Lemonade: My Album of the Year

Ya'll know all of last year I was absolutely obsessed with #Lemonade, right?  I was so taken by it that  I joined forces with another sacred feminine powerhouse and hosted an exclusive event-  a gathering at the New Moon to watch the album, have an intimate discussion about the Sacred Feminine, and to sip on our own special lemonade cocktail. 

As I watched Beyonce's performance on the Grammy's last night, I was reminded of how incredibly honored I feel to be part of the lineage of Goddesses she paid homage to in her performance.  I felt incredibly proud of her well-thought out acceptance speech, and choked up a bit hearing Adele's honest deference to the Queen Bey.   Sure, there are talks of cultural appropriation and all kinds of critiques, because that is what our logical minds are literally programmed to do.  But I just feel proud.  It was beautifully and magically done.  But i digress.  

I'm a self-proclaimed neoancient, so I'm always looking for ways to connect what happening out there in the world with what's happening in here. As the ancient axiom goes:  as above, so below;  as without, so within.  When #Lemonade dropped,  I immediately started dreaming up flower essence blends for each song.  Now, as I prepare to formally launch Elementals- my new collection of flower essences to heal the heart and soul-  I am struck by how many of the essences align with the archetypal themes explored in the 
album:

 

The Catch Me Remedy (Sacred Source) Sometimes what we truly need to honor is above the pay grade of our logical minds, and we can only find solutions through intuition and alignment with our inner knowing.   Sacred Source is a recipe with  Star Tulip essence to create space for meditative awareness, Deerbrush essence to tap in to our true feelings about a situation, Mugwort essences for cultivating a relationship with the messages received through dreams, and Cerato for the confidence to trust our intuition. 

The Sorry... Not Sorry Remedy (Worthy)

A major recurring theme in my executive, entrepreneurial, and personal leadership trainings is 'sorry not sorry'.  We explore the many ways that women in positions of power overwhelmingly over- apologize, give disclaimers, and ask for validation. The Worthy recipe includes Buttercup essence for self-validation and confidence, Gold essence for honoring our inner worth and value, and Larch for confidence and clear expression.

The Legend... The Icon... The Archetype

When I woke up my patient to remove her needles,  she told me that she had felt another presence in the room while she was resting during her acupuncture treatment .   We explored if she had sensed the pigeons outside of the window, or perhaps an ancestor visiting as a healing ally.  "No", she insisted, shaking her head.  "It was none of those, but definitely a presence".

About an hour later, she sent me an email stating, "It was Prince.  He's been my idol since I was in elementary school.  Someone I never met, don't know personally but have adored most of my life."

I received the news of Prince passing while that patient was resting, and I could feel the reverberations of shock and sorrow throughout the city.   I knew that, like myself, people were reliving memories of a cultural icon's music that raised a generation.   Recalling with a nostalgic "remember when...?" , and all of the moments embraced in the music.

Suddenly it's 1980-something, and I see myself perfectly-  begging my dad to let me watch Under a Cherry Moon on our Beta-Max machine.  I am at the 8th grade dance, feeling like I've arrived in an alarming combination of hair spray, lace, and ruffles.    I'm brought back to first boyfriends and first kisses and summers with my sister-cousin in PG County. Then I'm in Carolina blue, partying with my fellow Tarheels as the Class of 1999.  The memories- from each stage of my life- are hauntingly, sweetly, refreshingly clear. 

How is it that we are so greatly affected by the loss of someone that we never knew personally, but was so intimately wrapped into our lives?  

Spike Lee Block Party Tribute Photo Credit:  NY Daily News

Then i remembered.... ARCHETYPES.  It's all about archetypes.

Carolyn Myss defines an archetype as "psychic power patterns in the unconscious mind." She writes that "although arcehyples are collective symbols that everyone in the culture shares, they can also speak to us individually, as personal archetypal patterns that are the foundation of our beliefs, drives, motivations, and actions, organizing and energizing all out relationships in life".   I work ALOT with archetypes in my practice- calling on the Elements, the Zodiac, the Chakras, Orisha, media personalities, and the archetypal wisdom of flower essences to help us understand how and why we do what we do.

The point is, when a person lives very close to an archetype, they become iconic.  Their presence becomes a symbolic and earthly representation of a cosmic force that lives within all of our psyches. We love them like we love our best selves- because they represent something that IS part of ourselves.  Something universal, yet intangible.  An icon gives us rare access to a subconscious human pattern of the psyche- manifesting in real life so that we can see it, dissect it, critique it, adore it,  and if we're lucky, integrate it into our lived experience.

Beyonce as the Venus/Het Heru/ Oshun archetype, calling us to embrace the aspect of feminine sexuality that is powerful and defiant.  Michael Jackson as the Puer Eternal archetype, challenging the aspects of ourselves that desire to live in perpetual childlike wonder, joy and fantasy.  Princess Diana as, literally, the Princess archetype who found her Prince Charming.  When an archetype either emerges or dies, the whole world feels it.

The Legend Formally Known as Prince breathed life into the archetype of Aquarius.

Aquarius.  The Eccentric One.  The Rebel.  The Original.  The Inventor.  The Cosmic One.

Astrologically speaking, the spiritual principle of Aquarius is "individuation and the freedom to be original."  Indeed, the Aquarius energy is one that allows us to be creative, inventive, and to defy the rules in honor of our orginality.   Governed by Uranus, the transgender planet of rebellion against social norms, Aquarius affords us the psychic impulse to be uniquely, eccentrically, authentically ourselves.

Didn't he do it, tho?

Prince refused to be imprisoned, not even within a box of his name or his fame.  His music became the soundtrack for the freakiest, sexiest, darkest desires that were too unconventional to express. Rigid delineations between black and white music dissolved.  We lived through him as he rocked eyeliner and heels in all his masculine glory, helping us expand our preconceived notions of gender, of coolness, of sexy.

And I can't think of single woman that didn't want to sleep with that musically genius, incredibly sexy, androgynous little man. 

The archetype of Aquarius 'aims for total freedom to pursue enlightenment and raise the consciousness of the planet. And in his fame, Prince turned is attention to humanitarian effort,s seeking to raise the vibration of the planet by attending to those who needed it most.  A close friend recalls him saying, "I don't need any more attention, but I can't be in this world and see this much pain and suffering and not do something".

Rise in Power Dearly Beloved.   May we honor you by honoring that which is cosmic, radical, innovative, and humanitarian within ourselves.  Rock on.

Why this Black History Month was the best EVER....

This was, without a doubt, the best Black History Month I've had in a long, long time.   Usually, my Februarys are filled with generalized snarkiness about it being the shortest month of the year, redundant black history trivia, and competing Valentine's Day grumpiness..  but February 2016?  oh 2016...   you got us ready for some REAL conversations about race.  Here's what rocked my world this month in Black History:

#1. Birth of a Nation at Sundance
Birth of a Nation, a new film produced by Nate Parker, broke the internet this month when it was awarded a record setting $17.5 million distribution deal after sweeping the awards at Sundance.  The folks that I know who are connected to the film have been in the trenches, supporting real change as it relates to institutional racism, so this is a big win for ALL of us.  Why else am I so excited about this film??  Because it is about Nat Turner, a freedom fighter who led a rebellion of slaves and free blacks.  So many of Hollywood's dipictions of slavery and the aftermath (aka the present) are demoralizing.  I'm looking forward to a movie that shows us fighting back for once- for our lives, for our families, and for our future.  Rumor has it that Birth of a Nation will be released theatrically this October, and I can't wait.

# 2.  Beyonce's Formation

My girlfriend and I joked that forever more, February 7th shall be known as Beyonce Day.  Let's face it- her execution was perfect:  BAM! new video, which is a straight-up celebration of southern Black culture. BAM! Superbowl Black Panther-inspired 'badassiness' (yes, it's a word).  BAM! Tour announcement, including her and hubby's donation of a gazillion dollars to #blacklivesmatter and Flint.  And then a few weeks later... BAM! Beyonce drops a mini doc on racial injustice.

I've been a fan since way back when, but Formation took it to the next level for me.  For one, I can't stop singing "I dream hard, I work hard, I grind till i own it" while doing the dance from the video.  All day.    For two, I also 'like my baby hair with baby hair in afros'.  In this foreign land of weaves and extensions,  and it feels really GOOD to have a 'black and proud ' song that beats with the pulse of this generation.    But most importantly, I love the controversy- and dialogue-  Formation has stirred.   The video and its varied reactions has opened the door for me to have conversations about race with colleagues and girlfriends that I didn't even know were waiting to happen.  Well played, Queen Bey.
  

#3. Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

After watching Formation with my daughter, she had LOTS of questions.  Given the current political climate,  she understood the messaging of the boy dancing in front of the police line, and the "stop shooting us" plea.   But the police car in the flood?  The sinking buildings?  That required a longer conversation about Hurricane Katrina and the racial, socio-economic, and political injustices that surrounded it.   Insert Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes.  This historical fiction breathes life into Lanesha, a 12- year old ninth ward resident that must call on her faith, courage and spirituality to help her family survive the storm. Spoiler alert:  there's a chilling scene towards the end of the book when Lanesha, on her roof after the storm, sees a helicopter passing her overhead.  Followed by her slow realization that no one is coming to help. She, like so many families, is left to help herself.

#4. Kendrick Lamar on the Grammys
This month, Kendrick SMASHED the Grammys with his performance of "the Blacker the Berry" and "Alright".  Now, Kendrick is my celebrity crush, so i'm predisposed to like what ever comes out of his mouth.  But that performance? From the lyrics, the set design, costumes, and choreography, my mind was blown.  Yuuuup, 'we gonna be alright!!! ' If you missed it, you can check out the performance here.

#5.  Eclipsed on Broadway

I have been blessed to see quite a few amazing shows on Broadway.   But I have never seen ANYTHING like Eclipsed, which opened for previews on Broadway last week.   I was holding my heart and crying audibly within the first ten minutes.   I also laughed.  I related.  I was was enraptured with- for two whole hours- the melodic song of African dialect.  Eclipsed tells the story of five women during the Liberian Civil War, was about about so much more than this oft neglected part of history.  It was about patriarchy, about loving fiercely, about protecting ourselves, about taking a stand, about finding our way, about fear, about acceptance, and about survival.  Lupita was phenomenal, and the entire five women cast was equally mind-blowing.  I am forever changed, and look forward to seeing more from playwright Danai Gurira.