Anam

= soul, indestructable self. One does not have but rather one is anam. It is seated in the head

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

"I was made from the ninefold elements -
From fruit trees,
From paradisiacal fruit,
From primroses and hill flowers
From the blossoms of trees and bushes,
From the roots of the earth was I made,
From the broom and the nettle,
From the water of the ninth wave.
Math enchanted me before I was made immortal,
Gwydion created me with his magic wand.
From Emrys and Euryon,
From Mabon and Modron,
From five fifties of magicians like Math was I made -
Made by the master in his highest ecstasy -
By the wisest druids was I made before the world began,
And I know the star-knowledge from the beginning of Time."

Taliesin, Chief Bard of the Britons (circa 600 CE)
as found in the Cad Goddeu and translated by Caitlin Matthews




*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

moon water tonic

Tonic waters containing the energies of the moon embody very powerful healing benefits that bring about integral balance and wholeness throughout the body, mind and soul. Clear quartz crystal catalyzes the absorption of lunar energies as well as amplifies the healing benefits.

To Prepare Moon Water
1. Wait for a clear night, preferably on or right before the full moon. put your crystal in a clear glass and cover with one cup of purified water.
2. Check an almanac for the exact time of sundown on the day you have chosen. At sundown, place the glass out of doors in a moonlit place (cover the glass with clear plastic wrap).
3. Remove the glass at dawn. The water is now filled with lunar potency. Drink the moon water every morning to prepare your body, mind and spirit for the stress of the day.
~ 1997 by Marguerite Elsbeth



*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

IVY Lore

another new month on the Celtic calendar: the 11th Moon of the Celtic year. We have Ivy, with the Celtic name of Gort - Sept 30 until October 27th - a time of reconciliation and settlement (karma). The butterfly is the Celtic symbol which is also the symbol of the Faery Faith, thus Ivy represents the mysterious and the mystical. Parts used: leaves, bark, berries. Caution: Some types of Ivy are poisonous
An herb of Jupiter and the sun. The bird associated with Ivy is mute swan. The gemstone is yellow serpentine. Ivy symbolizes healing, protection, co-operation and exorcism. It is the tree of resurrection and was believed to be a source of divine inspiration.

Throughout the ages, Ivy has been regarded as a symbol of fidelity. Ivy has a strong tradition at Christmas, along with holly. The custom of decorating houses and churches with ivy at Christmas was once forbidden by the Christian Church, on account of its pagan associations. Ivy provides protection against evil when growing on or near a house but should it fall off and die, misfortune was said to be on the way. Ivy was sometimes used in divination: an ivy leaf placed in water on New Year' s Eve that was still be fresh on Twelfth Night foretold that the year ahead would be favourable. Should ivy not grow upon a grave, the soul of the person buried there is said to be restless - and should it grown abundantly on the grave of a young woman, then this meant that she died of a broken heart. Women carried it for good luck and fertility.

It is said that wearing of ivy leaves can prevent intoxication - the plant's primary association is with wine and Bacchus, to whom the plant is dedicated.
Since it never shows signs of withering, the ivy is the plant which they say Bacchus gave to the boy Cissus as a gift; restless, provocative, tawny with its golden berries, verdant on the outside, it is pale elsewhere. From it are shaped garlands to crown the poets' temples -- poets become pale from their exertions, though their fame flourishes for a long time

Robinson tells us that a drachm of the flowers decocted in wine restrains dysentery, and that the yellow berries are good for those who spit blood and against the jaundice.
Culpepper says of the Ivy: 'It is an enemy to the nerves and sinews taken inwardly, but most excellent outwardly. According to the old English Leechbook of Bald; to relieve sunburn, smear the face with young ivy twigs boiled in butter. When used correctly, Ivy heals headaches, muscle cramps and assists in the art of prophecy.
In Scotland, ivy plaited with honeysuckle and rowan, was hung over the doorway of the barn and put under the milk pails on the night before May Day, to keep evil away from the milk, butter, and animals.

CELTIC ASTROLOGY:
Ivy people are steadfast, constant and even-tempered. They are generally easy going and at times can even be whimsical. They do not take sides in disputes unless they feel a threat to their basic beliefs. They should not treat love attachments too lightly, for it is easy for them to move on, but if they love longer they will love better
Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower
The moping owl doth to the moon complain
Thomas Gray: 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'
this week in the Artist's Way we are asked to send a postcard to 5 people - so, the first five who mention here that they would like a postcard from me, will receive a Blue Mountains postcard in a week or two!
*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

September Full Moon in Woodford

the full Moon is in the sign of Aries today, at exactly 5.45am this morning here in Woodford - I can feel a stillness this morning as if the Moon is resting before she starts to breath out again .. According to my notes, this is the Air moon but wandering around my garden, with all the plants doing their best to put on a Spring display.. it just has to be a more creative name.. the first bird I heard as I stepped out my door was a little Bulbul, sitting in the ancient apple tree... I wonder if his ancestors have done the very same, year after year, spring after spring...visiting this tree at blossoming time to partake in some spring nectar? My lilac is just starting to open, promising a delightful perfumed future....
so this full Moon of September - I have decided to call "the Bulbul Lilac moon".

LILAC taken this morning at the full moon ~ September 2007

my crystals have been recharging in the moonlight for the past few nights, I have had the moonstone pendant charging under the Southern Hemisphere Full Moon in readiness to be sent to Leanne in the UK and a few other crystals that needed charging as well as my new chrysoprase pendant that I bought myself last week to help heal my inner child.

"Sun and Moon are directly opposite one another; some people can feel unbalanced at this time. What some cannot cope with is the pull of the different directions. The pull between our inner and outer lives. We must try to overcome this and use this time to fulfil our projects. Our creative juices run freely and we feel most inspired ~ The adverse effect of the Full Moon can be more on the physical body, if we can't channel our creativity at this time, we can become hyper, disorientated, feeling slightly off balance, in fact actually feeling the physical sensations of dizziness and sickness " ~ Daisy

Today I have week 5 of the Artists Way and I am really enjoying it - something is shifting on a deep level for me, I can feel it. Along with the counselling, the Soul Purpose book by Sonia Choquette and a few other things, I finally feel like I am finding soul peace. Life is indeed good here at Inglewood!

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

come on a little bush walk ..not far from my home

Take only memories,
leave nothing but footprints
Chief Seattle

yesterday, I went for a walk.. to a place that I have never been to before... not far from my home. Leura Cascades . . I drove up to Leura, with water, a pen.. the little notebook that Lydia sent me and my camera all tucked into my bag... ready to spend some time with Mother Nature... wanting to be with my SELF.. wanting to get to know my SELF

it amazed me that this is so close and I haven't been here before. ... I went for a 40 minute walk along the man-made tracks and just absorbed the peace, of being one with nature.


down I went into the gully.. across bridges and sometimes just pausing to feel the nature spirits who were around me.

this land that I live in is Ancient, full of wisdom, a wisdom that I wish I could tap into. I want to be part of this ancient spirituality that I feel here

this canyon above, is older than the Grand Canyon in America. Below is a faery water-fall. I sat and watched this for quite awhile. I closed my eyes and felt a magick fall over me.. like I was transported to another place, another time. The water nymphs welcomed me as a friend. I was wondering why, we don't have sacred wells here in Australia and then I realized that this water, tumbling down from subterranean streams, is sacred water, blessed by Mother Gaia herself. It holds ancient wisdom and healing properties. I found a little spring where I can collect some water next time I visit.


I noticed tiny flowers, struggling to get a foot hold on the side of cliffs, but still they bloomed...

and then I spied a new friend.. the tree. I don't know what it was, but this tree attracted me, it spoke to me.. I walked around it a few times... the spirit was old and wise.
can you see the spirit of the tree? the wisdom, the knowing, the ancient spirit.....


Living within a National Park is wonderful, I actually realized yesterday, that I am blessed living in such a gorgeous area... however, the Blue Mountains is a tourist attraction and every day, we have bus loads of tourists coming to see our natural wonders. I understand that people have a desire to see this beautiful part of the world, but why can't they respect it.
Why throw rubbish on the ground and trample native plants that are growing off the beaten path or tuck tissues into the crevice of the trees, or chewing gum wrappers into the water... and why, oh why, drop cigarette butts? And why on earth would anyone want their damn mobile phone while walking in this sacred spot? I just don't get it, at all.
I have been called a tree-hugger before and I am not apologizing one bit for it... yesterday as I sat under the waterfall.. I noted in my journal: I don't like tourists much; I hate modern noise and I hate smokers who drop butts in the bush.

Full Moon coming up tomorrow so time to put those crystals out to bathe in the moon-light and a time to release all your past fears, worries and pain...

the winner of the Spring Equinox gift-away is Kim from Midwest Musings.. there are a couple of crystals bathing in the southern hemisphere full moon and once they are charged, they will be tucked into the little gift and sent off with my birdies... to those of you who missed out... just keep visiting as I have little gift-aways quite often!

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

waning moon

The Moon is in her waning phase now
Waning Moon Magick
From three-and-a- half to ten-and-a-half days after the full moon. The waning moon is used for banishing magick, for ridding oneself of addictions, illness or negativity.






*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

**~** SpRinG EquiNoX **~** & a gift-away !

...."a certain softness and warming of the air currents, even though it is still early morning, a tint of colour in the sky, a sky that no longer looks like a Winter Steel Grey, a slight difference in the shades of green of the plants and tree buds, a sharper more acid green. Birds that try just that little bit more joyously when singing the dawn chorus and in the distance the baaing of ewes waiting to lamb." ~ Daisy

~Knight

The Wheel turns again and with this turn comes the Spring Equinox or Eostara. Spring reaches its midpoint; night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase, growing stronger everyday. A joyful time, when life bursts forth from the earth. A time of new life, of balance and harmony. A time of manifestation. We see shoots of new growth and swelling buds, energy builds as the days become warmer. Spring unfolds her golden daffodils, and the tufts of pussy willow fur the branches in the hedges

The actual Moment of the Spring Equinox this year here in Woodford, is at 7.51pm EST on the 23rd September. The first TRUE day of Springtide
a look into my garden ~ the ancient apple tree is once again promising a bumper crop, still fighting the borer. The lilac buds are starting to swell and the persimmon tree bursting forth in leaf! The little birds are having a joyful time with nature's bounty of seed & blossom - a true smorgasbord supplied by Mother Earth. The sparrows, the little finches, the bul-buls...all enjoying Spring today! The magpies, carolling: SPRING IS HERE!! A time when I know that I can plant my seeds and put in my vegetable seedlings with good faith - that Mother Earth will nurture them for me, with her warm sunshine and gentle spring showers.

The Goddess of the Spring Equinox is Ostara, who is accompanied by the Hare. Persephone the Goddess of Spring and the Green Man are also very predominate at this time of the year.

STONES - aquamarine, rose quartz, amethyst, jasper and moonstone
INCENSE - jasmine, frankincense, myrrh, dragon's blood, cinnamon, nutmeg, sage, lotus, violet flowers, orange peel, or rose petals.
COLOURS - Green, Yellow, Gold
HERBS AND FLOWERS - acorn, celandine, cinquefoil, crocus, daffodil, dogwood, Easter lily, honeysuckle, iris, jasmine, rose, strawberry, tansy and violets.
FOODS - include those made of seeds, such as sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, as well as pine nuts. Sprouts are equally appropriate, as are leafy, green vegetables. Flower dishes such as stuffed nasturtiums or carnation cupcakes (Fake carnation cupcakes: make spice cupcakes. Frost with pink frosting and place a fresh carnation petal on top of each cupcake)eggs, honey cakes, first fruits of the season, fish, cakes, biscuits, cheeses, honey and ham. Spring Lamb with rosemary and red wine gravy. Drinks: wines, dandelion tea, hyssop cordial

*A traditional spring Equinox pastime is to go for a walk and randomly collect flowers. Rather than picking them, note what type of flowers they are. When you get home, divine their magical meaning by use of books, your own intuition, a pendulum or any other means. The flowers you have chosen reveal your inner thoughts and emotions. It is important at this time of renewed life to plan a walk through gardens, a park, woodlands, forest and other green places. This is not simply an exercise, and you should be on no other mission. It isn't even an appreciation of nature. Make your walk celebratory, a ritual for nature itself.

~ lucie lundberg

FOR THE FAERIES - At Ostara, it is customary to leave something sweet (honey, mead or candy) Perhaps a gift of sweets corresponds to the sweet nectar gathering in new spring flowers.
*it is believed that if the fairies are not honoured with gifts at these times, they will work mischief in our lives*.
Toss crushed eggshells into the garden and say:
’For fairy, for flowers, for herbs in the bowers, the shells pass fertility with springtime flowers’

This is the perfect time for spring-cleaning, literally and figuratively. This also allows the positive energies to flow, unblocked, throughout your home.
A house blessing should follow. Be creative as you think of ways to spiritually cleanse, protect and bless your home. Sage smudges and incense are great ways to purify and cleanse your house. After all the cleaning, you can hang Witch Balls or amulets and talismans in the windows, for good luck, protection or abundance for the coming year.

I usually do my spring-cleaning in October, after our spring school-break. I am going to make some amulet bags in readiness and also make my springtime bath salts...here is a link to the recipe on the Croning of Miss*R: Springtime Bath soak . Tomorrow afternoon, I am going to my Springtime ritual walk

for dinner tonight I am going to cook a roast lamb with red wine & lots of spring vegetables.. and a nice cup of dandelion root tea. Just Joe & I....

Our little grandbaby-to-come, is growing well - Louisa is now into her second trimester and truly glowing! The due date is mid March, so we could have a little Pisces/Aries cusp. I had a wonderful experience yesterday in my Dreamtime Treatment- once I digest it all, I will share it...a very spriritual experience.
There is a little Spring Equinox gift~away - just put your name down here and I will draw it mid week....

*~* May you be blessed with fertility, abundance, success, and all things new! ~*~

Ostara Eve

~ ida rentoul outhwaite ~

Farewell to wintry spirits and friends;
On morrow we greet the spirits of spring.
Our blessings to thee as your way we wend;
And merry we'll meet next winter again.

waning moon & a poem that I love

we are in the waxing moon stage right now and Mother Earth exhales - giving off information... that is probably why I am not having alot to say at the moment... I am absorbing and gathering information.. tomorrow is Spring Equinox here in Australia...

this morning at 4am - I had to wake up, get myself ready and take Sophie to the airport in Sydney. She has gone on a 10 day holiday with her boyfriend and his parents to Airlie Beach & Daydream Is. off the coast of north Queensland..... she is on her Year 12 break at the moment and in October she sits for her Higher School Certificate. I am going to miss her BUT I am SO looking forward to this time alone... just Joe and I. Tomorrow, I am off to have a 3 hour Aboriginal Dreamtime body & soul treatment. I CANNOT wait !!!



I found this poem awhile back - it was for Daisy's poetry fest... so I thought I would share it today :~

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
~by W. B. Yeats~

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

country mouse goes to the city

I am back, I haven't left the country, I just seem to have lost the ability to chatter on my blog... maybe I lost it somewhere on the back roads to Junee .. here are some photos of my travels. . .

Canola is grown in this area called the Riverina - thousands of acres of it.... unfortunately due to the drought, there is no goodness in this crop and the farmers will have to plow it into the ground if they don't get good rainfall within the next two weeks...
below is Junee Railway station. In country towns the buildings are mostly untouched, having missed modernisation... thank god.

Below is the Loftus B&B that we stayed in.. it was originally an old hotel for travellers... glorious Victorian Lace decorates the wide verandahs.. these verandahs were about 40 feet wide... to keep out the hot Australian sun.

below: a field of green... sitting on the back of the Harley, just looking at this all the way was so soul serene.... I got to thinking about how nature can be such a healer - looking at such vivid, exquisite colours, must certainly heal on a deep level.... the blue for the throat chakra, the green for the heart and the yellow of the canola for the solar plexus... sometimes, I closed my eyes and absorbed the colour like my very own colour bath therapy.

the bikes parked in the country town of Cowra where we had lunch on the way home. a simple delicious counter lunch at an old pub. I had a great time and cannot believe how far I have come -only a few months ago I got on the back of the bike for the first time in my life - a true accomplishment I think!


yesterday, I had to travel to the big city of Sydney - Sophie is enrolling in Pivot Point hairdressing college and we had an interview and tour.... we went to lunch afterwards to the Queen Victoria Building which is the most divine building in Sydney.. full of carved stonework, leadlights and mosaic flooring...and very expensive shops! *I wore a t-shirt that I had bought from Colette awhile back - it has a little bird printed on it with the word 'peace' under the bird... I had many comments on it yesterday, everyone thought it was delightful and simply said... so I told them it was designed by an artist in Canada!
Then I trotted off to the Adyar bookshop - which is really metaphysical book Heaven. I treated myself to two CD's, a book called White Magick by Lucy Cavendish who surprisingly, is an Australian, so this will be perfect for me with all the sabbats at the correct time for the southern hemisphere and a set of her tarot cards.. now all I have to do is learn how to use them.

I think I will have to go back and visit the Adyar, it is a bookshop where I could spend hours browsing and probably taking a second mortgage out to pay for all the books that I simply must have..
*oops, nearly forgot - Leanne (somerset seasons) is the winner of the moonstone pendant! my little blue wren will be delivering it in a week or so!


*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

grieving - a process... *that is the cycle of life ~ Daisy*

The grief counsellor is helping ~ although she is not your normal counsellor - this one uses breathwork and works with the angels as well ~ perfect for me..... the first session was wonderful and I was helped to understand my past life connections with Daisy. The counsellor has also helped me to find a way to 'live in the present moment' and helping me to heal my past - to love my inner child.. it will be a long process... baby steps and sometimes, it will seem as if I am back to step one......... I have been journalling every day for two weeks and finally I have realized or more, I have come to a decision that it is time for me, to "let Daisy go". It is not like I am going to forget her, it is just I know it is time to tuck her away in my special heart place for those who I will never forget.. a place where I know she is with me always.. I need to let her go, so that we can both move on to whatever journey is ahead of us...... I will still have my visits from her, in the little black bird that sits in my apple tree and sings for hours on end.. she will still whisper to my soul as I sit with the faeries, she will be with me in the moon and she will still chatter to me in my dreams..... I know there will be days when I miss her dreadfully ~ on these days, I will cry and journal.... knowing that by crying, I am healing. I feel so positive about this counselling, it is like a light bulb has gone on in my head... all the affirmations, oils, journalling, angel work, faery belief....and more are finally working. I have that bubble of excitement inside.. wonderful, wonderful.

Daisy and I talked often about alot of things and she was very attuned to the wheel of life, death and birth ~ here are some words from an email she sent me when her friend's husband died:~ * "my friend who has just been widowed, is valiantly striving to keep going, and have a normal routine to her life. She had taken herself off with her daughter for a shopping spree day, and had a great time. She said to me that she keeps thinking about Tony and knows he definitely would not want her to just lie in her room weeping and wailing. That is not too say occasionally, she says, she does not shed a tear, she does but gets on with her life, and is adjusting to living alone..... that is the cycle of life " *

so, I know my dear friend would not want me to be sitting sadly wishing she were here, she would want me to be out - discovering, experiencing and being happy....

Herbs for the grieving process
basil, lavender, marjoram, oregano, peppermint, rosemary, thyme

essential oils to help the grieving process
rose, frankincense





*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

wandering......

well, we are off in an hour or so.. I just hope the weather stays fine.. I took a wander around my garden earlier this morning... so I will leave you with these...

this plant is growing in my garden everywhere! I let it go, sometimes pulling a plant or two out to give to the chooks... I am thinking it is purslane, but not sure. When I come home, I will get Jekka's complete herbal out and look . . . my narrabeen plum is flowering profusely...I will have to net it soon - the white cockatoos will tear it to shreds if I don't...

ahhh the bluebells are out. I love these plants... I have alot that were here when we bought our home.. no wonder there are faeries in my garden... I am sure they are trying these little blue caps on for their Faery ball at Midsummer.

the perfume of the freesias right now is divine - a heavenly waft accompanies me as I wander along my garden paths....

little Johnny-Jump-ups - I have to protect these from the ever vigilant Joe, who thinks because they are growing in the gravel path, that they are a weed.... I am educating him, slowly...

Magnolia - I can just see the tiny Faery, curled up asleep, wrapped in the gorgeous petals of her Magnolia bed... can you see her?

there is a multitude of bird life in my garden right now.... the magpies are chasing every other bird away from their nest high in the eucalypt tree... Mr Blue Wren is trying so hard to impress little Jenny Wren with the flashing of his blue tail... but she has a bevvy of beaus to choose from... I also heard a plover last night..butterflies are making their way to my garden - a feast of nectar to choose from. Busy bees are wiggling their little bottoms as they snuggle into the flowers ..... ahh spring is really here.. she is just a little shy at the moment

see you when I come home!

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

a totem for me. . to share with you

this morning I saw my little blue wren flying around my garden with the love of his life - little jenny wren.. and I realized, with absolute clarity, that he is a totem for me right now. I sat and pondered what his message was - he has been flying at the window and back to the branch of the magnolia tree.. constantly.. then I realized he was admiring himself, in the reflection and his message to me is that I am to love my SELF.... that there is nothing wrong with loving myself - it is not vanity, it is being true to my soul. To love my divine immortal being. Seeing him flying around, having the time of his little life also made me realize that it is ok to have fun as well.. to fly, to believe in the faeries and to be joyful. So joyful that I will feel as if I could fly. That he is commonly know as the Fairy Wren, also lets me know that the faeries are indeed around me.... and they want me to have fun! Also the colour blue - connected with the throat chakra and the colour of healing... I give my gift of my Blue Wren to you - anyone who would like him as a totem...

I think I might actually make myself a totem animal card using all the above information and photo (which by the way, I didn't take - these little birds are too fast to take a photo of!) (if you would like a photocopy of my totem card, please let me know). Not much happening here today. I am washing and packing as we are going away for 3 days on the bike.. to a little town called Temora in the south west of New South Wales.. I will get around to blogs today.. I have been a little lax lately. the day is glorious - my potatoes are poking their heads up out of the soil, reaching for the warm spring sunshine.. my capsicum seedlings are starting to grow and my tomatoes are just about ready to be put into their summer home..I received some plants yesterday in the post that I hope to get into the garden sometime next week.
I was tagged by Kim awhile back to do the middle name meme... I am not going to tag - go ahead and do it if you want.. here is mine - Ann without an E !

A- ancient - I have ancient soul memories & re-collections
N- Noble was my maiden name, I always thought I was related to the Queen when we sang, 'long live our noble queen'
N- Nan - I loved, loved my Nan and cried alot when she died - sometimes, I think I still have unresolved grief
and if I had an E - elemental - I am sure I am part elemental....

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

and she breathes in.....

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows.
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
with sweet musk-roses and with eglantine

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

doesn't the above sound just delicious? so the new moon is here - at last I seem to have found an answer to coping with the dark of the moon... I know that I get like this the week before the new moon... and I need to withdraw, to go inward, to just accept how I am at that time instead of fighting it and I need to nurture myself. The weather really indulged me this dark of the moon - it was cold and rainy - perfect! Joe let me sob for an hour on Friday night and then took things in hand - he made me boiled eggs with toast for my tea and a steaming hot cup of tea.. then ordered me to have a bath... so I indulged my goddess - I poured a long deep bath, tipped a good cup of my bath salts in, plus a handful of tumbled moonstones, lit some candles and turned the lights out... then I just sank deep into the water - absorbing the healing energy of the moonstone.

Then I went to bed with a pile of moonstones under my pillow and my moonstone pyramid under my bed..... that was some of Daisy's advice when she first noticed that this dark time of the moon really affected me.

Saturday dawned rainy and cold again, I slept in til 8am then we headed out to breakfast and off to Blackheath to the hippy shop where I bought myself another moonstone pendant and a gorgeous glass hanging lantern. And on Sunday, I just created, in my Book of Shadows for the new moon. I am amazed, as usual, how Mother Nature can heal me - as I sat, melancholy in my pink snuggly chair.. a blue wren flew up to the window and tapped hello to me... he kept doing it on and off all day.... as if to say 'don't be sad, see how pretty I am,' reminding me that I am not alone.......

I have a little gift to give away - now that I have two moonstone pendants, I think I would like to give one to someone who is affected by the moon just like I am... so if you are affected by the moon and would benefit from wearing this pendant, just let me know here in a comment and i will draw one name out... and my little birds will be flying off with a parcel sometime next week... Julie Maries faery gift was sent yesterday and Laurie's goddess package is on its way too!

oh and I mustn't forget this day 6 years ago - sending peaceful & healing thoughts today.

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

closed due to the Dark of the Moon

for those of us who BELIEVE in faeries and an award winning poem!

when my daughter, Sophie was 11, she won a poetry award and her poem was published in a book of poetry by children... here is the poem. I love it and am lucky enough to have it laminated onto a book mark..

MY GARDEN
My garden it has many things,
like roses, daisies and also some thyme,
apple trees, plum trees and fruit on a vine,
making my garden look very fine.

Scattered around are birdhouses and signs,
they make my garden look so . . . nice.
Pots hang from the trees and
on stakes in the ground.
They all look great just hanging around.

Another thing or two
are some chooks and a cat, but
the very last thing I must tell you about
are the faeries that fly around in the sky!

So, that is my garden
and I think it's just right.

by Sophie B

I wandered around my garden the other day, taking photos, some of which I shared in my previous post. But this one below, I wanted to show by itself. It is of my iris that are blooming at the moment... take a peek and tell me what you see - up in the right hand corner, near the yellow iris...... don't tell me it is reflection of the sun please xo

"Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein

not much happening here in Woodford today. I am feeling a little melancholy *again* but the dark of the moon is upon us and that is to be expected. It is raining and cold here so I am going to take the moment to light a fire and snuggle.. I have decided to go and see a grief therapist. I am not dealing well at all with the loss of Daisy and I need help. This is a big step for me to take as I am usually one who can deal with what life throws at me. But it is time to talk.
Today, I might even take myself to the faery shop in Katoomba. Yesterday I made a new altar for the faeries, in the little room off my verandah, as you walk in the back door, I strung faery lights on some willow branches and placed some crystals along with a little dish of water and I did a chant to invite the faeries into my home..... I want to buy a clay statue of a faery and some faery stones for the magick faery gift for Julie Marie...which I hope will be on its way early next week.

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

around my garden

seems Spring is shy here in Woodford, not wanting to poke her head out just yet. We are back to cold temperatures.. out come the woollies for a little longer. a wander through my garden over the past few days. . .

the manchurian pear has finally decided that she is going to the Spring ball and the faeries have dressed her in a gorgeous spring green dress, that is decorated with tiny white blossoms scattered here and there. Spring green seems to be very popular at this time of year, many plants are wearing it to the ball.
Magnolia in full bloom, tempting the honey eaters away from the spring-time flings! My iris making it look a little like a Van Gogh painting...

Lady Lavender doing her best to out do any other plant in the garden, potatoes poking their heads up from the straw.

I use lucerne to mulch my garden and have just started to use hay bales on the paths between my vegie rows, so that when I need to walk on the path, it spreads the load of my weight, therefore, not compacting the soil down, allowing the soil to live and the worms to do their work. The hay looks wonderful, although I do worry about snakes taking refuge beneath the bales as the weather warms up. Tiger snakes have been known to do this in gardens nearby. Guess I will have to ask the faeries to help keep them away.

above is my medieval garden, as I call it.. time stands still for me here.

I love this part of my garden and as I am working in it, time stands still. I could be in the 16th century or even earlier. Wales or Cornwall? A different age, a different world. it really does stir something in my memory soul. I am sure I was a village wise woman, back then. I just know stuff.

“in my garden grew plenty of thyme
it would flourish by night and day
o’er the wall came a lad
and he took all I had
and he stole my thyme away”

the old word used for the knowledge of the secret properties of herbs is ‘wortcunning’ and this has always been a particular study for witches. Witches use the knowledge of both the medicinal and magickal properties of herbs in their crafts
the village witch was an herbalist, spell-caster, interpreter of dreams, healer, midwife and psychologist. In times where there were no or very few skilled doctors, she was the people’s only resource against injury and disease

I had fun watching Mr & Mrs Magpie going for the afternoon stroll, it is like he is the doting husband, showing her where the best worms are... looking after her as she is nearing the birth of their new family...

and if you enlarge the photo above, you will see my very first strawberry of the season. Joe made me the covering to keep birds and possums away

oh and the winner of the faery gift-a-away: I have a basic, easy way to pick a winner. I have some old bingo numbers and I put them into a hat, pull one out and that number corresponds with the order of comments. So this time it is commenter number 5 - JulieMarie ! The parcel will be given to my little faery bird friends and will be on its way early next week! I hate that only one can win but I like to have little gift-aways often, so there is always another chance!

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

VINE tree lore

Coming to the 10th moon of celtic year, is Vine - Sept 2 to Sept 29. The Celtic name is ' MUIN' and the folk name is grape. Grapes are an herb of Jupiter and the Moon and Venus is the goddess of the Grape Vine. The bird connected to vine is the Tit-mouse and also the white swan. The gemstone is amethyst. A tree of joy, exhilaration and wraith. Parts to be used are - Berries, wood, leaves, juice, seeds.

In Celtic lore, the vine is honored as the strongest of plants, which can entwine other plants and bend them to its will.
Vine is sacred to the deities and is the symbol for sensuality and emotions. Vine is used to stimulate prophecy in the seers by permitting them to reach deep within their inner self with intuition acting as a guide. Intoxication though wine was thought to be the possession of the self by the indwelling spirit of the vine, so to drink the wine during ritual was to merge oneself with the spirit of the vine and thus with nature.
The seeds and leaves of the grapevine are astringent, and were used to stop hemorrhages and bleeding, when boiled with Barley-meal and made into a poultice, it was also used to cool the inflammation of wounds. Dried and powdered the leaves were used as a cure for dysentery in cattle.

During this month, magick associated with imagination, freedom of spirit, inspiration, poetry and imagery can be worked. Grape has applications in magick done for Faerie work and garden magick.
A recipe for Vine Moon Tea ~ good for use in Earth magic and overcoming difficulties):
1 part blackberry
1 part dandelion
splash of currant wine or Grape juice
pinch of hibiscus

Grapes can be used in many types of prosperity or money attraction spells. Grape leaves can be dried and carried in a small pouch or bag to act as evil-repellent
CELTIC ASTROLOGY:
Vines traditionally carry fruit, the most famous of which is the grape, used to make wine, that magical elixir that's known for its ability to dissolve the boundaries between us, allows us to mingle more easily, and relax with others. You are a born socializer, with keen abilities to restore balance to unhappy or unfair situations. Your instinct makes you amazingly perceptive with regard to the motives of others, and your charm is irresistible. Trust this instinct, and form relationships that will last. Don't be afraid of spending time alone occasionally-sometimes our own company is the best

I am a day late with this months tree lore. I like the fact that I have some grapevine hanging over my door, I made this last autumn, not knowing that grape vine had protective properties - a past life memory, perhaps. I had a busy weekend - Saturday was spent in my garden and yesterday was Father's day. Joe and I went for a ride in the glorious springtime weather, having lunch at an old pub in Berrima, walking round holding hands looking at all the little shops. I bought some fabric to start my 'coming to the goddess age' quilt. Over the weekend, I made a huge bowl of fruit salad with all the gorgeous delicious fruit that is coming into season. On Saturday, Joe and I had lunch in my garden - crackers with cheese & tomato, fresh cracked pepper and celtic sea salt and a big bowl of fresh fruit salad and yoghurt - all eaten while we sat on our deck enjoying the chirping of our bird friends. As you know, it was the first 'official' day of spring time here in Australia, and while sitting outside, I noticed that the Magnolia has burst into bloom. It was a glorious sight to see - and I felt a shiver in my soul, a shiver of delight, to know that the faeries of this tree had given me a gift of spring magick! I have alot of photos to share of my garden and will do so in a day or two. Today I am spending the day doing some cleaning and hopefully a walk after lunch. don't forget to put your name into my magick hat for the faery gift, I will be drawing the name out tomorrow... and then a little giftie will be on its way - I think I will ask my magpies to deliver it!

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~

welcome September ~ National Wattle Day

"To the native born Australian, the wattle stands for home, country, kindred, sunshine, and love - every instinct that the heart most deeply enshrines."

Sydney Morning Herald, September 1, 1910

yes, here in Australia, September 1st, the first official day of Spring, we celebrate National Wattle Day.
National Wattle Day is celebrated throughout Australia on the 1st September each year. The day was originally conceived as a day to demonstrate patriotism for the new nation of Australia by wearing a sprig of wattle. The day now has wider significance as a day to celebrate our natural environment, our flora, our rainforests and bushland, our coastal heathlands and desert dunes. The sprig of wattle should encourage us to preserve our fragile environment, so that future generations will experience the joy of seeing our bushland light up each spring with golden bloom.
the message of Wattle day is: Just as Wattles rise from the ash of bushfires, Australians have always shown a determination to succeed and rise above any disasters, showing the spirit that has made us a great nation.

however, due to my hayfever, I need to stay away from the glorious golden blooms, which are heavily laden with pollen. I will leave it all for the bees!
today has dawned a glorious spring day - Mother Nature has not disappointed me. So I can spend my whole day in my garden. I have some more potatoes to plant and I am off to Todarellos this morning to buy some more lucerne mulch as well as potting mix. I need to repot all my pot plants. I am hoping to pick up some herbs as well.
During September, we honour the trooping faeries:

"Pixies: These are small, winged creatures with heads too large for their bodies. They have small pointed ears and noses and arched eyebrows. Their wings are shiny and translucent, and are seen wearing seasonal colors and flora. They are friendly but capricious and are given to non-malicious mischief. They wear caps of foxglove and toadstools, plants they hold sacred. There is no gender differentiation. They are most active in the spring and are found in flower gardens, in wildflower preserves, and in the spring of Faeryland. They are often seen around Beltaine. Their queen is said to be a tiny woman of sublime beauty who has created a spring world in Faeryland. They hate human laziness and also detest iron which will kill them on contact. They are trooping faeries who love dancing, playing, and music. They have gatherings known as Pixie Fairs in Northern England. Pixie dust is a sparkling material seen wherever these faeries have walked. It is a silvery gold material left by their footprints. If you wish to contact them approach with caution and let them know you wish to befriend them. They may respond with mischief. They will not accept invitations to your circle."

and some lore for your Book of Shadows for September:
Herbs: Copal, Fennel, Rye, Wheat, Valerian and Skullcap
Flowers: Narcissus and Lily
Trees: Hazel, Larch and Bay
Birds: Ibis and Sparrow

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~