Be Kind to this Ghostly Feeling

Jo here, writing about the first crow image of 2024. In our artwork, crows often signify the self. Last month’s spell oriented us; now February’s image and spell bring us into relationship with ourselves, and offer a clear instruction:

From the place where the sky meets the ground, be kind to this ghostly feeling.

Sometimes we are haunted by feelings. Instead of experiencing them alive and in the moment, these emotions lurk at the edge of perception. They alter our senses as a ghost may alter the feeling of place. Often lonely, worried, stuck in old pain, or stunned by hurt that is too big to feel alone, these ghostly feelings have become disembodied, unable to be metabolized through the corporeal processes of care, release, understanding, or integration.

I know I can feel overwhelmed by the needs of these ghosts. Continuing to ignore them sometimes feels like a better option than letting them cloud my vision with old stories or nightmares. But I find an easy exhale with the instruction in this spell. The task is not to take on their stories or even bring them into my body if I don’t want to. The instruction is simply to turn towards these feelings and offer them kindness.

We often associate kindness with softness and gentleness, but it is also a powerful force. Kindness is not the same as being nice. Sometimes wielding kindness is a choice, a potentially difficult choice in moments of fear, anger, or shame. Whether or not we choose it, being able to offer kindness can be truly life altering. I’m reminded here of the incredible story Nora Bateson shares about her father in this (incredible) podcast — I don’t want to spoil the story, but an incident that could have been very frightening was not, purely because of the depth of her father’s kindness.

Here’s a vision I keep getting as I write today: I am standing in a river, feeling the currents as they pass around me and through each other, currents that remain distinct even as they change each other. I am bearing witness to complexity, context, currents of change, coherence, to all that flows between us all…Our hearts are powerful witnesses.