Last Sunday I was honored to be invited to give a talk at Modern Mystic in Atlanta. Thank you to all who attended, I was thrilled it was such a full house even though it was Halloween wknd! 
Here is a link to the (free) podcast:   sundayschoolatmodernmysticshop.libsyn.com/communications-with-animals-with-sigrira-perret-gentil-savitski
I am so touched by the beautiful introduction from the magical Kelley Knight. 

This past wknd I had the pleasure of attending and being one of the facilitators at #lumisummit2018 . It was an incredible experience surrounded by amazing people. During my part I had prepared a meditation/visualization ✨that was dictated to me (channeled) from my cat sons in spirit, Juneau and Jarvis. They often help me with animal communication and teaching it. And of course they were present during it-I felt them on each side of me as I was reading the words.
✨
Afterwards I asked if anyone wanted to share their experience and heard some lovely responses and then one that was very curious. One of the facilitators, (who gave a beautiful talk about clearing our homes,) @livingpriya who is allergic to cats was having an allergic reaction to the feline energy coming through in the meditation as if she had encountered an actual cat in the physical!!

I understand conceptually that we are all energy & that energy manifests in the physical -but still -it was mind-expanding to actually see it happen! @livingpriya is incredibly sensitive to have felt this energy and I’m grateful for this reaction that came through her and her willingness to share it so everyone there saw this manifestation of energy immediately showing up in the physical. And fortunately she felt better after a few minutes.
​😻
Many thanks to Priya and everyone else there for being so open to the meditation and sharing their experiences! 
✨❤️✨
The first photo is me Sunday night -relaxing after lumisummit-my kids missed me! Photo #2 was made by Jamie Butler- I love this sweet meme!

I went out into our garden one late afternoon this weekend in search of magic. I was feeling a little drained/tired and felt like I needed that to feel better. I love to bring my camera because for me it helps the search to become more focused (no pun intended.) It becomes an adventure in observation. When I set the intention to look for magic, I feel like I am in a faerie tale entering the forest, and using a general word like magic is still broad enough that I am not limiting it or setting a specific expectation for what I want to see which might affect the flow of it. 
For some it may resonate more to bring a sketchpad or notebook instead of a camera. I do find it helpful to somehow document the experience as a tangible reminder.

The first sign of magic I found was a butterfly eating a fig. I had never before seen this and she was enjoying it very much. She allowed me to get quite close and I was able to see her long straw -like tongue. (If you zoom in a bit it's clear and her expression is too.) I loved seeing her little face, usually we only notice their bright wings and antennae. She looked very wise to me and I felt like she had this deep sense of "knowing" about her. I asked her for the photos and she was fine with it as long as I didn't disturb her meal. It also made me happy because we consciously make an effort to share our figs with wildlife. We often see bees, wasps, ants and birds eating them, and now we know butterflies do as well. There is plenty for everyone. The 3rd photo shows multiple insects enjoying a fig. 

After I photographed the butterfly I wandered to the backyard and sat down for a moment on a step to just enjoy listening to the cicadas. It's a constant concert here in Georgia and the sound feels very peaceful. While sitting there a chipmunk came up to me to say hi & check if I had a snack. Typically they don't come so close unless I am putting out birdseed. This one was beyond adorable and posed in my favorite way, on their little back haunches with their paws up, like a prairie dog. Definitely some major faerie tale magic to have a chipmunk visit with me while I enjoyed a chorus of cicadas. I also love the photo when he was a bit further with the lantern in the foreground. There is simply a blurry impression indicating form, and he could be a little mouse or a chipmunk. 

The final piece of pure magic happened after my chipmunk friend left. I walked back through the gate to the front part of the garden and was startled by a glowing fiery leaf filtered sunset. We have a lot of trees so it is very rare to see this much color. It was beautiful to see the interplay of light through the leaves of my dear trees, the soft veiny dogwood leaves and the sweetgum's starry shaped ones, as well as the solid textured pine bark in front of the final orange & lavender dusky sky becoming night. The photos bring me joy and remind me that anytime I need it - nature is there to re-charge my energy- even when I am not home by my garden. I seek these experiences by the sea or even on tree lined city streets -they can also hold magic if we are open to it. 

 I love living in a neighborhood filled with wonderful humans who celebrate wildlife (and animal companions.) This is our summer newsletter magazine and since it started I’ve been writing about the benefits of creating wildlife sanctuaries in our gardens and connecting more deeply with nature. This article is about how our 💗hearts seek the refuge of nature untouched by human hand, the tradition of leaving a piece of our garden wild. There are no straight lines in nature/ our eyes wish to rest from the constant structure and order- simply gazing at natural beauty relaxes us.✨It supports wildlife, invites fae/elementals, and is necessary for our personal peace - so that we may enjoy a tiny (or large) space that mirrors wildness and beauty to our hearts. 🌿

If you'd like to read the article I've pasted a copy of it below:

(Re-) discovering the benefits of wild spaces within our gardens

-by Sigrira Savitski

Following up on my previous article about connecting more deeply with our gardens, this one focuses on creating gardens that are sanctuaries for ourselves as well as for wildlife. Summer is when nature feels fully awake, there is abundant native plant food for animals and we have been enjoying abundant rain. Hummingbirds enchant us by day and as soon as dusk falls the fireflies draw illuminated paths across our yards. Vegetables have already been planted, so this is a season for harvesting and maintaining. 

It’s a perfect time to find an area of the garden that we can allow to be “wild.” In our daily lives we are confronted with constant structure and order. We may enjoy carrying this over into our gardens and planning our rows of vegetables and flowers beds, which is great. However- when we sit back to relax after a long day, our hearts seek the refuge of nature untouched by the human hand, our eyes wish to rest, to soften by gazing at wild natural beauty. 

There is a long tradition of leaving a small portion of the garden wild or uncultivated for the nature elementals or faeries/elves so they can have their own space. This is a lovely way to approach this and for any of you with children it may be fun to encourage them to leave gifts like small crystals for the fae and to “befriend” them by providing food and water for wildlife which they feel protective toward. 

This wild area could be tucked away in the backyard, and as large or small as you wish. It may be surrounded by stones or some kind of marker/special sign which separates it or blend in. When creating a certified wildlife sanctuary, in addition to avoiding herbicides/pesticides-the requirements are food, water, shelter (in the form of trees/shrubs) and a woodpile that birds can use to escape predators. The wood pile could become the wild space or somehow connect to it. Wild spaces serve as shelter for wildlife, with taller grasses and native plant food sources. 

As I mentioned above, summer is also when hummingbirds visit our neighborhood and delight us with their presence. They love wildflowers and will enjoy a wild space in addition to the nectar we provide for them As temperatures rise please remember to replace their sugar water every 3-5 days (depending if it is in the sun or shade) and to avoid the red dye if possible. There are lots of recipes for easy homemade nectar online. 
​
Find time to relax and observe your wild patch of nature. Notice how it attracts more butterflies and hummingbirds, how spiders feel safe weaving webs that undisturbed will sparkle in the morning light. Maybe a bunny will burrow and make their home there. Perhaps native passionflower vines will grow or pokeweeds which are a stunning magenta shade with berries for birds. Photograph it, draw it or take notes each season as it grows and notice the changes. Imagine what types of fae inhabit it. Enjoy a tiny (or larger) space that mirrors wildness and beauty to our hearts. 

*Thanks so much to our neighbor Liam for taking these photos of me and our garden for the summer issue and to our Civic Association.