Sky Yeager
Shamanic Practitioner - Usui Reiki Master - MariEL Reiki Medicine
You can now listen to a podcast recording of my latest article below And find more episodes on Spotify |
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You can now listen to a podcast recording of my latest article below And find more episodes on Spotify |
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When the nights are longer than the days, I feel like we are in dreaming season. Nature wants us to dream more. Most of us do not change our schedules much when we go into the season of long nights, our jobs and schools and businesses keep the same hours. We even try to change time to suit us by moving our clocks forward and backwards. Most of us in modern society never even think about it. But our bodies register it. Our consciousness recognizes it. The advent of electricity ushered in the industrial period we have been in for the last 120 years. It meant that the lights could always be on and people could always be on. This was not an ideal situation for a species who had for thousands of years lived close to the land and were a part of the cycles of the land and sky. When we were sustained by the land, people followed the flow of the wheel of the year. It provided markers for planting and harvesting, for following migrations, for hunting game. They were also times for celebrating and honoring those that sustained us; the life giving sun and nurturing Earth, the ancestors, the elements and elementals, and the plants and animals. It was a time of communicating directly with them. We perceived their physical and Spirit aspects as one, entwined together without separation. The Spirit of the fire was the fire, the Spirit of barley was the barley, and so on. I have been following the cycles around the wheel of the year for almost 30 years now. This wheel has eight major spokes consisting of the four sun-marking days of the two solstices and two equinoxes, and the four cross-quarter days in between the sun-marking days around the first day of November, February, May and August. Humans have been very aware of these cycles for millennia and marking space for them all over the world. Thousands of temples, stone circles, earthworks and buildings have been found to align with the astronomical points of solstices and equinoxes, some of which are more than 10,000 years old. Moving stone blocks that weigh a ton or more to frame the point where the sun rises and sets for one or two days of the year shows just how important it was to humans. I know when these will happen because I can look at the astrological information on the calendar, but I also observe the land and sky. I have been in the place I live now for just over one year. I have a good view of the eastern horizon from my bedroom window. I have been able to track the sunrise as it moves north and south along the horizon through the year. From my view right now the sun is rising behind some giant oaks a couple blocks away. When it’s past the oaks in six more weeks, I will see it at the farthest southern point at the winter solstice. The sun sends rays through the branches later and later each morning. as if saying no need to get out of bed yet! We don’t get information only from the land and the sun. The stars, the wind, how the light looks, how the air feels and smells all inform us through our senses and our energy systems. I feel like my cells respond and change to resonate and reflect the subtle changes of the light, just like the plants and animals around me. Now the shorter days make me feel sleepy early. I feel like I need more sleep, more dreaming. In my own seasonal wheel of the year, I call this the time of Deep Dreaming. It starts around Samhain on November 1st and goes through the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. This is the time for me to do focused work in the dreamtime, and to really keep up on my dream journal. We can reflect on how we feel, perceive and interact with the seasons and with what the eight spokes of the wheel mean to us. We can create our own calendar within the wheel for where we live and how our lives and lifestyles interact with elements and the land around us. I do this because it helps me reflect on how my sustenance, intuitive systems, my state of mind, and physical and emotional bodies, down to my individual cells are are part of the cycle of everything. How I am Nature, not just a tenant or observer. We can track our impressions from the overall quarter year season, but also for the monthly moon cycles, and even for the week, by how we feel as well as what we observe around us. It also helps us notice changes over time. I have not heard the geese moving north yet. Is it later than last year because of the longer warmer autumn? Maybe that will be something I note this year that I can track and compare with future wheels of the year. And we don’t have to reinvent the wheel - pun intended! A wonderful contemporary Druid writer and artist that I read and respect has created a template that we can use to get us started. You can find full size downloadable images of Dana Driscoll's Seasonal Sun Wheel in her online blog here. She has graciously shared them through Creative Commons open license. An image of my favorite is below. Seasonal Sun Wheel by Dana Driscoll – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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MissionTo help you tend to soul issues that may manifest in physical, emotional, mental or spiritual aspects of your life, and to give you tools to empower your path to harmony and well-being. Categories
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Links-There are so many kindred spirits doing the work out there. I include these links to help our community connect with one another.
FAIRY CONGRESS - Offers a summer weekend gathering in person with workshops, circles and of course faeries and nature beings! They also offer a winter virtual weekend with amazing guest speakers like Orion Foxwood, David Spangler and R.J. Stewart. I highly recommend joining the online network to participate in monthly workshops, circles, and book clubs. https://fairycongress.com/ SACRED HOOP Magazine Guide to Shamanism Compilation- http://www.sacredhoop.org/Pages/FreeGuide.html Owner Valeria Pearson lovingly created SOLE TO SOUL YOGA studio with a community focus. There are classes for all levels and events that lift the spirit. I am grateful to be able to hold circles and events in her studio. https://www.soletosoulyogaoregon.com/ My friend and herbalist mentor, LAWRENCE BIRCH is a Certified Clinical Herbalist, plant whisperer and shamanic practitioner. If you need custom tincture blends or are interested in a wildcrafting apprenticeship, he is the teacher extraordinaire: http://givingtreefarm.com/ ROGER WHEELOCK and GAYLE RUTH are shamanic practitioners and teachers in the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition. https://www.rainmother.com/ I am grateful to be able to take part in ceremony with them, and to support their love for the Peruvian people through the World Ayni Association. Roger has a practice in Asheville, NC https://www.communityshaman.com/ NEW WORLD KIRTAN = Kitzie's podcasts include interviews with artists and kirtan music. I love attending her weekly Satsang group and the New World Kirtan Band concerts - newworldkirtan.com/ NOTE!
None of the writing on this website was generated by AI and are all my original thoughts except what what I have included as references from others.
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Want to keep in touch? Every month I send an email with my latest article. I also have updates about workshop offerings and community events. I never sell or share your information and I will never abuse the privilege of being allowed into your mailbox.
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