Hello, dear ones - I write to you from a garden in Aberdeenshire in the NE of Scotland. It’s been about 10 months since I left the US for this most recent time of reflection, pilgrimage, exploration, and living here in these northern islands. A new record for me in terms of time on the road, outside of my country of birth. I recently met up with a friend in Edinburgh for a walk and sweet treat and she said something along the lines of: “you must feel so expanded after all this! do you?” I...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hello, dear ones - Today was moving day - I left where I’ve been for the last three and a half weeks in North Cork and headed to Dublin for a few nights in preparation for departing Ireland and heading back to the UK (Wales) early next week. I remember when I was going through my vinyasa yoga teacher training, my teachers, Christen and Preston Scott, would remind us that one of the things we practice in vinyasa yoga is transitioning. Unlike many other forms of yoga, vinyasa encourages flowing...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Dear ones - We have a little influx of new folks to the list here: welcome! When I was younger and I'd travel, I would send long notes out with impressions and experiences from the road. Recently, I've been experimenting with bringing that version of me back and interweaving stories of my nomad trails and pilgrimages with my practices in animism, spirituality, folk tales and traditions, and ancestral wisdom. All to wonder how do we shift from burnout to thriving in these modern times? Today...
3 months ago • 8 min read
Happy Northern Hemisphere, Gregorian Calendar Beltane, everyone! (whew -that’s a mouthful) In Irish Gaelic (and Scottish Gaelic though with a slightly different spelling), the etymology of Beltane breaks down something like this: “Beal” meaning either “bright” or possibly a reference to “Bel”, a Sun God and “tine” meaning “fire”. And in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic, the entire month of May is known as Béaltaine (that’s the Irish spelling). So we’re honoring the start of a longer season and...
4 months ago • 8 min read
Happy New Moon in Taurus, dear ones - We’re in the Bealtaine portal now - if we were marking the celebration by the lunar calendar, it would’ve been yesterday. If we’re marking it based on exactly six weeks between the equinox and the solstice it’ll be around May 5th. If we’re marking it on the Gregorian calendar, the calendar of uniformity, it’s generally celebrated on May 1st. It seems to me one of the most important skills to be human, to be alive, and to develop an animist way of...
4 months ago • 4 min read
Dear ones - Apologies for the radio silence of the last month: no emails, no new podcasts. While we’re taught that consistency is what we need to aim for, we’re human. Imperfect. Seasonal. I find myself curious as to what trustworthy is, what relationship is, if not consistency. I have a suspicion it’s good faith and honest presence. And so in this life season of wandering and wondering, where a lot of my energy frequently needs to be diverted towards handling life logistics and being in...
4 months ago • 7 min read
Dear ones - Happy Spring Equinox! A day of balance between light and dark. A time of planting seeds. Winter may still make an appearance from time to time until the cross quarter day of Beltane (or May Day), but the tide has shifted and Spring is here. The sun is getting stronger. Early flowers are blooming and trees are starting to bud and blossom. A few weeks ago, a Scottish woman quoted to me: “Oak before Ash, you’re in for a splash. Ash before Oak, you’re in for a soak!” An old folk rhyme...
5 months ago • 5 min read
Dear ones - What’s so special about a round house? Why does it matter that we connect with its energy or imagine ourselves gathering within one? “The way you build a house is a way to shape a town. And how you shape a town is how you form your world.” - Scott Richardson-Read (https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/) Circles have always been sacred and there’s evidence from nomadic tents to the earliest houses - humans almost always built round. Birds build nests. Beavers build lodges. The celestial...
5 months ago • 4 min read
Dear ones - I don't think I've shared much about how I became so focused on ancestral connection work. Perhaps you're interested to hear? Especially since it's the opposite of how I felt initially... In a weird paradox, alongside some pretty big patterns of people-pleasing, I’ve also always had a pretty strong resistance to authority and any hint of “because I’m older and know better” condescension. Any sense that I have to do something and my feet want to plant, my arms want to cross, my...
6 months ago • 7 min read