the july 2026 edition
it's August :)
Sorry I’m late! Thanks for being here. Thank you for your patience. I appreciate you!
July was… WHEW!
I wanted the dust to settle (slightly) before writing here. I wanted to give myself a moment to catch my breath before sharing and transmitting anything out into the tissue that connects all of us.
I HAVE BEEN BIRTHED INTO A NEW REALITY! And it is rich and full of fertile soil for all that’s to come. It actually kind of felt like I was giving birth, and I was being pushed and pulled through a birth canal myself. I gave birth to… myself? Sure. Sure! Yes. That’s it exactly.
I let go of a lot over the past month, and it was a little bit uncomfortable in my body, but not in my mind. That is a first for me. The process itself felt like relief, even though it was uncomfortable. Isn’t that something?
I am feeling instinctively like I am not meant to share too many details about everything I am in the middle of right now, so I am going to share a few fragments to see if they jog anything for you, and where you are right now. To connect!
energetic poles within have switched, and reversed directions in a way I haven’t ever seen in this lifetime (personally or professionally)
things I wrote down years ago in journals and on pieces of paper to be burned in ritual fire are now coming to fruition around me, for me, to me
masks fell, but the masks were actually picutres on lenses I have worn over my own eyes, superimposing on others
divine alignments requiring stillness in motion
dead, reborn, baptized, re-entering life renewed
hummingbird
divinely aligned connections and relationships
moose
symbolism surrounding what is to come, breadcrumbs (positive connotation)
success!
none of this is bad or shameful, it’s all very, very, very good
BIG stuff that’s been cookin’ for years, finally ready
finally
ready
and already unfolding,
realizing it’s unfolding and rooting into radical presence and gratitude for the present moment, even when it is uncomfortable or weird or confusing
because soon, sooner than we realize, this moment will be gone.
the magic of theater
This July, I took my BFA in Dramatic Writing and my thousands of hours of stage experience to a local summer camp where I grew up, and I instructed theater for two different groups of elementary school students.
This is some of my favorite work, and some of my favorite magic.
I guide the groups through writing, staging, and performing their very own original play in five days. Really, it is three days, because we spend the first two days learning the basics of theater, terminology, different jobs and roles outside of acting, and getting comfortable with our instruments through games and improvisational theater work. And each day, we only see each other for three hours before they go do fun camp-wide stuff. So nine hours of “work” on each play, total.
I did this for two weeks.
The first week, the smallest, quietest girl in my group of seven kids could barely squeak out her name on Monday. On Friday, she bellowed out her lines onstage in front of the whole camp, immediately marched off and asked me if we could “perform this for a larger audience.” Magic! It’s magic. I watched her literally find her voice, claim it, and wield it. I’m crying right now thinking about it.
The second week, I had a repeat student from the last time I was at the camp. He’s a cool guy, king of camp, sometimes trouble-maker type of middle schooler. I was surprised when he signed up the first time, two summers ago. This summer, during week 1, he found me before morning circle and asked me if I was going to be there the next week. He told me he really wanted to sign up, but he didn’t make it in time. (The campers all choose their activities on Monday, on a first come, first serve basis.)
He made it for week two. And without sharing any details, he was having a pretty difficult week, behavior-wise. Pieces of this were at camp, and pieces of it were at home. He is a little rambunctious sometimes under my watch, but as soon as I ask him to stop he does, and he changes his behavior. I don’t indulge him, but I also don’t let him dysregulate me, and I try to figure out what he actually needs underneath the behavior. Usually it’s just attention.
Halfway through the week, the camp director discreetly asked me if I could give him a pep-talk. Like I said, he’d been having a tough week. She said, “We all talked about it, and you’re his person here. You’re the person he’ll listen to.” I was a little taken aback. This is one of the most special feelings - to make a kid feel seen and safe, especially when they’re not the archetype of kid who would fall into your category. Cool lacrosse boy finds safety in the environment created by the woowoo theater lady. Okay Troy Bolton!
His name got pulled out of the hat for the lead role in the play for week two. He really stepped up, and locked in. He was incredible, actually. Like I said, he usually just needs a bit of attention. It was so cool to watch his confidence grow, and his behavior shift in response to having a healthy outlet. He was so enthusiastic about the process that his dad texted the camp’s director to ask if he could come watch the performance with all of the campers. Everyone in the cast got magical face paint (they were aliens who all were also musical instruments), brought their own costumes, and leaned in. This camper’s dad shook my hand after their performance, and the two of them took a photo on the stage together, with the set pieces the campers made. It all just felt so special.
Every kid both weeks just absolutely blew my mind.
Theater is magic. It never isn’t magic. They made something out of nothing, and they shared it with everyone, and it was incredible.
Living in a dream!
book club
I really, reaaaaaally tried to get into Cloud Cuckoo Land in July. For now, it’s going to remain on my shelf as a DID NOT FINISH, which is RARE for me! I just couldn’t find my groove with it, even after reading over one hundred pages. I have a feeling I might enjoy it a lot more in cold weather, so I am going to give it another try once the season changes.
For now! ALL of the Book Club threads from the past seven months are all still alive and well in the subscriber chat. You can go visit them and add to them as you read! I check them occasionally and respond to any new commentary that rolls in. I hope that space blossoms a little bit more over the next few months!
In AUGUST, we’ll be reading (or rereading) a modern classic: Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetypes by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. I LOVE THIS BOOK! Every single time I pick it up, it reveals something new to me. It feels new and familiar at the same time, every time. I’m excited to reread for August! I already started, and I imagine I’ll be finished by this time next week at the latest, so the convo will be started earlier in the month than it has been the past few.
READ WITH ME!
pod round up
There are two incredible podcasts I listened to in July I’d like to share with you here. The first is an episode of The Emerald: Broadcasting Live From the Time of Poets and Bards. Joshua Schrei dives into different myths around the otherworldly, supernatural role poets and singers have historically played across culture and time. This is a lineage, and we need this kind of understanding now more than ever.
The second is this episode of Everlutionary with Hawah Kasat - Episode 44 - The Power of Collective Imagination: Exploring Shadow Work and Evolutionary Love with Sonya Renee Taylor. The conversation explores creativity and imagination specifically as power during this time of collapse. My friend Sue recommended this one! And now I recommend it to you.
May your listening experiences be supportive, illuminating, and inspiring!
date bark
GUYS! I made a date bark in July that blew minds. It was incredible. I brought it to a community gathering and we couldn’t contain ourselves. I forgot to take photos! But the process itself is simple.
Split open and crush a layer of pitted dates onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. I find second layer of parchment laid on top of the dates helpful to crushing them. I just used the butt of a glass to mush and mash them, making one fairly cohesive layer of dates. Then I put the cookie sheet in the freezer for about an hour.
THEN! I took the dates out of the freezer and spread peanut butter on top of them. Then they went back in the freezer for about a half hour.
THEN! I melted dark chocolate, spread it across the peanut butter, and sprinkled flaky sea salt on the chocolate. Popped it back in the freezer! Then after another hour or two, I broke it up with my hands into bark pieces, and stored it in the fridge.
This process is SIMPLE. I have made date bark and individual peanut butter-stuffed, dark chocolate-covered dates for years. What really made the difference here were the ingredients. I spared no expense. I got peanut butter from the Amish market (I was picking up some bulk spices and seeds and just grabbed some there), and it’s JUST PEANUTS. Nothing else. I bought really nice french chocolate, and big french flaky salt. Both imported! From FRANCE! (My best friend works at a specialty food shop, and I may or may not have had ~ahem~ some expense spared on my behalf.)
This made all the difference. The base recipe, that date + pb + chocolate + sea salt combo cannot fail. But these ingredients really upped the ante. If you make, I hope you ENJOY! They’re decadent. The height of luxury, if you ask me!
new offerings
This are changing! What I offer and how I offer it is changing. Here is what I have to share with you:
Mystical Return. This is a 5-week (self-paced) intuitive development framework for modern mystics to ground their magic, uncover clarity, and move with confidence through the world.
My booking calendar is open for one-off 1:1 sessions for the next few weeks. The nature of this space has changed. We go a lot deeper. I have limited availability for these, so once a few are on the books, they’ll close. I have two options available:
And, finally, INITIATION ARCADIA is underway. This is for ORACLES and HEALERS. Are you ready to burn this shit down and reweave reality? If so, I have something for you. Click here to learn more.
giving amphitheaters their flowers
Okay picture this:
You’re me. You’re getting ice cream on Main Street in Richmond, and decide to walk down to the River. What do you stumble upon? Great question!
It’s Djo, and his band, absolutely RIPPING open their set before gifting over an hour of joyful psych-rock pop magic. I was going to stay for one song, and ended up watching the whole show from the hill above the venue. What a performance! What great songwriting! What a dynamic performer, collaborating with people who clearly all really care about each other and the music!
And I got to enjoy it… for free?! AMPHITHEATERS! Give them their flowers. I’m so happy Joe Keery is getting his.
Okay that’s what I have for you this month! More to come. Thanks for bearing with me the past few weeks in this space. I’ve been truly so physically busy, and then have had a bunch of internal and life shifts happening at the same time.
I also find it difficult to write long-form for this space when I’m away from my desk. I don’t have a laptop! So I truly thank you for being here and for your patience.
More soon!
xx meg