May 1st - Happy Beltaine!

This Beltaine message comes from the Celtic Spirituality Tradition practitioner, a wonderful British woman named Mara Freeman. 

Mara's message is about the realm of Faery. Not the sort of Tinkerbell caricature from Disneyland, but an actual cousin race, real beings of light and energy.

When I wrote my latest novel, "The Hidden Abbey," I had  an experience authors often have - something I hadn't planned on, something I thought only had a minimal role in my story, came into full bloom, wanting to be more involved in my story. It was the race of Faery. In particular a half-Faery, half-human character named Shayla, and the Hawthorn tree guardian Faery male named Folimot, inserted themselves by wanting a bigger role in my novel than I had originally anticipated or planned for. So, my interest in Faery was piqued.

From Mara:

The Celtic Faery Faith and Beltaine

On the First of May we stand on the threshold to Beltaine, the Celtic festival of summer, when all the Green World is charged with new life beneath the light of the growing sun. In Ireland, Beltaine was a time when the faeries rode out of their dwelling places in the Hollow Hills within the Earth into the human world. 

Until quite recently, many people had encounters with faeries and lived side by side with them in quite a natural way. Some of these faery seers were descended from generations of country-dwellers who had kept the old beliefs intact; others were visionaries, poets and artists, who refused to be influenced by the modern materialistic world-view.

The Nature of Faeries

Faeries can range from a tall, beautiful, noble race to the diminutive imps we call the ‘little people.’ One of the best explanations as to what they are comes from the unlikely source of a 17th century minister of the Church of Scotland, the Reverend Robert Kirk, who defined them as being “of a middle nature betwixt Man and Angel.” For they are creatures of light and energy, of ‘force’ rather than ‘form,’ who can shift their shape as they please, not being bound by the laws of the physical world. 

The Faeries’ Return

Today, a new awareness of faeries is returning as people are awakening to the reality of worlds not normally apparent to the five senses. It seems that, with the current crisis on Earth, we are being called to reconnect with those Beings of Light with whom we once consciously shared our planet home. When we pollute, degrade and lay waste to the land, sea and skies, we are destroying their world, too. We tear apart the exquisitely woven tapestry of all creation. And so faeries are bringing messages from the Earth urging us to change our ways from living in separateness to an awareness of our interconnectedness with all beings, visible and invisible, in the great Web of Life. 

Connecting with faeries is not as difficult as you may think – you do not need special psychic powers to do so, just the willingness to open your mind and, especially, your heart, as a child might do. Speaking of how to see tree faeries, Ella Young, in a rare interview on KPFA radio, Berkeley, in 1952, said: “You have to be content to know that you love that tree, and you want to love it more, and you know it’s alive and you want to come closer to it.”

Here is a simple way to connect with the faery kingdom:

This Beltaine season, take a faery walk in Nature, preferably where there are trees and plants. Find a place to sit and begin taking some deep breaths:

1. Inhale and imagine a wave of green light rising from the land beneath you, rising up your body to connect you with the Earth below. Exhale and sense a wave of golden light flowing down from the heavens through your body, connecting you with the Sun and Stars. Do this several times until you feel relaxed and charged with the energy of Earth and Sky.

2. Notice three natural things around you and send a line of light from your heart to connect with each one.

3. Now extend connection to everything around you.  Rest and be at peace in this feeling of oneness.

4. Ask for a message from the Faery realm and open to receive impressions that may come to you. The response may come through feeling a light, sparkling, joyful energy; or it may come as words or images in your mind’s eye. Watch out also for signs of animal or bird movements or calls that may carry a message for you.

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Have you had the experience of an element or character in your novel wanting a larger role?

Have you ever had an experience of Faery? It's okay to admit it. I have cultivated a connection. You?

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Photo: Hawthorn blooms. Hawthorn is a magical tree associated with Faery.

Holding a Cup of Coffee

 

~ Nataraj VR

What is in your coffee cup?

I invite you to consider this: Now is the time to look at what spills out, and if it needs healing and transformation, attend to that.

When you heal and transform it ripples out and helps all. Our transition into this new golden 'Age of Aquarius' requires this healing.

The old needs to break down to make way for the new. Death and rebirth. Take heart. 

You're Invited to my Author Day

My Author Day is Thursday, February 4th. Today!

10AM-12Noon Pacific Time. 1PM - 3PM EST

Come by and ask questions of me, comment, maybe even win a prize!  (E-book of Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call)

Would love to have you drop by and visit. Hosted by fellow Visionary Fiction author Mary Woldering.

Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/childrenofstonebooks/

What Function does Story Serve?

The Celts were master storytellers, reciting orally and from memory rather than the written word. They treasured their oral traditions as a source of entertainment, inspiration, and historical account.

In the ancestral Celtic cultures, the trained storyteller was called a Bard. Bards also functioned as a minstrel poet and verse-maker, music composer, and genealogist. Bards were one of the three skilled classes of the Druid Earth religion.

In this video, a native Irish author and modern-day Bard, Scealai Beag, talks about the importance of storytelling. (Enjoy his accent!)

In what ways do you think Visionary Fiction is a bardic art? 

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art credit: Tania Crossingham

Author Toni Morrison spoke about the power of words, saying “that is how civilizations heal.” We had a stunning example of that in poetess Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration poem on Wednesday. 

The youngest poet Laureate is 22 years old and delivered an impassioned, inspiring, embodied recital of her poem, “The Hill We Climb.” The text is below. The link to hear her performance is here.

If Amanda and her poem are an example of the character, intentions, and vision of what is emerging in this tumultuous time, then we are truly walking the prophesied transformative path.

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The Hill We Climb

When day comes we ask ourselves,

where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry,

a sea we must wade

We've braved the belly of the beast

We've learned that quiet isn't always peace

And the norms and notions

of what just is

Isn't always just-ice

And yet the dawn is ours

before we knew it

Somehow we do it

Somehow we've weathered and witnessed

a nation that isn't broken

but simply unfinished

We the successors of a country and a time

Where a skinny Black girl

descended from slaves and raised by a single mother

can dream of becoming president

only to find herself reciting for one

And yes we are far from polished

far from pristine

but that doesn't mean we are

striving to form a union that is perfect

We are striving to forge a union with purpose

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and

conditions of man

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us

but what stands before us

We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,

we must first put our differences aside

We lay down our arms

so we can reach out our arms

to one another

We seek harm to none and harmony for all

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:

That even as we grieved, we grew

That even as we hurt, we hoped

That even as we tired, we tried

That we'll forever be tied together, victorious

Not because we will never again know defeat

but because we will never again sow division

Scripture tells us to envision

that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree

And no one shall make them afraid

If we're to live up to our own time

Then victory won't lie in the blade

But in all the bridges we've made

That is the promise to glade

The hill we climb

If only we dare

It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,

it's the past we step into

and how we repair it

We've seen a force that would shatter our nation

rather than share it

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy

And this effort very nearly succeeded

But while democracy can be periodically delayed

it can never be permanently defeated

In this truth

in this faith we trust

For while we have our eyes on the future

history has its eyes on us

This is the era of just redemption

We feared at its inception

We did not feel prepared to be the heirs

of such a terrifying hour

but within it we found the power

to author a new chapter

To offer hope and laughter to ourselves

So while once we asked,

how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?

Now we assert

How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?

We will not march back to what was

but move to what shall be

A country that is bruised but whole,

benevolent but bold,

fierce and free

We will not be turned around

or interrupted by intimidation

because we know our inaction and inertia

will be the inheritance of the next generation

Our blunders become their burdens

But one thing is certain:

If we merge mercy with might,

and might with right,

then love becomes our legacy

and change our children's birthright

So let us leave behind a country

better than the one we were left with

Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,

we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one

We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,

we will rise from the windswept northeast

where our forefathers first realized revolution

We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,

we will rise from the sunbaked south

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover

and every known nook of our nation and

every corner called our country,

our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,

battered and beautiful

When day comes we step out of the shade,

aflame and unafraid

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we're brave enough to see it

If only we're brave enough to be it

New Year, New World…What Now?

 “We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.” ~Joseph Campbell

The Grand Conjunction commenced on December 20th. We have stepped through the portal of the portended ‘Age of Aquarius.’ What is next? 

We are in what is called the liminal space. The liminal space is the transitional phase where the old world is falling apart and the new one is being created. It is a sacred place, ripe and potent, even terrifying because we face the unknown. Yet this space is full of possibilities. In this liminal space we simply do not yet know the details of our envisioned better world. This hallowed place of transforming ‘what is no longer acceptable’ into ‘what is next’ is where the real magic happens. 

You may feel heightened intensity during this liminal period of change. You may find you vacillate between fear and conviction and all that is in-between. I still feel fear amidst my strong convictions. Our shadowy wounds in need of healing are being stirred up and emerge to be transmuted. Collectively and personally. This is normal, especially when undergoing such global massive change. Death to old paradigms allows the rebirthing of new ones. Any regeneration into something new is always preceded by turbulence, as old structures fall to make way for the new. That is precisely how rebirth and regeneration work.

In this liminal space, humankind has the opportunity to begin morphing into the embodied love we are to become. 

I invite us all to acknowledge and embrace this liminal space and process of regeneration. 

How? 

~ Open our hearts and intuition. 

~ ‘Pay exquisite attention’ as Christine McDougell says. 

~ Recognize meaningful coincidences or synchronicities. 

~ Access your creativity in whatever form it takes and let it flow. 

~ Clarify and then assume your role and purpose in visioning and creating this new world. 

We are being called to be empowered, to be resilient, to be love embodied. This healing process is essential medicine for the Earth and humankind at this powerful time in our history. 

So, embrace the initiation that is taking place in the liminal space. Remember the vital role we can play, and the torch we bear as we move forward into paving different pathways of being and living and loving.

We will collectively contribute to the creation of what a golden era looks like. Necessary work awaits us. And while it does indeed require work, we are powerfully upheld and supported by the energies of this new dawn. 

In my novel Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call, Sharay exemplifies the process of transformation. Her jealous Aunt Phoebe commits her to a psychiatric ward and falsely accuses her of murdering her uncle. Phoebe uses black magic to steal Sharay’s fortune and magical power. Sharay struggles with the temptation to fight Phoebe’s dark powers with her own dark side. She must transform her fear of loss, her hatred for her aunt and thirst for revenge in order to uncover the mystery held deep within her cells that will allow her to fulfill her destiny–embodied love, the ultimate magic.

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What do you need to face, to embrace, to heal and transform, in order to help bring to fruition the shift of consciousness available to us now in this new dawn?

Happy New Year, Happy New World

Deep Peace by Donovan

Deep peace of the running wave to you;

Deep peace of the flowing air to you;

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you;

Deep peace of the shining stars to you.

Deep peace of the gentle night to you;

Moon and stars pour their healing light on you;

Deep peace to you.

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What are YOU envisioning for the New Year, the new dawn?

Birthing a New World

The Grand Conjunction of December 21, 2020 carries the blueprint of our world for the next 20 years. The Collective Spirit of Change.

These potent energies are the doorway into a golden age and a more loving world. It’s time to Evolve.

The arts, including writing, will revive in a special way, as we are entering a new Renaissance. A Renaissance emphasizes the arts as agents of change. Artists have a special ability to engage their creativity to go into the quantum field and manifest in the physical world. Visionary Fiction writers do so by catalyzing a transformation of consciousness with their stories.

St Francis of Assisi explains the creative process this way: “The woman who works with her hands is a laborer; the woman who works with her hands and her head is a craftswoman; the woman who works with her hands, and her heart is an artist.”

“May the artist within each of us rise up and create!”  ~ Cathy Pagano

Loving, warm blessings for this magical and potent Solstice and Grand Conjunction.

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What New World are you birthing?

Happy Winter Solstice and Grand Conjunction!

Happy Winter Solstice and Grand Conjunction! What a powerfully significant day!

This photo of Chalice Well in Glastonbury, England, is decorated beautifully for the Winter Solstice. The Chalice Well is one of my favorite spots on earth and a source of deep peace and inspiration to me. It is central to each one of my Visionary Fiction novels as well. 

Today, the Winter Solstice brings us the longest night and subsequent return to the Light. Astrologically, today also heralds the long-awaited Grand Conjunction, the threshold into the golden Age of Aquarius. A time of being the best we can envision. A time of embodied love, peace, collaboration, and cooperation for our collective humanity. 

You will see the planets Jupiter and Saturn close together (Grand Conjunction), shining as one, in the south-western sky after sunset.

What will you envision into being during this potent new era?

(photo courtesy of Michael Alexander Law)

The Age of Aquarius

 

‘When the moon is in the Seventh House

And Jupiter aligns with Mars

Then peace will guide the planets

And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius

Age of Aquarius


Harmony and understanding

Sympathy and trust abounding

No more falsehoods or derisions

Golden living dreams of visions

Mystic crystal revelation

And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius


Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in.’


~ sung by the ensemble group ‘The Fifth Dimension’

Do you remember the song “The Age of Aquarius” released in 1968? I was a very young teenager and I saw them perform it live on stage at, of all places, the Michigan State Fair. The song captured the hearts and imaginations of millions, promising a golden new age to come.

I am in no way an astrologer. But I do know, from many sources, that what is called The Grand Conjunction in the sign of Aquarius (the sign of the collective mindset and consciousness) is occurring on Monday December 21, 2020. This is what the ensemble group The Fifth Dimension sang about. You will be able to gaze upon the stars and see a juxtaposition of Saturn and Jupiter, their shining bodies nearly touching in the night sky, forming a luminous orb of light 

This promising astrological conjunction occurs the same day as the Winter Solstice. Both of these events herald the dark night opening out and letting the light in. The light of peace, harmony, and understanding. No more illusions, a time for the way of the heart, the song and the astrologers tell us.

Visionary Fiction authors write about shifts in consciousness. A profound shift of consciousness will be happening in ‘real’ life during this Conjunction/Solstice. It will not happen overnight of course, but the portal will be opened, the threshold inviting us to cross into a new way of being.  I, for one, will celebrate this potent event with meditation, prayer, and ritual honoring my vision of the new dawn. 

My vision of a new dawn is one of the evolutionary force of embodied love. The sacred feminine divine heart emerging and made manifest. 

What is your vision of the Age of Aquarius? 

"Your dreams are potent medicine. Your gifts are essential." ~Edveeje

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Here is a video describing the Grand Conjunction:   https://youtu.be/0FnfUve-Qz0

Celebrate Indie Author Day – Virtually

Each year in celebration of Indie Author Day, libraries and organizations around the world welcome local indie authors and their communities for a day of education, networking, resources, workshop videos, mingling, writing, panels, and so much more. All activities are digitally hosted online this year. Registration is free. The link is in the comment section of this post.

I am taking part in this local authors week in my local community, November 4th-7th.  I have a virtual book booth in the Virtual Exhibit Hall that features the participating authors. 

The purpose of the showcase is to link local authors with their audience and celebrate the wealth of writing talent in your region in the USA. The event in my community culminates with the talented Molly Fisk giving a keynote speech on the last day.

I invite you to check it out and honor your favorite local, or national, Indie Author!

Check it out here: https://indieauthorday.com/

Here is my virtual author booth: 

https://sites.google.com/view/local-author-showcase/exhibit-hall/jodine-turner?fbclid=IwAR2vcAJny39UACkGJiCkeeL_k574UcG_LdK46vhM2PvfVQEcBmzgSU7_OJ8

 

Inspiring Example of Visionary Fiction

 

Visionary Fiction inspires, catalyzes, and expands consciousness. One classic example of this reading experience can be found in an excerpt from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” (above excerpt image). Years and worlds apart from our current times, these are such relevant words of inspiring wisdom. They moved me when I read them. Such scenes remind us how ordinary people are called upon to do extra-ordinary things during crises.

My ‘Goddess of the Stars and the Sea’ novels all take place during critical junctures in human history where the main character, a priestess, is called to assist humankind move through fearful and bleak times—the demise of Atlantis, the Dark Age's suppression of the feminine, and today's turbulent world. 

In the Prologue from my second novel, “The Keys to Remember,” the main character, Rhianna, will be called upon by the Goddess to once more to assist during a time of crisis for humanity.

                                ***

The Stars Awaken Me from My dreamtime.

“Am I needed?” I murmur sleepily.

I hear their silver response and feel the angels gather round me.

“Ah. Again humankind calls to me.”

I, the Goddess of the Stars and the Sea, look down upon the earth, gaze deeply into the affairs of men. The consciousness of humanity is ready to take its next step.

“Is the one named Geodran prepared to assist Me?”

The angels smile brightly. “She is called Rhianna in this life. She has returned to help you. But she is young and remembers little of you.”

“As it should be. She will know Me as the calling grows stronger.”

Again, I peer into the hearts of men. “I hope I am not too late.”

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What do you feel called upon to contribute during our current tumultuous times?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

We define Visionary Fiction as stories about shifting, changing, and transforming consciousness. If there was a real-life person whose life exemplified these characteristics of Visionary Fiction, it would be the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

We’re all familiar with, and have read about her accomplishments, especially regarding women’s rights, universal justice, and fairness for all. She embodies integrity, justice, and compassion, crucial qualities in today’s turbulent world. In addition to the long list of achievements and virtues from her inspirational life, I wanted to share the more personal story fellow Visionary Fiction author, Alissa Lukara, tells about Ruth Bader Ginsberg (note the photo of Ruth Bader Ginsberg wearing an ornate neck piece):

“I wanted to mention that this particular ornate necklace came to RBG from my dear departed friend, Suzanna Solomon. Suzanna had a collection of necklaces and artifacts from when she was a child in South Africa and her mother took Suzanna and her sister to the tribal villages to participate in ceremonies and purchase art. She had put some of the pieces on Etsy to sell and Ruth's good friend had bought one for Ruth as a birthday present some years ago. Ruth wore it (and other jabots with significance) with her robes in court and at State of the Union gatherings.” ~ Visionary Fiction author Alissa Lukara

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                 May Her Memory Be a Revolution.

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”  

~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“If you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself. Something to repair tears in your community. Something to make life a little better for people less fortunate than you. That’s what I think a meaningful life is—living not for oneself, but for one’s community.” 

~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true."

~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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What meaningful legacy do want to exemplify in your life right now?

What meaningful message do you want to impart to your Visionary Fiction readers?

Autumn Equinox - Balance and Equilibrium

Autumn Equinox is the perfect balance between day and night, light and dark. Shadows lengthen, colors turn, and the smell of fallen leaves and moist earth are underfoot. Looking to the sky above, we see birds migrate. Summer’s harvest has been gathered.

Many earth and land-based spirituality and wisdom traditions, such as the practices of the ancient Celtic people, celebrated the ‘Wheel of the Year.’ The Wheel of the Year acknowledges the annual cycles of the seasons and the natural rhythm of the earth. Recognizing our connection with earth cycles is key to developing embodied love. And embodied love is critical in these tumultuous times.

Our ancestors experienced their lives intricately woven with earth’s seasons and tides. They held awareness for the everyday ebb and flow such as night and day, dusk and dawn. And they aligned with the slower change of the seasons; verdant summer into fall’s harvest, fall into winter’s regeneration, winter into spring’s germination, and spring’s expansion into summer once more. These turning points were considered strong magical portals. Such gateways are opportunities to align with the energies of nature and augment those energies mirrored within ourselves.

These natural crossroads, the ‘in between’ periods, were celebrated with rituals, storytelling, songs, music,

and special seasonal foods. The wisdom of the Wheel of the Year frees us from our more modern linear, driven focus, and reminds us to treasure the physicality of our bodies and the rich sensual gifts of the earth. The Wheel of the Year invites us to pay heed to the unhurried energy of our bodies, and to honor them as the divine within matter, for that is where the Divine Feminine resides. By participating in these natural cycles, we can attune ourselves to the creative forces that flow through us, and learn how to harmonize them with the Earth.

The upcoming seasonal change of the Autumn Equinox occurs today, September 22nd at 6:31 am PDT. The Autumn Equinox is also called the festival of Mabon, named for the ancient Celtic god, the child of light. This is an early Thanksgiving where we can offer appreciation and enjoy the fruits of our labors. It represents a time to consider which aspects of our life we wish to preserve, and which we would prefer to transform. A perfect contemplation for envisioning a better, more loving future.

Water is the element of Autumn. Water indicates the realm of emotions and relationships. Autumn Equinox and its element of water urge us to go deeper and embrace our emotions and the nourishing dark of our psyche with its mysterious teachings. Autumn asks us to prepare by honoring the strengths that will sustain us through the cold winter months. During this time in our human history, it encourages us to take a lesson from autumn’s beautiful falling leaves and find the transformation in letting go of what no longer serves.

Suggestions for how to celebrate the Autumn Equinox:

You can commemorate the Autumn Equinox in small ways:

1.     Enjoy seasonal fruits like pears and apples. Roast the fruits whole in a baking pan for 45 minutes at 350 degrees for a delicious autumn treat.

2.     Peel an apple and sprinkle the peel with the balancing herb, thyme. Roll the peel up after you sprinkle the thyme. Bake in a warm oven of 250 degrees for an hour or so, making sure to breathe in the combination of the sweet apple and the fresh, pungent thyme - it will help bring balance to your home and those who live there. Once dried, the peel can be kept to hold in your hand whenever you need a little balance.

(from Cait Johnson, ‘Witch in the Kitchen’)

Autumn Equinox Ritual:

3.     Fill a small bowl with water as a way to connect with autumn’s element. Set it on your kitchen counter or on your altar. Gather colorful autumn leaves and surround your bowl with the leaves. Hold your bowl of water and name 3 people you are thankful for in your life. Pick up one of the brightly colored fall leaves, and as you float it in the water, name one thing you have learned or transformed in 2020 that has become a strength within you which will sustain you during the winter months ahead.

Happy Autumn Equinox!

Art credit: Orchard by Franz Dvorak

Marriage of the Muse and the Mess

I was in a writing group for 14 years. They were my first line readers. I truly appreciated how their frank critiques helped my manuscripts grow into their best versions. 

During one writer's meeting, we pondered the question, "Who writes?" When we sit down at the computer, who is it that comes forward to communicate the storyconcept, to express the dialogue and scenes, the story, the creative wealth, as well as the consciousness transformational experience so necessary in Visionary Fiction?

After considering what happens when I write, I arrived at an answer to "Who writes?" Simply yet profoundly—the whole of me. Not only the transcendent witnessof my life, outside of me, up there, out of body. And not only my creative muse, or divine guidance and inspiration. These are part of the equation, but they are not the whole. These aspects are disconnected without considering my oftentimes messy human self - my painful grief, raging anger, bottomless despair and struggle. Without my experiences of felt emotion, none of my writing could touch the hearts or souls of my readers. My stories would be void and sterile, written 'about' rather than written to intimately engage.

It is so important to feel—to physically sense, allow, accept, digest and metabolize all of our emotions. The lack of doing so can create writer’s block (among a host of other unpleasant things). While penning “Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call” I was stopped short for a few months. Unable to continue writing about my character Sharay’s gut wrenching experiences of loss and injustice until I created the space in my body to process my own personal loss and grief. 

We can all turn the dross of our life experience into gold. Integrating my beautifully messy human self with my muse, my passion, my divine guidance and inspiration—now that is where the spark of creativity truly ignites. In that integration, the compost of the stuff of life is brought to perfected alchemy. Passions flows freely, I express my truth in writing, sentences shine, plot is engaging, characters have sensory depth and they grow from their conflict and tension. Readers feel emotions and experiences alongside the characters. This can only be created from the union of the mess and the muse.

As writers, this alchemical union of mess and muse is much like the process of how characters achieve their goals through their transformational arc within a story. Characters don't start out without flaws. There would be no story there. Characters start their stories with conflicts and obstacles to what they desire. If that is not part of their experience there's not much point in telling the story, now is there? Readers would lose interest.

The muse without the compost of the mess is barren. 

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If you write (and we all do in some form or another), how would you answer the question, "Who writes?"

No More Band-Aids: A Visionary Fiction Author’s Rant.

(warning: the good, the bad, and the ugly)

“Life feels shitty right now. Life is leading us to a new and better way of living. I hate not seeing loved ones. I am so grateful for what I do have. I miss (fill in the blank).”

I started out this era of Covid feeling concerned, yet calm, philosophical, better future oriented. I still feel that way. 

Then the wildfires started here in California. Terrifying destruction. Anxious evacuations. Two friends’ homes burnt to the ground. Orange, smoky skies, and unhealthy air accompanied by extreme heat waves with temperatures up to 120 degrees. Electrical rolling blackouts to save power. Followed by the pre-planned blackouts, days long blackouts, instigated to protect us when wind and temperature make conditions favorable for more wildfires. These record-breaking raging infernos are the offspring of global warming.

When we got the call yesterday for the electrical outage possibilities in our area I crumbled. Cried. It pushed my mettle. What happens to my expensive refrigerated medicine? What happens to those who suffer with illnesses that over-whelming heat would exacerbate? Like me. Or my neighbor. Or the elderly folks from my Unity community.

All of this atop the usual everyday stressors in our personal lives we all face. Mix in the political chaos, the social unrest, the exposed injustices of our world.

So, the thoughts and feelings I expressed at the opening of my post teeter between acute stress and far vision, between over-whelming anxiety and transpersonal perspective. Between destruction and regeneration. This is normal and common for most everyone nowadays in the era of Covid.

Enough!

If you’re thinking I’m painting a picture of doom and gloom, I am. If you’re thinking I am focusing on negative thoughts – well, that is only a superficial and not helpful platitude.

We ARE in the phase of destruction. We are in the midst of deaths large and small. It is hellish. And it is a herald. Big changes are coming.

It is time to rip off the band-aids. No more surface healing. It is time for surgery. Heart surgery, gut surgery, psychic surgery, the type of surgery that roots out the underbelly evils. This is the time for exposing, questioning, introspection, contemplation, seeing what we truly want to be real, and healing at the deepest, most secret, most hidden possible levels.

In the place of what does not serve us, what does not serve love, it is time to plant kindness, and hope. And most of all love. 

It is time to embody this love, to take it into our everyday living. To choose it again and again. It is a choice. In order to build a new reality, it is a minute by minute choice. Choose love. It is Love that will meet us, hold us, give us clarity.

One step at a time, we move forward. Our anxiety, fears, and grief can, and will, accompany us. We are human and it is a normal response. Do not shove these emotions aside and under the rug, forcing them to root deep in our bodies in shadowy corners to then ultimately express in unhealthy ways. Welcome all emotions, even uncomfortable ones. Hold them in your heart. And keep going. 

Keep going sometimes looks like hiding in bed or on the couch or in Netflix. Or it means being still and silent, letting heart wisdom emerge. Or helping another. Any and all sorts of fulfilling and rejuvenating actions that work for you.

Feel the gratitude in your heart for what blessings you have, and for the love in your life. Compassion for those who have lost so much; jobs, homes, loved ones, and for those who are victims of injustice. Act and be an activist if this calls to you.

Embrace the greening and restoration of nature. Sleep well. Eat well.

Why? Because we are heading for the rebirth. A new way and better way of living awaits us. We are invited to dive deep and come up with better ways of being and of doing. New ways of rebuilding. New ways of rectifying. New ways of justice.

Visionary Fiction stories offer hope and suggestions for times like these. When I visualized the concepts of my Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series over 25 years ago, I said they were written for those critical junctures in human history, those times of tumult and chaos for humankind. I wrote about past critical junctures such as the demise of Atlantis and the suppression of the Divine Feminine in the Dark Ages (through to now). And today’s world, with my latest publication in January 2020 before I knew what Covid even was. Still, I never imagined the specifics of today’s hellish scenarios. But I knew these kind of times were coming.

Several ancient traditions told us these times were coming, heralding a new golden civilization. My visions told me this. My books wrote about this. 

Now is the time to read Visionary Fiction. Glean and gather the hope and suggestions offered through the character’s experiences in Visionary Fiction. We are all being initiated into the new future. Covid is a portal. Wildfires are a portal. Hurricanes are a portal. Grief and fear are a portal and an initiation. Treat these powerful, ever important initiations with love and respect. Treat yourself with love, kindness, and respect. And treat others with love, kindness, and respect. 

No more band-aids. Go deep. Be love. We are on the threshold. We are moving all together toward this new world, this new vision. 

10 Free Ways to Show Gratitude to the Writers You Love

Authors write in isolation. It is a solitary craft. Perhaps we eventually go on to share our manuscript with trusted friends or family, or perhaps we bring our rough drafts to a critique group or editor. But writing is a basically autonomous craft, and as such, a writer’s life leads us to especially appreciate feedback. In the form of reviews, or contests, or personal correspondences of thanks for our work, as just some examples. 

I was recently notified of two more book awards to add to my credits for “The Hidden Abbey.” I was awarded the Bronze Medal from the Global E-Book awards and Finalist in the American Fiction Awards Contest. I felt that flutter of thrill in my chest to learn my work was validated and appreciated.

Author Andi Cumbo-Floyd wrote a blog in April 2019 about her poignant experience in receiving gratitude from readers. Andi spoke about a year of experiencing dark days, with family deaths and a host of other misfortunes. She went on to say how a new favorite novel captured her heart and saved her from deep despair.

She sent a quick email to the author to say thank you for the book, to tell her how much of a comfort it was in her hard days. The author wrote back to say that was the kindest note she’d ever received. Andi was teary thinking that a note that took one minute to write could be so meaningful to someone whose novel’s words had helped her to heal. 

The kindness and appreciation we can give our fellow writers is not to be underestimated!

Here is Andi’s list of 10 ways you can easily show kindness and love to the writers whose works have mattered to you.

10 FREE Ways to Show Gratitude to the Writers You Love 

1. Write them a note. Say thank you. Tell them what their work meant to you. You can find most people’s email addresses or contact forms on their websites, or you can message them through social media.

2. Follow them on Amazon or BookBub or Goodreads. That little follow means you’ll get notifications about their new work – win for you – but it also helps boost their standing and opportunities on those platforms.

3. Review their books. Reviews matter. They help other readers decide if they want to pick up those books, and they help authors, especially authors who are just starting out, to be able to get other promotional opportunities. You can post a review to Goodreads and then just copy and paste it anywhere that author’s books are sold.

4. Recommend their books to your local public and schools libraries. Many libraries have forms you can fill out to recommend a book. It’ll take you two minutes, but it’ll mean a whole lot to an author.

5. Suggest podcasters you know interview them. If you listen to a podcast that is thematically appropriate for a writer whose work you love, drop that podcaster a line and suggest they check out the book and the author.

6. Share your copies of books. When you tell a friend you loved a book, it makes it more likely that they’ll read it. And more readers means more fans, overall.

7. Post about what you read on social media. Do a quick Instagram story about what you read. Post a link on FB or Twitter. Tag in the writer if you can.

8. Join their launch team. Many writers have launch teams to help spread the word about their new books. It’s easy, and often you get to read the book early.

9. Sign-up for their email list. Sign-ups matter to an author because of future book contracts and marketing opportunities, but they also give you behind-the-scenes access to the author and sometimes special deals on books.

10. Go to their readings. Just be there. Listen. Ask questions. It means the world to see the faces of readers in the flesh.

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What forms of support have you most appreciated as an author? 

Perhaps you can thank 30 writers for the next 30 days. Or 5 writers in the next week. Or even your favorite one today. Leave me a comment below and let me know if you plan to do this! 

www.andilit.com

The origins of the name Goddess of the Stars and the Sea

My five novels are dedicated to, and are part of a collection called, ‘The Goddess of the Stars and the Sea’ series. This ancient Goddess carries the evolutionary force of embodied love. She calls upon a young priestess to assist humankind in their evolutionary transitions through several reincarnations, starting from Atlantis, through to the Dark Ages, and into today’s world.

The Goddess of the Stars and the Sea’s name has early roots, legends and historical correlates. 

The word ‘sea’ has several language origins. Mar, mer, and mari all mean the sea. In Latin, the word mare means the sea. There are many modern words derived from this source word - mermaid, marina, marine, to name a few. 

Mari is one of the most ancient names of the Goddess. It means Mother Sea.

Stella Maria means Star of the Sea. It is the epithet of the goddesses Isis, Ishtar, Aphrodite, Venus, Mari-Anna, and Mother Mary.

In legend, Stella Maria's star was Venus or Sirius (I have also seen it as listed as the Pleiades, and that is the star formation featured in my novels.)

Stella Maria is often depicted as dressing in a blue robe with pearly foam edging. (see picture below.)

Mari-Anna also means Sea Goddess, and Ishtar.

Stella Maris is the title that first belonged to Ishtar. She was known as the Goddess of the Sea, Lady of Compassion, Provider, Protector, Regeneratrix, Keeper of the Mysteries, and the one who manifested as the Magdalene.

Mari-Ishtar anointed, or christened, her doomed consort god Tammuz when he went to the underworld whereupon he would rise again at her bidding. That is to say, she made him a Christed one. Anointing is symbolic of the alchemical Sacred Marriage.

The ancient title of the North Star was Stella Maris, Star of the sea, Star of love, Star of Compassion. 

The root of the name Mary means love, compassion, giving, flowing, and also sea.

The Tarot card the ‘Star’ depicts stars that pour out the water of Life, revering the earth.

Tara means star (White Tara, Irish Tara)

These early etymological beginnings, the derivations for the name the ‘Goddess of the Stars and the Sea,’ all contain the roots for the Mother sea of love and compassion. This is our way forward during these tumultuous times!

Goddess of the Stars and the Sea 

from the book cover of ‘The Keys to Remember’ by Jodine Turner

Christal Banister artist

Photo credit: 'Stella Maris' by Bernadette Carstensen

Visionary Fiction and Nature

  

In wilderness lies the hope of the world.

Between every two pines there is a doorway to a new world.

~John Muir

I have published articles about the Corona virus and the role of Visionary Fiction in catalyzing sacred and transformational visions. Our visions serve to “imagine a world as we can dream it to be.” There are many paths to bring our visions to life through this Corona virus portal. Each of us carries a unique piece for the new creation. 

Working with nature is one essential method in moving forward.

The Native American elders and grandmothers, those indigenous peoples such as the Hopi and Lakota, as well as numerous other ancients such as the Mayans, have prophesied a golden age for humanity. They say our connection with nature is a vital part of that change. They warn that we can’t ignore nature, and how if we do so, it is at our own peril. We and the earth—nature and the land we live upon—are one.

Collaborating with nature can be a source of wisdom, earth magic, and deep guidance in how to transition into a new and better reality. Taking walks in a forest cathedral, sitting beside the murmuring ocean, being still and receptive amidst the flowers and plants in your own garden, and moon-bathing, can all be ways of tuning into the nature that we are all a part of and that provides sagacious guidance.

The VFA claims that “Visionary Fiction emphasizes the future and envisions humanity’s transition into evolved consciousness.” My Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series feature a young priestess who is reincarnated in four different lifetimes, during critical junctions in human history, to help the transition into the next phase of human evolution. One of the things all the novels have in common are storylines that show us how to work with nature and the land we live upon.

There are the languages of root and leaf, of field and stone, of seaweed and salt. These are words whispered in our ears by the land as if by a lover, the languages which tell us that we and the land are one.  

~Sharon Blackie

My first novel, The Awakening: Rebirth of Atlantis, takes place during the demise of Atlantis that occurred through the misuse and disrespect of the earth’s magnetic energies. Our young priestess was one of six star races who subsequently and courageously carried of the seeds of Atlantis wisdom to all corners of the planet. Her corner was the misty, magical Isle of Avalon.

In The Keys to Remember, we see how this same young priestess, reborn, helps us move through the dark ages where the wisdom, nurturance, and power of the feminine who works with the mysteries of nature, was vilified, demonized, and suppressed. This priestess’s most potent inspirations come when she communes with the earth during the sacred celebrations of seasonal changes called the turning of the ‘Wheel of the Year’—specifically for her, the early summer fertile festival of Beltaine.

In The Hidden Abbey, this same priestess is reincarnated in the 1600s during religious and social revolutions, and then is reborn again in today’s turbulent world. Her priestess initiations occur during moments of celebrating the Summer Solstice in the ‘Wheel of the Year.’ The Hawthorn tree features as a mystical pathway of communion and wisdom with the spirits of nature. The high Faery folk, our cousins in a realm parallel to ours, have a prominent role in showing us the redemptive wisdom of the land through their close connection with nature.

Messages of wisdom and hope, and practical tips in how to move through the dark and bleak times humanity faces, are embedded throughout my other novels as well, Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call, Carry on the Flame: Ultimate Magic. The festivals of Beltaine (early summer) and Imbolc (late winter), white flowered hawthorn blossoms, magical apple orchards, the misty land of Avalon, all initiate our young priestess into her true empowerment.

Even the most brilliant scientists of our time knew nature was our powerful ally and carrier of redemption. Albert Einstein said, “Look deeper into nature and you will understand everything better.”

The late, talented John Denver composed and sang a most incredible song for our world called 'Healing time on Earth.'  https://youtu.be/8ysnFOqUNto

In what ways do you work with nature to create a new and better reality?

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Hearing the voices of trees puts life into perspective. Knowing the rhythm of a stone helps me slow down and tune into a Deeper Wisdom that guides me through my life. 

~Clea Danaan

The earth has music for those who listen. 

~William Shakespeare

Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals.

~Mikhail Gorbachev