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juniper stokes 7/9/23 juniper stokes 7/9/23

Gnome Plant & Meeting the Queen of the Underworld

On finding an exquisitely rare plant and meeting the gnome queen deep in the earth.

On a beautiful, sunny July morning in the mountains of Oregon, I made a discovery that would expand my understanding of reality.

I had quit my full time job of six years just the month before. Tortured by a pompous prick of a manager and tired of suffering physically as well as emotionally, I finally leapt off the ledge of so-called security and into the void of the unknown.

I gave myself the summer to heal (which turned into a year). As much as my mind told me that I would lose everything if I didn’t start making money again right away, my body was forcing me to slow down.

And so, on a random Tuesday, free from the responsibilities I was used to, I took myself on a solo hike through a most beautiful forest, hoping that the spirits of nature could help heal my weary soul.

The hike began in the usual way — a crowded parking lot gave way to quiet trails as I traveled deeper into the woods.

I allowed the trees to bathe me in healing terpenes, brushing my hands on lush ferns as I passed. I waded into icy river shores, praying for the healing waters to cleanse away my pain. I greeted every plant and stone and animal and bird, as is my way in the world.

And then, I looked down and saw a being I’ve never seen before — a gnome plant.

The Rare and Wonderful Gnome Plant

This beautiful and strange plant is extremely rare, and any encounter with her is a true gift. I believe she remains hidden by choice, revealing her beauty only to those who have demonstrated their heartfelt appreciation and love for the earth.

So rare is the gnome plant, hemitomes congestum, that very little is even known about her.

"The Gnome Plant is so secretive and illusive one is as likely to encounter a forest gnome as see one of these deep forest dwellers." — Reny Parker in Wildflowers of California's North Coast Range (originally cited by Jeanne Jackson)

She is the only member in her entire plant family, hemitomes, and she exists only on the West Coast of the United States, from California to British Columbia.

Little is known about the life cycle of this mysterious plant, but we do know that it doesn’t contain chlorophyll, likely feeds on parasitic fungi, and is probably pollinated by a moth of some sort.

When I encountered this marvelous and mysterious plant, her petals were closed, giving her a distinctly succulent look. Delighted and awed, I snapped a few pictures, offered gratitude, and continued on my way.

I had thought that this was the end of my gnome plant encounter. It turns out it was only the beginning.

The Invitation Deepens

A few nights later, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. Sleep eluded me, so I decided to use the time to journey and take a shamanic trip into the otherworlds.

As someone who has been practicing shamanic arts for over two decades, I have usual protocols for my journeywork — set an intention, go through a portal, meet my guides, explore…

For some reason though, this time I abandoned my usual process and simply set the intention to travel wherever spirit took me.

As soon as my request was sent, a mole appeared.

Now, I have dozens of spirit animals I work with, but I had never met mole spirit before! All felt divine and safe, so went with the flow and followed the mole deep into the earth.

Deeper and deeper. Darker and darker. We were traveling somewhere entirely new for me.

Finally, the pressure of the earth around me shifted, and I dropped into a vast underground cavern. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that the walls around me were sparkling—precious minerals and crystals of all sorts glimmered from some source of unseen light.

Then I saw her. The Queen of the Underworld. The Queen of the Gnomes.

Meeting the Gnome Queen

Now, I should clarify that this is the language she gave me to describe herself. I’m well aware that many deities bear the title of Queen of the Underworld. And, while the term “gnome” is often used for adorable garden figures with pointed hats—that is not the kind of gnome I encountered.

The queen sat upon a crystalline throne, her pale skin luminescent and shimmering with an ethereal splendor.

Honored to be in her presence, I was told that encountering the gnome plant had been an invitation to her realm, an invitation to work with the magic and medicine of the earth kingdom in a new way. The plant was a portal.

I was shown that this particular realm of gnomes (I believe there are actually many kinds of beings who bear this name) operated much like a bee hive: The queen was the only female, hidden from most in our world, protected and served by the male gnomes.

A World within Our World

The realm of the gnomes exists deep within our earth in a slightly different reality than we’re familiar with — perhaps another dimension, perhaps a different frequency.

Though most are unaware of its existence, this realm is of vital importance to our own world.

The gnomes tend the harmonic balance of the earth’s minerals. They build, move, and attune Gaia’s crystalline structure — and heal her from the extraction that happens in our dimension. The queen is a channel for the life force of the mineral-beings within the earth, infusing them with power and source energy.

The queen told me that those who are called to work with this realm have the ability to channel and harmonize earth grids for Gaia. And, by working directly with the gnomes, they just might receive Gaia’s abundance in surprising ways.

I was being invited to apprentice with the gnome realm.

The queen then shared that I could return to the forest to make a flower essence of the gnome plant — a gift to support my apprenticeship energetically.

Creating a Most Rare Essence

Though encountering even one gnome plant seemed like a miracle the first time, I decided to respond to the queen’s generous invitation and see if I could find this plant once more.

Unsure of whether the gnome plant would still be blooming or whether I could even find it again, I decided to make a date out of my next attempt. I invited my partner, Mike, on an after work hike and dinner picnic to the mountains.

After nearly an hour and a half of driving, we arrived at the trailhead and set out. About five minutes into our hike, Mike said, “Whoa—is this one?”

It was. The queen, true to her promise, had recognized an earth ally in Mike, too (which doesn’t surprise me at all…there’s a reason I’m with this man!).

This time, the gnome flower had opened up into beautiful little blossoms — the divine timing of our encounters perfectly orchestrated. I gratefully and reverently gathered just a few blossoms, placed them in a glass jar, and we continued. Soon, we encountered a second gnome flower…and then a third!

Such a gift to have met so many of these magical and strange beings. Such confirmation for deepening our relationship.

I brought the blossoms home and infused them into local spring water to create a flower essence under the moonlight—a moon infusion seemed appropriate for the queen of the gnomes, somehow.

When I asked if I could share this flower essence and my discoveries with others — the gnome plant, the world of the gnomes, the portal to abundance they offered — I was told to wait. Integration was needed first.

And so, for nearly a year now, I’ve been sitting with this essence, meeting with the queen of the gnomes, waiting for further instruction.

Psst — Want to learn more about flower essences? I’ve created a free starter guide that you will love :)

A Sacred Circle of 13

Now, I’ve finally been granted permission to share this precious essence. But only with 13 people. I trust that the exact people who are meant to work with the queen will feel called to purchase their essences at the perfect time.

It seems possible that I’ll be able to release more later, but for now, I’m following instructions. There may even be a special circle offered, live and online, once all the 13 spots have been claimed. We’ll see.

Are you one of the queen’s apprentices? Find your magical gnome flower essence here:

Quick View

Gnome Flower

$20.00

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Coregulating with the Natural World

The importance of being in a well-regulated body cannot be overstated.

It’s really hard to be a fully functional, compassionate, and mature adult when your nervous system is dysregulated. Mindset and willpower can only go so far when your adrenals and vagus nerve are depleted or your general endocrine system is out of sync with your body’s needs.

This is awful for anyone…but for a perfumer? Absolutely devastating. It’s been a slow recovery (that bout of covid was especially rough). Though my smell had mostly come back by mid February, I could tell that I wasn’t picking up on the subtle nuances I used to. The loss of smell has been such a strange piece of this pandemic era…A strong sense of smell has always been a mark of a healer — the ability to sniff out both the diseases and the cures.

Like any trauma — and like so much of our modern lives in general — ecological trauma often leaves us depleted and exhausted. The ongoing existential threats, the feelings of powerlessness, and the potent pairing of anger and grief we experience can coalesce into overwhelm and physical, emotional, and spiritual dysregulation.

Our work is to alchemize this pain and grief into usable energy. Our birthrights include being in sacred relationship with the natural world. Our true potential to be effective stewards of the Earth is without limit.

Here, we’ll take a shamanic approach to recovering from ecological trauma. This approach is rooted in two fundamental principles:

First, as much as we might resist connecting with what we perceive to be the pain of the Earth, deepening our connection with the natural world is our path to healing.

The Earth has provided humans with multi-layered healing for millennia, and we must allow ourselves to receive and reconnect with the gifts of our Earth.

Second, as much as we might perceive humanity as bearing the burden for the fate of the world, we are not alone in our efforts.

When we embrace a cosmological shift to animist perspectives, we recognize that the Earth and all her inhabitants are inspirited — and as such, they have agency to affect the fate of the planet, just as humans do. Listening to and partnering with these nature beings is essential if we hope to enact any change within ourselves and our world.

As we partner with our bodies, with the Earth, and with spirit, we can begin to co-create a wildly wonderful world.

Coregulation with the Natural World

The importance of being in a well-regulated body cannot be overstated.

I’ve noticed that when I’m depleted or experiencing activation in my sympathetic nervous system (the “Fs”: fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and I might add “fatigue”), I become more reactive and judgemental. Yet when I’m well-regulated, I’m naturally more generous and forgiving. I have more energy to take positive actions, and my thinking is clearer, allowing me to direct my resources — time, money, and energy — where they’re needed most.

There are many daily strategies we can implement to tend to our nervous systems — I list several of my personal practices here and here.

One of the most beautiful ways to tend our nervous systems in response to ecological trauma is coregulation with the natural world.

In simple terms, coregulation is the idea that when a person is spinning out and unable to regulate their own nervous system, another person who is calm and well-regulated can help them — almost “lending” their nervous system’s health to the person in need: Think of a child who gets taken over by a sobbing fit, and their parent simply hugs them until they calm down enough to process whatever has just happened.

Humans, being social beasts, are perfectly primed to both give and receive this type of communal support with each other.

But what about coregulating with the natural world?

The shamanic and animist cultures we all come from included the Earth and spirits of nature in our circle of relations. Coregulating with the Earth is our natural way of being in the world.

When I walk through the Rocky Mountains, a place I’ve tended relationship with for over a decade, the mountains literally feel like my grandparents. The trees are wise elders. The animals my brothers and sisters. This isn’t metaphor, either. Nature beings — especially those I know well — are my kin, pure and simple.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked my favorite trails with a broken heart, ready to crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of my life. And over the course of miles and mountains, I emerge with the presence and purpose to keep going.

Coregulating with the natural world is effective because nature is naturally well-regulated.

While we certainly witness imbalances and traumas in our ecosystems, most of the nature spirits we encounter in our daily lives are resourced and regulated. They remember their divinity and often hold a broader perspective than our egoic human minds.

And, usually, they delight when humans turn to them for support. The spirits of nature are tuned in to collective memories of times when humans actively partnered with the Earth. They know that sharing their love with us is part of their destiny.

I’m sure most of you can remember spending time in a natural place that just felt good. Even if you couldn’t pinpoint why specifically, you felt yourself becoming present and relaxed. Unintentionally, you were coregulating with the natural world.

Intentionally coregulating with the natural world is even more powerful. While this practice can be done with a variety of nature beings and places, trees are some of our most accessible allies for this conscious coregulation.

Practice: Coregulating with Trees

Begin by approaching a tree you naturally feel drawn to. Hold your intention for coregulation in your heart.
(One of the core practices I teach when connecting with any spirit being, including nature spirits, is to ask permission before you engage with its field of energy. Yet knowing whether your getting a yes or no answer can be tricky without practice. By setting your intention for healing and then allowing yourself to be drawn to a tree that seems to be calling you, or that just feels good, you can safely assume permission has been given.)
Take a few moments to observe the tree. Witness its beauty, notice the details you would normally gloss over.
How do you feel in the presence of this tree? Notice your energy as you approach. How is it shifting the longer you sit with this tree?
Even if you notice that the tree is diseased or damaged, see if you can pierce that layer of existence to align with the true, divine essence of the tree.
Take some time to tune into the roots, the trunk, the expansion of the branches. What sensations arise in your body?
Feel into the solid, grounded energy of the tree. Depending on the kind of tree and time of year, you might sense energy that feels rooted and flexible, grounded and expansive, nourished and nourishing, resilient and joyful.
Check in with your own nervous system again. Feel the energy of the tree within your being.
You can deepen this practice even more by adding circular breathing with the tree. Visualize yourself inhaling both the oxygen and energy of the tree, and as you exhale, it receives your carbon dioxide and energy.
You can also spend time in direct contact with the tree: Either sit with your back along the trunk or go head and give it a big, long hug. Both can enhance the energetic experience of the tree. There’s a reason tree hugging is thing!
When you feel complete, offer thanks to the tree (more on this when we discuss reciprocity in Part 3 of this series). Acknowledge what you have received and move forward with gratitude in your heart.
If available to you, try repeating this practice with the same tree several times. You’ll notice that not only do new sensations arise, but new insights and wisdom will spark within your consciousness, as well.

Coregulating with Place

This is a practice you can do with rivers, mountains, flowers, stones, and the earth herself. The more variety you experiment with, the more you’ll realize that nourishment from the natural world has many different flavors.

Another place that I have a deep, long standing relationship with is the Oregon Coast. If you’ve never visited the Oregon Coast, know that it is wild. Largely undeveloped and protected with state park designations, these rocky beaches have retained an untamable, at times exhilarating, energy.

Massive rocky outcrops emerge from huge coastal waves. Cliffs filled with nesting birds of prey overlook tide pools full of sea anemones and starfish. Giant kelp and jellyfish wash along the shores. The water is numbingly cold even at the height of summer, and ravaging wind gusts are almost guaranteed.

This is not exactly a relaxing scene in many ways, yet the wild coasts of Oregon feel aligned. As rough as the waves and weather may be, the spirit of this place is strong. And I’ve never ended a trip to the coast without feeling more enlivened and empowered because of our time together.

Coregulating with the wild spirit of the coast is a very different experience from sitting with a tree in a park. The calm, nurturing, grounding energy of the tree contrasts with the wild strength of the sea — yet both energies are perfectly aligned with their own divinity. Both are resourced and regulated. And this is what heals us.

Your invitation here is to explore the gifts of coregulating with place.

Where do you feel enlivened? Where do you feel a sense of calm presence? Allow yourself to receive the healing energy of aligning with the Earth’s authentic being.

Coregulating with Animals

You might have noticed that until now, I haven’t included animals in the list of nature spirits to practice coregulating with. Put simply, animals are different. They have nervous systems, just like we do, and they may or may not feel resourced and regulated themselves. Coregulating with animals can be an absolutely beautiful experience, and it can benefit both parties, but it needs to be approached a bit differently.

When it comes to animals in the wild, coregulation is a rare gift. In my experience, wild animals usually don’t sit in presence and regulate with humans. While it can happen, and some humans are especially gifted at this practice, animals in the wild most often appear as messengers.

(If you’d like to learn how to understand messages from animals, I have a really special short course on the topic here.)

Our pets, however, can be wonderful allies for coregulating — and if you have a pet you love, you already know exactly what I mean.

While human-pet relationships can be as varied as any familial dynamics, most often our pets are happy to coregulate with us. Humans have karmic bonds with many species that make dropping into coregulation natural and healing for both us and our animal kin.

The frequency cat’s purr has positive physiological effects on our nervous systems. The unconditional love in a dog’s gaze heals the heart at the deepest levels. I even had a lizard who, though I didn’t have the language for it at the time, would coregulate with me…

I swear — that lizard and I had karma. A lizard wouldn’t have been on my personal pet list, as I always thought lizards were best left in the wild. But this one, a bearded dragon named Diego, was about to be returned to a petshop because his owner was moving across the country, so I volunteered to take him in.

At first, he was so foreign to me — a little dinosaur walking around my kitchen floor. Yet it didn’t take long for me to learn his language, see his intelligence, and tune into his amazing presence.

I was in grad school at the time — not exactly a stress-free era of life — and I would often take Diego out of his enclosure to run around my bedroom while I studied. I distinctly remember that whenever I would pause and take a meditation break, he would run over and hop in my lap to join me. Eventually, this magical little being would initiate the meditation breaks!

I loved that lizard, and would hold him while watching TV, feed him green beans from the garden, take him on little walks in the backyard…I know without a doubt that he was coregulating with my perfectionist student self, and I needed him.

If you open your mind and heart to the many possibilities of connecting with the natural, wild world — support can be found in the most surprising places.

Cultivating Self-Regulation

One of the basic tenets of psychological teachings on coregulation is that it’s not a replacement for self-regulation. We must develop the skills to soothe and tend our nervous systems on a regular basis, to cultivate resilience for challenging times, and to become beacons of stability and healing for others.

In a way, coregulating with the natural world is a beautiful step toward being able to effectively self-regulate. In the presence of nature spirits, we aren’t alone, yet we can be alone in the human sense. We can tune into our own resources, guided by the natural world.

On angels, psychic saviors, fallen gurus, and sovereignty (And the magic of being human)

I coined the term psychic savior for when we give over our own knowing, our own intuition, and most importantly our own decision making, to someone we perceive as being more intuitive or psychically connected to spirit than we are.

Remember Doreen Virtue?

If you’re spiritually inclined and over 30 there’s a very good chance you know this former Hay House superstar.

One of the authors who really propelled Hay House to its current status, Doreen is probably best known for her oracle cards — angel cards, fairy cards, ascended master cards, unicorn cards, archangel cards, goddess cards…So. Many. Cards.

I actually must credit Doreen with helping to open up my own psychic abilities. When I was only 21, I had the opportunity to attend an in-person workshop with her in London.

I sat next to a lovely woman, and we practiced doing intuitive readings for each other. It was wild.

I saw, with my third eye, a blue man peeking over her shoulder. I didn’t automatically know who he was — just that he was a real ally for her. In the moment, I couldn't think of what on earth a blue man would mean, but he felt ancestral. I didn’t make the connection that she was Indian ;)

When I shared, her eyes got wide and she exclaimed, “That’s Krishna!” It turns out, she had been working with Krishna closely for some time, and my vision provided her with immense validation and encouragement.

For me, she saw a man named Michael, who, for some reason, was wearing a plaid shirt and glasses. I knew immediately that this was the Archangel Michael — though why he would be wearing plaid and glasses was beyond me…

Until a few weeks later. As my youthful solo travels around Europe continued, I ended up stranded at a ferry station in Sweden. I’d mixed up the numbers on my ticket, as everything was written in a foreign language, and had missed my boat to Helsinki, where I’d planned to stay with a local friend that night.

Exhausted, scared, and with nowhere to stay late at night in a foreign country (I seemed to have way too many of those experiences during my wild youth…), I broke down. Waiting at the ticket counter for help, sniffling and trying not to make too much of a scene, a kind man turned to me.

He was American and holding a jack russell terrier. These were the kind of dogs I had at home, and just seeing one brought me a homey feeling. Immediately I felt kindness radiate from this man — who was wearing a red plaid shirt and glasses.

He smiled at me and told me everything would be okay. I’m not sure I believed him, but I tried. He said his name was Michael, and he left.

And everything was okay, though a bit rougher than my original plans. I got on an overnight boat that happened to be carrying Elton John’s crew across the waters to a show in Finland. I made it over safely and got a free ticket to his concert. I wasn’t a huge fan, but it was a fun experience. I was exhausted by the end of everything, but I was okay.

I believe Doreen was truly connected to the spirit realms during this time, and I’ll forever be grateful for the ways her teachings opened me to the realms of angels, gods and goddesses, and ascended masters from around the world.

The Psychic Savior Industry

Yet…there’s a trap that emerges with teachers like Doreen. I call it the psychic savior phenomenon.

Back in the 90s and early 2000s this was huge — I’m honestly not tracking how much it still occurs today (let me know what you think in the comments, please!).

I use the term psychic savior for when we give over our own knowing, our own intuition, and most importantly our own decision making, to someone we perceive as being more intuitive or psychically connected to spirit than we are.

While this has always been a part of guru-based religions and spiritual practices — you need the guru or priest as a mediary to higher realms and wisdom — the 90s brought it to the masses under the guise of personal empowerment.

This definitely isn’t all bad and isn’t all intentional, either. There is real personal empowerment in the materials Hay House and other such companies publish, and there are very real teachings for deepening your connection with spirit from many of the biggest authors in this world.

Yet as much as the most well-known psychics profess ideas that “you can do it!” and host millions of “anyone be psychic” workshops, the audience, for the most part, ends up disempowered.

Part of this is because of brand of “psychic” being sold is very different from the subtle, intuitive knowing most of us experience.

Instead, we imagine that these powerful psychics can see and hear spirits as clearly as if they’re in physical form. We think that the spirits will always tell us exactly what to do to be forever happy, and we’ll hear the answers clearly once we’re more psychic, too.

When we can’t get to this “level”, we assume either that we just aren’t psychic or that we’re not psychic enough — yet.

So, the power goes back to the psychic saviors. They’re the ones with the connections. They’re the ones who can tell us what to do.

Can’t afford a $500 reading with one of these famous psychics? Get their card decks, and keep drawing cards until you get the answer you’re looking for.

The psychic savior phenomenon is rooted in one of the most pervasive pit holes on the spiritual path: The idea that when you can hear spirit clearly, or when you’re in alignment with your highest self, you’ll always know what to do.

It’s a vision that pretty much anyone in this tract of the helping industries pedals: Your life flows. It’s filled with synchronicities. You can hear your “hell yes’s” easily and drop the fear to follow them. Your alignment with spirit leads to wealth, relationships, children, dream homes, dream jobs, and anything else your heart desires. And of course, especially if you are a woman (and in this marketing arena there’s a good chance you are), you also become “radiant” — because alignment looks good on you.

Honestly though, who doesn’t want this vision of life?

A Lifetime in the Spiritual Wellness Industry — for Better or Worse

I’ve spent a lifetime in the spiritual wellness industry — as both a consumer of these goods as well as a producer of them. I worked for a major spiritual publishing house for six years, I see clients as a spiritual coach and healer, and I’ve read all the books and done all the trainings (really).

And I have almost no regrets. By far, the benefits of this path have outweighed the harms. Yet…the shadows, including unintentional harm, held within the spiritual wellness industry are real and worthy of excavation.

So what really happens when we “reach” what feels like a new level of spiritual awakening? Life. Life goes on — though perhaps with a bit more soulful fulfillment, presence, equanimity, and appreciation for the everyday miracles that surround us. And this is no small thing.

I’ve had numerous spiritual awakenings throughout my life. Those magical moments where all of the sudden I’m actually able to astral travel. Or I get a download of the true purpose of this life from higher perspectives. I’m able to feel energy as if it were in solid, physical form. I receive a realization or vision that sends me riding a wave so high it feels as if everything will always be wonderful because I finally “get it”.

Ha.

As an extremely sensitive soul with a whole lot of Scorpio and 12th house energy (yeah, I spend a lot of time alone pondering the darkness of existence…), the clarity and connection I receive through these mystical experiences fuels my survival.

And yet, they are not the point. And they do not mean I’ve made it. And they do not mean I don’t make terrible decisions, deal with regret and all sorts of self-sabatoging emotions, or face challenges with my health, finances, and relationships.

Because this is the art of being human.

I know this is nothing new. There’s a reason the first noble truth of Buddhism is “life is suffering”. Yet, no matter how much our soul’s might recognize this truth, our egos really want to believe that psychic saviors can make our lives better.

And here’s what I know about psychic guidance and making decisions: More often than not, the process of actually making a decision is the whole point.

The Process is the Purpose + True Oracles

Decisions, especially big ones, require soul-searching, coming into clarity with our own values, cultivating bravery and resilience, developing self-compassion, taking leaps of faith, and so much more.

(For the astrologically inclined, while Scorpio is home to much of my planetary power, my sun, moon, and ascendent are all in Libra. So, yeah. I’m probably a little extreme when it comes to agonizing over decisions and processing every single aspect in order to choose some theoretically “correct” outcome.)

Decisions are also the main reason many of my clients find me. Whether they need to decide where to live, who to date, whether or not to take a job or start a business, how to get out of debt, or how to heal a mystery ailment…what they’re really asking is which choices will make their lives better.

Time and again, the spirits tell me that they will not tell someone what to do. They will share broader perspectives and offer healings that unlock supportive flows of energy and restore personal wholeness. But they won’t really say, “do this” — because so often, the process is the purpose.

That said, there are times when very clear information comes through on exactly what a client (or myself) should do. And I know a handful of psychics who provide remarkably specific and prescriptive guidance that has positive effects on their clients’ lives.

It comes down to the difference between a psychic savior and a true oracle.

Psychic saviors always end up disempowering those who turn to them for help. There’s an underlying current that makes people feel as if they simply can’t make a decision without the help of their savior. The psychic savior sells the lie that when you connect with spirit, you will no longer make mistakes.

The oracle brings through clear spiritual information without any agenda, and they continually work at getting their egos out of the way. The oracle offers themselves not as an unquestionable savior, but as one of many ways that spirit communicates with us.

The Fall of the Guru

For a while, it seemed as if another “guru” fell from grace every week. Spiritual leaders like Chogyam Trumpa or Sadh Guru, more yoga teachers than can be listed, and cult leaders like in NXIVM.

Then came the bizarre exodus of popular new thought spiritual teachers from love and light to fundamental religions. Doreen Virtue isn’t the only teacher to go this path, but she is one of the most well-known.

If you were never part of the cult of Doreen — that really is what it felt like — you might not understand how impactful her switch to born-again Christianity was for many people.

Mostly women, who had followed her for decades, were suddenly faced with the questions: Was any of this real? Were her teachings bad? What does this mean for me?

I reserve all judgment and trust Doreen’s soul on the paths she chooses. I also feel that there are some divinely orchestrated gifts that have come from her public renunciation of Hay House. By stepping away in the drastic manner she did, she helped break the mirage of the psychic savior.

The era of the guru is over. However helpful hierarchical structures may have been in the past, our current era asks us to take our power back.

Our sovereignty. Our ability to trust our own intuition. To take responsibility for our lives — the decisions we make, where we place our energy, and whatever outcomes unfold for better or worse — this is the art of being human.

A brief and somewhat related note on Saraswati…

For years, my spiritual explorations of deities from around the world were inspired by Doreen’s oracle cards and books.

I remember reading about Saraswati as the patron goddess of the arts, a being who could inspire creativity and assist us in any artistic pursuits.

What a ridiculously limited view of one of Hinduism’s primary deities.

It wasn’t until studying with an actual Indian master that I began to understand the breadth of gifts that Sarasvati shares. She is partner to Brahma in creating the universe. She blesses us with wisdom and higher mind. She embodies sovereignty and self-worth.

In many ways, I feel as if Saraswati is the benefic goddess of culture in it’s most exquisite, creative form.

Much of my work revolves around rewilding, and helping humans decondition from the harmful effects of unquestioned enculturation. At the same time, human expression of high culture and the arts alights my soul.

That a human being could be blessed with the ability to express cosmic truths through material form, to translate emotions into beauty, to find and articulate meaning through stories or songs or poems with universal resonance…this too, is the magic of being human.

For anyone who wishes to dive deeper into the gifts of Saraswati, I have a lovely workshop available.

This workshop includes an 80-minute video and accompanying 20+ page workbook, beautifully designed and filled with extras not included in the main class.

You’ll explore mantra meditation, pranayama, rituals, and guided practice for connecting with this divine goddess’s energy.

Saraswati Goddess Activation

***Empowered creation with the goddess of wisdom.***
**Learn More.**

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Severed from Scent

At the end of last year, I woke up on Christmas morning and my sense of smell was gone.

At the end of last year, I woke up on Christmas morning and my sense of smell was gone.

This is awful for anyone…but for a perfumer? Absolutely devastating.

It’s been a slow recovery (that bout of covid was especially rough). Though my smell had mostly come back by mid February, I could tell that I wasn’t picking up on the subtle nuances I used to.

The loss of smell has been such a strange piece of this pandemic era…

A strong sense of smell has always been a mark of a healer — the ability to sniff out both the diseases and the cures.

It’s also closely associated with our intuition. We can smell when something — or someone — is off.

This probably has something to do with the unique ability of aroma to bypass our conscious minds, eliciting unbidden feelings and memories before our thinking brains can process what’s happening… or get in the way.

Our sense of smell also brings us into our bodies. While transcendence may certainly be part of our soul paths, we also come into bodies here on Earth to experience being fully human. Our five senses are the gateways to embodiment. And embodiment is a gateway to both pleasure and presence.

And, fragrance is a gateway to the gods.

In Egyptian mythology, the fragrance of the sacred lotus birthed the universe. Statues of deities in ancient cultures were anointed with fragrant oils to wake up the gods they housed. The deceased were anointed with aromatic plant material to help carry their souls along their journeys. The aroma of flowers is said to announce the presence of the gods or angels. Temples around the world are filled with fragrant smoke.

Healing, inner knowing, pleasure, presence, and spiritual connection…all rooted in our ability to trust our own noses.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that our connection with smell as been under attack for some time.

Even before the pandemic, humanity had been slowly led away from our sense of smell and the myriad gifts it offers, effectively cutting us off from a profound gateway to healing, intuition, memory, pleasure, and spiritual connections.

One long-standing culprit is the fragrance and flavoring industry.

I’ve long been skeptical of a fragrance and flavoring industry that trains humans to prefer the smell of artificial ingredients in their cosmetics. While the synthetic compounds added to our foods and body products have physically detrimental properties, my concern also lies in effects this has on our psyches and souls.

The fallout of the rampant scent-washing in our culture are twofold:

First, artificial fragrances have distanced humans from the natural world.

The idea that ingredients from a factory are somehow cleaner or potent than those from a forest pervades our collective consciousness.

That the fragrance of an air freshener, filled with known cancer-causing compounds, smells “fresh” is a sign of this insanity. That a “peach blossom” lotion smells like no peach nor blossom ever found in nature is a sign of how far removed from the natural world we’ve become.

These fragrances train our noses — and our knowing — to deny what we know is true and believe the lies sold to us.

The fragrances found in whole plant materials contain myriad compounds perfectly designed to harmonize with each other. We humans evolved in relationship with these plants, and our bodies readily receive their gifts. Our sense of smell brings these complexities into our psyches, where we intuitively receive our plant allies’ wisdom.

As humans learn to prefer synthetic flavors and aromas, they are cut off from their relationship with their own ability to sniff out what’s true. To sniff out their own cures for what ails them. They are subtly disconnected from their innate powerful, intuition-supporting sense of smell.

The second outcome is found in those humans who loudly proclaim that they can tolerate no fragrances of any kind.

I get it. These people’s bodies told them that synthetics were harming them, and they listened. The problem comes when this makes people afraid of all smells — even the ones with profound healing benefits.

Of course, toxic overload from synthetics can lead to the body’s inability to process naturals. And, many smells marketed as “natural” actually contain plenty of synthetics, so I can understand the fear. Yet, this fear cuts off important pathways for healing and delight.

Our sense of smell is a gift from the gods, part of the wonder of being embodied in the human forms. Not only does it help us survive, it helps us enjoy life and find pleasure in our physical experience. And pleasure is part of why we’re here.

My heart breaks when I hear that someone cannot tolerate any fragrance (if you’ve ever worked in an office building, you’ve met many of these folks). As a natural perfumer and clinically certified aromatherapist, I know that simply smelling precious oils from plants (let alone the benefits of topical applications) can help us focus, give us energy, regulate our hormones and nervous systems, alleviate depression and anxiety, soothe us in times of grief, ignite aphrodisiac qualities, relieve insomnia, and so much more.

Anyone who’s ever worn a perfume, or had a signature fragrance of any kind, knows the feelings that arise with that first spritz. You somehow feel more like yourself — the best version of yourself. You might feel more beautiful, sexy, powerful, calm, fulfilled, peaceful, hopeful, abundant, or creative depending on the perfume of the day.

Those over-the-top perfume commercials? They may be ridiculous, but they’re also a pretty good representation of what perfume does for the psyche. While synthetic perfumes legitimately give many people headaches and worse, perfumes made with true naturals bestow even more transformational energy and pleasure to those who wear them.

If you love beauty, pleasure, and Venusian delights as much I do, you might enjoy taking a peek at my perfumer’s artist statement.

The next severance from our sense of smell comes from our online lives.

The pandemic no doubt accelerated this phenomena, yet the seeds have been in place for decades. Our online communities and interactions, social networks and getting lost in the “scroll hole” (This is my partner Mike’s and my term for not just doomscrolling but getting lost in an endless mind-numbing feed of information. I’m surprised it hasn’t taken off yet, to be honest…). And then came the Metaverse and increasing capabilities of virtual reality.

Any life lived online is removed from our embodied experience. Yes, we use our eyes and take in the visuals, we connect with audio and can converse or enjoy a melody, and we can even engage in some sensory experiences with haptics and the rare VR bodysuit.

To my knowledge, however, smell — and its sister sense taste — are not yet available in the online realms. Smell keeps us in our bodies, in the present, and connected to what is true and real for us in the moment.

By the time the pandemic arrived, humanity had been well prepped for relinquishing our sense of smell.

To be clear, I’m not saying that losing our sense of smell as part of the pandemic was some orchestrated event. Rather, I can’t help but wonder if this particular effect is a reflection, showing us what we’ve already lost in no uncertain terms.

If we look at our collective pandemic experience, we can see the separation of us from each other, from our own healing capabilities, and from our intuitive knowing of what is and isn’t true. Yet these questions extend far beyond the pandemic too.

Where have you doubted your own knowing? Your ability to heal yourself? Where have you lost touch with pleasure, embodiment, and the ability to be present in each moment? Where have you forgotten what’s actually true, or allowed yourself to be led by lies? Where has the reverent ritual of bringing spirit into daily life been set aside in favor of more “urgent” matters?

Smell is a gift from the gods and fragrance is the perfume of spirit. May we can heal our broken relationship with olfaction, realign with the true nature of reality, and reawaken reverence and wonder in our hearts.

Returning to the Perfumery

It’s now been a bit over four months since I lost my sense of smell, and it’s just about returned. Though it’s hard to tell if my nose is really as strong as it was before, I at least feel confident to work in the perfumery again. And this fills my heart with joy.

I have several new perfumes I’d designed last year, before the loss of smell, in my studio. I didn’t want to share them until I could be sure they were up to my standards, and now that I can work again, I’m finally putting the finishing touches on them.

A few that will be coming soon…

Odin

The all father of Northern lands, Odin is the newest addition to the masculine Gods series. His perfume is as strong and complex as he is. Imagine walking into a mysterious hall, almost an elevated and member-only speakeasy filled with aromas of tobacco, cognac, and cacao. A hint of spice, a touch of musk. Decadent and dark.

Yuzu Yoru

One of my conceptual pieces, is inspired by my years living, eating, and inhaling the fragrances of Tokyo. A citrus forward fragrance, fresh yuzu and Asian kumquats meet with robust citrón and cedrat, gently harmonized with rare strawberry gum (a type of eucalyptus, not the artificial chews!), Japanese hinoki, and precious osmanthus blossoms. A rare delight for summer days and Toyko nights.

There’s also a magical Chinese Goddess, a watery Greek elemental, and more to come :)

While you wait, be sure to explore the new Scents of Summer Discovery Set, filled with the perfect botanical allies for celebrating this season.

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Ecological Trauma: A Guide to Understanding Eco-Trauma

The first step in transmuting the chronic grief, rage, and suffering brought about ecological trauma is to acknowledge its existence.

I recently came across an article in the Economist, of all places, entitled, “Shamanism is Britain’s fastest-growing religion”.

The article itself is not impressive (Shamanism is a religion? Um, no.), but it does share an interesting hypothesis:

People are increasingly returning to nature-based spirituality because of the existential threats facing our earth.

How interesting. Shamanism and other nature-based spiritual practices arose at a time when humans lived in partnership with the Earth. Now, after centuries of separating ourselves from the natural world, humans are waking up to the fact that the more we distance ourselves from the Earth, the more we distance ourselves from life itself.

Those of us who deeply love our Earth often feel a complex, ongoing, and even subconscious traumatic response to the immense pain humans have inflicted upon the planet and her inhabitants.

We feel grief — at the harm done to the Earth, the animals, the plants, waters, mountains, and more at the will of humans.
We feel rage — at all the ways our current environmental crises could have been prevented, at how many obstacles we still face to get even the most basic protections in place.
We feel guilt — for being part of the human species, for having to live in ways that cause more harm simply by existing within our society.
We feel pain — as empaths whose energy bodies do not separate the Earth’s pain from our own.
We feel numb — because continuing to stay open and aware can be too much for our hearts to bear.

These are strong emotions. And as difficult as it is to feel this much grief, rage, guilt, and pain, there is power in these feelings.

Emotions are charged with energy — and all energy is usable energy.

The question then becomes, how will you alchemize your grief into hope? Your rage into healing?

Living with the Effects of Ongoing Ecological Trauma

Before we jump into transmuting our pain, we must acknowledge what is true now: Humans are collectively traumatized. The existential ecological threats facing our species reside in all of our consciousnesses.

The word “trauma” has become astonishingly pervasive in our current cultural narratives, with many voices contributing nuanced definitions of what was once a more specific psychological term. Here are a few key components that I consider when referring to something as traumatic:

In general, trauma occurs in response to unusually distressing, life-threatening, and adverse events. These might be single occurrences, such as an accident, or ongoing experiences, such as abuse and neglect.
Trauma doesn’t just arise from directly experiencing a traumatic event — witnessing, failing to prevent, and perpetuating adverse events may also lead to trauma.
Trauma is more than an emotional response. It lives in our minds, bodies, and souls — and thus healing trauma must incorporate holistic approaches.

I find the perspective of trauma as a moral injury especially valuable when it comes to conversations on ecological trauma. When we experience, witness, allow, or perpetuate an act that transgresses our fundamental beliefs about how the world should operate, there can be a break in our psyches. Shame, guilt, fear, and loss of trust in the goodness of life fill the cracks.

What Is Ecological Trauma?

When it comes to environmental trauma, all of the above coalesce to create a complex and seemingly inescapable form of collective trauma. Let’s look more specifically at what this means in four ecological contexts…

1. Experiencing and Witnessing the Adverse Effects of Human-Caused Climate Change

When people first hear the term “ecological trauma”, their minds often wander to the effects of human-caused climate change — natural disasters that have been accelerated by human impact, food and water insecurity, the harmful effects of environmental toxins and pollution (an area none of us are truly immune to), and the violent conflict that may result from all of this.

With our ever more connected world, even if we haven’t personally lived through a natural disaster or experienced food insecurity, we’re constantly reminded that ecological traumas are happening (we witness them through mass media) and that they will likely impact our lives at some point (the existential threat).

I simply don’t know how anyone could witness the growing numbers of wildfires and “1000-year” floods every year, hear predictions that our coast lines will be underwater and farmland will cease production because of drought, learn about microplastics in our waters and glyphosates in our foods…and not experience fears around safety and survival. This is trauma, and it has become a consistent part of modern life.

One of the most dangerous impacts of this line of ecological trauma is the sense of powerlessness it imbues us with.

There is nothing more dangerous than giving up. If you’re feeling powerless or fearful about these far-reaching effects of climate change — ask yourself, where are the roots of this fear? How is the mass media machine feeding my sense of powerlessness?

This type of ongoing trauma can become debilitating — it can cause us to numb out, give up, and shut down. And it can be tended.

Tending your nervous system in response to the existential threats we face strengthens your resilience to keep embracing what’s true while holding a vision of what is still possible. The elements of the natural world are available to support us:

Turn to the air, and breathe four counts in and four counts out.
Turn to the earth, and allow plant allies to soothe you with restorative teas.
Turn to the water, and soak in salts that draw toxins from your body.
Turn to the fire, and feel passion fortify your heart.

2. Our Innate Empathic Connection

In recent years, I have witnessed a wave of “empath awareness” content sweep through popular culture. While I’m happy to see this phenomenon named and normalized, I feel that most teachings on this topic, which tend to focus on recovery and protection, are missing an important point:

Empathy is our natural state of being.

We are meant to embrace the nonverbal, energetic knowing that alerts us to the state of the world around us. Our natural way of being is to intuitively understand the true feelings and motivations of others. Of course we want the skills and awareness to differentiate between other and self, to be able to turn off connection so as not to be overwhelmed — but we must remember that being an empath is a healthy part of our human wholeness.

People who deeply love the earth tend to be in touch with their innate empathic gifts. Being around too many other people for too long can overwhelm our nervous systems, and the natural world provides soul-soothing relief.

Unfortunately, this also means that as sensitive folks, we can feel the earth’s pain as if it were our own. Witnessing harm done to the earth and her inhabitants can feel like physical pain in the system of an empath. Hiking through a forest that has been clear cut, wandering along an ocean shore filled with plastics and fishing line, visiting locations where human atrocities have taken place — ecological empaths will feel deep grief wash through our beings and we may not even know why.

The temptation here is to shut down. But repression is not a local anesthesia (thank you to Jose Soutelinho for that inspiration). When we numb ourselves to grief, rage, and pain, we end up numbing ourselves to joy, hope, and love, too.

We must learn to acknowledge and feel our pain. We must expand our capacity to hold challenging truths in our awareness. And we must remember that the world is more than trauma. She is not broken, and neither are we.

The pain we perceive is only a small layer in the immense divine presence of the earth and the spirits of nature. Rather than shutting down, empaths can learn to extend their awareness beyond the surface and into the true nature of the wild world. And we can tune into non-human timelines, where we see that the earth is never barren and the potential for restoration is always there. Here, you’ll discover compassion, beauty, and divine order far beyond what our human minds might initially perceive.

3. Caught in a Double Bind of Ecological Abuse

Whether we experience, witness, or perpetuate it — abuse is traumatic. And our earth is under an onslaught of abuse that few of us have the power to prevent.

We know that precious resources are extracted from our earth with greed rather than reverence. We know that our waste, sewage, and toxic byproducts are dumped into her soils and waters. This trauma of witnessing and failing to prevent these acts is an inescapable part of our daily lives.

What can be especially traumatic at the soul level, however, is that we are also required to participate in this abuse.

Most people are dependent upon modern society for survival, yet modern society — and all the infrastructure, consumption, trade, and resources it requires — is the earth’s abuser.

Do we leave our abuser to fend for ourselves in the wilderness, knowing that our own departure does nothing to stop the machine, or do we stay and do our best to effect change, knowing that our very existence will have harmful consequences for the planet?

This is a soul-crushing bind to find ourselves in. And it requires soul-level tending.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: “Our ecological crises require cosmological solutions.”

We must remember that the earth is alive, inspirited, and has consciousness — and we can partner with the earth and the myriad spirits of nature to bring about healing. We are children of the earth, and the soul of the earth holds us in endless compassion.

By connecting with the earth’s loving soul on a regular basis, we’re more able to release environmental guilt and fill our hearts with hope. We recognize that even if our personal efforts to live more regenerative lifestyles seem like drops in an ocean, the spirits of nature witness our heartfelt intentions and it does make a difference. The ripple effects might be unseen and subtle, but they are there.

4. Abandonment: Returning to Our Original Mother

For millennia, the earth was seen as alive and as an essential part of our more-than-human family. She was our great mother (and our fertile father in some ancient traditions), who ensured the survival and well-being of all her children. We were born of the earth, nourished by the earth, sheltered by the earth, and loved by the earth. And we remained in reverent relationship with her throughout our lives.

Much of modern life removes us from our ancestral partnership with the earth. Severed from this original relationship, we experience the traumatic effects of parental abandonment in the core of our psyches.

This core abandonment can leave us feeling unloved and under-resourced, as if we must fight for survival and bear the weight of our burdens alone. Helplessness, unworthiness, and ongoing anxiety are natural outcomes of disconnection with our earth mother.

Inherent in this dynamic is also the sense that it is up to humans alone to “solve” our climate crises — we caused it, and we alone can fix it.

While we must take responsibility here, this perspective traps us within the limitations of the human mind. Once again: Our ecological crises require cosmological solutions. We must recognize the natural world as inspirited, with agency in the course of its own future.

We must restore our relationship to the animated earth, listening to the deep wisdom of our mother with reverence, humility, and gratitude.

As deep as this wounding of ecological trauma is, it is perhaps the most available for healing — for our primordial mother has not abandoned us. She is with us every moment of every day, waiting for us to return home to her loving embrace.

Transmuting Our Grief and Trauma Recovery

The ongoing nature of these ecological traumas makes it challenging for us to stay present and well-regulated. It becomes much easier to numb ourselves to the pain of the world, turn away from suffering, and give up hope for healing.

By bringing key practices from trauma recovery into ecological contexts — in other words, by healing in partnership with the natural world — we experience transformational healing.

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Lessons from Squirrels

Squirrels can show us how to adapt to city life…but also how to be more in tune with our wild natures.

When I lived in Denver, I considered three special squirrels to be my “outdoor pets”. These were city squirrels that lived in our urban backyard.

Brown, sleek and wily, I watched as they darted around our yard as if it were their own. And, of course, it was.

The squirrels in Denver made a nest in our roof—with cotton pilfered from our patio chair cushions. They ate our tomatoes, stole our corn, and took big bites out of every single squash we grew.

Once, a squirrel hopped in the lettuce bed as I was weeding, looked me straight in the eye, wrapped its little arms around a giant leaf, took a single bite out the middle, and I swear it smiled as it stood there, waiting for my reaction.

They were so naughty and so cute. I loved them completely.

Over the years, I was able to build a relationship with these squirrels (despite needing to kick them out of their nest in the roof…). I could identify each one, and we came to a truce with the garden. It took two years, but they finally focused on eating 2-3 squash total and leaving the rest untouched.

I suppose I got used to squirrels that had adapted to the city, as I had. They would often leave slices of half eaten bread in our yard. They stole all sorts of cottons and fabrics for their nests. I rarely saw them gather anything that hadn’t been made or grown by a human.

The squirrels here are different.

Big and gray, with tails that rival those of a winter fox, these are not the ones I knew in the city. The squirrels I live with in Central Oregon are a bit more wild.

They keep their distance when I’m outside—hopefully trust will build over time—but I often watch them through our windows.

If city squirrels had a bit of tough, no-nonsense, street-smart vibe, these wild squirrels are brave yet cautious. I once saw one skillfully somersault just out of reach from a hunting hawk.

After years of living with city squirrels, I feel somewhat awed when I see a squirrel storing a pine cone for food, or gathering bunches of grass to prepare its winter nest.

This makes me ridiculously happy. Perhaps because it just seems so healthy.

No more cotton or white bread. Just the natural foods and materials that squirrels in the wild enjoy.

The Spirit Animal Workshop

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Like the squirrels, we humans adapt to our environments.

We use what’s around us to survive—for better or worse.

Yet, there’s deep inner sense of alignment I feel when I see a squirrel carrying a pine cone versus a tortilla (yes, it’s happened). And I wonder if getting a bit more back to our own wild roots would feel more in alignment for us humans, too.

Living with the seasons, sourcing local and wild foods, knowing your land. Every bit of rewilding we do on earth, rewilds our spirit as well.

As a spirit animal, squirrel is often said to carry the gift of preparation—gathering and storing sustenance throughout the summer and fall for the long winter ahead.

Perhaps in this way, the squirrels all around ask us to look at what it is we’re storing. Yes, preparation is good medicine. Filling our pantries can fill our souls. (And I think most of us are a bit more hyper aware of the need for preparation after the pandemic.)

Yet, let’s ask ourselves—what are we gathering? Is it food, materials, and even ideas that nourish us? Or have we been programmed to fill up on that which does not truly align with our souls?

We are currently in a potent time for releasing the old to make way for the new, with our seasonal winter fast approaching. How are you preparing for the season ahead?

If inspired, hold a small ritual or meditate on what is truly needed in your preparations this Samhain. What old programming can you let go of, and what resources will truly support you in the season ahead? Allow spirit and your own intuition to speak these answers to you.

What are squirrels like where you live? Let me know in the comments :)

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7 Signs You're a Modern-Day Mystic

Are you really a modern-day mystic? As the trappings of conventional religion and new wave gurus dissolve, as we face existential threats from human activity, we must usher in a new way of communing with earth and spirit. Here are 7 signs you’re part of the new consciousness movement.

Today, as we live in times of collective reckoning around power dynamics and the crises facing our mother earth, both traditional religions and alternative spiritual communities dissolving. A new spirituality is emerging…

If you’re a modern-day mystic, you play an important role in ushering in a new wave of spiritual understanding and connection, of supporting the ascension of humans and our planet.

Which of the following do you resonate with?

You seek spiritual equality and sovereignty.
Modern mystics want to experience spirit directly for ourselves and to know that we can trust our own intuition.
You care about our earth.
The climate crisis is forefront in our minds, and forming meaningful connections with nature has taken on a sort of spiritual urgency.
You are rebelling against old power dynamics—especially patriarchal and colonial ones.
Calls to end oppression and center previously marginalized voices become intertwined with spiritual practice.
You are called to connect with your ancestry and ancestors.
We’re here because of the ancestors that have survived challenging times before, and there’s a growing recognition of the wisdom we might find through ancestral work.
You are participating a psychedelic revival.
The shutdown of psychedelic research in the seventies was clearly meant to cut us off from cultivating our own direct spiritual connections—and therefore our ability to think for ourselves. Now, we’re reclaiming our right to research and use psychedelics for healing and connection.
You are re-engaging with Jungian thought.
You find meaning in the transpersonal realms of archetypes, omens, symbols, mythologies, and dreams—acknowledging that the universe is always communicating with us if we’ll listen.
You are embracing animism.
With the climate crisis more pronounced than ever, we are recognizing the need to shift out of human-centric worldviews and into an appreciation of the inspirited nature of all things.

Does this resonate? Then welcome. I’d love to stay in touch. Also, the term I use for this wild, beautiful spiritual life is mythoanimism. You can read more here.

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Healing with the Goddess Ma'at

The Egyptian Goddess Ma’at holds all cosmic truths, law, harmony, and balance in her wings. She weighs our hearts against a feather at death… or does she? Discover the deeper truths to Ma’at’s mysteries.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead — Entering the Afterlife

It is said that when you die, the Egyptian Goddess Ma’at awaits at the halls of the afterlife. Here, she weighs your heart against a feather to see if you have passage to paradise…or if you’ll be devoured by a monstrous god.

A feather-light heart is the secret to passing through the halls and judgements of the underworld.

In Egyptian mysticism, the neteru, the gods and goddesses, are both deities and higher truths.

Ma'at represents justice, truth, law, and balance. She is the cosmic principle that maintains order on earth, that prevents chaos from disrupting natural order.

As with many religions’ take on the afterlife, it appears that our lives are judged by some outside source. Grand, powerful beings decide if our sins are too great to enter heaven, or ascend to paradise, or get off the wheel of samsara.

This is a superficial understanding of a much more nuanced and loving truth…

Want to deepen your connection with Ancient Egyptian spiritual practice? Grab your copy of this free guide filled with daily rituals!

Judgement Day or Divine Neutrality? A Channeled Message from Ma’at

In my personal spiritual practice, I often channel divine beings. The art of channeling is a full-sensory experience for me, as my body becomes attuned to their wisdom and I can feel the cosmic truths shared by the divine.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to channel Ma’at during a shamanic teacher’s reunion with Sandra Ingerman. The love I felt in the presence of this goddess is not something I can describe in human words, and she shared a beautiful perspective on our afterlife judgements — one that we can begin to implement during our lifetimes.

Ma’at shared that in the afterlife, it is not so much that our hearts are weighed on a scale to determine our fates…we are the scales.

We have the power to to shift, release, and transmute any heaviness that does not serve our spiritual ascension.

And even if we choose to do so through being devoured, our feather-light souls emerge renewed.

Simply being in the presence of this goddess is healing, as she witnesses our souls from the perspective of divine neutrality.

Contrary to all the religious tales around judgment day, divine neutrality is the complete absence of any judgment. It’s the ultimate non-dual, unity consciousness state of being. And it’s the most purely and powerfully loving energy I’ve ever experienced.

You may have heard me use this term before — it’s the exact same feeling I get in the presence of Archangel Azrael, another deity who helps souls along their journeys in the afterlife.

It’s no coincidence that the beings who assist our souls in death embody the spirit of divine neutrality: Judgment as we know it is a uniquely human quality. When we die, we realize the perfection and eternal love of all that is.

Perhaps most importantly, Ma’at shared that we do not need to wait for the time of our passing to transmute the heaviness carried in our hearts.

Her divine love is always available to us, always ready to help us remember our own transformative power.

A Meditation for Healing with the Goddess Ma’at

Ma’at shared a visualization that we can do anytime to transmute heaviness and embody a feather-light heart:

Imagine yourself merging with a set of giant, golden scales. On one side is your heart, the other a feather.
Notice the initial balance you experience. How heavy is your heart? What burdens does it carry?
See the darkness and heaviness carried in your heart begin to flow into the feather. As this magical feather absorbs your pain, the energy is immediately transmuted into lightness so the feather never gets heavy.
Continue witnessing and feeling this process until your heart appears as light as the feather.
When complete, feel yourself separate and unmerge with the scales, offering Ma’at gratitude for the healing.
Feel the lightness in your being and see yourself filled with a golden-white light. Allow yourself to rest in this glow before returning to everyday life.

Beginning September 2025
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Feather-light Heart

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Angel Magick for Protection: An Alchemical Meditation

Angels offer us protection, healing, and guidance. Discover six powerful angels from the Western Magick tradition, along with an alchemical ritual for personal transformation.

Angels are divine beings who offer us healing, protection, guidance, and blessings.

Though I’ve always loved and felt connected to the angelic realms, it wasn’t until a few years ago, when I encountered Damien Echols’s teachings on Western Angel Magick that I discovered how profound ritualized practice with specific archangels can be…

Many cultures throughout the world use wheels or circles to impart teachings on the nature of reality—the cycles of nature and seasons, the directions, and the elements appear on Native American medicine wheels and the Celtic Wheel of the year.

In Western Magick, the image of a circle is used. For each direction, there is a color (these change a bit depending on who you ask), an element, and a guardian archangel:

Guardian of the East: Archangel Raphael

Raphael is traditionally called in the east. His color is green, his element is air, and his symbol is a caduceus.

Guardian of the South: Archangel Michael

Michael is traditionally called in the south. His color is blue, his element is fire, and his symbol is a sword.

Guardian of the West: Archangel Gabriel

Gabriel is traditionally called in the west. His color is white, his element is water, and his symbol is a chalice.

Guardian of the North: Archangel Uriel

Uriel is traditionally called in the north. His color is red, his element is eart, and his symbol is a pentagram.

Michael's flaming blue sword — Michael’s flaming blue sword

In addition to these four cardinal angels of the vertical plane, Echols brings in guardian angels for above and below, as well:

Guardian of the Below: Sandalphon

Sandalphon both guards the space below and attunes our frequency to the crystalline grid of the earth. His colors are earth tones, turquoise, and metallics. I often see brown, gold, or even crystalline white in my third eye when Sandalphon is present. He sometimes appears with a musical instrument…something I interpret as a sign of his ability to work with frequency.

Guardian of Above: Metatron

Metatron both guards the space above and attunes our frequency to divine wisdom. His colors are purple, gold, silver, and white. His symbol is Metatron’s Cube, a form of sacred geometry that contains all the building blocks of matter itself.

Sandalphon earth grid — Sandalphon’s earth grid

In my personal practice, I’ve long invoked these six powerful angels for protection—especially before engaging in any kind of spiritual practice.

After years of simply calling in the angels and feeling their guardian presences, however, a new more advanced ritual with them was revealed to me during a channeled session—one for both healing as well as protection.

I’ve shared this ritual with small groups before, and everyone has had powerful experiences. Now, with the release of pure angel anointing oils, it’s time to share this ritual with anyone called to partner with these divine beings for protection, healing, guidance, and blessings.

The following practice can be done anytime you’d like to connect with the energy of the angels.

Note: This practice involves visualizing a merkaba—a powerful symbol for protection, healing, and insight, all the things we’re calling in here :) If you’re not familiar with this symbol, here’s an image:

An Alchemical Ritual for Angelic Protection, Wisdom, and Healing

Begin by setting your space for sacred arts. Light a candle, burn some incense or sage, and prepare your mind, body, and spirit for mediation. If you can, play some soothing music—theta music, binaural beats, or solfeggio tones are wonderful.

If you have anointing oils for these angels, place them nearby for use during the ritual. If you don’t have angel oils, simply skip the anointing steps.

I recommend calling upon the angels out loud and visualizing their colors and symbols as you move through this practice.

To begin, visualize yourself in the center of an etheric pyramid of light.
Make sure that this pyramid is large enough to contain your entire physical body and energetic aura.
Anoint your heart with Raphael’s angel oil.
Then speak aloud: “To the east, I call upon the great Archangel Raphael with his emerald green rays.”
Visualize the pyramid being filled with an emerald green fire. Feel this sacred fire cleanse any imprints of disease or illness from your energetic field. Feel healing and harmony restored to your physical and energetic bodies.
Allow as much time for this process as you’d like. You might get psychic hits of the work being done—specific imprints or illnesses being healed—or you may just sense that healing is happening. All experiences are welcome, so try to experience yours without judgment.
When the process feels complete, see the green flames recede into the eastern wall of the pyramid, which retains a green glow to anchor the healing energy of Rapheal.
Next, anoint the back of your neck with Michael’s angel oil.
Speak aloud: “To the south, I call upon the great Archangel Michael with his fiery blue rays.”
Visualize the pyramid being filled with Michael’s blue fire. Feel this sacred fire cleanse any foreign energy from your field. Once again, allow as much time as you’d like for the process.
When this feels complete, see the blue flames recede into the southern wall of the pyramid, ensuring that you continue to receive Michael's energetic protection.
Next, anoint the back of your wrists with Gabriel’s angel oil.
Speak aloud: “To the west, I call upon the great Archangel Gabriel with his pure white rays.”
Visualize the pyramid being filled with Gabriel’s white fire. Feel this sacred, watery fire cleanse your emotional body and thought patterns. This protective white light is like a soothing balm for any emotional challenges you’ve been experiencing.
Once again, allow as much time as you’d like for this process.
When this feels complete, see the white flames recede into the west wall of the pyramid, ensuring that Gabriel’s energy remains anchored to your sacred space.
Next, anoint your solar plexus with Uriel’s angel oil.
Speak aloud: “To the north, I call upon the great Archangel Uriel with his ruby red rays.”
Visualize the pyramid being filled with Uriel’s red fire. Feel these sacred flames removing lower density vibrations and thought forms from your field, creating space for higher vibration outcomes to manifest in the physical world.
As before, you may receive specific insights here, or you may simply experience energetic shifts. Once again, allow as much time as you’d like for this process.
When this feels complete, see the ruby red flames recede into the north wall of the pyramid, ensuring that Uriel’s energy continues to stabilize your energy field.
Next, anoint the soles of your feet (or ankles if easier) with Sandalphon’s angel oil.
Speak aloud: “To the space below, I call upon the great angel Sandalphon.”
See a crystalline grid appear at the base of the pyramid. Sandalphon uses this grid to help attune your energy with the energy of the earth. Feel your vibratory shift as the light grid reaches into your energy field. See how the grid of the pyramid is connected to both your energy system and the earth’s crystalline grid.
When this feels complete, let go of tracking larger grid movements. Simply see a crystalline grid of light at the base of the pyramid.
Next, anoint your third eye and crown with Metatron’s angel oil.
Speak aloud: “To the space above, I call upon the great angel Metatron.”
Visualize a golden-purple merkaba at the top of the pyramid. See this cube begin to spin, creating an active portal for divine wisdom to come through. Allow yourself to attune to this wisdom, feeling it flow into your being through your crown chakra.
Again, you might get specific insights, but that isn’t the point here. You are becoming a stronger, more aligned vessel for a continual stream of wisdom to flow into and unfold in divine timing.
When this process feels complete, return your awareness to the entire pyramid.
Revisit each of the walls—green to the east, blue to the south, white to the west, red to the north. Revisit the grid below and cube above. Feel the protective, loving energy of this space. Notice if you can feel any shifts in your own body and energy.
To close, thank the angels for their presence, healing, and protection.
Speak aloud: “I gratefully acknowledge the great angels Raphael, Michalel, Gabriel, Uriel, Sandalphon, and Metatron for their blessings and presence in this practice. I ask that I continue to receive angelic protection as I go throughout my days.
For now, this practice is done. Our parts are done. And we may rest.”

Let go of your visualizations and return awareness to your body and the present moment. You may like to ground a bit after this, as it’s quite powerful. Going for a walk outside or eating a few nuts and drinking water can be supportive.

Enhance Your Practice with Angel Oils

I created Angel Oils to enhance our connections with these divine beings.

These oils are filled with sacred, rare, and very precious botanicals—white lotus, sandalwood, tuberose, angelica, and more—that align our frequencies with those of the angels.

When applied directly to your skin, these oils become portals for divine angelic transmissions and greatly impact the potency of angel magick and ritual.

If you’d like to purchase a set of anointing oils to enhance your practice…and simply to smell divine because they are truly elevated perfumes, you can find discovery sets here:

The Angel Oil Discovery Set

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juniper stokes 11/17/22 juniper stokes 11/17/22

The Ancestral Convergence: Food & Ritual for Healing this Thanksgiving

I recently saw yet another post about eating ancestral foods and working with ancestral plants on Instagram…

Eat the foods your ancestors ate. Return to the foods that enlivened your DNA throughout generations. Turn to the native plants of your ancestral lands.

This was the message.

On the one hand, I love it. This is something I teach in my Rewilding the Spirit course, having students do a bit of research and prepare a meal that their bloodline ancestors might have enjoyed.

Yet I also teach my students how to connect with their land ancestors—the local ancestors that are keepers of the land they live on now, in this lifetime. Ancestors with whom it’s equally important to partner. Here, we prepare and enjoy local, wild foods to attune our current DNA to the current land we live on.

Reading this post on ancestral foods so close to Thanksgiving here in the States got me thinking—what would an ancestral Thanksgiving meal actually look like?

the ancestral convergence - food and ritual for healing this thanksgiving

I recently saw yet another post about eating ancestral foods and working with ancestral plants on Instagram…

Eat the foods your ancestors ate. Return to the foods that enlivened your DNA throughout generations. Turn to the native plants of your ancestral lands.

This was the message.

On the one hand, I love it. This is something I teach in my Rewilding the Spirit course, having students do a bit of research and prepare a meal that their bloodline ancestors might have enjoyed.

Reading this post on ancestral foods so close to Thanksgiving here in the States got me thinking—what would an ancestral Thanksgiving meal actually look like?

Would we turn to our recent American ancestors—those who cemented stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie into our collective consciousness?

Or perhaps we celebrate local abundance and honor the spirits of the land here, with wild rice and three sisters (squash, beans, and corn) themed cuisine? (An approach my family usually takes...)

Or maybe, as the post suggests, we travel further back to the native lands of our blood relatives.

I have to laugh as I think about what option three would look like…my Dutch, Irish, Swiss, French, and Welsh meeting Mike’s Italian and German heritage would create quite the menu!

And what if we tried to really incorporate all our ancestral influences? Pumpkin pie, wild rice, pickled herring, spaghetti and (vegan) meatballs…

As ridiculous as this image might seem, I actually love how clearly it demonstrates an important truth:

We are the convergence of many ancestral lines.

Ask yourself: What would a truly representative ancestral Thanksgiving dinner look like in your home?

A Thanksgiving Menu with Ancestral Cuisine

This year, Mike and I are having a quiet dinner…but still going all out on our menu, as I’m somewhat addicted to cooking.

Our menu tends to mix some traditional foods with some local ones, and I always try to add a bit of wild, foraged plants in the mix. As we’re both vegetarian and I’m gluten free, everything becomes an updated fancy-pants version of ancestral cuisine.

We’ll have a few dishes I make every year—butternut and wild rice salad, boozy spiced cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread rolls, and green beans. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy always make the menu as well. (You can find a few of my favorite recipes here!)

We often have a stuffed pumpkin for our main, but I’m changing it up this year with a sagey mushroom, chestnut, and walnut loaf. Fingers crossed it turns out!

Gratitude, Trauma, and a Complicated Time of Year

Thanksgiving has traditionally been a time to focus on gratitude. Yet, I think many of us are sensitive to the fact that this holiday brings up many challenges, as well…

For those who have lost loved ones—and so many have, especially in the past couple of years—Hallmark images of happy family holidays can feel like knives in the heart.

For those who experienced early childhood trauma, any holiday focused on family can heighten a complex array of difficult emotions, decisions, conversations, and more.

And, while Thanksgiving is still a time to reflect on all we’re grateful for, it’s also becoming more and more a time to reflect on the ancestral traumas that gave birth to this holiday. The very real scars on the peoples and lands who tended this earth before the arrival of settlers cannot be ignored.

These challenges are real and painful, and they can make it easy to slip into guilt and despair. They can even activate fear around even publicly celebrating this holiday.

Yet gratitude is one of the highest vibration states we can enter into. Gratitude shifts our energy and opens our heart. It fortifies our spiritual strength in trying times. It tells the earth and our loved ones that we appreciate all the gifts in our lives. It communicates our own true worth to our innermost selves.

What if we treated our Thanksgiving menus as opportunities for healing? What if we ritualized our feasts as vessels of ancestral reconciliation?

Thanksgiving rituals for healing - navigating complicated legacies with love

Rituals for Thanksgiving Healing

Rituals work because of the powerful confluence of intention and energy they create. Though seemingly magical, they are one of the most powerful ways I know of to create real, observable change in our lives.

Any major holiday is already charged with extra usable energy—generations of repeated intentions and actions have already ritualized these days.

This means that when we set the intention for our Thanksgiving dinners to become healing ceremonies, we really can impact our personal and collective energy in powerful ways.

Though the details of your personal rituals will look different depending on your intentions, a few pieces will be the same:

Set your intention for healing before you begin preparing your meal. Then hold this intention throughout the cooking process. See your love, gratitude, and desire for healing flow from your heart, into your hands, and into the food.
If possible, state your intentions out loud at your dinner table. Invite the others present to offer their intentions for healing, as well.
Affirm that as you consume the food laid before you, your body becomes an alchemical vessel of transformational healing. Just as your digestive system physically transmutes food into energy, the energy of intentions you’ve poured into the food alchemizes into healing.

Any and all healing intentions are welcome here. Trust your guidance. Here are a few suggestions depending on what might be alive for you in this moment:

For family gatherings that might trigger personal trauma or seemingly inevitable conflict, try infusing the food with the emotions you wish to cultivate more of—perhaps self-worth, protection, or family harmony.
For those who wish to honor loved ones across the veil, you may like to prepare their favorite dishes. Imagine the part of them that lives on in you getting to enjoy the meal through your physical vessel. Allow space for their physical absence to be named, and perhaps their spiritual presence to be welcomed.
If your heart is pulled toward all the people without healthy, hot meals at this time of year (or any, really), a beautiful practice here is to harness the energy of your own gratitude. Have everyone around your table feel a deep sense of gratitude for all the abundance you enjoy. Then imagine this abundance spreading to all beings. Visualize, with all the energy and focus you can harness, a world in which all people are fed. This practice might seem small, but it's a little bit of collective magic that really does spread blessings upon the ethers.
To contribute to our collective reconciliation around the traumas inflicted on native populations and the land here, learn about the traditional foods of the ancestors where you live. See if you can incorporate and celebrate these foods into a menu with your own traditional dishes. Set the intention that as your body harmonizes these foods, so harmony and reconciliation build in our collective. Focus on shifting guilt and judgment to love and visions of a better future for all who walk this land.

Please know, these practices aren’t meant to replace the very real-world actions needed to reconcile and heal a horrific legacy of colonization. Nor do they replace the self-healing and resourcing necessary to navigate complicated family legacies. (And for goodness sake, if hunger pulls on your heart be sure to donate to local food banks!)
My intention here is to help transform the underlying energy of our collective traumas so that we can create greater leaps in healing in the physical plane. Just as we tend our own well-being in mind, body, and spirit, we can tend our collective well-being through multiple modes and layers of healing.

An Invitation

This Thanksgiving, take some time to reflect on the many lineages that make up your ancestry. Feel into where healing is needed. Feel into where celebration is called for. And enjoy the sacred dimensions of the wild convergence that is you.

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juniper stokes 11/8/22 juniper stokes 11/8/22

The Mystical and Magical Emergence of Angel Oils

Angel anointing oils are aromatic and vibrational blends created in sacred ceremony. Direct transmissions from the angels themselves, the imbue divine light codes into anyone who works with these oils. Discover who the angels are, why you would call on them, and the aligned plant essences for each archangel.

Several months ago, I woke up with the most beautiful, ethereal aroma in my field.

I have clairolfactory gifts—which means that I perceive spiritual smells as a form of intuitive guidance. So awareness of an aroma from beyond our 3D reality isn’t out of the ordinary for me.

Yet there was something truly magical, something calling me into deeper exploration with this aroma. I decided to

I entered my perfumery and prepared for sacred alchemical practice.

I lit my candles, cleansed my energy body with a precious feather, and tended my creative altar.

Then I sat down to channel the mystical aroma I was perceiving into physical form.

To my surprise, what unfolded wasn’t a single oil at all—it was a divine dance of angelic blessings. The great archangels, who I've been working with for decades now, wanted to share their unique gifts and blessings with the world through sacred plant alchemy.

In other words, the angels told me very clearly to make them ceremonial perfume oils—and to share these oils with as many people as possible!

I’ve never channeled such harmonious recipes for fragrant oils so seamlessly before. I wonder if this is because I’ve cultivated a natural resonance with these beings over years of practice, or if humans in general have a karmic affinity for the angels. Maybe both. (If this resonates, stay in touch! I’ll be teaching angelic mediumship classes next year.)

My first instruction was clear—every oil would have the same 4 aromatics as the base:

Angelica—a plant named for the angels, angelica invites and anchors angelic blessings to earth
Rose—the angels all encompass unconditional compassion, and rose attunes our heart to this vibration
Sandalwood—a sacred oil with an affinity for the crown chakra, sandalwood opens us to divine messages
Frankincense Sacra—another oil sacred to the angels themselves, frankincense sacra, sacred frankincense) carries our prayers to spirit while quieting our egoic minds

From here, the unique “personality” of each angel came forward to guide the rest of their aromatic oils. Over the course of a single week, nine angels in total (for now at least) came forward to transmit their essences into oils through me.

Meet the Aromatic Archangels

Archangel Raphael

Raphael blesses us with the green ray of healing light, and his oil transmits this healing energy to us through verdant aromatics. High altitude lavender carries an expansive all-healing energy, while evergreens, citruses, and Greenland moss layer green rays of light upon the soul.

Archangel Michael

Michael comes bearing the blue flaming sword of divine protection. Purifying and protective oils—blue juniper berries, fragrant mastic, bay laurel and more—fill this complex blend.

Archangel Gabriel

Gabriel brings us messages from spirit carried upon divine waters. Precious, white florals hold the high vibration of this celestial being—white lotus, white jasmine, white angelica, and more.

Archangel Uriel

Uriel helps us ground spiritual wisdom into our earthly existence. Grounding oils—cedarwood, patchouli, vetiver, liquidambar, and more—form the heart of this sacred blend, while a trio of potent frankincense provide an infusion of pure spirit. Nourishing sweet aromas of peru balsam, myrrh, and rose soothe the spirit.

Archangel Sandalphon

Sandalphon connects us to the crystalline energy grid of the highest vibration of Gaia, attuning our frequency to that of the Earth’s ascension. Golden, high vibe oils create a potent transmission in this blend—Italian neroli, amyris, silver fir, ancient amber, and more.

Archangel Metatron

Metatron connects us to the cosmic and timeless wisdom of the divine. High vibration oils that open our intuitive centers fill this oil, including true white lotus, galbanum, and high altitude lavender.

The above archangels are the 6 primary beings called upon in Western Angel Magick: The four archangels Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel represent the four elements and guard the four directions of the horizontal plane, while Sandalphone and Metatron support our ascension and guard the vertical plane.
For anyone who wishes to work with this celestial team in their entirety, I’ve put together a special collection of these six anointing oils.

Archangel Haniel

Haniel uplifts our spirits and brings joy to our souls with lunar turquoise rays. Botanicals of clary sage and lavender help us harmonize with moon cycles, and uplifting notes of bergamot, geranium, and juniper raise our spirits. Precious florals—tuberose, osmanthus, jasmine, and more—delight our senses and raise our vibrations in this magical angel oil.

Archangel Chamuel

Chamuel carries the pure vibration of unconditional love, healing our hearts and helping us experience what true, divine love really is. Heart-opening oils fill this sacred blend, including rare pink lotus absolute, pink grapefruit, rose, violet, a rare and irreplaceable raspberry leaf absolute, and more.

Archangel Azrael

Azrael holds the pure vibrational essence of divine neutrality, a psychopomp who loving guiding souls through transitions into other realms. Azrael’s oil contains dark essences of mystery, such as black frankincense and star anise, and harmonious essences of pure love. Cypress assists in the crossing over of souls, clove cleanses foreign energy, and vanilla provides loving nourishment in this potent blend.

The Seraphim

Seraphim are a particular class of angels—six-winged celestial beings who appear as flames of purifying divine light. The Seraphim remind us that all is holy. I originally designed the Seraphim’s fragrance as a perfume, but my guidance now is to bring this aromatic elixir into the fold of my angelic anointing oils.

Seraphim is a true ceremonial-grade perfume oil containing several high vibe essences—rose, orris, benzoin, and pink pepper, to name a few. The result is a layered fragrance with notes of white florals, precious woods, and a powdery finish.

I’ll be releasing one of these magical oils per day, with details about their botanicals, to the public throughout the 2022 Angel Portal, which runs from 11/11/22 - 11/22/22. Follow me over on Instagram for these angelic transmissions.

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Angel anointing oils are aromatic and vibrational blends created in sacred ceremony. Direct transmissions from the angels themselves, the imbue divine light codes into anyone who works with these oils. Discover who the angels are, why you would ...

juniper stokes 11/2/22 juniper stokes 11/2/22

Who Are the Ancestors? (Discover the three types of ancestral spirits that influence you)

Even if you’ve only dipped a toe into the wild world of spiritual practice, you’re probably hearing a lot about ancestors right now. Ancestral altars, thinning veils, and the ghosts of ancestors past. We tend to experience a heightened awareness of all-things ancestral around this time of year. Yet recent years have brought about a collective zeitgeist in our interest in ancestral healing. But who are “the ancestors” really? The answer to this question is actually much more complex that tracing back your blood lines (though of course that’s part of it). As we step through this dark portal filled with ghosts of the past, let’s dive into who the ancestors really are—and how we can begin to work with them.

All Hallow’s Eve. Samhain. Dia de los Muertos. Halloween.

Even if you’ve only dipped a toe into the wild world of spiritual practice, you’re probably hearing a lot about ancestors right now.

Ancestral altars, thinning veils, and the ghosts of ancestors past.

We tend to experience a heightened awareness of all-things ancestral around this time of year. Yet recent years have brought about a collective zeitgeist in our interest in ancestral healing.

But who are “the ancestors” really?

The answer to this question is actually much more complex that tracing back your blood lines (though of course that’s part of it).

As we step through this dark portal filled with ghosts of the past, let’s dive into who the ancestors really are—and how we can begin to work with them.

In this article, you’ll explore:

The difference between a bloodline and milk line
Our individual ancestors—the known and unknown, well and unwell
Our collective ancestors—the spirits of the land, our transcendent wisdomkeepers
Our more than human ancestors—who else are we born from?

Individual Ancestors

Let’s begin with the obvious—those ancestors who gave us our individual lives. Our bloodline relatives.

Even within this seemingly straightforward category, there are a few important distinctions to make:

Bloodlines & Milklines

Our bloodline ancestors are fairly straightforward. These are the ancestors without whom we would not exist, those who have given us the DNA that makes us who we are.

Our milkline ancestors are just as important, though rarely discussed. Milkline ancestors are those who have strongly influenced your family line, though not through blood.

Step-parents, adoptions, nannies and other primary caregivers—wherever these ancestors fall in your family history, their influence and energy becomes part of your lineage.

In my ancestral healing sessions, I treat our bloodline and milkline ancestry as equally important, because they are.

I also work with what I call lightlines. Lightlines refers to the spiritual lineages we carry—those from our other lifetimes. This is a bigger topic than this article allows for and one I’ll expand upon in the future. For now, it’s just enough to recognize that your lightline ancestors may be influencing you just as much as your bloodline and milkline ones.

Known & Unknown Ancestors

Oftentimes, when someone first steps into the work of healing with ancestors, they focus on their known ancestors—grandparents, great-grandparents, and perhaps even further back relatives who can be traced through family histories.

Yet our unknown ancestors greatly influence us as well, and it's perfectly possible to meet them through deep journeywork.

Our unknown ancestors are those who lie beyond the reach of family history. While some of these ancestors may be from lineages you’re aware of, many will emerge in surprising places.

Humans have become intertwined through millennia of exploration, domination, and celebration—and we can probably all trace seeds of influence back to common ancestors. While these seeds might seem like small drops in an ocean of DNA, ancestors from unknown and surprising lines can be quite impactful when it comes to our present day experiences.

Well & Unwell Ancestors

Many of us have very complex relationships with our ancestry…

For some, recently deceased relatives were cruel or challenging during their lifetimes, and connecting with their energy doesn’t feel healthy.

For all of us, we have ancestors who did horrible things. This is the way of humanity. Whether known or unknown, bloodline or milkline, every person alive has ancestors who were slave owners, rapists, conquerers, persecutors, murderers, and generally cruel idiots.

(And for what it’s worth, we’ve all had plenty of lifetimes we’d likely be ashamed of, so try to resist judgment here.)

We also all have ancestors who have endured horrors and tragedies of all types. And while some may have found strength and growth through their experiences, others may have been shaken to the core, carrying wounds and resentments to the grave.

If our ancestors get stuck in harmful or traumatic patterns, even after death, they remain unwell ancestors.

If they do the work to evolve their souls—whether through lifetimes as a living human or through soul work on the other side, they become well ancestors.

And, of course, so many of those who have crossed over fall somewhere in the middle.

This is probably the most important distinction to be aware of when it comes to working with and honoring our individual ancestors: If a deceased relative is coming through with advice, it’s essential that you can recognize whether this advice is still rooted in ego or is coming from a more expanded consciousness.

Our well ancestors, also known as compassionate ancestors, have become so completely aligned with their true spiritual nature that they are more like spirit guides than deceased relatives.

The well ancestors offer us gifts that live in our DNA and our karmic legacies. They have timeless wisdom and experience to share with us, supporting our own survival and good fortune from higher vantages and loving perspectives.

For millennia, the well ancestors were humanity’s primary spiritual allies—knowledge of who they were was known in ways that most of us (in the modern West at least) have lost touch with. Rekindling our relationship with our well ancestors can be life-changing.

If you’re feeling concerned about your unwell ancestors, know that ancestral healing is completely possible and transformational, with effects that ripple in all directions of time.
Much of the healing work I do in private practice revolves around tending our unwell ancestors. This might be in the form of restoring balance where harm has been done, untying tethers and cords to past trauma, releasing old agreements and vows, and helping our ancestral “ghosts” cross into the light (to name just a few!).

Ancestors Anointing Oil

$24.00

Collective Ancestors

While much of popular conversation about ancestry revolves around our individual bloodlines (and milklines), we also have collective ancestors. These are the benevolent spirits of the land and the grandmothers, grandfathers, and wisdom keepers who watch over humanity.

Our collective ancestors are no longer tied to specific bloodlines. Though they once lived as humans, these ancestral spirits have transcended human systems of relation to become wise elders for all of us.

The Land Ancestors

When we work with the spirits of nature, many of the beings we connect with are land ancestors. These beings have deep ties to a particular place, usually formed during their lifetimes on earth. Now, from the other side of the veil, they continue to tend and protect the land energetically.

If you’ve ever been to a place in the wild world that just feels good, it’s likely that ancestral tending is happening beyond our physical perceptions.

For those drawn to earth healing, forming relationships with our collective land ancestors is a powerful practice.

(Quick tip: If you’re going to travel somewhere new, see if you can meet the land ancestors of that location first—here’s how.)

The Wisdomkeepers

You might have heard some spiritual practitioners refer to “the grandmothers”, “the elders”, or other groups of ancient and wise spirits. These are the wisdomkeepers, ancestors who hold teachings, lessons, and knowledge for humanities evolution and ascension.

Universal grandparents, these spirits were often shamans, temple tenders, medicine people, and wise elders on earth—though, they may or may not have been recognized as such during their lifetimes. After crossing over, they choose to anchor uniquely human knowledge and guidance in service of all humanity.

In addition to the elders, Bodhisattvas and ascended masters are also collective ancestors who continue to anchor the divine compassion on earth.

Non-Human Ancestors

Magical Mating & Overlighting: Individual Non-Human Ancestors

A warning: Ok. If you’re generally spiritual and interested in ancestral healing you’ve probably been on board so far…this section is where ancestors get trippy. It may or may not resonate with you, and that’s fine. But I’m including it because there will be a few people who really need to hear this. You’ve been warned. And feel free to skip to the last section—it’s actually the most important one, and I think you’ll be back on board ;)

If we trace just about any cultural mythology back far enough, we’re led to a time when humans co-existed with other realms. Gods and goddesses mated with mere mortals throughout Greek or Norse tales, and the fae ruled the land alongside the humans in Celtic lands.

Perhaps, you’re descended from a more magical mating than you realize…imagine the ancestral connections this might open!

Many who descend from the British Isles feel as though there must be some Sidh or fae blood running through their veins. And perhaps there is.

Or, perhaps their connection with the fae comes through overlighting. Though the term overlighting comes to us from Celtic traditions, it’s a universal phenomenon.

Overlighting refers to a spirit merging with, or “lighting up”, a physical being.

This term is often used for nature spirits—devas who enliven an oak or rose, for example.

When it comes to ancestral explorations, however, overlighting refers to a specific magical act: a non-human spirit overlights (merges with) a human. The intention here is to share unique gifts with that human—or that human’s bloodline.

While overlighting can take place at any time, conception and birth are two especially influential moments. This act might be done without the human parent’s awareness, or the parents may consciously engage in overlighting rituals in order to imbue their child with spiritual gifts.

In either case, the bloodline becomes infused with non-human ancestry.

Explorations of individual non-human ancestors must be done from a place of wholeness, clarity, and groundedness.

It can be incredibly tempting to bypass the traumas of your human ancestors—and to bypass the human journey you’ve agreed to take in this life—in favor of more magical—and thus further removed—tales.

Do the work of being fully human first. Then, when you know you can engage from a place of non-attachment, delve into your magical lineages.

And as a note, just as there are universal ancestral elders in the human realm, we can all connect with universal magical ancestors. So don’t worry if you feel fully human ;) The magic is still there for you.

All is Kin: Collective Non-Human Ancestors

Our bodies are made of the same elements as all of life on earth. We share the same divine spark that enlivens all beings.

All of earth is our kin.

And so, all of earth contains our ancestors.

The trees (living or deceased), the ancient stone people, the spirits of nature, the tiny microbes in our soil and water, the Earth herself…these are our ancestors just as much as any relative by blood.

Even the stars share their cosmic DNA with us humans—a phenomenon many people feel deeply aligned with. What ancestral wisdom can we connect with through the light beings in the sky?

The late Lakota elder Joseph M. Marshall III, taught that he began each day with silence, smudging, and a prayer—mitakuye oyasin, a Lakota phrase that loosely translates to “all my relations”.

Here, relations are all beings. The sun, earth, and moon. Your family. The birds and trees in your neighborhood. All of us.

And if we’re all related, all of life gives us our ancestors.

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juniper stokes 10/28/22 juniper stokes 10/28/22

The Celestial Songs All Around Us

Do you ever hear music that is yet to exist? Perhaps as you drift to sleep, or enter a flow state? Your not alone. And these songs are very real.

Every song ever created or to be created exists on celestial waves all around us.

I’ve always been able to listen to these songs. Most often, this divine music comes to me in that dreamlike state between waking and sleeping.

This music is never something I’ve heard before—not a song stuck in my head, not a melody I picked up on unconsciously during the day.

And it's always different.

I’ve heard classical symphonies that have blown my mind. Folk songs that get stuck in my head for a few precious hours. The most danceable hip hop. Rock from all time periods. Music from around the world. Country, jazz, electronic. Even commercial-sounding jingles. And once in a while, music that doesn’t sound human at all.

For years, I thought that maybe these songs carried messages for me. That they were omens to decipher.

There might be an element of that kind of meaning there, but I’ve come to realize that for some reason, I’m simply tuned into the songs of the universe.

Interestingly, I do not have the skills to share this music. Yes, I can carry a tune and play the piano—but I certainly couldn’t translate a symphony from mind to paper. These aren’t songs from the muses to be expressed through me. They simply are. For some reason, I simply get to enjoy them.

What a gift this is. To be blessed with glimpses of celestial sounds. Auricular delights just for me, just for a moment.

This music is available for all of us. Sometimes, it finds a willing and able vessel who channels it into a form we may all enjoy. And sometimes, it simply is, just beyond our ordinary reality, yet very real all the same.

Have you ever had the experience of hearing songs yet to be written? Or that were perhaps lost to a pre-recorded past?

Open your mind. Open your ears. Ask for this blessing, and perhaps you shall receive.

How to Work with the Shadow Work Portal

We are in a potent gateway for shadow work right now, with layers upon layers of celestial support for our integration.

Beginning with our transit into Scorpio on October 22nd, and continuing into a 2-week eclipse window from October 25th to November 8th, you’re invited to illuminate and integrate any shadows that are preventing you from stepping into your full authenticity, wholeness, and power.

Let’s take a look at some key dates and themes…

how to work with the 2022 shadow work portal - new moon scorpio, venus alignment, eclipse season

We are in a potent gateway for shadow work right now, with layers upon layers of celestial support for our integration.

Let’s take a look at some key dates and themes…

🖤 On October 22nd, our Sun entered the sign of Scorpio—the sign most aligned with diving deep into our unconscious and not just facing, but embracing, our shadows.

Hidden motives; so-called “darker” impulses; unseen power dynamics; sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll…Scorpio guides into the midnight waters of our inner worlds so we can free ourselves from shame, see truths that have been hidden, and embrace the unfiltered fullness of who we really are.

🖤 Also on October 22nd, we saw the rebirth of Venus as the Evening Star. In her Morning Star phase, Venus guides us on a descent into the underworld—the Venusian goddess Inanna’s journey to her dark sister. Now, in her Evening Star phase, Venus ascends—Inanna has integrated her shadows and emerges fully in her sovereign power.

This date is a tipping point for us. If you’ve been doing the work, the final pieces will now come into completion during our current shadow gateway.

🖤 Venus is in Libra for this turn of her journey, as well—a homecoming to her ruling planet. This auspicious alignment softens and beautifies our shadowy integration, though it may not feel so lovely when you’re in the thick of it. A full cleansing of the heart chakra is possible here.

🖤 On October 25th, we experience the New Moon in Scorpio AND a Solar Eclipse The dark moon, in Scorprio’s shadows, with the light of the Sun also dimmed…The cosmos are making it as clear as possible that we have universal support for shadow integration at this time. Take advantage of the magic.

🖤 The Celtic New Year invites us to release the old and begin anew. Samhain, what we commonly call Halloween, marks the New Year for the indigenous people of Europe.

Not so much a single day, the New Year is a short seasonal window when the veils between worlds are thin. Our ancestors are more present (hello Dia de Los Muertos) and the fae can more easily communicate with us. With proper protection in place, these spirit helpers can be powerful allies in seeing what has previously been hidden.

Whether through meditation, journaling, sacred ceremony and ritual, you have support for deep inner work right now. Let’s collectively release our shame and feelings of unworthiness. Let’s collectively remember our wholeness and power. And let’s collectively bring our full selves to our soul purposes.

I’ve curated a few of my favorite allies for shadow work below. May they bring you support on your journey!

Sold Out

Quick View

Inanna

from $45.00

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Poison Plant Essence Set

$90.00

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juniper stokes 9/30/22 juniper stokes 9/30/22

It’s Not Depression. It’s Exhaustion. ☥ Why Creative Women Are Burning Out and the Soul-Level Need for Deep Rest

What does it mean when you don't want to do anything? When nothing sounds fun, you've lost touch with previous passions, and the things that used to bring you joy no longer have the same effect?

Modern psychology would tell us that these are clear signs of depression. And sometimes, that is what's happening.

But this isn’t always the case. I've found that there's often something a bit more insidious under the surface when creators lose the desire to create…

What does it mean when you don't want to do anything? When nothing sounds fun, you've lost touch with previous passions, and the things that used to bring you joy no longer have the same effect?

Modern psychology would tell us that these are clear signs of depression. And sometimes, that is what's happening.

But this isn’t always the case. I've found that there's often something a bit more insidious under the surface when creators lose the desire to create…

Many of the women I know are infinite creators. Their inner wells of inspiration seem to have no end to their depths.

These women remodel houses. Build healing practices. Tend potent relationships. Raise little ones. Nurture new life in the land. Paint magnificent works of art. Grow businesses of all types. Launch podcasts. Write books. Envision social ventures. Make a difference in their communities.

(And yes, I definitely count myself in this crowd.)

Their work is so beautiful and needed in our world.

But there is a shadow side to the drive to create. To manifest visions in physical form. To always be growing.

Patriarchal Systems Are Designed to Harm Creative Women

The influence of the linear, growth-driven, and let's face it—patriarchally influenced—culture we all live within sneaks into every part of our unconsciousness.

It slips in through social media and tells you that everyone else is doing more and doing it better.

It's a podcast guest, reminding you that you should always be biohacking your body, healing your trauma, and manifesting your dream life.

It makes sure you know that if you aren't always climbing the ladder of career—including if you work for yourself—you’ll end up desolate and broke.

It subtly lets you know that if, as a woman, you’re not focused on creating or raising new life (having children) on top of all this, you’re not really living up to your full potential.

The amazingly creative, power-house women in my life know that nature and life are cyclical, that endless growth is unsustainable, and that we need space to tend our wellness...

And yet resting or *not doing anything* is soooo uncomfortable for all of them (er, us...I've faced my own struggles here for sure).

But if we don't take the time to celebrate and integrate in the creative cycles of life, we will inevitably crash and burn.

I was talking with a good girlfriend recently, and I could see this starting to emerge in her.

"Some days I'm fine, and I get a ton done and feel in the flow," she said, "But more and more, I just don't want to do anything."

I know this feeling well.

As an infinite creator myself, I finally burned out so hard that I became non-functional. I could tell I was on the verge of chronic illness unless something changed.

At this time, the idea of doing anything was too hard. And it freaked me out: If I didn't want to do anything, what was I going to do?? What is life without creation? How would I make money? Contribute to the world? Do all the things that "matter"?

When I was in the throws of panic on this topic, my wise little sister came to the rescue with key advice from Martha Beck, who shared (I’m paraphrasing here):

If you don't want to do anything, if you've lost touch with your passion, if nothing matters or motivates or delights you...
You Need Rest.
Just Rest.
Rest.

Can you feel your body relaxing as you read this?

It's actually ok not to feel purpose-driven, connected with your "why" and following your "hell-yes's" for awhile.

It's okay to step into the alchemical cauldron of rest.

When I relayed this to my girlfriend, she started to cry. Not tears of sadness, but tears that signify a Truth with capital T coming home.

We Must Allow Space for Our Grief

In the months leading up to our deep exhaustion, both my friend and I had been through life-changing transitions. And both of us had experienced significant losses with deep grief.

Just about everyone I know has gone through something similar in the past two years.

It seems that, as a culture, we've forgotten that we need time and space to process and integrate the major changes and losses we've experienced. When this lack of tending meets the creator's endless quest, burnout and exhaustion are inevitable.

Check in with your body and heart. What happens when you ask yourself if you just need rest?

If you feel your nervous system relax and your eyes well up with tears, you need rest.

If you feel a constriction and sense of panic, you also need rest.

Do you remember how? Do you even know how to rest anymore?

How to Rest — Even When It Feels Impossible

In my experience, it can take days or more likely months for us to actually remember how to rest, with quite a few ups and downs along the way.

Be gentle with yourself during the process. Know that it will be uncomfortable at times, and that it will absolutely become more natural as you practice.

To whatever degrees are possible for you (and I'm well aware that rest seems like an unobtainable luxury to so many women), here are just a few ideas that helped me when I was so exhausted I was becoming non-functional:

Let go of your to-do list. The more you ignore it, the more you might realize that life won't actually fall apart if you don't get everything done each day.
Stare out a window for over an hour. No devices, reading, listening, writing, or even trying to meditate. Just space out and stare. It's wild how healthy this actually is.
Take time off with no plans for how to fill your days. Stay home — or leave if that's easier. Either way, try to spend your days responding to what you need in each moment. This is easier said than done...just know, you will likely binge Netflix or read a ridiculously cheesy novel. And you will end up with dirty floors and a sink full of dishes. It's okay (at least for now).
Smell good things. Aroma seeps past our conscious minds deep into the brain where it can soothe our tender souls from the inside out.
Drink water. Lots of water.
Know that all of the above are easier said than done. Resistance is inevitable. Life is full of demands on your time and energy. Be kind to yourself and do what you can.

As you start to heal, you might find that you have the energy to engage in a few, simple self-care practices. These can feel like too much if you've really hit a deep level of exhaustion or grief, so there's no rushing into them. But when you feel ready, try incorporating a few of these practices into your days:

Meditate. And don't make it too serious or intense. Find some nice guided imagery, or set a timer for 10 minutes. Or lay on the floor and do a body scan. This should feel good—not like a chore.
Move your body. Personally, I love yoga for this. I go at my own pace, feel my body, and know my energy is beginning to move more too. If yoga works for you, great. If not, the important thing is that the movement helps you enjoy being in your body. Dance. Walk. Do jumping jacks. Whatever feels good.
Incorporate herbal allies. Teas or tinctures that soothe your nervous system can help the healing process.
Treat your senses. Eat nourishing, delicious food. Keep up the aromas. Take a bath and massage oil into your muscles. Decorate your body with jewelry, clothes you love, fake tattoos even...especially if you've lost touch with feeling good in your skin (which often accompanies burnout).
Get out into nature. Even a backyard or park will do. Or a walk around a tree-lined neighborhood. The spirits of nature are beautiful allies on our healing journeys.

While I found my own journey to deeper rest uncomfortable and challenging at times, I also found it extremely liberating. I began to see the boxes I'd put myself in—yes, the ones I'd unintentionally constructed myself — with greater clarity.

My cocoon of rest has morphed — I've gone from teetering on the edge of autoimmune conditions to restoring health and learning how to enjoy life again bit by bit. And I'm still very much in the cocoon.

I don't know who I will be when I emerge. And everyday I remind myself to surrender to the process.

Because rest isn't just restorative. It's transformational. It's a cauldron we must enter to undergo an alchemical transformation into a new way of being.

Who will we become if we allow the cocoon of rest to alchemize our transformation?

I don't know. But I do know, with my whole heart, that those who surrender to the process will become even more impactful light beings ushering in a new era on our planet. (Yup—made a leap there...more on the new era I'm sensing to come!)

Does this resonate? Let me know in the comments 🙂

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Why creative women are burning out at epidemic proportions.

juniper stokes 8/31/22 juniper stokes 8/31/22

The Complete Guide to Magical & Ritual Anointing Oils

What are anointing oils and how do you use them? Discover how to use magical and ritual oils, explore the myrrhophore tradition, and claim your own lineage with sacred oils. From Egypt to modern day witches, oils are a powerful part of any spiritual practice.

A Complete Guide to Magical and Ritual Anointing Oils

Did your ancestors practice the sacred art of anointing?

Does your soul remember lifetimes as an oil-bearing priestess?

Do you experience a full-body resonance when you simply hear the word, anointing?

If so, you just might carry the signature of one who is destined to work with these sacred oils in this lifetime.

Read on to discover what anointing oils are, how they’re made, and why you should use anointing oils in your own spiritual and magical practices.

What are anointing oils?

Anointing oils are sacred infusions of plant materials and oils created to channel divine transmission into physical reality.

Traditionally, anointing oils were made by macerating whole plant material into pressed oils—the spikenard in olive oil of the Bible and myrrh infused in safflower of ancient Egypt are just a few well-known examples.

Today, fragrant essential oils join the ingredient list, inviting rare and precious botanicals from throughout the world into our sacred oil repertoire.

Anointing oils open our connection to both spiritual wisdom and divine healing. Perhaps this is because oils infused with botanicals are not only fragrant—they are medicinal.

Every plant carries both physical and energetic gifts, and a true alchemist knows how to harmonize these layered intricacies, creating sacred oils that provoke divine bliss, carry unique vibrational signatures, and contain chemical properties that promote healing on all levels. —Juniper Stokes

A note of caution: Many anointing oils sold today contain synthetic fragrances. This is partly because these ingredients are much cheaper than true plant oils, and partly because there are many suppliers who sell fraudulent oils to well-intentioned makers. These oils do not carry the vibrational gifts and resonance of true, botanical anointing oils. Check out my free guide to avoiding fakes here.

The History of Anointing with Oil

From the beginning of time, in every culture and on every continent, humans have used fragrance to connect with the divine—and the use of sacred anointing oils has been one of the most important expressions of our aromatic practices.

By turning to the past, we discover the ancestral connections with plants held in our bodies and souls. And by living in the present, we can discover profound ways to create and make use of sacred oils today.

Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians held that the world was created from the fragrance of the blue lotus, and scent was an integral part of all Egyptian life.

Precious oils were used to anoint and activate statues of the gods. Other blends—including the famous Kyphi—were used as both personal perfumes and as medicine.

Egyptologist Dora Goldsmith (a PhD candidate and one of my personal teachers in this area), notes how inscriptions on temple walls point to the ritual and intention that went into creating anointing oils and unguents. While some perfumes and oils were made for daily use, others had very strict ritual instructions: These precious oils and perfumes could only be made by priests and priestesses—surrogates for royalty—and precise ingredients, steps, timelines, and even incantations were required during their creation.

(After studying with Dora for over a year—and reading over a dozen books on the fragrances and rituals of ancient Egypt—I have much more to share on this topic. Be sure to subscribe to stay in the loop!)

alchemy — Vaso alchemico, unknown artist

It’s also likely that our modern practices of anointing royalty (yes, in England a new monarch is anointed in a private ceremony, with a secret blend of oils, to this day) began in ancient Egypt as well. In her groundbreaking work, Egypt’s Anointing Mysteries, Egyptologist Dr. Alison Roberts explores rituals in which the queen would take on goddess-like powers and attributes in order to empower the king through anointing practices.*

*As an aside, in Celtic traditions, kings would receive their power from a sovereignty goddess—without her blessing, he could not be sovereign of the land. A theme to be explored in further articles… ;)

The fragrant traditions of Egypt spread throughout Europe and the Middle East, where they were influenced by expanding trade routes and changing cultures. From Greek Olympians empowering themselves with olive oil and Hippocrates’s instructions to anoint the sick with oil, to the Arabic healing traditions of Avicenna and Hebrew consecrations of priests and kings, to the Biblical anointing practices still used in churches today and much more, Western antiquity was bathed in fragrant oils.

Myrrophores

Myrrophores, or “myrrh-bearers” were sacred priestesses who would channel the celestial power of the divine through sacred oils for soul-level healing—a tradition that likely originated in ancient Egypt and spread throughout the Greco-Roman empire, as well.

Perhaps one of the most well-known acts of anointing in the West is when Mary Magdalene anointed Jesus’s feet with the oil of nard (spikenard). Here, as much as patriarchal retellings have tried to erase Mary Magdalene’s healing gifts, they have not been able to fully obscure the power of her anointing practice or her connection to the myrrhophores.

Some mystical scholars even suggest that her transmission of prayer and protection, carried forth through sacred oil, empowered the resurrection that followed.

Artus Wolffort - Mary Magdalene Anointing Christ’s Feet in the House of Simon the Pharisee — Featured Workshop
**The Path of the Myrrhophore**

*A Magdalene Feast Day Ritual & Teaching*
**Learn More**

How do anointing oils work?

Anointing oils work by transmitting divine empowerments into our physical reality.

This happens through the ingredients used, the approach to creating the oil, the art of transmission, and the rituals involved when using the oil.

Plants have been our allies, teachers, healers, and guides since the dawn of humanity, and every plant used in an anointing oil carries a unique set of empowerment codes that synergistically act to empower the oil.

When these plants are alchemized in sacred ceremony, they harmonize with the intentions of the alchemist to create a powerful unguent.

When we place these oils on our body, or anywhere in our fields, we receive the oil’s alchemical codes and ignite our own transformation.

Shamanic Transmission in Anointing Practices: The Key to Potency

The most powerful oils contain a transmission that they pass onto the anointed.

When I create either an anointing oil or a botanical perfume, I always include a transmission ceremony for the finished product. My process is rooted in shamanic practice, though certainly not limited to those who identify with shamanism.

After setting sacred space and preparing my mind, body, and spirit for the work, I enter into a mediumship state. If I’m channeling a particular deity, I invite them to merge with me. If I’m working with an intention, I call forth that energy to be present. Then, I pour the energetic signature of the being or intention involved directly into the final bottle.

This way, not only does each bottle of perfume or oil contain the vibrational signatures of every botanical involved, it contains a direct healing transmission from spirit. This transmission is then activated with every use. Even if all you have time for is quick application on your wrist, the blessings will flow.

How to Use Anointing Oils

Throughout history, anointing was used for both healing and spiritual purposes—and as mentioned before, the two were often one and the same.

Traditional aromatic rituals include:

Awakening and honoring the gods: The anointing of deities’ statues to awaken and empower the gods was a common practice in Egypt and likely used in ancient Greece, as well.
Blessings: Blessing visitors and guests with sacred oils was a common Hebrew practice in antiquity, and to this day babies might be anointed with sacred oils for blessing and protection at birth.
Anointing the sick: Throughout the world, anointing the sick was a common practice. In Greece and the Arabic world, oils were infused with medicinal plants. In Christianity, priests would anoint the sick in what is known as an unction.
Consecration: Kings and priests were anointed by sacred oils, usually by priests standing in for God to symbolize the divine rights of the anointed.
Exorcism: The Oil of Catechumens, aka the Oil of Exorcism, is used by some churches to expel evil during baptisms—but the Christian church isn’t the only group to use oils for exorcism. In Taoist anointing traditions, oils are placed on key acupuncture points to expel ghosts and possessions.

Modern Anointing Practices

Today, magical practices and new spiritual practices have reinvigorated the use of anointing oils—and who can use them.

I believe that it is our birthright to access the magical, spiritual, and healing gifts of sacred anointing oils. A few of my favorite ways to use oils include…

Spiritual & Energy Healing—We can use the subtle vibrations of oils to shift our own energetic health.
Taoist Anointing Practices—Apprenticing with a rare master in the Jade Purity tradition has opened my eyes to the magic that happens when we apply oils to specific meridians.
Empowering Objects—Rubbing an oil on a sacred object imbues it with spiritual power. (Crystals love anointing oils!)
Rituals and ceremonies—Anointing oils can enhance rituals and ceremonies of all types, including blessings, transitions, seasonal celebrations, and other intentions.
Connecting with the Divine—Whether you want to align with the energy of a specific deity, connect with the angels, or simply open yourself to spiritual wisdom, anointing oils can support you.
Chakras—Blessing each energy can bring about balance and health.
Spellwork and Manifestation—Whatever your intentions, be they prosperity, health, protection, or love, magical anointing oils can help.

A Personal Anointing Ritual

While anointing oils can be used in infinitely complex rituals, they can also be used for simple daily empowerment.

Here’s a short practice for anytime you want to connect with an intention or deity:

Upon receiving your oil (spiritual perfumes will also work here), hold it to your heart and visualize your intention. See your intention flowing from you into the bottle and from the bottle into you. This will activate your personal connection with the oil.
Next, inhale the oil’s fragrance deeply and several times. You can inhale directly from the bottle, or you can apply a bit to your wrist first. This activates your neural response to the oil, so you’ll more easily remember your intention every time you smell it in the future.
Then, apply the oil to your body on a daily basis for 30 days. Depending on your intention, you may rub a few drops into your heart or third eye. Or, you might simply wear a bit on your wrists as a perfume you can smell repeatedly until the natural fragrance fades. Either way, focus on your intention while you apply the oil.

Common Questions: How to Distinguish Anointing Oils from other Aromatic Practices

What’s the difference between an anointing oil and other botanical oils?

The main difference lies in the intention with which the oil was created. Anointing oils must be created through ritual. This involves setting sacred space, blessing your materials, and infusing the resulting oil with a transmission of your intention. Some oils are made following specific instructions and recipes, while others are created by allowing the divine to work through you intuitively.

Are anointing oils the same as aromatherapy?

Anointing oils can fall within the realm of aromatherapy, but they don’t always do so.

There are two main approaches to modern aromatherapy: clinical aromatherapy, and subtle aromatherapy.*

Subtle aromatherapy blends are based on the energetic and spiritual qualities of oils, and anointing oils certainly fall in this category.

Clinical aromatherapy relies on the psycho-emotional and physical effects of oils. While anointing oils may certainly have psycho-emotional and physical effects, their primary purpose is spiritual in nature. So, your typical aromatherapy blends for stress relief or headaches probably aren’t anointing oils.

*As a note, I feel that the best aromatherapy products integrate both subtle and clinical dimensions into their formulas.

What’s the difference between anointing oils and perfumes?

Broadly speaking, the word perfume can refer to anything used for aromatic purposes—incense, aromatic waters, oils, and unguents of all types all fall under this fragrant umbrella.

Today, the word perfume most often refers to scents worn for pleasure, while the term anointing oil refers to sacred oils used for ritual and spiritual purposes.

However, I think it’s worth noting that throughout most of human history, fragrance, medicine, and spiritual practice were one and the same.

In ancient Greece, the single word arómata was used to describe incense, perfume, spices, and aromatic medicine, showing us how little differentiation was given to aroma for pleasure, spirit, and health. Interestingly, the unguentarii, those who sold perfumes, were held in the same esteem as doctors.

Are anointing oils the same as ritual oils?

The way I create and use them, yes.

Some folks will likely disagree here—especially if you’re focused on Christian anointing traditions or have specific guidelines around your magical practice. For me, anointing is sacred and it is magical, so I use the terms interchangeably.

Angel Magic & Anointing

***Enhance angelic connections for protection and healing with sacred aromatics.***
**Learn More**

If you’re ready to receive powerful light codes for healing and spiritual connection, be sure to explore my alchemical collection of pure, botanical anointing oils.

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juniper stokes 8/25/22 juniper stokes 8/25/22

Here’s What You Need to Know about Buying Natural Perfumes and Essential Oils (aka how to avoid the frauds!)

The world of aromatics is fraught with artificial and adulterated oils that are sold as “pure” and “natural”. So how can you protect yourself? How can you make sure that the oils and products you’re purchasing are truly natural and high quality? Check out this complete guide on how to avoid adulterated, fraudulent, and synthetic essential oils and natural fragrances.

How to avoid adulterated, fraudulent, and synthetic essential oils and natural fragrances

Those of us who love natural aromas and essential oils do so because we know they are gifts from nature.

Every single plant on our earth carries both chemical and energetic signatures. When our own physical and energetic bodies receive the gifts of these plants, true healing and transformation can take place on every level of our being.

The same cannot be said for synthetic fragrances.

Not only do lab-created fragrances lack the vital life force and energetic resonance of true plant materials, they’re often harmful to our health and planet.

Unfortunately, the world of aromatics is fraught with artificial and adulterated oils that are sold as “pure” and “natural”.

Why? Because of the cost. True natural plant material is simply more expensive than synthetic ingredients across the board.

While I hope that someday we stop prioritizing greed over life, as a collective, we’re just not there yet.

So how can you protect yourself? How can you make sure that the oils and products you’re purchasing are truly natural?

I’ll be honest. I’ve learned to be very discerning with my ingredients the hard way…

Yes, despite my years of training and research I’ve been fooled—I’ve probably lost thousands of dollars to fraudulent suppliers and ignorant resellers over the years.

But I’ve learned some key lessons along the way. The following are my top tips for navigating the wild world of natural fragrances.

Here's what you need to know about buying natural perfumes and essential oils

1. If the price of an essential oil is too good to be true…it probably is.

This is probably the number one easiest and most important thing to look for. True plant material will always be more expensive than its synthetic counterparts.

Pro tip: There tend to be average price ranges for most essential oils. If in doubt, compare several companies’ pricing. Let’s look at a few examples…

How much does lavender essential oil cost?

Lavender essential oil tends to be one of the most affordable and available essential oils.

Based on a few of my trusted companies, one ounce of lavender EO tends to cost between $17 and $50—country of origin, variety, and organic certification affect the price.

The lavender EO from a popular oil supplier known to be fraudulent costs $30 for nine ounces!!! No, no, no.

How much does rose essential oil cost?

Along with lavender, rose essential oil is extremely popular—but it tends to be quite expensive. While true rose essential oil is available (and totally divine), the absolute* of rose is what most people purchase.

From my trusted companies, one ounce of rose absolute from Bulgaria (generally the most affordable rose) costs between $150 and $300 ($200 is the most common pricing).

Guess how much 1.69oz of Bulgarian rose absolute it from the popular fraudulent company? $36. Again, no, no, no.

(*Absolutes are extracted differently than true essential oils, though within the field of aromatherapy, the term “essential oil” is used as an umbrella to refer to all types of extractions.)

True plant extractions are expensive. And they’re worth it. Do your research and don’t become a sucker for a good price.

2. The same pricing rules go for “natural” perfumes, oils, sprays, candles, and fragrances of all kinds, as well.

Why is it that some natural perfumers sell a 30ml perfume for $20, and some for $300? Why is it that you can find natural perfume oils on Etsy for as low as $6 and as high as the sky?

Of course, many factors play into how a maker prices their products—experience, artistry, complexity, quality and variety of ingredients, time spent, market recognition, and much more.

But at a certain point, there is no way someone can be charging so little for a fragrance without using synthetics.

And here’s the tricky part…these makers usually aren’t intentionally being fraudulent. Instead, they’ve likely been fooled themselves and have sourced impossibly cheap ingredients. Or, they’re using a somewhat “expanded” definition of natural fragrance (more on that below).

If you want to protect yourself from synthetic aromas, trust your intuition and apply everything you learn in this article when making any purchase.

3. If a company sells both synthetics (aka “fragrance” oils) and essential oils, be very wary.

I’ve yet to find a company that sells both synthetic fragrances and good quality essential oils. And sadly, I’ve tried quite a few over the years. Maybe one exists, but in general, I take this as a major warning sign. (Not to mention, I personally don’t want to support the artificial fragrance industry.)

4. Watch out for fragrant flowers.

Rare and precious flowers delight our senses and form the heart of most natural perfumes. And, they’re very expensive. And, actually extracting essential oils (including absolutes and CO2s) is nearly impossible for many precious scents.

True rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, boronia, orange blossom, geranium, osthmanthus, tuberose, jonquil, lotus, chrysanthemum, and frangipani are a few florals that are perfectly possible to obtain naturally (though some will cost you well over $1000/oz).

Listed as ingredients, the following flowers are almost* always synthetic: lily of the valley, gardenia, lilac, daphne, any lily, honeysuckle, freesia, and hyacinth, to name a few. Anything described as “white florals” tends to point to synthetics, as well.

*The exceptions being labor-intensive enfleurage and tinctures—but you’ll pretty much never find these in commercially produced fragrances.

lily perfume — Any lily fragrance is most likely synthetic.

honeysuckle perfume — No natural honeysuckle essential oil exists.

5. Learn to identify the common synthetic descriptors.

While creative combinations of natural oils can produce a wide range of aromas, there are a few descriptors that are most often found with synthetics.

Two main categories to watch out for are one, anything described as “oceanic” or “aquatic”, and two, most fruity and food aromas.

This tip is definitely more of a general guideline than a rule. A talented alchemist can create marine notes, fun fruits, and sugary sweetness using naturals. I certainly do, and I even use these descriptors.

Overall though, these fragrance families are commonly synthetic. With oceanic and aquatic fragrances, this is because these descriptors were used to describe the aldehyde-based fragrances that became popular in the 1990s.

As for the foods, the frequency of synthetics is partly because there simply aren’t natural oils that smell like fresh peaches or plums, and partly because even food flavorings found in essential oils are often synthetic for cost reasons. Cinnamon and vanilla are a few of the most commonly adulterated essential oils (scientists are even piloting a vanilla flavoring made from plastic).

6. Beware of “clean fragrance” and natural isolates

“Clean” Perfume Houses

With growing awareness of the harmful effects of synthetic fragrances, many perfume houses market their perfumes as “clean”. These companies have a lovely list of EWG-approved ingredients, as well as a promise to be free from cruelty, phthalates, and all sorts of other known carcinogens.

This might be exactly what you’re looking for—in which case, shop away!

Just be aware that clean does not mean natural. These companies use what are called “safe synthetics” in their perfumes. So, if you’re looking for truly natural perfume and all the benefits it offers, be sure to look beyond greenwashing.

Natural Perfume Brands

Many perfumers call themselves “natural perfumers” because they know this is what people are looking for. These perfumers will use mostly natural perfume ingredients, but they rely on synthetics to make their perfumes. If you’re avoiding synthetics for any reason—especially health ones—this defeats the purpose. When in doubt, reach out to the perfumer and ask nicely, but very directly.

Isolates?

If you read the natural perfume ingredient lists of the most popular perfume brands today, you’ll often find words like cedrat, benzaldehyde, and alpha-isomethyl ionone.

Wait—you might as yourself-–how can something natural sound like it comes from a laboratory?

Because it does. Isolates are molecular extractions from plant origin, and the Natural Perfumers Guild includes them in its list of acceptable natural ingredients.

Since these chemical components come from plants, you might feel totally fine with using them. They certainly expand the perfumer’s palette!

Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing how these isolates were extracted (i.e. what process or chemicals were used), or what plant material they originated from. GMO origin is extremely common here, as well.

I personally do not use isolates, as I blend energetically as well as fragrantly. This means that bringing the whole, energetic presence of a plant into my blends is just as important as how it smells. Isolates contain none of the life force and spiritual blueprints for healing that whole plant materials do.

7. Parfum, perfume, and fragrance: A tip for purchasing natural products.

As with many of the words in this list, these terms are used for both synthetic and natural fragrances, meaning that there are no hard and fast rules here. However, if you see any of these terms on a natural product—think shampoos, body lotions, candles, etc—there is a 99.9% chance that synthetics are involved.

(FYI, I’ve found “Clean at Sephora” to be one of the worst offenders here. Bath and Bodyworks aromatherapy products might have some essential oils, but they most definitely have synthetics, as well.)

8. Be careful when sourcing from various countries.

First, there are plenty of unscrupulous companies in the US, where I live, as well as throughout the world. And, my worst experiences personally have been from when I tried to buy oils directly from suppliers in India and Egypt.

While I don’t like calling out specific countries or companies publicly, I’ve seen enough harm that I feel the need to specifically address these two places in particular.

First, India is home to many of the world’s most precious raw aromatics. Beautiful oils and true natural perfumes come out of India and I’m eternally grateful for all the amazing pure oils I have sourced from this country.

India is also home to a disproportionate number of online oil suppliers that sell blatantly synthetic oils as pure and natural. Too often, I see people think that costs are lower because they’re buying directly from the supplier.

This isn’t true. First, the prices are far too low even for a direct supply (yet just high enough to make you sorry if you buy too much…speaking from experience). Second, any experienced nose will be able to tell how fraudulent these oils are from a mile away.

Next, Egypt. I’ve seen many magical makers of anointing oil claiming to source their oils directly from Egypt. Maybe they have a good connection there…but I have my doubts.

I remember visiting perfumeries and oil houses during my own travels to Egypt. Time and again, I sat down to smell all these wonderful pure, natural oils. And time and again, my nose was disappointed.

Sure, if you like synthetic aromas (and many people do—our noses are trained to at this point), you’ll like what you smell. But these oils are not natural. While some, especially the florals, do smell close to the natural versions, any trained nose will pick up on far too many synthetic aromas in the mix.

So please, just be careful if you’re either sourcing directly from these countries or purchasing sacred oils from someone who claims to have gotten their oils from these locations.

9. Trust your nose.

Finally, trust your nose.

This is easier said than done for most folks. Modern life is filled with so many synthetic aromas and fragrances that most people have lost touch with what “natural” really smells like. But you can learn. The more you smell natural fragrances, the more you’ll be able to identify their synthetic counterparts.

Making the Shift to Natural Perfumes

If you’re worried that letting go of synthetics will leave you smelling like a patchouli-drenched hippie—think again. (Although, I do love a patchouli-drenched hippy myself.)

Elevated natural perfumes and anointing oils are far more than the aromatherapy blends you might be imagining. Give true natural fragrance a try and see what you think ;)

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3 Creative Ways to Celebrate Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice, Litha, Midsummer, or whatever your word of choice, is celebrated in many wonderful ways throughout the world, including dancing around bonfires, seasonal feasts, visiting sacred wells and waters, and leaving offerings for the fae. I’ll be dipping my toes into all of the above this solstice, as well as a few new activities I encourage you to try…

Summer Solstice is celebrated in many wonderful ways throughout the world, including dancing around bonfires, seasonal feasts, visiting sacred wells and waters, and leaving offerings for the fae.

I’ll be dipping my toes into all of the above this solstice, as well as a few new activities I encourage you to try…

1. Watch the sunrise and sunset with a grateful heart

Watching the sunrise and sunset has many benefits for our minds, bodies, and souls—what better time to intentionally set aside time for both than the Summer Solstice? On this day, allow the time, energy, and intention you give to witnessing the sun’s cycles connect you with its divine solar energy.

2. Collect the morning dew for magic and healing.

This idea came to me from Betsy Bergstrom, and I love it so much I wanted to share with all of you :)

If you’re in an area where lots of dew accumulates, you might be lucky enough to be able to fill a small jar with the dew of the solstice. Shake off leaves and tip full flowers into your vessel. This will be magically potent water that you can use for rituals, healings, and spells throughout the year.

If this means of collection is challenging, you can also soak a cloth in the dew of the grasses. Your cloth will become a healing cloth for the next solar cycle. You might lay it upon injuries or use it in rituals.

3. Take a prophecy walk.

One of the assignments I give to my Rewilding the Spirit students is to take a quiet, intuitive walk with the intention of receiving omens from nature. This walk can be in the woods or simply your neighborhood—often, closer to home is even more impactful because of your ongoing relationship with the spirits of your land.

As you walk, try not to talk or listen to podcasts or music. Set the intention to receive guidance about something that’s been on your mind, and then open your awareness to signs from the universe.

Betsy also mentioned that Solstice gives us a beautiful opportunity to set the intention of receiving prophecies for the year to come on this walk.

Remember, the universe communicates in symbolic language. Think of the messages from your walk as a dream to unravel over time.

How will you celebrate Summer Solstice this year?

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5 Steps for Communicating with The Spirits of Nature

The spirits of nature are always around us. You’ve probably sensed their presence on occasion. A tingling in your spine. A breeze that you just knew had a message for you. A stone with a face so clear it could not be ignored. It is absolutely possible to drop into deeper communication with these nature spirits. All it takes is a heartfelt intention, patience, and practice. Here are five steps to get started.

The spirits of nature are always around us.

You’ve probably sensed their presence on occasion. A tingling in your spine. A breeze that you just knew had a message for you. A stone with a face so clear it could not be ignored.

It is absolutely possible to drop into deeper communication with these nature spirits. All it takes is a heartfelt intention, patience, and practice.

Do you want to start communicating with the spirits of nature? Here are five steps to get started.

1. Slow Down

Feel into the pacing of your life. For most of us, a sense of tension or frazzled energy arises. Why? We’re moving at a rapid pace that is foreign to our natural way of being.

When you’re tied to your to-do lists and glued to multiple screens, it’s next to impossible to be present. But the present moment is exactly where you’ll find the spirits of nature.

While most of us love the idea of a slower paced life, actually getting there is another story. It’s actually an act of revolution.

You can begin by carving at least a bit of time each day to pause and focus on the present moment. Go for a meandering walk. Meditate for 10 minutes. Anything that helps you just be is welcome.

Then start bringing slowness into more of your life as it is. When you’re preparing food, for example, really be present. Remind yourself that the rush is often self-imposed. Put on music you love, delight in the colors and flavors and creativity and nourishment unfolding on your cutting board.

As a slower pace of life becomes more natural for you, your energy will shift into greater attunement with the pace of nature. This alone opens the door to communication with nature spirits.

2. Harmonize with Nature’s Rhythms

Similar to slowing down but just a bit more intentional, harmonizing the rhythms of your life with the rhythms of nature is another powerful way to cultivate the ability to communicate with the spirits of nature.

Here are a few simple ways to explore living in alignment with the cycles of nature:

Watch the sunrise and/or sunset each day. This has powerful impacts on your physical body and spiritual well-being.
Practice moon gazing. Spend a few minutes gazing at the moon each night. Over time, you’re body will start syncing with lunar cycles. Notice the unique ways this affects you physically and energetically.
Eat seasonally. Do you know what’s in season when where you live? Or better yet, do you grow a bit of your own food? Eating seasonally doesn’t need to be extreme—I certainly still eat salads in the winter! It can become an intentional way to connect with the seasons though. What does your body crave right now?

As you track your energy levels, moods, and physical body throughout these cycles, you’ll begin to learn more about what your authentic self craves. Then, as you make adjustments based on this information, you’ll find that the voices of nature’s spirits become even louder in your awareness.

3. Tune into Your Body

Our bodies are of the earth, and they are powerful vessels for receiving the earth’s messages.

Remember, the spirits of nature don’t necessarily speak English as a first language ;)

One of the most common ways for the spirits of nature to communicate with us is through our bodies. This usually comes in the form of feelings and sensations.

Trust what you feel—even if you don’t know what it means right away. This confirmation of spirits’ presence is the first step.

Then, over time, you’ll start unpacking the messages you receive in ways that are unique for you.

Some will see images, others will hear words, and still others might just have a knowing. Regardless of how your communication comes through, know that it will happen.

You can use your breath to begin attuning your body to receive nature’s wisdom. Follow your breath into the present moment. Then bring your awareness to your body. Notice the sensations without judgment. Then expand your awareness beyond your body to the nature spirits around you. What shifts? What sensations can you start associating with their presence?

Another way to prepare your body for communicating with nature spirits is to drop a grounding cord deep into the earth. This attunes you our mother’s energy and keeps you grounded as you open your intuitive sight.

4. Start Where You Are

All of us cohabitate with numerous land spirits. This includes the ones we can see—the trees and stones and birds—and the ones that exist just parallel to our 3D reality—the fairies and devas and ancestral spirits.

These beings are well aware of your presence.

Forming relationships with the beings you already live with is a beautiful way to show respect to the more-than-human world. You’re life already impacts these spirits of the land, and when you become more conscious of this, these spirits will often respond quite clearly.

It’s important to remember that this is true even of those who live in apartments or in areas that seem more separated from the spirits of nature. These beings live everywhere, and they don’t view property lines in the same ways that we do.

One beautiful way to begin cultivating a relationship with the spirits of your place is through a sit spot practice.

Simply find a place that you visit regularly—once a week at minimum.

Then, spend some time there regularly. Notice the plants, stones, and animals that frequent that place. Observe how it changes throughout the seasons.

Practice slowing down, opening your senses, and tuning into your body.

Notice where your thoughts travel while you’re here, or insights that might arise throughout your life because of your sit spot time.

This is nature communicating with you.

It’s not uncommon to receive a gift after several visits to your sit spot. If you’re so lucky, be sure to give thanks and treat this gift with the reverence it deserves.

5. Reciprocity

Perhaps the most important thing anyone who wants to communicate with the spirits of nature can do is practicing reciprocity.

The earth gives us so much. And it restores divine order when we give back.

What does reciprocity look like? There are many ways to nourish a reciprocal relationship with the earth. Here are just a few ideas, and I encourage you to practice all of them!

Love and gratitude. Offering your heartfelt love and gratitude for the simple presence of nature’s spirits and the earth herself is invaluable. The earth feels this gift from your heart. Intention, focus, and authentic love are all that’s needed. If you’re really dropping in here, you’re eyes will probably start to water from the power of your gift and receptivity of the earth.
Picking up trash. We’ve probably all come across the random bit of trash on a hike or walk in nature—some places with more than others. The spirits of nature are truly harmed by this litter, yet they rely on us to remove it for them. Bring a bag with you wherever you walk or hike and pick up garbage as you go. This act alone just might accelerate your ability to communicate with nature spirits faster than anything else.
Offerings. Giving physical offerings to the earth and her inhabitants, especially when you’re gathering her gifts, is greatly appreciated by the spirits of nature. Just be sure that the gifts are appropriate and won’t disrupt the natural ecosystem (when I visit the delicate desert ecosystems in Canyonlands I only offer love). Small crystals, a strand of hair, cornmeal, dried plants, or fairy foods are all common offerings.
Lifestyle. Is your lifestyle ecofriendly and sustainable? Are the products you use natural? The deeply ingrained structures of modern life make it next to impossible for us to live as sustainably as we wish we could. But even if personal lifestyle changes seem like drops in a bucket for the challenges our earth faces, what you do matters. The spirits of nature are watching, and they are far more willing to communicate with those who show them love and respect through daily actions and choices.
Earth Tending. As your nature spirit communication deepens and your spiritual skills grow, you may feel called to the art of earth tending. This involves spiritual and energetic practices that actively support our earth. Energetic and crystal grids, soul retrieval for the land, clearing dense energies, and transfiguration ceremonies are just a few of the potentials in this realm.

It’s more important than ever for all of us to learn to communicate with the spirits of nature and the earth herself.

Not only do these beings need us to show up and act on their behalf, they can guide us safely through the turbulence ahead in exchange.

And the more you tend to the wild spirits around you, the more in touch with your own wild spirit you become.

The world needs our wildness awake and alive.

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juniper stokes 4/20/22 juniper stokes 4/20/22

8 Benefits of Partnering with the Spirits of Nature

Why working the elements, the fae, and other spirits of the land is the key to making magic and miracles happen.

What are the benefits of working with the spirits of nature?

All of us co-exist with a wide variety of nature spirits—some we can see, like trees and stones, and some are best met through our other senses, such as fairies and elves.

When we enter into conscious relationship with the seen and unseen beings all around us, miracles begin to unfold in our lives.

Why? Because our connection with these beings influences every part of our lives, whether we’re aware of it or not.

Many of the nature spirits around us are very aware of our presence, our behavior, and our intentions.

When we ignore them, which honestly they’re used to at this point, at best they ignore us as well. But depending on the type of spirit and our behavior, we could find ourselves experiencing lots of unhelpful blocks or trickster energy.

Still others are basically asleep to our human world. We’ve ignored each other for so long that it’s as if we’re both living our own parallel yet separate dreams.

This separation is an illusion though. We co-exist and do influence each other. When we “wake up” these beings through the loving intention to create a reciprocal relationship, an immense amount of spiritual support becomes available to us.

Anyone who continues to deepen their relationship with the natural world will experience gifts across the spectrum of life. Here are a few…

1. Spending time in nature is good for our health.

There are entire books written on the physical and psychological benefits of spending time in nature—The Biophilia Effect by Clemens G. Avrayis one of my favorites.

From the way our coevolution with plants makes them potent sources of medicine, to the healing terpenes found in summer forests, to the countless studies that show seeing greenery and growth alleviates depression, and so much more—spending time in nature is critically important for our health.

2. The nature spirits can offer us unseen support for all of life.

The better relationship we have with those we live with, the happier our lives will be—this is equally true for people and spirits.

Just as nature spirits can create obstacles or have trickster energy, they can also remove obstacles and create seeming miracles in our lives.

Cultivating a strong relationship with the spirits of nature where you live can help you be at the right place at the right time—even if it seems unrelated to being in nature. Meeting important people, finding the new opportunities, and experiencing greater abundance are all natural outcomes of right relationship with nature spirits.

3. You and your property will experience extra protection.

One particular area of support nature spirits can share with us is that of protection—for yourself, your loved ones, and your property.

When I lived in Denver, porch pirates were rampant in my neighborhood, and other theft wasn’t uncommon. Every single day, I would partner with the spirits of nature to surround my property and home with spiritual protection—and we never once had anything stolen.

I want to be clear that there are no guarantees here—sometimes shit just happens. But I absolutely know that we were supported by the spirits of our place in this way. (I mean, I ordered a lot of boxes…especially during the pandemic. this really does seem miraculous to me!)

4. Deepening your relationship with nature leads to magical and practical gifts.

The more you engage with the natural world, the more the natural world will engage with you. At a basic level, this can be seen in the joy of a successful garden, finding “treasures” on your walks and hikes, discovering secret spots in nature, amazing animal sightings, and intuitive hits on which plants to turn to for healing remedies.

I spent about a decade deepening my relationship with the nature spirits of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and sooo many gifts emerged over our time together—including lots of fun animal encounters, which I pretty much live for.

But the one animal I always wanted to see but never had was a big bear. Over the years, I saw moose, fox, elk, mountain goats, tons of birds, and many more…but in all my time I’d never gotten to see a bear.

On my final trip to my favorite spot in the mountains before moving out of state, I finally saw a huge brown bear. It sauntered right by me, no more than 20 feet from where I sat. It took years of love and dedication, but I know this sighting was a true gift from the nature spirits there.

5. Partnering with the spirits of nature is key to our survival.

At this point, when we look at the massive changes and imbalances on our planet, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. We must start listening to the needs of nature if we’re to have any future at all.

Partnering with the spirits of nature is how our ancestors survived, and it’s time for us to do the same.

When we learn to really listen, we tap into a hidden resource for navigating a rapidly changin world We intuitively know how to prepare for extreme weather events, how to plan for seasons and crops, when to move, where to find the medicinal and edible plants, and so much more.

Please understand that this doesn’t mean we’re immune to the collective effects of natural disasters and climate change. No one, no matter how beloved you are to the earth, can escape the effects of our collective actions, not to mention there’s a lot of mystery and karma involved here.

It does mean though, that you will absolutely be better prepared and supported for navigating the times ahead.

6. You’ll be able to work magic with the elements.

I’ll admit it: One of my pet peeves in spiritual communities is the tendency to cry out for “rain dances” in times of drought and fire, or to perform collective ceremonies to stop flooding, to ask the wind to blow another direction and soften its gusts.

Yes, working with the elements is important and possible. What drives me crazy, however, is the idea that we can ignore the elements, abuse the earth, and then simply decide to “do ceremony” for the weather when it suits our needs. Nope!

Being able to perform weather magic and work with the elements is a privilege that comes from taking the time to establish a long, secure, reciprocal relationship with these powerful energies.

But when you really take the time to come into deep relationship with the elements, everything becomes possible.

The elements are the building blocks of our world and carry immense power beyond our comprehension. Working with the elements is the key to making magic with real-world, miraculous results, both in your personal life and in service of our collective.

7. Partnering with the spirits of nature helps you rewild your life.

We evolved in intimate connection with the land, the seasons, and the more-than-human world. Returning to these natural connections restores our essential nature—the truth of who we are before society and culture tame our wild spirits.

Your true self is uniquely gifted to fulfill your role on our planet. When you tune into your true nature, you’ll find that you already know what to do and when to do it. You’ll find joy and wholeness are already within.

Rewilding takes us out of chronos time and into kairos time, a circular wild world where anything and everything is possible.

The wild spirits of nature remember how to be wild. They can help you remember, too.

8. You’ll experience greater fulfillment as you expand your circle of compassion.

Partnering with the spirits of nature opens you to an entire new world of meaningful relationships, and you’ll soon discover that you’re never really alone.

Nurturing these relationships opens us to more meaningful dimensions of life and brings deep fulfillment on a soul level.

Want to learn how to start working in partnership with the spirits of nature? Here are 5 Simple Steps.

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