Three fires. Three antidotes.
Week 2--in which we consider the nature of fire
Beautiful Ones,
This moment is fraught with fear and worry and loss. But paradoxically, it’s also alive with possibility and hope. It’s all happening simultaneously in three very different fires.
The first fire is the one we are all watching: the fires in Los Angeles.
I lived in LA from 1972 to 1976. Those years were packed full of adventure and self-discoveries. I taught deaf children for Los Angeles Unified School District, studied acting with incredible teachers, and was blessed to live in both Laurel and Nichols Canyons.
I have tried to find my homes on the fire maps and something stops me every time. My heart knows I simple cannot bear to see homes I loved reduced to ash. And so, I pray.
The second fire is even bigger:
The fire of hate.
Hate is a horrific fire destroying everything and everyone who dares to stand in its way. Hate destroys kindness and cripples human connection. It burns down centuries of incremental progress. We witches, mystics, oracles, priestesses, and myrrhophores know what the fire of hate can do. The fire of hate is now lapping at the fragile foundations of this country. Hate has set the world on fire before. And it can again.
The antidote to hate is love and prayer in community.
We had a taste of the sweetness of coming together in love to ring in the new year with Jennifer DeVille Catalano and her Crystal Tones Alchemy singing bowls. It was such a transformational experience, that everyone asked for more.
Jennifer intuited immediately that the perfect day to gather to receive the love and healing of the bowls would be Sunday January 19 on the eve of the US inauguration.
The bowls gave her the title, United We Pray.
Cathy Stevens Pratt is hosting the event. Cathy will send everyone who registers a link to the recording right after it ends, so we can hear it over and over.
Here's the poster Cathy created and the link to register. It’s just $19.
There is a third fire:
But this one does not destroy, it creates.
We tend to see fire only as an instrument of destruction. But there’s more to fire than that. Do you remember reading that after the fires in Yellowstone years ago, new growth sprouted almost immediately.
Turns out there are seeds that can only come to life after a fire.
Consider how this botanical truth comes alive in your own life. When a terrible thing happened to you, did it seed something too? It sure did in my life. Now, mind you, while you’re in the horror, in the fear and pain, you are not looking for the seed.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Here are a few “fires” in my life to illustrate what I’m trying to say:
- A life-threatening divorce cracked open a seed that grew into Writing Down Your Soul and transformed me from an HR consultant to a spiritual author.
- Facing bankruptcy cracked open a seed that grew into The Lotus and the Lily and a complete shift in how we view life and manifestation.
- My son becoming a political prisoner cracked open a seed of radical forgiveness in me that transformed Soul Vows and, unbeknownst to me, created fertile soil for prayer artist
- Covid and quarantine created a year-long space for discovering and teaching Original Prayer
- An endorsement from Rabbi Tirzah Firestone planted the wildest seed of my life—witch
Do you see the pattern? A pattern that offers some hope? When the fire goes out, and the soil of your life looks and feels ruined, when all you expected is gone, does a little sprout appear? Does a new possibility surface? Is there a new direction you find you want to take?
These questions matter because right now every one of us is living in this fiery moment of radical possibility.
If you’ve heard any astrologers talk about 2025, you’ve heard that change—total change—is not just imminent, it’s here. In astrological terms, as 2025 unfolds, we are in both the dying room and the birthing room at exactly the same time.
In other words, there is no lag time between the fire and the seed. They’re happening at the same time.
Now you can see that as scary. Or as wildly creative.
Cathy Stevens Pratt painted this life-death simultaneity in her image for the 2025 forecast.
When I saw it, I recognized that she had painted a Mobius strip—the mathematical mystery that seems impossible. If you’ve ever made one, you’ve had the bizarre experience of starting on top and ending on the bottom, starting on the outer edge and ending up on the inner…without ever lifting your finger. It’s a head scratcher AND a perfect explanation for how time really works and how death and resurrection are happening in the same moment.
The 2025 astrological happenings are so fluid and so massive that the forecast itself has to stay alive.
LIVE Forecast Call on Monday
That’s why Marcia Wade, Emma Kupu Mitchell, Cathy and I are hosting a LIVE zoom call tomorrow, Monday, January 13 at 4:30 eastern, just as we step into a radical Full Moon.
Emma and Marcia have lots of new insights to share with us. Plus, it’s an opportunity for you to ask your questions.
Everyone who has purchased the forecast is invited. There's no charge. If you haven’t purchased the forecast yet, here’s the link. Notice that the price is now permanently reduced.
to gathering in community to mourn and pray and seed a future filled with love
Janet
PS: There's a massive creative seed about to crack open. Cathy and I have been DEEP in the creative process for ART 5 on Divination. Talk about a radical new seed! All our assumptions about what divination is, what time is, who the Oracles were, and what the brain does...all that and more needed to "die" so the radical truth about our prophetic abilities could come through.
ART 5 will open on March 2. Until then, consider adding a few WitchArts to your life.
All the ART intensives are on sale. Make your selections and add ARTSALE coupon code in your cart to receive an additional 22% off.
website: janetconner.com
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