water dreams
hi everyone, happy Saturday and happy july, how has this week felt for you? it has been a while since i have written a newsletter and it feels good to take a moment to pause, write and share some of what i have been working on over the past several months.
it is the winter season where i am and although it is quite warm, i am feeling all of the winter feelings that i associate with places where it is extremely cold. i am feeling internal, reflective and inspired by observing and being in conversation with my emotions.
my swims reflect that energy.
during the summer months i swam almost daily and now that the season has changed, although i do still go to the beach and get into the water, my communication with the water takes place from the perspective of me on the sand more often or sitting on rocks. observing the energies that the water is navigating, the story it is telling based on the flow of currents and the phase of the moon during winter season.
there have been some mornings that i have wanted to get in, but it felt best to honor the water from outside of it because, the way those waves were rolling! felt safest and best to observe from the sand.
yesterday the water felt calm and the tide was low and when i got in the water and went to my usual areas near the rocks to look at schools of fish they weren’t there. which made me think about their movement and migration pattern and where they were at that moment.
today marks what is known in Bahia as the independence day of Brazil, July 2, 1823. the day known where Bahia successfully fought the Portuguese for political separation from Portugal. this is a history that i am still learning about and as a Black person have extremely complicated feelings about independence days of nation states while slavery functioning as a system. i am taking this day as an opportunity to spend time learning more about the role of Black Brazilians in this history and specifically Black women such as Maria Felipe de Oliveira ( «subtitles available in the link) who were at the forefront of this movement. Maria Felipe de Oliveira lived on the island of Itaparica in Bahia, alongside other liberated Black people in Brazil - this community rose up against the Portuguese who were attempting to settle in strategic points that would have undone spaces of Black commerce, such as where people were selling breads, fish and other materials that they cultivated/ harvested. Maria Felipe de Oliveira not only lead Black folks in strategically undermining the intentions of the Portuguese on the Island of Itaparica, one of the tactics that Maria Felipe de Oliveira used, was plant knowledge. according to history she organized her a group of Black women who seduced a group Portuguese soldiers and gave the Portuguese soldiers a plant infusion and led them to a beach, the plant was known for causing burning of the skin. i am taking this day to reflect on her brilliance, spirit, power.
this year is a presidential election year in Brazil and in addition to historic celebrations of independence taking place there are many politics protests happening today.
there are so many complexities of how days of independence are digested in our Black diaspora and so many complexities around presidential elections, i look forward to talking with others and encountering varying responses and feelings about today, I intend to learn and be in conversation with Black Brazilians, specifically in Bahia about the spiritual, energetic, political and historical significance of this day.
all of these reflections feel related to dreams and our dream worlds and is a big part of why i feel so deeply connected to working with the dream world. as a little person dreaming i remember going to places that were memories, although i wouldn’t have described them as memories at that time. and i remember receiving messages and codes to use in this waking realm. thinking of the dream world as a space of ancestral communication where we can receive messages feels like a secret space where we can remember tools to our liberation - in the deeply complex and varying ways that we unpack that concept.
the last episode of season 1 of the dream suppport hotline aired one month ago! i am in the process of working on season 2 and the hotline is always open to receive dream calls, call in anytime it’s always an honor to listen to your dreams.
in addition to interpreting dreams for the hotline i am also working on an archive of dream symbols that you can learn about more here: Google Form for Calling the Dream hotline
if you’d like to listen to episode 7 but didn’t get a chance to:
i have new textile pieces in the works! i have been spending my months hand opening thousands of tea bags, hand dyeing paper, tea bags and crocheting. while making these works i have been thinking a lot about the spirituality of the waters in brazil and the waters that i grew up close to in beaufort, south carolina ( the atlantic ocean, port royal sound, beaufort river). i have been processing these water histories and present realities through my textile practice and have been working on hand dyeing, creating new portal series pieces and making hand dyed crochet pieces over the last few months. i can’t wait to share more with you about how the pieces are unfolding and when i will be open to taking commissions on crocheted and quilted portal pieces.
i haven’t been drinking as many plant teas as i’d like in the past few months - i’ve mostly been drinking water and juices which feels so nice.
herbally i’ve been leaning into these tinctures:
taking reishi tincture for immunity
taking truth serum tincture
and drinking a lot of cajuina juice - juice of the cashew fruit ( which i just learned is beneficial for eye health and supporting us through stress)
i am growing lemongrass, a month ago when i went to the farmers market i bought lemongrass with roots and after while using the leaves for tea, i’ve been caring for those leaves and it’s been a pleasure to witness new ones sprout.
thank you for reading.
love,
charmaine