Category: Notes From The Trail

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Winter Woman

Night Woman / Crone Tree by Carolyn Hillyer

“When winter comes to a woman’s soul, she withdraws into her inner self, her deepest spaces. She refuses all connection, refutes all arguments that she should engage in the world. She may say she is resting, but she is more than resting: She is creating a new universe within herself, examining and breaking old patterns, destroying what should not be revived, feeding in secret what needs to thrive.

Winter women are those who bring into the next cycle what should be saved. They are the deep conservators of knowledge and power. Not for nothing did ancient peoples honour the grandmother. In her calm deliberateness, she winters over our truth, she freezes out false-heartedness.

Look into her eyes, this winter woman. In their gray spaciousness you can see the future. Look out of your own winter eyes. You too can see the future.”

~Patricia Monaghan

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Eclipse Power

“The magic of eclipse season is here: have you heard the call to adventure? New moons are already powerful starting points, but when they are eclipses, their effect is magnified. What transpires can feel destined. It’s like stepping into a fast moving stream and letting yourself be carried.

It can feel daunting: sink or swim. It can also feel like pressure: if I don’t jump in, will I miss my opportunity?

There are two very different energies at play in the current chart: one is fast and swift (fire signs) and the other far more considerate and considered (four planets in the sign of Capricorn).

The Capricorn new moon eclipse may have seeded some ideas for you and you may be feeling the urgency of the call to step up, ready or not. What do I want/need to see manifested in the world? How can I be a reliable and dependable leader for others? What are the answers or solutions that I can provide?

On the other hand, today Venus moves into the fire archetype of Sagittarius, the symbol of which is an arrow. Need I say more? Fire signs don’t wait around: they move. Nor do they pussy-foot around: they get to the point…”

~Astrologer Kate Rusko

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A Blessing for the New Year

Let us bless the imagination of the Earth.

That knew early the patience to harness the mind of time,

Waited for the seas to warm, ready to welcome the emergence

Of things dreaming of voyaging among the stillness of land…

Let us thank the Earth that offers ground for home

And holds our feet firm to walk in space open to infinite galaxies.

Let us salute the silence and certainty of mountains:

Their sublime stillness, their dream-filled hearts.

The wonder of a garden trusting the first warmth of spring…

The humility of the Earth that transfigures all that has fallen of outlived growth.

The kindness of the Earth, opening to receive

our worn forms into the final stillness.

Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth

For all our sins against her:

for our violence and poisonings of her beauty.

Let us remember within us the ancient clay, holding the memory of seasons,

The passion of the wind, the fluency of water, the warmth of fire,

The quiver-touch of the sun and shadowed sureness of the moon.

That we may awaken to live to the full the dream of the Earth

Who chose us to emerge and incarnate its hidden night in mind, spirit and light.

~John O’Donohue

♡

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Be That One

One tree can start a forest,

One bird can herald spring,

One smile can begin a friendship,

One hand can lift a soul,

One star can guide a ship at sea,

One word can frame the goal,

One sunbeam can light a room,

One candle can wipe out darkness,

One laugh can conquer gloom,

One hope can raise our spirits,

One touch can show you care,

One voice can wake up everybody,

One life can make the difference.

Be that one.

-Author Unknown

Image: Old Ponderosa by Nancy L

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Birthing True Self

If you want to give birth to your true self, you are going to have to dig deep down into that body of yours and let your soul howl. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and trust that if you turn off your head, your feet will take you where you need to go.

~Gabrielle Roth, Wild Woman 
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Thank the Air

‘When your world moves too fast

and you lose yourself in the chaos, introduce yourself

to each color of the sunset.

Reacquaint yourself with the earth beneath your feet.

Thank the air that surrounds you

with every breath you take.

Find yourself in the appreciation of life.’

~ Christy Ann Martine

Image by Nancy L