Yuletide Greetings!
I’ve been enjoying time with family back on the east coast of U.S., not doing much besides read, chat, eat, and sleep. For someone who’s constantly creating, I have found it surprisingly easy to slip back into the pattern of a New England winter! It’s good to pause, and yes, I’m excited for all the new things I want to create in 2025.
But first, before moving on, I want to pause and say thank you for being a reader of The Corpus Callosum Chronicles. Writing on Substack has been the most gratifying experience over the past few years. I am so grateful that you are here receiving and absorbing my thoughts and feelings on how to embody a mythic way of viewing our world, that hopefully helps you stand firmly mythic ground no matter where you live on this glorious blue-green globe.
As a thank you for being here, I have removed the paywall from all my posts in archives. I’ll keep these posts free through January 20256. I have also provided direct links in this post to my 12 favorite essays of the 43 I published in 2024, in honor of the 12 days of Yule. You’ll find direct links to them below. I’d love to hear if you had a favorite in the comments!
I’m excited to announce I have a couple of guest posts by other Substack writers I find interesting coming up in January, so stay tuned for that!
Stay cozy and intentional in this transitional time of Yule. Make every thought count, magnetize your dreams to you, stay open-minded and cultivate compassion for everything, including yourselves. Make peace with paradox.
The light has returned, but the darkness will roll around again soon enough. That’s just the way it is in this world. May as well enjoy it!
The Top Twelve
We are Gisèle
Note: Please be advised this essay contains details about sexual assault that may be triggering. These stories are nothing you won’t find in the daily news, but I want to give sensitive readers a heads-up in case they want to stop reading here.
Watering the Fire
A friend of mine died recently. A sister, daughter, mother, beloved of many in my community.
On Solitude
I am 56 years old. Ever since I left my parents’ home in Connecticut at age 18 with $400 and a one-way ticket to Paris, I have lived most of my life alone.
The King Must Die
When I was about age 13, I read a book called The King Must Die. It was a work of historical fiction by Mary Renault, and I remember being shocked and horrified at the ritual sacrifices in the book. The first was a “king horse,” sacrificed to the gods. Theseus, t…
The Innocence of Eros
“This time of the year there is a sun shower around sunset. Every day we get a rainbow!” I texted a friend a few days ago.
Recovering from Patriarchy
“The power of the arts to anticipate future social and technological developments, by a generation and more, has long been recognized. In this century Ezra Pound called the artist ‘the antennae of the race’. Art as radar acts as ‘an early alarm system,’ as it were, enabling us to discover social and psychic targets in lots of time to prepare to cope wit…
Learning to See In Rainbows
We have imprisoned ourselves in a black and white version of the world. How do we evolve into the full-spectrum consciousness of the rainbow? How do we see what’s beyond the known colors?
Finding Mythic Ground
Modern life is a paradox. We are more connected than ever through technology, while technology also isolates us from the physical world. How many of us miss that connection on the bus or coffee shop because our eyes are glued to a phone? How often have you missed the hawk soaring over your head, or the sparrow bobbing for crumbs at your feet, entranced …
Kō aloha lā ea
Concentrate on love by way of the light