What Happens After We Die + How I Became a Spirit Medium

I’m a spirit medium, which means I connect with those who’ve passed over and with past lives. This is something I’ve done professionally since 2008. How did this come about? I was approaching a big transition time known astrologically as Uranus Opposition and also as Mid-Life Transition which happens for all of us around the age of forty. Basically my energy amped up and then the unexpected happened: I was pulled towards sharing my gifts with others on a professional level because I HAD to! I had to give back and to be of service. I’d been working metaphysically and empathically since I was a child with fairies, nature spirits, sacred pools, and dreams, and I grew up with astrology, goddesses, paganism, crystals and oracles to name a few. I felt a resonance with all things magickal, and it warmed my heart and soul in a tingly, energizing, knowing way. I just KNEW that this was my milieu, these were my peeps and these tools were my friends.

Becoming A Medium

After turning forty I found a teacher straight from England who was leading an English Traditional Healing Circle in Wildomar, California, and this is where I got to practice giving psychic readings and discovered mediumship, which is communicating with those who have passed over. This is different from a psychic reading or a tarot reading in that the connection is immediately apparent and I either have the right ancestor or I don’t.  Sometimes a different ancestor will appear than the one I expected. I do request the first name of the ancestor beforehand and most times I’m able to connect with them but sometimes they are reluctant, perhaps as they were in life and sometimes we are just not meant to connect with that ancestor at the current time. 

The facilitator of this group didn’t go into too much detail beforehand about how to make that mediumship connection. He simply said that we were to stand in the middle of our healing circle and do our best to connect with the otherworld and the ancestors. He did tell all participants not to give out any information to the medium other than ‘yes’ or ‘no’. He also said that as a medium we were to share three exact, without-a-doubt details about the person on the other side and to have this confirmed by the participant. Then to pass on a very specific message that was in no way amorphous or ambiguous.  

So, I stood up and boom, I was connecting right away with the otherworld. I found myself sharing all kinds of information that mostly came through to me as visuals, such as the look of the person, their environment, household, clothing, time period, family members and how the person died.  When I sense how someone died, that feels different.  For example, I can physically  sense in my body what they were feeling. If they had throat cancer I’d feel my throat being in pain, and I will go further into the problem to see what that means. I have learned over the years to trust my first impressions, and if I get the message that it was cancer, I will say that. I’ve had to learn how to trust.  And, as many of my clients have told me, that is the hardest thing of all to do. But trust I do, in the beauty and divinity of the Gods. Trusting that I am here to serve and if this is my way of serving it is good, it is healing and it helps all of us become who we are meant to be; healthy, whole and holy. 

What Happens After We Die?

I was planning to have a conversation with my dear mom in this article about her big question, “What happens after we die?” but I want to leave that a mystery, as it should be. My guides confirmed this.  I really don’t know what happens; no one does.  I simply trust in the messages I receive from those who have passed over and I trust that their soul IS still alive, just transformed and in another dimension. 

Blessed Be,
Kathy Crabbe
Artist, Astrologer, Soul Reader, Medium

About the Author: Kathy Crabbe offers soul readings, past life, spirit guide and ancestor readings plus astrology reports. Kathy works with five hand painted, self published oracle decks & she paints kitty portraits too. Chakra Cleansing, Prayers, all things witchy, magickal, creative & inspirational are her tools. Deep insight & healing to help you move forward Healthy, Whole and Holy. Kathy teaches a Moon Class at Wise Woman School and she writes and willustrates for Witches & Pagans and SageWoman Magazine. In business since 1993 she is an initiate of the Celtic Faerie Shaman Tradition. Order a Soul Reading here.
Find Kathy online on Instagram
@kathycrabbeart and on YouTube as KathyCrabbe – BLESSED BEE!

Order a Past Life Reading here or an Ancestor/Spirit Guide Reading here.

Over here everything is weightless, timeless, and beautiful

Prints and cards are available at CreativeSoulGuides.com

About the Creative Soul Guides ~ Art to Awaken Your Creative Soul

Creative Soul Guides help us enter into other realms; realms where inspiration, quirkiness, love, and being different are okay.

Kathy Crabbe painted the Creative Soul Guides with her non-dominant left hand. This awakened Kathy’s intuition and she started giving Creative Soul Readings using a deck of 88 cards.

NEW! Soul Essence Portraits ~ feed your sacred soul.

 “Juicy Alive! Your Creative Soul Guides make me feel like I’m not alone. They restore something in me…make me feel sane again.” ~ Tangerine Bolen, Revolution Truth Founder

http://CreativeSoulGuides.com

Cats are wonderful friends ~ What to do when you lose a pet

Cats are Wonderful Friends

Gentle eyes that see so much, paws that have the quiet touch, Purrs to signal "all is well" and show more love than words could tell. Graceful movements touched with pride, a calming presence by our side A friendship that takes time to grow Small wonder why we love them so.

Author Unknown

When you lose your cat ~ What can you do to feel better?

There is no magic pill that can remove the pain completely. With time the feelings will become less intense. However there are activities that may help you to focus on the happy memories you shared. Some people find the following useful:

* Writing poetry or a letter for your cat to express your feelings for him or her. * Arrange photos in a special album. * A memorial page on the web (if you don’t have a web page of your own, there are specific sites that welcome photos and poetry to memorialise your cat). * Joining a email group – there are several that provide support from people who have also lost their cats. * Have your own ritual. Invite like-minded and supportive people to share in memories of your cat. * Plant a rose or tree for your cat. * Sponsor an animal in the zoo in memory of your cat. * Read a self-help book. There are many available on grieving. * If your grief is overwhelming and causes major disruption to your daily life over a long time, consider seeking help. There are counsellors and psychotherapists who are sensitive to the needs of people who are grieving for their pets. However ensure that they have the same qualifications you would expect for grief counselling for humans (eg psychologist, social worker, counsellor of professional association).

Excerpted from Cats of Australia

Art above is from CreativeSoulGuides.com ~ Art to Awaken Your Creative Soul

Kathy Crabbe is a Creative Soul Guide, artist, author and educator who has devoted her life to exploring spirituality and creativity with passion and integrity. Kathy empowers soul-seekers to live the life of their dreams through online resources, inspirational art, Divine Feminine eClasses, eBooks, and Creative Soul Readings infused with a rich background in the arts.

What is Your Gift?

Kathy Crabbe, Ande was ready for any adventure, 2003, mixed media on paper, 8x10”. 

This blog post has been a long time in coming folks, so thank you for caring. There have been many tears,  many goodbyes and much love and prayers shared with family and friends in the last two months, but as Denis says, "life goes on" and so it does, and so too does this blog.

I said goodbye to my birth mother Sally (I'm adopted) and to my Grandad (her father) over the last couple of months and I also spoke at my Grandad's Celebration of Life.

But, my news is, that my newest project is to be dedicated to Sally. It is both new and old; a project near and dear to my heart since it's infancy in 2000. As you may have guessed from the artwork above, my newest project involves the 'lefties' as they are affectionately known, or more formally as the Creative Soul Cards.

These cards meant a whole lot to Sally and me and to Sal's New Moon group of best friends. One Christmas I presented Sal with a New Moon Kit based upon my New Moon Class and we meditated, pulled cards and shared intentions at the New Moon during that visit. Afterwards Sal started her own New Moon Circle with several good female friends. The 'lefty' cards were a big part of this.

At Sal's Memorial I met up with these friends and we cried and talked a lot about Sally. Her friends told me how much this spiritual group meant to Sal during her last months and how much the Creative Soul Cards touched all their hearts and encouraged them to write and share their hopes, dreams and intentions with each other every month.

So, I'd like to dedicate these Creative Soul Cards to you, dear mum and I will continue to teach this class and share these cards with others just as you shared yourself with us by showing us what love is and how to be in love. That was your gift and this is my gift to you.

So, stay tuned folks, I'm working on getting this Creative Soul Deck published along with a guidebook. It will probably accompany my class which I currently teach online but would like to teach in person next.

P.S. The Creative Soul Card pictured above, "Ande was ready for any adventure" was one of the last cards I pulled for Sally and so it was fitting that Ande turned up today for my first "Lefty" post. And, just like Ande, Sal was ready for any adventure and I trust she's on her next big adventure right now.

Sally & Denis

Painting Persephone

Why Persephone? Why now?

47 years ago I was adopted. When I was 27 I finally met my birth mother who I am now very close to. In the past year she has been fighting pancreatic cancer and so I feel a deep desire to dive deeply into the well with her by exploring the longest running mother/daughter myth there is; the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone.

Sally, Me & Carol ~ Solstice Celebration

I'm interested in the pre-patriarchal version of the myth; the one where Persephone (the daughter) willingly ventures into the Underworld to help lost souls cross over to the Other Side. Her mother (Demeter) agrees to this, but in mourning Persephone, she turns summer into winter and the land becomes barren until Persephone returns in the Spring.

The myth re-enacts the cycle of birth/death/rebirth on a yearly basis; this is a natural part of life, but not one that our society accepts or understands in a conscious way. We are afraid of death and dying and what happens next. I do know that our souls do not die. Part of my work as a Creative Soul Guide is to venture into the Other World; the world below and to communicate with the Ancestors. To me, this is one of the most amazing and wondrous discoveries that I have every made.

I had taken a break from mediumship for a few years, but when my birth mom's battle heated up this past year I felt a strong pull to connect again with the departed; partly to reassure myself that yes, our souls do live on, and because I wanted to offer this service and this reassurance to others who are searching for contact from the beyond. I started re-connecting with my own ancestors each morning during meditation where they lovingly surround me. I have always known that we do not die; it's nothing provable or scientific, just a deep feeling of knowing-ness that is hard to explain.

So, when I ventured back into painting my large 4 x 4 foot acrylics on canvas, I knew things had to change, because I had changed. Persephone had entered my life and I was consciously channeling her every morning in conjunction with pulling a Rune. I started the painting in my usual abstract manner, but I had to stop; I was un-satisfied with the process and so I called upon Persephone for help.

It was time to paint in a way I'd never painted before...not from my own ego-self, but allowing Persephone to channel through me. At each step along the way I would stop, hold the Rune and consult with Her; not forcing things, but allowing Her guidance to come through and help me envision what I must do next.

Here are my notes from that session:

To begin I pulled a Rune and called upon Persephone for help. I was told to envision myself in a cave painting on the walls. What would I paint? I would paint, not to serve myself, but Her and so I listened.

Then I painted white gesso over top of what I'd painted earlier, so that only a faint outline remained of a face and two circles.

Then, while holding the Rune I was guided to draw on the canvas with a big, thick piece of lead pencil WITHOUT LOOKING. When I opened my eyes I felt like filling in this shape with light ultramarine blue, but I didn't have enough so I painted it turquoise pearl instead.

And then Her face appeared and She was blood-red.

Next came the black, jagged tears, like wisps of dark ghosts underground (or spears).

This painting is for all the girls and women who are victims of sexual assault, just as Persephone was in the patriarchal version of Her myth. Victims such as 17 year old Rehtaeh Parsons who recently killed herself after being raped and videotaped by 4 young men in Nova Scotia and the 70 victims of sexual assault stemming from a phone prankster who pretended to be a police officer as depicted in the dark and disturbing 2012 movie, Compliance.

And I ask myself, "What can I do? What can we do, as a culture"?

It's time to be truthful. It's time to face Hard Truths about how the denigration of women and the Goddess directly relates to the rape and destruction of this planet. We need to ask ourselves, "How do I contribute to this madness and how can We stop it and stand up for Our Truth as women and Goddess?"

If you are interested in purchasing a Persephone Reading or an Ancestor Reading please click here.