Seasonal rituals & wisdom for the earth year.
The skies are bright and the days lengthen. We feel a pulse within ourselves, a rhythm that is undeniable. The gorgeous weather draws us ever outward, into the landscape and out from the more contemplative months behind us.
The world is going green and flowers and blossoms and all kinds of plants have returned to the verdant world. Summer is a time for spending more time outside, getting reacquainted with our skin and feeling our own inner quickening. Since the beginning of time there have been sacred schools where seekers have gathered to learn the language of their own inner guidance and to discover how to access other realms for healing of themselves and others. These schools have provided solid ground from which to journey to and connect to Source, in all of its names and manifestations.
Folklore and Fern Mystery School firmly believes in empowering souls to access their highest potential, through tools for inner connection, strengthening of intuition and by developing the skills to develop their own inherent health and wisdom. Do you feel a pull, a call from that deep place inside you that yearns to realize your path as a spiritual being on this planet?
Autumn is a glorious season. The leaves are changing on the trees into a riotous explosion of color, squirrels frantically bury seeds, the smell of damp earth rises up from the land and the nights gain coolness day by day and mornings are often fog filled and drowsy.
We seem to feel the primal call within our bones. We gather for ritual celebrations, whether they are modern versions such as afternoon football games, and pumpkin patch adventures or celebrations that harken to a more ancient beat of the drum such as Halloween gatherings or lighting backyard fire pits and telling stories. You are invited....
To take a journey into the magic of the summer season. There is so much abundance and such a joyful proliferation of all our favorite plants this time of year. Our gardens are overflowing with vegetables and the flowers are blooming and the bees abound, drunk on all that nectar. There is something special in the air, something not quite tangible. Midsummer invites us to frolic and play. I have a special gift for you, my folklore and fern friends. I have created a new course called: SOL CYCLE: Magic, Ritual and Herbal Wisdom for the Summer Season There is a ton of good stuff in here! Guided meditations, herbal wisdom, folklore and magic. But it is more than that... You will come through the course with a deeper connection to yourself, to the plants and to your intuition. The tools, practices and information are there for you to build upon even after you are finished with the course. If you want to feel a deeper connection to magic and the ways it may support your healing...if you want to awaken the inherent health within and connect to some ancient practices...join us! I hope to see you there! And please feel free to share this with any friends or family that might be interested as well! Summer blessings, Lark Fox The delicious smell of lilac is in the air and afternoon thunderstorms rumble through the land leaving trails of bright green across the hills.
The days are longer and baby birds are purring in their nests waiting for momma bird and worm. Everything feels fresh and new and possible. Couples are getting married to the backdrop of purple irises and bright pink peonies and the gorgeous warmth of the sun calls us out of our weathered skins and onto trails, mountains and lakes. Mother nature asks us to linger awhile, to get reacquainted with one another. We seem to wake up inside, to this primeval certainty of early summer. We have made it through the dark, cold months and it is time to celebrate. With roots in old pagan fertility rites, May wine is part of the ancient magic that calls us outward.
The hills have gone green in rolling waves and the apple trees are full of blossoms. Morning comes early with the sound of birdsong and golden light. Woven shawls and hot tea are still necessary accoutrements but warm sun and more daylight beckon us outward and thaws our bones.
Baby animals hold close to their mothers, birds return from their winter migration, and all the plants seem to be waking up. The shrill cold of winter has passed and slowly we begin to shed our own winter's layers. All the land seems to be filled with flowers that serve one purpose and that is to please the fairies. All of Mother Nature seems to be flirting with our senses.
Lo, the spring equinox has passed. Tiny croci are popping up all over. The honeysuckle bush is fully green and small pink buds are beginning to form. The grass is waking up and the birds are returning.
Yet, a blizzard bears down upon us and inches of snow turn into feet. That same cold, north wind whips and curls the snow around each and every tree, branch, window, fence and tendril. It is a reminder that, not yet is it time to unfurl ourselves into the warm earth. The goddess Aphrodite, who was born from the sea, dripping with sea foam, rosemary and roses sits beneath the warm Cyprian sun. Her long hair is braided with sea shells and seaweed and she is draped in loosely fit linen and leather.
Aphrodite gazes out at the horizon where the deep, blue sky and the ocean meet. She is fully present and aware of her birth-home of pulsating water and seminal tides. The sound of waves along the sandy shore is familiar, milky and soft. All is peaceful in the bright air. A large feast has been laid out in the sand. Golden goblets are filled with burgandy herbal elixirs and a cream and rose cordial. There is fresh baked Koulouri-Cypriot bread, filled with sesame seeds, cumin, fennel and anise and cobalt plates of halloumi cheeses, bowls of oily grape leaves stuffed with rice and mint and salads of artichoke, wild dandelion, olive oil and tomato, along with black and green olives. For dessert, a sweet semolina cake with lemon syrup awaits delighted tongues along with ripe strawberries and luscious figs. All are displayed on a lovely, colorful tapestry. Winter has felt long and cold here. Freezing temperatures, snow that lingers, grey days that melt into cold nights and six inches of ice in all the shady parts of the street. Pots of simmering vegetable soups have been made in copious amounts and friends and clients have been in the midst of some deep, hard transformations.
Imbolc arrives none too soon. The half way point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. I often feel a sense of relief and anticipation at this time. Soon the brighter and warmer days of spring will arrive. Mid January often feels like a 'between' time. We are in the center of the winter. Square to it. Brave faces and cold cheeks.
The holidays are over, kids are back in school and the days are getting longer. We begin to day dream about Spring and our gardens, about a time when there is more sunlight and increasingly warm days. Yet, there are weeks of snow and ice between ourselves and Spring's glossy green stems. Still, we wake to frosty mornings and cold houses. Bed seems a more rational choice. Now more than ever, it is time to bolster and nourish ourselves, to dig deep into our inner coffers and embrace afresh the opportunities winter holds. |
Author
Lark Fox is a Priestess, an herb wyfe, Seer, intuitive healer, writer and ceremonialist. Archives
September 2022
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