I have no idea what is real anymore. It feels a bit like a pointless question or endeavor to define. Is magic real? I have no idea, but a life without seems really boring and lacking in a certain something.
It’s maybe why I also adore Liz. In a workshop once she said she was in deep service to mystery and the unseen and I was already obsessed with her prior but that really solidified it. It wasn’t just her choice of service, but her deep pride and commitment to it. There’s a lot of joy to be found in embracing magic, and I am thankful to Liz for reminding me of that.
I’m working on fully embracing mystery.
I’m also so grateful she let me ask her a ton of questions to try to crawl around her magical brain I hope you are too.
xx. A
What Liz is into right now:
~ Lately I've been drinking an infusion of violet leaf, self-heal and linden leaf and flower from the land where I live. This is keeping my heart-open to the promise of Spring in the depths of winter. But I am also a big freak for black tea and I'm every morning I'm drinking a lot of London Fog (like, probably too much).
~ Every winter I enter a Miles Davis portal... which is where I currently am writing to you from. In A Silent Way always does it for me.
At the moment I am currently reading three books:
~ The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd about the Crairngorm mountains of Scotland. I've been drawn to reading a lot about mountains this winter, since I live in the foothills of the Catskills, I am thinking about mountains a lot. I am enjoying reading about how other people feel about mountains.
~ The Holistic Orchard by Michael Phillips. This book is sort of my self-assigned homework for the season as I am now in charge of tending to an apple orchard as of this year. So I'm learning as much as I can about taking care of apple trees, and all the apple people in my life everyone says this is ~the book~ on tree fruit care. Wish me luck as I begin to prune!
~ Grove by Esther Kinsky, a book about winter in Italy. Slow, attentive, poetic. Really loving it on gray, chilly days here.
~ This formula, Hard Workin' New Yorker, from my friend Lauren of Good Fight Herb Co. One of my favorites for incredible immune support!
~ Grocery store tulips. We have reached that point in winter where I really start craving flowers so once in a while I will get myself some bodega tulips to make everything feel better.
~ Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino. One of my all-time favorite folktale collections, providing entertainment during long nights next to the woodstove.
~ Planning for Spring classes. This keeps me hopeful and excited for the season ahead. I currently am enrolling in Sap Rising, my spring folk magic class as well as Turning Toward The Flower, a 5-week class on making flower essences. We start in March!
~ The big weeping willow in my yard. This is the place where I often dump my food scraps, medicine-making leftovers and other biodegradable offerings. So many winter birds sing from this tree every day, they look like a strung garland, full of color. I love watching this tree throughout the year, it holds such a big presence next to the little creek that runs behind my house.
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