I like science and don't spend nearly enough time thinking about it. It surprises me that so much of it is metaphysical in the popular sense of the word. Here are a few very basic facts on the frequency of color:

1. Frequency refers to the number of times light passes a given point which can be thought of as vibration. Colors with long wavelengths have a low frequency. Colors with short wavelengths have a higher frequency.
2. Red has the longest wavelength and lowest frequency of any color in the visible human spectrum. It has a low vibration or frequency and less energy than other light. Red represents earth and courage and the life-force. It is associated with the root chakra.
3. Redder than red refers to a red whose wavelength is too long for us to see. Infrared light exists beyond the color we perceive as red.
4. Violet has the shortest wavelength which translates into a very high frequency. This color contains the shortest waves we can see. It also contains the most energy. Ultra-violet is a very high vibration violet not visible to the naked eye.
5. Color exists which has a higher frequency than violet. It is invisible to humans and known as bluer than blue. It interests me that blue corresponds to wisdom, spirituality and communication. Blue is significant to me personally, as is red so that made the outside the human spectrum stuff interesting to me. For more on my personal dream experience with color symbolism please see the following entry: The Spirit Dream
6. There are many other wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum that which aren't visible to humans. The chart above illustrates this fact as well as all others mentioned.

I've been meaning to spend more time outside so I decided to deliberately create a sacred outdoor space in my own backyard - something I haven't really done in my present location. 

1. Provide Food and Water for Our Wild Friends.Something like providing water might not seem like a big thing - until you're thirsty! Over the last few days, with temps in NE PA in the mid 90s or higher, we've seen a record number of birds and bees at our little birdbath, including 2 Cardinals and a group of 4 Sparrows (at one time). We share our medicine wheel herb garden with a family of bunnies and I like thinking that the little ones were raised on lemon balm and parsley. We also have birdbath and are planning on getting a bird feeder.
2. Create a Meditation Space and / or Go Outside and Ground. A few weeks ago I went to an estate sale and the property I saw made a big impression on me. Walking out to check out the patio furniture, I saw that someone had turned a the space between the garage and the back fence of a small yard into something special. There was a small flagstone path flanked by greenery and flowers. At the end were more flagstones and a vine covered arbor and a spot, a neighbor told me, where a fountain had once stood  It occurred to me that almost anyone could do this  All it takes is a few plants or even seeds and the commitment to create a sacred space for meditation, reflection or clearing. And if all that hard work is too much, just take off your shoes and stan  barefoot upon the Earth  Doing this will help you ground and clear toxicity or blockages.
3. Create a Sanctuary for Plants and Wildlife. Plant a few heirloom or endangered plants, a bee or butterfly plant or any of the many flowers, plants and trees attractive to wildlife. These include (but aren't limited to) sunflower, honeysuckle, yarrow, lilac, daisies, lemon balm, rosemary, thyme, purple cone flower, heliotrope. pansies, hawthorn, peonies, holly, apple, fern, or thyme.
4. Make a Space for Sacred Gatherings  Set aside a space can be used as a ritual space (our women's circle met in my yard on the Solstice and gathered around the chimnea), a group meditation space, a labyrinth (made from a simple stone pathway) or a gathering space for family. Last year we discovered a discarded metal and canvas gazebo on the street and set it up this summer. It's the perfect place for family to gather and while I haven't gotten everyone together for an outdoor game night yet I know that when I do, the laughter and comrade of that kind get-together is truly sacred space. This can work on a balcony or porch or if you don't have your own space, find a spot in state or community park that calls to you.
5. Grow and Gather Healing Herbs. This was the point of my medicine wheel garden before I deeded it to the bunnies and I am still working on creating my own medicinal garden but it something I know I will do eventually. Try common remedies like lemon balm for anxiety or parsley for fluid retention or get a book on herbal and learn by doing. Herbs are very easy to grow and can even be kept in a window box or indoors in any sunny location. For reference consider Your Backyard Herb Garden or Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs to start. 
6. Make a Direct (Not Book) Connection with the Elements. This is an activity open to anyone who can get outside and is really just an exercise in awareness. Go outside and enjoy the element - in your own yard, on a walk or in any public space. Take a journal if you'd like and write about the warmth of summer fire or the clarity of the winter wind. You may even want to carry a sketch book and draw your own version of Earth, Fire, Air or Water Fairies!
7. Practice Sustainability. This something that many of us can do in big ways or small. Ideas include having a garden or patio plants or hanging tomatoes or strawberries, planting a garden or making a rain barrel to water outside plants but there are many many more things being done. This a wonderful way to honor the Earth, save money, secure your future and reducing the heavy heavy load our species has placed upon the planet. For more ideas check out one of my favorite books on this topic: The Backyard Homestead.
8. Make a Place to Observe the Stars and Moon. Any window or balcony will do! Attune to the cycles of the heavens by becoming aware of and observing astronomical events - like Moon phases, eclipses and the special appearances of planets and stars.  I use Llewellyn's Astrological Calendar to keep track!

My son Josh has done a lot of work on our family tree. He's found out all kinds of interesting people. Kings, queens, saints, women hung for witchcraft, Ray Bradbury and more.

This interests me, especially as I become more and more convinced that the tree in the Spirit Dream is our family tree. Though I am still unsure just what it means.

I got my Ancestry DNA done recently, as well. A lot of stuff washes out (like Swedish and Ukrainian). Other stuff pops up in small amounts—like Scottish, Native American and Irish, which was told was there but didn't know about for sure.

I'm happy about this because I have an interest in Native and Celtic culture. I understand, of course, that culture is something handed down and I know that the genetic part doesn't really matter, but I like the idea that there is a connection.

I also find it interesting that some of the historical figures that have interested me the most over the years, have popped in my family tree (and the family trees of millions of other people, I'm sure).

Descansos are symbols that mark a death. Right there, right on that spot, someone’s journey in life halted unexpectedly.There has been a car accident, or someone was walking along the road and died of heat exhaustion, or a fight took place there. Something happened there that altered that person’s life and the lives of other persons forever.

Be gentle with yourself and make the descansos, the resting places for the aspects of yourself that were on their way to somewhere, but never arrived. Descansos mark the death sites, the dark times, but they are also love notes to your suffering. They are transformative. There is a lot to be said to pinning things to the ground so they don't follow us around. There is a lot to be said for laying them to rest.

From the temples of ancient Sumer to the forests of Native America, the owl appears as a frequent and remarkably consistent symbol of the spirit world.

First drawn on prehistoric cave walls, the owl can be associated with religion as early as 2000 BCE as evidenced by the The Queen of the Night Relief, a 4000 year old terracotta base relief presently located in the British Museum in London.  The relief depicts a  winged Sumerian goddess flanked by two large owls and the owls are not decorative but highly symbolic. 

The goddess was called Inanna or 'Divine Lady Owl'.  She was  strongly linked to the underworld through The Descent of Innana.

The story is told on a series of clay tablet from the Queen of the Night period and tells of Inanna's descent into the underworld during the dark of the moon. 

In Pagan Europe, the ancient Celts also saw the owl as a symbol of the underworld while in other cultures the symbolism centered on the soul.  In Australia the aboriginal people believed owls to be the souls of  women. The  Ainu of Japan held the Eagle Owl to be alternately a a divine ancestor or a messenger of the gods.  In Romania, folk tales say that forgiven souls fly to heaven in the guise of Snowy Owls. 

In the Americas, the Aztec god of death, was often depicted with owls and the Hopi god of death was believed to be an owl.  In Mexico, the Little Owl was called "messenger of the lord of the land of the dead", and flew between the land of the living and the dead.  In the Sierras, native peoples believed that the Great Horned Owl captured the souls of the departed and carried them to the underworld.  Several different Native Northern American traditions including the Mojave believed that the soul turned into an owl at death.

The mythology of multiple cultures places the symbolism of the owl firmly in the spirit world.  His mythic role however is largely positive.  As a messenger of the gods he is sacred, a bearer of divine knowledge and a facilitator of communication between the worlds.  As a guide, he bridges the gap between life and death, but more correctly: the space between this reality and the next.