The Cosmic Craft

12/27/2025

What if winter is not about catching up
but about catching yourself?

This week inside Seasons of Self, we explore rest, body listening, plant medicine, and the tie between the pelvis & breath.

Join the ritual of checking in, soften into your season, and check the 🔗 to receive the full newsletter tomorrow.

12/27/2025

Yule Night 7 is a night for self compassion...

A night where family, wisdom, and divination come together.

Family is not a single shape.
It can be the people you were born to, the ones you chose, the community you built brick by brick, or a mix of love and triggers and learning.

Sometimes it is soft.
Sometimes it is complicated.
Sometimes it changes before we are ready.

Just because your family feels tense this year does not mean it will forever.
And even if things feel connected right now, next year may look different.

Seasons shift.
People evolve.

Estrangement, boundaries, addiction, grief, memories.
All of these can shape how we (and others around us) experience this time of year.

But connection is not limited to blood.
👉 Family can be two people (or more) and their dogs.
👉 A quiet kitchen shared with someone you trust.
👉 Digital community that sees you even if they have never stood beside you.
👉 Empty nesters re-learning who they are in the stillness.

One of my favorite ways to connect with family, source, and ancestors is through divination. It offers a different perspective and a clearer lens. It brings me comfort, clarity, and often delivers the words that were never spoken through archetypes and subtle messages.

So instead of comparing your family to someone else’s or wishing yours looked different, let tonight be a gentle return to yourself.

You already have everything you need.

Connection is not something you earn. It is already here. You are held by source.
You belong to an ever-present community each time you decide to reach for it.

May this day of Yule offer softness, truth, and compassion wherever you are on the spectrum of family.

12/26/2025

If resolutions have ever made you feel like you’re already failing before you even begin...pay attention to the 6th day of Yule.

Day 6 of Yule is a reminder that there is power in clearing space, both around you and within you.

Think of it like tending the inner-fire of your life.
🔥 Opening a window to shift the air
🔥 Letting the candles speak light into the room
🔥 Refreshing the corners of your home or altar that have gone untouched

What we do externally often reflects what’s ready to move internally.

And here’s where today asks us to slow down...we are not here to create a list of rigid New Year’s resolutions.

Most resolutions don’t actually last long anyway, most people let go of them within the first month, because they’re built on pressure, perfection, and the belief that we must fix ourselves to be worthy. Which is so far from our TRUTH.

Intentions FEEL different. They come from inside. They’re an internal shift instead of a deadline.

Intentions ask:
👉 How do I want to feel?
👉 What kind of life am I leaning toward?
👉 What is quietly ready to grow in me?

So let today be simple, sacred, and real:
❄️ Clear one small space (physical or energetic) and let it teach you.
❄️ Write one intention that feels alive in your body, not forced
❄️ Sit with your breath and listen to what rises.

The light is returning (heck yes). You don’t have to change everything to deserve it. Just take one step in the direction of who you already are becoming.

12/25/2025

The fifth day of Yule invites us to look closely at what we mean when we talk about gifts.

So much of our culture tells us that more is better, that higher cost equals higher value. But that storyline gets old quick.

I encourage you to explore other kinds of giving today. Handmade offerings, secondhand treasures, recipes passed along with love, or something created slowly and with intention. These gifts carry presence, not pressure.

Time, truly, is a gift. I’ve witnessed that firsthand this year. Quality time is one of the most meaningful offerings we can give. Playing well-worn games, sharing homemade treats, laughing around a table, or simply sitting together. That is a real gift.

Today is also an invitation to examine your own wanting and longing. Ask yourself what you are truly hoping for this season. Get curious about whether you are craving something to satisfy the ego, or if what you really desire is warmth, connection, and shared moments. Sometimes that looks like a cup of coffee with someone you love, whether across the table or across a screen.

Gifts are what we make them.

This is a day to gently deconstruct what giving means, and to remember that love is not measured by price, but by presence.

What is your favorite thing about today?

12/25/2025

Because an herbalist doesn't work in isolation from the body.
I work in relationship to it, looking at patterns, emotions, and grasping the big picture.

Food is the most consistent form of medicine most people take.

Herbs can support, buffer, and gently guide the body, but diet is the landscape those herbs are working within.

If the terrain is depleted, inflamed, or stressed, even the best herbs have less room to do their job.

From a whole body wellness perspective, digestion is not just about nutrients. It is about the nervous system, blood sugar, hormones, elimination, and emotional safety.

How someone eats, what they believe about food, and the state they are in while eating directly affect how the body receives both food and herbs.

I always look at the patterns. This means intaking the whole picture; energy levels, stress response, sleep, digestion, mood, cycles, resilience.

Diet influences all of these. Not in a rigid or prescriptive way, but as daily information the body is constantly responding to.

This is also why as an herbalist, I talk about our relationship with food, not just ingredients. A body in fear or restriction cannot fully receive nourishment. Supporting whole body wellness means supporting the conditions that allow healing to happen.

12/24/2025

The Fourth Day of Yule: Heart & Home

The fourth day of Yule invites us back to the hearth, the heart of the home and a living symbol of warmth, protection, and continuity. For those of us who heat with fire, we know how sacred this energy truly is. Fire warms, cleanses, and brings life inward during the darkest part of the year. It asks for tending, and in return, it offers steadiness and care.

Begin by cleaning or refreshing your fireplace area. This act alone is ritual. A clear, cared-for hearth reflects intention and respect for the energy that sustains your home. If you do not have a fireplace, you can create a sacred hearth space with candles or a small altar, honoring fire in a way that feels accessible and safe.

A simmer pot is another way to tend the home’s inner landscape. Herbs like cinnamon, orange, and clove gently warm the space and invite brightness and renewal. Each herb carries its own spirit. Choose ingredients for protection, love, prosperity, or comfort, and allow their scent to move through the rooms like a blessing.

If you have a mantel or altar, decorate it with holly, evergreen branches, or other greenery. Evergreens have long been used as protective charms during the dark season. Hung above doors or placed near the hearth, they were believed to guard the household and remind us that life continues, even in winter.

Tending the hearth is an act of devotion to both heart and home. It is how we care for the unseen threads that hold us through the cold.

Remeber, this is all a mindset. You don't need a fire to celebrate tonight. You can practice using mental imagery, symbols on your altar, or just meditate on what it means to tend your inner fire.

12/23/2025

Yule is a season of remembering, especially tonight, as on the third night -- we dedicate it to our ancestors.

A time when the veil feels thin between who we are and who came before us.

For many, this looks like honoring ancestors by blood; family, loved ones, names carried through stories and memory.
But not everyone has a lineage that feels safe or accessible.
And THIS matters.

Know that if you do not feel you have ancestors to call on this Yule, through trauma, separation, or estrangement -- nature is here to hold you.

You have a community that can hold space for you, and it will listen without judgement.

The trees can be your grandmother, steady and wise.
The Moon can be your mother, ever-changing and faithful.
The Sun can be your brother, warming and protective.
The wind can be your sister, moving beside you, unseen but felt.

Belonging does not have to be inherited.

It can be remembered, reclaimed, and chosen.

12/22/2025

The longest night of the year isn’t something to push through.
It’s an invitation to rest.

The Winter Solstice reminds us that darkness is not failure or stagnation. It’s a necessary pause. A place where roots deepen, clarity forms, and the light slowly begins its return.

In this week’s Seasons of Self, I explore honoring the Solstice as it truly is.
A threshold.
A turning point.
A season for gentleness, reflection, and tending what actually sustains you.

We talk Capricorn season, seasonal exhaustion, plant allies for rest, and why slowing down now supports the growth you’re craving later.

If you’ve been feeling tired, tender, or quietly ready for change, this one’s for you. I see you, and I too, am leaning into this season of rest. Being emotionally and energetically held by the seasons is truly something I'll always be grateful for.

✨ This weeks publication is live on Substack now! Sign up to get them sent right to your inbox every Sunday evening!

12/22/2025

What a cutie! Would certainly make any household feel more like a family to have another cat around!

Sweet Peach’s brothers were adopted and now she needs a home. 🏠Dont you need an adorable cat to join your family?❤️

12/22/2025

Yule 02: Night of the Wild Hunt

The "Night of the Wild Hunt" refers to a mythical, ghostly procession led by figures like Odin through the winter sky, a supernatural event symbolizing chaos, death, and transition

Celebrate this night of Yule by acknowledging the forces of nature.

Have honor and respect for the moments that you've marveled at in storms, appreciated the sunlight, or stopped to view the moon.

The world around you is so beautiful, though, oftentimes in the depths of winter, it's easy to forget that.

Meditate on how resilient the evergreen trees are, holding to their green color with pride and adoration, lighting up the mountains in the distance in patterns of green and brown.

Spend time outdoors and reflect on the wild and untamed aspects of life. Though it's easy to feel lost in chaos, sometimes that's what makes you strong.

I'm not trying to say that you should aim to have a chaotic or wild life, but remember to get creative, engage in spontaneity, and appreciate all that life has to offer - even the crazy moments.

What's your intrepretation of tonight?

12/22/2025

✨ Tonight marks the first of 12 nights of Yule ✨

🌠 01 - Mothers Night 🌠

Yule is celebrated on the first day of the winter solstice, or the darkest day of the year. The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun.

There's no wrong way to celebrate this time of year. Though, I'll let you in on some things we've been doing around the house to celebrate.

✨ Honor this divine time to go inward. Pause when you need to, and make the most of isolation. Meditate, journal, pull tarot cards, indulge in art - do things that feed your soul.

✨ Partake in a mindful community. Surround yourself with people you love, not tied to obligations. Tell people you love them, express gratitude, and live life to the fullest with meaningful company - especially your feminine ancestors.

✨ Decorate with natural materials from the Earth. Use orange slices to symbolize the return of the sun, evergreen to influence resiliency, or cranberries to represent gratuity.

What are you doing to celebrate the first night of Yule?
Personally, I love the new traditions my wife and I are creating in our home like handmade italian food, special cookies, and lots of arts and crafts.

12/22/2025

Let this be a reminder, that your practice is exactly that — yours. This Winter Solstice I invite you to really go inward.

Don’t be performative, and make sure don’t get lost in the “would, should, and could”.
Just be.
Show up exactly as you are.
Meet yourself where you are, right now.

🌿You don’t need to do trending rituals
🌿You don’t need expensive decor or altars
🌿You don’t have to even post what you’re doing

Acknowledgment is enough

YOU are enough.

Blessed Yule to all who celebrate, and especially to those who are struggling this time of year.