Copyright 2009 compass rose healing arts/constance price

Daybreak found us walking while a thumbnail moon shared the morning sky with the sun. The air was quiet, brisk and smelled of wood stove and pine needles. An orange fox stepped in our path, surprising us into silence and halting our stride. All flame and soot and marble eyes, he stood for a few moments staring at us before swiftly heading to his backyard den for daytime rest. He showed himself as sleek, agile and compact in his movement. A flash of fire moving back to cover of shadow...no ordinary visitor, Fox is honored by the Hopi and Cherokee as a keeper of healing medicine. Apache legend speaks of Fox bearing the gift of first fire to people. He reminds us to listen keenly and honor silence and solitude.

This new moon has brought much to Light; meteor showers that dazzle and dance and nighttime animals showing themselves for the briefest moments.

New moons are a good time for new endeavors...a brand new intermediate yoga/meditation class begins soon at Living Light studio in addition to the gentle yoga classes held on tuesdays and thursdays. The new version of Flower Journals are available in time for the holidays as are notecards and canvasses. The Compass Rose website is underway and I hope to have it up and running by mid january. Lots to do before then!

Donna and I will be teaching level One Reiki training in january as well as offering Chakra Class on january 24.

Much to be thankful for...family, friends, work and abundance.

Can't wait to see what else the new november moon will bring!

sending peace.

copyrighted to compass rose healing arts/constance price

enter november

Seems like November rolls in wrapped in cashmere...steamship grey and dusky shale clouds dance around the sun and soften it, shifting the light at teatime. Afternoon arrives and then too soon disappears into night. One of my yoga students expressed her love of daylight saving time...she felt the early twilight brought families hearth side and tucked in close to home. Nice thought. Comfort. Respite. All the things we seek to ward of the chill outside.

This season begins the time of rest for Nature, even as we scurry and scamper toward the holidays. Crows still banter only with quieter voice and hawks fly closer to the treetops. My favorite owl still shows himself in the backyard woods...he watches over with wise eyes and  a tilted head. Sometimes he preens and poses, with silver white wings outstretched before he retreats back into his feathered self.

sending peace.

buttons

I came across a bag of buttons this morning; mismatched and imperfect, they rattled against each other and felt heavy and familiar in my hand. My grandmother, long gone and my mother, long missed, both sorted through them when mending and tending as women would do. They were a source of quiet solitude for me as a child, daydreaming and stacking...circle on circle, plastic and mother-of pearl, shiny brass and bright enamel.

Women leave their legacies in the simplest of ways; worn out recipe cards, beaded evening bags that hold old satin evening gloves, tarnished knitting needles, bags of buttons. Generations of daughters are the keepers of these memories and the feelings that they invoke on sunny october mornings after a night of rainfall. 

Simple gifts and stories and remnants of beautiful lives all found here in this old bag of buttons... 

first frost

All the colors of autumn foliage had a silver glaze this morning...the first real frost shimmered with the sunrise, brightening the dropped pine needles, crimson berries and buttery leaves. The air felt cleaner and cleared out somehow; chimneys released dancing wisps of woodstove smoke into the bluest sky.

We had the chance to offer Reiki at the Birch Heights Community Holistic Health Fair this weekend to many residents and friends. It was a joyful day that began with the generous and breathtaking offerings of cello and harp from the Cheng family whose musical gifts are awe-inspiring and glorious. My first client of the day, "B," was a 96 year old dynamic and wise woman who gifted me with sage and simple teachings. As a Reiki practitioner, I am afforded the chance to witness true grace and "B" was a great reminder of just that. She is a strong and powerful spirit and she spoke to me about transcending her body during her session...an affirmation of "the wisdom of the grandmothers." Each client brought humor, openness and energy and we are happy to have had the opportunity to share the day with them all.

I just finished reading Sue Monk Kidd's collaborative book, "Traveling with Pomegranates" and I'd recommend it to all mothers of adult daughters as it examines without judgement the deep ties that bind. Moving and enlightening, truly.

sending peace.