Hello Loves. I’ve been in the throes of the Creative Process lately. I keep thinking I will write about it later…You know, when I’ve got it all digested and the words come out poetically with stunning insight that leads you all to “oooh” and “aah.” Alas, this does not seem to be happening.
So here it is my sweet Magpie Girl friends, all raw and in the mess.
I’m working hard right now. I’m finally well enough that I can work. My iron levels are no longer at a near-critical state, and my energy has dramatically improved. Now I can actually stay awake all day. I don’t have to go up the stairs to my studio on my hands and knees (literally), and the migraine pain doesn’t lay me up nearly as often. It feels good, just to be able to work this hard.
Coming Now(ish): Magpie Girl Guidebooks!
I’ve got two small PDF books on the cusp of being done. They are in that endless editing process where all the little details need to be decided upon on in the design, and all the typos need to be fixed in the text. The main book is a slim volume called SoulRetreats: How to host a tribe with art and soul. It goes to the editor this weekend, and will be for sale the first or second week of November.
The supplemental book is SoulFood: How to cook for a tribe. It just went to the designer today, and I hope to have it available for you as a free download by the end of the month. (I wanted both of them up for my 40th, but I’m letting go of self-imposed deadlines and trying not to be a drama queen about it.) These two books are part of a new series of Magpie Girl Guides. (There are 4 more planned.) I could not be more thrilled that the first two are a collaborative effort with my Soulsisters! I’m just so damned proud and grateful I can hardly stop beaming over it.
Up Next: Your Soultribe!
On the heels of these book projects is my newest brainchild – on-line Soultribes! I’ll be offering two Soultribes beginning in January:
- Soulcraft Circle will be focused on doing a monthly art-based spiritual practice together.
- Magpie Girl’s High Holy Days will be about celebrating seasonal rites and rituals based on my own kooky Magpie Girl mix of traditions.
Both Soultribes will feature a private website where you’ll receive monthly assignments from moi, plus a place to share your experiences with others. Artful soulcare with a tribe! What could be better?
Won’t it be a great to start the New Year with a tribe around you? I’m “pinch me” excited!
The Way It Makes me Feel
In the midst of all this creating I’m vacillating wildly between opposing emotions. One minute I’m thinking, “Squee! I have so many lovely pals!”; and the next I’m desperately lonely. Monday I may be happy to spread around the goodness regarding all my virtual collegues’ courses, books, and other offerings. Tuesday I may be dying of jealousy. The first hour of the workday I may feel secure that I’m following my passion. By lunch I’m Mrs. McDoubtyPants. I haven’t felt like this since I was expecting the girls. It feels like pregnancy.
Even as I type that I know it’s right. It is like pregnancy — all hormones and mood swings and cravings–because something good is about to get born. And I have all of you with me in the birthing room. What a lucky girl I am! (Oh, I am so holding on to that with both hands for when the labor gets tough.)
So there you have it…if you write down the mess, you come to clarity. Without you dear readers, I never would have gotten there. (Thank you for listening to me spout.) I’m in the transition stage of labor now, and I may grab you by the neck and scream, “You! YOU did this to me!” (and then demand jewlery.) But eventually we’ll hear that first tiny cry of new life and we’ll all just sit around glowing at what we helped get born. Thanks for holding this space for me. You are my very favorite midwives.
See you on the other side!
Much Warmth,
Rachelle
New Here? Learn the lingo and find your tribe with Magpie Speak, my free ecourse. It’s a brand new vocabulary for soulcare, from my passionate heart to yours. 
Want to work with me in a small group setting? Join us at Flock, my online relig-ish community. One value, one practice, one month at a time, for one soulful year. Start any time. 
Leaving your old tribe? Ready to build a new soulful community? Soulretreats walks you through the goodbye/hello process. 
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
As I make my way through week 32 of my first pregnancy, there’s much in this post that resonates with me! :-)
I never thought about demanding jewlery… :D
p.s. I spend a lot of time reading about the soon to be 2nd trimester and avoiding all things 3rd. Thanks for the reminder that I’m waiting for something good – which is hard when staring at a toilet. :)
p.s.s. You blow me away with how much you accomplish. Just to let you know. :D
SoulTribes are brilliant!! Very excited as the non-pregnant bystander.
great article….miss you :)
Yay you!! Yay the stuff that’s getting born!! The energy here is contagious.
PUSH!!!
xoxoxox
Thanks for the wonderful birthing thought. Feeling quite the same this morning about the whole creative process (the Mrs. Doubty Pants part) but more hopeful now. Have a lovely, lovely day — perhaps I will go out and buy my own jewelry this afternoon :)
Woohoo!!! What beautiful things are being birthed here. Congratulations and celebrations are in order! You are a soul tribe mama and oh, so beautiful!
Glad you are feeling better and managing to take care of yourself! And thank you for confirming that making pumpkin pie from scratch is not always a good idea, LOL. Pass me the canned pumpkin! And I love adding little details to pie like the maple leaves, such a little thing but makes such a difference.
I am glad that I can calm down your paranormal fears, I grew up being taught to be fearful too of what was going on and now want to ease people’s anxieties. You inspired my latest post about astral projection and sleep paralysis! Wish I had the info I do now when I was 11 years old.
I like the idea of a mad prophetess but know the reality can be much more frightening. Calming hugs to you!
Brilliant as always.
Loving the birthing going on for so many of us! I just wrote about “Pre-Labor”, having the distinct feeling of hormonal shift that happens when you are getting ready to go into labor…it was wild, and then labor happened in a feverish ecstacy as I wrote about an Ode to Jennifer Schuette (posted on your FB page to have a look-www.berrytrip.us/blog). There is so much energy coursing through me that I don’t know where to put it sometimes, and then I have those moments where I feel I’ve been dropped off the wheelbarrow into the poop piles, and I have that awful doubt. Who knows which voice to believe, but I’m choosing to go with the one that is encouraging, excited, and full of possibilities.
A quick note from one of your many (no doubt), lovely (thank you!) pals. This news and the way you shared it are so exciting and inspiring. I’m also so happy your physical health has improved.
Looking forward to the new “babies”. Sounds like you’ll be a busy mom with two sets of twins (the e-book guides and the e-courses) very soon plus a set of quadruplets (more e-books) in the future! Oops, I hope I didn’t scare you by counting them all up. Remember, you’ve got support — readers who can act as midwives, doulas, nannies, aunties, soul-sisters, nutritionists….. ;-).
Ditto, Rachel.
I’m 31 weeks and feel like I might actually be schizophrenic. Glad to see its a normal part of creating (people or other things).
The ebooks sound fantastic!
I loved your post today!
It made me laugh and nod my head and agree. There’s so much buzz I think the screen is vibrating!
I just got to 30 weeks, and I agree that I’m completely crazy. I spend all my time starting stuff, and getting excited about new shiny things (not all baby related) and then crashing and having remind myself to breathe.
I’m so glad you’re feeling better
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