The Cypress is an evergreen conifer tree with dense, scale-like leaves and ovoid cones. Native to the eastern Mediterranean, the Cypress is associated primarily with the gods Apollo, Artemis, and Hades. However, the most well-known myth of the Cypress is that of Kyparrisos, the youth who accidentally killed his favorite stag and, desiring to mourn forever, transformed into a Cypress tree. The tree is thus associated with grief and lamentation, and often found near burial grounds or entrances to the Underworld. As a sacred emblem of holding vigil, invite the Cypress into your ceremonies for grief, mourning, and lamenting that which has died

The Pine is a resinous, coniferous evergreen found blanketing the mountainsides and dotting the coastal regions of the Mediterranean. Protected by the oreiades, the Pine is also sacred to the god Dionysos and is used to decorate the sacred thyrsus. A potent teacher of strength in the face of life’s challenges, Pine can be incorporated into daily ceremonies to strengthen resilience and bring protection.

In honor of the Shapeshifter. The Wearer of Masks and Speaker of Tongues. Don your own costume and descend.

With this playlist, I encourage you to experiment with feelings of liquid anger, the slow and heavy bubbling of a long-suppressed rage. Release the metal deposits of anger that encase your body and your heart. Warm them with movement and allow them to drip from your muscles, your skin, your hair. Like liquid metal — roll, roil, boil, and bubble across the floor
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Ripening. Metamorphosis. Transmutation. Change.

A Time for Metamorphosis, Change and Celebrating the Shapeshifter.