The Great Mother March: A Women’s Empowerment Pilgrimage • A Return to Balance 🌸 March 21st to April 22nd, 2026

FaceBook kind of announced this today (Friday, March 20.) But it was harder than heck to find the description of the event...where are they going?

I finally found it under "discussion."

Sure I support this. Not going to take part unfortunately, due to health. Great to share about it, and I wish them well. Hope they have as much success as the Buddhist Monks.

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 The Great Mother March: A Women’s Empowerment Pilgrimage • A Return to Balance 🌸 March 21st to April 22nd, 2026

Asheville, NC to the U.S. Capitol - a sort of "walk-a-thon" to empower women & men. The destination is intended to replace what comes to mind now when someone says U.S.Capitol with the love & compassion of the empowered, loving feminine.

Welcome to the official community space for The Great Mother March — a powerful 32-day pilgrimage rooted in love, creativity, and co-creation. We are walking for unity, for healing, for balance, and for the flourishing of all people and our planet.

✨ This is a movement of inspired action — grounded in compassion, art, wisdom, joy, and ancestral connection.

It is a humanitarian, creative expression, with women & men collaborating to BE the change we desire in our world.

Together, we are embodying the return of the wise, empowered feminine, walking hand-in-hand with the healthy masculine, to seed new patterns of peace, possibility, and mutual respect.

💗 This group is for:

Those curious about joining the March in spirit, in steps, or in support.

People passionate about women's empowerment, community connection, and collective transformation.

Artists, organizers, spiritual leaders, creatives, activists, and allies ready to co-create a future that honors all life.

We march for the Earth.

We march for our children.

We march for creativity, freedom, love, and the reclamation of feminine leadership.

Let this be a container of hope, courage, and collaboration — where we focus on what’s possible when we come together in sacred purpose.

Join us at greatmothermarch.com for more details, resources, and to find your place in the circle.

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The web site gives this:

We are walking alongside the Appalachian Mountains, the oldest mountain chain in the United States, weaving the mutual respect, unconditional love, reciprocity, and radiant self-expression of the Great Mother through rural communities in NC and VA. 

Perhaps the march along the “spine” of the U.S. is symbolic of the awakening to the natural balance of feminine and masculine? 

Perhaps, just like our own spines, the healing and transformation will ripple out from this pathway. 

We are intentionally walking through communities, not mountain pathways, to make the Great Mother, her frequency, visible. We intend to BE the change we desire, one step, one community, at a time. 

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We kick off The Great Mother March with a music & arts event at Pack Square in Asheville, NC on March 21st and begin our pilgrimage of devotion and celebration on March 22nd. 

• Nights one through six, take us to Black Mountain, Old Fort, Marion, Linville, and Boone. 

• Then, we make our way to the Peace Pentagon, outside of Independence, VA via Todd, West Jefferson, the River Country Campground along the New River.

• We walk into Galax, VA on April 1st, then Hillsville, Floyd, Ferrum and Rocky Mount, arriving in Rocky Mount on April 5th. 

• Then, we make our way to Lynchburg, arriving on 4/9, up Hwy 29 to Waynesboro, arriving 4/12.

• We arrive in Charlottesville on 4/13 and spend the day of 4/14 at IX Art Park, resting and preparing for our final leg to D.C. There, you will be invited to learn our fun & simple dance moves for the FLASH MOB we will be expressing as we enter into D.C. SO exciting! 

• From Charlottesville, we plan to spend nights in Barboursville, Orange, Culpeper and Warrenton. We arrive in Manasass on 4/19, then Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA, and Alexandria, VA, our last stop before arriving in D.C. on April 22nd, Earth Day! 

It is an aggressive time frame and there is zero pressure or expectation that everyone will feel called to walk every step of the way. TOGETHER, as a community, we will allow our steps to kiss the ground, our voices to bless the waters, our hearts to create connection and understanding, compassion and a softening, everywhere we go. 

If you are familiar with any of these towns, have contacts, suggestions for sponsors, etc, please comment below or email us info@greatmothermarch.com

Please consider end of year donations to The Great Mother March. Tax deductible donations can be made from our home page at GreatMotherMarch.com or mailed to our 501c3 sponsor. Click HERE to access the Sponsorship Deck in our Google Drive. 

There is no charge to join the March. It is purely volunteer led. Monies go to ensuring safety and health along the way, basics like port-a-potties, our HQ tents, drinking water (ZERO plastic water bottles on the March), signage, costs around our stopovers (campgrounds, event venues), sound equipment for our Flash Mob, and all the miscellaneous support items that are required to facilitate the best possible pilgrimage for ALL!

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A Manifesto for the Great Mother

We are walking.

Not away from something—but toward what we know is possible.

We walk not as individuals seeking power, but as a community remembering our wholeness.

We walk because we are ready to embody the world we long for. A world where:

• Care is currency and compassion is strength

• Earth is not a resource, but a living relative

• Feminine wisdom is honored in all its forms

• Communities thrive through collaboration, not competition

• Diversity is celebrated as sacred design

• Leadership flows from empathy, vision, and integrity

• Action is taken out of love, not fear

• Change is not a concept—it is a practice. And that the future is not waiting for us—it is asking to be co-created through us. Step by step. Breath by breath. Together.

We walk in devotion to the feminine principle—not as a gender, but as a sacred intelligence that
lives in all of us, regardless of identity:

The power to nurture.

The courage to feel.

The wisdom to listen.

The resilience to care, create, include, and imagine.

We honor the feminine not by excluding the masculine,

but by restoring the harmony

between doing and being,

action and reflection,

striving and surrender.

We gather to reconnect—with the Earth,

with each other, and with the part of ourselves that remembers we belong.

This is not a protest—it is a living prayer.

This is not a spectacle—it is sacred work.

This is not for them to fix—it is for us to become.

We march for justice, for healing, for regeneration.

We march for the mothers and the waters,

the teachers and the trees,

the future generations and the ancestral wisdom

that still lives in our bones.

We believe in practical magic—shared meals,

shelter offered, feet sore from the road.

We believe in circles over hierarchies.

In conversation over competition.

In art as medicine and movement as truth.

We are not waiting for permission.

We are not counting on existing structures.

We are moving & creating as one—

a body of many hearts,

in service to life, love,

and the Great Mother who lives in us all.

This is how we rise.

This is how we remember.

This is how we walk the way forward.

Join us. Walk with us. Embody LOVE.

A Walk for LOVE.

Ostara!

 

Ostara is the ancient festival of the Spring Equinox, the moment when day and night stand in perfect balance before the light begins its slow victory over darkness. For many witches and old pagan traditions, this was the true awakening of the earth after the long silence of winter.

The name Ostara is often linked to the Germanic spring goddess Ēostre, a deity associated with dawn, fertility, and renewal. In old folklore she was connected to hares and eggs, symbols that represented life emerging again from the stillness of winter. These symbols would later echo through history and appear in modern spring traditions.

But beneath the folklore, Ostara is really about rebirth.

For months the land rests beneath the cold grip of winter. Seeds lie hidden beneath frozen soil, waiting patiently for warmth and light. When the equinox arrives, something begins to stir again. The days grow longer, animals return, and the earth slowly begins to breathe.

For witches, Ostara has long been a time of planting intentions. Just as farmers place seeds into the soil, practitioners place their hopes, goals, and visions into the energetic current of the coming year. What is planted now, in thought, action, and spirit has the chance to grow as the light strengthens.

The deeper magic of Ostara is balance. Light and darkness share the sky equally, reminding us that life moves in cycles rather than permanent states. Just as winter eventually releases its hold, every difficult season in our own lives carries the potential for renewal.

Ostara is the reminder that transformation rarely arrives all at once. It begins quietly, beneath the surface, long before the world can see it.

Just like the first green shoots pushing through the soil, new life is already finding its way back to the light.

SOURCE: Hex and Shadow Chronicles FB page

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O'Keeffe

Have you ever walked past an empty patch of dirt, a cracked sidewalk, or a neglected roadside planter and thought it could use a little life?

That instinct is behind guerrilla gardening—a grassroots movement where people plant flowers or native plants in overlooked urban spaces. How does this help with climate change? Even small patches of greenery can cool overheated streets, soak up stormwater, and create habitat for other urban wildlife.

People are experimenting with this idea in creative ways. Last week in Toronto, I met a student who was planting native seeds in public areas around the city. In Los Angeles, artist Doug Rosenberg built a temporary wetland in the concrete channel of the LA River, creating a small patch of habitat that quickly attracted birds and other wildlife. In the UK, gardener Harry Smith-Haggett used plants to highlight local problems in Horsham. He filled potholes with flowers, drawing attention to dangerous roads and prompting repairs.

In London, environmental activist Ellen Miles has been transforming overlooked corners of her neighborhood into mini-oases filled with pollinator-friendly plants. After sharing her adventures online, she has inspired others to do the same! She says part of the appeal is the immediate impact: “A lot of activism can feel intangible. With guerrilla gardening, you see the results. It’s empowering.”

Planting in public spaces can sometimes fall into a legal gray area. As this article explains, “authorities often turn a blind eye—so long as it doesn’t cause damage, obstruction or a public nuisance.” But the safest way to participate is by supporting local greening efforts: planting native species in your own yard or apartment balcony, volunteering with a community garden, or working with local groups to add pollinator habitat in your neighborhood.

With the first day of Northern Hemisphere spring arriving March 20, now is the perfect time to get started. Don’t forget to talk about what you’re doing with others, and get your community involved too!

Thanks Katharine Hayhoe

Monet

Japanese best-selling writer, Haruki Murakami, on why hard times make us better.

“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” 

Source: Kafka on the Shore

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Meditations on Life. My morning thoughts today.  

A vase or two of flowers

 A stretch this week...seeing Sepia Saturday musicians near a fireplace, and a vase of flowers upon the mantle.

Sharing with Sepia Saturday

 and Floral Friday Fotos

Written Words

 

Brooker Creek Preserve

Must post this again...and hope you enjoy your next blueberries!

Sharing with Tom's Signs2

From times gone by of my life.

 

Our activity director, Brenda, at the  St. Augustine FL nursing home before it was renovated. The residents could sit on the porch and look over the Inland Waterway, sometimes seeing boats go by, and many birds.

I worked as a counselor with Lutheran Social Services, visiting nursing homes in St. Augustine, Orange Park and Jacksonville FL.  Another counselor, Anna stands behind some residents.

This photo shows one of my favorite clients, Ruth, in the red. She was a retired original member of the NY Radio City Rockets. you just never knew who you'd meet in FL nursing homes!

My youngest son and I lived on the corner of US Highway A1A. We sat by it waiting for the Olympic torch to go by one year (before 2001). Sorry, don't have a photo of the parade and the runner.

The Atlantic Ocean hits the beach gently where often you can drive directly on it. That day the sand was too soft unless you had 4 wheel drive. These beach access drives were further south than where we lived.

We had the downstairs apartment in this blue house. The parking lot didn't exist when we lived there, just a grassy lot with sand spurs. The Sunset Grille was across A1A  kitty-corner from us. It attracted the loud crowd often, including motorcyclists from all over for Bike Week each year.

The end of our street was the Atlantic Ocean, down a sea wall with some steps. The Hampton Inn was built off to the right of this photo while we lived there.

My little Toyota parked at High Falls State Park in Georgia, where I would stop to refresh as I drove from FL to visit my Atlanta/Norcross family.

 High Falls, GA. I've always loved waterfalls.

 Here I visited my son, Russ and wife when they lived in  Norcross GA, where all three of their daughters were born.

Sharing with Tom's Tuesday Treasures 

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Update on health *carried over from yesterday.

Cardio people called to say my MRI taken Friday (rather stressful) says my heart is normal.

Whew!

Pulmonologist called and said cut the steroids in half, and stop taking the antibiotic. And schedule a chest X-ray. 

Sigh…I did have a lot of coughing yesterday, so who knows what’s happening. The Dr. said she heard wheezing still in my chest. But I’m not feverish nor have colorful sputum (I know, you really wanted to know that!)

And friends are stepping up to drive me places when/where I need to go.

Just the facts.

 Just a short catch-up. If you're not into medical details of an elder, just skip this post. I think I've given just the facts, with perhaps a bit of my feelings. But not the details of the medical terms!

My MRI cardiac stress test was last Friday. I had had to reschedule from the last time scheduled, because I couldn't even drive to the hospital from anxious nausea.

My anxiety was definitely better going into the MRI, but about 3/4 way through I had lots of trouble breathing, so they pulled me out and kept saying my oxygen level looked ok. But I kept saying, I can't breathe! I really felt lots of coughing. But no clearing. Finally I said, I think it's an asthma attack, and the nurse went to my purse and got my inhaler. 

Ah ha. That did it, and I could finish the test. Of course they had already given me the antidote to the stressing meds...but they did finish another 5 minutes of MRI.

The Patient Portal shows just a few things, but I still haven't talked with the cardiologist, so I don't quite understand them. Apparently nothing worth a call that day from him.

But I had already scheduled the pulmonologist visit later in the afternoon, because I was always feeling short of breath. Just bending over or walking around the apartment made me panting. They did a walking test to see my oxygen level, and decided I could start having oxygen both portable and while sleeping. A big thing, but if it helps, I'll be glad of it.

They're also putting me back on the same antibiotic again, since I was wheezing away when just sitting still. With steroids this time. Whee!

So they also want me to use the "thera-vest" which shakes my torso to loosen up the mucus. I admit to having not used it much in the last few months. And to start back on a med that I'd tried doing without. Of course that may well have contributed to the shortness of breath - duh. So add another inhaler and the 15-20 min on the vest thing, and start using oxygen. I haven't even started the new drug for bronchiectasis...and will wait another week of taking antibiotic, just to make sure any side effects are just from it.

I'm not thrilled about more stuff to have to treat the condition my condition is in.

These are the exact words I said to my friend in an email that evening. I noticed that as tired as I was, it was really difficult to sleep. Though the nurse assured me the medicine which made my heart think it was exercising strenuously had been gone from my system, I think this old body was still somewhat stimulated. I also had very little appetite.  I'm slightly befuddled and discombobulated...just very out-of-sorts!

And the good news is my attitude changed. I had survived the ordeal. And I was just going to keep on keeping on no matter what medicine told me was needed. But I woke up Saturday morning (after at least 2 hours of wakefulness in early hours) and told myself I loved myself! What a good feeling!

So I'll share some pretty photos now...not of myself!

Heavy frost on the roof of the building downhill from me, and a few blossoms on the trees barely visible in morning sun Friday morning.

Same view Sunday shows the Bradford pear has bloomed.

Waiting for MacD's where I stopped for lunch Friday.

Mission Hospital. The windows on the second floor on far left are right outside the MRI and other radiology labs.  

I took these shots while leaving.

I had spoken of my difficulty finding parking and walking to the entrance originally when the scheduling happened. That was a main source anxiety. It wasn't until my confirmation phone call the day before that they told me there was a valet service, and it was "gratis." And once inside the hospital I checked in right at that door and they wheeled me around in a wheelchair to get to the next place to go. If only they had told me these details the first time, the anxiety would have been much lower!

To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, every cubic inch of space is a miracle…

WALT WHITMAN