Navigating The In Between

My hand on the snow in late February at Umstead State Park

There’s a moment during the leap between one thing and the next when we question all our decisions: the new thing isn’t here yet, so what if leaving the old was a terrible mistake? What if I’m not able to complete the new, or it fits even worse than the old?

The old makes sense. It’s real, already made. The new hasn’t been made or done yet, so only a stupid person would take that leap, say the various parts of me as they try to protect me.

Well, I reply to them, I’m ready to be a stupid person if it means not keeping myself small. I can take that hit. I want to show these protective parts alternate possibilities, with compassion and without condescension.

I thought my current leap would be mostly technical, but it’s turned out to be a pretty emotional one: I’m in the middle of leaping from Substack to Patreon as the home of my writings and offerings around living in alignment with the seasons.

All sorts of insecurities came up for me: whether people would care enough to follow me to Patreon, whether they’d be annoyed I changed online portals, whether I’d be able to complete the dream I have for my Patreon, whether it might not just be smarter to stay with the thing I know I can do because I’ve done it for 2 years.

I’m also someone who creates projects for myself as a way to cope with anxiety. Many times, in my business, I’ve made a new schedule, a new infographic, a new workshop, to give myself a little task to feel good about - while ignoring the deeper creative and spiritual work I really care about. So how do I know this isn’t just more of that?

Snow melting on the ground on one of the trails at Umstead state park

You know those moments where the Old Way feels constricting and irritating, and you wish space for development and creativity would just appear? I think making a change in my seasonal writings portal is truly the right thing because I let myself outgrow Substack first. I waited until I had creations that wouldn’t fit into Substack, and ideas for receiving support that Substack couldn’t facilitate. Patreon can do those things.

(If you’re like, Hey WTF is Patreon, tell me what it is before you keep talking about it, please leap ahead to the video below.)

I think we also have to start doing the New Thing even before there’s a clear container for it. I haven’t entirely figured out Patreon, or how to get people over there, but I sure as hell won’t figure those things out if I don’t believe in what I’m doing - and I need to start doing it to really feel how much it matters.

Here’s the breakdown of how Village Witch’s Garden is changing shape, and why I really want this shift:

• VWG used to be a weekly substack publication

  • Now it will be an 8x/year Patreon publication

• It used to be easy to do weekly publications

  • Lately it’s felt strained, and I yearn for quality over quantity

• It used to be fine for me to balance the Gregorian calendar and the Wheel of the Year

  • Now it’s confusing, and I want to lean into the Wheel

This week I sat down and wrote out the entirety of a sample version of what the Village Witch’s Garden will look like. It felt satisfying to make something so significant, and I impressed myself. It’s available here, and will also make its way to your email inboxes if you prefer to read it there.

As I wrote it, I thought Oh, this is good. This is what I want to be making. This is what I want to use, as a guide to living in alignment with the seasons.

8 times a year, I invite you to learn about the Wheel holidays with me, to learn their history and how we can celebrate them in the present day. I give you tangible ways to slow and live differently, so that your body can catch up to your mind, and your energy can clarify, amplify, and align with the natural world.

If you’re already convinced, you can become a Patreon supporter of me here (instructional video on how to do so below!). If you want to see the goods, check your inboxes later today or visit that link to read the free example edition of the Village Witch’s Garden over the weekend. It’s there to support you in this exact moment in early March - which is itself an in-between.

So glad to be here with you! See you in the Garden.

xox

Isabel

Village Witch’s Corner

My intention this week : 

To get TF outside. Not necessarily to be super active, but just to feel the warmer air on my skin.

Question I'm asking this week:

Am I doing something that leads me in the direction of what I want, or just something to distract myself?

Follow up: am I being hard on myself for getting distracted? Am I mistaking “shoulds” for passions?

What I’m listening to:

I’ve started taking fiddle lessons, so this week I’ve dived into the album Master Fiddler by Kenny Baker, an incredible bluegrass fiddler.

Tiny Spell of the Week:

Look at the light on the leaves or branches. Notice how it’s different from the light on the leaves in January.