Of Bones & Roses

Through the many cycles and transitions that we undertake in life we hold the memory of our ancestors within our blood, or bones our dna. Our bones contain Our genetic influence our bone structure and influence our bone mass, it is our skeleton, our bones, that holds us up and support us to move through life. The human body contains 206 bones, within our bones is bone marrow, the creation space for our blood cells. Bones like blood are vital.

From ancient times bones have been revered as connectors to those beyond, they are in many cultures laid out upon mountain tops, they are used for divination, carved as talismans, they are built into temples and churches and are worshiped as relics.

Bones are so very connected to life, death and rebirth, and just like the Rose, bones speak of transitions and cycles, of hidden mysteries. When Roses are placed symbolically with Bones they symbolise new life after death; rebirth, resurrection, transition through cycles. And Roses may be nourished/fertilised, fed by blood and bone, which contains potent source of essential nutrients that support growth.

As Persephone descends into the Underworld to claim her bone crown and Venus too sinks below the earthly realms, my thoughts turn to bones; ancestral, genetic bones, my bones. And my recent osteoporosis diagnosis. At 52 years young this hollow bone or brittle bone dis-ease was not what I was expecting, but my matriarchal line is awash with degenerative bone issues, with arthritis, with unstable structure, my mother is crippled in her mid 70's. I was/am determined though that would not be my fate and so I was/am so mindful of it and endeavoring to be aware, proactive and nourishing to my body, my bones. I thought I had done a good job..... At times though no matter how much work we do around our inherited lineage, no matter how much severing, healing, unbinding and journeying we undergo to release and reverse inherited traits, some things can not be avoided. Oh the things you sign up for......Just because they may be unavoidable, it does not mean that we respond to them in the same way as those that have gone before us, our mindset, spiritual practices and supports may vary vastly from other members of our family with the same diagnosis. The following words are my thoughts, my initial reaction, response, my musings upon this recent journey of sadness that morphed into acceptance.

It all begins and ends with bones.

From the pulsing union of blood and bones and DNA we are formed,

growing into our bones as we grow with age, hopefully with strength and stability.

Some of my earliest childhood memories are of collecting bones in the paddocks, by the creeks and amongst tree roots and coveting them as precious treasures. I also remember my mothers horror at my proud adornment of the freshly painted white shelves in my bedroom, that she constantly found decorated with bones and stones and feathers. I was not a princess, I was a feral wild child, why didn't she understand......

After childhood, the discovery or the remembering of, my witchcraft path in my late teen years and the delight at the complete acceptance of bones as tools, as teachers, as connectors. Bones as symbols of life and death and rebirth, of Ancestral communion. And then further along the way, my path broadened into travels abroad and more discoveries of bones both wild, familial and ancestral.

Since my return home to Australia I have been in service to the "bones" of my family, and the bones of my community, building relationships, supporting and nurturing the growth of others and in the doing so endeavoring to also honour my own path, practices and growth. And I have done an incredible job, or so I thought at tending to my own health and nourishment. But as I said earlier, some things are unavoidable.

And now as we flow towards the thinning veil, as Persephone descends into the Underworld to claim her bone crown, my thoughts turn again, not only because of this, but also because of a recent genetic diagnosis, to bones.

And so, it would appear, through the portal of menopause challenges and through genetic inheritance, I have recently been diagnosed with osteoporosis and so bones rise again as prominent teachers, but this time hollow bones, brittle bones, old bones are part of my connections, my considerations, my lessons.

The irony of years spent in ancestral communion, undoing the threads of family trauma, of baggage, of things past down and carried within my matriarchal line, of all the work I have done around these things, these severings. The awareness of my mother and grandmothers bones was not enough. Now these new personal connections, some would deem curses, but perhaps wrapped as gifts, are passed down and laid before me. There is something to be learnt from everything....or so they say.

Regardless of the strength and fortitude the awareness, the emotions and the expression of them is important, and the news of this diagnosis came as a slap in the face, a rude awakening, a reality – shock. Anger, disappointment, frustration, all the emotions; sadness, grief, overwhelm. At the age of 52 osteoporosis was never on my radar as being possible this early, nor on my doctors. And already having a spinal issues, the last thing I wanted to hear was osteoporosis. I felt I already had my fair share of bone issues. I felt I was doing well at indefinitely avoiding the thread of matriarchal bone brittleness.

And so in deep reflection, deep mourning, deep connection to these emotions, that I have traveled through these last 2 weeks, coming to terms with this new pathway, this new thread to unravel, or perhaps to sit with and process, then to be proactive about.

And so, I dive deep with Persephone, Queen of bones, as the seasons descends, as we descend, as I descend into the portal of ancestral communion. As Venus too descends, another queen of cycles. Of the threads of bones, of blood, of DNA. And Venus to descends too, I feel I am in good company, as I too surrender to the void of processing and healing.

Now begins the shifting, the sorting through bones, throwing of the bones, feeling into the bones, and their wisdom. Now begins focusing on rebuilding, rebuilding the bones. Stepping in to the embodiment of self-nourishment, of self-esteem of self acceptance. Stepping into the empowerment of what can be done about such things, stepping out of the hopelessness and frustration and into the acceptance, but not defeated acceptance, acceptance with empowerment, acceptance with magick, and deep longing to create a better way with this, a way that means I do not end up crippled like my mother or grandmother.

And its not just Persephone, but goddess Hathor that has stepped in, goddess of my heart, of my bones and my blood, goddess, mother of many many life times, sister, queen, celestial mother, bovine queen, cow face goddess. Mother of nourishment, of sensuality, of love and death, and divine nourisher of the dead, ally for all the little deaths we undergo during life. And the bones of cows, of the ancestral cattle folk that flows through my blood, my bones, several generations of cattle farmers, this too is not lost on me, the irony of this.

And so it is rose queens Persephone and Hathor that have stepped forward to nourish me as I in turn nourish my roses with blood and bone and so the roses unfurl for me, sharing their lessons of sacrifice, of bud and bloom and wilt and return to roots. The thorns reminding me of my boundaries, of what I need to take on and what I do not need to carry. What is not mine. Family lines bring gifts and baggage, learning from it is key.

The thorny lessons are a reminder to reset, to say no, to put myself first, to honour these bones, this physical carriage in this lifetime, no matter what unfolds. And so the bones whisper to me now tales of transformation, of transition, of empowerment. From hollow bones to strong bones, to bones that will one day lay in the dust or be burnt to ashes so this mortal container can release the weight of these bones, hollow, brittle or otherwise, to reset and repair, never having to do this again, this particular lesson, in this way!

And so the bones have spoken and so I listen, deeply, completely now, to the bones.

Additional Notes:

With this timely reality I would like to implore any menopausal women, particularly those that have any bone degeneration within their matriarchal line to go DEMAND a Bone Density test, my dr initially dismissed me due to my age, and here I am with not Osteopenia

(preliminary stage) but full blown Osteoporosis and a very low bone density count. Here in Australia women aren't offered a screening until the age of 75 and many only find out when the break something......if you have low bone density breaks are really not ideal. According to The Australasian Menopause Society - the average woman loses up to 10 per cent of her bone mass in the first five years after menopause, so if you have Osteoporosis its much higher then that. Osteporosis causes 8.9 million fractures a year.

Our bones are so vital to our well-being, so look after them. Make sure you have good calcium and vitamin D intake, do regular weight bearing exercise and eat well.

Thanks for reading my story, I truly hope it helps others.

If you enjoyed this read, scroll through my other posts, there are gems tucked away in them.

For those that would like to work more closely with me either online or in-person I have monthly full day workshops in the Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia. Next is on 19th May - Hekate Fiery Rose of Winter. There is a Winter Solstice Circle in June and my next intake for my beautiful Online Temple of the Rose Goddesses is commencing on 11th July, those signed up to my Newsletter (link on Home Page) get first access to Early Bird tickets on sale now. I also offer Rose Healing Sessions for Women in my Home Sanctuary. Both the Rose Healing Sessions and my Online Rose Temple have there own pages here on the website. The Workshops are listed on the workshop page too (or you can follow my on my ticket provider Humanitix to never miss an event).

I am also in the process of revamping email courses, my mentoring offerings and am about to release some other opportunities too.

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With Love and Roses,

Juniper Rose