the Gypsy Caravan and other magickal things

this afternoon, dutch husband and myself are off to the Gypsy caravan for a long weekend. Once again, I cannot wait.. I am like a child looking forward to Christmas... I want to sit beside the water with dutch husband, enjoying early morning breakfast. I want to snuggle while watching movies and eating popcorn... and this time I plan on taking a long walk along the beach, gathering flotsam and jetsom. I want to make myself a pentagram from my gatherings, to hang on the door of the beach house (otherwise boringly known as the annexe) connected to the van. I want to weave vines, driftwood and shells whispering a magickal chant as I weave.. weaving blessings and love into that wreath.. adding my energies as I chant......I also want to paint some cement pots to put in the little brick courtyard (otherwise boringly known as 'paved area outside door')... in these cement pots, I will plant bright geraniums...

because you see, on the New Moon I discovered that Geranium is my totem flower or one of my plant allies.. as I sat in my garden, the geranium spoke to me... not in human voice but in my soul. When I touched it, my hands tingled, I felt an exchange of energy.. and it was then I realised that my great grandmother Laura from Cornwall.. had guided me to that plant. I think come this Full Moon, when I do the Earth Healing ritual, I will also make a flower essence from the geranium.. because: The faeries and elves of this flower awaken a sense of happiness and stir the heart chakra. In most geranium beds will be found an elf who oversees the entire area. The faeries of this flower strengthen and vitalize the aura. They can also show you where you may be missing opportunities for happiness.

new moon in Cancer

the altar in my bedroom.. for New Moon I added my two Cornish stones to honour my ancestors and a Winter Rose to nourish my soul..
I love my Moon Diary.. not only is it specific for us down here in Australia but it also gives a whole page of suggestions what one can do at New & Full Moon.. this Cancer New Moon it is suggested that these questions are pondered: how can I connect with my ancestors and reach a deep understanding of what it means to belong to my family & how can I nourish my soul and those I love.. there are others, but these two will do me for this month.

I think I may have mentioned once or twice, that i have traced my roots back to 14thC Cornwall and I know I have other branches of my family tree in Scotland.. My great grandfather William Truscott came to Australia on active duty with the Royal Navy.. he loved this land so much and could see it was a wonderful place to bring up his family that he sent for his wife, Laura to come here to live.. so she left her England and family and sailed to Australia with her children... not long after that William died on active duty from pneumonia, I believe.. leaving Laura a widow in a strange land with their children. How did she cope? did she love Australia so much that she stayed here to bring her family up? I don't know, you see, these kind of stories have not been handed down.. my family were not story tellers... I could ask my mother but much as I love her, I know if she didn't know the story, then she would make it up.. and I want facts. I want to know if Laura missed Cornwall, I want to know if they were witches.. I want to know if they grew herbs and made their own poultices, tisanes and other herbal remedies, like I do.. I have an inner knowing of herbal lore.. never studied it in my life.. I know she loved her garden, I know she said their were faeries down at the bottom of her garden - like I do. She had geraniums in front of a photo of her deceased husband.. why? was that some kind of Cornish folklore? this yearning to know is getting stronger as I get older and sometimes I could just weep with the strong desire to know more of my roots.
In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. - This was about the time 'my' first recorded Tregilgas was living in the area of St. Ewe - John Tregilgas a tinner from the Stannary of Blackmore....I must get to Cornwall..

Last night I sat in meditation...and I felt her presence as well as my Pa's.. I realized that he was a typical Cornishman.. quite short & very olive skin..same as me..I felt so connected..I also connected very strongly with my higher self..like a knowing came over me, that my higher self has all my answers and they are available to me always.. I just have to follow my intuition and as a confirmation that I am on the right path, the cards I pulled were both strongly connected to ancestral connections, knowledge and wisdom..

I know that Laura is guiding me.. if I sit at this New Moon, maybe she will lead me to answers or knowings...today, I hope to sit under my pine tree .. breathing with the new moon, celebrating that I am here.. then I will dig up my quartz crystal and begin again.. starting over, flowing with the rhythm of Mother Earth... and tonight, I will have a lovely long lavender bath...surrounded by my moonstones.

the next Full Moon is 14days away... and our band of Earth Healers will gather together across the globe to send healing to Mother Earth.. as we heal Her, She will heal us.. we are one with her, not separate... as Sr.K says to me often: "Gaia and I, Gaia and you, Gaia and the human race are one" ....
if you would like to be part of the monthly Full Moon Earth healing ritual.. please email me and I will add you to the email list... (email on my profile) ~ have a blessed New Moon & a lovely lavender bath !

a peaceful & magickal Winter Solstice

I woke this morning to a perfect Winter Solstice... raining, misty and eerily still... a feeling of magick and contentment surrounded me.. I could feel it so well. Beside my computer sat a tiny baby spider, a pale beige colour, just hatched out of the egg.... a totem sign perhaps? it stayed with me all morning.

I went for a walk in Katoomba.. and saw the Green Man in a tree.. .. I am surrounded by signs as if I am being encouraged that I am on the right path. I feel good.

I cleaned my back verandah and hung a sprig of holly at the back door to encourage constant good fortune throughout the year.. my red candle will burn through out the night to welcome the Sun's return & along with the wreath I made last week at my Wise Womans gathering, it makes for a very festive home... these small acts that I perform in my temple are things that my ancestors and most probably myself in a past life, did..... it may be like play acting, but it brings me close to my ancestors, whose blood flows in my veins and if my heart is at peace doing this, then it is a good thing..

at 3.30 this afternoon, I prepared to make my way to my Sacred Space under the pine tree but just as I did, the rain pelted down and I had to change plans.. grabbing a cushion, the shawl that SweetPea gave me, some solstice incense, a candle and music.. I set up on my front verandah, to sit in silence at the exact & true moment of Winter Solstice - 3.45pm, then I closed my eyes & visualized Earth being surrounded in pure white light.. I saw my Earth Healing sisters all over the globe preparing for their time...I saw ribbons connecting us all, I saw myself on top of a high mountain and everywhere I looked the Earth was green and sparkling, waterfalls cascaded down like pure crystal energy. I connected to Earth down through my crown chakra to the Earth, sending healing energy..giving energy as She has done for me this life and in past times.. connecting with Her as my soul absolutely desires to.. the desire of connection being satisfied by this simple act. this was my Earth Healing ritual..

the Earth Healing circle is now manifest! starting here in Australia.. I received an email from a fellow wise woman: my dogs & I enjoyed a wonderful Earth Healing ­­­­at around mid day today. ...
and it continues like a wave across the globe... and each Full Moon we will come together to do what we must.

thankyou to each and everyone of you who have taken part in this Solstice ritual.. believing that in this small token and love for our Mother, we each can do our part.. that is all that is asked of us..

to celebrate the Winter Solstice, I plan on roasting an organic chicken along with root vegetables & a small glass of celtic wine for dinner. Then sitting by the fire with Dutch husband.. surrounded by the twinkling light of candle light & winter solstice incense ... a meditation to finish of the day... then tucked up into bed, knowing the the Sun will be there tomorrow... as it always has been.

an invitation to do some healing of our Mother...

I have been getting together a band of merry Earth Healers.. to start something that I believe we must do... a world wide circle of Earth Healers.. those of us who feel a very strong urge to do something to help Mother Earth...

the Solstice, according to my moon diary, is a wonderful time to do earthworks and a fruitful time for team work.. so it sounds like a perfect time to do some healing. My Book of Shadows says that the Solstice is a time to create magick for a peaceful planet

If you can spare some time on the Solstice this weekend, sit with Mother Earth and send some healing.. Create a small ritual to send healing along the Ley Lines, along the Song lines of Earth... light a candle and focus, some of us will use crystals, some seeds & flowers, some will drum, some will chant, some will sing and some will heal in silence, sit with your hands on the Earth.....whatever way you feel will help.. follow your intuition with this because there is no wrong way - it is the intention of healing that is important. close your eyes and see each of us, doing the same thing - our thoughts will connect and our healing will become stronger. if each of us do this, our energies of healing will link across the globe... crisscrossing like a crystalline grid..

this will become a monthly ritual that each of us do, at Full Moon... Sr. Kathryn has offered to make a small clay disc that she will send to be used somehow in the monthly ritual... it is all still in the planning stages but I hope to have it up and running by next Full Moon. email me if you would like to join in.. it is simple.. the only 'rule' is that it is done at Full Moon.. and of course, it is evolving.. so any ideas are more than welcome..
You can post about it on your blog of course.. that way the word will spread.. just imagine what we can do collectively !!

From Alanna Moore: "we can channel thoughts of peace from our homes for global healing, using the power of unconditional love in meditation to create a contagious mental harmony. "fountain groups" world wide use this healing principle to send their thought seed transmissions through the Earth energy network."

time passes in a blink of an eye

can it be two years already since Daisy left Earth? I look at the date and yes, two years have passed... in a blink of an eye.

not a day goes by without me thinking of her in one way or another.. whether it be by burning incense she sent me, or the butterflies she sent me may waft in the wind, or I might wear the shawl that SweetPea sent me.. I might see a blackbird in my garden... or I might chatter to her as I work in the garden and sometimes I still read her blog.. gasping with grief because at that moment I miss her more than anything..... (if you go back a few days ago, to the post where there is a purple type orb thing... I do believe that it is a sign from Daisy... Gemma reminded me that Daisy's favourite colour was purple)....Daisy has influenced me alot lately.. and only the other day, when Janet remarked that my post was very similar to the way Daisy had written.. did I realize, that I have emulated Daisy's life... I loved her life so much, I wished that my life was like hers in the UK, wished so much, that it has become mine - I have manifested her life here at Inglewood.. well almost.. as I was working in my garden, I thought of how she absolutely adored Dene Cottage, how she loved her garden and enjoyed cooking, and was content with her daily routine.. how she loved to walk around her area and tell us about it... the list goes on... and that is exactly how my life is now.. I am thoroughly content 'with my lot'.. I love my life.... and then I remembered how she laughingly said in an email to me 'that many people think that I waft around in a flowered dress and floppy hat and Robyn, I must set them straight".....

and here is what she said:

"I would also hate you to think that every moment of my life is perfect, and I spend my days pottering around my garden, in floaty skirts [thought I often do drape a shawl round myself and I suppose at times I do tend to gypsy skirts] musing on the missel thrush on the wall. It often is, but I also have the mundane tasks to perform, the changing of beds, the washing, the cleaning. There are days when I feel stressed and am just happy to come home to the cottage and close the front door behind me and give a sigh of relief. There are days when I can feel slightly down, and a little bit grumpy, this usually makes me realise I have been overdoing things 'burning the candle at both ends' as my Mother would say. It is just I try to find extra bliss in all the small things that make my day enjoyable. Silly little things like the feel of my old straw hat on head when I am gardening, the blackbird that is not frightened of me and sits near my feet if I am quiet with a worm in his beak. The sun shimmering through the silver birch leaves, and later at twilight sitting out in the garden as the stars switch on in the sky and the tiny bats come out from the derelict barn down the lane and dart hither and thither. Or on colder evenings sitting in my living room with the rich smell of incense burning, candles flickering glad to be inside. At the moment my most blissful moments are waking just as the first note of the dawn chorus rings out and lying in bed listening as more and more birds join in then turning over and going back to sleep. Some mornings I even get up for a cup of herbal tea and listen to them before returning to bed."
~ so you see, that is exactly how I feel about my life.. it could be me writing this now, not Daisy writing it over 2 yrs ago...... ~

my dear Daisy Lupin - I still miss you
(and I still think it's not fair that she died before i met her in real life)

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.
William Butler Yeats, "The Stolen Child"

more time spent in the garden ~ healing

today I spent some more time in my garden.. Joe went for a ride, leaving me to work in the back garden, where my vegie garden is.. I find at the moment, that I can work between the hours of 10 til 2 without getting cold, after that the chill sets in and I can feel it in my chest.. I wrap myself up ... wearing my old tracksuit pants, a thermal singlet and an old flannelette shirt that I buy from op shops- already worn & faded and very, very comfortable.. today, I thinned my carrots & turnips, tied up the peas & broad beans and planted some more pea seeds, making sure they were protected with lots of twiggy sticks. Otherwise, the black bird takes great delight in digging in the soil for worms, thus uprooting my newly planted pea seeds.

I gave the tuscan kale & celery a watering of comfrey tea and then mulched it all. Once the tuscan kale is big enough, I will pick some leaves and make a kale & leek risotto.
I have been collecting hessian bags from the co-op and finally got them all cut up and placed them on the paths between the vegie garden beds.. being a natural fibre, they will break down without any adverse affect on the soil beneath as well as stopping weeds from growing..

as I was gardening, I was thinking about creating the healing energy grid & I remembered that i had my new crystal in some rock salt and that I needed to now plant it in the Earth to cleanse it some more. I bought this crystal while I was away last weekend.. it is a phantom quartz crystal, inside is a cross.. this crystal is going to be my partner in healing the Earth and I need to cleanse, clear and bond with it. I did not plan on buying a clear quartz point while I was away, I have many here at home.. but this crystal spoke to me and when I picked it up..it was very warm in my hand.. always a sign for me.

above is the sacred space, where I believe there is a vortex, ley lines and is where my Sacred circle will be created. This is the place where Faery rings come up, where I quite often capture orbs around plants, where my pendulum swings out of control... a magick place for sure ~ I would love to get a circle going worldwide.. somehow.. where each of us could do our own ritual to heal the Earth, using crystals & connecting our energies... it will happen, I know..
covering the crystal in sea salt is quite a harsh way to clean a crystal, but because it was new, I wanted to make sure all previous programming and energies were gone. My mind works in funny ways when I garden.. at one point, I knew it was time to get the crystal and bury it in the earth for a day or two.. so I dug a hole and placed it point down.. making sure I put a stick in so I knew where it was..

I covered the crystal with soil, placed a rock on top and tied a pink ribbon on the stick.. the crystal will stay there until I know it is time to get it out.. a day or two I would say. After that, I will retrieve the crystal and start to bond with it..all very hocus pocus, but something I believe is right for me.
Hellebores are flowering in my garden at the moment.. in autumn, I gave them a dressing of cow manure and now they are repaying me with a huge display of flowers... I tend to have a wild garden... I try to weed and keep everything neat and tidy, but it is not in my nature.. so the garden just rambles all over the place.. reminding me of Daisy's garden alot.. and what she said of it:
"I have decided to try to have a sort of unkempt look in the garden this year. A type of blowsy, lush ripeness, just teetering on the verge of slipping over into dangerous wildness, but still under control. I don't like gardens where there is not a blade of grass out of place or a weed dare not raise its head. In fact, I have been known to let one or two weeds grow if they have pretty flowers, as some of these weeds are just wild flowers and sometimes of herbal use.."
lately, I seem to be more like Daisy with each day.. is it her influence? I wonder.

a flowering camellia in my garden at the moment ~Jean May~... I bought this because these are my daughters middle names.. I have Louisa May & Sophie Jean.. it blooms for about 6 weeks continuously.. I love how the pink petals cover my path during winter..
the past few days, I have been dreadfully sick with a cold/flu type thing.. it is most probably self inflicted because on the weekend, we went away on the bike.. and I became the dancing queen once again.. indulging in copious amounts of red wine & champagne.. then proceeded to walk in the cold night air, back to where we were staying, without a jacket.. but it was fun.. I don't indulge in alcohol very often but when I do, it seems to affect me quite quickly - the copious amounts were most probably only 3 glasses.. when I got home after the weekend away, I just knew that I was coming down with something.. I treated myself with tisanes of sage & lemon, made some thyme tea and then remembered my celtic wine (non alcoholic) and I sipped some of that.. it seems to have done the trick, as this morning I woke feeling a little better.. so much so that i decided to spend the warm hours of the day in my garden...

(not sure if you can see that purple in the top left hand corner.. have no idea what that is... it is not something hanging in the tree..stranger things have appeared in my garden..)
we have had alot of rain the past month or so.. and wind. As well as snow not far from Inglewood... my garden is in need of lots of work, work that is usually done in autumn... I cleaned out my pond, wintered the pond plants in a basket of water & raked leaves.

I stirred the comfrey tea and watered the brassicas with it. it looks like all my efforts of making the magick net tent, have paid off. The white cabbage moth hasn't attacked them at all and now it is too cold so I will be rewarded for all my hard work with delicious broccoli..

The broccoli is doing really well and has started to form small heads that are hidden among the leaves
the brussel sprouts are slow in forming but the tiny buds are there, so with some winter sunshine, I am sure they will develop. I love brussel sprouts... and even better that I grew some myself.

I weeded, mulched & generally tidied up... I chatted to Daisy as I went about my work.. remembering how i loved to read about her garden.. and thinking of her pots that she had in her courtyard.. it is coming up to the anniversary of her death next week.. I can't believe that it is 2 yrs ago already..

(there is that purple thing again.. ahh well.. maybe it is a reflection..I know my lens was clean)
my girls are looking a little better these day.. the past few weeks, they have been moulting and have now developed their winter feathers.. I will give them some porridge with molasses tomorrow morning for breakfast.. that will warm the cockles of their heart! I love my girls..

I picked up fallen tamarillos and fed them to the chooks & I cleaned up around my apple trees.. it was good to be in the sun but by about 1pm I could feel the cold air in my lungs again so I came inside.. just that short time spent in the garden does wonders for my soul and my body.. I am sure it is like an energy exchange even though I am not concsious of it. So you see, as I heal the Earth, I am healed as well...

many of us, Earth Healers - EarthKeepers

sometimes I think I could be delusional.. but what does that word mean? maybe I am a crazy person? or just a little eccentric. I don't know but what follows is something that has been happening to me for quite awhile now.

but backwards to the beginning.... where I use to sit on the end of my bed during the night.. my bed was under a window and sometimes at night I would wake up when everyone was asleep and kneel on the end of my bed, looking far out into the night..up at the twinkling stars and most probably the Moon... the night sky was like a deep bottomless pit. Full of magick and so wise. I still remember wondering to my small self, why I was here. I have never stopped wondering. as you know.

I am truly beginning to believe that through out our lives we are placed where we are for different reasons .. circumstances over the years have lead me to where I am now. All those workshops I have done, my Cornish ancestry, my love of the garden, my concern about the world...all pointing to Earth keeping. even having Dutch husband.. who supports me on my journey and is always, always willing to build whatever it is that I may need in my garden... this even supports my mission, my purpose.


a view from my front verandah.. taken early morning, a little misty but this is what I see over the top of our garage ~ I see similar from my back yard
I believe that I was sent here to Woodford, at this time of my life, to help heal Mother Earth... to heal my little area that I call Inglewood which in turn will send ripples of healing out to the world... my home sits atop a ridge that is part of the Blue Mountains. From the front I can see north... an open space stretching far into the bush... and from the back I can see south.. two valleys come towards my land, rush up the sides of this ridge and join together here at Inglewood... it is like my home is sitting in an energy channel. Don't get me wrong.. I do have neighbours across the road and next door but when I look directly out of either the front or back of my home.. there is an open channel far as the eye can see and beyond.

Under the pine tree, grow toadstools and many many times I have taken photos of orbs. Plants thrive, most times growing larger than the expected size. I remember when I planted a rose which was only supposed to grow about a metre high... 3 metres later it was like a triffid.. and bloomed every single day of the year. Tamarillos produce prolifically, oranges, passionfruit. My apple tree still survives despite being infested with borer. I often wonder if there are either leylines or a vortex in my yard. I often wonder if the leylines could be connected to those that run through the UK...when I put my hands into the earth, planting garlic or apple trees, I am in turn healed.. an energy exchange.

when I meditate visions of stone circles come into my mind... I see crystals hanging from trees & crystals being used to grid around my yard. I know that in my near future I will be doing something like this to help bring the energy grid of Mother Earth back into balance... and I am not the only one. There are many of us all over the world, doing the same. Not exactly the same as I am.. oh no.. some are investigating better ways to grow vegetables, using permaculture and dowsing. Others are living a simple life, not buying junk & crap, living a contented life, loving where they are.. others are planting trees.. the list goes on and on..Something is afoot. I can feel it. This is why I must play-act at being a hedgewitch.. it is something that I cannot ignore.. it gets stronger with each day.. sometimes in meditation I see nature devas helping me. Sometimes I see myself touching plants in my garden - an energy exchange, helping them to grow. Touching the Earth with my hands, healing & nurturing... I really do believe many of us, maybe healers in previous lives, have come back to heal again. this time to heal Mother Earth..

I was told once, by a shamanic healer, that my future would involve geomancy.. I had no idea what that meant.. until the other day I googled 'dowsing'.. and realized that they are connected.. so it seems to me, that I am in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.. I am now in the process of embarking on a correspondence course on Dowsing... by an Australia woman! at last! Alanna Moore

of course the dreaded voice of doubt is there, telling me that I am insane, deluded.. why would a simple person like me be an Earth Healer.. but you know, I think it is the simple people like us who make up the majority.. we don't need fame and fortune (even though fortune would be nice)... we know in our hearts that to heal the Earth is what it is all about.. so I am happy playing EarthHealer..it makes me happy.. it makes me tingle with delight.. it makes my soul sing.. anyone else out there as crazy & deluded as I am??

All the world's a stage

And all the men and women merely players;

ok, I am back and ready to go on this next step of the journey... had a fantastic time away, although it was raining and absolutely chilly, I did get to walk in the moonlight.. mainly on my way to the amenities block.. but everytime I did, I looked up and there was the Moon accompanying me..

we found a push bike for me and although she needs a little work done, I fell in love when Dutch husband got her out of the back of the car. She has a bell and a perfect rack on the back. I cannot wait til he works his magick and she is ride-able.
introducing Esmerelda:


I did alot of soul searching and you all know I do struggle with this journey of mine..I go from one persona to another in a blink of an eye, never knowing who I really am..oneday this person, the next day that - this hat, that hat.. and sometimes I think I may be a little loopy.. but maybe we all are. Maybe I am very normal.

but I found a solution, I think. I must play act. Each and every day, I must play act.. that is where my magick is. Whether it be Mrs March taking food or parcels to my sick friends, or little girls having cups of tea dressed from the dressing up box in their grandmas finery or a village wise woman who grows her own herbs and hangs amulets at the door to keep spirits away.. this is what I must do to keep myself sane and balanced. I must wear magick rose coloured glasses. It's ok to do that.

as I thought of how I could do this and I thought of how the voice of doubt is a constant companion, that voice that tells me to 'wake up to myself, I am a grown up, a 50yr old woman, a woman who should have more sense, a woman who has responsibilities and doesn't have time to play, to take those rose coloured glasses off'....

a memory of a friend came to mind.. when he turned 60. I put a party on for him with the theme of 'Arsenic and Old Lace'. Everyone was asked to come dressed appropriately and we had a bowl of vintage jewels for them to adorn themselves with, we had lots of old hats and lace shawls and one of our friends, an eccentric spirit, was having such fun, drinking copious amounts of champagne and adorning himself with a lace shawl and jewels.. a remark he made stuck with me: 'take a tip from us Queens, love, play & laugh..make magick'....

"playing house at the Gypsy Caravan"

and that is what I need to do... oh I know there will be days when I must be responsible and serious.. but even on those days, I must find a way to secretly bring the magick and play into my life.

I think while I was away, the Gypsy Caravan wove some magick into my soul!