Taexalia
wild.life
Dancing With Bluebeards and Red Shoes
"While the cause of much human suffering can be traced to negligent fostering, there is also within the psyche naturally an innate contra naturam aspect, an "against nature" force. The contra naturam aspect opposes the positive: it is against development, against harmony, and against the wild. It is a derisive and murderous antagonist that is born into us, and even with the best parental nurture the intruder's sole assignment is to attempt to turn all crossroads into closed ... read more
Rhythms and Ruptures
The other day I was forgiving myself for losing my rhythm with regard to creativity and also healthier habits. On the one hand I think it's true that I'm a cyclic being, but on the other there is a tendency to get lost in negativity, and I think that's been afoot recently too. I try to be gentle with myself about this since I'm still living in a scenario where Outside Influences, that I cannot do anything more to control for the moment, impact me. It is enough that I keep trying to reclaim ... read more
The Creepy Lurker
"But what shall we do with those inner beings who are quite mad and those who carry out destruction without thought? Even these must be given a place, though one in which they can be contained. One entity in particular, the most deceitful and most powerful fugitive in the psyche, requires our immediate consciousness and containment - and that one is the natural predator." ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes Women Who Run With The WolvesI wonder why we often choose to remember the negative things people ... read more
The Old Washer Woman
The Winter Goddess is said to dance around the tops of hills, it is said that her home is on top of Ben Nevis. She goes by the name of the Cailleach, or Carlin in Scots, and there are many places that carry stories of her exploits.Beneath the Paps of Jura, the cauldron of the Corryvreckan spins and swirls and it is here that the Cailleach washes her plaid. When her woollen cloak is clean and white she lays it across the land...She has been washing her cloak this morning and I am watching her ... read more
Skeleton Woman
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="314" caption="Skeleton Woman SoulCollage Card"][/caption]
I am the one who has been thrown to the elements I am the one who is tangled and broken I am the one who lies in the depths I am the one who is un-loved I am the one who waits I am the one who rises again I am the one who lifts a heart I am the one who beats the drum I am the one who knows the rhythm I am the one who ... read more
How I See The Higher Power
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Persephone ~ Chapel of Garioch"][/caption] I am not separate from it - it is part of me and I am part of it. I say it because it cannot be named or defined as one single thing or being. Sometimes it is the sun warming the earth and sometimes the moon kissing the loch. Sometimes it is the Cailleach brooding in the clouds, sometimes Bride wearing a cloak of bees swarming. Sometimes it is me asking the clouds to part as much as it is ... read more
Mother – Council
Description: When I made this card I was thinking about honouring the miscarriage I had last year but I don't think that is the way it turned out - which is something I love about this process! Ever since, she has sat in my deck and whenever I pick her up I think "Mother". So for now she fits into my Council suit as the gentle mother. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Mother SoulCollage Card"][/caption] Who are you?
I am the one who ... read more
Samhainn Moon
Samhainn - the beginning of winter. Modern calendars mark the night on October 31st, but the old way of reckoning would look to the full moon for guidance. The Cailleach can be heard whirling amongst the branches of trees, blowing the last of the autumn colours away. She is seen in the mists that sweep in from the seas. Hilltops - where she is most at home - are eclipsed by her wild dance. She has imprisoned Bride within Ben Nevis and begins to wash her plaid in the great "speckled ... read more
Rumpelstiltskin Is Your BITCH
I see the ridiculous little man as one of the shadow archetypes of the psyche. He is controlling and offers glamour or safety or a ticket to ride but it is always at a price. He is a Bluebeard who wants to take your child (your soul) and lock it in the basement. In the realms of modern womanhood he is that negative of aspects - The Bitch. Bitch is such a negative word and it is usually applied to women, and for a variety of reasons. And sometimes they are valid! We can reclaim BITCH and ... read more