The Swallowtails Message

On Saturday, while upstairs in the lab working on new editions of Terrestre, Chaparral and Muse, I was nudged to go make sure that I had locked my car. Reluctant to step away from my concentrated work, I waited for a good pausing point from the very tedious and meticulous work of pouring essences in specific weights based on notations in a three ring binder. Yes indeed, I use an old school three ring binder, lined sheets of paper and a thin black marker to make notations while blending.

Finally, I headed downstairs with car keys in hand, opened the front door and clicked the closed lock icon on my keys. Since I was down there I turned to check on the potted rose plant next to the door. To my surprise I noticed a Swallowtail butterfly tucked in the corner. I starred down in awe, wondering what she could possibly be doing tucked down there under the thicket of rose branches....and was she still alive?

I zoomed up the stairs of the perfumery like lightening to grab my phone, camera, our dedicated insect tweezers and a small cardboard box, then zoomed back down intending she was still there. Sure enough, there she was. As I surveyed the situation and contemplated what to do first, I heard someone say "I see you found the butterfly I left for you..." I turned around to see Rachel, the manager here at Lena Street Loft smiling from her white Prius. She had just turned the corner of building C as I was standing out there speculating on what to do. I said to her "Oh it was you! I was wondering how she got in there!" Then Rachel said "I found her in the parking lot right over there." I placed my hand on my heart and thanked her for being so thoughtful.

Next, I took the tweezers and very gently pulled her out of the corner, careful to avoid the leaves of the rose bush and placed her into the box. As I walked upstairs, marveling at such a splendid gift, I considered how that voice had taken me out of the revelry of blending to discover the butterfly and have Rachel drive by the perfumery just as I was contemplating what to do.

It also did not escape my thoughts that butterflies are a symbol of transformation, which we as a collective are most definitely experiencing in a giant way. In every sacred moment we have the opportunity to choose love, elevated consciousness, hope, faith and to operate outside the box, in the circular field of oneness.

Dr. Zach Bush, who I have mentioned before, is an absolutely fascinating young doctor with the vision of an old soul, a Merlin of sorts, who can pierce reality and contribute deeply to our understanding of what is transpiring. His non-political, loving and spiritual approach is unique and punctuated by a resounding equilibrium dripping with truth.

He speaks of the collapse of human health alongside with social, environmental systems as one collective monoculture, like corn, soybeans and wheat. We have created an artificial landscape that is diseased. "There is an opportunity here to change the terrain and create a biologically healthy society. We can't help biologically foster society unless we have a diverse microbiome. The device of a microbiome in society is communication, diversity of voices."

If we are to birth our selves a new, like the process the Swallowtail goes through to become a beautiful, new being with wings, then we must see and recognize both our unity and diversity. Feel into the circular, where all the spokes lead us to the center. They are us and we are they, its time to step into the field of recognition and new paradigms.

I encourage you to let go of all the BS that the mass media is spooning out, stand at the center without bias and see clearly, with courage and resolve. There are many interviews and podcasts with Dr. Zach Bush, here is a rather lengthy one I suggest watching in parts and drinking in deeply.

Cocooning

Elemental earth is rooted in the mineral kingdom. Our tactile sensory experience acts as antenna to the moment, the here & now.

When we are cocooned by the embrace of the earth, we are in a similar process to that of a caterpillar, re-imaging a transition into a new life. Dr. Bruce Lipton writes about it eloquently here:

"To better understand the opportunity hidden in today’s crises, consider the tale of another world in transition. Imagine you are a single cell among millions that comprise a growing caterpillar. The structure around you has been operating like a well-oiled machine, and the larva world has been creeping along predictably. Then one day, the machine begins to shudder and shake. The system begins to fail. Cells begin to commit suicide. There is a sense of darkness and impending doom. 

From within the dying population, a new breed of cells begins to emerge, called imaginal cells. (aka YOU!) Clustering in community, they devise a plan to create something entirely new from the wreckage. Out of the decay arises a great flying machine—a butterfly—that enables the survivor cells to escape from the ashes and experience a beautiful world, far beyond imagination. Here is the amazing thing: the caterpillar and the butterfly have the exact same DNA. They are the same organism, but are receiving and responding to different organizing signals. 

That is where we are today. When we read the newspaper and watch the evening news, we see the media reporting a decaying caterpillar world. And yet everywhere, you and other human imaginal cells are awakening to a new possibility. We are clustering, communicating, and tuning into a new, coherent signal of love."

I, like perhaps your self, am being forced to re-structure my business due to this lockdown. It appears that a better scenario to keeping the perfumery/school space is to instead incorporate them into a new home space.

What awaits me is a complete mystery, except for change. Like the larva in the cocoon, what I know has been ground up, the machine of how I normally move through the world has stopped, and there is a definite, undeniable sense of impending doom.

In this moment in time I am living in a rental home where the lease ends shortly, same with that of the perfumery/school. The coincidence of the two leases ending together point toward yet another move. In the past three years I have moved five times, with living out of boxes becoming the new normal.

Finding a decent rental in Santa Fe feels like scaling a giant mountain in the clouds. The scenario may be changing a bit now that AirBnB'ers are struggling, a small silver lining within this chaos, we shall see.

Ultimately the lesson is to stay flexible and not get caught up in what I would want, or a sense of comfort and joy.

Swallowtail

While working this morning all of a sudden Greg says..."Hey Rox, come're!" So I go outside and he tells me a story of how he was standing next to the little potted lemon tree and heard a small chewing sound. Then he pointed out these strange looking blobs on the branches of the lemon tree. I exclaimed "Oh, wow, is that a cocoon?" He says no, that it is some sort of caterpillar and he points out several others on the tree.

I look closer and must admit it was pretty tough to tell they were caterpillars, but then I started thinking, over years and years of evolution they have probably developed this look so they wouldn't get eaten by the birds.

Later I found out that these ugly, bird dropping-like things are called Orange Dog Caterpillars and that they will turn into Giant Yellow Swallowtails! Not quite sure how long it will be before the cocoon and butterfly appear, stay tuned.

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly"

-Richard Bach

Terrific symbol for this transformative time of year, although generally I associate of butterflies with Spring not Autumn.

Opening image Commutio by Greg Spalenka, photo Roxana Villa.