March: Healing
Healing is an ongoing journey, never a final destination. Every night our bodies heal from the stresses of the day; wounds and injuries turn to scars and wisdom over time—even heartbreak gives way, eventually. But healing never restores us to a previous state. The changes may be slight or dramatic, but the process of healing always takes us somewhere new and transforms us. Remember, the purpose of healing is never to perfect us, never to reach some final state of health that will never alter—rather, healing describes our capacity to respond with resilience to all the changes life throws at us, allowing them to change us as well.
About the spell:
Healing comes naturally to the living. It is a process like metabolizing. And like other processes in the body, the functions that govern healing can shift out of balance—your immune and nervous systems overrun, your emotions buried, your grief unsung. Committing to healing means committing to your own imperfection. You will age, you will ache, you will not be in control. But you are surrounded by a world that holds you as its own. Allies abound. Learn to listen deeply. Learn to love the messages you receive. Be a friend to the living world. Trust the wisdom of your own felt experience.
A meditation on healing:
Take a few moments to settle your energy, breathe, and move your attention around the landscape of your being. Where are you hurting? Where do you feel aching, stinging, flatness, or fire? Notice, does this place burst with noise or does it draw all sound into it like a vacuum? Whatever you find, be brave, lean in...listen closely... stay with it. If it feels right, place your hands somewhere supportive on your body—on the place that hurts, over your heart, or on your belly. Imagine a light like golden honey surrounding this place in your body, insulating your tender wound with sweet but strong protection. Call to your allies—the people, plants, animals, and organs that love you. Call to Chicory, Dandelion, and Skin; Hawthorn, Lungs, Nettle, and Heart; Witchhazel, Sweetgrass, Kidneys, and Snake. Call to the heart of the world and let it know you are hurting. You may cry, you may sing, you may fall into a special kind of sleep. You may rest. You have done enough for now.
About the painting:
Corina: This image was one of the most straightforward ideas, and also one of the hardest to execute. The mason jar with honey took some time and experimentation, as did building the wreath and deciding what plant friends and other allies we wanted involved. I really like the snake winding around the wreath. It’s a nod to Hygeia, the Greek goddess of health—and calls to mind the idea that healing can be a dangerous journey, and that often medicine and poison differ only by dosage.
Jocelyn: Yep, we were both pretty clear about what this piece should be but it was a challenge to execute it. My favorite parts of the process were painstakingly rendering that (damn) mason jar, painting witch hazel, and deciding that the snake would be filled with a starry night sky. Looking at the completed image, I get excited by all the sweet plant medicine—look at all those nice and powerful buddies!!!
This month's offerings:
Art on Sale!! We've got a sale going on this image for the whole month of March! Buy a print of Healing and get 15% off, using the coupon code HEALING.
Corina is offering a free guide, Three Exercises for Building Resilience, as part of her Skills for Sensitives series. Download yours here.
Jocelyn is finalizing some exciting projects but is too busy to even explain them in this moment. Stay tuned and she might edit this section in a few days : )