November Reflections from Sacred Juniper Ayurvedic Clinic
Something has shifted, and I can feel it.
There is an awakening happening among women, one that I believe has been building for generations. We are witnessing it in our communities, our conversations, and most recently, through our national elections. This past week, women across the country stood up for their beliefs and exercised their voices. It is a damn beautiful thing to witness, and even more beautiful to be part of.
My advocacy for women extends far beyond Sacred Juniper and into the work I do within my community. I believe deeply in the Matriarchy, although not as a system where women replace men at the top of a hierarchy. I envision something much older and more compassionate: a circle where everyone belongs, wisdom is shared, and those who are vulnerable or need greater support are brought into the center rather than pushed to the edges.
Perhaps this is part of our collective awakening: recognizing that meaningful change does not require us to stand above one another, but to stand together.
November: When the Veil Becomes Thin
November has always felt like a threshold between worlds. As the trees release their leaves and the earth prepares for winter, we are reminded that letting go creates space for something new. Across spiritual traditions, this season is believed to be when the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds grows thin, inviting us to honor our ancestors and listen more closely to what we cannot always see.
For me, November brings a special connection to a woman I never met, yet whose presence I have felt throughout my life.
When I was in high school, a friend and I attended a psychic festival. It was my first experience with anything of that nature, and looking back, I see it as a doorway into my spiritual awakening and the woman I was beginning to become. During a reading, a psychic told me that a woman, an angel, was watching over me and would continue to guide and protect me throughout my life. She told me this woman's name began and ended with the letter A, suggesting either Anita or Amelia.
Neither name meant anything to me then, but I never forgot that reading. Throughout my life, whenever I found myself in an unsafe situation and somehow made it through, I would quietly thank this mysterious woman.
Decades later, while researching my family tree, there she was:
Amelia Maude Ostler, my great-great-great paternal grandmother.
Even now, writing her name gives me goosebumps.
I felt an immediate connection to her, a sense of recognition I couldn't explain. I like to imagine Amelia as a woman who spoke her mind, questioned the expectations of her time, and believed there was more to life than what could be seen with our two eyes.
We are not the beginning of our stories. We are the continuation of women who lived, loved, endured, resisted, and dreamed long before we arrived.
Perhaps part of our awakening is becoming the women they were never given permission to be.
The Third Eye: Remembering Our Intuition
This month, within Awaken the Wise Woman, we are exploring Ajna, the Third Eye Chakra, traditionally associated with intuition, clarity, and inner wisdom.
I believe intuition is something we all possess, yet many of us have spent years learning to question it. We have been taught to seek reassurance outside ourselves, soften our opinions, and sometimes silence what we know deep within.
Our intuition is not necessarily the same as our inner dialogue. The mind can be influenced by fear, expectations, and past experiences, while intuition often arrives as a quieter awareness that invites us to pay attention.
Perhaps the awakening we are witnessing right now is not simply about women finding their voices, but about women trusting the voices they have always had.
As November invites us inward, I encourage you to reflect on the women in your lineage, the wisdom they may have carried, and the parts of yourself you are ready to reclaim.
This month, I will be honoring Amelia, listening more closely to my intuition, and remembering that the most meaningful way to honor the women before us may be to live with the freedom and courage they wished for themselves.
