MIST IN DAOISM
In Daoism (Taoism), mist (and fog) is often used as a metaphor for the Unknown, the Hidden, or Mystery. Mist as a symbol of the hidden forces of nature, the secrets of life, and the elusive nature of the Dao (Tao) itself.
DOES THE I CHING MENTION TEA?
The I Ching (The Book of Changes), the oldest Chinese oracle, divination text and philosophical system is said to be birthed and used from ~1150 BCE, around the same time Tea was discovered as a plant medicine. The I Ching uses a system of hexagrams, or six-line figures, to represent and directly speak to different patterns of change within the Seen and Unseen Worlds.
WINTER: BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH
Winter - a season where just about everything is reduced and barren, bitten down to the bone. Belonging to the Crone, the season’s energy speaks with ruthless honesty; the once flattering light of Summer no longer seduces, the excuses we make due to being too comfortable no longer hold up. Much like Jupiter is Spring/Summer because we say “yes” freely, indiscriminately, Fall/Winter is Saturn embodied, as we learn the fruits of unchecked expenditures.
AN ANIMIST’S FORECAST: 2 KEY THEMES FOR THE REST OF 2022
August was a midpoint for the lunar new year, igniting a major portal for the remaining months chaperoned by the Water Tiger. In many ways, the first 6 months of this lunar year was like a washing machine, where energies, circumstances, intentions, and reference points are jumbled, chaotic, and unclear.
SPIRIT IS THE BODY
There are some spiritual beliefs that are focused on freeing spirit from matter, from the body.
There is also another way, an ancient way— the animist tradition that sees the Spirit in Matter, in the Body.
WRITING WITH SPIRIT Winter Retreat
The WRITING WITH SPIRIT RETREAT welcomes an intimate group of 13 attendees to explore the intersection of writing and the supernatural by unwrapping the words that are already contained within and to call them forth with clarity and boldness. We’ll discuss supportive writing techniques, powerful esoteric tools, and will be actively collaborating with our intuition and the Great Mystery. Open to anyone who is needing space, desires a heightened embodiment, and a safe container to focus on their inner (and outer) work.
Sitting with Tea: Tea As Teacher
Tea, my Teacher, my Medicine, my Sister. With you, I enter into stillness. Penetrating clarity. Acute listening. Shivers of recognition. Tender exhales. Scents of what is to come. Conduit of flow.Interpreter of ancestors. Vapours of daemons. I venerate your companionship.
An Online Retreat on Ancient Chinese Divination and Chinese Astrology
If you've been studying with me in the Mystery Mentorship, particularly in the Wood + Metal Module, you'll know that a critique I have about the "new age" communities that most practices done in the West are still coming from that extractive theme of objectifying rather subjectifying. Whether it's the studying of Tarot, tea leaf reading, dream work or even astrology, the main objective is "what's in it for me / tell me what I need to know / how I do manifest the life that I want". Put it another way, learning esoteric practices, accessing ancient wisdom is not meant to function as your genie. It is not meant to be, nor can it ever truly be, colonized. The Unseen, the Great Mystery were around far before any of us arrived on the scene.
BROKENNESS: AN ANCIENT PERSPECTIVE
A Yin line according to the I Ching is visually represented by two dashes. — — Oftentimes, it's referred to as a broken line or a yielding line.
To compare that to a Yang line that is visually represented. ___It's a solid line that does not have space as an interruption.
WHAT IS SHAMANISM?
Shamanism is the oldest recorded spiritual practise found in cultures all over the world, including my own (Chinese Taiwanese). Through entering into a non-rational mind space via a number of tools such as altered breath, ecstatic dance, chanting, rattling and drumming, and the consumption of specific plants (in my case, non-entheogenic plants), the practitioner can tap into a reality (and set of brainwaves) that is broader than the mundane and access the Unseen and the Otherwordly to receive beneficial messages and then deliver them to those asking for help.
SMELLS LIKE TEEN GOSSIP
I smell things. Some describe this as extra-sensory scent, clairolfaction or clairolfactance. Others simply call it psychic smelling. My first time was when I was in junior high. A “mean girl” spread some rumour about me (eye roll — I was talking to her boyfriend — correction— her boyfriend was talking to me), and she claimed the rumour was started by someone else. It was the usual adolescent cocktail of hormones, drama, 'territory', and insecurities. The scapegoated girl denied the words, but didn’t want to point fingers either because it meant her own reputation was liable, and in high schools, reputation is everything.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME...
My name is Mimi Young, and I am the owner of Ceremonie and a spirit medicine practitioner. I smell things. People's auras, spirits, messages, warnings, omens, and things I am still not totally clear on. The term to describe this is called clairolfaction. (If you hang around with me long enough, you may find that I sometimes ask those in the room with me if they smell something in particular. I ask this because sometimes it’s unclear to me whether the scent I pick up is actually a physical aroma that belongs to the environment - say smelling coffee at a coffeeshop, or not, say smelling a distinct tree that is tied to specific spirit or ancestor that no one else in the room will perceive). My experiences in shamanic journeying didn’t start until I was well into adulthood while on bedrest while pregnant with my second child. (More on that HERE).
SUMMER MYSTIC READS
Summer Solstice is just under two weeks away. In honour of the energies of Summer, I am feeling the call to engage in activities that feed me and fuel delight. For me, there is no substitute than being in the company of a good book or divination/intuitive deck. For those who speak the language of StrengthsFinder, I have Intellection as my no. 1; mental activity is my greatest pleasure.