October 14, 2024

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

As the night wraps her arms around the days in a shawl of descending darkness. As the Earth slips into quiet slumber. The rhythms of this season are perfect for ancestral connection. For deep listening. For powerful encounter.

This was the truth for our ancestors in the northern hemisphere when the waning daylight limited their activity and they moved indoors to be around the hearth fire. It can be truth for us if we are willing to step away for the busyness of our lives and the glare of our devices. If we are willing to align ourselves with the mystical energies of this season.

Some of us know we have experienced past lives. Some of us are connected with mystic ancestral energies. All of us have biological ancestors. There is wisdom to be gleaned from all of these. Wisdom to weave into the fabric of our lives.

For those of us who have walked this Earth for many decades and know the realm of ancestor is soon to be our reality, this is potent Crone alchemy and Elder magic. For all of us, this ancestral weaving holds much wisdom.

May you embrace the possibilities of this season.
May the ancestors visit you.
May your weaving be fruitful.

Beannacht,
Judith

October 12, 2024

When I look out my window
Many sights to see
And when I look in my window
So many different people to be
That it’s strange
So strange
Mm-hmm, must be the season of the witch
Must be the season of the witch, yeah
Must be the season of the witch
Donovan 

It’s already Christmas at Costco. The Halloween costumes are looking pretty bedraggled and picked over. Pointy hats aside, for those of us who are not aligned with the commercial holiday calendar, we are slipping into a most magical season.

We are slipping into the Samhain (sáwin) season. It’s a season that stretches before us measured in weeks and months. It’s the season that includes the ending of the old year and beginning of the new year. It’s the season of ancestral connection, of the Wise Woman, the Old Woman, Crone, and yes, even Witch. Looking into or out of the windows of our lives, there’s a lot going on. Many sights to see and consider.

For those of us approaching or navigating the Elder and Crone energy, we are invited to consider the many threads of our lives. The many people we have been. We are invited to explore the wisdom and treasure of those threads in our life tapestry. For in this season, as  the veils are thin and we encounter ancestral energies, we know we will soon be ancestor. What wisdom will we take with us as we cross that threshold? What wisdom will we, as ancestor, hold for those we will encounter from the other side?

It is the season of introspection, mystical connections, and deep contemplation. For Elders and Crones. Perhaps for all of us.

Beannacht,
Judith

October 9, 2024

Try imagining a place where
it’s always safe and warm
“Come in,” she said
“I’ll give you shelter
from the storm”
Bob Dylan

As we slip into this season of Samhain, of ancestors and elders, of Crone, there is much to write about. But in this moment I am totally focused on the people of Florida and surrounding states. Hurricane upon hurricane arriving and leaving behind death and destruction. Homes and lives ruined. So this is the story I share today.

Father: You’re not riding your bike.
Daughter: No. There’s a spider web on it.
Father: Well, just destroy the web. The spider will know it’s not a safe place to be.
Daughter: Isn’t that what happens to refugees?

I’m seeing so many reports of parks and parking lots and even race tracks opening for those fleeing from the hurricane. Open arms and open hearts. And that’s wonderful. But do we not see or recognize that so many refugees, we name them immigrants, flee to this country because, like those in the path of the hurricane, their lives have been destroyed?

Wether escaping storms of weather or storms of political violence and persecution, can we not open our arms and our hearts to them? Can we not give them all shelter from the storm?

Beannacht,
Judith

October 4th, 2024

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

Just days ago, Dennis and I were talking about coincidence, events or circumstances without apparent causal connection, and how the word shares a root with coincide. Which resonates for me as I know all energies coexist. Perhaps it’s only in the noticing that we name it coincidence. A safe place to park it for the skeptics among us. 

Yesterday. I had just finished creating this graphic when there was a knock at the back door. It was a friend of some thirty years but not of particularly frequent social connection. It had been a long time since I’d seen him. He came to tell me his wife died.

We sat together on the front porch while he poured out the story of her illness and death. And he sobbed. It was gut wrenching. I just listened and held him in a space of love. And I kept thinking of this image and these words on grief that I had just created. Coincidence?

I won’t share this graphic with him. I can only hold him in the sentiment and energy of it. He doesn’t have a computer and isn’t on any form of social media. His only technology is an old flip phone. 

I share this story because it reflects the piece I wrote yesterday. This friend is very conservative and we don’t share many political perspectives. But that didn’t matter when he was here with a huge crack in the vessel of his life. That didn’t matter as the tears were flowing. What mattered is that he knew he could come here and be held in love and compassion. 

Such events and circumstances may not appear to have a causal connection. But they do. And if we open to the coexisting energies of the Universe, we can know that. 

Beannacht,
Judith

October 3, 2024

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

When she walked to the well for water, the old woman carried two pots. They were both worn from use and over the years one had developed a crack. As she walked the path back to her cottage water leaked out. By the time she was home, the pot was half empty.

A neighbor who had been watching this could no longer contain himself. “Old woman! You do know that your pot is cracked and leaks water, don’t you. And yet you still carry it to the well. Are you crazy?”

The old woman smiled. “Yes, my friend. I do know of this. But you see, I’ve planted seeds along the path and this old cracked pot waters them. Now I walk among flowers on my way to the well. And it brings me great joy.”

It seems every day brings news that lessens my anxiety about the upcoming election. It seems ever more likely we will continue to have integrity and the values of compassion, equity, and inclusion guiding our nation forward. 

However there is one anxiety that looms large for me. Our nation is fractured and broken in so many ways. How will we navigate that? What will we do with our cracked pots? Are there possibilities they might water the flowers of a brighter and more unified future?

Beannacht,
Judith

September 25, 2024

Everything is energy.
Albert Einstein

I live in several spheres of energetic existence. My husband calls them bubbles. In much of my life, these could also be called echo chambers. For indeed I generally choose to spend time with people of similar ideas and ideals. This is especially true of my sacred sister circles and spiritual community where the music in that echo chamber fills my soul. 

Then there’s the bubble of MossTerra where the sacred energy is so palpable that people visiting even for the first time feel it as soon as they turn into the driveway. A deeply rooted  and powerful sphere of peace and harmony.  

These are spheres I encounter as I navigate this life journey. But the most important energetic sphere is one I carry with me. And in me. It’s the Light, the wisdom voice of Divine Spirit, that I hold and share in the world. The Light within each of us. And that shining holds tremendous power.

Many people work with protection crystals as a way to fend off the anger, fear, and pain they encounter in the collective consciousness. I once wore one. But I find now that turning up my Light provides that protection. And shining my Light touches the Light in others, which is an amazing experience. After all, everything is energy and the energy we share in the world dances with all other energies. 

So why not shine the energy of Light? Why not live our lives in that shining sphere of existence?

Beannacht,
Judith

September 22, 2024

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

I anticipated I would post this graphic today. And I anticipated I would write something on this powerful gateway of transformative energy. Something on rebalance and recalibration and increased spiritual vibration. Something on living the rhythms and patterns of the Earth. But then, last night happened.

The last few days here at MossTerra have been filled with spiritual gatherings and circles. Bright souls gathering to claim their Light and deepen their capacity to share that Light in the world. As I settled into bed with a bit of reading, I was wrapped in the Equinox energy of balance and harmony. But then, shots rang through the forest.

Apparently people across the road were having a gathering that included firing handguns. For hours. Literally hundreds of shots fired. And they even got into a pattern of call and response as the rhythm of shots from one gun was echoed by another. It was beyond jarring. Yes, it was also absolutely illegal. However we’ve learned from past experience that calling the sheriff does little good as it can take up to an hour for a patrol car to arrive out here and folks that do this have police scanners that alert them to police activity. If a sheriff had arrived, there would be nothing to see and our neighbors would likely know we made the 911 call.

So we just waited for it to be over. Recoiling with every shot. This morning, my mediation was very much about rebalancing and recalibration within a knowing that what happened last night is very much reflective of the world we live in. 

The recalibration I sat with today was one of renewed resolve to hold and share the Light in the world. It was perhaps just the Equinox recalibration I needed.

Beannacht,
Judith

September 6, 2024

OK. So just a fun story from Ireland. And I’m finding not an unusual one. I’m reminded of times when our tradesman, Tom, would tell me I could pay the next time and I would just stick 50 Euros in one of his pockets.

When I was here in June, neighbor Mick and I tucked up the road to visit Albert and find out if he would be interested in transplanting some young trees here at the cottage. He would. And he came to the cottage that evening to look at the job which we agreed would be best done in the fall. I asked him how much he would charge. “Ah, sure. Let’s talk about that when ye are back in September.”

It’s September. And I’m back. When I rang Albert to arrange a time for him to transplant the trees I again asked how much I would pay him so I could make sure I had the cash on hand. “Ah, no bother,” he said, “Ye can pay me when you’re back again.” It didn’t phase him when I said that would likely be March of next year. But I persisted. “We can talk about that when I’ve finished the job,” he said.

He came by yesterday and transplanted the trees. When he was done, I asked him yet again how much I would pay him. “Ah, well. Some of these trees need a bit of staking up for the winds. I’ll get the stakes and be back Monday evening. And I’ll let ye know then.” Great. Except that I leave Tuesday morning for Shannon Airport and my flight back to the States. So I will just have to take a guess about how much cash I should have Monday evening. As I navigate this payment never never land, perhaps I should consult Tinkerbelle. Perhaps she has so faery dust insights. 

Beannacht,
Judith

September 5, 2024

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

Word of his collapse flew through the small rural Irish community on wings of anguish and grief. I first learned of it when we tucked into a restaurant for an early dinner and the manager whom I’ve come to know over the years came over to our table in tears. I would later find out he was a much loved farmer, taxi driver and father of a best friend of one of the sons of our B&B host family.

While the community was paralyzed by the news of his collapse and slipping into a coma, the local farmers mobilized. The next day they left their own fields and came together to complete the harvest for their friend. 

In Irish, this is meitheal (méh-hull). A centuries-old tradition of community cooperation and teamwork with origins tracing back to a time when neighbors would come together to help with tasks such as haymaking or harvesting crops. A tradition that built resilient and thriving communities.

The man died three days later. And while his crops are gathered and baled, I know the community will continue to come together in the spirit of meitheal to support his family. It was an honor to witness this harvest of common unity.

Beannacht,
Judith

August 23, 2024

Since I returned from Ireland at the end of June, I’ve been in spaces of being rather than doing. And I’ve been frustrated. Frustrated by waiting for and longing for creative inspiration to land. The inspiration to dive into creating the new wisdom school. The inspiration to write. I love writing. Yet that writing needs to be inspired, not contrived.

So when this graphic found its way into my life, it resonated. I’ve been waiting and longing for the wrong thing.  

This past year has been intense. Perhaps, looking back, this is something of an understatement. My cancer diagnosis and journey. Even though another blood test before I came to Ireland showed no cancer, it’s been an intense journey. These past many months have also been filled with the increased intensity of my spiritual, ancestral, and otherworld relationships.

Clearly, I needed the gracious space for myself to be myself again. 

Beannacht,
Judith