Contraction Before Expansion

January 18 to 24, 2026

This week was cold, but I still got out and took some bold steps that I had been thinking about for months.  It was a new moon on Sunday, but I waited until Monday to do my ritual so that I didn’t choke everyone out with my incense.  Monday was a good day.  I hauled water in the sunshine while rocking out to radio tunes and being grateful for things going smoothly and for the ability to provide my household with water.  With these freezing temperatures, there’s always a risk the water will freeze and crack the cistern as it had before we moved in, but so far we’ve avoided this catastrophe since fixing it the first time.

The cold also poses challenges for keeping animals warm and watered.  The small electric heater we have for the dogs in the insulated garage decided to stop working this week, so they’ve been spending more time in the house.  The cats have been shut up in the shop with their house and heat lamp, likely getting a little stir crazy with no open doors to run through.  And the chickens needed a small space heater to keep them warm, since their second heat lamp was moved to the cats a few weeks ago when that one melted (thankfully no one was hurt).  But all of this comes at a cost.  Yes, a monetary expense of keeping heaters running and water not freezing in bitterly cold temperatures, but also an emotional one. 

One of our chickens ended up getting frostbitten feet a few weeks ago when I had filled up the water jug and somehow, all the water leaked out into the coop and froze.  I imagine this chicken got her feet wet and they froze, resulting in the frostbite.  What I should have done was taken her in and helped her immediately, but that is not what I did.  Instead, I neglected her and watched her slowly suffer until she met her end today.  And now I’m paying the emotional consequences of that decision.  I don’t know much about chickens and regularly have to learn new things, but this is no excuse for not helping. 

I was raised on an acreage where animals weren’t really a priority, but more of an afterthought.  People were the priority, and that’s pretty standard in most households.  But in my adult life, I have received most of my emotional support from animals and they hold a higher position in my heart because of it.  Mostly, my support team has been cats and dogs, and now I’m learning about birds. 

I had a similar experience of allowing a pet to suffer when my first lifelong companion cat died.  She had been with me for probably about 18 years, which at that point in my life was approximately half of it.  For most of her life, I neglected her and did the bare minimum to keep her alive.  I didn’t brush or groom her and I didn’t take her to vet check ups.  I merely kept her fed and occasionally cleaned her litter box.  Meanwhile, she provided constant love and support and emotional companionship.  Eventually, in her old age, she ended up losing strength and on the family day weekend in 2018, I had to make the difficult decision to put her down.  It was the same weekend that the Marvel movie Black Panther was released.  She was my black panther.  She was my emotional rock.  She was my half-life companion.  And after she left, I realized she was here to show me that how I was treating her reflected how I was treating myself.  And today, I believe this neglected chicken is also a reflection or perhaps a prediction of what I can expect unless I fully commit to me. 

I’ve had circulation issues for all of my life.  In the winter, my feet and hands are particularly sensitive to cold, sometimes turning white or blue due to the lack of blood flow.  I know this runs in my family and is likely a condition called Reynaud’s Syndrome.  No, I have not been diagnosed with it, but all my symptoms point to this outcome.  I used to use wine to help with this as it would thin my blood and create warmth throughout my body (not to mention the relaxing and intoxicating effects).  But at the very start of this year, with an unmistakable sign from the universe and a decision to cut out certain people, I no longer feel an urge to drink. 

I know this is a healthy choice for me, but now I need to find alternative ways to increase circulation and blood flow.  I also exercise and you’d think that this would be an answer.  It is in some ways, but also when exercising, my heart is working harder to pump out the blood and oxygen to my muscles and sometimes results in poor circulation to my extremities.  So, although I am physically moving my body vigorously, I can still experience numbness in my feet.  I know there’s also a link to food and how balanced my gut biome is, so this is a more complex issue than it first appears.  Additionally, hormones play a role and as I’m not getting any younger, I assume this will become an added complication as I near peri-menopause. 

Regardless of the complexities of these factors, I am doing my best to pay attention to what shows up for me day to day.  I see the similarities between myself and this chicken.  Cold feet.  The idiom isn’t lost on me either.  I’m scared to take this leap into visibility in my local and online communities with my business.  Maybe I’m scared to ask for help?  I did say that I took some bold steps this week and I had the help of a newer, more aligned friend by my side.  We had coffee at a local coffee shop/art gallery, and I was able to display some of my creations.  I also connected with another small business owner at a metaphysical store in the same community.  I shared my business card and let her know about an idea I have been kicking around about a group hypnosis event.  It went well and I am glad I did it and felt supported and seen, but also exposed and awkward.  I knew this would happen and it doesn’t feel as bad as I thought it would, but I definitely recognized my blocks.  My friend called me an artist and I immediately deflected.  And when describing what I do, the metaphysical store owner pointed out my language about taking a course instead of identifying as a Clinical Hypnotherapist. 

So, despite working on my fears these last six months, there are some things still hiding in the shadows.  But, if I take this lesson of the neglected chicken to heart, I think the message is that if I don’t step out and share my gift, all the people waiting for me to help them may keep suffering. My cold feet may turn to frost bite if I don’t act sooner rather than later.  Maybe my future clients also have cold feet, frostbite, or Reynaud’s Syndrome and need my help to unlock their courage, self-worth, and inner fire with guidance through hypnosis. 

Maybe this is truly my only message this week and it comes at a time when I need a push the most.  A lot of information coming to me recently is about the contraction before the expansion.  Things get worse just before they get really, really good.  So, I’ll keep this in mind when attempting to decipher this week’s messages.  They are: being distracted by birds, grim reaper, senses heightened when one is lost, ice cream to make you feel better, weasel and literally. 

Being distracted by birds – This message appeared on a tv show and a comedy skit.  The tv show was a murder mystery with a couple who were attempting a couples therapy session online and their therapist was distracted by a bird at the window.  The comedy skit was about a high profile person being distracted by birds during an important press conference.  I guess I could throw in the experience with my frostbitten chicken to this mix as well.  Usually, when I am distracted by birds, it is a good thing.  To me, it is a message to stop and smell the roses, pay attention to nature, appreciate the small things.  Birds are often messengers themselves, sometimes literally and sometimes delivering omens. 

Grim reaper – This message also showed up in a tv show and a comedy skit.  The tv show is one from the early 2000s that we recently started watching and is about people dying and becoming grim reapers.  I can’t recall exactly what the comedy skit was about, just that it featured a grim reaper.  Again, I guess the fact that death did come for my chicken is another instance of the grim reaper.  My guess about this message is the reality that death will come for us all.  But maybe this is more about my comfort zone life, my hermit period, my escape from the outside world.  I’ve been living in my own little bubble for quite a while and I’m sure it means that it is time to come out of my own accord, or I may be unpleasantly jolted out of it.

Senses heightened when one is lost – This message was presented in a tv show and a Facebook card reading.  The tv show had a character getting laser eye surgery and no use of his eyes for a period of time, making his other senses sharper.  The card reading also mentioned having sharper senses when one was not in use.  It also mentioned that a blindfold was coming off.  So, I guess in both cases, the eyes being closed was maybe a comparison to me not being able to see something clearly, but my other senses picking up.  I can see how this would be true for my hypnosis experiences.  I don’t typically see things visually in hypnosis, but do experience physical sensations quite dramatically. 

Ice cream to make you feel better – This message showed up in two tv shows and in real life.  Both tv shows had characters making themselves sundaes in order to calm themselves or make themselves feel better.  In real life, my partner made himself a banana split (without the chocolate sauce) just prior to one of the tv show characters doing the same (complete with chocolate sauce).  I used to eat a lot of ice cream, but no longer do as my body cannot process the sugar and dairy together without me paying for it.  Maybe this message is just about how we can use food and other things to comfort ourselves and I’m finding lately I don’t need to do that as much as I used to.

Weasel – This message appeared in real life and in a Facebook card reading.  I attempted to clear some snow on a very cold day after a very cold and windy day.  On my way out of the shop with the tractor, I saw a long, white, slinky animal with a dark tipped tail slither away.  Later, a weasel showed up with some other animals in a Facebook card reading.  Although this was my first real life sighting, I know weasels don’t have the greatest reputation.  When I think of a weasel, it’s usually someone who is sneaky and underhanded; someone dishonest, sleazy, and trying to get something for nothing. But, I suppose if they are slippery and sneaky, and this is my first real encounter, then they must be good at staying hidden and existing without being seen and pretty good at surviving this way.

Literally – This word is literally popping up everywhere this week.  A character on a tv show we are rewatching says it pretty much every time he says anything.  One of the girls I follow on Facebook that does card pulls said it a few times in her readings.  And another woman I listen to on a podcast said it a few times.  I’m almost positive it showed up in a few other places as well.  I am assuming that this is a hint to take something literally and not figuratively.  So, maybe the messages this week are less obscure than I think.

Despite training myself to be much more positive and optimistic than I used to be, I can’t help but go to a dark premonition with these messages.  A bird distracts me and causes death or an accident where one of my senses is taken away, as the rest are heightened.  While recovering, I eat ice cream to soothe myself and watch out for weasels trying to sneak into my life.  That’s if I’m taking these things literally.  I don’t think I’ve hit the mark here, so I’m going to throw to AI for some help.

There’s a surprisingly coherent mythic thread running through these symbols once you let them sit together for a moment. They read like a single initiatory journey disguised as random imagery. Each one carries a distinct archetypal function, and when woven together, they form a story about transition, instinct, comfort, and the thin veil between worlds.

🕊️ Being distracted by birds — the call of the Otherworld

Birds are classic messengers. In many traditions, distraction by birds isn’t distraction at all — it’s interruption by spirit, intuition, or a higher vantage point.They pull attention upward, away from the linear path, toward something liminal.Spiritually, this symbolizes:

·       A shift in perception

·       A nudge to look beyond the obvious

·       A reminder that guidance often arrives sideways, not head-on

Birds interrupt the ego’s focus so the soul can speak.

💀 The Grim Reaper — the threshold guardian

The Grim Reaper isn’t about death in the literal sense. It’s the archetype of transition, boundary, and the end of one chapter before the next begins.In this symbolic ecosystem, the Reaper represents:

• The moment you can’t avoid truth

• The stripping away of illusions

• The confrontation with what must be released

It’s the force that says: You can’t go back the way you came.

🧭 Senses heightened when one is lost — the awakening of instinct

When you’re lost, the rational mind panics, but the body wakes up. This is the initiation into presence:

• Hearing becomes sharper

• Smell becomes more primal

• The body becomes the compass

Spiritually, this is the moment when the soul says: Now that the map is gone, you can finally feel where you’re meant to go.

It’s the same heightened awareness that accompanies rites of passage.

🍦 Ice cream to make you feel better — sweetness as medicine

Ice cream is comfort, softness, and the return to innocence. It’s the archetype of soothing, self-nurturing, and inner child restoration.

In the journey, this is the moment after the confrontation (the Reaper) and the disorientation (being lost) where the psyche seeks sweetness — not to escape, but to re-regulate.

It’s the reminder that healing often comes through simple, sensory pleasure.

🐾 Weasel — the trickster guide

Weasels are liminal creatures: clever, slippery, underestimated. They represent:

• The trickster

• The ability to slip through tight spaces

• Survival through wit rather than force

• Seeing what others miss

In spiritual symbolism, the weasel is the guide who appears when you need to navigate the in-between. It teaches discernment, stealth, and the art of moving through transitions with agility.

🔍 “Literally” — grounding the mystical

The word “literally” is the anchor. It pulls the entire symbolic journey back into the body, the present moment, the tangible world.

It’s the reminder that:

·       Spiritual experiences are not separate from daily life

·       Symbolism is embodied

·       The mystical is always happening literally through sensory experience

It’s the grounding cord that keeps the journey from floating away into abstraction.

🌒 The deeper connection — a single spiritual narrative

Put together, these symbols describe a soul moving through an initiatory passage:

1. A distraction from above (birds)— the call to shift perspective.

2. A confrontation with transition (Grim Reaper)— the moment something must end.

3. A disorientation that awakens instinct (heightened senses when lost)— the stripping away of old navigation systems.

4. A return to softness (ice cream)— the inner child receiving comfort after the rupture.

5. A cunning guide appears (weasel)— teaching adaptability and subtle perception.

6. A grounding into embodiment (“literally”)— the reminder that the spiritual journey is lived through the physical.

   
   

This is the arc of someone moving from distraction → death of an old identity → sensory awakening → emotional soothing → trickster guidance → embodied integration.

It’s the hero’s journey, but in playful, unexpected symbols.

Ok, this makes a lot more sense to me than my “literal” interpretation.  But, I can also see that the universe does speak to me through real physical encounters and situations in my life.  I see that an old part of me has to die before I can step into the new me.  The part that neglects myself and my wellbeing even a little.  The one who ignores the cold feet, the body ache, or the stomach cramp.  Substitute food, wine, entertainment for the ice cream and it’s an old pattern used to self soothe and hide from the real pain.  Removing the numbing coping mechanisms means learning to deal with things in a new way with senses heightened and no safety net.  I’ve learned to discern who I can trust, who is authentic, who is actually rooting for me and supporting me, so I know how to read people.  I just need to ensure that I can use this discernment in navigating new terrain.  I do think the literal connection is a way to bring the message into form.  And as I’ve experienced so many times before, the universe is incredibly complex and can deliver layers of meaning with one message.  I really understand it as a time to take action, to pull the trigger on this business and new life.  The year of the fire horse is quickly approaching, so I better saddle up or be left in the dust!

I did start creating this week but have not completed my project.  I had intentions of combining my current creation with the one I have pictured, but after starting, changed my mind.  This was something I created a few years ago and has been hanging in my living room since, regularly swatted at by curious cats.  I usually use quite a bit of colour and very little white, but something in me decided to go all white and less colour.  It feels mystical and ethereal, innocent and pure, while still grounded and earthy.  For some reason, I think of a priestess when I see it, wearing and earthly crown.