June 30, 2024

When we merge with and surrender to
the Sacred Alliance of earth, ancestral,
otherworld, and cosmic energies…

Back at MossTerra, Ireland is now eight time zones and 4.500 miles away. I often think that I need to allow time for the ancestral and sacred energies to catch up to me. Apparently not. Dennis and I took a walk on the land yesterday and encountered this foxglove which is 7’6″ tall. We always have foxglove here, but never one this tall or even close to it. I planted my staff, which is taller than me, next to it for comparison…and so perhaps you wouldn’t think this is a photoshopped image. 

Foxglove keynote: Stay grounded. Imagination energies powerful now.

Foxglove alerts us to a re-awakening of life force energies and the opportunities for creative expression. This is a time of active imagination.

My time in Ireland over these past seven weeks has been like drinking out of a fire hose. So many messages coming through. Messages about what is calling to be created from the ever deeper and more intense connections with ancestral, earth, cosmic, and otherworld energies. 

The messages, especially from the ancestors, were urgently and persistently clear. Get on with it! 

That creation has begun. It’s both powerful and immense. If I had any notion that in leaving Ireland I was in any way leaving that intensity behind…well, I think the message is pretty clear. Apparently the magic was unfolding in both sacred landscapes.

So much for dancing with jet lag.

Beannacht,
Judith

June 26, 2024

When we embrace the ancient ways of being
in right relationship with community…

It took me a minute to realize what I was seeing. More significantly, it took me a minute to realize what I wasn’t seeing.

I was watching the video of Queen’s performance at the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert that had a global audience of over 1.9 billion people and raised $127 million for famine relief in Africa. Among the more than 75 rock music icons and legends that participated, it was Queen’s performance that was and still is considered one of the greatest live performances of all time. 

One member of the BBC broadcasting team recalled the awe among other superstar musicians watching backstage, “Everybody realized that Queen was stealing the show.” After the set, Elton John rushed into Freddie Mercury’s trailer and said by way of congratulations, “You bastards, you stole the show.” 

Watching that performance, it was easy to see why. Mercury’s charismatic energy was captivating. The 72,000 fans at Wembley Stadium were all on their feet, arms in the air waving and clapping and singing the lyrics. When the cameras panned the crowd, you could feel the intense connection and see the riveting eye contact. 

And that’s when I realized what I wasn’t seeing. In those thousands of raised arms and hands, there were no cell phones. They weren’t watching the live performance on and through their devices. They were totally present and totally engaged.

Concert organizer, Bob Geldorf, has said it would be impossible to host another Live Aid concert nowadays. “That instrument of change is no longer plausible.” He attributes this to our technology that has moved us away from the community collective to a world of individualism. We live in a world consumed with technology. It seems we also live in a world consumed by it.

Which seems a grim way to end this post. So I will add these words from Bob Geldorf. “Something like Live Aid couldn’t happen now, but that doesn’t stop you raging against the dying of the light.” 

And in that raging, in that journey of holding and sharing the Light, may we come together, even with and in spite of our technology, in ways and places where our spirits are not eaten.

Beannacht,
Judith

June 23, 2024

When we weave the threads of ancestral wisdom into stories
that are resonant and relevant for these times…

Mystics and wisdom keepers. Now ancestors. In their lives they of course spoke and wrote of many things. But it seems what we remember most, what we cherish and share, and visit again and again are their words that call us to a higher purpose. Words that remind us of our divine nature and sacred sovereignty. Words that call us to dance with the divine. Their words, their inspiration, are the language of their legacy.

May we continue to be inspired. And may we shine!

Beannacht,
Judith

June 22, 2024

When we weave the threads of ancestral wisdom into stories
that are resonant and relevant for these times…

There is healing that can happen when someone leaves us. Healing for that soul that returns to Source. And healing for us. 

There is healing that comes from stepping around the issues and conflicts we may have had with that person. Healing through a grief focused on the times of shared adventure, of love and laughter, of inspiring conversations. This is what I focus on in my grief for Jack’s transition as I attend his life celebrations today with family and friends. 

When someone leaves us to navigate the spirit realms, to again be in the world of ancestral wisdom, there is the call for us to reconnect with the purpose we chose to be in this world. To remember our sacred identity. 

For in this, healing comes. 

Beannacht,
Judith

June 21, 2024

When we embrace the ancient ways
of being in right relationship with
the earth, the sacred, and community…

There is a weaving of words. Through conversations, emails, website postings, and social media. A weaving of words that speak to the gift Jack Roberts was in the world. His warmth and humor. His deep intellect and philosophy. His generous spirit. And so much more. He leaves us an almost larger than life legacy. A legacy that has touched so many. A legacy that will continue to touch generations to come.

As I reflect on his gifts that have touched my life, I also reflect on the legacy I am creating in the world. I reflect on the legacy each of us will leave the world when we step through that final earthly threshold. And I’m reminded of these words from Chief Avrol Looking Horse.

For I believe we are put here to make an essential difference. I believe we are each and every one of us here to be in service to a higher calling, to the earth, the sacred and community. This is the life legacy I aspire to. This is the life legacy Jack left for us.

Beannacht,
Judith

June 19, 2024

When we weave the threads of ancestral wisdom into stories
that are resonant and relevant for these times…

A friend and colleague for many years, Jack Roberts died this morning. And now he is ancestor. 

There will be many stories written about Jack. Including the stunning piece (link below) friend Anthony Murphy posted on his website today. The piece includes a photo I took of him and Jack on one of our many adventures together in Ireland’s Boyne Valley.

And there were so many adventures with Jack. Today those memories are flooding back to me.

My first time in Ireland with my dad, we wandered into a Cork stone circle and something grabbed me. I would find a used copy of the then out-of-print book he created with Martin Brennan and then his booklets on the stone circles. When I was about to board my flight to return to Ireland with my mum and dad, my husband said, “Go find Jack Roberts.” This was before the ease of the internet so it became a quest as I dragged my folks first to the publisher of Jack’s booklets, then to a nearby village where his father lived, and eventually to the Galway Market where he was trading on weekends. 

After a brief chat, I told him I would be coming back to Ireland with friends and asked if he would consider guiding us around sacred sites. He was delighted. And so began a twenty year relationship of leading tours together…and eventually owning the cottage together.

Over the years nearly 100 people joined us on those tours designed to be small enough to wander the back roads in cars and all gather around the same table for dinner to hear and be enthralled by Jack’s stories. Stories of the sacred sites and archeology and Sheela-na-Gigs. Stories of Irish history and folklore and culture. Stories told with wit and humor and that ever present rebellious and curmudgeonly character.

For indeed, Jack was every bit the curmudgeon and contrarian. Always challenging and often a challenge. Always questioning. It was this nature in him that lead to his amazing insights and discoveries. He was always pushing back on popular and popularly accepted ideas. And the wisdom he found became the subject of his many books and writings…all illustrated with his magnificent artwork. Artwork he also used to create his fabulous megalithic jewelry.

It was because of this wisdom that he became and will continue to be known as a leading scholar and expert on the stone circles, Sheela-na-Gigs, and megalithic monuments. He leaves a rich and vast legacy. He indeed leaves us with threads of wisdom resonant and relevant for these times, resonant and relevant for times to come.

One of Jack’s most recent and popular books is titled The Sun Circles Of Ireland. And I think it has to be noted that his amazing bright light leaves us on the eve of Summer Solstice when the Sun itself slips into a journey back into the night.

Ah, Jack. We will miss your shining.

Beannacht,
Judith

The link to Anthony’s post:
https://mythicalireland.com/blogs/news/death-of-author-and-archaeoastronomy-discoverer-jack-roberts

June 19, 2024

When we know humanity
to be one thread in the web of all life…

In 1854 Chief Sealth, leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples of what is now western Washington State, gave a speech about the sanctity of the land and the need for careful stewardship of it. It included these words. Man did not weave the web of life – he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

Except he didn’t. Though undeniably beautiful and stirring, the speech was actually written by screenwriter Ted Perry for a 1971 film about ecology. Chief Sealth died in 1866, more than a hundred years before the words that would be attributed to him were penned.

Yes. Chief Sealth did give a speech in 1854. But it bears no resemblance to the mythology of what we believe it was. And that mythology persists.

The mythic speech is the subject of a children’s book, Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message From Chief Seattle, that sold 280,000 copies within the first six months of its 1991 publication. Al Gore quoted the speech in his book, Earth in the Balance. The speech is widely quoted and I admit to sharing those words many times myself. 

So what’s going on here? Why have we, especially those of us from invading cultures, so enthusiastically embraced this myth? What is this longing for wisdom from indigenous cultures, especially cultures that in the United States we have historically disregarded, subjugated, and abused? I’m reminded of the following exchange from Across The Universe, one of my favorite movies. Recently arrived from England, Jude has been invited to share Thanksgiving with Max and Lucy.

Jude: “We don’t have it in England, is it-is it a big deal?”
Max: “Well, it’s a heart-warming American tradition.”
Lucy: “Yeah. It celebrates the time when the Indians shared their food with the early settlers. And how did we repay them? We slaughter them in thousands then ship them off to the shittiest bits of real estate.”

Our indigenous longing. Perhaps it arises from knowing instinctively and intuitively that authentic sacred wisdom comes through a connection with the genius loci, the distinctive spirit and character, of a place. A connection indigenous peoples have cultivated and nurtured for generations upon generations. A connection we long for.

Beannacht,
Judith

June 18, 2024

When we know humanity
to be one thread in the web of all life…

There are so many voices from ancient traditions about being in right relationship with the Earth and the universal harmony of all life. Voices filled with wisdom and inspiration. Over the years, I’ve been inspired to create graphics with some of these…and am now inspired to share some here. Let’s begin with Black Elk.

May we find that peace in our lives. May we inspire that peace in the world.

Beannacht,
Judith

June 16, 2024

When we embrace the ancient ways
of being in right relationship with the earth…

I tucked into a neighbors for a cuppa the other day. In our conversation she asked if the heat dome currently covering much of the US was affecting where I live. So many folks still confuse Washington DC with Washington State. I told her it wasn’t and commented on the impact of climate change. “Sure, it’s all them satellites causing it,” she said. I expect it was the surprised look on my face that caused her to continue. “The climate is changing because of all them things they are putting up in the sky.” In that moment, the only response that came to me was to agree it is humans that are causing the current climate disaster. And left it at that.

No matter the spin. No matter the false narratives we see and swallow, it is humans that are causing these changes. There was a time when we knew how to be in right relationship with the earth. 

I miss that mythology.

Beannacht,
Judith

June 14, 2024

When we honor the wisdom of Ériu,
walking the land, living her rhythms,
and knowing her patterns…

Sacred Earth. She is known by many names. From the perhaps more familiar Pachamama and Gaia, to the less familiar Bhumi from Hindu mythology, Houtu from Chinese mythology, Akka from Finnish mythology and Terra from Roman mythology, her sacred essence is honored in every culture around the globe. Here in Ireland, Ériu is the sacred sovereign of the Earth. Indeed Ireland is named after her. 

When people come to visit me in Ireland, we often walk the land. Perhaps just up the road. Perhaps at nearby Coole Park or the Gort River Walk. I always suggest we walk in silence that we might truly step into the sacred energy of the land and the trees and the river. There is so much wisdom to receive and that is only possible when we step away from thinking and talking and step into a body and soul connection. 

Beannacht,
Judith