Stephanie's Studio

If you know anything about my books ( A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies for Body and Spirit ), you will know that I spend a lot of time and thought writing about herbs. As a magical herbalist, I write about the magic, mythology, folklore, and healing properties of herbs. In "A Healing Grove" I dedicated the book to trees so a tree is our point of departure today.  I have decided that on Friday’s I will turn this blog into my Natural Healing Corner. Here I will talk about all the qualities of herbs I love as well as nature’s healers like stones, crystals, water and fire. I am partial to Fridays. Not in a TGIF sort of way but for its connection to the goddesses, particularly Venus.  I call it the Natural Healing Corner because in a conversation with an octogenarian African American woman from the south, she mentioned that they (meaning Black folk) didn’t have doctors when she was growing up; just Natural Healers. Today, I want to focus in on Linden Flower, ...

Quite a while ago, I wrote a piece of prose called “The Pathway Home.” It was later published in the anthology, “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number,” edited by Carleen Brice. In “The Pathway Home” I write about many things, (my garden, my relationship with my son and planning dinner). Another aspect of this story is an encounter with a being I believed to be an angel. You know from coming to this blog, that I believe in many different spirits, gods/goddesses, creatures, orisha, lwa, sprites and more. Just the past week I’ve written about dragons and sirens as well as the goddesses. Today I am feeling gratitude for angelic beings. The back story is, that 2 days ago I wrote a blog post, called “Writer’s Rant” and posted it over at the website for women writers called She Writes. I have since that time deleted the post because it was written in anger, in a time I was feeling low and I don’t want that kind of energy coming out into the world from me. In it though, I was in a rag...

In "The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets," Barbara Walker says ancients believed any reflective surface, solid or liquid had mystical powers because the reflection is a part of the soul. Hence, soulless beings like werewolves and vampires, show no reflection in the mirror. The mirror is connected intimately to water, through the story of Narcissus and Echo. Various water orisha wouldn't be caught dead without their mirrors. Across cultures, water represents a mysterious spirit world. Walker closes her beautiful entry on mirrors sharing some Buddhist thoughts on reflections in the mirror; the belief that reflected images are a phantom of the mind. For the past few years, or realistically to be honest, the better part of the last decade I have avoided the magical mirror on the wall. Lately though, I have been catching glimpses when I go by the mirror that intrigue me so much that they have entered the landscape of my dreams. The other night, I saw an ...

Yesterday was an exciting day! I was in communication with the publisher that might publish my spirituality and weight loss book that I've mentioned before. This book focuses around earth-based spirituality and earth wisdom like prayer, invocation, plant wisdom, the elements and more. Another publisher has also come forward to express interest, so now there are two. Both publishers are newer, especially in comparison with the publishers I have worked with in the past. Each one has a huge upside. The one is very eclectic and experimental in taste, whereas the other, is going to be devoting the house to more metaphysical and ritualistic titles. I will be reflecting on where might be the best home for my baby and should be able to share that with you shortly. I have posted in this space about Dealing with Rejection because it is something I struggle with. I think most artists and writers do. In fact, I can't think of any one I know that loves to be rejected. I also posted re...

Like many pagans, I am very much in the mind/body/spirit conversation. Notice though, that body is positioned right in the middle of that triangle. Often though, body is left out of the picture for many of us. I am all too guilty of being of the mind and spirit while leaving my body to do it's own thing. This has led to me becoming overweight--a heaviness that drags down my mind and spirit. Over the past few years I have also been ill, making me uncomfortable within my body. We are the bards and the scribes, the storytellers, myth weavers, healers and spell casters. A while back, I developed a workshop, Healing the Healer. It was telling that there was an abundance of interest in it. As healers we all know that we have a tendency to project our healing energy out into the world and at times that leaves little space for internal healing of our selves. I have a book called "365 Goddess" by Patricia Telesco. Everyday she invites us to be inspired by the magic and ins...

Dragons, be they beasts, monsters, muses or fantasies, have been with us since the earliest of times.  Dragon lore can be found all over the world. They come from the deserts, mountains and seas. I have been conjuring dragons as a writer and as an artist for quite a while as well. Dragons are so mysterious however, they are hard to work with. Mine are shy and secretive on the one hand, yet powerful and awe-inspiring on the other. Being a water person, Ii am particularly enthralled with sea dragons. In my story “The Girl and the Goat,” for that is all it is right now, (4 chapters), dragons wreak havoc on a tiny village by the sea. As I’ve said in a previous post, Serene, the sorcerer has conjured the dragons. Serene is the main character, Sophia’s aunt. Sophia doesn’t know her aunt Serene is a sorcerer or the cause for the dragons descending on the village that she is called to save. I am working, sort of out loud here, on paper, on bringing those dragons back to ...

The only word I can use for restorative yoga yesterday is phenomenal! I was drawn to this new studio for two reasons, my old one closed and this new studio has an open hand as its logo. It seemed welcoming and it was. It is called Ahimsa, meaning do no harm—especially to yourself. I was drawn to the particular class I went to because in its description it mentioned that it helps quiet down the monkey (busy) mind. Good grief! Don’t we all, living in these times, have monkey mind? Couldn’t we all stand to be kinder and gentler to ourselves? We are our own worse critics about everything including our looks, talents, skills and abilities. I don’t know what had gotten into me, except that it must have been monkey mind. I have not been in a class to do restorative yoga in years! And, the years just keep sailing by. There are only so many that the Goddess grants us.  Why? I ask myself, do I deny myself the simplest and purest pleasures in life? Why become some wrapped u...

Ok, so, I consider this my before picture. Let’s get that straight. I will post another one when I hit the 30 pound lost mark. I promise you, it won't be long! I am one of those stubborn people that sticks to their New Year’s Resolutions. Is anybody reading this doing the same? I decided to lose weight this year. Not a little bit, I consider it a whooping amount. I’m down just about to the 20 lb. mark after 6 weeks. It feels great but there is a lot more to go. I have been gaining and then losing the same amount of weight for years, since child-bearing really.  4 years ago (and I can’t quite believe it’s been that long but that’s what Microsoft Word says so I have to believe it) I started a book that is a spiritual guide to weight loss. Considering my battle and my use of magic it seemed a fitting premise. Finally, I got the courage to submit it to a few places. It is being considered but so far nothing has happened with that. I will keep you posted. I just finished ...

When my siren appears in my new novel, "Out of the Blue," it is not certain whether she is an angel, young woman, demon or spirit. I have had a long term fascination with water and everything within it--real, from the spiritual realm, folklore, mythology and tales stemming from the imagination. I also love thinking about the possibilities presented by angels. This particular siren that has called to me, is far from angelic. She is of the very old type, not a mermaid but more of a bird woman. What does she want, I wonder. She looks like La Sirene from the Vodou pantheon, being light skinned but not white. Today, I wait for her elusive spirit to return. I am conjuring her, so that I can carry on telling her dark tale in Chapter 2. If any of you out there in the blogosphere have any interesting tales about encounters with Sirens or La Sirene, I would love to hear from you.

Hmm, I like the sound of that title--Budding Novelist. I have been very busy, immersed in my writing. Last year I finished my first novel, "No Barren Life." It is currently under consideration by several publishers. "No Barren Life," is about coming of age in the mid-1970s, healing from violence and trauma and transformation through shape shifting, shamanism and magick. Then I started "The Girl and the Goat." A story about a biracial heroine who lives in a small European village in the 1400s and still worships the Goddess. She saves her village from a massive dragon attack, only to find out that her aunt, who is a sorceress, conjured the dragons. Yes, it is designed for YA (young adults). Now I am busy again, writing a brand new novel. "The Girl and the Goat," is on the back burner for now, as I am kind of stuck in a rut with it. It has the beginning, middle and end but needs some meat on its bones. So I have started a new novel called "...