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Years ago when I earnestly began my journey with the Plants, I began a relationship with the Celtic Goddess Brigid. She guided me along my path and helped me with my clients. Brigid is notorious for being loved and resilient especially in the face of the patriarchy. This year I have been thinking about Brigid, her gifts, and her lessons. Again, she feels like a fantastic guide to support us through these Earth changes.
Worldwide the shifts can no longer be ignored. Unfortunately, there is a human tendency to react with fear towards change. Fortunately, this is not a necessity, but a choice and we can just as easily (well perhaps with a little conscious awareness) choose Love. Here are steps to help us act more clearly with Love.
Blackberry Lily Spirit Essence I AM A HEALTHY SEXUAL BEING
Blackberry Lily helps one recover from sexual abuse. Clears the trauma and heals the effects; allowing one to have healthy, sexual experiences free of fear. Supports the 2nd Chakra.
This Essence has helped many people reclaim their lives after experiencing sexual abuse (often many years prior). With the MeToo movement, I keep thinking how many more could benefit. Order it here
I also keep thinking of Male Fern Spirit Essence. I AM THE PHOENIX RISING
Heals the wounds of patriarchy and religion. Through Phoenix energy, helps you find nourishment and strength among the ruins by connecting to ancient Sacred wisdom.
Patriarchy has limited us all, though we can rise above it, heal our wounds, and embrace our true potentials.
Our SALE continues! Select Brigid's Way Spirit Essences 50% off while supplies last. Visit our shop to see availability.
In November, my son and I travelled to North Dakota to support the Water Protectors of Standing Rock. I was going there to support the Medic + Healers at the Oceti Sakowin camp and my son to help build. Before leaving, I was reluctantly interviewed and one of the questions was, “What expectations do you have?” My response was “None. Well, I expect we won’t want to leave.” I was right, we didn’t want to leave. And there is no way that I could’ve expected what I experienced. I wrote in another blog about my experience of Beauty and community. All of this is true and these experiences have continued to feed my Heart and add more fuel to my long-held vision of a more loving world. I believe that it is these experiences that have enabled my deeper, unravelling experiences from Standing Rock. It has taken me some time to be able to share these and to be completely honest, I continue to be in the midst of working through them.
We were encouraged to attend at least 1 morning meeting at Oceti Sakowin. The day that I went, my Heart was filled by the prayers and being reminded of the 7 Lakota Values (Prayer, Respect, Compassion, Honesty, Generosity, Humility, Wisdom). We then moved to another building for the orientation portion. It was here that my world came tumbling down. During one of the announcements, we were reminded that our country was founded as a white supremacist patriarchal society. My first instinct, was “No way!” I grew up not far from Philadelphia and regularly visited the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. I know that our founding fathers were not perfect, but come on! A split second later, it happened. “Oh my gosh! It was! I live in a white supremacist, patriarchal country!”
Suddenly I started seeing things in a completely different manner. To add to this, I witnessed racism like I’ve never seen before. Here, in North Dakota, it was expected and considered normal. I don’t know how to put this in words. The energy from this was thick, grey, gross, and suffocating. Despite dealing with racism every day, the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota continued.
I grew up reading history books about the genocide of Native Americans. I remember being appalled to learn of the Trail of Tears or the Land grabs or the small pox blankets. I always thought that if I was alive then, I would do what I could to stop this.
So here I was, standing in a camp of Beauty surrounded by thousands of Native Americans from hundreds of Nations all whose very existence is a sign of resistance. For they and their Ancestors survived having their Land, children, religion, language, and food taken from them. They have survived biological and chemical warfare. And they continue to deal with significantly higher than average poverty, incarceration, violence, rape, drug and alcohol abuse along with a significantly lower availability of health care. A brief stroll through statistics is heartbreaking. I discovered another lie, the genocide has not stopped. It has been ongoing since the first white settlers arrived, though the form changes. And these survivors greeted me with open arms saying, “Welcome Home!”
I came home from Standing Rock with a giant mix of emotions. (I think it was also significant that we left for Standing Rock on the day that Donald Trump became the President elect.) I was overwhelmed by the Beauty and community that I witnessed. While feeling like my world was unraveling and my frames of perception were ripped off. I was open and raw and lost. And I didn’t want to change this. I wanted to continue through it. For too long, I was living with false perceptions and understanding. Don’t get me wrong, I knew racism existed and witnessed it and tried to change it. But the fact that I could be 40 years old and be surprised that our country was founded on white supremacy, showed me just how big my white privilege was.
So I unraveled. On the physical level, this lead to an illness with fevers and loss of consciousness that left me bedridden for about a week. As I recovered physically, I continued to process. When I discovered that Donald Trump was elected, my response was to Love more, to be even more gentle and kind, to be even more dedicated to healing. Now, a new layer began. I started to feel the wounds we have been carrying for generations, including the wounds of the Holocaust. We carry so much from our past and until we heal these, we continue to be effected, all of us. I allowed these to move through me as I focused on transmuting them with Love.
As always, I called to the Plants and my other helping guides to help me be a vessel of transmutation and to help my body adjust to these new perspectives. I continue to ask for help and guidance from the Plants while I continue to unravel and find my Truth.
We live in this incredible time. I keep feeling like I have stepped into one of my history books. The truth is we are living herstory. We have the opportunity to heal the wounds of our past - remembering that both oppressors and oppressed were harmed - and we have the power to shift our paradigm to benefit the future.
One of my great lessons from Standing Rock is that together we are strong. I share my experiences in the hopes that together we can remove the facades and allow our healing. Together we can shift this white supremacist, patriarchal paradigm in which we live to one that is inclusive, celebrates diversity, and is based on Love.
I wrote about Motherwort several months ago. Motherwort is one of the Plants that I have been working/playing with for my Plant Spirit Healing Apprenticeship. The more time I share with her, the deeper our relationship grows, and the more I learn. I have always thought that she is a wonderful and rich plant with so many uses. I mentioned earlier that I use the Flower Essence to help with boundaries, to express things that need to be said, to help with Anxiety and bring one back to the center, and to help discern what the real issues are.
Motherwort is a Heart protector. She also helps women going through menopause/peri-menopause, among many other gifts.
What she recently taught me is that she is a great balancer. Motherwort is particularly helpful to balance Masculine/Feminine. So for women (and men) whose feminine/nurturing sides are too strong, she can help you stand up for yourself and be strong. For men (and women) whose masculine sides are too strong, she can help you soften and be more nurturing. (I should mention that since Motherwort is an excellent Heart Plant, she helps to bring this balance with Heart energy.) To me, this is her most important gift and why I believe she is so important now.
We all know that our world is changing and our world needs to change. One of the major areas of change is to bring more feminine energy into our society. I’m not saying that women are better than men. But, for too long, we have lived in a male-dominated warring, destructive, constrictive society, which has not served anyone: not Nature, not women, not children, and definitely not men.
It is time that the patriarchal paradigm shifts and we bring the Feminine energy, so that there is balance. I believe that Motherwort can help us do this.
You might ask, How? Well, first of all, for those of you who have space, Plant her. Now, know that she is generous in all aspects, so she does spread. If you can, sit with her, spend time with her, dream with her, love her. Get to know her. If you are feeling out of balance, call on her. She recommended that I infuse Honey with her. Motherwort is bitter; therefore, the sweetness of the honey will help to add to her balancing effect. Yes, you can take her Flower Essence, tincture, and tea. Of course, while you spend time with her, recognize the areas of your life that need balancing.
