Deepen Your Intuition by Building a Personal Intuitive Language

If you're reading this, you likely already have a relationship with your intuition, but what happens when you're ready to go past gut feelings? So much of what's available online and in books skim the surface of what it means to be in touch with your intuition. 

As global changes continue to stir and we move deeper into unknown times, having a robust relationship with your intuition will help you navigate these times. 

Knowing your gut feelings is essential, but it's just the tip of the iceberg when working with your intuition. Is it time to deepen your intuition into a full-fledged intuitive language? 

Working with an intuitive language is something many mediums rely on, but don't let this scare you away. You do not have to be a medium to utilize this essential intuitive skill. I've created a system to make crafting your intuitive language accessible, whether you're just getting started or already have a well-honed intuition. 

In this blog, you'll learn:

• What an intuitive language is 

• How building your own can help deepen your ability to navigate life and relationships with your guides and magical allies

• How to start creating your unique, intuitive language

• An example of what an intuitive language can look like in real life

Do you already know you want to go deeper and learn practices to create your intuitive language? Explore my in-depth workshop, Building an Intuitive Language in the Craft Your Own Magic Circle membership here to access the class, or grab a drop-in class pass to attend live and get the replay here. 

What is an Intuitive Language?

A personal, intuitive language lets you dialogue intuitively with your spirit (higher self, oversoul, whatever term you prefer), spirit guides, magical allies, ancestors, deities, etc. But keep your mind wide open. I'm using words like "language" and "dialogue" here as metaphors. Communicating with your intuitive language will differ from chatting with your bestie. 

Having an intuitive language is unlike learning French or Spanish; I can't just teach you my language. Building your intuitive language will be unique because we each receive and process intuitive information uniquely and have different associations with feelings and images. Sure, some people might have a similar language to you, but it's like a fingerprint; yours is unique. 

An intuitive language enables you to go beyond binary "yes" and "no" dialogue with your intuition. While establishing a “yes” and “no” communication is an integral part of the process I lay out for you here, adding additional vocabulary is also essential.

Having an intuitive language allows you to decipher the subtleties of intuitive communication more clearly and accurately. 

While building your intuitive language will help you navigate life, the goal isn't to utilize it as a spiritual vending machine. Having an intuitive language doesn't mean you'll suddenly know how to navigate every moment of life perfectly. Even with a robust, intuitive language, aspects of your life and this world will remain in flux in ways that won't allow you to gain definitive advice. Some details will always belong to the Great Mystery of life. 

I'll share an example of my intuitive language later in this post, but for it to make more sense first, let's cover why you'd want to do this and how to get started creating your intuitive language. 

Why Create an Intuitive Language? 

Creating your unique intuitive language isn't just about gaining insights about how to navigate your life. It's about knowing yourself better and understanding the depth of variety in which intuition can express itself (in yourself and others). But it goes beyond this. 

Creating a unique, intuitive language allows you to form genuine and reciprocal relationships with your closest magical and spiritual allies. 

Think about some of your closest relationships, friends, family, or animal beloveds. What's your communication like with them? You probably have a deep rapport with them, perhaps even unique ways you communicate that only happen between you and that beloved. 

When you focus on your ability to communicate with your spiritual and magical allies, your relationship naturally deepens. 

By learning how to communicate better via intuition, you create an environment that leads to deeper relationships, creating a cyclical loop of understanding and deepening. 

When you communicate intuitively regularly with your closest spiritual and magical allies, it will come naturally to you, and your ability to understand your intuition will happen more automatically. 

5 Steps to Build Your Unique Intuitive Language

When building your unique intuitive language, understanding how intuition manifests in your body (subtle and physical) and how it feels is key. You might already have a great foundation with this. If so, great, skip to step two! If not, start with step one below to learn more about the "clairs".

1. Understanding your dominant "clairs"

This will give you a place to focus when learning what intuition feels like in your body. Think clairsentience (clear feeling), clairvoyance (clear seeing), clairaudience (clear hearing), etc. Check out a past blog post where I break these down in greater detail here. While the clairs aren't the only way to understand how intuitive information lands in your body, it's a great starting point. 

2. Practice noticing how your intuition shows up and feels in your body 

Understanding your clairs points you toward where and what to pay attention to. Practicing listening, feeling, seeing, and knowing how your intuition shows up makes sensing it more automatic. Like learning any language, understanding how these sensations arrive in your body without spending a lot of time questioning is part of the process. Think of this step as an intuitive bootcamp. At this point, what's most important is recognizing how intuition feels in your body instead of focusing on how accurate you are. Building up your accuracy comes later. 

Here are some simple ways to start weaving intuitive practices into your day. Lean into your most dominant clair sense for each one. 

• Tune into your intuition each morning to ask for any insights or guidance for the day.

• The next time you need to make a decision that won't have a long-lasting or serious consequence (like deciding which direction to walk or what to have for dinner), check in with your intuition.

• Practice pulling tarot or oracle cards for yourself or others, and don't rely on the guidebook. 

• Tune into your intuition each night before bed to ask if there's anything you missed during your day that would be important to know.
  

3. Create a “yes” and “no” communication system

Once you understand what your intuition feels like in your body, start practicing a simple "yes"/"no communication system with your intuition to begin strengthening your communication muscles. I share some simple techniques for this in my book, Craft Your Own Magic, and will also share them in the Building an Intuitive Language workshop here. Essentially, you'll need to discern what an intuitive "yes" vs "no" is like in your body; again, this will be different for everyone. 

4. Form relationships with your guides, ancestors, or magical allies

To practice any language, having someone or something to communicate with will be helpful. Now, it's time to build a relationship with a spirit guide, magical ally (plant, tree, crystal, etc.), God, Goddess, or ancestor. If this sounds like a big leap from step three, grab my free guided journey to connect with a spirit guide here to get started. Start practicing your "yes" and "no" communication with a being of your choice and notice how it feels in your body.

5. Incorporate an inner circle of correspondences to form your intuitive vocabulary 

Moving your intuitive language beyond a "yes" and "no" system will require understanding what I call your "inner circle" of spiritual and magical allies. For some, myself included, these are the four elements and four cardinal directions. Feel free to borrow my inner circle if you're not sure what yours is yet, and don't worry; you can always change it later. 

Your inner circle is the birthplace of your intuitive vocabulary. Understanding how each energy in your inner circle appears in your body creates your intuitive vocabulary. For example, suppose you're getting to know a new plant, and you receive an intuitive insight that reminds you of something in your inner circle that aligns with themes of openness and curiosity. In that case, that plant is likely sharing that its energy is one of openness and curiosity.

Apply the same intuitive communication principles in the previous steps to incorporate your inner circle of correspondences into your intuitive language. 

Want more guidance? I share practices and a more in-depth look at this step in my workshop Building an Intuitive Language here, which you can also access in my membership here. 

Keep reading for an example of how I utilized my intuitive language in a recent experience. 

What an Intuitive Language Can Look Like in Action

Here's an example of how working with my intuitive language has been helpful recently. I sensed a need to build some quiet time to journey, a practice of spiritually traveling to different planes of existence and times. This initial nudge is what people often refer to as the gut feeling. My intuition got my attention. 

Here's where my unique intuitive language starts to come into play. Leaning on my intuitive language enabled me to discern what the journey was about, so I could decide if it was something I wanted to do. 

Based on the feelings in my body that I associate with the element of earth, I could tell the need to journey was rooted in something ancestral. In my practice, I associate the ancestral realms with the cardinal direction north and the earth element. 

I also saw pink roses in my mind, indicating that this ancestral journey pertained to my mother line because I associate pink roses with my mother line. 

I could also sense an intense fire energy around this invitation to connect with ancestors in my mother line. Coming up on a full moon in Leo, I knew fire would likely be very present, and the messages I needed to receive were likely quite intense. 

Journeying on the Leo full moon felt aligned. The ancestor in my mother line made herself known immediately. What came up was intense, but I was prepared. Our work together resulted in ancestral healing on my mother line, and I began noticing shifts and changes within myself and my family members within days. 

Start Building Your Intuitive Language

As the example above illustrates, building an intuitive language can make connecting with your intuition easier to understand and more approachable. Other benefits include connecting with plants and crystals, performing rituals or energy work, receiving insights from your guides, and more. 

While I have dedicated years to honing my intuitive language, I did much of it alone. I do this work to help you skip over some of the trial and error I went through. How different could this world be if more people could tune into their intuition from a deeply grounded and embodied place? The potential is incredible and positive. This is why I want to see you communicating intuitively with a well-honed and robust intuitive language. 

Did you find some new avenues to navigate building your intuitive language? I hope so. If you want to dig deeper, I'd love to see you in the Craft Your Own Magic Circle, where you can access this class or get the class on its own here.

Deep care,

Cassie

Reframing Energy Clearing to Claim Energetic Accountability

You know how this story goes: light up your herb of choice or grab your selenite, wave it around, and PRESTO, the energy is clear. While this narrative is standard in many spiritual and magical spaces, it lacks the nuance and know-how to do much and can even be harmful.

Like so much floating around in spiritual, wellness, and magical spaces, the art of energy clearing has suffered tremendously at the hands of capitalism and other harmful systems.

By commodifying such a sacred practice, we've also lost its magic and subtlety.

It's not hard to look around now and see that this plane is undergoing massive transformations. Yes, it's intense right now, but this is precisely why I want you to be aware of your energetic field and fully in your power.

Instead of stopping at "I need to clear my energy," let's mine down deeper to discover what's underneath—a call to take accountability for your energy and find the gold hidden within you.

So, What is Energy Clearing?

First, it's important to note that energy clearing varies culturally and from practice to practice. If what I share doesn't resonate with your practice, that's okay. As always, come with an open mind, take what you like, and leave the rest!

Energy clearing is a vague phrase that means different things to people based on their practice and ancestry, so it's hard to define concisely. Many folks think of energy clearing as a technique to remove unwanted energy.

I prefer the phrase energy tending or maintenance because energy clearing is nuanced and usually needs to go beyond removing energy.

Does Energy Clearing Work?

The art and practice of energy clearing is absolutely a real and powerful practice. However, the need for energy clearing is often misidentified and misused. Why?

Not every uncomfortable feeling can or should be removed from your energetic field.

Of course, this isn't always the case, but it points to the truth that the cause of our discomfort is often nuanced, layered, and personal.

Think of a time when you experienced a difficult situation only to discover it was exactly what needed to happen because it clarified something, opened a new pathway, or provided a valuable lesson.

Oftentimes, what you feel inclined to clear away is an invitation to pause and go deeper, especially if it’s a sensation you find yourself wanting to clear away regularly.

Here’s the reframe: most energetic tending is energy balancing, not clearing.

The good news: real, powerful, and transformative ways to shift, balance, transmute, and clear your energy do exist.

They're not all quick fixes, and some require training or permission, but there are many things you can do to take your energetic well-being into your own hands today.

Let's get into this.

Energy Clearing vs. Balancing

In most cases, it's not a person, place, or situation causing harm to your energy; it's your response or reaction to them.

Clearing your energy or cutting cords from your field will usually do little to nothing. A more pressing and helpful approach is addressing the imbalances in your energetic field caused by your response to other people and situations.

This doesn't mean that bad actors and harmful systems don't exist. They 100% exist and cause harm on all levels, but trying to clear them away will be a constant game of whack-a-mole.

What I'm inviting in here is energetic accountability rather than an energetic blame game.

Next time you think, "So-and-so's vibes were off, so I need to clear it away." What would it feel like to approach it like this, "Wow. I had a response to so-and-so's energy. Let me investigate that."

Maybe after investigating a response to another person, you discover a wound within yourself that doesn’t require energy clearing but requires the soothing aid of water, or the grounding safety of earth to bring you back into a place of balance. (side note: eternal perfect balance isn’t the goal either, it’s the awareness of when you’re off balance and knowing how to come back.)

This approach requires accountability, time, possibly outside support, boundaries, and honest introspection.

When you focus on taking accountability for your energy, you get to identify the parts of you that need tending, better understand your energy, and work with it in ways that allow you to claim your personal power, and not the gross power over kind, but power with.

When you prioritize being aware of your energy and balancing it, it keeps you in your power.

Any good magician or healer knows that facing their shadows is necessary for healing or transformation to occur. Attempting to clear away every uncomfortable feeling won't work and skips over potential gold within you.

When to Use Energy Clearing

You might be wondering if energy clearing has a place. It does, and it's a practice I utilize with myself and others.

Energy clearing works wonders for residual energy, the energy you pick up in busy places, or maybe an old house with a lot of sticky energy hanging around. It can also work for entity removals and exorcisms, but these are very involved practices requiring training and/or permission.

Energy clearing won't help with the habitual personal, ancestral, and societal patterns that may have deep grooves in your energetic field or the soul lessons you might need to walk through.

Keep reading to understand more about the 4 key energy maintenance concepts I lean on in my energy maintenance practice with myself and clients.

4 Key Energy Maintenance Concepts

The good news is that countless energy maintenance methods and techniques are available, and you don't have to do it alone. Maybe the tips I share here will be enough to get you started. Or, you decide to take my Reframing Energy Clearing class here or work with me or someone else one-on-one.

An energy worker or healer can bring light to these things and begin the energetic balancing process. However, experiencing long-lasting energy healing will require honest introspection, which can take time, and sometimes, multi-pronged support (this is why I stopped offering single energy work sessions). To receive lasting results from energy work (outside of the rare Mary Magdalene, Buddha, and Jesus situations) requires an in-depth and honest process.

I approach the practice of energy maintenance through the lens of the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), which provides common ground for many practices and is the lens from which I work.

Here are four key concepts to help you understand the basics of performing regular energy tending.

1. Assess what types of energies are present, e.g., residual, collective, personal, ancestral, etc.

2. Identify how each energy present best corresponds with an element (earth, air, fire, water)

3. Determine what approach is needed, e.g., clearing, balancing, transmuting, protecting, etc.

4. Build or utilize reciprocal and ethical relationships with practices to carry out the needed approach(es)

Energy Clearing is One of Many Tools

Considering these four key energy maintenance concepts, it makes sense that a simple wave of a selenite wand might not always do the trick when tending to your energy body. (Side note: this is 100% not a dig at selenite. Selenite is AMAZING, especially regarding energy work, but there are helpful steps that can make working with it more reciprocal and effective.)

The next time you reach for the herbal wand or crystal for a quick energy cleanse, pause, take a breath, and see if anything else wants your attention or if a different approach would better support you.

You deserve better than playing the energetic blame games. It's time to take full accountability for your energy, and I want to see you fully in your power.

Thank you for being here! If you enjoyed this post, share it with someone else who might enjoy it, or get in touch and let me know your thoughts. Join the Reframing Energy Clearing class here, and I’d love to see you in the Craft Your Own Magic Membership, where you’ll find monthly classes and much more.

Deep care,

Cassie

Befriending Discomfort & Transforming with Fire of the South

Summertime shifts us towards the south and the element of fire on our sacred seasonal wheel. The fire of the south offers a time of passion, growth, culmination, action, transformation, and, less frequently talked about, discomfort.

In this share, you'll learn more about the element of fire, some of the wisdom it has to offer, its connection to discomfort, common correspondences for south and fire, and three ways to engage in ritual and magic alongside fire. Before we dive in, let's explore the position of the south and fire on our seasonal wheel, and what it means.

Listen to this post on the podcast, here.

The South and Summer Solstice is the full moon of the year on our wheel of seasons, and the neighboring celebrations, Beltane and Lughnasadh, are the peek of the waxing and waning energy of the seasonal year. We live amidst fiery energy until we reach the Autumn Equinox and shift fully towards the West and the element of water.

campfire, bonfire by the sea, sunset

Astrologically, the Summer Solstice moves us into Cancer season and then later into Leo. The Summer Solstice and Cancer season alignment is one that confused me for a long time. I had difficulty seeing the connection between the water sign of Cancer, the south, and the element of fire. I recently listened to the Summer Solstice episode on Tarot for the Wild Soul by Lindsay Mack. She did a good job of breaking down these overlaps, especially in relation to the Chariot card, which is the card that corresponds with Cancer. 

The Chariot card offers a side of water that encourages action, movement, and being in the flow. The fire connected with this season inspires this Cancerian energy to come out of its safe and cozy crab shell and begin taking action, and tap into any wells of emotional energy you may be harboring as fuel. You can visualize the stagnant pond vs. the flowing stream as an example. It's like a marriage of water and fire. This season's fire forces us out of our comfort zone, and the water of Cancer season encourages us to be in a state of flow with all that arises and the discomfort of it all. It's a call to feel and act, act, and feel, and to not get stuck and stagnant amidst it all. 

The Chariot card featured from Journey Tarot . Water card featured from The Ritual Deck.

It makes me think of the famous quote by Anais Nin quote "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." These south-facing seasons are asking us to notice where we must come out of our shells and blossom in new ways. I don't know about you, but I have never gone through an easy or painless transformation. 

Every transformation has been uncomfortable in my spirituality, business, and relationships, but they've also been necessary, inspired growth, and made me a better person. And it will be like this on a collective level, which can feel scary and uncomfortable. The deep transformations we're facing require many of us to face and look at parts of ourselves we'd rather not look at and that, in many ways, we've been trained not to look at, especially folks in white bodies like myself. 

It may feel enticing to sink back into those still waters or the cozy crab shell, but the gifts of growth are calling each of us in unique ways needed to create the changes we need on an individual and collective level to create a more equitable and sustainable world. The element of fire is waiting to be called upon to assist. Because if we do not, the wildness of fire will, eventually, create the transformations that need to happen whether you're ready or not. Here’s a sweet message about the need for fire from the book, The Great Work by Tiffany Lazic.

Passion is the energy of fire that propels us toward that which activates our Spirit. In 

order to create any new thing, there needs to be a spark—something that leaps across 

the gap between the material and the ethereal, bringing the two together and 

transforming them both in the process. Fire is the motivator, both the soft flame that 

gently guides and the blinding conflagration that changes all in an instant.

The Great Work by Tiffany Lazic

How can what's dear to your heart be used as a spark to bring about transformation or change? This is a time to notice what's arising for you, your family, and your community. What is calling out for attention to be more closely examined with the light of a fire or burned up and transformed? Let's explore some of the wisdom fire has to offer us.

Wisdom of South and Fire

To understand the scope of fire, we must honor all of its faces and abilities. Like all of the elements, fire can nourish and destroy. It's easy to see the nourishment and the destruction of fire, especially in the summertime. The nourishing warmth of the sun inspires plants to grow and thrive. Fire is also the seat of the hearth and home because it offers us warmth and nourishment. Yet, we can also see the capacity for fast-acting destruction that fire holds, 

The multifaceted nature of fire is reflected in its corresponding colors, red and green. Red holds the energy of passion, intensity, and the ability to destroy and transform, while green holds the energy of nourishment and growth. Like all the elements, fire offers a spectrum of wisdom. It offers both destruction and sustenance.

Having been embedded in various spiritual spaces for over two decades, especially in white spaces, I can confidently say that there's a focus on the more "positive" aspects of fire like passion, growth, and action and far less on themes like destruction and discomfort. I'll be focusing on the latter for this section. Though destruction is often lumped into the "negative" side of the spectrum, it also has a lot of important gifts to offer. Destroying or burning up is a necessary part of the transformational process. We cannot transform without letting something fall away or die. Wrapped up in this process, for some of us, is a need to be with discomfort and build a greater capacity to hold discomfort. Fire can be the spark that inspires us to continue facing our discomfort and bolsters our ability to act alongside it. 

Transforming and Expanding Our Capacity for Discomfort 

As we move deeper into this conversation around expanding our capacity for discomfort, I want to share a quote from a little book I often reference, "The Sacred Wheel of Our Ancestors" by Roberta Lee. She is one of my mentor's mentors. 

Noon. The Summer Solstice. Heat all about us. The sun beating down upon our heads.  

Thirst. Fire. This is the place to come face to face with ourselves for sure. Modern 

society seems to be obsessed with comfort. And sacred suffering is feared and frowned 

upon. We all suffer. Let us not waste it by trying to avoid it… Let us not resist the heat, the hard 

times; let us embrace them and this time of year, this part of the Wheel, this part 

of Life and in doing so, we notice that the pain is abated and becomes our history and 

joins the other drops of water in our well of experience.

Roberta Lee, Sacred Wheel of 

our Ancestors

The fire of the south does not lie. It is truth at its core. It burns away and exposes us. It makes us naked and vulnerable and brings us face to face with our truths. It can be painful when you approach fire with a desire to transform. Like the frame of a house revealed after its exterior has been burned away, fire shows you what's on the inside. Each layer that is burned away offers different stories and wisdom. Stories and wisdom that beckon you to look at and feel everything on a soul level, the good, the ugly, and everything in between. Each layer gives more wisdom and fuel to transform. 

Herein lies much of the discomfort associated with fire, which is two-fold. First, we have the discomfort of being with, witnessing, and feeling the pain and the truth of what is no longer working or that you can no longer view as acceptable. The second, I'd argue, more illusive part of the discomfort brought about by fire is the discomfort of not knowing what's on the other side of a transformation. When we decide to return to ash from the fire, what happens next? What's on the other side?

I think collectively, we are sitting in a time of transformative fire, on the precipice of something new, but still unsure what it will look like and how exactly we will get there. So many of us, myself included, are feeling the intense discomfort of this time. Knowing deep down that more needs to happen, much faster to save ourselves, our more than human brothers and sisters, and the planet. 

It is uncomfortable to witness the suffering and to suffer right now. It is also uncomfortable not to know what's on the other side. We are in the throws of a significant and profound transformation. However, the not knowing, the mystery of where we're headed does bring one gift—a gift of unlimited possibilities. These limitless potentialities are part of this collective transformation bringing me a sense of peace and the fire to keep going. There are so many solutions, and outcomes are yet to be discovered. The unknown is uncomfortable, yes, but there's also hope there. 

Most transformations we embark upon are sparked by an unwillingness to allow a certain action or feeling to persist. As we collectively sit in the heat and discomfort of this time, I invite you to continue to sit with the discomfort while reserving space for all the unknown solutions and outcomes yet to unfold. I'd further invite you to continue working towards a more equitable and sustainable planet as that's where those unknown solutions and outcomes live. We won't know what's on the other side of this current transformation until we walk through it together. 

Fire element card featured from The Ritual Deck.

It's important to note here that the discomfort of this time has not been evenly dispersed. Large groups of people have been sitting in the discomfort of this transformational time since the onset of spreading patriarchy, imperialism, white supremacy, and capitalism. White-bodied folks, like myself, have been taught to avoid this discomfort, separate ourselves from it, and seek comfort at all costs, even at the expense of other's lives and our planet. In contrast, many BIPOC communities around the world have been forced to become comfortable living in discomfort. 

I want to take a moment to give credit to one of my teachers, Thérèse Cator, whom I had recently completed her course, Embodied Allyship. Comfort, discomfort, and nervous system regulation were big themes in the course. I want to credit her for how I've made many of these parallels between the element of fire and this time. 

What if the constant seeking of comfort is what's keeping you small, keeping you from growing, and keeping you disconnected from your power? I want to offer that it is. Sitting in discomfort builds resiliency, a kind of resiliency that many folks with black and brown bodies have been forced to build and that myself and fellow white-bodied kin have been lulled into avoiding. I'd argue that for many of us, our proximity to comfort is what's keeping so many silent and complacent. The transformation we're in is going to happen one way or another. We can sit back and let it happen, or we can work together to ensure that when we come out the other side, we'll be more equitable and sustainable. 

I'm not advocating that you should be a masochist. I'm advocating that we're in an opportunity calling us in, especially white-bodied folks, to build our capacity to hold more discomfort and bolster our resiliency. With that also comes a greater need to make space for joy and pleasure. We must become more comfortable being in discomfort and simultaneously recognize when we need to pause and step into joy and pleasure. We need to become the pendulum moving from side to side, not remaining stuck only in the comfort that keeps us small and tame. 

Some questions to consider and that I've also been sitting with.

• What's making you uncomfortable right now?

• What areas of discomfort have you been avoiding?

• What might that discomfort have to teach you?

• In what ways could you lean into play and pleasure more deeply to build your resiliency and explore your discomfort more deeply?

I will share some of the fire rituals I've been leaning on to help with this in the ritual section later in this share. Let's take some time exploring common correspondences for south and fire.

South Correspondences

Correspondences are ways to honor and invite in specific energy. They're also a way to layer in specific energies to spellwork and magical practices. Understanding common correspondences, or similar energy, gives you the tools to craft your own magic and rituals with fire and the cardinal direction south.

• Moon Phase: Full moon

• Phase of life: Motherhood / Adulthood

• Themes: Fulfillment, action, transformation, magic, confidence, strength, passion, discomfort

• Color: Red, green

• Element: Fire

• Time of Year: Summertime

• Time of day: Midday

• Energy center: Solar plexus

• Items and tools: fire, candles, wand, brass items, anything that personally represents fire or summertime for you

• Crystals: Sunstone, yellow jasper, red jasper, rutilated quartz, sodalite

• Plants: Rosemary, cinnamon, clove, ginger, sunflower, anything in bloom near you during summertime

• Tarot: Suit of Wands, the Sun card, Strength card

• Ogham: Hazel, Apple, Vine

• Runes: Sowilo, Wunjo

• Planets: Sun, Mars, Jupiter

• Zodiac: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

Artwork featured from Zenned Out Guide Series by Cassie Uhl with Quarto Knows.

Rituals to Connect with South

Here are some ways to work with and honor fire in your spiritual practice. These are all tools and rituals that I've personally used or plan to and have found helpful. As always, take what you like and leave the rest. I'd also like to read an important reminder from the book The Path of Druidry by Penny Billington before we embark on this section. 

Each element can harm, but fire is the most mercurial of the elements; it is lightning-fast 

and operates to its own rules. Treat any naked light with respect and never leave it 

unattended. Fire is living. Think carefully about an appropriate way to extinguish a flame 

and stick to it. Many Druids pinch out a candle flame rather than use the breath of life to 

extinguish it. Choose a method, and make it a mindful action each time. 

When you light fire, you are connecting to an action shared by our ancestors, often with 

prayer and gratitude. Some of these ritual customs still survive in the old prayers from 

the highlands and islands. Devise your own simple ritual words or phrases to be part of a 

living chain of devotion.

Penny Billington, The Path of Druidry

I think that respect is something I've not discussed enough in the previous episodes on the cardinal directions and elements. It is essential for all of the elements. All of them have the power to nourish or destroy, especially fire. 

Dance Meditation to Connect with Fire 

When I think of the energy of fire, I think of dance. Like creating visual artworks, many of us have an idea of what "good" dance or movement is intended to look like. Allowing our bodies to move in ways that don't match what we've seen as "good" dance or movement can be uncomfortable. I love to dance, but I am not a professional or trained by any stretch of the imagination. Becoming more comfortable with my body's organic and natural movements has taken time. I say this to remind you that wherever you're at with your relationship to dance or whatever accessibility you have to move your body, there's wisdom and magic to be found. 

Anytime I write these episodes for the directions and elements and hold space for guided journeys to them, I spend a long time journeying to the direction and element. When I journeyed to the south to connect with fire, it asked me to move and shake my body. I was overtaken by the energy of the fire working through my body. I let go entirely and gave myself over to the process of connecting with its power. Having a private sacred space or being surrounded by folks you love and trust to do this work can be helpful. 

Something important to remember when engaging with elemental energies is that, more often than not, insight and wisdom are offered to us not through oral dictation but through states of being fully embodied and in communion with different energies. Why would fire speak to you in words? That is not the language of fire; fire flickers, dances, and moves. This is the medicine fire offers. This goes back, again, to get uncomfortable. Held in the discomfort and vulnerability of giving your body over to being with fire, you open yourself to embodying and holding new truths. If dance and movement feel like they're going to push you out of your comfort zone, I think the medicine will be even more potent!

If you feel called to connect with fire in this way, here are some simple suggestions to get started. 

1. Carve out 20-60 minutes for yourself. 

2. Spend about five minutes connecting with your breath and body (or any other rituals that help you root into your body) to soothe your nervous system.

3. Create sacred space in a way that feels good to you. This could be casting a circle or calling on guides, Gods, or Goddesses you work with. 

4. Optional: light a candle to honor fire and assist you in connecting with it. 

5. Go within or stare at your candle flame and state your intent to connect with fire. 

6. Imagine yourself meeting the fire element. What does it look like, and how does it make you feel?

7. Take this time to connect with the fire and learn from it. Perhaps it will inspire you to move. Maybe it will not. Trust what comes through and stay with it for as long as you'd like. Your experience may be different than mine, which is normal and okay. 

8. When you feel complete, be sure to thank the fire before leaving and ask if there's anything you can do to reciprocate your time with it and any wisdom you received. 

9. Close your space and consider journaling about your experience. Spend some time reconnecting with the world around you and perhaps have some food and drink. 

If this is something you feel you'd like support with, click here to join me in a guided journey to the south to connect with the element of fire. 

Candle Magic for Transformation 

If you've been hanging out around me for much time, you probably already know that I'm a big fan of using candles in my practice. Candles are a simple but powerful tool, especially when wanting to connect with the element of fire. I also think they're a great introductory tool to spellwork. You can make your candle magick as simple or complex as you want; all you need is a candle, matches, and some time. 

This is a topic I've covered extensively on my blog and in previous episodes, so I'm not going to go into much detail here. Check out the show notes for direct links to previous blog posts on candle magick. 

If you're new to working with candles or would like a simple ritual to start. I'd invite you to select a candle color in line with your intentions, hold it while infusing it with your intention, and sit with it as it burns. As you sit with it, notice the movement of the fire and how it dances and moves. Working with candles can be helpful while practicing dance or meditating on fire. 

I've been using paraffin wax chime candles for about six years, as long as I've been practicing candle magick. I usually recommend these, but after further research, I plan to switch to beeswax candles. Unfortunately, paraffin candles are a by-product of fossil fuels and are therefore harmful to the environment and unsustainable. I have quite a stockpile of paraffin candles from my store, so it's going to take me a while to work through them before I switch to beeswax. 

If you are starting out, I'd recommend rolling your beeswax candles or finding a supplier for premade beeswax spell candles. I found a few lovely and affordable beeswax spell candle options on Etsy with a quick search and bought some for Lugnasadh while writing this post, haha! Beeswax candles are more expensive, but they are lovely and a sustainable and less harmful choice. 

If you'd like step-by-step instructions for a candle spell, click here to check out a previous post. 

Building Fire and Fire offerings 

I'm wrapping two up into this section because they can be used in tandem or separately. Another obvious way to build relationship with this season and the element of fire is to spend time building fires, especially in ways our ancestors did. I have built fires in the past while camping but do not have experience building fires in ancestral ways. This is something I look forward to exploring this fall. There's a lovely article by Dana O'Driscoll of Druids Garden that you can check out here where she discusses the power of learning how to build fires in ancestral ways to connect with fire and our ancestors more deeply. Dana writes in her article, 

In every way, fire reconnects us to our roots, to those ancient ancestors who gave us 

such an important gift. When I look at the fire from this perspective, I realize that fire is 

my most important ancestral gift, and thus, one of the best ways to honor my ancestors 

is to learn and understand fire, to work with fire as they might have, to learn to start and 

build fires, and honor them through this practice.

Dana O'Driscoll

If building fires isn't accessible to you, it certainly wasn't for me in my Arizona home. I'd encourage you to build this kind of ritual relationship by lighting candles or incense to connect with fire in this way. One thing I've learned from one of my teachers, Danu Forest, is to treat each flame as a unique fire spirit. Each candle I light invites in the presence of a unique fire elemental that I can learn from and connect with. Seeing each fire as an individual, living entity helps me take more time and care in engaging with fire. 

Our new house has space for a fire pit, and we plan to build one before the Autumn so we can enjoy it this fall and winter. I'm looking forward to connecting with fire more deeply in this traditional way. My fire magic is about to get a serious upgrade! 

Finally, and this goes for any interaction with elemental energies or spirits, finding ways to be reciprocal and give offerings is a powerful way to build relationship. Song, dance, art, chant, poems, and herbs can all be beautiful offerings to the fire. Consider asking your fire what it would like as an offering. The article I mentioned above by Dana O'Driscoll also gives some wonderful suggestions for fire offerings. 

For example, my recent fire interactions prompted me to write a poem for the fire. I placed it on my altar and have read it aloud daily as a further offering and a form of connection. Building a relationship with fire through reciprocity is yet another tool for learning from fire and building our capacity for the discomfort associated with transformation. 

I hope these offerings have stirred your internal embers and perhaps even sparked a fire of powerful resiliency within you! If you'd like to explore the element of fire more deeply, I encourage you to join me or purchase the replay, "Journey to the Fires of Transformation." 

Opening to the Wisdom of East, Air, and Springtime

The Spring Equinox shifts our seasonal wheel to the East, the home of the element of air, inspiration, and new beginnings. 

In this share, you'll learn all of the delicious correspondences for this season, the significance of the season, how to deepen your connection with this season, and why you'll want to. This is a continuation of a larger series of exploring the wheel by seasons. 

If any of it sounds foreign or new, I encourage you to go back to read or listen to the episode about the North here, where I dive a little deeper into sacred wheels and their uses across cultures. 

Listen to this episode on my podcast here.

Every seasonal shift is an invitation to see the natural world as a mirror to our own lives and a call to notice how you are reflected in the natural world because you are the natural world. No matter how separate you may sometimes feel, you are nature. You are earth. Each shift is a call to remember this truth and attune yourself to these natural rhythms. 

Do you ever feel like you want a roadmap for life? Living cyclically offers a map. A map that reminds you to allow for times of expansion and growth as well as times of rest and even death and destruction. The roadmap of living cyclically with the seasons may not always be fun and exciting, but that's because life isn't always fun and exciting. Life is fucking hard sometimes, and living cyclically normalizes that truth. 

The season of Springtime, governed by the cardinal direction East, begins at the Spring Equinox and spans Beltaine until we reach Midsummer or the Summer Solstice. There are so many juicy things unfolding in this season. It's a season of action, play, and expansion! Let's explore the wisdom of the East and what this season has to offer. 

Wisdom of the East

On the sacred wheel, we shift East as we shift to the Spring Equinox. This shift also brings the beginning of a new zodiac year with Aries season. An immense burst of energy happens as we move into this season, and it's often easy to see in the natural world. It's getting warmer, the days are getting longer, and plants are starting to wake up. The earth is fertile for new life, and so are you. 

As a collective, oh, how we need some East energy! As I prepared this episode, something that stood out to me was the word humility. Being in a space of humility is very much associated with the East. There is action here, but there is also an openness and willingness to be open and allow new wisdom to permeate your being. It's a space that encourages us to be okay with not knowing. Humility seems to be something we've been missing deeply in our divided society. There's so much time and energy claiming to be the correct person with the only correct answer. I don't say this to point fingers; I certainly get caught up in it at times as well. This season reminds each of us that no one knows everything and to be open to new ideas. 

You know what I love more than anything is when someone says, "I don't know." What a breath of fresh air. This is the home of the East, the humility to continue to be open to continue to learn. We are each given this opportunity during this season to honor the not-knowingness, to sit in it, and to be open to what gifts of wisdom may want to come through.

Air Element Card from The Ritual Deck

Just as the plants begin to form buds and burst forth with life, your inner world is fertile for new growth. On a personal level, this season encourages you to open yourself up to new paths and to begin taking action. Feelings of uncertainty are a natural part of taking steps towards building something new; the East reminds us of this, that part of beginning a new path requires a certain amount of trust.

You don't wake up knowing everything that will transpire throughout your day; there are always certain unknown or out-of-control elements. The East invites you to honor this and embark on your day regardless. The tree doesn't know that it won't be struck down by lightning or some other unforeseen force as new buds and leaves grow, but it grows anyway. The tree does not sit wondering how I will grow these leaves, even amidst all the pain in the world. Rather it tends to its needs, supports life around itself, and continues to grow. We can apply this same thinking to new endeavors. Even when the path ahead is scary and unknown, you can move forward with what you do have and trust that you will know how to address situations as they arise. 

Here's a snippet from a book by one of my mentor's mentors called "Sacred Wheel of Our Ancestors" by Roberta Lee. I don't think it's in print anymore, and it's more like a pamphlet than a book, but you may be able to do some digging to find a used copy. In the chapter about the East, she says.

"It is in the East that we can call out and beg to know our paths. For this is the first step of many on this journey. However, be aware that while you search for your path, you're probably on it. If you cannot see it, it is likely that it is because you walk it. If you do see it, perhaps you are not there as yet. So take that step.

This is the place of surrender, of abandonment to the Great Mystery, of life itself. It is a commitment; certainly, a sense of risk accompanies us as we face the East. Dare to look into that sunrise, sense the warmth and healing of the sun as it begins its daily journey across our sky."

Sacred Wheel of Our Ancestors by Roberta Lee

East Correspondences

There are so many beautiful ways to connect with the energy of the east. Springtime itself is something that so many look forward to, so it's the ideal season to simply enjoy nature. If it doesn't yet feel like spring where you are, or you'd like to get in touch with the energy of the East in a different season, here are some ways to honor this season through corresponding energies or energies that match each other. 

• Moon Phase: Waxing crescent

• Phase of life: Childhood / the Maiden

• Themes: Play, joy, curiosity, fertility, growth, expansion

• Color: Yellow

• Element: Air

• Time of Year: Springtime

• Time of day: Dawn

• Items and tools: Flowers, eggs, herbal smoke, feathers, fresh herbs, rabbits, and hares

• Crystals: Kyanite, citrine, quartz

• Tarot: Suit of swords

• Ogham: Nuin/Ash and Huathe/Hawthorne

Air and East oracle cards from The Ritual Deck

Rituals to Connect with East

1. Honoring your inner child with play

Opening ourselves up to new ideas and wisdom can be hard. As we grow older, we tend to get more and more set in our ways for most of us. On a physiological level, our brains are less able to learn new things. It takes more of a conscious effort to open yourself up to learn new things. One of the secrets to being able to do this is allowing yourself to be open and receptive, and play is a powerful way to get into this receptive state of being. 

We already know that young children learn through play. Why is that? Play forces us to be in the moment, which opens us to new ideas and ways of being. It allows us to temporarily let go of all of the things we feel we need to carry as an adult—the money, job, responsibilities, and so on. Play is an opportunity to distance ourselves from all of these storylines and be present in a different way. Play is unpredictable and therefore fosters experiences of new insights. It cracks us open in a way. 

Explore "Journey to Your Inner Child" guided journey and workbook.

I'm fortunate to have two 3-year-olds in my life, so I'm frequently given opportunities to engage in play. Even with my two little busybodies, I still have to remind myself to let go of all the weights and stories I'm carrying and just be with them. Like everything, play can take some practice too. 

The way you decide to engage with play, children or not, will be unique to you. I encourage you to take some quiet moments to reflect inward and ask yourself what would feel like a playful and freeing activity to engage in. It may be on your own, with your kids, or with a partner. Consider thinking about what your favorite playful activities were when you were young. There's no wrong way to do this and no desired outcomes. Your only goal is to allow yourself to be in the energy of play, whatever that looks like for you. 

Here are some soft suggestions if you feel stuck. 

• Draw, paint, or color with no desired outcome 

• Cook or bake a new dish that excites you

• Turn on some fun music and move your body

• Make something with recycled materials

• Learn a new song and sing it to a friend or some plants

• Play a game solo, with family or friends

• Explore a new area of your city 

• Draw, paint, or color with no desired outcome 

• Cook or bake a new dish that excites you

• Turn on some fun music and move your body

• Make something with recycled materials

• Learn a new song and sing it to a friend or some plants

• Play a game solo, with family or friends

• Explore a new area of your city 

Another way to honor your inner child is to bring healing to your inner child. So many of us carry wounds related to trauma that happened to us as young children. There are several ways to approach inner child healing, one way is therapy, but there’s also a lot you can do on your own. Personally, I found a lot of healing through EMDR therapy, but I’ve also approached my inner child healing from a spiritual perspective as well by journeying to parts of my childhood that needed healing.

If this is an approach you’d like to try I held a group guided journey for this that’s now available in the shop. Of course, you can do this on your own as well, but if you’d like some support there’s a workbook and recording to help guide you through it. Click here to explore it. 

2. Connecting with the maiden of the Triple Goddess

We have the maiden, mother, and crone in our triplicity of Goddess archetypes. Each phase carries its own unique energies with both negative and positive attributes. The maiden aligns with the waxing crescent moon, steeped in exploratory and expansive energy. The maiden honors seek to expand, learn and grow in new ways. They do not shirk away from pleasure and rather lean into it. 

You do not need to be a particular age to lean into this energy; it can be called upon at any time in your life regardless of age and gender. This season is an opportunity to notice your relationship with the maiden and lean into it. How do you feel when in the presence of someone who feels safe and empowered in their sexuality and pleasure? Does it make you feel uncomfortable, angry, or do you celebrate them? The way you respond or feel when presented with the energy of the maiden can be a big indication of what your relationship is like with yourself in this area. 

Aphrodite card from The Goddess Oracle

There are many ways you can connect with the maiden energy. One way is to connect with maiden Goddesses. Every culture has maiden Goddesses, and I encourage you to explore Goddesses in line with your heritage. Here are some of my favorites that I often work with at this time. 

Eostre is a Germanic and Norse Goddess of the Springtime. The first written history of Eostre did not come about until a Christian monk named Bede wrote about her in 725 AD. This doesn't mean she wasn't around before this, but we don't have any evidence that she was. Eostre embodies the energy of fertility and growth. She's strongly associated with eggs and hares, both symbols of fertility. 

Freya and Frigg, a Norse Goddess (who some separate as two separate Goddesses) associated with pleasure, sexuality, and magic. Freya simply means lady, while Frigg comes from a root word for "beloved." We can even see Freya's connection with love and pleasure even today on our weekdays. Friday, the day of the week corresponding with love and romance, comes from the "day of Frigg."

Aphrodite and Ishtar are also associated with love and pleasure, which can be powerful to connect with or learn about at this time. Aphrodite is a Greek Goddess who many believe was modeled from the Middle Eastern Goddess of love, sexuality, and battle. 

There are so many ways to connect with and honor different Goddesses at this time. Consider meditating or journeying to connect with them. You could set up an altar to honor and celebrate them or learn about them. If you're feeling overwhelmed with which Goddess to connect with, I encourage you to go within and open yourself up to connecting with a maiden Goddess to see who and what comes through. We all have connections to different deities through our heritage, and sometimes the best way to connect is by honoring your inherent wisdom. 

If connecting with deities isn't in your practice, consider meditating during the waxing moon phase, exploring your sexuality, or working with magical tools that invoke a sense of pleasure and fertility to connect with the energy of the maiden.

3. Connecting with the element of air

The element associated with this season is air, so honoring and connecting with this element is a potent way to feel into this season. Air is such a unique element. Unlike the other elements, we can't see air. We can see its effects as it swirls about, but we cannot see air itself. This truth brings a unique energy to this element and how we connect with it. 

The air element is an active and outward-facing force that sets things in motion. It is also clearing but not the same healing way that water is. Rather, it brushes aside things so that we may be permeated more deeply. Air aims to mix and swirl about our perceived realities so we can see things from a new perspective. 

I think it's important to note that as we shift into Springtime and East on the wheel, we simultaneously move into the fire sign of Aries. We all know what happens with fire gets some extra air; it grows, it gets bigger. I see it as another beautiful expression of the power of this season. 

When out of balance, air can push us towards overthinking, anxiety, and lack of focus. Air can be overwhelming. We can see this quite easily in the suit of swords in the tarot, which corresponds with the element of air. In many ways, the suit of swords is one of the more feared suits. There's so much pain and mental anguish present on the cards. 

It's as powerful as a sword when you learn to engage with air in a more controlled way. Wielding the force of air allows you to cut through perceived realities and see new pathways. Air is the gracious idea bringer, and your job is to discern what's for you and what isn't. Air gives you the voice to say what needs to be said with truth and compassion. Air, though invisible, has the power to knock over buildings or subtle enough to blow out a candle. 

A powerful exercise to cozy up with the element of air and the tarot is to spend some time with the queen and king of swords. Notice how they appear so sovereign in their ability to control their chosen tool. This tool goes for any of the elements. The Kings and Queens of the suits show us what each element looks and feels like in its most exalted form. 

Beyond the tarot, I love experiencing the element of the air outside. Notice how the air feels against your skin, what it stirs within you, and how it makes you feel. I start so many days looking outside and noticing how the trees are moving from the air. I use it as a form of divination, a little nudge to be more still or to get busy. I've received so many messages from my "tree friends" by way of how the air moves them. I love visualizing the air clearing away blocks and stuck energy so that I may see and know more clearly. 

With spring upon us, I hope you can find time to be outside amidst the air, to feel it blow through your hair and over your body. I hope you can allow it to push aside any stories you need a break from so you can see things from new and playful perspectives. I hope you can honor your inner child and the maiden within you, calling out for play and pleasure.