Held by Courage

"I am the Shaman of Courage. Whenever and wherever you need me, I will be there to help you discover the resources that lie within you ~ resources you may not know you possess. I am there to support you in times of need, when challenges become overwhelming, when strength is required to make even an inch of progress along the way. I journey into fear and at its heart find courage to overwhelm it. This courage I impart to you, and will guide and protect you if ever you are in danger."

When I drew this card, I chuckled. Prior to drawing a card, I picked up the deck and found this same card turned over on top signifying that it was the last card I had drawn. Shuffling the deck, my focus was to draw a quality that would serve me in the coming week. I cut the deck and turned over a card ~~ the same card that had been on top when I began shuffling. Amazing how those qualities find their way into view.

The past several days have drawn me into the circle of the Shaman of Courage. As my status continues its trajectory of shift and change, it is valuable to find the resources within myself, to be reminded that those resources are present and available. Some level of fear is generally present when dealing with change. Whatever is surfacing is unknown territory.

Stepping forward is heading into the Darkness and the Mystery. It insists that I operate with trust ~ which was once one of my greatest strengths. In my forward motion, I am reclaiming that trusting part of myself. The part that knows things are bound to get better. As I step forward hand-in-hand with the Shaman of Courage, I see my wholeness and know that it is more than the sum of its parts. It is the depth out of which I continue to move.

What is shifting and changing in your life? How is your status different now from what it was in the past? How do you feel stepping into the unknown? Have you let go enough to step fully into that Darkness? What do you want from the Shaman of Courage?

Summer Solstice 2015

Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and the shortest night of the year, arrives today. The majesty of the Sun shining through 14 to 20 hours is awe-inspiring. Then Lady Moon shows herself, this year in a dainty growing crescent, for so brief a span.

This Summer Solstice brings with it more renewal. There have been a number of gateways of change and shift happening in 2015 ~ even though the energies may have begun as long as two years ago.

Solstice is a time of celebration, and in particular, of fire and fecundity. Look at the flowers, at the gardens, at the fields. Every thing is in bloom, bringing with it ripeness and sweetness. This year, many of my gardener friends have told me that their gardens have ripened early. They continue to speculate ~ and noisily discuss ~ about the duration of the growing season. Will the plants continue to produce their crops (berries, tomatoes, etc.)? Or will they complete their growing cycle more quickly, leaving a fallow time to fill out the remainder of the summer?

Summer Solstice also brings with it a time of reflection. It is one of the Quarters that marks the seasonal calendar. I choose to burn incense ~ sage, to cleanse and renew; frankincense to reconnect with the Holy Mystery. Drumming calls in the directions and honors the guides who show up and grace the entry into a new season. Ritual always connects me, connects us, with the threads running through our lives and all of Life in, on and through the Earth.

What do you do to celebrate the Summer Solstice? Why? How do you honor the change of the seasons? Are they important to you? Why or why not?