May's five tools for connection
The Art of Returning: A Calendar for Blooming Souls
Hello! Welcome to this section of my Substack called ‘Earth’s medicine’. Here you will accompany me as I attempt to rediscover who we really are through science, ancestry and the wisdom of our elders. In addition to the longer posts, I share 5 tools every month to help you stay more connected to yourself, your community and the world around you. Let’s journey together as we discover not only our purpose but our role within a wider ecosystem, an ancient history and a universe in which life appears to be rare. I would love to hear your thoughts, so do feel free to comment, share and subscribe. Anna xx
This article is free for all. You’ll find some bonuses for paid subscribers at the end of the article this month, including two of my own videos ‘a history of astrology’ and ‘how to use your birth chart to reflect on the moons in May’. Enjoy!
The moment came when I least expected it.
It wasn’t dramatic nor at a time when his absence was evident. It wasn’t even at his graveside. I was frying an egg. An egg of all things.
I am never going to see my dad again.
In seconds my throat had closed, the world swayed and the ground beneath my feet was made of sludge. I would never see my dad again. How was that possible? Who had allowed that? What catastrophic system allowed people to be taken when they were so loved? So….good. I’m sure my pains barely scratch the surface of others grief, but it is grief all the same.
He was 69 in February, and for his birthday I bought him an apple tree. My ignorance with gardening made me feel that the tree was already a lost cause. It just looked like a bunch of twigs to me, no life whatsoever. Dad dutifully replanted it in a bigger pot, placing it carefully in the eyeline of the kitchen window. Nestled beside the wooden bench, it was potential shade for a sleeping cat.
When this flowers you can remember me, he said.
I shook my head. You’ll be here when it flowers.
A silence fell between us. A knowing. Apple’s represent fertility, growth and abundance. That’s why I bought it for you Dad.
Best do the lottery then. He smiled, and in we went.
A few weeks later, he was gone.
And now it has flowered, and every day I sit with it. Thinking of him.
It is easy to believe your life ends when theirs does. And in many ways, a part of my life has ended. There is an emptiness. The house is quiet now. Life is quiet. And as the bees buzz around the blossom and the cat purrs around my feet, I know, in time, I must fill this silence. If I am to see him again, I wish to have a story to tell. I want to see him surprised and on the edge of his seat as I tell him where I have been and what I have done. He will of course want to know about his garden, whether I kept up his role as the local runner bean supplier, how many pears we harvested in the summer, and whether the wild flowers returned on his borders.
I wish to tell him the story of the apple tree. Of its first blossom, how my story grew with it, the sweetness of its apple, and how it returned, year after year, weathering the harsh winters, and blooming again in the spring.
So for now, in the silence, in this emptiness I am left with, I pick up the trowel, and I dig. Sowing the seeds that will one day become a story worth telling. A story my dad will be proud of.
Your May Calendar
Before we head into this months 5 tools for connection, there is a lot going on with the rebellion right now. It’s a time of expansion. To support you in navigating the tools available for your own rebellion, I’ll be making a calendar of events each month. The first is here but from now on will appear in the Burnout Rebellion Monthly articles. They include dates of key articles, tutorials, lives and kick-starter challenges. There are 4 kick-starters a year near the solstices and equinoxes, the first starts on the 21st of June. You can find out more here, make sure you scroll down to the upgrade section. I also include key festival and moon dates in the calendar too.
There are lots of ways you can work with me. From memberships, to coaching to collaboration and to courses. Check out my dedicated page to find out more.
Below you will find this month’s five tools for connection. I hope as we move further into spring you will find what it is you need to expand and to bloom.
Listen
At the moment I am sleeping with the windows and curtains open. My mum turned up with some black out curtains, thinking it was simply a lack of material leading to my early rises at 4:45am but alas no. These are the decisions of a Spring lover. As February gave way to March I noticed the slight change in bird song, more melodic, higher, persistent. Triggered by hormonal changes that are linked to lengthening daylight, the bird songs in Spring exist to call out for a mate. Beyond the simple calls and alerts of Winter, the dawn chorus alerts other males that they are fighting fit, ready to compete and find a mate, that they too have survived the night. The calls in the morning remind me that nature is calling for more, and that I too should use this time to jump forward with projects.
If you’re not keen on the 4:45am wake up call, the RSPB have recorded one for you, even identifying which birds you can hear at each time point. You can find it here.
If all this Spring energy is causing you to dive head first into your creative writing projects and you need a soundtrack, I am currently working my way back through the past albums of Ólafur Arnalds. The album ‘……And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness’ is exceptional. Arnalds drew inspiration from the film Werckmeister Harmonies by Hungarian director Béla Tarr who views humanity perhaps pessimistically. However, it is the opening sequence of this film of a total solar eclipse that inspired Arnalds, the return of the light after darkness. The music is outstanding, and a beautiful companion to your writing life.
Connect
Beltane stories are those of fertility and abundance and of lovers. Of beauty and the explosion of life. Beltane (pronounce B-elt-a-na) can be celebrated at different points in May. For some it is celebrated on the 1st day of May. This is dictated by the Gregorian calendar as opposed to the astronomical, so many celebrate solar Beltane which occurred on Monday the 5th. In some Pagan traditions, Beltane is not celebrated until the first full moon after the it’s solar arrival, exactly halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. This is to allow the light of the moon to shine on evening festivities, including jumping across flames or fires to encourage prosperity (although these days this is not recommended!) and dancing long into the night. These varying dates provide a perfect excuse to celebrate Spring in all her glory for at least a week if not more.
You can also update your alter with Spring colours of yellow, green and red but avoid bringing flowers inside to the alter at this time, as this was seen as a sign of bad luck or to anger the Fae.
Feel
A friend of mine had a star in the sky named after Dad. The star is close to the sun, so every time I watch the sunrise (which I often did with him), his star is there. There is nothing better than stargazing to give you a bit of perspective and this month we have a treat. Venus, Saturn, and Mercury in the early morning sky before sunrise. The bright Venus will be in the east, with Saturn nearby, and Mercury will be visible in the brighter morning twilight. If you are up super early on the 23rd of May you’ll see the moon sandwiched between Saturn and Venus before the New Moon in Gemini graces our skies on the 26th of May if you are in the US and the 27th of May if you’re in the UK.
I’ve talked in both a live and article about the scientific basis for the moons affect on us. So make sure you take the time this month to feel into how your body behaves around the full moon (on Monday the 12th of May) and the new moon impacts your mood, sleep and wellbeing. Take this opportunity to journal or note down any differences you may notice. Just a reminder, you may need extra time for your wind down period the days before and after the full moon.
If you would like to know more about the astrology surrounding these moons, and how astrology is viewed scientifically, check out the videos I have recorded for you at the end of this article.
Read
I’m in the midst of a 2 week reset as prescribed by Amie McNee in her book We need your art. It is truly phenomenal. A must read for any creative living in this content driven world. As Amie says “You don’t need to keep up momentum, stay in the algorithms favour, race to remain relevant, battle with stagnancy. Trust the rhythm of your creative journey. Stillness is not stagnancy. You are always evolving. You are momentum”. It was a much needed pep talk after I lost 50+ subscribers when my dad died and couldn’t create for a month. I’m not going to lie it stung. But then I remembered the 3,450 of you that stuck around, and reminded myself that this is the art. Sometimes it streams out of us at such a fast pace we can’t stop it, and other times, the well runs dry. So thank you for being here and sticking with me.
I’m currently re-reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle. The book club set up by
from The Shelf Help Clubhouse and is such a perfect opportunity to do this, along with journal prompts provided every Wednesday. All for free! Many of us here are on a journey, and there is no better time to remember that you’re a goddamn cheetah. With Glennon’s help you’ll be ready to step out of your cage and say here I am. The extract below is from the chapter Let it Burn.
Nourish
The best way to nourish yourself this season is to get outside and tend a plant where you can. I have had a fair few mistakes with the garden of late (you can also follow my journey on Instagram). I am now in charge of it, and as much as I tried to ask Dad all the questions about how to garden, he was always somewhat elusive, as if it was a great secret, one that he wasn’t yet ready to hand over. So as the neighbours and family members depend on me for their summer stash of runner beans, I have been planting. This first attempt was a bit of an unmitigated disaster.
After reading some advice from the RHS, I decided to plant some runner bean seeds in an egg box. The squirrels got to them, and I assume the lack of depth led to miniscule roots developing. I have planted some more in more substantial containers and kept them away from the wildlife so we’ll see what happens.
If you don’t have a garden go and find yourself a tree. If in doubt, hug a tree. As Mary Oliver says;
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
When I am among the trees - Mary Oliver
I read her other poem “How I go to the woods” for you below.
I hope you have enjoyed this months 5 tools for connection. Do let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Much love,
Anna xxx
Paid subscriber bonuses
If you would like you know more about how astrology and astronomy meet, and how as a scientist I use the moon as a reflection tool to keep me connected to Earth’s movement, I have recorded 2 short videos for you below; ‘The history of astrology’ and ‘Working with the moon cycle in May’.
Most articles will now contain a paid subscriber bonus to help you dive deeper. This will be in addition to the tutorials, the Kickstarter challenges and ‘Dream to Deal’ already in the paid subscription. Hop on the paid subscription while you can. There’s currently a 20% discount and prices will be going up after May.