Author Archives: Steph VonAhnen, LRMT, CLC

When I was little, my dad used to say, “You don’t have any iron in your nose, do ya?” Usually after I’d wandered off in the completely wrong direction.  At the time, I thought it was just one of those silly dad things , kinda like “don’t take any wooden nickels” or “you’ve got moreContinue reading “Iron in Your Nose & Other Things My Daddy Said: Ancient Wisdom Hidden in Everyday Sayings”

There’s a moment you never forget:When the person who raised you, loved you, and limped through your teenage chaos, starts to hurt in a way the experts can’t (or won’t) explain. My mom’s legs had been crying out for years. Puffy, blistered, aching.And what did the professionals say?🩺 “Hmm.”🩺 “It’s probably just aging.”🩺 “We don’tContinue reading “The Balm That Spoke Louder Than White Coats: Hilarious Hacks (With a Healing Edge)”

Let’s be real, compost isn’t glamorous.  It’s stinky.  It’s messy.  It’s literally a pile of old banana peels, eggshells, and last week’s regrets.  And yet… it might just be the wisest teacher in the whole garden! Why compost?  Compost is transformation in slow motion. It doesn’t ask you to pretend your scraps never existed.  ItContinue reading “The Compost Chronicles: Turning Life’s Crap into Garden Gold”

You know the ones.  The creeping thistle of a comment made years ago.  The dandelion puff of a betrayal you thought you’d blown away, until it seeded itself again right when you weren’t looking.  Garden grudges are just like real weeds: persistent, sneaky, and surprisingly good at stealing the sunlight. And just like in theContinue reading “Garden Grudges: What Weeds Can Teach Us About Forgiveness”

Earth doesn’t need to prove herself. She simply is. She holds everything, the mistakes, the miracles, the compost of old versions of us, and she asks nothing but patience.  She says, “Stay.  Grow slow.  You’re safe.” So far this week, I found grounding in the smallest things.  My hands in warm water, washing my blenderContinue reading “Earthbound: The Root of It All”

There’s a kind of fire that doesn’t destroy. It doesn’t rage or scorch. It calls. It’s the kind that glows behind your ribs when you hear your name said just right, or when an idea lands so hard that you have to stand up and do something (I prefer a little dance.)  That’s the fireContinue reading “Fire song: Where Is Your Energy Calling You to Blaze?”

Some days, I don’t feel like a person, I feel like a tide.  Rising, receding, reshaping everything without ever meaning to.  I’ll be making coffee and suddenly find myself crying over the freshly grated cane sugar that I insist on using.  Not sad, just… full. Water doesn’t just break down doors.  It seeps.  It softens. Continue reading “Water Knows Before We Do: Why We Should Follow the Flow”

This week, the wind had opinions.  Not just your casual breeze-through-the-trees type… no…  this wind was dramatic.  A full-body exhale from the universe.  It rattled the cover on the coop, flipped a bucket across the yard, upended the trellis, and left me standing in the garden like some accidental oracle, squinting at the sky, wonderingContinue reading “Witchy Weather Warnings: What the Wind Told Me This Week”

There’s a moment, right after the spilled coffee, just before the overdue bill, and somewhere between “I forgot to thaw dinner” and “why is the dog licking the wall”, where it happens… She arrives. Your evil twin. Not evil in a villainous way (she’s not plotting world domination).  No, she’s more chaotic neutral.  She forgetsContinue reading “Meet Your Evil Twin: The One Stress Sends to Handle Things (Poorly!)”

You ever agree to do something bold and brave… and then immediately wonder what demon possessed you to say yes in the first place? Yeah.  That’s me right now, packing my bag and my nerves to head to South Dakota for a speaking gig.  Public speaking, they say, is scarier than death for most people. Continue reading “Scared to Speak, Still Showing Up”