One year ago today I left work and didn't return. What progressed was a series of medical initiations that lead me to chronic illness and disability. In the midst of this dark time, many people led me to keep working, making, creating, inspired new possibilities and gave me hope. (PS--this list is by no means exhaustive...and all images are from the websites of those named and link to the sites...)Amber Magnolia Hill's Mythic Medicineherbal potions opened me to the possibility of my own wholeness and deepened my awareness of the power of words when I shyly denied myself the title of herbalist and she reminded me that we have to reclaim these ancestral ways in both word and form. Her friendship has been illuminating and heart opening, and her new podcast is an incredible gift. Julia Inglis of Sacred Familiar. Her Swan Blessing cleared innumerable ancient patterns and her work with myth includes keening, spirit dolls and deep healing. I have followed her on Instagram for the year and am always inspired by her creations, meeting with her last night felt like a remembering. She is blessing this world with the gifts of the ancestors.Milla Prince of The Woman Who Married a Bear/Fireweed and Nettle and exhibits some of the best Instagram use I've seen for raising awareness and serving social justice. I've read Milla's blog for a long time but have only connected with her broader work this year. Her Finnish folk magic and herbalism, connected resourcing and place-based love is full of heart and I can't wait to explore more with her in the year ahead.Carolyn Hillyer's art and ancestral connection has deepened my awareness in profound ways. She is a musician, artist and teacher living with the land in Dartmoor, England.This is a neolithic style roundhouse built of local materials where she hosts ceremonies. After the loss of my possessions I purchased The Weavers Oracle, a set of 52 ancestral women complied/painted/visioned over 30 years. It is potent and rooting, an evocation.Max Dashú's book Witches and Pagansgives sweeping source-rich earth binding to what so many women of European descent have long felt: our lineage work as spirit workers, ancestral connectors, völvas, veledas and leaders is deep and was wildly suppressed in the advent of capitalism, patriarchy and Christianity. Her Suppressed Histories archives are a resource for women's power around the world. I highly recommend her books, lectures and site.No book I've encountered gives better context to the intersections of capitalism, racism, sexism, land disconnection, colonization and religious exclusion than Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici. It has awakened my awareness of how the witch hunts impact my own psyche, and how relevant the slaughter of women as witches is to our current political, economic and environmental climate today. This is a must read for anyone struggling to understand how we got here and what to do about it.May you find the extraordinary in your own cells, may you awaken to the wonder you already are. May this work find you deep in the journey, may you be ready to receive fully your true name.With all my love.Alu