Rosh Chodesh Tammuz : Some Wisdom, Invitations and Story Telling about this new moon.

Hallow bones has been my mantra lately. Rumbling from within me, as if the request is from my own body.

When I feel it happening, I find myself taking a moment, hand on heart, to whisper to my body: go ahead… and let her (my body) lead me.

Where she has guided me is to fires, lakes, trees, people, to send voice messages, create paintings, practice somatic practices and perform rituals.

She’s had me invite someone into my life by asking them to witness me, to feel through whatever is stuck in my bones. To pray, to sing, to read torah, to rest, to use plant medicines as my allies… to simply allow myself to cry.

I smirk as I write this, remembering the moment I first thought of the word “Whollyculturist” and started the podcast as well as The Wholly School.

This mantra seems to be another spiral around the same pilgrimage I’ve always been on.

And I’ll say it plainly: the bigger vision is coming back around to be re-awakened. Something is stirring that I haven’t had words for yet.

I trust that when it’s ready, it will speak.

What I find myself doing to come back to being… wholly, has been deeply evolving and elevating.

I get to thank my sister Gina Savacool (who I collaborate with both at Milkweed Medicine as well as in all of our other collaborations/events) for continuing to study, to practice, and to be my collaborator in this work.

(if you wish to have a ceremony/session with us, please feel free to reach out to either one of us about it. if you don’t know how to reach me, please feel free to email shalom@thiswhollylife.com)

This summer has been one of showing up at fires and altars together, festival after festival, offering our ceremonies and sessions to people who are ready to be met. Something in me is being changed by it. I am being changed by it. I don’t think I yet know the full shape of what.

We have just entered Tammuz.

A month with no grand holidays, arriving in the fullness of summer when everything is blossoming. We turn, this month, to our sense of sight. To see a reason to celebrate the mundane world, by using our eyes to witness what is already here, right in front of us.

In the study of Mussar, this month’s archetype is Mother. The way of being is whole-hearted. The sense is to see… and to hold every single thing as whole and holy, like a mother does.

(I used to study deeply with Ketzirah Lesser, from Making Magic/k/q [link to her substack], where we would go into each month through text studies. She turned me to Mussar and I am forever grateful for that download.)

The tending to the bones is to tend to the heart. We can only feel as much as we can feel within ourselves, of course. We all know this intellectually. And still, every time we feel for another, it’s like pulling back a layer of the scab of a wound. Our shadows and our heartbreaks heal, yes, and that doesn’t mean they don’t get tender again, that some of it won’t come forward to be felt even more deeply, for more wisdom to be offered.

In the tending to our emotions, we begin to see so much more clearly, with a whole heart, our own history..

I’ll share the rest with those who wish to come closer.

I am in the middle of something. Still feeling through it. There is more, and I’ll share it with those who want to come closer.

For those who wish to read the personal story behind all of this and have access to the full library, find your way to becoming a paid subscriber:

Tomorrow morning, Wednesday June 17, I'm offering Rooftop Kundalini in the Andorra neighborhood of Philly. Donation based. 7:30am. Kriya, sound bath, meditation, sky above us. Come greet the day.
See how to join

This Saturday, June 20, we gather for Litha Dance: A Summer Solstice Celebration at Thyme Travelers Conservatory in South Jersey. We walk the labyrinth. We celebrate the sun. In a month that asks us to use our eyes, to really see what is here, this feels like exactly the right place to be. Come be in it with us.
Buy tickets

The following Thursday, June 25, the Philly Women’s Collective brings you Direct Energy Like a Witch at Clark Park, featuring Tati Lions. Outdoor, communal, a little wild. Come see what happens when women gather to move energy together.
Buy tickets

And if you’ve been feeling the call to show up weekly, Kundalini Yoga Tuesday Evenings continues bi-weekly at Thyme Travelers Conservatory. Kriya, gong sound bath, meditation. All are welcome, no experience needed.
Register here

The Flourishing, our virtual sacred gathering for women, returns July 9 over zoom. Shaped by the voices of those who show up.
Register here

And save the date: Anahata’s Purpose, September 24, where Gina and I will be vending and leading a moon ceremony together.
Learn more

See all events

Now it’s time for me to share more of my own personal process from this new moon with my paid subscribers.

For those who wish to become one, please find your way. if you have a hard time figuring, reach out about it and see if I can support.

Know you are loved regardless. Hope to see you soon. Feel free to respond with any truths from you.

I’ll keep tending.
I hope you do too.

With love,
Simcha Rachel