• Religion and Superstitious Beliefs as an Influence on the Lives of the Aristocracy in Heian Japan

    Today, as I searched through an old folder in my Gmail account for something else, I ended up rediscovering this essay I wrote years ago. I’m revisiting my research into fairy tales, mythology, and cultural studies as I prepare to write a book about the importance of stories and personal mythology. The essay didn’t upload…

  • Back to basics

    After a long break from blogging, I’ve decided to return. I was overwhelmed with trying to update my website, grow my email list, post to social media consistently. There’s just been too much noise, too much stress. It’s time to get back to basics and return to what I intended — have a space to…

  • Gratitude

    With every new moon I like to choose a card to direct my path over the course of the month. I was recently blessed with the discovery of Nicole Piar’s wonderful, magical, art work and oracle cards. Her art work is available through Instagram @ghostkittenart. Even though I am accumulating quite a collection of tarot…

  • Transformation and Sense of Place in Fairy Tales.

    (This post contains affiliate links) When I was a baby, my family took a summer holiday in Florida, to Disney World. Along the way we stopped at Weeki Wachee Springs to view the mermaid show. Although I can’t recall any early memories of Walt Disney World, the experience of watching mermaids swimming gracefully under the…

  • Song of the Sea: Loss of Spirit and Regaining the Voice.

    During my first semester of grad school, I wrote a paper called “Song of the Sea: Loss of Spirit and Regaining the Voice.” This paper was for my course “Symbols and Archetypes in Stories.” It centered on the Little Mermaid and Selkie tales, unifying them with the common theme of loss of voice/discovery of voice.…