Retrogrades, Resentment & Real Life Updates

Summer Newsletter

Our family with the beautiful dog we fostered for 6 weeks

Dear community,

How is your summer going?

I hope you’re finding pockets of joy amidst the heat and—if you’re like me—the cosmic chaos. With so many planets retrograde, life feels like a hot mess. Or maybe… a series of opportunities for growth? On that note, relationships have been on my mind. Retrogrades often stir them up, and I’ve been reflecting on how couples stay close and avoid the slow buildup of resentment over decades. If this resonates, I wrote an article you might like:

👉 Real Intimacy Grows in the Soil of Trust and Forgiveness

A Joy Worth Sharing

One of my biggest joys this season? A dear friend and community member had a successful home birth outside the system—supported by her husband and birth attendant—after a traumatic first experience with local midwives in 2022. I’m so proud of her and wishing her a gentle, healing postpartum. (And for balance: I attended a beautiful home birth WITH local midwives last fall, so yes… good experiences can happen there too!)

I wish I had more time to visit her and bring meals. Lately, that has felt nearly impossible, but I’m hoping to bake something nourishing with my daughters in the coming days. It feels important to teach our girls what it means to care for new mothers and honor the sacred window of postpartum healing. Still, I remind myself that, ideally, this work shouldn’t fall on busy mothers with young children of their own. We need the maidens, the aunties, and the wise Maga women—those without the same daily responsibilities—to step up. Here’s to rebuilding that culture together!

Astrology, Contrast & Summer Energy

If you missed it, here’s a post you might enjoy:👉 From Gemini’s Whirlwind to Cancer’s Waters: A Solstice Leap of Faith

In that article, I suggest a contemplation exercise that is quite profound: meditating on the opposite season of the one you’re in.

So now, in the heat and bloom of summer, imagine the dead of winter: January’s silence, snowbound roads, the desperate longing for sunlight and birdsong.Why? Because contrast brings perspective—and other pearls of wisdom.

QHHT Requests Spike in Summer

Summer pulls us outward: travel, social plans, constant activity. And yet—I notice more QHHT session requests during this time. I think that when life gets loud, the soul craves quiet depth. QHHT is a great way to do this efficiently!

One recent session that has stayed with me involved a parent of three. Their subconscious revealed a farming lifetime 300 years ago—years of relentless effort, until the eldest son returned from war, bringing a spark of joy and energy that lit up the whole family (a widower and eight children).

The message?

Keep doing the grind. Eventually, the spark comes.

And honestly, our modern grind? Still lighter than life 300 years ago. Progress may feel slow and spiral-like for humanity, but it is happening.

By the end, we were both in tears. Sessions like these remind me: we’re always learning from each other. Thank you for your courage in doing this work.

The Beautiful Mess of Real Life

Then… back to reality: homeschooling three kids while my husband works overtime. Today, I chased my toddler seven times for “poop duty” (yes, I counted). Apparently, we’ve entered the hiding-to-poop phase I swore none of my kids would do. My hands smelled like poop all day, no matter how much I scrubbed. Not ideal when you’re trying to enjoy a sandwich.

Motherhood is rich ground for poetry:

On Cleaning Up Shit

Everything shits

I shit, my toddler shits

The house shits

Except the Earth

She eats shit

And excretes

Flowers

What I’m Reading & Watching

📖 Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

I picked this up from the library display because I love medical history—and this book did not disappoint. It weaves the global story of TB with the personal journey of a young man in Sierra Leone. He began as someone full of hope and faith, with a devoted mother praying for his survival. But as his condition worsened, he lost all hope. For weeks, his mind lived in the depths of despair as he faced what seemed like certain death. And then—he received access to medicine and made a miraculous recovery.

It struck me deeply because in our circles, there’s so much pressure to “stay in love and light” or else attract awful things. But life doesn’t always work that way. Even when this young man’s thoughts were heavy and hopeless, life turned around.

For me, it’s a reminder: Yes, do your best to keep your thoughts elevated—but love yourself when you can’t. Feel everything. Don’t gaslight yourself with forced positivity. We are held, even when we fall.

As yoga teaches: we are not the body, not the mind. Even when life feels awful for a day, a week, or a season—you are still held.

📖 The Fault in Our Stars John Green

I so enjoyed John Green's writing in Tuberculosis that I decided to try one of his novels. This was a summer “fun” read for me… though fun might not be the word for a novel about teenagers dying of cancer. But oh, it’s tender.

John Green captures the rawness of young love and the fragility of life in a way that’s both heartbreaking and luminous. The dialogue sparkles with wit, and the love story feels so human, so real, it hurts in the best way.

📖 Hinds’ Feet on High Places (Illustrated Edition) Story by Hannah Hurnard | Illustrations by Jill DeHann & Rachel McNaughton

A dear friend introduced me to this book months ago, and the artwork lingered in my mind until I gave in to a late-night Amazon purchase. I suspected a Christian foundation but didn’t expect so many Bible quotes. While I’m not particularly drawn to the Bible, I can’t deny its wisdom—like many sacred texts.

The story follows Much-Afraid on a journey with the Good Shepherd, accompanied by Sorrow and Suffering, battling Pride, Fear, Self-Pity, and others. For me, it’s been a comfort in a hard season.

We live in a time of rising hate and violence. Seeing brutality justified “in the name of God” is especially heartbreaking for me. Maybe this gentle story can offer some solace to you, too—whatever your faith, path, or tools. May you keep walking with trust, guided by a love bigger than fear. (P.S. This book is available to be borrowed from my growing library!) 📖 The Education of the Child by Rudolf Steiner

As our family grows and we work to face the challenges of sustaining ourselves, I’m realizing that the dreamy Waldorf education I once envisioned just isn’t realistic for this season—it requires too much from me. But reading Steiner’s work directly (rather than relying on curricula and Instagram posts) is giving me and my husband a strong foundation for our approach to raising and educating our children.

Steiner rooted his philosophy in love, spirit, and creativity—seeing these as essential for developing healthy, balanced individuals who could combine sharp intellect with kind hearts and great creative capacity. I’ll share a summary of the book with you soon.

🎬 Watching: Julie & Julia (comfort movie! My husband enjoyed it too) and Love Again with Sam Heughan & Céline Dion (ignore the bad reviews—it’s sweet and cozy).

🎧 Listening: “Ordinary” by Alex Warren and Little Garden by Ayla Nereo (highly recommend her music).

Service & Dreams

I’m applying for the Collingwood Community Service Award, and reflecting on what “service” means to me.

Here’s my post if you’d like to read:👉 Sacred Service & Sustainable Dreams

Looking Ahead

• Attending births

• Shifting our family rhythm so I can have more time for my work (and a break from the kids!) while my husband gets more of the time with them that he craves

• Continuing to building a community library (I have a number of books on the topics of Pregnancy, Birth, Parenting, Homeschooling, Spirituality, the Essenes, Women's Empowerment, etc please don't hesitate to reach out to see the collection or borrow any titles you are eyeing)

• Hosting homeschool community events

• Writing new articles on QHHT legalities in Quebec, birth, home education, astrology, yoga, and past lives

  
  

If there’s something you’d love me to explore, hit reply and tell me.

And I’d love to hear from you:

• How are you integrating your sessions?

• What themes are you contemplating right now?

• How are you doing—really?
  

Before I Go…

My heart aches over the violence and starvation unfolding in Palestine—and other regions in turmoil. It is unthinkable that children are suffering, that entire families are trapped in cycles of war and loss, that humans still kill in the name of God. It is heavy and devastating that this reality continues on Earth.

And yet—I hold to the possibility of a future where diversity is honored and families are deeply supported, because they are the foundation for a peaceful humanity.

My personal lesson? Stay rooted in love. Walk guided by the highest truth I can access, even when life feels shattered. This past year broke me open. Maybe Source decided my heart was a caterpillar—it had to melt into mush before forming a chrysalis. I pray this is my chrysalis season. May rest—and renewal—come soon.

With love and resilience,

Emilie