Beltaine blessings

It is Beltaine or May Day today and what an incredibly beautiful day it is. I've two posts for you but as they are very picture heavy I'll do one today and one tomorrow.

Yesterday we went to one of our favourite places Conishead Priory to walk in the woods, a tradition for us on Beltaine and indeed woods are the place on all the festivals for me.

 The woods are looking absolutely stunning, the Goddess in all her glory. You can feel the energies and the power of the Lord and Lady at this time.

 I love the priory gardens they are easy to get around but yet you feel as if you are in the first forest it is so quiet and so overwhelmingly stunning.

 Comfrey or knitbone to give it its country name was a big part of my childhood. My nan used to wrap leaves of it around my sore joints to ease the pain. She used to make salves from it for when the leaves were not usable. I had to eat the leaves and drink an infusion as well. Sadly I still have my disease so it didn't cure it but it did help alleviate the pain. Nowadays they tell you not to drink it I think. Didn't harm me though, I'm still here:)
She also made the most foul smelling liquid to use on the garden because comfrey is a marvellous fertiliser. Mr Mog and I tried it several times and the results were great. We stopped after he accidentally spilt some across himself and it took a shower to get rid of the perfume.

 We found out later that there was a better, less smelly way to make it. We had put leaves in a bucket and added water. Don't do that. The easiest way is an upturned pop bottle with the bottom cut off, put the leaves in there with a weight on them. This produces a concentrated liquid that is equally effective. Just add water to it when using.

 So Beltaine, a fire festival and a time of great fertility in the land. What does it mean to you?

 For me it is a renewal of energy, a time of meditation and insights. A time to enjoy creativity for its own sake and not for an end result. A play time. A what if ?time.

 This past two days of woodland and nature have helped to ease the dark winter that still lingers in my bones and in my spirit.It tells me to let go of the past, accept what has been and be thankful for what it has done for me. I may not yet realise all the plus points but they are there. With the longer days and warmer weather the positive elements will come forth.

 This view always reminds me of one of my favourite poems The way through the Woods by Rudyard Kipling where coincidentally? the poem of the day is Puck's song

They shut the road through the woods
Seventy years ago.
Weather and rain have undone it again,
And now you would never know
There was once a road through the woods
Before they planted the trees.
It is underneath the coppice and heath,
And the thin anemones.
Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods,
And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods.

Yet, if you enter the woods
Of a summer evening late,
When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools
Where the otter whistles his mate,
(They fear not men in the woods,
Because they see so few.)
You will hear the beat of a horse's feet,
And the swish of a skirt in the dew,
Steadily cantering through
The misty solitudes,
As though they perfectly knew
The old lost road through the woods.

 Puck's song

SEE you the ferny ride that steals
Into the oak-woods far?
0 that was whence they hewed the keels
That rolled to Trafalgar.

And mark you where the ivy clings
To Bayharn's mouldering walls?
0 there we cast the stout railings
That stand around St. Paul's.

See you the dimpled track that runs
All hollow through the wheat?
0 that was where they hauled the guns
That smote King Philip's fleet.

(Out of the Weald, the secret Weald,
Men sent in ancient years,
The horse-shoes red at Flodden Field,
The arrows at Poitiers!)

See you our little mill that clacks,
So busy by the brook?
She has ground her corn and paid her tax
Ever since Domesday Book.

See you our stilly woods of oak,
And the dread ditch beside?
0 that was where the Saxons broke
On the day that Harold died.

See you the windy levels spread
About the gates of Rye?
0 that was where the Northmen fled,
When Alfred's ships came by.

See you our pastures wide and lone,
Where the red oxen browse?
0 there was a City thronged and known,
Ere London boasted a house.

And see you, after rain, the trace
Of mound and ditch and wall?
0 that was a Legion's camping-place,
When Caesar sailed from Gaul.

And see you marks that show and fade,
Like shadows on the Downs?
0 they are the lines the Flint Men made,
To guard their wondrous towns.

Trackway and Camp and City lost,
Salt Marsh where now is corn-

And so was England born.

She is not any common Earth,
Water or wood or air,
But Merlin's Isle of Gramarye,
Where you and I will fare.

 Primroses are always a surprise flower, they suddenly appear. Have you ever had primrose wine? Gorgeous flavour and brings with it all the magic of the Spring. Whenever I've made it I've only ever taken petals from a prolific area of the flowers and always asked before taking.

 Bluebells here are mainly the native ones, a few Spanish have crept in but not too many thankfully.

 Saxifrage is such a tiny flower you can miss it if you aren't watching closely.
These next 2 pictures are for Leanne She had been searching for hope and look what we found in the gardens there.

 And a close up

 As you can see the day was beautiful

 Carpets of flowers and new leaves in abundance.

 A gateway to a magical world.

Hope you enjoyed the journey and may your Beltaine be full of joy and hope.

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.

Of bees and honey

Many moons ago I read a book by Barbara Cartland. Not one of her Mills and Boon style fiction ones but a book on the properties and recipes for honey. It was called The magic of honey.
I don't remember it in detail now but I do remember the feeling it gave me. A recognition of the powers of honey and the magic of the bees.
I have always loved bees and the honey from them.
As a very young girl I can remember my nan taking me down the garden to the hives and her talking to the bees. Telling them about her day. Nothing earth shattering that first time, just general goings on.
Later she told them of her cancer, granddad's illness and his subsequent death.
But the first time I remember questioning her about the chats she told me why she did it.
The bees share their lives and life energy with us through the honey and beeswax. They also give us joy with the sounds they make and their flights to collect pollen. To share our lives by daily chats is not a big thing but it gives a little something back and is an acknowledgment of them and the role they have within our lives.
We pass on news but we also pass on a little of the anxieties and worry as well as the joy.
Bees were very important to my nan, she used their gifts of honey in her cooking and her salves. She also made beeswax candles and polish. When I discovered Barbara Cartland's book in the early 1970s it brought back so many happy memories of childhood. Moments of bliss, tasting as we picked fruits and veg or bottled preserves. Getting sticky from the spoon full of honey.
When we use honey in cooking, beeswax candles and the like I also thank the bees for their gifts. I speak to any I see, tell then snippets of my news.
Bees are very important to us all. We need them in our lives. They pollinate the plants, not just the flowers but the food we eat.
Without them we would have nothing.
The dreadful events in Japan bring home to me how much we are dependent on the earth and the Goddess. How we are so reliant on her.
All our technology and modern way of life mean nothing should the earth decide differently.
We do not have the wherewithal to prevent earthquakes or tsunamis. We are still at her mercy yet we treat this earth with such contempt and disdain.
Who are we to think we have power over her?
Yesterday's events show differently.
Is the Goddess trying to tell us something and will we listen to her?

Being pagan

This past few days I've been in a reflective frame of mind. Several things brought it about,sad anniversaries  being one.

My faith is a way of life, it isn't a 9 to 5 thing or a weekend thing. I live it every day every minute.
 
Everything I do I try to do in a mindful way and believe me sometimes that is hard. I believe that there is no straight path to follow, our journey through life is a spiral path and we are always moving on and (hopefully) outward.


Sometimes we are stuck in a rut and go round and round in circles. That doesn't matter. As long as we are aware of what we are doing and why then we can learn from it.
I believe that people are part of our lives for varying lengths of time and then they ,or we, move on. That also isn't a bad thing even though it feels like it sometimes and we hurt. If we have gained from knowing them then it can never be a negative thing. If they go away feeling the same then all to the good.

I used to get very upset when people drifted away but it didn't help me thinking that way. I found it a hard lesson and it isn't one that will ever be fully learnt I'm sure because apart from being pagan I'm also human:)

Today was a sad day in many ways. The birthday of my late uncle, the one who was more of a father to me than my biological father. It has been a few years since his death but each year on his birthday and on the day of his death I feel the loss. I think of him throughout the year not just on those days but those are the days for keeping in touch with my aunt and my youngest cousin, the one who is more sister than cousin. A time of remembering the silly things as well as the serious.

As Ostara looms on the horizon I think of the new growth on trees and bushes, the many colours of flowers everywhere I look. The deaths balanced by new beginnings.

Life is never easy but  there is lots of joy and laughter, lots of positive energy.
It is a seesaw and we balance the best we can twixt negative and positive, good and bad.

I try to be in the now and enjoy the simple signs of spring, the new moon and her journey around the sky.

I am a pagan but I'm also human. I have good points and bad; faults but also I hope positives.

The spiral dance

As the days get ever lighter we edge closer to Ostara or Spring Equinox. My heart lifts with the brighter days and sunshine. It has not been a good winter, there has been much to cope with from illness to death and much in between. I keep reminding myself of my Nan's favourite saying "the Goddess never gives us more than we can cope with" However  there is quite a difference between what the Goddess and I believe is enough:)
 
The inward facing days have been very interesting to say the least with much soul searching and letting go. Some years this dark half has more effect than others. The wheel turns slowly when you are working through things. I dare say it will speed up now with the return of the light.
 
The spinning and knitting continue apace, they keep me sane and balanced when I most need it. A brilliant meditation tool both of them. My hands weave patterns while my mind journeys where it wishes or needs to go.
 
People come and go touching our lives briefly or for longer periods. I'm convinced that we come together for a purpose then when that has been fulfilled they move onwards to new things and others come into our orbit. It isn't just about helping others on their path I think it helps us also as we see things through new people's eyes .