Good morning my luminous loves!
I have extremely exciting news to share!
For a while now, I’ve been hinting at some big changes that have been occurring within myself and this business, but I haven't shared much about what those changes are (unless you have attended appointments in person and received little sneak peaks). This is something I have been planning and preparing for since I suspended my hands-on practices in March, so it’s safe to say that this shift has been a looong time coming...and now I’m finally ready to share the news with you all!
So, without further ado...
It is time for us to say goodbye to Flying High…
…and for me to welcome you all to Sacred Hearth!
For those of you who have known about (and eagerly awaited) this change, WAHOO! The vision has finally landed! Are you as excited as I am?!
And for those of you who are wondering what is going on…
For the past 11-months or so, since beginning my Yoga Teacher Training in September, I have been questioning and re-evaluating everything, both personal and professional. I came to realise that Flying High no longer resonates with the practitioner I am becoming, the values that inform my work, or the direction my healing practices are taking. I was feeling limited, stunted, by something I couldn't quite identify, some box that I had put myself in. My passion for my business and practices was waning, not because I had fallen out of love with my healing work, but because the way I was working, and the container I was working within, no longer reflected who I was, or who I was becoming. I have since been fuelled by the desire to direct this business with more passion and purpose than ever before, so I’ve been working hard to re-discover, and re-align with that purpose.
These changes not only relate to the surface-level aesthetics of this humble little healing practice, but represent a clarification and refinement of my therapeutic practices, and the values and beliefs that underpin them. The day the name Sacred Hearth landed in my awareness, I knew something different was being created, and that I had to shed a whole mess of fears, conditionings and limitations before I could allow its full expression to be borne through me. As I'm sure you can imagine, this was a massive process, hence why it has taken so long, and why I have appeared quite disconnected at times. It is not easy landing a vision this potent while also experiencing so many deep personal shifts (or while navigating a pandemic…), but here it is! New name, new branding, new offerings, an INCREDIBLE logo (intentionally channelled and designed by the remarkable Aimee Vandersteen), and an extremely exciting new direction!
Perhaps you are wondering, why Scared Hearth? What does it mean?
If it were simply a name, I would leave you to your questions and assumptions with no further explanation, but Sacred Hearth is more than just a name. It is an energetic transmission. An activation. An attunement. So significant, potent and symbolic that I just HAD to go into great waffling detail, because I believe that in order to understand the symbolic significance of our name, and to fully receive its energetic transmission, it is important for you to understand the ancient practical and spiritual significance of the hearth. So, if you are intrigued and wish to connect with myself, and this business entity, on a much deeper level, then read on.
The word hearth refers specifically to "the paved floor of a fireplace", which often extended out into the room around it, but due to its significance to early home life (being the main/only source of heat and light, and facilitating the cooking of food) the hearth has also become symbolic of home. Something I recently discovered while exploring the nature and meaning of the word hearth, is that a cultural hearth refers to an area "where civilisation first began; the sites for the creation of customs, innovations, and ideologies that changed the world."
Official definitions aside, I chose the word hearth (or more accurately, it chose me) for its energetic resonance and symbolic potency.
For centuries, the hearth featured at the very centre of every home, town hall, and temple of worship, and was highly regarded – both literally and symbolically – as the heart of all home, family, and community life, inspiring the familiar adage “hearth and home”.
Deeply honoured as a sacred space responsible for supporting and sustaining all life within the home, the hearth provided light and warmth, facilitated the preparation and cooking of food, enabled the creation of various tools, provided a safe space for families and communities to gather, and served as an altar where offerings were placed. Many ancient polytheist cultures (particularly those of Egypt, Greece, Rome, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia), believed the hearth was governed by a Goddess who ensured safety, security, and abundance within the home, family, and wider community, therefore it was always tended to with great care, intention and reverence.
With the advancement of modern society, the hearth has lost its cultural significance and is no longer present at the heart of every significant structure or afforded the same level of honour and devotion as it once was. However, it has not lost its symbolic potency. Our name, along with our studio, is an activation, acting as both a transmission of, and attunement to, the ancient and sacred energies of the hearth, honouring and embodying its traditional symbolism as a homely and comforting place of light, warmth, nourishment, creation, family, community, and reverence, and its spiritual symbolism as a reflection of the creative spark of existence that resides within all; the heart of Being.
When you attend a healing session, class, or workshop at Sacred Hearth, you are returning home to your Self, to the warmth, comfort, safety, and security within, and tending to that space with the same intention, care and reverence as our ancestors once tended to the hearths within their own scared spaces.
Now that you understand the medicine I received, and intend to transmit, through the symbolism of the hearth, I invite you to take a moment (after reading this) to close your eyes, take several deep breaths, following them down into your body, centring your awareness in your chest, and float the question, "What does hearth mean to me?" Lightly explore, with the awareness rather than the thoughts and the mind, how the hearth, as a symbol and an energy, makes you feel? What feelings and sensations does it evoke within you? Try to allow these questions to land in the heart and the body rather than the mind, and allow the answers to also arise from those spaces. There may be medicine for you there, and there may not, but I encourage you to explore whatever you discover, and I welcome you to share any insights with me either privately or in the comments.
Thank you all for joining me on this magical healing journey, my radiant little light-beings, and welcome to Sacred Hearth.
Welcome home.