Hieros Gamos?

I've been thinking about the wedding this Friday and how it might equate with the sacred marriage of Arthurian legends, then I couldn't remember the phrase I wanted. I woke up this morning with the words Hieros Gamos in my head and thanks to a friend who knows quite a lot about Greek myths I found out a little more and the correct spelling.
The link with the land and the fertility aspects of Beltane all come to mind. Add in the Freemason connection with Royalty and it does all link up, all be it speculative. So did the royals decide on the date because of all this or is it merely a coincidence?
It couldn't happen on Beltane itself because that is A Sunday and of course defender of the faith etc.
As  it coincided with the May day bank holiday weekend was the Friday to give the masses a distraction from all the political stuff happening? At one time Friday was deemed a very unlucky day to get married or to move, Friday for crosses where weddings were concerned and Friday flit(move) short sit for moving house.
I am intrigued by the aspect of hieros gamos and its links with the fertility and abundance of Beltane and May Day and intend to research further.
The going off into the woods and the celebratory sexual aspect of it all.
Beltane for me is a joyous festival and this year particularly a letting go  and closing of the door on the dark half of the year..
The sense of lightening of mood and of atmosphere that started to show itself a little at Ostara now becomes much brighter and more widespread.
Not just for us but for many people I know across the world. This darkness has affected so much of the world not just our small area.
We need the joy but we also need to be aware that the earth needs it too. She is hurting and this could be part of her way of showing us and also of showing us how it could be if we cared a little more for her. If we were more aware of our presence and its effect upon her.
Small steps would help, an awareness of the harm we do. A conscious attempt to heal her where we can. Mindfulness in all we do to her and to ourselves.
Even if we can't practice this minute by minute then a thought or two throughout the day would be a beginning.


Mr Mog has just remarked after reading my meander that perhaps they didn't marry on Saturday because they would miss the football, sounds equally feasible to me:)

Isn't it strange?

I woke this morning with  thoughts of the Sacred Marriage. No not the soon to be "royal" wedding but the sacred marriage of the king with the land as told in many stories/tales and poems. Think Arthur Pendragon for one.
Then it came into my mind about previous and present royals being part of the Freemasons and the Freemasons use of ritual magic.
Then I thought about this weekend and the turn of the wheel being Beltane, the time of the sacred marriage.
I wonder if the royal wedding is subconsciously linked with this? Of course they wouldn't get married on Saturday or Sunday(actual Beltane /May day) so is this the nearest to it and did they realise?

Coincidences, do they happen or not?
Of which:-

Several days ago someone got back in touch with me who I hadn't seen or heard from for a while. All well and good and great to hear from them.
Last night another friend rang us who we haven't seen in some time and invited us up to stay. Also very good.
This morning we had occasion to go to a nearby market town with a spinning friend. I jokingly said it wants one more friend from the past to make up my 3, everything comes in threes or seems to.

Imagine my surprise while leaving a cafe to have someone accost us and say he knew it was us by our back view:) Would that be Little and Large do you think:)
We hadn't seen this friend for quite some years and it was good to catch up. In conversation we mentioned that we now both spin, "so do I" said he and that he had an old wheel that needs some repair. Mr Mog has taken it to fix up for him when we get spare parts. This friend is a monk and apparently the spinning got him into Buddhism.

So there are no coincidences - are there?

Today is all about colour

Today is a colourful day and I thought you would like to see some of the pictures. Above is my latest shawl, based on the Vixen pattern but modified somewhat. The yarn is Posh Elinor fingering. 1 skein of Waving Not Drowning and 1 skein of Nice Weather For Ducks. I think they go well together
Then keeping with the blue theme for a moment some pictures from the full moon the other night.

It was a very clear evening as you can see

Mr Mog has strung up quite a few solar lights around the railway and they always add a magical touch to the garden when the day fades.

A close up of the shawl modelled by Minerva my new mannequin

 This was the pink fluff I made a donation for at Wonderwool, I've plyed it with a fine glittery thread, you can't see the glitter in the photo but it is there as a sheen more than overly brassy.

I had a few curls lying around and decided they would look better with a little colour so into the pan they went, they will become another free form shawl or wrap I think.

This outfit was a very pale greyish green and a bargain at the charity shop. Viscose always dyes OK so I thought I'd give it a go

As you can see it didn't come out too bad

While at Wonderwool I obtained a skein of Silver Sparkle lace yarn from Andy at Bluefaced.com. It is  75% extra fine merino, 20% silk and 5% Stellina which gives the subtle sparkle. 100gms has 800 metres. I wanted something citrusy so this also went into the dye pot with 3 different yellows, a touch of orange and a smidgen of lime green. I deliberately left some white showing.

 

 The sun has shone here all over Easter so the roads and beach have been very busy. We have stayed at home, I usually don't like to go out on bank holidays if I can help it as it gets way too hectic for me.

The pain levels haven't been good this past few days, it is hard to focus on 1 sore point if there are lots. Distractions have included citrus and raisin muffins, spinning merino silk, finishing the shawl and starting another Elsewhere jacket. The jacket is being made with some destash yarn I purchased and there won't be enough for a full jacket. I'm going to do short sleeves or none and I'm going to adding occasional stripes or splashes of other colours to the dark purple/twilight  I have.

I'm also rereading the Moonheart/Spiritwalk books by Charles de Lint as I felt the need for some urban fantasy:) I love Charles's books they always take me out of my pain zone with the poetry of his writing. 

Beltane approaches fast, how will you be celebrating this turn of the wheel? We had hoped to go to Glastonbury but sadly both the places I like to stay are full up. I think it may be a Beltane at home:) I can feel the energies starting to rise and the warmth of the festival approaching.

Sunshine

A glorious day today the colours are so vibrant. We went for a walk in the local park

I love the sunshine, it almost makes me purr with the warmth. It seems to massage my aching joints and body.

 As you can see everything has well and truly woken up and the flowers are bursting out all over.

 Lots of blossom everywhere and the park was full of bird song. I think the birds felt as happy as I did.

 Magnolia flowers come in many shades from creamy white to deepest pink but I loved these with the blush of pink.

 Colour always makes me smile and feel better. I don't like bland clothes and I don't like to spin or knit with dull colours. The colours I use do affect my mood.

 So many shades of green in the park today from acid almost yellow to deepest olive.

 We weren't alone on our walk, can you see this fellow?

The ponds have been restocked, hopefully the fish will remain.

 Tulips are my favourite spring flower.

 The chestnut "candles" are out. The flowers always remind me of church candles for some reason.

Last weekend we were at Wonderwool and I met the very talented Maureen Preen. She is a stunning artist who uses peg looms and weaving sticks to create with. She kindly donated some weaving sticks for the interactive area and showed us how to use them. Of course Mr Mog and I  had to purchase our own set and this is the start of a bag I think, it uses Colinette point5 yarn.

This is a shawl I've just finished using Wollmeise sock yarn. I hated every minute of it. The yarn felt like cotton to knit with and hurt my hands.




I made a donation for this fluff that someone generously donated for fundraising for the Air Ambulance. I decided to spin it as it came and love the candy stripe effect. I now need to spin something to ply with it. It is unknown fibre but I love the effect of the different pinks.

 


 It is the full moon tonight and the sky promises a lovely clear night so hopefully I'll get some pictures

Passing fair

When ever anyone asked my Nan how she was she always said "passing fair". I've no idea why or what it actually meant but the saying came down to me:)

So, how am I? Well I'd say passing fair also. Not good, not as bad as I've been this past few months. Having said all that I had a really bad asthma attack yesterday, it came out of the blue and floored me.

But the days are lengthening, the sun is shining today and it is warm. What more can we ask? It is no use wishing for good health, a fortune, or other such impossible dreams if they aren't meant to be ours.
We just have to look on each small thing, each day, as a precious gift and enjoy it for what it is.

Too many people dwell on the negative, their glass is always half empty, never half full. some have nothing but negative things to say about others.
What good does it do them? It reflects back on them and it rebounds back also.

Far better to try and reflect the good things, the nicer side.

Not to be Pollyanna, that would be far too hard and unrealistic, but to try and be mindful in deed and word.

I've been knitting and spinning. Enjoying both very much.

The photos are a selection that made me smile. The shawl is on my new model her name apparently is Minerva. I made the most basic error making this, I didn't read the pattern. It was designed for DK yarn and of course I used 4ply hence the smaller size. The yarn is Zauberball.

The handspun is Humbug BFL copper colourway from Freyalyn's fibre. There is 85gms, 575 yards.

The penguins came to visit the other day and are now house guests. Miss Violet Jane Marple and so called Professor Rufus Isambardd. I suspect the title is an honorary one:) Miss Marple wears a handmade shawl and the Prof has a bell. Those who know us would say they are dressed in a very apt manner.

The hat is something I came up with to use some of my dyed curls.

The other 2 pictures are from our visit to Wingham Wools. A brilliant place to visit and they offer a great try before you buy service on spinning wheels. You can also book a play day where you are allowed to spin any of the fibres and take away the results. No charge. A very generous offer. All they ask is that you vary what you try so obviously not one fibre all day. They also have cottages where you can stay for a very reasonable fee, these are exceedingly comfortable and one has a bed settee and downstairs wet room/toilet so is ideal for those of us who struggle with stairs.
Phew think that will do for now, I do appear to be getting my blogging mojo back so expect more posts with hopefully less space in between

Karma

I've been reading several things about negativity, partly from people's experiences with the negative button on Ravelry and the effect it has on them. Just 1 click of a button by some anonymous person can  really hurt. They may be doing it for fun or for badness who knows? But the effect can be nasty. 1 friend of mine left Rav because of it, sad really when you see all the good things there. I disabled my disagree button many  moons ago. I don't see any purpose to it, if someone doesn't like something I write that is their prerogative as it is mine to write. They can say they don't like something by all means but honestly not anonymously:) Sometimes I think we forget Karma and the three fold law. What we send out be it positive or negative always comes back threefold. It isn't easy sometimes  to be positive and not negative.I try to  think about the possible results of my thoughts and actions and try to do the right thing.
I don't intentionally hurt anyone by deed or word. Not everyone thinks that way and that is a shame for them as it always rebounds on them I've found.

Life is too short to bear grudges,or be negative after all  you never know what is round the next corner . Isn't it much better to smile, rejoice in the fact you are alive and enjoy each day?

Today is bright and very sunny and the plants are growing speedily. What were bare twigs are now covered in bright green leaves and spring flowers. New growth everywhere you look and there for the enjoying.

I started to think about my current practice of choosing a card from a tarot pack and focusing on it  throughout the day to see what message and meaning there is for me. My current tarot is the Wild spirit pack from Poppy Palin, I like the stories she weaves around the cards and I love the imagery of them. I have several packs of tarot and oracle in my collection. I've been using the Wild spirit one since Imbolc I think? I don't know how long I'll make this my daily card,but when the time comes I'll change on to another pack. I think we have to be flexible and not remain stagnant. Stagnant water isn't nice and stagnant energy is just the same. Ever onwards and outwards on the spiral path gives challenges but also rewards.

It is useful to visual a mirrored shield around when meditating or doing magic. I always see mine as a blueish mirror to reflect the Goddess energy. It is very important to ground and shield before doing anything otherwise it can seriously mess with your body and mind. Magic and witchcraft is not something to play at.