Recent Posts

A Teaching Gifted to Me by My Great-Grandmother, the Strega

My great-grandmother was a Strega, an Italian wise woman, witch and healer. I am of this lineage. The lineage was lost or broken in my family and I have spent the last 20 years endeavoring to return it to myself and my family. In 2005, in a shamanic journey, I met my great-grandmother, the Strega, in a cave where she was busy crafting something which I could not, at first, see. After repeated visits I was finally able to determine that what she was crafting was something that I call “Wombs with Wings.” It took me fifteen years to understand the meaning of this image. Wombs with Wings Wombs...

What are the Membranes of Hope?

For many years now, in divination the wedeme (elemental beings of the wild) have been teaching me about the importance of tending to the many layers of “membranes” which enclose and protect life systems. Feeding and caring for these membranes is crucial and urgent work for medicine people at this time on the planet. I have recently published the book, Membranes of Hope: A Guide to Attending to the Spiritual Boundaries that Keep Lifesystems Healthy from the Personal to the Cosmic. In this post, I will explain what is meant by the use of the word membrane to help introduce the concept more...

The Strega and Befana: The Italian Good Witch of Epiphany

Growing up, my Italian Grandmother never considered Christmas to be over until we arrived at Epiphany on January 6, which she called “Little Christmas.” Because she was actively Catholic, she would pray in that tradition. But I remember Italian candies, tangerines and nuts coming out on that day and candles lit to the names of little elemental being friends to be remembered. Catholics see the Epiphany as the day that the Three Magi arrive to the baby Jesus and offer him gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh. But in Italy, the celebration among the village folk is a celebration to and in...

Now Available!! Membranes of Hope: A Guide to Attending to the Spiritual Boundaries that Keep Lifesystems Healthy from the Personal to the Cosmic

My newest book, Membranes of Hope, is now available on Amazon or personally from me through this site. If you would like to order the book though me personally, purchase it here. Membranes of Hope explains the basic concept of the membranes, the bioenergetic boundaries that contain, inform and protect lifesystems, and instructs and guides the reader in how they may contribute to their care. The book includes rituals to carry out for each fractal layer of the membrane: personal, family, village, earth and cosmic and offers shrines to build to further participate in this work. Also included...

Free Guided Meditation Journeys: An Offering for this Time

Back in March when many of us in the U.S. were delivered shelter at home and other physical distancing orders due to the influx of Covid-19, and it felt like it was going to be a long time that many of us would be stuck indoors more than usual, I wondered what I could offer to possibly bring some solace or any kind of assistance to people at this time. What I came up with is to offer these free guided meditation journeys. Guided Meditation Journeys A Meditation Journey or guided visualization is a time out of ordinary time to drop into a trance like state and be led on a journey that is...

Who are the Elemental Beings?

In the West African tradition I am initiated into, the elemental beings are called the kontomble, (the little people or, more literally, the one who comes to the bell). In the Italian tradition they are called le fate. Essentially, these elemental beings are the same except for their geographic location. Like humans from different cultures, the elemental beings of a place and culture also have their own personalities shaped by the land and ecosystem itself. To be clear, what I mean by elemental beings is the fairies, the elves, the gnomes, the dwarfs, the wee folk, the fae, the wild ones,...