Beltane blessings! As we reach the mid-point between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, the seasonal shift into early Summer is upon us, bringing with it some new energetic themes that- whether you consciously realize it or not- will impact you in very real ways!

Beltane is one of the eight seasonal festivals on the Wheel of the Year, each festival honoring an energetic shift as the Earth progresses through its annual death꩜growth cycle each year. I’ve learned so much about my own natural cycles of growth, releasing, healing, and transformation by observing (and embracing!) these seasonal shifts in all areas of my life.

And because this “Seasonal Alignment” work has been so crucial in helping me live life with more joy, flow, and purpose (vs. the debilitating anxiety and burn-out I experienced ignoring these seasonal shifts)- I’ve created my own version of the Wheel of the Year to guide me (and my students) in living and manifesting in more seasonal, soul-aligned ways.

THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR*

Here’s what the Beltane (early Summer) shift has taught me.

SUMMER IS THE SEASON FOR GROWTH.

During Spring, the season of New Beginnings we often start to sprout 🌱 some new dream seeds by first receiving VISIONS of all our exciting new desires for the year. And then, feeling the spark to INITIATE inspired, experimental actions towards some of them (this is why so many of us feel inspired to create vision boards in January/ February)!

👆Have you felt this the past few months?

Now as the sun grows stronger and the fiery yang☀️ energy increases, by Beltane (on May 1st) we often start to CRAVE GREATER GROWTH around SPECIFIC desires, goals, or projects (while some of our other visions and idea seeds may start to feel less of a priority).

Just like not every acorn that sprouts will become a full grown oak tree, not every idea that you felt inspired to pursue at the beginning of the year is meant to enter a Summer growth season now (or maybe ever).

**THE SHIFT FROM DABBLING “SPRING MAIDEN” TO DEVOTED “SUMMER MOTHER”.**

What you need to start something new is very different than what’s needed to make greater progress with any big goal, project, relationship, etc. that you want to grow in a bigger or deeper way (just like what’s needed to quickly sprout an acorn is different than what’s needed to grow that sprout into a majestic oak tree!).

So how do we know when we’re ready to shift from Spring to Summer? (or how do we know when something in our life is meant to shift from a Spring sprouting to more intensive Summer Growth)? Our inner archetypal energies will guide us!

The archetype that’s often used to represent Spring’s energy is the DABBLING MAIDEN- who ✓loves to DREAM about the multitude of exciting new ideas and potentials she desires to explore, and ✓craves the FREEDOM to flirt, experiment, and change her mind as often as she wants (without having to be tied down by any long-term commitments).

And this Maiden energy that’s been swirling these past months was exactly what you needed to channel your initial spark of excitement into quick bursts of motivation, momentum, and micro-growth around some of your new visions this year!

But if you’re struggling to sustain that initial excitement and momentum you experienced earlier in the year, and persistently show up to create a greater level of growth and progress now, it’s the DEVOTED SUMMER MOTHER archetype who’s best equipped to guide you in your next level of growth!

With her ability to ✓FALL IN LOVE with one beloved desire and COMMIT deeply to nurturing it to its full growth potential, she gives you the power to ✓SUSTAIN persistent aligned-action through any obstacle or challenge, for as long as it takes to grow that “newborn” goal, project, etc. to full fruition (without giving up or burning out first)! [she falls so deeply in love with a beloved desire that she inevitably becomes devoted to nurturing it to its full potential, which gives her the power to endure through any obstacle or challenge- that threatens to sabotage the growth of her beloved! ]

Without the devotion and persistence of the Summer Mother energy we would perpetually spiral through new ideas, beginning lots of exciting, new things, but never having the deeper desire, patience, or determination required to bring anything to full fruition.

And thus, we’d never experience the type of deep, meaningful growth (in love, love or work) that has the power to transform us and the world in the most magical, unexpected ways!

And this is the shift many of us start to naturally feel as we move through Beltane and this early Summer season over the next 6 weeks!

THE POWER OF COMMITMENT

ALIGNING WITH THE ENERGY OF SUMMER

It’s often a sign you’re ready to shift from Spring to Summer energy when you start to experience:

a DEEPER ATTRACTION towards a SPECIFIC “beloved desire” (while previous ones, that no longer feel aligned or light us up, start to fade into the background)
a deeper urge to COMMIT + DEVOTE more of our attention, time, effort, and other resources, towards growing that specific “beloved desire” in a bigger (or deeper) way.

It’s not that all other ideas or goals completely disappear- it’s simply that something specific starts to stand out as an important PRIORITY we’re most excited to spend our limited resources on (while other things slide down the priority list).

When this happens, the #1 thing that will help you stay _______________??? is an ALIGNED SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PLAN.

RANDOM TO-DO’S VS. AN ALIGNED, SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PLAN / SECRET WEAPONS FOR SUMMER GROWTH

Not all plans are created equally. Many people

An ALIGNED, SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PLAN is a plan that prioritizes the growth of that thing, while guiding and supporting you to persistently show up to grow that beloved desire- FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES (a few months, a year, or many years!) - without causing you massive burn-out or emotional break-down first.

[****ADD: ITS A PLAN THAT HELPS YOU MAINTAIN RIGHT, REGENERATIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH ✔️YOUR RESOURCES (INNER + OUTER), ✔️ACTIONS, ✔️EFFORTS- VS EXTRACTIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE THINGS.

[*****MAYBE ADD SOMETHING ABOUT INNER RESOURCES NECESSARY BECAUSE>> Also feels like a lot more stimuli so more challenging to focus my mind, but when I do I can make some powerful progress! (Daily meditation- in a way that doesn’t feel too restrictive for my busy mind- is key!

>>>>>NEED MORE TO MAKE THEM FEEL EXCITED ABT LEARNING HOW TO CREATE AN ALIGNED SUSTAINABLE PLAN [OR DO AN ALIGNED ACTION AUDIT >> AND MAKE THIS THE CTA HERE/ SEED FREE WORKSHOP COMING UP SO SIGN UP TO LIST BOX AT END

Not all plans are created equal!! Most just create a plan with your minds, only considering the strategic actions you must take to accomplish the bigger goal.

But a truly aligned plan that you can sustain until you grow that goals to fruition (where it takes months or years), must be created with more than just your mind. You need the help of your Body and Soul too!

🧠MIND likes STRATEGY:

🧘‍♀️BODY likes SAFETY:

💜SOUL likes JOY:

strategic (aligned with your true priorities)
safe (doesn’t require you to consistenly be in fight or flight to follow it, or send you into freeze)
soul-aligned: it’s rooted in your bigger visions, sense of purpose, joy
symbiotic/shape-shifting: changes when needed circumstances change
simple
slow (+steady)
supported
self-care centered

———

First let’s talk about what a Strategic Conscious Creation plan IS NOT.

❌ it’s not a never-ending list of random goals, tasks, to-do’s, and ideas that just keep moving from one week to the next.
❌ it’s not a plan that triggers massive resistance, stress, overwhelm, or procrastination as you strive to take action each day and week.
❌ it’s not a plan that leaves you exhausted at the end of every day, so you never quite have enough time or energy left to create the bigger changes and dreams you excitedly put on your Vision Board!

**❌MASSIVE & PERSISTENT RESISTANCE❌ is often a sign that you’re striving too hard and need to pause & PLAN A MORE STRATEGIC WAY (with more aligned actions) to build your dreams!**

A Strategic Conscious Creation Plan IS a plan that:

✨ feels EASEFUL and allows you to show up and TAKE CONSISTENT ACTION in an ✓ALIGNED and ✓SUSTAINABLE way.
✨ allows you to feel GROUNDED, RESOURCED, and HAVE ENOUGH TIME + ENERGY to both maintain (and enjoy) your life, and build your dreams (without massive resistance or constant burn-out)!!
✨is comprised of EFFICIENT + SUPPORTIVE SYSTEMS that work together to conserve your time + energy (not random actions and to-do’s that waste time + energy).

A NON-STRATEGIC Conscious Creation Plan is ▷ inefficiently EXTRACTIVE😵, and it takes more time + energy than you have to give each day and week (which is why it leads to big resistance and burn-out)!

While a STRATEGIC Conscious Creation Plan is ▷ efficiently REGENERATIVE😎, and allows you the time, space, + resources you need to rest and replenish yourself each day and week.

A NON-STRATEGIC Plan ▷ has you working HARDER, not smarter🤕!

While a STRATEGIC Plan ▷ helps you work SMARTER, not harder🤓.

And finally, a STRATEGIC Conscious Creation Plan is ▷ built on STRONG FOUNDATIONS which allows it (and you) to adapt and endure through the natural ups, downs, and unexpected things in life.

While a NON-STRATEGIC plan ▷has little foundation or endurance (and falls apart easily!).

To successfully build your dreams this year you don’t need more goals or to-do’s. You need a strategic CONSCIOUS CREATION PLAN with more SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS & SUPPORT!

And so this June, I invite you to ask yourself…

❓❓Do I have a “Strategic Conscious Creation Plan” that will support me in taking sustainable, easeful, and joyful action to build my dreams through the rest of the year?

❓❓Or, do I have a non-strategic plan that constantly triggers massive resistance + overwhelm… and leaves me no time to both enjoy my life AND build my dreams, without chronic stress and burn-out?!

————

✅Honest assessment- Am I in Summer?

✅ Acknowledge which specific “beloved desire(s)” that you feel a more intense longing to COMMIT to growing in a bigger (or deeper) way.

It’s not that you can’t do anything else besides that one thing you’re committing to… it’s simply that you’re devoting yourself to persistently show up through the challenges and personal growth work that real, deep growth requires (vs. avoiding the uncomfortable inner growth work by giving up prematurely and distracting yourself with something shiny and new whenever things feel hard!).

Remember that true, deep growth work (whether it’s growing a successful business, or cultivating a healthier relationship with your body and mind, or building deep trust and partnership with a new lover, etc.) can take a lot of time and energy- leaving you with less capacity for other things (just like a mother has to make sacrifices and prioritize their limited resources differently when committing to raising a beloved new baby… or in my case a beloved new puppy 😄!).

✅ Create an ALIGNED, SUSTAINABLE PLAN that prioritizes the growth of that thing, while guiding and supporting you to persistently show up to grow that beloved desire- FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES (a few months, a year, or many years!) - without causing you massive burn-out or emotional break-down first.

Not all plans are created equal!! Most just create a plan with your minds, only considering the strategic actions you must take to accomplish the bigger goal.

🧠MIND likes STRATEGY:

🧘‍♀️BODY likes SAFETY:

💜SOUL likes JOY:

strategic (aligned with your true priorities)
safe (doesn’t require you to consistenly be in fight or flight to follow it, or send you into freeze)
soul-aligned: it’s rooted in your bigger visions, sense of purpose, joy
symbiotic/shape-shifting: changes when needed circumstances change
simple
slow (+steady)
supported
self-care centered

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆BREAK THESE SUMMER STEPS DOWN MORE >>> WHY IMPORTANT? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SKIP? THIS IS THE MEAT OF THE ARTICLE! SHARE STORIES OF WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IN MY LIFE (WHEN IM IN ALIGNMENT HERE VS WHEN I’M NOT)******

GROWTH CAN BE “BIGGER” OR “DEEPER”.

Note that growth can come in the form of “MORE” (or making something “bigger”), like business growth where you expand to serve more clients and make more money. Or growth can come in the form of “DEPTH”, like deepening your relationship with someone (or yourself) beyond the superficial, to a level of trust, love, and respect that can only come from a deep level of truly seeing and understanding someone.

👆Are you experiencing this desire for greater or deeper growth anywhere yet? If not, you may feel it as we get closer to the Summer Solstice in June.

IT’S OK TO NOT BE IN A SUMMER SEASON NOW (OR EVER THIS YEAR!)

If you’re reading this and feeling like there’s nothing specific you crave greater growth with right now…and nothing feels important enough to devote yourself to growing more deeply… then it’s likely that you or none of your ideas/desires are in a Summer growth season YET!

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with just enjoying your life as it is (or giving yourself space to simply rest or grieve) - without feeling like you constantly have to be growing or pursuing some big dream or change!!

Our toxic hustle culture has convinced us that we’re lazy, worthless, or wasting time if we want to spend our days hiking, gardening, enjoying time with loved ones, getting lost in a fun fantasy novel, or napping. This is bullshit!!

When it’s time to build something bigger or to grow in a deeper way, your soul will let you know by calling you into the Summer growth work 😉. Don’t let your ego or fears push you into a Summer growth season prematurely- because growth from that space is never joyful or sustainable!

——-

And in order to show up for the inner growth work and confront challenges- you must maintain the well-being of your inner growth resources- your mind, body (ie. nervous system), and Spirit!

Which is why it’s so important to create an ALIGNED, SUSTAINABLE PLAN to grow your “beloved desire”, that includes outer actions (goals, projects, etc) that are rooted in inner care & feel sustainable long-term.
———

So what exactly does that mean for us now?! [summarize below?]

Here are some reflection questions to journal on this Beltane, during this Shift into Early Summer: (or make this a content upgrade???)

✍️ Do you feel like you’re currently in a season of REST* or GROWTH?

[ MAYBE ADD HERE: being honest when your not in/ready for a summer season (and letting yourself be in what we season you’re actually in…👉spring: need space and free some to experiment, explore options, play and get inspired, before feeling ready to commit more seriously to something specific (and give it more of your focused energy, time, money, etc) 👉winter (need rest + regeneration or space to grieve), 👉fall (need inner wisdom/releasing/tie up loose ends or complete things to make space for new growth)

(*here are a few examples of when you might be in a season of rest: ✓you’re grieving a big loss, ✓you’re going through a big life transition and crave space to figure out what’s next, ✓ you’ve hustled yourself into burn- out and need time to heal).

✍️ What have you learned (about yourself, your capacity, your support needs, your goals, etc.) from any inspired actions, strategies, projects, etc. that you experimented with over the past few months?
(we just ended an eclipse season, so these deep insights will likely surface if you give them the space to!).

✍️ Is there a specific “beloved desire” that you feel especially excited and ready to commit to in a bigger or deeper way now? (ie. a specific big goal, project, strategy, etc.)

✍️ Are there things you’re spending your attention, time, money, energy, etc. on now, that no longer feel aligned (or that no longer feel like a priority to focus on now)?

✍️ If there is a specific “beloved desire” that you’re devoted to creating now, do you have a plan that feels aligned + sustainable long-term (or are you just winging it, or forcing yourself into unaligned actions, goals, and strategies that cause anxiety, “self-sabotage”, or are leading to burn-out)?

RANDOM COPY:

Regarding spring energy….
✓gather experience,
✓better understand ourselves and our relationship to our desires,
✓get a realistic feel for what it’ll actually take to grow our visions from where they are now to where we want them to be (and see the inner & outer blocks standing in our way),
✓and discern which visions, inspired ideas, and strategies that we’ve explored at the start of the year feel more like a passing folly to flirt with for a bit (rather than an aligned goal, strategy, relationship, etc. to pursue in a more committed way now)…

While the “dabbling” Spring Maiden’s energy feels more like a SPRINT, giving us the power to channel our initial spark of excitement into momentum and micro-growth around some of our new goals for the year…

The “devoted” Summer Mother’s energy feels more like a MARATHON, giving us the power to SUSTAIN our energy and resources way beyond our initial excitement, so we can take persistent aligned-action through any obstacle or challenge- for as long as it takes- to grow that baby dream to full fruition (without giving up or burning out first)!

Again, it’s not that you can’t do anything else besides that one thing you’re committing to… it’s simply that you’re devoting yourself to persistently show up through the challenges and personal growth work that real, deep growth requires (vs. avoiding the uncomfortable inner growth work by giving up prematurely and distracting yourself with something shiny and new whenever things feel hard!).

While the 🌱SPRING MAIDEN archetype loves to ✓ENVISION the multitude of big, exciting new ideas and potentials we want to explore in the new year (and beyond), and ✓ have the FREEDOM to play, experiment, and change our minds as often as we want- without being tied down to long-term commitments…

The SUMMER MOTHER archetype represents a deeper sense of desire and purpose to raise a new “baby” idea (project, goal, relationship, etc.) to it’s FULL GROWTH POTENTIAL!

When we’re truly ready for the type of deep, meaningful growth that transforms us and the world in the most magical, unexpected ways… but also takes so much more capacity and time to cultivate (often months or even years!)…

We need the power of the

We eventually need the power of the Devoted Mother for her deep COMMITMENT and PERSEVERANCE to create the type of deep, meaningful growth that takes much longer (months or even years!), and requires more resources to sustain… BUT also transforms you and the world in the most magical, unexpected ways!

Without the energy of the Summer Mother, we would start a lot of new exciting things, but never have the desire or determination to bring things to their full, magnificent fruition!

**add some examples/ personal story

**add that they don’t have to want growth (+ reasons why you might not want to be in a growth season, ie. an active releasing or grief season, the sacred, spacious void btw cycles of growth)

When you align with this energetic shift into the early Summer Season (in your own right time!):

Signs that you may be out of alignment with this Summer Shift/When you’re out of balance with this Summer energy:

You’re soul is craving something deeper or greater somewhere in your life- but you’re avoiding committing to that thing in a deeper way (out of fear of the old patterns and uncomfortable emotions you’ll have to confront, or the fear of what you’ll have to sacrifice to build it.)
You’re too quick to commit 💯 of your focus, time, money, energy, etc. to something, before you’ve explored it thoroughly enough to feel like it’s truly aligned for you (ie. like diving into marriage after knowing someone for only a month; or paying a coach all your savings for year-long program based solely on their website and IG marketing promises, without ever having worked with them before!)

footnotes??

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Your Guide to Early Summer