Rainbow Lights

Nature's Heart

Robin in the Snow

Stare-down

Sending a Message

Pick me!

I love this time of year! Strut your stuff, baby!

April Snow Brings May Escrow?

Swan Song

April 2015 Oneida Lake cmk

Alive!

Where does the time go in the Spring??? It is SO amazing out there right now! Have you stepped out onto Terra Mater and felt her earth between your toes, or allowed your feet to sink into a lush bed of moss?

I have been consumed in cleaning winter's debris, dried leaves, last year's untrimmed growth, and broken branches, then replenishing mulch in the gardens. The front yard stream "The River Shakti" is running, the back yard pond is half-emptied, dredged, and awaiting rainfall to re-fill it (much to the chagrin of the resident frogs).

Partridgeberry is alive and well, Thyme-leaved Speedwell harkens to a simpler time, and forget-me-nots...well, you know the drill.

The "johnnies" have resumed their undeterred, colorful presence among the formal garden rock mulch, and this week the delicate dwarf ginseng rose above masses of decaying leaves.

And oh, the ferns! So many sizes, shapes, and colors all unfolding just as they are meant to, in their own unique way, and at their own pace. It is truly a sight to behold! We are conducting "fern trail tours" this weekend, May 15-16 at Fiddlehead Grove Retreat and Healing Center. Click here for more info. Here's a sneak peak:

The burdock, mullein, purple trillium, painted trillium, and Canada Mayflower return for another round (complete with a damselfly bluet), and some new woodland bellflower friends have joined us this year.

Heal-all, ground ivy, and wild bleeding heart are some of my favorites!

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and soak in Mother Nature's bounty and beauty. You may be surprised how much it mimics so much of our own "human nature" and helps to heal what may be "ailing" us!

Lighten the Load

Watching Spring unfold here in the northeastern U.S. is truly enjoyable for me. The “spring peepers” woke up last night, just as the last of the ice over the pond melted away, and our resident tom turkey awakened me early this morning whilst chasing the ladies with his morning gobble. Ahhh, Spring. Signs of rebirth, renewal, and rejoicing at the return of the sun to our side of the globe are all around us!

The earth comes alive as the dainty crocuses bravely bloom in the receding patches of snow. Daffodils raise their lazy heads as they seemingly race to catch up with the calendar on this year’s late start to the season. Tulips, hyacinth, and hosta plants bravely poke out from the leaf-laden ground. The air is filled with the echoes of phoebes finding mates, robins busily building nests, and the tapping of the red-bellied, hairy, downy, and pileated woodpeckers. Chipmunks waste no time getting right to scurrying, and the koi fish come to surface in the sun-drenched pond.

Winter’s hibernation is complete once more, the atmosphere is lighter, the sun warmer. Nature’s spring foods are bright green, delicate, and full of new life. As creatures of nature, humans can do well by following this rhythm. The sudden urge to open the windows, let the fresh air in, and do “spring cleaning” is our natural instinct to prepare our nest for new life.

Spring cleanses are very appropriate this time of year and include not only physical cleansing of winter’s buildup of fat stores, but also de-cluttering our home environments, cleaning up our thoughts, clearing out habits and/or issues that no longer serve a purpose for us, and simplifying our lives. Remember how it feels to clean out a closet? To give away or return something you no longer need? To discover something you forgot you had, or something you lost? This is what our bodies need. To clear out the tokens of yesteryear and begin anew.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Drink green smoothies-more bang than the chew
• Eat salads-for fiber and chlorophyll
• Find a local spring water source-water direct from the earth assimilates easily with our body’s chemistry
• Consume minimal or no animal products-they are “dead weight”
• Stretch-gets the kinks out of the limbs
• Get out in nature-expands your awareness
• Laugh-it boosts the immune system
• Sing, Listen to Music, Dance-it frees the mind
• Puff your chest, strut your stuff, and lose the winter fur-advice from tom turkey and the deer (it works for them)
• Wash the bedsheets with drops of Lavender essential oil-freshens the room and you’ll sleep great too. *For an added treat, hang them outside on the clothesline. Delicious!
• Walk-gets the kinks out of the bowels
  
• Walk a Labyrinth-calms the mind and centers the soul
• Ride a bike-fun exercise
• Bathe in Epsom salts-magnesium for relaxing the muscles and organs
• Journal-putting it on paper changes perspective
• Meditate-finds your inner guru
• Share-speaking out loud to a sacred witness is a powerful way to synthesize and process emotions

Once you begin to lighten the load by eating lighter and cleaning your environment, you will notice your senses become more discerning and your intuition sharper. You will have more energy and motivation to do more of the deeper practices of meditating or journaling. You can do it! Find that Spring sprout buried in your belly (second chakra). Nurture it with sunny, loving thoughts and water it with fresh, clean water. Give birth to the creative soul that is you!

More of Cathleen's published writings can be found on Smashwords.com

Can You Feel It?

There is a Universal shake-up happening! 

Not only is our planet coming into eclipse alignment with our sun and moon in the wee hours of March 20, 2015 but Friday also hails a Super (perigee) moon. The magnificence of this Super New Moon reaching the closest point in its orbit of Earth will be felt, not seen excepting a shadow as it blocks out the sun.

If that weren't enough, the Equinox is also occurring (Spring or Vernal in the northern hemisphere, Fall or Autumnal in the southern half of the globe).

A total solar eclipse has not occurred on the March Equinox since 1662 and will not be witnessed again until 2034.

On top of that, we are under the influence of the final exact square of Uranus-Pluto, which began as far back as 2008. Offered by Golden Age of Gaia:

“The squares are hastening a revolution of sorts in our inner and outer worlds. This great change marks the threshold of the new time that has been incubating within hearts and minds for many years now.This is the most powerful astrological influence we will experience during this decade. The changes seeded during this time will determine the shape of life on the earth plane moving forward.”

Our Mother Earth is vibrating with soooo much intensity right now. So palpable, in fact that even the murkiest of consciousness can feel it! STOP, if only for a moment, breathe, and listen. Close your eyes, feel the wind on your cheeks, and hear the birds. 

Give thanks.

Gaia's message for you:

“In these auspicious hours of darkness during the Super New Moon (05:36 EST) and Total Solar Eclipse (03:41 until 07:50 EST) and in the balance of the Equinox (18:45 EST), it behooves you to be extremely clear on what you desire to conspire with the Universe. The more consciously you choose to align your job, relationships, and daily activities with your soul’s purpose, the more blissful your life IS. 

Can you FEEL it? What does it feel like to be blissed-out, Beloved? 

There is no separation, segregation, or discrimination. 

It is your birthright!”

So, please, in the luscious, dark, quietude of the womb of Gaia and this powerful portal, The Astral Triple Crown, arise from your slumber and claim your seat in the Circle! Offer up to Gaia, our precious Mother Earth, your deepest, soul-felt longings.

Know that they are already yours.

You are witnessed.

You are held in sacred space.

This ground is ferociously fertile, ready to give birth to your seeds of limitless potential!

The New Moon, the Equinox, and Eclipses have been recognized since time began and are powerful times in themselves for building intention.

The new moon is a magical time of beginnings, when you can recharge goals, or set new ones and is an optimal time for planning and seeding your intentions.

Ostara (Vernal Equinox) is a time to create new beginnings in your life.

Eclipses are extremely powerful times where any issues that have been hidden are brought into the light to be addressed. Specifically, solar eclipses create wonderful energetics to work with, bringing deeper issues into the light.

Enjoy the live radio show with Carol Ohmart Behan and myself guiding the Vernal Equinox ritual and seed-sowing on Voices of the Earth!

I offer you this ritual tool to help you celebrate the turn of the Wheel, and consecrate your greatness.

Items to have on hand:

Candle

Piece of paper (sunflower picture optional)

Pen or other colored writing instrument

Scissors

Sunflower seed or birdseed

Flower(s), eggs, other symbols of Spring

Journal

Take a few moments now to consider what parts of your life are out of balance.

Are you spending too much time and too much effort on one part of your life at the expense of other, equally or more important parts? 

Are you spending too much time on things and not on people? 

Do you use one set of behaviors instead of spreading your wings and finding better ways to cope? 

Are you ignoring parts of your life or parts of who you are that might bring balance and wholeness to your life?”

Set your Intentions for what you wish to manifest in this new cycle, this new beginning marked by the New Moon and say:

"Now I cast behind me the darkness of Winter and the past. I look only to that which lies ahead. This is the time for me to plant seeds in the physical, mental, as well as spiritual realms."

When you are ready, take your pen and write in the center of your sunflower paper one way you will rebalance your life. Write down one behavior or one aspect of your life you will change to bring your life back into balance.

Now take your sunflower paper and bend the petals up so that you form a bowl with your committed behavior change written inside. Say:

"As this tiny seed begins its life anew, so do I now begin to manifest my new desires for the coming year."

Place a sunflower seed into the bowl. Your commitment to rebalance your life is now nestled beneath seed, which is the icon of new life, of rebirth and of renewal. Say:

“With joy and trust, I place these requests in the hands of the Goddess and Her Lord.”

Bless your intentions: 

"These thought-seeds I do willingly place into the hands of the Lady and Her Lord, that these desires and dreams may manifest and become reality. By the free will of All, and with harm to none, as I will, so shall it be done."

Many thanks and More info:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKrLUKDn0DE

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/panmankey/2015/03/ostaraspring-equinox-ritual/

http://www.oakandmistletoe.com.au/useful-articles/spring-equinoxostaraeostre

http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/10-facts-solar-eclipse-march-2015.html

http://www.mysticmamma.com/total-solar-eclipse-new-moon-in-pisces-equinox-march-20th-2015/

http://goldenageofgaia.com/2015/03/18/dl-zeta-paradigm-shift-now-uranus-pluto-square-asks-us-to-evolve-on-our-feet/

S.O.S.!

"Save Our Souls!" went the old cry. S.O.S! Enough, already! Its' here somewhere. I know it is. So why cant I see it? Yes, its that time of year again when, especially for "northern New Englanders", we've had our fill of single digits, icy windshields, and shoveling. Truth is, the pretty white stuff is not so pretty anymore, having been doused with dirt, sand, and salt on our roadways. The roads themselves are narrower and have plenty of new potholes, and our driveways, well...just imagine 4-5 foot tunnel-like walls of white to greet you when you get home each night for, say, 90 nights!

I'm shouting "Signs Of Spring!" from here on out. Let's begin our watch of the natural world... 'cuz nature knows before we do! And its very darn cute, too.

It's melting!!

 Chickadees are busy on the sunflower seed feeder.

 I love that the Nuthatches hang upside down, daring to be different!

A pair of Tufted Titmice.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

An unexpected visitor...a porcupine leaving the yard after munching on some bird seed at the feeder! He/she was quite entertaining whilst having to lift each paw up high to walk through the four-plus feet of snow in the yard, hind end waddling and tail dragging. I guess porcupines aren't equipped with snowshoe feet.

Trumpeter Swans frolicking and honking in Oneida Lake!

Post your S.O.S. here. Give a shout out for Spring!