Episode 3: the Minister & the Shaman with Reverend Howard West

I am so honored to share this conversation with my friend and spiritual advisor Rev. Howard West. Howard is an ordained Presbyterian Minister with at Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and he specializes in geriatric spiritual care, dementia, end-of-life care and caregiver support. He has served for more than 15 years as Executive Director of Spiritual Life Services of Country Meadows Retirement Communities.  Howard is also a trained counselor with a Master’s degree in Counseling from the University of Pittsburgh with almost three decades of experience collaborating with self-help groups that address family and relationship problems, addiction/codependency, depression and other mental health issues.  Howard has a B.A. in East Asian Studies (China specialization) from Penn State University, is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and is a daily practitioner of Chinese martial arts including Taichi.  He also has a long-term interest in eastern spirituality and its impact on physical, emotional and spiritual health.  When Howard and I met, his first question to me was, “Are you a shaman?” From there, we became fast friends. Our spiritual connection runs deep, always coalescing in discussions about how much we actually have spiritually in common. I once said to him, we should really have a podcast called “the Minister and the Shaman” where we answer questions from people and I admit that when I started this podcast, I immediately thought of Howard and some of our amazing conversations about spirituality, religion, trauma, psychological issues, & emotional sobriety. I consider Howard to be one of the most important spiritual advisors, influences, and friends. We have birded together, as Howard has an uncanny ability to be observant and aware in nature. No mistake that he is an avid outdoorsman and nature photographer. His connection to the Earth and nature is profound and humbling. I’m so honored to have this as one of many conversations we will have together, so here is my conversation with Reverend Howard West.

Episode 2: What is Tarot's place in this moment? with Kyra Paules

Oh, boy, I was looking forward to this conversation with Kyra Paules so much. I have known Kyra for a number of years, and she has become one of my go-to Tarot friends who I talk to about cards, life and ethics. In fact, I called on her when I was working on my June reading, because I just did not know if any of this was relevant or useful in this time. She and I talked about it, and I thought…this might be a useful conversation to have on the podcast. So, I hope you enjoy it!

Saying the wrong thing

from the Chrysalis Tarot by Toney Brooks and Holly Sierra

from the Chrysalis Tarot by Toney Brooks and Holly Sierra

from my June 2020 Newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.

I don’t always know what to say when the world is in turmoil. And particularly in this moment when there is violence and righteous anger. When people are so polarized and afraid, it feels like chaos. This is another Tower moment for us as a nation. First COVID-19 had us tumbling out of the Tower. My friend Sharon Muzio said we are in a Tower moment with COVID-19, but we still are in mid-air, not in the Tower and not on the ground yet. And now, the country faces nationwide protests. The president calls for militarization and more police presence, while peaceful protests move forward. It is as though we are still falling out of the Tower, and now we are seeing the Tower collapse underneath us as we are still in mid-air, unsure of where we will land.

We are razing the beast, hopefully. Kali, the Dark Mother, comes in for this work. She is a goddess of death and rebirth. The tall Tower of oppression and systemic racism needs to fall. But it is all we know. Truthfully, I am here for it. But in this way? Seeing black people genuinely losing their freedom, arrested or worse, facing bodily injury to speak the truth of police brutality and racism in the streets. Tanks rolling into town. The infamous pictures of police with raised batons hitting people, black people, injured faces from rubber bullets and fear. We are hearing mixed reports of who is causing the looting and rioting—protesters or implants to make the protesters seem violent. We honestly do not know. It suddenly seems like we have woken up in another world. We were isolated in our homes, and now the streets are filled. But this is OUR world. We created this. So, we watch it come down, frightened and unsure how to move forward. We ask Kali to guide this destruction so we can rebuild and rebirth into a different world where we no longer have to say Black Lives Matter, because of course, they do. We see that sentiment in action in our government, in our actions, in our consciousness. 

I really struggled with my monthly offerings this week. Is Tarot silly in lieu of all this? What could I possibly offer right now? Is it spiritually bypassing this suffering to talk about woo-woo energy healing, earth medicine allies, tarot, journeying...I talk a little about this in my monthly reading (See below). But I mostly really struggled with speaking at all.

 - I want to say my heart hurts, but I know it is not enough and, besides, my heart is not at issue here.
 - I want to scream when I see another black man killed, but I am afraid of showing you my anger. 
 - I want to cry and throw a tantrum about all the pain black people in this country have suffered for 400 years, but I don’t want it to be about me (I am afraid you will comfort me and not do anything else.)
 - I want to walk away from the news and media and forget this is happening, but I don’t want to fall back on my privilege to be able walk away from this pain since black people cannot walk away from this ever.
 - I am afraid of saying the wrong thing in the wrong way. 
 - I am afraid of saying the right thing in the wrong way. 
 - I am afraid of saying the right thing in the right way. 
 - I am afraid you will see my own wounds around racism and being a Latinx womyn. 


I have always tried to be vocal about my dedication to anti-racism and intersectional feminism. But I feel vulnerable showing these things as a spiritual teacher. There is a belief that we need to be above politics and not in the fray of polarized views. We are not supposed to watch the news or care about this stuff. I hear it all the time. the news is too toxic and full of fear-mongering and low vibrational energy. We are just spirit, right? Heaven forbid that we show anger. Anger is so demonized in our metaphysical community. So, yeah, not talking about peace and love and light is scary.

And yet this time is calling for us to move into the fear and talk anyway. We cannot be afraid to make mistakes, to be corrected, to lose people offended by anti-racist views, to say something perceived as racist or oblivious or privileged. We cannot know what we do not know. So, I am trying to remain fearless and teachable.

I believe wholeheartedly that Spiritual work is about justice and balance. We need to be speaking out and connecting the Spirit with the physical body. Spirituality is not for the privileged few who are not in physical danger or threatened with injustices. In fact, I would argue, that is EXACTLY who we are here for. So, if you are wanting to learn more, welcome BIPOC (this stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color) into your circles—spiritual and secular. Do the work you can do around your own internalized racism and subconscious racism. We can do this, not by asking black people to explain it to us, but by reading about it. Some great places to start:

Layla Saad in the Guardian put together an Anti-Racist reading list

Buy from black owned bookstore if you can.

Layla Saad has a wonderful course/workbook/book called Me and White Supremacy that is such an eye-opener.

This piece by Layla Saad is SO IMPORTANT. It is called "I need to talk to spiritual white women about white supremacy (Part One)

Dr. Robin DiAngelo on White Fragility and Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

If you have some money to donate to causes, here is a list of good organizations to support right now.

Support BIPOC teachers, educators, and writers. Often Black teachers will have a paysite (Venmo or PayPal) linked on their bio in Instagram so you can directly support their writing and work. They often do so much free education on Instagram and Social Media outlets for people who want to learn how to be allies.

* * * * * * * *

This month, our June allies came forth strongly, and as I have sat with them for a few days, I realize that they are so apt. If you are a membership subscriber, Tiger came through as an ally for us this month, so your shamanic journey with tiger will be emailed out. June 5th is the last super moon. It is in Sagittarius, and there is an eclipse. Plus, Mars is a perfect Square and June is facing 7 planets in retrograde. So, hold on for the ride. For us spiritually focused folk, our medicine allies can help us navigate these crazy times, so practice exquisite energetic hygiene and self-care. Ask me if you need some help.


Subscribe to get my posts when they go up!

Episode 1: Chakras with Sharon Muzio

It was so fun to talk to one of my BFFs Sharon Muzio from Alta View Wellness Center in Harrisburg, PA. She is a long-time practitioner of energy work and massage. She is the OG in this area. I wanted to talk chakra with her, since she works with the chakras do in-depth. As COVID-19 has reared up, she has recorded journeys around each of the chakras, which will soon be available. She actually has a journey coming up on June 2nd called Shamanic Journey with the Chakras, which you can register for now. It is being held on Zoom, and seriously, she leads a beautiful journey. You can register by getting in touch with her at avwc@comcast.net

ChakraJourney.png


Have a listen to my conversation with Sharon:


Centered

One of the things I love about what I do for a living as a healer and teacher is having amazing conversations with people. Breakthroughs happen. Ways of thinking about our own journey evolve and change. I often say in my classes, I can raise your vibration, but you have to change your consciousness.

We are all on the path of healing. I grow because of the people around me, the conversations that are evolving. One of the things I have felt were most damaging to the metaphysical community is the BS. I really crave conversations that get to the meat of matters and really dig deep into the rich soil of healing work. I kept thinking about some of the conversations I have had with my friends who are healers and psychics when we are just bullshitting on the phone. We talk about HOW we do this work for ourselves. I am really interested in sharing some of those conversations, so I have invited some of my friends to talk to me about a topic. My hope is that it isn’t just get to know you conversations, but deeper conversations about specific topics.

I’m going to have regular monthly conversations about astrology, tarot, healing and other one-off conversations with spiritual people who are doing their work.

Listen to the trailer here:

Healing your Inner Child, a conversation

This conversation on Healing your Inner Child with transformational healer Walking Crow, renowned author and mystic Katye Anna and I was such a beautiful experience. Walking Crow and Katye Anna and I explore what it means to be triggered, how to recognize it is happening and then how to heal from trauma and wounding from a young age. It was a beautiful experience. I hope you give a listen and then comment below. Follow Etheric Connections on FB for more of their powerful conversations. Lloyd and Leslie also have an awesome crystal shop, that is currently closed due to the state regulations, but they are selling online and are happy to look at inventory and help you shop. Support Local Small Businesses closed for the foreseeable future. Comment below to continue the convo.

Mothering Grief and Humanizing Healing: A podcast convo with the Biz Bruja

Though I live in the middle of Pennsylvania, we have some amazing healers, practitioners and leaders in the global psychic and healing community. I work alongside one of the strongest channelers of energy with my healing companion Sharon Muzio, the owner of Alta View Wellness Center. Sharon leads the Spirit of Oneness Holistic Expo too, which is the largest spiritual gathering we have in Harrisburg. Vanessa and I are both present in this circle. We mention Sharon in this episode, so just want to give her a shout-out. Because Vanessa touches on this a bit in the beginning, we live in a community that feels small compared to New York City, but we have a vibrant community of gifted healers here. And the beautiful thing about being in a smaller community is that we find each other—the brujas and curanderas and mystics and medicine people.

When Vanessa Codorniu came to one of my circles, her dynamic, earnest energy lit up the room. She had been working in the huge community of New York City doing shamanic work, psychic work and ancestral healing. She had just moved to our community, and we have been fan-girling each other ever since. I take her circles. She takes mine. I have been blessed to have her in my circle of friends and healer colleagues. She is a gifted practitioner, circle leader, psychic and more. This conversation was so rich and expansive. it is because we speak the same language. She is not afraid of a little shadow and magick. She had interviewed me for this podcast in December, so pre-COVID-19. I want to say that because we mention nothing about what is happening in the world. I think we would have a very different conversation today. But I love the conversation we did have. We had some connectivity issues, so if you hear a blip or two, it clears up in a second.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with me and Vanessa. Let me know what you think by dropping a comment below, or sending me an email at angie@themoonandstone.com.

Etheric Connections's Divine Collaboration Virtual Expo

On Saturday, May 2nd, I was honored to be invited by Lloyd of Etheric Connections (like their FB page to keep updated on these awesome live events) to participate in a live Panel Discussion on how to transmute fear into love, and what exactly is the nature of this time of fear. It was a very cool conversation. We are actually having a more detailed discussion on Healing your Inner Child with transformational healer Walking Crow, renowned author and mystic Katye Anna and I on Friday, May 8th at 8pm. Follow the link for more information! Post any questions or comments in the comment section.

May 2020 Monthly Tarot Reading

Moving into the lusty month of May, I did a one card Tarot reading around the energy of this month, along with the earth medicine allies that came forth for us. Let me know what you think. I am going to be doing readings at the beginning of the month for my readers and subscribers. If you want more check-ins with me via tarot and earth medicine, please subscribe to one of my membership levels for more readings and check-ins.

The Moon + Stone Healing Memberships

In the last few years, as my clientele has grown both at home and online, I have found myself in the precarious position of balancing not just my work life and my home life, but also different aspects of my work. I basically have three jobs—my career at Alta View Wellness Center as a shamanic healer, teacher, tarot reader, and circle leader; I have my own online practice at the Moon + Stone Healing where I write exclusive content and insights on tarot, crystals, energy healing, shamanic healing, soul and shadow work, and spirituality as well as offer distance and online work and teachings; and I am the head of Student Success, Curriculum Specialist, and Crystal Coach at Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy. I am writing and creating an oracle card deck called Cycles, as well as a few other books.

I find myself in this precarious position often. With all the things I offer--teaching, circles, healing sessions, one-on-one healing, reading tarot, teaching tarot--I often have to make choices on what to focus on at any given time. It means I am often an artist not always arting, a writer not always writing, a tarot reader not always reading. I want to give my readers and subscribers more of me, but my time is so limited.

In the last few years, I have sometimes stepped back from offering Tarot readings, or online sessions here and there, just to catch up with my email. What I sacrifice are things like writing my newsletters, offering informational posts on the blog, offering monthly Tarot readings to the public, journeying for our community, developing new offerings on my website, and deepening my presence online to my friends around the world. One of the reasons I step back from these things first is that they are a huge emotional investment. I pour myself into my work. I have never been good at half-assing things. Writing and putting things out in the world takes an outrageous amount of time and energy.

Because I have children to feed and a practice to support, I often choose those offerings where I can earn a living. Money lives in that unspeakable realm, like shadow work and trauma healing and politics, in our metaphysical community. Friends and colleagues struggle sometimes to make ends meet and never mention it to their students, clients or colleagues. We are asked constantly to offer of ourselves for free, even as we are overdrafting in our checking accounts. I’ve never been one to shy away from hard conversations. I want to offer it all for free, but I simply cannot. I often talk to my students about boundaries with our psychic and healer selves, we cannot just give of ourselves endlessly, because there will be nothing left of us. I suppose the quarantine has given me fuel to try to make the things I am passionate about available in a way that also sustains me financially and spiritually.

So, today, I am here to talk about one of the things I have been toying with for a long time—a monthly Tarot Subscription. I am calling it the Moon + Stone Healing Memberships. The Moon + Stone Healing Memberships is a tiered subscription membership that offers different levels of membership and price points so you can connect with regular readings and insight done by me around the moon cycles. They start in May 2020. These are things I always want to do--pull some cards for the collective on the New Moon, or offer a quick shamanic journey, but simply cannot afford to give away. So, I tried to find a way to sustain me, and offer the things on my to-do list that I never get to. Each collective reading will be offered via audio recording on SoundCloud, which you can access as often or as much as you would like. These membership subscriptions renew every month. You can cancel them at any time, though refunds will not be given after the content is delivered each month. Please read each offering carefully. There are only two levels with PERSONAL readings (the Sun + the World). 

The baseline offering is the one that you already belong to simply by being a subscriber to my blog and newsletter.  I will make this email mailing list worth your while. I will do a monthly video tarot reading posted on my blog, in which I will pull a card for the month, talk about how it affects us personally and globally, and talk about some earth medicine allies. I will post this on my YouTube page, to my blog, all my social media, and send the link in my newsletter. That is what all of you receive as a subscriber to this newsletter or if you subscribe to my RSS feed, or if you follow me on Instagram or on FB. It is free and part of what you get as a subscriber. If you decide you want more, awesome. There is no obligation to do that. But if you decide to subscribe to one of my membership tiers, my commitment to you is that this tier membership program not only will give you awesome content, but will fund more free offerings on my site as well.

STRENGTH TIER $20
The first tier includes three options you can choose:

1. a monthly full moon collective reading (available a few days before the Full Moon)
2. a monthly new moon collective reading (available a few days before the New Moon)
3. a monthly collective shamanic journey (available in the beginning of the month)

These collective tarot readings will be conducted for the entire group of subscribers. They are not personalized. I talk about the energy I am feeling around this Full or New Moon period. These readings will be about 30 minutes long and I will weave in ritual ideas, earth medicine allies, including stones, animal, and plant medicine allies for this moon cycle. These readings will be offered via audio, and available as a private SoundCloud link, so you can listen on the go. You can listen as often as you would like. They will come in an email that will talk about the energy and have exclusive content for each moon. The Shamanic Journey taps into the energy I am picking up for the month (you can view the free monthly reading available on my website free each month). The Journey takes you deeper into the work, so you can do your own journeywork with the medicine arising for you personally each month.

HERMIT TIER $35
This second tier includes two of the three above options, so you can choose the full + new moon collective readings, which means you will be hearing from me twice a month with insights about the moon cycles and what medicine to work with, or you can choose the shamanic journey and one of the moon readings.

HIGH PRIESTESS TIER $47
This tier includes both the full + New moon collective readings + the monthly guided shamanic journey with an animal guide

SUN TIER $74
In the Sun Tier, you get both the full + new moon collective readings + the monthly guided shamanic journey with an animal guide, plus you get a personal one-card Tarot reading delivered via audio (15-20 minutes) sent to you either the new or full moon.

WORLD TIER $92
In the World Tier, you get it all—both the full + new moon collective readings + the monthly guided shamanic journey with an animal guide, plus you get a personal 30-minute Tarot reading sent to you via a private SoundCloud link before either the new or full moon.

Again these tiers are the starting point for me. I plan to add more incentives and offerings to these, so if you have any ideas or wishes, respond to this email with ideas. My goal is to ensure that no matter what level you choose to subscribe at, you’ll get back more than you give.

I'll Follow You Podcast

Allison Felus, the Queen of Peaches, has a new podcast this year. She posted it on Instagram in the beginning of the year, and I started listening right away. The thing I love about it is Allison has just an easy way of dialogue. She lets people tell their story. She also interviews her people—people from all aspects of her life and her personality. She is a musician who works in publishing. She is an accomplished writer, and she is a psychic. She is also a crystal healer and energy healer. I just adore her. She is thinky and smart and spiritual and interesting. She wants to talk about art and writing and thinking and Spirit, but without all the bullshit. Like I said, she is one of my people too. I did this interview a little bit ago, before the shutdown. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to post this here. Mainly because this is a forgotten spot on my things I like to do. So, I am going to be sharing stuff here more often. As you probably figured out, Allison invited me to talk for an hour or so, and here it is. Please enjoy and check out Allison’s other podcasts too. They are endlessly fascinating!

recommendations for isolation

I am not doing as much reading as I’d like. This time has been busy with lots of movement. I spent the first few weeks organizing, and now it is classes and working. But I wanted to share some great things I have read, played with, seen, experienced in the privacy of my own home!

I currently reading The Familiars by Stacey Halls. So far there are witch allusions, babyloss, and it is set in the 17th century, so I am so in.

I also blew through Kim Krans’ graphic memoir of her eating disorder while staying at an ashram called Blossoms and Bones. I finished it and then read it again. It is a must-own for your collection if you are into shadow work, art and recovery. She also is the author of the Wild Unknown Tarot, Animal Spirit Deck and Archetypes deck. I cried and laughed, but mostly just resonated deeply with it.

Poetry-wise, I am so digging Post-Colonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz. I randomly opened it to a poem that started with a song that I was right at that moment singing, which to me was a sign that I was on the same wave length as the poet. So amazingly beautiful.

I love Ann Patchett and really enjoyed reading the Dutch House. It is set in Philly suburbs in the 60s. Her voice is magick and unmatchable. I felt like I knew the characters.

Before that book, I had just finished the last book in the post-apocalyptic trilogy called the Chronicles of the One, which is about a virus that wipes out 5/6th of the world, so if you are prone to anxieties and books that mirror life right now, um skip it. But it was good. It has witches, fairies, magick and all kinds of resilience and sex.

On deck is my favorite author Louise Erdrich’s new book the Night Watchmen.

I’ve been having so much fun playing with the Tarot Mood. I don’t think any phrase encapsulates the 5 of Swords better than, “You’re a dick, Gary.”

MoodTarot2.jpg
HerbalcrystalOracle.jpg

I am also enjoying the Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle and Crystal Medicine Oracle Deck, which are both such good allies when we get stuck in our head and have no idea what earth medicine is great for right now. Meditating and pulling cards are my jam always, but right now, when I need to be in my intuition more than my head, it helps.

Also, digging the Literary Witches Oracle, because who doesn’t like badass female icons and authors who create magick along with magick and oracle work.

MoodTarot.jpg

I also ran across this blog post about Purple Dead Nettle, and it turns out to be all over my friggin’ yard, so I am going to try juicing this and let you know how it is.

I also love Allison Felus’s podcast I’ll Follow You and was honored to be a part of her conversation a few weeks ago.

I’d love to hear about what you are reading, watching, pulling, creating and more. So share in the comments, or send me an email at angie@themoonandstone.com

Mother Earth Father Sky Meditation

On Sunday, April 12th, I was invited by the Community for Holistic Integration (CHI) to lead a meditation at 11:11am. This meditation is one I do when I need to ground and open to Spirit. I think of this as a connection to all living beings and to all that is. Connecting with deep roots into Mother Earth and then connecting up with Father Sky, plugging into Spirit. I opened this meditation with the poem, i thank you God by e.e. cummings

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

Please enjoy this meditation and come back anytime you are needing connection, grounding or more.

This poem was originally published in Xaipe1 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1950), reissued in 2004 by Liveright, an imprint of W.W. Norton & Company.

Earth Medicine Allies for Changing Times

I was very honored to be asked to join Etheric Connection’s Divine Collaboration Virtual Expo on Saturday, April 11th. I am the first speaker (Hour 1) and shared about the Earth Medicine Allies for Changing Times. As I sat and journeyed with today’s theme, I thought about how this pandemic and the request from our leaders to social distance and shelter in place brings up so many feelings and emotions. In many ways, we are sheltering in place with our Shadow selves. And from the Shamanic point of view, this can feel like the World is being called to a Collective Vision Quest. We are challenged to search deep inside ourselves.In this changing and challenging time, I believe we are asked to admit that we are all connected. Humans hold this myth of separation, that we are separate from one another and separate from nature. This crisis challenges us to admit that if someone gets sick in China, it is also our issue here in Pennsylvania. It illustrates so clearly how interconnected we all are, how global our world is. In this vein, I talk about the Earth Medicine allies to assist with understanding and healing this illusion that we are separate and ways we can connect through the medicine.

nourishing your seed

lavender.jpg

If you are like me, you follow many healers, psychics, shamanic practitioners, and spiritual leaders on Instagram and FB. I actually find so much wisdom from their words and images, but I also find myself rise up against the carefully curated spiritual life on social media, leading to the idea that you could easily be a psychic if you had the right combination of financial independence, a rustic she-shed, many crystals, exclusive teachers and retreats, and a fully realized understanding of how the universe works.

I love social media, but come on, that is bullshit.

Yes, marketing yourself is part of the job of attracting clients and people who can benefit from your work (and believe me, I love beautiful photographs with esoteric words.) But I think we do a disservice to show only the perfectly coifed part of life, or talk about being "born psychic" and it all coming easily. Being psychic, intuitive, empathic or even shamanic requires a deep nurturing and intention. Most of us don't wake up the Buddha, fully realized in our psychic self. First, we set the intention to open in this way, then tend to our psychic self with daily maintenance and spiritual work. It is so infrequently the perfectly put together vignette of wood, crystal, copper and ancient divination cards, and more frequently, getting up earlier than you want to meditate before work, releasing toxic people and circumstances that become increasingly uncomfortable, feeling confused by the signs and messages being presented to you, and maybe most importantly, loving and trusting yourself fully.

I believe each one of us has a seed within us—a kernel of native intuitive wisdom. Most of us have experienced a moment that makes us feel part of something larger, or maybe it was a deep sense of empathy for another person’s pain or success that sometimes feel like a curse when you are a pre-teen, or a mystical experience that cannot be explained away, or maybe it was a metaphorical or literal precognitive dream, or maybe it was just a moment where we felt there was more than meets the eye. Maybe it was being able to access the wisdom for someone seeking your counsel at just the right moment, and you thought, "Where did that come from?" Think back on your life and remember those moments where you felt connected, in the flow, maybe different, but aware of something bigger than you that you could tap into for guidance, wisdom and healing. Maybe you were told by someone else that you were empathic, psychic, intuitive, a healer or shaman, or gifted and thought, "Well, okay, now what?" Maybe you just felt it.

This is your seed.

Sometimes are seeds start growing because of trauma, or illness, or recovery, or an experience. Most often, we have a little niggling feeling deep within us that this thing needs expression. Are you ready to cultivate it? Nourish it? Are you ready for that gift to grow?

A few years into my work, a few people asked me how I do what I do. And I thought back on some of those wild, mystical experiences I had as a child nurtured and quelled in equal measure by my Catholic childhood. It was then I ran across a Tarot deck and spellbooks that I kept hidden away in my room. Those experiences changed when I became a young woman. It was then, in my late teens, that I sought meditation and began exploring Buddhism. That was enough for a while, learning to sit still with all that psychic information flying at me. My mystical and psychic self deepened when I moved into my 30s, more like a connection to others. There was this persistent urging in me to stop ignoring my intuition. I was drawn, like a moth to the light, to circles and people who understood that seed within me, who talked about being psychic not with shame or embarrassment, but with understanding.

I began to look for my tribe of wise women, healers, mystics, and psychics. I wanted their guidance, their camaraderie, their knowledge. I wanted to know who and what I was. The work, the real work, wasn't learning the tools, the outward appearances of being psychic, (that was the fun, easy stuff) but it came with me doing my own emotional work. There was not one teacher—I had many guides in many areas of my psychic self, but the work came from having a teacher who could hold space for my work. Most of us need teachers and guidance-not to be psychic, but to leave how to deal and protect ourselves as psychics, to deal with our gift, to keep the channel open and flowing. And when the call came for me to mentor and help others sow and cultivate their psychic gifts, I answered it by creating my Psychic and Shamanic Mentoring Circle.

It is a psychic development circle. I call it psychic and shamanic, because I use shamanic journey as the way in each circle. But it is also a place to do your work. I hold a high level of ethics and integrity in the circle and encourage people to explore what stands in the way of their psychic gifts. It is how to live shamanically, psychically, and authentically.

If you are in the Harrisburg area, I begin my nine-month mentoring circle in September. This circle is near and dear to my heart--after all, it captures all I do. I weave earth medicine, shamanic journey, crystal work, angel, ascended master and spirit guide channeling into a curriculum of psychic, spiritual and healing personal work. We take a walk through many topics that help connect you to the psychic realm. In my circles, I do not make people psychic, but I help remove what stands in the way to their gifts. I teach my students how to water the seed, give it sunlight, nourish the soil. I expose my students to lots of tools and ways to connect to help them find their own unique gifts and approaches to their psychic selves and learn how to tend to their own psychic abilities and gifts. This is a circle that helps you answer that question, "I think I am a psychic/empathic/intuitive/a healer/shaman...now what?"

Each circle begins with a check-in about our month. What kind of work arose for us? Mystical experiences? Mundane experiences that kept us from our work? We get surprisingly deep and emotional in this check-in after a few months. Trust deepens and the circle becomes a safe space. Then we talk about a topic—psychic protection, animal medicine, angels and masters, the wheel of the year, energy healing, psychic tools, altar making, past life regression. We discuss, often do hands-on exercises to really get into the topic. Then I lead a guided shamanic journey. I use shamanic journey as a way in for my students to develop a real connection with their spirit and animal guides and know what their gifts are. After our journey, we journal our experiences and then share, ask for feedback and process what we experienced. It is at that time that we really begin to learn our psychic language.

We meet once a month, on the first Thursday of the month, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm at Alta View Wellness Center in Harrisburg, PA. This Mentoring Circle is a closed circle, so once our year starts, no new people will join. We honor the trust and vulnerability of this work, but asking each person to be present for this work. You can enroll by calling me at 717-770-9109. I am also happy to talk more in-depth about what we do, who it is for and anything else you want to know. I am closing registration on August 30th for our first circle meets on September 5.

Much love,

angie

MentoringCircleLevel_I2019_FINAL.png


mercury retrograde tarot layout

I've been in the throes of life and finding my tarot practice waning a bit. I know you all can relate--days when you want to pull a card, but how? When? For what? Sometimes I find myself in a place where I just don't want to know.

Burying my head in the sand never works. It simply wastes time. One of the times I most want to bury my head in the sand is Mercury Retrograde. Being misunderstood, having things go haywire, mixing up my navigational system is a logistical nightmare for a recovering control freak and perfectionist. It's those times when burying my head it in the sand or "not wanting to know" seem like the best idea in the world. 

But avoiding tools that actually work for connecting me with Spirit and my deep wells of wisdom keeps me from peace. I need to remind myself that Tarot doesn't punish or judge--our interpretations do that! I do that! Tarot is a navigational guide and a map for moving forward. There are many times, though, that I know I am too tender, judgmental or prone to negativity to objectively read for myself. That is when I connect with another reader and trade. Tarot Share is borne out of that impulse to have a community of Tarot readers who get it.

Speaking of Mercury Retrograde, it is coming up on March 5th.  Mercury goes retrograde three times a year. It shouldn't be surprising, and yet we all seem to dread it. I have developed crystals and vibrational support during Mercury Retrograde.  I created this Mercury Retrograde preparation Tarot Layout to help you identify and work with issues that might arise during Mercury Retrograde.

mercury in retrograde tarot layout.png

i come with the grief

As a writer, poet, and artist, I’ve done a fairly lousy job of sharing my writing on here. I have mostly only shared my work about crystals, tarot and spirituality. Part of my passion is social justice and work of people like me—women of color who wrestle with identity and spirit in the face of social injustice.

I also want to show up more in this space—my voice and my face and my artwork. I have lived a life or two. I am a child of an immigrant. I am Latinx. And so I cannot go through this life without being reminded of that. It informs my artwork and my writing and my spirituality. It is part of the space I hold for people—healing cultural wounding and trauma, ancestral wounding and trauma, societal wounding and trauma. This poem encapsulates that for me. I began this poem in a writing workshop with marybeth bonfiglio.in 2017 and started with a prompt: “What grief do you come here today with?”

This is a piece I have revisited a few times, and found it. I am reading it below. Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

prayers

IMG_20190130_101735_384.jpg

Gratitude needs to be the root of all my practice. When I wake in resentment, anger, fear, my entire day feels off. It’s not often that this happens any longer. I have reoriented myself toward gratitude. I start gently with a simple prayer of thanks, as my stiff joints shuffle to the bathroom. I use the beginning of the e.e.cummings poem.

I thank you God for most this amazing day.

I watch the sun come up over the snow. The first blush of dawn highlights the waning moon flanked by Venus and Jupiter in the clear winter sky. The beauty betrays the bitter cold of the morning. 10 degrees. I sip my warm lemon water, snuggled in a blanket.

God, thank you for the warmth of my home, for the ability to build a fire.

The beauty way seeks to find beauty in all the things and also to be the one to bring beauty. I cringe at the toys I can see poking out from under my couches, and the clutter that small children bring, and yet their smiles, the warmth of our home (not just physical warmth, but the warmth of love and acceptance), the laughter, the artwork created by big and little hands hanging everywhere radiates beauty.

Great Spirit, may I walk in beauty. Great Spirit, I offer myself to thee.

I am most thankful that I get to do this work of honoring Spirit and tending to the Spirit of others, helping others live in a way that is harmonious—gentle consumption, stewardship of the Earth, sacred living, self-care, and self-mothering. Through my practice, the work I have offered has evolved. From my first circle of psychic development to now, I can see how much I have deepened in understanding and practice. How each moment is a moment of living in shamanic ways. I continually deepen my practice, so this makes sense to me. I have been blessed with many teachers and mentors who continually teach me how to show up despite adversity and grief and life.

Great Mother, thank you for the women who walk before me, who reach back, hold my hand and show me the way forward.

Last year, I experienced deep loss from the death of my beloved father to both of my animal companions (my dog Jack and my cat Magnus). The tenth anniversary of my daughter’s death amplified the grief. I had physical challenges to my health, and emotional challenges to my worth. I have had all my stories rewritten. I have had friends step away. Institutions shaken up. I have had every solid tower in my life brought down to its stone foundation. Thus is the Tower year, the one that brings it all out. Kali, the Dark Mother, helps destroy and rebuild. I honor her way, though it is hard. I honor her.

Dark Mother, thank you for the destruction of lies, and for the solid foundation to build again. Thank you for steady hand on my back as I move forward.

I am in the process of truth-telling about these incidents, and the process of truth-telling about my past and my history, of seeing things with clear eyes. There are stories that I had come to believe down to my core that just aren’t true. I watch and observe and take notes now about what is true and what isn’t. It is powerful work. Challenging, humbling, but good work. This is what we are asked to do as medicine keepers—continually do the deep work we ask of our students, clients and mentors. 2018 watched the Tower tumble. I used Snake for this work, as my guide. Snake sheds the skin. Releases. Transforms. Transmutes. Heals. Regenerates.

Thank you, Snake, belly on the earth, for showing me the process of shedding my old, torn skin. Thank you for rising from the earth to open a way forward for me.

snakemedicine.jpg

2019 brings me to this year of the Major Arcana card XVII, the Star. It is a card of hope, of optimism, of healing, of peace. It brings me to watching the early morning sky for the simple beauty of the cycles of our life. Gratitude reorients me due north, the direction of wisdom and patience, the long view only the ancestors can bring. I am reassured of this fact—every part of my journey is used. No part is wasted on the medicine path.

Father Sky, Mother Earth, I thank you for clarity, for the willingness to see the truth no matter how painful. Thank you for bolstering me in the darkness, steering me to my True North.

Gratitude remains the root ball of the strong, powerful tree of me. The one that bends with the wind, but does not blow over. I am grateful for your continued support of my work and mission.