July 26, 2021

With the image of an automatic weapon on his baseball cap and a rather large skull tattoo on his neck, I was a bit wary. Clearly part of the community but, I assumed, clearly not part of my tribe. And then he told me that it’s time for the rise of the divine feminine. Seriously?

He was parked near my car this morning as I walked along the cove road in Home. Yes, Home is the name of our village. When I returned to my car he was standing looking at the water. I said hello as I walked to my car and he turned and began an animated conversation. He glanced down at the trash along the side of the road and talked about how it was a sign of disrespect for the natural world to just leave garbage around, that we need to learn to respect nature, that it’s time to turn away from the masculine energy of anger and war. We need more harmony, he said. We need more unity. Things are falling apart and we need women to lead. Seriously?

He is in fact a local and, he admitted, because of how he looks people assume he’s associated with those folks out here who are involved in drugs and robberies in the area. But he named himself a good guy among the bad guys and that when he hears of a robbery he makes the rounds, banging on doors and demanding of folks that if they stole the stuff they need to give it back. “That little old lady needs her stuff back!”

And then he launched into how everything is energy and we are all connected and we are all one. I stood there listening to him and thought, OMG I’m listening to an expression of the High King energy. I’ve written before about Irish King Cormac and his Instructions for the King. This young man was ticking all the boxes. 

“People think I’m weird and a bit crazy”, he said. As I got into my car I assured him he isn’t at all crazy and said I hoped to see him again. Apparently he comes to the water frequently for the peace.

High King or not, this young man is a tribal leader. I was humbled by our encounter and grateful to have seen beyond his hat and tattoo to his soul. May we all find our way to see the soul of those we find in our path. Seriously.

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com

July 6, 2021

In 2007, the new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary dropped around forty common words citing they were no longer being used enough by children to merit their place in the dictionary. The list of these lost words includes acorn, adder, bluebell, bramble, dandelion, fern, heron, kingfisher, lark, newt, otter, weasel, willow, and wren. Among the words taking their place were attachment, blog, broadband, bullet-point, cut-and-paste, and voice-mail. 

Just let that sit there for a moment and see how it lands in you.

It didn’t land well with Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris and they set out to make a “spell book” that would conjure back twenty of these lost words. Through Macfarlane’s delightful  poetry and Morris’ stunning illustrations, they summon these words again into the voices, stories, and dreams of children and adults alike, and celebrate the wonder and importance of everyday nature. The Lost Words is that book. Here’s what they created for dandelion.

Dazzle me, little sun-of-the-grass!
And spin me, tiny time-machine!
   (Tick-tock, sun clock, thistle & dock)
Now no longer known as
Dent-de-Lion, Lion’s Tooth or Windblow,
   (Tick-tock, sun clock, nettle & dock)
Evening Glow, Milkwitch, or Parachute, so
Let new names take and root, thrive and grow,
   (Tick-tock, sun clock, rattle & dock)
I would make you some, such as
   Bane of Lawn Perfectionists
Or Fallen Star of the Football Pitch
   Or Scattered, but
Never would I call you only, merely, simply, ‘weed’.
                                                                           (Tick-tock, sun clock, clover & dock)

I have an extensive collection of children’s books. At this stage in my life I’m not interested in accumulating more of pretty much anything. Yet this book of spells is tempting. I think we all need a bit of spell binding, we all need to create spells through words and art and even music. Spells that bind us to the natural world. 

May we be spellbound.

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com

July 5, 2021

We have the power
to shift course. It’s our disconnectedness – and
lost understanding about the amazing capacities of nature – that’s driving a lot of our despair, and plants in particular are objects of our abuse. By understanding their sentient qualities, our empathy and love for trees, plants, and forests will naturally deepen and find innovative solutions. Turning to the intelligence of nature itself is the key.

Suzanne Simard

I recently read Suzanne’s amazing book, Finding The Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. It’s the story of her pioneering work on plant communication and intelligence. Although this knowing is rooted in our collective consciousness, it seems our science-mind culture needs scientific proof. Fortunately people are finally listening.

In our listening, will we embrace the wisdom of the forest? 

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com

July 4, 2021

Our separation from each other is an optical illusion.
When something vibrates, the electrons of the entire universe resonate with it.
Everything is connected.
The greatest tragedy of human existence is the illusion of separateness.
Albert Einstein

It’s all energy and it’s all connected. Would that we could step beyond the suffering and illusion of our separateness. There is a universal harmony that calls us back home to remember and re-member our place in the universal and cosmic web.

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com

July 3, 2021

Raven has been very present and very loud these last few days here at MossTerra. Dennis suggested perhaps they are announcing their new stamp. I mentioned this legend recently in my blog post about the Asharaji/Creature Nation and was delighted to see this announcement this morning.

I can’t wait to get some as we are just about out of our John Lennon stamps…a legend of mythic proportion. 

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com

July 2, 2021

The Light Of Ancient Wisdom

Deepening my connections with the Seven Nations, I find myself navigating landscapes and experiences I could never have imagined. In my circles of elder spiritual sisters who are on the same journey, we often talk about how grateful we are to have each other because if we talked with others about this we would be considered weird. Weird. It’s actually exactly what we are supposed to be.

While this is perhaps new for us, it is a landscape very familiar to our ancestors. Our ancestors of both biology and soul.

In old traditions those who acted as elders were considered to have one foot in daily life and the other foot in the otherworld. Elders acted as a bridge between the visible world and the unseen realms of spirit and soul. A person in touch with the otherworld stands out because something normally invisible can be seen through them.

The old word for having a foot in each world is ‘weird.’ The original sense of weird involved both fate and destiny. Becoming weird enough to be wise requires that a person learn to accommodate the strange way they are shaped within and aimed at the world.

An old idea suggests that those seeking for an elder should look for someone weird enough to be wise. For just as there can be no general wisdom, there are no ‘normal’ elders. Normal bespeaks the ‘norms’ that society uses to regulate people, whereas an awakened destiny always involves connections to the weird and the warp of life. 

In Norse mythology, as in Shakespeare, the Fates appear as the Weird Sisters who hold time and the timeless together.

Those who would become truly wise must become weird enough to be in touch with timeless things and abnormal enough to follow the guidance of the unseen. Elders are supposed to be weird, not simply ‘weirdoes,’ but strange and unusual in meaningful ways. 

Elders are supposed to be more in touch with the otherworld, but not out of touch with the struggles in this world. Elders have one foot firmly in the ground of survival and another in the realm of great imagination. This double-minded stance serves to help the living community and even helps the species survive.        Michael Meade

Since I wrote and published my Call To Crone book, I find that so many who are not elder aspire to be crone. Perhaps an aspiration for the wisdom they sense in it. But being crone, being elder, is never about wisdom alone. It requires a journey of experience. My counsel is always to take time to enjoy the journey and accumulate the insights as they come. Take the time to become weird enough to be wise.

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com

July 1, 2021

With beauty before me may I walk.
With beauty behind me may I walk.
With beauty below me may I walk.
With beauty above me may I walk.
With beauty all around me may I walk.

 From Walking in Beauty
Closing Prayer from the Navajo Way Blessing Ceremony

May we all walk in beauty, in wholeness with the Seven Nations, and in gratitude.

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com