The Celtic Tree Month of Elder

We are just into the Celtic Tree month of Elder, an enchanting small tree...

'The tree is said to have within itself the 'Elder Mother', called Elle or Hyldemoer in Scandinavian and Danish myth. She is said to work strong earth magic and according to legend, avenged all who harmed her host trees.  No forester of old would touch elder, let alone cut it, before asking the Elder Mother's permission three times over and even then he was still in dread of her possible wrath.  Likewise, in many country districts of Europe and Britain, wise people will show respect by touching their hats when passing elder trees, in continuance of ancient custom.  Certain North American tribes also believe that elder is the Mother of the human race.

According to legend, witches would often turn themselves into elder trees, and one famous witch-tree turned a king and his men to stone, thereby creating the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire, England.  This ancient piece of folklore tells of a Danish king, on his way to battle for the English Crown with his warriors, meeting the witch and asking her what his fate would be. 

The witch replied:

Seven long strides thou shalst take,

And if Long Compton though canst see

King of England thou thalst be.'

Source: 'Tree Wisdom' by Jacqueline Memory Paterson

Trees and conservation

When I was living in Tennessee, I noticed lots of things which were different to over here in England. One of those things was the trees. The trees are very different, all of them. They are all beautiful but different, rather like people! I noticed that there were many more trees in America but that they were being mown down to be replaced by buildings of concrete. You can see it clearly from the aeroplanes. When I first went over, I saw the roofs of the shopping malls and I thought they were large car parks, but the sheer expanse of concrete covering the earth is alarming.

Please stop it!

You don’t need to do so much building. When a shop goes out of business, you don’t need to move on and build more, you just need to revamp what you have.  America is such a big country, huge, massive! that it is thought the land is endless but it isn’t. Pretty soon you will lose your trees if you don’t stop the endless building. I saw it at first hand. Living in Knoxville, we were on the west side. The east side came first, I believe and now a large part of that is derelict, just left to decay. Sad, very sad.

In England we have done the same in years gone by and that is why I say ‘stop it’ to you over there. Keep what you have and appreciate the beauty.

Here is a quote from one of my favourite books:

‘Over many centuries, ancient Britain was transformed from a land covered in natural forestation in which clearances were made to a ”land of clearance” with only isolated patches of forest.  However, the average person still had the security of working the land.  This changed drastically as the peasants were thrown off the land by the institution of the General Enclosures Act of 1845 and while Britain became dangerously deforested by the demands of industrialization, there was a rise in the amount of new species of trees planted as wealthy landowners landscaped their gardens and estates.  On the one hand the rough grazing land of the peasants was taken from them, enclosed and cleared of growth for the plough, while on the other, having cleared so much land, landowners had to literally remake copses in order to house the game they kept for sport.

When timber became the long-term crop of private woodlands, new species of trees were introduced and established.  These were mainly fir, larch and spruce, and they were planted alongside our fastest growing softwood, the Scot’s pine.  During the twentieth century, great conifer plantations arose as a result of the need for quickly produced timber, especially during the times of world wars, after which they became purely commercial producers.

The Forestry Commission was founded in 1919, and it advised private landowners to acquire and plant trees on any land unsuitable for agriculture.  While the Forestry Commission has been guilty of planting acres of sombre, uniform conifers, it has in fact also been successful in arresting the decline of many of our remaining deciduous forests, specifically the seven National Forest Parks.  It is heartening to realise that a new generation of foresters (or woodmen) are now concentrating upon replacing areas of hardwood trees, for deciduous woodland shows the seasonal beauty of Nature in its fullest glory.  New forests are being born out of sympathy with nature rather than for monetary gain and the skills and wisdoms of old are once more taking hold.’

from ‘Tree Wisdom’, by Jacqueline Memory Paterson

Celebrate Mabon

I love everything about this time of the year when day and night are brought into balance with the Autumnal Equinox. All our endeavours in the garden have come to fruition (hopefully). Some things have done better than others. This year, in my garden, we have had a bumper crop of runner beans and tomatoes. The tomatoes have been slow to ripen, as usual, because the sun has been hiding but indoors, on the window sill, the tomatoes are happy to turn red and we have been enjoying their fruitful taste for a few weeks now.

The blackberries are also ripe and tasty.

The harvest moon is one of the most splendid things we can ever hope to see, isn't it. It hangs in the night sky like a great big heavy ball, full of abundance and ready to pop. Who could not wonder at such a spectacle.

I think that at this time of the year we all have an overwhelming urge to thank somebody for all this abundance, but who to thank? God is the obvious choice, but are there many Gods? After all, there are many Saints and we can pray to which ever one we choose depending on our circumstances.  When I took up Wicca as my main religious interest, I took a deeper look at the Gods of old, of whom there are many.

 Whilst retaining the God I was brought up to worship, I no longer see him/her as the only one. I am drawn to the Goddess Freya, a Norse Goddess who seems to call to me sometimes. Perhaps it is my Viking roots, who knows.

'Freyja : Sometimes known as Freya or Frea, was the daughter of the sea god Njord in Germanic mythology and sister of Freyr. She was an important fertility goddess and a member of the Vanir, one of the two branches into which the Germanic gods were divided. After a war, the Vanir seem to have been supplanted by the younger Aesir, who were led by odin.  When peace was agreed between the two sides, Njord went with Freyr and Freyja to Asgard, where they lived with the Aesir as a token of friendship.' taken from The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology by Arthur Cotterell and Rachel Storm.

I think the most important thing about harvest time is that we must share what we have with others less fortunate than ourselves. We mustn't keep it all but spread it around. Spread the love too. We all need it. Most of us have something in our lives which is giving us trouble. Perhaps if we share the trouble, it will lessen and not be such a burden on our shoulders. I need to take my own advice for even in my idyllic world there is trouble. My eldest son has recently lost his home and finds himself homeless, living on a beach in the south of England and this is giving me a lot of grief. Many times in the past he has returned home to the cottage but it never lasts. He no longer wants to live with his aging parents and we, for our part, need a quieter life now. He cannot find work and he has no proper address. It all seems very hopeless and yet when I look at the fruits of nature, I think that maybe tomorrow or the day after, the fruits of his life will appear and he will be whole again. He has troubles in his mind and these are very hard to cure, if not impossible. The troubles are not visible. If he was missing a leg, people would feel sorry for him, but when there is nothing to see, the help doesn't come. We all turn away because none of us knows how to cope with it. His situation has done untold damage to the family in general and to those other people who love him too.

So back to Mabon, this time of celebration. A time of stability perhaps and a link to the past when we all lived in smaller communities and it was incumbent on us to help our neighbours. In this day and age many of us don't even know who are neighbours are.

I refuse to be discouraged in my life and will carry on as if all is well. Perhaps if I do that, I can sow seeds of happiness for the future. In the Wiccan year, we are also coming up to New Year, which starts after Halloween. It is a good time to be thankful and look to the future.

I wish you all a joyous Mabon.

Autumn Sunshine

‘Autumn prepares us for the change from warm to cold as we head towards winter.  The days are shorter and colder, the colours of the leaves alter and fruits are ripening, but we feel invigorated.

For many, Autumn is the most vivid and wonderful of the seasons, bearing comparison to a growing personal maturity and a delight in the ripeness of life.  Now is the time for completing outdoor tasks and drawing inspiration from nature’s myriad activities.

We too can plant seeds that will dwell on through the colder months and germinate as projects the following Spring.  Let’s make an effort to acknowledge the harvest this year – either at Hallowe’en or Thanksgiving.  Let’s note the changes, celebrate them and respond to them.  Our senses and energy are heightened by the blend of sunshine and crisp, cool weather. Enjoy it!

Herbal Therapy

Try never to miss the magic of a moment.  At this time of the year, as the sap of trees and flowers returns to their root systems, we too are preparing to turn inward.  Use these last magnificent days to prolong the joy of the harvest.  Gather in your late summer herbs and make herb pillows and amulets from the bounty of garden and hedges.  Amulets are small pouches stuffed with different herbs chosen for love or success, into which some of your own magic words have been spoken.  Cut lavender and rose for love pillows, mint to rid yourself of negativity, majoram and rosemary for protection, lemon balm and basil for success in business.  Make simple pillows or bags and give some as gifts.  If you haven’t enough of your own grown herbs, buy one or two pots and harvest from them.’

from Titania’s Book of Hours

Autumn

John Clare (1821)

The summer-flower has run to seed, And yellow is the woodland bough; And every leaf of bush and weed Is tipt with autumn’s pencil now.

And I do love the varied hue,
And I do love the browning plain;
And I do love each scene to view,
That’s mark’d with beauties of her reign.

The woodbine-trees red berries bear,
That clustering hang upon the bower;
While, fondly lingering here and there,
Peeps out a dwindling sickly flower.

The trees’ gay leaves are turned brown,
By every little wind undress’d;
And as they flap and whistle down,
We see the birds’ deserted nest.

No thrush or blackbird meets the eye,
Or fills the ear with summer’s strain;
They but dart out for worm and fly,
Then silent seek their rest again.

Beside the brook, in misty blue,
Bilberries glow on tendrils weak,
Where many a bare-foot splashes through,
The pulpy, juicy prize to seek:

For ’tis the rustic boy’s delight,
Now autumn’s sun so warmly gleams,
And these ripe berries tempt his sight,
To dabble in the shallow streams.

And oft his rambles we may trace,
Delv’d in the mud his printing feet,
And oft we meet a chubby face
All stained with the berries sweet.

The cowboy oft slives down the brook,
And tracks for hours each winding round,
While pinders, that such chances look,
Drive his rambling cows to pound.

The woodland bowers, that us’d to be
Lost in their silence and their shade,
Are now a scene of rural glee,
With many a nutting swain and maid.

The scrambling shepherd with his hook,
’Mong hazel boughs of rusty brown
That overhang some gulphing brook,
Drags the ripen’d clusters down.

While, on a bank of faded grass,
Some artless maid the prize receives;
And kisses to the sun-tann’d lass,
As well as nuts, the shepherd gives.

I love the year’s decline, and love
Through rustling yellow shades to range,
O’er stubble land, ’neath willow grove,
To pause upon each varied change:

And oft have thought ’twas sweet, to list
The stubbles crackling with the heat,
Just as the sun broke through the mist
And warm’d the herdsman’s rushy seat;

And grunting noise of rambling hogs,
Where pattering acorns oddly drop;
And noisy bark of shepherds’ dogs,
The restless routs of sheep to stop;

While distant thresher’s swingle drops
With sharp and hollow-twanking raps;
And, nigh at hand, the echoing chops
Of hardy hedger stopping gaps;

And sportsmen’s trembling whistle-calls
That stay the swift retreating pack;
And cowboy’s whoops, and squawking brawls,
To urge the straggling heifer back.

Autumn-time, thy scenes and shades
Are pleasing to the tasteful eye;
Though winter, when the thought pervades,
Creates an ague-shivering sigh.

Grey-bearded rime hangs on the morn,
And what’s to come too true declares;
The ice-drop hardens on the thorn,
And winter’s starving bed prepares.

No music’s heard the fields among;
Save where the hedge-chats chittering play,
And ploughman drawls his lonely song,
As cutting short the dreary day.

Now shatter’d shades let me attend,
Reflecting look on their decline,
Where pattering leaves confess their end,
In sighing flutterings hinting mine.

For every leaf, that twirls the breeze,
May useful hints and lessons give;
The falling leaves and fading trees
Will teach and caution us to live.

“Wandering clown,” they seem to say,
“In us your coming end review:
Like you we lived, but now decay;
The same sad fate approaches you.”

Beneath a yellow fading tree,
As red suns light thee, Autumn-morn,
In wildest rapture let me see
The sweets that most thy charms adorn.

O while my eye the landscape views,
What countless beauties are display’d;
What varied tints of nameless hues, —
Shades endless melting into shade.

A russet red the hazels gain,
As suited to their drear decline;
While maples brightest dress retain,
And in the gayest yellows shine.

The poplar tree hath lost its pride;
Its leaves in wan consumption pine;
They hoary turn on either side,
And life to every gale resign.

The stubborn oak, with haughty pride
Still in its lingering green, we view;
But vain the strength he shows is tried,
He tinges slow with sickly hue.

The proudest triumph art conceives,
Or beauties nature’s power can crown,
Grey-bearded time in shatters leaves;
Destruction’s trample treads them down.

Tis lovely now to turn one’s eye,
The changing face of heaven to mind;
How thin-spun clouds glide swiftly by,
While lurking storms slow move behind.

Now suns are clear, now clouds pervade,
Each moment chang’d, and chang’d again;
And first a light, and then a shade,
Swift glooms and brightens o’er the plain.

Poor pussy through the stubble flies,
In vain, o’erpowering foes to shun;
The lurking spaniel points the prize,
And pussy’s harmless race is run.

The crowing pheasant, in the brakes,
Betrays his lair with awkward squalls;
A certain aim the gunner takes,
He clumsy fluskers up, and falls.

But hide thee, muse, the woods among,
Nor stain thy artless, rural rhymes;
Go leave the murderer’s wiles unsung,
Nor mark the harden’d gunner’s crimes.

The fields all clear’d, the labouring mice
To sheltering hedge and wood patrole,
Where hips and haws for food suffice,
That chumbled lie about their hole.

The squirrel, bobbing from the eye,
Is busy now about his hoard,
And in old nest of crow or pye
His winter-store is oft explor’d.

The leaves forsake the willow grey,
And down the brook they whirl and wind;
So hopes and pleasures whirl away,
And leave old age and pain behind.

The thorns and briars, vermilion-hue,
Now full of hips and haws are seen;
If village-prophecies be true,
They prove that winter will be keen.

Hark! started are some lonely strains:
The robin-bird is urg’d to sing;
Of chilly evening he complains,
And dithering droops his ruffled wing.

Slow o’er the wood the puddock sails;
And mournful, as the storms arise,
His feeble note of sorrow wails
To the unpitying frowning skies.

More coldly blows the autumn-breeze;
Old winter grins a blast between;
The north-winds rise and strip the trees,
And desolation shuts the scene.

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Yuletide

Yuletide is the time of the 13th moon, the Elder Moon.  It is time for us to say 'thank you' and to give back to the spirit of the world.  We now arrive full circle at thirteen - the Witches number - corresponding to the elder moon, the moon of completion, covering the period from late November to late December.  This brings us to a chapter of many blessings - the finishing touch to all magic, for fullest power.

Much of this magic concerns saying 'thank you' when magic-making has produced good effect.  Once your wish has been granted, it is good manners to thank the powers that be for turning your mental strength into material manifestation.  The blessings might include the extras in life, such as money superfluous to real requirements, or an extra child, or some other additional bounty.  

All things have their time and place and this kind of magic is as important as any other, for example the letting go of hostility.

We must learn to recognize the cycle of death and rebirth:  after this, the individual has completed all life's lessons and should practise them for the benefit of all.

From Titania's book of white magic.

So while we are busy with New Year's resolutions and promises to be better people etc., let's take a moment to count our blessings and be thankful for what we do have in our lives and for the better parts of our own personalities.

I hope you like looking at my beautiful fairy house. There is a place inside for the fairy to live and she/he is welcome to stay as long as she/he wishes.

Celtic month of Elder

We are currently enjoying the Celtic Month of the Elder.

'The unique personality of the elder was anciently believed to come from the spirit of the 'Elder Mother' who dwelt within the tree.  The Elder Mother, called Elle or Hyldemoer in Scandinavian and Danish myth, worked strong earth magic and according to legend, avenged all who harmed her host trees.  No forester of old would touch elder, let alone cut it, before asking the Elder Mother's permission three times over and even then he was still in dread of her possible wrath.  Likewise, in many country districts of Europe and Britain, wise people still show respect by touching their hats when passing elder trees, in continuance of ancient custom.  Certain North American tribes also believe that elder is the Mother of the human race.

According to legend, witches would often turn themselves into elder trees, and one famous witch-tree turned a king and his men to stone, thereby creating the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire.  This ancient piece of folklore tells of a Danish King, on his way to battle for the English Crown with his warriors, meeting the witch and asking her what his fate would be.  The witch replied:

Seven long strides thou shalst take,
And if Long Compton thou canst see
King of England thou shalst be.

Because he was almost at the crest of a hill, the Dane was confident as he strode forth, but unexpectedly at his seventh stride a long mound rose up before him, blocking his view.

The witch replied:

As Long Compton thou canst not see,
King of England thou shalst not be.
Rise up stick and stand still stone,
For King of England thou shalst be none,
Thou and they men hoar stones shall be,
And I myself an Elder tree.

In an instant the Danish King and his men were turned to stone.  Those warriors loyal to the King became the King's Men stones set in a circle; and those who had questioned his authority turned into the Whispering Knights, huddled together and apart from the others.  The King himself became the King Stone, standing, still in shocked attitude, apart from all his men.  The witch then resumed her guise as the guardian Elder tree.'

from 'Tree Wisdom' by Jacqueline Memory Paterson.

Following picture from Wikipaedia: The Rollright Stones of Oxfordshire.

A Pillow of Leaves

Chasing leaves, like thoughts, I feel 
Autumn closing in on me. 
As I lie beneath the chestnut tree 
Blue skies appear between the leaves. 
As leaves drop, larger skies appear 
Like a huge blue duvet over me. 
The leaves become my comfy bed, 
A crumply pillow for my head. 
A place to keep my hopeful thoughts 
A place to sleep, my wishes caught. 
Caught amongst the rustle, rustle, 
A time to rest away from bustle. 
A place to think, a time to learn and 
A chance to wait for new life to return... 

I am a conker, rich and brown 
Fat and shiny, I snuggle down. 

The end of the summer.

"August, the traditional holiday month for most people, is a busy time for the farmer as he works long hours to bring in his harvest.  You can hear the muffled roar of combines in the cornfields and the incessant thump of balers on the farm.  The burning of straw in the stubble fields leaves them charred and blackened and if this is done without proper care, it can seriously scorch and damage the surrounding hedges.

Dog-days, the first two weeks in August, often bring sultry, hot weather.  They are named after the bright Dog-star Sirius, which during this time rises and sets with the sun.  Settled weather on St. Bartholomew Day, the twenty-fourth, promises a fine autumn: there is a country saying that:

If St. Bartholomew Day be bright and clear

Then a prosperous autumn comes that year."

from "Discovering Hedgerows' by David Streeter and Rosamond Richardson

So here we are at the very end of August 2011.  The summer has gone by very quickly for me and already there are many signs of Autumn. Our weather here in England has been very disappointing with little sunshine this month and lots of cloud, but it could have been much, much worse. Last night we saw a bat flitting past the window of the house and I was aware that the nights are really drawing in.

Midsummer's Day

High Summer always mean 'red' to me and the flower that epitomizes red is definitely the poppy. My picture today is of one of my 'Guardsman' poppies in full colour. They don't flower for long and fade to a wishy-washy pink so whilst they are flowering, I need to make the most of them.  Just like summer really, over too soon!

Next week on 21st June we will enjoy the longest day of the year in this area. There will be celebrations at Stonehenge.  I wrote about that here.

'The period - early June to early July - is ruled by the Oak Moon and the certainty of a good crop comes under the aegis of this moon.  The earth is pregnant, but the safe delivery of a healthy and bountiful harvest has to be worked on.'
From: 'Enchanted' - Titania's Book of White Magic


Certainly, this year we have had troubles with drought in the east of England.  Virtually no rain fell during the months of April and May and so now, despite irrigation, the farmers are expecting the crops to be less than they hoped for. However, we have had a bumper crop of delicious strawberries and raspberries. No doubt we will catch up with the rain at some time this year.  We always have before and nobody has mentioned a hose-pipe ban in my area YET! but a few wishes won't go amiss.

I hope your Midsummer's Eve is all you wish it to be.

Blessings, Star

Elder flowers

The elder flowers are beautiful just now.

'Both the berries and flowers make excellent wines, jams and jellies and can be added to the cooking of meat, vegetable and sweet dishes.  In addition, elderflower water makes an excellent facial rinse, which cleanses and brightens and if cotton pads soaked in it are placed over the eyes, they will feel brighter and refreshed.

Elderflower tea can be taken as a painkiller and is useful in the treatment of colds.  Elderflower tea cleanses the blood and is slightly diuretic so it can also speed recovery the morning after the night before!  

Elder leaves can be made into an infusion and rubbed onto the skin to deter flies and other insects.  Elder leaves boiled until soft are useful for dressing bruises, strains etc.  However, I would not recommend using them on an open wound as, under some circumstances, they can be toxic.'

From:  'The Real Witches' Garden' by Kate West

The Spring Solstice

'The Spring solstice falls on 21st March.  At this moment, the equinox, the earth is in perfect balance and day and night are of equal length.  This was a powerful festival in times gone by.

The sun - which was considered male - was in perfect harmony with the moon - which was female; the solstice is a divine symbol for the female receptivity of the earth preparing to take the (male) seed and blossom forth.  The first signs of spring flowers bursting with life are evidence that all is right in the divine world and that the earth is blessed.'
From: Titania's Book of White Magic' - Enchantment


+++


"It is common for many of us to become caught up in emotional reactions to the circumstances of our lives.  Even if we do not outwardly express our emotional reactions to things, we still feel them.  Many of us live without awareness of how our reactions stir us into un-empowered action.  An imbalance in emotions causes us to act out, to speak in harmful ways and it causes us to dip right back into the thinking mode.  Reliance on thinking and emotional reactions go hand in hand.  If you've noticed an imbalance in one of these areas, it is best to explore possible imbalances in the other.  When we emote and react to each circumstance, we start an internal monologue of complaints.  "I don't like the way she makes me feel."  'He's stingy.'  'Why does she always criticize me?'  Meanwhile, we miss out on what is actually happening.  We miss the sound of the wind, the sensations of our bodies, the taste of our food, the things we see and feel.  We miss out on the world, which is the realm of Deity or power.

The opposite energy of emoting is blocking emotions.  Most of us have experienced painful situations as a simple matter of living life.  As a result, some of us choose a strategy to block out the pain of our circumstances.  We make ourselves tough; we ignore our hurts.  We work at developing our insensitivity, hoping that this is the answer to a life where pain is a natural part of the process.  But this doesn't work.  It only results in numbing ourselves from the whole of life, so we miss out on both the pleasure and the pain.

In reviewing your emotions, do you find that you are out of balance?

In which direction do you tip the scales?  In over-emotionality or in emotional blocking?"

Taken from 'Wicca - a year and a day' by Timothy Roderick"

A light in the darkness.

No matter how dark the night, the dawn will always come - eventually. All we need is a little glimmer of hope, like the flickering glow of a candle flame.

Persephone, goddess of death, spent each winter in the underworld, returning every spring to live with her mother, Demeter, the goddess of corn.

During the winter, you could say we 'go to ground.'  We hunker down, preferring our warm firesides to the cold winds outdoors.  However, this dark time of the year is important to our psyche.  It allows us to rest, to 'recharge our batteries' to think deeply about the new season, which is coming.  For however dark our world appears, there is always a candle waiting to be lit, a new song waiting to be written, new people to meet.

According to the Greeks, Persephone's father, Zeus, promised his beautiful daughter to Hades, the Greek God of the underworld, without consulting her mother. When Hades rose from the underworld and took his bride by force, Demeter was beside herself with grief.  Winter had come into her life and all of nature reflected her sadness.  The land was no longer fertile, plants wilted, animals bore no offspring and death stalked the land.  Eventually Zeus was obliged to intervene and ruled that Persephone should spend time each year with both her husband and her mother.  Persephone could never return entirely to the living world because she had eaten in Hades's realm.

As we wait for spring to come, let's not waste our time.  We can sit usefully in front of the hearth, planning what we shall do when the weather improves.  We can look into seed catalogues, plan a new area of the garden to cultivate.  Maybe we could join a new club or society.

Whatever we plan on doing, it will soon be time to get out the trusty broom and sweep the house clean, won't it?

Are you planning any changes in your life in the springtime?

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Source of information:  The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology by Arthur 
Cottrell and Rachel Storm

Imbolg -Candlemas

For me the worst months of the year are November and February because they are dark and cold and the days are long -  but in February Wicca brings us Candlemas.

The joy of lighting candles is a pleasure at all times of the year, but especially in the winter.  I light candles to bring light into my world and also to practise magic.  Candles are a wonderful way to focus my thoughts and light the path into that other world where the sun is always shining and only happy clouds hang in the sky.

February 2nd is Candlemas, also known as Imbolg.  It is a time when new life is quickening.

In the northern hemisphere, where I live and in the Celtic lands in particular, this time of the year belongs to Brigit, the triple goddess of inspiration and poetry, smith craft and healing.

Winter is slowing changing into Spring - in Wicca the crone face of the goddess is becoming the maiden again.  Age is giving way to youth.

In your own life it is a wonderful time to buy a new outfit.  Buy it for the person you are now, not the person you were ten years ago.

Look in your garden for signs of new life.  You may be able to see snowdrops popping up and the tips of daffodil bulbs breaking through the soil.

Light candles in your home, choosing spring colours of green, white and yellow and enjoy the new scents they bring.  They will make you feel good and bring light and refreshment to your home.

I wish you a wonderful Candlemas, bursting with new life, inspirations and ideas.

Hearth and Home

When frost is hanging cobwebs with pearls and diamonds, we seek out a warm fire within.

'Fire may have been the first magic that our ancestors discovered. Down through the ages it has become a focal point of our lives and culture. In ancient times the hearth formed the center of the home, where people cooked food, washed clothes and gathered to socialize.  Today, many homes still have a fireplace or a woodstove and the hearth remains an important part of our magical and spiritual practices.'
Elizabeth Barrette

The 21st December is Yule, the midwinter solstice and the night of the Long Nights Moon, a magical time indeed.

How will you be celebrating?

It is a good time to look back on the year and all the things you have done with your life. Could you improve yourself for when the wheel moves around?

Although the flowers and bulbs are sleeping, there is still plenty of greenery with which to decorate your home.  Holly and ivy, laurel and dogwood stems - all very colourful and sweet smelling.

I love candles and will be dotting them around my home to bring light into dark corners. As I watch them burn down, I shall reflect on how I can bring light into the dark corners of someone else's life.

A very happy Yule to you all.  Blessed be.

The Crystal Ball

'I believe,' says Mr. Andrew Lang, in his introduction to Mr. Northcote W. Thomas's "History and Practice of Crystal Gazing", 'that some crystal gazers are, somehow, enabled to 'see' things which are actual, but of which - crystal gazing apart - they have, and can have, no knowledge.  I have no conjecture as to 'how it is done,' but, if it is done, it upsets some extant popular philosophies.'

All lands and all ages have their stories of crystal gazing, though the majority seem to be concerned more with personal visions of the past, the present, and the future than with the detection of crime, with which it is chiefly the purpose of this article to deal.

Of the usual class of crystal vision there are few more interesting examples than that recorded by the late Mr. F. W. H. Myers in the series of papers on the subliminal consciousness.  In this case, Sir Joseph Barnby was the chief witness.  He was attending a wedding at Longford Castle, having left Lady Barnby at Eastbourne.  Whilst he was there a lady known as Miss A... looked in her crystal and described what she saw - a bedroom, and a lady in the room drying her hands on a towel.

The lady who was seen in this vision was tall, dark, slightly foreign in appearance, with rather 'an air' about her.

'This described with such astonishing accuracy my wife and the room she was then occupying,' Sir Joseph wrote in his account of the case, 'that I was impelled to ask for particulars of the dress she was wearing.'

Looking again into the crystal, Miss A... saw that the dress was of serge, with a good deal of braid on the bodice and a strip of braid down one side of the skirt.

This description threw Sir Joseph off the scent, as his wife expressed regret, before he left for Longford, that she had not a serge dress with her.  His astonishment, therefore, was great, on returning to Eastbourne, to find her wearing a serge dress exactly answering to the description, and to learn that, as a surprise, having received it very much earlier than she expected from the costumer, she had arranged to meet him in it.  His wife also recalled the incident that was seen in the crystal, of washing her hands, 'Thinking I was late for meeting the train,' she said, 'I opened the door to call the maid to tell me the time as I washed my hands, standing at the washstand in a line with the door.  I do not suppose I have ever done such a thing at an hotel before.'

Sixteen months later Sir Joseph and Lady Barnby were at Prince's Hall, Piccadilly, when Lady Radnor and Miss A... entered the room.  During the greetings that followed Miss A... called Sir Joseph's attention to a standing figure saying, 'You will remember my seeing a lady in her bedroom while I was looking in my crystal? That is the lady I saw.'  Sir Joseph adds that this lady was his wife, and that Miss A... had never seen her before.

From: 'Crime and the Crystal - has crystal-gazing a scientific basis? by F. A. H. Eyles

A few years ago I was looking in my crystal when I noticed therein a young man beside a bonfire.  He seemed distressed and unable to make his way away from it. I could think of no connection at that time, so returned the crystal to its place on the shelf in my study.

Later that summer, my son went to a rock festival in Reading. The festival was set to last for two or three days, but on the last day we received an urgent telephone from him to say that he was unable to drive himself home and could we possibly come and fetch him? Naturally we did so, even though it was a long way away and a great inconvenience.

On arriving at the festival ground, we found that everyone had gone home, leaving him to fend for himself.  To this day I don't know why he was in the state he was in, but I do have my suspicions.  His father drove his car home for him and I drove our car home.  As he got into it, looking rather dazed and confused, I noticed an overpowering smell of bonfires emanating from his person and his clothes...

The Aurora Borealis

Just to look and wonder! We are so lucky to live on this beautiful planet.


Aurora Borealis timelapse HD - Tromsø 2010 from Tor Even Mathisen on Vimeo.

Home and Hearth

At this time of the year we are aware that we have entered the winter season.  The winds are blowing strongly and most of the leaves have fallen away from the trees, leaving them bare and lifeless looking. It is a time to close in, shut the curtains and stoke up the fire.

When I was small we had an open coal fire.  By now my mother would have the coal bunker filled with lumps of black shiny coal.  She bought what she could afford, sometimes a luxury brand of coal, sometimes coke and sometimes a mixture of both.  I used to watch her light the fire in the morning.  First she would rake out the ashes from the day before.  These would go into the garden.  Next she would put a layer of newspaper and small sticks in the grate and on top of that a layer of the coal.  She lit the newspaper with a small flare and that would light the wood.  The wood, once it got going, would set light to the coal and then the trick was to keep it going and not let it go out.  For that you needed a draft up the chimney.  That was provided by a large sheet of newspaper held against the fireplace space.  A fast draft was sent up the chimney, often accompanied by a loud roar, which I found very frightening.  

That usually did the trick and within half an hour the room was warmer.  Of course we had to keep the fire fed with coal all day but it provided a very comfortable warmth which I remember vividly to this day.

I always try to have some sort of small fire in the house on a cold night.  Even the humble candle can give out the effect of warmth - so important to our well being.

Samhain

It is a week nearly, after Halloween or Samhain as it used to be called.  At this time of the year we need to be on guard because forces from the other world are at large and liable to come and visit us.

It is the time of the Wild Hunt when the Sidhe are abroad, collecting up the souls of the dead to take back to the land of the dead.  There is not much to separate us from the other world at this time and we need to be on our guard and listen for the approach of thundering horses hooves and a loud trumpet call.

You might like to read about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow here. There are many interpretations of this time of misrule.

'Possibly the best known Wild Hunter is the Germanic god Odin and his Furious Host.  Usually lame, attended by horses and dogs, he runs through the night collecting the souls of the dead - specifically the dead that were evil-doers in life.  Sometimes, instead, Odin is thought to hunt a boar or a wild horse, or even a woman.  But Odin was far from the only leader of the hunt.  Depending on the country or region, King Arthur, Sir Francis Drake, Gwydion, and even demons were claimed as leaders of the hunt. - Diana Rajchel'

So if you feel you are not alone some dark night soon while you are out walking, it might be best to go indoors and shut your door and turn out your lights... 

The Blood Moon - 22nd October 2010

To the Cherokee, October is the Harvest Moon, as this is when people gather and preserve most of their food.  To the Choctaw, this is the Blackberry Moon.  In warmer regions, late-cropping berries ripen now and are often dried or preserved for winter use. The Dakota Sioux call this the Moon When Quilling and Beading is Done. These creative pursuits take many hours, so people favour them when less outdoor work can be done but enough daylight still remains to see fine details.

Elizabeth Barrette

We are moving fast toward the festival of Samhain and this harvest moon, so big and beautiful hanging in our skies tonight give just enough light for the last of the harvest to be brought in.  I have watched it for hours now as it travels across the sky, hiding behind clouds, then coming out again with a flourish of light.  I did notice a red glow around the moon tonight but it was not as red as the one in the picture.  The reddish colour is caused by dust particles and is truly beautiful at its best.

It is not only because of the colour that this late moon is called The Blood Moon.  It is also called that for it was a time for shedding the blood of animals which could not be fed during the long winter months.  They would be despatched and preserved to feed people during the winter-time.

This is a good time to start making crafty items for Halloween or Samhain as we call it. There is much to be done as we head into our New Year.

When I was learning Wicca, I started in the run up to Samhain.  To be a witch, it takes a year and a day. That is considered to be a good time span to be sure that you want to go further with your commitment and your studies. After one year and a day I had been through all the moons and all the Sabbats and I felt ready to go deeper.

Take some time tonight to look at the moon if you feel so inclined.  Draw down the energy that she provides for us so freely.