May 2022 be healing and kind to you. Hold onto the energies of all you want to achieve - for yourself and others. Never mind there have been delays. The world is still young. And so are you. And so is this precious, precious year, when we will do kintsugi with all we've been through. Put together those pieces with golden glue, and watch the beauty of the cracks. All will be well.
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Healing Face |
Readers of The Echo World already know my friend Majjsan Maria Kindgren through her curiously relevant articles. But did you know she also creates jewelry?
Majjsan Maria Kindgren creates jewelry to uplift powers of freedom and inspiration from the wild parts still on this planet. She does so with an extra portion of love for the forest and deep green places.
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Wisdom of the old times bracelet |
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Amethyst wizard wand necklace |
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Forest focus necklace |
In the Witch's den, there are some things you might need.
For example:
A bright red apple. To remember the knowledge of what side to bite into. One is poisonous. One is not.
Red thread. To bind what you want and to make your threads of protection.
A symbol of love. To remind you what is really important.
A little helper.
A word of wisdom.
A stone.
Photograph "What a witch needs" by Sofia Karin Axelsson.
My review of We’Moon 2022 Gaia Rhythms for Women: The Magical Dark
We’Moon 2022 Gaia Rhythms for Women: The Magical Dark
Published by Mother Tongue Ink
I have been using We’Moon’s calendars for years, always inspired by the possibility to organize my life within the framework of art and magic cycles. The We’Moon calendar is an astrological datebook, a moon calendar, and an earth-spirited handbook in natural rhythms.
We’Moon calendars always work around a theme for each year. 2021 marked the completion of We’Moon’s pattern of divining each year’s theme from the Tarot’s 21 Major Arcana cards. With We’Moon 2022, they begin a new thematic cycle, using the eight phases of the Moon as touchstones for the datebook theme.
The theme of We’Moon 2022 is The Magical Dark. It embodies the darkest phase of the moon cycle. I’m not the only one who have spent years now trying to hang in there. Therefore, it feels so right to me that 2022’s calendar is dedicated to something quite different. We’Moon present the theme The Magical Dark as follows:
“Here in the darkened pause are the dream seeds, the letting go, and the gearing up for a whole new cycle soon to begin.”
It is significant that apart from starting a new cycle overall, the set-up of this theme took place pre-pandemic. Somehow you can feel that. Nevertheless, 2022 calendar is curiously timely. It is what we need now: To rest and to observe. To integrate what we learned and to begin from new deep dreams.
As always this is the work of an array of talented artists, writers and layout artists. I look forward to a year of delving into the unknown of deep magic.
By Sofia Karin Axelsson
First published in November/ December/ January 2021/2022 edition of The Echo World
In my dreams there was a cat. First the size of a doll
house, then big as the cabin where I live. He moved between trees and shrubs, his
shadow transparent and huge. That was all I saw – his shadow. I felt him watching
me. Forever protecting me.
There were horses running in front of a storefront
window. I thought the image of the forceful horses against the still display in
the window would be a great photo. So, I picked up my camera. But I was too
slow. All I caught was a hoof and the end of a tail.
There were wings. Soot black with powdered green
around the feathered sides. I do not know to whom they belonged, but they
appeared in several sizes. As if waiting, for the right sized beings.
Those were my dreams. Just last night.
Readers of The Echo World already know my friend Majjsan Maria Kindgren through her curiously relevant articles. But did you know she also creates jewelry?
Majjsan Maria Kindgren creates jewelry to uplift powers of freedom and inspiration from the wild parts still on this planet. She does so with an extra portion of love for the forest and deep green places. Her jewelry bring stories out of the mossy places, that can follow us into the human world in the form of an earring or necklace. But with the power to keep the strong bond to the part of us that is forever wild and free. Go to www.yoara.se
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| Exhale of what no longer serve you |
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| Step into relaxation |
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| Grow stronger |
Check it out. www.yoara.se
Take a walk into the creative mind of an alien,
a witch, and a human combined.
The article The more I Remove the more I Receive can be found in the November/ December/ January 2021/ 2022
This story is part of a collection, tentatively called “Ghost Whisperer: Stories from a Nordic Witch Stranded in the South.” They were mainly written during my first year in the Appalachian Mountains, having moved from Sweden, living at the end of a road, with no green card to allow me to work and my husband, Michael, working at the Monroe Institute. Being a stranger in a strange land those days, ghosts started to talk to me. And so did the ghost of Frida Kahlo. The patron of creativity.
The ghost of Frida Kahlo was my absolute favorite. As far as ghosts go. Most ghosts I had met showed up with a certain gloom, carrying regret, fear and pain as dirty veils hanging around their sloping shoulders. But Frida always showed up with colors, flowers and passion, being an ultimate manifestation of the celebration of life. Viva la Vida she painted on the flesh of watermelons while she herself was also still in flesh. And she stands true to her words, even beyond physical life.
This day she had a monkey on her shoulder, monkey tail wrapped around her neck as a furry necklace. She wore a wide white blouse, three strands of semiprecious stones against the ruffles, and several layers of orange-colored skirts. When she sat down on the porch chair beside me, she leaned back and stretched out her legs, revealing a pair of dark red boots with patchwork of dragons. In a delicate crystal cut glass in her hand sparkled tequila. I drank rum in a not-so-delicate ceramic cup.
I was pretty sure I had figured it out. The famous people, the legends, and the icons. They are shining stars constantly infused by the dreams woven around them. This is why I could talk to Frida. Not because she singled me out, but because she is singled out. Like the demi-goddess she is, she probably sat around the world in thousands of versions at that point, talking to disenfranchised art students and grandmothers of the revolutions the same. Every graffiti painting depicting Frida, every feud about the smallest scrap of an original photo of her, radiates energy right into her multicolored soul.
I was fascinated by the concept, but it also made me feel rather small. The shivering everyday existence of me who wanted to be so brave and reckless, but in reality, was a ball of cotton waste, a bundle of anxious thoughts slithering around the smallest challenges.
“Don’t you think I was afraid?” said Frida.
Wiping drops of tequila from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand she looked at me we a hint of a smile,
“After all, why shouldn’t I have been afraid?”
The monkey had fallen asleep, arms wrapped around Frida’s neck, face pressed against her chin. Frida was thoughtful and still now, despite monkey fur in her face.
“I was afraid that my children wouldn’t live,” she said. “They didn’t. I was afraid of being betrayed by the people I loved the most. I was. I was afraid I would devastate women the way that women had devastated me. I did. And more afraid of anything that I would not be able to dance. As you know, I ended up in a wheelchair. There is really no meaning for me to go on, is there?”
“No,” I answered quietly, sipping my rum in tiny, cautious sips.
I once saw an exhibition with Frida’s art in Stockholm, together with one of my older sisters. Coming in from the serene green half island where it was situated, the pumping heart connecting the two versions of Frida in her incomparable double self-portrait hit us with two different bricks in our heads.
“I think they are a bit uncomfortable,” said my sister.
“Do you?” I asked, adding thoughtfully, “I really don’t’”
I tried to convey a cool detachment that I didn’t possess. I did not even convince myself.
“I did all my paintings in-between trying out what life had to offer,” said Frida on the porch. “I am not as proud of my paintings, as I am off my life.”
Her life. Her legendary life.
“It wasn’t so much the parties, or the politics, or even the lovers – though I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on them.”
She lifts her chin ever so slightly.
“Was it love then?” I asked.
That made her smile, a broad shiny smile.
Of course, it was the love!” she exclaimed. “But not so much the love I received, though I received plenty, even from the man who tried to break my heart. It wasn’t even the love I felt for him. I was in love with life itself, and the longer I lived the deeper in love I fell.”
“That doesn’t make the fears go away though, does it?” I asked.
“No, it doesn’t. But it surely makes them feel less important.”
The monkey woke up, stared at me when sitting up, and then showed all his sharp teeth in a big yawn.
“And now, now that you are dead?” I asked.
Frida raised an eyebrow, while rubbing the monkey on its pouty stomach.
“Oh honey,” she said. “I just keep falling.”
Readers of The Echo World already know my friend Majjsan Maria Kindgren through her curiously relevant articles. But did you know she also creates jewelry?
Majjsan Maria Kindgren creates jewelry to uplift powers of freedom and inspiration from the wild parts still on this planet. She does so with an extra portion of love for the forest and deep green places. Her jewelry bring stories out of the mossy places, that can follow us into the human world in the form of an earring or necklace. But with the power to keep the strong bond to the part of us that is forever wild and free.
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Relax and Let Go |
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Grow into Gold |
Check it out. www.yoara.com
Take a walk into the creative mind of an alien,
a witch, and a human combined.
By the root of Yggdrasil – the World Tree, and the well of Urd - the Well of Fate, sit the three Norns that rule over the destiny of men and gods. They know the fate of all, including the fact that fate is always in transition.
This is a section where The Echo World readers are welcome to ask the Norns questions about life. I will put myself into a light trance and channel their answers to the best of my ability. I take no responsibility of what their answer may be, however. The Norns can be poetic, mystical and sometimes outright brutal. - Sincerely Sofia Karin Axelsson
Dear Norns,
I feel I must talk fast so I do not take up precious time for other people. I have worked with this for a long time, but the answer to my dilemma is still hidden from me. I don’t want to disturb others with my presence. I fear to have all attention just on me.
I am not shy in any traditional sense, and I truly believe that I have much good to bring to this world. And yet, there I am swallowing my words, feeling uncomfortable when all eyes are on me. Why is this? Can you help me understand?
Robin McCoy,
Scotland
Dear Coy Bird,
You are not wrong. You are not shy in any traditional sense. What you consider to be a problem is quite different. You have flight in your essence, and fire in your belly. Yet, you are as solid as any of our moss-covered friends in the woods. Your problem is not shyness, but who you are at your root and stem.
When you speak with a full voice people either shy away, or stare at you with unblinking eyes, do they not? Only a few can take the magnitude of your full, slow voice. The few that know what a gift it is.
You are an oak sort of tree you are. And you’re growing. When an oak is growing, smaller trees and shrubs will not be able to live in his presence anymore. This is what you fear.
And yet, seeds find other places to fly to, where they are not shaded by mighty branches. An oak does not make apologies for growing. When he is large and strong, he will be home to so many creatures it is a whole universe upon itself.
Speak with a slow, strong voice. And may we all hear it roll like thunder.
Yours,
The Norns
This piece was first published in The Echo World November/ December/ January 2021/ 2022 edition.
Rune Reading and
Old Norse Oracle Card Reading
with an additional personal ceremony for manifestation.
A casting of runes, with interpretation of answer to the question
Drawing of three Old Norse oracle cards, with interpretation of how these can be supportive powers in finding a solution to your problem.
A personalized ceremony for the client to manifest the most positive outcome.
Photos of rune casting and oracle cards.
The option of one to three follow up questions.
Read the November/ December/ January 2021/ 2022 edition of The Echo World online.
Anger
Dear Norns,
It seems to me that the level of anger in the world has skyrocketed in recent years. Even a simple task such as grocery shopping has become a hazard. I hear people shouting profanities at each other in the parking lot, and see people throwing a fit over minutia, such as that their favorite brand of potato chips are not being stocked. And don’t get me started on the much more important matter of social and political levels that affect us all.
Why is this happening and how can we handle it?
Justice Radcliffe,
Cardiff, Wales
Justice as in Justice,
All things are in balance, even when it doesn’t seem so.
Nature is nature. The hooves of a moose cannot be made of paper as he strides his heavy body through the forest. He will leave broken branches and ripped open dirt in his path. But he is sound. He is what he’s supposed to be. When the plates of the Earth moves we cannot stop the earthquake by patting the grass. Trees fall and drag smaller trees with them, but in the fallen, rotting trees a myriad of new life forms can create their homes.
People cannot change by holding back their nature. The important question isn’t why there is more anger. The question is how it is directed.
Tantrums are for children. Calm them down, or let them purge if they do not hurt anyone. Directed anger can be used for greater causes.
Ride this out. Find causes worthy of the earthquakes. Shake your anger loose. Make it count. Hurt no one. Not even yourself.
Live up to your name.
Yggdrasil cares not about your worries and fears. Nor about anger. It is Yggdrasil. It is nature. Your deeds are all that matter. Be patient. Be brave. This too shall pass and turn into something new.
The Norns
Take a journey to the Underworld with help of the classic faery-tale Mother Holle. Click on the link below and walk the path towards healing with Mother Holle and me, Sofia.
Freedom
Revered Norns,
How can we find freedom in these troubled times?
Sincerely,
Majjsan Maria Kindgren, Sweden
Sweet child of many worlds,
You should know that freedom is not limited by closed borders, or a postponed picnick. We have all lived in lockdown. Yes, even us, the Norns, have hovered closer together under our safe roots. In this state of isolation and darkness there are only two choices. To wither and die, or to let your light shine brighter, until it bursts all borders.
Which is it going to be child? Will you help the fates? Will you be one of the lightbringers?
There is your freedom. If you want it.
Sincerely,
The Norns, stuck under the roots
First published in the June/ July 2021 edition of The Echo World.
Pictures from Pixabay.
The Broken Key
Dear Norns,
Recently I learned how to look for signs in my immediate environment. I ask the Universe a question and then take a walk. Most often the “answers” I get are comforting and rather clear. I see white feathers and feel a sense of confirmation that I’m on the right path. A four leaf clover means luck, of course. Seeing a frog I interpret as that I should take some time for cleansing and healing.
But, the other day I asked the question: “How can I and the world move forward and heal after these hard years?” As soon as I started my walk I stepped on a broken key. This did not feel comforting. Neither do I have any clue to how to interpret this sign. Can you help?
Sincerely,
Beth Crow, Amherst, Va
Little Crow,
How typical of a black feathered ally to ask and ask, and then cry to the sky when the answer is uncomfortable. Crows are magnificent creatures, but impatient, and therefor often get themselves into trouble. Rest assured, however, that you will get what you ask for, one way or the other.
We are the Norns, and know about fate for man, beast and the world. The broken key tells you this:
What has been broken must be mended, before anyone can unlock the door to a better future. So many lives have been lost, so many fates diminished and destroyed. Dear Mother Earth herself is heaving heavy from poisons.
What the world needs is balance. What the world needs is justice. What the world needs is healing. So do you little crow. So does everyone.
Once the work is done, you can mend the broken key. Then, and only then, will you find the door with the keyhole that fits your mended key. You shall open that door, and nothing will ever be the same again.
The Norns
First published in June/ July 2021 edition of The Echo World.
Photos from Pixabay.
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| Idun-jump |
The first of January we introduced The Echo World Magical Extra on our YouTube channel. The posting was a reading of the ghost story Breath by me. Since then we published a great deal of videos about magic and ceremony.
I'm in the process of creating a new series of YouTube clips from Sweden. While I'm pondering this I'm sharing some of the ones I had most fun doing in Magic Land, Virginia. This one is about the Nordic goddess Idun. Idun is the goddess of Youth, Joy and Immortality. In this clip I talk about her, and about the importance of keeping the joy.
Illustration by Sofia Karin Axelsson. Video first published May 21, 2020.
Dear Norns,
Times are getting darker. We do well to take a little help from spirits. Power animals are great allies. This video - first published in April 2020 on The Echo World YouTube channel - presents the graces of the bat.
Video from Magic Land, Virginia. First published April 2020. Pictures from Pixabay - edited.
Detail Present day altar, New Orleans - Smoke Dear Norns, I am right now in a sort of a searching phase. There are many things in my life wh...
