The Departure, how I refer to the mass exodus of many faery and elven elders from this planet as they completed their story with Gaia, had knocked the wind out of my lungs. An interesting metaphor, since our lungs are said to hold our grief, and I was drowning in sadness. It was a sadness that I rarely wore bright and loud on my sleeve but rather it seemed to choke me with its heavy but invisible veil of silence.

As I sat along the Faery Queen’s river waters, a blending of her flowing robes and silky hair, silver and sapphire strands, and currents enveloping me.

I had come at Alphia’s request. Though I could have declined, for I had little desire for company, I felt it was important to honor the memory of Elphim, my friend and her mate, who had departed this plane with the others. After earning his trust and friendship, it was he who had introduced me to Alphia, after all. The least I could do was visit.

Sometimes shared grief is a comfort; but the fae and sidhe peoples do not grieve as we do. To them, loss is not an all-consuming ocean because they do not struggle with attachment in the same way as their human brethren.

I cannot claim to fully understand faery emotionality. But as my tears flowed with the waters that day I caught a glimpse. The felt-sense of it was so fleeting, it was like grasping for a dream slipping away. But before it did, I knew a deep truth—joy and sadness can coexist. From their faery perspective and lens, one never occludes the other.

She bid me collect her essence. To help others remember the waters too, the waters within us and the waters of the earth.

I could not know then what I know now. I imagine I still know close to nothing. But what I do know, I gained through experience—the waters have journeyed me on a great pilgrimage over the last year, internal mostly. To the sacred springs within my own body. To hidden wells within the inner landscape of the Earth.

For months, I traveled brambled pathways, overgrown from disuse. I did my best to clear and tend the trails as I went along my way.

Then one day, almost as if to match my inner world experience, I found myself magnetized to local springs in my geographic area.

Following my maps and often vague directions, I set out on each adventure like a mini pilgrimage. I got lost and turned around a lot, making my eventual arrival all the more satisfying.

I would then sit with them and listen to their song. I sing to them as well, an offering of heart and soul from my spirit to theirs.

Sometimes I collect their waters. Always singing.

Sometimes they reflect to me the dreams that live buried and forgotten deep within.

I am not normally a sentimental creature. It is not my way. But these waters . . . these waters who I can feel their song singing me alive and awake, their songs guiding me. Even when I think my way has been lost. These waters . . .

. . . Some days I swear it is as if I can hear all the waters of the whole world singing and my blood and tears are singing too. A great call and response ensues, one filled with longing and memory and beauty and joy. Our braided song glitters like flower moon drops and silver samite in a flourish of rapture and delight.

In little more than a week’s time, I embark on an epic pilgrimage of the soul where I will return to the lands of Avalon and Albion and Cymry (known as England and Wales in the modern English tongue).

This pilgrimage marks a great passage of endings and beginnings for me. Following the soul song of wells and springs and rivers and streams, I will be laying down the grief I’ve carried, for I have journeyed it long and hard, giving it the respect it has demanded of me.

In that unburdening, another door, a new door, will open wide. To where it leads is a mystery as of yet. The mysteries are the stuff dreams are made of, and I live for such thing 😉

All I know is the wells and waters will guide me through the ancient lands that in many lives I have called my home. That even in this lifetime, my heart knows as home.

The waters will sing and I will listen, especially at each crossroads I come to upon my journey, for the pilgrimage path is teeming with them.

In truth I’ve already begun this pilgrimage. I’ve been on it since I heard the waters in the land waking up. Ever since I heard the evocative melody of Alphia song.

I do not know if you will hear from me again until my return. Although I am full of surprises and may send you a sacred transmission or an encoded image or some magical treasure via email if I inspiration takes hold.

Only the unknown is before me. This is all that is certain.

If you’d like to listen with me, the waters can be heard singing if you keep in your inner ear tuned just so, especially during this three-day solstice portal when the sun appears to stand still.

And now . . .

A pilgrimage awaits.

Have you ever had one of those deep-seated wounds that — no matter what you did – you just couldn’t seem to heal it?

As healers and seekers of truth, we’re trained to constantly clear and heal all the many layers that come up—of resistance, of pain. To get to the underlying story or limiting belief pattern that has been wreaking havoc in our everyday world and seemingly running the show.

Over my lifetime, I can’t even tell you how many reiki, rohun, EFT, breathwork, past life journeys I’ve done, all in the name of healing, so that I can be the best I can be both in my personal life and also professionally for my clients and community.

But I can share that, for me personally, it has often has felt like an uphill battle.

But what if there were a gentle, easeful path of healing? One that allowed us to go deep but never more than we were ready for? How would you like to receive this kind of powerful support and medicine from the realms of nature?

How would you like to be kissed by a flower?

Working with the spirit of a flower can offer profound healing and reclamation of soul self. They can meet and repair emotional wounds and trauma. They are such great allies to support us in our inner work.

Flower medicine reaches deep into dark corners of our consciousness to shine the light and gently penetrate our emotional body, not to “scare away” the wounded parts of ourselves, but to collect them, embrace them and restore them to wholeness.

Just like us, flowers and other plants are multi-dimensional beings. Physically, a flower may appear as a combination of stem, blossom and its intricate parts. However, just as humans exist beyond the physical as mental, emotional and spiritual beings, flowers are much more than what meets the eye.

Have you ever lain in a field of lavender or a meadow filled with wildflowers and felt uplifted?

What about feeling an altered sense of well-being while walking through a forest or a beautiful garden?

Something within you changes and suddenly you feel joyful and maybe even momentarily carefree. This is a result of the medicine of the flowers, plants and trees. Each type of plant has different healing gifts to offer.

To get started, perhaps you might to choose to work with a particular flower essence. Is there a certain flower that has been calling to you?  What might this particular flower’s message be for you? A relationship such as this is so worth developing, for it holds so many gifts. 

Gaia offers so many doorways to healing and remembrance. Working with her medicine can be fun, powerful and deeply fulfilling.

Perhaps you’re ready to step into a magical container and work with someone who can guide you on this journey.

Then you can connect with me, where we can explore what working together might look like and see if it resonates as the right and perfect next step on your Remembrance Journey. 

*Photo by Rosemary Quade Nichols

Looking outside my window I see the snow offers a light layer of cover, still allowing the blades of grass to peak through here and there. Strong and bare are the trees as they wave in the sudden gusts of wind. But even with these sporadic gales, the winter is so silent.

Which makes it all the more easy to sense the urgency in the heart of humanity at this time. For change is upon us . . .

And the movements of the great cycles do not yield to the Lady of Winter. But they do trade secrets often.

Today I caught one of those whispered truths on the wind: a message from the Standing Nation, the Trees.

It was no more than a nudge, but sometimes those are the loudest. 

It was a reminder that these ancient beings that so many of us feel drawn to, hold great wisdom for humanity, and during these times of change, they can be one of our greatest allies. They urge us to hear them now, to heed their call.

This is not an invitation for your sympathy or sentimentality. What they ask for instead—indeed what they require—is for you to lend your inner ear and your sacred heart. And listen. For we mustn’t forget the powerful medicine they have for us now. They share it so freely.

Their medicine helps us stand tall and firm, gives us courage, root us deeply in our body.

The trees can help you find your strength, so you can do what you need to do in the world.

They reach up toward the heavens, but they do not get lost there, no! For they are also rooted deep, drawing their sustenance, strength and power from the depths of the Underworld; fed and nurtured by the womb of Gaia, they show us how we too can weather the storm.

Remember the trees are ancient beings, and they are an active part of the Gaia plan unfolding at this time.

If you need inspiration or wish to connect with the trees more, here are several ways you can deepen with these beings:

Honor & Acknowledge

The next time you go for a walk, honor and acknowledge the trees around you. Introduce yourself. Say hello. You can do it silently if it makes you feel silly. You’ll be surprised how far acknowledgement goes. Especially condition-free acknowledgement. Can you say hello and not expect anything? Try it and see what happens! 

The Song of the Hemlocks

This is a story about a profound multilayered journey with the hemlocks. This pieces is called The Song of the Hemlocks. May the “coincidences” in this story remind us that we don’t have to have all the answers. The pieces of the puzzle fall into place on their own time. But it is YOU who can set them in motion and keep the flow going by listening, following your guidance one breadcrumb at a time, and then taking action no matter how seemingly insignificant or enigmatic each step seems to be.

Tree Essences

Working with Tree Essences are another way to connect with the medicine of the trees. Through ingesting this vibrational infusions we can come to commune with the wisdom and healing codes the trees have for us at this time, and thus come to know ourselves more deeply. 

So read the story. Journey with the Essences. Get inspired. Receive the medicine of the trees.

May you feel their love and wisdom at this time.

Have you ever been walking through a forest or tree-lined space and felt yourself relax and move into stillness and peace?

Or maybe you even experienced a tingling sensation accompanied by a sense of well-being?

There’s so much more going on here than just the physiological compounds emitting from the trees.

The energy fields of the trees extend way beyond their physical form and are able to impact us on all levels of our being—mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and energetic.

How can we open to the wisdom and healing the trees have for us?

Next time you’re walking among them in an area such as a forest or wooded space, become aware of how you feel.

Simply being in the presence of trees can activate heart consciousness, which is the first step to relationship-building with the living world. Then pause and bring your conscious awareness to the trees and how you feel in their presence.

Whether you know it or not, the trees are balancing your energy and oftentimes can even evoke your soul’s wisdom to bubble up from deep within you.

Another way to experience the blessings of the trees is to cultivate a relationship with a specific tree.

Is there a particular type of tree that you are fond of? Each type of tree has a unique medicine. This medicine is a healing gift for humanity at this time and can support us on both a collective and an individual level.

Once you have determined which tree is calling to you, then you can cultivate a relationship with it.

You can do this in a couple different ways.

First, you can work with the essence of this tree. Essences are the vibrational patterns and medicine codes preserved and bottled, so that they can then be ingested to receive the healing frequencies of that tree, flower or plant.

My current favorites are Live Oak, Red Cedar, Yew, and Ash and I add these essences to many of my current clients’ customized formulas.

Another way to work with a particular tree is to find the tree in your surrounding area. Physically visit the tree, and sit with it. Try not to have any expectations.

Either way, whether working with the physical tree or its essence, you’ll want to take time to breathe and feel the tree’s energy. Just be open.

Don’t overthink this or try to force it to happen.

Before you complete, make sure you thank the tree.

This is simple enough to do daily or weekly. Remember we do not develop a deep and meaningful friendship overnight. Even if you do not have time to do the entire exercise above, take time daily to consciously acknowledge the tree you are working with. You will be amazed at how this changes your life, and helps you awaken to your connection with All That Is.

Most of all, remember relationships take time. So be patient. This is only the beginning.