
Her Story Matters

Nancy Lankston
When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.
When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.
When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.
Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance,
fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of dark, cold
caves.
And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.
~Maya Angelou
Safe travels, Ruth.
Your brilliance will continue to guide us as we fight to make equality and justice for all a reality. 💗
Dark moon time in Virgo, keeper of Earth’s cycles and rhythms. Mama Earth turns towards autumn in this seasonal time of letting go. Honor the shift with an Earth prayer or offering of gratitude.
Fiery change is all around us. Tend gently to your heart. Call on your spiritual support to help hold a vision of the future you desire. Remember that when chaos reigns, anything is possible.
Open your heart again and again. Help others when you’re able. And when you don’t feel able, ask for help. Now is the time to begin loving our world whole.
🌙
#DreamANewEarth
“The woman who takes the time to grow herself in darkness becomes familiar — perhaps for the first time — with the real source and containment of her psychic strength. No longer is her strength dissipated in obeying an idealized father figure, in pleasing a lover, in trying to satisfy a perpetually unsatisfied mother figure, in accommodating to a patriarchal organization or culture, in appeasing the inner witch who tells her she is worthless. No longer is her strength lost to obeying compulsions, drives, and obsessions that can slip in during the dark night of the soul and substitute for the real thing.
“And what is the real thing, the thing for which she longs? The love affair with her own spirit, the inner marriage that commits her to her destiny, the rituals of soul that feed her deepest hunger, and the sense of being pregnant with her Self, her creative essence.”
~Jill Mellick
“We must remember that the feminine works in a non-linear fashion, so while many are impatiently looking to new-age checklists and dream dictionaries for a bottom-line, the final answer, they rarely find anything enduring. This is because there is a greater genius at work which we could never integrate all at once. Instead we must follow a mysterious and melodic trail, which lures us deeper into the unknown, fortifying our trust in that which is parenting us. One day, sometimes years down the line, we finally understand how the symphony resolves itself.”
~Toko-pa Turner (toko-pa.com)
〰️〰️〰️
#NavigatingByMoonlight
Expansive full moon in airy Aquarius. We are in the midst of global change and chaos. Expect the unexpected.
Many people are feeling overwhelmed, tense, contracted and exhausted right now. Shallow, rapid breathing fans the flames of your inner chaos. Take deep, long breaths instead. Make your exhale longer than your inhale. If you are a student of yoga or pranayama, use Ujjayi breathing. Slow down, unwind and expand your energy with yin yoga.
Aquarian consciousness encourages us to expand our perspective. Change is always messy and chaotic. It is impossible to control, so stop trying. This is what is happening right now. Surrender to it.
Take a break from the news. Seek out the beauty and magic of life instead; the colors of sunrise, clouds dancing on the wind, cicadas buzzing in the trees, flowers quietly blooming, the feel of soft pet fur on your fingertips, the sound of a child’s laughter, an ice cold drink on a hot afternoon, the smell of dinner cooking, the full moon lighting up a dark sky tonight…
Life is still full of magic. Look for it.
And remember that you can be part of the healing medicine we all need right now by simply speaking and acting with kindness.
☾☽
Image: Big Sky and Prairie
by Nancy Lankston
New Moon in watery, emotional Cancer for the second time this season. Two new moons in the same sign is rare. In addition, Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter all sit in opposition in the sign of Capricorn, the shaper. The dismantling of the status quo is speeding up and intensifying. Old structures and mores are crumbling.
No, things won’t go back to normal any time soon. What we call “normal” is in the midst of being blown up and recreated piece by piece. Our old life — the one that seemed so rock solid — is now splitting and shifting beneath our feet.
If you had your ideal life, what would a normal week look like, feel like, taste like to you? Ruminate on what is most important to you in life and love. Consider all the ways you might fit those priorities into your new normal.
A better way is possible.
🌙