an ode left unsung
image of an altar from day’s past, with one of my most beloved potions, who looks different now but is still as potent
I call on Calamus, to open the channel of expression. I call on Hawthorn, to urge me to speak from the heart. I call on Angelica, to stoke the fire to forge through, despite resistance.
Writing to me has always been a lifeline. For as long as I can remember, for as long as I could scribble words onto paper, I used writing as a force to translate what’s inside, outside. Underneath a blooming dogwood tree, I was maybe 10 years old in the early, burgeoning spring. I remember writing poetry. I can still feel the confused tension morphing into inspiration. In the old coal mine behind my home— where as a teen, I’d run to amidst spurts of overwhelm— I’d write with urgency: to let it bleed, to repair the inner wound.
Some of you have been here for quite some time, since 2019 when I began to share this newsletter. Some of you have never received a writing from me, as I’ve been on quite the hiatus since 2020. Now, I want to return, with consistent rhythm. But I hesitate, for the shifts in myself, in the times, have been something seismic. I’m really not the same human who once offered monthly astrological insights, plant musings, poetry, meditations. Though there’s still a depth, chthonic and unyielding, from which I may draw my words. The plants too, of course, still guide the way, along with the sky above.
The moon is new: clean slate. In the fixed fire sign of Leo— our individual passion, creative spark, lust for life. Conjunct Venus retrograde, in her underworld journey. Let us reassess where we seek beauty, what we desire, how we relate to others. What odes have been left unsung? Surely, for me, sharing my writing has been bottled up for many moons, and this lunation offers me courage to come forth at first to lay it all out.
Truth is, it’s been particularly difficult to come here and share because I am a mother now. In September of 2022, I gave birth to a spirit who’s a trickster at heart, with Mercury ruling his chart, and it goes without saying that my journey into matrescence has completely rewired my life. I’m still navigating the balance of it all, while getting to know who it is I am becoming. Motherhood unravels neurological, physiological, interpersonal, and emotional shifts that cannot be undone. The tenderness of this transformation is beautifully illustrated in Lucy Jone’s new book Matrescence, which I thoroughly recommend if you’d like to dive deeper into the history, sociology, and psychology surrounding motherhood.
All the while, this personal revolution has impacted and inspired my other creative pursuits. Through pregnancy, postpartum, and to this day, I remain devoted to my plant allies, and I am learning how to tend the garden, harvest herbs, and offer apothecary creations all while my baby’s strapped to my back. It feels ancestral. My bones remember it. But I also remember doing this work more enmeshed in community, alongside others who’d help turn the compost and carry the harvest basket. This ancestral remembrance is something I will share more about in an upcoming writing.
The creative constraint of tending a child has begun to clarify my work. I am honing in on what it is I’d like to offer through Sensitive Earth. Fostering plant-centered community, as I just touched upon, is one of those endeavors. For those of you local to the Hudson Valley— I’ve sown the seeds and established roots for a perennial medicinal herb garden in Kingston that’s open to everyone. My intention is that this garden will serve as an educational resource, with myself and other herbalists teaching classes, where folks can meet plant allies and harvest them for medicine. If you’d like to stay in touch and/or become involved with the garden, let me know, and I’ll add you to the communication thread!
me working & Linden sleeping in the community garden very early this spring
Along with this project, more education, plant-centered art, and beloved herbal remedies are on the way, to be birthed in the weeks leading up to October. That is the month when another creation will finally arrive earthside!
On Friday the 13th of October, I will release my next album ‘of beast and bone’ on Spirit House Records. During my hermitage of 2021, I dove deep into writing, recording, and producing this work. It’s a book of shadows, in audio form, as the songs emerged as a way for me to navigate the turmoil I faced during the 2020 pandemic, an unsettling break-up, housing instability, and the uneasiness around falling in love again. The record harbors themes of confronting one’s shadow, as a sort of magical practice, and the insight that arises from meeting it eye to eye.
At the apex of this lunar cycle that’s just begun, around the Pisces full moon, the first single of the record, tsuga, will be available for listening along with a ritual music video shot in a hemlock grove. If you’re familiar with my music, this is a tune you may have already heard, but I am especially excited for you to immerse yourself in the forest of this production alongside a narrative video that holds great meaning to me. September 1st— stay tuned!
Well then! Yes, I’ve been quiet over here, but I’m sure you can tell that’s not for lack of creative energy brewing. I wanted to offer this letter at first as a catch-up, and in the letters to come, you can expect more insightful writing intertwined with plant musings, product updates, and musical offerings.
ABOUT MY MUSIC
As a self-taught musician, Jordann Funk embraces the realm of intuitive folk— using unusual tunings, chords, and melodies to bring her songs to life. Her vocals are candid yet otherworldly, transporting the listener to a place of reflection. She often feels she's channeling natural forces in her music, lending them a voice so they may be heard.
“The voice of an angelic changeling combined with an ancient ancestor- free and wild, untamed and pure. An intrinsic and natural musical style, still like nothing I've quite ever heard.” - Eden Page
You can listen to my music via https://jordannfunk.bandcamp.com/ , or search "Jordann Funk" on any streaming service you might use.