we are stardust

16/12/2024

Look North on a clear night, wild one ✨

There in the darkness—an ethereal haze of green and pink light, so transparent you might doubt your eyes... until you see it move, dancing across the stars. The Northern Lights are calling telling stories of the ocean of sky above us and the myths of our ancestors.

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In this week's Solstice Advent episode of Your Wildly Enchanted Life, we're chasing aurora stories: from the scientific poetry of solar flares traveling millions of miles to paint our sky, to ancient tales of fire foxes running so fast their tails sparked the heavens.

It's been a long held dream of mine to see the Northern Lights and this year I watched an almost-there ethereal green-pink glow from my garden! (see the first picture). My research about the aurora borealis has given that experience and even deeper meaning which I share in the episode.

Did you know we're in a peak of solar activity? The magnificent aurora borealis displays of light we're seeing even in Southern England are because billions of tons of hot plasma are being hurled from the Sun at 2 million miles per hour and meeting Earth's protective atmosphere and magnetic field creating a cosmic dance.

In this episode join me to discover:

🌟 Why 2025 might be your best chance to see the aurora

🌟 What gives the lights their ethereal colors

🌟 Stories of celestial weddings and heavenly warriors

Listen to 'Your Wildly Enchanted Life' on Substack and Spotify 🎧

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20/11/2024

Because filling your life with beauty, wonder and magic is also resistance.

It can be so easy to let world events tip us into endless despair and grief.

While we need to feel these feelings - they are an outpouring of our love - let is also set our compass towards a wildly enchanted world.

The Wild Enchantment Club is coming...

Share something that brought you wonder in the comments.

02/10/2024

Playing with mud, bark, leaves and moss by the old Oak tree.

I noticed its leaves are slightly elongated and pointed compare to the English Oak.

Excited by these experiments. Wild journalling as art practice.

09/09/2024

I loved chatting with Alissa about weaving awe and wonder into daily life, including our homes. I also touched on a couple of things I haven't spoken much about before:

🎻 The joy of playing music, how music and the land are interlinked and how my violin is a voice of the trees and woodland from whi h it is made.

💔 The miscarriage my husband and I experienced in May 2023 and how my relationship with nature is crucial in creating ritual and rembrance for our little one on the brink of being.

Find The English Homemaker podcast on all good podcast platforms.

Already listened? Let me know what stayed with you the most in the comments.

27/06/2024

Late spring-early summer in my wild nature journal.

I am getting more and more interested in playfully collaborating WITH nature in my journal pages rather than accurately portraying what I observe (which can often lead to crippling perfectionism) .

I'm thinking of calling this collaborative type of nature journalling wild journalling.

We are nature so it makes sense to me that our journals are literally made together with the land and life around us.

These pages are a mix of both detailed observations and collaborations with nature:

Page 1. Bumblebee path as it feeds on Poppies in my garden. Page shows red painted poppy flowers with black lines tracing the path of the bee.

Page 2. Snails in our garden. I loved noticing the colours on their shells.Page shows 2 paintings of garden snails with notes.

Page 3. Hover fly path as it feeds on Nigella in my garden. Page shows pencil path of hover fly on painted blue nigella flowers.

Page 4. This spring I spent time getting to know the Blue T**s nesting in our garden and learned that 40% of Blue tit nests have eggs sires by different male to the one tending to the nest and chicks! Page shows a painting of a blue tit standing at the edge of a nest.

How do you feel about nature journalling? Is it something you want to try? What holds you back from starting?

16/05/2024

"Rivers have flowed through our lives as surely has they have flowed through places" - River Film

I'm delighted to announce the release date and title for my upcoming original art collection: Rivers Run Through Us, launching 14 June 2024. When you join the Collector's List (link in bio) you get access to the collection 48 hours early!

In my early 20s living in London and working in a University office job I attended a staff training about assertiveness that ended up being a turning point for me. When asked to respond to the prompt “what do you want more of in your life?” my first answer was “MUD”.

Fast forward 15 years and I have spend the last 24 months creating art with mud. This collection feels my most honest and authentic yet and I can't wait to share it with you!

The title 'Rivers Run Through Us' is inspired by the incredible film River which charts our human connection to these waterways from revering rivers like Gods and living alongside the life rivers bring wherever they flow to harnessing their power for energy and polluting their waters.

The 14 June date will likely be a 'part 1' of the full collection with 'part 2' coming to you in the autumn.

I honestly can't wait to share this work with you after two years in the making!

Make sure you sign up to the Collector's List to get 48 hours early access - link in bio.

13/05/2024

Celebrate the Summer Solstice with a day immersed in wildflowers!

Join me for the FLOWER&SEED day nature retreat at Bromham Mill on 20 June for the Summer Solstice.

NATURE | SUMMER | WILDFLOWER MEADOWS | FLOWER CROWNS | NOURISHING FOOD | LIKE-MINDED SOULS

During this day of gentle learning and self-reflection as we drift into the entangled world of a wildflower meadow at the beautiful 17th century restored Bromham Mill. We'll explore how wildflowers and insects collaborate to create seeds and how the metaphor of a seed can help us build a more loving and just future.

In this serene setting, we'll take time to:

- identify and get to know (at least) one local wildflower
- delve into the fascinating ways wildflower seeds are made
- explore why humans are so drawn to meadows and grasslands
- get creative by painting with flowers
- enjoy quiet, reflective time with wildflowers in the meadow
nourish ourselves with a delicious lunch courtesy of The Mill Coffee Shop
- make a flower wreath to celebrate the Summer Solstice

There are 4 of the 8 places left - book your nature retreat today:
https://www.wearestardust.uk/pages/a-summer-day-nature-retreat-at-bromham-mill

30/04/2024

If you're anything like me, your dream home feels like it is alive; a living, breathing entity that holds who you are and reflects your love for the earth.

Tell me - if you could have the artwork of any artists on your walls, which artwork would it be and why?

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This piece is is part of my upcoming Original Art Collection on rivers and roots. It is part of a series of river ripple, current and eddy line drawings made by the River Great Ouse and one of its feeding springs. This line drawing captures the playful waters of a local spring as it spills into a rich, boggy area filled with plants below.

My new Original Art Collection launches 22 May - those on the Collector's list get early access 48 hours before.

Link to sign up in bio.

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Images 1&2: river eddy line drawing with Indian ink and dip pen on card ridge paper
Image 3: Light glistening on river water
Photos:

25/03/2024

The final offer: Paint the Spring Bundle!

Perhaps you've always wanted to try drawing and painting but you feel anxious about it thanks to unhelpful comments from family members, friends and school teachers (and yourself!).

This bundle is a joyful way to explore both mediums with a focus on the process and what the process teaches you about the world - you may notice the steady movement of the clouds, the intricate weaving of grasses in a nest, the free energy of painting with blossoms.

There are many benefits to practicing painting and drawing, including:

🕯️ Mindfulness

🌻 Improved Mental Health

🎨 Increased Creativity

❤️ Increased Self-Esteem

Getthe bundle, release the perfectionism, get messy and have fun. See what comes of it. Enjoy really looking at what you are drawing and painting and notice how a new perspective of the world opens up to you.

In this time of societal and political and cultural and climate turmoil many of us are seeking a more creative life; one that allows us to focus our efforts and minds on creating a joyful life amidst the sorrow and grief. ❤️

With the 🌸 'Paint The Spring' Bundle you will get creative and notice the beauty of spring with pre-recorded workshops and tutorials that show you how to paint and draw:

🐦‍⬛ A bird nest (45mins), usually £30
☁️ Clouds - drawing fluffy ones and painting grey ones (20mins), usually £15 (this was also offered in the Beneath an Ocean of Sky Retreat Kit)
🌸 Joyful art in collaboration with blossoms (60 mins), usually £30

AND I'm including a special bonus:

🪻 Wonder through a Bluebell Meadow Printable Nature Guide to get you outside and marvelling at the magic of spring Bluebells (there's also an audioguide in case you don't get Bluebells where you live)

Let's celebrate the possibility of the season and paint the spring!

Tap the image for the link - enjoy!

22/03/2024

The world feels loud and heavy right now. 📣 As a sensitive soul who needs deep, nuanced meaningful conversations and ways of being the incessant screaming of the news and social media and emails is exhausting you. 😣

As a recent Rewild Your Soul adventurer put it:

🌀"I want to step out of the hurricane for a bit, and take a breath. My body and spirit are beginning to crack under the relentless wind.”

Today's Spring Equinox Wonder Fayre offer is incredibly special and for that 1 person who knows that 2024 is the year you will listen to the call of the wild:

25% off Rewild Your Soul, my year-long experience - but there is only 1 place. Offer ends 10am GMT, 24.3.24.

Comment 🍄for the link!
 
🌿 You want to enrich your life so it is dripping with morning dew, interwoven with mycelium and roots, pumping with silty rivers, reverberating with birdsong, entangled with wildflowers and moss, lit with burnings stars, crying for the moon.

💔 Yet it is so hard to do alone because society has taught you to believe that loving the earth and sky is a waste of time, a luxury and that you are strange and alone in your desire for beyond-human relationship, quiet and depth.💔

🌟 🌲 I want you to know - living a life fully entwined with the life in this messy, beautiful universe that seeks out depth and nuance is a fundamental human need – AND it is possible for you. 🌲 🌟

When you begin living this life, dear one, oh how things will change. Gradually the parched dry soil inside will be watered and a wild garden will grow in your soul. 🌿

You'll know the names and lives of fungi,🍄 trees, wildflowers, grasses, insects, birds on your doorstep and the stars and planets in the deep night sky above. And their lives will interweave with yours reminding you of your deep interconnection with the earth and that you belong, just as you are. 

🍄 Rewild Your Soul is an enriching, powerful, year-long experience for quietly courageous folk to gather, slow down and sink into the deep remembering that we are part of this messy, beautiful universe. It is my signature programme built slowly over the last 4 years. It is rich, organic and ever-evolving.

I can't wait to adventure with you.

21/03/2024

To all my tired, big-hearted folk who love the earth - do not be afraid to allow in enchantment and wonder. It is an antidote to your exhaustion and anxiety of living through a turbulent socio economic and political time.

✨ Enchantment and wonder is a practice. It is a state of being. Children have it innately yet as we grow up magic and awe is been slowly squashed down and pushed to the slide lines - branded as unproductive . 

And maybe we pull that into our desire to create a more loving and just world.

💔 We tell ourselves: “Pausing to wonder at the tiny-big universe on my doorstep doesn't create the change the world needs - it is nice but it's not pushing for change and if I'm not pushing for change I must not be taking the systemic problems in our society seriously. I must not care enough.” 
 
I want you to know that if we are seeking to create a world where everyone has the freedom and safety to find deep enchantment and wonder in being alive - then we NEED wonder and enchantment in our lives as we build that more loving and just world. 🌎❤️

And the good thing is we can re-learn how to live an enchanted life. 💫

🌿 The Stardust Collective is my membership for busy folk seeking more immersive, enchanting and playful time with nature.

The Collective takes away your overwhelm of knowing where to start because every month you'll get a simple, achievable quest 🧭 to get you paying loving attention to a more-than-human being.

🌟 My promise to you is that when you take part in the monthly Collective quests you will spend at least 30 minutes more immersive - and therefore enchanting - time with nature each month.

❤️ When you begin to re-enchant your life through a practice of loving attention and seeking out wonder your world will open up and new possibilities will emerge. You will find old-new ways of being on this earth. 

You will begin to remember the beauty of what can be built on to create a more loving and just world. 🌿

OFFER ENDS TODAY ! Join for just £245 as part of the Spring Equinox Wonder Fayre - comment "enchantment" for the link.

20/03/2024

For day 2 of the Spring Equinox Wonder Fayre I present to you…
 
🌿 The Stardust Collective SPRING EQUINOX OFFER: £245 annual investment (Saving £50) | 10 places only
 
❤️🌿 Why does your relationship with nature, with the more-than-human world, matter to you?
 
In my 2023 survey I was overcome with the deep beauty of responses to this question:
 
🌿 My relationship with nature…
 
“…is the source of my inspiration”
“…the essence of being alive”
“…touches my soul”
“…is home”
"…keeps me sane in this noisy world”
“…helps me to feel a sense of belonging on the earth…like I have a place”
 
❤️ Imagine a world where we allowed ourselves to nurture this relationship that brings us connection, belonging, joy, gratitude, wholeness - qualities that are desperately needed in the world right now?

Yet living within the systems we do, how can we start to create a life filled with roots and mud, 🐦‍⬛ birdsong and water, rocks and fungi, prickly grass and buzzing insects, drifting clouds and wildflower seeds –
 
- when we are unable to wholly reject the societal structures we live in and go off-grid and we don't have the support and time to go on a 10 day silent retreat in the woods (as lush as that sounds)?
 
🌟🌲 The Stardust Collective is my membership for busy folk seeking immersive time with nature.
 
In the Collective you will find:
🧭 A guided structure of monthly exploratory topics to help focus the precious time you have outside
🖋️ Simple, achievable monthly quests and prompts to spark everyday awe curiosity and wonder for your local area
🎨 Inspiring creative ideas and co-creative gatherings to get you messily making marks in collaboration with nature
🌟 A magical group of fellow courageous ones

Your life is too precious to be trapped behind a screen typing emails for someone else's gain.
 
Your longing to fill your life with insects, mud, the cry of the fox, the wind in the trees is NORMAL.

JOIN US: www.wearestardust.com/pages/the-stardust-collective

19/03/2024

I remember a moment when I was a young girl lying on the floor in front of the French Doors in my childhood home. 

I imagine my Mum was doing some gardening, my Dad in the kitchen, the scent of morning coffee drifting through the house, and my siblings playing upstairs making the floorboards creak above me - familiar, comforting house sounds. 

⛅ I lay there, safe and content knowing my loved ones were around, watching the sun stream through the windows and glittering dust motes spiralling and dancing in the golden light. 

A brief moment of suspended time where nothing mattered but watching the dust motes fly through the sunbeam. 🌻

These days I long for those moments. Moments of contented stillness to lie down and watch dust motes and clouds. Perhaps you feel the same?

I wonder what happened to that little child 🌸 who was able to pause and notice things that my adult self feels she can't stop to admire because the 'to do' list is so long?

😩 Perhaps, like me, you tell yourself: “Once I've finished the washing up/tidying the table/the email, then, then I'll stop. Then I'll rest in the moment and feel into my life right now.”

The truth is, that little child hasn't disappeared. She is still inside me - just as your little self is still inside you. Behind the exhaustion and stress and endless needing to 'do' to prove we have been productive and therefore worth our place in Society 😞 our inner child selves are waiting to lie on the floor and watch the clouds swirl in the sky. ⛅

I created the 🌬️ Beneath An Ocean of Sky Retreat Kit to give you the permission to pause for a moment and notice the beauty and awe of our spring skies through the wonder-filled eyes of your little self alongside the wisdom and knowing of your adult self.

This offer ends at 10am GMT, 19.3.24. Also, you'll want to get the kit today so you can download/print everything to maximise offline time tomorrow for your at-home retreat.

Comment or DM 'retreat' for the link. Also in Stories.

18/03/2024

Let the Spring Equinox Wonder Fayre commence!

For the first day of the Fayre I have a beautiful offer for you to celebrate the Equinox with wonder and gratitude for the sky above us, the air we breathe and the cyclical rhythms of the earth:

🌬️ Beneath an Ocean of Sky At-Home Retreat Kit

With the endless spiral of negative news sending our nervous systems into a perpetual state of panic and survival, it can be hard to see beyond a world full of divisions, isolation and helplessness.

☁️ This Spring Equinox spend a day embodying the wonder of being a living being under an ocean of sky. Let us act on creating new worlds where we take care of ourselves, unearth our intimacy with the more-than-human and find joy in the clouds above - let us feel alive again. ❤️

The Beneath an Ocean of Sky at-home retreat kit will help you imagine new ways of being inspired by air, potential, flights of fancy, earth, wild power, nourishment, joy and wonder.

Inside the kit you'll find all you need for a (mostly) screen-free day exploring the wonders of our atmosphere, including:

🌸 A suggested gentle programme for your at-home equinox retreat day from your first cup of tea in the morning taking in the spring morning to your last glimpse outside before bed.

🩵 A soaring visualisation to take you on a journey into the atmosphere and get you imagining new, more loving, worlds.

☁️ Playful cloud gazing nature journaling prompts to get you outside and gazing sky above.

🎨 A joyous cloud-painting tutorial for you to harness this adventurous spring energy and get creative.

The kit has been designed to adapt to your day and to help you spend time away from the online world for a while.

Remember! The kit is only available for 48 hours after which I'll be back with the next wonder-filled offer in the fayre.

🌬️ Take some time to pause this Equinox and find wonder in our incredible atmosphere.

DM me 'Retreat' and I'll send you the link.

17/03/2024

Roll up! Roll up! The Spring Equinox Wonder Fayre begins tomorrow!

I'm celebrating the adventurous, playful spirit of the Spring Equinox with a week-long fayre.

Every two days between 18-25 March I'll be sending my mailing list a beautiful offering from We Are Stardust to weave your story back into the land, water and sky on your doorstep.

But beware! These offers are limited and will disappear after just 48 hours.

Sign up to the mailing list: http://bit.ly/wearestardustjournal

Expect these enchanting seasonal delights as you step into the We Are Stardust Spring Equinox Wonder Fayre – ribbons flying, blossoms blooming, bodies dancing:

🌬️ Offer 1 | Beneath an Ocean of Sky At-Home Retreat Kit

Celebrate the Equinox by immersing yourself in the seasonal element of air with the Beneath an Ocean of Sky at-home retreat kit. Inside the kit you'll find all you need for a (mostly) screen-free day exploring the wonders of our atmosphere.

🌿 Offer 2 | Join The Stardust Collective - 10 places at £245 annual subscription (save £50)

The Stardust Collective is a membership for busy folk ready for immersive, playful time with nature. The Collective is magical place where you will receive inspiration, encouragement and support to prioritise time outside.

🍄 Offer 3 | Pre-book your place on Rewild Your Soul 2024-2025 - 1 place at £1500 (save £483)

Rewild Your Soul is my signature year-long programme of seasonal adventures to deepen your love for the earth and sky.

🌸 24-25 March 2024 | Paint the Spring bundle | £29 

In this time of societal and political and cultural and climate turmoil many of us are seeking more creativity; one that allows us to focus our efforts and minds on nurturing joy amidst the sorrow and grief. The 'Paint The Spring' Bundle - a series of three pre-recorded workshops, classes and tutorials - will help you get creative and notice the beauty of spring.

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Bring your child-like wonder and adventurous spirit as we dance into a week of equinox celebrations.

🎊 Let the festivities begin!

More here: https://www.wearestardust.uk/blogs/journal/spring-equinox-wonder-fayre

17/03/2024

Roll up! Roll up! The Spring Equinox Wonder Fayre begins tomorrow.

Celebrate the adventurous, playful spirit of the Spring Equinox with a week-long fayre.

Every two days between 18-25 March I'll be sending my mailing list a beautiful offering from We Are Stardust to weave your story back into the land, water and sky on your doorstep.

But beware! These offers are limited and will disappear after just 48 hours.

Sign up to the mailing list: http://bit.ly/wearestardustjournal

Expect these enchanting seasonal delights as you step into the We Are Stardust Spring Equinox Wonder Fayre – ribbons flying, blossoms blooming, bodies dancing:

https://www.wearestardust.uk/blogs/journal/spring-equinox-wonder-fayre

Roll up! Roll up! Celebrate the adventurous, playful spirit of the Spring Equinox with a week-long fayre. Every two days between 18-25 March I'll send you a beautiful offering from We Are Stardust to weave your story back into the land, water and sky on your doorstep. But beware! These offers are li...

11/03/2024

Wild swimming. Willow leaf ink and India ink.

I started swimming in the local River Great Ouse a couple of years ago. I am a fair weather swimmer and go when the days are hot and I want to cool down.

In June when the willow seeds start to shed the fly off the branches on the summer breeze and float down onto the river, gently swimming past me as I float in the murky water. Confetti above me and strange unseen depths beneath.

I tried to capture that feeling in this painting.

What do you see?

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Sign up to the Collector's List to be the first to hear about my upcoming Rivers and Roots (tentative title) original art collection release:

https://view.flodesk.com/pages/6184411fdb5bc2b4fb308782

Link in bio too.