Stephanie's Studio

While teaching painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute, I was always drawn to the  Codex Borgia . Sadly, seldom did I actually find ways of incorporating that gorgeous, ancient, illustrated manuscript into my lesson plans. I would just go through the book of images and savor them on my own. Now I understand why it was calling out to me. It is the tool of healers, diviners and scribes--it contains prophesies. It is going to take a while, still, but some day I will understand the lessons it seeks to teach me. Now in "Mama Nature's Spiritual Guide to Weight-loss" as I write, I am finding my book is being fleshed out by Aztec and Mayan deities. They just showed up and wanted in. I find myself questioning their appearance and loving it all at the same time. Pictured above is Aztec Goddess, Xochiquetzal, pronounced Sho-chi-ket-sal. Her name is in the language Nahuatl. The first part Xochitl (flower or to flower) and the second Quetzal (bird of splendid fe...

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...

Friday, the day of Goddess Venus, is a day of love.  I find that my creativity flows best on Fridays. It seems to be a day of getting in the zone and a day of process flow. I know a lot of people seem to blow off Fridays but I think its informality in the workplace adds to its tendency to aid productivity. Realizing you have done just about all you can do before calling an end to the week releases pressure and inhibitions allowing true creativity to take root.  I have long been an admirer and worshipper of Venus.  I seek her in the mindset of the days of old when she was a revered as a symbol of the divinely feminine. Within the femininity of Venus lies fertility of all sorts and with that there is power. This ATC I made last year embodies the mystery, symbolism and power of Venus.