TIME FOR A CHANGE
Happy Summer! Look at that Lucky Ole Sun. Did you know that the ONLY tattoo I have is of a sun, OUR SUN, OUR STAR! The one and only. The life-giver. The purifier. The WARMING AGENT. A ball of fire…
I got the tattoo after seeing the Jerry Garcia Band perform the song, “That Lucky Ole Sun” at the Charlotte Coliseum, in November of 1991. There was something about Jerry crooning the lyrics, “That lucky ole sun/ Got nothing to do/ But roll around Heaven/ All daaaaaayyyy” that made me feel as if I was up there with the sun, rolling around, listening to the show from a higher perspective.
It was one of those moments, that, well, makes you want to go out and get a tattoo. And the sun is something, isn’t it? If you reside where I do, in Maine, there’s been a LOT of rain in the past month. I LOVE RAIN, ok? The blessing of rain showering us with water allows us to keep harvesting food. To quote my shamanic teacher, Dory Cote, “Without rain, we wouldn’t have a planet.”
But now with the Solstice, we are firmly in the days of Belenos-lots of light! PLEASE bring on the light! Lots of shining light, to see more, to feel more of the heat and perhaps toil more (or less, depending on your perspective). However, not everybody is a “summer person.” A client recently said to me, “I’m just not grooving on this yang energy. It’s a bit much.” I understood: Summer is masculine energy. Doing, going, socializing, building, ACTION! Winter is the Great Priestess’s time. And so I find it interesting that with the celestial event of the Summer Solstice, we cross the border into the South Direction, which is associated with the Child, innocence, and honoring our pain. I also see the child in her self-righteousness, bearing a sword of justice, as if to say “You can’t hurt me, back off!” Interestingly, we also cross into the astrological sign of Cancer at the summer Solstice–the cardinal sign of Water, the Mother, the moon, feeling our way through things.
So: Masculine Yang-Daddy is not standing alone at these times and he will not heave his dominion over us unilaterally.
Maybe he’s just trying to heal himself. What’s that? Healing the masculine wound of dominance, of wretched “take” mentality, of power-grabs that are, quite frankly, shutting down life here on planet Earth? Let’s herald that in! And we all perpetuate and participate in these masculine systems of oppression and control.
Until we say No. Stop. No More. The name of my healing practice, Nine Pillars, refers to areas of adjustment AWAY from these over-bearing masculine energies of control and dominance and towards a RE-INTEGRATION of the more feminine principles. Yes, that’s right: RE-INTEGRATION. It wasn’t always like this–YANG didn’t always rule. Some may not want to imagine how the human species “organized” themselves around spiritual matters before Jesus showed up but Goddess worship and pagan practices have been in place for a very, very long time. Try 30,000 years.
So, in an attempt to honor our crossing into the South Direction of the child of play, and a reminder that without Mama Earth pumping out the delicious food we enjoy so much, we wouldn’t even know what a Summer Solstice was and without Father Sky raining down the wet stuff, we’d never see the color green of any pine, fern or rosebush because we simply wouldn’t be alive, I’ve included in this newsletter Pillar # 6, “Ecology,” as it was downloaded to me verbatim by my guide Athena, on the new moon in October of 2018:
ECOLOGY:
“Even an animal knows better than to shit where it sleeps. The desecration is unfathomable. To tip the scales back to balance will take great effort on many different levels. The law level, the farming level, seed cultivation, clean water efforts, and of course cleaning the air. Where there is massive destruction, there is massive potential for new birth. Diversity is key. There cannot be a spectrum if we are contented to sit in the dark. Stop “appreciating” nature and start realizing you are not separate from it.”
As I write and revise my manuscript about the 9 Pillars, I’m realizing that I could have written the entire book about this one pillar. Because, none of the other ones will even matter if we ALL don’t regain sanity around how to live more sustainably on this planet.
I had a disturbing vision the other morning. You know those pre-consciousness moments where you’re not entirely awake but you’re not fully asleep anymore either? Well, I had a vision of our descendants going to a museum that featured jet planes and a cruise ship. The young people who were touring this museum were gob-smacked as they read on the little displays how much fuel the jet required for a trip from New York City to Denver, or how much garbage the cruise ship produced for just one trip around the Caribbean. They were saying to each other, “Can you believe your grandmother got in one of these things, this plane, to go on something called a vacation?”
When I fully woke up, my heart felt heavy. As I contemplated this vision,I was reminded of our early land-owning white people in this country who also owned slaves, black bodies they saw as something they could possess. Today, we simply can’t fathom it. How could they? We say to ourselves. But that is exactly what our children’s children will be saying about us: How could they, knowing what their actions were doing to LIFE.
That lucky Ole Sun indeed. Who wouldn’t want to “roll around heaven all day”? Playing, working, loving, hurting, repairing things here on the planet is hard work. It takes a courageous soul to heed Athena’s wisdom. But there is hope in her admonition; I especially like, “Where there is massive destruction, there is massive potential for new birth.” I believe that even the smallest change, the smallest act of conscious loving we can do for the existing life systems–including our own–is a worthy action, an honorable action. It is time for this COLLECTIVE change to take place. We all have sat on the sidelines for too long.
I wasn’t going to include this last bit but I think I must: ARE YOU responsible for Mother Earth’s vitality? Do you think it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to live in a way that does as little harm as possible to Her?
Shine On,
Mary Katherine
PS. Speaking of changes, many of you already know (through the world of social media) that I have started a new, full-time position at UNE as the Writing Specialist with the Student Academic Success Center. This comes at a GREAT time for me to level-up in my teaching and writing skills. I have a dreamy schedule: 3 days in person on the Portland campus and 2 remote days at my home office. But I’m not the only one adjusting to a new job! Michael is now the new Executive Director of the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra. We’re both feeling grateful and looking forward to a new normal…
THIS DOESN’T MEAN I’m not seeing clients. Oh boy am I. I have my Saturdays booked out for July, and I do remote sessions. In fact, here’s a wonderful testimonial from my client Corinne in Topanga Canyon, California, offered with her permission:
“Healing my mind, body, and soul with Mary Katherine has been nothing short of magic. I began with in-person sessions when I was at a terribly low point in my life. I told her I couldn’t even feel my own spirit anymore. Tangibly, I was living in a tent, had health concerns, was taking anxiety medication for the first time in my life, and was working four jobs. Several months later I moved across the country to begin again, and honestly I was skeptical that maybe my sessions wouldn’t be as powerful from afar. I was so wrong! MK and I meet about once per month and she always provides me an inspiring mixture of wisdom from herself and our guides. I’m now in my own house, off meds, have one really awesome job, and am actually excited to move my body again (including opening my heart to love). Just the other day I remarked to her how not only can I feel my spirit again, I seek to expand it! She is a light worker and ally like I’ve not had before.”
Interested? Intrigued? I offer 30-minute free consults over the phone, if you’re wondering if shamanic healing and reiki is just what you need…call me: 207-939-6863
UPCOMING EVENTS and CLASSES
HULA-FIT
- ANY LEVEL Hooping: Wednesday evenings at 6 PM-7 PM at Avalon (starts July 5th–Aug 30) Drop-ins welcomed! Sliding scale: $5-10
- HULA-FIT Hooping: Saturday mornings at 10:30 at Avalon (starts August 5th and ryan through Sept 16*) Must sign up for the series as Hula-Fit is most successful in developmental stages; $50 for 5 classes (*class will not meet on Sept 9th)
My experience with offering HULA-FIT to Bonny Eagle Adult Education was a great success! And I want to continue to offer hula-hooping both as a fun, recreational activity and as a work-out.
I’ll be offering 2 different levels of hooping over the summer (see above description) and a few FREE CLASSES at PINE POINT BEACH on select Friday nights. Click here for more details!
LUGHNASA CEREMONY and FIRE FESTIVAL
Co-hosted and co-designed by Kristi Dawson Smith
Saturday, August 5th
Lughnasa, which is celebrated on August 1st (and traditionally for several days around the 1st of August) is named after the Celtic God Lugh, whose name means, ‘blinding light’ or ‘a flash of light,’ according to my sources (Caitlin Mathews, “Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations of the Year”) On this “1st Harvest” we will build a fire of “melting our troubles,” generate “play” in the style of boasting, story-telling or other “Lugh-like” talents, and share in the seasonal treats of the harvest–Avalon’s fresh veggies and a bit of mead!
When: Saturday, August 5th, 5 PM–UNTIL
Where: Avalon Acres in Hollis, Maine
Cost: FREE!
What to Bring: A comfy camp chair or lawn chair, any potluck item you’re especially proud of to share (think “family recipes”), water/water bottle, an altar item that represents your most significant triumph in this life, and anything that helps you feel like LUGH: a sense of being confident, prideful, irresistible, charming, colorful, distinguished, optimistic and strutting your stuff!
**If you’re traveling from a good distance to attend, please know you are welcome to stay on the land in your tent or RV. We do have (2) bedrooms that are free to stay in, and a big barn to throw your therma-rest down.
FMI, click here
AVALON ACRES NEWS
BURN THE BRUSH PILE BONFIRE and OPEN HOUSE!
Friday, July 7th, 5 PM– UNTIL
Who doesn’t love a good bonfire? We’ve scraped together a LOT of brush over the last several months and it is TIME TO BURN it!
Come on out to Hollis on Friday, July 7th for some summer fun! Bring a friend, a lawnchair, a dish to share, some water and we’ll provide other light refreshments. Although this is not a ‘fire ceremony’ I am happy to stand witness to anything you need to let go of, letting the fire transmute it. Well-behaved dogs are welcome, as are musicians with their instruments and voices! All ages are very much welcome…Stop by or stay all night. (no need to RSVP)
(To find the FaceBook event, click here)
FREE! CHECK IT OUT! NEW CIRCLE OFFERINGS AT AVALON!
__Talking Circles and Council –begins Thursday, July 13th at 6 PM–until. For more information, click HERE
__WISE WOMEN TALKING –every 2nd Sunday of the month, starts Aug 13th from 2 PM – 4 PM. For more information, click HERE
Why hold Talking Circles and Council?
We are now living in a time where we are being pelted with information from every direction (and alas, other forms of wisdom are being drowned out). Some information is good to know; other information is absorbed by us when it isn’t helpful yet we “take it in” simply because it’s there. Some people are yearning to be with others in community who are curious about people’s lived experiences, interested in hearing different perspectives, and are hungry for a space to express freely.
**REMINDER**
“LOVE ALL, SERVE ALL” is a great mantra to live by and I try to do what I can, when I can. That means bartering, trading, and, on occasion, moving my massage table into the barn so any client with challenges climbing stairs can still have a session at Avalon. In fact, the energy in the barn (pictured below) is quite amazing, and on this particular day, we were serenaded by chirping birds!
And finally…
The Nature Immersion Wanders at Avalon in May proved to be a transformational, soulful experience for the participants (and myself and my co-guide) and I look forward to doing more! If you or someone you know would like to “merge” with the spirit of the land, do some serious slowing down and be held in a sacred way with guides skilled in the art of mirroring, then please reach out and let me know! I’ll put you on my list for late summer/early Fall.
Here’s a lovely testimonial from one of the Wanderers:
“…Mary Katherine and Nancy created a safe space for each to explore unlimited possibilities for ourselves that day. I personally set an intention to allow and access (Avalon) Land with an open hearted question of What messages have you for me? Little could I imagine the immediate welcoming messages from White Pine, Fern, Mullein and Oak. On return, the task of sharing this experience to ‘others’, I felt empowered in the safety of Circle. I shared my stories from my Wander and their messages were all pertinent to me, and yet the entirety of my intention was met not only by the Nature Beings, but also through the guides, Mary Katherine and Nancy. I think this is the Magic I took away that day. It was an US experience, for we are not separate, are we? ” ~ Nancy Cole, Shapleigh, ME
Embodying the Divine Feminine 