May the Balance Be Regained: Equinox Prayers, Dark Goddess Book Events and An Appeal to Real
What olden practices are you reclaiming? What rite of passage are you in? Who is your community? What is the story you are living into now?
This morning I woke up to gunfire, again. Now as the sun crests through the neighbor’s birch tree and the garden becomes luminous, I can almost convince my central nervous system to forget. I love this place, this yard—the blue jay family, the red currants, the Angelica rising in year two splendor. I love my neighbors, relationships cultivated through going on six years now, the longest I’ve lived anywhere since I was nineteen. They played cello for me during the pandemic, have shared onions and stories, shoveled my sidewalk in the snowstorms and let me use their phone when I locked myself out. Amid difficulty I know that I could call on them. And their presence, like the presence of the sun, the air, the tiny wren, the abundant and tasty dandelions, helps bring me into balance after the all too frequent nearby violence rips me from sleep.
It is the vernal Equinox today, and my prayer—ever—is “May the Balance Be Regained.”
Today the earth is in balance, poised between dark and light, day and night. With the next moons we will tip again to extremity, then back, then to balance, then to extremity, then back. Like my ancestors, I celebrate these cycles, and in my own modern way I attempt to orient myself to the rhythms, to trust that even in periods of extremity my connection—to the web of life, to my kin and kindreds, to ritual and spirit—will nourish and anchor me until the balance is restored, and remind me with certainty that balance is also temporary.
There is a sense of urgency in this, a call of return to the olden practices of community, ceremony, realignment. Do you feel it too?
In this Equinox edition of Olden Practice I share from the present. I have been physically incapacitated for most of the past two months and am only starting to emerge—like the tender green around me. I do have news about the Year of the Dark Goddess book, a request and invitation, Unlearn Online is still meeting thanks to our volunteer hosts, and I want to share the projects of two amazing community members.
I would also love for you to join me in a prayer for the balance, and to share (in the comments, or reply to this post…) from your present:
What Olden Practices are you reclaiming?
What ancestral values are helping you stay balanced in this modern world?
What rite of passage are you in?
Who is your community?
What is the story you are living right now?
My answers: This moon I am reclaiming the olden practices of touching the earth with bare hands and feet, sewing (mending, mending, mending), simplicity (buying less, being creative with what I have), and daily prayer cycles (tiny prayers at dawn, before meals, at dusk and before bed). The ancestral values that are helping my balance are tending the small things because they are the vital things—food, water, shelter, family and community. I am again in a health rite of passage, a liminal space waiting for a neurology appointment in April. My community is here—hello friends!—and here, in the physical world where I live. I hope the events this summer (read on,) and my plans for a tactile Olden Practice newsletter (!) help craft even more connection. My story right now is of seeking the coal for my own hearth (a hearth at the Wild Soul Sanctuary and Preserve), deep in the forest of Baba Yaga.
In the middle of being sick this past season I received news that the Year of the Dark Goddess is behind in preorders (which is no wonder, as I haven’t been able to do anything…) My publisher says we really need to ramp up the preorders to help the book find its people.
I am currently only 30 books away from the target for this time.
Dear Community—will you help me reach the target?
Here is a digital sampler of the Year of the Dark Goddess book--it has the first 35 pages, links to purchase and can give a real feel for the text: https://www.calameo.com/red-wheel_weiser-books/read/0055709741f13a7abf4de
This is my favorite book I've written thus far. It contains (tested, as some of you know) tools, stories and traditions for navigating challenging life transitions in the span of an intentional calendar year. It is work that continues to support and nourish me, and to weave throughout my communities even as we dive into the underworld...again...and again.
One of the best things I’ve heard from folks who have been through the Dark Goddess process outlined in the book is that they now have the tools, resources and confidence to navigate difficulty. We cannot eliminate challenge from our lives, but the Year of the Dark Goddess can help us prepare for, transform and integrate our challenges into empowerment.
And the ancestors whisper--no one does this alone.
We are the web.
Year of the Dark Goddess Events: Book Blessing and Live, In-Person Release Picnic Party
I currently have two events planned in the Portland area to celebrate and connect!
The first is a Book Blessing ritual gathering on May 25th from 12-3pm at an incredible urban farm. This is a space limited event, and I will be offering tickets over at Patreon on a first come, first served basis, along with some suggestions for participants from afar, so please join Patreon to receive the dates and details this moon (it is an incredible community with so many resources…and patrons make all of my work possible!)…
Save the Date: The second is a Book Release picnic/potluck/celebration/community ceremony July 27th from 10am until whenever we wish at one of my favorite local parks--space is unlimited, bring friends, partners, children, there is camping nearby and all are welcome. Wild Soul School Community members, Dark Goddess participants, Wild Soul Runes practice folk, this could be a great time for us to meet in person! I'm dreaming on shared ceremony, sing alongs, a free seed and medicine exchange and more...
Invitation to follow, I will offer more in the Solstice edition of Olden Practice, but Patrons will have the information first.
Please come celebrate, let’s meet in person, break bread and laugh together—the oldest practices of all. <3<3<3
“Lara Vesta’s Year of the Dark Goddess is deeply archetypal but not formulaic. Wisdom and insight surges throughout this book, and its invitation into living a new sacred story and crafting your own rite of passage is—pardon the pun—simply magical. Inviting and inclusive, this is a book (and a journey) for anyone who yearns for the kind of interior transformation that the Dark Goddess offers.”
—Carl McColman, author of 366 Celt and coauthor of Spirit of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses
“Lara Vesta’s Year of the Dark Goddess is a poetic and profound journey into darkness, guiding us as we navigate challenging times and personal transitions to rediscover our power, our connection with the Wyrd, to Spirit, and the Ancestral Feminine. As a student of her Wild Soul School teachings, I am grateful that Lara Vesta has birthed this new book into the world, again offering us work that is both Spirit led, methodical, and lovingly woven with empowerment and authenticity.”
—Tara Rae Moss, holistic practitioner and author of The War Widow, The Ghosts of Paris, and other bestselling novels
“Year of the Dark Goddess provides much-needed support in the form of myth and ancestral remembering for the challenging moments that accompany a lived life. I felt life breathed back into my lungs when I read Lara Vesta’s words—accompanied by a fascination in learning and remembering the ancestral roots of so many of our modern-day words and stories. I appreciate the way Lara frames this book as a rite of passage in itself and guides you through it with written ritual and journaling prompts to support your journey. This is a book you’ll want to keep close alongside a journal and candle.”
—Becca Piastrelli, author of Root & Ritual
“Lara Vesta’s Year of the Dark Goddess is the manual to help you honor and integrate your most profound changes. It gently guides you through a year-long initiation with the Dark Goddess in her many guises. When you’re feeling broken, this course in the form of a book can help you navigate your way to wholeness through myth and folktale, reflection and mindfulness, connecting with nature and performing sacred ritual. Lara has provided the perfect meeting place to get to know the Dark Goddess; are you ready for the greatest adventure of your life? This book is one I will return to every time I face grief, and I know it will be one that you will turn to again and again too.”
—Madame Pamita, author of Magical Tarot, Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft, and The Book of Candle Magic
Preorder Your the Year of the Dark Goddess Book Here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Year-Dark-Goddess-Journey-Renewal/dp/1578638275
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/year-of-the-dark-goddess-lara-vesta/1144014419?ean=9781578638277
Equinox Offerings, Inspirations and Community
Unlearn Online is meeting this week, Thursday March 21st at 12 pm PST for an open discussion about unlearning online behaviors. Some of the topics rising include:
The impact of reducing phone/screen time on a day-to-day basis.
How to balance life/work/artistry within the necessity of online commitments.
And a special query from me: what wonderful offline thing happened to you this moon?
If you are seeking internet balance inspiration you may want to listen to this episode of the Search Engine podcast, How do We Survive the Media Apocalypse? It has some really thoughtful commentary on intentional media and intentional internet use.
The Unlearn Online meetings are recorded and audio is available in our classroom after. We have some incredible volunteers keeping the momentum, and great resources. Meetings are free, and will be recorded and posted so you can listen anytime then participate in the comments. Register for Unlearn Online here.
Slow Magick Devotional Astrology and Ritual Design with Erin Kelley
Please check out the incredible offerings Erin has been weaving—her website, Substack and the new The Nature of Invisible Things podcast are all full of beauty, inspiration and…well, magic. Erin offers readings, ritual design and mentoring. You will be hearing more about Erin in the future, but for now explore her creations—you are in for a treat.
Dark Goddess Cohort alumni Francine Bonjour-Carter has woven a beautiful offering—incorporating letter writing!—with ReConnect. Francine writes:
“ReConnect is a transformative journey designed to help you reclaim your voice as an essential form of self-care. Over three months, you'll be part of a supportive group committed to deep exploration. You will find your flow through personal reflection, somatic awareness, and letter writing within a heartfelt community. You receive a packet in the mail with everything you need to write a monthly letter to another participant - a kindred stranger - and you will receive letters too! Each month has a different theme with inspirational materials, imagery, audio, and prompts. ReConnect is a process of personal inquiry, community support, and learning, creating more spaciousness in yourself and helping you embody values of deep connection so you can stand rooted in the beauty of your life.”
The spring season of ReConnect is open for registration. Find more information and register at francinebonjour.com/reconnect
Coming In the Olden Practice Solstice Letter: June
Creating physical space for Ancestral Animist practice—next phases in the Wild Soul Sanctuary+ Preserve vision planning…the seed magic is sprouting…
Creating a physical newsletter for Olden Practice—inspired by this Olden Practice Blog Post: 5 Ways to Write a Letter and Reclaim Friendship, Connection and Craft
and County Highway: A Magazine About America in the Form of a Nineteenth Century Newspaper
Thank you, sacred circle, for reading my words and supporting my work. In this Equinox day I pray once again for the balance to be regained, for the sweetness to be restored, and for us to live like the miracles we are.
With love—Lara Irene