Murmurs On The Land

A distant crow makes an announcement,
and tall grasses sway in the breeze
as sparrows chatter in the spruce along the ridgeline.
A sudden wind pushes through alders and maples,
and accents the drone of unseen insects.
Apples plop to the ground, not quite ripe,
and a bee goes about her work near the herbs.
The creek tumbles through the woods,
and I say a prayer for Gaia.
My own song rises to greet the new moon,
and our renewal blooms in my heart.

In my ongoing mission to name each of the new moons this year, this September lunation I will call Crow Molt Moon.

Throughout August and September each year my jolly band of crows gift me with their feathers. I have hundreds of them now and I’m waiting for inspiration to use some of them in some special artwork. But for now, many of them reside in a basket (above) that hangs on the wall of my living room, surrounded by other crow art.

Gathering the feathers causes me to be selective, since some of them are in really bad shape—ragged evidence of gales overcome, thunderstorms survived. Perhaps I should keep some of those, too, for inspiration during my own challenges. Is it wrong to want only the pretty feathers? Or just societal brainwashing?

Crows offer their feathers to me nearly every day. Blacker than a moonless night, they remind me of the heights just fallen from. It’s as if each feather can be read, can tell a tale of adventure, of sunsets seen from flyways, of treetops slept in, of moonlight flown through, of sonatas written to the rhythm of their steady wing beats.

I write about crows a lot, as I feel a special bond with them. It isn’t their color, as I’m not drawn to black—though in strong sunlight there is often a deep purplish sheen to their glossy bodies. One reason I love them is they make me laugh with their never ending antics. Bunches of them always seem to be up to something, and hardly an hour goes by without a chorus of comments echoing across the hillside.

I also admire their bravado in defending their homes and their young. Even a single crow will take on a marauding eagle and send him back to his aerie. I see this all the time where I live, next to an eagle’s nest.

crows living dangerously video

CONTEMPLATIONS

• Are there things in your world that have been cast off yet still retain beauty and meaning?
• Is there something you need to shed from your life?
• What do you ceaselessly protect?

Flap around with other comic crows here.

Here in Washington state, we are famous for the prodigious rain that falls. So it won’t surprise you that most springs our many rivers roar down out of their snow-capped mountains, full, frothy and icy cold.

This spring I stood at the edge of such a river, the Dosewallips, which tumbles down from the Olympic Mountains through mixed woods of fir, alder and big leaf maple. I feel the energy, the power generated by the outpouring—even if it isn’t ever transposed into electricity. I attune myself to such life force, such vivacity, and inhale the highly ionized oxygen. Unlike the rhythm of the sea which often relaxes and soothes me, the relentless rushing of this river charges me up, as if I were a battery connected to its current.

I lie down on a mossy bank and dangle my hands into the water to feel the swift pressure of the river against my skin. Frigid spray ricochets off the rocks and stings my face, a new form of hydro massage. Leaves and alder cones rush by on their way to Hood Canal, each one a tiny boat at the mercy of the whimsical water. I roll over onto my back and savor the morning glow on the thick chartreuse fur that encases many alder trunks. I imagine that so much moss has an acoustic effect on the sound of the river, a softening of it, as these trees reach into the river for their sustenance.

Today begins another lunation, which I’m naming the High River Moon. It is about surges, energy, vitality and freshness. I hope you’ll invite its special light into your life.

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What force is evident in your life now?
• What energizes you?
• Where do you feel most alive?
• Have you surrendered to the currents pulsing through your life, or do you feel you can control them?
• Will you tap into the new moon energy to enhance projects or ideas you are developing?

MEDITATION VIDEO

This is simply a few minutes beside the Dosewallips River, so you can experience it for yourself. Turn up the volume and immerse yourself…the water’s fine.

Visit the Dosewallips River in another season here.

This month the full moon blooms in the woods in the form of Palmate Coltsfoot, a disk-shaped white wildflower with pink tinges. I have spent so many hours staring at the full moon orb that I see its shape repeated over and over in nature: snowballs, jingle shells, agates, sand dollars, queen Anne’s lace and on and on. I have imprinted on the moon as if she was my mother, and together we’ve made a neural pathway through my brain. Of course I’ve already told you that I’m a Lunatic.

The clouds are breaking up now, so I hope I’ll be able to enjoy the full moonrise from the beach tonight—always an iffy thing here in the far northwest. If I see the big planting moon tonight, I’ll tell her about the culminations in my life that I’m celebrating, and I’ll ask her blessing for my ongoing projects.

I believe in the power of moonlight to connect us to our ancient past, to our archetypal selves who have always marked their lives by her turnings.

I adore dancing under the fullmoonlight, as it is bright enough to wander around outside, yet it has that magical quality of being cool, gentle—a whisper from another spinning orb heard at this intersection of time and space. It’s also a great time to meditate with bird allies, who are wide awake and chattering away. Add in the chorus of frogs near the lagoon and we have a full choir to sing up the moon. So go outside tonight and add some sparkle to your evening, and reach back in time to touch the heart of your ancestors who gazed in wonder at this same moon.

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What do you think your ancestors saw?
• What do you see?
• What do you find special about moonlight?
• What fullness in your life can you celebrate and honor with gratitude?

MEDITATE ON A MOONRISE VIDEO

If you can’t see the real thing, here’s a substitute. This brief video shows the moonrise over Anacortes, a town in the San Juan Islands that I see lit up most nights across the Strait.

Spring is such a hopeful season, as we witness the ever more miraculous renewal of the earth’s life force in the northern hemisphere. How does She keep regreening despite the abysmal way we treat Her?

This morning I watched a sparrow pick at a dandelion seed head then fly off, her mouth full of fuzz to line her nest. What a lovely home she’s building. I can just imagine what it would be like to greet the world from such a gentle place, to learn about the wind as you sway in your cozy nest. (Of course, there are those nests which get blown down every year, nestlings who contribute to the food chain instead of taking flight, but that’s how it is with us, too. Some of us come from safe, secure homes and others have to dodge and dart and struggle to save our own lives.)

When’s the last time you made a wish on a dandelion seed? I bet you can find one within a block of wherever you are right now. It’s okay, no one has to know. I won’t tell. Think of it as an affirmation of what you need in your life now. Or think of it as a blessing on your own life, or even a prayer for someone else. Our thoughts are creative, as every child who has ever done this ritual already believes.

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What softness might you add to your life?
• Where will you find it?
• What form will the softness take?
• Can you let go and sink into it?

MAKE A WISH VIDEO

Meet another flower spirit here.

I must invent new colors of paint to capture this verdancy on canvas. I feel inside the flow of nature; I feel one with the fecundity of the earth. Ah spring—who doesn’t feel the impulse of new life at this time of year? On my walk this afternoon, I watched several pairs of hummingbirds courting. The females watched from branches, commenting on the males’ aerial acrobatics. I wanted to be that hummingbird, zipping up and looping into the bright sky, then plunging down, hoping to dazzle. It just looked like so much fun!

This weekend I’m inspired to share what I know about key symbols of spring. Today I’ll talk about eggs, and tomorrow I’ll deal with rabbits. It’s well known that most christian holidays and symbols derive from earlier pagan celebrations, so I think it’s useful to examine those. (And for me, as a lifelong pagan, this is my spiritual path.)

Even the name Easter is a spin on Ostara, the Goddess of Spring and the Dawn (also Oestre or Eastre).

At this season of renewal and the return of the light, it’s no surprise that Ostara is a fertility goddess. As birds lay their eggs in spring, they also represent fertility, as do baby ducks and chickens, so prevalent in Easter décor. In ancient Europe, eggs were used in rituals to assure a woman’s ability to bear children. Even now, healers in the Appalachian mountains will use eggs to predict the gender of a child by spinning an egg from a string over the belly of a pregnant woman.

Many cultures, notably in Eastern Europe and Russia, offer elaborately decorated eggs as gifts. They believe the eggs will bring prosperity and abundance in the coming year. Sadly, egg hunts began in Europe during the Burning Times (literally the witch hunts), when it was no longer safe to openly practice the indigenous beliefs and customs of healers and herbalists and pagans—which simply means people of the country. So to preserve their traditions, followers of Ostara hid the eggs and made a child’s game out of it. Even that benign tradition may have led to punishment for the adults involved. Today’s sugary eggs are not that far removed from this centuries-old tradition.

By eating eggs, heathens also believed they would internalize the qualities associated with the symbolic food—in this case rebirth, fertility and abundance. This same notion inspired the concept of communion.

A related and equally potent spring symbol for me is the birdnest. As someone who is devoted to my home and has an intense nesting impulse year ‘round, these exquisite creations are each tiny miracles of design and inventiveness. One of my favorite stories is that my great grandmother used to save the hair from her hairbrush all winter, and in spring she would pin it to her clothesline for the birds to spirit away. Later, nests all over the area could be seen with silky, shimmering silvery linings.

my own humble nest, click to enlarge

This creates a permanent visual meditation in my home and keeps me focused on my goals.

CONTEMPLATIONS

• Do you have a strong nesting impulse?
• Is it reinvigorated in spring?
• What do eggs mean to you?
• What new projects would you like to begin or reinfuse with spring energy?

So savor your chocolate eggs and think about the ancients who did not enjoy our freedoms, who had to hide their religion in the guise of simple games. I send you blessings from Ostara…may her pink, cherry blossom light infuse your life with renewed joy and energy.

MEDITATION VIDEO

Here’s lighthearted Ostara video to put you in a spring mood.

Join in other spring celebrations here.

That’s my impulse for sure, but it’s a bit too early for planting here in the far northwest. On a cool spring morning, when I still want the effects of having gone out and played in the dirt, I like to do a grounding meditation that will also cleanse anything negative from my experience.

There are many way to do this. Here are a few:

• Sometimes I just imagine myself barefoot in lush green grass, and allow the vibrations of the earth to rise up through the soles of my feet. I feel them make a circuit through my chakras, forming a perfect circle as I return the energy to the earth. Much like trees filter pollutants from the air, you can use earth energy to cleanse negative ideas, fears, sadness or anything else you want to leave your body.

• Or perhaps I go to the beach, remove my shoes, sit against a log and bury my feet in the sand. (Either for real or in my mind.) I hear the waves setting the rhythm of my meditation and match my breath to the sea. I see each of my cares leave my body and ride away from me on a new wave. I inhale salt air and allow the cleansing power of salt to purify my whole body, the contents of my mind, the essence of my soul. I might even imagine my body also covered in sand and salt.

• Another way to ground yourself is to sit on the earth and lean up against a sturdy tree—the older the better. Try and feels the tree breathing. Ask the tree to clear your own body of anything that is toxic to you. Imagine those toxins flowing back into the earth. (Don’t worry, the earth can process it!) Hold leaves or twigs you find from this tree in your hands. Study the brilliant patterns that make up these tree parts. Realize that even the tree continually releases parts of itself that it no longer needs.

We are constantly shedding hair and skin—why not consciously also shed whatever is on our mind that we don’t wish to be there? Why not also release conditions of our body that do not serve us? Our minds are so much more powerful than we acknowledge—put them to work in meditation to lighten our spirits and heal our physical bodies. Good health to you all!

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What negativity do you need to release today?
• What kinds of places in the natural world make you feel grounded? Can you go there now—at least in your mind?
• What is it about those special places that feel like healing spots for you?
• Can you bring some aspects of that energy into your home to experience on a regular basis?

MEDITATION VIDEO

This video from the Wellness Experiment will lead you through a brief experience of a cleansing and grounding meditation.

Click on any of the following links for more information:

What Is Meditation?
How To Meditate in 5 Easy Steps
Setting the Mood
Benefits of Meditation
Expanding Your Current Meditation Practice
Why I Meditate and How It Affects Me

It’s fun to watch from a cliff and see the large whales swimming offshore. When a group goes by it can look like an old-fashioned flat-hose lawn sprinkler shooting spray into the air at intervals.

Dolphins are getting ready to move north from California, too.

Here we have the Pacific White-sided Dolphin, a beautiful tri-colored animal. The chin, throat and belly are creamy white, while the beak, flippers and back are a dark gray. There are light gray patches on the sides and a further light gray stripe running from above the eye to below the dorsal fin where it thickens along the tail stock. A dark gray ring surrounds the eyes.

During the summer dolphins frolic just off my local beach, and I see them when out rowing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. So I thought I’d say welcome back, good friends.

• Bring us tales of warmer winters and sunnier days.
• Bring us your grace and quiet beauty.
• Bring us your dance, arcing like rainbows out of the blue sea on cloudless days.

This first short video shows a group of dolphins playing in the inland waters of British Columbia.

MEDITATION VIDEO

This video is wonderful to meditate with. It features terrific soothing music by Jonathan Goldman and hypnotic images. Watch for the big swimmers going by.

Go rowing with dolphins here.

I love outer space. I’ve never been a sci-fi fan or a Trekkie or—gasp—even seen Star Wars! But since I was a little girl growing up in the Pacific Northwest I’ve loved sleeping outside during the summer under the stars. It’s one of the reasons I love camping, because it gets me even farther away from light pollution. Even though it’s still winter, this can be a great time to stargaze—if only for short periods. Visibility is often better at this time of year.

In looking for a meditation video to share with you, I came across this brief descent into the Helix Nebula (also pictured above and below, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope). I find that nothing alters my perspective and shrinks my worries as fast as contemplation of the vast night sky. I urge you to visualize any challenges you’re facing as being consumed by this collision of two gases near a dying star.

The Helix Nebula is one of the closest of all planetary nebulae—close being a relative term in astronomy—lying at a distance of about 400 light years from Earth. The colorful, visible gaseous fragments lie along the inner edge of the star’s ring, trillions of miles from the star at its center. The comet-like tails form a radial pattern around the star like the spokes on a wheel. If observed from a dark location, the Helix is visible with binoculars, and shows the object as a large circular hazy spot.

Enjoy the gift of this extreme beauty, miraculously captured by modern technology also whirling through space. Breathe. Relax. Release. Meditate.

MEDITATION VIDEO

CONTEMPLATIONS

• How do images of outer space make you feel?
• What symbolism do the colors have for you?
• Do you allow room in your soul for mysteries?
• If you go outside tonight and make a wish upon a star, what will you ask for?

Jump aboard Comet Lulin here.

It is a sign?
Am I supposed to double some effort?
Reverse a plan?
Amplify some delight?

Then just as quickly, the clouds close like curtains and move in so near that sky and sea merge into one gray wall. But I don’t care. I will hold this twin vision in my heart forever.

Then at noon another rainbow appears, full and large, and arcs over the bay in a perfect bridge from peninsula to peninsula.

I wish I could walk across it, enveloping myself in every part of the spectrum—becoming violet, becoming aqua, then green, yellow, orange and finally reveling in red—living for those moments directly inside the light. I would be weightless, warm, wondering:

• Would I be altered, like someone who survives a lightning bolt?
• Would my skin glow and shimmer with the memory of being green and blue?
• Or would a mark appear—some cosmic tattoo on my forehead to alert the initiated that I, too, had crossed the bridge?

I would like that—a round rainbow bindi dot between my eyes, to keep me focused on the magic floating all around us, just waiting to be enjoyed.

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What magic waits in your world to be seen?
• What omens have appeared to you lately?
• Did you act on them? Is it too late?
• Have you been altered by an encounter in nature?
• What color of the rainbow do you want to be today?

MEDITATION VIDEO

I choose to walk the path of light. This video gives much to contemplate, and is about the Rainbow Warriors who follow the way of Great Spirit…very inspirational.

rainbows in the night sky, click to enlarge

A pale green luminous band arcs overhead, silhouetting a fir tree with unearthly light. Bands of rose and orange light glow just above the horizon, but the sun and the half moon set together hours ago, so it is no playful trick on their part. Nor are there large city lights nearby to shine the sky. Even the geese on the lagoon are aroused.

The sky in the northeast is a paler blue, as if the sun was about to rise, yet that is many hours from now. The bands of color shift and fade and reappear quickly—a fleeting show for the lucky observer. Magical. Mysterious. Incomprehensible. How it must have stirred the first people.

I love few things as much as I do color, so to discover my night sky suddenly tinted like a rainbow—without rain or sun—is nothing short of astounding. I want to wake the world to witness it, to see these exploded particles from the sun drifting down to earth, painting the late night sky in a dazzling display: the aurora borealis.

MEDITATION VIDEO

Here’s a thoroughly relaxing video from Mystic Zen featuring many arrays of northern lights along with soothing music. The perfect break for a busy day. Enjoy!

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What alchemy is present in your life? Or is it still invisible?
• Can you open yourself to altered realities, to the unexpected?
• Could you color your ideas differently, add some magenta to your life?
• How will you be exceptional today?

DOWNLOADABLE AFFIRMATION CARD

click image to enlarge, right click to save and print

Enjoy another sky show here. Or if you’re in the mood for another meditation on the skies, you’ll find one here.

OFFERINGS

Dazzle with the dramatic colors of the aurora borealis, preserved on a ceramic tile.
The northern lights artwork in this post is available on a hardwood box with a ceramic top, by visiting my CafePress shop.