She is walking out of the fires...Mishele's Swan Story

She is walking out of the fires. Her staff which connects her to the land below her and the skies above, reminds her of her Medicine. She wears a conch shell to remind her she is Woman. She carries her basket to collect medicine wherever she goes. She is Medicine Woman. She looks out at the world through the quartz crystal heart she swallowed... Seeing all with Love and Clarity. She holds the ancient sacred herb Desert Sage in her belly, connecting her to All that Was, All that Is and All that Will Be. She is taking Me out of hiding my Medicine. She is whispering into my heart, singing to my feet, calling my memories to awaken. Giving me strength to remember She is I and I am She. We walk into the world sharing our Medicine again. We walk into the world sharing our Medicine again. Dear Julia, After spending the weekend with you and all the sisters in the circle, I feel I Am AWAKE! How can one merely say Thank You for the gift you have given! For the Swan Blessing, the unbinding of Vows that have held me back in this life, introducing me to the Daughters Of The Well. The words Thank You cannot display the deep gratitude I feel, for Teaching me the Medicine of making my own Medicine Doll. For holding the space with so much Love, Compassion, Joy, Wisdom, and your Beautiful Voice to guide us to where we needed to go. For gathering together a circle of Medicine Women, making connections, sharing stories, releasing past life pain, and bringing us back to the present with our Medicine that we may have been hiding due to ancient fears. Julia, my way to honour You and all that you have awakened in me, is to Walk, Dance, Love, Forgive, Laugh, Be the Medicine Woman I Am and Walk that path in Truth and Beauty, sharing with All, as you have shared with All 

What an amazing weekend I had! On the misty Mt Tambourine a circle of women gathered together, and under the gentle Guidance of Julia from Sacred Familiar we journeyed deep into ourselves and our past. Through her Swan Blessings, we released and healed Vows and Bindings we made in a past life, that was stopping us from our full potential in this life. We released our Grandmothers, Mothers, Daughters. We reunited with each other again. We shared our stories in the safe circle that Julia created in a magic place called Grail Haven, sharing in the Blessed Water from the sacred well. I encourage you to look into Grail Haven, it truly is a healing experience. Julia taught us the lost art of making Spirit/Medicine Dolls! Wow!! Having already been gifted one, I knew the power of their medicine, and to make my own was and is a life changing experience! I have learnt so much of myself during this process, and will continue to do so with all the others I will create! Yes! I am addicted! I met Such beautiful women, making connections that are ancient and now present ♥ We drummed and sang (thank you Vicki for teaching us the songs, I sang all the way home on the train) We had fun at the markets, meeting the friendly locals and spreading joy with our open hearts and Dolly's (who came with us sharing their magic to the young and the old, men and women) So many magical experiences, I think I could write a whole book about this one weekend ;-) Oh and I was taken back to when I was a child born from a Gypsy mother and towns man father. I ended up living on my own, in the forest, rejected for who I was, yet still consulted by the villagers for medicine and healing (in secret of course) I bring back with me my essence of the Wild Gypsy Woman, this time, I walk proudly into the world, with my Medicine, I will speak the truth and beauty to all ~ For All ♥ Thank You so much dear Julia and to all the women in the circle Bless You ♥

Mishele, Femmina Unbound on Mt Tamborine, 2013

The Tarot Weavers - Seer's Return

The Seer by Tammy Mae Moon

This weekend will hold a Swan Blessing circle for the return of the Art of Seership and unbinding of beliefs and vows blocking access to Oracular Divination. In my family, the ability to See is strong but has not always been believed to be a gift. My intention in holding this circle is that we come to know the natural beauty and wisdom of our spirit when it acts as Oracle. As Oracle we will journey back into the past to clear any obstructing beliefs or fears before opening ourselves to create a Medicine Weaver Tarot reading as a way to quest towards our medicine. We will learn ways to release the past and receive assistance in holding and sharing our own unique ancestral wisdom. We will read both for ourselves and for each other. 

This circle is open to all sisters. You do not need to have any experience of the Tarot, we will be journeying and reading purely from our intuition and open heart.

Please let me know if you wish to join us, you will need to bring your own Tarot deck of choice. 

The two decks I will be sharing are The Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert and 

The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans

Femmina Unbound - Return of the Medicine WOmen travels to QLD

 

Spiral of Women's Medicine in the Magdalene Laundry

At the centre - sculptures by Lucy Pierce Photos by Kylie 'Ma Bower'

On sunday, the first day of Spring I sat in a medicine circle with sisters from all over Australia who had been called to come and assist the spirits of the women and children of the Magdalene Laundries at Abbotsford Convent here in Melbourne. It was a day I will never forget, a day when we saw right in front of our eyes, the power and healing magic of Women's Medicine.

I believe this is the new way for the Medicine Women. This new medicine way is not concerned with complicated ritual, hierarchy and authority outside of our spirit. Instead, we simply asked for permission. Permission from the Aboriginal ancestors of the land, permission from the Magdalenes themselves and permission from the Grandmothers who we were there to assist the young girls and children home. The new medicine way is actually the ancient medicine way of lovingly bringing intention, focus and simple action to what is in need of love and change. These simple and small drops of love from each of the medicine women given without ego flowed into the large blessing bowl that our gathering created. And this blessing bowl, created by the flesh of our own bodies as we sat in circle became filled with water, a pool of love stronger than any memory of history or binding beliefs.  

There were so many radiant moments on this day but I will never forget the gift of song from all my sisters and the songs that were channeled and gifted especially for this day by Lisa Mitchell and Kaggi Valentine. Lisa opened the circle with her song 'Thank You for Being Here' and I felt it created an opening of all of our hearts - a reminder that we are all innocent and tender at the heart. Kaggi brought the fire into our opened hearts as we stepped into the cold cement building of the actual Magdalene Laundry. And in this space of such previous pain, imprisonment and enforced silence a spontaneous chant began to burst forward leading to drumming and dancing, loud singing. We danced our own freedom dance for the Magdalenes, we sang for the silenced ones, we brought our fire to light that dark place. Here Kaggi began her chant received for the Magdalenes from the ancient women who came from a time way before the distorted beliefs and restrictions that bind the Sacred Feminine in our world now.

Ancient shadows of women spiraling

through the coils of time,

we are part of those women spiraling...

with the song of the land,

and the dance of the moon inside.

Chant received and sung by Kaggi Valentine 

Singing this chant, we proceeded to move down through the convent grounds, we drummed and singing out loud to honour the memory of the Magdelenes publicly to let them know that they did not belong in the shadow and to sing for them in the open sunshine. This beautiful line of singing medicine women snaked through the gardens and the weekend visitors to move through the trees and down to the Yarra River. At this ancient water source, we began our final work of the day - calling from the convent buildings and surroundings any spirits who had stayed too long, who were afraid, who had been forgotten. We called them down to the River, down to the Water, to be embraced by the Grandmothers and guided Home. 

My deepest thanks and gratitude to all of the women who joined us both in body and spirit at this collective healing. What did we do? We did our best. My heart is full to see your radiant return Wise Medicine WOmen.

For all of our sisters living in Queensland I will be opening a new Femmina Unbound dreaming circle for the return of the Medicine WOmen beside the sacred springs of Grail Haven on Mt Tamborine on Saturday 12th October.

Femmina Unbound - Return of the Medicine Women on Mt Tamborine QLD

Lisa Mitchell gifting her song

 

'Going Home' by sculptor, Pauline Clayton outside the convent gates "A tribute to the young women and children/ who have made epic journeys/ to return to home and country."

Swan Blessing - Releasing the Vow of the Outcast

Sylvia Ji - Shapeshifters

On this Full Blue Moon morning I share again with you Kristan's Swan Blessing Story of the Outcast. In her past life, Kristan belonged to a tribe that could not accept the powerful medicine that she carried. In her tribe this medicine was seen as taboo for woman to hold. She was asked to obey or to leave. She chose to say NO to the tribe so that she could say YES to her spirit.

Many of us have experienced similar stories in past lives and in our present lives. We have felt that to truly be ourselves, we must journey alone. Or we have put up with behaviour that hurts us just to stay a part of the tribe whether that tribe is family, society, peers. In this time of the rise of the Divine Feminine we are being called out of the shadows to embrace all of our natural gifts and to release the fear of being rejected and cast out by those who do not understand or accept us. Saying NO when it is right for us is a practice of honouring ourselves. When we release the belief that there was ever anything 'wrong' with us we remember that we are all creatures of the earth - as individual as every animal and plant and an integral part in the wheel of life.

Looking into the waters of the crystal ball of consciousness, I stared and I waited and I imagined I would not see anything. And I saw nothing for what felt like such a long, long time, I was beginning to feel I would not see, that my mind was too strong to allow my soul to show me what I needed and wanted to see

I stayed with prayer, asking and pleading at one moment to see, please let me see  . . .  and then the mists began to clear and I could see a clearing in the mountains, green pine all around, the smell of freshness and soil, and a teepee 

And horses, many horses And then I saw HER, myself in another time By the teepee, the wild life of the mountains surrounding HER  Ah, she was alone, living an isolated life, no tribe, a sadness surrounded herI could also sense an understanding, acceptance of her situation as the best possible outcome for her at that time and place We saw each other, she smiledI could see her deer skin clothing, her turquoise choker with red beads HER long, long braids of dark black hair I could feel HER and I felt a relief that we had met, that the veils had parted and that we could meet I began to track why she was alone in the woods, her only communication with the forest life; the birds, woodland creatures, trees, the natural world who heard her and loved her 

A new vision appeared
I found myself within a tribe of teepees A fire A Father, a Chief at the door of his teepeeAnd a Mother and more children (my siblings) sitting at the door of her teepee I stood by my Father, the Chief as he asked me again if I would do what was expected of me
and again, the 12 year old HER (me) said NO
I would NOT 

I was banished from my tribe 

For being who I was For speaking who I was For saying NO to what was not true for me I caught the eye of my mother and she caught mine sadness but understanding i saw there
and in my father too, not as cheif, but as my father a sadness and again an understanding
And away SHE went, alone, to live a life of isolation, to be herself
Again, I find myself back at HER teepee This time we connect, we stand in a pool of water, a water fall, falling behind us The vines from below come up, writhing and cover her, strangle her, snake like she is bound I connect with HER, I cut with my teeth the binding reedy vines I free HER She smiles at me, she becomes as of light and as a shooting star Returns  

The wounding: I will be rejected, cast out, banished from my tribe if I am myself, authentic and truth speaking, if I say NO to what does not feel right I release this binding, this wounding as I bite and free the vines of that lifetime  

The blessing: authentic, true and free, I express myself fully, I am my actualized self, accepted, loved and cherished by my tribe, now and for eternity

Thank you Kristan Read, for sharing your beauty, strength and truth. Kristan is a Shamanic Midwife, Teacher and crafting creatrix extraordinaire! You can experience Kristan's inspiring medicine for yourself through her work at www.atmypractice.comand www.thecrafthive.com

Swan Blessing in Sydney

Dear Sydney friends, we will be in your neck of the woods next week and we are so excited to meet the artists, musicians, healers and all round wise folk who have booked in already for their Swan Blessing sessions. If you would like to book a personal Swan Blessing ceremony we have just 3 more sessions available. Please let us know as soon as you can if you would like to take one of these last places.

Our only workshop in Sydney will be held at Desire Books on Imbolc, 1st August : Swan Blessing Spirit Doll Workshop - The Art of Enchantment. In this workshop we will be clearing past life vows and contracts binding the Artisan and creativity and creating our own Spirit Doll Dreamer. Please contact Katy at Desire if you would like to take part: desire@desirebooks.

Oceans of love and see you all soon!

Past Life Remembered - Poverty Consciousness

I have been fascinated by the photographs of Jacob Riis for many years. Riis was an anti-poverty campaigner and journalist whose photos are full of emotion and story. At the turn of the century he documented the appalling living conditions in New York City in the hope that they would move people to do something about creating better conditions and alleviate suffering. 

Many of us are carrying past life memories of these kinds of lifetimes and also blood memories - carried in the DNA from our ancestors. If it is strong, or you have made past life vows in relation to creating wealth, it can develop into poverty consciousness - a constant and nagging fear that all will taken away from us again. It does not matter how abundant or rich our lives appear, when we carry this binding fear, it is as if we remember these times like they happened yesterday and like hungry wolves, they wait to engulf us again.

It is important to acknowledge and FEEL the wealth of our current lives. There are many, many people in the world still living in these types of conditions and worse. To fear poverty creates a barrier between us, it makes us want to turn from or push away what frightens us. It limits or crushes completely our creative impulse and trust in our dreams. And worst of all it binds us tighter into the whole obsolete belief of a class system. A system devised to separate us through fear - as if our living circumstances or education were a measure of our worth.

Instead of fearing poverty, we can:
Dedicate ourselves to living simply and frugally while at the same time feeling real gratitude for what we have
Spend long periods in nature and let ourselves remember how to know her intimately again and grow our own food
Enjoy developing self-reliance and making by hand what we need
Supporting our local community with conscious spending and buying locally
Share in times of plenty

We are remembering again what we used to be.

Kings Daughters Tenement Chapter, Kindergarten Games 1897

School 1890s

Baxter Street Court

Swan Blessing Workshop - Sacred Plant Medicine Dolls

Swan Blessing Past Life Workshop 

Plant Medicine Spirit Doll Creation and Passion Flower Tea Ceremony

The focus of this workshop will be on clearing Past Life Vows and Promises binding the Artisan and Herb Lore and reclaiming our natural ability to listen to the voice of the Plant World. With the assistance of Nicole Ahava, we will engage in a Passion Flower Tea Ceremony to open up plant pathways to the Dreamer and then in this beautiful relaxed and dreaming state, create a Plant Medicine Doll for ourselves or for someone who is in need. 

Numbers are strictly limited for this workshop.

Winter Solstice Swan Blessing Workshop - Wise Medicine from Plant Teachers

I am preparing for our Winter Solstice Workshop - Enchantment of the Dreamer by walking in the forest daily and looking around for fallen leaves, branches, berries and other plant medicine. I am loving seeing the world from a miniature point of view - a twig that doubles as a staff, a leaf as a cape - endless possibilities. During this workshop we will be journeying with plant wisdom from sacred herbs such as Blue and White Lotus, and the Passion Flower. At present I am placing these ancient medicinal and dreaming herbs inside the spirit dolls. It is a wonderful feeling when a doll tells you what it needs to carry. 

Deep inside our hearts, where the Dreamer resides, we remember the ancient shamanic and witch practice of doll-making and enchantment and we have ancestral memory of Plant Medicine. At Winter Solstice we will clear past life vows, oaths and sacred contracts binding the Artisan, from full expression of Intuition and Creativity before engaging in this sacred craft again. If you wish to join us in this deep dreaming pool as remember how to make all that we touch sacred, I have 2 last places, please get in touch by Friday morning if you would like to take one of them.

Spirit Sister Plant Medicine Dolls available for purchase here.

 

News from the Forest

Hello and blessings on your wintering, 

The mist is rising here in the forest today and I am just about to light the fire before stepping into the Swan Blessing dreaming with our first clients for the day. We have lots of beautiful events coming up where we will be opening up dreaming wells to journey with Swan Medicine - please let me know if you feel called to join us.

New Swan Blessing Past Life Sessions:

We have just opened up 6 new sessions for this weekend: 

Saturday in Sherbrooke Forest: 11am, 1pm and 3pm

Sunday at Tree of Life Centre in Kew: 11am, 12.30 and 2.30pm

Swan Blessing Winter Solstice Workshop in the Forest:

Enchanting the Dreamer - Spirit Doll Enchantment

 1-6pm   22nd June at Kumbada Studio, 6 Ridge Road, Kalorama.  Cost $135 (includes doll)

Releasing Past Life Vows from the Artisan

In this workshop at the potent point of Winter Solstice we will focus on clearing past life binding on creativity, intuition and the powerful medicine of the Artist.  The essence of Swan Medicine is to open up Vision and you will see your own past lives and understand the binding promises, oaths and sacred contracts that have held your Wise Medicine in a spell binding of your own words. In releasing these past promises you will once again reclaim your natural ability as joyful creators and build new energetic pathways to the Dreamer - your Intuitive Self. Once you have seen your Dreamer, you will be able to create Her as we are led by Doll Enchantress, Nicole Ahava in a shamanic process of making our own Medicine Spirit Dolls. These dolls become magical talismans for you after you leave the workshop, travelling with you to help you to remember, hone and express your own Wise Creative Medicine.  We still have a few places so let me know as soon as you can if you wish to join us. 

Sydney Swan Blessing Tour - Imbolc: July 31st - Aug 5th

We are already taking bookings for our Sydney Swan Blessing sessions at Imbolc. Beautifully synchronistic as we hold these sessions at the gorgeous Blacksmith's Cottage on the feast of Brigid, patron goddess to Blacksmiths and Jewellers - all who work at transforming metal (like the chains of our binding promises),  and goddess of healing, creativity and wise words. If you live close to Sydney we encourage you to book soon as these sessions are already full. 

Sydney Workshop: Enchanting the Dreamer - Spirit Doll Enchantment

 7 - 9.30pm, Imbolc 1st August at Desire Books, 3/3 Whistler Street, Manly  Cost $80 (includes doll)

Bookings through Katy at Desire Books: 02 9977 0888 desire@desirebooks.com.au

Releasing Past Life Vows from the Artisan and Spirit Doll Creation. This will be a shorter version of the Winter Solstice workshop but just as beautiful and deep for our Sydney tribe. We look forward to meeting you all at the wonder-filled Desire Bookshop.  As such a lover of words I am thrilled to be bring Swan Medicine to such an enchanted bookshop.

For all those who have already journeyed with Swan, you are welcome to keep returning to work with your Wise Medicine as with each journey with Swan grows stronger and deeper. Below is a Swan Story I received this week from Rebecca - a beautiful release from her Vow to carry on alone.

Dream Well beautiful creatures, Julia x