Chronic pain doesn’t define how I live thanks to some coping mechanisms that could help you too. Thanks for watching xx

 

Are we having fun yet??

Well if you’ve been swinging wildly between confusion at unexpected aggression from strangers and loved ones, and bursts of beautiful creativity and joyful wonder, then its ok, you are in good company!

If you are reading this, chances are you are spiritually inclined and a compassionate human being. Which means you might be feeling overwhelmed at times with the sheer strength of the energies at play this past week or two (see my blog post earlier this month for more on that) and especially this run up to the powerful eclipse tomorrow (Monday 21st).

We are still in Mercury Retro, which gives us Hermit tendencies at the best of times, both good “going within and coming to personal eureka” moments, and the “no thank you, I am staying home with my cat, a bucket of ice cream and Game of Thrones” kind.

But the world is super sensitive, tetchy, quick to anger too. Partly due to many things, so here’s my guide to what’s happening and how to make the best of it all! :

Mercury Retro. Be gentle with yourself, don’t action huge important long term plans but create and dream and enjoy the process! Most of all try not to take offence at any of the aforementioned grrrrr behaviour of others.

Effects of the lunar eclipse, the solar eclipse and the recent spike in the Schumann Resonance are super intense on the physical body too. Some are feeling super energised and wonderful, but some are experiencing challenges too. Vertigo, palpitations, headaches, woolly headedness and unexpected summer colds anyone? Many of you have been reporting these and other symptoms over the past few weeks. This too shall pass! But do get to the doctor’s for a check up if you feel really awful! If you are feeling fabulous, then enjoy this magical time!

New Moon on Monday (yes if like me and you are over 40 you are all singing this now) This new moon is in Leo, which is strong and feisty energy but in all the right ways, such as creating opportunities to reconcile differences between yourself and how you feel about the world/or loved ones who have been getting on your last nerve. Will you carve your own path or submit to the will of others for a quiet life? The former is more achievable right now if you usually opt for the latter. You might like this meditation too.

Our feelings are amplified and so is the negative self speak and judgement, but instead of looking where to blame, we can address and heal those issues as they rise to the surface now – whether we are ready for this or not – it is happening, and we can use the Leo energy of this New Moon to face them head on and roar! Create new and constructive habits instead.

The planetary alignments plus total solar eclipse in Leo on August 21st give us the great opportunity to take incredibly transformative inner journeys. Self administered compassion and unconditional love to heal ourselves, to open ourselves up, shadow side and all – giving allowance to abundance in all things for our personal and collective greater good. 

Have you been increasingly unable to deny being your authentic weird and wonderful self? Feeling like quitting your soul sucking job, or telling controlling people where to go? Theres a reason for that. This energy combo is pushing us to choose integrity and authenticity, and to drown out fear. 

Creating good new habits and working towards the greater good in any way , shape or form is wonderful right now – go for it! Daily random acts of kindness, taking time to honour nature, stargazing (still some meteors until mid September too!)

If you feel super overwhelmed and unsure how or where to begin and need some help navigating and coping with this energy, perhaps my Clean Slate will be the solution you require to press that reset button?

Moods in general will be much less intense, and more love and peace from Tuesday. Phew!

Whatever you do to make the best of this magnificent opportunity for change – more power to you!

With love and brightest blessings!

Rachel xxxx

 

 

 

Nowhere to run to baby, nowhere to hide…

You know that stuff you’ve been feeling lately, rising to the surface over and over? That stuff you’ve been avoiding, pushing away, pushing down, telling yourself,

“I’ll deal with that later” maybe because time seems to be racing by at high speed?

Whether we do turn and face our stuff, or bury our heads, the time will pass either way.

What we have occuring right now is a unique opportunity. An expansion of spiritual energy which will continue for weeks, maybe even months, shining a light into our darkest corners and illuminating the areas of our lives already bursting with light and potential.

These energies affect us differently. One person may feel alive and bursting with energy, another may feel the opposite.

You may have felt a certain level of exhaustion, or heightened emotional, mental and physical awareness or discomfort this past week or so. Anxiety, chaotic events occurring, thoughts of past events coming back to you, plans not going smoothly, technology misbehaving. I personally have had a washing machine and shower pump go kaput in the past 3 days alone!

So here’s the rundown on what’s happening:

Past Week:
Build up time to the full moon is always intense for some. We can feel all kinds of things going on, euphoria, lots of energy, or insomnia, mood swings, headaches and various other symptoms!

The Schumann Resonance, the Earth’s Heartbeat spiked again on 31st July – coupled with solar storms, which can make us feel everything is intensified and heightened. Your body will be feeling this, you may feel achy, drained, woolly headed, less inclined to move fluidly and easily but it will pass. You can read more about this here.

Today:
At 7.10 pm UK time/ 2.10pm Eastern US time today the moon becomes full.

It is also a Wishing Moon, one of 8 sacred energy full moons in the wheel of the year.

This Full Moon in Aquarius reminds us of the importance to follow any urge to work on our dreams no matter what else may be going on. Aquarius beings clear waters to areas where we feel trapped, like a cool clear river washing away blocks we’ve become more and more aware of recently.

You may find yourself awakening, asking, “Why am I struggling with freedom in my life?”
Aquarius reveals to us where freedom is possible. Now is the perfect time to set the intention of seeing clearly where you may have been tied to old situations, to old ways of thinking, feeling and living.

At 7.20 pm UK time today, we will experience a partial lunar eclipse.
Whether we can actually see the moon eclipse or not, the energy is all that matters. Such powerful opportunity to create new beginnings by mindfully placing our attention on the new that we wish to create and manifest, while putting the past to rest. We are being urged to look at the bigger picture rather than becoming bogged down in the small stuff always demanding our attention, pulling us away from the moment and being present if we allow. Energy always flows where our focus goes. Times like these we need to be mindful more than usual about what and how we think. Maybe it’s time for some positive self-speak, to finally shift into changing a negative core belief at last?

Tomorrow 8th August
Orion’s Belt aligns with the pyramids in Giza, which some refer to as the Lion’s Gate Portal. It is the point marking New Year according to Ancient Egyptian belief. Whatever your belief system is today, powerful alignments like this give us the opportunity to harness that energy for the greater good and power up our intentions while releasing the past.  Seeing a theme yet? 😀

12th August – Mercury journeys retrograde until 5th September, joining five other planets in retrograde.
You will notice waves of change sweeping through your everyday life, some big, some small, but all of them important. Even the challenging changes are perfect opportunities to learn and grow.
Your techno gadgets may go loopy, communication may feel like trying to understand Swahili, and you may feel at times like you are taking one step forward, two steps back – but – its OK, go with it!

Don’t get downcast, think of Mercury Retro as more like a cha-cha, it’ll all come good in the end if you keep your cool.

21st August – A solar eclipse! More on that in another blog to come.

How to help this energy work for you this month:

Be Gentle With Yourself! – Make this week as simple as possible so you don’t feel the overwhelm rising. Don’t get into unnecessary conflict, cut yourself some slack and speak to yourself and others kindly.

Be Here Now. Be present. Make it as easy as possible – Feel free to use my FREE Zen Mindfulness guided Meditation whenever you need to bring your focus inward quickly and effortlessly. You’ll feel different in 15 minutes!

You are not alone in your quest for spiritual well-being and mindful evolution. Remind yourself that you have access to all kinds of tools and people to help you acquire them, new ways to work through whatever needs attention or healing.

If you have a drum, use it!

Ground yourself, sage your space if you can or light incense or a candle, setting the intention of discovering whatever needs to be revealed to you most. Then let the rhythm flow as it will, see where your thoughts take you and journal them right afterwards before you forget them.

I find drumming a huge healing experience, if you don’t have a drum, you can experience the Healing Drum with me wherever you are in the world.

Harness the Wishing Moon energy to manifest your intentions, your creative desires. More on how to do that here.

Chuck it in the Fuck it Bucket! – Please do not allow minor challenges to become blown out of proportion, do not sabotage yourself by overreacting to something that will pass quickly.

Before reacting to something challenging, ask yourself this;
“Will this matter to me in a day? A week? A month? A year?”
If the answer is no, roar a triumphant and positive “Fuck it!” and chuck it in that bucket!
*aaaand now I have the theme song to Friends in my brain after writing that*

This Aquarius Full Moon falls between two Leo new moons, which are all about following your heart’s desire.
The Lion’s Gate power can urge us to be Lion-like in all aspects. We also have Mars warrior influence doing the fandango amongst all this – so feistiness and tetchiness easily manifests right now. Be careful your roar doesn’t self sabotage in knee-jerk reactions to others who may be less aware of why they are experiencing this energy!

Use this Lion strength for good causes, channel it however it manifests in positive ways for you. Use it to stand up for what you believe in, rather than roaring at the moon in frustration.

However you choose to mark this time of powerful energy, I wish you magickal Full Moon and Eclipse Blessings!

With Love
Rachel xxxx

It’s been a beautifully synchronistic time this past couple of weeks. I love it when we encounter the signs that tell us we are on the right path, making a good decision, or simply confirm time and again that everything is connected.

At our Lammas gathering, our conversation turned to how a dear friend present grew up in Singapore… Which then led to me sharing about my late great aunt’s time as an army wife there in the 1950s. Turns out they were all living there at the exact same time and may even have known each other as the social circles they moved in were the same! We were dining right next to Aunt Norah’s mirror and dragons I inherited too, just to add even more synchronicity!

Last week our beloved old girl (our car) was diagnosed with all kinds of worn out bits (a bit like me!) so we had to accept that the huge repair cost just to get it to pass the MOT test would be better spent on something newer. So, I set about looking for a similar car, and the first one I found was an angelic white one. The plate began with RK, followed by the year Mr F and I got married! I did scan around for others but just kept getting pulled back to that one.

We arranged to see it immediately and as we stepped outside our front door, two white feathers perfectly arranged in a folded angel wing formation were on the ground. Then when we arrived at the dealership, I had another white feather at my feet as I walked away from our old car. I could feel my Dad’s presence and just knew we needed to look no further, and as we sat in the new car we just looked at each other and grinned, it felt like it had always been ours.

Then, this morning I pulled my daily random card from my mixed bowl of angel and tarot as usual, and the card that appeared:

Angels and feathers everywhere!

Have a blessed day – more to come later about all this moon energy! xxx

From an article in the Guardian today. Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer talking about the frank and honest eulogy he wrote and gave at her funeral.

“Spencer said the highly personal nature of the eulogy meant he wanted to “protect it before delivering it” so no one else could have a say in it.

He added he had read the speech to Diana’s body in St James’s Palace chapel a couple of days before she was buried, saying: “I know people will think I’m some sort of fruitcake but I do remember hearing almost some sort of approval then, and then I realised actually I had probably got the thoughts in order.”

Beautiful, powerful Leo energy in today’s new moon urges us to be filled with strength and remember who we are, powerful creators of our own destiny. A new moon is always a fertile time for new starts but this one is particularly amazing.

In tarot, Leo the lion often appears on the major arcana card for Strength. Lion is fierce, warm and loyal. “Does the lion worry about the opinions of sheep?” Nope. Lion roars and takes the initiative. The Lion is his/her true authentic self.

Today is a wonderful time for initiating what you wish to bring to you in order to live an authentic life, true to what you stand for and believe. To begin creating or contributing towards something positive and life changing for others who feel challenged. Now is the time for doing, with the focus on being clear about exactly what it is we wish to attract and create more of.

If you have recently asked, “Why me?” or felt powerless about events in your life, you can begin to change your thinking and expectations today.

Other planetary influences are warning us to temper the Lion with kindness, tact and diplomacy, especially if we are facing the truth of some uncomfortable circumstances or feel righteous anger – The Big Ego will be puffed up so be aware and prepared for that.

If today had a mantra it would be “Know Thyself” – A reminder we are to treat ourselves with the same kindness we show others – accept all parts of who we are and give ourselves permission to roar!

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Feeling crabby?

June has been a deeply felt emotional roller coaster ride, especially for us empaths and sensitives. Too many feels!

As soon as we got clear of Mercury retro in May, Saturn got involved and all hell broke loose. So when we say “there must be a flipping weird planetary alignment” at a time of chaos and instability, this is what we are talking about!  We are particularly feeling it here in the UK with political waves and awful events hitting us hard.

Worldwide the events of the past month have stirred the pot of chaos more than ever.

The build up to this new moon has made us more prone to overly emotional thinking or allowing nostalgia to overcome common sense in the love department.

The good news is, this dark time of the moon always offers us a vital opportunity to harness its energy to change. But even better – this new moon in the sign of Cancer we are experiencing today, is a super duper moon!

This is a time for examining what we need  and invoking it. 

Commit fully to your personal goals that reflect the positive energy of the crab. This period will help us honour the most intimate feelings, our deepest desires. It also makes us feel a need for security and a sense of “home”.

The past few weeks have revealed any issues around money and domestic household affairs that need to change for the better. If you’ve felt conflict over money in particular, this is a time for that to be resolved (but watch your temper if you need to collaborate!)

If you are unhappy with your domestic circumstances, this is a good time to work out how to change things for the better. Form a plan of positive action. Sitting down and writing it out in bullet points or list form helps if your mind feels jumbled. Especially if your emotions have been getting the better of you!

You may be really feeling the urge to purge, to simplify your life and surroundings – or just finally declutter your kitchen crap drawer (we all have one!) this weekend.

Oh, and this moon is Bringing Sexy Back (yeah!) Romance is intense, inspired, feisty and especially for those in long term relationships or those in new relationships after a long dry spell – you’ll be rediscovering some new passions!  Ooh la la!

We can invoke abundance and clear ourselves more easily than we think.

Here are some simple ways to do that:

A Simple New Moon Meditation

Chaos Flush Empowerment – Banish chaotic energies, situations and people at will

Chakra Cleanse and Balance

A Simple Chakra Awareness Meditation

 

 

Why Easter is more pagan in origin than you think…

The longest night…

Yule is upon us again, where has this year gone?

This is an interesting time. We have just gone into Mercury retro again but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – especially in combination with the winter solstice for those of us in the Northern hemisphere. We are encouraged to go within, to be The Hermit and seek our own answers, to poke around in those dark corners of the psyche and discover what it is we wish to free ourselves of and do the necessary work on ourselves to achieve just that. Hibernation is rest… and self reflection while we make time for that, to honour that urge to purge that comes over us at this time is something not to be shied away from. Bring those parts of self out of the shadows! For those parts we may not like to see in ourselves or others teach us more than anything else. Sit with these dark corners, be fearless about truly being the witness, become the observer …and the answers will come clear to how we process “What do I do with this now I am aware of my flaw?”

It is a great time to heal old wounds, to be clear in our communications, making sure we take responsibility for being heard more clearly than ever in our dealings with others. This time of year can be fraught with miscommunication, so its more important than ever to be mindful in how we speak and especially in how we listen to others. Are we hearing rudeness, thoughtlessness? Or pain? Are we listening through our own filter? Take a beat to consider what may be affecting someone before reacting. Where possible, be kind rather than right… Yet of course, if someone is an outright asshole for no good reason at all, they may need a reality check! Just don’t burn any bridges this particular festive season unless you are truly, 100% done with second chances.

I’ve also been reminded of the great healing power of surrendering to “what is” in the past couple of weeks. This year has provided challenges, achievements and joys in equal measure, but in November I got too wrapped up in the need to be “doing” – I  often do this, I feel great, have a rush of creativity and ideas and neeeeeed to implement them allatonce…  wheeeeee….
Nope!
I .Do.Not.Need.To.Do.Everything.Now.
And so, in the midst of this creative roll, even though I was still yoga-ing and taking care of my nutrition and so on, I temporarily forgot to just Be. The physical self rebelled, and some gastric git of a bug got in and I had no choice but to Be. For a week.

At first, the unpleasant painful symptoms and horrible sensitivity to light sources of all kinds rendered me sleepy and unable to work even from my bed if I wanted to. So I had no choice but to close my eyes, breathe and be present with What Is.

Yes,  I experienced pain, frustration, annoyance. Then I just  went with it, surrendered to the enforced rest and found solace and comfort in it.. For a few days I didn’t even care if I knew what time of day it was when I woke from a nap.If I couldn’t eat, I’d get my nutrition in a few mouthfuls of smoothie and go back to sleep. So be it.  And within that, I found such a peace, that this too would pass but in the meantime, I would just exist and be present with whatever I was experiencing, painful, good bad or indifferent.

I am well again now, and I look and feel rested. Not like I’ve been ill at all. My skin is better than ever, my joints are less painful. I am in a place of zero fucks given about what I “should” be doing. I’m happy in my work. I am entirely at peace with whatever arises moment to moment even if it is challenging. It passes. I’m super present with the changing light on the trees and fields outside, the hooting of our resident owl who likes to whit whoo down our chimney at dusk (and 3am for some bonkers reason!)

Who knew that surrender and being present even with the icky stuff could be so good.

Whatever this season brings, please release yourself from the pressure to be what is expected of you. You can only be who you are in this moment. I wish you the ability to experience gratitude and joy, no matter how big or small, without tying yourself up in knots of anxiety or pressure.

Take a breath, check in with yourself and just experience What Is.
The darkest night precedes the return of the light…

Lots of love and Yuletide Blessings!

Rachel
xxxxxxx