🌿 Step Inside the Hollow Hedge for our Musings Blog & Exploring Mystère Podcast Episodes!
We have a bit of exciting news — and a small quest for you. This will be the last blog posted in wordpress. We’re posting in a new gathering place at the edge of Moon Feather Hollow.
We call it the Hollow Hedge — a living, leafy threshold at the edge of Moon Feather Hollow, where blog posts and podcast episodes mingle with seasonal musings, giving you a taste of the rhythms we keep inside.
If The Hollow is the heart of our community — alive with courses, circles, and deeper threads — then The Hollow Hedge is where your journey inward begins. It’s a place to meet the mood of the Hollow without stepping all the way inside, and to share your reflections in a way that’s easy and welcoming.
The Hedge is open to all — no cost, no subscription or course required. Thanks to a newly available feature on our mighty network platform, we can now invite you into this space without unlocking the entire Hollow. To keep receiving blog and podcast updates (and the chance to comment on them), sign up for Hollow Hedge. There’s even an app available!
Consider this your quest: Step through the Hollow Hedge → You’ll be asked 3 simple questions to assure you are human (or fae😉) but not a techbot!
All of our podcast episodes there, including the recently released Exploring Mystère | Ep.6 The Keys Were Never Stolen. In this episode, a dream collides with synchronistic comment left in the Hollow to create empowered alchemy!
Of course you’ll find some other goodies in there too! We’ll keep the lantern lit for you.
The most powerful habits start small. Just 17 seconds can make or break the decision to act. We covered that in our last blog of the vitality series. The next step is acting on the momentum built in the 17 seconds.
Enter the Two-Minute Rule. Any habit should take no more than two minutes of applying pure intention. When you make a habit easy to start, you remove the resistance that stops you from taking action.
Why the Two-Minute Rule Works
The Two-Minute Rule was made famous by James Clear in Atomic Habits. It’s based on two key principles:
Overcoming Resistance: The hardest part of any task is starting. If you shrink your habit down to just two minutes, it’s almost impossible to talk yourself out of it.
Building Identity-Based Habits: Small actions reinforce your identity. Writing for two minutes means you’re a writer. Doing one push-up means you’re someone who exercises. These micro-actions shape long-term behavior.
🚀 Example: David Allen, productivity expert and author of Getting Things Done, recommends breaking large tasks into tiny, doable steps. When we make things easy, we naturally build momentum.
Instead of focusing on the full habit, focus on the smallest version of it—something that takes two minutes or less.
✅ Want to run every morning? Just put on your running shoes. ✅ Want to start meditating? Sit on your cushion for two minutes. ✅ Want to read more? Read one paragraph.
The trick is to make starting feel effortless. Once you begin, you’ll often keep going. Then, something truly magical happens!
The more you act on your intentions you re-affirm your identity. You feel you ARE a (fill in the blank – person who does the habit you choose). You build true confidence in yourself. You learn that you can trust yourself. You follow through on choices even when inertia is not in your favor. 😆
I call it G.U.T.S. Gained Under Tiny Successes
This part is critical though:
It only works if you honor yourself when you really don’t want to do the thing.
Allow Yourself to Stop After Two Minutes
Yes, really. You don’t have to do more—just start. In fact, if you keep going against your own true will after two minutes, you are losing trust with yourself.
If you want to keep going, great. If not, you still win, because you showed up. You are getting really honest with yourself, and honoring your decisions.
🎸 Example: Ed Sheeran practiced guitar by telling himself, “Just hold it for two minutes.” Once the guitar was in his hands, he almost always played longer.
💡 Tip: If you struggle with consistency, tell yourself, “I only need to do two minutes.” More often than not, you’ll keep going.
Use Habit Stacking
Pair your new habit with an existing routine for a smoother transition. We will cover this more deeply in it’s own blog, but here are a few examples.
✅ After brushing your teeth → Stretch for two minutes ✅ After making coffee → Write one sentence ✅ After getting into bed → Read one page
Tie your habit to something you already do daily.
Real-Life Success Stories Using the Two-Minute Rule
📚 Stephen King: He writes at least one sentence every day. Most days, he writes thousands of words—but he never breaks his streak.
🏃♂️ Couch to 5K Program: This famous running program starts with just 60 seconds of jogging, proving that small steps lead to big progress.
🎨 Pablo Picasso: He made a habit of sketching something every single day—even if it was just a few lines.
The Two-Minute Rule eliminates excuses and makes starting easy. You don’t have to be perfect—just start.
💡 Try it today:
Pick a habit you want to build.
Reduce it to a two-minute version.
Commit to just that.
Chances are, you’ll do more than two minutes. But even if you don’t, you’ve already won—because you’re building momentum.
For thousands of years, circles of stone and fire have welcomed the luminous turning of the Wheel of the Year. At Summer Solstice, we are celebrating the longest day of the year. It’s also called Litha (LEE-tha), or Midsummer’s Day. We honor the regenerative fire of life. We revel in the heat of high summer. We marvel at the mythic might of the sun at full power.
Ancient structures across the world, from Stonehenge to Newgrange, align precisely with this solar peak. These were not simply monuments but celestial instruments, built with awe and intention to track the rhythms of light. On this day, the sun appears to pause — a golden stillness before the great descent into darker days begins.
In Celtic lands, the solstice was woven into the sacred cycle of the Wheel of the Year. It marked a time to honor sun deities and to leap through bonfires for renewal. Midsummer herbs were gathered as they were believed to be at their most potent and magical at this time.
And still today, we gather. We watch the horizon glow, celebrate the fullness of life, and turn our hearts toward gratitude, growth, and golden becoming. In Moon Feather Hollow, we call this the Season of Bloom & Balefire.
✨ Celebrate the Light
It’s a time to bask, to bloom, to savor the long light and the wild beauty of this full-bodied season. It’s time for re-living your favorite summer pastimes. What are your favorite memories of summer?
Here are a few that our community has shared over the years — perhaps they’ll stir your own. Whether you engage in these through memory, imagination, or fresh experience, we hope you’ll find yourself returning to the wonderland of your inner Wanderling.
Falling asleep with fireflies blinking outside the van doors
Dancing barefoot at twilight with cousins and sparklers
Picking wild berries and coming home with juice-stained fingers
Watching thunderstorms roll across the sky while sipping something fizzy on the porch
Listening to cicadas hum as the scent of warm pine drifted through the air
Swimming in moonlit lakes, laughing until your teeth chattered
Roasting corn and peaches over an open fire
Sleeping under the stars and naming the constellations with someone you love
And of course… fireflies.
Which ones call to you? What would you add? Joy is an alchemical ingredient in your magic. Often, it’s found in small, golden moments. By honoring the simple delights of summer, we remember how to be fully alive.
🔆 Firefly Magic — Remembering the Glow
If you’ve ever cupped a firefly in your hands and watched it glow, you know how magical this season can be. Even if you haven’t, you can still tap into that delight.
A while ago, we asked our community, “Did you catch fireflies as a kid?” The answers were too twinkly not to share: 👉 Read the Firefly Magic blog here.
And if you’d like to weave more tiny magical moments into your days, we invite you to explore our email course – ✨ Magical Moments with Fireflies & Fae — a 12-pathway journey into everyday enchantment.
✨ Archetypal Threads of Summer: The Muse & The Wild Bloom
In the Cosmic Compass, seasonal archetypes are navigational guides. At any point, your inner felt season may or may not match the outer season, as the Compass Quiz reveals. The Season of Bloom & Balefire is guided by the archetypes of the Muse and the Wild Bloom.
🎨 The Muse lives in the pulse of creative joy — inviting you to express yourself fully, wildly, colorfully. She’s a dancer of possibility, a collector of moments, and a curator of wonder. This season, let your heart lead your hands. Write, paint, sing, or make something beautiful from the everyday.
🌞 The Wild Bloom teaches us to radiate without apology — to claim space, express joy, and bloom fully into our personal power. She’s the sunflower, the solstice, the bright yes. This season, stand in your fullness. Say yes to what delights you. Let joy be your revolution.
Would you like a spark of cosmic insight? We invite you to meet your current seasonal archetype with the 🌿 Cosmic Compass Quiz. This 7-archetype journey will help you discover the rhythm, lesson, and light you’re living through right now.
It’s mythic, imaginative, and surprising. Perfect for solstice self-reflection — or simply a dash of midsummer magic. Let the archetype’s presence whisper to you as you plan your summer rituals, adventures, and art-making. Your radiance is welcome here.
May this sun-drenched turning bless you with golden clarity, firefly joy, and sacred play. Light your bonfire, dance like a flower in bloom, embrace the sweetness of summer.
Under the twirl of the Enchanted Garden Party Moon, nature herself is hosting a fête. Petals unfurl like party dresses, bees and breezes mingle midair, and every vine, wing, and blade of grass seems to be winking an invitation your way.
This is a moon of presence and pleasure, of sensual joy and quiet communion. You are cordially invited to wander through it with wonder.
🌿 Your Garden Party Mini-Quest: A Sensescape of Spring
Choose your “secret garden.” A blooming tree, a garden bench, a tucked-away field—let your feet guide you. Settle in. Close your eyes. 🌬 What do you hear? A rustle? A whisper? The soft gossip of leaves?
Slowly open your eyes. Gaze as though seeing for the first time. 🌼 What surprises you? Which colors dazzle, which creatures flit just at the edge of your awareness?
Take a deep, enchanted breath. Inhale the perfume of spring: floral, earthy, sun-warmed. 🌸 What fragrance lingers? What memories stir with it?
Whisper a blessing. To the garden, to the moon, to yourself. Let it be soft. Let it be enough. 🕊️ What feeling glows in your chest when you offer this?
🧺 Optional Party Favors (Pick your pleasure):
Craft a tiny flower crown or daisy chain.
Sip something floral—lavender tea, rose lemonade, elderflower fizz.
Leave a note of love for a stranger or a faery.
Sketch a blossom and give it a name.
Dance barefoot under moonlight or birdsong.
This is your enchanted moment. Say yes to it.
With sun-drenched petals and moonlit mirth, 🌷 Happy questing beneath the Enchanted Garden Party Moon, Dreamweaver.
🌜An Enchanted Garden Moon Story
One soft evening, as the moon rose like a lantern over the wild wood, an ancient garden stirred. Hidden from ordinary eyes, it shimmered quietly beneath the stars, awaiting those with hearts tuned to its frequency. The animals knew. So did the Fae. They gathered in the hush of twilight, weaving garlands from herbs and laughter, preparing for their seasonal revel.
The human world, meanwhile, was noisy with forgetting.
But one dragonfly, iridescent and wise, felt a ripple in the air — a longing buried beneath the hum of modern life. She danced on the breeze, her wings catching moonlight like stained glass, circling nearer to those who had almost forgotten how to look.
A few humans paused.
Drawn by the shimmer, they followed. One step, then another — past their screens, beyond their busyness. Into the trees. Into the quiet. Into the pulse of the earth.
As they crossed the threshold, the garden revealed itself: tables of wild fruits and honey cakes, tea steeped with starflowers, and moss-lined paths glowing with bioluminescent joy. The air itself seemed to sing. And in that still, sacred place, something within them remembered.
The dragonfly hovered nearby, her voice like a bellflower’s chime:
“Wonder is not lost — it only waits for your attention. Slow down, notice, and the garden will open.”
They did. And so it did.
Foxes pranced. Sprites spun. Humans laughed with owls and swayed with ivy tendrils. No longer visitors — they were part of the dance.
And from that night forward, the garden was never far. Just a breath away, whenever they chose to remember.
A sacred threshold of elemental magic, magnetism & momentum
Do you tend a place for your most cherished items — a little corner where beauty and meaning gather? A spot where you place found feathers, candles, stones, or handwritten notes to the moon? Whether it’s a windowsill kissed by morning light or a mantle that cradles seasonal treasures, these spaces hold quiet magic. They are altars, yes — but also thresholds. Places where the seen and unseen meet.
At Moon Feather Hollow, we call this space your Syllofae.
🌿 What is a Syllofae?
A Syllofae is a soul-tending space — an evolving altar, a magnetic beacon for beauty, wonder, and intention. It’s where we align our inner world with the rhythms of the Earth and sky. With each lunar cycle and seasonal shift, your Syllofae becomes a mirror for your becoming.
Place on it anything that delights your senses or stirs your spirit:
objects from nature (leaves, shells, stones)
sacred symbols (cards, charms, talismans)
candlelight, affirmations, and seasonal imagery
elements to represent the current moon or seasonal theme (like holly in winter, dandelions in spring, or golden leaves in fall)
Think of your Syllofae as a living spell — an invitation for what you wish to magnetize into your life.
✨ Magical Etymology of Syllofae
syl = “with, together”
sill = Old English syll: “beam, threshold, foundation”
lo = Middle English lo: “an exclamation of wonder, grief, or joy”
fae = from the Scottish “from,” and of course, the mystical being of elemental magic
Our mantles, shelves, or window sills are a “threshold” where we lay “foundations”, where we are “with” our wildling selves, “together” in “surprise, grief, or joy” and open to the “mystical”, the “magical”, the “elementals”, and our many muses.
So our Syllofae is a threshold where we come together — with our wild selves, with wonder, with the fae. A place to lay foundations, to witness the turning of time, and to greet the magic that arrives with each breath of the moon.
🌗 Waning Moon: Integrating Soul Nourishment
As the moon wanes and turns toward darkness, the soul whispers. This is a time of integration — the lunar phase of soul nourishment. A phase for pausing, reflecting, releasing, and composting what’s complete.
Face North — the direction of Earth, elders, and deep wisdom — and invoke your inner Wiseling. This grounded archetype holds the medicine of patience, perspective, and quiet clarity. The gnomes, elves, and fauns remind us: this work doesn’t have to feel heavy. It’s a form of playful presence.
Reflection doesn’t mean retreat — it means rooting. It means listening.
Here are some reflective questions to nourish your soul during this waning phase:
🌙 What was stirred up in this lunar cycle?
What events or feelings arose?
What new truths, patterns, or priorities emerged?
🔥 What was conjured?
Where did your attention go?
What choices or longings felt most alive?
🌟 What was celebrated?
What brought delight, gratitude, or joy?
What did you harvest or receive?
🌱 How was my soul nourished?
Was my pace aligned with my energy?
What do I need more of? Less of?
What can I now release, with love?
Just as the moon spirals through her phases, so do we. We stir. We conjure. We harness. We integrate. We begin again.
🕯 A Living Practice
Your Syllofae can become an anchor in your lunar rhythm — refreshed at the dark moon, tuned throughout each phase, and transformed with each season. Let it reflect your inner world. Let it guide you into deeper dialogue with your becoming.
In the loom of creation, a physical altar becomes more than a beautiful arrangement — it becomes a tool for dreamweaving through matter. Each object you place holds symbolic resonance, acting as a thread woven into the quantum fabric of the universe. With each intentional placement — a candle, a feather, a stone — you are encoding your desires into form, gently informing the field that surrounds and responds. Your Syllofae becomes a sacred mirror and magnet: a threshold where the unseen takes shape, where energy and imagination enter the visible world. In this way, the altar doesn’t just represent your intentions — it participates in them. And always, allow your Syllofae to surprise you. Let it become a place of renewal, resonance, and radiant becoming.
It’s not easy to start a new habit, even when you really want to! The hardest part of any habit isn’t even doing it—it’s starting. You don’t need to commit to a full length workout or an hour long writing session right away. Have you ever heard of the two-minute rule? In short you do something for two minutes just to get going. Our next article in this series goes deep into that practice. But first let’s figure out how to get from “not feeling it” to “ok, I can do just two minutes!” That distance itself can often feel like a thousand miles!!
Thus, the 17-second rule.
This simple but powerful practice helps you bypass resistance, build momentum, and make new habits feel effortless. Read on to discover why the 17-second rule works, how to apply it, and real-life examples of people using it to create lasting change.
Why 17 Seconds? The Vibe of Momentum
The idea behind the 17-second rule is simple: If you can focus your attention on anything for at least 17 seconds, you create momentum!
This works because the brain perceives starting a new action as difficult, but just thinking about it isn’t. Then, once your attention is actually on the thing, the resistance diminishes. It’s a form of pre-paving a smooth path because just the mental shift from resistance to allowance builds momentum!
Actually setting a timer or counting for 17 seconds is just silly, so simply count on your fingers and say 17 positive procolamations.
For example, let’s say you have a vision of yourself as a guitar player. You know you have to practice, but you resist it. You’ve even set it out in plain sight to remind you that you really do want to play, but weeks go by, it gathers dust and becomes a decoration.
Try this! (count statements on your fingers)
I love my guitar.
There’s music in me!!
It’s fun to hear the music.
I’m excited about the new chords/songs/whatever I’m going to learn.
I can imagine the sensation of the strings on my fingers.
I do want to be a better player.
I wonder how l’d sound if I practiced more often.
It’s hard to get going but I can do hard things.
I’d enjoy being able to play for others more often.
My poor guitar probably feels abandoned!😂
I can imagine feeling more confident about it.
My guitar is a treasure to me.
Expressing myself musically feels good.
I am a guitar player.
I could just pick it up and feel it!
I could strum a few chords.
I could play for just two minutes!!
This process can literally be applied to anything. Once you have focused on anything for 17 seconds, you’ll make a decision about whether to take action based on actual desire rather than intertia! Make up the statements off the top of your head and give it a try, the sillier the better. It will likely take you much longer than 17 seconds the first time you try this, so aim for 10 positive proclamation and then build to 17. Play with the idea to really make it your own.
Real-Life Success Stories
📖 Maya Angelou: She overcame writer’s block by committing to sitting in a hotel room with a pen and paper, even if she didn’t write immediately. Once she started, the words often flowed.
🏋️ Arnold Schwarzenegger: When learning English, he made it a habit to read for just a few moments daily. The small commitment helped him master the language over time.
🎸 Ed Sheeran: He practiced guitar daily by simply picking it up—even when he didn’t feel like playing. Once he started, it was easy to continue.
