Goddess Magic

Today,take a moment to soften and to center, to feel the sweet breath of presence sweep over you. Today, return. Meet the sacred where you are. Print edition with accompanying links is ⁠⁠here⁠. You can also find me: Creating goddess magic and community practice: ⁠⁠⁠Goddess Magic community⁠⁠⁠ Offering free support for building devotional practices: ⁠#30DaysofGoddess⁠. Writing weekly for my (free) newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠Creative Spirit Circle⁠

We welcome Beltane,Beltane is here. We celebratethe turning of the wheel. Print edition with accompanying links is ⁠here. You can also find me: Creating goddess magic and community practice: ⁠⁠Goddess Magic community⁠⁠ Offering free support for building devotional practices: #30DaysofGoddess. Writing weekly for my (free) newsletter: ⁠⁠Creative Spirit Circle

May we rememberwe make our own path by walking, that the temple is wherever our feet are. Print edition with accompanying links is ⁠here⁠. You can also find me: Creating goddess magic and community practice: ⁠⁠Goddess Magic community⁠⁠ Offering free support for building devotional practices: ⁠⁠#30DaysofGoddess⁠⁠ Writing weekly for my (free) newsletter: ⁠⁠Creative Spirit Circle

May we draw inward to reflect. May we confront our lives as they are. May we treat ourselves with softness and gentleness. May we know peace. I'm bringing Goddess Works out of retirement to share our weekly audio newsletters! Print edition with accompanying links is here. You can also find me: Creating goddess magic and community practice: ⁠Goddess Magic community⁠ Offering free support for building devotional practices: ⁠#30DaysofGoddess⁠ Writing weekly for my (free) newsletter: ⁠Creative Spirit Circle

We all deserve some of our own best. This brief audio is a musing about daily practice and the best of ourselves. I have shared before that, for me, daily practice creates a reserve that you can draw upon to fuel the rest of your day. Daily practice also helps us acknowledge the wholeness and fullness of life in its realness and imperfection. Life doesn't always feel perfectly smooth and engaged and inspired and connected and creative and all those kinds of things, but creating a space every single day where you can feel your best and you can be your best is so life-renewing and so fulfilling. And, this sensation then filters into the rest of the day. I find that the more wholeheartedly I walk a path of devotion, the more all of those good aspects of practice filters into and extends into and expands into the rest of my life. At the very least, we all deserve at least some moments of our own best every day. We all deserve some contact with the fullest expression of our own beingness in every single day, if at all possible. For me, that is what #30DaysofGoddess brings into priority/center. It has made it possible for me to experience some of my own best in every day. Practice homepage: #30DaysofGoddess NOTE: this is my last podcast episode here as I'm retiring this podcast effort to make room for new work in 2024. You can find me: Creating goddess magic and community practice: Goddess Magic community Offering free support for building devotional practices: #30DaysofGoddess Writing weekly for my (free) newsletter: Creative Spirit Circle

“We live on a steady diet of the illusion that when we get everything done, then—and only then—we will be able to relax and do some of those things we’ve always wanted to do, both for ourselves and with those we love...”—Anne Wilson Schaef, Meditations for Living in Balance Do you feel fuzzy or uncertain? Sometimes it is important to sit with those feelings and sometimes it is important to slice through them, to get clear and focused and to be assertive with your own powers of choice, action, and reasoned decision-making. Where are you having trouble making decisions or taking action? What needs your attention and focus? This audio was originally created for a class called Everyday Magic and was later used in Living the Questions. I offer it to you now, during this season of going and doing, as an invitation to focus...or...to expand your vision, to let it go a bit fuzzy and uncertain as you pause.

NOTE: this audio was originally recorded in 2020 for our Goddess Magic community. “It was excruciatingly easy to lose touch with the inner life of the soul. There was such a profusion of demand and complexity, so many to-do lists, the unceasing compulsion to accomplish something. When I read that the Chinese pictograph for busyness is ‘heart-killing,’ I felt the truth of that in my bones. In the midst of this struggle to care for my soul, I read Wordsworth’s poem, ‘The Prelude,’ in which he writes about ‘spots of time’ that nourish and repair the soul. I believe he was referring to brief, concentrated moments—little epiphanies—that inflame us with a sense of the holy. I began to search for spots of time here and there in my day. I found them by stopping. Just stopping....I began to ‘come away’ to a nook somewhere in the house or the yard where I would spend five minutes or less sitting still and receding into the quiet core of myself...caring for my soul turned out to be simply that—spots of time in which to be.” —Sue Monk Kidd, Firstlight This brief audio is about simple magic. I hope you find it interesting and supportive! (Note: I accidentally say "summer equinox" at one point instead of "summer solstice.") I also wanted to share this quote from Yoga for Witches, which I reviewed here.   “In yoga class, I often remind my students that we can be peaceful and powerful, calm yet strong—all in the same breath. I think there is a peace to be found in the acceptance of all of these contradictory powers within us. Finding a way to stand within this unknown and unknowable. We are gloriously complex and contradictory in a world that loves boxes, snap judgments and 100% certainty. People may find this inability to define you uncomfortable, but this is a reminder that you do not owe anyone an explanation. Your rich inner world needn’t mean anything to anyone but yourself. A person can be called a witch for merely knowing, and for owning her knowledge. And to some, for strange reasons that may include fear, power, jealousy, a woman who ‘knows’ is dangerous indeed...Communicating *I am knowledgeable, powerful, and I can make choices about how I use these strengths...can be a real challenge to the status quo!”   —Sarah Robinson, Yoga for Witches (p. 93) May you feel centeredin your place of power.May you know youhave this wholenessto draw upon when needed.May you remember that sometimesthe taste of teais truly what you need.Much love, Molly 

NOTE: this audio was made in 2021, so still touches on the pandemic experience. How are you tending to your soul’s garden?  This audio is 26 minutes and is multi-thematic. The first part is a brief check in opportunity about the impact of the pandemic on our lives. Feel free to drop a note below letting me know how you are--how are you feeling, how are you doing, what is your life like? The second part is about tending to your "soul's garden" (additional notes about this below)--kind of a mini-meditation moment. After this meditation is a good stopping point (about 12 minutes in), or you can go on and listen to me muse about current books I'm reading and current things I've been listening to.  Notes about Soul Gardens! I found a little book at a thrift shop last week called “The Woman’s Book of Soul” which is a page a  day meditation book. In one of the early pages I loved this quote/concept and it inspired this month's audio: “Taking little soul  seconds—one small prayer, a few-minute meditation, a short burst of  gratitude—helps immeasurably to revive our thirsty spirits. We don’t  have to join a convent or live in a cave to attend to our souls,  although I admit that it sounds appealing sometimes. Luckily, our souls  flower and grow when nurtured with consistent rays of attention  interspersed among the busy hours of our days.” --Sue Patton Thoele, The Woman’s Book of Soul Affirmation: “I pay attention to the needs of my spirit. I make time to quench my soul’s thirst.” Note: Good Ancestor podcast mentioned is here.

NOTE: this episode was originally recorded in 2018, so not everything I say is current! There are deer to your left,the sun is to your right,spring is singing to the sky,it is possible to make good friends with a rock.There are truths about livingwritten in the patternsof leaf shadow upon stone. Please take a few moments to breathe and pause and call yourself in, into this time and into this space. Into your body and your breath and the beat of your heart. In this recording, I share some thoughts about stillness, about daily  practices, about the freedom found in finding your own center, and about white space or the process of creating margin in your days. “I  fear our modern world does not honor our need for stillness in the  midst of nonstop busyness. Can we learn to be still enough to embrace the inner self and all it contains? The inner self is calling for  balance. Can we practice a wholeness that allows for silence, nature and  breath? My hope is yes."—Genevieve Mitchell (@goddess.ink) Hungering for your own wisdom and naming it as worthy is a radical and revolutionary act.  Our card of the week from Womanrunes is The Winged Circle. Do you feel free? What color are your wings? Can you expand yourself,  stretch your wings, take chances, leap into the unknown? What are you  liberating, shaking loose, unfurling?Where do you need revolution? What IS your revolution?This  rune may emerge in affirmation or encouragement of your own freedom of  spirit or it may emerge when you are feeling bound or trapped and  desperate to break free, to shake everything off and fly. It may show up  when you need to free body, mind, or spirit from something that  constricts you. Or, it may show up in celebration of the freedom you  have claimed. May you spread your wings, may you have the courage to be soft and tender, and may you be new in your bones. And, now the rattle passes to you... Do you feel free? What is your revolution? Where do you have white space? NOTE: additional companion resources for Margin/White Space may be found in this older Goddess Magic post.

This audio was originally created for our Goddess Magic community. May you know a place that holds you, a place that weaves you whole, a place that cradles your body, a place that restores your soul. Created as a driveway musings, this audio is about listening to what your body is saying: What is your body saying to you right now? What does your body say to you at this time every year? These questions were inspired by Tree Newby (@mamatree17) May you rest well and wisely and rise into your work renewed and restored.

Note: This audio was originally recorded in the fall of 2020 for our Goddess Magic community on Patreon. “Yoga (and indeed witchcraft) invites us to peel away the layers of life and discover: Who are we when we are not afraid? When we are not stressed? When we are not distracted by concerns of emails, schedules, timetables...? Of course, these layers build up and that’s okay, this is part of being human. But take some time as often as you can to peel away, step out of your layers and reconnect to your essence, energy, magic: your body, breath, and heart.”   —Sarah Robinson, Yoga for Witches (p. 77)  This audio explores the theme of JOY and also rest. I did want to note that I see the irony in how as I was discussing rest, I started to undermine my own self by explaining that I'm not just sitting on the deck "doing nothing," I'm still doing XYZ. I realized it as soon as I stopped the recording and wanted to make sure to acknowledge that! This resistance to rest instead of rest as resistance is very baked in! Resources mentioned: The Nap Ministry  Tracee Stanley, Radiant Rest Karen Brody, Daring to Rest One Commune online class platform (Tracee's Deep Relaxation class link) Inner Field Trip (Leesa Renee Hall) I also made set of 24 different Joy and Rest cards to accompany the audio. The full set is available on our Patreon and a sample set is available for free to all. Feel free to use these to create a deck for yourself or to glue into journals or onto other projects. :)  May you grant yourselfendless moments of joyand may you delightin the revolutionary actof noticing. Much love, Molly

This is an audio edition of our weekly newsletter. For the text and all of the links to resources mentioned herein, the print newsletter is here. For daily practices and monthly circles, come join us at #30DaysofGoddess and for devotional community at Goddess Magic. And, our upcoming Claiming Your Magic retreat is free! Sign up here.

This is an experimental concept--an audio edition of our weekly newsletter, intended to increase its accessibility while "on the road" or doing other tasks. The written version with all of the relevant links mentioned herein is available for you here: https://mailchi.mp/brigidsgrove/cscmay52023

Our May podcast episode is from the archives--all the way back to May of 2017! However, I think it still speaks of something of which I continue to write: may we savor normal days and blue skies. This is where the magic is. "When life feels too big to handle, go outside. Everything looks smaller when you’re standing under the sky."  --L.R.KNOST In the recording, I share a story about Mark and I setting off through the woods to the bigger spring, even though we technically didn't "have time" and "should" have been doing something else. We didn't have anything with us (except for some goddess figures...of course!) and we weren't really prepared for a hike through the woods, but we did it anyway. I am in love with discovery. I love observing the world, feeling it, breathing it, being it. As we walked, the air was literally scented like roses and I was so alive as we explored. THIS is it to me. This is goddess. Life in the palm of her hand. “Don’t just read about the Goddess, LOVE HER, listen to Her, reflect Her as the Earth and Moon reflect the Sun.  Don’t just study Nature, put your hands in the dirt, your feet on the forest trail, turn your face to the wind and breathe Nature in and out of your lungs.  Feel the connection.  No books required.” --Esra Free, Wicca 404: Advanced Goddess Thealogy "Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return."--Mary Jean Iron, in Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much Affirmation for the week: I am as free as I allow myself to be.

If you believe the worldis made of magic,you will find iteverywhere.   This audio originally created for our Patreon community (in 2020) focuses on the symbolic and practical use of the wild edible plant Chickweed. The audio includes some musings about what chickweed has to teach us on a spiritual and symbolic level and then discusses awareness and engagement with the "small magic" of the world beneath our feet.  Our good friends Mike and Cara have a botanical education and supplies business: WildWise Botanicals and provided us with this Chickweed Pesto recipe to share with the rest of the community. At our own house, we have been making this almost every night to go with dinner, which is an amazing way to enjoy some fresh greens from the very dirt beneath your feet that otherwise be viewed as "just weeds." Do make sure chickweed grows in your area and that you can identify it before eating any! It is has small starburst like white flowers and often grows near violets and dandelions in front yards as well as beneath trees and in creek-type areas. Chickweed is a sprawling plant with little white flowers that have 5  double-lobed white petals. The stem has one line of hair,  when you pluck a piece of the stem from the plant, there is no milky substance.Chickweed Pesto Recipe 1/2 cup nuts of your choice(Mike and Cara's note: we like walnuts. Molly and Mark's note: we like pecans!)3 cloves of garlic3 cups of chickweed loosely packed1 TB of lemon juice1/2 cup olive oil1/2 tsp salt1/4 cup Parmesan cheesePlace all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Make sure to follow WildWise on instagram where they share recipes, videos, and informative posts on foraging and wildcrafting your own remedies. Additional note from Molly: we have been eating our chickweed pesto on tacos, with  pizza (dipped crusts), and even on top of bratwursts! 

"...Listen Hear what they say to you We struggled We held out our hands and touched each other We remembered to laugh We went to endless meetings We said no We put our bodies on the line We said yes We invented, we created We walked straight through our fears We formed the circle We danced We spoke the truth And dared to live it." —Starhawk (Truth or Dare) Reminder: join us in community: Goddess Magic and in daily practice: #30DaysofGoddess Please take a few moments to breathe and pause and call yourself in.  This month's episode was recording several years ago and draws upon The Box from Womanrunes, rune of boundaries. Where might you need to set firmer boundaries in your life? There are a lot of social messages to think “outside of the box,” but sometimes the Box is exactly what we need! It can also show up for me almost a type of “chastisement”--as in, "girl! you've got to work on those boundaries!"--but more often is a helpful reminder or reinforcement of what I already know needs to happen. This rune may indicate that you need to say "no," but it is also often about discernment: checking in with your center, with your place of power and then wholeheartedly expressing either your Sacred Yes or your Holy No. May you experience time as dancing, flowing, and sparkling for you this week. May you make time to draw lines when needed. May you be flexible when needed. And, may you check within--into your place of power--for that Sacred Yes and Holy No, and listen to your heart. Right now, gift yourself with a pause for three breaths. There really is no place else to be but here. And now, the rattle passes to you...

Perhaps if I wait, hands empty, mind stilled, the tides will bring it back to me as they often do, steadily returning the parts of me I thought were lost. This month's podcast episode is a musing about taking breaks, particularly in conjunction with self-employment, but I hope applicable in other lifestyle circumstances as well.  One of the things I want to emphasize in this idea/message is that sometimes  we might feel like we’re having a “breakdown” when we are really on the  verge of a breakthrough. Sometimes we might feel it when we really just need to take a break.  Taking a break, a temporary unclenching of your  life, is not the same as “giving up” nor is it a permanent surrender. Referenced in the audio is this past audio about Stopping (http://www.brigidsgrove.com/stopping/)  Resource for ongoing support, audios, printables, and practices: Goddess Magic community (http://patreon.com/goddessmagic) Resource for daily practice (free!): http://30daysofgoddess.com I also had two additional things I want to note about the audio: 1. I spoke in it of my own almost compulsive level of self-motivation and self-direction. I should have acknowledged or spoken to the fact that other people do not feel that way and need ideas, resources, and support for getting motivated rather than "shutting off" motivation for a time. I do have some ideas for how to become more motivated if you struggle with self-motivation and self-direction and I don't mean for this audio to make you feel left out or unheard if my own motivation "overload" is completely different than your own experience (this audio is available for the Goddess Magic community on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/audio-motivation-38272682). 2. I also wanted to add on that when I mention "where might you need to 'take down some chairs'?" you might also want to ask yourself where to want to put up some chairs. Maybe you need to add chairs instead of taking some away. There are days when the sky holds its breath and dreams seep up from the skin of the world and into my feet. Much love, Molly

Happy New Year! This podcast episode includes a companion set of nourishment cards: https://brigidsgrove.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/nourishment-cards.pdf Resist the fracturing. Defy the fragmentation. Reclaim wholeness. Reclaim holiness. Rename yourself sacred and embody your joy. Originally recorded two years ago for the Goddess Magic community, this theme emerged as I was sitting on the back deck thinking about recipes for my kids' homeschool cooking club and about how you have the power to change your own recipes to meet your needs. I then thought about it as a metaphor for life—for being your own authority, for making your own magic—and I ended up spontaneously recording an audio about it. When I re-listened to the audio, I was struck by my own closing words: trust that you know the kind of nourishment you need and from there I spontaneously made a small set of nourishment related affirmation cards as a gift for all of your. Print these on card stock, multiple cards to a page, for best use. :) Essay referenced: To Bless One Another. Re-collect yourself, re-source yourself, restore yourself. And, remember, you have the power to create your own recipes for living!

Be wise to your ways. “Know thyself,” is engraved into the chamber at Delphi, and beyond that lies the temple smoky, dark, and powerful, filled with ancient whispers and the stony, determined steps that lead into the heart of things. This past Patreon community audio is based on some content from the book Untamed by Glennon Doyle. It is about unlocked doors in our lives, how we might be keep ourselves in knots/trapped/restricted/bound by old habits and patterns. Here is a quote from Glennon in an interview with Marie Forleo: "To remember how tricky my ego can be by keeping my brain busy trying to  solve the unsolvable puzzle about why I don’t feel worthy and enough and  how to feel worthy and enough.  My truest and most beautiful story is  being in touch with the real me behind the ego, the authentic, real,  wild, fierce me.  Unlocking the cage and letting myself think the  thoughts I am worthy and enough and feel the feelings I am worthy and  enough.  The cages are real, they are our own making now in our thoughts  and remembering that the door is unlocked is powerful!  Maybe it comes  from survival instinct not to become prey and to belong for safety back  in the day.  Or maybe it comes from current societal conditioning to be  accepted so we go along with conventions to avoid fear and shame and  being excluded from the group...." May you remember that the doors aren't even locked. Much love, Molly Resources: ongoing #30DaysofGoddess daily practice: 30daysofgoddess.com ongoing Goddess Magic community: patreon.com/goddessmagic

Restoration is the antidote to depletion.  This new audio retreat/reflection encourages you to take a pause to consider where you’ve become depleted—this has been a hard year—and where you might need restoration, as well as how you replenish and renew yourself.  Resources:  #30DaysofGoddess is a perfect practice for daily restoration and renewal Goddess Magic community for companionship, support, sharing, and weekly lives   The essay this episode is based on can be found here