One message that always reiterates and was clearly evident on my retreat time away – nature is where I thrive and belong. Since I first arrived on Earth this time around, the animals were always there to comfort and guide me. This is actually a soul history pattern for so many of my lives in this realm. Whether conditioning grabbed hold around me at any point in life, the whispers of the animal kingdom never stopped calling me back. Their language is the language of my heart, where truth resides alone. They helped remind me of who I really was – the nature of me – and how to organically unfold the petals of that Cosmic blossom here on Earth. In essence, they have always reflected evolutionary and harmonious alignment and how to be with peace as the center of my compass. The reason being because they match my wild heart’s innocence.

So while I’m keeping most of my time away to myself and Dave, I did feel guided to share the animal messengers that showed up to surround me in their medicine and serve as confirmation of alignment – ultimately adding activational inspiration to the path ahead that I’m leaning into creating anew.

This being because I know the power of collective symbolism and I feel that sharing our individual experiences can be beneficial. Also because I feel that nature and the animals are wisdom keepers of organic being and the closest thing to pure energy flow that can provide us invaluable pages of answers to the many questions running through us.

To reiterate past shares just briefly, I refrain from labeling things higher, lower, better, worse, positive or negative to describe paths across the board because they feel to create a definitive right or wrong simply by implication of their meaning. And in using these phrases we unknowingly can taint, manipulate and limit someone’s perspective, rather than support a widening perspective or openness of heart.

Simply put, there’s choice and what is your heart’s truth. If you choose from awareness of your intuitive heart resonance, then that is the most valuable gauge you’ll have. Even with splits and dramatic contrasts to what’s unfolding on Earth there’s still that choice alone to make, no matter the path you choose. The only thing that makes a difference is if you desire to make choices free of outside interference, then you move into personal awareness, which puts the focus on being present to your inner world’s response to things and not what others are doing or saying at you, no matter what group they belong to. And we, of course, have choice whether or not to be present in the first place as well, which is also perfect.

I can fully admit that I haven’t always been present in my life, or at least didn’t want to recognize what was presently before me. I’m grateful I choose to experience consistent presence now and it is because of this supporting greater attunement to frequencies, elements, and vibrations that I experience what seems like magick. My awareness fine tunes all my senses in ways that I feel I become much like an animal myself with extreme clarity of vision, sense of navigation and environmental awareness, telepathic communication, and more. And this is available to all of us.

I believe that’s a big part of why I find or encounter things the way I do. The other part has to do with my soul signature. Curiosity underscores the experience so that I’m open to any message or reflection the encounter imparts.

I’m steering more and more away from sharing the symbolism of things, as it’s very easy these days to research that online about specific animals or other symbols that show up, but more so it’s to encourage each of us to find our own way and messages from things reflected to us. Also to support trusting our intuition. I think you can likely draw forth some of what these meant for me, if you are familiar with these animals even in the most simple of ways. And in your own life, I also know you can draw from an experience of seeing a particular animal, element of nature, or something that catches your eye, attention, or heart in a different way, what meaning it might have for you at that moment, or what answer or message it is mirroring for what you’re currently experiencing or have been wondering about in life.

For this reason, I am moved to simply sharing these encounters and sightings as my own thread in the collective tapestry. They were particularly meaningful for my own conscious evolution at this time in my life and being that some of them were extremely rare, made them that much more potent. The timing of how and when they showed up also spoke volumes.

I do feel that nature is our closest ally right now in supporting each of us toward more of our own authenticity, empowerment, and heart communication. I feel that development of our senses and awareness, overall, can be enhanced by time in and with nature. I believe our physical well being and immune systems can be strengthened and experienced with greater peace and grace by time in and with nature. I believe clarity of connection with our intuitive messaging systems and with the Cosmos at large can be opened by time in and with nature. I believe hope, inspiration, and creative flow can be nurtured by time in and with nature. I believe our capacity for kindness, tenderness, vulnerability, compassion and nurturing can be nurtured itself by time in and with nature.

Nature has the natural ingredients to support conscious evolution on an individual and collective level if we open ourselves to her. And the best thing is, she’s free and she welcomes you with open arms no matter who you are or where you come from.

From micro to macro, nature shows us daily alchemy at work and how we each have the innate ability as alchemists by nature of being as well.

Our retreat time away began enchanting from the get-go and every single day was no exception. In fact, on the day we first embarked, we got a send off from the biggest herd of wild horses we’ve ever seen – including little foals – and a bald eagle majestically gazing out on the herd and us from a tree.

Whether it was multiple, daily animal encounters or gifts, nature and I were in sacred communion the whole way.

I already mentioned the abundance of wild turkey feathers, which were literally a daily discovery in the most hidden of places that are almost unbelievable I could “see,” as well as the two naturally shed, complimentary deer antlers in separate places miles apart that were also nearly undetectable on the forest floor covered in branches, twigs, and Autumn leaves.

Every single day we’d see multiple deer (most of the time in small groups with occasional single sightings like these), morning and evening, and nearly everyday we’d see wild turkey.

From grazing to curled up and resting, playing with each other to leaping gracefully with ease across the trail, the deer were prancing into our lives with their gentle and innocent presence. And two turkey flocks would sweetly gobble along the outskirts of forests and homesteads with curious, at-ease presence and beautiful feather displays.

Some of the more rare sightings included moose, great horned owl, swimming turtles, and bald eagle.

There’s a story behind the moose that is personally incredible for us and connected to our past, but let me just say that her appearance not only was pure alignment and magick, but confirmed why I have felt moose to be one of my key totem animals. She is SO much like me.

My experience with the great horned owl was also incredible. Again, almost a miracle I saw him. I woke one morning and as I passed the window in the bedroom I noticed a dark mass in a tree across the way.

I felt immediately this was an owl. I slipped on my tennies while still in my jammies, and made my away across the forest floor to confirm what my heart felt. And there he was, still half asleep, but aware because two magpies had just been yelling loudly at him to leave the area. It was still dimly lit outside, so he peered at me with half moon slit eyes, turning his head toward me to let me know he heard me when I spoke to him.

We then left for the day and upon returning in the evening, hours later, I decided to go look at the tree again. To my surprise he was still there, but now fully awake.

I felt he waited for me to continue our conversation and connecting. He would let me come close and just turned his head with wide eyes to make sure we were directly locking ours together.

He was never bothered by me from start to end. I spoke to him gently and each time thanked him for his sacred presence, message, and gift.

He felt to be much more than an owl and yet even as an owl this creature of the night was a Cosmic gift to me.

The swimming turtles actually surprised me while I was deeply communing with nature and receiving. I heard a noise in the water, then taps under the floating mini dock I was laying on that brought me fully back from melting into everything.

When I peered over I saw a larger and smaller turtle swimming sweetly and then disappeared below.

Not long after, a giant grasshopper whizzed at me and stopped so we could gaze into each other’s eyes.

We also saw a couple of voles run across trails, a fun and spunky little guy that leaped onto a branch like a flying squirrel and then stopped to comically pose for me with a pinecone in his mouth, and one chipmunk in particular caught our attention. While they are not rare at all to see, this one was so deliberate and unafraid. She decided she was going to continue nibbling regardless of our presence and sat a foot away just “being” with us and enjoying her lunch.

She had the most beautiful, thick little chipmunk tail either of us had ever seen and she was like a little character straight out of a novel, come to life – full of sweet personality and completely at peace without the usual twitches, fast movements or breathing. Not long after her another one did similar and let Dave go within inches as he crouched down beside him. He wasn’t as fully calm in embodiment as the first one, but still indicated that he was open to being more of that.

My take away from these two, and in general the animal encounters, was that these beings were waiting for us to meet them in that same curiosity and peaceful presence.

Nature’s invitation is increasingly being extended as a form of support even more so these days. Not only inviting our conscious interaction and understanding, but extending an added effort by way of demonstrating a reflection of humanity that we’ve forgotten.

And while we didn’t see this one, we were told that a mountain lion had come into the neighborhood just a few days after our arrival by our house host. Since mountain lion are so reclusive, it’s not usual to see one, but just feeling that presence at the time we were here meant something to me. Another invitation and messaging to go deeper within and be present to the inner messaging always speaking to us in a variety of ways. I’ve only once seen a mountain lion slinking down the wall of a canyon from the other side in Colorado. That felt like a comfortable physical distance to me. 🙂

I discovered two of the largest wasp nests I’ve ever found – well actually four, but two of them were scattered in pieces – plus a smaller one still attached to a tree limb sitting next to just the top of one of the other two large ones I found that had dropped to the floor.

Although these two nests are big, as you can see by my hand as reference to size, they were still only half of the nests.

They are all abandoned nests that have served their purpose for the season. In fact, I found two dead wasps inside of the one you see above.

I just LOVE nests, whether bird or insect, I find nests and hives so incredible in artistry. I explore the intricacies and sacred geometry of these nests and am fascinated. The inside of these giant ones are just amazing! And I love the honeycomb centers, as well as the tunnel holes in and out.

I also kept seeing an array of enchanting little mushroom worlds everywhere (these are just some of the enchanted little realms I captured). They, too, were hidden across the forest floor and my eye would always find them.

They took me even further within, since these micro worlds direct us into the tiny underworking and value of every little thread to the whole.

Mushrooms have been around for ages and their ancient presence not only shamanically and spiritually have value, but are essential to Earth’s biosphere.

Therefore their wisdom is mighty, although part of the mini worlds you might often overlook. Just like your unique light and presence of being is impactful although you feel you’re just one of billions of humans on earth.

It’s been an incredibly enriching time away and every single moment has been cherished and remembered. This was one of the most magickal times for me – more than I could have imagined it to be. I’m beyond grateful and in many ways awe-struck at what has unfolded, how it has, what it’s put in motion, and feels to be indicating for the road ahead.

Everyday I would have what I called Faery T time, after our full nature days, where I immersed myself in my own little world with nature. On my last day, after having received more gifts and saying my thanks and farewells for everything, Grandfather and Grandmother turkey came to see me off. Every other day it’s always been the flock, but to have the two largest and oldest, alone, meet me was just perfection in every sense of the word “sacred“.

It’s also been meaningful being away during the change of seasons. Not only did we get to immerse in Autumn splendor, but also felt Winter’s breath begin to touch the land.

Temperatures dropped, some rain refreshed everything, and snow kissed the mountain tops. We even had a short fall of sweet hail snow drops coming through sun shiny skies to bid us a magickal farewell.

This apparently was happening back home at the same time, with some needed rain coming in along with Winter snow kisses to follow. Our house sitter sent us a video of our first snow dusting the Forest Portal floor. The fire that once knocked on the door also experienced 98% containment while we were away (the projection has been 10/16 for 100%) and so returning feels like a nearly full refresh from this magick bubble we dipped into the last 11 days that is and always will be dear to my heart.

May we each receive the guidance we desire and that supports the conscious choices that align with our hearts for evolution.