Fast Forward

I have been in fast forward.  I thought when I wrote the previous post about preparing for Imbolc that Imbolc was today, instead of next week.  I had projected forward in time and actually believed the beginning of this week was January 30^th.  Then, I woke up this morning sure it was Friday.  What on earth is going on?  My internal clock is usually so accurate that I don’t need to set an alarm.  I guess I just got really excited that a new Sabbat was coming up. Yesterday was a day of positive messages.  I received a great deal of positive feedback about my teaching and my classes from a variety of sources. When something like that happens, not only do I feel great but I take it is a spiritual message. I know messages are sent to us all the time from the realm of the spirit.  It is up to us to interpret them but first we have to slow down long enough to receive these messages. I have been moving fast and in fact I have been projecting myself into the future.  Yesterday was a reminder to slow down, be highly observant and to listen to all that the spirit realm puts in front of me. One of the messages about this that I heard yesterday came through the radio.  An economist was talking about how we need to live in tuned with today.  He said economically we’ve been borrowing from yesterday and tomorrow rather than living within the circumstances of today.  As I listened I was painting.  In the studio I am working the mandala again.  I started two new ones.  They are not ready for showing thus I am not posting an image just yet.  One was created with gouache and it is a disaster.  I will draw over it and re-paint it.  The other is being done in acrylics and I am pleased with it so far.  I drew it primarily using the compass, ruler and the French curve.  I love my French curves. I am using a small and large one.  I am experimenting with all the possibilities they have to offer and there are many. The ruler and compass serve as positioning tools, to center the images derived from the French curve.  Not surprisingly, the image I am working is a continuation of themes I have been working for years.  The mandala is about the magickal energy emanating from plants.  For soul food and inspiration as I work, I have revisited by heart series.  Not quite Valentine’s in spirit, I wanted to see if I could make landscapes out of the single repeated motif of the stylized heart shape. These took many hours to create from colored pencils.  With Valentine’s Day coming up soon it is fun to look at the playful shapes and forms that can be suggested by hearts.