December: There is No End
For thousands of years humans have been predicting the apocalypse, with various sects and faiths proclaiming when and how the world would come to an end. So far, none of them have come to pass. For decades humans have been aware that our way of life needs to change if we want to survive in the long term—and if we want the life we share this planet with to survive our urge to explore, conquer, and plunder. And still, there is no end to human plunder. Presently, we face something more dire than theories or prophecies: the world is not “coming to an end”—but humans are actively killing the living systems within our world. What do we make of a species that makes its own planet uninhabitable for itself? It is an ancient practice for humans to mythologize the end of the world. but never before have we walked straight into an avoidable demise of the ecosystems all earthly life depends on.
The spell for this month comes both as a warning and a prayer. Let us look at the almost unbelievable reality that there has yet been no end to our exploitive and damaging behavior as a species on the earth. Let us see that there seems to be no end to the denial and self-interest that perpetuates racism, species extinction. climate degradation, and ecosystem collapse. At the same time, may we remember that there must be no end to our efforts to change, to transform our culture of greed and supremacy, and to protect our entire species and the whole living earth. Let there be no end to our caring, our awakening, our visions for another way--no end to our focus, patience, and devotion as we learn new ways of co-existing.
About this Spell
In the midst of pandemic, as climate change becomes more palpable, as we feel so powerless, let’s remember not to believe in easy endings. “It’s all doomed anyway” is a defense against deep and catalyzing emotions—we don’t want to love what we may lose, so apathy comes to buffer us from the aches of a broken heart. We might lose polar bears. We might lose the ice caps. We might lose our loved ones, we might lose the fight. These losses are real and monumental and they deserve to be felt. To work with this spell, let your heart break, it will not be the end of things.
Meditation on There is No End
For this meditation, please find a place to rest where you can turn your attention inward—towards the breath, into your belly and chest, the weight of your bones, the rich depth of your center. Your depth is a place that has no end! Watching your breath, see if you can move inside of it, so that the inhales grow in all directions around you and the exhales give you a hug. So reliable, this breath...inhale leading to exhale leading to inhale, on and on... If it feels okay, let this endless breath flow in and around your heart. Can you rest in the warmth of your heart while your breath moves all around you, Like shiny gems in a dark cave, there is wisdom here for you. What can you feel? What do you know?
About the painting:
Corina: I love polar bears so deeply, and have since I was a little child. These are the animals that show up in my dreams and spiritual work to help me face the hardest things. I think frequently of how they’re doing, and how powerless I feel to help them. This painting is one I love to come back to when I need to face both the love and the grief, the reality of now and the hope for the future.
Jocelyn: My sister and I always want to paint the insides of geodes and it is always so difficult for me to do in gouache. But this one I like. We poured a lot of feeling into that bear, the stone it holds, the sky it knows. I have an almost eight week old daughter and my sister made her a polar bear by hand. I wonder sometimes if she will be alive longer than the polar bears—when it’s all too much to bear, the love and the grief intertwined, I practice the meditation that I wrote in this month’s offering.
This month:
There is no end to this path we are on together -- making art, casting spells, and telling stories. Join us next month for the beginning of another round of storytelling. We may change up the format for these emails, and we may not. Stay tuned to find out : )
We are offering a holiday sale on our Etsy site! You can get a 2021 calendar and a Portable Fortitude deck together for only $40 + free shipping. Since we’re without craft fairs this year, we’re so grateful for your online orders!! Thank you thank you thank you.
As always, you can follow our shenanigans at @abacuscorvus on Instagram. And you can find out what each of us is up to by following @corinadross and @jocelyncorvus