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About
Poems + Stories
Work With Mindy
- Workshops + Classes
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Shows
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Back Fence PDX Storytelling Shows

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Upcoming Shows & Workshops

October 2021

Oct 28 2021 - Dec 09 2021

Fall Storytelling Intensive – CLOSED

Online

November 2021

Nov 21 2021

Regenerate – A Monthly Generative Poetry Workshop

December 2021

Dec 19 2021

Regenerate – A Monthly Generative Poetry Workshop

January 2022

Jan 16 2022

Regenerate – A Monthly Generative Poetry Workshop

February 2022

Feb 13 2022

Regenerate – A Monthly Generative Poetry Workshop

March 2022

Mar 13 2022

Regenerate – A Monthly Generative Poetry Workshop

April 2022

Apr 10 2022

Regenerate – A Monthly Generative Poetry Workshop

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The Feed

Happy full moon 🌕 this full moon peaks this mor

Happy full moon 🌕 this full moon peaks this morning at 7:57am PST, at 27° of Aries, the holy shit starter. Aries is cardinal fire, initiating the zodiac sequence; in the northern hemisphere it brings the spring birth/rebirth energies, calling all the seeds into an emergency of awakening and growth. It corresponds meaning-wise with the first house - with the formation of an ego and a strong enough sense of one’s instincts and impulses to be able to enter the world. Ruled by Mars, Aries has the bravery, the audacity, the awesome fucking nerve - to do exactly what it feels like doing, right now, without checking the temperature of the room or asking anyone’s permission.

Full moons are big finishes of a growth or expansion cycle, and this is felt as a celebration or a funeral, or a little of both. Every month, full moons give us a chance to honor what is over, to practice endings, to practice letting go. This one is coinciding with a cardinal T-square between the Aries moon, Libra sun, Mars in Libra, and Pluto in Capricorn. With Aries’ ruler Mars in its opposite sign Libra - who loves (loves!) to check the temperature of the room and ask permission first - there’s real transformative potential in any tension you feel between agency and empathy.

Where has Libra season been highlighting imbalances for you? Where have you been shown that you can’t both priortize your own needs and desires and prioritize the needs and desires of others? What have you been shown about what has to change? Pluto’s trying to tear down toxic power arrangements, as always, so if you’ve been locked into any relational contracts that aren’t ultimately good for you, or anyone, any you only agreed to unconsciously, this is the moment to ritually, energetically be done. Since this is an Aries full moon, maybe use fire. Maybe tap a vein of instinct, write down what you know you will no longer be putting up with or colluding with in yourself and others. Maybe write it in red ink and sign it furiously. Burn it and be done.

Full moon inspiration art by Peter Sato 🙌🏼

Mercury has stationed direct 🙌🏼 and Jupiter,

Mercury has stationed direct 🙌🏼 and Jupiter, too, but also, it’s a full moon in Aries week 🔥Just reminding myself to put a hand on my heart every once in awhile and breathe out the intensity. Hi. How are you?

#Tbt 💙💙💙🦋 love to my original partners

#Tbt 💙💙💙🦋 love to my original partners in crime, Ben Rojas and Danielle Franzen - and Paul Mathers who is maybe behind the camera? This is an accurate portrayal of my heart and my eyebrows at 16.

Also ya’ll - last days to register for this Sunday’s Regenerate writing workshop on Vortexes and Counter Vortexes, on the day that Mercury goes direct, of course. You can join for $45, sign up on my site 🙌🏼

Hi friends, this is what my face looks like now, s

Hi friends, this is what my face looks like now, still mostly cheeks. Still the same long side-part bang wave I had in the 80s & 90s and now this fine, fraggley brown hair, just a couple of starter grey streaks, you can’t see them in this photo but they’re there, very exciting. I often meditate or sleep at the foot of this tree of life glyph I painted on a wall in my office. When I lean back onto it, my head is in Yesod. Anyone who tunes in with me over Zoom is used to seeing it behind me/growing out of my shoulders or head. It’s full of teachings I will never finish exploring. Meanwhile, Portland, Oregon. It’s fully fall here, lots of gray wet days now and some sunny hours so beautiful you could cry. Evidence of impermanence everywhere. It makes me want to say thank you to everyone who has found me. Every friend, everyone who reads my moon posts and leaves comments or sends messages, everyone who has joined a class or sought me out for somatic trauma therapy or trusted me to hold space in some way for their creativity or healing. As I sink/sync further in to the season of descent and unraveling, I know I’ll be with you all, and my heart is full. There’s no one I’d rather live the crumbling of the empire with. If you paused long enough to read this, I probably mean you. Thank you. I’m glad I know you, and get to be known by you. I’m glad we are alive at the same time. I just thought I’d leave this message here, on this electric wall, that might anyday disappear or become obsolete. Seems fitting.

Happy new moon friends 🌑 this one goes dark ear

Happy new moon friends 🌑 this one goes dark early on Wednesday at 4:05am PST, at 13° of Libra, the cosmic harmonizer. Libra represents our turn toward and urge to master relating with others. It can teach us how to tune in and blend in, how to smooth a relational field, how to be diplomatic and generous with the benefit of the doubt, so that we sew seeds of loving kindness and generosity in others. Wherever Libra is in your chart, it’s probably trying to throw a party. It might also be conjuring deep utopian fantasies: gorgeous green cities where everyone belongs, everyone is thriving, everyone has a favorite cocktail and the bar is open.

All of this is great and feels great, and we need this positive loving energy to manifest utopias for real. But problems arise here when problems arise - when we tune in and sense that something is not right, but let our instincts to people-please and be cool override our judgement. What Libra needs but might not always know how to work with is Mars, the hot tempered warrior who knows how to not just recognize injustice or wrongdoing but also say no to it with its entire being. As ✨ would have it, both Mars and a retrograde Mercury are also in Libra, squaring Pluto a bit as it goes direct. This combination might highlight any imbalances we are living right now, within or without, and give us some time to reflect on that shit and prepare to make the necessary adjustments.

Since this is a new moon, it’s probably best to begin within: contract, rest, self-attune, self-empathize, sense if all of your parts are being treated with respect and getting enough of what they need. The capacity to be with others and show up in the collective in a good way is rooted in how we are with ourselves, in whether our own cup is full. If you sense any unmet needs, bring some compassion and honoring to that place in you that’s been going without, and set an intention to pour some good love on it. Maybe throw a tiny restful party for yourself - a nap, a warm beverage, cuddling with animals or ferns, a float in sea of stars.

New moon inspiration from @lacabezaenlasnubes

When Mercury is in retrograde, I like to think abo

When Mercury is in retrograde, I like to think about where I could use some reversal energy, some time to reflect and revisit; where a little rerouting and entanglement could slow things down in a good way. I see if I can use it, if I can happen to Mercury retrograde as much as Mercury retrograde is happening to me. The shape of growth is a spiral, which means that half of the time, the way forward looks like it’s headed backward - but we aren’t actually regressing, any more than the planet Mercury is *actually* moving in a new direction. We are being given the chance to strengthen some roots, to do something behind the scenes - something invisible and foundational - that will stabilize something and prepare us for what comes next.

I have two workshops that start in October if you’re looking for a class or some magic art containment for your own behind-the-scenes work. The first is the first poetry workshop in the Regenerate series - it starts October 17, still plenty of time to sign up. I’ll also be teaching a 6 week small group storytelling intensive on Zoom that begins on Thursday, October 28, and there are 5 spots left. The focus is on true, personal stories told live, one of the most riveting (!) art forms, and it culiminates in a live show on Zoom. We just had our first live in-person storytelling show since February 2020 (Campfire Stories 🔥 a coproduction of Back Fence PDX & Artist Repertory Theater) and I laughed so hard, and was actually scared, and felt the sting of humiliation, and the dopamine rush of small victory, and got good-spooked by the magic of the world, and remembered why I love this art form so much. Storytelling is an ancient form of entertainment - and while it’s entertaining us, it also secretly rewiring us for deeper connection. It’s such a potent tool for processing change, understanding ourselves, and articulating the ways the world has shaped us and the ways we wish to shape the world back. If you’ve been curious and wanting to tell stories of your own, you should get in!! Visit thecultofmindy.com for details and links to register, or visit the bio link, and no matter what, safe and happy Mercury retrograding to you 🙃

In case you missed the moon news last week, a coup

In case you missed the moon news last week, a couple days after the full moon in Pisces, a moon escaped a Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in Henan province. It sped down the road as panicked staff chased after it in an attempt to rein it back in. Feels like good inspiration for the Mercury retrograde in Libra that starts today and goes until the 18th. There might be some unexpected winds of change, some necessary adaptating and rerouting, some looping in whatever part of your chart Libra styles. But Mercury retrogrades always bring a potentially necessary review. It joins 5 other planets still retrograde (Pluto until October 6, Saturn until October 10, Jupiter until October 18, Neptune until December 1, and Uranus until January 18) - so if things aren’t moving as fast as you want, be patient. Mercury retrograde in Libra also has some winking trickster vibes, best worked with by taking things seriously, but also, not. You get it. Chase that moon. But also, like, let that moon go free.

Good morning friends - the equinox is here, holy-d

Good morning friends - the equinox is here, holy-day of tipping points and balancing acts. In the north, this day marks the official beginning of autumn, in the south, spring. If you’ve been feeling extra activated in the last two weeks, there are many reasons, personal and collective - but also energies stir up around these seasonal fulcrums, let’s not try too hard to understand it, let’s just acknowledge it and drink warm, soothing beverages.

According to alchemical cosmology, all new cycles begin with dying and descent, so for those of us in the northern hemisphere, this day is kind of a New Year’s Day - an initiation day. The descent begins. We bow our heads to pumpkins and reddened leaves and death and the dark mother, goddess of forest floors and invisible underworlds that feed this world we can see. We might notice that some things in our own life are beginning to close, or die or wither away, willingly or with great resistance. Old beliefs about how things should be or must be might get challenged or uprooted, old definitions might no longer work.

Coming just after a full moon in Pisces, this one feels to me like a plunge underwater - a plunge into strange dreams and feelings I don’t yet understand. I know from experience I can breathe down here - I can acclimate and orient and slowly feel my way around - but it might take a minute or a month. Whether this is the beginning of fall or spring for you, I’m wishing you strength and courage. Here we go again 🌓

The moon is full today at 4:55 pm PST at 28° of P

The moon is full today at 4:55 pm PST at 28° of Pisces, the dreaming forever fish. Coming at the tail end of an intense Virgo season, this moon takes all that careful, precise, Virgo attention to systems and details and roles and, just for a few days, washes it all away on a high tide of feeling and mystical spiritual perspective. The distinctions Virgo discerns can only come about in the world of duality and form, and Pisces, like, gets duality, but also doesn’t. Pisces and Neptune are dissolvers. Water gods. Pisces is kicking back in the nonduality jacuzzi with some boozy tea and an old dream journal, melting its ego tensions by melting its ego. The war between matter and spirit, body and mind, is definitely over and Pisces knows some shit, but it’s too far gone to answer questions.

This is also a harvest moon, and the Sabian symbol for 28° of Pisces happens to be “a fertile garden under a full moon.” This is a moment of completion just two days before the turning point of equinox. Maybe the best way to work with these fertile energies is to look back 6 months ago, then 18 months ago, then 20 months ago, and recognize the change and healing and growth that has already manifested in your life. We can get so busy doing all the things and trying to prepare for what’s ahead that we forget the larger perspective; this is a good moment to take it in. Something that is tangible now was once only a wild thought, a baby inkling, a dream. You made it real with your intention, your focused work, your emotional labor, your witchcraft, your practical daily showing up. Celebrate this imperfect but truly amazing harvest. Acknowledge how far you’ve come and what it took to get here. There’s a gift in remembering, honoring, and releasing, a gift you’ll need for the cycle to come.

Underwater blossom inspiration created by @stillmanvisual

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