First Frost, Book Launch, and the waxing moon.

This morning as I went out to drive Zubin to high school the car was covered with first, the frozen leaves dropping from the trees above our heads with a satisfying “plink” as they touched the ground for the first time.

Winters embrace is coming and this week-end we will be turning the clocks back an hour! The time has certainly flown this fall!

Today I prepare with Nao and Eyan for our book launch tonight, and sleep came sparingly last night as my mind processed all that needed to be done today!

Dark moon beet cupcakes were prepared yesterday–all 100 of them! and today we will get together to drape red sari’s all over the space at the Lunapads headquarters making it into a red tent for this evenings gathering!

It is a busy time but I am savoring it all, for I know the time is close when things begin to slow to a snails pace and I will move inward, musing and writing more here, making creations, and going deep into my shamanic work. For now though the leaves colors brighten my day and  the light is still with us–for now….

I am blessed to have skylights in the roof above my bed, and last night I was gifted with the waxing half  moon shining on me overhead as I drifted off to sleep…

Bright Fall Blessing to you all!

Nikiah

 

 

 

 

Blessed Samhain!

Thinning of the veils and a birthing-day

Today as I write this post the moon is in it’s dark phase, this is a time for new beginnings, or to take on any creative or spiritual endeavors that may be needing our attention. And it is with this in mind that I sit down to write….

Last night I cleared our family alter in preparation for the new one that my daughter Zahra and I will create today.

I have begun to lay out the things of importance to me while she is at school, but the other fun things can wait until later this afternoon when she comes home.

Some of you reading may wonder why I more often mention my daughter and and not my son? I myself have been musing on this for some time now, and have come to realize that the truth is that Zubin is now a teenager and honestly more interested in spending time in his room working on his various projects then helping mom make an alter or bake a magical cake. But also, he is just simply not called to these sorts of things or interested in it at all. Perhaps he will come to it on his own time, but right now he has no interest.

This has been something I have known since he was a wee one,  and so we have allowed him to follow his creative interests on his own, which unfortunately has steered him away from my spiritual inclinations, and this is ok with me, but it was not always this way. As with much of life, it has been a process of letting go.

But getting back to the story of veils and birthing, I have also known that my daughter was seriously called since she was a wee one and she has given us many stories over the years, from remembering past lives to drumming, meditating and doing yoga on her own from the time she understood that it made her feel peaceful. For this I take no credit though, because it was her dadi-jan{paternal grandmother}, not I, that taught her yoga and although I taught her to meditate I also taught my son and he has no interest, Zahra took these things up on her own…

Ahhh but I am getting ahead of myself here!

It is said that this time of year is the time when the veils between this world and the spirit world grow thin. This is also the month that I gave birth to Zahra here in our home in water very peacefully on the 30th of October, the day before Halloween.

That said, this is a special time of year for us over here!

The night before I gave birth to her, I had gone to Ani Defranco concert and it was about 3 songs in that the friend I was with, who was also a fellow  doula at the time said to me-”Nikiah-I think you are in labour!” I being completely stoned on hormones looked at her and said–”you know I think you are right!” And that that very moment Ani said to the audience something like this–”I don’t know why I am asking, but are any of you pregnant?”  and my friend Liz yells back–YES!!! OVER HERE–AND SHE IS IN LABOUR TOO!!!”

Needless to say I gave birth in the early hours of the following morning in a waterbirth pool surrounded by my son, beloved husband and dear friend and doula Nao.

When Zahra was born she was undecided as to if she wanted to walk earthside, she did not breathe for a very long time, to the point that my midwife had to cut her cord and take her to clear her airways, at which she gave a very tiny mew and then cried!

This moment was so intense that when she finally cried my husband cried with her in utter relief! It was intense and powerful.

Birth is magic, I know this from giving birth twice myself and from witnessing all of the babies being born into loving hands during my years as a doula.

The tears cried, the joys felt, and even the suffering of being a women who has lost a baby to miscarriage, supporting many friends through their own miscarriages, and deeper yet, bearing witness to a beloved friends baby being born who would never take a breath.

All of it magic, all of it a blessing, and all of it, a part of the blood mysteries that make us women.

Today I muse on this inspiration, on the thin veils that I feel as I move through the day making a bridge through my ancestor alter and honoring those who have passed before us on our family ancestor alter.

Happy 9th Birthday dear sweet daughter, this Sunday we shall celebrate your being born, but today I remember being two weeks overdue with you and wondering if I should go to the Ani Defranco concert, which as it turns out it was one of the best concerts I had ever seen!

I love you and can not wait to see what this next turning of the wheel brings for you~