Taos Mountain from Mabel Dodge Luhan House. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
Before Taos, chop wood, carry water.
After Taos, chop wood, carry water.
There was the land, the Place. A cerulean sky filled with billowing white clouds. The scent of sagebrush and a whiff of rain. Shades of terra cotta, burnt ochre and pale jade. Thunderclouds sculpted by unseen hands. Ever-shifting light on hills, now golden-orange, now blood-red, now pale lemon. Dry, dusty, rocky. Surprisingly green.
Mabel Dodge Luhan House
Thunder Clouds in the East
Magpies and pigeons roosting in cottonwoods. Coos and hoots and caws. Dogs and coyotes yipping at night. Curved adobe walls, wooden posts and beams, lace curtains lifted by the breeze. The ghosts of Mabel, Georgia, Ansel and so many more walked among us, peering over our shoulders, nodding in approval.
Magpie at Mabel's. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
There was the retreat container, or cauldron, as I like to think of it — shaped and tended skillfully by Jen and Michele. A little ritual for beginnings and endings. The teaching and the receiving. Small groups to check in with, every day. Assignments, required and optional. Times of silence and times of socializing.
Jen Louden teaching with her hands. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
There were the women. Conscious, creative, courageous women! They ran the gamut from journal-keepers to published authors and entrepreneurs. They came to fan the flames of a dream, to get past roadblocks, to support and be supported. Kate and Christa and Marianne. Kathy and Heather and Patience and Kaycee. Debra, Diana, Tara, Christina, Jane. So many more. We wept and applauded when each woman read her work aloud in the evenings — poetry, fantasy, erotica, how-to, nature meditations, memoir. I had the privilege of reading the Gaian cards for many women who had never had their cards read before, and who later told me it was a highlight of their week. Bonding. Beautiful women.
Marianne & me. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
All of us. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
Kathy, Marianne, Michele, Jen, Tara. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
There was the food! Lovingly prepared and presented by the staff at Mabel’s, apparently carrying on a long tradition. Locally sourced, fresh, organic. An abundance of fruits and vegetables and gluten-free goodies. We sighed with pleasure after each meal.
Mabel Dodge Luhan House front door. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
There was the writing. I went there asking for a new “assignment,” and I got it, Wednesday morning while brushing my teeth. I ran to get a notebook and wrote down the divine download, before it all slipped away into the ethers. Later I broadened it and refined it and went to Jen for counsel on structure and title ideas. She handed me a key: “The vignettes are transmissions . . .” This new assignment of mine is part how-to, but mainly a series of illustrated vignettes about my encounters with the natural world. It’s not about tarot; it’s all about Mama Gaia. That’s all I have to share about it for now, as it’s still new and tender. Very 4 of Air.
Joanna writing. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
A writer's tools (my hat and water bottle.) Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
Joanna laughing. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
Before Taos . . . after Taos. Chopping wood, carrying water, carving out blocks of time for creative practice, creating a new rhythm for my days.
The scent of sagebrush lingers in my hair.
Spirit Horse. Photo by Christa Gallopoulos, www.carryitforward.com
(Thanks to my new soul-sister friend, Christa Gallopoulos, for allowing me to post some of her gorgeous photos. You’ll find more on her blog, Carry It Forward. Any photos not marked as Christa’s were taken by me.)
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Lovely, lovely, Joanna. Beautiful photos take me right back to that magical place. What a wonderful adventure you had! Thanks for sharing the photos (and thanks to Christa too)!
This is so very lovely to hear about. Just stopping my chaotic day to focus on your beautiful experience refreshes me and gives me hope that I may also do this someday. Thank you for all the links, yum, yum, yum.
Warmly,
Hannah
Thank you Cari and Hannah. I sure hope I can go back. A truly magical place on so many different levels.
I’ve never been out West, and I’ve never been on any sort of retreat or conference, and these pictures are stirring those desires in me, which I’ll have to answer to sooner or later (hopefully sooner!) Thank you for sharing them.
Splendid! just splendid! I love the magic of that high country in northern New Mexico…
sitting with stillness for what next emerges from the depths of you and from the end of your pen!
And w hen you are in VA in the late fall… you … must… go … see.. .the cypress… swamps… and ancient dunes… of First Landing… must! must! must!
Splitting open with happiness like an overripe ear of corn!
Julie
Kat, you’re so welcome. Julie, I loooove your enthusiasm!!!
Beautiful photos! I can’t wait for you to birth your new revelations found on this retreat! I remember when I was there I took 700 photos, and maybe about 25 had people in them! lol! It was Gaia, who took over and totally blew my mind with her enchantment in Taos. What an amazing earth we live in.
Dear Joanna,
First of all.. I can sense your deep feelings about this trip and am so happy for you.
and then.. Thank you for the introduction to Christa’s blog… Love Her!
Indigene, so glad to hear the Taos landscape had the same effect on you! Judy, thank you. Christa is fabulous!
Loved this, Sister Joanna!
Joanna, you captured the spirit of the place and time so beautifully with your words and carried me there for the few moments I was reading this, thank you!
And I am so excited for you and this new assignment!
Cate and Maurie, thank you and Blessings! XOXO
A gathering of kindred spirits, each bringing her own special magic, is worth its weight in gold.
Splendid sharing! Thank you.
Thank you for your lovely sharing of photos and poetically reflective words here, Joanna! What an inspired time… and I am eager to see what deliciousness is going to emerge next from your simmering pot of goodness! All best blessings to you!
First, I want to tell you how enthralled I am with my newly received Gaian Tarot deck–it is lovely! And secondly,thank you for the wonderful photos and blog contacts–it must have been a very fruitful and enriching time.
Sandy, so glad you love your deck! Melissa and magnolia, thanks so much for letting me know the story touched you.
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