It takes a lot of effort to leave a toxic relationship. Not only do you have to plan financially and logistically, but your heart has to be ready for the “not knowing” of what’s to come next. After eight years of cyclical chaos, a stable life seems unpredictable, confusing,
These forest crafts are not mean to be extravagant or fancy. Rather, they are meant to be simple and attainable. You are allowed to make mistakes. You can forage herbs, twigs, and florals from your neighborhood or backyard using whatever wildflowers are growing seasonally. I chose scarlet pimpernel, which I
The mind can’t remember without the body. When I’d walk into a room and forget what I came for, I'd have to retrace my steps. There are no rooms anymore. Only paths. I’m not too far gone from the path if my body remembers why
Within the soil, there is dark. Impenetrable to light through layers of accumulation, foundational rock, and decay from the seasons past. This is where the seed lies. She waits for rain, for the cold to pass. Timing is a flow to be carried by, not to be restrained. So she
There is a watery sensation that spring starts to offer, as the humidity rises and the ground gets warmer to bring forth new life. In Ayurveda, the sister science to yoga that speaks to daily living, spring is Kapha season - or - a mix of the water and earth elements. The
It's midsummer here in Australia, and is unusually hot - quite ridiculously hot right now - so I've been inside, cloistered, I like to say to myself. It is birthday season for my family, (I always include the ancestors, do you?). With those who have died, I think
In June of 2023, I had just arrived in the Sierra foothills with my boyfriend, Chris, and our two cats at his family cabin. We moved from Florida and were in transition to the East Bay, utilizing the cabin as our refuge while our long-term plans began to root.
“At this time of year, we concentrate on blending the element of fire, which represents new thought, inspiration, and action, with the element of water, which represents emotion, feelings, and the heart. Actions are wedded to feeling, the will to the heart. The pure white flowers of the Hawthorn represent
There is a white rabbit that lives in the quiet forest of your mind. When the chaos settles, you can catch glimpses of her delicate white fur between sharp leaves in the brush. She locates a small opening between them, a darkness she finds comforting, and it swallows her whole.
She adjusted her flower crown in the reflection of the river, thin pink ribbons dangling over her loose waves of hair. Laughter and music from the festival echoed in the distance and a tightness clutched her chest from the inside. Her fingers pressed into the land and gripped a fistfull
The Celtic holiday of Beltane is traditionally celebrated over two days, beginning on April 30, known then as May Eve. The village folk would gather on two hills, igniting a massive bonfire atop each, and guide their livestock between. The bonfires were constructed from nine of the sacred woods; the
The Stolen Child by W.B. Yeats Where dips the rocky highland Of Sleuth Wood in the lake, There lies a leafy island Where flapping herons wake The drowsy water rats. There we’ve hid our fairy vats Full of berries, And of reddest stolen cherries. Come away, O, human