Issue #33 The Magic Heron Newsletter – What creature teaches us about how our choices today affect our lives tomorrow?

Welcome to the 33rd issue of The Magic Heron Newsletter, a fortnightly newsletter with a focus on journaling, writing, and learning nature’s wisdom through midlife. 

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Texas, May 22, 2022

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Hi there !

How has your week been going? We have had 100-degree days this last week, and then this morning a cold front moved in. We need more rain. Even though the trees put on leaves, they look sparse. Looks like it’s going to be a long hot summer. 

Can you believe June is almost here? Spring has flown by. We planted our tomato seedlings a couple of weeks ago. Then last week we had a hail storm that beat them up, but they came back fine. Did you know tomato plants actually do better if they’ve been “beat up” a little.

When I started gardening (long ago lol) the older generation always told me to beat the tomato plants with a broom. I thought that was crazy! It wasn’t until the first bad hailstorm we had that I understood what they meant! That year they produced so many tomatoes, we had tons to can. 

This morning, I came to my work area to sit and relax for a few minutes before starting my day. I have a chair next to me that I will prop my feet up on during the day. I happened to glance over and there was what I always call “my house spider”. He’s a jumping spider, he’s fuzzy and black with white spots. I watched him for a few minutes, curious to see what he was up to. 

He crawled over the seat of the chair and peered over the edge. Then crawled back along the seat to explore. Then back again to the edge and peered over. Suddenly, he bailed over the edge and dangled by his “silk thread”, and then gently lowered himself to the floor. He looked around for a second, then crawled back up the leg of the chair to perch on the seat and look over the vast horizon again.

He moved to the edge and bailed off again, silk thread holding him tight to the seat as he lowered himself to the floor again. He explored the carpet, going in a few half circles, then headed underneath the chair I was sitting in, past me, and towards my dog. She was asleep and unaware she was being stalked by a mighty hunter. (At 14, she’s pretty much unaware of anything when she goes into her sleep coma).

The spider stopped right in front of her. I turned in my chair for a better view and the other 2 dogs jumped off the couch, thinking I was about to get up and feed them. They narrowly missed trampling this poor mighty hunter, so I guided him back under the furniture to live another day. 

And what was my message from this? 

As I watched him, what came to me was to look at everything from a higher viewpoint and get the big picture, then get grounded and hunt down my opportunities. 

Now, the jumping spider couldn’t hurt my dog, this kind is harmless. But in his mind… he was on a hunt for big game. And, maybe he was showing me I should be looking for bigger opportunities, too!

There are many things we can learn from the various spiders around us. I’ve put together a Garden Spider journal for this week’s Newsletter Spirit Animal, which you’ll find below in the Etsy shop.

Are you fascinated or scared by spiders? Can you look at them from a different perspective to receive messages that could provide growth in your life? Hit reply and let me know!

This week’s Newsletter Spirit Animal

Spider Symbolism and Meanings:

When spider shows up, one of the first things we can think about is its web. Just as the spider weaves its web, we also weave our own lives. Spider reminds us that our choices construct our lives and to be mindful of the choices we make. 

In myths, the spider and its web are symbolic of fate and destiny, and life’s diverse web our paths cross during this lifetime. 

The spider’s web is a fully functional, practical, and ingenious design! It is a home, a place to store food, and incubate the spider’s eggs!

Using this knowledge, we can contemplate the web of our own lives—how are we weaving our life?

The web we weave with our choices, decisions, and actions can serve us or enslave us. Spider teaches us to be mindful of our choices and behaviors that we weave each day. 

Spider Symbolism:

• Fate
• Time
• Crafty
• Cunning
• Cyclical
• Rebirth
• Mystery
• Creation
• Strategy
• Protection
• Progressive
• Resourceful
• Intelligence

Spider’s meaning or message comes down to you and your personal interpretation, so you will need to listen within for your own personal and profound meaning. What kind of spider? Does it spin a web or not? Is it venomous or harmless? What was it doing when you saw it? Journal everything you can and the meaning will become clear to you.

–

Recently Published . . .

New in the Etsy Shop!

1. SPIRIT ANIMAL Garden Spider, Animal Guide Totem Meanings, Spirit Companion, Spirit Companionship, Printable Journal Prompts and Cards

2. 20 Mandala Color Your Own Bookmarks, Mandala Bookmark, Bookmark Meditation Coloring, Coloring Bookmark PDf, Bookworm Gifts, Printable, #1-5

–

Recently Published . . .

New Books!

1. 5 Senses Journal: Build awareness skills of your surroundings

2. Nature Day by Day: A 30 Day Guided Journal

Interesting links . . .

Here are some interesting links I came across on my ventures through Internet Land this week that I thought you might enjoy.

1. Backyard Birding in Small Spaces

2. How to Make Elderberry Syrup for Immune System Support

3. How to Season Cast Iron + Cast Iron Conditioner Recipe

4. Organic Garden Design: The Benefits of Companion Planting with Herbs

5. GETTING TICKED OFF: AN ESSENTIAL OIL BLEND TO REPEL TICKS

***I use Mountain Rose Herbs for ordering all the herbs I use. Every order I’ve received has always been fresh and gorgeous. Click here to order the herbs you need for your teas, infusions, spices, and other ingredients for your kitchen:

Mountain Rose Herbs

Recipe . . .

2 Ingredient Oranges and Cream

Clementine oranges

Whipped cream (for no sugar, use heavy cream)

I use clementines because they are easy to peel and easy for me to chew. Peel however many you want to eat, pull apart and put in a bowl. Top with either whipped cream or heavy cream. 

Journaling Inspiration . . .

1. Better Than Writing Prompts – Five Tips for Creating a Memory List

2. How to Write a Nonfiction Book in 6 Steps

3. 100+ Creative Writing Exercises for Fiction Authors

4. A Week’s Worth of Journaling Prompts: The Search for Meaning

5. How Important are Your Life Stories

Random Nature Fact . . .

An anteater is nearly 6 feet long. Its mouth is only an inch wide!

Nature Journal Video . . .

This week’s question discusses awareness routines that will help you be more present in nature.

“In this video I’ll run you through some of the main routines I use whenever I go outside. These are strategies that make it possible to be more in tune with our surroundings & also send out less of a disturbance.

Animals are much less likely to flee from the approach of an aware human being. You’ll have a much more rich and enjoyable outdoor experience.

We talk about sensory awareness, movement strategies, adopting a sit spot, and practices for developing a stronger natural memory.”

What Are Your Awareness Routines?

Nature Journal Prompt . . .

Use the picture above to practice drawing in your nature journal and noticing details about this animal.

Spider facts: 

Lifespan: Most live about 2 years (some up to 20 in captivity)

Scientific name: Araneae

Weight: common house spider weighs less than 1 oz

Speed: 1.2 mph

Habitat: woodlands, forests, wetlands, grasslands, deserts, rainforests. They can live in trees, shrubbery, on the ground, underground tunnels, houses, farms, barns, gardens, attics, basements, foundations, etc. Found on every continent except Antarctica.

What it eats: carnivorous: primarily insects, but some feed on lizards, frogs, birds, or small mammals

What eats (or preys on) it: amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds, bats, shrews, monkeys, centipedes, scorpions, wasps, other spiders (some females cannibalize the males after mating), cats, hedgehogs, humans (in Cambodia, fried tarantulas are a delicacy, and medicinal rice wine has live spiders)

Did you know? 

The biggest spider is the Goliath Birdeater weighing in at a quarter of a pound! The smallest is the Patu Digua, that can fit on the head of a pin.

Nature Tip:

When you know which spiders are the dangerous ones, you can reduce some of the fear that you might have of all spiders. Journal the dangerous ones and know what they look like and learn about their bites. Then, on your next encounter, you’ll know if the spider is dangerous or not.

In North America, these would be the Black Widow, the Brown Recluse (fiddle backs), the Hobo Spider, and the Yellow Sac Spider.

What I’m watching . . .

1. My daughter Shiloh just started her own Twitch live stream for writers! Do you need to set some time aside to write? Try the live stream for writing sprints. 

Shiloh goes live Friday evenings at 8pm Central Time and it usually lasts around 2 hours, sometimes more if everyone wants to keep going.

How does it work? 

Become a follower on her Twitch channel and you’ll get an email when she’s going live. Then, show up ready to write in sprints with some breaks thrown in. Chat with everyone about all your writing questions or just hang out and make new friends. Then, back to writing. 

Great for journaling sprints, writing short stories, works in progress, or anything else you want to work on in a sprint format for more productivity. It’s also a great support system between writers for encouragement. 

ShilohWrites 

2. And … just for fun.

Arachnophobia (1990) Theatrical Trailer

What I’m listening to . . .

1. The wind.

Always the wind here. It can start out as a gentle breeze early morning. 

By afternoon it increases to strong gusts, tree branches swaying and ebbing back and forth that reminds me of the waves crashing on the beach. 

Some days, it will “sing in the wire” (power lines), foretelling storms to come, even though there is not a cloud in the sky.

Do you listen to the wind in all its various forms? What does it tell you, or remind you of?

What I’m reading . . .

1. I’m rereading Everybody Writes by Ann Handley. I love her writing style and humor.

Quotes I’m pondering . . .

Questions I’m considering journaling on . . . 

How are my decisions and choices today weaving my life tomorrow? Am I making the best choices?

Journal Prompt . . . 

Do you like going outside barefoot and feeling the grass beneath your feet? How about the beach? Yes or no? Journal your reasons why. What do your feet sense about your environment when they touch grass, sand, water, rocks, sticks, etc.?

Happy Journaling!

. . . Shanna

P.S. Is there something you like or would rather see in the newsletter? Hit reply and let me know!

I’ll be back on June 5th!

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Links

Shanna Lea Author website
Books on Amazon
Magic Heron Creations Notebooks on Amazon
Magic Heron Creations Etsy Shop

. . . Shanna Lea Author

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