Corn Moon...YOLO....Water

This past Sunday, the night before the full corn moon, while the moon herself was void-of-course, I had the joy of experiencing my first paddle board excursion on Lake Winnipesaukee. My wonderful boss treated her employees to an end of summer lesson, and I have to say I am hooked.
Something about the day, which had been hectic and sad, with lots to do, an overwhelming sea of chores to accomplish etc, vanished as soon as I put my feet on the board for the first time and pushed out into the water. Starting on my knees, allowing myself to take my time discovering how to transition to standing learning the pull of the waves beneath my feet.
I thought to myself, this is how it feels to be a mermaid. So at home with the water, gliding gracefully through the black depths, the warmth and moistness of the water itself tasted on every inhaled breath, cleansing the body of stuck emotion with every exhale.
The sunset was a cascade of violent pinks and muted lavenders, the beauty of the experience was that we were allowed to wander to our hearts content. I found myself following the moon as she rose mysteriously in the night sky, wrapped in mist and softly whispering the words to let go to us all. To leave cares and family roles far behind us and simply be. I breathed full, deep breaths for the first time that entire weekend and reveled in the joy of being alone for 2 hours, alone with the moon and the water, gazing as osprey's and other birds and water beings wound their way through the approaching night.
I knew that I was celebrating my esbat in the best way any witch can, truly with nature, a part of her, communing with the elements, the moon, and Isis herself in a fluid, perfect way.
Everything became clear for those few hours, pain was let go of, priorities put in perspective, and the joy of my path, and the joy of my body moving through the water, created a delightful healing experience and extremely spiritual moments.
There is something truly beautiful in sharing this experience with a group of women who have allowed you, and themselves, to be in the moment and be completely themselves.
This corn moon has been visceral and active, pulling truths and emotions and thoughts right to the surface, I think for many of us there has been no hiding with this moon, and I treasured these glorious moments with the Goddess, in many ways they prepared me for my experiences on the day of the full moon herself.

If you're interested in experiencing paddleboard yourself, our teacher for this excursion was Michele with Full Moon Paddleboard, I couldn't have asked for a better facilitator:
http://www.fullmoonpaddleboard.com/Full_Moon/Full_Moon_Events.html
If you're in the Lakes Region, you'll love her lessons and excursions!
What has been your experience with this full moon in Aquarius? How have you chosen to observe the turning of the wheel this week?

Long Summer Walks and Scrying Bowls

 This Sunday my family and I took a long walk on the public nature trail in our little resort town. The sun was shining and the sky was such a bright blue we simply had to be outside.
 Here's the thing about the end of summer. I love it. I love it because it means Autumn is right around the corner. Autumn is my favorite season, summer is most definitely not. There's something about the melancholy of the end of the warm season in New Hampshire that makes me feel rejuvenated and gloriously alive.
 Our walk was long and blissfully quiet. Little One fell asleep after only a few minutes and Husband and I allowed ourselves to simply walk without needing to talk or unburden ourselves with trivial, mundane concerns. I found myself falling deeply in love with the woodland and swamp that line the natural trail, and yearning to step off of the safe path and venture deep into the unknown woods, talking to the trees and the stones, exploring the undergrowth and allowing the wind to inform me of the next step to take.
 I did not do this.
 And I had to ask myself as I was walking sedately home on the safe trail why I did not. In fact I think the trees asked me this question softly and with a long sigh. Remember when you were little and you could get  lost in the woods behind your house for an entire day, away from everything with only your brother for company? Remember the joy of being free and daring?
 When I got home and I had not listened to the trees I felt the disappointment grow deeper inside of me.
Yet, I think I had to feel that disappointment to find the strength to know that next Sunday I will step off of the beaten path and let the forest decide where my feet will go.
The beautiful thing about my spiritual path is that even with the disappointment i felt within myself, there was still the joy of communion with nature beings and getting lost within the realms.
Here are a group of stones and trees that decided to grow together discovered on our walk:


On Saturday at work I had the joy of being gifted an incredible scrying bowl created by master artist Sally Cornwell of Sky Song Pottery and Winnipesaukee Chocolates( http://www.winnipesaukeechocolates.com/. I have been searching for the perfect scrying bowl for over two years and as soon as she placed this beautiful bowl in my hands I knew she had found me at last. I am so excited to begin working with my intuition in this new way and will share this journey with you all. Here is the bowl on my sacred space altar:


May the Dark of the Moon open your eyes, and help you walk your path boldly.

"Friday.. I'm in Love"

It's funny, it's afternoon and the sun has finally decided to show himself, early August and I am sitting here at my kitchen table while my little one plays on the floor and my dog, Talula, tries to be naughty and sneak a bite of freshly baked blueberry muffin, the blueberries a gift from a dear friend, plucked tenderly from the bush only yesterday.  Amanda Palmer plays quietly as we all dream our own end of summer dreams today ( song: the thing about things live).
I really don't know why it has taken me so long to start a blog.
A large part of my life's work has been healing, healing myself and helping others to feel empowered to heal themselves. This work often occurs through reiki, the cards, goddesses, and intuition, even through the flick of a makeup brush into a tilted cat eye on occasion.
Also, through poetry. I started writing poetry when I was very young, hiding the poems in notebooks designated for notes from the many meetings I had to attend due to my parent's dogmatic religion.
These words strewn along pages were seldom shared and often covered over. The writing became intense and such a huge yet secret baring of my soul that sharing it with others seemed impossible. A part of me still clings to that old belief, that my written words must remain coded and hidden.
So today as part of my own healing I begin to write and share, I begin to open up in a completely new way.
And the stones whisper to me that it is so, it must be so.

(Artist: Sarah Golish)