Welcome to the Earth-Centered Spiritual Journaling Course! Our introductory module includes a video overview, an introductory PDF with instructions, and two rituals. Please start with the introductory video.
Beltane in the Sacred Actions wheel of the year focuses on bringing the returning fertility of the land into our homes and hearths, emphasizing creating sacred spaces and sacred work in our homes. We explore how our homes can be focal points for deepening earth-honoring practices. Beyond our outer homes, which are the focal point of much of our lives, in this module we also will explore inner homes: our bodies, our minds, our value systems, and consider the deep work of selves. This module offers a wide range of written explorations, rituals, and methods you can use to deepen your work through writing. We also explore how to make a lovely acorn ink in this module.
The Summer Solstice is a time of greatest light. It is here at the summer solstice that we explore the concept of flow states in writing, focus on finding inspiration through and with writing, and also reflect on what nourishes us. In the Sacred Actions Wheel of the Year, the theme is food and nourishment, so we also will engage in some exploration of what nourishes us: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As part of this inspiration and nourishment, we look at how journaling practices can be a springboard into prayers and ritual writing. And finally, we add another activity to learning how to craft handmade journals—learning how to make handmade paper from recycled materials that can be used for a journal. Finally, we will explore one of the things that offer humans an “optimal experience” – the flow state. The flow state is something that you can get into when you are engaged in a range of activities and it is deeply connected with the sacred acts of creation.
Lughnassadh in the traditional wheel of the year is the time of the harvest, a time when the weather is warm and nature beckons that we enter. In Sacred Actions: Living the Wheel of the Year through Earth-Centered Sustainable Practices, we explored gardens, lawn liberations, and approaches to tending land in our local communities. In this module, we will expand those discussions and explore a different set of relationships to nature through our exploration of rewilding and wild areas outdoors. We will also explore our relationship to outdoor spaces through the practices of pocket journaling, nature journaling, garden journaling, and visual journaling
The Fall Equinox in the Sacred Actions Wheel of the Year is when we turn our attention outward into the broader world. While journaling and writing are often inward activities, they can also plant seeds of powerful change out in the world. That is, we can use our ongoing journaling practice to understand ourselves and the world around us better, and thus, work towards powerful change in small ways within our communities, networks, and workplaces. This module explores a range of activities that we can use journaling for: the powerful magic of visioning the future, exploring our journaling practice for springboarding other work in the world, finding ways of supporting transition and earth-honoring communities, establishing writer’s groups, and creating a handmade journal using paper (handmade paper from a previous module or other paper).
Samhain is a time when the world goes into ice and cold, and we deepen the descent into the depths of winter. Thus, in this module we explore pattern journaling, a technique to help understand your deepest self. The module also delves into methods of using journaling for magical and spiritual development: tracking magical practices, daily rituals, daily divinations, outcomes of medications and magic, and more. We explore reflecting and mapping your spiritual journey and journaling as a means of deepening spiritual practices. The module also offers you a connection to your ancient ancestors through their spiritual tools. Finally, we learn how to craft a handmade feather pen for your journaling.
At the darkest time of year, we turn inward to examine writing and journaling as healing. Writing has been used as a deep healing tool and the module shares a variety of ways that you can use writing to heal from pain and trauma and emerge strong, whole, and balanced. Writing The winter solstice is also an excellent time to explore our dreams, and thus, we explore dreamwork and journaling. Finally, we spend time considering exploring ethics and dimensions of care for sustainable living. We explore the book art of creating simple watercolor backgrounds for beautiful, unique journal pages.
Imbolc in the wheel of the year has us continuing to turn inward to look at how writing helps us grow, and learn, and write our way into new understanding. We reflect on the moon and explore a moon journaling practice and moon journaling ritual. The module also provides space for reflections on various skills that our ancestors had and that we may want to pick up or deepen and set personal goals. Finally, we learn how to craft a simple second handmade journal using the watercolor paper created during the Winter Solstice.
In the final module, we explore continuing and deepening your spiritual journaling practice beyond the course and setting new goals. Through this practice, we create the Oaken Grimoire, which is a personal book of your most important information (rituals, poems, deep insights, spirit teachings) that can be added to each year as part of your continued journaling.