III. The Summer I Read Gone with the Wind

Hello Dear Reader,

I hope you are well. Thank you for being here. I will begin by saying that this season, my family experienced the (semi-sudden) death of our beloved matriarch. I will be writing about that specific time warp as it remains a potent lesson in purpose. I can understand if there are pieces you find difficult to read for they were difficult to write. As a counter to that heavy weight, I keep the majority of this read light-hearted but wanted to be forthcoming with that information.

Like always I invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy whatever fills your cup.

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An excerpt hidden in my notesapp ::

I am starting my summer reading gone with the wind. Back in May I kept saying I need something real. I spent the winter reading a series about faeries and mythical creatures. I attempted to read her most well known book and couldn’t get through the first chapter. I have since given them away to the little library by my favorite outdoor market and matcha shoppe. 

It will take me all summer to get through these pages. Margret Mitchell writes beautifully, she paints an incredibly vivid picture using many many words to do so. Can you blame her? She wrote this book in 1939 — before television took over the world and people had time to spare. 

I am creating again with vigor.

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RESURRECTION ::

The month of May held grand renewal. I handmade a batch of stickers; which is something I have dreamt of doing for a very long time. I was spending afternoons reworking canvases. Finishing paintings I had not touched in years. The pressure on my body was starting to ease. My movement became disciplined as I began training for a 10 mile race. This homecoming had set fire to my hearth; igniting the spirit of passion. Just as the lilies started to bloom.

One particular afternoon was spent in sacred waters with a dear sister. Our time was filled with play, exploration, and movement which felt like direct ascension into the 6th dimension. My most favorite plane to occupy. On facebook marketplace I found a 22lb hunk of Rose Quartz. It was a deal I, simply, could not pass up. This hunk is lovingly referred to as my Big Baby. The color Pink took me by surprise as it entered into my field from every direction. I was feeling good, getting sun all while getting ready for summer to roll out.

MIMOSA ::: THE TREE OF HAPPINESS

I met a Mimosa Tree by the water. Its sweet scent drew me in to see silky almost puffball like blossoms. The tree is a hub for bees, beetles, and sweet little bugs. In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is referred to as the tree of happiness. a tool to assist in grief relieving depression and grieving. I collected flowers and made a make shift drying station in the afternoon sun. Which turned into an enchanted tea party. Working multiple tools and innovations in one. Moving through a spark of inspiration I made the Mimosa Bug. A sweet concoction with Mimosa flowers, honey, and Saint George's Absinthe. A personal connection to my ancestor, the elemental spirits I love dearly, and a realm that guides me deeply.

This product is made to bring sweetness, play, fae like curiosity, child-like wonder, and to support you as you process heavy weights. Please be mindful that this therapy is not from a doctor and should not be taken orally or used as a substitute for psychiatric medication. Mimosa is known to cause mania in people with bi-polar disorder. The vails are teeny little bugs are ready to get to work.

DREAM PILLOWS ::

Made during mornings in meditation. I have been so excited to share these incubators. They are all hand stitched with corresponding thread, made from a recycled nightgown even the lace trim was $4.44 at check out. The sachet's are filled from a cereal bowl of herbs, spices, and instant manifestation rice/ coffee that remains on my alter space. The cereal bowl came into play during the mimosa tea party innocence working. It is a blessing to curate a tool that connects physical dream work into metaphysical practice. That after all is part of Honeybee. One of my pillars is to make witch-craft easily digestible; to bridge spirituality into the mundane. The act of dreaming is a sacred practice, dream work acts as a source of connection to the other worlds. A huge part of my personal practice is done within this liminal space. I am deeply in love with these offerings and am buzzing with excitement for them to find their people.

HOSPITALS, HERBS, AND HOSPICE

For the past three years I assisted in the care of my grandmother, Ella Mae. This past fathers day she broke her hip, from an unfortunate fall. Which carried long stretches in the hospital during her recovery. Through it I met a handful of herbal allies. All of which I had been looking for, I just could not figure out the timing. Until a moment of surrender, they were brought to me. Either by divine intervention or inspired action.

During a rehab session I decided to take a walk around the block, to get some sun. I found a Co-Op in the shopping center. to my surprise in a small back corner of the store there held bulk herbs. All of the herbs I had been searching for were right in front of me: Mugwort, Valerian, Burdock Root, Beet Powder, even Bee's Wax cubes. Grandma's strength was returning, she was getting ready to be discharged things were looking up!

I met Mugwort one afternoon for tea. I paired her with the sweet and vibrant hibiscus. Nothing insanely prophetic happened during this initial meeting but it was the start of her powerful presence as a guide to me throughout the summers veil. And lesson with bitters. The second time we met it was in the evening right before bed. I had a vision of a lantern burning at the edge of the forest. A calling card for the next piece of our adventure.

Grandma was up and down, she could not seem to get stable. She went to rehab spent a day and had to go to another hospital due to an internal bleed. When it got to be my turn to spend stretches with her, she seemed to be back on the mend. When I was driving up to Westminster I noticed wild Mullein all along the highway lighting the edge of the forest with their tall stalks of yellow flowers. It enchanted me, I could not get the image out of my head. I spent most of my days with granny-ma reading gone with the wind and researching mullein. When I discovered this plant historically was used as a candle wick/ lanterns going by the name "Torch Weed" I was gob smacked. So, Ms. Mugwort, sent me here. On the fourth of July when I was driving home from a long day with Ellie, the sun was setting heat lingered in the air, I pulled over on the side of the highway and picked as many leaves as I could hold. I cycled out the sweet mimosa and placed the mullein leaves in the drying station.

Grandma could not get better. It was all very up and down, when she needed another bag of blood from yet another unknown source of bleeding we were all discouraged. She was in pain and the treatments were getting more and more invasive. Until my father and uncle made the decision to bring her home. The final stretch, the grand finale. We never left her side, we slept in shifts, family constantly moving in and out. One of her last present moments was playing with her great grand baby. I fully immersed myself in the dying process. I took in every single moment, like a sponge to water. I needed to be present, I needed to see it through. I needed to be there when she took her last breath, which was not the hardest part of it all. For me the hardest part was when the funeral home came to collect her body and at the funeral when they closed her casket. That made me want to sprint out of the room, but I sat there and took it for the sake of my family and for the sake of her. After all I needed to see it through.

There was a little cove I found when my grandfather was dying. It is a moss covered hill top hidden in the forest across the street from their home. Close enough I can see the house from the trees but hidden enough to find peace. That space held me gently through his passing and returned as a safe sacred place for me once more. I spent every morning there communing with my dear elemental friends and trees and grounding deeply before enduring emotional challenges. I miss my grandmother dearly. I think about her every day. I am beyond blessed to have been able to spend these years with her. She was not only my grandmother, but grew into one of my very best friends. So, we danced with death one more time, and although she did not come for me, her presence was calm, she removed suffering, she came as swiftly as she could, and I will continue to devote my life to honor the feared, the misunderstood, and the marginalized.

I MET A SNAKE ING THE GARDEN. We stared at each other eye to eye. She was sunning on the black trim that borders the gardens edge while I was snipping rosemary. Just 5 minutes or so prior I had an inclining I'd see a snake but shook it off. This is when I knew for sure my senses would be deepening. Since then I have seen an apparition staring at me in the middle of the night. I have only seen 1 ghost prior and that was my grandfather. This fellow however remains a mystery. Nevertheless as we step further into autumn I am very intrigued to find what develops.

Under the Aquarian Full Moon or Lions Gate Portal. I made my long awaited mullein stem hand-rolled candles. A task more difficult than I realized, working with wax, thinking it would act like clay. These candles turned out to be the perfect pair fitting into each other. Mullein's lore has captivated me.

Not only is she used as a light but the leaves can be a substitute for grave yard dirt in spells. I love divination to the other worlds. To connect to our passed loved ones. These tools made in the spirit of balance and communication are powerful guides through your own devotional work. I only made two this go around and have plenty prepped for the future.

AUGUST IN THE GARDEN

I spent August in the garden with my (step) grandparents. Each day was an act of devotion. To my elders, to the earth, to the community, and to myself. I slowly felt the pressure ease and the intense bit of bitterness dissolve. I found my best thinking during long walks. I started to run again. All while assisting family.

This virgo season is deeply refreshing. There is something about coming home into my moon sig :: returning, reorganizing, clearing, cleansing and moving. All in the effort to get ready for what is to come. Hidden projects are brewing on the horizon. It is time for our decent, dear ones.

Until then, stay safe, have fun, and be well ~~

I have yet to finish gone with the wind, but am almost there.

With everlasting love,

Melissa 🤍🧚

Honeybee Healing Collective melissa@honeybeehealing.co