren’t sure where to start? This step-by-step guide will teach you how!

Did you know that I have a whole “Learn Shamanism” resource page??? It has tons of amazing free resources for you :) Check it out here<<<

What is a shamanic journey?

Shamanic journeying is a powerful practice that involves entering an altered state of consciousness to connect with spirit realms for insight, healing, and guidance.

And, as you might suspect, shamanic journeying comes to us from shamanic traditions. When I use the term “shamanism” I’m referring to something that is a spiritual practice, a healing art form, and a way of simply being in the world. I’m not referring to any specific practices from specific cultures.

Every culture on this earth has shamanic roots, and while the mythologies and practices of each culture might look different, all share a few things in common—including the ability to enter altered states of consciousness in order to communicate with the unseen world, forming strong relationships with spirit beings, cultivating a reciprocal relationship with our Earth, and being of service to our communities.

As an aside, if you’re interested in diving deeper into shamanism specifically—including the right use of the term and what it really means—I go into much more detail with all of this in my intro to shamanism course.

In many ways, we can think of shamanic journeying as a type of meditation—but there are some aspects that set it apart.

First is the intention—you’ll generally enter into a shamanic journey with the purpose of transcending ordinary reality and communicating directly with the spirit world.

And second is the idea that your consciousness is actually traveling through alternate realms. We generally refer to these realms as “non-ordinary reality”, and our regular, daily lives as “ordinary reality".

There’s more to whether or not shamanic journeying is meditation, but these are the basics ;)

Note: While some shamanic journeys are embodied, where you do stay in your body and meet with spirits or receive healing in the here and now, the ability to send your awareness into different dimensions and realms of the spirit world is an essential part of this practice—and this is exactly what you’ll be learning how to in this article.

The Stages of a Shamanic Journey

Though the nuances and flavors of journeying will vary culture by culture and human by human, the basic process goes through a few stages:

First, is preparation—you want to prepare yourself and your space for the journey.

Next, you alter your consciousness and allow it to cross some sort of a threshold to intentionally enter non-ordinary reality.

Then comes the journey itself, which will always be a bit different depending on your intentions.

And finally is the return—when you once again intentionally cross a threshold back into ordinary reality.

After this, some additional integration of your experience could be considered the last stage.

So let’s go through each of these stages step-by-step.

Stage 1: Preparation

How do you prepare yourself and your space for your journey? Like most things in shamanism, there isn’t a one-size fits all answer here, but there are a few general tips I’d like to share.

1. Create sacred space.

The first is to make your space a sacred space. By this, I don’t mean throwing out your furniture and turning your living room into a temple. Sacred space comes as a result of our intentions, efforts, and partnership with spirit.

In my personal practice, if I’m doing a more intense ritual or larger ceremony, I will physically clean my space and myself as a first step. The physical cleaning and clearing absolutely supports the energetic cleansing of your space.

On the other hand, If I’m simply engaging in a daily journey to connect with my spirits, I’ll skip this step (unless things just don’t feel good—always trust your intuition).

You’ll also want to make sure that the space you choose is conducive to your practice — so choose somewhere quiet, where you won’t be disturbed, where you feel comfortable enough to really let go and safely alter your awareness.

2. Enhance your space with sacred aromatics & tend your altar.

I use fragrance to both clear the energy of my space and call in benevolent allies.

Spiritual fragrance is a huge part of my practice and I never skip this, even for my daily journeys. Sometimes I’ll light incense or burn a smudge bundle, sometimes I’ll diffuse essential oils or use a spray, and sometimes I’ll anoint myself with sacred oils. Whatever it is, I just about always use fragrance to shift the energy of myself, my space, and my consciousness before journeying.

At this point, if you keep an altar, it’s a good idea to tend and activate it. If you don’t work with an altar yet, no worries. This is something you can learn more about in my intro to shamanism classes.

3. Invocation

The invocation is the official announcement of your sacred space and the calling in of your benevolent allies and guardians.

First, I say out loud “I give thanks that this space now becomes a sacred and protected space.”

Then I call in guardians for each direction—I most often work with archangels for protection. But of course, you can use whatever allies you personally feel connected with. Many people simply call in general guardians for each of the four directions and above and below.

From there, I like to acknowledge the many benefic spiritual beings that I work with, and I invite you to do the same. These might be loving ancestors, spirit animals, spirits of the land, and other deities you feel a connection with.

If you don’t have allies to call in at this point—no worries at all! You’ll get to know your personal spirit team over time. The absolute best way to get started if you’re wanting to meet your spirit guides is with this spirit animal workshop.

4. Set your intentions.

Once your space is prepared, it’s time to connect with your intention for your journey—this is an absolute must. Your heartfelt intention will dictate everything that follows, even if it’s as simple as saying hello to spirit.

While your overall intention will vary from journey to journey, there are a few pieces to be sure to include:

The first piece of your intention should be that it’s basically a “good, helpful journey”.

I always like to begin with a general statement, spoken out loud, that my journey is helpful, that I interpret it correctly, that it unfolds in a good way, and that my practice is in service to all.

The next part of your intention should be to cross a threshold into non-ordinary reality.

When you’re first getting started, I highly recommend setting the intention to clarify whether you want to enter into the upper, lower, or middle world specifically.

If you’re just getting started, please start with the upper or lower worlds. These worlds are purely benevolent, and you don’t need to worry about who you might meet or what might happen there, and you can just relax and trust a bit more.

So, the two pieces of your intention to include are that the journey happens in a good way, and that you cross a threshold into a benevolent realm of non-ordinary reality.

Beyond that, your overall intentions for the journey can vary and are limitless. You can journey for guidance, healing, clarity…anything!

Stage 2: Alter Your Consciousness

Once you’ve prepared your space and set your intention, then it’s time to fully prepare yourself by entering into an altered state of consciousness.

There are many ways to do this — from meditative techniques to breathwork to sound to psychedelics.

The rhythmic beating of a drum is one of the most common ways, as it naturally entrains your brain into a slightly altered state that allows for deeper and easier spiritual explorations. This works whether you listen to a recording, drum yourself, or are able to have someone drumming for you live.

As for your posture during the journey, you can experiment with what works best for you. In most core shamanic classes and workshops, people tend to lay on the floor with a covering over their eyes, and this tends to work really well for most people.

I often will sit up in a meditative posture during my journeys. Since I meditate regularly and also tend to use my arms a lot when I channel divine beings, this feels natural for me.

Still other people like to move or dance during their journeys—or maybe dance to get into an altered state and then lay on the floor.

Keep experimenting to see what works best for you. If you're not sure where to start, go ahead and lay on the ground with a light covering or sleep mask over your eyes.

Stage 3: The Journey Begins

Now you’re ready to enter the otherworlds.

1. Cross a threshold

You must cross a threshold to begin your journey. In core shamanism, the traditional way to enter into non-ordinary is a two-part process:

First, you imagine yourself in a place in nature. This is often somewhere you’ve actually been before—somewhere that always had a special resonance with you or place in your heart. Or, this can be an imagined place—somewhere that has all your favorite parts of the natural world, whether a coastline, forest, high mountain top, vast desert, or country grove.

Either way, your feelings of being drawn to this place are letting you know that there is a portal to the otherworlds available to you here.

At this stage of the journey, this place represents a portal within your own consciousness. Imagining this place tells your consciousness that it’s time to travel. Once you can fully imagine yourself in this sacred place, look for something that represents an actual portal that will serve as your threshold into non-ordinary reality.

If you intend to go to the Lower World, you’ll look for a way to go down. This often looks like climbing down the roots of a tree, entering a cave or hole in the Earth (much like Alice in Wonderland), or swimming down through a body of water. Some people even like to picture taking an elevator or set of stairs down—you can trust whatever works for you.

To enter the upper world, you go up! This might look like climbing a tree and passing through a threshold of some sort–like a thick canopy or layer of clouds. It could be being carried by a bird, or ascending a rainbow. I’ve even had students fly up on a magic carpet! Again, anything goes here.

You enter the middle world by going out—this might look like stepping through your door or a window, or even through a mist, into the alternate dimensions we live within.

No matter where you go, the important thing is that you cross a specific threshold that clearly marks your transition from ordinary to non-ordinary reality.

This might not seem like a huge deal, but it's incredibly important. Shamanic journeying is a discipline. Having the discipline to cross this threshold is a key part of cultivating spiritual sovereignty and responsibility. Loose boundaries in the spirit realms have real consequences in our ordinary reality.

Common outcomes of not having a strong threshold boundary are either you don’t fully enter into non-ordinary reality, so you’re actually processing much more from your egoic consciousness than from spirit consciousness during your journey, or you don’t fully bring your awareness back from non-ordinary reality—which can lead to feelings of light-headedness, spaciness, or just feeling ungrounded.
As your spiritual practices deepen, your intuitive abilities will naturally expand, as well. Setting strong boundaries at the beginning protects you from being overwhelmed by spirits and their many messages down the road. It’s your responsibility to decide how and when the spirit world communicates with you—and crossing the threshold is the first step to showing that you are a serious student on this path.

2. Enjoy the Journey

Once you’re in non-ordinary reality, the journey really begins. Again, every journey will be different, but there are two tips that will support you every time:

First, engage all of your senses. There’s a tendency for people to expect to watch their journeys like we watch movies—we’re kind of programmed like this from years of television. It’s important that you are in your journey and experiencing it through all your senses. Feel the air on your skin, smell the fragrances around you, open your ears and enjoy your sight. This often takes practice, but do try to keep bringing yourself into this full sensory experience of the journey.

Second, allow space for attunements throughout the journey. An attunement is a simple ritual or ceremony that happens in the journey space that harmonizes your energy with your intentions and your journey experience.

For example, if you find yourself arriving in a field or at a temple, ask for an attunement to that place. If you meet a new ally, ask for an attunement to that ally.

These attunements can take many forms. If you’re being attuned to a place, you might simply sit on the ground and harmonize with that place's energy. Or, it may be more complex, with spirit beings coming to anoint you with sacred waters and sound healing. If you’re meeting an ally, you might simply gaze into each other’s eyes, or again, it might be a more complex ritual with movements and merging and dancing. Spirit is limitless and so are these attunements!

3. Return from the journey

Throughout your journey, the drum will continue to hold space and support your shamanic state of consciousness. When it’s time to return, you’ll hear what’s called a “call back” beat.

When you hear the callback, you’ll do two things:

One, you thank any beings who have been with you during your journey. Finish whatever work is being done or conversations being had, and then say your thanks and goodbyes.

Two, you retrace your steps exactly back the way you came. This is part of the discipline of the thresholds. Find that same opening you came through, cross back through that same threshold, touch back at your place in nature, and then use your imagination and intention to bring yourself all the way back into your body.

Once you're back in your body, use all of your senses again in the here and now. Take deep breaths. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Look around your space. Listen for the sounds near and far. You might even find it helpful to drink a bit of water or have a small snack to really get totally embodied again.

Finally, it’s time to officially close your journey practice. I like to speak my thanks out loud to my all the beings who supported my work and kept me safe and protected.

Then I affirm: “I invite those beings who love and support me especially to say with me, and all those beings who were just present for this particular practice are free to go. For our work is done, our parts are done, and we may rest.”

You can find your own language for this, but officially closing the container is good spiritual hygiene, and something to make a habit.

The Complete Arc of the Shamanic Journey

Okay, that’s it! That’s the whole arc of the journey from beginning to end. This might sound like a lot to remember at first, but I promise, it becomes second nature. In short:

Prepare for your journey by setting your space and your intentions
Put on a drumming track, or play a drum yourself
Imagine yourself in a place in nature
Find a portal to enter and cross a threshold
Engage your senses as you enter non-ordinary reality
Receive attunements to the location your arrive and any helping spirits present
Pursue your intentions and enjoy the journey
When you hear the return beet, say your thanks and goodbyes and retrace your steps exactly
Come back into your body
Officially close the journey practice

If you’d like support with your own journey practice, I have limited openings for one-on-one support. Learn more.

Shamanic Resources

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How to take a shamanic journey - step by step guide

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Juniper Stokes is a certified coach, mythoanimist guide, alchemist & artist.

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Is shamanic journeying the same as meditation?

Is shamanic journeying the same as meditation? Yes and no…learn what sets this practice apart!

Is shamanic journeying the same as meditation?

This is a question that comes up a lot. And the answer depends on how you define meditation.

Questions around what counts as meditation at all can be pretty big points of contention amongst seekers…

Is jogging a type of meditation? Painting? Getting into a flow state?
Or is meditation only done in silence? Or by chanting mantras?
Are guided meditations somehow less meditationy than more “serious” meditation?
Where do moving meditations fit into all this?

I’m not going to answer any of those questions. Because honestly, I’m not that interested.

I think it’s a lot more interesting to assess a spiritual practice by the results it produces.

Are you becoming a more loving, fulfilled, and happy person? Are you kinder, less self-centered, and more present for your life? Do you feel more in your wellness from your practices?

Rather than trying to define exactly what is or isn’t meditation, let’s look at the differences and effects of our potentially meditative practices…then you’ll know where you want to place shamanic journeying.

Does your meditation quiet your mind or Activate it?

Setting aside the idea that flow states are a type of meditation for now…we’re left with two loosely distinguishable schools of meditation: the let’s quiet the mind camp and the let’s visualize camp.

The let’s quiet the mind meditation styles might include things like breathwork, mindfulness, focus or concentration practices, mantras and chanting, Zen practices, the golden flower, Vipassana, and transcendental meditation.

The let’s visualize meditation styles will include mostly guided meditations in a variety of styles—picturing healing light, imagining yourself in a relaxing garden, focusing on what you wish to manifest, meeting with a goddess for insight and guidance, or doing a chakra clearing, for example.

Note: Though I use the term “visualize” here, this includes all types of intentional perception. Some people simply aren’t visual and experience guided meditations in different ways. That still counts!

(Are you now thinking, but what about somatic meditation? In my experience, some somatic meditations can have the result of quieting the mind—pranayama and certain body scans for example. While others utilize your visioning powers—chakra scans, yoga nidra to extent, and certain healing techniques.)

If you want to maintain sovereignty over your own mind in this day and age, some sort of “quiet the mind” meditation is essential.

You must cultivate the ability to quiet your mind, focus your attention, and expand your awareness in order to create space for spiritual insight and connection with your authentic self to arise.

If you go from reading articles and emails online, to scrolling through a few social media sites, to listening to a podcast, to watching a random tv show…to listening to a guided meditation…then your mind never has a chance to rest.

This onslaught of words is like a drug for our consciousness. It’s a good way to keep numbing out to the spiritual wisdom that wants to come through.

And it means that when you do try to actively listen to your intuition, you’re more likely to get distracted or confused by what is a thought and what is guidance.

Once the foundational ability to create space in your awareness has been cultivated, guided meditations, visualizations, and yes, shamanic journeys, become more impactful.

These more active types of meditations are usually done with the intention of receiving healing or guidance.

And let me be clear—visualizations aren’t simple fantasies in your head. When you enter into a meditative state and intentionally engage with visualization practices, you are affecting reality at foundational energetic and spiritual levels.

Guided meditations and visualization are profound practices for engaging with the spirit world.

Which is what we do through a shamanic journey.

Which is why the shamanic journey is, in many ways, a type of mediation.

So what makes a shamanic journey different from other kinds of guided meditation?

I love all kinds of visualizations—but there are a few things that, all together, set a shamanic journey apart.

1. An altered state of consciousness.

Any good meditation session should alter your consciousness, so this alone isn’t the full definition of a shamanic journey—but it is a key component. For shamanic journeying specifically, the theta state is what we hope to access.

Most people think of either using the beat of a drum or some sort of psychedelic to get into this brain state, and both can be great. But in reality, any practice that effectively alters your consciousness can be used for shamanic journeying—breathwork, yoga nidra, or even simple concentration practice once you’re skilled enough can all work beautifully.

2. You journey.

It’s in the name ;) The idea with shamanic journeying is that you actually go somewhere. In core shamanism, this is called “non-ordinary reality”. In Celtic traditions, it’s known as the otherworld. Quantum perspectives might call this visiting other dimensions of reality.

Whatever you call it…you aren’t staying in the here and now. Your consciousness is crossing a threshold into other realms where you have access to both spiritual worlds and more dimensions of existence.

For what it’s worth, there are two ways you can cross this threshold. You can send your awareness out and travel, or you can bring the threshold into your physical body and “travel” right where you are.

3. You communicate with spiritual beings, energies, and entities that are not the same as you.

And I would call your higher self a spiritual being…

But I would not classify your parts or your own subconscious as spiritual beings.

This is important for distinguishing shamanic journeying from other forms of intentional and active meditations…at least I think it is.

I might change my mind on this one—let me know what you think!

My general sense is that using shamanic techniques to enter altered states and explore your own subconscious realms is very effective and helpful. But is it journeying? I’m really not sure. It seems more like intentional meditation than otherworld exploration to me.

Also, I totally get that we’re all really one divine blob…and we’ve incarnated into separate bodies and a little acknowledgement of this level of separation is worth dealing with from our human perspectives.

Anyway, the jury might be out on this one, but this is the direction I’m leaning in. What are your thoughts?

Want to learn how to journey and explore even more nuances of this powerful practice? The Art of the Shamanic Journey is a seven-day audio course delivered via private podcast, so you can listen anywhere at any time :)

This course is totally FREE for my paid Substack subscribers. And you can check out the first lesson without a subscription (seriously, you don’t even need to put in an email!) right here.

If you already know how to journey, then you know that the questions you ask make all the difference.

My new book, 144 Shamanic Journey Prompts, will help you explore the otherworlds and so much more. Get it here.

Shamanic Resources

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juniper stokes 2/25/24 juniper stokes 2/25/24

7 Reasons You Should Take a Shamanic Journey

So, now that you understand what shamanic journeying is, let’s talk about some of its benefits — in other words, why is this such an important practice?

This article is excerpted from my mini workshop how to take a shamanic journey. If you want to dive into the full course, be sure to click here to learn more :)

Shamanic journeying is a practice that involves entering an altered state of consciousness to connect with spiritual realms for guidance and healing.

In many ways, we can think of shamanic journeying as a type of meditation — but there are some aspects that set it apart…

First is the intention — you’ll generally enter into a shamanic journey with the purpose of transcending ordinary reality and communicating with the spirit world.

While some shamanic journeys are embodied, where you do stay in your body and meet with spirits or receive healing in the here and now, the ability to send your awareness into different dimensions and realms of the spirit world is an essential part of this practice — and this is exactly what you’ll be learning how to do in this course.

Seven Benefits of Learning How to Take a Shamanic Journey

So, now that you understand what shamanic journeying is, let’s talk about some of its benefits — in other words, why is this such an important practice?

1. Shamanic journeying allows direct communication with the spirit world and your spiritual guides.

This is called “direct revelation”, which means that you don’t need an intermediary such as a guru or priest to connect you with spirit. You get to meet with spirit directly and form your own personal relationship with spirituality.

Shamanic journeying also provides a direct line of communication with your spiritual guides, which might include power animals, ancestors, angels, and other benevolent beings. These guides can offer guidance, wisdom, and insights that can help us navigate life's challenges, make important decisions, and gain a broader perspective on our purpose and life journey.

And, one of the biggest benefits of being able to communicate directly with your spirit guides is that you realize you aren’t alone. You are loved and supported in every moment, and anytime you begin to forget how divinely important you really are, a journey can help reconnect you with this truth.

In this way, shamanic journeying is an invaluable step towards claiming your full spiritual sovereignty!

2. Shamanic journeying helps us work with all levels of reality.

Shamanism is rooted in the understanding that there are more dimensions to reality than just our physical one. We also exist in spiritual, energetic, mental, and emotional dimensions — and all of these dimensions influence and impact each other.

This is especially helpful for healing: Addressing issues at the spiritual and energetic levels often unlocks the healing energy we need to see physical improvements in our lives.

But this goes beyond physical healing to impact your life as a whole. For example, you could perform a ceremony in a journey for blessings and protection on an upcoming trip in this reality. Or you could receive a healing around ending a relationship in your journey, and find that you feel lighter and can more easily move on in your daily life.

Remember, whatever happens in non-ordinary reality will impact what happens in ordinary reality (and vice versa!).

3. Shamanic journeying allows us to bypass our conscious filters to explore our subconscious realms and inner selves.

This might help you uncover hidden aspects of your personality; gain a deeper understanding of your thoughts, feelings, and motivations; explore the archetypal energies at play in your life; and find greater healing and liberation through shadow work.

This type of journeying can also help us identify and rewire patterns that no longer support us and move through challenging emotions, such as shame or deep grief. But it’s not all shadows in your psyche — your hidden treasures are waiting to be uncovered, too.

Shamanic journeying is wonderful for helping us see ourselves and our gifts with fresh eyes, which can empower us to make better decisions and embody our true worth.

4. Shamanic journeying gives you an extra layer of protection.

We can influence the world around us, and the world can influence us.

Sensitive souls are often susceptible to all sorts of foreign energy that doesn’t support our highest good — such as other people’s negative emotions or thought forms, curses and energetic cords, inherited patterns, and beings who are not benevolent.

Shamanic journeying helps us see what’s been hidden, so we can identify either where we might be leaking energy and giving away our power, or where outside influences might be affecting us in ways that aren’t helpful.

If you want to learn more about this, I have a free class on this topic which you can check out here.

5. A strong journey practice will open and expand your intuition.

Even though shamanic journeying helped me realize how naturally intuitive I already was, it also helped me access even stronger intuitive abilities.

Part of the beauty of journeying is that the more you do it, the more you will see results in your ordinary life — and this helps build confidence. Plus, you can actually receive personal guidance and healings to strengthen your intuition.

This might include lifestyle changes, supportive tools, or energetic healings — the important thing is that they will be beneficial for you. For example, some people receive clearer guidance if they cut out something like chocolate or caffeine, and others find it makes no difference at all! (Why deprive yourself if you don’t have to?)

In my own journeys, I’ve been given plant allies to work with that have helped open my third eye. I’ve received etheric acupuncture to allow my psychic abilities to grow stronger. And I’ve been assigned rituals to release fear around embracing my intuitive gifts. Spirit is endlessly creative!

6. Having a strong foundational practice in shamanic journeying is essential if you want to go on to more advanced shamanic practices.

This might include things like soul retrieval, extraction or removing foreign energy, curse unraveling, and psychopomp. These practices are powerful — and they are so important to learn if you’re drawn to healing others, your community, and our earth.

But in order to do them safely and effectively, you must have strong relationships with your spirit guides and clear intuition that you know you can trust. Journeying is the foundation of preparing yourself for this deeper work.

7. Our Earth needs your gifts now.

We are clearly at a transformative time in history. Things are changing rapidly, and many people feel insecure about their future personally, our future as a collective, and the future of our planet.

Yet here you are. Alive and embodied. At this time. For a reason.

Shamanic journeying allows you to more deeply connect with the spirits of the Earth, so that you can partner with them to co-create a more magnificent future.

It brings you in touch more deeply and clearly with your own true nature, so that you can access and share your unique gifts, which are so needed at this time.

And it lets you know that you aren't alone in your efforts. You will encounter countless spiritual allies who are working right alongside us to bring more beauty and love into the physical realms.

As you deepen your own shamanic journey practice, you will continue to receive healing, insights, and guidance that help you navigate the often challenging times we live in so that you can fully express your medicine in the world.

This path is one of joy, and I hope that you'll continue to join me upon it.

Shamanic Resources

Learn more about the how to take a shamanic journey mini class here.
Find resources for your practice here.
Discover your power animal here.
Get on the wait list for live workshops here.
Take a free workshop here.
Find shamanic healing sessions here.

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Shamanic journeying can be a life-changing practice. Here are 7 important benefits of learning how to journey!

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juniper stokes 2/18/24 juniper stokes 2/18/24

A Sunday Tea Ritual

A cup of tea can become a sacred ritual—all you need is intention.

A cup of tea can become a sacred ritual—all you need is intention.

I find Sunday evenings offer the perfect time to pause and reflect in sacred ritual before the new work week begins. Here’s a ritual for you to try this evening or anytime you want to quiet your mind and connect with spirit…

Begin by setting the intention to nourish your soul and calm your mind before the week begins.

Before you boil the water, place your hands over the hot water kettle and visualize calming nourishing energy flowing from your heart into the water.

Prepare the herbs and your cup with a grateful heart. Keep this feeling of gratitude—for these plants, for this moment in time, for your body, the aromas, the nourishment—flowing as you pour water over the tea.

As the tea steeps, you may like to light a candle and prepare your journal space.

Once ready, bring all your senses to your first few sips. Take your time and feel the warm cup in your hands. Inhale the aroma. Taste the nuances.

If this is all you have time or energy for, the ritual is complete. If you’d like to take this moment to journal, you might like to ask yourself:

How can I nourish myself in the coming week?
Where can I create more space in my schedule, perhaps by delegating or saying no?
What am I looking forward to? How can I make sure that I prioritize this?

May this ritual bring you peace and nourishment.

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juniper stokes 2/12/24 juniper stokes 2/12/24

An exploration of the three-world model in shamanism…is it true?

The "Three World Model" of the spirit realms primarily comes from the core shamanic work of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and organizes non-ordinary reality into Upper, Middle, and Lower Worlds. But is this accurate? Here’s why this model isn’t as universal as you might have been told.

This article is excerpted from my mini workshop how to take a shamanic journey. If you want to dive into the full course, be sure to click here to learn more :)

The Three-World Model of Shamanism

If you've taken any classes in the core shamanic traditions that we find so often in the West, chances are that you've been taught the “Three World Model” of shamanism. This model primarily comes from the shamanic work of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, and it organizes non-ordinary reality into Upper, Middle, and Lower Worlds.

In this system, the Lower World usually appears a lot like our regular world does—but with even more beauty and awe-inspiring landscapes or features. It’s a divine, earthy realm filled with only benevolent beings and healing energy.

The Upper World is a lot like the lower world, though it often appears more etheric, angelic, or celestial. Like the Lower World, the Upper World is only home to helpful, divine beings and energies.

When you travel to the Upper and Lower Worlds, there is nothing to worry about or protect yourself from. These are purely spiritual and divine realms.

The Middle World is a bit different. It’s the realm of our everyday reality—where we live here and now. By traveling the Middle World with an altered consciousness, we can explore more of the dimensions that exist right alongside us.

The Middle World is a little different from the Upper and Lower Worlds in that you’ll encounter both helpful, benevolent spirits…and not so helpful ones. Just like we meet all types of people in the ordinary reality Middle World, we meet all types of spirits in the non-ordinary reality Middle World.

This is why discernment—the ability to know whether or not a spirit is benevolent, or a trickster, or occasionally something more malefic—is key when traveling the Middle World realms.

When you take a shamanic journey in the core shamanism style, you enter into one of these worlds through a portal or entry point of some sort—and the direction you go matches the world you intend to travel to. You go down to go to the Lower World, up to the Upper World, and out to the Middle World.

That’s the basic overview of the three world model—but there are a common few points of confusion that I want to look at before we move on.

First, it’s important to remember that each of these worlds is home to infinite realms—it’s not like the Lower World is just one place you head on down to—it contains a multitude of layers to explore.

Second, once you enter into non-ordinary reality, you can absolutely travel between realms. You’re never just stuck where you land. You can go from the Upper to the Lower to the Middle Worlds and back around again.

Third, you can meet the same benevolent allies and spirit helpers in all the realms. For some reason, there are a lot of misconceptions in this area—I keep hearing people say that “you meet power animals in the Lower World” and “teachers or guides” in the Upper World.

This is silly when you think about it—our spirit helpers are never confined to one place. You can meet power animals, ancestors, angels, tree spirits, elements, deities, healers, teachers, and everyone in every realm, including the Middle Realm. So keep an open mind on your otherworld explorations

A Wee Critique of the Three-World Model

One of the reasons the three-world model became so popular in Western core shamanism is that it’s said to reflect the similarities of shamanic and indigenous cultures throughout the world…but this isn’t really accurate.

When I first started teaching shamanic journeying many, many years ago, I used to follow the lead of my first teachers and use only the three-world model in my workshops. And, being the good and globally minded student I was, I tried to dultifully fit other systems into this model.

It was a stretch.

Yes, the Celtic traditions have earth, sea, and sky realms…but those aren’t the full picture. Yes, the Norse tree of life has roots, a trunk, and branches…but there are nine worlds on the tree and it gets more complex from there. Yes, indigenous tribes throughout the world often have some sort of ancestor realm, earth realm, and celestial realm…but that is never even close to representing the actual complexitities of the wildly diverse cosmologies humankind has created.

And over time, as I stepped more fully into my own spiritual knowing, I realized that the models we use for non-ordinary reality—what I also call the otherworlds or spirit realms—don’t actually matter.

The human mind likes a system. The realm of spirit is far more vast than our human minds can comprehend. So we make up systems that help us understand the ineffable.

All systems are facets of truth. No system is full Truth.

My guess is that many of the early anthropologists who popularized the three-world model were overly, and probably subconsciously, influenced by their own Christian cultures.

Think about it. The Earth and Heaven connections are pretty obvious right? We live here, on Earth and in the Middle World. Heaven above brings us to the Upper World and all the divine spiritual goodness found there.

Hell, which clearly correlates with the Lower World, is where I think things get interesting—because in shamanic traditions, the Lower World is a place of immense power. In pre-Christian mythologies we hear tales of gods and goddesses descending into the underworld and emerging with more power than before (look at the legend of the Sumerian Goddess Inanna for a great example of this).

What better way to keep people separated from their true power than to keep them scared of the realm where so much power resides?

I have to at least give kudos to these early anthropologists for recognizing that traveling into the Earth could be a portal to benevolent realms rather than hellscapes. Perhaps this is something you can explore in your own journeys ;)

Anyway, the point of all this is that if the three world model that you’ll commonly hear about in core shamanism doesn't quite resonate with you—no worries!

One of the things I love most is that shamanism is focused on your personal relationship with spirit. You get to do your own explorations and decide for yourself what resonates and what doesn’t.

For now though, take a moment to reflect for yourself: Are there certain models, cosmologies, and traditions you’re especially drawn to? What intuitively just makes sense for you?

Our personal cosmologies are like divine poems.

We could never grasp the fullness and mystery of the otherworlds and spirit realms with our human minds.

Your cosmology is a poetic reflection of a greater truth. A metaphorical and symbolic expression distilled from cosmic consciousness into a form your human mind can at least somewhat understand.

There is no right or wrong here. Whatever arises on your journey is the perfect pathway for you.

And…this includes the three-world model.

While I think it’s important to clarify that this model isn’t the universal shamanic cosmology it’s often said to be, I do think it offers a beautiful framework for beginning to explore the otherworlds…and we’ll be exploring the many benefits of this framework in the next classes.

Your own spiritual landscapes will unfold over time, and exploring these realms is lifelong practice.

This next bit isn’t from the course, but since I’ll be your guide, I thought it might be nice to know a bit more about where I’m coming from with regards to my personal cosmology:

I think it’s helpful to distinguish our mundane, physical, ordinary reality from other spirit realms.
I also like the term “consensus” reality, which I use to refer to what the general population experiences as “reality”.
I look at the subtle, energetic layers of our existence as part of ordinary reality.
The energies that underlie all of existence aren’t supernatural or special—they just are. Your meridians are as much a part of you as your bones. The aura of a tree is as present in our daily lives as its bark. Your consciousness is as impactful as your hands. We’re seeing more evidence of this all the time, so while I think it’s helpful to talk about physical and energetic dimensions separately, I view them both as part of ordinary life in my personal cosmology.
I see the otherworld as endlessly complex…
Filled with heavenly realms that are purely divine, shadow realms with mysteries and hidden forces, realms where gods and goddesses or fae or even bigfoot might reside, elemental realms, mythical realms, star being realms…it’s endless. And I have no idea how they’re structured…because I doubt structure even exists in the spirit realms they way it does for us humans.
I think the general idea behind the distinction between the Middle World versus the Upper and Lower Worlds is actually essential.
Not locationally, but in that we must differentiate between places that are purely divine and benevolent from places that are more complex. We need to know if we’re entering into territory where we might encounter egos, tricksters, or darker energies.
I believe that our relationship with the natural world is the key to unlocking access to all the myriad realms available to us.
Once you start talking with trees, reading the stars, and meeting the nature spirits who cohabitate with you, a new world of spiritual exploration opens up.
And I believe that my beliefs will keep changing.
The Great Mystery is all I know for sure.

What about you? Have you worked with the three-world model before? What are the core components of your personal cosmology? I’d love to hear in the comments.

Shamanic Resources

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juniper stokes 1/20/24 juniper stokes 1/20/24

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius…🎶

Are cosmic peace and harmony really on their way? Or have we only had a sweet little preview of the hivemind to come? Also, can we talk about the 5th Dimension??? 🤯

Are cosmic peace and harmony really on their way? Or have we only had a sweet little preview of the hivemind to come? Also, can we talk about the 5th Dimension??? 🤯

In my mind, the Age of Aquarius will always be associated with the song from Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.

Yes, that’s the full name — an American tribal love-rock musical. Amazing.

Though to be fair, I’m pretty sure it was mostly the 5th Dimension’s version playing in our house as I grew up.

Yes, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” was recorded by a band called the 5th Dimension.

original cast of Hair & The 5th Dimension

Is it any wonder I was 60s obsessed in my youth? ☮

(I’m generation “Oregon Trail” for those who are wondering how far off I was born from my soul decade, hehe.)

On January 20th, we’re entering a new phase in the age of Aquarius for reals.

This is a very big deal in the astro world…and I’ll share a bit more about the astrological reasons why in a minute.

But it feels like a big deal to me because of the song.

Decades ago, this song and the tribal love rock hippies who sang it promised me a better world! I mean, look at these lyrics:

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius…
Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius…

Peace, love, and spiritual awareness…I couldn’t wait for the Age of Aquarius to fix our broken world!

Oh my sweet innocence. 🤦‍♀️

Welcome to the Real Aquarian Vibes

First thing is first: We don’t actually know when the official “Age of Aquarius” is.

An astrological “age” is a massive amount of years — 2,160, based on the Earth’s processional rotations and equinox locations. And no one really agrees on when the transition between ages has or is or will happen.

So let’s release ourselves from being in a specific “Age of Aquarius” and focus on the fact that astrologically, there is significantly more Aquarian energy in our collective than usual.

Will Aquarius bring us cosmic peace and liberation as promised?

To answer this question, it helps to look at what Aquarius is all about — the collective.

Aquarians serve the greater good — but not from some heartfelt love of humanity, and not by getting their own hands dirty.

This is because Aquarians don’t live in the emotional or physical realms. Their world is mental, one of philosophical ideas and higher mind perspectives.

They see the potential for Heaven on Earth and will pursue this vision from a more detached position…and they aren’t really bothered if your individual feelings are hurt along the way.

My parter is an Aquarius Sun, and it shows. I love his ability to see the greatest possible solutions to our collective problems. And, I’ve heard his complaints about the “tragedy of the commons” more than once.

For those who need a review, the tragedy of the commons is an economic theory that refers to a state where individuals deplete public resources for their own benefit, which ultimately depletes everyone’s ability to benefit from those same resources. You can probably see just a *few* examples in our modern world…

And this is the total opposite of Aquarian energy. They would never prioritize a single individual over the collective good.

With this in mind, let’s look at the first big shift into more Aquarian energy that happened back on December 21, 2020, when Jupiter and Saturn conjoined in Aquarius.

Yeah, I said it. 2020.

The year we had a masterclass in the tragedy of the commons via toilet paper.

men fighting over toilet paper — this is what AI thinks it looked like

This initiation into Aquarian energy showed us the potential for coming together in challenging times…and gave us some glimpses into the shadows around mob mentality.

And it hinted that the transition from a society rooted in competition to one rooted in cooperation might be just a wee bit stormy, with just a wee bit of backlash...

The next phase of Aquarian influence kicks off on January 20th, when Pluto forms a Cazimi — a super powerful perfect alignment with the Sun — in the very last degree of Capricorn before sauntering into Aquarius for the next 20ish years.

This, as I mentioned earlier, is a very big deal.

If one more person tells me Pluto is about “transformation”…🤮

Pluto is what’s known as a “generational” planet — which means that it stays in a single zodiac for about 12 - 30 years, giving a whole generation a particular vibe. With Pluto moving into Aquarius, a new vibe begins.

To understand what this means, let’s take a quick look at the areas of life ruled by Pluto, our “great transformer”.

Here’s the thing. A lot of planets are transformational. What does this even mean?

We need to know Pluto’s unique transformational flavor…

Spoiler: It’s rough.

Pluto is a shadowy planet. It rules the things we try to keep hidden — violence, addiction, coercion. It heralds transformation so great it can feel like a crisis. Death and rebirth. Power and surrender. These are the themes of Pluto.

Pluto is also a planet of will — not our individual will, but our collective will. It’s one thing to make up your mind and work towards what you want. It’s another world to swim upstream against a collective that wants something else entirely. My guess? This is going to be a time of re-calibrating how your will and the collective will can best co-exist.

And, Pluto is not a fan of sweeping our shadows under the rug. It wants to pull them out and eradicate them for the greater good. I like how Astrobutterfly puts this:

Pluto’s role is to keep the engine of the universe going by eliminating what can no longer sustain life. If something is rotten, Pluto will eliminate it to leave space for healthy growth.
Knowing what’s rotten is a good thing. If your tooth rots, you go to the dentist and fix the problem…and save your other teeth. If you want your tree to grow healthy, you trim the dead branches.

When Pluto brings transformation, it comes in the form of the Tower card of the Tarot. Things topple. There’s usually some kind of shock involved, a shock that shakes us out of our slumber and wakes us up to a new way of understanding the world and our place within it.

As a reminder here — Pluto is always somewhere. Some area of life is always undergoing collective transformation in pretty disruptive ways. This is part of how we evolve and grow.

Pluto, meet Aquarius. I think you’ll have fun together 😵‍💫

How interesting that Aquarius, the hivemind sign of the zodiac, is going to be home to Pluto, the planet of really challenging collective transformations.

I’m thinking this era might not be the love and light land I’d hoped for…

Aquarius and Pluto are both focused on the collective good, equality, and innovation in service of all. This is a vibe that we could definitely use more of, and one that goes quite well with our Age of Aquarius theme song.

But Pluto just won’t nicely walk us over into lala land. Pluto strikes the Tower down, forcing us to cultivate resilience as we grow into the people who can build our Aquarian society.

Pluto in Aquarius heralds a return of power to the people. Expect to see tyrannies of all types topple and crumble like the Tower itself — from oppressive political regimes to spiritual cults and cult-like corporations.

Yes, power to the people.

But have you seen people lately? 😬

The mob mentality and cancel culture we’ve witnessed in the last couple of years is likely a sweet little preview of what’s to come.

Whereas in the past, radicalization was a major concern…I’m a bit more worried about righteousization (totally made that word up) in the coming era.

Righteous anger. Righteous rage. Righteous power. Righteous spirituality.

All under the guise of serving the collective good.

Righteousness is group-think meets nervous system activation.

You believe you have the power of the collective behind you, your adrenaline kicks in, and you become part of the earthquake that shakes the Tower.

That’s not my vibe. I’m all for radical change, but it’s going to be rough enough without righteous zombies adding to the chaos.

This is your opportunity to become a vessel of integrity and clarity in an era of change and confusion.

Learn how to distinguish your intuition from an adrenaline rush. Cultivate skills that help you regulate your nervous system. Stay open to change and align yourself with service. Keep checking in with your heartfelt knowing of what is truth and what is group-think.

We are co-creating a new world together, and you are here to play an invaluable role. One that is unique to you and needed by us all.

A few more winks at the future 👽

And to wrap up, here are a few more areas we can expect to see Pluto in Aquarius impact…

Aquarius rules technology, communication, markets, and the circulation of resources. It takes an interest in the policies and infrastructure that affect society as a whole. It’s the group energy in life — executive boards, congress, friend groups, communities. And it rules the skies.

You can probably guess from here — changes to our economy, how information is shared, where power falls in our political systems, and whatever is going to happen with AI, to name a few.

Oh, and UFOs. Definitely expect more on aliens and UFOs. 😉

For those who want more, here are a few resources to keep exploring this upcoming Pluto-Aquarius party:

Adam Elenbaas of Nightlight Astrology goes into a pretty thorough deep dive here and provides a fun overview of how this will affect each sign here.
Astrobutterfly has a great, easy-to-read article on the whole thing here.
Rebecca Gordon adds some lovely nuance here.
Chris Brennan has a couple of 2024 overview episodes of The Astrology Podcast, which you can explore here.
And I always love a good Chani article.

What do you think about all this incoming astro weather? I’d love to hear what you think we can expect in the comments.

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juniper stokes 1/11/24 juniper stokes 1/11/24

Just Say No to Bro Goals

Learn to work with the moon for intuitive healing

Just say no to bro goals.

Unless that works for you. But I'm taking a more feminine approach this year.

The cult of self help has a particular flavor in the podcast realms…

A lot of the habit-tracking and goal-setting info that makes it's way around the bro-podcast circuits just doesn't work for me.

I like the idea of 5am wake ups, cold showers every day, and pushing through discomfort to see change...

But ultimately, so much of the advice out there separates me further from body and intuition.

I'm cyclical. My energy levels are not the same throughout the month, or the seasons. I need the freedom to create space for my authentic needs without having my mind crowded over with "shoulds".

A lot of women suffer from the idea that we can hack our way to health and force ourselves into productivity…

Which brings me to an observation during a recent meeting of my weekly astrology class.

It’s an advanced class with just a small group of pretty badass women. We were practicing reading each others' charts, and a theme emerged…

We had all burned out. Hard. Enough so that half of us had quit our full time jobs for the sake of our health.

As above, so below.

I think a lot of us were drawn to astrology as part of our recovery.

There’s something incredibly comforting about seeing our human experiences reflected in the cosmos.

I have the fixed star Sirius conjunct my moon. Sothis to the Egyptians, many refer to Sirius as our spiritual sun—a portal to divine wisdom. Makes sense for me as my entire life has been a deep dive into mystical realms.

But Sirius is also known as “the Icarus star”. It blesses us with great inspiration and success…yet this success is almost always followed with a painful crash and burn.

Fortunately, rather than deciding my fate, this cosmic knowledge reminds me that I need to be extra intentional with my self care and energy levels.

AND it helps to not pretend that I will magically create consistent equilibrium in my life. My authentic blueprint inherently has cycles of success and burnout.

The question becomes, how can I work with these cycles instead of pretending they don’t exist?

For me, this means knowing that I will need periods of deep rest between creative projects. If I’m launching a new perfume or writing a hefty Substack series for example, I’ll need to put a few days of self care and rest into my calendar.

How Mama Moon Saved Me

To heal from the extreme burnout I experienced (by extreme I mean total adrenal fatigue, no cortisol spike at all, inability to digest food, horrible skin, and crying all the time and unable to get out of bed), I knew I needed to start taking more exquisite care of myself than I ever had before.

This meant resisting the pull of mainstream messages about endless productivity and growth and sinking into a slower, earthier way of being.

But here's the challenge: Committing to exquisite self care is one thing—actually doing the self care is another.

Because being totally depleted makes it really, really hard to take care of yourself in even the most basic ways.

As much as bro-hacking doesn’t work for me, I do need some accountability to keep myself healthy. I will absolutely slip into later and later bedtimes, skip vitamins, and put off meditating until "tomorrow" if left completely to my own devices.

I needed help. So I turned to the moon.

In Hellenistic astrology, the Moon is considered to be the closest ally of our human experience. Her cycles directly affect our physical bodies and energy levels.

This is why consciously tuning into the Moon’s cycles can have a profound impact on our well-being.

So I made myself my own cyclical, nature-based habit tracking calendars.

These trackers are based on our monthly calendar system because that's the time my mind lives in. But they incorporate moon cycles because that's the time my body lives in.

Rather than rigid to-do lists that reinforce a mind-over-matter mentality, these lunar calendars help me track and plan according to my authentic cycles.

I’ve used these sheets to become more aware of my own energy levels and natural tendencies with the cycles of the moon, and I was better able to cultivate more sustainable habits on my journey back to health as a result.

I still plan and track goals like taking cold showers in the morning, getting sunlight on my skin within the first 10 minutes of waking, morning movement, pranayama, yoga, vitamins, etc.

But I also plan on skipping cold showers during the first days of my cycle. I put in the best days for certain foods or supplements. I mark the weeks when I'll likely have the most energy to go on long hikes, as well as the weeks when I know I'll need more rest and a hot bath.

I used these sheets all last year and love them.

So I packaged them up into a lovely little set that I can share! This set includes:

🌝 two types of tracking sheets — one for intentions/planning and one for tracking/measuring
🌝 a 20-page moon-syncing guidebook
🌝 a moon cycle wall calendar for fun

You can get yours here.

Using these sheets helped me:

🌚 cultivate more sustainable and nourishing habits, from drinking more water to recommitting to my pranayama practice
🌑 plan ahead for different types of self-care activities (saltwater baths at the new moon, socializing at the waxing moon, long solo hikes near the full moon)
🌒 align my schedule with my natural energy levels—sometimes I just won't be as naturally productive and that's ok
🌓 use different herbal tea blends and eat different foods as my body's needs change throughout each month
🌔 become so in touch with my body that I can more easily spot the first signs that I'm heading towards illness or imbalance, which helps course correct before its too late
🌕 get way happier!!!

And…here are pictures!

Here’s the link to get your moon magic:

2024 Moon Magic Guide

May your new year be filled with a balance of productivity and rest that perfectly meets your uniqueness. Many blessings!

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juniper stokes 11/10/23 juniper stokes 11/10/23

Serket & Scorpions

The Egyptian goddess Serket, also known as Selket or Selqet, is a goddess of protection, the afterlife, medicine, and magic. Like the scorpion, she can heal…and she can destroy.

The scorpion goddess came to me during Scorpio season.

The Egyptian goddess Serket, also known as Selket or Selqet, is not as well-known as many of her counterparts these days — though this certainly wasn’t always the case.

Serket is a very ancient goddess and was much more popular in earlier Egyptian dynasties — a patron of pharaohs, priests, and physicians; a central character in key myths; and depicted on royal tombs and protective amulets throughout the land. Overtime, many of this goddess’s attributes were absorbed by Auset (Isis), which is partially why we don’t hear about her quite so often today.

But we’re at a time when reclaiming Serket’s feminine, transformative, and powerful scorpion medicine is greatly needed.

It’s time to shed a bit of light on this dark goddess.

Meet Serket: Protection, Afterlife, Magic, and Medicine

The Egyptian goddess Serket is a scorpion deity of protection, the afterlife, medicine, and magic. Like the scorpion, she can heal…and she can destroy.

Call on Serket for:

Protection — from outside influences, for upcoming medical procedures, from lower vibration energies, for children
Shadow Work — face and transmute inner toxins and poisons
Sexual Energy & Fertility — awaken the creative forces of nature within your own being
Transmutation — a powerful ally for working with spiritual healing techniques
Magic — she’s one of the oldest and most powerful deities of early Egypt, a patron of many priests and magical practices
Healing — access the right dose of the right medicine at the right time
Breathwork — for transmutation, healing, ascension, and increasing life force energy

As is true for many Egyptian deities, Serket appears in both human and animal form. As a human goddess, she is most often depicted with a scorpion raising its tail upon her head. In her animal appearance, she is the scorpion herself.

The scorpion was both feared and revered in ancient Egypt (much like many people’s love-hate relationship with the Scorpio of our zodiac). This is because scorpions (and Scorpios for that matter!) are intensely powerful — and this power can be used to harm or heal.

A small but mighty beast that can take down a creature many times its size with its sting, the scorpion can deliver great pain. Yet its presence in your favor offers great protection. The same is true of Serket.

Protection & Healing with the Goddess of Scorpions

As a primary protective and funerary goddess in ancient Egypt, Serket stood alongside Isis, Nepthys, and Neith to guard the deceased on their journey through the afterlife. In the Pyramid Texts, she joins these goddesses to protect the deceased king, who speaks:

“My mother is Isis, my nurse is Nepthys…Neith is behind me, and Serket is before me.” (PT 1375).1

Serket’s presence in front of the king as he traverses the afterlife realms signifies the power of her guardianship.

Just as Serket protects us from the external demons of the afterlife, she offers her protection as we face the internal demons of our psyche.

Think about the energy of Scorpio. This Zodia can sting us at the deepest levels, crawling into the crevasses of our soul to ignite our emotional wounds with its fiery venom.

If you’ve been around here awhile, you know my thoughts on this: The dose makes the poison.

The venom that can kill can also heal. Scorpio helps us illuminate and transform our hidden shadows so they no longer rule us from their subconscious thrones.

And here, we see Serket as the keeper of magic and healing.

It is only through the act of facing a poison that we can transmute it. And it is through this transmutation that we can heal.

She Who Causes the Throat to Breathe

Serket’s full Egyptian name is Serket hetyt, meaning “she who causes the throat to breathe” — and if she can cause the throat to breathe, she can stop it from breathing, too.

This makes Serket a powerful ally for working with the breath to transmute our poisons, the negative energies or thoughts that keep us from actualizing our true potential.

This is energetic healing — not the deep dive into shadow work that Scorpio can offer, but a clearing and refreshing of our energy on the most foundational level. Serket reminds us of what can shift simply from working on energetic levels, without all the stories our Western minds love to process.

Some believe that this constricting of the breath is where much of Serket’s association with scorpions comes from: Egypt is home to some of the world’s deadliest scorpions, who can cause anaphylactic reactions with their venom…in other words, they can stop the breath.

Yet there’s another powerful association this goddess has with scorpions…the water scorpion.

Is the water scorprion the true origin of Serket & Scorpio?

The water scorpion isn’t in the same species as the scorpion we all know and love, but it looks similar, and its bite can pack a punch. Plus, the water scorpion expands and contracts as it breathes underwater, once again pointing to the breath as a key significator of Serket’s gifts.

Unlike the potentially fatal outcome of encountering a scorpion on the land, water scorpions are not deadly — which may be a better fit with Serket as a benevolent goddess.

The water scorpion also bring much of what we know about Scorpio full circle — and yes, the ancient Egyptians absolutely recognized this astrological constellation and season.

The Zodia Scorpio, confuses many people because it’s a water sign symbolized by what we tend to think of as fiery, desert-dwelling animal.

Yet what if Scorpio was always associated with the water scorpion? Water represents our emotional nature, the feminine darkness, and the mystery of the void. This is where Scorpio’s gifts lie — we travel into the darkest regions of our shadows to face our inner poisons, transmuting and transforming them again and again.

Scorpio is the season for finding and facing our subconscious drives, and Serket is the goddess who can help us do so.

Serket and the Seven Scorpions

One of the most well-known stories of Egyptian mythology is that of Osiris’s resurrection: In short, his brother Seth chops him up and Isis puts him back together, and then they conceive the great god Horus.

What’s not so well-known, however, is the role Serket plays in this tale. Though there are many different versions, the general theme is that Serket sends Seven Scorpions to protect Isis and her divine child while they search for the peices of Osiris’s corpse.

In one version, Serket herself guards baby Horus while Isis travels to a village in search of food. Serket’s seven scorpions surround Isis, offering her protection: Petet, Tjetet, and Matet go before her; Mesetet and Mesetetef flank her sides, and Tefen and Befen, the fiercest scorpions, guard her from behind.

Isis first approaches the door of a noble family, yet when the woman who answers sees the scorpions, she turns Isis away in fear. (But no worries — a kind peasant woman sees this happen and takes Isis in instead.)

Serket’s scorpions are not the forgive-and-forget type (and neither is Scorpio!). Seeking vengeance for this slight, they send all of their collective poison into Tefen for a most powerful sting, and he kills the baby boy of the noble family.

Of course, Serket and Isis are like…um, no. We don’t kill innocent babies. So, Serket — because she has power over the poisons she wields — heals the boy and brings him back to life.

Our greatest challenges and most potent pains are often where we hold the greatest potential for mastery.

Serket neither fears the scorpion’s venom nor lets it consume her. She embraces that this poison is part of her unique medicine, and uses her magic and power for healing and protection.

What are the greatest internal challenges you’ve been struggling with? What are the thoughts that poison your well-being?

Serket teaches us that within each poison is the medicine you need most.

If you’d like to explore the hidden gifts and healing available within your shadow, parts work can be especially effective — take a look at the process here.

Ecstatic Healing with Scorpion Medicine

The following meditation was given to me by Serket. It’s energetic. It’s ecstatic. And surprisingly sexual…though I suppose this shouldn’t have surprised me since sexuality is part of Scorpio and scorpion’s medicine.

Serket doesn’t want us to overlay this meditation with mental stories. We’re not pulling up toxic beliefs, analyzing our thoughts, or focusing on our pain here.

Instead, we’re somatically experiencing the ecstasy of receiving the perfectly right dose of “poison”.

This is an energetic healing. Allow yourself to feel the shift in your being. And don’t worry about what anything “means”.

Before you begin, set sacred space. Affirm that you are only open to working the most benevolent form of Serket and scorpion medicine.

Take a deep breath and come into your body. Allow your mind to travel to an ancient Egyptian desert.

The goddess Serket meets you here. She is tall and radiant. She carries an ankh, symbolizing life, in one hand and a was sceptre, symbolizing power, in the other.

Seven scorpions emerge from behind the goddess and surround you.

Notice your response to these scorpions. Some fear, or excitement even, is natural. You might begin to feel a tingling sensation.

When you are ready, invite these beings to share their medicine with you. You may like to check in with the goddess first, asking her if now is the appropriate time for this healing.

One by one, they come with their stings.

Feel the effects of each sting within your body. Pleasure and pain. Exhilaration and release. Sexual energy fills your being — not with the need to procreate, but with the innate life force healing it connects you with.

Notice any resistance that arises. This type of intense pleasurable energy can feel frightening, like it might overwhelm your system or cause pain. This is natural, but if it begins to feel like too much, ask the goddess to titrate the effects on your system.

Sit with the scorpions’ medicine as long as it feels good. Remember not to analyze your experience. Just feel it.

When you sense the healing is complete, offer your thanks to Serket and her seven scorpions. Bring your awareness back into the present and return completely to your body in the here and now.

I would love to hear about your experience if you do this meditation — drop me a comment!

Want more reflections on Egyptian mysticism? Be sure to subscribe below…much more to come ;)

If you found this interesting, please consider sharing it with your communities. Every share means the world to me!

1 Wilkinson, R.H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2003.

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juniper stokes 8/22/23 juniper stokes 8/22/23

5 Essential Oils for Mercury Retrograde (and how to use them)

What are retrogrades and why are they important? And, how can we navigate them with the support of plant allies? Let’s take a brief look at retrogrades from the perspective of ancient and enlivened astrology and five essentials oils for support during these times.

Mercury Retrograde has a bit of a bad reputation…but there are ways you can make any retrograde season work for you! In this article, we’ll take a brief look at what retrogrades are and how they function. Then, drawing from my personal anointing practice, which is based on decades of spirit work and botanical alchemy, I’ll share my five favorite oils for support during Mercury Retrograde. And stick around to the end — I’ve included a magical practice to do with the oils!

Why Retrogrades Matter

I’m not one to let any sort of system dictate my life, and I have no interest in freaking out about this convergence of retrogrades. I do, however, believe that responding appropriately to the movements in our skies is important…

As humans, we’re part of a larger web not just of life, but of cosmic energy. And, the universe has been so kind as to give us literal maps of the energies at play in our lives — the maps found in the skies.

In the ancient astrology I practice, the planets are not just energies, nor are they simply archetypes — they are gods. Inspirited, wise, and powerful, these gods rule different areas of our lives.

When the planets appear to move backward during a retrograde, there is a significant shift in how their energies are received and perceived upon our Earth: forward momentum in their areas of rulership slows and old cycles and patterns come up for review.

Retrogrades in general are a time for all things “re”: remember, review, reflect, release, and relax.

These astrological periods offer us natural, healthy cycles to enter into throughout our lives —- yet modern life doesn’t typically allow for a lot of wiggle room during these retrogrades as we constantly push forward. And this is where we run into trouble.

When we resist the nature of reality, obstacles arise. When we push against the natural flow of energies, everything feels more challenging and frustrating.

When we do what we can to go with the flow, to give ourselves space, and to accept whatever arises with equanimity, then we can receive the gifts of the retrogrades.

Understanding Mercury Retrograde

Mercury is often best known as the planet of communication and the mind — travel, technology, contracts, speaking, writing, and our thinking all fall under his rulership.

Yet Mercury is also the planet of magic. Spellcasting, manifesting, and influencing the subtle realms around you also fall under Mercury’s rulership.

This is why during a Mercury Retrograde, so many things can appear to go wrong. Travel can see a bit more obstacles, launching new ideas or projects can have more hiccups, and miscommunications can abound.

But remember — difficulties during retrogrades are not set in stone. By working with the energy of Mercury Retrograde, gifts arise: You might discover important details on past projects you’d previously overlooked. You might glean new layers of insight about yourself during reflective activities. You might even enjoy a surprise detour if you buffer your travels with plenty of extra time.

Essential Oils for Mercury Retrograde

Just as we find helpful maps in the skies, we find supportive allies here on Earth — especially with the plants.

As both a shamanic practitioner and clinically certified aromatherapist, I love working with essential oils for support — every oil contains the alchemical distillation of a plant’s most potent gifts.

This includes the mental and emotional benefits many people associate with aromatherapy, as well as the physical benefits that arise when each oil’s chemistry meets our own. And these benefits include wisdom, blessings, and energetic healing from the plant spirit that overlights each oil.

Here are a just a few of my favorite oils for Mercury Retrograde:

1. Rosemary: Untangling Cosmic Confusion

Rosemary is my top pick for Mercury Retrograde. Invigorating and opening, rosemary has an affinity for our third eye chakra, helping us see the truth and organize our thoughts with greater clarity — very supportive at a time when thinking can feel scattered.

Rosemary is also the embodiment of graceful memory. Several studies have even shown promising results for using rosemary with Alzheimer's patients. Yet rosemary isn’t just about remembering our day-to-day tasks: It’s about recalling deep wisdom and memories hidden within our lineages and past lives.

You can use rosemary anytime you need to think clearly, increase insight, boost concentration, and improve memory during this retrograde.

2. Clary Sage: Bringing Balanced Wisdom

Clary sage is a beautifully harmonizing essential oil. Both relaxing and uplifting, it physically balances our hormones and promotes emotional balance — something we might need a bit of extra support with during Mercury Retrograde. Clary sage is also my favorite oil for activating insight and intuition by clearing the pathways to divine wisdom.

This Mercury Retrograde, let clary sage be a cosmic hug that helps you navigate uncertainties with calm and clarity.

3. Blue Tansy: Joyful Expression

Blue tansy has a playful energy that brings greater flow and ease to our lives. Sweet and nourishing, blue tansy tends our inner child so we can feel safe to play and trust in all life brings.

And, with its natural bright blue color, blue tansy also has an affinity for the throat chakra. At a time when communication mishaps might be common, blue tansy brings welcome relief.

Use blue tansy to encourage feelings of joy and trust, as well as to support communication, this Mercury Retrograde.

4. May Chang: Positivity Booster

If you find negativity creeping in during this time, casting shadows on your plans and aspirations, may chang is a lovely ally. With its uplifting and refreshing aroma, may chang acts as a natural mood enhancer.

May chang is especially helpful for those feel “tired and wired” during Mercury Retrograde — it uplifts our mood by calming our nervous systems, which in turn actually leads to more sustainable energy.

You can use May change to help maintain a positive outlook and embrace the cosmic twists and turns with optimism.

5. Vetiver: Grounding and Stability

Get grounded and stay present with the support of vetiver. A restorative oil, vetiver is perfect for those times when you’re feeling hypersensitive or distracted. With its deep, earthy, almost smokey scent, vetiver anchors us to both the Earth and the present moment, offering stability amidst the cosmic chaos. Its calming effects can help alleviate stress and encourage a sense of security.

Turn to vetiver when you need to calm down, get present, and come from a place of inner power during challenging times.

How to Use Essential Oils During Mercury Retrograde

There are two simple yet powerful ways you can use these oils to support your flow during this retrograde season.

First, you can diffuse the oils. If you already have an essential oil diffuser, this is a lovely way to receive the benefits of these oils while blessing your entire space.

Simply add 4-6 drops of any of these oils to your favorite diffuser. You can choose one oil, or combine a few different ones. R

Anointing with the oils is especially powerful. An anointing practice can be done as part of a daily meditation, before journaling, or in preparation of Mercury-related activities to harmonize the energy (for example, you might like to anoint yourself with rosemary before reading an important document or blue tansy before a big conversation).

Quick Tip – Make Your Own Anointing Oil
Anointing can be done neat* — meaning with the pure, undiluted essential oil — or with a dilution of about 10% essential oil in a carrier oil.
If you’re making your own anointing oil this way, use about 10 drops per teaspoon of oil. The olive oil in your kitchen is great and has been traditionally used for centuries. Jojoba is a good modern choice, as it has an especially long shelf life.
*Some oils can cause irritation when used neat, including many citrus and spice oils, so in general, it’s a good idea to use diluted oils for your anointing practices.

How to Apply Your Anointing Oil

To apply your anointing oil, place one drop on your finger and then gently rub into selected points on the body. Hold your finger on the point for one to three minutes — until you feel a soft energetic shift. Chakra points are a nice place to start your anointing practice.

I also like to hold two key acupuncture points, as taught by Tiffany Carole, to receive the blessings of the oils: DU-2, located at the sacrum, and DU-20, located at the top of the head. (You can find charts to help with exact locations online.) Simply place one drop of oil on your index fingers, and then hold one index finger on each acupuncture for 1 - 3 minutes.

As we navigate Mercury retrograde, remember that essential oils are more than just pleasant scents – they are alchemical allies that can support our journeys of self-discovery and growth. So choose your oil, take a deep breath, and let the plant spirit guide you through these cosmic waves.

Psst…buying high quality essential oils can feel like a landmine. I wrote this peice to help.

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A Complete Guide to Magical & Ritual Anointing Oils

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juniper stokes 8/22/23 juniper stokes 8/22/23

Your Guide to Virgo Season

Tomorrow, we leave the fiery, fun realm of Leo for the grounded, earthy energy of Virgo (August 23rd to Sept 23rd this year). This is the perfect time to find more balance in your daily routines, care for your health in practical and sustainable ways, and tend to the details that will support bringing your bigger projects to life. But this Virgo Season isn’t just about Virgo energy…it’s about retrograde energy. And actually, I think the two vibes go together quite well. With that, here’s your guide to make the most of Virgo - Retro Season!

This is what happens when the virgin meets the magician...plus retrogrades. So many retrogrades.

But this Virgo Season isn’t just about Virgo energy…it’s about retrograde energy. And actually, I think the two vibes go together quite well.

With that, here’s your guide to make the most of Virgo - Retro Season!

A Cosmic Look at Virgo

Virgos have a reputation for being meticulous and organized. They get things done and they get things done right. And they do it the first time. And, whatever they do usually benefits everyone.

Perhaps this is why a keyword for Virgo Season is care. Virgos care — about themselves and others. Self-improvement is balanced with service here, and quite often, the two are connected.

The Virgo Party

One of my favorite ways to feel into each Zodia is to imagine a dinner party hosted in the spirit of the sign.

Virgo’s, of course, would be meticulously planned: The cuisine both delicious and healthy, each course arriving in perfect timing. Seating arrangements carefully thought out in advance to ensure interesting conversation and benefic encounters. And, I have no doubt that coversation cards or other somewhat structured social activities would be in place, ensuring that no one is left out and all are taken care of.

How do you feel about attending this party? Do you feel yourself relax, knowing that all your needs will be cared for? Or do you feel tense, worried that you’ll be bored to death without a bit more freedom? Your reflections might illuminate a bit of your relationship with your own inner Virgo.

Virgo the Virgin

Virgo is symbolized by the Virgin, which might not sound that exciting, but is actually an amazing archetype.

The Virgin is not about sexuality but about sovereignty — it’s about feeling whole and complete in and of yourself.

In Goddesses in Everywoman, Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen describes the virgin goddesses as free and whole. They live their own lives, focus on their personal development, and cultivate great self-reliance.

Virginity also refers to purity here — but not the warped idea of sexual purity often associated with the word today. Rather, the virgin archetype offers us the purity of “original form”. Virgo asks us to reflect on our own true nature: Who are you at your core? What is your true spiritual nature?

Mother Mary, the primary virgin archetype of the West, is a model of this: her heart so pure, her divinity so intact, that she could birth — literally and metaphorically — the infinite love of Christ upon the Earth.

In this way, Virgo Season invites us to reconnect with our true self and sovereign nature, those parts of us that are whole, divine, and free from unhealthy cultural conditioning.

This is the ultimate aim of the personal growth aspect of this Zodia. We cultivate discipline, inquiry, and right effort on our path to self-realization.

Mercury: Magic, Messages, and Mind

Virgo is ruled by Mercury — the planet of magic, messages, and the mind.

In modern astrology, Mercury is most immediately connected with the mind and messenger archetypes. We tend to immediately think of our thought processes and everything related to communication — technology, language, travel, contracts, and more.

And, Mercury is known for its retrogrades. As one of the fastest moving planets, Mercury goes retrograde relatively often, which tends to put a pause on all the communication issues mentioned above.

Yet what’s often left out here is that Mercury also contains the archetype of the Magician.

In Hellenistic astrology, Mercury holds the unique position of not being part of other planetary groups (to put it simply) — Mercury is a free agent that travels between the realms of dark and light, the individual and the collective, and spirit and matter.

And this is how magic happens.
Spirit meets matter, and the mind directs the outcome.

When the Virgin Meets the Magician: Deities for Virgo Season

Virgo shows us that when purity of mind meets the limitless capacity of spirit, true magic becomes possible.

What do you most wish to accomplish? What desires arise from the most authentic place within? And, what is the next small step that will take you in the right direction?

Partnering with the deities that express and model Virgoan qualities can enhance our practices of self-development and magic during this time:

One place to begin your inquiry here is by looking at your relationship with the Virgin goddesses — Artemis, Hestia, and Athena — as well as Mother Mary. I’ve written a full article on these virgin goddesses here.

The other area to look at is the realm of three Mercurial gods — Hermes, Thoth, and Odin.

A Brief Detour into the Mercurial Gods…
In classical astrology, each day of the week is given a planetary lord — and Mercury’s day is Wednesday. Wednesday, from the Old English word Wōdnesdæg, means day of Woden or day of Odin. And in the Norse allfather Odin, we see a god of wisdom, communication, and magic, an apt expression of Mercury.
As an aside, I’ve created an all-natural, magically-infused perfume dedicated to Odin. It’s smokey and mysterious. Sweet, spicey, and sultry all at the same time. And filled with magical botanicals to awaken your connection with this powerful god. See Odin’s natural and magical perfume here.
In the West’s classical lineage, Mercury was known as Mercurius to the Romans and Hermes to the Greeks. Hermes — the god of messages and magic. The starting point of Hermeticism. And the incarnation of the Egyptian god Thoth — a primary deity of magic, writing, and wisdom. Both Hermes and Thoth are powerful Mercurial allies.

Which deities do you feel a resonance with at this time, and what might this say about the life themes and lessons arising for you? What support can you find in these gods and goddesses?

One of my absolute favorite deities for working with these energies is that of the goddess Diana, who embodies both the Virgin and the Magician.

Diana is the Roman name for the Greek goddess mentioned above, Artemis, and both goddesses model independence, freedom, personal development, and sovereignty. As a protector of women, this goddess embodies the Virgoan trait of being of service, as well.

Yet Diana specifically brings in the realms of magic. This form of the goddess was kept alive in sacred women’s circles, underground and hidden from the Church, for hundreds of years beyond the fall of the Roman Empire. She is a patron saint of witches to this day. A goddess of true magic.

I have a long standing relationship with this goddess and have created many offerings to her over the years. If you’re interested in learning more, take a look at this goddess workshop dedicated to her. Or, if you’d like to simply receive her blessings, my Artemis-Diana botanical perfume is infused with her energy — it smells of a wild and sweet forest filled with rain and moonlight, and is one of my personal favorites.

The 6th House: Bringing Sovereignty and Magic to Our Daily Lives

Virgo rules the 6th house in astrology, which is associated with our daily routines, health, and service — all areas of focus for Virgo.

Here, we see all the themes of Virgo Season come together:
The virgin’s quest for personal development, the mind’s acuity and focus, and the magician’s gifts in making things happen — all in the realms of our day-to-day lives.

During Virgo Season, let yourself find pleasure in the details. Find joy in giving to others. Make small, sustainable lifestyle changes that will add up to big results over time. And know that your health, happiness, and hopes are worth committing to.

This season supports us in committing to our most important goals, making an organized plan, and following through. Then, we can bring our dreams to life…almost as if with magic ;)

Coming Up In The Cosmos

An astrological season is never just about the ruling Zodia — there are myriad cosmic events that influence us, so let’s take a look at some of the bigger ones we’ll see during Virgo season this year:

Mercury Retrograde — Yes, the dreaded Mercury Retrograde is back from August 23 - September 15th this year. But have no fear! Mercury Retrograde in Virgo helps us review the details of past projects, make tweaks, and then be prepared to move forward once the retrograde is over.

Uranus Retrograde — Another retrograde! Innovative and eccentric Uranus goes retrograde on August 28th, and will stay that way until January, 2024. When such a rebellious planet enters a retrograde phase, it asks us to be a bit more conservative when it comes to making major life changes.

Full Blue Supermoon in Pisces — On August 30th, we’re blessed with a second full moon this August, and it’s a supermoon, meaning it will look big and beautiful over the horizon. Happening in the sign of Pisces, this just might be a time for your dreams to come true.

Venus Goes Direct — On September 3rd, you can take a sign of relief as Venus stations direct once again. Areas of relationships, beauty and aesthetics, values, and more should now feel a bit more easeful.

Jupiter Retrograde — Yeah…there are a lot of retrogrades this month. A planet of luck and spiritual expansion, Jupiter retrograde asks us to travel our inner worlds. This is a time to reflect on our beliefs and blessings, refining them to be more aligned with who we are now.

Extra Long Void Moon — Void moons are an astrological phenomenon that’s almost like a mini “everything is retrograde” period. It’s a time to focus on self-care, meditation, and simple activities like cleaning the house. Void moons happen all the time but usually don’t last for more than an hour or two, so we rarely notice them. On September 12th, we’ll have an extra long void moon — meaning that it will last pretty much all day. Rest and relax as much as you can.

New Moon in Virgo — Thia is a time for setting earthy, practical goals. What do you want your day-to-day life to look like? Set your intentions under the Virgo New Moon on September 14th.

Tips for Virgo Season (and all those retrogrades…)

Does this seem like a lot of retrogrades? It is! Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto will all be retrograde from August 23rd to September 3rd.

What does this mean for you?

Retrogrades in general are a time for all things “re”: reflect, review, remember, and relax.

I actually think Virgo Season could be a lovely time for all these retrogrades to take place. We’re naturally more focused on details, want to clean up and organize a bit, and might prioritize our health. You can use these retrogrades to your advantage by going back and cleaning up areas you’ve been meaning to get to, reviewing and editing past projects for even greater clarity or meaning, and refining your daily routine to better support your wellness.

And remember: Revisiting past dreams, projects, relationships, and struggles can be both tender and liberating. Set the to-do list aside on occasion and create space for self care.

Psst: Here’s how to support yourself during retrogrades with plant allies.

More Tips for Virgo Season:

Refine Your Daily Routines: Virgo thrives on structure, so now is the perfect time to take a detailed look at your day-to-day. What’s working, and what’s not? Make the small, sustainable changes that will lead to your goals.

Make Self-Care a Priority: The transition of seasons, back to school energy, attention to detail, and emphasis on service during this season can feel a bit stressful if not balanced with self care. Commit to one act of true care for yourself each day, no matter how small.

Declutter and Organize: Virgo energy reminds us that an organized environment soothes the nervous system and calms the mind. Whether it’s your home, office, or even digital environment, take time to declutter and tidy up the spaces where you spend the most time.

Embrace Personal Growth: This season is all about self-reflection and self-improvement. Take some time to look back on your achievements, acknowledge your progress, and express gratitude for what you have. From this place of fullness, you can begin to look at where you want to commit to growing even more..

Be of Service: Virgo isn’t just about getting organized and taking care of yourself — it’s about serving others, too, especially in ways that create greater health and well-being. What gifts can you share with your family and community this season?

Make Offerings to Mercury: Mercury energy is strong during Virgo season, making this a wonderful time to add offerings and symbols for this planetary god to your altar and rituals. A few traditional associations from the Picatrix include:

Herbs and Aromas — rue, lemongrass, dill, elemi, mastic, sandalwood, and galbanum
Foods and Beverages — hoppy beer, black and mint teas, walnuts, and dried fruits
Stones — marcasite, agates, malachite, opal, and labradorite

The world needs Virgos and their deep desire to be of service, natural flair for organization, and ability to take care of business. This season, may we all enjoy these cosmic gifts.

You might also like:

The Venusian Mysteries: Awakening the Sacred Feminine

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juniper stokes 8/5/23 juniper stokes 8/5/23

Lion’s Gate Portal 8/8: Ancient Origins, Portal Openers, and the Key to Manifestation

During the Lion’s Gate Portal, the Earth, Sirius, the constellation Orion, and our Sun (in Leo the lion), all come into alignment. Though the energy lasts for around two weeks, it’s said to peak on 8/8, bringing in the numerological blessings of this day. Yet long before modern mystics named the Lion’s Gate Portal, ancient Egyptians were celebrating their new year right around the same time…

You’ll likely be hearing a lot about the Lion’s Gate Portal right around now — I even saw an article in Glamour about manifesting with the energy of this day (sometimes the changes I’ve witnessed in our collective consciousness just within my lifetime astound me).

These articles are helpful — but they are not the full story. Here’s what you might not know about the Lion’s Gate Portal…

Sirius — A Portal to Spiritual Wisdom

Sirius is the brightest star in our skies and has played an important role in spiritual traditions throughout the world…and Sirius is the key to opening the Lion’s Gate Portal.

Sirius is the brightest star visible in Earth's night sky and has been revered by various civilizations throughout history. Modern mystics will often refer to Sirius as “The Great Central Sun” — a luminous portal to divine wisdom.

The name "Sirius" is derived from the Greek word "Seirios," meaning "glowing" or "scorcher," which highlights its brilliance — it’s one of the closest stars to the Earth and its luminosity is about 25 times that of our own Sun.

Fun fact: Sirius is a binary star system, meaning that it consists of two stars — a brighter one and smaller white dwarf companion.

In ancient Egypt: Sirius was deified as the goddess Sopdet (Sothis in Greek) and appears as a woman with a five-pointed star upon her head. Sopdet is said to be a form of the goddess Isis, which emphasizes the importance of the stellar being.

Sopdet’s consort was the god Sah — who deified the constellation Orion. Just as Sopdet as associated with Isis, Sah was associated with her consort, Osiris.

Note: Osiris is a god of death and rebirth, transformation and regeneration — something that will become important to remember in the next bit…

The Lion’s Gate Portal 8/8

During the Lion’s Gate Portal, the Earth, Sirius, the constellation Orion, and our Sun (in the sign of Leo, the lion), all come into alignment.

In new thought spiritual communities, this cosmic event is said to activate a celestial portal that allows our manifestations to take form more quickly. It’s a time of collective evolution and an invitation to focus your intentions, connect with spirit, and bring your desires to life.

Though the energy of the Lion’s Gate lasts for around two weeks, it’s said to peak on August 8th (8/8, and next summer will be quite potent at 8/8/8 - 2+0+2+4), bringing in the numerological blessings of this day.

8 is a potent number associated with power, sex, and money, as well as death and rebirth.

(So both the constellation Orion and the number 8 add themes of death and rebirth to this sacred day!)

In astrology, the 8th house is ruled by Mars (in Hellenistic astrology) and Pluto (in modern astrology), and is home to Scorpio, making it our place of deep transformation — we delve into the depths of our psyches to let the old die and regenerate into greater versions of ourselves.

The 8th house is also where we access resources from outside ourselves, including gifts that arrive from others, the earth, and spirit.

With this 8th house energy of transformation and outside gifts, the Lion’s Gate Portal invites us to evolve into the person who is worthy and capable of receiving what we intend to manifest.

And guess what? The 8th card in the Tarot’s major arcana is Strength, a radiant, solar card which, in the traditional Rider-Waite Tarot, features a lion!

The True Mystical Origins of the Lion’s Gate Portal

But let’s be real here. The date 8/8 is a relatively modern invention — the current Gregorian calendar wasn’t established until the 16th century.

This calendar absolutely does add an important energetic signature, and our understanding of the numerological energy of 8 goes back thousands of years, but it’s important to understand that the true origins of the Lion’s Gate Portal are rooted much further in history.

Long before modern mystics named the Lion’s Gate Portal what it is today, ancient Egyptians were celebrating their new year right around the same time.

Sirius's heliacal rising — the first time it becomes visible in the morning sky before sunrise — was associated with the annual flooding of the Nile River, which was a critical event for the region's agriculture and marked the arrival of the Egyptian New Year. (I have an entire article on this celestial event and the Egyptian holy days it portends — if you missed it, you can still read it here.)

Though the celestial gods and their seasons have shifted over time, it’s generally thought that the heliacal rising of Sirius occurs in late July. Late July is of course the start of Leo season and opens the energetic portal of the Lion’s Gate.

So, while we might say this portal peaks on August 8th, the true origins of the Lion’s Gate Portal can be found in the ancient Egyptian New Year.

For me, this makes the Lion’s Gate Portal and powerful time for working with the gods of Egypt. (I’m actually finalizing a set of all-natural Egyptian perfumes, though they won’t be ready for release until the fall.)

Now is the perfect time to work with these rituals and connect with the gods of Egypt.

Portal Openers

I love partnering with plant allies — as herbs, flower essences, essential oils, and of course living plants. They provide us with food and medicine, wisdom and protection, and endless support on our human journeys.

One of my most personally sacred ways of working with the plants is through anointing oils. Spiritual traditions throughout the world have use anointing rituals for blessing, initiation, and protection.

In my own spiritual practice, I work with sacred oils as portal openers.

When I create an alchemical oil or anointing balm, both the energetic signature of the oils used and the ritual transmission of energy I infuse into the oil synergize into a uniquely potent blend.

This unique synergy speaks the language of energy and spirit, opening the way for deeper communication with the spirit world. I often anoint my heart when doing ritual work, as this attunes my own vibration with that of my intentions, opening a portal for greater healing and manifestation.

Whether you feel called to engage with the ritual guide above, or plan on doing your own manifestation practices, I highly recommend working with sacred oils for added potency.

The oils you choose will depend on your intentions. A few of my favorites:

Rose — for love
Basil — for wealth
Helichrysum — for healing
Clove — for protection
Neroli — for spiritual connection

If you make your own oil, be sure to dilute any pure essential oils in a carrier oil — olive oil works wonderfully (aim for about a 5% dilution — this is an energetic blend, so stronger isn’t better).

I’ve created a wealth of potent oils available in the Alchemessence Apothecary. Here are two that are especially potent for Egyptian magick:

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Sacred Scarab Anointing Oil

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Scarab Anointing Oil

I created my new Scarab Anointing Oil specifically for working with Egyptian magic — with true blue lotus absolute, sacred myrrh resin, and many more precious essences to connect you with ancient Egypt. Anointing oils are potent portal activators, and Scarab will help open sacred pathways of communication with the Egyptian deities.

Psst: I have an entire article on the magic of Scarabs here!

You might also like:

The Venusian Mysteries: Awakening the Sacred Feminine

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juniper stokes 7/13/23 juniper stokes 7/13/23

The Heliacal Rise of Sirius, the Five Sacred Epagomenal Days, and the Egyptian New Year

Though the date varies year over year, mid July generally marks both the Egyptian new year and the preceding Epagomenal Days.

Happy New Year to my fellow practitioners of ancient Egyptian magick.

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Sacred Scarab Anointing Oil

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Though the date varies year over year, mid July generally marks both the Egyptian new year and the preceding Epagomenal Days. To celebrate, I’m offering a very special Scarab Anointing Oil — which you can read more about, and purchase if you’d like, here:

The Heliacal Rise of Sirius

The ancient Egyptian New Year, known as Wepet Renpet or "Opening of the Year," was celebrated with the annual flooding of the Nile. The inundation of waters after long, dry seasons brought rebirth and fertility to the land, symbolically and literally. Only when the Nile waters returned, could the agriculture that would assure survival take place.

This time of year also marks the heliacal rising of the star Sirius: The first visible appearance of the star in the eastern horizon just before sunrise coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile.

A Nurturing Note on Cancer Season, the Earth’s Birth Chart, and the Egyptian New Year
During my Hermetic Astrology training, which is rooted in ancient Egyptian astrology, I remember seeing the Earth’s birth chart for the first time. And guess which sign was found in the first house, marking the ascendant of the Earth? Cancer.
How beautiful that the watery sign of Cancer welcomed the flooding of the Nile. And how beautiful that Cancer, known to be the sign of nurturing and caregiving, is the rising sign of our Earth, a rare planet filled with the waters that make life possible.

Sirius held great importance in ancient Egyptian cosmology and was considered one of the most significant celestial bodies that traversed the skies.

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This was in part because of the star’s association with the great mother goddess Isis — the stellar goddess Sothis, also known as Sopdet, that personified Sirius was considered a manifestation of Isis (or Auset). The threads of meaning continue to weave a divine tapestry here, as Isis contains the Cancerian and life-giving qualities of motherhood and fertility (in addition to many more aspects, of course).

And it was in part because of the spiritual significance of Sirius for the afterlife — the journey of the deceased through Duat, the realm of the dead, was often depicted as a boat sailing towards Sirius, a destination of spiritual transformation and eternal life.

The Epagomenal Days

The Egyptian epagomenal days, also known as the "Intercalary Days" or Heru-renpet, refer to five days added to the end of the Egyptian solar calendar. The solar calendar consisted of 12 months of 30 days each, resulting in a 360-day year. To align the calendar with the solar year, five extra days were inserted between the end of the old year and beginning of the new.

On each of these days, a great god or goddess was born — product of the union between the sky goddess Nut and earth god Geb (yes, the sky was the cosmic feminine and the earth the fertile masculine in ancient Egypt — a topic for another time!). Celebrations occurred throughout Egypt on every epagomenal day except for the third, which belongs to the unfortunate god Seth. The following is the traditional order:

Day 1: Osiris (also known as Ausar or Wesir)
Day 2: Horus the Elder (also known as Heru-ur)
Day 3: Seth (also known as Set)
Day 4: Isis (also known as Auset)
Day 5: Nephthys (also known as Nebthet)

In Feasts of Light, Normandi Ellis further explores the significance of each day, offering that Osiris’s day was considered a good day to be born, while those born on the day of Horus the Elder would long to return to the skies and their lives on Earth might be short-lived. (While Horus is usually the son of Isis and Osiris, in his ancient form of Horus the Elder, he is son of Nut and Geb.)

The day of Seth was considered to be extremely unlucky — shops were closed and people were warned not to leave their houses. (While I tend take a non-dual approach to deities, Egyptians found the god Seth to be so terrible — i.e., “He Who Makes Terror” — that he is the one primary Egyptian deity I’ve resisted creating a perfume for. What do you think? Would a Seth perfume be healing or harmful? Let me know in the comments, please!)

The birthday of Isis was the most fortunate day of the entire year, a time of beauty, celebration, and the greatest festivities.

The final epagomenal day belongs to the enigmatic goddess Nepthys. Sister to Isis, wife of Seth, Nepthys is associated with mourning and the afterlife, playing a major role in funerary rites. How fitting then, that she marks the final day, the last release of what came before as a year begins anew.

Celebrating the Epagomenal Days with Ritual & Reflection

Here in the West, we celebrate the turning of the year near the winter solstice, welcoming the official start on January 1st. Yet the Egyptian epagomenal days are part of the West’s cultural inheritance, as well, and the gods and goddesses of this pantheon are always available to us.

As we are roughly halfway through our Western year, these five days offer us a beautiful invitation to reflect on our experiences so far as we prepare for what’s to come. The following rituals are designed to help you work with the energy of these sacred days.

*A note on the timing of these days:
Many people like to celebrate the five epagomenal days in July, as that is likely when they took place in ancient Egypt. I like to focus on the days leading up to and around the feast of Mary Magdalene on July 22nd, as she is closely related to Isis and potentially shares a feast day — here, the day of Osiris would fall on July 19th and Nepthys would close the festivities on the 23rd. For those who wish to be more astrologically accurate, the actual Heliacal rising of Sirius will take place between July 24th and September 3rd, depending on your location (source).

Day 1: Osiris

Osiris is a unique god in that he is known for both fertility (his green color associating him with the fertile green earth) and death (he was torn to pieces by his brother Seth). And isn’t death necessary for life, providing compost and nutrients that nourish new forms into being?

Today, meditate on the gifts you’ve received so far this year. Notice what you have needed to let die, and what has been born in its place. Feel the ever-present life force of spirit in and around you — in form, unformed, and changing form all the time.

You may like to ritually release any thoughts, beliefs, projects, patterns, and attachments at this time, so the energy that once kept them alive may become fertile compost for the new delights awaiting you.

Day 2: Horus the Elder

It is said that Horus is twice-born — once of the heavens and once through his mother Isis’s womb. Either way, this falcon god helps us soar to higher perspectives, illuminating divine wisdom through his connection with the sun. Associated with the pharaohs and rulership, Horus invites us to gain new perspectives so we may be better leaders of our own lives.

This day, meditate with the sun. Breathe in sunlight and feel every cell lighting up with solar blessings.

You may like to journal after your meditation, when your mind and heart are clear: What do you most wish to create in the coming part of the year? Where do you need to embody your leadership even more? How can you remind yourself of your divine worthiness to be this leader and receive these blessings?

Day 3: Seth

Seth is the harbinger of death, and while considered an unlucky god, he is given one of the five epagomenal days for a reason — life isn’t all rainbows and unicorns, and the more we accept that there are things in life we don’t like, the more unshakable inner peace we can cultivate.

Nondual meditation is a significant part of my personal spiritual practice. I also practice unity meditations, where I become one with Source and feel the oneness of all existence. These practices are immensely fortifying for my spirit, helping me cultivate embodied resilience, compassion, and presence.

And, as a human, I have preferences. There are some things I like, and some things I don’t like. Can you relate?

Rather than resisting what we don’t like — or trying to push away or transmute our feelings of dislike — we can build psychological health by simply accepting and acknowledging what is.

This is where Seth comes in. We don’t like suffering. We don’t like unfortunate events. Loss, harm, destruction, and cruelty are not things we generally want to experience or witness. Yet when we fully face them, they begin to lose some of their power over us. This is the transformative alchemy of shadow work.

Today, allow yourself to feel all the feelings you’ve pushed away this year. The grief, frustration, shame…Bring the following questions into your meditation: How can you experience these challenging emotions without judging them as bad? What internal shifts do you experience if you allow yourself to dislike these emotions, yet also accept that they’re a normal part of life? See if you can feel a lessening of pressure or tension as you sink deeper into the truth of your experiences.

Any sort of shadow work such as this can be difficult and tender. Fortify yourself with loving kindness before and after this practice. Breathe in the unconditional love of the universe. Remind yourself that your true nature is always whole, loving, and loved.

Day 4: Isis

Isis is a goddess of many dimensions. Fertility and motherhood, magic and wisdom, beauty and shapeshifting, royalty and self worth, earthly and celestial realms… Isis is the goddess of many names.

What names do you bear? Parent. Child. Lover. Teacher. Healer. Creative. Scholar. Warrior. Guide. Advocate. Wisdomkeeper. Human.

You are all of these words and, like Isis, you are more.

Today, take time to celebrate the roles you’ve played or still play in this life. Allow the gifts and blessings, those given and received, to arise within your consciousness.

Then ask yourself, what else? What areas of your being remain untapped? What names have you been afraid to own, and where does that resistance originate?

In today’s meditation, imagine yourself in a giant sphere of energy or light. See all the names you’ve taken on to fill this space. Then expand your sphere even more — notice the new space this creates. What might arise when given room? What new names long to be born through your time, energy, and intention? And what ever-present name lies at the heart of the sphere, representing your most authentic, whole self?

Day 5: Nepthys

Nepthys rules the dreamworld, guiding us into what is unseen, just beyond the veils of perception. As a goddess of sorrow, she has no fear of looking into the dark, for she has already faced the sadness of life and still walks forth with a heart filled with love.

If you’ve tended to your daily meditations and rituals so far, you have acknowledged and released what no longer serves. You have embraced your true self worth. You have faced the dark sides of life and emerged with love. You have expanded your understanding of who you truly are.

Now, the groundwork is in place for you, like Nepthys, to see beyond your past veils of perception.

In today’s meditation, ask what may I now see that has previously been hidden? Depending on your heart’s subtle intentions, this might reveal insights into your purpose, the answers to problems you’ve been struggling with, inspiration for your next move, or even a peek into your future. Trust that whatever arises is perfect for right now.

Want these ceremonies in a beautiful, full-color PDF you can download and keep? Well here you go!

Ancient Egyptian Scarabs: 6 Reasons This Beetle is Pure Magic

The scarab beetle holds great significance, spirituality, and symbolism in ancient Egyptian culture. One of the most revered and iconic symbols in this vast civilization, the scarab represents various aspects of life, death, rebirth, and divine power.

Here are six aspects of the scarab’s significance in ancient Egypt:

1. Creation and Rebirth

The scarab was associated with the god Khepri, who represented the rising sun and the cycle of creation and rebirth. Just as the beetle rolls a ball of dung and buries it in the ground, the ancient Egyptians believed that Khepri rolled the sun across the sky and brought about the dawn, symbolizing the renewal of life.

2. The Sun

The scarab was considered a solar symbol because of its connection to Khepri and the sun. The Egyptians associated the sun with life, light, and energy, and they believed that the scarab had the power to bring about the sun's daily rebirth and renewal.

3. Guardian of the Underworld

The scarab was closely linked to the concept of the afterlife. In Egyptian mythology, it was believed that the sun god Ra would transform into a scarab beetle during his journey through the underworld at night. The scarab was seen as a protector and guide for the deceased, helping them navigate the treacherous journey to the afterlife and ensuring their rebirth.

4. Symbol of Immortality

The Egyptians believed in the concept of eternal life and the possibility of achieving immortality. The scarab, with its ability to lay eggs and produce offspring without a mate, became a symbol of regeneration and everlasting life. Scarab amulets were often placed on mummies or buried with the deceased to provide them with protection and facilitate their journey to the afterlife.

Want to deepen your connection with Ancient Egyptian spiritual practice? Grab your copy of this free guide filled with daily rituals!

5. Amulet of Good Luck and Protection

The scarab beetle was also considered a powerful amulet for good luck, protection, and warding off evil forces. People would wear scarab amulets or use them in jewelry, seals, and various forms of art to bring good fortune and guard against harm.

6. Symbol of Transformation and Resurrection

The scarab's life cycle — from an egg to a larva, pupa, and finally emerging as a fully grown beetle — symbolized transformation and resurrection. This made it a powerful symbol of personal growth, change, and the ability to overcome challenges.

To honor the sacred medicine of the Scarab, I’ve created a divine, all-natural scarab anointing oil.

Inspired by studies with Egyptologist and perfumer Dora Goldsmith, this potent oil contains only botanical ingredients (no artificials, no isolates) in organic jojoba oil.

And, it contains magic. As a conduit of energy and practitioner of magic, I’ve partnered with Scarab to infuse each bottle with the gifts listed above.

This is a limited edition offering — learn more and get your sacred scarab oil here.

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Gnome Plant & Meeting the Queen of the Underworld

On finding an exquisitely rare plant and meeting the gnome queen deep in the earth.

On a beautiful, sunny July morning in the mountains of Oregon, I made a discovery that would expand my understanding of reality.

I had quit my full time job of six years just the month before. Tortured by a pompous prick of a manager and tired of suffering physically as well as emotionally, I finally leapt off the ledge of so-called security and into the void of the unknown.

I gave myself the summer to heal (which turned into a year). As much as my mind told me that I would lose everything if I didn’t start making money again right away, my body was forcing me to slow down.

And so, on a random Tuesday, free from the responsibilities I was used to, I took myself on a solo hike through a most beautiful forest, hoping that the spirits of nature could help heal my weary soul.

The hike began in the usual way — a crowded parking lot gave way to quiet trails as I traveled deeper into the woods.

I allowed the trees to bathe me in healing terpenes, brushing my hands on lush ferns as I passed. I waded into icy river shores, praying for the healing waters to cleanse away my pain. I greeted every plant and stone and animal and bird, as is my way in the world.

And then, I looked down and saw a being I’ve never seen before — a gnome plant.

The Rare and Wonderful Gnome Plant

This beautiful and strange plant is extremely rare, and any encounter with her is a true gift. I believe she remains hidden by choice, revealing her beauty only to those who have demonstrated their heartfelt appreciation and love for the earth.

So rare is the gnome plant, hemitomes congestum, that very little is even known about her.

"The Gnome Plant is so secretive and illusive one is as likely to encounter a forest gnome as see one of these deep forest dwellers." — Reny Parker in Wildflowers of California's North Coast Range (originally cited by Jeanne Jackson)

She is the only member in her entire plant family, hemitomes, and she exists only on the West Coast of the United States, from California to British Columbia.

Little is known about the life cycle of this mysterious plant, but we do know that it doesn’t contain chlorophyll, likely feeds on parasitic fungi, and is probably pollinated by a moth of some sort.

When I encountered this marvelous and mysterious plant, her petals were closed, giving her a distinctly succulent look. Delighted and awed, I snapped a few pictures, offered gratitude, and continued on my way.

I had thought that this was the end of my gnome plant encounter. It turns out it was only the beginning.

The Invitation Deepens

A few nights later, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. Sleep eluded me, so I decided to use the time to journey and take a shamanic trip into the otherworlds.

As someone who has been practicing shamanic arts for over two decades, I have usual protocols for my journeywork — set an intention, go through a portal, meet my guides, explore…

For some reason though, this time I abandoned my usual process and simply set the intention to travel wherever spirit took me.

As soon as my request was sent, a mole appeared.

Now, I have dozens of spirit animals I work with, but I had never met mole spirit before! All felt divine and safe, so went with the flow and followed the mole deep into the earth.

Deeper and deeper. Darker and darker. We were traveling somewhere entirely new for me.

Finally, the pressure of the earth around me shifted, and I dropped into a vast underground cavern. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that the walls around me were sparkling—precious minerals and crystals of all sorts glimmered from some source of unseen light.

Then I saw her. The Queen of the Underworld. The Queen of the Gnomes.

Meeting the Gnome Queen

Now, I should clarify that this is the language she gave me to describe herself. I’m well aware that many deities bear the title of Queen of the Underworld. And, while the term “gnome” is often used for adorable garden figures with pointed hats—that is not the kind of gnome I encountered.

The queen sat upon a crystalline throne, her pale skin luminescent and shimmering with an ethereal splendor.

Honored to be in her presence, I was told that encountering the gnome plant had been an invitation to her realm, an invitation to work with the magic and medicine of the earth kingdom in a new way. The plant was a portal.

I was shown that this particular realm of gnomes (I believe there are actually many kinds of beings who bear this name) operated much like a bee hive: The queen was the only female, hidden from most in our world, protected and served by the male gnomes.

A World within Our World

The realm of the gnomes exists deep within our earth in a slightly different reality than we’re familiar with — perhaps another dimension, perhaps a different frequency.

Though most are unaware of its existence, this realm is of vital importance to our own world.

The gnomes tend the harmonic balance of the earth’s minerals. They build, move, and attune Gaia’s crystalline structure — and heal her from the extraction that happens in our dimension. The queen is a channel for the life force of the mineral-beings within the earth, infusing them with power and source energy.

The queen told me that those who are called to work with this realm have the ability to channel and harmonize earth grids for Gaia. And, by working directly with the gnomes, they just might receive Gaia’s abundance in surprising ways.

I was being invited to apprentice with the gnome realm.

The queen then shared that I could return to the forest to make a flower essence of the gnome plant — a gift to support my apprenticeship energetically.

Creating a Most Rare Essence

Though encountering even one gnome plant seemed like a miracle the first time, I decided to respond to the queen’s generous invitation and see if I could find this plant once more.

Unsure of whether the gnome plant would still be blooming or whether I could even find it again, I decided to make a date out of my next attempt. I invited my partner, Mike, on an after work hike and dinner picnic to the mountains.

After nearly an hour and a half of driving, we arrived at the trailhead and set out. About five minutes into our hike, Mike said, “Whoa—is this one?”

It was. The queen, true to her promise, had recognized an earth ally in Mike, too (which doesn’t surprise me at all…there’s a reason I’m with this man!).

This time, the gnome flower had opened up into beautiful little blossoms — the divine timing of our encounters perfectly orchestrated. I gratefully and reverently gathered just a few blossoms, placed them in a glass jar, and we continued. Soon, we encountered a second gnome flower…and then a third!

Such a gift to have met so many of these magical and strange beings. Such confirmation for deepening our relationship.

I brought the blossoms home and infused them into local spring water to create a flower essence under the moonlight—a moon infusion seemed appropriate for the queen of the gnomes, somehow.

When I asked if I could share this flower essence and my discoveries with others — the gnome plant, the world of the gnomes, the portal to abundance they offered — I was told to wait. Integration was needed first.

And so, for nearly a year now, I’ve been sitting with this essence, meeting with the queen of the gnomes, waiting for further instruction.

Psst — Want to learn more about flower essences? I’ve created a free starter guide that you will love :)

A Sacred Circle of 13

Now, I’ve finally been granted permission to share this precious essence. But only with 13 people. I trust that the exact people who are meant to work with the queen will feel called to purchase their essences at the perfect time.

It seems possible that I’ll be able to release more later, but for now, I’m following instructions. There may even be a special circle offered, live and online, once all the 13 spots have been claimed. We’ll see.

Are you one of the queen’s apprentices? Find your magical gnome flower essence here:

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Gnome Flower

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Coregulating with the Natural World

The importance of being in a well-regulated body cannot be overstated.

It’s really hard to be a fully functional, compassionate, and mature adult when your nervous system is dysregulated. Mindset and willpower can only go so far when your adrenals and vagus nerve are depleted or your general endocrine system is out of sync with your body’s needs.

This is awful for anyone…but for a perfumer? Absolutely devastating. It’s been a slow recovery (that bout of covid was especially rough). Though my smell had mostly come back by mid February, I could tell that I wasn’t picking up on the subtle nuances I used to. The loss of smell has been such a strange piece of this pandemic era…A strong sense of smell has always been a mark of a healer — the ability to sniff out both the diseases and the cures.

Like any trauma — and like so much of our modern lives in general — ecological trauma often leaves us depleted and exhausted. The ongoing existential threats, the feelings of powerlessness, and the potent pairing of anger and grief we experience can coalesce into overwhelm and physical, emotional, and spiritual dysregulation.

Our work is to alchemize this pain and grief into usable energy. Our birthrights include being in sacred relationship with the natural world. Our true potential to be effective stewards of the Earth is without limit.

Here, we’ll take a shamanic approach to recovering from ecological trauma. This approach is rooted in two fundamental principles:

First, as much as we might resist connecting with what we perceive to be the pain of the Earth, deepening our connection with the natural world is our path to healing.

The Earth has provided humans with multi-layered healing for millennia, and we must allow ourselves to receive and reconnect with the gifts of our Earth.

Second, as much as we might perceive humanity as bearing the burden for the fate of the world, we are not alone in our efforts.

When we embrace a cosmological shift to animist perspectives, we recognize that the Earth and all her inhabitants are inspirited — and as such, they have agency to affect the fate of the planet, just as humans do. Listening to and partnering with these nature beings is essential if we hope to enact any change within ourselves and our world.

As we partner with our bodies, with the Earth, and with spirit, we can begin to co-create a wildly wonderful world.

Coregulation with the Natural World

The importance of being in a well-regulated body cannot be overstated.

I’ve noticed that when I’m depleted or experiencing activation in my sympathetic nervous system (the “Fs”: fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and I might add “fatigue”), I become more reactive and judgemental. Yet when I’m well-regulated, I’m naturally more generous and forgiving. I have more energy to take positive actions, and my thinking is clearer, allowing me to direct my resources — time, money, and energy — where they’re needed most.

There are many daily strategies we can implement to tend to our nervous systems — I list several of my personal practices here and here.

One of the most beautiful ways to tend our nervous systems in response to ecological trauma is coregulation with the natural world.

In simple terms, coregulation is the idea that when a person is spinning out and unable to regulate their own nervous system, another person who is calm and well-regulated can help them — almost “lending” their nervous system’s health to the person in need: Think of a child who gets taken over by a sobbing fit, and their parent simply hugs them until they calm down enough to process whatever has just happened.

Humans, being social beasts, are perfectly primed to both give and receive this type of communal support with each other.

But what about coregulating with the natural world?

The shamanic and animist cultures we all come from included the Earth and spirits of nature in our circle of relations. Coregulating with the Earth is our natural way of being in the world.

When I walk through the Rocky Mountains, a place I’ve tended relationship with for over a decade, the mountains literally feel like my grandparents. The trees are wise elders. The animals my brothers and sisters. This isn’t metaphor, either. Nature beings — especially those I know well — are my kin, pure and simple.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked my favorite trails with a broken heart, ready to crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of my life. And over the course of miles and mountains, I emerge with the presence and purpose to keep going.

Coregulating with the natural world is effective because nature is naturally well-regulated.

While we certainly witness imbalances and traumas in our ecosystems, most of the nature spirits we encounter in our daily lives are resourced and regulated. They remember their divinity and often hold a broader perspective than our egoic human minds.

And, usually, they delight when humans turn to them for support. The spirits of nature are tuned in to collective memories of times when humans actively partnered with the Earth. They know that sharing their love with us is part of their destiny.

I’m sure most of you can remember spending time in a natural place that just felt good. Even if you couldn’t pinpoint why specifically, you felt yourself becoming present and relaxed. Unintentionally, you were coregulating with the natural world.

Intentionally coregulating with the natural world is even more powerful. While this practice can be done with a variety of nature beings and places, trees are some of our most accessible allies for this conscious coregulation.

Practice: Coregulating with Trees

Begin by approaching a tree you naturally feel drawn to. Hold your intention for coregulation in your heart.
(One of the core practices I teach when connecting with any spirit being, including nature spirits, is to ask permission before you engage with its field of energy. Yet knowing whether your getting a yes or no answer can be tricky without practice. By setting your intention for healing and then allowing yourself to be drawn to a tree that seems to be calling you, or that just feels good, you can safely assume permission has been given.)
Take a few moments to observe the tree. Witness its beauty, notice the details you would normally gloss over.
How do you feel in the presence of this tree? Notice your energy as you approach. How is it shifting the longer you sit with this tree?
Even if you notice that the tree is diseased or damaged, see if you can pierce that layer of existence to align with the true, divine essence of the tree.
Take some time to tune into the roots, the trunk, the expansion of the branches. What sensations arise in your body?
Feel into the solid, grounded energy of the tree. Depending on the kind of tree and time of year, you might sense energy that feels rooted and flexible, grounded and expansive, nourished and nourishing, resilient and joyful.
Check in with your own nervous system again. Feel the energy of the tree within your being.
You can deepen this practice even more by adding circular breathing with the tree. Visualize yourself inhaling both the oxygen and energy of the tree, and as you exhale, it receives your carbon dioxide and energy.
You can also spend time in direct contact with the tree: Either sit with your back along the trunk or go head and give it a big, long hug. Both can enhance the energetic experience of the tree. There’s a reason tree hugging is thing!
When you feel complete, offer thanks to the tree (more on this when we discuss reciprocity in Part 3 of this series). Acknowledge what you have received and move forward with gratitude in your heart.
If available to you, try repeating this practice with the same tree several times. You’ll notice that not only do new sensations arise, but new insights and wisdom will spark within your consciousness, as well.

Coregulating with Place

This is a practice you can do with rivers, mountains, flowers, stones, and the earth herself. The more variety you experiment with, the more you’ll realize that nourishment from the natural world has many different flavors.

Another place that I have a deep, long standing relationship with is the Oregon Coast. If you’ve never visited the Oregon Coast, know that it is wild. Largely undeveloped and protected with state park designations, these rocky beaches have retained an untamable, at times exhilarating, energy.

Massive rocky outcrops emerge from huge coastal waves. Cliffs filled with nesting birds of prey overlook tide pools full of sea anemones and starfish. Giant kelp and jellyfish wash along the shores. The water is numbingly cold even at the height of summer, and ravaging wind gusts are almost guaranteed.

This is not exactly a relaxing scene in many ways, yet the wild coasts of Oregon feel aligned. As rough as the waves and weather may be, the spirit of this place is strong. And I’ve never ended a trip to the coast without feeling more enlivened and empowered because of our time together.

Coregulating with the wild spirit of the coast is a very different experience from sitting with a tree in a park. The calm, nurturing, grounding energy of the tree contrasts with the wild strength of the sea — yet both energies are perfectly aligned with their own divinity. Both are resourced and regulated. And this is what heals us.

Your invitation here is to explore the gifts of coregulating with place.

Where do you feel enlivened? Where do you feel a sense of calm presence? Allow yourself to receive the healing energy of aligning with the Earth’s authentic being.

Coregulating with Animals

You might have noticed that until now, I haven’t included animals in the list of nature spirits to practice coregulating with. Put simply, animals are different. They have nervous systems, just like we do, and they may or may not feel resourced and regulated themselves. Coregulating with animals can be an absolutely beautiful experience, and it can benefit both parties, but it needs to be approached a bit differently.

When it comes to animals in the wild, coregulation is a rare gift. In my experience, wild animals usually don’t sit in presence and regulate with humans. While it can happen, and some humans are especially gifted at this practice, animals in the wild most often appear as messengers.

(If you’d like to learn how to understand messages from animals, I have a really special short course on the topic here.)

Our pets, however, can be wonderful allies for coregulating — and if you have a pet you love, you already know exactly what I mean.

While human-pet relationships can be as varied as any familial dynamics, most often our pets are happy to coregulate with us. Humans have karmic bonds with many species that make dropping into coregulation natural and healing for both us and our animal kin.

The frequency cat’s purr has positive physiological effects on our nervous systems. The unconditional love in a dog’s gaze heals the heart at the deepest levels. I even had a lizard who, though I didn’t have the language for it at the time, would coregulate with me…

I swear — that lizard and I had karma. A lizard wouldn’t have been on my personal pet list, as I always thought lizards were best left in the wild. But this one, a bearded dragon named Diego, was about to be returned to a petshop because his owner was moving across the country, so I volunteered to take him in.

At first, he was so foreign to me — a little dinosaur walking around my kitchen floor. Yet it didn’t take long for me to learn his language, see his intelligence, and tune into his amazing presence.

I was in grad school at the time — not exactly a stress-free era of life — and I would often take Diego out of his enclosure to run around my bedroom while I studied. I distinctly remember that whenever I would pause and take a meditation break, he would run over and hop in my lap to join me. Eventually, this magical little being would initiate the meditation breaks!

I loved that lizard, and would hold him while watching TV, feed him green beans from the garden, take him on little walks in the backyard…I know without a doubt that he was coregulating with my perfectionist student self, and I needed him.

If you open your mind and heart to the many possibilities of connecting with the natural, wild world — support can be found in the most surprising places.

Cultivating Self-Regulation

One of the basic tenets of psychological teachings on coregulation is that it’s not a replacement for self-regulation. We must develop the skills to soothe and tend our nervous systems on a regular basis, to cultivate resilience for challenging times, and to become beacons of stability and healing for others.

In a way, coregulating with the natural world is a beautiful step toward being able to effectively self-regulate. In the presence of nature spirits, we aren’t alone, yet we can be alone in the human sense. We can tune into our own resources, guided by the natural world.

On angels, psychic saviors, fallen gurus, and sovereignty (And the magic of being human)

I coined the term psychic savior for when we give over our own knowing, our own intuition, and most importantly our own decision making, to someone we perceive as being more intuitive or psychically connected to spirit than we are.

Remember Doreen Virtue?

If you’re spiritually inclined and over 30 there’s a very good chance you know this former Hay House superstar.

One of the authors who really propelled Hay House to its current status, Doreen is probably best known for her oracle cards — angel cards, fairy cards, ascended master cards, unicorn cards, archangel cards, goddess cards…So. Many. Cards.

I actually must credit Doreen with helping to open up my own psychic abilities. When I was only 21, I had the opportunity to attend an in-person workshop with her in London.

I sat next to a lovely woman, and we practiced doing intuitive readings for each other. It was wild.

I saw, with my third eye, a blue man peeking over her shoulder. I didn’t automatically know who he was — just that he was a real ally for her. In the moment, I couldn't think of what on earth a blue man would mean, but he felt ancestral. I didn’t make the connection that she was Indian ;)

When I shared, her eyes got wide and she exclaimed, “That’s Krishna!” It turns out, she had been working with Krishna closely for some time, and my vision provided her with immense validation and encouragement.

For me, she saw a man named Michael, who, for some reason, was wearing a plaid shirt and glasses. I knew immediately that this was the Archangel Michael — though why he would be wearing plaid and glasses was beyond me…

Until a few weeks later. As my youthful solo travels around Europe continued, I ended up stranded at a ferry station in Sweden. I’d mixed up the numbers on my ticket, as everything was written in a foreign language, and had missed my boat to Helsinki, where I’d planned to stay with a local friend that night.

Exhausted, scared, and with nowhere to stay late at night in a foreign country (I seemed to have way too many of those experiences during my wild youth…), I broke down. Waiting at the ticket counter for help, sniffling and trying not to make too much of a scene, a kind man turned to me.

He was American and holding a jack russell terrier. These were the kind of dogs I had at home, and just seeing one brought me a homey feeling. Immediately I felt kindness radiate from this man — who was wearing a red plaid shirt and glasses.

He smiled at me and told me everything would be okay. I’m not sure I believed him, but I tried. He said his name was Michael, and he left.

And everything was okay, though a bit rougher than my original plans. I got on an overnight boat that happened to be carrying Elton John’s crew across the waters to a show in Finland. I made it over safely and got a free ticket to his concert. I wasn’t a huge fan, but it was a fun experience. I was exhausted by the end of everything, but I was okay.

I believe Doreen was truly connected to the spirit realms during this time, and I’ll forever be grateful for the ways her teachings opened me to the realms of angels, gods and goddesses, and ascended masters from around the world.

The Psychic Savior Industry

Yet…there’s a trap that emerges with teachers like Doreen. I call it the psychic savior phenomenon.

Back in the 90s and early 2000s this was huge — I’m honestly not tracking how much it still occurs today (let me know what you think in the comments, please!).

I use the term psychic savior for when we give over our own knowing, our own intuition, and most importantly our own decision making, to someone we perceive as being more intuitive or psychically connected to spirit than we are.

While this has always been a part of guru-based religions and spiritual practices — you need the guru or priest as a mediary to higher realms and wisdom — the 90s brought it to the masses under the guise of personal empowerment.

This definitely isn’t all bad and isn’t all intentional, either. There is real personal empowerment in the materials Hay House and other such companies publish, and there are very real teachings for deepening your connection with spirit from many of the biggest authors in this world.

Yet as much as the most well-known psychics profess ideas that “you can do it!” and host millions of “anyone be psychic” workshops, the audience, for the most part, ends up disempowered.

Part of this is because of brand of “psychic” being sold is very different from the subtle, intuitive knowing most of us experience.

Instead, we imagine that these powerful psychics can see and hear spirits as clearly as if they’re in physical form. We think that the spirits will always tell us exactly what to do to be forever happy, and we’ll hear the answers clearly once we’re more psychic, too.

When we can’t get to this “level”, we assume either that we just aren’t psychic or that we’re not psychic enough — yet.

So, the power goes back to the psychic saviors. They’re the ones with the connections. They’re the ones who can tell us what to do.

Can’t afford a $500 reading with one of these famous psychics? Get their card decks, and keep drawing cards until you get the answer you’re looking for.

The psychic savior phenomenon is rooted in one of the most pervasive pit holes on the spiritual path: The idea that when you can hear spirit clearly, or when you’re in alignment with your highest self, you’ll always know what to do.

It’s a vision that pretty much anyone in this tract of the helping industries pedals: Your life flows. It’s filled with synchronicities. You can hear your “hell yes’s” easily and drop the fear to follow them. Your alignment with spirit leads to wealth, relationships, children, dream homes, dream jobs, and anything else your heart desires. And of course, especially if you are a woman (and in this marketing arena there’s a good chance you are), you also become “radiant” — because alignment looks good on you.

Honestly though, who doesn’t want this vision of life?

A Lifetime in the Spiritual Wellness Industry — for Better or Worse

I’ve spent a lifetime in the spiritual wellness industry — as both a consumer of these goods as well as a producer of them. I worked for a major spiritual publishing house for six years, I see clients as a spiritual coach and healer, and I’ve read all the books and done all the trainings (really).

And I have almost no regrets. By far, the benefits of this path have outweighed the harms. Yet…the shadows, including unintentional harm, held within the spiritual wellness industry are real and worthy of excavation.

So what really happens when we “reach” what feels like a new level of spiritual awakening? Life. Life goes on — though perhaps with a bit more soulful fulfillment, presence, equanimity, and appreciation for the everyday miracles that surround us. And this is no small thing.

I’ve had numerous spiritual awakenings throughout my life. Those magical moments where all of the sudden I’m actually able to astral travel. Or I get a download of the true purpose of this life from higher perspectives. I’m able to feel energy as if it were in solid, physical form. I receive a realization or vision that sends me riding a wave so high it feels as if everything will always be wonderful because I finally “get it”.

Ha.

As an extremely sensitive soul with a whole lot of Scorpio and 12th house energy (yeah, I spend a lot of time alone pondering the darkness of existence…), the clarity and connection I receive through these mystical experiences fuels my survival.

And yet, they are not the point. And they do not mean I’ve made it. And they do not mean I don’t make terrible decisions, deal with regret and all sorts of self-sabatoging emotions, or face challenges with my health, finances, and relationships.

Because this is the art of being human.

I know this is nothing new. There’s a reason the first noble truth of Buddhism is “life is suffering”. Yet, no matter how much our soul’s might recognize this truth, our egos really want to believe that psychic saviors can make our lives better.

And here’s what I know about psychic guidance and making decisions: More often than not, the process of actually making a decision is the whole point.

The Process is the Purpose + True Oracles

Decisions, especially big ones, require soul-searching, coming into clarity with our own values, cultivating bravery and resilience, developing self-compassion, taking leaps of faith, and so much more.

(For the astrologically inclined, while Scorpio is home to much of my planetary power, my sun, moon, and ascendent are all in Libra. So, yeah. I’m probably a little extreme when it comes to agonizing over decisions and processing every single aspect in order to choose some theoretically “correct” outcome.)

Decisions are also the main reason many of my clients find me. Whether they need to decide where to live, who to date, whether or not to take a job or start a business, how to get out of debt, or how to heal a mystery ailment…what they’re really asking is which choices will make their lives better.

Time and again, the spirits tell me that they will not tell someone what to do. They will share broader perspectives and offer healings that unlock supportive flows of energy and restore personal wholeness. But they won’t really say, “do this” — because so often, the process is the purpose.

That said, there are times when very clear information comes through on exactly what a client (or myself) should do. And I know a handful of psychics who provide remarkably specific and prescriptive guidance that has positive effects on their clients’ lives.

It comes down to the difference between a psychic savior and a true oracle.

Psychic saviors always end up disempowering those who turn to them for help. There’s an underlying current that makes people feel as if they simply can’t make a decision without the help of their savior. The psychic savior sells the lie that when you connect with spirit, you will no longer make mistakes.

The oracle brings through clear spiritual information without any agenda, and they continually work at getting their egos out of the way. The oracle offers themselves not as an unquestionable savior, but as one of many ways that spirit communicates with us.

The Fall of the Guru

For a while, it seemed as if another “guru” fell from grace every week. Spiritual leaders like Chogyam Trumpa or Sadh Guru, more yoga teachers than can be listed, and cult leaders like in NXIVM.

Then came the bizarre exodus of popular new thought spiritual teachers from love and light to fundamental religions. Doreen Virtue isn’t the only teacher to go this path, but she is one of the most well-known.

If you were never part of the cult of Doreen — that really is what it felt like — you might not understand how impactful her switch to born-again Christianity was for many people.

Mostly women, who had followed her for decades, were suddenly faced with the questions: Was any of this real? Were her teachings bad? What does this mean for me?

I reserve all judgment and trust Doreen’s soul on the paths she chooses. I also feel that there are some divinely orchestrated gifts that have come from her public renunciation of Hay House. By stepping away in the drastic manner she did, she helped break the mirage of the psychic savior.

The era of the guru is over. However helpful hierarchical structures may have been in the past, our current era asks us to take our power back.

Our sovereignty. Our ability to trust our own intuition. To take responsibility for our lives — the decisions we make, where we place our energy, and whatever outcomes unfold for better or worse — this is the art of being human.

A brief and somewhat related note on Saraswati…

For years, my spiritual explorations of deities from around the world were inspired by Doreen’s oracle cards and books.

I remember reading about Saraswati as the patron goddess of the arts, a being who could inspire creativity and assist us in any artistic pursuits.

What a ridiculously limited view of one of Hinduism’s primary deities.

It wasn’t until studying with an actual Indian master that I began to understand the breadth of gifts that Sarasvati shares. She is partner to Brahma in creating the universe. She blesses us with wisdom and higher mind. She embodies sovereignty and self-worth.

In many ways, I feel as if Saraswati is the benefic goddess of culture in it’s most exquisite, creative form.

Much of my work revolves around rewilding, and helping humans decondition from the harmful effects of unquestioned enculturation. At the same time, human expression of high culture and the arts alights my soul.

That a human being could be blessed with the ability to express cosmic truths through material form, to translate emotions into beauty, to find and articulate meaning through stories or songs or poems with universal resonance…this too, is the magic of being human.

For anyone who wishes to dive deeper into the gifts of Saraswati, I have a lovely workshop available.

This workshop includes an 80-minute video and accompanying 20+ page workbook, beautifully designed and filled with extras not included in the main class.

You’ll explore mantra meditation, pranayama, rituals, and guided practice for connecting with this divine goddess’s energy.

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Severed from Scent

At the end of last year, I woke up on Christmas morning and my sense of smell was gone.

At the end of last year, I woke up on Christmas morning and my sense of smell was gone.

This is awful for anyone…but for a perfumer? Absolutely devastating.

It’s been a slow recovery (that bout of covid was especially rough). Though my smell had mostly come back by mid February, I could tell that I wasn’t picking up on the subtle nuances I used to.

The loss of smell has been such a strange piece of this pandemic era…

A strong sense of smell has always been a mark of a healer — the ability to sniff out both the diseases and the cures.

It’s also closely associated with our intuition. We can smell when something — or someone — is off.

This probably has something to do with the unique ability of aroma to bypass our conscious minds, eliciting unbidden feelings and memories before our thinking brains can process what’s happening… or get in the way.

Our sense of smell also brings us into our bodies. While transcendence may certainly be part of our soul paths, we also come into bodies here on Earth to experience being fully human. Our five senses are the gateways to embodiment. And embodiment is a gateway to both pleasure and presence.

And, fragrance is a gateway to the gods.

In Egyptian mythology, the fragrance of the sacred lotus birthed the universe. Statues of deities in ancient cultures were anointed with fragrant oils to wake up the gods they housed. The deceased were anointed with aromatic plant material to help carry their souls along their journeys. The aroma of flowers is said to announce the presence of the gods or angels. Temples around the world are filled with fragrant smoke.

Healing, inner knowing, pleasure, presence, and spiritual connection…all rooted in our ability to trust our own noses.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that our connection with smell as been under attack for some time.

Even before the pandemic, humanity had been slowly led away from our sense of smell and the myriad gifts it offers, effectively cutting us off from a profound gateway to healing, intuition, memory, pleasure, and spiritual connections.

One long-standing culprit is the fragrance and flavoring industry.

I’ve long been skeptical of a fragrance and flavoring industry that trains humans to prefer the smell of artificial ingredients in their cosmetics. While the synthetic compounds added to our foods and body products have physically detrimental properties, my concern also lies in effects this has on our psyches and souls.

The fallout of the rampant scent-washing in our culture are twofold:

First, artificial fragrances have distanced humans from the natural world.

The idea that ingredients from a factory are somehow cleaner or potent than those from a forest pervades our collective consciousness.

That the fragrance of an air freshener, filled with known cancer-causing compounds, smells “fresh” is a sign of this insanity. That a “peach blossom” lotion smells like no peach nor blossom ever found in nature is a sign of how far removed from the natural world we’ve become.

These fragrances train our noses — and our knowing — to deny what we know is true and believe the lies sold to us.

The fragrances found in whole plant materials contain myriad compounds perfectly designed to harmonize with each other. We humans evolved in relationship with these plants, and our bodies readily receive their gifts. Our sense of smell brings these complexities into our psyches, where we intuitively receive our plant allies’ wisdom.

As humans learn to prefer synthetic flavors and aromas, they are cut off from their relationship with their own ability to sniff out what’s true. To sniff out their own cures for what ails them. They are subtly disconnected from their innate powerful, intuition-supporting sense of smell.

The second outcome is found in those humans who loudly proclaim that they can tolerate no fragrances of any kind.

I get it. These people’s bodies told them that synthetics were harming them, and they listened. The problem comes when this makes people afraid of all smells — even the ones with profound healing benefits.

Of course, toxic overload from synthetics can lead to the body’s inability to process naturals. And, many smells marketed as “natural” actually contain plenty of synthetics, so I can understand the fear. Yet, this fear cuts off important pathways for healing and delight.

Our sense of smell is a gift from the gods, part of the wonder of being embodied in the human forms. Not only does it help us survive, it helps us enjoy life and find pleasure in our physical experience. And pleasure is part of why we’re here.

My heart breaks when I hear that someone cannot tolerate any fragrance (if you’ve ever worked in an office building, you’ve met many of these folks). As a natural perfumer and clinically certified aromatherapist, I know that simply smelling precious oils from plants (let alone the benefits of topical applications) can help us focus, give us energy, regulate our hormones and nervous systems, alleviate depression and anxiety, soothe us in times of grief, ignite aphrodisiac qualities, relieve insomnia, and so much more.

Anyone who’s ever worn a perfume, or had a signature fragrance of any kind, knows the feelings that arise with that first spritz. You somehow feel more like yourself — the best version of yourself. You might feel more beautiful, sexy, powerful, calm, fulfilled, peaceful, hopeful, abundant, or creative depending on the perfume of the day.

Those over-the-top perfume commercials? They may be ridiculous, but they’re also a pretty good representation of what perfume does for the psyche. While synthetic perfumes legitimately give many people headaches and worse, perfumes made with true naturals bestow even more transformational energy and pleasure to those who wear them.

If you love beauty, pleasure, and Venusian delights as much I do, you might enjoy taking a peek at my perfumer’s artist statement.

The next severance from our sense of smell comes from our online lives.

The pandemic no doubt accelerated this phenomena, yet the seeds have been in place for decades. Our online communities and interactions, social networks and getting lost in the “scroll hole” (This is my partner Mike’s and my term for not just doomscrolling but getting lost in an endless mind-numbing feed of information. I’m surprised it hasn’t taken off yet, to be honest…). And then came the Metaverse and increasing capabilities of virtual reality.

Any life lived online is removed from our embodied experience. Yes, we use our eyes and take in the visuals, we connect with audio and can converse or enjoy a melody, and we can even engage in some sensory experiences with haptics and the rare VR bodysuit.

To my knowledge, however, smell — and its sister sense taste — are not yet available in the online realms. Smell keeps us in our bodies, in the present, and connected to what is true and real for us in the moment.

By the time the pandemic arrived, humanity had been well prepped for relinquishing our sense of smell.

To be clear, I’m not saying that losing our sense of smell as part of the pandemic was some orchestrated event. Rather, I can’t help but wonder if this particular effect is a reflection, showing us what we’ve already lost in no uncertain terms.

If we look at our collective pandemic experience, we can see the separation of us from each other, from our own healing capabilities, and from our intuitive knowing of what is and isn’t true. Yet these questions extend far beyond the pandemic too.

Where have you doubted your own knowing? Your ability to heal yourself? Where have you lost touch with pleasure, embodiment, and the ability to be present in each moment? Where have you forgotten what’s actually true, or allowed yourself to be led by lies? Where has the reverent ritual of bringing spirit into daily life been set aside in favor of more “urgent” matters?

Smell is a gift from the gods and fragrance is the perfume of spirit. May we can heal our broken relationship with olfaction, realign with the true nature of reality, and reawaken reverence and wonder in our hearts.

Returning to the Perfumery

It’s now been a bit over four months since I lost my sense of smell, and it’s just about returned. Though it’s hard to tell if my nose is really as strong as it was before, I at least feel confident to work in the perfumery again. And this fills my heart with joy.

I have several new perfumes I’d designed last year, before the loss of smell, in my studio. I didn’t want to share them until I could be sure they were up to my standards, and now that I can work again, I’m finally putting the finishing touches on them.

A few that will be coming soon…

Odin

The all father of Northern lands, Odin is the newest addition to the masculine Gods series. His perfume is as strong and complex as he is. Imagine walking into a mysterious hall, almost an elevated and member-only speakeasy filled with aromas of tobacco, cognac, and cacao. A hint of spice, a touch of musk. Decadent and dark.

Yuzu Yoru

One of my conceptual pieces, is inspired by my years living, eating, and inhaling the fragrances of Tokyo. A citrus forward fragrance, fresh yuzu and Asian kumquats meet with robust citrón and cedrat, gently harmonized with rare strawberry gum (a type of eucalyptus, not the artificial chews!), Japanese hinoki, and precious osmanthus blossoms. A rare delight for summer days and Toyko nights.

There’s also a magical Chinese Goddess, a watery Greek elemental, and more to come :)

While you wait, be sure to explore the new Scents of Summer Discovery Set, filled with the perfect botanical allies for celebrating this season.

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Ecological Trauma: A Guide to Understanding Eco-Trauma

The first step in transmuting the chronic grief, rage, and suffering brought about ecological trauma is to acknowledge its existence.

I recently came across an article in the Economist, of all places, entitled, “Shamanism is Britain’s fastest-growing religion”.

The article itself is not impressive (Shamanism is a religion? Um, no.), but it does share an interesting hypothesis:

People are increasingly returning to nature-based spirituality because of the existential threats facing our earth.

How interesting. Shamanism and other nature-based spiritual practices arose at a time when humans lived in partnership with the Earth. Now, after centuries of separating ourselves from the natural world, humans are waking up to the fact that the more we distance ourselves from the Earth, the more we distance ourselves from life itself.

Those of us who deeply love our Earth often feel a complex, ongoing, and even subconscious traumatic response to the immense pain humans have inflicted upon the planet and her inhabitants.

We feel grief — at the harm done to the Earth, the animals, the plants, waters, mountains, and more at the will of humans.
We feel rage — at all the ways our current environmental crises could have been prevented, at how many obstacles we still face to get even the most basic protections in place.
We feel guilt — for being part of the human species, for having to live in ways that cause more harm simply by existing within our society.
We feel pain — as empaths whose energy bodies do not separate the Earth’s pain from our own.
We feel numb — because continuing to stay open and aware can be too much for our hearts to bear.

These are strong emotions. And as difficult as it is to feel this much grief, rage, guilt, and pain, there is power in these feelings.

Emotions are charged with energy — and all energy is usable energy.

The question then becomes, how will you alchemize your grief into hope? Your rage into healing?

Living with the Effects of Ongoing Ecological Trauma

Before we jump into transmuting our pain, we must acknowledge what is true now: Humans are collectively traumatized. The existential ecological threats facing our species reside in all of our consciousnesses.

The word “trauma” has become astonishingly pervasive in our current cultural narratives, with many voices contributing nuanced definitions of what was once a more specific psychological term. Here are a few key components that I consider when referring to something as traumatic:

In general, trauma occurs in response to unusually distressing, life-threatening, and adverse events. These might be single occurrences, such as an accident, or ongoing experiences, such as abuse and neglect.
Trauma doesn’t just arise from directly experiencing a traumatic event — witnessing, failing to prevent, and perpetuating adverse events may also lead to trauma.
Trauma is more than an emotional response. It lives in our minds, bodies, and souls — and thus healing trauma must incorporate holistic approaches.

I find the perspective of trauma as a moral injury especially valuable when it comes to conversations on ecological trauma. When we experience, witness, allow, or perpetuate an act that transgresses our fundamental beliefs about how the world should operate, there can be a break in our psyches. Shame, guilt, fear, and loss of trust in the goodness of life fill the cracks.

What Is Ecological Trauma?

When it comes to environmental trauma, all of the above coalesce to create a complex and seemingly inescapable form of collective trauma. Let’s look more specifically at what this means in four ecological contexts…

1. Experiencing and Witnessing the Adverse Effects of Human-Caused Climate Change

When people first hear the term “ecological trauma”, their minds often wander to the effects of human-caused climate change — natural disasters that have been accelerated by human impact, food and water insecurity, the harmful effects of environmental toxins and pollution (an area none of us are truly immune to), and the violent conflict that may result from all of this.

With our ever more connected world, even if we haven’t personally lived through a natural disaster or experienced food insecurity, we’re constantly reminded that ecological traumas are happening (we witness them through mass media) and that they will likely impact our lives at some point (the existential threat).

I simply don’t know how anyone could witness the growing numbers of wildfires and “1000-year” floods every year, hear predictions that our coast lines will be underwater and farmland will cease production because of drought, learn about microplastics in our waters and glyphosates in our foods…and not experience fears around safety and survival. This is trauma, and it has become a consistent part of modern life.

One of the most dangerous impacts of this line of ecological trauma is the sense of powerlessness it imbues us with.

There is nothing more dangerous than giving up. If you’re feeling powerless or fearful about these far-reaching effects of climate change — ask yourself, where are the roots of this fear? How is the mass media machine feeding my sense of powerlessness?

This type of ongoing trauma can become debilitating — it can cause us to numb out, give up, and shut down. And it can be tended.

Tending your nervous system in response to the existential threats we face strengthens your resilience to keep embracing what’s true while holding a vision of what is still possible. The elements of the natural world are available to support us:

Turn to the air, and breathe four counts in and four counts out.
Turn to the earth, and allow plant allies to soothe you with restorative teas.
Turn to the water, and soak in salts that draw toxins from your body.
Turn to the fire, and feel passion fortify your heart.

2. Our Innate Empathic Connection

In recent years, I have witnessed a wave of “empath awareness” content sweep through popular culture. While I’m happy to see this phenomenon named and normalized, I feel that most teachings on this topic, which tend to focus on recovery and protection, are missing an important point:

Empathy is our natural state of being.

We are meant to embrace the nonverbal, energetic knowing that alerts us to the state of the world around us. Our natural way of being is to intuitively understand the true feelings and motivations of others. Of course we want the skills and awareness to differentiate between other and self, to be able to turn off connection so as not to be overwhelmed — but we must remember that being an empath is a healthy part of our human wholeness.

People who deeply love the earth tend to be in touch with their innate empathic gifts. Being around too many other people for too long can overwhelm our nervous systems, and the natural world provides soul-soothing relief.

Unfortunately, this also means that as sensitive folks, we can feel the earth’s pain as if it were our own. Witnessing harm done to the earth and her inhabitants can feel like physical pain in the system of an empath. Hiking through a forest that has been clear cut, wandering along an ocean shore filled with plastics and fishing line, visiting locations where human atrocities have taken place — ecological empaths will feel deep grief wash through our beings and we may not even know why.

The temptation here is to shut down. But repression is not a local anesthesia (thank you to Jose Soutelinho for that inspiration). When we numb ourselves to grief, rage, and pain, we end up numbing ourselves to joy, hope, and love, too.

We must learn to acknowledge and feel our pain. We must expand our capacity to hold challenging truths in our awareness. And we must remember that the world is more than trauma. She is not broken, and neither are we.

The pain we perceive is only a small layer in the immense divine presence of the earth and the spirits of nature. Rather than shutting down, empaths can learn to extend their awareness beyond the surface and into the true nature of the wild world. And we can tune into non-human timelines, where we see that the earth is never barren and the potential for restoration is always there. Here, you’ll discover compassion, beauty, and divine order far beyond what our human minds might initially perceive.

3. Caught in a Double Bind of Ecological Abuse

Whether we experience, witness, or perpetuate it — abuse is traumatic. And our earth is under an onslaught of abuse that few of us have the power to prevent.

We know that precious resources are extracted from our earth with greed rather than reverence. We know that our waste, sewage, and toxic byproducts are dumped into her soils and waters. This trauma of witnessing and failing to prevent these acts is an inescapable part of our daily lives.

What can be especially traumatic at the soul level, however, is that we are also required to participate in this abuse.

Most people are dependent upon modern society for survival, yet modern society — and all the infrastructure, consumption, trade, and resources it requires — is the earth’s abuser.

Do we leave our abuser to fend for ourselves in the wilderness, knowing that our own departure does nothing to stop the machine, or do we stay and do our best to effect change, knowing that our very existence will have harmful consequences for the planet?

This is a soul-crushing bind to find ourselves in. And it requires soul-level tending.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: “Our ecological crises require cosmological solutions.”

We must remember that the earth is alive, inspirited, and has consciousness — and we can partner with the earth and the myriad spirits of nature to bring about healing. We are children of the earth, and the soul of the earth holds us in endless compassion.

By connecting with the earth’s loving soul on a regular basis, we’re more able to release environmental guilt and fill our hearts with hope. We recognize that even if our personal efforts to live more regenerative lifestyles seem like drops in an ocean, the spirits of nature witness our heartfelt intentions and it does make a difference. The ripple effects might be unseen and subtle, but they are there.

4. Abandonment: Returning to Our Original Mother

For millennia, the earth was seen as alive and as an essential part of our more-than-human family. She was our great mother (and our fertile father in some ancient traditions), who ensured the survival and well-being of all her children. We were born of the earth, nourished by the earth, sheltered by the earth, and loved by the earth. And we remained in reverent relationship with her throughout our lives.

Much of modern life removes us from our ancestral partnership with the earth. Severed from this original relationship, we experience the traumatic effects of parental abandonment in the core of our psyches.

This core abandonment can leave us feeling unloved and under-resourced, as if we must fight for survival and bear the weight of our burdens alone. Helplessness, unworthiness, and ongoing anxiety are natural outcomes of disconnection with our earth mother.

Inherent in this dynamic is also the sense that it is up to humans alone to “solve” our climate crises — we caused it, and we alone can fix it.

While we must take responsibility here, this perspective traps us within the limitations of the human mind. Once again: Our ecological crises require cosmological solutions. We must recognize the natural world as inspirited, with agency in the course of its own future.

We must restore our relationship to the animated earth, listening to the deep wisdom of our mother with reverence, humility, and gratitude.

As deep as this wounding of ecological trauma is, it is perhaps the most available for healing — for our primordial mother has not abandoned us. She is with us every moment of every day, waiting for us to return home to her loving embrace.

Transmuting Our Grief and Trauma Recovery

The ongoing nature of these ecological traumas makes it challenging for us to stay present and well-regulated. It becomes much easier to numb ourselves to the pain of the world, turn away from suffering, and give up hope for healing.

By bringing key practices from trauma recovery into ecological contexts — in other words, by healing in partnership with the natural world — we experience transformational healing.

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