Tools & Talismans #45 Pixie Lighthorse
There's a signature, a story and a particular rhythm to each of the photos I've received from my Tools & Talismans participants. I've painted each one, pretty much exactly as they were laid out in the photo — not so much for ease, but to keep a sense of how each story reads, and to keep it in the same voice.
Pixie's Medicine Wheel layout is so true to her voice so when I first saw her Tools & Talismans photo it made me smile. I could imagine her gathering her tools, laying hands to her talismans and arranging and perhaps rearranging them to create the balance that felt true to her, and to tell her own best story through her collection of precious items.
If you have a minute today, wander around your house, your studio, your working place and look at the items you've chosen to leave out and around. What's the story each arrangement or configuration is telling? What's the narrative that you're longing to share? And have you ever thought about how your treasures tell your stories for you?
I'd love to hear back from you, share in the comments or send me an email . . . and now on to Pixie:
The Medicine Wheel configuration is everywhere in my home life and embedded in my consciousness like a tracker's inner compass. Quartz crystals amplify the energy of any portal I create for healing or communing with the ancestors and spirits. They also contain any space which calls for more sacredness.
The medicine pouch was made for me by my beloved and contains tokens of his love and our spirit bond. It's close by my side each day as a reminder of how love can be free and also contained.
The Red-Tailed Hawk feather follows me to my various work stations and it works with me to dust my energy centers off when I'm stuck creatively, and offer a wake-up call. Hawk is the Messenger of the Sky Nation, often screeching down insights when I most need to stop and listen.
The plant blend is placed on the ground as offerings when I am connecting to the Earth, harvesting medicine, asking for blessings for a person or special project, or smoked during prayer. It's contained in an old smoking mixture tin, which I love having around because I love beat up things near me. Maybe it's a reminder of how beautiful old and broken things are.
The little elk skin hand rattle is used to break up energy in my body and get my children's attention! The quartz in the center is a recent gift from a visitor and pretty much the most beautiful and clear stone I've ever seen! I admire it each day while I'm working and enjoy it's light reflections. All of the items make my heart smile and help me stay grounded in this too-fast world.
Pixie Lighthorse — Multi-generational Healer, Earth Medicine Mother, Prayerful Writer
Tools & Talismans is a personal painting project where I document {in watercolor} the tools and talismans of 100 different women — creators and healers, thinkers and makers, wordsmiths and visionaries. Join me for a year of Tools & Talismans — I'll be sharing a new painting with you every Wednesday.
I'd love to talk about creating illustrations for you! Do you have a project that needs some illustration? Think my work might be a good fit? Get in touch, I'd love to talk about your project with you!
