Let it Rain: A Birthday Message from the Other Side
Today is my beloved friend Kristen’s first birthday in spirit. She’s no longer Earthside, but her presence, her essence, and her abundant love have not dimmed in the least. If anything, they’ve expanded.
I found myself drawn to Luna Garden, to my meditation rock beneath a dying tree—one that, like Kristen, has been slowly releasing its life force. This tree and I have been in quiet communion for years. It’s been a portal many times, holding space for tears, visions, healing, and release.
Weirdos—that’s what we call ourselves. A name rooted in Kristen’s deep love for uniqueness and magic. She cherished people who were unabashedly themselves and encouraged us to shine our weirdest light. For her celebration of life, we even had napkins printed that read: “Stay weird so the others can find you.”
We were brought together not by shared history, but by her dying and her death. Each of us held a unique relationship with her, and many of us met for the first time on Zoom as we gathered to co-create her celebration of life.
Her husband, along with this beautiful collective of friends, helped craft a celebration filled with magic, reverence, and heart. We’ve stayed connected on a group text thread ever since—a thread woven by grief, humor, and love.
Our chat lit up today, with stories, synchronicities, and shared memories. Kristen’s husband mentioned that the Tyler Childers concert he and their three kids had been planning to see was canceled, so instead they’d go to a vineyard or brewery, listen to some music, grab a bite to eat, and toss a Frisbee—celebrating her in a way she would’ve loved. One friend on the text thread shared that she had some extra time before her daughter’s show and felt called to celebrate weirdness by picking up a new oracle deck and pendulum. Another went to yoga, had coffee with a friend, and pulled oracle cards together—sharing the card she pulled that felt like Kristen’s message for us all: “Open your heart to joy.”
I knew I wanted to pause and connect with Kris today, and the texts from our thread inspired me to follow through on that intention.
I went into my healing space and asked Kristen to guide me to the deck that held her message for the weirdos on her birthday. I was drawn to The Healing Waters by Rebecca Campbell. No surprise there.
In her final months, Kristen struggled with edema in her legs—fluid her body could no longer release with ease. She would often reach out and ask for Reiki, saying the healing energy I channeled was one of the only things that brought her relief. Again and again, I would sit on the floor in front of her easy chair, journeying to the sacred pools in the spirit realm through shamanic practice to draw out the water, take her grief, and offer back peace. I always received a text of gratitude the next day sharing how much relief our session had brought her.
After selecting the deck, I took it into Luna Garden. I called in, from the highest realm for our highest good, a connection to Kristen and to our spirit guides. Then I sat down on my meditation rock with the deck and my pendulum—which felt significant because Kristen was the one who taught me how to use it. The synchronicity of a friend buying a new pendulum today only deepened the magic.
I was called to split the deck into three piles. I asked Kristen to guide me to the one with her message, and the pendulum pointed clearly to the pile on the right side. I used the pendulum to ask if the top card was her message. A clear no. I set it aside.
The next card—no movement at all. I giggled and asked Kris if this meant I didn’t need the pendulum anymore and should just tune inward. That’s when the wind chimes rang out—the same chimes gifted to me by the weirdos when I hosted a dinner the night before her celebration of life. Her answer was clear.
I closed my eyes and immediately saw the number 13 in my mind’s eye.
Today is April 13th, the day Kris was born. Kristen and I often talked about the sacredness of 13—how it shows up so much in her family’s birthdays, how it represents the feminine, the goddess, the mystery. There are 13 moon cycles in a year, and yesterday, Saturday the 12th, was the Full Moon in Libra—a moon all about relationships. It felt like the perfect moment to receive a message from Kristen, whose presence continues to shape my relationship with the unseen world and with myself. I counted the cards in my hand. Exactly 13.
The final card held her potent message for us all.
Take a moment to gently gaze at the card and see what comes up from your intuition. This message is for us all. A message from the other side.
Let it rain.
Allow what is.
Trust the inevitable.
Break open.
Rebirth will follow.
Kristen was with me. In the pendulum. In the wind chimes. In the trees. In the rainbows. And in the weirdness.
This tree and I are both releasing what no longer serves.
She in her bark and branches.
Me in old patterns, pain, and past identities.
As I say goodbye to this sacred tree, I know I’ll be planting another. A new beginning rooted in healing.
The journey of this tree mirrors my own. As she prepares to return to the earth, and I prepare to plant something new, we’re both honoring the sacred rhythm of life—birth, death, rebirth.
Kristen’s message, this moment, and this land all remind me: healing is a cycle, a spiral, a remembering.