Author Archives: Debbie

Winter Gardening

Ah, the nights after Solstice and all through the house, no one was stirring, not even the mouse (this is the one the cat brought in and let go last fall☺).
And in the quiet I sat in my warm winter wrap, with the seed catalogs open all over my lap.
Gary still snuggled all warm in his bed, while visions of tomatoes and herbs danced in my head…

Winter Dreams
The new seed catalogs are arriving and I’m like a kid in a candy store. But just what does my garden planning have to do with shamanism, you might ask. And my answer is that we are all gardeners…gardeners of our own life. We all know the old saying “You reap what you sow.” What are you going to sow in the upcoming year?

It’s no coincidence that we gardeners take the winter months when the earth seemingly lies dormant to assess the previous year’s harvest and plan for the new year’s planting.  It is this time of “dreaming” and planning that gives us the beautiful gardens and bountiful harvests. Without this assessment time, we would repeat the same mistakes and/or not see the new varieties and options available to us. Continue reading

5,000-year-old shaman stones

Sorry we’ve been out of touch for a while. An unusual winter here has left us scrambling and adjusting to life in the forest again. If you’re interested in the story, there’s more at Shaman’s Blog. But we now have communications again and internet, so it’s been some time of catch up and clean up.

Gary found this interesting article and I thought it was perfect for this blog.

What messages did these stones hold for the shaman?

Archaeologists have unearthed nearly 5,000-year-old shaman’s stones in a rock shelter in Panama. The stone collection may be the earliest evidence of shamanic rituals in that region of Central America, researchers say.

The 12 stones were found in the Casita de Piedra rock shelter, in the Isthmus of Panama. The rocks, which carbon-dating of surrounding material showed  >>more

5,000-year-old shaman stones found – Technology & science – Science – LiveScience | NBC News.

Until next time-
Mitakuye Oyasin (A Lakota prayer reminding us we are all related),

Debbie

Our First Winter at Shaman’s Grove

Well, life is back functioning normally (what ever that might be) here at Shaman’s Grove. Our first winter has proving to be exciting so far. As you may have noticed, we haven’t made any new posts for a while. That because we have been “experiencing winter.” Now, we chose this area of Oregon because like we say in Grants Pass… “It’s the climate”. That’s what brings many people to this area. It’s generally mild – mild summers with a few hot days and mild winters. We get the occasional snow flurries, but the snow is usually gone by noon. We had a few days of waking up to a dusting of snow in The Grove and it was quite beautiful.

Yule Eve brought a major snow storm to the NW Coast. We had been in town when it started to snow. So we finished our lunch and business and headed back to The Grove. Our little car spun out in our long drive once, but Gary was able to maneuver through the thick slush and get us to the garage. And the snow continued to come down… thick, sloppy, heavy snow… about 6 inches worth! Now I know you folks in snow country are laughing at our whining, but we don’t own a snow shovel! We came here because we didn’t want to shovel the stuff! Continue reading

Mistletoe Magic

Mistletoe Ball“Oh, the mistletoe hung where you can see… Somebody waits for you, kiss her once for me” sings Burl Ives in the background. Ah, the holidays, cookies and mistletoe. We all know that mistletoe was a good excuse to sneak kisses during the holidays. So, where did that tradition come from and why is mistletoe so revered for its mystical and medicinal qualities?

There are many myths about kissing under the mistletoe from signs of good will to marriage proposals. According to my research, “This tradition is decidedly pagan in origin and dates back to Scandinavian mythology when Baldur, god of peace was slain by Loki, god of destruction with an arrow made from mistletoe. Outraged by the injustice of Baldur’s death the other gods and goddesses demanded his life be restored. As a token of thanks, Baldur’s mother, Frigga, hung mistletoe and promised to kiss all who passed beneath it, thus establishing the symbolism of love, peace and forgiveness that is now associated with mistletoe.” So, in Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or quarreling spouses kiss and make-up. Continue reading

A Grounding Visualization

With the holidays here, life is CRAZY. All the activities, parties, family gatherings, food and frenzies (whether we participate in them or not) can knock us off our center. It’s not uncommon to find we simply aren’t grounded this time of year. So, today we’re going to talk about how to get grounded again.

This is one of the most common issues Gary and I find when working with clients. We frequently see their energy bodies floating away or above from their physical bodies, and/or the chakras at the base of their feet are closed.

The foot chakras, found on the sole of each foot, work in combination with the base or root chakra, to create a stable foundation for our physical existence. When they are open, the foot chakras provide a constant connection with the energy grids of Mother Earth to the rest of the chakras in our physical and energy bodies.

Many people see this energetic connection as their “roots”. Like a root system of a tree, these “roots” stabilize you so you aren’t carried away by what’s happening in the world around you. When you are grounded, you remain solidly in your body, you are able to respond appropriate way, staying in the now, letting the past be and trusting that the future will be even better. Continue reading

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy ThanksgivingThis year has come and gone all too quickly. It’s certainly been a year long roller coaster ride for us. Gary and I have much to be thankful for and we give thanks daily for all Spirit has shown us and provided. Thanksgiving provides us that outlet to say “thanks” among all our friends who bear witness. So, as we gather round this large Thanksgiving table, courtesy of the World Wide Web, we raise our glasses and gives thanks for… Continue reading

The Honorable Turkey

It’s been a while since our last post. A lot has happened since then. If you follow us on Shaman’s Blog, you know that Gary had a small heart attack (if you can call them small) at the end of September. It’s been somewhat crazy since then. He is doing well and is back to his feisty self again. So, we have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

But, since it’s Thanksgiving, it seemed right to pay some homage to the honorable bird who will grace many of our tables on Thursday. So, with this blog, we honor Turkey.

According to Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small the keynotes for Turkey are shared blessings and harvest. No wonder the turkey has become the symbol of Thanksgiving. Continue reading

“Mindfulness and Animism: The Art of Soul Healing”

Today’s RSS feed from Shamanic Drumming included a link to this article fromThe Huffington Post by Kelley Harrell, neoshaman and author of Gift of the Dreamtime In her blog, she explores how our cultural perceptions affect our ability to heal and stay well. Many of us invite soul healing into our lives, and then experience an initial phase of euphoria and wellbeing, only to eventually take on symptoms of dis-ease or imbalance again. Kelley attributes this to our inability to fully embrace the mindfulness and worldview of our animistic forefathers.

She highlights some important points about attending to our healing at all levels, body, mind and spirit. Check it out. Read more.

Until next time –
Mitakuye Oyasin (A Lakota prayer reminding us we are all related),

Debbie

A Samhain Poem

I have been studying Celtic Shamanism for quite a while and am about half way through my Bardic training. Eventually I will complete the Druidry course, but it is a ways out.

Bards are storytellers, poets and musicians. Since Celtic society was an oral tradition, they were also the keepers of tradition, of the memory of the tribe.

One of the areas I struggle with is poetry. It has become a standing joke within my circle that when we come to poetry, I go blank. So, maybe I’m beginning to “get it” because as I was going to sleep last night, I was creating a Samhain poem. Continue reading

Life’s little emergencies…

It’s been a while since my last post and it has been quite a journey for the last month. Actually more like an E ticket ride at Disney Land. Or, do they have a G ticket ride???

As many of you know, Gary was on the East Coast and in Germany for most of the month of September. He arrived home on the 28th and within 24 hours proceeded to have a small heart attack. He is doing well now. They put a stent in an artery and kept him a few days at the hospital in CCU. What a surprise from the man who hasn’t been sick (other than flu) in the 36 years we’ve been married! This experience has been a definite wake up call, and a giant roller coaster ride for us. Continue reading