winter solstice ~ Australian style

today, we celebrated Winter Solstice, at exactly 9.59 am....

last night, I had a traditional Yule dinner with my children and their partners and my grandchildren.. even Harry took part..gurgling happily away in his bouncer as we all ate around the table...

I had the room in darkness with only candles lit.. I had ordered three luminaries from Sr.K..winter solstice - I placed them in front of where I would be sitting and put a tea light into each one... as we all sat around the table, gazing at candles, reflecting on our hopes and wishes for the coming year.. I gave a luminary to each woman... my two daughters and my daughter in law.. and told them to take this light into their home.. to keep the light of Mother Earth alive on their hearths and in their families, for the coming year. the girls were all quite touched and gasped in delight as they realized that the luminaries were theirs to keep..

today, Joe and I went to the Winter Magick Festival that is held every year... this year falling exactly on the Solstice date.. what fun! stalls, buskers, parades..

belly dancers and drummers...

women dressed as trees,

... crisp cold weather.. hot soup...a wonderful day to welcome the return of the sun...(not that I am ready for it, just yet)


I was lucky enough to be able to buy a wall plaque faery called 'Daisy'.. perfect for a remembrance of the last year gone...

and I will leave you with some of the last words that Daisy sent to me:

It is rebirth of the Oak King and the bonfires are lit in fields and trees are sang [wassailed to] and blessed with a wassailing cup. People would make lots of clove spiked oranges and apples and put in them in a basket lined with evergreen boughs and wheat stalks dusted with flour. The fruit represents the sun and the boughs of evergreen symbolic of immortality, and wheat stalks, fertility and harvest and flour triumphing light and life.
Holly, mistletoe and ivy decorated both the insides and outsides of the home and were an invitation to Nature Sprites to join the celebration. One of these sprigs of holly was kept for a full year beside the door to invite good fortune for the home owners.

Unfortunately, for us, the Yule log must be given as a gift or dragged from a forest, wood or field, but never bought. Before setting it alight in the fireplace it should be shaken with flour and doused in cider. A piece of last year's yule log should have been kept to light this year's and a piece of this year's must be kept for next year's. The log is supposed to burn throughout the night then smoulder for 12 days after and then it is ceremonially put out.

the Gypsy caravan & Oak

over the weekend, while I was at the Gypsy Caravan.. childhood memories came floating back while I read Women who run with the Wolves.... back to school yard times and a mighty Oak that was my magickal friend...I wrote in my journal: "I remember collecting acorns.. lots of them, gathering them for reasons unknown to my little girl self.... was this a past life memory piece? when I may have collected them for magickal spells and charms? I loved that tree, I can still see it. I know exactly where it stood" . As I sat and wrote in my journal, I travelled back to that time in the playground.. it was like I was there once again.

We had a wonderful time over the weekend, it rained so I didn't get to walk along the beach, but I snuggled under a blanket and read. I listened to the Jabiru's and I found a seat that I can sit on in the early mornings, when the weather is kinder.

above is a photo looking into our bedroom.. still alot to do. I want to paint the walls purple, with dark red trims..It is all coming together nicely, I made some velvet curtains to hang in the bedroom door and I adorned some other curtains with tuille and beads.. I bought myself a gorgeous crystal macrame hanger.. with a huge rose quartz terminal hanging down.. it now hangs in our bedroom.. we went to a scarecrow festival and wandered through market stalls... a wonderfully relaxing weekend. I really love the Gypsy caravan and I just wish i could let you feel what it is like to be there.

I haven't posted Celtic tree Lore in ages.... while reading Daisy's blog the other day, I came across the Oak, which is the tree for the 7th Moon of the Celtic year. Next week, I am making a wand in my Wild Woman Group and am still deciding whether to use Apple or Oak... can a witch have more than one wand?
in Daisy's words:
from the 10th of June we have the 7th Moon of the Celtic Year, the month of the Oak - Duir, (Duir meaning door.)
The Oak has always protected England from time immemorial, it was the sacred tree of the Druids, they had their Oak Groves.
The Oak is one of the three most sacred trees, Oak, Ash and Thorn and is thereby known as King of the Grove. English legend believes that King Arthur's Round Table was made from a massive slab of Oak tree. The oak is allied to the element of Fire and is ruled by the Sun. It has associations with the Oak or Green man who is a potent symbol in English folklore.

The bird connected to this Oak Month is the wren and the stone is moonstone.
The parts of the Oak used are the bark, wood, leaves, and acorns, which I will leave until last, as they are another interesting part of Oaklore. Oak bark tea is very astringent and is thought to be good for sinus infections. Oak can be used in spells of healing and fertilitiy, protection, strength and success. One belief is if you listen to the Oak at the Summer Solstice you can hear what the future holds by listening to the wind rustling through its leaves. Oakwood is a very powerful protection herb and are used as land boundary markers because of this. Also an Oakleaf worn next to your heart is said to protect the wearer from decption and falsehood. Try a handful of Oak leaves in your bath to cleanse you in body and spirit
Acorns, themselves are very useful and powerful small items. Acorns are said to be able to increase fertility, not just of the body but your creative fertility too. Play with a couple in your hand to ease pain or put some in your window or on your windowsill to deflect lightning and protect you from night creatures of evil intent. You can also carry them in your pocket for basically the same reasons, to protect from storms, from getting lost and from those spirits or people intent on ill wishes towards you. Three acorns threaded together can be made into a charm to preserve youthfulness and to help you achieve in life. You must thread a piece of your hair with the three acorns, and bless them every new moon and full moon, for twelve months. Acorns can also be planted in the dark moon days to bring financial rewards. You must harvest the Oak tree by the waning moon. The acorns in daylight and the wood and leaves at night. Don't forget that part of your Summer Solistice fire should be of Oak wood.

and by Glennie Kindred:
It is a very magick think to find a pool of water hidden within the boughs of the tree, and to know that this pure rainwater has been soaking up all the herbal and spiritual properties of the Oak. It is worth returning to the tree with a jar to collect the water in.
For generations upon generations, people have gone to sit beneath the mighty Oak to gain strength and spiritual renewal. The outside world can be forgotten and the inner world can slip back into perspective. The Oak can help you to find new understanding and vision, gained from your experiences. This in turn will bring strength and courage to fact whatever life has to offer you. The Oak tree's mighty presence will help restore faith in ourselves and withi this lies the ability to go ahead and aim for what we most want in life. It is well worth finding the time to go and sit with an Oak tree and to receive the qualities it has to offer us. Remember to thank the tree after each communications, not because the tree needs your thanks but to keep open your channels of love and respect for the tree kingdom and all of nature. This will enhance your ability to receive their qualities on the deepest level. (Originally published at Beltane 1998)
ooh and don't forget to visit the Enchanted Forest.. the Oak has made a visit!

honesty....

.... I am doing some thinking on being honest or so open with my blogging ... I was going through some letters from Daisy (I am making an altered book with her letters and comments) and remembered this from her awhile back.....

Hi Robyn,

I have just been reading your blog. You are very refreshing in your honesty, there are very few honest people on the blogs. I have found it an Australian trait [ If you don't mind me saying so] to face up to things and tell people the truth, what we would call being 'in your face' or 'calling a spade a spade'. I love it.

I do think, please don't take this the wrong way, you frighten people with your honesty, and that is why some turn on you or disappear. I love your honesty, and always think that in blog land you are the person that will give me a straight answer.

As I said your honesty is always going to make you a target, but you must be proud of your honesty, and shrug attacks off, like a dog shaking off water after a swim.

NEVER lose your honesty it is a wonderful commodity to have in this world of ours today. Of course, it is also a commodity that will make your life difficult at times. The truth can hurt, but good comes from it in the end.
Sorry for this long ramble but I wanted to say it all after reading your blog.

Love and Hugs
Daisy xx

I always seem to put my foot in my mouth, the previous post wasn't just about me not receiving an 'award' it was about how we ALL feel when we don't receive one and what the awards are actually for and why they are limited to a number. And the good blogging friend badge was created because we are all friends to each other, linked in a way... as one is a friend to another.. that friendship is passed on to someone else and so it goes, a continuing circle of friendship.. and I think we all deserve an 'award' for that.

after the kerfuffle of the previous post, I was going to make my blog private but reading the letter above from Daisy.. well, it made me realize that sometimes saying what I am thinking may cause me grief but I need to draw a heart around that situation (as advised on Sr. Kathryn's blog- what would love do?) and move on..... so today, I am taking a little break and concentrating on setting up my private Wisdom blog... it needs some work doing on it to get it started in February (I must say it is looking good so far!).... I have been gardening today but will be back soon with things to share.. maybe even for Sacred Life Sunday tomorrow!

a private letter from Daisy... I want to share

as you all know I have become more settled since I turned 50.. funny really, it is as if someone has waved a magick wand and I have changed kind of.... some comments in my previous post jigged a memory of a letter that Daisy sent me last year and I felt that I wanted to share with you all......

Hi Dear Robyn,

I have been worrying about you a lot over the weekend, and decided to let you be, but if I hadn't heard by midnight tonight [Tuesday] I would get in touch and bombard you with emails!!!

Do you want my opinion, truthfully, at the moment you are like a new born baby, helpless, naked, not even sure where nourishment comes from. From this you will grow over the weeks and months to come into a more settled person, perhaps, you will be slightly different, maybe more reflective, slightly quieter, not depressed.

You have been on one hell of a life roller coaster and have reached the end of this ride, for two reasons. First you have found your ancestors, that is so grounding, everyone needs to know some links of their distint chain, I faithfully believe that. You know the sort of stock and type of people they were, wonderful salt of the earth types. You will now be aware of them in your mind and in your life helping you in a genetic memory kind of way. The second reason is your age, you can now grow into a Goddess. This is what happened to me. Menopause, wasn't as bad as some people say except for my moods, raging tempers, and anxieties. Physical problems were low but emotional ones vast. I never took HRT or anything but just did it all naturally.

Over the past year, everything has started to feel different, and I am beginning to love it, I have a large capacity for wanting to learn all sorts of mysterious things, I am much more in tune with psychic phenomena, also very small things content me, my garden, just sitting listening to birds. WELCOME TO THE CLUB. I have never talked about it because the other person has to achieve it themselves, it happens in its own time and won' t be hurried.

From now on you can learn everything again from you Goddess perspective. Just relax and enjoy. Love and Hugs *daisy* xx

This is exactly what has happened to me... I am feeling different, content and I am loving it.....she was so wise and her letters really did help me alot, they still do and I was blessed to have her in my life for even such a short time... but you know.... at last..I have come to realize that I am still being blessed every day by the friendships that I have now... I am blessed by living a fortunate life ... and I am blessed for being ME.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

DAISY

XOXO

mercury in retrograde by daisy

Just a few more words about Mercury being in full retrograde from tomorrow [28th]. Things that could go wrong or be disturbed by the Divine Powers of the Universe. Computers may behave erratically, emails may go missing for a few hours or a day or two before they arrive, any parcels or cards you may could take a long time or go missing and travel plans could be difficult to achieve easily.

How can we make our way through this troublesome time? Well trying keep a piece of clear quartz on top of your computer to clear the air. Be patient above all things, the Universe allows these things to happen as part of its system of being, for every difficulty at some time in the future you will have a good happening to balance it. For travelling and mail, look out crystals and herbs that will help you achieve these things. Crystals and herbs in your pocket when travelling can help ease the journey and a sprinkling of the right herbs in the parcel or letter will help it on its way. Jasmine and /or Tuberose incense or essential oils will do well to help you with the effects of a retrograde Mercury Just take things carefully and slowly my friends.


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

totem animals & gathering herbs

My moon diary tells me today that: 'over the next few days, it is a good time to collect and use herbs, they are very potent.' So, I woke early this morning to harvest some. To use in a charm bag and a poppet that I am making. I walked around my garden.... just asking what was needed and I began to gather ~ rosemary, yarrow & lavender. Then I thought that I might add a little piece of Rowan and when I asked permission, my Rowan said to me that he was such a little tree, that he would prefer if I took some from my ancient apple tree. Made alot of sense to me as the Apple is a sacred tree to witches. So I picked a small branch and gave thanks... then I heard the clove pinks calling to me... and as I gathered them.. they told me to take one violet leaf to add to the mix.... I tied them all up in bundles, chanting and blessing as I went, feeling very much like I was in the past, as if I were one of my ancestors........now they hang to dry....

I also picked 5 heartsease flowers to make myself a melancholy & despondency essence... yesterday, after my wonderful light & joyful post a few days ago.... a cloud descended over me... I know that life is not always peace, love & mung beans and I know that I can deal with these times.... the feeling could be because I did a chakra dance class yesterday and I am clearing 'stuff'.. or it could be because I trying to wean myself from HRT...... I don't know.. but I want to help myself through it. Last night I did an invocation to Isis to help me with this feeling.

So I put the 5 little Heartsease flowers into some spring water along with rose quartz crystal.. for love... and it is now sitting energizing in the sun under my SweetPea plants (SweetPea - for courage & strength). I was wondering why the sun instead of the Moon, seeing as I love the Moon... but the sun is happy & joyful so I am guessing this is why. So, a big thankyou to Ruth for showing me how to make Flower Essences xo
"Do you have a totem animal? I am a hare for now, but frogs seem to cross my path a lot in the strangest of places. Last night I opened my front door to look out, this was about 11.30 at night, and sitting happily on my door step was a large frog. We looked at each other, and I just said hello, and then went back in" ~ Daisy

the other day, I was driving along, just pondering as I drove.. (I tend to do that) when I noticed a crow flying over head. I thought to myself, 'maybe that is my totem animal... a crow' then I said ' I need to find out my animal totem'....off I went to my favourite shop - The Sacred Lotus, to buy some incense and various other bits. As I was browsing - I spotted an owl candle holder... then some Owl brand incense...hmmm. An Owl? I am not rushing this I thought to myself. I popped into a local antique shop, just to have a look. Not really looking for anything.. and there sitting on a table for sale was Hedgewig - Harry Potters Owl... no, not the real one - just a stuffed toy, but it was an owl. I turned around and in a glass cabinet was a collection of OWLS !!! I think I am being told the Owl is my totem...
I asked Joe to buy me an Owl from the collection and he picked me the sweetest little pottery owl who will be living on my altar...

'Remember, I once said to you the deep truths are not in books. What no one much ever tells you is that like the heron, any animal, bird, insect or fish can be a totem. They come and announce themselves to you, you do not pick them. They can be ugly animals or beautiful ones, you know when you have one. Therefore, it could be something like a frog or an eagle you have no choice in the matter.' ~ Daisy

so, an Owl it is, seems I have no choice in the matter!

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

faery magick, food for thought and me, a divine co-creator

I am working through alot of stuff right now, with my books, affirmations and element essences and like Solstice dreamer says - sitting on the edge of a change.... sometimes, this change feels a little daunting.....
one of my books - 'White Magic by Lucy Cavendish', mentions time being linear and puts forth the theory that all of our lives - past, present and future are being lived concurrently.. I will post more abou this in another post, once I have digested what she says. Her theory explains the feeling that I have sometimes, of living in the past.. a knowing that I cannot put my finger on..... being somewhere else while being in the present - it is sometimes called day dreaming....

it is coming up to the dark of the moon and I am doing wonderfully. I still have niggles of melancholy but I remember to whisper to myself - 'be gentle with yourself'. I am pampering myself alot and really going inward, reflecting, taking time to be still in my soul - I also read these words of Daisy's, at the Dark of the Moon:
"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. 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." *she was indeed a wise woman*

.... I wanted to create something to honour Daisy this dark moon and I remembered her telling me what she did for her faery friends, so I copied it out and created a whimsical painting around it.....

I have been religiously doing my pages in my journal every morning - it is delicious. I get up early and go into my sacred space and sit, looking out the window while I write my thoughts down...and sometimes, I get flashes of creativity bursting forth - like these words this morning:

walking along the bush track
Tiny little flannel flowers,
whispers, laughter, a movement.

sitting, chin cupped in my hands
watching silently, a world
that I always knew was there
play with us! have fun! be joyful!

and then
get your head out of the clouds, don't be silly
make believe won't get you far in life

in a flash, my insight was gone
to be rediscovered as I become a child once more.

today I am off with my grandson, Thomas for an Artists date. We are packing picnic lunch, pencils, art books and our creative selves and going to The Everglades - a garden not far from my home... where we are going to wander for awhile, have lunch and create.... memories and art.

*~* 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! ~*~

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! ~*~

closed due to the Dark of the Moon

*keeping the faeries happy & daisy chains

I remember reading once on Daisy's blog that she like to keep the faeries happy.

"as a child I dug little nests in the grass under the lilac trees, and left little scraps of fine material for them, such as chiffon or pieces of ribbon, I even remember leaving a small bright metal coloured thimble, also shells and pretty little stones. Now in the summer at the right times, I leave something sweet for them, as they are supposed to have notoriously sweet tongues. Marshmallows, a spoonful of honey in a little milk. I leave it on the end of the garden wall, where the hedge starts above the wall"


Daisy ~ This flower is drawing to all faeries, elves and nature spirits. Where it is found, nature spirits will also be found. It is one of the best flowers to work with to begin communication with the faerie kingdom, as its faeries have no fear of humans and are very open to contact. They stimulate great physical awareness of the presence of nature spirits. The daisy is a favorite flower of dryads (wood nymphs), and simply sitting among the flowers invites contact. Daisy faeries help awaken creativity and inner strength.

Remember making Daisy chains when we were little? I made mine from the flowers of clover. I would sit for hours making the chains, then I would hang them all around my cubby house.. pure childhood magick! I think I will make some this weekend! I can hang them around my sacred space... a gift for the faeries.

To bring joy back into your life, pick a bunch of daisies. Shorten the stems to approximately 3 inches in length. With your fingernail, cut a small slit halfway down the stem of one flower and insert the next flower into the hole. Repeat the process until you have a daisy chain. While you work, chant:

Daisy, happy little flower,
Lend your joy to me this hour.
Bring your mirth into this band
As I chain you with my hands.

When the chain is long enough to slip easily over your head, securely tie the first and last stems together. Place the chain around your neck and say:

Daisy chain, once flowers free,
Bring the wildest joy now unto me.
Bless me with gaiety and mirth
As I live upon the Earth.
And as you dry in heat and air
Take with you my worries and cares.

Wear the chain for the rest of the day, then hang it up to dry.

I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights. ~Adabella Radici

Winter is back with a vengeance today... a bitterly cold wind is blowing outside, so there go my plans for being in the garden. Last Monday, my mum was taken to hospital early Monday morning after a weekend of shortness of breath and tightness in her chest...a suspected heart attack. She had an angiogram on Wednesday and we are at this moment, waiting for a decision from the heart specialist to see if she is able to have open heart bypass surgery.

I have been spending most of my time this week, driving to see her. It is a four hour round trip to see her.. I don't mind driving. I usually don't have music playing, but I spend the time thinking.. which I guess is sometimes not a good thing. Yesterday, the trip home, a usual 2 hour trip, took over 5 hours due to an oil spill on the mountain road... 5 fire brigades had to close the road while they mopped up..


* my mum & I taken about 2 years ago*

When I went yesterday to see her, she is sitting up in bed, worrying about all the other patients! Really, she must have a true strong Cornish heart.
a little teary and worried about me losing my mother.. she said to me, 'it is a different kind of grief losing your mother to when you lose your dad'... she is not worried at all about dying but worried that I will spend my time sitting by her bedside if she has a stroke, which there is a very high chance of happening if she has the operation due to her diabetes and family history. But if she opts not to have it, then she will progressively deteriorate and will most probably die of a massive heart attack. ... so we talked about that, as well as what she wants to happen when she dies, she wants to be cremated and put 'somewhere'.
... she gave me some jewellery for my girls and I did some reiki on her.... I took her a huge bunch of flowers from my garden - every single flower was out blooming, amazing. Snowdrops, daphne, roses, violets, lavender, feverfew... I am the eldest daughter, I have one sister who lives out in the country.
The emotions are so difficult, I know many of you will understand what I am going through... I feel a little guilty about not being able to have her live with me.... she has made me promise that if she has a stroke then she be put into a home. Daisy's blog came to mind, I remembered her once posting about her mum. so, I searched her blog for these words that I remembered. I needed some Daisy wisdom:

"my Mother has not adapted well to being a widow and that, combined with her illnesses, has left her with no joy in life and the feeling enough is enough and she is just treading water. Sad though this is, I am so appreciative of the doctor taking time to chat to me like that, and I just want to say to all of you who read my postings and are in the same position, please take those words to heart that the doctor told me. We are not cruel, we have done our best and there is NO need for guilt trips. "

Yesterday, she gave me a little gift that she had bought for Daisy. When Daisy passed, my mum cried with me.. She was so excited when Daisy helped find our Cornish roots. My mum is no saint, and as I have said before sometimes, she drives me mental... but I love her so much...

* taken on my deck last summer*

I am off again this afternoon to see her... I need to be close to her right now, for me... I need to tell her that I love her and that I will be ok. I need to hold her hand and cry..

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

dreams & the moon

I have been having odd dreams lately.

"I was standing, talking with Daisy, who pointed out that I had a white feather on my shoulder, I casually said to her that I had them often. She flicked the feather away and it floated to the ground, instantly two more floated down and landed on my shoulders and Daisy flicked them off..this continued with feathers multiplying each time they were flicked off.... until we were being covered with white feathers as is they were heavy snow."

the other dream was just as odd....

I was casting a sacred circle and people started to heckle me, so i just walked away. Next thing I knew, I was being chased by a woman who wanted to explain to me about the 'wrongness' of what I was doing... I was hiding in buildings and car parks and she kept yelling for me to come out, that she wasn't going to hurt me and I couldn't hide forever.... I think this was a modern day version of a witch-hunt. I woke in a cold sweat....

we are in the waning time of the moon right now, heading towards the dark of the moon, where the moon rests & seems to hide her face from us ~ a time of reflection and rest. She then turns New in the middle of her dark phase. The new moon is coming up on July 14. She starts to show her face on the second day of her new phase. This is a time for new beginnings. If you plant seeds by the new moon you will be ensured a wonderful harvest - this especially relates to herbs. The plants and herbs that are commonly associated with the Moon are:- Calamus, Camellia, Camphor, Coconut, Eucalyptus, Gardenia, Grape, Jasmine, Lemons, Lemon Balm, Lily, Lotus, Mallow, Moonwort, Myrrh, Poppy, Sandalwood and Willow, any silver or white leaved plant also, like lamb's ear & artemesia

I really struggle with the waning moon time and searched through the saved emails from Daisy - I knew somewhere she had mentioned to me about my moon moods ~ I am sure these words will help one or two of you who struggle with the influence of the moon:

"You know, I think you are a very old soul, and that your panics on the dark day of the moon are buried deep within your soul's memory, or probably as the more scientific would like to say within your genetic memory. It is almost like a deep rooted fear that the light will not return from early man's tribal days, where they would have the moon in the sky waxing and then waning and disappearing, how they must have celebrated when that thin crescent reappeared. I also think, like me, you have a great reliance on the moon. you know I must have a point every full moon when I can sleep with it bathing my face in light, if it is a cloudy full moon I feel really cheated. Have you tried wearing a moonstone on the dark day, you can power them up in the full moon and then bring them out when the moon is really waning."

so it is time for me to get my moonstones out and take her advice. There is so much information about the moon and I love to read about it... making a moon garden would be fun...

today, I have my grandson Thomas with me - it is our school holidays. I am taking him to Blackheath and we are going to the Sacred Lotus hippy shop and then onto a couple of crystal shops.... I want to buy some faerie crystals and a few other crystals for a gift-away that I am planning and I need to find some white feathers for my spirit elemental that I am making for my witch school homework.... it is really cold here today, I would not be surprised if we came across some snow!
*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~