Category Archives: ceremony

The Good Things Jar

Good Things Jar

Wow, I can’t believe it’s New Years already! Where has this year gone? Time flys when you’re having fun. So, how much fun have YOU had? Can’t remember all the good times? Well, for 2016, we’ll give you an idea to help you remember – a Good Things Jar.

Giving a quick look back, like most years, it’s had its ups and not so ups. There has been a lot of transformation here at Shaman’s Grove with a new deck on our house and the retreat getting built (not done yet, but at least housing is in place). Continue reading →

Spring Equinox Ceremonies

Part of living a shamanic lifestyle is being attuned to the cycles of Nature, whether it be the phases of the moon, life cycles of the animals, fish and plants or the cycle of the seasons. Those of us who choose to walk a Shamanic/Druidic/Pagan path often acknowledge the “turning of the wheel” or cycle of seasons with some type of ceremony. Some celebrations are are grander than others, and some are very simple ceremonies.

The Spring Equinox is a day to celebrate the revival of life after a long cold winter. Our focus shifts from internal to external, from preparation to action. This is a time of renewal and rebirth…Eggs are hatching, birds are returning from their migrations, butterflies are breaking from their cocoons, plants are celebrating the return of warmth with vibrant greens and flowers of every color, the trees are bursting with new buds, and baby animals are appearing in our yards.

Spring arrives next week, on Thursday, March 20 at 6:57am EDT. So, let’s begin to think about celebrating it’s arrival with a ceremony. I’m offering a few simple ideas with plenty of time to plan. Choose one or more of these ideas and create your own Spring Equinox ceremony. Continue reading →

A Winter Solstice Journey

The Wheel of the Year has turned once more and the Winter Solstice is upon us again.

Over the years we have offered up ideas for celebrating Yule, or the Winter Solstice. You can check out this blog in particular – Winter Solstice Celebrations from 2010 .

This Solstice, our gift to you is a guided journey that Debbie created specifically for you. Continue reading →

Honoring Our Ancestors – The Ancestor Altar

I recently received a newsletter from one of my suppliers with an excellent article on honoring our ancestors by creating an ancestor altar that I want to share with you. Thank you Jacki Smith at Coventry Creations for this wonderful article.

This month my project is to go through the picture boxes and gather some pictures for my Samhain altar. Continue reading →

The Element of Fire

I didn’t realize it has been so long since I posted a blog. Summer has gotten busy with things around The Grove and garden. It’s been hot and dry here in So. Oregon, and for the last week or so, we’ve been dealing with being surrounded by several large wild fires. If you’ve been following our Facebook page, you’ve heard and seen about these fires.

This isn’t unusual for Oregon in the summer, as summer here, especially in southern Oregon is very dry. But this year we’ve had an unusual drought and it’s been hot very early. Our July weather is what we usually see in August. The dry lightning produced by a thunder storm toward the end of July sparked 54 fires in our area. Some were quickly contained, others grew together to create large wild fires. So far, we’ve seen approximately 40,000 acres of forest within a 20 mile radius of us go up in smoke. Continue reading →

Winter Solstice Celebrations

For many years, since our children moved through the Santa Claus phase, we have gathered with family and friends to celebrate the Winter Solstice or Yule. Like our ancestors of old, following the rhythms of Mother Earth’s cycles, we gather to celebrate the end of the darkness and the return of the light.

Our ancestors lived in harmony with Mother Earth, Father Sun and Grandmother Moon, recognizing their cycles and living their lives within these rhythms, and celebrating the turning of the year and its cycles. The year’s shortest day and longest night, the Winter Solstice, is still celebrated in many traditions around the globe, celebrating the triumph of light over darkness… the return of the Sun. Continue reading →

Stories from the Time of Magic

Imagine stepping back into the rhythm of the past… into the days of vast forests, sacred groves and fires at twilight… of circles of three… women, priestesses, druids, healers… drumming and drawing stories of wisdom from the Otherworld to bless and heal the community. See yourself gathered around the sacred flame, see the faces of Maiden, Mother and Crone, and hearing their stories of wisdom and healing for the earth, the community and you…

As some of you know, my explorations of shamanism have brought me to a deep connection with Celtic shamanism, which is my heritage and spiritual connection through many, many lifetimes. It is through this connection that I have had the honor and opportunity to be a part of this circle of healing this past year. It has been a phenomenal healing and growth experience. Continue reading →

Announcing the Fall Harvest Give Away

The Give Away

The Give Away ceremony is a Native American Tradition. In Native American cultures, the give away ceremony is the ultimate act of selfless giving. Rather than expect the community to shower a person with gifts on a special occasion, the reverse occurs: the honored individual presents everyone else with something special. Another underlying value of the give away held over from the nomadic days is keeping one’s belongings to a minimum and sharing abundance with all those around. Once something is given away, all strings to that gift are broken and the gift is given with no expectations. There is a high value placed on giving away and sharing what is ours. We all know the saying “It is better to give than receive”. This is the give away ceremony. Continue reading →

The Popcorn and M&Ms Ceremony

We are often reminded that “It’s all sacred” and this small but very powerful ceremony certainly gave credence to that statement recently.

For several weeks I had been doing some energetic housecleaning and was working (yes, in the truest sense) at releasing some of the limitations I’ve been carrying around for over half a century. I was getting tired of bouncing off the same force fields time and time again. It was time to let this junk go!

Now, it’s not like I haven’t tried before. We all know what that’s like. We release one thing and it just shows back up in a slightly different form – so we rationalize that we’ve let one go and this is a new road block. So, I informed my guides that I wanted these gone for once and for all. And, I asked for help. Continue reading →

Celebrate Mother Earth

I know it’s been a while since I posted. Sometimes life happens and sometimes I run out of ideas of something relevant to post. Believe me, you don’t want to hear my mind’s ramblings 🙂 If you have something you would like to hear about, please feel free to drop me any email at mailto:debbie@shamanicconnection.com.

It’s been a busy few weeks here in Phoenix, and life is good. The weather is warming up and we hit 98 Monday. We should be cooling back to the 80’s tomorrow. I know, many of you are just beginning to see the snow melt. But, summer in Phoenix, is like winter in the colder climates. We are not as active outdoors during the heat, and spend more time indoors during the intense days of monsoon season when we hit over 110. So, it’s not much different than the winter cold, except we don’t have any white stuff to shovel and the intense heat only lasts about 4 weeks!!

Today I want to chat about Earth Day coming up on Tuesday, April 22. Continue reading →