Category Archives: Nature Wise

Deer Medicine

Deer Medicine – Gentleness and Innocence – Gentle Luring to New Adventure

I’m sitting here typing and watching one of our mama deer and her fawn, refresh with the nectar of the Faery Fountain and munch their way through our back yard. So, deer medicine seems the appropriate topic for our first blog.

We have been blessed by several deer families that reside here. We have had the opportunity to witness mamas with new fawns that were barely able to walk on their wobbly legs. And they have adopted us as one of their own. This is their home and we’ve just moved in. They sleep under our deck, just look at us as we go about our business outdoors, and don’t bother to move when we approach an area where they are resting. Today I was working on the sprinklers for my herbs and three deer approached the fountain in the front for a drink. We were only a few feet apart. They acknowledged me, got their drink and left. Continue reading →

Reconnecting With Nature’s Widsom

Returning to life in the forest has really reawakened Nature’s call to us. Just the call to return to the forest has great significance for us. The forest is connected to creation and growth energy, free of controls and constrictions. We are visited daily by Crow (“The magic of creation is calling”) and Deer (“Gentle luring to a new adventure”) among others. Besides being awe struck by our daily nature adventures, the pot of creative juices has been well stirred. And, one of the fruits that bubbled to the top was a new blog, called Nature Wise, sharing information about the wisdom Mother Nature has to offer.

For thousands of years, people have connected with Nature’s wisdom to gain knowledge and spiritual fulfillment. Nature offers us healing, wisdom and an opportunity to connect with the sacred.

We are blessed by nature. It touches each of us in personal and special ways. Continue reading →

Totem Spirit Stones

Totem Spirit Stones are now available at Shaman’s Marketplace. These Totem Spirit Stones are created by carving totem animals into polished tumbled gemstones to unite the healing property of the stone with the attributes of the totem animal.

These carved stones are great for inviting the specific attributes of the totem animal into your meditation or daily routine. Carry the stone in your right pocket or hold in your right hand during meditation. They are also a good to place on your desk, altar or meditation table to honor your totem animals or animal spirit guides. Continue reading →

Lughnasadh – First Harvest

Wow, can’t believe it’s August 1 already. This year is flying by. Fall will be here sooner than we think.

August first is the beginning of Lughnasadh (or Lammas). This is the celebration of the first harvest. Depending on your traditions, Lughnasadh is celebrated from August 1 – August 15.

The name of this festival is Irish Gaelic for “Commemoration of Lugh”.  Lugh is associated with the power of sun and light, and so fires were burned in honor of him on this day. In addition to his associations with light, Lugh is a God of Skill and Craft, a master of all human skills.

Continue reading →

Winter Solstice Celebrations

yule-candle1For 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 →

Lions and Tigers and Bears – Oh My … Animal Guides

Okay, so I’m behind AGAIN… Can I say I’ve been busy harvesting and preserving the fruits of the summer’s labor? Someone at the farmer’s market yesterday was buying zucchini… I’ve been trying to GIVE them away! (Hey… maybe zucchini should be our Fall Harvest Give Away!) I have also been working on developing and acquiring some new product for our website at www.shamansmarketplace.com.

And, besides, you don’t want to just hear me ramble. I’m sure you all have someone in your life who can fill that role if you need it. I’m not a rambler. Gary and I can ride in the car together for hours and hardley say a word. Just knowing we’re together and sharing the time together is heavenly.

Those of you who have worked with Gary and I over the years have heard us constantly referring to “we” when talking about your journeys. It sounds like we’re pregnant or have a mouse in our pocket, right? Well, we’re definitely NOT pregnant, but could possibly have that mouse in our pocket. An animal guide mouse that is. Continue reading →

Everything is Sacred

Well everyone, I know I’m way behind on updating the blog, but life is such a whirlwind right now that it’s hard to keep upright.
We are busy preparing for our big move to Oregon the end of next month, so we are working diligently preparing our house to be rented, including the final piece of remodeling and lots of small repairs that we seem to not notice except when the rental agent is pointing them out.


I will be leaving my part-time job the end of this month and have started training my replacement. Can you imagine trying to pass along 4 ½ years of job experience in two weeks?? I see many margarita nights coming….

And we haven’t even started thinking about packing yet….


So, I hope we have your sympathy and that you’ll bear with us until we are settled and can start writing on a regular routine.

So, on to our story….

Sometimes we tend to get caught up in the trappings of the world and forget that everything is sacred, especially when it comes to spiritual endeavors including ceremony. We have to have the right stone or candle or incense or the ceremony won’t be right. Or we have to craft an item to perfection. “The right tool for the right job.”


I touched on this quite a few blogs back with the Popcorn and M&M ceremony, that even the most mundane item can hold a spiritual purpose. We often employ the “Sacred Bic” that Gary carries in his pocket and the “sacred hair dryer” for tightening up a drum head when the weather is too damp. Like a dear friend use to tell us, “If the Indians would have had a Bic or a glue gun, they’d have used them.” Indigenous people are VERY practical! Continue reading →

A Coyote’s Tale

My deepest apologies to those who follow our blog. Hopefully some of our readers have not quit checking in thinking we’d abandon everyone. Like each of you, sometimes life gets really crazy. Shamans are not exempt for the worldly chaos. We reside physically in this plane and experience it to it’s fullest – ups and downs.

Over a year ago, we decided we would be returning to Oregon soon. Well, soon is rapidly arriving and there is a lot to be done here to make that transition. We are finishing some much needed upgrades in our house to prepare it for renting, and that always takes a lot longer than we plan. So, if ever we’re away for a long period, you will likely find us under a pile of sawdust or covered in paint 🙂

A couple of blogs ago, I told you the story of the coyote’s tail and promised to fill you in on the coyote’s “tale”. It wasn’t a very big or exciting story, but here is the Coyote’s Tale. Continue reading →

A Coyote’s Tail

Back at the beginning of the month, I required a “mental health weekend”. I was nearing a point of completion with a shamanic death and restructuring process that began with the full moon and lunar eclipse in July and was due for the final integration at the full moon and lunar eclipse in August. This was a intensely deep process that completely picked my bones clean, disintegrated me down to my DNA and slowly began the process of recreating me. Needless to say, this certainly rattled my cage and shifted many things in and around me, much to the dismay of some people and situations that no longer fit into the new me. But, that’s another story. Verging on the point of explosion, I called for a “mental health weekend”.

Often I’ll tell Gary “I need a vacation” and we both agree and that’s where it gets left. Not this time. Immediately after I made my declaration, I returned and asked just where we were going camping. I needed to spend time with Mother Earth and the Elementals. So, we packed up the Taj Mahal (our roomy tent), air mattress and the rest of our camping gear and headed toward north eastern Arizona.

We found a lovely primitive place to camp, amidst the noise of several families with little ones. And, in spite of the screaming babies, we reveled in the cooler weather, journeyed to the moon and stars, danced with the fire spirits and played with the Elementals and ravens that happened by, and just sat and did NOTHING! Continue reading →