Happy (belated) New Year Ali. Just wanted to say that I love your photography in this post, especially the water stopcock and the beautiful Venus statuette. Also, I feel the same about rituals - something that I steered well clear of for many years, and that I find myself more and more drawn to.
This is a beautiful post. I follow the omen days and this year was the deepest experience I’ve ever had in those days. I love your words on gratitude too, it’s such a transformative thing. Love to you for this year, may all beings know peace and freedom 🕊🤍
Hi Ali, practicing gratitude on a daily basis is a really good thing to do.
I love your inspiration from the Orkney Venus. That little figurine would have some stories to tell amid unbelievable changes in the world over the last 5000 years, from Westray Wifie to Addictive Wifi!
Happy Nollaig na MBan, Ali. Practicing this holiday is a special, honoring ritual for women. Looking for omens for a particular time period is a ritual of sorts. I had not heard of looking for them for the 12 days of Christmas. I like the idea, but I try to look for omens year round. I've just started writing my memoirs, and I'm currently focusing on a whole section of the omens wild animals have brought to me, and how their messages have applied to my life, meeting up with snakes, a mountain lion, hawk, dragonflies, etc. for help, I almost always include looking through Ted Andrews' book called "Animal Speak, The Spiritual and Magical Power of Creatures Great and Small."
I work on practicing gratitude daily, although I admit to feeling sour at times. Expressing gratitude for at least one thing at meals is something all guest at my house are expected to do rather than giving a blessing.
No, I haven't read "The Magic, but I just ordered it. Thanks for the introduction.
Thanks for another lovely newsletter. I am sending you an email in a little while.
Wonderful collection of thoughts and intents, as usual. For me this is and has been the day of ‘omens’, and revelations, something that was passed down from my family. I have probably written about that somewhere. Also a powerful day for ‘water’ that you refer to. A time of baptisms and cleansing. It was almost so here with recent rains bringing us inches away from flooding. I was looking forward to it all turning to ice in the sun now that it is turning icy, but the water is receding back to the river this morning.
Omens and water are always together in my mind though, and I am writing about that for posting sometime soon. This is all part of my belief in water-life-sidhe.
Gratitude. Indeed one of the practices that should be easy for us to do that has a wonderful dual effect. One is how it bonds us, and the other is how it also sets us free. I do not think we can bond very well unless we are free anyway. Part of the cleansing baptism ritual for today?
One conversation I had today was how whenever there is polarity and conflict … there is always a remedy. I have always loved the mummer’s tradition since I was a child and here in Leitrim that comes to a conclusion today. The folk drama of mummer’s is conflict, characters representing dark and light and conflicting about it, and then the medicine person appears to sort it out and they hug and dance together again.
Another to consider, especially now, and I find this the most powerful of all, especially for personal freedom and ease … and this is ‘forgiveness’. Something that many people find very difficult to hold, but prefer to hold on to their anger, call for revenge, and more, and that only messes up our own minds and lives, and nobody else. Forgiveness has nothing to do with letting someone or something getting way with it. Its all about reclaiming our sovereignty and be fuller with spark and energy for applying the ‘remedy’.
Thank you again for a thoughtful, inspiring, and omen triggering article, Ali
Happy (belated) New Year Ali. Just wanted to say that I love your photography in this post, especially the water stopcock and the beautiful Venus statuette. Also, I feel the same about rituals - something that I steered well clear of for many years, and that I find myself more and more drawn to.
I so loved being greeted by gorse... the presence and scent of that magical plant still walk with me, even across the seas.
I have had a gratitude practice for over a decade. It does seem to rewire the brain. I believe it works.
I am not familiar with omen days and will be taking a deeper dive into this ritual.
Thank you for this beautiful, very thoughtful post.
This is a beautiful post. I follow the omen days and this year was the deepest experience I’ve ever had in those days. I love your words on gratitude too, it’s such a transformative thing. Love to you for this year, may all beings know peace and freedom 🕊🤍
Hi Ali, practicing gratitude on a daily basis is a really good thing to do.
I love your inspiration from the Orkney Venus. That little figurine would have some stories to tell amid unbelievable changes in the world over the last 5000 years, from Westray Wifie to Addictive Wifi!
All the best and happy writing.
Happy Nollaig na MBan, Ali. Practicing this holiday is a special, honoring ritual for women. Looking for omens for a particular time period is a ritual of sorts. I had not heard of looking for them for the 12 days of Christmas. I like the idea, but I try to look for omens year round. I've just started writing my memoirs, and I'm currently focusing on a whole section of the omens wild animals have brought to me, and how their messages have applied to my life, meeting up with snakes, a mountain lion, hawk, dragonflies, etc. for help, I almost always include looking through Ted Andrews' book called "Animal Speak, The Spiritual and Magical Power of Creatures Great and Small."
I work on practicing gratitude daily, although I admit to feeling sour at times. Expressing gratitude for at least one thing at meals is something all guest at my house are expected to do rather than giving a blessing.
No, I haven't read "The Magic, but I just ordered it. Thanks for the introduction.
Thanks for another lovely newsletter. I am sending you an email in a little while.
Thank you Ali. Really gorgeous nourishing words . Happy Nollaig na MBán 🔻🙏🏻
I love all these photos!
Wonderful collection of thoughts and intents, as usual. For me this is and has been the day of ‘omens’, and revelations, something that was passed down from my family. I have probably written about that somewhere. Also a powerful day for ‘water’ that you refer to. A time of baptisms and cleansing. It was almost so here with recent rains bringing us inches away from flooding. I was looking forward to it all turning to ice in the sun now that it is turning icy, but the water is receding back to the river this morning.
Omens and water are always together in my mind though, and I am writing about that for posting sometime soon. This is all part of my belief in water-life-sidhe.
Gratitude. Indeed one of the practices that should be easy for us to do that has a wonderful dual effect. One is how it bonds us, and the other is how it also sets us free. I do not think we can bond very well unless we are free anyway. Part of the cleansing baptism ritual for today?
One conversation I had today was how whenever there is polarity and conflict … there is always a remedy. I have always loved the mummer’s tradition since I was a child and here in Leitrim that comes to a conclusion today. The folk drama of mummer’s is conflict, characters representing dark and light and conflicting about it, and then the medicine person appears to sort it out and they hug and dance together again.
Another to consider, especially now, and I find this the most powerful of all, especially for personal freedom and ease … and this is ‘forgiveness’. Something that many people find very difficult to hold, but prefer to hold on to their anger, call for revenge, and more, and that only messes up our own minds and lives, and nobody else. Forgiveness has nothing to do with letting someone or something getting way with it. Its all about reclaiming our sovereignty and be fuller with spark and energy for applying the ‘remedy’.
Thank you again for a thoughtful, inspiring, and omen triggering article, Ali
As someone who also overpacks her bags with the worries of the world, really appreciated the reminder of how supportive simple ritual can be.