Lara Vesta's Blog, page 3

Body as Ancestor

Body as Ancestor::: this is the curve of my twenty year old body captured two decades ago. In this body lay the seed stories of my children, the ache of perpetuity in each ovary, the mandate of my lineage clear. In this body is the culmination of millions, life and death, and ultimate success for none of us would be here if our ancestors weren’t survivors. How miraculous, The you of things in all of time. :: My body is the vehicle for ancestral communication—literally, I’m reminded as I fill out yet another family health history. Literally, again, as through the synapse dance of dreams my great grandmother visits me, her hair red and gleaming as she stands at the center of a golden river. Remember, she says, love is the only thing that matters. :: Yesterday’s post brought up a lot for me. I am re-membering my body, re-trusting, re-wholing and especially in light of some new information, I feel grateful compassion for my own sacred, physical being. The root work begun in Moon Divas—that all transformation begins and begets with this visceral self love—continues to unfold. I think of The Moon Divas Manifesto, written so long ago—2010? 2011? “You are worthy of your own love.”:: You are worthy, the ancestors say, whispering in each cell. We are. ::

Love Your Body

Love Your Body:: "Your body is beautiful. Right now, as you are, wherever you are. Your body is miraculous, living and breathing, heart beating, cycles cycling. Your body needs attention and time, for sensory delights such as music, dance, fresh herbs and flowers, sunlight on skin. Self-care begins with the body, with slowing down and tending to your physical needs. Stretching, walking, naps, slow easy meals of vibrant food, all of these help frame an intent: to love more. :: Sometimes this card catches you at a space of self-criticism or physical discomfort. It can be helpful to see yourself from the eyes of another, a spirit or being, the goddess or gods, the elements, to view yourself as a whole, a physical part of the world, someone made of earth and stars. That big, that gorgeous, you are." --From the Moon Divas Oracle, colored by my daughter Rhea when she was ten. :: Lessons. This week has been a whole lot of information and not much integration. So, to the body. Where do you need tending? Where do you need love? What space can you create for beautiful integrity with your whole holy being? ::

Begin Again at Any Time

Begin Again at Any Time:: This card is do-over, reset button, investigative re-beginning. This card asks to things with new eyes, and reminds that both freshness and humor can lead to new insights. Pickle is the card that subverts duality: wherever oversimplifying rules, there is a pickle. Step out, away, take in the whole, the path transforms. :: What can you see again with fresh eyes? Where can you re-begin the story? What changes simply with a shift in perspective? :: :: From The Moon Divas Oracle Deck Delete Commentveledavesta#moondivas #moondivasoracle #divination #ritual #ceremony #sacredart #lineart #creativity #oraclecards #change #transformation #perspective #shift #pickle #handmade #handdrawn #love

Craft as Ancestor

Craft as Ancestor:: In the Evans Valley where I grew up there was a visiting storyteller named Barbara Griffin who would come to our school and silence us with the spell of a tale. As a child who thought story, lived story, breathed story, she was a revelation, for before I could read or write I felt stories come, part of me, defining the world. The art of story is my ancestor, held in keeping by the sagas and skalds, the myths and legends, the whispers of the beings in the creek valleys of my home. :: I came late, however, to art as story, but in the past few years, largely due to physical challenges, story art has become a way for the shaping of a collaborative craft. :: For any of us who work in an ancient tradition (which is most, if not all of us) from healing to farming, from kitchen witching to herb wifing, from building to teaching, the craft itself is an ancestor. Somewhere in me is the memory of music, of deeds sung, magic woven. Somewhere in our cells is a draw to an expressive form that existed before history. :: In honoring, I choose to re-member my influences, among them Barbara Griffin, who taught me the value of lighting a candle, creating a spell of wonder in ritual circle for the story to take its form. :: Who are your influences? What are your crafts? Where do you honor and recall the ancient memory in all? #craft #writing #story #storyart #lifeasart #artasancestor #craftasancestor #sacredcreative #imageandword #ancestors #ancestral #ancestralconnection #sacred #spirits #ancient #ancientways #remember #runes #runewebs #divination #portal #sacredgeometry #mandala #webofwyrd

Letter from Martha Graham

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.And If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is nor how it compares with other expressions.It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate YOU.Keep the channel open... No artist is pleased... There is no satisfaction whatever at anytime There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes "us" MORE alive than the others." Martha Graham ( - a letter to Agnes De Mille-)Photo by the inimitable @lorijo45  It felt important after yesterday’s post to share this full letter today. It was sent to me years ago by a mentor and has remained vital in my consciousness. In Stories I offered an exercise in personal myth making, and this is my step into my personal myth cycle, where I conquer my fear of visibility and open myself to the possible. This photo, taken two years ago, has never seen the light because of my shyness, my reluctance. Today, I change. Opening to inspiration, I become ever more free.

Equinox

Mabon Divination:: What is your soul's longing? How do you listen at this time of equal turning? Stichomancy is one of my favorite divination tools. I've used it most of my life, bibliophile that I am, and taught it for years as a research technique to my Expository Writing students. Stichomancy means "divination from the lines," and is also known as bibliomancy. The most common application is with sacred texts, but any book can be used for accessing serendipitous, synchronistic information. The steps are simple, the motions intuitive, a practice that lends itself to many traditions and systems of belief. I'll be detailing them in Stories today using The Moon Divas Oracle book. :: What simple tools are you integrating/remembering/reclaiming as the season changes? (Ps--my soul is longing to live fully and release both limitation and expectation)

Child as Ancestor

Child as Ancestor:: In honor of my daughter, Rhea, on her fourteenth birthday (for photos see Stories today). When Rhea was about three she took my face in her hands and said, "I was your mama." I was shocked, but something deep in me moved toward truth. "When were you my mama?" I asked. She looked at me with serious, searching eyes. "Before," she said. :: Remembering, remembering. For most of human history time was nonlinear, cyclic, natural. Our ancestors were us, we were our descendants, our descendants were our ancestors. The elders and the children still know this. When my grandmother Barbara was dying she drifted in the between of life and death, singing. At one point she came alert. "Oh, Erik's baby is so beautiful," she said. My mom was puzzled. My brother Erik and his wife didn't have a baby yet. "What a beautiful baby," my grandmother said again, "What a gorgeous baby boy." Less than a year later, near the anniversary of her death, my brother and his wife had a beautiful baby boy. :: What have we forgotten? The cycles of life, the oneness of rhythm, that life is a story we tell again and again, a story of wyrd and wonder, a story that shapes the world. My daughter is also my mother, my mother is also my daughter. So it is in mythic time, so it will ever be as long as we are curious. Death becomes the end when we eliminate the possibility of cycle. On this, my daughter's birth day I honor her as the ancestor of our lineage. I honor those who come before us both, and all who shall follow after. ::

Moon Divas Oracle Release

Oracular Dark Moon:::it is happening! The Moon Divas Oracle is released! In true DIY fashion the cards and book are sold separately (unless you wish to purchase wholesale in quantity in which case DM me please

Dark Moon New

Dark::New::"What can you see right now for the first time? For today, step back and view your accomplishments, your beauty, your sass and fascinating self with new eyes. See yourself as the divine sees you, from that far away, as the totally unique and only you you are." --from The Moon Divas Oracle Book :: With dark moon blessings and new moon intentions. veledavesta#moondivas #moondivasoracle #oraclecards #oraclereading #divination #darkmoon #handmade #sacredart #sacredcreative #lineart #witch #witchtools #selfcare #ritual #selflove #divineeyes #ceremony #almostthere #diy #earthmagic #healing

Living Where You Fear to Live

Leaning In:: "...edges come up as resistance, ignoring, preventing, discomfort, insecurity, denial, guilt...the usual seven deadly sins of self-sabotage.Here is where our patterns attempt to hold us: By telling us we are safe in these thoughts, comfortable. The alternative is change, transformation...and these things are just plain scary... ...do something counterintuitive: lean in to your edges. Lean in to the discomforts of transformation. Lean in to any barriers you encounter on your path to self-appreciation. Lean in to the edge, press gently, and watch it give way." --From The Moon Divas Oracle bookI drew this card today and read my own words with a sinking feeling. I've been living in a half-life ether of self-protection for months now. In the past two weeks I've been stretching and it is so hard to step out of the safety I've created. I'm afraid to overextend, to get sick again, yes, but more than this I'm afraid of exposure, the risk of showing up. But I'm called to do it more in a mandate of dreams and not so subtle universal nudging.So this week, imperfect as it may be, I'm committing to more. The Oracle book and cards must come out, there will never be a perfect moment, I need to release this and other art. I've had lots of ideas but have been scared each time I get close to pushing through. Yet here in this image: hawthorne for the strong of heart, redwood seeds that grow the mightiest of trees. Here in this strange and beautiful world of social media: so much inspiration, people living beyond their limits in creation and sharing. There is no logic to leaping, only through.:: Where are you stretching? Where do you lean? Where can you release? Where are your edges calling you forward?#moondivas #moondivasoracle #sacredart #lineart #oracle #oraclecards #naturaldivination #divination #sacredcreative #witchwork #witchtools #handmade #handdrawn #healing #edges #risk #safety #trust #allow #inspiration #belief #gratitude #earthwisdom #earthmagic #spiritwork