The Healing Tree by Vanessa Timmons

The Healing Tree: A woman’s column rooted in the wheel of the year

She changes everything she touches and everything she touches changes…

~Modern Goddess chant~

The Moon has been a source of inspiration and reverence since time everlasting. I call her Mother. And she has been the one constant in my life with her ever changing dance across the sky. I have learned to depend on her cycles for the comforting realization that all of life from the tiniest seed to the massive ocean, ebb and flow in a constant dance with change.

From Luna to Yemenja Moon Goddesses play powerful role in showing us the importance of our cycles and guiding us as we navigate the waxing and waning terrain of deep change. They are wild, protective, mothers, and hunters, teaching us that into each season is born abundance.

Their stories tell of healings and divinations, of creation, destruction and release. Our ancestors watched the phases of the Moon for their survival, each turn of her skirt determining when to plant and when to harvest. She inspires magic and invites each of us to explore our intuition and passion for life. At the end of 2009 a Blue Moon and the Full Moon eclipse created unique opportunities for reflection and journal writing. It was a time to review, and look deeply at the cycles; a time to determine what to harvest and what to plant.

The following journal exercise is an excerpt from The Way of The Heroine: A women’s healing journal. It is designed to guide you in your own dance with the Goddesses of change…

My Favorite Season

Through her slow cyclical process Mother Earth teaches us that there is a natural rhythm and order to change. As we connect to this wisdom we are reminded to accept that even the unpredictable cycles of our lives have purpose, rhythm and order. Using the seasons as a metaphor for your life, select the season that best describes what you are experiencing now.

Listed below are some descriptions of the seasons as I experience them. You can use them or create your own descriptions based on your unique understanding of the season.

Winter is a season of chilly extremes long nights and short days. We may feel isolated. The cold weather forces us indoors. It is a time of introspection and gathering of strength.

Spring is a season when the energy of growth begins to stir. Dormant seeds wake up and push toward flowering. You may feel your energy rise and explode with new ideas and beginnings.

Summer is a season of manifestation. All the possibilities of the spring emerge fully in the summer. We slow down and are more likely to want to play than to work. Routines shift as everything takes on a laid back quality.

Fall is a time of harvest and transition. It is characterized by energy moving inward toward deep internal changes as well as outward as the fruits of our work are gathered. In ancient times many cultures started the New Year in the fall.

Using your experiences with the seasons, answer the question, “what season am I in?” Are you experiencing winter a time of introspection and stillness? Or are you in summer a time when the seeds you have planted are manifesting and you’re more interested in play than work. On the top of your journal page, title your entry with the season that best describes the cycle you are currently in. Then write freely about your life at this time.

Vanessa Timmons is a healer and storyteller with more than 20 years of experience working with women and children survivors of trauma. She presents journal writing and storytelling workshops nationally. She is the author of The Way of the Heroine: A Women’s Healing Journal and Support Group Facilitators guide. Visit her website at www.thewayoftheheroine.com

Goddess Bless,

Vanessa