Posts by Janet Conner
2024 Astrology Forecast!
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 48–in which we ponder the question: Is astrology predictive? Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I have offered an astrology forecast every year since 2015. So this is the tenth. Although I love astrology, I’m not an astrologer, not even close. And I…
Read More5 books that fed and formed me in 2023
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 47–in which we look back at the books we read in 2023 and follow their breadcrumbs Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, In the first week of The Lotus and the Lily prayer intensive, we looked back at all that happened in 2023…
Read MoreIs another world possible?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 46–in which we ponder how changing our one little life changes the world Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” Arundhati Roy I love…
Read MoreIf Buddha walked a labyrinth
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 45–in which we listen deeply to the Buddha’s greatest teaching in a radical new way Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, The Lotus and the Lily—book and intensive—was born on January 1, 2010 when I read Thich Nhat Hanh’s short, powerful book, You Are…
Read MoreThe Lotus and The Lily Q & A
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 44–in which we ponder two strange teachings of Buddha and Yeshua and ask a few questions Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Thank you for your heartfelt responses to last Sunday’s Notes from the Field. That sentence from John O’Donohue—Let us waste our hearts on…
Read More“Let us waste our hearts on fear no more”
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 43–in which we ponder what it takes to welcome the life that wants to be lived amid a world imploding with violence and grief Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, By the time you read this, you will have been moved—dare I say, transformed—by the lunar…
Read More10 mystical truths in The Lotus and the Lily
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 42–in which we put our toes on the threshold, take a deep breath, and enter Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I have spent the entire week preparing the closing ceremony for the second intensive in the seven-intensive series called The Witch Sequence.…
Read MoreWhat did the eclipse reveal?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 41–in which we ask, voices breaking: what can we do, what can we do, what can we do? Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Last Sunday, I promised that in today’s Notes from the Field, I would open registration for the upcoming The Lotus…
Read MoreMy 20-year love affair with a dead man
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 40–in which we look back and ask: was that a prayer or a spell? Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I spent the last week preparing to open my annual intensive The Lotus and the Lily. This will be the 13th time we’ve gathered to…
Read MoreThe Theatre of the Miraculous reveals her true colors
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 39–in which the Theatre of the Miraculous reveals her true colors Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, On this first day of October, a day that whispers a hint about the magic of the year to come, I’d like to tell you a…
Read MoreHonoring the river of time on Equinox
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 38–in which we ponder the passage of time on the Libra Equinox Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, This has been, and continues to be, a powerful weekend, a sacred passage in the long story of time. Today, as I write this Notes…
Read MoreWhat is your Astonishment?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 37–in which we wake up to astonishment Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Last Sunday, I shared a powerful paragraph from Annie Dillard in The Writing Life that has been my primary teacher. (Here it is, if you missed it.) She, along with Ray Bradbury,…
Read MoreWhat can prayer teach you about prayer?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 36–in which we ponder the question: who will teach us to pray? Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, When tragedy strikes, how do you react? Do you look at the images in horror, wanting to turn away but somehow can’t? Do you cry?…
Read MoreWhat is Safety? What does it mean to be Safe?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 35–in which we ponder what it means to be safe Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, It’s been quite the week! A hurricane, Idalia, came for a visit. As I said last Sunday, I’ve experienced a few hurricanes in my 4 decades in Florida,…
Read MoreHere comes the wind!
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 34–in which the wind blows, we know not where Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I had big plans for today’s Notes from the Field. But as always, I am not in charge and this week I’m not in charge in an almost…
Read MoreLife, Death, Rebirth and the Banyan Tree
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 33–in which we feel hope rising Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, When the fires on Maui broke out on August 8, the world was shocked. Transfixed. Lost in mourning. How is this possible? How can Hawaii, the land we think of as…
Read MoreA Prayer from the Fire
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 32–in which the fire reminds us how to pray Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I had all kinds of beautiful ideas for today’s newsletter. I wanted to talk about finding your Heart’s Desire, the one thing that just keeps getting richer and…
Read MoreWhy crossing the threshold between worlds matters
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 31–in which we ponder why the ability to cross the threshold between worlds matters Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, This Notes from the Field will be short because I’ve been totally immersed in preparing the Opening Ceremony for the 2nd labyrinth walk in…
Read MoreHow witches heal the wasteland
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 30–in which the ancient labyrinth starts whispering clues to the pre-patriarchal past Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, When the word witch arrives, things change. I don’t know anyone who has welcomed that word, even reluctantly, who has not experienced alchemical shifts in their life. Their…
Read MoreAre you in a witch artistic period?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 29–in which we ponder our artistic period Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, On Friday morning, as I slowly began to surface from a dream-filled sleep, I did what I always do: I stayed perfectly still on my pillow with my eyes closed.…
Read MoreCreativity isn’t what–or where–you think it is
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 28–in which we ponder the where and the how of a magical creative life Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, When we think about creativity, we invariably get it all wrong. We look at creative people—be they writers, artists, musicians—and think they’re special.…
Read MoreWhat do labyrinths, dragons, witches, Equinoxes, and 7 have in common?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 27–in which we ask a question no one has asked: what do labyrinths, dragons, witches, Equinoxes, and the number 7 have in common? Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I’ve spent the last week trying to write an outline for a video to…
Read MoreA whole new world is under construction in The Mystic
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 26–in which a whole new world is under construction in The Mystic NOTE: Birthday sale ends TODAY Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, In the last few Notes from the Fields, I’ve given you peeks into what is happening right now as a…
Read Morewhat do witches and theta brainwaves have in common
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 25–in which a strange connection between witches and the theta brain wave state surfaces Last week for the birthday sale! Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Before we begin, let me send a hearty welcome to the dozens of new subscribers who found…
Read MoreWe are beginning to see “the path to the path”
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 24–in which we begin to see the mysterious “path to the path” And a new item in the birthday sale Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, We use the term “path” so often that I sense we no longer understand it or see…
Read MoreDo dreams dream the future?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 23–in which a dream dreams the future And the birthday sale continues Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, You’re not getting the Notes from the Field I had planned for today. Because I am in a deep creative state. Too deep for newsletter…
Read MoreThe Golden Grail event
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 22–in which witch comes calling, bearing her gifts, this time for you! And the first birthday sale in 3 years continues Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Witch comes for all who need her. When we need her. She comes when we are ready. Although we…
Read MoreI have a couple birthday gifts for you
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 21–in which a bit of birthday review reveals a door to morphic resonance AND–the first birthday sale in 3 years! Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, When I started having depth numerology consultations for my birthday with Emma Kupu Mitchell, she taught me…
Read MoreDid you plant your magic seed?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 20–in which a joyous New Moon invites us to plant a magic seed. And we discover Jack has nothing on us Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Friday was a New Moon. But not just any New Moon. It was a magic New…
Read MoreThe search for God the Mother
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 19–in which we remember our Mother–our ancient eternal Mother Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Today is Mother’s Day in the US. Other countries celebrate mothers at different times and seasons. But it seems all cultures find a day to honor the sacred…
Read MoreFriday was a wild eclipse, wasn’t it
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 18–in which the dragon in our natal charts makes a Beltane eclipse appearance Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I had big plans for today’s Notes from the Field. Big news to share. The Field is bursting with new life, just as spring always…
Read MoreDemolition reveals a witch story!
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 17–in which bathroom demolition reveals quite the witch story Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, In that first year of Covid and quarantine, I, like everyone, couldn’t miss the inequities of life in this country. Some people, largely of European extraction, found ways…
Read MoreToday is the 26th birthday of deep soul writing
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 16–in which we remember the puppy who made deep soul writing happen Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, When you open this Notes from the Field on Sunday morning, as I know many of you like to do, you will be reading about…
Read MoreWhat’s your final ten feet?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 15–in which we ponder our final ten feet Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, This weekend is probably the most intense of the entire year for me. I’ve spent the last week with my collaborators in Ireland, England, Hawaii, and New Mexico creating…
Read MoreMary Magdalene is my safe harbor
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 14–in which we look back at stories we’ve been told and whisper, “maybe not.” Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, This past week is tough for me. I loathe this week so much I considered skipping a Notes from the Field. But in…
Read MoreLearning to see
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 13–in which we decide it’s time to learn to see Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Since the beginning of this sacred seven year, I’ve found myself tumbling head over heels in love with a surprising and luscious discovery about the mystical life.…
Read MoreToday is Day 1
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 12–in which we begin, because it’s DAY ONE in a cosmic window of 77 days. Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, This week is so full of magic and possibility, that I sent a special edition of Notes from the Field on Thursday…
Read MoreA very special Notes from the Field on a very special day
2023 the year we learn to listen to life March 23–the wildest day in the wildest week in the wildest month of the wildest decade Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Our Lady, Queen of Magicians kept me up half the night with three pages of notes for today’s rare special edition newsletter.…
Read MoreThe Queen of Magicians sent you a letter
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 11–in which The Queen of Magicians sends a letter! Still round the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate and though I oft have passed them by a day will come at last when I shall take the hidden paths that run…
Read MoreMystica InnerVersity has a CREST and MOTTO
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 10–in which magic gets real! Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, So much magic is happening and it’s happening at the speed of love. Last Sunday, I introduced you to Our Lady, Queen of Magicians, and her Raven, who somehow flew through Cathy…
Read MoreWho is that Raven at the door?
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 9–in which Raven squawks at our door and we hear him say something vaguely familiar Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I thought last week was the height of magic. NOTE: If you missed that Notes from the Field, you might like to…
Read MoreYour body has 5 brilliant intuitive senses
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 8–in which we go to bed one person, wake another, and are thrilled! Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Five years ago, this past Thursday, I went to bed knowing who I was (or rather thinking I knew who I was) and woke at 4am…
Read MoreWhere are you? I ask. She answers.
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 7–in which we ask “where are you” and She answers Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, What is it about February? There’s something sacred about this month, though I didn’t know it or see it for a very long time. But now, as…
Read MoreWhat to do when Mother quakes
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 6–in which Mother quakes and we don’t know what to do Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, This week has been raw for us. All of us: humans, animals, plants, rocks… Because our Mother quaked. She shook Herself. We can look at this…
Read MoreEros: it’s not what you think
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 5–in which our heads spin as we realize we have always misunderstood Eros Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I’ve spent all this past week immersed in Archangel Michael’s radical teachings, his false and true images, his rather shocking essence, and his mind-boggling color.…
Read MoreMichael explains the Theatre of the Miraculous
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 4–in which Michael explains what really happens when we gather in the Theatre of the Miraculous Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I’ve been totally immersed in the world and images and words of Archangel Michael and Luci for over a month. My…
Read MoreMichael and Luci speak for the first time
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 3–in which everything we thought we knew about the angels is upended–and our minds are rearranged Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I don’t know how many prayer intensives I will create each year, or what they’ll be about, or who I’ll create…
Read MoreMessages from Archangel Michael
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 2–in which Archangel Michael is present and vocal! Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, It’s not an accident that the first prayer intensive for 2023, a divine seven year, introduces two archangels: Archangel Luci and Archangel Michael. I say “introduce” because everything we’ve…
Read More2023 has 3 questions for us
2023 the year we learn to listen to life Week 1–in which we take our first steps in a seven year filled with mystery, and listen as life begins to softly sing her radical song of transformation Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Here we are: in the first week of a seven…
Read MoreThe theme for 2023 emerges
2023 the year we learn to listen to… Week 0–in which we ponder the strange in-between place we are in, neither the old year, not yet the new Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I started tracking the number of each week at the top of these Notes from the Field newsletters in…
Read MoreA closing prayer of Love for 2022
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 52–in which we look back and ponder what we heard in this year of “learning to listen to love” Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I’ve been listening in the silence for the theme for these Notes from the Field letters for…
Read MoreA Winter Solstice prayer gift
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 51–in which we sit beside the ancestors in the dark–and something miraculous happens Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Note: Our Winter Solstice celebration with Rabbi Tirzah and Emma Kupu was Sunday at 2pm Eastern. You can still register and receive the…
Read MoreSolstice calls us to sit in the womb of the Mother
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 50–in which we enter the womb of the Mother to listen for the sound and scent of wonders to come in 2023 Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I spent Friday with my two favorite astrologers, cos-mythologist Marcia Wade, and shamanic astrologer…
Read MoreOur 3rd annual Winter Solstice gathering is now open
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 49–in which we pause to consider the mystery and magic that awaits us in the sacred return of the Light at Winter Solstice Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, First, let me say I’m floored by how much you loved last Sunday’s…
Read MoreMy top 5 books for 2022
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 48–in which we read, and read some more, for the sheer ecstasy of the sacred medicine leaping off the pages Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I am a voracious reader. You know that, right. If you followed me when I had…
Read MoreI looked back. And was shocked.
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 47–in which we stop and look back at what happened in 2022–and are startled Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Do you know who’s most surprised by what happens in my intensives? Me. You might assume that because: I’m the one who…
Read MoreIs a mandala a spell?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 46–in which we realize 2023 is on the horizon and the hour to cast a sacred spell is at hand Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, REMINDER: The Lotus and the Lily opens tomorrow, Monday, November 14 with a live gathering at…
Read MoreWhat the 11/8 lunar eclipse portends
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 45–in which we answer the call to become drips of hope Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Today, Sunday November 6, is an auspicious day. Or perhaps a word that better describes how you might be feeling is ominous or intense. You…
Read MoreWhy I couldn’t wear a witch costume
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 44–in which this witch has a few things to say about witches at Halloween Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, As a child, I hated Halloween. I hated dressing up. And I especially hated all the creepy witch costumes. I never dressed…
Read MoreWhat REALLY happened this year?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 43–in which we receive an invitation Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, An evocative invitation arrives this time each year. But most of us stay too busy to notice. For eleven months, we move through the year hoping to find some kind…
Read MoreThe inner mystery of a name
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 42–in which we ponder the mystery and power hidden in a name Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, This is my first week back in my chair in my writing office working in happy partnership with my new computer. She is a…
Read MoreWhy did the hawk scream on Yom Kippur (again)?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 41–in which I was given a strange gift indeed Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Thank you for your kind concern and prayers last week when there was no Notes from the Field. You probably assumed it was the hurricane. It wasn’t.…
Read MoreWho you gonna call in a time of chaos? Why Chaos, of course!
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 39–in which we commit to looking at the world upside down in order to find a way to right ourselves Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer and mystery, It’s been an extraordinary week, hasn’t it. Seven days of change, change, and more…
Read MoreWhen one Queen dies a new Queen is born
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 38–in which we ponder our new archetypes and their symbols Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer and mystery, The Queen has died. This sentence has stirred all kinds of intense and often conflicted feelings around the globe. Some people shrug. Some celebrate.…
Read MoreThe magic waiting at the edge
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 37–in which we ponder our edges, all our edges Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer and mystery, I have been pondering this word edge ever since it arrived as the delicious—dare I say edgy—name of the intensive Marcia Wade and I are creating, Goddesses of the…
Read MoreWhat the Dormouse (and Carl Sagan) said
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 36–in which we follow a wild trail of magic until we hear what the Dormouse said Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, It’s been a most magical week. Not that I planned it. You can’t plan these things. You can prepare, but…
Read MoreTheta, soul writing, neural pathways, and you!
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 35–in which we listen to the voices of animals, trees, rocks, and–why not–planets Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, It doesn’t seem possible, but as of this April, I’ve been listening to the voice of the Sacred Feminine on the pages of my…
Read MoreAre you an “edge-dweller?”
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 34–in which we ponder what will happen when we spin the Wheel of Fortune! Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, In last Sunday’s Notes from the Field, I mentioned five brilliant storytellers. One of them, Sharon Blackie, is the author of If Women Rose…
Read MoreThe Sky Goddesses want you to hear their stories
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 33–in which we gather around the fire as a great storyteller tells the original stories Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, What is it about the people you love to listen to? What makes them someone you look forward to being with? Think…
Read MoreI almost missed a sacred anniversary
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 32–in which an anniversary creeps up on me and leaves me stunned Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, On Tuesday, August 2, I worked for several hours with cos-mythologist Marcia Wade on a fun, ground-breaking prayer intensive we are cooking up for…
Read MoreThe most profound words I ever heard
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 31–in which we consider the most profound words we’ve ever heard Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, NOTE: I wrote this for The Way of the Rose Facebook group as part of a 54-day novena exploration of the most profound sayings of Our Lady of Woodstock–all…
Read MoreWhat price is fear extracting from you?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 30–in which we invite a dead artist and her Death card to speak Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, According to all the astrological portents, we are stepping into a volatile week. Perhaps the wildest of the entire year. And it’s already…
Read MoreThe space telescope and the Goddess
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 29–in which we see what no one has seen. And come home to the holiness of the female body. Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Such a strange magical week this has been. On Tuesday, July 12, NASA released the first five…
Read MoreHeretic or obedient servant?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 28–in which we ask ourselves: Am I a heretic? Or obedient servant of domination? Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, First, let me say thank you for all the WOW emails after last Sunday’s Notes from the Field. If you missed it,…
Read MoreDon’t get mad. Get sovereign
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 27–in which our eyes are opened and we make a radical decision Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, This week has brought me and everyone I know to a shocking halt. On June 24, the United States Supreme Court took away my…
Read MoreWhat’s the antidote to fear?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 26–in which the tower collapses, and yet, we know exactly what to do Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, It’s been a brutal week for women in America. And a shocking one for sisters around the world who take reproductive rights for…
Read MoreWhat is the blueprint of your life?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 25–in which we peek inside a seed and discover the blueprint in the seed is the blueprint coming to life in each of us Check back for this week’s video! Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, On Tuesday, June 21, in the…
Read MoreWhat does remember really mean?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 24–in which we explore the strange meaning of the word remember Check back for video! What does the word remember mean to you? Without thinking about it, you’d probably say recall or recollect. We tend to think of remember as accessing a fact or piece of information stored somewhere in…
Read MoreWhat the Eleusinian Mysteries can teach us about Songlines
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 23–in which we ask the Eleusinian Mysteries to teach us about the mystery of mystery schools Check back for video! Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I’m in a strange place. A place I never imagined I would be. I am creating…
Read MoreHow the slaughter of the innocents ends
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 22–in which we commit to create a whole new structure; the one we inherited from patriarchy is killing us Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I get a lot of help writing these newsletters. Typically, I will be awakened in the night…
Read MoreJeanne d’Arc has an invitation for you
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 21–in which Jeanne d’Arc and Black Moon Lilith conspire to get our attention Check back for this week’s video! Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, At this time last year, 85 of you were preparing to join me for a radical event, The Return…
Read MoreExhausted? You’re not crazy.
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 20–in which we discover we are not crazy. Exhausted, but not crazy Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Are you feeling strange? Out of sorts? Utterly exhausted? Do you sense an ominous pall slowly spreading over the earth? You are not crazy.…
Read MoreA message from Kahu Lahela and the Ancestors
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 19–in which we listen to the wisdom of the Ancestors on how to restore ourselves to pono Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I have been blessed beyond blessed to bring you mystical prayer intensives for the last four years that are…
Read MoreWhat does this destiny reset mean for you?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 18–in which we are being reset, whether we know it or not Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, As you read this Notes from the Field, it’s probably May 1st. For you that might mean May Day. Or Beltane, the ancient Celtic…
Read MorePrayer is alive and Kahu Lahela can prove it
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 17–in which we realize that prayer–real prayer–is alive Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I’m a prayer artist. Prayer is the heart of my life, the drumbeat of my heart. I never get tired of praying or learning about prayer or experimenting…
Read MoreHow can we possibly pray for everyone who needs it?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 16–in which everyone seems to need prayer Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, I always note the number of the week in these Notes from the Field letters. Somehow, there’s a seed of insight in the number. We are in the 16th week in…
Read More“I am that woman”
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 15–in which we remember that we are all those women Friends, soul writers, mystics, witches, and lovers of prayer, Today’s Notes from the Field is a prayer. And not just any prayer. I wanted to do something to celebrate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to…
Read MoreThe new Lunar Year message and prayer
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 14–in which we welcome the new lunar year with a mystical message and a prayer Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Last Sunday, I wrote about the Chandra for the Lunar Year that began on April 11, 2021 and ended last Thursday, March…
Read MoreLook back before this lunar year ends
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 13–in which we look back to gather seeds before this wild lunar year ends Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, We are in a sacred moment. But it’s one you might not automatically recognize. The Lunar Year that began last April 11 is coming…
Read More7 questions that reveal clues to your past lives
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 12–in which we begin to notice all the strange and delicious clues to our soul’s many stories Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Does the word reincarnation scare you? Creep you out? Bore you? It’s not a word I like. I rarely if ever use…
Read MorePerdita Finn pierces the veil on reincarnation
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 11–in which we explore the strange mystical pretzel called time Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, A strange thing happened this week. A very strange thing. Strange but at the same time thrilling and perfect. It happened because I’m in the early stages…
Read MoreYour soul is whispering its long story
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 10–in which we begin to hear whispers of the long story of our souls Video comming soon! There is always a wild mystical adventure behind my prayer intensives. I trust you know by now that I don’t try to think up topics to teach. Which…
Read MoreCan prayer reach “the good king”?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 9–in which we ask “What medicine do you need to return to your soul?” NOTE: This is not the Notes from the Field I planned. But it is the necessary one. I intended to extend a luscious invitation to an event for writers—introverted writers! I was blessed…
Read MoreBecause They Could Not Speak
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 8–in which we acknowledge the responsibility to speak for those who have been silenced Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Today’s Notes from the Field will be short and super-focused. As you read this, I am preparing to open a radical prayer gathering…
Read MoreIs Pluto carrying the Grail Question?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 7–in which we realize Pluto is carrying the ancient clarion call to ask the Grail Question Check back for the video! Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, How many people pushed your buttons this week? Drove you crazy? Made you yell? Sent you…
Read MorePluto: Astrologer Emma Mitchell answers questions about the planet of transmutation
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 6–in which we fasten our seatbelts because February is the tipping point Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, In last Sunday’s Notes from the Field, I talked about the impact Pluto is having on the planet as he marches across the United State’s…
Read MoreLove asks us to do some reckoning
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 5–in which we realize that love requires reckoning Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, When my son came home from college the summer after his freshman year, we were talking in the living room one evening about something in the news that upset…
Read MoreThe strange paradox of freeing your voice
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 4–in which we discover the radical paradox in Free Your Voice hiding in plain sight Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, The first prayer intensive for 2022—the year we learn to listen to love—is about to open. You might well assume that because I’m…
Read MoreWhat is the holiest word you can say?
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 3–in which we learn to speak our holy yes and our holy no with love Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, What’s the holiest word you’ve ever spoken? The first thought that may pop into your mind is “Yes.” Yes is held up…
Read MoreWeek 2: An ancient queen frees a modern woman’s voice
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 2–in which an ancient queen frees a modern woman’s voice Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, In last Sunday’s Week 1 Notes from the Field for 2022, we began a 52-week-long walk to learn to listen to love. (If you want to hear…
Read More2022 reveals her (radical) theme
2022 the year we learn to listen to love Week 1–in which we explore the radical possibility of love Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, I am writing this first Notes from the Field for 2022 on January 1. If you’ve read The Lotus and the Lily, you know that January 1 has been…
Read MoreWeek 52 and 2021 finally reveals her meaning
The year of the body–Week 52 in which we finally realize what 2021 has really been about Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Well, here we are at the completion of our 52-week experiment. When I sat down to write the first Sunday Notes from the Field for January 3, 2021, I typed something…
Read MoreA funny thing happened on the way to the 2022 forecast
The year of the body–Week 51 in which we release the need to know and start dancing in the Field of Possibility Video coming soon! Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, If you’ve been reading these Notes from the Field for a while, you know I have offered an astrology forecast each December…
Read MoreThe magic is coming in 9 days
The year of the body–Week 50 in which we remember the ancient story and our place in the story Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, I set out to write a very different Notes from the Field than the one you have in your hands. I had an outline. I had a plan. But…
Read MoreRabbi Tirzah has some Magic for us at the Winter Solstice
The year of the body–Week 49 in which we are invited to dance with magic of the Sacred Feminine at Solstice Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, I am just now recovering from the Lunar Eclipse on November 19, when an intense birth experience happened—a birth that will reveal something important about the life…
Read MoreWhat did you read this year that cracked you open?
The year of the body–Week 48 in which we remember the books that mattered Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Thank you for all your sweet supportive emails and comments on Facebook and YouTube about my experiences moving through this massive birth portal time of eclipse and looking back. It’s lovely to hear that…
Read MoreYou’re not exhausted, you’re being birthed
The year of the body–Week 47 in which we let go of the life we thought we wanted and enter the birth canal into the life we really want Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Are you feeling exhausted? Bone-deep exhausted? There’s a reason. Ever since I stepped off the corporate hamster wheel of…
Read MoreListen as 2021 sings her song on a labyrinth
The year of the body–Week 46 in which we listen carefully and hear 2021 sing her song Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, The 12th edition of The Lotus and the Lily opens today, Monday, November 15. After leading 11 groups in this magical process starting in 2010, you might assume I understand this 30-day…
Read MoreDo you really know what happened in 2021?
The year of the body–Week 45 in which we ask ourselves what really happened in 2021? Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Do you know what happened in 2021? You’ve walked through almost 11 months of this five year. What has it all meant to you? Before you attempt to answer that question,…
Read MoreYour mandala is far more magical than you realized
The year of the body–Week 44 in which we discover the mandala is far far more magical than we ever knew Read the blog, as always, or watch me read the blog below! To subscribe to Notes from the Field on YouTube, click here. Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, When I announced…
Read MoreThe Lotus and the Lily is open: uninstall patriarchal thought patterns
The year of the body–Week 43 in which we realize that before we can create a beautiful life, we need to uninstall the patriarchal thought patterns planted deep in our psyches Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, For 11 years, mystic souls around the world have gathered in mid-November to complete and integrate…
Read MoreYou are not praying, you are being prayed
The year of the body–Week 42 in which prayer whispers the great paradox and mystery of prayer Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Something happened during The Return of the Witches pilgrimage this summer that dramatically altered how I construct my prayer intensives. For the 5th gathering for Marguerite Porete, Marguerite’s champion got…
Read MoreHana I Ka Pono requests a new definition of prayer
The year of the body–Week 41 in which prayer reminds me she is the one redefining prayer–and she’s not finished Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, I started redefining prayer in 2018. Mind you, I never asked for that job. Who would say, hey, I think I’ll redefine prayer today. No one. Who…
Read MoreWhat’s coming in 2022? Ask October
The year of the body—Week 40 in which we open the door a crack and see what 2022 has in store for us Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Welcome to October. October may well be the most important month of the year. We just don’t realize it. We think October is simply…
Read MoreA message from Kahu Lāhela and her Nā Kupuna
The year of the body–Week 39 in which the ancestors speak. And Kahu Lahela listens. Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, When I invite a mystic to lead a prayer intensive with me, I always ask her to write a personal message to you, the subscribers of these Notes from the Field. Typically,…
Read MoreHo’oponopono is alive and asking for change
The year of the body–Week 38 in which prayer proves she is ALIVE. Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Prayer is alive. Alive. That means prayer grows and morphs and changes. That means sometimes she steps aside and sometimes she marches onto center stage and bursts into song. I never know what prayer is going…
Read MoreWhat happens when god changes pronouns?
The year of the body–Week 37 in which She whispers through the mists of time: I am here. I never left. Come find me. Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, I write these Notes from the Field on Saturday. I’ve learned over these last 9 months in this year of the body, that…
Read MoreChaos calms when we listen to what wants to be heard
The year of the body–Week 36 in which we swirl in chaos until we find our footing in the threshold–and listen to what wants to be done Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, This past week has been over full with chaos, pain, and suffering. We watched in horror as the last plane left Afghanistan…
Read MoreCross the Threshold: Radical new Writing Down Your Soul intensive in ten days
The year of the body–Week 35 in which we discover how we seed miracles in the world Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, As you read this Sunday Notes from the Field, I am in the Closing Ceremony for The Return of the Witches pilgrimage, where you can be assured something magical is happening.…
Read MoreOur hearts all want to know: what can I do?
The year of the body–Week 34 in which our hearts break for Afghanistan and we ask ourselves, what is mine to do? Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Our hearts are breaking over what is unfolding in Afghanistan. Everyone I know is worried about women and girls losing the small freedoms and education…
Read MoreDeep soul writing just got more miraculous
The year of the body–Week 33 in which our creative capacity grows and grows some more–and something surprising emerges Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Since we spoke last Sunday, I’ve had a glorious week of deep soul writing discovering new events for 2022 in the Theatre of the Miraculous. Creating events that help…
Read MoreA radical proposal for Lion’s Gate
The year of the body–Week 32 in which we dance under the Lion’s Gate portal and a few things change around here! Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer If you are reading this on Sunday, August 8, you are reading under the conjunction of an ancient portal called “The Lion’s Gate” at 15⁰…
Read MoreWhen you say yes and the Feminine Sacred sends her approval!
The year of the body–Week 31 in which we say yes and get a giant leap of confirmation Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, We are in the 31st week of the year of the body, a 5 year. Five we know is change, divine change, feminine sacred change moving in and through and…
Read MoreWhy is deep soul writing so radical?
The year of the body–Week 30 in which we remember that deep soul writing was once banned and the book was burned Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, In 1310, a woman was burnt alive because she wrote a book. She had the audacity to write a book about the mystical life, in…
Read MoreI asked an angel for help and he said…what!?
The year of the body–Week 29 in which an angel reminds me who I really am–and who you really are Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, I turned in the manuscript for Writing Down Your Soul on November 11, 2007. For a couple weeks, I sat in my soul writing chair and stared at the…
Read MoreLove in Action: How soul writing guides us to find home
The year of the body–Week 28 in which we find our way home Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, A lot has happened this week, hasn’t it! Perhaps we could blame it on the evocative dark moon we are under right now in Cancer. What is Cancer? Home. Hearth. Heart. Intimacy. Security. Comfort. Community.…
Read MoreWriting Down Your Soul: When you write, who is writing?
The year of the body–week 27 in which we explore the mystical question: When you write, who is writing? Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Shortly after prayer artist arrived, I had a startling revelation that prayers are really lyrics—lyrics to the love songs of your intimate and rather ecstatic sacred marriage. You and…
Read MoreYour divine voice: learn to hear it OFF the page, too
The year of the body–week 26 in which a giant grasshopper hints at what’s to come Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, For me, deep soul writing started on the page in 1997 and stayed on the page for several years. I was flabbergasted when a voice on the page started responding to my…
Read MoreIt’s my 73rd birthday and your 73% gift
The year of the body–week 25 in which I celebrate my 73rd birthday and give you a birthday gift Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, I turned 73 this week on Wednesday, June 16. On my birthday, I did some soul writing. Nothing surprising there, I do some soul writing every day. But given that…
Read MoreWho does your divine voice say you are?
The year of the body–week 24 in which I look back at my first entry in my first soul writing journal 24 years ago and get a bittersweet surprise Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Twenty-four years ago, on April 23, 1997, I picked up a pen for the first time and something happened.…
Read MoreEpisode 35: Mary Magdalene with Sophie Strand
Sophie Strand writes wild and glorious essays that upend everything we think we know about our myths, legends, stories, and beliefs.
Read MoreWhen witches start speaking, magic starts flying
The year of the body–week 23 in which witches start speaking and magic starts flying Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, The Return of the Witches Jeanne d’Arc Listening Pilgrimage has begun. We had a profound Opening Ceremony with Sabin Bailey on Friday and met Queen Jezebel at the foot of Mt Carmel on…
Read MoreEpisode 34: Queen Jezebel with Allison Charron
Thanks to the bible story, Jezebel’s name became a slur that strikes terror in a woman’s body. There are a lot of surprises in this conversation with Allison Charron.
Read MoreThe one question our sacred ancestors want us to ask
The Year of the Body: Week 22 in which a Cathar woman from the 13th century reaches across time to hand us the one question we most need today Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, How much possibility can one week hold: We had an intense lunar eclipse that will reverberate all summer and…
Read MoreEpisode 33: Cali White
Cali White has done the work: explored the history, found the wounds, and led women’s healing circles across the UK and Ireland.
Read MoreWhat miracle will you find at the end of the pilgrim road?
The Year of the Body: 21st week in the 21st year of the 21st century in which #21 shows us the integration and unification waiting for us at the end of the pilgrim road Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Today is the day. The hour has come. The invitation is yours. For…
Read MoreWhat’s the real reason witches were murdered?
The Year of the Body: Week 20 in which the sacred feminine and sacred masculine give birth to a big and holy child Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, This is a most sacred and pregnant moment. And I think it’s not an accident that it is happening during the 20th week of this…
Read MoreEpisode 32: Perdita Finn
It’s been 9 months since the last show. And it’s not Covid’s fault. Or is it?
In this episode, you’ll discover what happened last August that brought the show to a screeching halt, why Janet is proud to embrace the once-terrifying label “witch,” and who Joan of Arc—the greatest witch of all time—might have been.
Read MoreWhat mystery connects your body, Mother’s Day, and Joan of Arc?
The Year of the Body: Week 19 in which we step into the female body and discover a mystery or two lurking there Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Today is Mother’s Day in the United States. Mother’s Day is a fraught holiday with deep tendrils in the transition from honoring the female body…
Read MoreI asked Perdita Finn for a message. She sent a story.
The Year of the Body: Week 18 in which we return to 1431 and hear women whispering about the return of a mystery Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, You have heard me sing the praises of the magical mystical Perdita Finn. From the moment I opened The Way of the Rose: The Radical…
Read MoreWill the real Joan of Arc please stand up.
The Year of the Body: Week 17 in which we begin to unravel the mysteries of the most famous mystic witch of all time Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Who was Joan of Arc? There is perhaps no more mysterious or amazing woman in history. She is the only person condemned by a…
Read MoreWhat’s your natural rhythm of time? Ask your body.
The Year of the Body: Week 16 in which we take the first sip of the Bottle Labeled Drink Me…and notice something Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Welcome to a new lunar year with the rather startling Chandra: A bottle labeled drink me The force of events sweeps away who we thought we…
Read MoreIt’s day 1 of a new year. Are you ready to open the bottle?
The Year of the Body: Week 15 in which the body stands under the dark moon and ponders a new year Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Happy New Year! Today is day 1 of a new lunar year. It is the perfect moment to look back at the wild lunar year that just ended…
Read MoreA personal message from April McMurtry
The Year of the Body: Week 14 in which the body feels the urge to return once more to life and to love Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, I always ask the mystic who will be leading our next prayer intensive to write a message just for you, the readers of these Notes from…
Read MoreHow does seeing time as circular alter your experience?
The Year of the Body: Week 13 in which the body notices the difference between linear and circular calendars Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, Like all well-educated Western thinkers, I use a calendar. This was never a conscious choice. It just came with the territory of growing up in a linear left-brain…
Read MoreWhat will happen when you open a door with an ancient carved moon?
The Year of the Body: Week 12 in which the word witch reveals her ancient and holy meaning at the perfect moment–the Equinox Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, On December 26, 2019, I was awakened in the night with a new prayer, The Queen’s Love—a prayer that I am only now, on this…
Read MoreP is for Perpetrator. But who is the perpetrator?
The Year of the Body: Week 11 in which the body reveals the secret spot where the perpetrator is buried Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, I have spent the last week thinking about perpetrators. Not because I want to. Who wants to focus on the pain one person inflicts on another. But…
Read MoreA personal message from mystic Tanya Taylor Rubinstein about Somatic Writing
The Year of the Body: Week 10 in which the body experiences miracles Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, This has been a week of miracles. Not the miracles that look like buckets of money or anything tangible like that. But miracles nonetheless. I’m inclined to think these ephemeral miracles—the ones that cannot…
Read MoreWhat stops you from creating what you long to create?
The Year of the Body: Week 9 in which I receive the biggest mystical assignment of my life, discover and melt the trauma hidden in my body, and… Friends, soul writers, mystics, and lovers of prayer, On Thursday, I celebrated the 3rd anniversary of being awakened in the night with the assignment prayer artist. That assignment…
Read MoreWhat story does your body want you to hear?
The Year of the Body: Week 8 in which deep soul writing meets deep body writing and falls head over heels in love Friends, soul writers, lovers of prayer, When people hear my name, their first thought is: oh, yes, that woman who wrote a book on soul writing. And that is me. I did write Writing…
Read MoreYour body knows something valuable about you
The Year of the Body: Week 7 in which our bodies reveal the true source of our value, great ideas, and confidence Friends, soul writers, lovers of prayer, I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. In theory, it’s a sweet holiday but in reality, children’s hearts are broken when they don’t receive many valentines.…
Read MoreLet’s talk about that icy black puddle you keep stepping in…
The Year of the Body: Week 6 in which Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow and winter continues…or maybe not! Friends, soul writers, lovers of prayer, This week was ripe with mystical dates. Dates that, if it weren’t for the humorous celebration of Groundhog Day, I would have missed. And I bet you missed them too.…
Read MoreA 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…
Read MoreYour dead are calling. Do you know how to listen?
The Year of the Body: Week 4 in which our bodies exhale, our hearts celebrate, and our prayers resuscitate the dead Friends, soul writers, lovers of prayer, And we thought 2020 was intense. Ha! In just three Wednesdays, we’ve reeled from watching a live insurrection on TV, to applauding the second impeachment of a…
Read MoreIt’s time to Take Back the Magic
As we enter week 3 in 2021, the year of the body, we can’t help but wonder what will happen now? None of us knows for sure; we’re all holding our breath. You may not be conscious of it, but you probably haven’t taken a long sweet cleansing breath since you saw a crazed right-wing mob…
Read MoreYour body knows what really happened this week
We just lived through the first week of 2021. A year, I said in last Sunday’s Notes from the Field, would be the year of the BODY. And what a first week! We watched an angry mob of white male bodies screaming and circling the US Capitol building, crash into the building and crush the…
Read More2021–The Year of the Body
Friends, soul writers, lovers of prayer, and everyone lining up to welcome 2021, As we say goodbye to the wild four years of 2020, I’m reminded once more that the numbers themselves hold a lot of wisdom and magic for us. The four isn’t actually departing. She kicked off a whole decade of four, so each…
Read MoreA radical Astrology forecast for 2021
Friends, soul writers, lovers of prayer, and everyone waiting with bated breath for the 2021 forecast, As I sit down to write this final Notes from the Field for 2020, my internal eye skims over the 50 letters I’ve written this year. In the stillness, I listen for a theme, a story, a song to…
Read MoreIs tonight the dawning of the Age of Aquarius?
“Stop being so small. You have the whole universe within you.” Rumi Friends, soul writers, lovers of prayer, Tonight, Sunday, December 20 is the eve of a most auspicious Winter (Summer down under) Solstice. For the first time in 800 years, Jupiter and Saturn, the largest planets in our solar system, are coming so close that…
Read MoreThe heavens invite us to learn to fly this Winter Solstice
“Many thousands of years ago ancient seers understood revering the Sun as the highest symbol of divine consciousness and its light the spiritual source of creation” The Path of the Spiritual Sun, Belsebuub When Rabbi Tirzah and I followed a shared intuition to offer a winter gathering to release 2020 and welcome 2021, we were focused…
Read MoreWhat wants to be reborn on Winter Solstice?
On this first weekend of December, I am reminded that the Winter Solstice always ushers in something I’m not expecting or requesting. It is a gift. A gift that is sacred, wise, and holy. And always—always—it is a surprise. Even though I know this is a sacred time of rebirth as we await the return…
Read MoreAre you ready to Exhale!
Before you read this Notes from the Field, stop for a second and notice how you are breathing. Smooth and gentle? Fast and thin? Perhaps a bit short or rough around the edges? Until someone calls us to notice our breath, we’re pretty oblivious. In addition to being oblivious to our personal breath, we tend…
Read MoreDancing in the threshold between worlds
I’ve been navigating the threshold between worlds for 24 years. I just didn’t know it. Or rather, I didn’t know that’s the name for what I was doing. But I do now. And having a name, a clear, descriptive, and rather delightful name for dancing in the mystery makes me very happy. I first stumbled upon…
Read MoreHow did the mandala I made in January know what would happen?
In a year of one magical and mysterious week after another, this one was a topper. And in a way I never, ever expected. This week, I was reminded just how alive the mandalas we create in The Lotus and The Lily are. You’d think I’d know this. After all, I’ve led Lotus and Lily…
Read MoreThere is one question that must be asked
Has this not been the week to cap all weeks? And not just for Americans. I’m in several international groups and everyone everywhere has been holding their breath. On Saturday at noon, as Celtic author Sharon Blackie welcomed 300 people around the world to the second class in her Your Witch Will Come course, she…
Read MoreThe 9 Mothers of Stella Maris prayer
In Sunday’s blog, I promised to give you a special prayer to carry us through to the end of the year. It’s called The 9 Mothers of Stella Maris. I will be setting it up as a podcast episode with lots of extra goodies, but for now, I simply want to get it into your…
Read MoreNow, about that bat bite…
Well, this has been quite the wild week, hasn’t it! How much misery and mystery can one week hold? In the Misery department: The US government admitted that the parents of 545 immigrant children can’t be found. And anyone with a heart cried. A judge who is the diametric opposite of everything Ruth Bader Ginsburg…
Read MoreA Lotus and Lily like no other
The emails have begun. I get a flurry of them this time of year from people anxious to register for The Lotus and The Lily prayer intensive that opens in mid-November and always sells out. But this year your emails have a more frantic tone. For 10 years, mystic souls around the world have gathered for 5 weeks starting in mid-November…
Read MoreWhat I learned about prayer from the Hamilton cast
Saturday was the third day of the dark moon. The dark moon is a time of divination. Of illumination. Of healing. And this dark moon was no exception. She delivered quite the gift, and I’m pretty sure it’s as much for you as it is for me. Although we now live drenched in artificial light,…
Read MoreI prayed and my prayer beads exploded
Stella Maris, Star of the Sea First light, Last light Guide us all safely home The 9 Mothers of Stella Maris Can you pray too much? Never thought I’d ask such a question! I’m pretty sure the answer is no, but I did have a week so full of prayer that it seemed that a…
Read MoreThe dots that connect prayer, miracle, safety, home
“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” Roald Dahl I prepare to write these Sunday Notes from the Field by spending Saturday reviewing all that happened in the last seven days in my deep soul writing journal. Even after 23 years, I am surprised by what surfaces. Bits and pieces that seem unrelated suddenly…
Read MoreI found my home! What’s yours?
In this strange strange year, we’ve spent a massive amount of time at home. For some, this has been a blessing of sorts. For most, it’s been a struggle. On all fronts. Every part of our lives has been altered. Work and what we used to consider to be important or valuable work has changed.…
Read MoreWhen we cannot see the path…
This has been a most extraordinary week. I know it seems I open every Notes from the Field with this sentence, but this has been a most extraordinary year, hasn’t it. And this past week felt like it encapsulated the whole wild story of 2020. On Tuesday, we held the first Mother Moon Yoga on…
Read MoreIs yoga prayer? Is Mother Moon Yoga a prayer intensive?
I am a Prayer Artist. Not because I decided I was. How could I? I’d never heard of such a thing. And neither had anyone else. I know this because when I googled prayer artist, nothing—I mean nothing—came up. But I clearly heard those two words whispered in my left ear in the wee hours…
Read MoreAnxiety? Disturbed sleep and digestion? Mother Moon Yoga is coming!
I have much to share with you today—the big news is that Mother Moon Yoga will be open later this week. But first, I have a question: Do you feel a slight tickle on your cheeks? That’s me! That’s all the kisses I blew at the computer screen as I read email after email from so…
Read MoreShe called me a witch…
“Most men have never had to fear sticking out from the crowd far enough to elicit the heart-stopping accusation of ‘Witch!’ Ancient female wisdom–medical and otherwise–accumulated painstakingly over eons went up in flames along with the ‘witches.’ How to calculate and comprehend how much European civilization lost when its men nearly annihilated its wise women?”…
Read MoreHow to hear the story that heals
“When I read the finished poem, I realized that I had never written anything like it before. The normal buffer between the inspiration for a poem and the poem itself was entirely absent. I wasn’t sure how it had happened, and I wasn’t sure I could do it again. Two days later, having failed to…
Read MoreEpisode 31: Clark Strand
This is a conversation like any other on Praying at the Speed of Love. Because the conversation isn’t really with Clark Strand. It’s with Ma Kali herself. And she’s quite the conversationalist!
Read MoreWhat really happens when you make one tiny choice to write
Writing Down Your Soul, the book you all know and love, was published 11 years ago on January 1, 2009. This was not the date I planned. I turned in the manuscript on November 11, 2007 and thought she would come out the summer or fall of 2008. But the timing was clearly divinely appointed.…
Read MoreThe opposite of patriarchy isn’t matriarchy, it’s …
This has been and continues to be a most extraordinary year. And I don’t think we have even begun to understand what is afoot. We came into 2020 with a knowing that everything was about to change—every astrologer has been saying that. They’ve been beating the drum of change since 2015. Each year has had its…
Read MoreSorrow is Speaking
In last Sunday’s Notes from the Field, I shared a few radical truths that I received at the center of the labyrinth and promised to tell you what happened on Saturday, July 25 that explains the direct parallel between what patriarchy has done to women and what patriarchy has done to prayer. However, I’m going to…
Read MoreWhat was done to women is what was done to prayer
I was awakened in the wee hours last Sunday morning and clearly heard: “What was done to women is what was done to prayer.” I thought I understood—at least a little—what that meant. Because I’ve been studying what was done to women under patriarchy, and, as a prayer artist, exploring how gorgeous prayer was before…
Read MoreThe 5 prayers in the lost mystical tradition
I had a lot of plans for today’s Notes from the Field. In fact, I had so many delicious topics related to the labyrinth that I was having trouble picking what to write about in this last newsletter before we open a new prayer intensive on Tuesday. I thought I might talk about the labyrinth…
Read MoreThe labyrinth has a voice and she is speaking to you
Friends, soul writers, and lovers of prayer, The labyrinth has a voice. And I experienced it this morning. Here’s what happened. In the night, I saw myself stepping onto a labyrinth for my daily anointing practice. I didn’t write anything on the yellow pad that is always in bed with me, so I think I…
Read MoreEpisode 30: Amy Grossblatt Pessah
Prayer really comes alive in this conversation as we meander through the relationship with the divine as a relationship with a wise loving parent.
Read MoreWhat will you discover in the Mother’s embrace?
Describing the first time she walked the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral, Lauren Artress wrote: “I feel we had touched the Holy Spirit. Each of us had ventured to the center of our beings in the Chartres labyrinth that day. I received the embrace of Mary. I had, unknown to me at that time, ventured into…
Read MoreWhat will you hear when you stop, really stop?
“The labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral is created out of 272 stones inlaid in the floor of the nave…each stone representing one day of human gestation in the mother’s womb.” Lauren Artress, The Sacred Path Companion Friends, soul writers, and lovers of prayer, There is so much bubbling up right now. And I’ve had to…
Read MoreSolstice and Eclipse and Dark Moon…oh my!
“This is the most important week of the entire year.” Emma Kupu Mitchell Friends, soul writers, and lovers of prayer, This week has been extraordinary for everyone. Everywhere. And for many, it feels like too much. Too much unknown. Too much chaos. Too much betrayal. Too much exposed all at once. Too many dark truths…
Read MoreEpisode 29: Christine Valters Painter
This conversation with Christine Valters Painter is perfect for a time of pandemic and quarantine. Rich insights, a gentle mediation, and more await you!
Read MoreTwo gifts for you: “Breathe” and my birthday sale
“I can’t breathe” George Floyd Friends, soul writers, and lovers of prayer, Last Sunday I introduced the first Prayer Vigil with Kahu Lahela Johnson chanting Oli and leading us in Ho‛oponopono, the ancient Hawaiian prayer of forgiveness. I’ve written about how much I love this prayer for several years now. But, like all original ancient prayers that…
Read MoreThe perfect prayer for the 1st Prayer Vigil to “make love visible”
“We are all awakening to a new dawn, a sacred time to break the spell of slumber that has separated us from the Divine Goddess who breathes life into us, who nurtures and loves us unconditionally. We are urged to reclaim our sovereignty and authenticity, cut the cords of constraint and control, and take back…
Read MoreTake back your power and restore wholeness with Ho’oponopono
“Hoʻoponopono cuts the negative cords that bind us to our past and energetically releases us from all wrongdoings, giving us a new sense of freedom to live our lives in a state of reverence for one another and for all of life, essentially reawakening the Divine Goddess within.” Kahu Lāhela Johnson Friends, soul writers, and…
Read MoreThe miracle of Ho’oponopono returns in our time of pandemic
“Ho’oponopono is a spiritual-soul method of purification that cleanses us from fears and worries, destructive relationship patterns, and any religious dogmas and paradigms that oppose our personal and spiritual development.” Ho’oponopono, Ulrich E. Dupree Friends, soul writers, and lovers of prayer, Ho‛oponopono is a miracle prayer. My son—and I—are living proof. In last Sunday’s Notes from…
Read MoreThe strange gifts of quarantine, pilgrimage, and prayer
“What matters most on your journey is how deeply you see, how attentively you hear, how richly the encounters are felt in your heart and soul.” Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage Friends, soul writers, and lovers of prayer, This has been a truly strange yet wildly magical week. Once upon a time, I had big…
Read MoreEpisode 28: Phil Cousineau
This conversation is a feast of history, meaning, and possibility. Just the food we need to transform quarantine to radical pilgrimage.
Read MoreWhat makes an “original prayer” original?
“Creation has been left incomplete, and human beings, that is all of us, are needed by creation–and the Creator–to do the ongoing work of completing it.” Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, The Receiving Friends, soul writers, and lovers of prayer, What makes an original prayer, original? There’s a question I never expected to ponder. It’s not a question…
Read MoreA personal message from Rabbi Tirzah Firestone
“In mystical terms, each of us is an entire world or garden unto ourselves. And just as there was a healing tree at the center of the Garden of Eden, so each of us has a healing tree at the center of our individual psyches.” Rabbi Tirzah Firestone Fellow Carriers of the Original Starter, (keep…
Read MoreWhat Kabbalah can tell us about the meaning of Covid-19
“It strikes me as ironic that the coronavirus was given the name COVID-19 by the World Health Organization. Strangely, COVID bears the same consonants as Cavod or Kavod, the ancient Hebrew word for glory, honor, or divine Presence.” Rabbi Tirzah Firestone Fellow Pilgrims, And yes, I do believe we are all pilgrims now. In the past,…
Read More4 mystical practices for our pilgrimage of transformation
“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” Arundhati Roy Greetings companions on the radical pilgrim road, On this pilgrimage that we are sharing—this radical pilgrimage, this radical alchemical pilgrimage that asks nothing less of us but total transformation—we can, if we…
Read MoreEpisode 27: Estelle Frankel
Dropped deep into The Mystic, Estelle led us into wordless prayer, cries of the heart including howling, and the three octaves of unknowing.
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