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The shortest day and longest night. Midwinter giving rise to a new cycle, the beginning of a new year. Spotting the rise of Matariki on the northeastern horizon. A sacred time of remembering - our ancestors and our loved ones that have passed over. It is said by some that our dear ones and ancestors have now become the Stars themselves. The Matariki constellation specifically includes Matariki (the mother star) and the seven sisters, Waitī & Waitā, Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-

Giving and receiving are part of the same energy. Roses, reminding us of unconditional love, have a deep understanding of this. Not only our roses are a nutritive food source and nourishing on many levels, but they are also associated with the high angelic frequencies of Lady Nada. Lady Nada is a highly revered ascended master, known as the Chohan of the Sixth Ray, representing peace, divine love, ministration, and healing. She promotes selfless service, devotion, and emo

What if the most meaningful resolutions don’t happen in conversation but in the quiet space beyond it? You know the saying “never go to sleep angry”. Personally, I have felt the opposite can, at times, be far more powerful. There are moments when I have spent hours revisiting a conversation, turning over each word, attempting to make sense of a reaction that did not sit easily within me. Searching for clarity. For reason. For the precise point at which things went wrong. And

This month’s theme, The Grace of Giving as a Sacred Practice, invites us to look at giving in a simple, everyday way. Giving doesn’t require money or resources — it begins with presence, kindness, and the willingness to show up for someone else. Whether it’s offering a listening ear, sharing a meal, or helping a neighbour with a task, practical giving is something each of us can weave into daily life. The Art of Giving Giving can be: sharing time offering knowledge or wisdom

The art of giving is about learning how to support others without losing yourself in the process. Giving from a place where you genuinely have the energy, capacity, and presence is beautiful, healing, and deeply rewarding. It creates connection, warmth, and reciprocity. However, when giving comes from obligation, guilt, or depletion, there is often a hidden cost - resentment, exhaustion, emotional disconnection, and even the unintended experience of “flat” or negative energy

Most of us understand that giving is good. We know generosity strengthens communities, supports those in need, and creates a kinder world. We have heard countless reminders that giving benefits both the receiver and the giver. Yet beneath these familiar truths lies a deeper spiritual mystery. What if giving is not simply a moral virtue? What if it is a spiritual practice capable of transforming consciousness itself? Mystics, sages, and wisdom traditions throughout history hav

In the plant world, it is very apparent that everything comes through from the spiritual energetic fields to the physical. This is how most plants work (in terms of healing effects) - that I’ve noticed in the last 25 years through my work. The plants will frequently be working first with our specific issues, facilitating our life lessons and working with energies that need to shift. For instance, take Shepherd’s purse. A beautiful delicate plant that restores the kidneys.

Shamanism is often associated with rituals — the ways we move through them, the intention behind them, and the relationship we form with the unseen. When I was first asked to write about this topic, I declined. I didn’t feel I knew enough about Shamanism to speak on it. But then someone gently pointed out that I see Beings, Animals, and Shapes within crystals - a gift that echoes the intuitive sight found in many shamanic traditions. That reflection opened something in me. Ma

Long before organised religion, before churches, temples, or written scripture, people sat beside fires beneath open skies and listened to the rhythms of the natural world. The movement of animals, the turning of the seasons, dreams, storms, illness, and intuition were all understood as part of a living conversation between humanity and spirit. Within many ancient cultures, the role of the shaman emerged from this relationship. Shamanism is often described as one of the worl

Shamanism and animism are closely connected, but they are not the same thing. Animism is the ancient understanding that the world is alive with spirit - that animals, trees, rivers, mountains, stones, ancestors and places all carry presence, consciousness or sacred energy. Shamanism is the practice of working with that unseen world. In many traditional cultures, the shaman acts as a bridge between the human and spirit realms, entering altered states through ritual, rhythm, t

The small stones you pass along a beach, the river-smoothed fragments you rest against by a flowing stream, the hills you look toward, or the vast mountain ranges stretching beyond the horizon—they carry a quiet, enduring wisdom. Towering peaks rising beyond them hold their own silent majesty, a reminder of scale and perspective. You may not notice it at first. But being among these formations, feeling their presence beneath your hands or feet, makes it easier to breathe, to

As April draws to a close, Samhain marks a quiet turning point in the Southern Hemisphere. Observed on 30 April, it is a time traditionally associated with honouring the dead, acknowledging ancestry, and recognising the thinning of the veil between worlds. While often linked with Northern Hemisphere autumn festivals, Samhain in Aotearoa arrives as the land deepens into its own seasonal shift. The days shorten, the air cools, and there is a natural drawing inward. It is with

In the quiet margins of woodland and hedgerow, where light softens and the air feels gently altered, the elder tree stands as both sentinel and doorway. Long regarded as a plant of mystery, elder has occupied a place in myth that is as potent as its role in traditional herbalism. Its dark, glistening berries carry not only nourishment and medicine, but also the weight of story, symbol and unseen realms. Across European folklore, elder is known as a tree of thresholds. It is

Unicorn Day - 9 April This month explores a range of mythical creatures, but the unicorn is worth pausing on. Unicorn Day on 9 April gives a good reason to single it out and look a little more closely at what it has meant over time. In early stories, the unicorn was not soft or decorative. It appears in ancient writings and medieval bestiaries as a strong, elusive animal, often described as horse-like or deer-like, with a single horn on its forehead. This horn, known as the

When I began doing a little research on mythical creatures, I was amazed at just how many have been spoken about across cultures and generations. Many of us have heard of unicorns, mermaids and mermen, Bigfoot, fairies, gnomes, leprechauns, the Loch Ness Monster, dragons, the phoenix, vampires, werewolves, and so many more. But the stories that stay with me most are the ones I grew up hearing. My mother often told a story from her own childhood. My Irish grandfather had a la

An interview-inspired feature with Eunice Stott, Specialist and Teacher of Psychic Arts NZ School of Psychic Arts (SoPA) What if the creatures we’ve been taught to call “mythical” were never myths at all - only misunderstood? Unicorns. Dragons. Pegasus. Fairies. Angels. Giants. Across cultures and centuries, they appear again and again - woven into stories, scriptures, and folklore. But for Eunice Stott, specialist in all things mystical, these beings are not relics of imagin

For thousands of years, earth-honouring cultures have followed the turning of the seasons through what is known as the Wheel of the Year , eight sacred festivals that reflect the dance between light and darkness, growth and rest, life and renewal. This way of marking the seasons is often described as Living the Wheel . Below is a guide to the Wheel of the Year as it unfolds in the Southern Hemisphere. Following these seasonal turning points allows us to pause and appreci

Plant of the Sun. Of magic and fire. Working with confidence, courage, creativity, positive self-worth, and the valuing of self. A plant whose flowers go from yellow to turning miraculously red when soaked. Literally a sunshine plant , St John’s wort brings smiles where there were none, eases burns and sunburn, and releases the fiery pain that can be held in the nervous system.Some say Joan had more to do with fire than John ever did, and call the plant St Joan’s wort. A

Welcome to March, and we are heading into the Autum Equinox, which is on March 21st, where the balance of the Light / Dark are equal. Autumn focuses on gratitude for the harvest and releasing what is no longer serving you. There is a Wheel of the Year, and for those who may not be familiar with it - even I wasn’t fully aware of all its layers - this article focuses on the Southern Hemisphere, specifically the Winter and Summer Solstices, and the Spring and Autumn Equinox

For one moment, instead of looking at a calendar to check the date for the next seasonal festival or solstice, meditate and go within. Can you “hear” guidance? Do you have a “knowing” of what is being asked of you in relation to the Earth and Mother Nature? If your answer is yes, you are being called to assist the Earth Mother. Your necessary role in creating or participating in seasonal festivals, equinoxes and solstices is crucial because your life-force enhances the in