Spiritual Awakening & The Role of Our Animal Guides
Experiencing a spiritual awakening can feel like a lot of things. Eye-opening, life-altering, perspective-changing. The more we learn and grow spiritually, the more our lives will shift and change – sometimes in subtle, quiet ways, but more often in large, loud ways, leaving us overwhelmed. Without the right tools, guidance and support, your spiritual awakening can be a lot to navigate. You always have me as your guide in the process. But I wanted to remind you that you also have another type of guide available to you to support you on your journey – your animal guides.
Animals can show up from the Spirit realm to assist you in what you’re going through. They all represent certain qualities and possess different strengths and will usually arrive when you’re in need of that quality. For example, if you know you need to use your wit and act cleverly, a fox may be your guide. If you’re looking for extra strength or courage, a lion or bear may be the animal for that. You can uncover which animals are with you during meditation or channeled journaling. You can also speak to an intuitive that offers specific animal guide readings or, of course, book a reading with me!
While we can always connect into the Other side for animal beings to guide us, let’s chat now about living animals. These are the animals that are sent to us, to live amongst us in this life. Whether you have a pet that you love dearly, or are drawn to a certain kind of animal regularly, this is the animal that is here to guide, protect and ground you right now in your journey. These animals act as our bond to the Other side, our connector or transmitter, giving us strength to grow our spiritual connection and depth.
Early on in my career, I had dogs by my side. They protected and grounded me in my home, sending so much love when I needed it the most. Due to the kind of work I do and the fact that I host client sessions in my space, the amount of energy that came in and out, some of it heavy and dense, began, heartbreakingly, to make my dogs feel ill. I could see how incredibly empathic they were, how open and pure and connected to Spirit they were. They taught me so much. I have chosen right now to have another kind of animal as my familiar in my home. There is so much to learn from each unique animal we’re drawn to. My beta fish Cherry Bomb swims to the glass of the tank, wanting to be close to me when I’m in the room. I am open to receiving the wisdom from this little creature and the reminder that most times in life, all we can do is swim with the current and go with the flow.
Our animal guides find us when they are needed. I have heard many stories about how pet owners have found their beloved pets in a way that was synchronistic, all falling into place perfectly, as it was meant to. These animals will always find their way to us and are full of lessons, but also deep unwavering love, compassion and understanding. They remind us of how simple and beautiful life can be if we let ourselves see it. These animals are absolutely meant to be with you, to give you light and love as you grow in your spiritual awakening. They won’t always be with you. They will go back to their place on the Other side, but my advice to you is to keep your heart open for the next animal to walk (or swim!) into your life. They have so much more to offer you, too.
If you would like support in learning more about your animal guides or are looking for a mentor in your spiritual awakening, my readings and Evolve mentorship program are open for booking.
Love, Light & Angelic Blessings,
Annmarie
The Act of Surrendering Your Emotions
And Why It’s Exactly What You Need to Do to Grow and Evolve
I get it. Facing uncomfortable emotions head-on can feel downright, well, uncomfortable. It can feel scary and immensely unpleasant to look these emotions in the face and acknowledge their presence. And I’m with you. I’d much rather feel joy, peace and bubbling happiness than anything icky and uncomfortable.
But, the truth is, we cannot fully get to a place of peace and contentment in our lives until we DO look at the negative that’s rising to the surface.
The negative that has been pushed way deep down.
I have learned this lesson time and time again. We must look at the darkness to then see the light. I don’t make the rules, but I have seen living proof that surrendering to your emotions is your roadmap to feeling good. It’s exactly how you grow and evolve in this lifetime.
So what do I mean by surrendering your emotions? I’m talking about facing each emotion that arises, no matter how big and ugly it may seem. It’s about breaking old patterns that may have been your go-to, like running, avoiding, remaining in a state of denial or placing the blame on others. It might even feel triggering hearing each of these actions spelled out before you. But I’ve written them so you can see them, so you can let them sit with you, so you can finally accept where you might be at fault or to blame.
But take a deep breath, my friend. An expansive inhale and a slow, releasing exhale. I know it feels like a lot. Yet it’s okay to be the one to blame. It’s okay. It really is. Because in recognizing this, you are taking the first steps to healing, growing, and evolving on your spiritual journey, welcoming in more light to your life.
As this happens, you’ll begin to see how much others project their own unhealed traumas and pain onto you and the people around them. Friendships may change as you take ownership for your actions and accountability for your choices. These people in your life may not understand this new version of you, but it’s all a part of the process. You’re evolving. You’re learning to face each and every emotion that comes your way, without fear, but with loving, compassionate grace, no matter what the feeling is. You will no longer feel any need to run, hide, avoid or blame. And life flows so much easier when you live in this state of surrender. Trust me.
I will say, be easy with yourself as you face these shadows, as you look at the moments where it really was your fault. You, like me, are just living a human existence and we are all bound to make mistakes. But the key here is to acknowledge and recognize when these moments do occur, so they can be understood, so they can be forgiven, learned from and then released from your physical and emotional body. Breaking patterns is never easy, but I know you are committed to doing the work and growing as the beautiful spiritual being that you are!
Next steps and tools:
To begin this process of surrendering your emotions, write out and journal on a situation or area of your life that feels heavy for you. What comes up for you here? What does it feel like to face the reality of this situation? Can you see how you might be at blame? Do you notice your pattern when it comes to tough emotions? Can you offer yourself forgiveness for this?
Once this is all acknowledged, it is important to move these emotions out of your physical body. Choose a movement that best suits you, like walking, yoga, breath work, or dancing and actively release all that has been pent up inside you.
Honour yourself. Thank yourself for doing this deep shadow work by saying kind affirmations in the mirror, treating yourself to a favourite activity or a hot, restoring bath.
As always, I am here as your guide if you need further assistance with this process. Message me to book a reading or join my Evolve, spiritual mentorship program.
Love & Angelic Blessings,
Annmarie
Halloween isn’t only about candy and costumes, it’s about witches and magic.
Halloween can be so many things from children dressing up to handing out candy, witches celebrate Samhain in which death is honoured.
Witches, view nature as sacred space, the Earth element is the goddess in which they celebrate by sitting under the tree or near the river banks.
This happens because they honour Samhain when it is time.
Samhain is the most important ritual for all witches. They honour this at the peak of the season which corresponds to the mythology of the changing relationship of the gods and goddesses. They believe that the goddess is eternal, changing through the seasons from maidan to mother and ultimately the crone.
The god eternally returns but dies before he can age, he is sacrificed at Samhain to ensure the fertility of the crops and the well- being of the community in the coming year.
For witches magic is real, believing that through dance, song and meditation the psychic energy is raised and the magic happens 🎃💜
What are your thoughts on Halloween ?
Do you like or dislike it?
What is your fondest memory of Halloween?
Blessings and Angelic Energy
Annmarie Hodges 💜💜 Binbrook Medium
What Did You Want to Be as a Child? The Act of Accepting Who You Are Now
Let me ask you this:
When you were younger what did you always want to be? What job was your dream job?
Decisions made from our childhood perspective can obviously shift and change as we grow into adults - because maybe a space-traveling astronaut isn’t as practical as we once thought! But sometimes we hold onto these old dreams, long into our years, even as we’ve chosen other paths, other dreams, and a very different direction than we first imagined for ourselves.
Take a moment. Think back. What did you first want to be? Did you become that? Did you become something completely opposite and more realistic? Either way, it’s time to release the weight that that old expectation has on us. It’s time to release its hold and with it, any regrets.
We tend to idealize the things that could have been. “If only I’d become a doctor, then I’d be happy.” “If only I took that leap and followed a different path, then I wouldn’t be struggling like this.”
But the truth is, no matter which path you choose or didn’t choose, there’s always going to be ups and downs, pros and cons, benefits and upheavals. So unless you’re feeling truly called to change directions and try a new career, journey, way of being or habit - it’s time to let all the old expectations rest. You CAN let yourself be happy.
Because the grass is always greener — where you water it.
Today, let’s trade restless uncertainty and regret for peace and acceptance. You’ll be amazed how bright your life will look like from that lens.
-Annmarie
Let's Talk About Toxic Relationships
Let’s talk about toxic relationships. Whether you’ve been in one or not, whether you’ve experienced this pull or not, this is for you. Because the biggest thing a toxic relationship can teach us is our own self worth and just how valuable our time and experiences truly are.
It can be hard, at first, to realize you are in a toxic relationship, be that with a partner, a friendship or a work relationship. Toxicity can be sneaky. It can present itself as love, as passion, as a myriad of other emotions that first come across as desirable. You may feel needed and wanted just long enough to keep you coming back for more. Is this positive or something much more manipulative? The way to determine if a relationship is toxic is to evaluate how you feel after spending time with this person. Do you feel energized, uplifted, respected, cherished? If you don’t, it’s time to explore the other side of things. Do you often feel drained, used, frustrated, disrespected? These are indicators of a toxic relationship.
The first step is realizing this - but many times even with this knowledge, we can’t always walk away, especially when it comes to romantic encounters. Toxicity can feel like a drug, pulling you in, promising you things that are false and misleading. The rush, the thrill, the devastating let down and then, repeat.
As much as you can’t walk away, the reality is you MUST. For your health, both physically and mentally and your own worth. I am here to help you break these habits and truly walk away from toxic cycles when it comes to relationships, to show you the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter where you encounter someone who does not respect your boundaries, it is important to remember, you do not owe them anything - not your time, not your energy, not your kindness, if they are not willing to offer respect to you. They may try to guilt you into feeling like you do, but you don’t. You truly do not.
Understanding that you are worth more, so much MORE than the way someone mistreats you is a stepping stone to breaking free from toxic people. Don’t get me wrong, they will always show up in your life, presenting lessons, showing you ways you need to continue to grow, but your response to them will determine how it all plays out, your response will change everything.
Saying NO, closing the door, choosing to walk away or simply not hanging around certain people will help you gain the clarity you need, showing you that life can be beautiful and fulfilled and actually quite magical with people who DO light you up, who DO respect and love you dearly, who DO hold space for you to be your truest self.
You do not have to settle for people who don’t make you feel good. If you can’t fully walk away from them, if they are, let’s say a direct family member, you are allowed to determine how much time is spent with this person while also setting the guidelines for which topics are allowed in discussion.
Ultimately, there is a lot of light and dark in this world and the more we choose people who radiate light, the more light there will be around us all. You don’t have to put up with toxic people, you are allowed to have strict boundaries and if you feel caught in the repetitiveness of a toxic cycle, I am here to help give you the tools and help you out to the other side.
May your life be filled with people who truly inspire you. May you attract in your soul family and always feel seen and supported in all the you do.
Love & Angelic Blessings,
Annmarie
Thoughts on Friday the 13th
A lot of people I talk to feel very unsettled when this day comes about, worried that bad luck with find them or that nothing will go their way. I want to say that Friday the 13th is just another day of the week. It can be fun and whimsical if you let it be and it’s actually us, humans who attach any negative connotations to it with all our collective emotions and conditioned feelings toward it.
It’s been a rough go of things this year. We’ve all been through a lot. This is true. But this pandemic has taught us a lot about ourselves. It’s made us wake up, pay attention, emerge out of our complacency and actually stand up for what we want and what we believe in.
It’s not a time to stay comfortable but that being said, on this day and all the days still left in this year, I can feel the good things that are awaiting us. It’s not all doom and gloom, my friends. It’s time to remember our magic. It’s time to respond instead of rushing to react.
So enjoy this day. Do something to raise your vibration and don’t get caught up in any of the negativity swirling around. If you keep grounded in your present, with your sights ahead of you on the good things that are coming, you will begin to attract all of it in.
Love and Light,
Annmarie
An Inside Look at Home Grounding, Clearing and Protection
An Inside Look at Home Grounding, Clearing and Protection
The space you live in, breathe in and love in, is a space most important of all. It’s your home and the foundation for everything. Because of this, you want to be safe and protected within these walls so that you may live your life with a sense of ease and purpose. Without this feeling of comfort and security, it’s difficult to operate or function as the best and brightest version of you.
If your home or the land it is on, is holding onto old negative energy, spirits, entities or emotions, it most definitely is in need of a protective grounding and clearing.
I have performed this practice many times over the years and each time has proven successful in clearing the space and providing the current inhabitants with a comfortable and safe environment to continue living in.
So how exactly do I do it? It’s quite the interesting process and each time is never the same. I’m going to give you a behind-the-scenes look into what grounding and clearing a home really looks like.
When a client reaches out to me, it’s not always because something dark and foreboding is disrupting their lives. It can be this, yes, but most times there is just a lot of old stuck energy that needs to move right along. That’s where I come in.
Once I hear from the client, the process begins and I become energetically in-tune with their current property. This means writing down their address, their names and every living being, person and animal presently living in the space. I am able to perform this from my own home as I can tap into the exact energy of this other property. I tune in further by drawing a pyramid on my paper, utilizing this energy to help me see and feel exactly what is going on.
I very quickly begin to sense everything in and around the space. From there I am able to communicate with past loved ones who are tied to the client, who have crossed over and are just stopping by for a chat. I continue to write down all the downloads I receive, from my Guides, the spirits coming through or impressions of the space, including all past information tied to the house, the land and the client. I jot down if there are earth-bound spirits hanging about and if so, I send them into the light. I can also tell if any of the furniture brought into the house is holding onto old stuck energy or if anything not-so-pleasant took place in the basement. Sigh. It happens.
Now that I have pages (often many!) of downloads and have the full picture of what I’m working with, I create a Sigal for the client, a protective, intuitively received image that I draw for them which will henceforth guard and protect the client, land and home from anything negative, disruptive or unwanted. These are usually placed at the front door.
I sit with the energy around me. I allow any other messages to flow through from the white light, for the client’s best and highest good. Depending on the client, this can turn into a full reading if there is wisdom that is calling out to them.
I provide a copy of all this information to the client and then take my original version and fold it as small as I can, tucking sage in where it’ll fit. I move into my backyard and proceed to burn the information, essentially clearing away everything that was once stuck there and all the negativity that was present.
Interestingly, the smoke from this will turn and shift and become symbols and images that are also a message for the homeowner. It can transform into anything from dragons to flowers to billows of smoke that fully surrounds me and I work with it, later researching exactly what the smoke symbols mean.
After all of this is performed, I provide the client with a full email report of my findings and a jar filled with a mixture of earth and salt and any other natural element I’m feeling called to add in (it all depends on the client and the case). I send this jar to the client, along with two crystals, either White Shaman, Black Onyx or Black Tourmaline, as well as a protective spray that also includes crystals. I send the ashes from the burnt information and ask that they bury all of this in the front of the property, a foot in the ground. This will create a barrier, a protective shield on the property to guard against anything unwanted, keeping the space clear and safe for a long time to come.
I am divinely guided by the Universe through this whole process and have constant support by my Guides and other white light protectors and always receive exactly the right information that the client is in need of. It definitely is an interesting process that unfolds how it will but I love being able to provide this security and protection to the clients I work with.
If you’re interested in learning more or are in need of a Home Grounding and Clearing do not hesitate to reach out! I want your space to be a joyful, peaceful and love-filled haven, just as you intended it to be.
Always,
Annmarie