Imbolc & Land Clearing

Over the last year, I've spent more time on my Artsy Blog than I have here; as I was enrolled in a Quest to become a teacher & coach in the Color of Woman movement! I finished my coursework on schedule with many of my class in December (woo hoo!!), & am working on building my classes & offerings. I have a couple of pieces in a show at a local Artist Co-op Gallery, & will teach my first class in their 'Backdoor Studio' this month.

Color of Woman Graduation altar

This week I've been working on my website, making some artsy business cards (I need to order some with my art on them!), and am preparing to take some of my 'ladies' and paper project over to a friend's Yoga Studio for the First Friday Art & Wine walk. 

We are at the cross-quarter between Winter Solstice & Spring Equinox, Imbolc, the time of the goddess washing her face, and preparing for the new. This is a great time for the Land Clearing process I've shared here before. 

My flower Essence friend Molly Sheehan of Green Hope Farm Essences shared this process several years ago, & I share it with her permission. She feels the more people who do this in harmony with their bit of land, the better! She has had several experiences where bad weather was avoided or diverted, after being nudged by the angels to do this clearing every day. 

Molly comments that the guides & devas delight in being asked to help us. She & others who are sensitive to land energies feel that nature holds & stores energy that has been released when there are intense emotions, battles, etc. And when we ask, "A group of spiritual entities connected with Nature do the actual energy cleansing but this group cannot do this work unless a human asks them to do it. It is one of our vital roles in the co-creation & maintenance of earth. If a human doesn't ask for energy cleansing for a piece of land & this land is holding a lot of negativity, spirit's only options for removing this negativity are extreme weather."

Here's the Process Molly & I use:
** Imagine the boundaries of the land you wish to clear (you may want to have a map of your property, if it's larger, & may be guided to clear it in sections. If you're in an apt., clear your own space, imagining the grounding cord of the apt going into the earth below you, & clear the land surrounding the apt. Invite guidance for what best suites your circumstances!

Energy Cleansing Process
Find a quiet & comfortable place to center yourself. In the beginning, you'll want to be in the garden/ on the land you're clearing.
"Ask for assistance from:
The Overlighting Deva of the piece of land you want to clean. This being from the Angelic realm holds the divine plan for this piece of land. (Deva is a Sanskrit word meaning 'being of Light')
Angels Overlighting the land. They work with the Deva
The Elementals of the land. These are the beings who bring land into form & then hold it there so we can live in a physical world. Gnomes for the Earth element, Undine with water, Sylphs work with air, & Salamanders with fire.
Pan, Head Elemental of Earth (Machaelle Wright calls Pan the CEO of Nature)
Any Ascended Master of God realized being who is connected with this piece of land. There may or may not be any connected, depending on the piece of land. (You can always invite the presence of the Ascended Master Jesus Christ, Mother Mary, Quan Yin, St Germain, & other Masters with whom you you feel connected.)
Deva of the Earth's atmosphere, Lunaria
Deva of the Earth's surface, Sapphalo
Deva of the sun in the center of the Earth, Darndella
Our Sun, Helios & Vesta.
"After you call in this group, ask them to CLEANSE, CLEAR, RE-BALANCE & ILLUMINATE the land you are clearing.
"You can visualize all the negativity being removed from the land both below & above the ground. You can visualize yourself or an angel holding a sword (Michael/Michaella) cutting all the negativity free, perhaps spinning in a circle holding the sword out; or you can imagine a big gyroscope whirling & cleansing. The image only needs to work for you. If visualization isn't possible, it's OK. The land will still be cleansed because you have asked to have it done. Close the session with a thanks to everyone involved.
"This is the bare bones of a process. Over time you will probably develop your own individual approach. For example, you may get to know the names of the Deva & Angels of the land. You may get shown a process that will improve on this one. You may get asked to do several pieces of land. Thank you for doing this service."

Violet Flame

** I also like to imagine a hedge of roses (think Brier Rose) with portals of violet flame at the entrances, clearing folks' energy as they enter or leave. At times I erect a golden pyramid above my property (rectangular here :) or a violet bubble - check in & see if any images come!
Any time you feel vulnerable, are concerned about weather or safety, take a few moments to do this process. It helps to have quick name for the process - you may simply invite 'Devas, Angels & guides of land clearing, please CLEANSE, CLEAR, RE-BALANCE & ILLUMINATE this land!'

* Besides clearing my own land, I often invite the Devas/guides of the city where I live (or someplace I'm visiting) to CLEANSE, CLEAR, RE-BALANCE & ILLUMINATE that place, as appropriate. I figure any place humans can toss litter, I can invite the guides to help clear! I especially see the 'green areas' being cleared, parks, the planting strips & flower pots in the downtown, etc. Molly invites us to listen to our guidance, & network with the devas, guides & elementals on this!

* When you're gardening, do a clearing first, & imagine that you're infusing light into the soil as you play in it. Bless the water you offer your garden, & the plants as you place & nurture them. Our weekly Farmers Market is held at the Grange Hall on the edge of town which sits on a lovely piece of land with tall trees. This is one of the places I clear when I think to.
At Findhorn Garden in Scotland, the original gardeners worked in close harmony with nature, & were enjoined to bring light into the soil as they worked with it, to eat from the garden, & to drink lots of water. This is good to remember, in our busy & often far-from-nature world!

Creating Space

A local artist creates these lovely signs, painted on old boards, & this one hangs on the wall by my bed, & I breath in its message before getting up!

Taking Sacred Susie's lead, I cleaned the refridgerator doors yesterday! & swept the floor - I've ordered the new BROOM, & will post a photo when it arrives! Exciting. I bid on a georgeous art neveau dust pan on e-bay - but it found a different home, sigh.

Returning Library books yesterday, I found a gem of a book - 'Where Women Create' (jo packman - checkling on-line, there's also a magazine & on-line newsletter!)

What a delicious book to accompany 12 Secrets!! Filled with glimpses of working artists' workspaces & organization (or lack thereof!), it's quite inspiring & full of fun ideas. Like many of you (NOT ME :), some artists need a clean room & neat worksurfaces; others thrive on more chaotic surroundings. Some choose pale paint for their walls, & furniture, others love rich, warm colours.
There are many creative ideas for storage, glass bottles (sometimes covered in collage) open shelves, beautiful curley maple cupboards, art on the walls, floor & furniture; a favorite - Sandra Evertson stores art supplies in the dishwasher in her small, 2 person apt!!

Rather than taking those glass jars to recycling, I'm going to play with storage
& & & . . . .

I like colour!
Here are some other glimpses of my space - a stack of baskets & boxes in another corner of the bedroom, which is painted a nice, warm mauve (various shades, lighter on some walls. While I've made pine needle baskets, I found this little 'bell' shaped one years ago at a garage sale, complete with the artist's tag on the bottom! A friend did the collage - snips of paper & photography 'air' across felt pens to give an air-brushed effect.

My kitchen is 'grandmothers' apron' pink, the gold I found at our Habitat 're' store, & added some metalic 'sparkles' to it. the small circle above the 'laundry room' bi-fold doors is Raku lid- a Good Will find! I'd left the lower wall white for quite awhile before finding the burnt gold.


Off to work . . . & perhaps the Re-Store later??
Oh - & bummer - found out that the local Democratic Party had our own inaugral ball at my favorite ballroom - & I didn't know till this morning. Boo hoo!!

12 Secrets - week 1

Chocolate - that's what I need to begin, right?? Isn't Chocolate a KEY ingredient for creativity? Ahhh :)

OK, here we go, exploring our sense of our own Creativity, for the 12 Secrets book group!
I was lucky to be the only child of older parents, my dad creative in music, my mom with colour, home making, cooking, story telling, praise.
A fav. author, Kim Stafford, son of Oregon's Poet Laureate William Stafford, talks about sitting around the dinner table, sharing ideas, & his dad reframing (after praising the idea) 'Abe Lincon said it this way: . . . Walt Whitman expressed that idea thusly: . . . ' always affirming the idea had merit, then restating it with elegance.

I grew up playing piano & singing with my dad, crafting with my mom. She crocheted & knit, an aunt commented that with her colour sense, she could have done very nice graphic art, if she'd been so inclined. This was in the 50s & 60s, when moms stayed home; but my mom was from pioneer stock, & KNEW strong women! She'd gone to secretarial school in the 30s, on disability money (polio at 9) & saved the family farm. Her grandma birthed babies, her mama grew herbs. She reminded me that at Grange (a fraternal farm Organization) women could hold any office but one, which was 3 more than men could hold! - the 3 graces had to be women!)

I recall dying rice & making mosaics, carving lino blocks, cutting out paper dolls & snowflakes, making candles, learning to crochet & knit; & learning to knit again, & again!! Hearing stories, both from books & from my mom's childhood. 4-H sewing, choosing pretty fabric, & eventually making my own patterns. Paint by number sets, & then using the left over paint for my own pictures. Taking art in HS, with a gal teacher, who enjoyed art & enjoyed encouraging her students! I learned to do watercolour & enjoy washes, rather than just painting with them like the oils.

Playing, drawing, reading, taking piano lessons (from the best local teacher, a woman who'd gone to NY to study voice, Marion Coe); going to community concerts, going to musicals, being in musicals in High School, having a crush on an older boy, so joining the Church Choir (after an obligatory year in Jr Hi choir), & then on my HS choir teacher, so working HARD to learn to accompany our 'Girls Choir.'
& writing - I loved horse stories (lived across from a dairy that also had ponies, & learned to ride from my neighbor, who'd been a jockey (the woman! Another strong female role model :) So I wrote horse stories. & copied poems, had a black book of poetry, written by hand. & jourals - I've journaled since I was about 12, have loads of journals. Usually just words, with an occasional drawing - am working at creating an ART JOURNAL!

I took Creative Writing in HS, & again in college. After leaving my marriage, dated a HS teacher for awhile, & he taught 'imaginative writing,' which I asked if I could sign up for! He, my HS room mate, one teen & I were easily the best writers in the class! Last year at my 40th HS reunion, we toured the old HS, & while I could remember teachers & classes, I looked at the rooms, wondering how the other students could recall which was which!

By my Sr. year, I accompanied friends at 'solo ensemble' (voice & violin), was one of two classroom accompaniests & played for one song in a choir concert. I did better at my piano recital than ever, & was 'musician' for Grange, as well as Pomona, one of the 'graces.' My & I did duets in church & Grange at least seasonally, & I was in Church choirs for a few more years.
My mom's family often 'read' plays, & she was in a few (usually the 'old grandma' so she wouldn't have to move much with the crutches), so when I was in plays, she'd help me rehearse.

One grade school teacher made an unkind comment about my singing (which used to sting, now I can hardly recall the remark!); I was disappointed when my dad & I weren't invited to be part of the 'dad & daughter' performance when I was in HS choir, . . . but I sang with him at Church & Grange, & adapted his 'I can' attitude. & I was very sad I didn't get to dance in the May Day celebration in 5th grade - I got sick.

Movement came harder - with my mom on crutches, I hiked with my dad, & we camped under the stars (& sang - I loved it when he sang us to sleep!) & did day hikes. But I hate, hate, hated PE!! I was abysmal at 'ball sports' with the jockish women & mean men PE teachers. & I almost drown river swimming with a gal friend; tho my mom had taught my cousins to swim at the pond at the family farm! So no swimming, & grace?? & did I mention my rotten posture?!

In College I took one gymnastic class, & enjoyed that (was fairly good, too :) & volleyball, oh, & archery! I thought I'd enjoy archery more than I did, lol. I was a Music Minor, with a great background in Theory (thanks to Mrs Coe!), tho didn't really enjoy getting up for an 8 AM class 4 days a week! I tried for swimming, but got sick partway through the term, so didn't learn yet again! (I'd failed beginning swimming a couple of times before the near drowning - how does a child FAIL beginning swimming??)

I took Life Drawing, & was in the first 'Fine Arts' class - brainstorm of an artist I've recently re-met - graphic art, music & drama! We drove to Ashland (5 hours) to see a few plays, & got to play with abstract art (early 70s) I'm one of those kids who didn't stop drawing at 12 - just kept on, & felt good about my skills with that.

When my kids were little, I kept up with crafts & drawing, often having a sketch pad along when we went to coffee or Kinko's with friends. I made dolls, I journaled, sewed clothes, made ornaments. My mother-in law is a Renaissance woman, & also crafty. We learned to spin, we knit things (I'd finally learned how!) we embroidered, crocheted, drew, did watercolours. She is a Biologist, & loved pastels - has some very realistic paintings she's done over the years.
My biologist former hubby & I went 'bog-stomping' with our entomologist friends, looking for small iridescent beetles that live in the moss just under the surface; 'stomp' on the moss, & they float to the top. I took along the watercolours & some paper, & painted the scenery as we drove, painted the hills around the bog.

My grandma Mary made rose beads (mom's mom) & in HS I found an article on that craft in one of my girl's magazines. My first attempt looked like raisins!! The author hadn't mentioned grinding the paste! So I experimented with the recipe, & finally made smooth beads! Later, in an herb class, the instructor suggested keeping culinary herbs relatively whole, & grinding them before use (larger quantity) in a coffee mill. Aha!! I tried that with 'crispy dry' rose petals, & viola! Lovely rose petal 'powder' to reconstitute for a lovely, smooth bead!
She also made 'switches' of women's hair, & my mom taught me how to do that, & we made a few. My hair & my mom's from her teen years were the same colour ! I gardened & kept a garden journal (that had drawings! & garden designs)

30 years ago, my niece was in The Nutcracker, & we were invited 'up' (~ 30 miles from where we lived) to watch her. I was enchanted! All those ballerina paper dolls, & 'Francis,' my tall ballerina doll - I'd always wanted to take ballet, but our small central Oregon town didn't boast a dance studio. & our Grange didn't hold Square Dances, so I'd only danced around the living room with my dad to Lawrence Welch!
I tagged along when my sis-in law went to her adult ballet class a week later, & the teacher 'talked me into' taking class, too; even though I wasn't dressed for it! (probably in jeans :)

I love love loved ballet!! & it was an hour's drive. I surprised myself, as I thought of myself as 'hating exercise' (I really hated "PE"!!) I tried taking ballet back 'home,' a much larger town, but no 'World Class teacher!' (Lynn studied Russian ballet with Branaslava Najinska, Nijinsky's sister; & taught Peggy Flemming some of the grace when her own daughter was figure skating in Ca) . . . .
So I began commuting for ballet classes, & we eventually moved here. It took me several years to really feel confident & competent, but I loved ballet, & my posture improved as I took class. My hubby, son & daughter all began taking class, too, tho my son didn't stick with it long, the rest of us danced off & on for years. At 33, I went 'on pointe,' didn't do a lot of that! - but COULD! :) & after moving to Breitenbush, I came down for a 3 week summer workshop with the head teacher from the Bolshoi ballet! 2 classes a day with him, & a class or two with Lynn - by the end of that time I was IN SHAPE!
I'd begun taking Tai Chi after ~ 5 years of ballet, & so taught that in the community. & have studied Qigong & a Cherokee movement form as well.

My daughter was a dance minor in the same college my aunt, great aunt & I had attended, in a great dance program. She took modern, jazz, belly dance as well as ballet, & I've branched out as well.
Last night, she went to ballet with her 8 yr old dau (who was just in her first Nutcracker - Lynn's 25 yr old daughter Emma has taken over teaching) while I went to Ecstatic dance with the almost 4 year old!

So I've always thought of myself as musical & 'artsy craftsy,' with dance & the harp later additions. I've been lucky to feel creative all my life, though I have expressed it in different ways, & to have my creativity enhance my health & vice versa. Reading some of the others stories, I feel truly blessed!