The Opal Crow

01/12/2026

Winter calls, and I’m answering.

The last few years have laid before me many opportunities in a long season of learning, practicing, shedding, and rebuilding. There comes a moment in growth when practice ends—and we are asked to live what we’ve learned.

This past year brought expansion and initiation in ways I never could have anticipated. With each threshold, I was asked to release old identities, strategies, relationships, and rhythms that no longer fit.

And what I’m learning is this:
After we choose a new way of being, grief waits for us.

Grief for who we were.
For how we once moved through the world.

Even when the change is right, something must be released.

Grief doesn’t ask us to push forward.
It asks for stillness.
For quiet.
For space.

Between grief, motherhood, and the deeper creative work unfolding beneath the surface, I’m choosing a quieter season.

I’m letting my online presence rest by closing my formal business containers—my website and business email—so I can tend what’s unfolding beneath the surface.

I’m not disappearing. I’m not done.
Still here. Still listening.
I’m choosing seasons over performance.

This isn’t a goodbye. It’s a season of deep rest—a conscious step back so my roots can deepen without the pressure to perform, market, or manage.

This community has meant more to me than words can hold. I’m deeply grateful for your presence, your care, and the ways you continue to show up with integrity and heart.

All because you felt something true—and leaned the f**k into it. No season can take that from us.

Thank you for walking with me through seasons, rather than performance and output.

12/02/2025

I'll take this a step further. Lets normalize RECEIVING. Receiving time, receiving love, receiving someone's thought.

I grew up feeling intensely uncomfortable during gift-giving moments because I did not know how to receive.

I remember so many instances where I received items, love, and time and freezing because I couldn't find words.

From items that weren't "me", to things I couldn't use for health reasons (scented candles and perfume are good examples), to the effort and time someone put into creating something.

I would feel the life drain out of my body, and I'd choke on the thank you that formed in my mouth.

I felt broken and small in those moments.

Thinking about my life and these uncomfortable moments, I can come up with many reasons why receiving can be difficult.

- Gifts being held over someone's head and used as ammunition against them.

- Feeling guilty because they couldn't reciprocate in a way they felt was adequate.

- They don't celebrate the way others do and don't know how to say no, or detach from the difference in celebration.

Something shifted in me this past year, and I found my heart growing brighter when people shared themselves with me, and it started with a simple act on my part, which I'll share with you in just a minute.

They say it's the thought that counts, and they're absolutely right; however, it's in our ability, or lack thereof, to receive that thought (aka LOVE) that makes all the difference.

When someone takes time to sit with you, they are giving you the one thing they can never get back... TIME.

When someone shares a meal or homemade food with you, they are giving you nourishment. A foundational ((need)) of the human body.

When someone offers you a gift (no matter where it came from or how it was made) they, too, are offering you TIME. (time exchanged for money, time exchanged for creation, time exchanged for shopping.).

All of these things are worthy of the deepest gratitude because they are acts of love.

Here is how I shifted my experience with receiving.

I detach from WHAT I'm receiving, and I do so with a simple but meaningful ritual done in the presence of the person offering me the gift (time, presence, presents).

It doesn't have to be a ceremonial ritual. It can be as simple as touching your heart as if you're putting the gift in there. Say something about receiving the gift and sent that magic back to them.

Looks like this: (looking at the person's eyes) "I receive this gift (time, presence, present) and I place it in my heart. May the love you've shared with me come back to you with warmth!"

Try it out. You might just be surprised how impactful it is!

Send a message to learn more

12/02/2025

Quiet isn’t ‘deep work.’
Quiet isn’t ‘higher work.’
Quiet is just… work.

It’s the part most people avoid because their nervous system only knows hustle —
especially when stillness feels like standing in a room with no windows,
no exits,
no distraction to hide inside.

I took a few days in the quiet — not to be profound, but to be present.
To feel my body.
To honor the work that doesn’t look productive,
but still rewires everything from the inside out.

I sat with the Norse Goddess Nótt,
and let her show me the medicine held in the velvet nights and the winter cold —
the kind of truth that settles straight into the bones.

And from this place of rest,
from this honesty,
I’m ready to call you into the circle.

Exhale & Soften: Winter Solstice Women’s Circle — join us Saturday, December 20, 2025, from 5-7pm EDT with an optional meal share to follow.

A link to register and complete details in the comments.

(This photo is an inspirational photo taken from Pinterest to demonstrate the call inward. The artist is unknown.)

11/22/2025

[UPDATE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED]
WYRD Weavers — it’s time.
The Winter Solstice gathering is open.

On Saturday, December 20th, we meet in a sacred, intimate circle during one of the most potent thresholds of the year — the still point between the New Moon and the Winter Solstice, where the descent completes and the first threads of returning light begin to hum beneath the surface.

This gathering is devoted to a truth we’ve been taught to forget:

Rest is not earned. Rest is your divine right.

In this circle we Witness, Yield, Reclaim, and Devote —
honoring what the descent has revealed and softening into the deep restorative rest Winter invites us into.

If this call stirs something in your bones… trust it.

📅 December 20, 2025
⏰ 5–7 PM ET
💸 $55 per person
👥 Limited to 10 women
📍 St. Joseph, MI (address sent after registration)

Optional: Join us after for a warm community meal share.

Register here:
https://forms.gle/bpnqLH6HvrEDvSyd6

You don’t need to earn your rest.
You only need to return to it.
Let Winter take you into her arms.

Exhale & Soften — Winter Solstice Women’s Circle
A limit of 10 seats. If this is yours, you’ll know.

11/07/2025

When life feels like a tornado of change, I like to look to the things that remain consistent through the changes.

Like relationships (platonic and romantic) with healthy foundations and artistic expression as a service.

Behind the scenes I’ve been working on something that means a lot to me and reflects my inner depth. While I’m not ready to share it just yet, I can share that abundance comes in expected and unexpected ways.

I put the cap back on my camera lens two years ago and this year through no effort of my own, the Universe has blessed me with several photography clients. 🥰

I may not be advertising but my photography services still serve in meaningful and deep ways.

Come prep my backdrops for tomorrow’s session!

If you’re looking to have photos taken, I take a select few clients every month. email [email protected] or message me via WhatsApp (269) 208-3885 and let’s chat!st t

09/20/2025

✨ Today feels full and abundant. ✨
I get to do two things I am both passionate about and deeply good at:

guiding inner growth and capturing life 📸.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a photo session—so yes, there are a few nerves—but mostly I feel excited to return to my art.

Before heading out, I wanted to give you a little peek inside my private in-home healing space, which I lovingly call my Vé.

This is a place to arrive.

A space held in the highest vibration—where healing, release, and inner exploration unfold with comfort and reverence.

🍂 And if you’ve been feeling the pull of fall, you know this season invites us inward. The descent, the shedding, the remembering. My Vé holds that same invitation.

Learn more at https://www.verhythms.com/workwithme

If you have questions you can email [email protected].

09/18/2025

Most people know the Autumn Equinox as the day when light and dark stand in perfect balance. 🌞🌑

But balance is not a destination. It’s a passing moment. Eventually, the scales tip. The nights grow longer, the days shorter. We begin the descent.

This is the season where the outer world slows, quiets, and fades back into shadow. And it’s the season when our inner world asks us to do the same — to yield what can’t come with us, and to carry forward only what matters most.

Nature shows us what this descent looks like.

This hollow spiral reminded me of the thresholds we cross at this time of year. From the outside, the dark can look intimidating — a void, a place of endings. But when we soften and step closer, we see it’s not empty at all. It’s alive with texture, color, and story.

The descent is not here to consume us — it’s here to reveal what is essential.

That’s what we’ll honor in our Autumn Equinox Women’s Circle (Sept 27): stepping into Hel’s embrace together, not with fear, but with devotion. 🌿

✨ space is limited and there are only a couple spots left! Reserve your place → https://forms.gle/uc7JiAb49WUwqcR69

Saturday, September 27
5pm ET | St Joseph, Mi
$55/person

09/09/2025

I got a new tattoo today in honor of our jumping spider friend Hyde, Rupert, and the many we’ve met in our garden this year. 🕷️

As the ink was laid into my skin, I realized what a perfect representation they are of shadow and light.

When my lifelong friend (who owns the tattoo shop) heard me and my artist talking about spiders, he immediately cringed. Total disgust. He even joked that after 30 years of friendship, we could no longer be friends. 🤣

It got me thinking…

I was once afraid of spiders too. I would kill them on sight. Their mystery was too much for me — so I rejected them completely.

But over time, fear softened into curiosity.
I began taking photos to identify them.
Then I’d capture and release them outside.

Curiosity eventually shifted into connection.
Now, I make space for them in my home. Jumpers are inquisitive, friendly, and keep the bug population in check. Rúna and I even call them companions.

I also began to notice the spiritual messages they carried. When Rupert first appeared, he reminded me that curiosity is a bridge — that what first looks frightening can become a guide if we choose to see differently.

Now, I don’t just tolerate them — I respect them as valuable allies, teachers, and cohabitants.

Fear and light are exactly like that.

When fear has us in its grip, we react. We shut down, lash out, or destroy what we don’t understand. But when we soften, when we move from fear → curiosity → connection, the shadow shifts. We see differently. What once felt threatening becomes a companion and a teacher.

This is the essence of Hel’s embrace.
Not punishment. Not terror.
But a descent that invites us to soften, to respect, to discover light even in the shadow.

Our Autumn Equinox Women’s Circle (Sept 27) will be devoted to this work. To walking into Hel’s embrace with curiosity instead of fear. To naming the wisdom we’ll carry as our lantern through the darker half of the year.

✨ Reserve your spot here → https://forms.gle/uc7JiAb49WUwqcR69

September 27, 2025 | 5pm | 10 Spots | $55/person | St Joseph, Mi

(Thanks to TJ Lucas at Conception Gallery for giving my jumping spider friends a tribute with some ink time today!)

09/06/2025

Who is Hel — and why are we working in her embrace this month?

Hel is often misunderstood. In Norse cosmology, she is the keeper of the underworld, the one who tends the unseen roots, the quiet endings, and the wisdom that ripens only in shadow.

She is part death and part beauty.

She is duality embodied.

This month, our Women’s Circle (Sept 27th) unfolds inside her embrace. The Equinox will have passed. The threshold will be behind us. We will be walking within the descent.

This is a circle of devotion — a time to witness what has shifted, yield to what must fall away, reclaim the wisdom you’ll carry as your lantern, and devote yourself to walking with it through the dark.

🌿 Exchange: $55 · Limited to 10 spots
🍲 Optional community meal share to follow

✨ Reserve your place in circle: https://forms.gle/uc7JiAb49WUwqcR69

09/02/2025

✨ Hel’s Embrace: Beginning the Descent ✨
Autumn Equinox Women’s Circle · September 27

By the time we gather, the Equinox will have passed, and Hel’s dark moon will have opened its door. This circle is about stepping into the descent with devotion:

Join us and:
🌑 Witness what has shifted
🍂 Yield to Hel’s embrace
🔥 Reclaim your inner wisdom
🌕 Devote to carrying it into the dark

🌿 Exchange: $55 · Limited to 10 spots
🍲 Optional community meal share to follow
🖤 5pm ET | St Joseph, MI

💫 Register now + receive a special Equinox Gift Bundle:
– Guided audio ritual
– Journal prompts for the descent

Reserve your place here → https://forms.gle/uc7JiAb49WUwqcR69

08/30/2025

I’ve been a little quiet lately, and for good reason! More to come on that in the coming weeks 😉… for now, I want to share that I am still seeing clients by appointment.

Today’s client is continuting their exploration after their Release and Reclaim session.

If youre in a season that is calling you into the shadows, you can learn more about my offers and book a session here - Theopalcrow.podia.com/workwithme

If youre looking for a community container, our autumn equinox gathering is coming up on September 30.

✨ Autumn Equinox Women’s Circle | Crossing into the Threshold✨

Not sure what’s right for you? Message me on WhatsApp or email [email protected].

07/21/2025

There is power in endings—
More than we realize.
And we move through them far more often than we think.

With the new moon approaching on July 24, we prepare to enter Moon Cycle 5—a chapter of power, of devotion, of sacred action.
But before we cross into the new, there is always an invitation to pause.
To reflect.
To release.

Yesterday offered me one of those quiet invitations.
At first, I wasn’t going to share it.
Lately, I’ve been choosing silence. Letting my experiences steep, unspoken, until they teach me what they came to show.

But this one… this one carries a message that isn’t just for me.

Reiki has been woven into my life for over a decade, a gentle companion through many seasons. When I received my attunement last November, I made a silent vow to practice whenever pain gripped my hands from autoimmune flares—which, in winter, was often.
When spring arrived, and the ache lessened, I shifted that practice—sending Reiki to the land, to the collective pain in the world, to friends, and to the unseen spaces when I sensed something was off.

And while physical pain was easier to notice, this summer offered me something deeper:
The gift of witnessing myself.

The more I observed, the more I recognized those subtle moments of misalignment.
And sometimes, Mother Nature reflected it back with exquisite clarity.

Over the past month, I was given two sacred opportunities to serve life at the edge of death.
Two butterflies found their way into our world, each nearing the end of their journey.
And in both moments, I offered presence.
I offered Reiki.
And I watched as each one softened and surrendered.

These weren’t random encounters.
They happened just before the start of two new moon cycles—thresholds in the great wheel.

In my WYRD rhythm, this isn’t just darkness.
It’s pre-dawn possibility.
The shedding of the old self. The molting.
The quiet tilling of soul-soil before new seeds can take root.

🦋 June 23: A cabbage white butterfly arrived, just two days before Moon 4—Idunn’s Moon, the energy of youth, vitality, and renewal. She felt like a cleansing. A soft goodbye to what once was.

🦋 July 20: A yellow swallowtail found us four days before Moon 5—Eir’s Moon, the moon of healing and restoration. Her wings flapped, but she couldn’t fly. She landed upside down, over and over.
This one felt like the letting go of something that once carried strength—a former identity, a role, a purpose now complete.

And then, as the swallowtail crossed into the ether… a third butterfly appeared.

🦋 A tiny eastern tailed-blue—the smallest I’ve ever seen.
Delicate gray-white wings at rest, but when it flew? A flash of electric blue. Joy in motion.
This one didn’t come to be held. It came to remind. To witness.

Eastern tailed-blues are symbols of grace, lightness, and new beginnings.
It appeared in the very moment one life ended—an echo of the soul’s continuation. A quiet promise: Death is not the end.

And the rhythm revealed itself:
2 + 1 = 3
Two endings. One emergence.
• One release of spirit (cabbage white)
• One surrender of strength (swallowtail)
• One arrival of renewal (eastern tailed-blue)

A trinity: Cleanse. Surrender. Emerge.

This is the soul’s journey.
The rhythm of all life.
The sacred pattern we live again and again and again.

And life whispered:
Endings are not failures.
They are offerings.
They are space-makers for what wants to be born.

And I’m listening.

This is what Reiki does.
It doesn’t force.
It doesn’t fix.
It calms the system so the body—and the soul—can go where it needs to.
Toward healing.
Toward recovery.
Or toward the next realm entirely.

These weren’t just insects.
They were teachers.
Reminding me that my work moves beyond the body. Beyond the words. Beyond even this life.

⸻

🦋 If you’re standing at a threshold—shedding, grieving, becoming—my work holds space for that too.

✨ Book a Release & Reclaim or Restorative Energy Session through the link in the comments.
✨ Or message me if you don’t know what you need—just that you’re ready to be held.