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Mountain, Moon, Heron

Spring Retreat: Frogsong, Raindrops, & Mama Ocean

March 20, 2014 14 Comments

I am one grateful woman, to be able to live this extraordinary life. This past weekend, I gathered women once again for a Gaian Soul

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Autumn altar with candles

Retreating at Autumn Equinox

September 21, 2013 2 Comments

The third Gaian Soul Retreat has come and gone, and once again I am blessed beyond measure by this work I am called to do,

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Stars in the Marsh and Open Hearts: Brigid’s Feast Retreat

February 11, 2013 18 Comments

Last Monday, I woke up in my own bed after several days away in the fabled land of Aldermarsh, and I felt a bit lost.

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Report from Aldermarsh: A Nourishing, Magical Gaian Soul Retreat

October 2, 2012 9 Comments

I hosted my first Gaian Soul Retreat last week, and I have to say that it was one of the most remarkable experiences of my

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How to Make Any Journey into a Pilgrimage

April 19, 2012 9 Comments

  Choose a special place to visit. It can be known as a sacred site, or perhaps it is just special to you in some

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Heading home with a full heart after a week in Mai Heading home with a full heart after a week in Maine with my family … son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter Grace … not to mention the pups and kitty.  Grateful for good conversations, adventures, hanging out, and watching the World Cup! 💚
May you ripen as the Summer sun ripens to fullness May you ripen as the Summer sun ripens to fullness.

May the basket of your life overflow with play, laughter, and strawberries.

May you burst open like a sunflower at its peak, shining your light on everyone around you.

May the monarch butterfly in your heart remind you of your sovereignty.

May your hands always be open to receive the radiance of sun and moon. 

And so it is, and so it is, and so it is.

Words and artwork by Joanna Powell Colbert.  @joannapcolbert

#summersolstice #wheeloftheyear
On the first sunny day after a week of rain, you j On the first sunny day after a week of rain, you just have to go to church … I mean, the beach. Not the sandy beaches of my childhood, but the wild, rocky, windswept Pacific Northwest shores that have stolen my heart for the past 36 years. 

1. Firewheel (so apropos for Summer Solstice)
2. Wild roses
3. Rose hips forming already!
4. Low tide & eagle
5. Sentinels
6. One cannot really go to the beach and not stack stones 
7. St. John’s Wort, holding it aloft like the Ace of Wands
8. Beach hair, full heart

#almostSolstice
I interviewed my friend @ellenlorenziprince about I interviewed my friend @ellenlorenziprince about her new deck, the Dark Daughter Tarot. It’s fierce and deep! (And for the artists out there, I asked her to tell us about her creative process. So good.). Link in profile.
#tarot #darkdaughtertarot joannapowellcolbert.substack.com
Every day brings new outrage and new grief. And st Every day brings new outrage and new grief. And still, the first wild roses of summer are blooming. ::
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Rose is the embodiment of the Empress, the Great Mother, in the Herbcrafter’s Tarot. When I see the wild roses on my walk and inhale their sweet fragrance, I remember we’re not alone. We’re held by the One Who Hears the Cries of the World. #herbcrafterstarot #rose #wildrose
(Art by @joannapcolbert)
A beautiful day in the neighborhood! #nokings #be A beautiful day in the neighborhood! #nokings  #bellingham
I’m celebrating Spring Equinox by moving back home I’m celebrating Spring Equinox by moving back home after three months away. My condo bathroom had to be demolished and rebuilt because a water leak in my upstairs neighbor’s unit caused massive water and mold damage. I’ve had an education in dealing with insurance companies (three of ‘em!). I’m overjoyed to be home again in my own little nest and I also miss my friend who gave me a home for the winter. It’s a classic both/and situation: glad to be home and missing her daily company. I’m grateful she gave me such a soft place to land. She reminds me that I did the same for her about ten years ago. Reciprocity in action: we all need to take care of one another. ::
::
“In the Herbcrafter’s Tarot, we see a monarch butterfly setting out on its migratory journey in the Fool card and arriving at its destination in the World card. The floral mandalas echo each other. Just as a monarch butterfly will overwinter then depart, so does the Fool rest in the heart of the World before beginning a journey once again.
 ::
When we return each year to Spring Equinox, Autumn Equinox, or any of the other holy-days, some things are the same and some things are different. The land is different, the climate is different. We are different. We return to the place where we started and know it for the first time, to paraphrase T.S. Eliot.” ::
::
… from today’s post, link in profile.
The Tower card is personal for me. It’s appeared i The Tower card is personal for me. It’s appeared in my life on many occasions, and I’ve created three versions of it for different tarot decks. I wrote a post about interpreting the Tarot Tower card in these ways: 

- as trauma, personal or collective; 

- as revelation or epiphany that leads to breaking free from a fundamentalist mindset; 

- as a movement that causes empires to fall. 

Such a rich card, even if it’s one of the “scary” ones. Link to post in profile.
This Candlemas / Imbolc / Brigid’s Day, under the This Candlemas / Imbolc / Brigid’s Day, under the light of a full Leo moon, let’s light nine candies on our altars.  

As we light each candle, let’s say the names of nine who were killed by ICE agents or who died in ICE custody during the first month of 2026.

Alex Pretti - killed by ICE agents, Minneapolis.
Renee Good - killed by ICE agents, Minneapolis.
Keith Porter - killed by an off-duty ICE agent, Los Angeles.
Heber Sanchez Domínguez - died in an ICE detention camp, Georgia.
Victor Manuel Diaz - died in an ICE detention camp, Texas.
Parady La - died in an ICE detention camp, Philadelphia.
Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz - died in an ICE detention camp, California.
Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres - died in ICE custody, Texas.
Geraldo Lunas Campos - died in an ICE detention camp, Texas.
::
May the Full Moon in Leo kindle the heat in seeds and roots now stirring underground. May we know in our bones that “they tried to bury us but they didn’t know we were seeds.”
::
May we stand in solidarity with every person harmed by ICE and or impacted by their cruelty.
:::

Beloved Brigid, you tend the sacred fire. You hammer molten metal into tools. You soothe our wounds with healing herbs. 

Guide us. Light our way. Ignite us to holy resistance and sacred tasks. Help us to know what actions, large or small, are ours to do. 

Lend us your courage, your heart, your forge, your flame.

And so it is.

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Winter/Yule • Candlemas • Spring • Beltane • Summer • Lammas • Autumn • Hallowmas • New Year Gaian Tarot • Herbcrafter’s Tarot • Pentimento Tarot • Tarot Spreads • Ancestors • Goddess • Mama Ocean • Death & Dying • Grief • Spiritual Practice • Activism • Aldermarsh Retreats • Circle Way • Community • Place  • Family • Island Life

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 — Joanna Powell Colbert (unless otherwise noted)