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 been a rather wild year. People are afraid.

So we are at a choice point.

Like a child of alcoholics, we can stay hyper-vigilant to all the chaos building in the house, listening intently for signs that daddy or mommy is about to lose it.

Or, we can tune inward to the voice that whispers in concert with Joan of Arc, “Je n’ai pas peur” I am not afraid.

Like me, you probably look at this teenage girl leading a ragtag band of weary men who have known nothing but defeat, exhorting them to storm the garrison of the richest and most terrifying power at the time, the English army. And you have to wonder, are you crazy Joan? What do you mean, “I am not afraid.” Anyone with half a brain would be rightly terrified of those well-trained soldiers of empire.

But we know she said this. Her words have been repeated by many who were at her side and even by those who imprisoned her. “I am not afraid. For this I was born.”

The mistake we make is to think this happened in the past. Or Joan was special. Or maybe the English weren’t so bad. Or maybe it’s really just a story.

If we can talk ourselves into reducing her eye-popping courage and conviction to little more than an inspirational quote, then we can look the other way. We can pretend we don’t see. We can go back to living our small proscribed and constricted lives.

In short, we can go back to sleep.

Patriarchy would like nothing more than for everyone to go back to sleep. Especially women.

Don’t notice. Don’t question. Do the next thing that must be done. Stay in line. Stay busy. Keep smiling. Keep working. Keep shopping. Keep consuming. But don’t stop worrying. After all, there’s so much to worry about. So much to be afraid of. So much that is wrong.

In the end, patriarchy wants us to be afraid.

Because the primary tool patriarchal systems use to control is fear.

In Re-membering the Songlines of the Witches, we just met our second witch. And she came as a complete surprise.

And she brings us the antidote to fear.

Yesterday, Saturday, July 23, we met Leonora Carrington, a surrealist painter and writer, who paid an astonishing price to claim her artistry and become the artist she wanted to be.

In this mystical adventure, we listen to each witch speak to us through three voices.

1. First, we hear their life story through their story-bearer. Our story bearer for Leonora Carrington was Margaret Melnis in New York. We got to hear what happened to Leonora as we watched her unique surrealist art forms come to life.
2. Then, we got to hear Leonora’s cosmic story through cos-mythologist Marcia Wade, who took us into a deep dive of Leonora’s natal chart and  Leonora’s unique Lilith pathway.
3. Finally, we got to hear Leonora's mystic story through seer Sabin Bailey. Sabin reaches through time to ask a witch of the past to choose a card.

Leonora, who was a life-long student of the Tarot and even painted all 22 major arcana, told Sabin she would have 2 cards.

The first was the Princess of Disks.

This made perfect sense as this card is all about coming through adversity to own your creative power. The Princess of Disks is perpetually pregnant. She is constantly giving life to new forms.

That certainly sounded like Leonora.

But Leonora had more to say. She chose a second card—Death. Number 13 in the major arcana.

Sabin explained how these two cards work together perfectly to tell Leonora’s deepest story and bring the sacred seed medicine she is giving us to life. Sabin ended by quoting something Leonora said to her:

“If you allow fear to prevent you from living, you don’t really have a life.”

I was stunned silent by this. I’ve been there. And I bet you have, too.

Decade after decade, I allowed fear to control me. As the daughter of rage-aholics, I learned well how to control my voice, my words, my appearance, my face, my grades, until I looked like the good little girl my parents expected me to be.

As an adult, I had to fight hard to become myself. To become the person I want to be. The prayer artist I am called to be. The mystic witch I came here to be.

It’s taken me a long time, but at last, I feel I can stand beside Joan and at least whisper: I am not afraid, for this I was born. I’m not fully there, I still get scared, but with sister-witch-guides like Leonora and Joan, I feel supported. I’m not alone. Others have gone before me.

And others are gathering right now to feel the fear perhaps, but make the decision to not let fear control our lives.

Are you one of those?

• Are you noticing that there’s plenty to be afraid of but realizing you don’t want to be sucked into that vortex anymore?
• Do you feel an inner artist asking to be given full rein? (or should I say full reign)
• Do you feel the call to bring to life the sacred calling you came here to birth?

Then, I think I created Songlines for you!

Please visit the rich page for this 13-lunar cycle witch mystery school. There's a lot on the page, so take your time. Then ask yourself:

• What role has fear had in controlling my life?
• What would my life look like if I no longer allowed fear to prevent me from living?
• Who am I when I am not afraid!
• Who am I when I live the life for which I was born?

I have to close registration on August 1 so that we all have time to digest and integrate these 11 seed medicines the witches have for us.

This is the last week you can choose to join us.

I hope you do.

Re-membering the Songlines of the Witches

to remembering what our bodies already know,

Janet

website: janetconner.com

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