:: Solar Tribe ::

These are just beautiful, and it is so important to stay centered nowadays.  Prayer beads are a great way to do that and to remember the spiritual in daily life.  Even if you don't go for a large set like this, a small set or talisman can be a great support.  Over 10 years ago I came upon a small book called "A String and A Prayer" by Eleanor Wiley and Maggie Oman Shannon.  It was about prayer beads that weren't attached to any religious tradition, called contemporary prayer beads.  You chose what they represented yourself, and the book detailed several ways to make them.  I was enthralled...I loved all religious prayer beads but had always wanted something of my "own", to reflect the spirit in the landscape and beyond.  I started making them and as you can see I still do today.  I encourage everyone to find a copy of this book and try making your own!  These beads are such good medicine.

:: Back from the Outlands ::

I've returned from a wonderful but grueling, trip and am slowly returning to work...here's the fossil ivory talisman pendant as promised.  I'm going to start working on the Spirit Beads listing next, and will likely list them tomorrow.  Also in the works is a short recap of my recent adventures...stay tuned.

:: Heading Out Again ::

I am off to the deserts to the south and west for a few days to do energy work with the land, visit some good friends and who knows what else. This is a spirit-guided trip, which means that for the most part I won't know exactly where I'm going or what I'll be doing until I get there...nor do I know how long I'll be gone. Probably around a week, though. I may check in from the road, but meanwhile this and my website shop will stay open, and I will ship orders as soon as I return. I never did get around to listing that fossil ivory talisman as I had my hands full with trip prep, so it will wait until I get back. There is also a really spectacular new set of Spirit Beads, "Solar Tribe", and I'll list that as well. Off to the Bright Lands...

Many Blessings,

Dawn

:: Solar Spiral Layered Earrings ::

These are Desert Primitive at its best...love those wabi sabi silver discs.

:: Utah Juniper Sterling Cuff ::

I got this beautiful silver cuff listed for you today!  Two new pairs of earrings are over in my Etsy shop, with a third to appear here tomorrow...

:: Grace in the Desert ::

Just listed this beauty yesterday...for desert dreaming.  And the sun is just coming out this morning!  That means I'll be able to get outside and photograph the new pieces in a little while.  Look for them later today... 

:: A Primitive Fused Fine Silver Bracelet ::

Haven't done one of these in a while...I forgot how much work they are!!  Apologies for the red-shift in the photos; I shot in late afternoon light instead of my usual midday reflected sunlight because a storm is coming in and I didn't want to wait until next week to list this.  Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

:: Mojave Silver Granite Cuff Bracelet ::

Here's what's new today!

:: The Antique and the Ancient: From Tibet to Chaco ::

The latest treasures!

:: A Stunning and Powerful Maya Antique ::

This one is amazing.  And it's the largest one I've seen.  It makes a potent symbol of women's power.  

:: Primitiva ::

The latest addition to the Desert Primitive tribe!  And don't forget...you can now check out with PayPal!

:: One More for 2016 + PayPal Now Activated ::

Here's one more piece for the transitioning year...pure handmade Desert Primitive goodness.  

Also, you can now make your purchases using PayPal in this shop!  Hopefully Squarespace will also soon allow direct checkout as Etsy does.  Should that ever become available, I will let you know.  Happy New Year!

:: New Year, New Life ::

I wish you all a very happy and light-filled New Year!  Here is a cuff bracelet with a rebirthing theme to start the journey.  More silverwork and primitive pieces are coming...

:: Solstice ::

Solstice Greetings to you all! 

Here is the drawing of the Solstice Goddess I've been hard at work on for the past several weeks, catching the first rays of the rising sun amid cholla cactus shadows.  She is nearly complete, and with luck I may even finish her today.  This year it seems we could use a powerful image of the Sacred Feminine to lift us up, and I based it very much on the ancient solar Deer Mother of northern Eurasia, but with a Southwestern twist.  I've given her elk horns rather than reindeer, and the solar halos and arcs surrounding her head are based on the breathtaking display of January 9, 2015 in Red River, New Mexico. 

I may need to hang on the original for a while rather than sell it immediately, but I will look into doing prints as soon as she is finished.  I'll keep you posted.  Meanwhile, I am sending you blessings and light for a luminous holiday season and a bright new year...create your life courageously, from your heart and soul...dream your own dreams and don't get caught up in the collective nightmare...and resolve to bring beauty and new light to the world.

:: Earthlight ::

A sumptuous assemblage of desert hues and textures...be sure to check out the closeups of this one!

:: Desert Ritual Bundle ::

An unusual offering from me, an assemblage of found objects and created talismans that seemed to come together of its own accord.  This can be an altar piece, a sculpture for table or shelf, or held in the hand for desert contemplations. 

:: Honoring the Cranes ::

This very wabi sabi pouch was several days in the making; the beading alone was a day's work.  I am at last getting on top of all the new tech and am learning to hone my photography skills...no more cell phone photos!  There will be more pieces to come very soon, now that everything seems to be up and working!

:: Thanksgiving ::

Let's all remember the beauty of this world, and be grateful. 

I will be listing work here, soon.  A new handwoven necklace is awaiting its photography, and I am working on an unusual amulet pouch that honors our winter residents, the sandhill cranes.  Our old computer appears to be past help, and so we'll have to be bringing a new one in this weekend.  I am not at ease with tech and the integration period usually takes a while, so bear with me.  Eventually all should be running smoothly again!

:: Action, Wisdom and Soul Alignment ::

Now that the dust has begun to settle, we are all asking "now what?".  Where do we go from here as we move forward into the more hostile territory of the near future?  Because we know it will be tough.  The harder path was taken.  But this harder path gives us the opportunity to accelerate growth and transformation if we can negotiate it skillfully, and with wisdom. 

We want to do something, to act somehow to promote and protect our values in this changed landscape, but are often unsure of how to proceed.  On social media, groups for social justice and change are promoting themselves heavily, while countless individuals are writing blog posts or bringing forth ideas for action.  Many, myself included, have resolved to do what we can to help others who are being bullied or having their rights threatened.  There are countless ways in the outer world we can help. 

This is well and good, but we also need to realize that simply pushing back against a pendulum will only keep it swinging.  We live in a heavily polarized world and as long as we continue to act exclusively at that level, the situation will not resolve itself.  My closest inner colleague and partner in spirit has reminded me that if a problem is intractable on the level at which it occurs, then it can only truly be resolved from a higher level.  In other words, if we limit our actions to a ground game only, meaning if we only act and react within the physical world, nothing essential will change.  Real change must begin with the spiritual level. 

For many months now I have been seeing a vast network of light spread across the planet.  It is formed of infinitely complex threads and corridors of light, breathtakingly beautiful.  It looks like the networks of veins and nerves in the human body, intersecting in countless points of light like the stars in the sky.  It is alive and I interact with it, for I am one of those points of light.  We are all within it and informed by it.  It is made up of a staggering variety of beings, energies, and levels of consciousness, levels upon levels, systems within systems.  It exists within the body of the planet, and extends far beyond its surface.  Energy arrives from the cosmos and informs it, and it flows outward from the Earth in turn.  Music helps me see it.  It is both dance and dialogue.

Over time I have been introduced to a group of nonphysical workers who oversee and manage this network of light.  As I have joined them in their work, I have learned that we can all participate in this living system of light, and that the system is supporting and informing the expression and evolution of the planet, us included.  Right now a foundation is being built within it, to ground a way of being that can be characterized by unity in diversity, and strength through soul expression.  The web of light holds these ideal patterns like a reservoir, and we can draw upon it for strength.  Through this network, this energy is available now to all who wish to ground those ideals through their physical actions.

Unity in diversity means that we are stronger when we honor and support one another's differences: different talents, perspectives and expressions.  Stronger than if we compel one another to conform to a universal system of what is allowed and what is not, which has been the overarching paradigm for thousands of years.  Strength through soul expression means we draw our strength not from a one-up/one-down model of competition, but through bypassing that entirely by aligning with, and expressing from, our souls. 

I believe soul alignment is key if we are to act with wisdom.  This is a message I have heard over and over again from my inner colleagues (another David Spangler term) every time I talk to them about how to proceed:  "Align your incarnational self with your soul.  If your waking awareness is aligned within your authentic center, your soul, then no matter what you do it will carry the soul's energy into the world."  (Once I got this, I stopped worrying about whether or not I was doing the "right" kind of creative work: it all was.)  So I think that the more of us that there are who can do that, the better off we will be. 

The soul carries our innermost nature, our most authentic selves.  From the soul's perspective we have a more expanded view of a situation and its context, as well the wisest course of action.  We don't have to go on a spiritual quest to find our soul.  We are held within our soul, always.  All we have to do is find a quiet time and place to invite our soul's energy to speak with us.  It is the "still, small voice", and it carries wisdom, and a great deal more.  My friend in spirit told me that the soul is a vast field of experience.  It is not limited, but limitless.  It is the deepest, truest, most nourishing home we can imagine. 

Everyone's soul is different, with different flavors, trajectories, genealogies.  All of this makes up a very unique constellation of energy which is you.  The most radical thing we can do in our current world is live from, embody, and express what is in our souls, the truth that is in our souls, the light.  Our personal style.  What we care about and gravitate toward.  As souls we have intentions that we put into play when we incarnate.  When we explore and contemplate all of these aspects, we will begin to find where our strengths are, what types of action we are most suited for, what area of life will support the fullest expression of our gifts.  Some may find they are drawn to very public, outward forms of action, such as fighting for women's reproductive rights or working for political change.  Some may want to help with minorities issues and the bullying epidemic.  Some may take on the culture of the idolization of the rich, or the gun culture, or the culture of violence we are immersed in.  Others will direct their efforts to the planet's health and protecting other species and the environment.  These can all be powerful outer expressions of soul energy if we do them because we want to, deep down inside, and not out of reactivity, anger, or fear.  If we act from the latter, we are not acting from the soul. 

Frankly I am terrible at all of these things, although I feel strongly about them.  I am a dyed-in-the-wool introvert and practically break out in hives at the very thought of involving myself with a group effort (the nonphysical planes don't count, apparently).  But there are many other ways one can express from the soul on a private level and still make a positive contribution.  One very powerful way is to create.  A very large part of my own soul expression, and soul energy, goes out into the world through my art, not only to those who buy it, but also to those who see it online. 

Creativity can take unlimited forms, including writing, the living environment we create, how we interact with others, and so on.  Everything in life can be a creative endeavor when we unplug from the status quo and conditioning and plug into our souls instead.  We can also make a great impression on people by the way we choose to present ourselves in the world.  I ask women "How would you dress, how would you look, if you only did it to please yourself?  How would you look if you expressed what is in your soul?"  These small avenues of soul-expression can have large ripple effects.  By empowering ourselves with our soul light, we can inspire and empower others to do the same.  And every time we choose to act or express from our own individuality and not from the dominant paradigm, we stop feeding the cultural paradigm the energy which has kept it going. 

Still others will choose to work primarily on the nonphysical levels, through meditation and energy work, ceremony, ritual, and work with inner coworkers.  While this type of work will go unnoticed and unseen on the outer levels, it can be extremely far-reaching and powerful, and have concrete effects on the physical level.  The numbers who do this work are growing steadily.   

So there are as many avenues of soul expression as there are people.  As we develop our soul connections and express from our souls, we will each have a unique way of doing so.  The important thing is to honor one another's path of expression.  We might find ourselves judging someone because we think they should be doing something else.  Or we might compare our path to someone else's and believe our work isn't as important.  Be careful of that.  If we want to be fully accepted and supported, we have to honor one another's choices of action.  

Standing in the authenticity of our souls, we express with wisdom, from a greater perspective.  The soul is not domesticated.  It is not conditioned.  It is not afraid.  It is not nice.  The soul is powerful and filled with an undiluted wild beauty.  It radiates.  It knows what is, and is not, supportive of life.  It does not see the world in black and white, but is able to respond with wisdom to the unique circumstances in each situation.  It does not look to an outside authority to tell it what to do: it is connected to Source, and knows. 

We are meant to be connected into the light of our souls.  This is our destiny and birthright as human beings.  When we can direct our gaze first to that light and align ourselves with it, rather than orienting our gaze outward to the problems of the world and our reaction to them, we will be given all the strength, protection, understanding, empowerment and wisdom to act in the most effective, transformative way possible. 

And then we will see real change.

Blessings,

Dawn

:: Protection ::

Day 3 in a changed world, and once again I am writing about survival and how to continue from here.  I may be making this a more regular activity, if my inner promptings are correct.  The image above is of a little piece I did two weeks ago, but it seems even more significant today.  (The original is for sale in the shop, but at some point I will also be making prints.)  This figure is about two things: protection, and the ability to stand firm in our own power and convictions.

"Protection" here means energetic protection.  We live in a world of interacting energies and they have been very turbulent lately.  Everything, included the physical world around us, is made up of energy, and beyond that are many other levels of energy that cannot be perceived with our ordinary senses.  The emotional energy I've been discussing for the past two days is part of that.  David Spangler, a spiritual teacher I greatly admire, refers to the energetic world and the different levels of being as "ecosystems".  I love that term, because it describes an environment that is alive and which functions in a natural, synergistic way. 

We are always picking up on these energies, either consciously or unconsciously.  But even if we are unaware of energies, we are still affected by them.  Mostly we are troubled when we encounter emotional energy.  It moves through the world like dye through water, and can be transmitted through a place, object or even a Facebook post.  One of the best ways to know if you've picked up some unhelpful energy is that you suddenly feel different.  Your mood may change for no reason, or you might feel "off", or tired, or sick, or that something is "wrong". 

You can prevent this from happening in many ways.  One is avoidance: you simply don't go to places that are distressing, don't turn on the news, go on Facebook, read those books or engage with people who feel threatening.  That's good, and critical if you have been traumatized before and are concerned about triggers.  It's self preservation.  But we all still have to live in the world; we have to go to work, buy groceries, interact with friends and loved ones, and so on. 

So another way is to work with your own energy to create a protective environment around yourself, like the girl in the drawing.  This is done through your intention, and by asking for help.  Intention is a very powerful thing.  For example, if I go out somewhere to run errands or to relax, I like to set my intention as I set out.  Usually I say that I want to stay safe, and I ask my colleagues and co-workers on the nonphysical to help with this.  I will ask to meet the right people, find the right things, or have the best experience I can, depending on what I am doing, and I state my intention that I will be a beneficial presence in the world.  I've found that when I do this I have a radically different experience than if I leave the house in a harried or irritable state.  It is because I have created a different energetic environment within myself, and the greater ecosystem responds to that, because that's the way it works.  Go out and try it sometime.

It's also possible to imbue an object like a piece of jewelry or clothing, or even your car, with intentions for protection.  Folks have been doing it for thousands of years, and shamanic tools and regalia are a classic example of that.  It's simply because those things are energy, and--yes--alive, and you're programming them with your intention.  They become helpers and supports.  This is where superstitions came about: the original, conscious and interactive intention devolved into mere belief.  I would caution you, though, not to be overly reliant on things like this.  They can help, but you should do your own work.  It isn't wise to become overly reliant on things outside yourself.

The most important element of personal protection involves your own energetic field.  Mainly you have to pay attention to it through how you feel and constantly check in with that, every day, and sometimes several times a day depending on the circumstances.  Use your intention to create a shield around yourself which is also anchored firmly into the Earth and connected to Source, however you conceive of that.  Visualize it however you want to.  The idea is to set up a boundary that negative or heavy energy will not penetrate; it will simply slide down the exterior and be absorbed into the Earth.  Never send negative energy back to where it came from.  Likewise, any negative or heavy energy you generate, and we all do, should simply go down into the earth as well and not leave your system.  This is called "energy hygiene", and if I had a say it would be taught in schools. 

Speaking of energy hygiene, try to be aware of those times when you feel a little thin-skinned, a little vulnerable.  Don't go into difficult situations if you are sick, or too tired, or in a bad mood if you can help it.  You're more energetically vulnerable then.  Drugs, including alcohol, which affect your energy will make you vulnerable.  More than once I have gone out and had a drink or two with dinner, only to discover later that I had picked up some nasty energy in the process.     

In addition, there are a great many beings we can call upon in the non-physical worlds to assist, starting with the Source energy.  By that I mean a "higher power", however you see it.  Some folks like to call on angels, or their spiritual helpers and guides, or spiritual teachers, animal allies, etc.  Regardless of who or what you call upon, know that the help is there.  More than you possibly can imagine.

There is so, so much more to this subject.  Entire books have been written on it.  I've only skimmed the surface, but I want to leave you with two crucial points:

Nothing will make you invulnerable.  The best offense is a good defense.  If you are mindful, tend to your own system regularly and set clear intentions, you will create a strong and helpful boundary that will serve you well.

And what you send out will come back to you.  If you send out love, anger, hate, joyful good humor, or whatever, these are what you will encounter in the world.  It's just the way it works. 

Take care of yourselves.  Stick together and support one another.  Stay safe.

Blessings,

Dawn

++Two books I recommend: Psychic Protection by William Bloom, and Psychic Shield by Caitlin Matthews. If you are interested in some great writing on understanding and relating to the spiritual and nonphysical worlds, check out the work of David Spangler.