loveandpower

The Feast of Brigid

2010-01-06T17:04:16Z

Brigid, Triple Goddess of Well, Forge and Fire has requested your presence at Her Feast on
Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 7 pm.
All in attendance are requested to come attired in black, red and/or white in Her honour.
A tithing of $9 will be collected at the Gate to Her temple.

This ceremony has been enacted in Her honor over the past 15 years in the Pioneer Valley by talented ritual artists, priestesses and priests. You may recall the Ritual as performed by Full Circle CSCD or The Poets of Truth & Sex. No matter our name, we are a somewhat stable, somewhat changing collective of Feri/Faerie/Faery who are occassionally compelled to serve the Lady Brigid in this manner.

While this ceremony is celebratory, it is much more a magical working. We begin, even now, to hold Deep Intention for the work of Healing, Transformation and Inspiration for the members of the diverse magical community here. What is it you need right now as Winter clutches our hearts, minds and spirits? What great Magic do you need to rise up on sturdy feet with grace and ease and beauty?

Will you choose to be Healed? Is it Inspiration you require? Or will you dare ask to be Transformed?
In Love and Honour, She awaits your request.
In Power and Wisdom, She offers Her Blessing.

Jones Library

Amity Street, Amherst MA/
7PM (No admission after 7:30 when doors close and ceremony begins)

$9.00 and upwards sliding scalet cover expenses.

New Year-Blue Moon-Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn

2009-12-31T18:51:42Z

Tonight’s lunar eclipse is an opportunity to release what stands in the way of our Wisdom. Saturn (ruler of Capricorn) likes to show us that everything we think we know is false. What deep-seated false-knowledge are you carrying around? What fear is so large it eclipses your view of wonder? What shame so insidious is obstructs pleasure? What guilt so ingrained it blinds you to your own glory?

Are you ready to shed your false perceptions, projections, reflections, rejections?

Disrobe!

And in your nakedness, step forward into the milky-blue light of the full of the Moon so she might shine into you her magic, compassion and unconditional love! There, take your rightful place among the Awakened, the Seeking, the Blessed, the Christed, the Wise, the Hallowed, the Divine.

Tonight, let Wisdom eclipse what we think we are certain of. Tonight, let that which is no longer needed slip away with the tired old year. Tonight, let us enter once more into Innocence and Wonder . . . like the infant Sun/Year. Tonight, let us receive the kiss we long for with our whole lives—that of the Beloved/Divine. Tonight. Tonight. Tonight. Let it begin again.

The New Year will literally be all you make it--with emotion, word, thought and deed. Align with your Highest Will and all will be blessed, abundant, sweet and fulfilling beyond your imagnings!

Online Intensive Reminders

2009-12-29T19:30:24Z

Deadlines for Registrations are fast approaching!

For more information on In the Name of Sex go here http://blackheartferi.com/training/inthenameofsex.htm
For more information on Beginning Anew: Naming Desire and Setting Intentions, go here http://blackheartferi.com/training/beginning-anew.htm

I hope you can make it! I am always happy to provide references for my work!

Love and Power and Happy 2010.

Your Turn

2009-12-28T19:04:09Z

Okay. I made that ridiculous 4-part 100-point list of what I learned in 2009. Now, I challenge you (that sound you hear is the gauntlet being thrown down) to respond to this post with a meager list of TEN of the very best moments of 2009. Ten minutes that rocked your world.

I'll go first, seeing it's my challenge.

1) The moment I first laid eyes on L in August
2) All the moments of my Birthday spent with L.
3) Walking through Covent Garden in London
4) Sitting in the sun in Denver with J & S sipping coffee after missing my plane
5) Seeing the Lion King on Broadway with the kids and Amy
6) Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial with my kids this summer
7) Realizing in June that I had REALLY quit smoking
8) A long, leisurely lunch catching up with my dear friend H. in Houston
9) A particularly powerful dedication ceremony over Samhain weekend at a Castle in New Hampshire
10) Swimming in the waves at Cape May with my kids on a perfect July day.

I am so very very blessed. So are you. Tell us how!

wrap it up!

2009-12-25T16:39:40Z

Here it is.

86 one hundred is a lot!
87 I look pretty good in a white men's button bown shirt.
88 wieght gain from smoking doesn't have anything to do with increased food intake to satisfy oral fixation. It has everything to do with decreased metabolic rate
89 It is much harder to take off wieght than gain it
90 after two months of swimming 3 kilometers four times a week, it no longer does anything to change my body or muscles
91 I still hate lifting wieghts and regular gym stuff
92 I've lusted after androgynous bois all these years because . . . they subconsciously remind me of girls. Whew knew? (don't all chime in at once here or I'l blush)
93 Vitamin D deficiency plays a huge role in depression. Living where there is little sunshine means taking ample Vitamin D and still trying to explose the skin to sunlight for 15 minutes each day without sunscreen (DOCTORS says so)
94 Flower Essences can lend a tremendous boost to any healing process
95 Shame, Fear and Guilt are the leading causes of complexes in our Wild Selves
96 Self Care is priority number one. If not, everything else gets done less well and is irritating.
97 It took eleven weeks to heal when the tiny little bone in my foot broke
98 Even when I am terrified, I am still decisive, powerful and determined. I also may come across as terrifying when I am scared.
99 My life is this gorgeous, broad canvas. I can choose to put anything on it I like.
100 I've done a damn good job making a life for myself and my kids.

Whew! Deadline Completed on Xmas day even. Thnaks for playing. Now, off the to CT family for HolyDaze Feasting.

May you all be blessed with the Love and Power you so desire!
K

almost

2009-12-25T14:22:35Z

I'll even try to do the LJ cut thing correctly this time

66. I can sometimes make an LJ cut
67. I will not change my "size" in order to accommodate anyone else's insecurities or ego
68. TED is a great way for someone like me to learn more about . . . anything
69. Dancing under the C02 jets at South Beach in Houston is a memory I will treasure always
70. Just because I will always be the 'baby" of the family to my siblings does not mean I have to play that role.
71. Lady bugs and stink bugs enter the house through the southwest facing windows at the height of autumn.
72. Spiders and I have a mutually respectful understanding
73 I am relived that my daughter is a better baker than I
74. The sales clerk at Oh My! knows everything there is to know about everything they sell there--and will be happy to show you without any shame at all.
75. The mirror of the universe is without distortion. I may not understand or like what I am being shown, but it is Truth.
76. Sometimes our friends know things about us we never would have guessed!
77. When singing with Thorn Coyle, let her choose the octave.
78. Seeds will sprout inside their paper packaging if left outdoors in the rain
79 Tomatoes grow very well in containers as do lettuce and herbs.
80 Brocolli--not so much
81 There is a place in Northern Italy called Damanhur that I need to visit one day
82 The Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival has over 300 ritual artists who practice all year for the ritual!
83 Many times it's better to befriend someone than to teach them
84 I am enchanted by the music of Beats Antique
85 I am carried by the music of Rising Appalachia (and think the girls are very cute, as well)

That's enough for today. Thanks for playing if you're still here.

The other half

2009-12-24T18:45:29Z

of 100 things I learned in 2009. Continues here for you diehards

46. Apparently at least four of my readers do not find this painfully boring.
47. It's equally important know AND love myself in all my parts--even the icky parts
48. I am a hopeless, ridiculous, over-the-top, unabashed romantic.
49, Each time I give in and learn how to use a new peice of computer/internet technology, I find it actually helps me
50. Love, kindness, consideration and yes, even sweetness are not indicators of fluffiness. They do not lessen my snark, sarcasm or sharpness. In fact, copping to my true nature makes me even more fucking powerful.
51. There are effective, natural ways to treat ADD/ADHD
52. My paranoia was simply that-- delusional and unnecessary. I am thrilled to be free of it
53. I have the best friends in the world.
54. There is no shame in having more than enough money and time.
55. Re-learned that I do not have to say yes until it hurts, until I am angry or until I can't stand it anymore. I can say No as soon as I want to.
56. This is what 44 can look and feel like with these particular genes.
57. I am not a slave to my genes anymore than I am to karma, fate, destiny or character. She changes everything she touches.
58. I learned I cannot write if my environment isn't organized
59. If I don't get time out of the house with other thoughtful adults at least every 10 days, I get very very cranky
60. I'd be content to eat Indian, Mediterranean and Mexican food the majority of the time
61 Being an "Intense" individual already, it is best not to partake of foods/substances which stimulate my intensity.
62 Intense is a nicer word than Bitch, Insane or Extreme,
63 I absolutely require reading glasses
64 I will not settle for less
65 I can only do so many of these before I want to rip my eyes from my head.

100 things I learned in 2009

2009-12-23T17:02:23Z

I stole this from dancingwolfgirl who stole it from elsewhere. I'll do as many as I can each day, hoping to get 100 down on the page by Januayr 1st. . . . better if I can get it done by my birthday on Saturday. So, without further delay, because I know you are all just dying of anticipation (groan):

1. I am the kind of Mom who can homeshool her son
2. I like to travel but not as much as I thought I would
3. I love where I live
4. Getting to the gym/pool is not as big a hurdle as I thought it would be
5. I really CAN be a non-smoker!
6. I can navigate the subway system in NYC
7. Broadway is phenomenal
8. I can navigate the train system in London
9. I can navigate my way around London just fine by myself and enjoy it
10. Stonehenge is bigger than I imagined
11. I don't mind driving long distances as much now that my kids are older
12. I can navigate the subway system in Washington DC
13. The distance from the sun to pluto is much farther than I imagined.
14. Fractals go a long way toward helping explain a whole lot about how the universe works, how we relate with the gods and our own cells.
15. The ocean is still my favorite place to be
16 They still sing the National Anthem on Sunset Beach, NJ each evening as the sun sinks int the ocean.
17 I have no desire to ever step outside the airport in Las Vegas
18 San Diego is to damn hot and too far south for a Northerner like me to spent any time there in July
19 In the dessert I have to drink 4 gallons of water before noon just to acheive anything near hydration
20 I am not as thoughtful as I think I am
21 People in different parts of the country have different customs, manners, expectations and demands
22 I am not as awful as I thought I was
23 I am physically stronger than I thought.
24 13 year old girls really do stop making any sense for good portions of any day irregardless of what's going on.
25 Hearing Coleman Barks read Rumi in person is about the most spiritually uplifting thing I have ever heard.
26 There is a way to work energy in Circle so it expands and opens rather than rising and thrusting.
27 Denver Colorado is one of my favorite places on earth.
28 Houston is far more spread out than I'd imagined
29 I am utterly, completely, wildly blessed
30 I really could heal myself from the last remnants of that hideous marriage
31 I really can trust myself to love
32 I am much less hetero than I ever ever ever ever ever imagined
33 I learned to be a better writer
34 I learned to be a much better friend
35 I learned to pay more attention and anticipate the needs of others without thinking that is codependent
36 I learned how to ask for help with my business
37 I learned how to teach online workshops
38 I learned how to ________ and that is too personal for here.
39 I learned how to flirt. Rather, I learned that I knew all along, but was flirting with the wrong people
40 I learned to remember birthdays thanks to LJ and FB and asking people to remind me again
41 I learned to make a kick ass beet and goat cheese salad
42 I learned I might have a small gluten problem
43 I learned that when I eat roast beef after a week without meat it makes me very sick
44 I learned how to treat most minor health issues in my household effectively with homeopathy
45 I learned how to walk right through fear into the arms of love

I learned that writing a list of 100 things takes a very long time, feels repetetive and is boring both to me and my readers!
Try everything once! I'll finish this up. You can feel free to skip it.

Naming Desire and Setting Intention

2009-12-22T15:33:42Z

Beginning Anew: Naming Desire/Setting Intentions

An Online Intensive for the Year Wheel Series

January 4- February 1, 2010

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep. - Rumi

In this four week online intensive we will engage in setting intention (not resolutions!) for ourselves. Here, we will allow ourselves to move deeply into our Desire by engaging our passionate Wild Nature and aligning it with our practical Rational Nature. In so defining what we want, we carry our request to our Unlimited Nature who literally uses Life Force to create what we desire. This is the deep magic of manifestation of your Will. This is an oppportunity to do more than simply say what you wish for or make a list of resolutions you quickly forget. What do you want this year? Who can you envision yourself being? Step out over the edge and into the center of that vision.

Fixed Sliding Scale $52, $70 or $97. Register by January 1st! registration forms will be available online at www.blackheartferi.com if they are not yet up and you want to register, please respond here and I will get back to you asap.

Unveiling . . . .

2009-12-16T21:10:49Z

karinabheart.com My beautiful new website designed by Sarah Rittenhouse! Here you can connect to all of my projects EXCEPT my Feri work which remains at blackheartferi.com Projects include Soul Alignments, Women of the 13th Moon, Winter Feast for the Soul, and upcoming Flower Essence Consultations, Labyrinth Ladies and The Beauty We Love! I'd love your feedback! K

In the Name of SEX

2009-12-10T16:14:22Z

IN THE NAME OF SEX
Exploring Sex and the Iron Pentacle.

”Sex is not a doorway leading to something else.” Cora Anderson

Our bodies, minds and spirits have been de-sensitized. Our sex has undergone a de-sacralization. Through the use of all five senses and all three souls, we will Re-sensualize and Re-sacralize our Sexual Selves. Praise be the taste of raspberries bursting on the tongue! Praise be the scent of sandalwood burning on the altar! Sing Hallelujah to textures of silk and leather. Can I get a Witness to the majesty of cool water and heated breath? Sing praise songs to the convulsing Creative Force from which all that Is, Was and is Yet to be moans, sighs and weeps in an unending dance of surrender and will.

This seven week online intensive workshop will take us deep into our personal Sexual Nature and that of the body of God Herself in whom “we live move and have our being.” Starting with foundational questions and practices, we will dive deeply into the sexual/sensual Nature of all that is, making of ourselves a living prayer for Sexual Potency. We will explore how Sex connects to and intersects with the other points on our Iron Pentacle—Self, Passion, Pride and Power—informing and shaping the whole while also being forged by them. Iron Pentacle is a dynamic and powerful tool used for diagnostic exercises but also for healing and empowering the Witch and --through us-- the world we live in. Finally, we will explore the Sexual Nature of Feri Tradition and our Gods who are straight, queer, bi-, homo-, auto-, cross-, trans-, poly- , pan- and omni-sexual. If “God is Self and Self is God,” what does that make you?

IN THE NAME OF SEX is a celebration and affirmation of our sexuality, our bodies and the “base” chakras which are concerned with safety, security and tribe. Expect it to be juicy, dark, lascivious and unapologetic. That said, everyone participating should be committed to co-creating a respectful container within which to discuss all manner of sex-related topics.

Come! Dance the knife’s edge into Sex!

This is the first in a series of online intensives designed cleanse, empower and strengthen the Iron Pentacle within us. You may sign up for one, several or all five parts of the series at your discretion.

This is a seven week online intensive from January 6 – February 17, 2010. Participants should be familiar with Alignment and Kala and the Feri Gods. For more details and registration, please go to the Calendar at www.blackheartferi.com and follow links to register. Space is limited. Deadline for registration is January 3, 2010.

(Please give my website designer 24 hours from posting of this notice to get this information and registration online)

I am pleased to announce my workshops will take place in Moodle Classrooms rather than yahoo groups! I am sure you will appreciate this more dynamically interactive forum!

query

2009-12-09T16:44:51Z

The series of online Iron Pentacle intensives is drawing to a close with In the Name of Power in a few weeks. I have had a handful of people enquire if I'd be offering the series again. I'd really love to. It has been such a powerfully transformational experience for everyone who did even part of it--including me. So, I am querying about serious interest in beginning with In the Name of Sex in early January. I want to have a sense of interest in participation before blocking off the time commitment on my calendar.

Maybe those of you who have taken any part of the "In the Name of" series might chime in with thoughts on your experiences?

I am thinking of opening registration this weekend if there seems to be enough interest.

Thanks!

We

2009-12-07T22:04:10Z

We who are endangered, feral and shining
We who are breathlessly hunting and hunted
We whose wisdom resides in the pleasure arched spine
Are in need of space and silence
of temples built from sumptuous cloth
and scented with the finest sandalwood

We from whose lips spill unbidden truths
We from whose pores sex exudes
We whose strength is quiet and sure
Are in need of a swath of space and silence
the inconsistent light of flame, star and moon
the music of rain, breath and culminating pleasure

We who hear the incessant whisper of the Silent Ones
We who have been informed prior to being told
We who are drawn to each other at the insistence of alchemy
Are in need of space and silence,
a cleared calendar and someone to watch the children
while we re-enact the creation of the universe.

We , who are mirror and mirrored
We, who are who twinned and entwined
We, whose wings have finally unfurled
Are in need of space and silence,
of temples and music and incense
so the holiest of prayers might be offered.

KBH 12-3-09 for we who are sharing innocence rather than entertaining fear or disillusionment.

This had been posted here and then deleted. Here it is again.

Mom's Anniversary

2009-12-07T17:23:20Z

I have a "To Do" list a mile long today. And yet here I am on LJ because none of those peices of writing are going to get done until I get this one done. So, once again, it's a long and meandering and very personal journey through these words. If you're bored with your own life or actually give a damn what's happening with mine, grab a cuppa and settle in to read more here

Today is the seventh anniversary of my Mother passing away from the physical body. She was home receiving Hospice Care, but really, they only came when called. She'd gotten the diagnosis of Stage IV Lung Cancer right before Samhain. By Thanksgiving we were moving Oxygen tanks into the small apartment she and my Dad had moved into the previous year.

Being the appointed Health Care Proxy and the Nurse in the family (youngest of 7 siblings ranging from 9-19 years my senior), I was being called to step into roles previously occupied by my older brothers and sisters. When Dad was making plans to take Mom on a vacation in the Spring I was the one who had to look him in the eye and say, "Dad, she isn't going to be here in the spring."

The doctors hadn't given a clear indication to my Dad. They only told me because I cornered them and demanded the information. I sat and faced my father squarely and looked into eyes the same shape and color as my own. "She probably won't be here for Chirstmas, Dad." I said it softly. I saw the words strike him like a bullet. I saw the hatred of the messenger wash through his body in two or three huge waves before he fell on me sobbing as my big brothers and sisters watched in stunned silence.

In the days before she died, she became very anxious. It was difficult to discern whether it was pain making her anxious or the reality that Death was coming for her. She had been very clear with me that she did not want to suffer either pain or indignity at her death. I talked to Hopsice and her antianxiety and morphine doses were increased. I had gone home to see my kids after being "on duty" for a few days, only to be called back by my siblings who didn't "know how to handle" the situation. I brought my son, then 7 months old, with me.

She was incoherent and resisting my sisters attempts at caring for her and keeping her safe. But when she laid eyes on my son, she cleared. She could not get out his name or even words, but she sat right up and love poured through her. Her eyes radiated joy. She cooed and made baby sounds. My son responded in kind. They talked their "nonsense" for a few minutes before she settled down to nap. I think he told her he could still remember what it was like to be without a body and that she'd be okay. I know for certain that it was the last time I saw her alight with joy. There was nothing in the world that made my Mom happier than holding an infant in her arms.

The time was coming fast. I called all my siblings. "You need to come. She won't be here in the morning"

We gathered around her bed as the Catholic Priest performed the Last Rites. A radio played softly in the background. He annointed her head with oil--along with her hands and feet (five points). Meanwhile, Ave Maria began playing on the radio. It was always her favorite song from church. We wept and kissed and held her in turns.

One by one we entered her room for a moment alone. In those moments, a lifetime of forgiveness transpired between us. She sighed and for the last time, she brushed the hair back from my forehead. "You're Good," she told me, "You're Good."

What else does a daughter want to hear from her mother?

I kept medicating her during the night. Even when she was comfortable I medicated her. I knew what the medication was doing. I was following her instructions.

When I awoke at 4 a.m. to check on her. I was standing over her bed counting her respirations when my Dad awoke with a start and flew out of the bed to grabb me. His eyes were startled when he turned me to face him. "Oh! Oh! You! I thought! You were standing there! You look just like her."

He wept. We held each other there in the darkness.

I helped him back to bed.
.
When I came to check again at 6:30, my Dad was in the bathroom and my Mom was gone from her body.

Today, in her honor there are two pots of soup simmering on the stove on the early winter day. There was always a pot of soup on the stove in her house. She'd add things to it as the days wore on. And if it ever got completley empty, she'd start a new pot.

Today, she'd be proud to see that my house is in order--the cupboards are stocked, the laundry done, the bills paid, the children healthy and happy. She would comment on the job I am doing here but would ask, in a concerned tone, "Are you happy?" And I would say, "Oh, Mom. I am happier than I have ever been."

In her embodied state, she wouldn't understand my happiness. After all, there is no husband (or likely candidate for husbanding) in sight. She would worry about my being alone. But she would take me at my word. In her disembodied state, she understands. She sees I am surrounded by the love of good friends and that I am opening my heart to love once more. She is amused by my choice but thrilled to see my heart open once more.

We are closer now than we ever were when she walked this embodied road. Once on the other side, she lost all her prejudices--there is no use for such things there. She was quick to show me (by getting inside my body--and those were definitely disconcerting experieces) why she had thought and done things as she'd done them in her lifetime. She was quick to ask again and again if my choices were making me happy.

I carry her DNA. I see her gestures and body type in the mirror but also carried on through my own children. I hear her in certain tones of voice I use. I catch more glimpses of her in the mirror as I age. She is in the crook of my index finger as I point out to my children what needs doing. I embody her practical nature and her quickness to dismiss what is peripheral. I carry on her love for hearth and home and the simple pleasures which make being embodied so worthwhile.

I love you Mom.

Blessing

2009-12-04T17:08:34Z

Blessed is our Animal Nature! It arises like a Sun, like the Sea, the howl of the coyote, the wail of the infant, the unbidden cry at the culmination of pleasure. Holy is the Wild inside us.

A Winter Solstice Ceremony

2009-12-03T02:55:13Z

From the Heart of Darkness is birthed the most Brilliant Light.

Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Inspirit Common, Russell Road (Route 9) , Hadley MA

$5 and upward sliding scale

Facilitated by Karina B. Heart and members of the Feri Tradition tribe here in the Northeast. Open to all!

We hope you will join us in this evening of deep magical intent, celebration of Light Returning and the warmth of community.

If you are local/regional, please feel free to spread the word far and wide via internet, word of mouth and our beautiful community webs.

In Love and Power--Karina

anybody out there good at . . .

2009-12-03T01:34:04Z

taking a bunch of disparate information about yours truly and making a reasonable sounding Bio with it? When I write these they either read like a facebook comment or a sixteen page resume.

I need new Bio material for upcoming adventures asap.

I would LOVE some help with this. In return, I will consider all requests for interesting, adventurous or otherwise entertaining barter arrangements.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-25T16:13:57Z

This is my more personal weekly check in for those of you who care to read such things. I am trying to post here weekly about things that are not my blog, my workshops or other teachery-businessey stuff. Ya still might hear something interesting as I lay out the reality of what's been happening in my world. This is mighty long, so grab some tea or move along to something more like a soundbyte if you prefer.

First, while I've been more chatty of late on all of these social-networking forums I'm "hooked' into, I am also feeling more private these days. I am working on building new venues for my teaching-writing-mentoring Work and am not yet sure how it will cross-over or not with what I've been doing these many last years as a 'Craft' teacher. Also, this is the time of the Wheel Year which requires that 4th of the Witches' powers--Silence.

I am teaching a class on DreamTime and some other ways to extend ourselves into the "silent" realities where Talker is not so utterly engaged. Dreams, Deep Listening, Astral Travel . . . these along with a kind of journey-work I do . . . are the realms of symbol, sigil, sign, omen . . . not of Talker. I find it ironic that this time of year is traditionally my most active and fruitful. The two months before my solar return, I am busy busy busy creating and bringing into manifestation what may have been seeded a long time ago. So, on the one hand I am being very quiet and inward. On the other, I am furiously working behind the scenes preparing and manifesting projects shelved for years while I raised my children and tried to scrape together enough money to bring them to light.

Some people have asked me "You teach other stuff besides Feri?" The question is very telling. I actually studied and initiated in other trads. I went to college and studied the intersections between Gender, Politics and Religion. I wrote a thesis on the Women's Spirituality Movement back in the 90's and came this close to attending the Center for Culture and Creation Spritiuality in Oakland (alas, I got pregnant and had babies instead of moving to where I perceived the action would be and am eternally grateful for that choice). I've been in recovery for 22 years. I have a nursing degree and licensure, have raised 2 biracial children single-handedly, was once the owner of a metaphysical store and website, founded a rather large pagan and ritual arts community in my region . . . so, yeah. I know some stuff that would work very nicely taught and facilitated outside the Feri Tradition. I have lived and lived and loved and loved. There is little I haven't seen or experienced. All of it comes into the mix of what I share with students, clients, friends and lovers.

I'm really excited to begin working on a long-shelved project called Women of the 13th Moon. I'll be facilitating here in New England as well as online. It's a big, sprawling, gorgeous, deep, empowering, celebratory, deep, feminine, wild, journey and I cannot wait to launch it fully.

There is the 36' Labrynth recently acquired. It seems clear that this is only to be used for events which raise (donation only) money for causes. I am looking for space to hold Labrynth Walks once per month locally to raise funds for social justice, women's shelters, men's resource centers, etc. Of couse, I am open to hearing other suggestions on how best to use the Labrynth for the betterment of individuals and our communities.

In January and February I have committed to facilitating A Winter Feast for the Soul (for info go here: http://www.winterfeastforthesoul.com/ ), a 40 day commitment to show up and meditate on personal and global peace in my hometown. This brings me such a sense of joy, honor and humilty. This is good work for me.

The 2010 calendar is really pretty full, but I am surprisingly happy that there is not a lot of travel booked. After the child-care fiasco which prevented me from teaching at Feri Camp in Europe, it seems pretty clear that I am not in a position to be jet-setting around the world and leaving two kids at home on a regular basis. I am a home-body and my kids need me, and I guess until I can afford to take them with me or pay someone (rather than barter) to stay with them or they grow up and move away, that my travels will be limited to places I really want to go, teaching what I really feel compelled to teach. (Please do not read this as my saying I did not want to be in Germany. I really did! Not be able to go gave me pause to review priorities.)

Less and less, am I compelled to teach Feri. I am working intimately with two big handfuls of Feri students here and at distance who I really want to focus on training as thoroughly and carefully as possible. They are all so gorgeous and lush and hold incredible potential. I am honored to share what I know and learn from them in return. I am happy to travel to spend time with them and offer workshops to other committed students in their regions. But workshops for the sake of teaching workshops in Feri Trad doesn't appeal to me right now. things could change again---they often do.

I am more excited at the prospect of creating and maintaining spaces where people who really want to be, feel and do better in their personal lives and relationships can enter into that work and really move forward. I am especially grateful for opportunities to do what I love which do not require a lifetime(s) karmic commitment to my students! I've been doing some 1:1 mentoring/coaching (hate that word) and Love the process of contracting with someone for a specific amount of time to get a particular set of personal-spiritual goals met. It's very fulfilling to assist people in stepping past fear into love and power. It's all about the love and power, baby. Always has been.

At home, the kids are thriving. Mothering a 13 year old girl-woman who's been raised by someone like me is . . . challenging. When she stands toe-to-toe and mirrors my stubbornness, self-authority and fearlessness I cannot help but back up two steps, appraise the situation and grin ear to ear in Pride. If my daughter, at 13 years old, can stand up to ME with such dignity, fearlessness and strength, well, the world just better watch out because Nobody is gonna stand in her way when she sets her mind to it! She is the epitomy of Strength, Beauty and Brilliance--this is her birthright and it is a priviledge to watch her step into it so fully at so young an age. It still cracks me up when she asks on occasion, "Mom, are you ever going to teach me Witchcraft? Why won't you teach me?" LOL. Been teaching her since she lay upon my breast still attached to me by her umblical cord. She is fierce. I am proud.

This has been the year to address my health. I am not exactly middle aged yet, but I could feel how my body was changing rapidly. I could foresee health issues and weakening in the coming years if I didn't get things in hand. I broke my foot last winter and was litterly off my feet for 12 weeks while it healed. I gained weight and lost muscle and strength. Then, I quit smoking (Seven solid months now!) and gained more weight. The scale was reading a number I hadn't seen since my second pregnancy. Not good. In September, I began swimming and walking and occassionally lifting tiny hand-weights. When I began, I could swim maybe 8 -12 lengths of the pool before being so exhausted I could barely climb out of the water. This week, I am swimming 100 laps (2.5 kilometers!) in under an hour and am invigorated rather than exhausted. I can walk as long and far as I choose, go up stairs without being winded and while I've been gaining muscle all these weeks, I am now finally starting to shed pounds.
I am seeking strength rather than thin, but would not complain at all if I lost the wieght I've gained in the last 13 months. I am off all stimulants (caffeine, HFCS), most white foods (sugar, flour, etc) and am really limiting animal proteins. It's all a mad experiment played out from curiosity and self-love rather than wierd self-punishing stuff. I prayed for health. I want it. I find my temperament is more even, my sleep is deliciously uninterrupted, my skin clearer. I am also quite proud of instituting these changes without being cajoled by doctors or self-appointed health experts.

Teaching and doing the work of the IP series I've been facilitating online has brought me face to face with some really embedded, long-standing personal stuph. This past summer, as I worked Self for seven solid weeks (!), was especially difficult as I was forced to confront some parts of me that weren't as careful, compassionate, kind or loving as I'd thought. It was Not Pretty. In fact, pulling out the tangled roots of it was excrutiating. I want to thank those of you who stood by me even while I was at my very Worst. You know who you are. I am grateful beyond measure to those that helped point these things out to me and those of you who stood and bore witness as I confronted the self-hating Life-killer within me.

A part of me was so very invested in sabotaging myself, my most important relationships, my career and any prospect of intimate love. I approached the demons with trepidation and excitement. Who might I be if I were able to free up the life force these patterns/demons required to feed themselves and thirve? What might life look like? What love might I be ready to receive?

Oh! I had no idea! I could not have begun to glimpse it! Even now as my un-self-sabotaged life begins to unfold before me, fully engaged with Sex, Passion, Pride and Power--the Pearl arises in me anew-- and the shape, texture, pattern and flavor of it is so incredibly rich, glorious and intense I find I am having to work very hard to expand to encompass and embody it. (Swimming helps. Sleeping at night helps. Talking with friends helps. Walking really fast helps. Dancing really hard helps.Sex helps)

I have been delightedly surprised by a love so unexpected and innocent I can scarce contain it. I have taken risks that seem outrageous and dangerous (ego says, "Be Careful!") that have proven that when we leap toward love, we cannot do it with only half our heart. I don't know what will become of this sweet, budding thing. I cannot control such outcomes. I can only keep stepping through the illusion of flaming hoops, terrifying heights and unknowable depths that Fear places in front of me. I can only keep reaching toward the possibility of this love. I never knew what a crazy romantic I was. I never knew a lot of things that have arisen as a result of meeting this person. I am really grateful that I have spent these years (at the much vocalized concern of many of my peers and acquaintances) clearing, cleansing, holding and Honoring the power of Sex rather than spending it for the sake of getting laid. This is the right way for me. I recall a teacher of mine saying again and again (because I needed to hear it again and again), "Do not cast Pearls before swine."

I'm holding this new, tender, vulnerable thing close. It is not Time to discuss it in forums such as this other than to say it is here and I am awed.

So, if you have made it this far, thanks for visiting! I appreciate your time. Now, I have all that other writing to attend to.

Whether you are here in the states or abroad, may you find much to give thanks for. May your life be a gorgeous Feast to behold and consume. May everything on your plate be what you have chosen of your own Free Will for your own Blessing.

Blessed Be in Love and in Power.

Risk and Resistance.

2009-11-24T14:51:09Z

From my blog, http://soulalignments.blogspot.com where there are Daily Commitments you can follow through with should your heart desire it. And just when I learned how to make a "cut," I see that LJ has changed their formatting again.

As we step into healing which is another word for transformation of that which is in a state of dis-ease within us, we don't have to take too many steps before we come face to face with our own resistance. Healing, transformation, change, personal growth, magic--these all require of us a commitment to risking what we have considered "safe" and leaping into the unknown.

Stop for a moment. Take a long, slow breath. Come fully into the body. Open in the places you hold tension. Relax by following the slow breath in and out of the body. When you are feeling centered and as though you can hear what your body is trying to tell you, say out loud, "I'm going to leap into the unknown."

What just happened within the Body and Wild self? The Wild inside us doesn't really know that we aren't physically standing on the edge of a precipice. The Wild and Body are intricately connected and when threatened, move immediately into a stance of defense/protection. The breath catches in the throat, adrenal glands activate and flood the bloodstream with fight-or-flight chemicals, the heart skips a beat. If we are already living in a state of heightened anxiety (which has become normalized in our culture), we may even notice our hands or feet going a little numb as our small blood vessels constrict in response to the adrenaline wash. Our mouths go dry, our ears strain and our pupils dilate in response to perceived danger.

It's no wonder we are so resistant to change! Even change our Genius understands as positive and healthy for us can cause this Wild-Body reaction, effectively terrifying us into resisting actually doing anything which will bring about personal transformation.

This week, we're going to explore some ways to settle down the Wild-Body so we can move past resistance and risk change. If we want anything at all to move forward, we have to move past fear. Making the commitment to ourselves to step over the ledge of the known into the unknown takes huge courage! Whether the known we are stepping away from is a job, lifestyle, relationship, way of thinking, addiction or a method of protecting ourselves, we need to be able to confront fear. Whether the unknown we long for is a healthier body, a deeper relationship to Self or love for another, we must be able to step past resistance and risk everything we have known in service to our new vision.

It's Thanksgiving week in the States--a traditional time to focus on gratitude. It's also a time when we are gathering with family, friends and community. These gatherings, in my experience, provide ample opportunity for us to move past resistance and risk changing the ways we behave and the roles we have habitually played in our families and other relationships. Are you ready?

Right now, your Wild-Body is most likely awash in a fear-chemicals. Take some long slow breaths and as you exhale, release as much of that tension as you can. Take as long as you need. Drinking extra water will also help wash the adrenaline through your system quicker (as will reducing caffeine, sugar, nicotine and other stimulants).

check in

2009-11-19T16:28:21Z

Hey all.

Seems like it's been a while since checking in here. posting tiny little blurbs on facebook, consistent writing on my blog, developing a new website, teaching two online courses, flying out to Houston to teach/be Joy, keeping up with my BlackHearted students . . . it's been a busy Autumn! The kids are great. We are just plugging along with homeschooling and my daugher and I are looking into alternatives to the public high school for her. I cannot beleive she is going to high school next year.

I've beaten the caffeine addiction, it's been 7 months since I've smoked or ingested HFCS products, and I have successfully overcome my insomnia problem. I am finding I have new food aversions---not allergies. I am paying attention to what and when my body wants on a deeper level. I need a lot less of some things . . . and much more of others. I've been swimming 2K+ in the pool most days and working out at home and walking the neighborhood most other days. Still not dropping any weight but am noticably stronger and more muscular.

I'm working behind the scenes in developing new venues for my work and ways to make my current work easier and more streamlined. This is exciting!

Then there is the whole love-life front which is too tender to speak of here. And really, once I get started at the smallest provocation I cannot shut up, so it's best not to begin. Believe me, I am sparing you!

My trip to Houston was wonderful. The weekend intensive was . . . . intense! A lot of hard work to draw Joy toward us through the false veils we erect. I was impressed by the level of commitment of the students. Always a pleasure to work with folks who are willing to step up to mirror and honor what's there while embracing change. They were also a lot of fun!

I have been connecting with old friends--people I haven't seen or heard from in years are showing up for intimacy. I've been making new and deep connections which is challenging and joyous. I am re-connecting with home, my place in this landscape, these communities, and the spirits here.

Life is sweet.

DreamTime

2009-11-08T15:45:18Z

Last day to register!

The weeks between Samhain and Winter Solstice are liminal--betwixt and between, neither here nor there. A time for dreaming and hibernation, deep listening and incubation, this is an especially powerful time, like the Dark of Moon, the stillness between breaths and the full silence between Death and Rebirth. In this online intensive workshop we will dive deep into that Well of Space where we'll work toward the development of such skills as Astral Travel, Dream Magic, Divination and Deep Listening. This is the first in an ongoing series of workshops designed to carry us deeply into the magic, momentum and meaning of the Sabbats and the great wheel of the year. There are no pre-requisites and no commitment beyond this workshop is required. November 10 - December 22nd. The deadline for registration is TODAY November 8. Sliding scale $88, $97 or $115 per person.

Go to http://www.blackheartferi.com/calendar.htm for registration and payment options.

NOTE: In the Name of Power workshop start date has been moved to November 18th! Register by 11-15.

Negative Space

2009-11-05T20:25:38Z

How much time and energy (nice words for Life Force, Manna, Chi, Prana) do you give over to Negative Space? This week, we're witnessing and creating escape routes over at my blog http://soulalignments.blogspot.com/

Whirlwinds

2009-11-04T05:27:03Z

Settling back into my routine (pray, raise kids, keep house, cook, teach, write, swim, teach, write, pray) after a beautiful weekend with students, initiates and very close friends of the BlackHeart line in celebration of magic, connection and joy and in honor of our Beloved Dead, the Mighty Dead and our own Highest Selves.

I am proud. It was well done from start to finish! The magic was deep. The company superb. Integrity was high. Everyone did their part to make the Ritual Retreat all it could possibly be. I am well pleased!

Upon returning home, I've been happily entertaining whirlwinds:

Making plans for an exciting trip this winter with friends and another next spring for "work" (more will be revealed).
Acquiring a free 36 foot diameter canvas Labrynth by coincidence and wondering what it is for.
Making plans for a public/open Winter Solstice Ritual here in on December 19th at Inspirit Common www.inspiritcommon.com
Also planning the public/open Feast of Brigid her in the Valley in Early February.
Looking into leasing permanent space for workshops, events, rituals, etc. to share with the talented community of pagans, artists and healers here in the Happy Valley
Plugging away at what has recently been coined "Extreme Iron Pentacle" online workshops. Folks! They are kicking my butt, too!
Hoping my website designer is really going to get the new site up this month.
Opening my heart to possiblity I could scarce imagine. Even in the face of this huge fear, I am choosing love. Fear is for the Cup. I bless it and let it go. Love is for the heart, for falling, for family and friends. I drink it in.
Swimming 2.5 km three to four times a week. Walking and lifting tiny weights on others. I am strong.
I have put the stack of editing where I can actually see it again.I didn't join NanoWrimo but am committed to that pile THIS MONTH.
Launching plans which have been sitting inside filing cabinets and on back burners for years while my children grew and I grew along with them. Soul Alignments. Women of the 13th Moon. Others yet to be revealed.
Recognizing that while my children and teaching grew, my social life nearly choked to death. I am reviving that and the universe is cooperating nicely.
Wondering if I am ever going to get up the courage to ask her straight out if she feels the same way I do.
Recommitting again and again and again to embodiment of my 3 fold Spirit, the pursuit of Happiness, all I have denied, have aspired to and am.

That's the "short list" and the very very abridged version of where I've been and what I'm up to.

How 'bout you? C'mon all you Facebook Traitors (I know! I'm one, too), speak more than a six word sentence! Let's hear it in all it's glory!

Good Samhain One & All

2009-10-30T03:49:53Z

I am taking a break from planning and packing and remembering and crossing things off lists as I prepare for a weekend of ritual, magic, hanging out, laughing, dancing, feasting, hot-tubbing and general all around lovely wickedness with members of the BlackHeart tribe and a few of our beloved "favorites."

As we dine with the Dead and dance across the mountaintop here in New England, we will blow kisses to our far-flung family dancing beneath the same full moon on another mountaintop amid a circle of stones. We will remember those in all the places we are aware of--gathering together to honor the Ones Gone Before. Our feet dance with your feet. Our hands join yours across the miles and continents and seas. Our voices raised in power join yours. Our faces lifted skyward in awed silence before Her Triple Will. Spiral from center to edge and back again, breathless until the Power is spent. We may not be together in body, but our spirits soar in union working the Old Magics made new in us.

We have been this way before.
We will pass this way again.
When first we meet, we are remembering old friends.

Good Samhain.
Be Thou Blessed in Love and in Power.

Trinity

2009-10-28T19:27:47Z

one more . . . . .

Trinity
A workshop in spiritual anatomy and soul-alignment with Karina B. Heart

We’ve all heard of "Body-Mind-Spirit," but rarely have we discussed exactly how to make the connections between these seemingly disparate parts of ourselves. In this workshop, we’ll introduce our parts--The Genius, Wild and Divine to each another, find out what stands in the way of a more consensual and cooperative relationship between them and begin the process of aligning them for Wholeness.

Discerning, naming and honoring our parts is the first step toward an integration which allows for the body, mind and spirit to truly come together in agreement. What wisdom might you be privy to if you could access your Divine nature! Imagine how your creativity might blossom if you were able to communicate with the Wild inside! Think about how useful it would be to eradicate self-sabotaging habits once and for all. What if you could quiet the internal arguments and struggle, freeing up that life force for more useful endeavors?

All the major religious traditions and more than a few of the world’s indigenous/shamanic traditions taught ways to weave these connections into alignment within the human being for healing, transformation, deep magic and access to spiritual wisdom. Karina is thrilled to share this incredible wisdom to you because the time for holding such important and effective tools in "secret" has ended.

This is an introductory workshop appropriate for anyone seeking to align themselves with wholeness. For more information and registration materials, please contact Karina at soulalignments@gmail.com before November 10, 2009. Classes will be posted November 15, 22, 29, and December 6 & 13, 2009 online.