December 23, 2024 • 53 mins
The ancient ceremonies of our ancestors carry a powerful resonance, weaving us back to the rhythms of nature and the embrace of the Divine Feminine.
In this inspiring episode of Reiki from the Farm™, Pam Allen-LeBlanc and Karen Caig explore the sacred traditions of Yule and other Celtic ceremonies, uncovering how these rituals connect us to cycles of renewal, intuition, and the light within.
We’ll delve into the rich symbolism of the Divine Feminine in Celtic spirituality and offer practical ways to honor these traditions in your modern life. Through reflective questions and a guided meditation, you’ll learn how to reconnect with ancestral wisdom and align with the nurturing, transformative energies of the season. Bring a journal and prepare to light your inner fire!
______
Pam Allen-LeBlanc is a scientist, businesswoman, and Licensed Reiki Master Teacher (LRMT) with the International Center for Reiki Training.
Get in Touch with Pam:
Email: pam@reikfromthefarm.com
Sign up for the Reiki from the Farm Newsletter & learn about upcoming Reiki Shares: http://eepurl.com/dFm-19
______
Karen Caig has been an LRMT with the International Center for Reiki Training since 2020. Passionate about helping others find relief from stress and pain, she continues to be guided on her own healing path by Reiki. Karen's mission is to train at least one Reiki Master for every family, promoting deep healing and making the world a better place.
Get in Touch with Karen Caig:
Website: www.Reiki-Institute.com
A special thanks goes out to Music from Pixabay for the intro music and to Nate Miller for the meditation music.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Pamela (00:07):
Hi and welcome to the Reiki from the Farm podcast
brought to you by me, Pam AllenLeBlanc from Hidden Brook Farm.
I am a scientist, abusinesswoman, and a licensed
Reiki master teacher with theInternational Center for Reiki
Training.
Each week in this podcast you'llbe entertained as you learn
about a wide variety of relevantReiki topics, helping you become
(00:30):
a more knowledgeable andeffective Reiki practitioner.
We caution you though, thispodcast may also dramatically
improve your life, and we are sohappy that you're here.
(00:56):
On this week's podcast, I amtalking with my friend and
fellow licensed Reiki masterteacher, Karen Kaig, about Yule
and just how we can honor thedivine feminine through some of
the traditional Celticceremonies and Yule traditions.
(01:19):
Welcome, Karen.
Karen (01:21):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me again.
Pamela (01:24):
It is always a delight to have you, my dear.
And I was thinking that Yule andthe Solstice were together and
we're going to talk about this,but they're actually not the
same thing and they come fromthe same place.
Or from a different place.
I'm really excited to dive into,to this with you.
Before we go too far, I justwanted to let the listeners know
(01:46):
that I've got some fabulousReiki classes coming up.
January 25th and 26th is aweekend level one and two.
Reiki Level 1 and 2 class, andthat's followed by a Reiki
Masterclass that is actuallybeing taught a Friday evening,
Saturday, Sunday, and Mondayevening, just to work around
people's work schedules.
(02:06):
I'm trying that this year to seeif that's helpful to people.
I have a Karuna ReikiMasterclass January 27th to
30th, which is all evenings, andthat's mornings in Australia and
Asia.
So if you would like to join usfor that, we'd love to have you
(02:27):
join us.
We also have an Animal ReikiLevel 1 and 2 class February 8th
and 9th, a weekend class, andthat's followed by an Animal
Reiki Masterclass February 10thto 13th, which is a weekend, a
long weekend President's Day,and it's a long weekend here for
many of us in Canada as well, soa three day class over a long
(02:49):
weekend in February, and it'sjust here, there's not an awful
lot to do weekends, longweekends in February, so it'll
be a lovely way to stay.
It's calm up there.
It's cold.
It's already cold.
We're, we've got snow andfreezing rain today.
So it's cold.
We also have AnimalCommunication for Reiki
(03:10):
Practitioners, a Level 1 and 2Introductory Workshop, February
15 16.
A Level 3 ProfessionalPractitioner Workshop, February
17th, online.
And actually, maybe that's thelong weekend.
I'm not sure.
And then that's followed by ananimal communi Oh, that's, it's
(03:35):
February 17th is evenings, andthen it's followed by, for the
first time ever, an animalcommunication master teacher
class over three evenings,February 18th to 20th.
I would love to have you joinus.
This is the only time at themoment that I do have the Animal
(04:00):
Communication Masterclass.
Sorry the Level 3 ProfessionalPractitioner Workshop is on the
long weekend.
And the Animal CommunicationMaster Teacher class is over
three evenings, the 18th to20th.
At the moment, I won't beteaching Animal Communication
(04:23):
again although I will have aLevel 3 class in September.
in April in a, an Asian friendlytime zone, but I won't be
teaching that course again untilthe following November.
So if you do want to catchanimal communication hopefully
(04:44):
you can join us.
And for those of you who areinterested in healthcare Reiki,
please send me an email.
If you'd like to be invited tothe pilot class, which is either
going to be in February orApril.
And also or April?
Not in March, April, yeah.
Okay.
April, I'm away for the wholemonth of March.
(05:04):
First time that I'm doing that,Karen.
I'm going away for a wholemonth.
I've never done that before inmy life.
I've never taken, I've only evertaken two weeks in a row a
couple times, it's going to bevery interesting.
We're heading to Portugal.
And then, but with HealthcareReiki at the end of April and
beginning of May, for sure, andyou can register for that class.
(05:25):
I'll put a link in the podcast.
We will, Tracy Sullivan and Iwill be teaching Healthcare
Reiki in person, just ahead ofthe COVID 19 pandemic.
Northeast Reiki Retreat inSilver Bay, New York, and it may
be the only time we can gettogether and teach it in person,
I'm not sure but we'd love tohave you join us for that, and
the Northeast Reiki Retreat isdefinitely worthwhile, so a lot
(05:49):
of stuff there, sorry for takingall that time.
And so that's what I have goingon.
Karen, what do you have comingup?
Karen (05:57):
I have January, something I'm really excited about is I
have a coaching program that I'mstarting.
You can find information aboutthat just on my website, www.
Reiki Institute.
com.
There's a banner explainingabout that.
Many people have asked me forcoaching, life transformation
coaching.
So I'm starting that.
And I also have Reiki 1 and 2 tostart the new year on January
(06:18):
4th.
And then Master on, in themiddle of the week, which is
unusual Reiki Master on aTuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
January 7th, 8th, and 9th.
And then in February, I haveAnimal Reiki classes.
On the 8th and the 9th, and thenAnimal Master on the 21st, 22nd,
and 23rd.
(06:39):
That's what I got going on.
Pamela (06:40):
I love it.
And you made me think when yousaid January 4th or January 2nd,
I have a, an online Reiki share,and we're going to be looking at
our goals for the year.
That's a good
Karen (06:50):
idea.
Pamela (06:51):
Yeah.
If anybody, Happy New Year.
As long as you get thenewsletter, just sign up for the
newsletter, and you'll get theinvitations to the Reiki share
each month.
So it sounds like we've got allkinds of stuff.
I'm so excited about yourcoaching program.
Tell me a little bit more aboutthat.
Karen (07:08):
It's actually, it's been a really creative time and since
we're talking about the divinefeminine, I'm going to talk
about that a little bit, butit's just been flowing through
people have been asking me forsome sort of a coaching program
and it just all came through andit's actually three separate
programs, but the my coachingprogram is called doorway
doorway coaching, because inlife you have so many, sometimes
you have to shut doors.
Sometimes you have to choosewhich door to go through.
(07:30):
And sometimes you need somecourage to step through the
doors open, but you just haven'tstepped through it.
So it's group coaching and it'sworking through the process that
I went through to completelyturn my life into something
completely different and move toanother continent and to change
my life, it's for people who arein transition, like divorce,
empty nest.
(07:51):
Retirement.
You've been taking care of yourparents and they died.
It's those times in our liveswhere we don't, it's okay, what
next now?
What do I do now?
Who am I even?
I don't even know.
It's those points in your lifewhere you start over.
So that's what the program'sfor.
Pamela (08:05):
I love that.
And you, for as long as I'veknown you, you've been called to
work with especially women intransition.
Yeah.
Who are transitioning into.
Karen (08:15):
Which is why I love to talk about the divine feminine,
because that's that energy.
Pamela (08:19):
Yeah something I wanted you to talk about the Divine
Feminine today, just the waythis podcast came about is, we
were talking and I knew that yousaid, Wow, this is going to be
the first yule that I don'tspend with my son.
And you and I've talked on apodcast before, about the fact
that you do follow the DivineFeminine and Goddess Wisdom.
And a lot of things are comingthrough in my sessions these
(08:42):
days.
all around the Divine Feminine,Karen.
And and then you also saidsomething else that really stuck
with me, and that was that I'mhere in a new place, I have to
create new ceremonies.
To connect with a place and Ithought this is just so it just
all gelled together for me.
(09:04):
Can you just tell me a littlebit about tell me about Yule.
What is Yule?
What is this?
Yeah, and because Yeah, becauseI said to you, is it like
solstice?
And you said, no, one's morefeminine, one's more masculine.
Tell me about Yule.
Oh, yeah.
Karen (09:24):
So I follow a wheel of the year, which and the more I
get to know about differentindigenous cultures, it seems
like worldwide, we've alwaysbeen connected to the earth and
to the sun.
This is how we live.
We are a part of the earth.
That's animal Reiki, right?
And it's just following thecycles.
And I was saying that this is myfirst Yule away from my family,
(09:48):
and that's That said, but foryou, for me, it has always been
about welcoming the sun becauseliving in the northern
hemisphere and coming from, somy ancestors are from Scotland,
Ireland, Norway.
That those peoples, the returnof the sun was a big deal, it's
well, where you live, it's a bigdeal.
I live where, you
Pamela (10:06):
know,
Karen (10:06):
it's dark
Pamela (10:07):
at 430 at night.
Karen (10:10):
What Yule is about is about and it's connected to the
Divine Feminine in that.
It's that winter time and theDivine Feminine is about the
contraction.
And then the masculine, thedivine masculine is about
expansion.
So time passing it's, it is,it's it's breathing, it's like
we're in and we're out.
(10:31):
And so it's a connection tothat.
But Yule, what we would do forYule is we get up.
And we would go to, okay, welived in Arkansas find a
mountain, the closest mountain,which we don't have, like the, I
live in the Andes now, so I'mnot talking about 9, 000 feet,
but, little mountains inArkansas, go to a high point,
and wait for the sun.
So you're standing there, wewould do, take our, like a
(10:52):
little offering, in a sense, Sowhen my son was little, it's
just we're just going to gogreet the sun, we've got like
warm tea and infused with Reikiintention or, pumpkin bread or
whatever, we've got, we would goto the mountain and we would sit
there shivering in the cold,dark.
Waiting for the stupid sun tocome up.
And it was just the first timemy daughter my soon to be
(11:13):
daughter in law went with me,she goes she said, it's really
cold.
What are we doing here?
What are we supposed to bedoing?
And I said let's reflect on thedarkness.
I said, what this represents isthat there are dark times in
your life where you feel cold,you feel alone, you're scared
there's never going to be lightagain.
And the sun always returns.
(11:35):
I said the message that we'recelebrating here, the spiritual
message, is that the lightalways returns.
And in that darkness, Shiveringhere in the dark, in that
darkness, that's the time torest, reflect, and so we talked
about usually what we do ischoose a word for the next year,
like what is, what's going to beyour word for the year, so
(11:55):
that's setting intention andthen when the sun comes, I can
remember my future daughter inlaw, the last time she was like,
Oh, I'm like, yeah, That's thewarmth.
So the sun represents it is likea masculine.
It's the divine masculine.
It's the warmth.
It's the expansion.
It's that energy.
And the feminine more is that,to me, the more powerful.
(12:20):
This is the less obvious, butthe more powerful.
It's the feminine.
It goes
Pamela (12:24):
along with women being the creators and being more
powerful.
I was, I said something recentlyto my children.
I said when your father and Imade you or, we were going and
my son just stopped me for aminute.
He goes, Mom, let's be clearhere.
You made us.
Dad was just having some fun.
(12:47):
And that might be a littledidn't do the work.
You made us.
And so So there is that creativepower within women that you're
speaking of.
And we all carry
Karen (12:58):
both that, the that external, there are times in our
lives where we have to be, Idon't know why I keep doing this
phallic thing, we have to be theman and then, exactly, but the,
of it, but there are, the realwork is that spiraling,
creative, mysterious, that'swhy, to me, the, God doesn't
(13:24):
really have gender for me, butwhen I think of the divine, I
think of it as feminine more.
I think, get stuff done, butlike the winter time, we think
it's oh, it's cold and therewere no leaves on the trees and
everything's dead and all that,but it's not.
So another part of Yule for meis like there, everything is
below earth that, everything'sresting, resting, and so I try
(13:46):
to live my life in that.
that cycle, the equinoxes are atime of balance between the dark
and the light.
Pamela (13:54):
They are.
And yeah.
And so tell us the differencethough between Yule, what you
celebrate, because a lot ofpeople listening probably
celebrate Great Christmas orsome other something else.
What's the difference betweenYule and the equinox?
So the
Karen (14:10):
Yule it depends on where you are in the world, but the
solstices you have.
There where you swing way out,you've got the yule, the winter
solstice, you have long longnight, short day.
And then the summer solstice,you have long long days, short
nights.
(14:31):
And then we have the balance inbetween.
Equinox.
Yeah, the equinoxes are equal.
Okay, what's the differencebetween the winter solstice and
Yule?
It's pretty much the same thing.
Okay.
But Yule has become, that's howthe church brought the pagans
into, in that area of the world,the Celtic regions, brought them
(14:52):
into the church with They werealready celebrating the return
of the light.
Turn of the sun.
Look how easy that is.
Turn of the sun, SUN and the re,and and the birth of SON, the
birth of the SUN and the birthof the SON.
So that was really easy to bringtogether.
Jesus says, bring her of light,bring her of, and we still have
the yue tied and deck the holeswith bows of Holly I like why?
(15:15):
Yeah, why?
Because that is a Celtictradition, right?
Huh.
Yeah, the holly is, it'severgreen.
Now, and then the Christmastree, that's the Germanic.
Sure.
Traditions but they're symbolsof everlasting life.
And so that, that coincidesbecause every time somebody says
Jesus is the reason for thisseason no, this season was
first.
Yeah.
Jesus was born in June.
(15:37):
Yeah.
But, and it doesn't matter.
I think it's just, it's what'sin your heart.
And what it means, I think aslong as it has some meaning, not
just Oh my gosh, we've got tobuy some presents and wrap them
up.
And, I think that's what's lostin so many families is that it's
some kind of a tradition or mydaughter in law saying, What are
we doing here?
What does this mean?
(15:57):
Yeah.
Why are we standing on thismountain in the dark?
Do I really want to be with thisboy?
No.
But that's what you need to ask.
Why am I doing this?
Why am I putting up a Christmastree?
And I think it's fine if you'reputting it up for Christmas.
You're like, okay, because thisevergreen tree represents
everlasting life.
And so does Jesus.
But it needs to be, with somesort of meaning.
Pamela (16:21):
And that just leads us to something else that you said,
which was, I'm in a new placenow.
I need to need new rituals, newceremonies.
Tell me about the ceremonies ofthe Divine Feminine, because
Divine Feminine Energy, we werejust talking before the podcast,
Divine Feminine Energy is comingin for so many Reiki
practitioners right now.
(16:42):
Tell me about some of theceremonies you did follow, and
just why ceremony is important.
Ceremony is
Karen (16:49):
important because it makes you stop and connect with
something bigger than yourself,simply and to tune into those
parts of yourself that you needto sustain you, to sustain your
life, to sustain your sanitythrough, through life.
(17:10):
And I have always struggled withbalance between masculine and
feminine, and I think a lot ofus do.
And then now.
Not to be controversial, becauseI'm not trying to be
controversial, but the more thatwe're starting to look at gender
what's male, what's female,what's this, there's so many,
with the LBGTQ communities, andI think everybody's starting to
question, what does it mean,masculine, feminine, does it
(17:31):
matter what body parts, is thatwhat makes me a woman, feel like
a woman, what is it makes, whatis feminine, what is masculine,
and because we contain both ofthese, and, Yeah, and I think
about it with Reiki.
I think one of the questions youasked me before is what kind of
rituals can we do or what can wedo to bring balance between the
(17:54):
divine masculine and divinefeminine?
And I thought, it's in theGassho.
Bringing two hands together.
Bringing two hands together.
Because I tell my students, whenI first learned, okay, this is
a.
This is a Japanese Reikitechnique, Gassho.
And I thought, Oh, this is whatI do.
It's like praying to get readyto do my, my my session.
But it's more, it's so much morethan that.
(18:15):
That's why I said think aboutwhat does it mean to bring two
hands together?
You're bringing your left hand,left usually associated with the
feminine, right with themasculine, and you're bringing
those to the center.
And that's,
Pamela (18:27):
For me, the energy that I've always spoken with that I
call God, and I call the energyGod now that I've healed
religious trauma.
I did call it goddess for quitea while and could only connect
with the feminine aspect becauseI did have some religious trauma
(18:48):
to heal.
But the energy that I call Godis so interesting because it's
neither masculine nor feminine.
or feminine, but it also is bothmasculine and feminine, if that
makes any sense.
It contains both, but it's likeit's beyond beyond gender.
And I know that even here in myprovince recently there were
(19:10):
people that were getting alltwisted up about, transgender
and gender fluidity.
And I don't know, I just feelmaybe folks are just more
evolved and because we know thatthe Brothers and Sisters of the
Light, William talks about theBrothers and Sisters of the
Light, how they exist beyondgender and they took genders to
(19:35):
come into form in order to workwith us, but their normal
existence in the higher levelsof existence and some part of
their consciousness is stillthere.
is beyond gender.
So I, one of the things I'venoticed is that the guy that I
work with a lot of the time isJesus and he is perfectly
(19:55):
balanced and is masculine andfeminine.
And one of my horses, Big Buddy,is perfectly balanced and is
masculine and feminine.
And it occurs to me that I, Ibelieve enlightenment has
something to do with achievingthat.
Beautiful balance.
Karen (20:13):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think that's what, atleast with the way I have been
practicing and with Reiki, thathas really helped heal a lot of
religious trauma, a lot oftrauma as childhood trauma, like
trying to be my dad's bestfriend.
Best Boy, or you know that, Ithink that Reiki helps take that
(20:33):
cultural pressure and it mighteven be like, it doesn't matter
like what gender you think youare, what, you're born as, all
of those.
Reiki helps strip that down.
It has to do with being yourauthentic self.
And then you can seek thatbalance between masculine and
feminine.
And then practicing these solarholidays, helps me realize that
(20:57):
both are important.
Yes.
I think they're important.
Pamela (21:01):
And I've heard you say that use the word balance that,
it, that the ceremonies bringyou, allow you to reflect, allow
you to connect, bring balanceinto your life.
So what are your thoughts, andjust explain that statement and
maybe where you're going to gowith it.
You said, I need new ceremoniesbecause I'm living.
in a new place.
(21:22):
Because
Karen (21:22):
it's also, it's because we're part of the Earth.
So living, yeah, I neverfinished that thought.
Living in a particular areawhere you to physically survive
you have to get in the rhythm ofokay, this is it's important
that we know when is the suncoming back.
When do we, and then yeah, A lotof the pagan holidays are
burning fires, like the Yule logis important.
(21:44):
That's my son has my Yule log,but we don't burn the log.
Traditionally, what you would dois you would burn the log and
then save part of the fire.
The ember part of the charcoal,if you will, to start the next
year's fire.
So it's like a continuation.
It's almost like an act of hope.
I know there's going to be anext year.
We just put candles on our Yulelog and decorated it.
(22:09):
Rather, yeah oh, my gosh, howold is he?
26.
So he's had that the same oaklog for 26 years.
It's the little things oflooking together for.
for the evergreens to decoratewith.
And, that's a reflective act.
Sometimes looking for mistletoe.
We don't have mistletoe here.
I live on the equator.
Mistletoe is sacred to theDruids.
(22:29):
It's a parasitic plant.
I have holly.
I have a holly bush.
And with the holly berries andall that.
And so as you're gathering thesethings, usually when you're
gathering them, it's that's theonly thing you can that's alive.
You're looking around and you'relike, yeah, everything else is
nope, we're shutting down.
This is too cold, and all thetrees are like, I've done this,
(22:50):
but you've got those hollythings out there and the.
And on the B, I'm going to
Pamela (22:54):
say a new wuss.
Karen (22:56):
Exactly.
But that's what seems somagical, I'm sure about the
mistletoe, because it's aparasitic plant and it only
grows on oak trees.
And it, the oak was sacred, it'sso strong and everything, and
even when the oak dies, thenhere's that little green thing,
wow, that's pretty powerful.
But anyway, it all has to dowith Reminding you of life, I
think, all rituals remind you oflife and hope, I think and, but
(23:20):
I said I needed new ritualsbecause it's not cold here, the
days are 12 hours, the nightsare 12 hours, it doesn't matter
year round, I live on theequator, so those, so my
traditions don't, I thought, oh,So I had put myself in another
place where I was led to anotherplace and I'm like this Celtic
stuff is not working.
(23:40):
This is not, it's not the same.
It's not.
Yeah.
So I'm
Pamela (23:46):
sure.
Karen (23:47):
So I need new traditions that I'm still working on.
And I'm learning from anindigenous Shona and I, because
they were the indigenous people.
They were like, so what do y'alldo?
He told me that they're theirsolstices are masculine and all
of the equinoxes are when theyplant.
That the equinoxes, when thingsare in balance, that it's
feminine.
(24:08):
And they plant.
So that in itself that's justyou need food, you got to plant
it, right?
That ritual is not, justsomething you do to remind
yourself like, Oh, yeah, we havefood.
They have to plant it and theyharvest it.
A lot of the people survive notby going to the store.
It's what they are able to grow.
Pamela (24:25):
I grew up in, and that's where ours come from.
That is.
And I grew up in a farm familyKaren, and this might surprise,
this is surprising when I thinkabout it, My father just one
generation, they would plantcertain things, crops based on
the moon cycle, and they wouldbreed animals based on the lunar
(24:50):
cycle, like this is, or wean ababy based on the phase of the
moon.
And,
Karen (24:57):
so that's part of it too.
So you've got the.
You have the most pagans will,they notice this phase of the
moon.
We plant by it because thingsthat grow above ground, they
grow best when you plant them inthe waxing of the moon, when
it's getting stronger and thethings like radishes, potatoes,
those sort of things, they growbetter if you plant them.
(25:19):
in the waning of the moon inthat part.
And then there's certain, yeah,it can get complicated, but it's
all about just being connectedto the place where we live.
That's really all it is.
And those rituals are a time tostop whatever you're doing,
which I think they're even moreimportant now than, because I
live in a third world country,we move much slower here.
(25:39):
And I'm like, huh, it's weird.
It's weird not living in thattime.
Pamela (25:45):
Go.
Karen (25:46):
American go to work, you gotta go, oh my god, it's
Christmas, we gotta buypresents, so oh my, first we
have Thanksgiving, okay, get aturkey, it's to get out of that
culture and come here, I'm like,okay, I've spent a year and a
half of decompressing, really,of huh, okay, so this is how
people live.
Wow, all right.
(26:06):
It's what I was trying toconnect to in North America
through these ancienttraditions.
At first I started reading aboutit.
It's oh, is this what ancientCelts did?
Ah, it was that kind ofasserting.
And yeah, like you clinging tothe goddess, because of
religious trauma.
And, so you start doing here'sthe thing too, you start doing a
ritual.
Sometimes when you say fake ittill you make it, sometimes when
you just make yourself do it,you're like, okay, all right.
(26:30):
It's.
It's Halloween.
It's Samhain.
We got to connect with theancestors.
It's time.
And so you just do it and thenyou get the connection, but
you're doing it out of habit.
So sometimes, and that's what aritual is, it's a habit that you
do for a purpose, but sometimeswe forget, what was the purpose?
Why are we doing this?
Oh yeah,
Pamela (26:48):
ancestors are
Karen (26:49):
important.
Pamela (26:50):
I do love the holidays for so many reasons.
One is that you do slow down.
And the other, I love thatconnection with family.
I love getting together with, weusually go to my mom and dad's
house on the farm.
And this year my mother in lawis going to join us, which I'm
thrilled about.
It's her first year on her ownfor Christmas without my father
(27:13):
in law.
And so That's feminine energy.
We pull things together.
Okay.
And, yeah, it's What are some ofthe other Celtic ceremonies?
I just
Karen (27:28):
mentioned Samhain.
You did?
That's my new year, Samhain.
So the year for me begins onOctober 31st, around there.
And that is, but that's based onthe vegetation God, the death of
the vegetation God that isreborn on Yule.
It's reborn, with the sun.
And so I celebrate that byacknowledging before you move
(27:51):
into the new year for me, Icelebrate the new year,
everybody does.
But for me, spiritually, the newyear is connecting with my
ancestors.
on Halloween.
Yeah.
Connecting with my ancestors,remembering where I come from,
asking for guidance on where,okay.
And what do I do?
I have pictures.
Usually I'll make some tea orhave a little bit of food and I
(28:14):
meditate and sometimes I'll doautomatic writing because I get
messages best that waysometimes.
And and then I ask silly thingslike, Okay, y'all.
I'm talking to my dad, I'mtalking to my mom, my
grandparents, all the way back.
Ancestors, I don't know who youare, but I know you're here.
I'll ask him really practicalthings sometimes should I take
my social security early nextyear?
What do you think?
He told me, yeah.
(28:35):
I'm like, okay.
I can't believe I just said thaton a podcast.
What a nut.
But those are the things I wantto know.
Okay, y'all are hanging up herein the second heaven.
I know.
What can y'all see that I can'tsee?
You got any advice?
And I know that they're egobased still.
So I'm, I'll take everythingwith a little bit of a grain of
(28:55):
salt but okay.
Living in a foreign country bymyself, it's even more important
to connect with my ancestors.
Cause I know that they're here.
Yeah, sure they can with you.
And so that's my that's a Celticholiday.
Saun is how it's pronounced.
Usually in, it looks like SamHane, but it's Saun.
And then ELL is the next bigone.
So there are eight of'em.
(29:16):
There are four, like there aretwo solstice, two equinoxes, and
then midway between each onethere's a major holiday and
Halloween's one.
And then the next one is.
Yul, and then the next one I'llcelebrate around February 1st,
2nd in bulk.
So I've celebrated, okay,everything I died, and so I'm
(29:37):
going to go into the depths ofthe underworld, connecting with
my ancestors.
That's Halloween.
Then we're moving back towardthe light.
Yul is like the promise ofhere's the light.
Yeah, okay, February 1st, 2nd.
It's it's called the quickening.
in bulk is like the quickening.
It's it's coming, but in thistime between Halloween and
February 1st and 2nd, this is mytime for like creative.
(29:58):
I'm not really I'm resting.
I'm wanting to spend time withfamily or, okay, I don't have
family here, so I have a secondfamily.
I'm going to be giving out food,doing things, creating, writing
more, because this is like thispart still of the year, even
though I'm living on theequator.
And then it comes back and thenyou have the equinox.
Around March 21st, when UesugiSensei received Reiki, and then
(30:20):
yeah, and then, and that'sEaster, Ostara, as a Germanic
holiday, but and then that's thetradition, that's why we have
Easter there, because we'recelebrating rebirth.
of the world of everything.
That's, I used to wonder like,why is a bunny bringing eggs,
that is a little.
But they're both fertilitythey're fertility symbols.
They're
Pamela (30:40):
pagan.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Karen (30:42):
Yeah.
But that was perfect with Jesusbecause he was reborn too, and
then the next big one isBeltane, which is a big
fertility f The ancient Kelseyused to go out and have sex in
the fields to ensure fertilityof the crops.
That's mayday that one way.
That's mayday.
And then in Germany, that's whenthe women dress up like witches.
Oh, really up in the heartsmountains.
(31:02):
It's called Val in Germany, butit's Beltane in the Celtic
tradition.
And but that's when.
It's in full swing.
And it's about to, you want tomake sure that your crops are
really going to grow.
June 21st.
That's where you have, Oh,that's the summer solstice where
that's the peak.
That's in the northernhemisphere.
(31:23):
That's peak of the long days,
Pamela (31:25):
the heat of the
Karen (31:26):
summer.
I always
Pamela (31:26):
think of that as such an extroverted time and the winter
as being.
Winter
Karen (31:31):
is more like,
Pamela (31:33):
Are you there, son?
Are you there, son?
I, as an introvert, I enjoy thequieter winter.
Karen (31:43):
I'm an extrovert, but I need it.
Pamela (31:45):
Yeah, we all do.
We all need that time to, torejuvenate.
And for me, it's the winter andthe quieter times are very
creative and I love beingcreative.
And the summer is moreextroverted.
And when it is time to beextroverted, I am.
I enjoy that too.
Karen (32:04):
Yeah.
Pamela (32:05):
Yeah.
Karen (32:05):
So it's just about living in rhythm with nature, with each
other, with and yeah, that's thebalance between the divine
feminine and the, and and sun isusually masculine God, and then
the earth is the feminine,Receptive goddess.
And
Pamela (32:23):
then we've got the after the summer solstice well, so Oh
and then the and
Karen (32:29):
then you have Lita which are is a August 1st 2nd.
It's a kind of like the firstharvest and then you have The
second Equinox, Mabon September21st is like the big harvest,
which coincides with the harvestmoon and all that, and it's
getting ready to die down, sothat death, that's what
Halloween's all about.
Pamela (32:49):
There's the death
Karen (32:50):
of everything and then wait, here it comes again.
Yeah.
Pamela (32:54):
And I love that there's like kind of eight cycles and
that they're really equidistant.
And then in
Karen (32:59):
between then, you've got the cycles of the moon.
Yes.
So I'm always aware also of whenthe moon's full, when it's a new
moon, what's, so it's maybe it'sjust finding your place in the
world and connecting to it.
But you have to be aware ofwhat's going on outside of all
of your drama.
Huh the sun's still going.
The moon's still here.
Pamela (33:21):
Yeah, I guess we're all right.
It's interesting though that,and it's something I never
thought of with you being at theEquinox.
I never thought of the fact thatthere, there aren't the seasons
as much.
There aren't.
No,
Karen (33:36):
no.
We have a rainy season and a dryseason.
Pamela (33:40):
Yeah.
And I just, I grew up so much inCanada with the cycles.
They're very prominent here.
Karen (33:46):
But that's why you have different mythology.
And that's what I meant.
And when I say mythology, Idon't mean stuff that's not
true.
The stories that sustain us,they are true.
They're the stories that, thathelp us understand how to live
in the world where we are.
And so people who live intropical climates have the same,
they have different rhythms,
Pamela (34:05):
different stories, have
Karen (34:05):
different mythology and different rituals.
And that's what I meant.
I need to connect to this place.
I felt the energy when I camehere and I thought, this is
where I'm supposed to be, butnow I want to connect more
deeply.
Pamela (34:17):
To the earth.
Because I'm
Karen (34:18):
bringing things that don't fit.
Pamela (34:21):
And you know something, I think I was talking with Jay
and we've recorded, we'll recorda a podcast on crystals and just
the fact that our bodies aremade of the earth.
There's something that I sayquite a bit and it originated
with Colleen Benally.
Our bodies are made of the earthto give our spirit life and
breath and maybe it originatedfrom somewhere else for her but
(34:44):
I think about that and when Ithink about that from a
scientific standpoint I thinkour bodies really are made of
the earth because we eat foodthat started as a seed and it
absorbs the minerals.
Minerals and nutrients of theearth to turn into a carrot and
a potato and the things thatthen nourish our bodies and if
you think of it we started as aseed and our mothers ate food
(35:07):
from the earth or animals thatate food from the earth and
that's what nourished us andgrew us from a tiny seed and
then continued.
We are the earth.
And so you're actually now theearth that grows your food, your
sustenance is is just in adifferent place.
(35:29):
And there's something that,Colleen and I have discussed and
that whenever I go to a newplace that I do, and that is
connecting with the groundwater,
Karen (35:42):
wherever
Pamela (35:43):
you are.
So even when I travel in orderto really orient myself to a
time zone, to a land, I'll justimagine roots growing out from
the bottoms of my feet and goingall the way through the, topsoil
and the subsoil into thegroundwater and all the way to
the bedrock.
But if you think about it, we'realmost all made primarily of
(36:05):
water.
And so by connecting with thewater at any given place then we
can connect with that earth.
But I can see the importance ofconnecting with where you are
now.
Karen (36:19):
And part of their rituals for every, they do all the
solstices and equinoxes and theyalways do a ritual bath also.
It's like a cleansing and witheach one I said so it's not,
it's just every one.
The women go separately from themen and they go to, because
they're springs.
So it's water coming
Pamela (36:36):
up from the
Karen (36:36):
earth.
Pamela (36:37):
Earth and that is the groundwater.
Karen (36:39):
Yeah, it's the groundwater and they're, they
literally bathe in it.
Also.
Yeah, it's cold too.
I didn't strip off in front ofmy driver, but but then he was
like taking it and it was like,like putting it on my, it was
like, it was, but it's, itconnects you.
I also think about the water I'mdrinking like when I, cause I
(37:02):
buy bottled water here, but Ibuy Ecuadorian and I'm like,
where does this come from?
It comes from near the volcanoCotopaxi.
I don't know if you've heard ofit, but it's because I know my
body, this body that, that I'mtalking from at this moment is
not the body I came here with ayear and a half ago.
I eat the same, I eat a carrotfrom the United States.
It's not the same as a carrotfrom here because there, I've
gotten the carrot, the food herestill has nutrients in it, and
(37:25):
we've destroyed our soil upthere.
So yeah, anyway, it's just it'sconnecting with the water.
And it is just thatacknowledgement that I am part
of this.
Maybe that's all it is.
Maybe it's just this longing tobe part of something.
Pamela (37:40):
I love that, Karen.
That's.
And remind
Karen (37:42):
you like, yeah, you're part of everything.
Girl, what are you talkingabout?
You're alone here in Ecuador.
You're part of, you're part ofall of this.
Pamela (37:49):
And we can be separate, be somewhere else.
And it doesn't change the factthat we are part of all of it.
Does it?
Karen (37:57):
Yeah.
Pamela (37:58):
It
Karen (37:58):
just helps.
So ritual is probably to remindyou of a larger perspective
because it's so easy to becaught up in all the drama.
I know you were going to saysomething about the divine
feminine in 2025.
Pamela (38:13):
Yeah, I noticed in my sessions and a lot of people
have noticed that there's thatthe Divine Feminine is coming
in.
It's coming in with meditationsand experiences I've never seen
before that are really profound,that are healing the ancestral
lineage, that are connecting usmore deeply and firmly with the
(38:34):
Divine Feminine.
In fact, you and I are talkingabout potentially creating some
sort of a workshops, workshoparound that, or a course.
And what are you noticing?
Karen (38:47):
I was thinking, yeah, okay, we talked about it in the
Reiki Business Summit about howit really is time for
collaboration, cooperation, youget farther with that than you
do with competition, and that'sthe divine feminine energy.
But one thing I've been noticingalso, and I thought, oh, yeah,
that's divine feminine energytoo, is, so I'm living here in
(39:07):
South America, and we have,we've had terrible, horrible
drought.
So I'm living here in SouthThere's been flooding all over
the, I'm looking and I'mthinking this is also, there's a
destructive divine feminine I'mthinking of like Kalima or that,
that mother energy, like whenthat comes home and the house is
totally destroyed because thekids are running amok and just
(39:29):
being, just these, There's thatmama who comes in Oh, no, she's
coming in with a switch, getover here and then stop that and
hug your brother.
But the wars that are going on.
What I'm feeling is a little bitof this kind of a divine mother
energy also like, Now this isenough, that, that look that all
mothers have that.
(39:51):
When I teach Yoshiho, I'm likesending Reiki with your eyes.
Cause I usually have women in myclasses.
Like it's like that look yougive your kids, you're just
sending the energy with youreyes.
Like my sister's a schoolteacher and my husband says he's
scared of her.
That's also part of the divinefeminine energy.
I have that beautiful.
like Mother Mary, that's,there's that beautiful nurturing
(40:12):
part, but there's also Kalima,because things sometimes have to
be destroyed before they can becreated anew.
And I can feel, I feel MamaEarth doing a little bit of
that, shaking things up likethat.
This is, I almost feel like thisis enough, for having sex.
Pamela (40:31):
That makes me think of, I, I have a friend who says, Oh
no, you didn't.
Oh no, you didn't.
I know you didn't.
So when she says
Karen (40:38):
that, I'm like but seriously, that's part of the
divine, Feminine as well, Ithink there's a meme or
something I saw on social medialike the world will be saved,
when a group of grandmothersgets together.
It's okay, that's enough.
Pamela (40:54):
That's actually part of a lot of indigenous culture,
where there is that honoring andrespecting of the grandmothers
and the listening to thegrandmothers and
Karen (41:03):
I think that's what's coming.
I think that, but it's totalchaos right now.
There's no arguing that, but Ithink that's part of the, part
of that destructive, thedestruction, everything has to
collapse before rises anew.
And I think
Pamela (41:19):
we're just in the collapse.
Karen (41:21):
Yeah,
Pamela (41:22):
I think in some, yeah, of some aspects for sure.
And I think even from anastrological standpoint, they
talk about the fact that thepatriarchal society, like it
just, it isn't working forpeople.
This is the collapse.
This is what it looks like.
Karen (41:36):
Yeah.
Pamela (41:37):
Yeah.
And so there are aspects of itthat just have to go.
And yeah.
And it's
Karen (41:41):
okay.
I have hope.
I don't even feel, I don't feellike I'm being doomsday at all.
It's just a necessary, it'ssomething.
It's a necessary death so thatwe can move forward.
I love that.
It's not gonna be pretty though,but that's all right.
But because we have Reiki to,
Pamela (41:58):
to sustain us.
Yeah.
And it might feel messy, butlike you said, to get to
something else, sometimes it's alittle messy.
Karen (42:09):
It is.
It's always messy.
Birth is a messy process.
Pamela (42:12):
Painful,
Karen (42:14):
nasty.
Even birthing that book, it waspainful.
And every birth is, but that'swhat I'm saying, is that it's
part of the process.
And that's part of the feminineenergy.
But you know what, we alwayscome through it always thing
gets burst.
Pamela (42:30):
I love that.
thank you for having me, Pam.
I'm excited
Karen (42:34):
about this meditation.
I think it will be a good noteto end on, to bring people into
The Divine Feminine, and a goodthing to do at the end of the
year.
To celebrate Yule, I would liketo lead all of you through a
beautiful guided meditation thatPam and I have prepared for you.
So I'd like for you, first ofall, just to take some deep
(42:58):
breaths in, in through yournose, out through your mouth,
feel your body beginning torelax, feel the cool air as it
enters, And feel the warmth asit leaves your body, and just
(43:27):
imagine roots extending fromyour spine or your feet,
extending deep, deep down intothe earth.
These roots connect you to thesteady, ancient wisdom of the
land, the cycles of the seasons,and the spirits of your
(43:48):
ancestors who once celebratedthese sacred ceremonies.
As your roots anchor you, feelthe earth's rhythm beneath you,
a pulse that matches your ownheartbeat.
(44:12):
Now bring your awareness to thecrown of your head.
See a soft golden lightdescending, flowing through your
body and filling you with warmthand peace.
Preparing you for this sacredYule journey.
(44:42):
Visualize yourself walkingthrough a snowy forest under a
twilight sky.
The crisp air carries the scentsof pine and cedar up ahead.
(45:03):
You see a glowing circle oflight surrounded by evergreen
boughs, holly, and mistletoe.
This is a Yule fire, burningbrightly in celebration of the
returning light.
(45:26):
As you step closer, feel thewarmth of the fire welcoming
you.
Around the circle, You seesymbols of the season, candles,
wreaths, and gifts left byothers honoring the divine,
(45:46):
feminine, and the cycles oflife.
This sacred space is bothancient and timeless, connecting
you to generations of Yulecelebrations.
(46:07):
Place your hands over yourheart, inviting Reiki energy to
flow into your body.
As the Reiki energy movesthrough you, feel the presence
of the Divine Feminine, She whonurtures, creates, and
(46:33):
transforms.
She is present in the glow ofthe Yule Fire, in the evergreen
that symbolizes eternal life.
And in the darkness thatnurtures the seeds of the new,
(46:54):
as you stand by the fire, senseher energy surrounding you like
a warm embrace.
What does she whisper to you?
Listen deeply and allow herwisdom to fill your heart.
(47:27):
Repeat to yourself silently, Ihonor the divine feminine within
me, the cycles of nature, andthe wisdom of my ancestors.
(47:49):
I carry their light forward intothe world.
(48:09):
Now reflect on what you areready to release as the year
turns, what old habits, fears,or patterns no longer serve you.
(48:32):
Visualize placing these into theYule Fire.
See the flames transforming theminto sparks of light, freeing
you and returning their energyto the universe.
(49:01):
Feel lighter, freer, and moreopen as you stand before the
fire, your heart illuminatedwith peace and clarity.
(49:26):
Near the fire, you see a smallpatch of soil, soft and ready
for planting.
Imagine holding a seed in yourhands.
This seed represents yourintentions for the new year, a
(49:48):
hope, a dream, or a quality youwish to nurture.
Infuse the seed with Reikienergy, visualizing it glowing
(50:12):
with light and potential.
Plant the seed in the earth,knowing it will be nourished by
(50:33):
the cycles of nature, thereturning light.
and your own loving energy.
Take a moment now to reflect onthe symbols of Yule that
(50:54):
surround you.
The evergreen boughsrepresenting resilience and
eternal life.
The holly and mistletoe, symbolsof protection and harmony.
(51:17):
The candles and fire celebratingthe light's return and the
illumination within.
Feel gratitude for thesesymbols.
and the connection they offer toyour ancestors.
(51:39):
and the Divine Feminine.
Begin to bring your awarenessback to the present moment.
Feel the warmth of the Yule Firestill glowing within you, a
(51:59):
light you carry into the daysahead.
Wiggle your fingers and toes,allowing your body to reawaken.
(52:20):
When you're ready, Open youreyes.
Take a moment to thank yourselffor this time of reflection and
connection.
Know that the energy of Yule,the Divine Feminine, and your
ancestors walk with you into thelight of the new year.
Pamela (52:51):
Karen, thank you so much for being here today.
I really appreciate it, and thisperspective, and I'm excited
about your coaching business,and I just want to say a
profound thank you to all thelisteners.
I hope you have a beautifulYule, a wonderful holiday
season.
And I look forward toreconnecting with you at the
(53:13):
Reiki Share on January 2nd orthe podcast.
It'll be going out as thepodcast on January 4th.
Thank you for being thebeautiful light you are in the
world.
Thank you.
Namaste.
Hi and welcome to the Reiki from the Farm podcast
brought to you by me, Pam AllenLeBlanc from Hidden Brook Farm.
I am a scientist, abusinesswoman, and a licensed
Reiki master teacher with theInternational Center for Reiki
Training.
Each week in this podcast you'llbe entertained as you learn
about a wide variety of relevantReiki topics, helping you become
(00:30):
a more knowledgeable andeffective Reiki practitioner.
We caution you though, thispodcast may also dramatically
improve your life, and we are sohappy that you're here.
(00:56):
On this week's podcast, I amtalking with my friend and
fellow licensed Reiki masterteacher, Karen Kaig, about Yule
and just how we can honor thedivine feminine through some of
the traditional Celticceremonies and Yule traditions.
(01:19):
Welcome, Karen.
Karen (01:21):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me again.
Pamela (01:24):
It is always a delight to have you, my dear.
And I was thinking that Yule andthe Solstice were together and
we're going to talk about this,but they're actually not the
same thing and they come fromthe same place.
Or from a different place.
I'm really excited to dive into,to this with you.
Before we go too far, I justwanted to let the listeners know
(01:46):
that I've got some fabulousReiki classes coming up.
January 25th and 26th is aweekend level one and two.
Reiki Level 1 and 2 class, andthat's followed by a Reiki
Masterclass that is actuallybeing taught a Friday evening,
Saturday, Sunday, and Mondayevening, just to work around
people's work schedules.
(02:06):
I'm trying that this year to seeif that's helpful to people.
I have a Karuna ReikiMasterclass January 27th to
30th, which is all evenings, andthat's mornings in Australia and
Asia.
So if you would like to join usfor that, we'd love to have you
(02:27):
join us.
We also have an Animal ReikiLevel 1 and 2 class February 8th
and 9th, a weekend class, andthat's followed by an Animal
Reiki Masterclass February 10thto 13th, which is a weekend, a
long weekend President's Day,and it's a long weekend here for
many of us in Canada as well, soa three day class over a long
(02:49):
weekend in February, and it'sjust here, there's not an awful
lot to do weekends, longweekends in February, so it'll
be a lovely way to stay.
It's calm up there.
It's cold.
It's already cold.
We're, we've got snow andfreezing rain today.
So it's cold.
We also have AnimalCommunication for Reiki
(03:10):
Practitioners, a Level 1 and 2Introductory Workshop, February
15 16.
A Level 3 ProfessionalPractitioner Workshop, February
17th, online.
And actually, maybe that's thelong weekend.
I'm not sure.
And then that's followed by ananimal communi Oh, that's, it's
(03:35):
February 17th is evenings, andthen it's followed by, for the
first time ever, an animalcommunication master teacher
class over three evenings,February 18th to 20th.
I would love to have you joinus.
This is the only time at themoment that I do have the Animal
(04:00):
Communication Masterclass.
Sorry the Level 3 ProfessionalPractitioner Workshop is on the
long weekend.
And the Animal CommunicationMaster Teacher class is over
three evenings, the 18th to20th.
At the moment, I won't beteaching Animal Communication
(04:23):
again although I will have aLevel 3 class in September.
in April in a, an Asian friendlytime zone, but I won't be
teaching that course again untilthe following November.
So if you do want to catchanimal communication hopefully
(04:44):
you can join us.
And for those of you who areinterested in healthcare Reiki,
please send me an email.
If you'd like to be invited tothe pilot class, which is either
going to be in February orApril.
And also or April?
Not in March, April, yeah.
Okay.
April, I'm away for the wholemonth of March.
(05:04):
First time that I'm doing that,Karen.
I'm going away for a wholemonth.
I've never done that before inmy life.
I've never taken, I've only evertaken two weeks in a row a
couple times, it's going to bevery interesting.
We're heading to Portugal.
And then, but with HealthcareReiki at the end of April and
beginning of May, for sure, andyou can register for that class.
(05:25):
I'll put a link in the podcast.
We will, Tracy Sullivan and Iwill be teaching Healthcare
Reiki in person, just ahead ofthe COVID 19 pandemic.
Northeast Reiki Retreat inSilver Bay, New York, and it may
be the only time we can gettogether and teach it in person,
I'm not sure but we'd love tohave you join us for that, and
the Northeast Reiki Retreat isdefinitely worthwhile, so a lot
(05:49):
of stuff there, sorry for takingall that time.
And so that's what I have goingon.
Karen, what do you have comingup?
Karen (05:57):
I have January, something I'm really excited about is I
have a coaching program that I'mstarting.
You can find information aboutthat just on my website, www.
Reiki Institute.
com.
There's a banner explainingabout that.
Many people have asked me forcoaching, life transformation
coaching.
So I'm starting that.
And I also have Reiki 1 and 2 tostart the new year on January
(06:18):
4th.
And then Master on, in themiddle of the week, which is
unusual Reiki Master on aTuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
January 7th, 8th, and 9th.
And then in February, I haveAnimal Reiki classes.
On the 8th and the 9th, and thenAnimal Master on the 21st, 22nd,
and 23rd.
(06:39):
That's what I got going on.
Pamela (06:40):
I love it.
And you made me think when yousaid January 4th or January 2nd,
I have a, an online Reiki share,and we're going to be looking at
our goals for the year.
That's a good
Karen (06:50):
idea.
Pamela (06:51):
Yeah.
If anybody, Happy New Year.
As long as you get thenewsletter, just sign up for the
newsletter, and you'll get theinvitations to the Reiki share
each month.
So it sounds like we've got allkinds of stuff.
I'm so excited about yourcoaching program.
Tell me a little bit more aboutthat.
Karen (07:08):
It's actually, it's been a really creative time and since
we're talking about the divinefeminine, I'm going to talk
about that a little bit, butit's just been flowing through
people have been asking me forsome sort of a coaching program
and it just all came through andit's actually three separate
programs, but the my coachingprogram is called doorway
doorway coaching, because inlife you have so many, sometimes
you have to shut doors.
Sometimes you have to choosewhich door to go through.
(07:30):
And sometimes you need somecourage to step through the
doors open, but you just haven'tstepped through it.
So it's group coaching and it'sworking through the process that
I went through to completelyturn my life into something
completely different and move toanother continent and to change
my life, it's for people who arein transition, like divorce,
empty nest.
(07:51):
Retirement.
You've been taking care of yourparents and they died.
It's those times in our liveswhere we don't, it's okay, what
next now?
What do I do now?
Who am I even?
I don't even know.
It's those points in your lifewhere you start over.
So that's what the program'sfor.
Pamela (08:05):
I love that.
And you, for as long as I'veknown you, you've been called to
work with especially women intransition.
Yeah.
Who are transitioning into.
Karen (08:15):
Which is why I love to talk about the divine feminine,
because that's that energy.
Pamela (08:19):
Yeah something I wanted you to talk about the Divine
Feminine today, just the waythis podcast came about is, we
were talking and I knew that yousaid, Wow, this is going to be
the first yule that I don'tspend with my son.
And you and I've talked on apodcast before, about the fact
that you do follow the DivineFeminine and Goddess Wisdom.
And a lot of things are comingthrough in my sessions these
(08:42):
days.
all around the Divine Feminine,Karen.
And and then you also saidsomething else that really stuck
with me, and that was that I'mhere in a new place, I have to
create new ceremonies.
To connect with a place and Ithought this is just so it just
all gelled together for me.
(09:04):
Can you just tell me a littlebit about tell me about Yule.
What is Yule?
What is this?
Yeah, and because Yeah, becauseI said to you, is it like
solstice?
And you said, no, one's morefeminine, one's more masculine.
Tell me about Yule.
Oh, yeah.
Karen (09:24):
So I follow a wheel of the year, which and the more I
get to know about differentindigenous cultures, it seems
like worldwide, we've alwaysbeen connected to the earth and
to the sun.
This is how we live.
We are a part of the earth.
That's animal Reiki, right?
And it's just following thecycles.
And I was saying that this is myfirst Yule away from my family,
(09:48):
and that's That said, but foryou, for me, it has always been
about welcoming the sun becauseliving in the northern
hemisphere and coming from, somy ancestors are from Scotland,
Ireland, Norway.
That those peoples, the returnof the sun was a big deal, it's
well, where you live, it's a bigdeal.
I live where, you
Pamela (10:06):
know,
Karen (10:06):
it's dark
Pamela (10:07):
at 430 at night.
Karen (10:10):
What Yule is about is about and it's connected to the
Divine Feminine in that.
It's that winter time and theDivine Feminine is about the
contraction.
And then the masculine, thedivine masculine is about
expansion.
So time passing it's, it is,it's it's breathing, it's like
we're in and we're out.
(10:31):
And so it's a connection tothat.
But Yule, what we would do forYule is we get up.
And we would go to, okay, welived in Arkansas find a
mountain, the closest mountain,which we don't have, like the, I
live in the Andes now, so I'mnot talking about 9, 000 feet,
but, little mountains inArkansas, go to a high point,
and wait for the sun.
So you're standing there, wewould do, take our, like a
(10:52):
little offering, in a sense, Sowhen my son was little, it's
just we're just going to gogreet the sun, we've got like
warm tea and infused with Reikiintention or, pumpkin bread or
whatever, we've got, we would goto the mountain and we would sit
there shivering in the cold,dark.
Waiting for the stupid sun tocome up.
And it was just the first timemy daughter my soon to be
(11:13):
daughter in law went with me,she goes she said, it's really
cold.
What are we doing here?
What are we supposed to bedoing?
And I said let's reflect on thedarkness.
I said, what this represents isthat there are dark times in
your life where you feel cold,you feel alone, you're scared
there's never going to be lightagain.
And the sun always returns.
(11:35):
I said the message that we'recelebrating here, the spiritual
message, is that the lightalways returns.
And in that darkness, Shiveringhere in the dark, in that
darkness, that's the time torest, reflect, and so we talked
about usually what we do ischoose a word for the next year,
like what is, what's going to beyour word for the year, so
(11:55):
that's setting intention andthen when the sun comes, I can
remember my future daughter inlaw, the last time she was like,
Oh, I'm like, yeah, That's thewarmth.
So the sun represents it is likea masculine.
It's the divine masculine.
It's the warmth.
It's the expansion.
It's that energy.
And the feminine more is that,to me, the more powerful.
(12:20):
This is the less obvious, butthe more powerful.
It's the feminine.
It goes
Pamela (12:24):
along with women being the creators and being more
powerful.
I was, I said something recentlyto my children.
I said when your father and Imade you or, we were going and
my son just stopped me for aminute.
He goes, Mom, let's be clearhere.
You made us.
Dad was just having some fun.
(12:47):
And that might be a littledidn't do the work.
You made us.
And so So there is that creativepower within women that you're
speaking of.
And we all carry
Karen (12:58):
both that, the that external, there are times in our
lives where we have to be, Idon't know why I keep doing this
phallic thing, we have to be theman and then, exactly, but the,
of it, but there are, the realwork is that spiraling,
creative, mysterious, that'swhy, to me, the, God doesn't
(13:24):
really have gender for me, butwhen I think of the divine, I
think of it as feminine more.
I think, get stuff done, butlike the winter time, we think
it's oh, it's cold and therewere no leaves on the trees and
everything's dead and all that,but it's not.
So another part of Yule for meis like there, everything is
below earth that, everything'sresting, resting, and so I try
(13:46):
to live my life in that.
that cycle, the equinoxes are atime of balance between the dark
and the light.
Pamela (13:54):
They are.
And yeah.
And so tell us the differencethough between Yule, what you
celebrate, because a lot ofpeople listening probably
celebrate Great Christmas orsome other something else.
What's the difference betweenYule and the equinox?
So the
Karen (14:10):
Yule it depends on where you are in the world, but the
solstices you have.
There where you swing way out,you've got the yule, the winter
solstice, you have long longnight, short day.
And then the summer solstice,you have long long days, short
nights.
(14:31):
And then we have the balance inbetween.
Equinox.
Yeah, the equinoxes are equal.
Okay, what's the differencebetween the winter solstice and
Yule?
It's pretty much the same thing.
Okay.
But Yule has become, that's howthe church brought the pagans
into, in that area of the world,the Celtic regions, brought them
(14:52):
into the church with They werealready celebrating the return
of the light.
Turn of the sun.
Look how easy that is.
Turn of the sun, SUN and the re,and and the birth of SON, the
birth of the SUN and the birthof the SON.
So that was really easy to bringtogether.
Jesus says, bring her of light,bring her of, and we still have
the yue tied and deck the holeswith bows of Holly I like why?
(15:15):
Yeah, why?
Because that is a Celtictradition, right?
Huh.
Yeah, the holly is, it'severgreen.
Now, and then the Christmastree, that's the Germanic.
Sure.
Traditions but they're symbolsof everlasting life.
And so that, that coincidesbecause every time somebody says
Jesus is the reason for thisseason no, this season was
first.
Yeah.
Jesus was born in June.
(15:37):
Yeah.
But, and it doesn't matter.
I think it's just, it's what'sin your heart.
And what it means, I think aslong as it has some meaning, not
just Oh my gosh, we've got tobuy some presents and wrap them
up.
And, I think that's what's lostin so many families is that it's
some kind of a tradition or mydaughter in law saying, What are
we doing here?
What does this mean?
(15:57):
Yeah.
Why are we standing on thismountain in the dark?
Do I really want to be with thisboy?
No.
But that's what you need to ask.
Why am I doing this?
Why am I putting up a Christmastree?
And I think it's fine if you'reputting it up for Christmas.
You're like, okay, because thisevergreen tree represents
everlasting life.
And so does Jesus.
But it needs to be, with somesort of meaning.
Pamela (16:21):
And that just leads us to something else that you said,
which was, I'm in a new placenow.
I need to need new rituals, newceremonies.
Tell me about the ceremonies ofthe Divine Feminine, because
Divine Feminine Energy, we werejust talking before the podcast,
Divine Feminine Energy is comingin for so many Reiki
practitioners right now.
(16:42):
Tell me about some of theceremonies you did follow, and
just why ceremony is important.
Ceremony is
Karen (16:49):
important because it makes you stop and connect with
something bigger than yourself,simply and to tune into those
parts of yourself that you needto sustain you, to sustain your
life, to sustain your sanitythrough, through life.
(17:10):
And I have always struggled withbalance between masculine and
feminine, and I think a lot ofus do.
And then now.
Not to be controversial, becauseI'm not trying to be
controversial, but the more thatwe're starting to look at gender
what's male, what's female,what's this, there's so many,
with the LBGTQ communities, andI think everybody's starting to
question, what does it mean,masculine, feminine, does it
(17:31):
matter what body parts, is thatwhat makes me a woman, feel like
a woman, what is it makes, whatis feminine, what is masculine,
and because we contain both ofthese, and, Yeah, and I think
about it with Reiki.
I think one of the questions youasked me before is what kind of
rituals can we do or what can wedo to bring balance between the
(17:54):
divine masculine and divinefeminine?
And I thought, it's in theGassho.
Bringing two hands together.
Bringing two hands together.
Because I tell my students, whenI first learned, okay, this is
a.
This is a Japanese Reikitechnique, Gassho.
And I thought, Oh, this is whatI do.
It's like praying to get readyto do my, my my session.
But it's more, it's so much morethan that.
(18:15):
That's why I said think aboutwhat does it mean to bring two
hands together?
You're bringing your left hand,left usually associated with the
feminine, right with themasculine, and you're bringing
those to the center.
And that's,
Pamela (18:27):
For me, the energy that I've always spoken with that I
call God, and I call the energyGod now that I've healed
religious trauma.
I did call it goddess for quitea while and could only connect
with the feminine aspect becauseI did have some religious trauma
(18:48):
to heal.
But the energy that I call Godis so interesting because it's
neither masculine nor feminine.
or feminine, but it also is bothmasculine and feminine, if that
makes any sense.
It contains both, but it's likeit's beyond beyond gender.
And I know that even here in myprovince recently there were
(19:10):
people that were getting alltwisted up about, transgender
and gender fluidity.
And I don't know, I just feelmaybe folks are just more
evolved and because we know thatthe Brothers and Sisters of the
Light, William talks about theBrothers and Sisters of the
Light, how they exist beyondgender and they took genders to
(19:35):
come into form in order to workwith us, but their normal
existence in the higher levelsof existence and some part of
their consciousness is stillthere.
is beyond gender.
So I, one of the things I'venoticed is that the guy that I
work with a lot of the time isJesus and he is perfectly
(19:55):
balanced and is masculine andfeminine.
And one of my horses, Big Buddy,is perfectly balanced and is
masculine and feminine.
And it occurs to me that I, Ibelieve enlightenment has
something to do with achievingthat.
Beautiful balance.
Karen (20:13):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think that's what, atleast with the way I have been
practicing and with Reiki, thathas really helped heal a lot of
religious trauma, a lot oftrauma as childhood trauma, like
trying to be my dad's bestfriend.
Best Boy, or you know that, Ithink that Reiki helps take that
(20:33):
cultural pressure and it mighteven be like, it doesn't matter
like what gender you think youare, what, you're born as, all
of those.
Reiki helps strip that down.
It has to do with being yourauthentic self.
And then you can seek thatbalance between masculine and
feminine.
And then practicing these solarholidays, helps me realize that
(20:57):
both are important.
Yes.
I think they're important.
Pamela (21:01):
And I've heard you say that use the word balance that,
it, that the ceremonies bringyou, allow you to reflect, allow
you to connect, bring balanceinto your life.
So what are your thoughts, andjust explain that statement and
maybe where you're going to gowith it.
You said, I need new ceremoniesbecause I'm living.
in a new place.
(21:22):
Because
Karen (21:22):
it's also, it's because we're part of the Earth.
So living, yeah, I neverfinished that thought.
Living in a particular areawhere you to physically survive
you have to get in the rhythm ofokay, this is it's important
that we know when is the suncoming back.
When do we, and then yeah, A lotof the pagan holidays are
burning fires, like the Yule logis important.
(21:44):
That's my son has my Yule log,but we don't burn the log.
Traditionally, what you would dois you would burn the log and
then save part of the fire.
The ember part of the charcoal,if you will, to start the next
year's fire.
So it's like a continuation.
It's almost like an act of hope.
I know there's going to be anext year.
We just put candles on our Yulelog and decorated it.
(22:09):
Rather, yeah oh, my gosh, howold is he?
26.
So he's had that the same oaklog for 26 years.
It's the little things oflooking together for.
for the evergreens to decoratewith.
And, that's a reflective act.
Sometimes looking for mistletoe.
We don't have mistletoe here.
I live on the equator.
Mistletoe is sacred to theDruids.
(22:29):
It's a parasitic plant.
I have holly.
I have a holly bush.
And with the holly berries andall that.
And so as you're gathering thesethings, usually when you're
gathering them, it's that's theonly thing you can that's alive.
You're looking around and you'relike, yeah, everything else is
nope, we're shutting down.
This is too cold, and all thetrees are like, I've done this,
(22:50):
but you've got those hollythings out there and the.
And on the B, I'm going to
Pamela (22:54):
say a new wuss.
Karen (22:56):
Exactly.
But that's what seems somagical, I'm sure about the
mistletoe, because it's aparasitic plant and it only
grows on oak trees.
And it, the oak was sacred, it'sso strong and everything, and
even when the oak dies, thenhere's that little green thing,
wow, that's pretty powerful.
But anyway, it all has to dowith Reminding you of life, I
think, all rituals remind you oflife and hope, I think and, but
(23:20):
I said I needed new ritualsbecause it's not cold here, the
days are 12 hours, the nightsare 12 hours, it doesn't matter
year round, I live on theequator, so those, so my
traditions don't, I thought, oh,So I had put myself in another
place where I was led to anotherplace and I'm like this Celtic
stuff is not working.
(23:40):
This is not, it's not the same.
It's not.
Yeah.
So I'm
Pamela (23:46):
sure.
Karen (23:47):
So I need new traditions that I'm still working on.
And I'm learning from anindigenous Shona and I, because
they were the indigenous people.
They were like, so what do y'alldo?
He told me that they're theirsolstices are masculine and all
of the equinoxes are when theyplant.
That the equinoxes, when thingsare in balance, that it's
feminine.
(24:08):
And they plant.
So that in itself that's justyou need food, you got to plant
it, right?
That ritual is not, justsomething you do to remind
yourself like, Oh, yeah, we havefood.
They have to plant it and theyharvest it.
A lot of the people survive notby going to the store.
It's what they are able to grow.
Pamela (24:25):
I grew up in, and that's where ours come from.
That is.
And I grew up in a farm familyKaren, and this might surprise,
this is surprising when I thinkabout it, My father just one
generation, they would plantcertain things, crops based on
the moon cycle, and they wouldbreed animals based on the lunar
(24:50):
cycle, like this is, or wean ababy based on the phase of the
moon.
And,
Karen (24:57):
so that's part of it too.
So you've got the.
You have the most pagans will,they notice this phase of the
moon.
We plant by it because thingsthat grow above ground, they
grow best when you plant them inthe waxing of the moon, when
it's getting stronger and thethings like radishes, potatoes,
those sort of things, they growbetter if you plant them.
(25:19):
in the waning of the moon inthat part.
And then there's certain, yeah,it can get complicated, but it's
all about just being connectedto the place where we live.
That's really all it is.
And those rituals are a time tostop whatever you're doing,
which I think they're even moreimportant now than, because I
live in a third world country,we move much slower here.
(25:39):
And I'm like, huh, it's weird.
It's weird not living in thattime.
Pamela (25:45):
Go.
Karen (25:46):
American go to work, you gotta go, oh my god, it's
Christmas, we gotta buypresents, so oh my, first we
have Thanksgiving, okay, get aturkey, it's to get out of that
culture and come here, I'm like,okay, I've spent a year and a
half of decompressing, really,of huh, okay, so this is how
people live.
Wow, all right.
(26:06):
It's what I was trying toconnect to in North America
through these ancienttraditions.
At first I started reading aboutit.
It's oh, is this what ancientCelts did?
Ah, it was that kind ofasserting.
And yeah, like you clinging tothe goddess, because of
religious trauma.
And, so you start doing here'sthe thing too, you start doing a
ritual.
Sometimes when you say fake ittill you make it, sometimes when
you just make yourself do it,you're like, okay, all right.
(26:30):
It's.
It's Halloween.
It's Samhain.
We got to connect with theancestors.
It's time.
And so you just do it and thenyou get the connection, but
you're doing it out of habit.
So sometimes, and that's what aritual is, it's a habit that you
do for a purpose, but sometimeswe forget, what was the purpose?
Why are we doing this?
Oh yeah,
Pamela (26:48):
ancestors are
Karen (26:49):
important.
Pamela (26:50):
I do love the holidays for so many reasons.
One is that you do slow down.
And the other, I love thatconnection with family.
I love getting together with, weusually go to my mom and dad's
house on the farm.
And this year my mother in lawis going to join us, which I'm
thrilled about.
It's her first year on her ownfor Christmas without my father
(27:13):
in law.
And so That's feminine energy.
We pull things together.
Okay.
And, yeah, it's What are some ofthe other Celtic ceremonies?
I just
Karen (27:28):
mentioned Samhain.
You did?
That's my new year, Samhain.
So the year for me begins onOctober 31st, around there.
And that is, but that's based onthe vegetation God, the death of
the vegetation God that isreborn on Yule.
It's reborn, with the sun.
And so I celebrate that byacknowledging before you move
(27:51):
into the new year for me, Icelebrate the new year,
everybody does.
But for me, spiritually, the newyear is connecting with my
ancestors.
on Halloween.
Yeah.
Connecting with my ancestors,remembering where I come from,
asking for guidance on where,okay.
And what do I do?
I have pictures.
Usually I'll make some tea orhave a little bit of food and I
(28:14):
meditate and sometimes I'll doautomatic writing because I get
messages best that waysometimes.
And and then I ask silly thingslike, Okay, y'all.
I'm talking to my dad, I'mtalking to my mom, my
grandparents, all the way back.
Ancestors, I don't know who youare, but I know you're here.
I'll ask him really practicalthings sometimes should I take
my social security early nextyear?
What do you think?
He told me, yeah.
(28:35):
I'm like, okay.
I can't believe I just said thaton a podcast.
What a nut.
But those are the things I wantto know.
Okay, y'all are hanging up herein the second heaven.
I know.
What can y'all see that I can'tsee?
You got any advice?
And I know that they're egobased still.
So I'm, I'll take everythingwith a little bit of a grain of
(28:55):
salt but okay.
Living in a foreign country bymyself, it's even more important
to connect with my ancestors.
Cause I know that they're here.
Yeah, sure they can with you.
And so that's my that's a Celticholiday.
Saun is how it's pronounced.
Usually in, it looks like SamHane, but it's Saun.
And then ELL is the next bigone.
So there are eight of'em.
(29:16):
There are four, like there aretwo solstice, two equinoxes, and
then midway between each onethere's a major holiday and
Halloween's one.
And then the next one is.
Yul, and then the next one I'llcelebrate around February 1st,
2nd in bulk.
So I've celebrated, okay,everything I died, and so I'm
(29:37):
going to go into the depths ofthe underworld, connecting with
my ancestors.
That's Halloween.
Then we're moving back towardthe light.
Yul is like the promise ofhere's the light.
Yeah, okay, February 1st, 2nd.
It's it's called the quickening.
in bulk is like the quickening.
It's it's coming, but in thistime between Halloween and
February 1st and 2nd, this is mytime for like creative.
(29:58):
I'm not really I'm resting.
I'm wanting to spend time withfamily or, okay, I don't have
family here, so I have a secondfamily.
I'm going to be giving out food,doing things, creating, writing
more, because this is like thispart still of the year, even
though I'm living on theequator.
And then it comes back and thenyou have the equinox.
Around March 21st, when UesugiSensei received Reiki, and then
(30:20):
yeah, and then, and that'sEaster, Ostara, as a Germanic
holiday, but and then that's thetradition, that's why we have
Easter there, because we'recelebrating rebirth.
of the world of everything.
That's, I used to wonder like,why is a bunny bringing eggs,
that is a little.
But they're both fertilitythey're fertility symbols.
They're
Pamela (30:40):
pagan.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Karen (30:42):
Yeah.
But that was perfect with Jesusbecause he was reborn too, and
then the next big one isBeltane, which is a big
fertility f The ancient Kelseyused to go out and have sex in
the fields to ensure fertilityof the crops.
That's mayday that one way.
That's mayday.
And then in Germany, that's whenthe women dress up like witches.
Oh, really up in the heartsmountains.
(31:02):
It's called Val in Germany, butit's Beltane in the Celtic
tradition.
And but that's when.
It's in full swing.
And it's about to, you want tomake sure that your crops are
really going to grow.
June 21st.
That's where you have, Oh,that's the summer solstice where
that's the peak.
That's in the northernhemisphere.
(31:23):
That's peak of the long days,
Pamela (31:25):
the heat of the
Karen (31:26):
summer.
I always
Pamela (31:26):
think of that as such an extroverted time and the winter
as being.
Winter
Karen (31:31):
is more like,
Pamela (31:33):
Are you there, son?
Are you there, son?
I, as an introvert, I enjoy thequieter winter.
Karen (31:43):
I'm an extrovert, but I need it.
Pamela (31:45):
Yeah, we all do.
We all need that time to, torejuvenate.
And for me, it's the winter andthe quieter times are very
creative and I love beingcreative.
And the summer is moreextroverted.
And when it is time to beextroverted, I am.
I enjoy that too.
Karen (32:04):
Yeah.
Pamela (32:05):
Yeah.
Karen (32:05):
So it's just about living in rhythm with nature, with each
other, with and yeah, that's thebalance between the divine
feminine and the, and and sun isusually masculine God, and then
the earth is the feminine,Receptive goddess.
And
Pamela (32:23):
then we've got the after the summer solstice well, so Oh
and then the and
Karen (32:29):
then you have Lita which are is a August 1st 2nd.
It's a kind of like the firstharvest and then you have The
second Equinox, Mabon September21st is like the big harvest,
which coincides with the harvestmoon and all that, and it's
getting ready to die down, sothat death, that's what
Halloween's all about.
Pamela (32:49):
There's the death
Karen (32:50):
of everything and then wait, here it comes again.
Yeah.
Pamela (32:54):
And I love that there's like kind of eight cycles and
that they're really equidistant.
And then in
Karen (32:59):
between then, you've got the cycles of the moon.
Yes.
So I'm always aware also of whenthe moon's full, when it's a new
moon, what's, so it's maybe it'sjust finding your place in the
world and connecting to it.
But you have to be aware ofwhat's going on outside of all
of your drama.
Huh the sun's still going.
The moon's still here.
Pamela (33:21):
Yeah, I guess we're all right.
It's interesting though that,and it's something I never
thought of with you being at theEquinox.
I never thought of the fact thatthere, there aren't the seasons
as much.
There aren't.
No,
Karen (33:36):
no.
We have a rainy season and a dryseason.
Pamela (33:40):
Yeah.
And I just, I grew up so much inCanada with the cycles.
They're very prominent here.
Karen (33:46):
But that's why you have different mythology.
And that's what I meant.
And when I say mythology, Idon't mean stuff that's not
true.
The stories that sustain us,they are true.
They're the stories that, thathelp us understand how to live
in the world where we are.
And so people who live intropical climates have the same,
they have different rhythms,
Pamela (34:05):
different stories, have
Karen (34:05):
different mythology and different rituals.
And that's what I meant.
I need to connect to this place.
I felt the energy when I camehere and I thought, this is
where I'm supposed to be, butnow I want to connect more
deeply.
Pamela (34:17):
To the earth.
Because I'm
Karen (34:18):
bringing things that don't fit.
Pamela (34:21):
And you know something, I think I was talking with Jay
and we've recorded, we'll recorda a podcast on crystals and just
the fact that our bodies aremade of the earth.
There's something that I sayquite a bit and it originated
with Colleen Benally.
Our bodies are made of the earthto give our spirit life and
breath and maybe it originatedfrom somewhere else for her but
(34:44):
I think about that and when Ithink about that from a
scientific standpoint I thinkour bodies really are made of
the earth because we eat foodthat started as a seed and it
absorbs the minerals.
Minerals and nutrients of theearth to turn into a carrot and
a potato and the things thatthen nourish our bodies and if
you think of it we started as aseed and our mothers ate food
(35:07):
from the earth or animals thatate food from the earth and
that's what nourished us andgrew us from a tiny seed and
then continued.
We are the earth.
And so you're actually now theearth that grows your food, your
sustenance is is just in adifferent place.
(35:29):
And there's something that,Colleen and I have discussed and
that whenever I go to a newplace that I do, and that is
connecting with the groundwater,
Karen (35:42):
wherever
Pamela (35:43):
you are.
So even when I travel in orderto really orient myself to a
time zone, to a land, I'll justimagine roots growing out from
the bottoms of my feet and goingall the way through the, topsoil
and the subsoil into thegroundwater and all the way to
the bedrock.
But if you think about it, we'realmost all made primarily of
(36:05):
water.
And so by connecting with thewater at any given place then we
can connect with that earth.
But I can see the importance ofconnecting with where you are
now.
Karen (36:19):
And part of their rituals for every, they do all the
solstices and equinoxes and theyalways do a ritual bath also.
It's like a cleansing and witheach one I said so it's not,
it's just every one.
The women go separately from themen and they go to, because
they're springs.
So it's water coming
Pamela (36:36):
up from the
Karen (36:36):
earth.
Pamela (36:37):
Earth and that is the groundwater.
Karen (36:39):
Yeah, it's the groundwater and they're, they
literally bathe in it.
Also.
Yeah, it's cold too.
I didn't strip off in front ofmy driver, but but then he was
like taking it and it was like,like putting it on my, it was
like, it was, but it's, itconnects you.
I also think about the water I'mdrinking like when I, cause I
(37:02):
buy bottled water here, but Ibuy Ecuadorian and I'm like,
where does this come from?
It comes from near the volcanoCotopaxi.
I don't know if you've heard ofit, but it's because I know my
body, this body that, that I'mtalking from at this moment is
not the body I came here with ayear and a half ago.
I eat the same, I eat a carrotfrom the United States.
It's not the same as a carrotfrom here because there, I've
gotten the carrot, the food herestill has nutrients in it, and
(37:25):
we've destroyed our soil upthere.
So yeah, anyway, it's just it'sconnecting with the water.
And it is just thatacknowledgement that I am part
of this.
Maybe that's all it is.
Maybe it's just this longing tobe part of something.
Pamela (37:40):
I love that, Karen.
That's.
And remind
Karen (37:42):
you like, yeah, you're part of everything.
Girl, what are you talkingabout?
You're alone here in Ecuador.
You're part of, you're part ofall of this.
Pamela (37:49):
And we can be separate, be somewhere else.
And it doesn't change the factthat we are part of all of it.
Does it?
Karen (37:57):
Yeah.
Pamela (37:58):
It
Karen (37:58):
just helps.
So ritual is probably to remindyou of a larger perspective
because it's so easy to becaught up in all the drama.
I know you were going to saysomething about the divine
feminine in 2025.
Pamela (38:13):
Yeah, I noticed in my sessions and a lot of people
have noticed that there's thatthe Divine Feminine is coming
in.
It's coming in with meditationsand experiences I've never seen
before that are really profound,that are healing the ancestral
lineage, that are connecting usmore deeply and firmly with the
(38:34):
Divine Feminine.
In fact, you and I are talkingabout potentially creating some
sort of a workshops, workshoparound that, or a course.
And what are you noticing?
Karen (38:47):
I was thinking, yeah, okay, we talked about it in the
Reiki Business Summit about howit really is time for
collaboration, cooperation, youget farther with that than you
do with competition, and that'sthe divine feminine energy.
But one thing I've been noticingalso, and I thought, oh, yeah,
that's divine feminine energytoo, is, so I'm living here in
(39:07):
South America, and we have,we've had terrible, horrible
drought.
So I'm living here in SouthThere's been flooding all over
the, I'm looking and I'mthinking this is also, there's a
destructive divine feminine I'mthinking of like Kalima or that,
that mother energy, like whenthat comes home and the house is
totally destroyed because thekids are running amok and just
(39:29):
being, just these, There's thatmama who comes in Oh, no, she's
coming in with a switch, getover here and then stop that and
hug your brother.
But the wars that are going on.
What I'm feeling is a little bitof this kind of a divine mother
energy also like, Now this isenough, that, that look that all
mothers have that.
(39:51):
When I teach Yoshiho, I'm likesending Reiki with your eyes.
Cause I usually have women in myclasses.
Like it's like that look yougive your kids, you're just
sending the energy with youreyes.
Like my sister's a schoolteacher and my husband says he's
scared of her.
That's also part of the divinefeminine energy.
I have that beautiful.
like Mother Mary, that's,there's that beautiful nurturing
(40:12):
part, but there's also Kalima,because things sometimes have to
be destroyed before they can becreated anew.
And I can feel, I feel MamaEarth doing a little bit of
that, shaking things up likethat.
This is, I almost feel like thisis enough, for having sex.
Pamela (40:31):
That makes me think of, I, I have a friend who says, Oh
no, you didn't.
Oh no, you didn't.
I know you didn't.
So when she says
Karen (40:38):
that, I'm like but seriously, that's part of the
divine, Feminine as well, Ithink there's a meme or
something I saw on social medialike the world will be saved,
when a group of grandmothersgets together.
It's okay, that's enough.
Pamela (40:54):
That's actually part of a lot of indigenous culture,
where there is that honoring andrespecting of the grandmothers
and the listening to thegrandmothers and
Karen (41:03):
I think that's what's coming.
I think that, but it's totalchaos right now.
There's no arguing that, but Ithink that's part of the, part
of that destructive, thedestruction, everything has to
collapse before rises anew.
And I think
Pamela (41:19):
we're just in the collapse.
Karen (41:21):
Yeah,
Pamela (41:22):
I think in some, yeah, of some aspects for sure.
And I think even from anastrological standpoint, they
talk about the fact that thepatriarchal society, like it
just, it isn't working forpeople.
This is the collapse.
This is what it looks like.
Karen (41:36):
Yeah.
Pamela (41:37):
Yeah.
And so there are aspects of itthat just have to go.
And yeah.
And it's
Karen (41:41):
okay.
I have hope.
I don't even feel, I don't feellike I'm being doomsday at all.
It's just a necessary, it'ssomething.
It's a necessary death so thatwe can move forward.
I love that.
It's not gonna be pretty though,but that's all right.
But because we have Reiki to,
Pamela (41:58):
to sustain us.
Yeah.
And it might feel messy, butlike you said, to get to
something else, sometimes it's alittle messy.
Karen (42:09):
It is.
It's always messy.
Birth is a messy process.
Pamela (42:12):
Painful,
Karen (42:14):
nasty.
Even birthing that book, it waspainful.
And every birth is, but that'swhat I'm saying, is that it's
part of the process.
And that's part of the feminineenergy.
But you know what, we alwayscome through it always thing
gets burst.
Pamela (42:30):
I love that.
thank you for having me, Pam.
I'm excited
Karen (42:34):
about this meditation.
I think it will be a good noteto end on, to bring people into
The Divine Feminine, and a goodthing to do at the end of the
year.
To celebrate Yule, I would liketo lead all of you through a
beautiful guided meditation thatPam and I have prepared for you.
So I'd like for you, first ofall, just to take some deep
(42:58):
breaths in, in through yournose, out through your mouth,
feel your body beginning torelax, feel the cool air as it
enters, And feel the warmth asit leaves your body, and just
(43:27):
imagine roots extending fromyour spine or your feet,
extending deep, deep down intothe earth.
These roots connect you to thesteady, ancient wisdom of the
land, the cycles of the seasons,and the spirits of your
(43:48):
ancestors who once celebratedthese sacred ceremonies.
As your roots anchor you, feelthe earth's rhythm beneath you,
a pulse that matches your ownheartbeat.
(44:12):
Now bring your awareness to thecrown of your head.
See a soft golden lightdescending, flowing through your
body and filling you with warmthand peace.
Preparing you for this sacredYule journey.
(44:42):
Visualize yourself walkingthrough a snowy forest under a
twilight sky.
The crisp air carries the scentsof pine and cedar up ahead.
(45:03):
You see a glowing circle oflight surrounded by evergreen
boughs, holly, and mistletoe.
This is a Yule fire, burningbrightly in celebration of the
returning light.
(45:26):
As you step closer, feel thewarmth of the fire welcoming
you.
Around the circle, You seesymbols of the season, candles,
wreaths, and gifts left byothers honoring the divine,
(45:46):
feminine, and the cycles oflife.
This sacred space is bothancient and timeless, connecting
you to generations of Yulecelebrations.
(46:07):
Place your hands over yourheart, inviting Reiki energy to
flow into your body.
As the Reiki energy movesthrough you, feel the presence
of the Divine Feminine, She whonurtures, creates, and
(46:33):
transforms.
She is present in the glow ofthe Yule Fire, in the evergreen
that symbolizes eternal life.
And in the darkness thatnurtures the seeds of the new,
(46:54):
as you stand by the fire, senseher energy surrounding you like
a warm embrace.
What does she whisper to you?
Listen deeply and allow herwisdom to fill your heart.
(47:27):
Repeat to yourself silently, Ihonor the divine feminine within
me, the cycles of nature, andthe wisdom of my ancestors.
(47:49):
I carry their light forward intothe world.
(48:09):
Now reflect on what you areready to release as the year
turns, what old habits, fears,or patterns no longer serve you.
(48:32):
Visualize placing these into theYule Fire.
See the flames transforming theminto sparks of light, freeing
you and returning their energyto the universe.
(49:01):
Feel lighter, freer, and moreopen as you stand before the
fire, your heart illuminatedwith peace and clarity.
(49:26):
Near the fire, you see a smallpatch of soil, soft and ready
for planting.
Imagine holding a seed in yourhands.
This seed represents yourintentions for the new year, a
(49:48):
hope, a dream, or a quality youwish to nurture.
Infuse the seed with Reikienergy, visualizing it glowing
(50:12):
with light and potential.
Plant the seed in the earth,knowing it will be nourished by
(50:33):
the cycles of nature, thereturning light.
and your own loving energy.
Take a moment now to reflect onthe symbols of Yule that
(50:54):
surround you.
The evergreen boughsrepresenting resilience and
eternal life.
The holly and mistletoe, symbolsof protection and harmony.
(51:17):
The candles and fire celebratingthe light's return and the
illumination within.
Feel gratitude for thesesymbols.
and the connection they offer toyour ancestors.
(51:39):
and the Divine Feminine.
Begin to bring your awarenessback to the present moment.
Feel the warmth of the Yule Firestill glowing within you, a
(51:59):
light you carry into the daysahead.
Wiggle your fingers and toes,allowing your body to reawaken.
(52:20):
When you're ready, Open youreyes.
Take a moment to thank yourselffor this time of reflection and
connection.
Know that the energy of Yule,the Divine Feminine, and your
ancestors walk with you into thelight of the new year.
Pamela (52:51):
Karen, thank you so much for being here today.
I really appreciate it, and thisperspective, and I'm excited
about your coaching business,and I just want to say a
profound thank you to all thelisteners.
I hope you have a beautifulYule, a wonderful holiday
season.
And I look forward toreconnecting with you at the
(53:13):
Reiki Share on January 2nd orthe podcast.
It'll be going out as thepodcast on January 4th.
Thank you for being thebeautiful light you are in the
world.
Thank you.
Namaste.
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