The past week or so has been really rough for several reasons but something deep down has shifted. As I sat down at my altar this morning, lit another candle for the spell my coven weaved last night, a song started to play in my mind – Bring on the Wonder. The Dead are speaking and we need to listen. There are things that need to be said, and things that need to be felt.
The Past Week
This time of year always brings a heightened shift from the Unseen/ Spirit side. It’s nothing new, but lately it has been so much more. Many of us who are seasoned death workers have been feeling it, talking about it and the theories behind it. Part of it has to do with recent events, the Hurricane, but also something deeper that has been growing within us and between us. Something the Spirits are trying to shift our focus to.
There is so much pain and fear, both in our small lives and the larger world, coming at us from all angles. Fear drives us to search for truth, to seek solace in what can be proven with facts, to put trust in others who we have deemed to be “authorities.” If we can just find truth, than we can know which way to move… Truth in itself is illusive, it changes as we learn more, discover more, understand more. Science, what more people point to for truth, changes all the time for these same reasons. In today’s age of technology, political discourse, AI, and other tools – along with the tunnels that algorithms create for us – this idea of truth gets even more skewed. The fear is channeled into division, into anger, and then into hate. It is not just politics, it feels like it has bled into everything.
It is a purposefully movement and a pattern that keeps repeating throughout history. Our Ancestors know this and are screaming for us to see this and break this cycle.
Hurricane Helene
I have watched the misinformation machine fly in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Fueled by anger, grief, half truths, egos, and misunderstandings. In a time where we need to come together most, where the people need compassion and hope, I am seeing anger take root and grow.
While the living grieve what has been lost, the Souls from the tragedy were being affected by all of this. Sudden death from tragedy already makes crossing over a more difficult task. There is confusion and it is compounded by the amount of souls lost at once. We used to grieve these tragedies as a nation and a world. We used to feel the loss and send them energy of comfort and peace – which helped the souls to move. On the whole though, with this one, anger seemed to win above compassion, and it was felt.
Last night our coven gathered, each one of us a Death Emissary, and did a ritual for the souls lost. It was such a powerful experience, but also eye opening for me. This is not my first large tragedy working with the crossing of souls, yet the amount of pain and confusion in the beginning of the ritual was so much more than usual. Something had changed, and I think it is what I stated above.
After ritual we all sat together for quite awhile just feeling, monitoring the changes and progress, sharing with each other. It is still going, and probably will for awhile because it is a lot of souls, but the experiences we all had and shared in that space have left this deep sorrow within me. How much the change in the living’s reaction affected the dead. Tears fell most the night and morning for them. As I write this, my heart still aches. There is a lesson here though, not just for the reaction but for those of us left behind.
Wonder
It brings me back to the song. The things the dying and the dead regret or feel sorrow for the most is not stuff – it is the experience of living and the people throughout their lives. At the heart of all of it is Wonder . It is defined as the rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one’s experience. To be surprised or curious. Hope may be the inspiration of movement, Love may the reason behind the actions, but it is wonder that is in the creation or experience itself. It is the living movement.
In all this drive for truth, provable experiences and facts, putting trust in people we see as authorities, we have pushed down the wonder we actually see and experience in the world. The discrepancies in what we experience and what others say, sows doubt in our own wonder. I watch people talk themselves out of the wonder they experienced instead of holding onto it and allow that to guide them forward, because it didn’t match all the outside voices in the community/ world.
Even in the world of magic, spirits, Deities – witchcraft, paganism, and other spiritual communities – I am watching this fade. The two current buzz words Discernment and Spiritual Psychosis have taken a hard seat in the front. Creating fear and doubt in one’s self and looking outward for validation. I am not saying that being aware of them isn’t good or needed – but there are limits. Dig deep enough and you can talk yourself out of any experience and chalk it up to other factors, even if they are more far fetched than the experience itself. The experience of the soul can not be quantified by science, academia, or an outside authority – it is being experienced within us. There is value and beauty in that movement.
Ancestors Words
“Bring on the Wonder, we got it all wrong,
We pushed you down deep in our souls for too long.” – the song
I pulled some cards with Ancestors and this is what they had to say…
Observe the Maiden, the innocence, and the wonder it brings. It is time to Heal it. There is a song that bellows in the peace of knowing no end, Daughters of the wood, let it bewitch and blend a new brew.
My Plea to You
It is time to feel and be in your Wonder. To trust in yourself, to trust in your soul.
Does it matter if others don’t agree or believe you? Why do you need a way to prove it to others? Why do others feel they need to judge and tell someone else that what they actually experienced isn’t true? Why are you trying to talk yourself out of the “awe” or wonder you felt in that experience – even if there is another explanation, there is also truth in what you felt and experienced in it.
We need more Wonder. We need more compassion and grace for each other. We need to start coming together instead of solidifying more divisions. What we are doing is not just hurting us, hurting our communities, hurting our world – but it is bleeding out into the souls and spirits of the dead and the unseen. I often wondered what the exact ripple effects we were causing in the unseen realms with what we are doing here and I got a big dose of that last last.
Again I am feeling this unrelenting pull, the need for more Death Emissaries in this world. Because we deal in the soul – living, dead, and beyond. We are the transformation workers. We are the Towers that tear down broken structures in our world so the creators can build something new. We are guides to help others move through their living transformations. We are the comfort and Witness for those who are moving from this life. We are the Keepers of Knowledge – of the patterns, cycles, history, and the possibilities that can be.
Whether you take a course or learn on your own – our world needs you, humanity needs you, the souls need you, the Unseen need you.
For those who do want a course to guide you through this development, I am going to open up a few more spots and extend registration till Oct 12th. The first classes start this Sunday (Oct 6th) but it is just the introduction and history aspects and they are all recorded and stored on our private server, so you can go back and listen. This is completely interactive, meaning live conversations after the classes, Q&A days, and in the server. It really can not be taught any other way because it is not me building your practice – it is you using the information, exercises, skills, frameworks, and your own experiences in them to develop your own. This means you need more support and interaction to go deeper. There is also a way to pay monthly instead of the whole year up front – $70/ month for 11 months. Because of current events and I know money is tight for many – I can’t offer any more scholarship spots this year but I can do a reduced rate for those who really need it $50/ month, just email me and we will talk. If this is the route you want to go, you can Sign up Here
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