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lthough i might hope that this underbelly brought into the light potentially offers us an opportunity to collectively heal i despair that this will not happen in time to avoid immense suffering and pain the immense suffering and pain are already happening and i have never felt so impotent i have lived long enough to witness some pretty awful things that have happened in our world but this feels different somehow and more akin to the dark times my own parents went through as the generation who were caught up in world war ii i am not a fan of talking about dark forces but i think certain personal and collective wounds when unaddressed can manifest in cruelty and in a world that feels so uncertain for so many people the simplified certainties of a politics of blame and scapegoating can have good people losing their moral compass and turning a blind eye to that cruelty my druidry has always been spiritual and psychological a key part of my druid practice has been turning my own lens inward to see what needs to be healed and integrated in my own psyche i do this so that i might take my place in this beautiful world in ways that are constructive and positive i believe that druidry is a path of compassion but it also requires we be fearless in calling out our own bs when needed that isn t easy and it is not always clear when we are in the grip of our own shadow acting out in ways that cause others pain there seems to be a good deal of acting out from those unconscious wounds in our world at present trying to keep our footing in this troubling climate can feel exhausting at times as we move towards the equinox it is useful to explore where our balance lies here in the northern hemisphere we are slowing moving towards the darker months the light is noticeably lessening the mornings chillier i have felt such resistance in me to the coming of autumn this year fighting back the growing darkness the going inward probably because in rest and introspection i know that i can so often be confronted with painful and uncomfortable feelings in my own efforts to regain my equilibrium i keep trying to bring myself back to my body and to the body of the earth to ground and dissipate the anxiety i feel but also to allow myself to acknowledge the grief and to witness the horror without denial without experiencing emotional paralysis in the face of the unspeakable if we stop witnessing if we stop calling out the injustice we lose our humanity and we need our humanity more than ever however feeling the distress can be so tough if we cannot soothe our nervous systems on a regular basis and let those feelings move through and out of us we all know the frazzle of overwhelm exhaustion and burn out can be particularly intense if we are not able to act on our distress feeling like powerless bystanders can leave us drained and hopeless so taking care of our well being becomes doubly important the world needs us to stay grounded in order to play our part in a much needed collective healing we can t do that if we are exhausted and consumed with fear i have had a recurring image in my spiritual ponderings over the last couple of days whenever i feel that dread of the winter coming or the world gets too much something tells me to plant bulbs for spring every year autumn comes and i always forget to plant them but when i think of the symbolic significance of this act it fills me with hope we bury our bulbs in the dark cold soil we can so easily forget they are there until suddenly after all the bitter frozen dark times a miracle of emergence occurs an explosion of life heralding the greening of the world once more with all the joy and renewed energy that this brings i will be asking myself this equinox which bulbs should i plant both actually and psychologically what shall i offer over to the earth s fertile darkness that she might birth a new hope a new energy a new healing a new way to be perhaps we could all plant bulbs with magical intention i still have faith in these simple acts that come from the heart if you are struggling do please check out philip carr gomm s wonderful new course how to stay sane in an insane world all proceeds go to doctor s without borders and do please share you own coping strategies in the comments leave a comment in a bed of reeds i find my peace september 12 2025 at 10 12 am uncategorized tags cleansing druidry healing nature ogham paganism reeds wicca ogham has never been a big part of my druidry i was never particularly drawn to it finding runes more appealing and accessible as a divination system however my own relationship with the tree and plant world has been hugely helpful and inspiring for me along the way i am so grateful for the healing experiences i have been blessed by with trees and plants their wisdom and guidance helping me through some particularly difficult times rather than depending on traditional meanings i try to pay attention to which plants and trees are drawing my attention and then i attempt to remain open to the gifts of that particular plant trying not to impose any previous magical meaning or association on them but letting them speak exploring their botanical nature and qualities as clues to their gifts but also tapping into the deeper spiritual significance that the plant holds for me personally at that moment building intimate relationships with the unique characters of plants can like human friendships foster a deeper love and appreciation of that being the same with the animal and mineral kingdom the care and intention that we take to build and sustain relationships with both human and non human beings is such a key practice in druidry it can do much to heal that sense of separation from nature that has led to so much of the destruction of our environment not to mention the emotional alienation that comes from not feeling ourselves a part of the natural world not feeling at home in it i am so thankful for the help i have received from all of those non human beings it never fails to astound me of how generous nature is of how it s rhythms and seasons deepen our understanding of our own peculiarities and cycles of how a deeper sense of belonging so often starts in a connection with the non human world lately i have been drawn to reeds my local park has a small lake that is edged by them they are so tall and abundant at the moment and the wind becomes a soothing hush as it moves through them i find them incredibly calming coots moorhens and ducks disappear into the tangle of stems and i can sense how safe a refuge it must feel in that watery forest reeds have the most extraordinary ability to cleanse water if there is sewage in water given time reeds will purify and clear it and because of this amazing gift of transformation i have found them a brilliant plant to meditate upon when dealing with emotionally toxic situations like non moving water stuck emotions can become stagnant we all know those moments when we realise we have held on a little too long to hurt anger or grief without processing it or we find ourselves carrying the anger and grief of another it can poison our emotional waters and steal our joy and energy our feelings becomes murky making it hard to navigate left unchecked it can even make us physically unwell if you are struggling with your own toxic emotions or the difficult feelings or behaviours of others have gotten beneath your skin or if the world s injustices has you consumed with rage and sorrow i recommend exploring the magic of reeds as a self care practice i have watched swans sitting on their stunning nests built amongst enclosures of reeds this inspired me to recently construct in my imagination my own bed amongst the reeds a place in my meditation that i can go to to rest recover and let the reeds perform their cleansing magic this cosy nest amongst the reeds has become my safe place a place of sanctuary where i can choose to surrender over the burden of those murky waters to something greater and wiser trusting in reeds ability to cleanse whilst feeling held and protected by the mesh of their stems soothed by the breeze in their leaves remember always to give a little prayer of thanks for the support you have received from these amazing beings working with reeds in this way doesn t necessarily mean that those feeling will not return we are human life can be challenging and the process of healing can be lengthy and meandering but i hope this offers a small practice of self care that can help when times are tough leave a comment tending the hearth may 7 2025 at 11 46 am uncategorized tags health inner fire life love mental health mindfulness passion wellbeing when you think of your inner fire what comes to mind is it an intense blaze of passion a wildfire of rage or a sustaining hearth for the longest time mine has felt like the faintest glow of an ember buried under a ton of ash my reserves have felt so low my enthusiasm for all those creative things that feed me has fluctuated in an annoyingly unproductive way at times i have experiences little spurts of get up and go and then almost as soon as i get up and go i am gone no gas in the tank the truth is i have been managing my energy really poorly over many years with feeble boundaries comes the danger that all our precious vitality leaks out or is sucked out by others demands for our time and attention however it would be incredibly disingenuous of me not to acknowledge that it has also been impacted by where i choose to focus my energy it has been difficult to admit to myself that i have wasted a good deal of time years in fact fretting and fueling my own anxiety with countless what ifs there have been some good reasons to feel not entirely ok over the last few years but if i am truly honest i would also have to hold my hands up to obsessively lazering in on my worst fears at the expense of getting on with the things i love there can be a weird comfort in this negative narrow focus it can feel like a talisman that holds the very worst at bay but in reality it drains the joy out of life when difficult or traumatic things happen we go into survival mode our nervous systems switch to red alert at the time of any crisis this is an understandably reaction it serves to protect us but it is extremely exhausting if when the battle is over we are still fighting the war still hyper vigilant still fearful still grieving but never truly still in mind body or emotion i am someone who has used exercise over the years to cope with difficult times when my mother died during my teens it was ballet and yoga that were my saviours movement kept me afloat and eventually pulled me out of a very dark place and i have turned to it in many different forms again and again in my life in recent years it has been running that has been my ally in crisis when i was so stressed and overwhelmed with grief that i really didn t know what to do with myself it was running that calmed and soothed me the longer the run the better running taught me to be comfortable with physical discomfort and i couldn t fail to register that this was also working on a deeper emotional level too i found it impossible to be truly still without being flooded by awful feelings and emotions running was the only thing that stilled the anxiety fear and anger in the initial stages it was a godsend but i soon became burnt out even then it became nearly impossible to let go of this newly found friend in my time of need so i pushed on through i am learning now that being stuck in fight or flight can lead to a vicious cycle of not being able to relax and the more i can t relax the more stressed and strung out i become and then the less i can relax and on and on in an exhausting circle for the first time in years i have begun to actually listen to my energy to what the state of that inner fire is because i have learned the hard way that literally physically running away from stress as a long term strategy only works if we give ourselves adequate rest and recovery and even then running away in fear is a poor substitute for joyfully running towards those in battle cannot let their guard down rest is the enemy because when you rest the big bad things will catch you unawares and you will be defenseless but of course that lack of rest and recovery ironically becomes the big bad thing that actually blind sides you my post menopausal body has been an extremely good friend it has placed limits on me that i just haven t been able to ignore my lack of energy has been my instructor on this slow journey to regulate my energy it is guiding me towards approaches that truly support me and bring me joy i have consistently resisted this wise teacher of mine fought it with punishing exercise schedules in a desperate attempt to maintain my defenses against the unexpected in life as a bolster against all my fears but my very patient body was having none of it no one could ever have accused me of not being motivated or disciplined to exercise i could never understand how anyone lacked motivation but then fear can be an irresistible cattle prod into action one that overrides any apathy or fatigue i am now choosing to embrace some rest and recovery i have drastically for me at least reduced my exercise i have rest days of gentle yoga and walks my runs have come down from two and half hours to 20 mins and they are walk run intervals and only twice a week i do enjoyable strength and body weight training for only 20 mins three times a week yoga remains a daily support but only short mindful sessions and with all of this if my body needs me to adjust this schedule further from week to week then i am choosing to listen it took everything in me to trust taking these steps i have felt incredibly vulnerable i had to sit with feelings of emotional discomfort without giving in to the urge to move over time i am beginning to feel a change it hasn t happened overnight but it is real and is making a tangible difference i have more energy to do other things to re engage with my creativity i am beginning to sleep better although this is still a work in progress most noticeably my gut is much improved although i know that dietary changes have helped this too it is clear to me that anxiety has an enormous impact on our digestive health don t get me wrong movement can be a wonderfully healing tool for our bodies and our mental health more of us should be taking advantage of its life enhancing benefits but i had to acknowledge that my own relationship with it had become toxic and counter productive today i have this weirdly calm feeling it is weird to me because i have become so accustomed to that wired fizzing strung out state that its absence almost feels like a kind of numbing i realized with some shock that i have entirely forgotten what it is like to be relaxed and now i am starting to feel this it s almost alien and strange and yet i can also feel my joy increasing and my relief too that i can just be in the ...