Devotion & Holiday Blessings

The Winter Solstice gates have opened, as the Full Moon is waning , She moves over my skylight in easy motion, when I awake at about 5:00 am, Her light beams into my house as She slowly slips to the horizon line. Yesterday’s Winter Solstice brought a calm to my thinking and jazzed up my creative vision.

I am troubled and disquieted with the energies of change, grief, polarization, etc…I cannot pretend otherwise, Spiritually, I am tested.

My meditation with my Madonna’s has become a very regular practice which brings inner solace to my heart, I wish to bring this feeling of Peace to my art groups, so, I have created a Winter Course called Devotion.

A circle for us to gather together with the frequencies of Devotion. We begin this Sunday, December 26th, 2:00 pm MST sign up here. I realize that this is short notice, but living in the Now has a way of adding spontaneous events !

This course will expand and continue into January, February, March. Full Series of 4 sign up here

For artistic reference, we will be visually dipping into the Virgins of the Andes ~ read more .

Over time I have been able to gather books of the School of Cusco. (The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21),[7] was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. ( wikipedia)

This photo is from the Peyton Wright Gallery in Santa Fe ~ this is the gallery where I first discovered the School of Cusco, Christmas 2011 an abundance of Madonna’s ~ Virgins, Angels and Saints… everywhere. I was mesmerized by the mystery of all this imagery.

Excerpt from The Virgin of the Andes:

CHAPTER Thirteen VIRGIN OF THE ANDES: INKA QUEEN AND CHRISTIAN GODDESS by Carol Damian

In1532, the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro and his army of 62 horsemen and 102 foot soldiers conquered the Inka empire called Tawantinsuyu, the “Center of the Four Quarters,” with its cap-ital at Cuzco, Peru. The Spanish Conquest ended more than one hundred years of Inka domination over the indigenous Andean pop-ulation.

The Inka dynasty began, according to Inka legend, with eight brothers and sisters. After achieving the dominant position of leadership and to guarantee the purity of the ruling family, the Inka Manco Ccapac, who called himself the son of the Sun God, Inti, married his sister Mama Ocllo. Inti instructed Manco Ccapac and Mama Ocllo to teach the people of the earth to worship the Sun and the Moon (Quilla) and thus prosper. Mama Ocllo, the Coya (orqueen), was the woman most venerated among the Indians. She was a goddess, the descendant of the Moon. She was the queen, the wife/sister of the Inka king. They ruled in parallel duality.

The Coya wore and displayed her particular attributes and insignia, as did the Inka, and was associated with the symbols of her role (Fig. 3.1).Among these were weaving implements, feathers, birds, flowers, tipipins, and other ornaments.

When the Spaniards conquered the Inka Empire, the reverence to the Inka Coya would persist in Christian images of the Virgin Mary, the Catholic Queen (Fig. 3.2).For centuries, people throughout the world have revered the Virgin Mary.

But nowhere is she more beautiful and more mysterious than in Cuzco, Peru, where she is portrayed as a distinctive image that fuses Christian and Andean concepts. Around this image, the indigenous artists of Cuzco created a school of painting, the first in these so-called New World and known as the Cuzco School, where they could portray her in multiple ways, with many titles and identifying attributes, few of which are Spanish in inspiration. By the seventeenth century, these artists earned commercial fame for their paintings and their devotion to the Virgin Mary endures to this day.

Red Thread Musings….

There can be no mistaking that in our global and personal cultures we really are in the midst of a great change. Having my MoonBeam tea this morning, contemplating last night’s spectacular sky, tho chilly I stood in wonderment underneath the crescent moon’s glow stunned by the brilliant light of planets of dancing around her.

I do enjoy Christmas…each and every year that I can recall, the December Earth energies of this time of year thrill me. That we string lights and celebrate our beliefs adds to Earth’s splendor, the cold air, crisp nights, tree lights beaming in thru the neighborhood windows. When I moved to Santa Fe, I was so surprised that the city was fully decorated by the day after Thanksgiving…that was 36 years ago and since then I have followed the same tradition, although I do take my time. The Plaza trees are fully wrapped in lights, the luminarias are going up…I have my sand pile and candles ready to make my own. ( A luminaria or farolito is a small paper lantern which is of significance in the southwestern United States at Christmas time, especially on Christmas Eve.)

There are so many moments filled with memories of family and friends who have moved on from this world, Christmas is tender and special with friends still here and filled with hope of calling in healing and wholeness. The possibility of mending differences lies in the energies of these days.

Not a day goes by now that isn’t shadowed with deep and active change. Which is why I work with art. Art making stabilizes my Being supporting an expansion into timelessness, I can skim surfaces or dive deep into process, or just play and be silly, laugh or cry.

Since Covid came, my world has migrated even more to online interactions. Not is a zillion years did I ever think that I would be hosting online Creative Circles. Another memory flashback to my childhood when the neighborhood women would gather in their embroidery circles…with thread and needles they would teach me the art of threading and design.

” It is said, that an invisible red thread connects

those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance.

The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never be broken”

                                                                       Ancient Chinese Proverb

Temple Space

Faced with immense changes and shifts in her orientation, She persevered. Whew…what a way to begin every day these past 16 years let alone the more intense collective shift that we are all experiencing these past two.

Since the last new moon when I was story walking with Baba Yaga, I took action an a committed goal, that of “going thru” what I will call “my archives” , you know , those boxes of hidden papers, closets and files and stuff that you are going to someday organize, or reorganize…. Well, I did it. It was intense in a new way. A different kind of review…who was near and dear, all those cards and letters refreshing the memories of many loved ones who didn’t live to see these more stressful pressured times.

And, I went thru all my education files…organized them, blessed them, filed and threw away…acknowledging what a journey this phase of life has been as I prepare for the next phase. Having an independent spirit is no easy thing. Being a visionary and mystic child isn’t easy either, oftentimes behind the wave …or way ahead of the curve seeking middle ground and harmony. It’s been a challenge…oh yes, and then there is the Rebel aspect of the Muse Gone Rogue…where, I am going to do life my way…still learning that one…

Which leads me exploring an explanation of a feeling I have and have had for a very very long time…against all the odds of everything that is so wonky , now, in our NOW, I really heartfully feel that we can have this shift that we are working towards, or living into….and I really do heartfully experience that active creativity supports us in our personal flow of change , integrating the new and old….creating the yet unseen, bringing the unseen into form and messages that are deep within to the forefront.

And this is why I work with my clients one on one and in group, plus with myself to create Temple Space so that I have a “Room of my Own” beyond what used to be a child’s diary. The contractions of time/space/ and physical spaciousness are mitigated with setting aside creative space. Your StoryTime Smashbook is a container created and filled with heart. This past year we’ve created Moon Wisdom books beginning with the Full Moon, then the Lion’s Gate offered a new portal, the New Moon Magic Smashbook Oracle….and now, for 2022 StoryTime, a Come to the Story Journey Book…where the old will meet the new thru Fairytales, Myths and Stories of Old….we will reframe our stories with alchemical vision and artistic exploration. StoryTime, our first StoryTime begins January 22, 2022 with a 5 week creative exploration of the Crescent Moon Bear, StoryTime purchase includes New Moon Magic…for the New Moon theme will initiate the journey….

Each month begins with a New Moon portal...here is the link Next New Moon Sunday, January 2nd,2022

Join for StoryTime December 11th Saturday 12:00 pm MST with a recording,

Storytime Sign up Link here recording sent next day so you can story walk anytime….

Full Moon Wisdom celebrated December 18th 2:00 pm MST Moon Wisdom Free class Time Zone Muse below….

Coming in January 2022 StoryTime with the Crescent Moon Bear, a 5 week visual and narrative Story walk

price includes New Moon Magic for January ….