Color Connections Part 3/3

Spiritual correspondences refer to color psychology as they've developed in unison. Regardless of your personal lifestyle, humanity on whole has a deep long standing reliance on spirituality. Many religions are spiritual, many hobbies, philosophies, goals, careers, events, arts, stories, and histories are spiritual. Color is no different in how we've built our bonds. Our spirit …

Color Connections Part 1/3

Stimuli of the world profoundly affect us. Senses are navigational context tools, but they also determine mood and behavior. Color, like scent, is an especially powerful trigger. Most influence occurs on an unconscious level. We pay attention to strong stimuli but subtle ambience evades our conscious thought.  The atmosphere, the feeling– somehow, color has the …

Alchemical Healing

Alchemy isn’t religious, though it can be. Alchemy isn’t magic, it can be, but inherently it’s a philosophy of healing. I’m an alchemist but use the term loosely— I’m well read on historical resources and engage in alchemical practices, but my whole practice as an esoteric practitioner exists without doctrine. I find it’s easiest to …

The Time and Emotion of an Alchemist’s Putrefaction

Decay is employed in various areas of alchemy, notably the beginning. That initial presentation is related but dissimilar to putrefaction— symbolically tied in destruction but of a different (spiritual) mechanical practice. The first is a sudden and drastic shift from perpetuation to change, as routines are shattered by the beginning of transmutation. In contrast, the …

An Alchemist’s Shame

Pride is nearly a stranger to me and I know shame intimately. Science, art, and philosophy provide me structure for courage. Through courage, I might get to know pride. Shame still clings and attempts to interfere with my healing and growing and knowing of what I’m capable of. Shame carries embarrassment, self hatred, and hates …

Psychological Healing: Experiences with the Alchemical Crow

We’ve all known catastrophe. The apocalypse exists within Caput Corvi, the symbol of a decapitated crow. Our internal reasoning cannot keep up with the crises of our circumstances. The crow forces us to change so that we may learn to begin doing so willingly. Patterns repeat, break, transform. Life is a series of cycles, some …

On Unity

All is one, one is all— you are a starfish. You are also me, writing these words, as you say the same ones in your head now, at this moment. You’re also shit. You’re also gold. What are the practical reasons behind believing in a cosmic unity? Life is fuller, but life is also easier …

Gratitude, a Foundation

The act of struggle has been taught to abandon gratitude, crisis informs us we cannot afford to be thankful. How can I possible accept my current situation? Wouldn’t that make me complacent? But I already was complacent with struggle, resigned. I was fearful of gratitude. To accept the gifts of life, I would need to …

Community and Loneliness

I’m never alone. Every inch of this world-home is inhabited. I have no enemies here, not all are friends but all are companions. Moss, ants, squirrels, humans, a lady bug falling from the sky with an awkward and elegant plunk against my notebook, I’m never alone. By some standards, my social life is dismal. I …

two bittersweet nightshade, fifty clover, orchard grass, six ghosts, and four spirits

how many encircle you, apple tree, nowo’layers o’layers stack-side more,the core of your trunkcounting rings of a cross section,still-direction, to be so many things,if you can see, how many are we?togethered, apartedI trust only you, hope-thing of healingcount us for true, one may say oneI am— alone, but no—beings stand beside mebelow us as well, …