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The Mediterranean climate has its own unique seasonal cycle. In Ariadne’s Tribe, we’ve created a sacred calendar that acknowledges this climate and gives names to three sacred seasons: Summer, Winter, and the Blooming Time. You can find more details about this seasonal structure in this blog post.

Today I want to talk about the Blooming Time. It begins the day after Spring Equinox and ends with the Blessing of the Ships in mid-May, so it’s a fairly short season. We call it the Blooming Time because, although various trees and flowers bloom throughout most of the year on Crete, the wildflowers bloom in profusion during the Blooming Time and flowers are an important symbol of this unique season.

October is here
with her cooling breezes
and breaths of pause,
her yellowing leaves
and orange moon,
her whispers and her wandering,
her migrating dreams
and her changing stories.
She invites us to stop and listen.
She invites us to open our hands
and our hearts
and to release our burdens,
our sorrows
and our shames.
She invites us to step
into a season of enchantment,
a time when magic
is close to the skin,
when ancestors speak and hearts listen.
She invites us to steep
in our own wondering.
She invites us to deepen and renew,
to remember and to soften.
She invites us
to settle into mystery,
into not knowing,
undone,
unfinished,
and home.

Happy October! Welcome to this month of Mystery and Enchantment. How are you walking with mystery this month? What is enchanting you?

I have a free #30DaysofGoddess practice update for October available for you here: #30DaysofGoddess.

Ode to April:

you arrive with thunder and wind 

The things I need to flourish are simple:
sunshine and the moon,
raindrops and wind,
long walks through woods
and along shorelines,
time alone every day
with a prayer book,
my pen and the sacred,
laughter in the company of others,
time to do my work
without apology,
time outside every day
with my eyes open
and my phone inside,
heart-listening and soul-tending
in the center of my own life.

What do you need to flourish?

A Ritual for Thanksgiving:

Take a walk.
Find a pretty rock.
Don’t take it.
Go home.
Keep your promise.

This is an excerpt from my essay forthcoming this week at Feminism and Religion, reflections on colonization, war, and who invented jelly.

I will be taking a break from posting here for a couple of weeks to focus on finishing things up in the shop as we prepare for our winter holiday break. December's free practice update for #30DaysofGoddess will be ready for you this weekend--a new video + printable sampler pack of prayercards and resources.

May you know the warmth of connection and the hearth of community. May you breathe in great breaths of gratitude and breathe out great breaths of peace.

This morning I sat
with the black cat on my lap
and breathed the first breaths
of October.
The sky is gray-white and sunless,
filled with crowcall
and the sharp cries of hawk.
If I squint,
I can almost see steam lifting
from a cauldron in the forest
and smell change drifting
through the air.
I am looking at the shards
of the year,
some new-broken,
some re-collected,
some shining with possibility,
and I feel the call,
the urge,
the promise,
to tip them all into that bubbling vat
and see what She will
steep me into next.
We are invited each day
into newness,
into breathing the very breath
of the World Spirit herself.
We are invited into presence,
into the commonplace magic
that keeps the world turning
and our hearts beating.
Here we are in the temple
of the ordinary,
watching the sky.
May we settle into our bones
and feel our pulse in our wrists.
May we accept the invitation
to sit with joy
and create our lives.

May we breathe deep
and allow a blush of gratitude
to suffuse us,
soft and persimmon orange
as it permeates our bodies.
May we breathe deep
and allow compassion to illuminate us,
lighting our hearts with a golden glow,
softening our shoulders
and gentling our minds.
May we breathe deep
and allow a fire of creativity
to kindle in our bellies,
flaring bright and powerful
filling our bones with purpose
and lighting our way
May we pause,
allowing the warmth
of the moment to nourish
and inspire us,
and then set forth
hands open
and hearts ablaze.

New class upcoming for October: October Magic.