Blog Archives
Whimsical Wednesdays ~ The Artist’s Corner: The Magick Rabbit Storybook Art
As promised, today’s Whimsical Wednesdays brings to you a peek into my “Artist’s Corner” with the first look at some new little whimsical paintings Astrid and I have been working on in our free time. Astrid was right that 12/12 would be the reveal and so without further ado, I’d like to show you what the two of us have been up to lately in Wonderland here.
If you’ve been following along for a while, you likely recall the evolutionary journey my paintings and drawings have gone through over time, but this fresh flow of creativity has truly been the most enjoyable for me, as they come straight from my inner child and blend together my imagination with what Astrid sends me.
Moonlight Whispers by Tania Marie & Astrid
We call this collection “The Magick Rabbit ~ Storybook Tales of Wonder and Whimsy Come to Life.”
The images you see here are straight off the press, as they say – just quick snaps from my cell phone for now in order to share them with you.
They’re also Astrid approved, as you can see. 😉
I love how she embraces them and even recognizes herself in The Empress, which I created as a whimsical version of her as a Tarot Card, and gives it a straight-on kiss!
And in Bedtime Stories, she goes straight for the little dark bunny that looks like her! Too cute!
I intend to get them professionally photographed/scanned here shortly, which will capture the detail and color much better than I can in most cases, and will then be able to make more fun stuff available to you.
The Journey by Tania Marie & Astrid
I want to stick to small sizes, as these are meant to be fun for me, easy and quick to execute so that they mimic childhood memories of when I used to sit down at the kitchen table as a little girl with my French Grandpa drawing throughout the Summer on my grandparent’s long visits with us.
They’re pure joy and imagination flowing through what I love most – rabbits!
Bedtime Stories by Tania Marie & Astrid
And in keeping them this way, I can also make artwork like this, accessible for many.
While I keep a creative channel of energy flowing in balance to the other things in my life I need to focus more left-brained on.
The Empress by Tania Marie & Astrid
These original 8″ x 10″ paintings on canvas boards will be available, alongside prints and other fun items like greeting cards, journals, etc. with these images on them.
In this way I can offer affordable storybook windows that rekindle the wondrous heart of your inner child – portals to harness sweet magick into your everyday life.
I’m not sure that I’ll have the other items available before Christmas, but these originals might be up in my new Etsy shop soon.
Eventually, I’ll create more of these 8″ x 10″‘s (and perhaps some other fun smaller canvas board sizes) in my spare creative time, but the next collection will be a little bit different – I’ll share what I mean when they’re ready! I see them in my/Astrid’s minds’ eyes, but I never know what is going to come out until it does!
What I love is that there’s no thought involved. The magick just happens in surrendering to the inspiration.
Cosmic Voyage by Tania Marie & Astrid
I can’t tell you how wonderful and fulfilling it’s been to channel these first five rabbit-inspired, magickal pieces of art from the Faery Tales of my mind and the shared visions between Astrid and me.
They are little whispers of enchantment to infuse your life with a little magick and inspire your own inner child or a beloved child in your life.
While simple, like anything I create, it’s always infused with much more. And you can discover that meaning for yourself, each time you peer into these Faery Tale Windows.
There’s a storybook tale within each to reflect your journey, as the adventure it is – all shared through the heart of one Magick Rabbit and one Rabbit Faery.
For now, this is just a little introduction, as Astrid and I have been so excited about sharing these.
We’ll announce when my Etsy shop is ready, as I’m in process of rebirthing it after it being empty for years.
If you’re on Instagram, you may want to follow along, as I’ll be making shop update announcements there, as to when things will be available. In terms of originals, these will be first-come-first-served, so keeping your bunny ears tuned in will be key for those. I’ll also have giveaways and other fun things only available via Instagram.
We hope you enjoy this little peek into the world we’ve been walking in lately.
Let us know what you think.
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: The Worth of Waiting
I was reminded yesterday when I gave Astrid the first batch of her holiday gifts, just how much joy it brings to my heart to see her happy and giving her the things she deserves. This continued later in the evening over conversation with my sweet friend, Lynne, who is visiting, as I shared with her about the first time Astrid saw her Wonderland realm I’d created just for her and she dropped into a deep state of heartfelt gratitude. She stopped in her tracks and took it all in, then sat in overwhelming feelings she had always believed were possible, but hadn’t materialized outside of her belief until now. That was the most moving moment for me when she looked at everything then turned to me and wanted to snuggle – if her eyes could have shed tears they would have, but mine sure did. I heard her expression of gratitude and felt her love, as she thanked me for seeing her and making her dreams a reality.
We both dropped into a timeless shared moment that is etched in my heart forever.
Last night I went to bed knowing today was Astrid’s share time and asked her to let me know what she wanted to write about.
She said, “the worth of waiting.”
So, I went to sleep with the intention to hear her message and bring that through now.
Astrid knows that so many of us feel like we are waiting forever for the things we want. That constantly we’re told to be patient just a little while longer. To keep believing. To not let go of our dreams. And to keep moving forward when all we want to do is give up with disappointment, exhaustion, and feelings of overwhelming sadness.
She knows I have so many times gone through that myself – feeling like nothing was ever going to happen. That I kept working on things, giving my all, making changes, devoting myself to figuring out what I’m missing, and still had only my hope to go on.
She knows that so many times I wanted to give up and was brought to my knees in painful soul-felt tears and couldn’t understand why.
And she knows somehow I kept going.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons she and I connect so much. Because Astrid has been through the same in her life.
Her background is filled with disappointment, fear, sadness, the unknown, and yet she kept fighting and kept going.
This eventually brought her to SaveABunny where she was finally treated with respect and tenderness, and at least was out of danger.
Yet, she still had a couple of years ahead of having people come and go, but never seeing her, nor wanting to adopt her.
She kept believing when all seemed hopeless.
And although she was there one of the longest of any bunnies, awaiting a forever home, it did happen.
We found each other.
Two souls who kept believing.
Two souls who have never given up.
We found our happy ending in each other.
Astrid says, she easily could have let her health go and gone into full-on depression, but she kept strong, took care of herself, and remained a robust picture of well -being.
She knew one day….one day….her dream would come true.
And she wanted to be at her best when it did.
I can so relate, as so many times I wanted to give up on things in my life I hoped for and never saw evidence of getting closer to.
And yet they did come and I was reminded, like Astrid, that time is an idea we attach to. The spirit and heart don’t experience it the same. There is no timeline for when things unfold. There’s the journey and how we embrace it.
No matter when something happens in our lives, even if it’s just for a minute of blissful depth, that one moment will be worth all of the pain, struggle, and work we put into our lives.
Astrid says, “It needn’t be that way though. If you embrace that the future is now and live your life backwards with the beauty being in your heart to experience whenever you want, then you will know how to ride the eternal.”
In essence, we don’t have to suffer, as the only reason we do is the acceptance of separation from that which is in our heart awaiting our opening to.
Hard to embrace when your physical reality seems to say something else, but that doesn’t have to be the story if we tell it differently.
And this provides the hope and the ability to experience life more fully now with whatever our situation is.
It makes what we desire more tangible and draws it in as a manifestation.
Astrid knows this isn’t easy to embrace when heartache becomes overwhelming.
But she knows it’s possible, as it’s been her experience.
And I do too.
I keep using these techniques and keep listening to her reminders, as I continue to embrace hope for manifesting more things my heart is feeling.
I see and experience them as done and so the journey is much sweeter. It also makes it so that if they manifest or not, it’s not as important because I already am enjoying the possibility within my heart where it counts the most.
It creates a feeling of wholeness and from there anything is possible.
Astrid says, “You are a timeless being living a blip of your immensity. Open to your fullness and you’ll open to the potentials in greater ways than you think.”
There are reasons things align as they do and if we remove the time constraints, the worth of waiting reveals itself.
You might even find that you’re living rather than waiting.
Take care of you. You are worth it.
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: Upgrades & Overloads of Rebirthing Change
Rebirthing seems to be a theme running through the collective and just today it came through to me through five different streams of experiences and messages from others. One of them being Astrid, as rabbits reflect this symbolism well. She’s been very eager the last couple of days to not only nudge me hard at my ankle, but has bee-lined to me in order to grab a hold of my pant leg with her teeth to get my attention.
Likely she knew of the energy overload I was experiencing and the upgrade about to take place, but it also seems she’s been really keen on my being with her so that we can navigate the unknowns together.
Rabbits are very at home in the labyrinth Netherworld where intricate underground passageways and dark twisting tunnels are the norm and where they feel secure navigating their travels by intuition and inner light alone.
Change is no stranger to them and they are accustomed to making decisions in the face of fear and maintain peaceful focus amidst chaos.
After all, their survival relies on it.
This sense of self and ingenuity is a gift that reflects to us our ability to master the same within us awaiting our reclaiming.
As Lee shared in his December Energy Update yesterday, “We are built to handle change.”
And as the ever-rebirthing rabbit says, “You, too, can get in touch with change and ride the sands of time, as the seasons weave their cycles.”
Astrid knows change very intimately and has braved the new every step of the way. Recently she shared about her own upgrade to a Castle Tower, and while it had mirrored our own shifts up until then, it was also foreshadowing more change upcoming for me.
That hit yesterday, as I’ve added a heap load of new into my life recently (including a wave of new energy painting) and its been a process to integrate a balanced schedule with it all.
I’ve been feeling a build-up of energy in a way I can’t describe and it catapulted me to this suspended point outside of this or that. It released tethers that provided any sense of familiarity and detached me even more.
Astrid says, “This is the Cosmic way, and when you are at home within this unknown, you realize the power of your own inner light above all else.”
It keeps coming at me with the expression of new inspiration and focuses, along with the stripping away of layers, the joy of surrendering things to others ready to own their own level of responsibility and reclaiming, and the deepening gratitude that stretches me to farther reaches of heart generosity that lives for today.
Astrid often sits tall and looks me straight into my heart with piercing wisdom that seems both so far away and so tangibly rich.
She says, “This is because I reflect the heart’s Great Mystery that can only be experienced by way of both loving and letting go more. Then you experience the vastness and beautiful complexity of Cosmic Love.”
She continues sharing “This overload of energy is a liminal space you’ve been experiencing as a compilation of layering new pieces onto pieces you don’t want to forget, while juggling ways to hold them within the still limited version of unrealized potential, rather than relaxing into these things already being who you are. The reminders have already done their work and the memory can now let go into the ease of embodiment. It’s time to create from the impetus of fertile inspiration and allow these to rebirth completely anew.”
And so, yesterday, my mini Notebook (the computer I’ve been using the last 5 years) finally and fully overloaded. I’ve been receiving messages from it over the past few months that there was no space remaining and our attempts to delete things went in vein.
Then my computer said, “No more.”
Just as Astrid said, “Come join me as you already are.”
Ironically and synchronously this took place yesterday directly after I posted Lee’s December Energy Update and right after I received an email from a very special spirit and artisan who after a couple of months since onset of our correspondence, had completed creating “a celestial muse” she was working on in collaboration with me that happens to embody “creation” and not surprisingly, but without me saying anything, wove the song of my heart into being.
It just so happened that I was ready for this, as anything of importance to me – truly only my new novel – is stored on a tiny little chip, and things that might “seem” important, but speak of the old days for me, were surrendered away. I let it all go, including several years of saved emails and work correspondence from days of the past and embraced Dave’s extra, heavy duty computer as my new replacement, which I’ve been using for our shared side business bookkeeping.
The overload caused everything to run in circles, take forever to implement, reverse working at all without hours of dissecting, and simply not listen to or understand commands.
In essence, I would not be moving forward unless I walked into a much more expansive field where pieces are not even present to remind me and only embodiment speaks for itself.
All of the new energy couldn’t keep piling on to things working in the background and using up space in one way or form. A larger playing field within the vortex of my heart had to be opened where things move freely and are simply an intrinsic part of me.
I said goodbye to the memories while closing all access of return and this new and vastly larger platform now provides the space for that “impetus of fertile inspiration” Astrid spoke of.
Better yet, I have no attachment to it and anything on it, which feels extra freeing, as I don’t feel the computer to be mine. It is more of a portal and conduit to bring things through, but to shut away and detach from at end of each day.
And then today, some wonderful and full circle soulful unfoldings took place when the perfect guardian said yes to my passing on three sacred items that speak of what has been some of the greatest importance to me and my lifetimes, which I only recently had also been nudged to surrender over in trust.
Astrid was specifically involved in this, literally getting my attention and moving these pieces into my awareness.
I couldn’t ask for a wiser companion.
I’ve also found myself giving out in bigger ways than ever lately, feeling that vastness and abundance, without need to hold on. There are infinite ways for things to come about. To hold onto something as an idea of insurance was also robbing the good it could do in so many other ways now, including the very way I thought it might one day help.
Astrid has been quite the muse in all of this – amusing and musing!
When I do something from that infinite place she binkies with delight – I call it a Cosmic Binky.
When I’m missing the point or urgency, she grabs hold of my pant leg.
When I’m “getting it” and download her wisdom, she peers deeply through me in her Buddha Bunny- like stance with eyes dark as the Cosmos and a twinkle of starlight at center.
This morning, as we were still prepping Dave’s computer for me I was upstairs at our usual Ask Astrid blog time so Queen Astrid came running upstairs to get me. She waited patiently beneath the graceful towering giraffes – her grounded sentinels of grace and divine purpose.
From there she was downloading today’s message, as she helped me to connect the dots with all the latest happenings.
Every day a new layer of fine-tuning is integrated.
She reminded me that every time my energy gets an “upgrade,” so do my computers and cell phones.
And we both know that this is true for many of you out there as well.
Our energy shifts affect things around us.
Rabbits are finely attuned to energies and reflect them to the tiniest degree.
My two other rabbits, Nestor and Joy, used to have physical blow-outs because of the expansive energy they would channel and their bodies had to readjust, which isn’t the easiest always for bunnies.
Astrid is much better at managing her energy and wants me to understand those tweaks and fine-tunings that can help with optimizing my own.
This time it wasn’t about forcing a change by crashing my computer and losing things, but more about mindfulness that gave me the option of tweaking realizations and moving forward more effectively and in bigger ways.
As we go through changes, which right now everyone is experiencing in varying degrees of relative intensity, there are ways to tune into those little tweaks so that we can all optimize our energy.
Sometimes they’re easier to see and feel than others, so reflections like these can assist us.
For me, it seems Astrid is sharing that just as she fully chewed down and got rid of her Carrot Cottage so it no longer takes up any space, in order to make space for her Castle Tower, so too did I need to look at the tiny ways space was being held by things I already embody.
I had even saved the top roof of the Carrot Cottage with the idea to create a little house upstairs for her and she was not interested in the least bit.
So I’ve since removed it completely once she said, “I told you we’re done mom. I love the memories it held of my being welcome to my forever home, but our love is now permanent and the cardboard house takes up space our hearts can use to create and anchor new growth in.”
So, in reflection, while I may have given up the work and things of the past, if it still sits there even as storage space on a computer, or as an item tucked away on a shelf, they’re still taking up space I could breathe more freely in and by removing them I brush away the dust of memories and awaken the sparkle of birthing new stars.
Astrid smiles. “Change is like the beautiful birth of a star.”
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: Navigating the Illusion of Loss
Last night while we headed out for our second wind of the night’s outings, just as we turned the bend at the tip of the forest, a raccoon caught my eye to the left. It was no more than a day or two ago that we were having a conversation with friends where Dave mentioned not ever seeing a raccoon, opossum, porcupine, etc. and I told him – “Oh they’re out there, they just don’t show up when you want, plus you’re usually asleep when they’re exploring about. They slip through the veils when needed.” And then she did.
When asking Astrid to think about what she wanted to share for today’s message of her blog, she told me to go ahead and go out first to enjoy the snow and more snow shoeing, while she thought about it and would send me her ideas while out in the forest. And, of course she did.
While out in the forest I received two messages from her. One, was the image of the raccoon and the second was some sadness – my own – and some words “illusion of loss.” I continued snow shoeing, wondering about the tie-in and why she wanted me to go out, but it then hit me while the snow was coming down all around us and all of the forest was deep in blankets of white.
Everything around me had changed pretty much overnight since the eve of Thanksgiving, going from Fall’s warm colors and brittle leaves, to a slumber where signs of life are dormant and the purity of snow infuses its own cleansing alchemy.
It might appear like life is no where to be found, but in fact it is never gone and is in process of deep renewal – the kind you believe in, but won’t answer to your hopes until you’ve all but forgotten your dreams.
Astrid reminds me that the holidays can be very beautiful and warm times because of the love in our hearts the magick kindles, but they are also full of nostalgia, memories, and in many cases – a sense of loss, emptiness, and loneliness.
These are times people reflect on dear ones who are no longer physically with us and Astrid knows that lately we’ve heard of many souls moving on, which makes it challenging for those of us left behind with our feelings that are magnified now.
She reminds me that I, too, am one of those souls who deeply misses my dear ones and she brings this up for me to impart a message from her she knows won’t immediately take away the pains any of us feel, but assures us can be the alchemy we desire.
She prompts me to share what I’ve learned through my “losses,” while she helps channel her message through my processing. And by “loss” she means, having experienced my dearest friends that resided on Earth in animal bodies with me, returning to the stars.
So I reflected on the snow, bitter wind, and the blankets of white draped over the once colorful landscape and the feelings that flow through watery tears and sometimes cast a frozen burn upon my heart. They are one and the same….an illusion of something we think we can’t see or touch anymore in the same way, but underneath it all, remains and is ever-renewing, expanding, and preparing to blossom again and again.
She reminds me how much I LOVE the snow and its magick, even though it can be harsh and even take lives away from the creatures of Earth when her presence is thick with icy illusion.
Yet, I have not thought of snow and Winter as wrong or hurtful. It simply is another form of beauty that transforms and kindles a spark of inspiration in my heart and brings me closer to pure grace of being.
The same is how I’ve experienced physical death – when I allow myself to go through the flow of icy tears and memories, I’ve arrived at the magick of pure and simple love that suddenly drops into the true experience of eternal spirit that inhabits the vortex of my heart.
The loss is no longer truth because the gain is far more permeable and returns me to essence.
Winter. Death. They are both passing cycles and they are both ironically beautiful. Inherent in the state of each, is a remarkable alchemy that draws forth the depths of our hearts to feel things we normally want to run from or put a coat over to keep the chill out. But if we run our fingers over an icicle, we can begin to feel the burn.
This is the flame of life – the fire that raises the ashes – the burn of Cosmic love – the inferno of eternity.
Astrid knows I go through this burning continuum every time waves of memories and winds of spirit flash through me of my loved ones gone. They are a merging of then, now, and beyond, and once I move through the reminders of then, inherent is the presence of now.
The bridge becomes the heart and we become One.
I am seeing eternity through the eyes of loss and death. Just as I am seeing promise and inspiration through the eyes of Winter’s veil.
And so, raccoon reveals herself.
No longer to be hidden away in the dark, striking behind the shadows.
I/we come face-to-face with the truth.
Raccoons are known as great shapeshifters and tricksters.
Some may even refer to them as thieves, stealing away or hiding things from you in the dark of night.
Caroline Myss has written about the thief archetype saying that he, “sheds light on the potential wealth within you that can never be stolen.”
Our dear ones, our dreams, the things we think we have lost and can’t touch or experience the way we used to love, were never truly taken from us.
The only thing we ever lost was our understanding of real love.
Love that truly sees.
Love that truly feels.
Love that truly is eternal.
Love that bridges all illusions and boundaries.
Love that knows the inherent beauty in all things.
Love that brings everything into the now.
Love that expands and renews, over and over again.
Astrid reminds us that we have the strength and courage, just like fearless raccoon, to see through any difficult situation with ingenuity, flexibility, and possibility.
Like Spring inevitably comes after Winter, it is also inherent in Winter’s embrace.
They aren’t a one-after-the-other experience, but part of each other right now.
You experience things as beautiful because inherently your spirit recognizes the totality of something even if your ego and conscious mind only sees one thing.
Just as Nature recognizes our true nature and hopes to remind and reflect back to us the totality of who we are at any given moment – every cycle, every experience, every emotion, and thought are all of who we are now.
Our loved ones are all of who we are now.
They are eternally here behind the veils we erect.
And when you catch those glimpses of their spirit moving through the wind, when you feel their breath send the hairs on your arm and back of your neck to stand on end, when you see a shadow and spark out of the corner of your eye, or simply when your heart swells with enormous floods of love…you’ve pulled down the veils, removed the masks of slumber and judgment, you’ve turned on the light in the dark, and opened a locked door.
Those we love are with us and in everything around us.
We’re ready to experience the multi-dimensionality of life and open to new potentials and great change.
Astrid walks between worlds…between being grounded and on Earth and far-off in the Cosmos and although she understands the challenge we have of grasping these concepts, it is her desire to help open the portals to our hearts so we can walk with her into the realms of possibility. When we see only half the story, we are choosing to keep our lives compartmentalized.
We are choosing to remain small and separate.
We are choosing to keep those we love away from us, rather than with us.
Creatures of the night, like raccoon, can help reveal the truth of the heart and bring us the gifts they’ve been hiding away – into the light.
And what was lost can now be found.
Those that left, we’ll discover just tucked themselves away in our hearts, revealing the greatest magick trick there is – the power of love to unlock everything.
Astrid sends her love to everyone and hopes the seeds within her words take root.
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: Building Strong Foundations for the New
Last weekend Astrid received a new, wood castle tower to replace her toppling over, cardboard carrot cottage. I got her the cottage when she first came home to live with us and she immediately went at renovating it by chewing open the carrot windows and widening doorways to let in more light, create clearer vision, and have easier in-and-out access. Eventually, she started chewing the backside wall almost completely where the second story sat above the first, and the whole house became the Leaning Tower of Pisa – or like a friend said, “the Leaning Tower of Carrot.”
And this is where today’s blog inspiration comes from, as Astrid points out, “There is nothing random about this, mom. Reflect back for a moment and you’ll see what I mean.”
She’s right. When I first gave her the carrot cottage we were living in our condo – the tree house in the sky above Lake Tahoe – and were in a bit of flux with our living situation and decisions on what we wanted to create from there, what home looked like to us, new ideas around business ventures and long-term planning, and even what I wanted to do with my current inspirations of writing and so forth.
Hence, a bio-degradable, non-permanent, and easily mobile carrot cottage for Astrid – my reflective counterpart.
But just as we outgrew our tree house and decided upon a forest-side dream home that we, too, wanted to renovate, Astrid let out her energy larger and larger and I began to create a room of similar dream-home quality for her.
This all coincided with us rapidly moving many parts of our life at once, and setting into place brand new foundations that were strongly anchored, but also much more integrated and balanced. We continued to fine-tune our lives, cleared out the old, listened to what our hearts had to say, and worked on getting greater clarity of focus and efficiency while building and recreating.
Astrid continued to mirror this and more and more shifts to her little Wonderland realm began to happen while I listened to her needs and saw her for who she is. So, even what she started off with when first moving into this home, transformed. Much like it did for me.
All but that cardboard carrot cottage, which every morning she would chew away on more and more.
She tells me that she was doing this for three-fold reason.
One, she was moving energy through that chewing, as rabbits do, and this in reflection and addition to changes she processes and supports beyond even herself.
Two, she was trying to get my attention that this house just won’t do anymore. “I want a better lookout place to oversee things in the forest and to see into the Cosmos when the stars come out. I want a stronger fortress to create boundaries when I need them from the energies abound, so I can do my work more easily. I prefer my feet feeling grounded and supported with a strong foundation, rather than walking on flimsy, moving cardboard. I prefer castles over cottages because it’s who I am and deserve it – thank you for seeing that. I want to go bigger.”
And three, she wanted to remind me about the concept of building the new, which you can’t do upon an old foundation because the new structure will simply fall down. In order to build the new, you must work from the ground up, clear out all of the old that lies deep under the surfaces as well – the hidden stuff – and then rebuild and recreate from a whole new vision. This will create something lasting.
She’s so right.
Astrid would like me to break the latter one down further into digestible pieces of understanding. So, here we go.
Many times we try to build the new, but we don’t take time to look under the demolished building to see what it was standing on in the first place.
You can’t simply just put on new clothes, change location, get plastic surgery, or buy a new car.
Whatever you carried with you from before will still be there emanating and magnetizing things regardless of what the outside looks like.
But, if you do some psychic surgery, excavate into the emotional caverns of your heart, explore the inner realms and dig up the roots of your beliefs and patterns, you can then integrate and transmute, clear, and move beyond.
Then, the new you create has the ability to firmly root in clear fresh soil, without any of the old plants fighting for nourishment and energy.
Your new won’t come toppling down surprisingly one day when these old roots start surfacing again.
Astrid knows of these things because she and her rabbit family are so connected to Mother Earth.
They hear her vibrations and understand the inner workings that support vibrant and renewing ecosystems.
They hear the vibrational frequencies emanating beneath the surface and can see beyond what we present to them.
They see things for how they really are.
And so Astrid compels us to take a deeper look.
If we want to stand firm with our new visions, then we need to be willing to tear down, chew up, and process that stuff we don’t want to experience anymore, find their gifts, and transmute them into a brand new reality.
Don’t forget your parts along the way.
If your carrot cottage no longer suits the essence of you, then build yourself a strong castle tower where you can see more clearly from.
Yet, don’t forget those roots!
Astrid thinks everyone would do well with having some rabbit teeth for those nasty little buggers.
Chew, grind, and chew again, until they’re broken down and easily digestible.
Doing so will provide the nourishment needed to create new realities based on wisdom of the past and vision of the future, integrated right here and now.
Have a question for Astrid? She welcomes you to share them and we both send a lot of love to everyone processing the old and working on creating and building the new.
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: Navigating the New by Way of the Rabbit
You may see rabbits as fragile little creatures, but I assure you they are strong and enduring with a heart of courage. When asked what Astrid wanted to focus today’s blog on, she took time to herself and emerged with clarity saying, “Let’s talk about fear.” I think she’s right-on with this theme, as so many are trying to create new in their lives, follow dreams, heal from past traumas, or even just trying to muster the courage and strength amidst so much collective noise coming at them, that it’s tough. Fear can be all-consuming and paralyzing. It can bring out the best and the worst in us. Astrid wants to assure people that if she and the rabbits can do it, so can you.
Astrid has moved through a lot of fears since choosing to live with me. She used to fight fear when triggered by traumas and this was both in way of reaction AND saying “No, I will not be a victim.”
She’s since discovered that while she can still stand up to fear and victimhood, she also has another creative option that involves opening more to love.
Let’s listen in as Astrid channels the rabbit collective to bring forth their wisdom, while I do my best to be her voice.
She reminds us that rabbits are guides and messengers between worlds – bringing forth information as bridges between the Cosmos, Earth, and Underworlds – and so we can call upon them to help us navigate the journey. She giggles at the reference to “down the rabbit hole” I’m seeing in my mind’s eye because it truly is no metaphor, but a reality both in the seen and unseen worlds of rabbit.
That’s why she finds it funny we think of rabbits as timid, since they are sentinels and guardians of darkness and shadowy depths. She reminds us not to judge a book by its cover. Tricksters they are, and they use their sensitivities to navigate a different kind of journey.
Like Astrid went within to hear what wanted through, I had to get quiet to hear her message, which took me on a labyrinth-like adventure to show me the way of the rabbit.
Astrid says life is a shamanic journey and our fears can be channeled as way-showers for us and a way to take command of our lives. She reiterates with an image of her doing a dramatic thump on the ground with her powerful back legs – a sound that really penetrates here when done on our ceramic tile floors.
Rabbits thump for several reasons….to warn of danger, when they sense something that frightens them, to get our attention, to show dissatisfaction, and to make a point!
I feel it’s a way they move energy through, rather than hold it in and suppress it, just as their chewing allows for this and processing of energy and ideas, as well as that ever-wiggling nose, and those exuberant binkies.
But back to that shamanic journey…Native American legends speak of rabbit as both an ingenious trickster and hero, and that the Great Hare known as Manabozho created the world teaching sacred rites and ritual forms to shamans, as well as brought fire to the people.
Interesting that what many think of as a fragile and cute little fur ball would actually be associated with fire and creation! This goes back much further, but we’ll leave that for another time.
However, in this way we can surmise that understanding the rhyme and reason of things beyond what they seem will reveal the truth of what is beneath the feelings. We initiate ourselves via our challenges and discover that they would not be present if we did not actually have the ingenuity to outwit them.
Rabbit is also known as the “fear caller” who calls out to the very thing it fears until it’s noticed. This is twofold in meaning.
One, it reveals that indeed what you focus on fearing you draw in more of.
But two, you can also use your fear ingeniously as the very inducer to your gifts by calling fear forward to enlist courage and creativity.
Often times, it is when we are pushed to the edge and in survival mode, that we pull out our best to overcome the hurdles and surprise even ourselves.
This can take practice – each time utilizing new creative ways to move through something.
Rabbits encourage us not to let fear block our growth and opportunities. They are wonderful guides to lead us with their keen senses, ability to act swiftly and know what, and when, to embrace, and even the timing necessary to move out of a rut of stagnation.
Because in truth, if we wait too long, or never act, we just might find ourselves withering away – or in the case of a rabbit – succumbing to the very danger they feared.
They even infuse whimsical serendipity into our processes and induce the need to attune ourselves to the fine frequencies that will indicate timing for leaps of faith.
You may wonder when to make a move in some area of your life and get yourself paralyzed with choices, worrying about right or wrong, or allowing past experiences to dictate moving at all.
Rabbits help us to make effective choices with plans and teach us how to look before leaping. But then they DO actually leap. They know that they can’t wait too long, as that could be detrimental.
While we may not meet the fate of a rabbit unable to move from fear, we may create greater pain and suffering than is actually necessary if we let fear take over.
Rabbit does its best to listen to energetic waves within and without and makes a decision in every moment to keep fine-tuning their path. They don’t look at the end result. They simply navigate the moment and every twist and turn with ultra focus on what their body, feelings, and psychic instincts find most resonant.
When you see a rabbit still and alert, they are processing all the stimuli and tuning in to what and when they’ll need to act. They don’t move too soon and they don’t wait too long.
With time, we can nurture a similar process by teaching ourselves this moment-to-moment tuning in.
And what about that debilitating “victim mode” we often put ourselves in?
As some of the biggest victims there are, rabbits help us to change our relationship to this idea and ensure us that just as they’ve survived prolifically over the ages, we too can recreate ourselves, be quicker and more effective, and not only survive, but thrive.
In essence they don’t allow this victim mentality to rule their lives and nor should we.
Fear is actually creative energy blocked. So rather than creativity flowing, it turns on itself and becomes destructive, unconscious emotions running amuck until we nurture and open an outlet for it. And just as creativity is endless, so too can our fears feel like a bottomless pit until we understand this and recognize how to channel it differently.
This is also alchemy at work.
So, when something new is on the horizon, rabbit asks us to be present, tune in, and allow creativity to flow in the way of creating great plans with multiple ways in and out.
Don’t limit yourself.
Think big.
Don’t be predictable.
Find new ways to blaze your path like the zig-zagging rabbit.
And if fear has you feeling lost in the dark, realize you’re not alone there.
Rabbit is right alongside you in the tunnels of shadow and unseens, gently nudging you with its moist nose of assurance that the fire within your sacred heart DOES know the way.
It may not happen immediately, just as it has taken Astrid a while to navigate this new way of fear through love, but with the right nurturing from yourself, you can find a little rabbit ready to join the journey with you.
Open your arms and let rabbit jump inside to nurture your instincts.
Rabbits are navigators of sound and can move through the darkness with ease.
So can you.
They support the sensitive seer and healer within each of us.
The part of you that knows without knowing.
Fear may not dissipate altogether, but like the rabbit, you might discover your own gift of fear-calling because you’re that clever.
Stop, be present, and look and listen with all of you in a way you never have.
Personal transformation is at hand.
You CAN outwit life and fears and have creative fun exploring the tunnels of possibility along the way.
Rabbit will be right by your side when you do.
Astrid would like to open the floor to our readers and friends. If you have a question for Astrid, please feel free to send them via the contact form and we’ll be sure to include answers, or craft a whole future blog around, your questions. Please send thoughts here: Contact Tania & Astrid
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: Presence is the Art of Seeing & Being Seen
We hop into the third and last of this week’s new blog series with Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner. When checking in with her on what she wanted her first blog to focus on, she reminded me of her experience waiting for a couple of years+ at SaveABunny for someone to “see” her. Besides the founder, Marcy, and her wonderful staff of volunteers, no one could find the bridge within their hearts to really tune in to who she really is and look beyond their first reactions to her assertiveness. Astrid wisely used this behavior to help reflect to others a way for them to meet her in their wholeness of power and most importantly to step out of the stories and noise and come back to the presence of peace within the nature of their essence.
A way for her to filter companions as well, as she truly needed someone who can rise to the occasion and match her vibration so that she’d be able to bring through the gifts she came to share. I’m beyond grateful I met her needs to help be her voice and I strive daily to keep growing and learning more from her about how to drop into my essence more deeply.
Astrid shares that presence is the art of seeing and being seen and is also the hidden language of the heart.
When we are able to truly drop into our hearts and open all the tentacles of awareness available to us, we will be more receptive to all of the messaging around us and the truth of any situation.
We learn rabbit’s gift of vulnerability and how to tune our ultra rabbit senses into all the seen and unseen things and worlds.
By being ultra aware and present in the moment, we are able to see past illusions and masks so that we are able to really hear, feel, relate to, and understand what’s beneath the surface.
We are able to see.
And, when we engage presence to what’s within, we naturally become more authentic and transparent for others to see us too.
Still to this day, Astrid uses this technique with anyone who meets her. She invites others to step into this field of experience as a way to be present to what’s really going on within and without, who we really are, our motives, what drives us, and how we can cross the imaginary boundaries we think separate us from others, all of Mother Earth’s children, and the Cosmos itself.
Rabbits are very complex souls in embodiment.
They have and speak a language of their own that isn’t like a dog or cat, although you might find some similarities.
A true presence and willingness to find the peace within, patience, and engagement of your intuitive heart is needed to truly understand the gifts they have to share.
Here’s a great and very thorough article about rabbit communication to help anyone interested in knowing their rabbits more, are curious about rabbits, might be drawn to having a rabbit companion, or simply want to understand the art of presence through rabbits:
Astrid will be back for more next Friday, but for now she wants to thank anyone who takes the time to read this and hopes it inspires a desire to drop into your hearts and invite presence more into your life.
There’s a whole world of hidden language, gifts, and messages that await you within and without to explore.
You just might find a yourself enjoying a hoppier life and a more enriched way of living and being your truest.
Whimsical Wednesdays – The Artist’s Corner: Life As Art
Hoppy Halloween and magickal Samhain to everyone! I love that this day falls on Whimsical Wednesdays – The Artist’s Corner in my new blog series. It also happens to hold a very sacred energy for me, as my special needs rabbit, Cosmo, magickally navigated his transition on this day – the thinnest veil between worlds – two years ago. This ensured his strong presence daily with me, as he is forever reborn as a star within the deep Cosmos of my heart.
In his honor I’m having 140 bulbs of special irises and daffodils, sprinkled with a small number of tulips, despite a deer favorite, planted today for Spring blossom surprises. Auspiciously, our gardener happens to have our service day today (he comes every 3 weeks) and so it aligns so perfectly. I planted the few bulbs I had last year because there weren’t that many, but with much more this time and the ground where I want them a bit tougher to manage, it’s a true gift he’ll be able to help.
Today, I also received word that a very special creation by a fellow artisan is being worked on specifically because of this auspicious timing and energy today, which is bound to make what she’s channeling for me a truly magickal piece.
And although I’m not dressing up for Halloween, the above photo captures The Rabbit Faery me in my new rabbit onesie jammies this morning with my consort, Astrid, by my side, revealing the whimsical life I live daily.
You may wonder what all of this has to do with today’s blog theme?
Well, Life as Art truly expresses the way of the artist, mindfully creating every part of life as if it were a magnificent painting, musical composition, exquisite line of prose, moving chapter, or perfectly hand-crafted vision brought to life.
And you don’t have to be an artist to create life as art. You simply have to tap into your creative energy and allow the vortex of its power to spiral and weave into all corners of your experience.
How do we do this?
With intention, with imagination, and with love.
Every little nook and cranny of life can become a masterpiece of your own creation. You can infuse your own creativity into how you craft your day, design your world, envision your goals, and express yourself.
This can be through the way you style your daily wardrobe around how you feel or what you want to say to the world about yourself.
This can be through the way you design your home or work space around what makes you most inspired, nurtured, or invigorated.
This can be through the food you make and how you infuse it with love and intention and add color and texture, as well as seasonal delights to your plate that embody specific energies you would like to infuse more into your life.
This can be through the way you plant your garden and the type of blooms and plants that will bring joy to your day and anyone who sees it.
This can be through the way you journal your to-do lists with little doodles, on special paper or whimsical notebooks, and with intention of each thing being a different color on your canvas so you’ll have a wonderful painting completed by end of the day or whenever your goals are complete.
This can be through the way you are present to every detail that shows up in your life and start to understand it as a thread in the tapestry of life, seeing how beautiful things naturally weave together.
This can be through imagination and meditation the way you allow yourself to dream a few minutes each day and envision the possibilities.
And so on….
All of these and more can be ways to experience life as art and you discover the elements of alchemy at work that can seed new blossoming potentials.
The more you do this, the more you find reflections of what you love drawn into your life.
And the more you find the journey fun and adventurous.
It’s a way to be a co-creator and to understand the power of creativity to change your life.
And from here, the sky’s not the limit, but instead opens you to limitless possibilities.
A short, but hopefully sweet share to add to the goodies some of you may enjoy on this Halloween celebration.
“I was born on the night of Samhain, when the barrier between the worlds is whisper-thin and when magic, old magic, sings its heady and sweet song to anyone who cares to hear it.” ~Carolyn MacCullough
Transformation & Birthing Anew
I imagine I’m not the only one feeling such incredible energies of fertile possibility around every corner. I find dream time wildly infused with layers of dreams after dreams that are either other timelines, foretelling, psychic touch-ins, or clearly symbolic of things playing out. And yes, definitely the identity shifts, rebirthing, and kundalini energy Lee Harris has themed for the month are hugely washing over and through me still – so much so I have deemed October the month of firmly and clearly establishing the new through developing daily scheduling, finding my flow amidst that, and deepening into essence.
I found myself purging, clearing, reorganizing, and redecorating when I thought I was done. This has involved:
- donating or sharing with others several more bags of clothes and other items going out
- re-imagining a 1/4 of my office including removal of the center piece to my room and a whole redo of my shelves – this won’t be fully done, as I’m awaiting some things to come in November and December, but for now is complete and oh so fresh (This included moving out the last old piece I had for 10 years, which felt important since everything else in my office is new)
- making tons of room in my office closet to help with this
- establishing the new style of clothing to mirror who I am now (this involves a two-part me for my active outdoor lifestyle and athletic center training and the personal lifestyle outside of that) – this always feels pivotal for full embodiment inside and out and feels much clearer than ever now
- receiving new plants as gifts, bringing in a couple from outside for the cold months ahead, and finding new homes and decorative stands for them inside that added warmth and indoor garden delight
- establishing our new exercise program we started on October 1st, which involves 5 days a week of training and classes that after the first couple of weeks of feeling out what we liked, is now fully established in our calendars – this will amp up with ski season added into the mix and for now involves at least 3 days of hiking as well
- working on creating my daily schedule (just about done) to include everything on my intention list – something new since I don’t really have a schedule although manage to get things done – this feels important to be more focused and deliberate, but flowing in and out of several aspects of balanced life and work that I want to accomplish – doing this will keep me moving forward
- dreaming up new aspects to this blog, as well as all that I’ll be involved in, which will soon have a new direction
- planning some upcoming Winter travels
- keeping focused on the goals we have for our life
And this big transformation has been reflected in not one, but now two rare Rubber Boas we’ve come across on our hiking paths recently.
The first you may recall was when Laura was visiting and we were descending from Eagle Lake. This first one was a luminous copper baby Rubber Boa – she captivated me!
And the second was just this past weekend on Saturday when an adult Rubber Boa was laying across the path we were hiking to Lake Tahoe from our house, on our return back home. This one was large and very worm-like – her coloring a coppery green (best I can describe it as) and she was sunning herself with her little tongue zipping in and out with slithery delight. I had a feeling it was another Rubber Boa, but had it confirmed when I looked it up and saw her exact duplicate in online photos. I say rare, because we have only ever seen the Garter Snakes here on hikes, but this is the first two times to see Rubber Boas and within just weeks of each other – both non-poisonous. Both Boas just laid there and let me talk to them. So curious and sweet!
This last Sunday I also found myself hiking 6 miles on my own while the boys were mountain biking. This was incredibly invigorating and renewed another level of my connection to nature, as I wandered the wrong right paths, connected with wonders around me, and even birthed a new sound channeling I haven’t done in a while. I shared the adventure and sound video on my Instagram. The photo above is from this hike where I was tickled with joy by the grove of baby pine trees I stumbled upon and laid with.
And the rebirthing has been reflected in not just the snake, kundalini energy, but in a powerful birthing dream I had a couple of nights ago – AGAIN. I say, “again” because this is now about the 3rd or 4th time within several months that I dream of myself giving birth. And interestingly, in this dream I gave birth back-to-back twice! I was pregnant in the dream and being assisted by a woman or female energy, who assured me it would be simple and easy – like a click I would feel physically, emotionally, and mentally. And just as she said, I felt that click and instantly the labor happened in one easy release. No pushing, pain, or anything. I never actually saw the baby come out, but something did.
This feels symbolic of my book process and my editor – she has also shown up in Tarot cards and in my dreams.
So, indeed it was symbolic of me birthing anew and may not be limited to the book, although it’s the biggest focus right now. It can also speak to the newness all around.
And this repeated a second time – this time a male and female energy assisting and this time the click was taking a bit longer, so they induced it with a little tapping at my lower back and poof! Another easy release. Talk about potent.
I have a feeling on this one too. 😉
I can only imagine this means the new I’m feeling led to bring forth will in fact not be as hard or challenging as my mind could easily make it. It will just be a very involved process and a committed one at that – perhaps even 9 months worth just like it would be to bring an actual human baby into the world. A successful release of creative energy and joyous passion is the potential awaiting the channeling ahead.
And that’s all that truly matters – that we are having fun and supporting the flow of our unique creativity into the world in ways relative to each of us. No other result than expression is the power we long for. If we allow that energy to get stuck, that’s when we find ourselves blocked in other areas of our lives too.
Where are you feeling stuck in your life and how can you help to move that energy through a creative outlet, idea, way of self-expression, support of a passion, etc. that you have and feel bubbling inside?
These are ways I use dreams and nature to reflect to me messages and guidance.
We have so many things, mirrors, gifts, and tools available to us. Are you present to seeing all the support and guidance you have around too?
We can even ask for our dreams to show us things, if we think we aren’t “getting it” in other ways. The same with nature and messages in general – we can ask for reflections, but you must be present to embrace them, as they will come in ways you’re not even thinking are possible.
Presence is SO important and is another message I feel to be incredibly key for us all. It helps you respond, rather than react. It helps you to see all of the support you DO actually have. It helps you have more gratitude. It helps you to know yourself, others, and everything around you more. It helps you to trust.
Last night I did a big Reiki Healing Attunement for some intentions and wishes that included things close to home and for friends and family I know could use a little boost, and of course Astrid doesn’t skip a beat in helping. There’s a part in the process where I blow violet breath and when I blew, Astrid stretched huge and yawned and while I was finishing stuff in the heart chakra, she was licking her giant Tahoe mother quartz on the ground!
She is enjoying all of the new energy, but also excited to get a stronger move-on with the writing she’s waiting to assist with again.
I haven’t had much time yet to delve deeply in that the last couple of weeks other than ideas because it became evident I needed to get all of these things worked out and in place. There’s something important about solidity, clarity, and anchoring to really support the new in greater flow, ease, and efficiency.
So, I’ve been utilizing the time to research, finish reading the last book I have to help with my writing, have some key things to continue clarifying and journaling about, and organizing all of my notes and processes to implement.
This will also involve that new blog series I’ve now made mention of twice and I promise to share it very soon! Perhaps even this week, but it won’t officially begin until Monday, October 29th.
Astrid is especially pleased about this, as soon she’ll have her own spot on part of this new blog series upcoming. Stay tuned!!
Hoppy Birthday, Hoppy Home!
This day can’t pass by without a blog share to honor this magickal being who I have the privilege to call my best friend. Today is Astrid’s 4th birthday and it also happens to be the day we signed papers to close on our home we now live in here at the Forest Portal. It’s no surprise these wonderful things align together, as I know Astrid had a big hand in making this home possible for us, along with all of my other loves in the stars and the Faeries and beings of the land here – the very same enchanted ones Astrid and I are honored to now call our friends, as they visit us daily.
Astrid also is the one who helped me finish writing my story – the book that will one day emerge to share with the world – and she has inspired and supported this new part of my journey.
It’s been such a gift to watch her expand in hops and leaps, as well as a gift to experience the same through our coming together.
“Together” we are more powerful and can move mountains.
The photos here are of the birthday gifts I gave her this year – her very own personalized chair and a snuggly bunny blanket – both of which she loves. Today is extra bunny treats and love to add to the celebrations that continue, iced with tons of gratitude.
Thank you Astrid for calling out to me when I wasn’t expecting you and for choosing me to be your partner, co-creator, and witness to the growth you foresaw for us both. You’ve helped shape my new life and this place we now get to call home.
I love you Astrid and look forward to the continued journey of adventures we have yet to share.
