This is a season of discovery,
of deep listening
and wild dreaming.
It is now
when longing takes root
and desire is nurtured,
now when we nourish our hopes
and tend to our visions,
trusting
that what we can sense within us
can be coaxed
to bloom.
Welcome to this week’s Rituals of Returning newsletter! The shop has been closed for a short break and is reopening this weekend!
This week's magic:
14 minute mini ritual video: spring celebration.
I’ll be the guest facilitator for Talking to Goddess from The Lilith Institute TOMORROW (Saturday, March 28th) at 6:00 central time. Registration is free! You just have to email D’Vorah (dvorah @ lilithinstitute.com).
Thunder and Roses, a Persephone Devotional is now available for pre-order on Kindle! It becomes available in print worldwide on May 1.
Stepping into the Cauldron of Creation
My special offering for April is a Cauldron of Creation series unfolding via the Goddess Magic Mystery School. A brief overview video is here. This series includes weekly live practices, rituals, and a printable card deck!
Life’s Bits and Pieces:
If there is anything
the magnolia trees would tell us,
rain-bowed and resolute,
it would be to bloom
while you can,
to listen to the inner yearning
that beckons you
to spread your petals
and greet what comes,
whether it be thunder or sun.
reading:
(just finished): The Menopause Myth—as suspected from the first few sentences, this book ended with a pitch for the authors’ services in hormone prescription/advice. While I did learn some things from it and it did challenge some of my own biases, I also found it extremely biased and it was hard to get all the way through.
(just finished) The Angel Stone—this is the third book in the Fairwick Chronicles, which began with The Demon Lover. I love how this series evolved from somewhat smutty demon fiction into gothic fae mystery in which the power of friendship and community prevail.
(to self) The Wonder Engine—by my beloved T. Kingfisher, this is the second book in the “Clocktaur” series, which began with The Clockwork Boys, which I read last year. About a paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar who set forth to investigate mysterious robotic-like killing machines which seem to have no origin source, but are laying waste to surrounding countryside. They are also joined by a “gnole” who is a badger like creature (who can talk and is possibly the best character). A bit of slow burn romance simmering beneath the surface for two of the characters, but the primary focus is on the teamwork of solving the mystery.
(just finished to kids): Dragonborn—about a pre-teen girl who discovers there is another realm just out of sight, the realm of dragons. SO GLAD to be done with this one because we got really annoyed with the never-ending dragging (dragonning on?) of the “will she, won’t she” story line. We also spotted the twist coming a mile away.
(listening to with Tanner): Night Magick—about a tween boy in Las Vegas who is practicing to be a magician like his late father. Mysterious clues and a journey across the city ensue.
(listen to self): Firekeeper’s Daughter—very good, but VERY long, about an indigenous teenage investigating the meth crisis in her community. Touches on lots of issues of indigenous identity and culture and includes lots of Ojibwe words and concepts.
Thinking about:
These quotes:
“March is a wonderful month to get friendly with our internal pace.
Winter invites us to draw into ourselves--not a bad thing--indeed, quite good. And spring invites us to awaken and participate. What an amazing invitation.
Please do not decline this invitation...”“The world will always ask more of you. It will always move faster than feels right, and the only way to remain soft in the middle of all that is to keep returning to your own small rituals...”
Looking forward to: Karen Tate’s new book, The Divine Feminine! I’ve always loved Karen’s articulation of Goddess as “deity, archetype, and ideal” (which leaves space for everyone to connect with her in some way) and I was pleased to endorse her new book!
Resource Reminders:
I’ve started to add our monthly activation replay videos for this year’s #30DaysofGoddess practice to the homepage! Scroll past the “2026 Practice Updates” section to access the videos. Note: Live monthly activations are available to any member of the Goddess Magic Mystery School Patreon community free and paid both!
I made a new intro audio about the Goddess Magic Mystery School! And, as a special limited time spring bonus, I’ve reopened the $1 tier to encourage new members to join in!
Free Everyday Magic series!
FREE classrooms:
Celebrating the Spring!
Do not wait one more minute.
Set yourself free.
Choose yourself,
your own heart,
soul,
and purpose.
It is brave to claim your own life
in your own name.
I feast on my own life. With what I have, where I am, I emerge in joy, courage, and possibility.
Happy Spring!
In this video we explore a gentle, contemplative ritual for the Spring Equinox, weaving together wisdom from the Germanic goddess Eostre and the dragon goddess Tiamat with our seasonal theme of Emerge.
Core reminder: Choose celebration and emergence—right now, with what you have—as a sacred, resilient, life-affirming practice.
Note: the expanded version of this post is here.
Questions to explore:
What are you celebrating?
How are you feasting on your own life?
When was the last time you truly celebrated your own deep connections to your friends and family?
If it has been too long, how might you rediscover your reverence and mix it with joy and exuberance?
How might you bring some celebration into your house (bake a cake, pick flowers, wear a crown, hang a banner, list your earthly delights, etc.)?
What is dawning for you?
What new projects are bubbling around the edges?
What new ideas do you sense waiting for your attention?
What are you taking action to create or to change?
Affirmations:
I feast on my own life.
I revitalize myself at the banquet of revelry.
I celebrate the dawn of possibility.
I usher in new energy and new possibility.
I celebrate the joy of living.
I dare to savor my joy.
Here I am with what I have.
Emerge with Ostara: When You Feel Mired and Weary
Theme: Yearning as guidance.
Some days we feel distant and mired down, crumbling under the weight of everything.
Underneath, there is often a persistent yearning—to listen, to create, to love, to change.
Instead of pushing that away, ask:
What am I yearning for right now?
How might I let that yearning light my way?
Affirmation:
“My deep yearning lights my way.”
Optional:
If you wish, comment and name one thing you’re truly yearning for in this season.
Today…
Today is a day
for deep breaths and warm connections,
a day for sunshine
on your shoulders
and laughter in your belly.
Today is a day
to circle and celebrate and sing,
a day for strength of community
and the bonds of trust.
Today is a day to draw up
strength from the support around you,
a day to honor the land
and the power of the elements.
Today is a day to remember
you are complete as you are,
a day to savor your own wholeness
and your own becoming.
Sending love to all of you.
Keep living your magic,
Molly, Mark, + Family
