I spent yesterday in bed sobbing, laughing, writing, screaming, teaching, laughing, crying, all while being wretchedly sick here in beautiful sunny Virginia Beach.
Day 19 of my tragic Victorian Flop House Wasting Away Illness and I’m trying so hard to be a good patient. Wise, humble, optimistic, philosophical. To see the silver lining in everything—even the inside of my own stomach. But no one has ever accused me of being a stoic. I have zero poker face. What I feel is what you get! And I am full of feelings.
In yesterday’s high noon beautiful Aquarian Full Moon writing meditation led by the magical Lauren Francis, we were asked what made us different, and what gift that difference might offer our community.
I feel every single fucking thing I’m feeling, I wrote immediately. I’m in constant contact with my grief, rage, shame, tenderness, vulnerability, terror, love, joy, ecstasy—no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to hide or evade or trick or shed or numb any of my feelings.
Every single little moment demands to be felt by me. To move through my heart and be worn across my face. Joy, sorrow, fear, hope, horror! My gift to the collective seems to be feeling all my fucking feelings, thus granting permission for other people to feel all their fucking feelings, too. You’re welcome.
So, I told myself yesterday. I can be a complete emotional wreck and a gift to my community. I can want and need and love so much my heart’s a fireworks show on the beach at sunset. I can turn my snotty saltwater tears into presents for fishes. I can crash on the shore, beat my fists bloody in the sand, and then build sand castles. I can have a sob and a smile that brings a rainbow down over the whole city of everyone.
For not everyone in the village can promise to always keep her feet on the ground, or even to always have feet. My feet have sometimes looked like paws, or talons, or the thunking end of a big powerful tail refusing to swim to the beat of anyone’s steel drum.
Here’s a preview of a few of the amazing magical writing workshops coming up in the Skool community—which you can join for $44/month!!
🍏 On Saturday 01 August, Lora Campbell of Seawitch Magic will be hosting Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo-na sah), a writing session celebrating the change of the season as winter nears, and to give thanks for the harvest that grew over summer!
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🦋 Monday August 3rd, Lauren Francis of Soluminance will be hosting a free-writing session
We’ll pull a oracle card to start, and then you are welcome to write about whatever comes up. You’re also welcome to bring any other writing you’re working on into this space.
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🌑 Wednesday August 12h Lora will be hosting the New Moon in Leo Eclipse
We’ll be asking what initiations are beginning and what old stories can burn away.
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🌕 Friday August 28th Lauren Francis will be hosting the Full Moon Eclipse Pisces
We’ll meditate and write into what’s ready to dissolve and what wants to be felt more fully.
In this special in-person writing activation ceremony, enter a sacred circle to travel through body, mind, and spirit, discovering wisdom, awareness, and memory hidden below the surface of our awareness.
Sat, Aug 15, 2026, 1:00 – 5:00 PM EDT
River House in Varina, Virginia
Sliding Scale: $ 144 / $188/ $122
Writing Recovery is a six-week guided series for anyone healing from addiction, illness, trauma, heartbreak, burnout, or the long slow process of remembering who they really are. Through gentle writing practices, trauma-informed prompts, embodiment, energy work, and compassionate group connection, participants will explore recovery as a creative, spiritual, and personal awakening.
From $ 188 - $255
Wed, Aug 19, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT – Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT
Zoom
Book
A 6-Week Writing Activation Series with Valley JaneBeneath the stories you tell about yourself, there is another story. Older. Truer. Waiting.
Thursdays, Aug 13 - Sep 17, 2026
10 AM - 12 Noon EST
Sliding scale: $333/ $444/ $555
Zoom
Your life is stranger, wilder, more mythic, and more meaningful than any fiction you could invent. Are you ready to write it?
A 12-Week Writing Initiation with Valley Jane of Writing Fire
Tuesdays | September 1 – November 17
11 AM- 1 PM PST / 2-4 PM EST
Not sure if this is right for you? Book a free 20-minute discovery call with Valley.
HI BRAVE WRITER!! Subscribe to my new dispatch, Letters from the Fire, to receive workshop and retreat updates, as well as a Sacred Circle Writing Oracle card and prompt in your inbox twice a month!
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