Each morning I make a commitment to turning up. Some days I just sit, others I write and some I sit with prayer beads in hand. The practice is simply in the turning up.
This morning I looked down at my hands which hold a set of prayer beads. The stones are the color of Australia’s bedrock - hues of reds and burgundy with mustard and grey tones. Mookiate is a stone only found in Australia whose indigenous name means running water.
Mookiate is a stone which amplifies connection to ancestors. I’ve long thrown out and stone guide books and simply turned to listen to the stone instead. Whatever I’m working with I feel mookiate energizes that connection, helping make the introduction to ancestors, or perhaps moving your ear a little more in the right direction to hear those whisperings.
The devastation of Australia has been cataclysmic and overwhelming and those are the feelings from someone watching through a screen on the other side of the planet. It is not an isolated event or something that’s just an Australian problem. Climate devastation plays out in different ways around the globe. I am terrified to think what summer here in the Appalachians will bring with future hurricanes hitting ground further north and coming further inland.
A Deep Seated Grief
Many of you will have experienced the sensation of waking up and for a few seconds thinking there is something familiar, something missing. Then before you know it a whirlwind of emotions arrive and then you realize your going through the grieving process of losing a loved one. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this grief, this death through all that’s unfolding on the planet and the grief at millions upon millions of deaths.
I feel the panic rising, trying to get my head around the fact that I am living in times which have been depicted in sci-fi films and been projected onto screens for generations - and it is real. As I look out the window at favorite trees and familiar birds, forage for the new greens that are popping up and delight when the deer herd arrive. I think what if this was the land that was scorched and my home has been wiped out. By home i don’t just mean a human dwelling I mean birds gone, insects gone, snakes gone, mice gone, farm animals gone.
“The rainforests along the spine of the Great Dividing Range, between the Hunter River and southern Queensland, are remnants of Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent that broke up about 180 million years ago. Listening to the dawn chorus in these forests is literally an acoustic window back in time”
Long-nosed potoroo, Potorous tridactylus
I’ve never visited Australia but my dad moved there when he was young, it took him six weeks to cross the oceans by boat - I remember hearing his story of the celebration evoking Posidon as they crossed the equator. There is a glass frame in my parent’s house with a display of dried flowers my dad brought back from New South Wales on the wall. It always caught my eyes as the plants were very different from the fauna of Scotland and I often wondered who fed on such flowers and grasses and what did they look like.
So I finally decided to look up those creatures and one is the long-nosed potoroo who feeds on truffles found in the roots of the eucalyptus tree. The little potoroo, at just 80cm long, is a keystones species. It distributes the fungi spores through its poop and carries out an essential role which keeps the whole landscape together and healthy. How many died in the fires? Ay that did will be easy prey to any predators that survived. Might it survive at all?
The first run of Brighid Altoid Altars are now sold out please click here to get in touch if you’d like to be on the list if I create a second collection
Active Hope
As we move over at the threshold between Winter Solstice and towards Imbolc traditions welcomes Brighid back into the world. To my ancestors this gave them hope at a dire time when food resources were running out. Today we find ourselves in dark times as climate devastation unleashes horrors on the planet. The hope Brighid offers isn’t one which is lost in daydreams of wishful thinking it is a hope whose qualities are rooted in justice and activism an active hope, one which exists in the here and now.
As we approach Imbolc I can think of no better figure to turn to than Brighid. This triple Goddess (made up of a triad of three sisters all called Brighid) is welcomed back to the world at this time of year. These three sisters are represented by many qualities including healing, creativity, and justice.
Brighid is a fire Goddess although her flame is one which never burns. She is said to have brought keening to Ireland when her mourning the death of her son. In all of the prayers said for Australia what if we each carried out an action - something seeded where we are in our own homes, in our community. Brighid is most definitely a Goddess of Justice and she can inspire us in our taking action and in helping us as we face our grief for all that is unfolding around the planet.
The proceeds of the first five sign ups to the ‘Folklore of Brighid’ course will be donated to Australian wildlife charities.
Community Keening Circle
If you're based around Asheville, NC I offer a free Community Keening Circle each month. The next circle will take place in February. Click here to sign up for my newsletter and be notified when the next circle is happening.
Coming Back to Life - An Imbolc Day Retreat
Saturday 1st Feb. 10am - 7.30pm. Herb Mountain Farm, Weaverville (Near Asheville)
The festival of Imbolc welcomes Brighid back into the world. To my ancestors, Imbolc was a harsh time as they faced the reality of food resources running out yet today right now is extremely uncertain times in the world and I know I'm not alone in feeling anxiety, grief and worry to how the catastrophic changes to our climate are going to play out.
Joanna Macy's the Work that Reconnects
Tap into the traditions from Celtic culture
Express our joy in living
A keening circle helps us honor the grief and pain we feel for all that is going on the world
Otherworld journey to ask your ancestors for their advice
Evening fire ceremony helps pull all of this together as we make our commitment to 'action' for the world.
