belief vs faith

Miriam-Webster defines these two, often interchanged, words in our common vocabulary. 

belief - [1] a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing; [2] something that is accepted, considered to be true, or held as an opinion; [3] conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon, especially when based on examination of evidence

faith - [1] loyalty or allegiance to duty or a person; fidelity to one's promises; [2] sincerity of intentions; complete trust; [3] believing with strong conviction

Belief is taught or acquired by external and outer experience. Faith is nurtured and grown within and internalized. 

all interconnected

“By attending the online Summit, you will be part of creating a powerful healing container to bring light to collective trauma for the collective consciousness  of humanity at this pivotal time on our planet.” ~ THOMAS HÜBL

Collective Trauma Summit 2021

A 10-Day Online Event with 45+ Experts to Explore How to Work With Individual, Ancestral, and Collective Trauma - SEPT 19 to 28, 2021.

Join over 100,000+ souls for an all NEW online event with expert presentations, talks, poetry readings, movement sessions, guided meditations, and panel discussions where we will delve into the theme of Collective Healing in Action.

Virgo new moon transformation

I love Virgo season - my only daughter and my college mentor are both born in the sign of Virgo. The Virgo archetype has the innate skills and ability needed to bring order to the chaos of creation. 

art by Lori Menna

Birthed from Leo (the constellation just before hers), she takes the desires of our hearts, our gifts, talents, and unique self-expressions, and transforms them with her practical magic into something that can grow and thrive in our earth-based reality. 

Awakening the Spirit Summit 2021

The Shift Network brings us Awakening With Spirit Summit on August 31 to September 2, 2021. 

The ideal balm for our current challenges - this transformational summit, offers valuable insights and transmissions from world-renowned luminaries, leaders, and up-and-coming changemakers on how they overcame obstacles on their spiritual journeys and discovered how to move through life with ease.

Each soul-healing session is just what we need - practices, tools, and advice to deepen and sustain our own spiritual awakening - to bring more love and light into our lives and the world.

It is their hope and intention that we learn from these trials, avoid more missteps, and discover how to live an enlightened life in complete harmony with spiritual truths.

Proof and inspiration that all things are possible when we wholeheartedly embrace the soul pleasures of a spiritual life. Join us!

dominant demons

Dominion embodies disastrous behavior

obscuring fundamental ecological truths

In the colonized mind, Indigenous people are savages

Savages are not people in the lands colonized

no people, no culture, no laws

nothing stands in the way

of taking and consuming

kaboom!

Colonial settler adamancy, like being racist

is structural and specifically targets

the erasure and elimination of the colonized

as people, as a living human, breathing and being

no people, no culture, no laws

nothing stands in the way

of need and greed

 

Civilized versus savage

the fundamental base for brainwash

the framework of every whitewash

of the colonial mindset

no people, no culture, no laws

nothing stands in the way

of wanted for hunted

 

three card draw

On August 8 the Leo sun and the bright star Sirius will create an annual cosmic alignment known as the lion’s gate portal. This spiritual vibe is being amplified even more intensely this year, thanks to the new moon in Leo that’s taking place on the same day. 

on Instagram

In times such as these, when we are forced toward the sharp edges of our reality…when the external world creates uncertainty and chaos, the soil of our personal growth comes to life.⁠ A moment of choice is presented. ⁠What are you choosing at this Leo New Moon?⁠

The portal is open from July 26 to August 12. May this auspicious 8.8 take us to infinity and beyond! Here is my three card draw from a fave tarot deck - the Aquarian Tarot deck, illustrated by David Palladini.

Lammas & 8.8 Reading

The Ace of Cups reversed warns of a loss of self-esteem, optimism and faith in the abundance that the universe has to offer. Stop to examine what it is that bums you out or deflates you. Watch the mental food you are feeding on and witness it effects on you. Retreat within and restore inner harmony and balance to retrieve self love and trust - and return revived and fortified.

The Death card is not about the literal death of any person but represents the death of something else - like a project, plan, or relationship. This card also points to a time of harvest, symbolized in classical decks by the hooded skeleton with its skythe. What cuts the cords that bind us to the past, liberates us to go forward free fear with nothing to lose. Pruned away and recycled for the fertility of the future - nothing is really ever lost, despite seasonal cycles of gain and loss.

The Hierophant card refers to a master and the learning of practical lessons from the study of natural law. This energy points to some agent or resource that can reveal the secrets of life, the cycles of the Moon and tides, the links between human beings and the heavens. A Hierophant was one to whom a student would petition for entry - the one to set the curriculum for the newbie's course of study.

Often pictured with the right hand raised in blessing, the Hierophant is linked with the ancient lineage of Melchezidek, initiator of the Hebrew priestly tradition, the one who passes on the teachings. All shamans of any tradition draw upon this archetype.

This New Moon in Leo will open our heart space and awaken our desire to share our unique self expression with the world. It is the ultimate time to plant seeds of intentions, align with our purpose and step into our lioness power and authority with the sweet support of sisterhood. 

The mystery of the origin and the esoteric symbols in tarot have intrigued humans through the centuries. Today we can find new meaning in the old symbols and apply them to our lives.

The mystery of the origin and the esoteric symbols in tarot have intrigued man through the centuries. Today we can find new meaning in the old symbols and apply them to our lives.

all our relations

We are seeing so many changes on the planet and in the collective consciousness. My jaded and cynical self puffs and pants in disillusionment and frustration over the slow pace and inferior quality of most change. Yet my optimistic and hopeful self cheers and is uplifted that there are bright pockets of progress available to sustain and support us. 

all for one & one for all

At moments when I find myself distraught or defeated, I reflect on my long and winding path to self acknowledgement and personal healing. Some of the trauma I hold in my cells and DNA are deep and ancient inheritance from ancestors of old. 

I remind myself to take my cue from nature - listing all the healing a year of human retreat from its onslaught has provided us. How quickly a natural balance comes into play, as long as we step aside and allow it to happen without impeding its process. 

I am grateful for the support and commitment I can so easily access in the generous communities that surround me. This makes me doubly appreciative as I feel the dangerous pull of the collective energies of division and fear that prevail in our world. 

Trusting and surrendered that as change in nature happens in its own perfect timing and I too am a part of it all. Blessed be. 

LEO | mysterious & empowered feminine

The Sun has just moved into Leo and the full moon in the sign of Aquarius. This full moon carries healing energy thanks to the presence of the asteroid Chariklo.

This healing energy is spiritual in nature, guiding us to reconnect with the love that is our soul and the wholeness that is our spirit. Work with this beautiful healing energy through some chakra clearing for the Aquarius Full Moon. 

Leo has a reputation for being self-focused, but this year you will feel as if the self you've so carefully constructed is being unraveled. The people you feel closest to will offer you reflections about who you are, and the truth may bring about a shift of radical proportions.

sun in Leo & full moon in Aquarius

New people will come into your life to assist you in uncovering more of your uniqueness and even eccentricities. Allow yourself to become a wilder, stranger version of yourself.

Cancer | the divine feminine

In Greek mythology, when Hercules battled the Hydra, Hera sent Cancer the Crab to distract and delay him. During the fight the crab bit Hercules' foot and in his rage he killed it. Hera rewarded Cancer the Crab with a place of honor among the stars and cursed Hercules as her eternal enemy. 

Cancer the Crab - 14th c. Arabic manuscript, Book of Wonders

Cancer is a cardinal water sign. Represented by the crab, this oceanic crustacean seamlessly weaves between the sea and shore, representing Cancer’s ability to exist in both emotional and material realms. Ruled by the moon, the celestial body that represents comfort, self-care, and maternal energies.

In Hindu astrology the sign of Cancer is named Karka and its Lord is Moon. Divine associations with Cancer in Renaissance astrology are Luna and Diana, both goddesses that represent the Moon, Cancer's ruling planet.

These few years of necessary chaos and change are best met and embraced if we want a future transformed - where we can all thrive.

It is the divine Feminine that grounds this work, as she appears to us now - Lady Wisdom, Sophia, Mary of Magdala. Wisdom in its feminine aspect of caretaker and nurturer.

Wisdom is a gift our world has suffered without for too long. It needs to return to our collective consciousness for our survival as a species on this planet.

Women are the bearers of Wisdom. Hopefully men will work with Wisdom and share in the labor of birthing a new world order. One that isn't organized and run by corporations or driven by the need to consume.

One created by, for and of the people.

great sky river

Throughout the ages, the Milky Way has hung above humanity in the sky, a beautiful marvel shining steadily each night.

Nowadays, most city-bound folks rarely see the full splendor of our home galaxy stretching across the heavens.

Pablo Ruiz - Riaño, Spain

The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.