A message from Perdita Finn–and the Dead!
The Year of the Body: Week 5
in which we laugh again, sleep again, and discover the last thing the Dead want is to RIP
Friends, soul writers, lovers of prayer,
What is it with January?
Typically, January is presented as little more than a commercial moment in which to purchase new diets and exercise programs to create the new, thinner, and therefore happier you.
But then the real January comes along. And it’s nothing like the sanguine image. Often, it’s a wild ride. And the real January of 2021 was right up there with the craziest death-defying rollercoaster. But even a rollercoaster has to stop.
And when the rattled riders get off, what’s the first thing they do? Laugh!
And that’s exactly what happened this week. We laughed. Maybe for the first time in months.
Who made us laugh? Bernie. In his brown mittens and grey parka. That image suddenly cropped up everywhere. Like the boy in The Sixth Sense who keeps saying, “I see dead people,” we kept saying, "I see Bernie!"
He showed up a dozen times a day in some of the funniest memes of all time.
My Goddess, but it was refreshing to laugh again!
And we slept. I noticed the shift right away. And I wasn’t alone. Turns out “slept” was the most searched word last week.
And my Goddess, wasn’t it refreshing to sleep again!
I’ve been a bit of a hermit the last few months, doing little more than read, soul write, and pray.
While I sat and walked in silence, something was cooking in me. I know that feeling. I know when my body says be still. I trust that in that stillness, something will happen. It always does. And it’s always a surprise.
This winter season has brought me several rich surprises.
- My mystical life has deepened.
- My prayer life has exploded.
- My creativity has gotten wild and glorious.
- My relationships have sweetened.
- Even my finances are stronger despite doing almost no work.
How did this happen?
I’ll tell you. And you might find the answer rather strange. It’s the Dead.
You may remember that Perdita Finn and Clark Strand led a prayer intensive with me last March on the ancient goddess rosary. In the middle of that intensive, Covid exploded and we went into lockdown.
I loved that intensive (so did over 80 of you) and I fell head over heels in love with the pre-patriarchal rosary. But I had no way of knowing that that intensive and that prayer practice were just the beginning.
Before the year was out, I would co-lead intensives on 4 of the 5 Original Prayers.
And then, in June, Perdita announced she was going to offer her first-ever ancestor practice class for just 12 people. My body started to shake. With stumbling fingers, I typed, “I’m all in!” on Facebook. And in I was. But, I actually had no idea what I’d signed up for!
That first class was in June. And when it ended, I signed up for the next and the next and the next.
And with each successive session on how to work more and more magically with the dead, the dead came more and more magically to life.
My Goddess but it's great fun to work with the dead!
And miracles ensued.
But it took me till a cold night in November to realize the single most powerful thing that happened to me in 2020 was working with the dead.
Here’s how it happened.
I had opened The Lotus and The Lily as I do every November. But this year the intensive had to be different because 2020 was so radically different. So I began to change the content of each gathering.
The night before our 3rd session, I was awakened in the dark and asked 8 questions in quick succession.
This had never happened before, so I listened carefully and jotted down the first thing that came to mind on the yellow pad that is always beside me.
Here are 5 of the questions:
- Who made the greatest impact on your life this year?
Perdita Finn - What idea grabbed your attention and won’t let go?
The body - When did everything shift?
April 26 - What left?
Doubt - What arrived?
The dead
The next morning, I took all the questions into deep soul writing. None of the answers changed, but they did deepen.
And that first one—the who question—got clearer and clearer.
Not only did Perdita and the rosary kick off my commitment to the 5 Original Prayers, which were given to me on Sunday, April 26, but learning how to partner with the dead opened the door to Mystic Witch, writing fiction, and having the audacity to create a Return of the Witches novena under the guidance of Jeanne d’Arc (coming this summer).
Would any of this have happened without my eyes opening to the living presence of the dead and their desire to help me become my fullest mystic self?
I don’t think so.
And that’s always the impetus behind any prayer intensive I offer. I dive into something, have profound mystical experiences, and then invite you to come and play in these magical fields.
And magic is the only word for playing with and praying with the dead.
Don’t believe me? Read this delightful note Perdita wrote just for Notes from the Field. Then come and register, we open Tuesday.
A message from Perdita Finn, the artist of the ancestors
"Since I’ve gotten to know the dead, I never feel alone anymore. I know that behind me, beneath me, and all around me are mothers and fathers, children and friends, lovers and guides I do not always remember—but who never lose track of me and are always waiting to lend a helping hand. Even the ones I didn’t like so much when they were alive. They’re around, too, usually with an improved perspective, thank goodness.
What happens when we engage with them? What kind of lost magic can we recover? What kind of miracles can we birth into our lives? I have seen the dead find people homes and bring them their soul mates. I have watched as they healed families and protected the land. I’ve experienced in my life so many unexpected experiences that I only laugh now and make sure to assemble the ancestral team before going to the mechanic, starting a journey, writing a book, or talking through something hard with a friend.
Recently I was worried about one of my children so I started assembling the team on the other side…my mother, of course, and my friend Dave because he could fix anything, and his no-good dog who once bit my son and has some amends to make. That next morning my son came downstairs and, out of the blue, ten years since that dog was hit by a car, announced, “Remember Dave’s dog? That was a bad dog.”
Right, I thought. In a few days, though, I have a feeling that I’ll be telling you how grateful I am for his help. Yup. Dave’s dog got the job done.
That’s the way it is with the dead. They show up when you call.
The dead are right here. All the dead are right here. All the dead who have ever been. Not just your ancestral mothers and fathers, but your karmic ancestors, and your parents from other lives, and your tree and animal and fungi ancestors. They are all right here. And they are waiting for us to get to know them, to play with them, and collaborate with them as we live our lives.
I hope you will join us as we Take Back the Magic and get to know the dead together.
Blessings!
Perdita
Join Perdita Finn and me in the first prayer intensive for 2021: Take Back the Magic, Take Back the Dead
We open Tuesday, Feb 2 (yes, Groundhog Day!) at 7pm and meet for 3 Tuesdays, followed by a mystical celebration on Sunday, Feb 21 at 2pm.
I alternate the times so you can attend some live events no matter where you are in the world. We have quite a few members in Europe.
Everything is recorded so don't be concerned about not being live on the calls.
All the details, introductory video, schedule, registration on the page below.
This week I recorded a bonus video with Emma on the oil Mary Magdalene dictated for working with the dead. (it's wild!) Plus I made a new one on the three-part anointing process that includes your Mystic Family Call, Cast Your Circle, and the new Garden of Reverence full-body anointing.
I'll send the welcome email with access to those bonus videos as soon as I get your registration. Plus an invitation to our private Facebook group if you want to join that.
Take Back the Magic Take Back the Dead
to playing with, and praying with, the delicious, delightful, magical dead!
Janet
PS Rowe Center asked Perdita to give a free talk "The Gospel of Groundhog Day." It's tomorrow, Monday, Feb 1 at 7pm eastern. Click on the link to get access to that.
But please don't wait to register for Perdita's and my prayer intensive until after you've heard that talk.
We anticipate a lot of people joining us after that talk and I am limiting our live sessions to 100 people.