Winter Wanderings

Yule has passed and now we are held within the silence of winter.

Last Saturday we took the opportunity to walk amongst the fog and shadows and centre

within the cold, deep quiet of our landscape.

I am Old Spider goddess of Micronesia.
I created the moon, the sea, the sky, the sun,
and the earth from a single clamshell.
All the vast and varied universe is present
in the smallest forms of life.
As above, so below.
As within, so without.

Excerpt taken from ‘Goddess Grace’

Enchanted meadows

Noble outstretching

 

Decaying Underground

As the shadows played against the fog, I looked upon the trees and was moved by their quiet wisdom.  How they have released everything that no longer serves them.  Back to the ground it goes for recycling and renewal.

How they have been left with the absolute necessary, and with that treasure recessed deep into their roots within our Mother Earth.

This season brings to mind the  “four powers of the sphinx”  To Know, To Will, To Dare and To Keep Silent.  In particular, the last of these, Silence.  The attribute of silence has been on my mind recently, especially after having the very unfortunate experience of being forced out of the broom closet by having  my mundane name  disclosed to 6000+  members of my facebook page.

Its not that I don’t like to tell people I’m a witch, most people who know me have probably figured that one out.  Its that I have work, a family, friends and other aspects of my life that  should not be judged by my personal practice.

Most importantly, it should be my choice whether I out myself and no one else has the right to do that.

This then got me to thinking about the lesson of silence, and how those relatively new to the Wheel and who have not done the proper Work and without the proper Guidance can cause great damage to those around them as well as themselves.

So as the Moon of Silence is upon us lets look a little deeper into this power and what it means.

TO KEEP SILENT

Like all the rules of the Sphinx this one has many layers to its meaning.   And ‘To Keep Silent’ has caused more discussions than the other three rules combined.   On an outer level there is the common sense of just keeping your mouth shut.  Such as in my case where someone tried to harm my reputation.   When you keep silence it protects reputations, teachings, intellectual property of your coven, it protects your from social judgements, repercussions and very importantly, protects the work you are doing from the interference of others.

Taking this lesson within, we recognize the need for actual silence within our practice, such as silent reflection, mediation and prayer.  All vital to our path and self knowing.

Silence in its simplicity will affect you in deep and shifting ways.   Like a murky lake that is filled with muddy water during agitation, silence and stillness helps the mud sink to the bottom revealing a clear and luminous nature.

M La Fura )O(

Lady Luna

Majestic lady of the moon,
You who greets the dusk with silver kisses.
Mistress of the night and of all her magick
Shadow maker
Shadow breaker
My heart’s desire
I have searched for you from the beginning
I pray by your moonlight
For the Highest Good

Maat Feather Meditation

Maat Feather Meditation

To lighten and align your heart chakra, try this exercise for seven days….

Lie down in a quiet and sacred space where you can remain undisturbed through this exercise. Place a white feather upon your heart, close your eyes, focusing on your breath. Relax your body, going deeper and deeper into relaxation until you reach a relaxed and meditative state.

Breath in and out slowly as you become one with the feather. Relax and let go of the stress and pressures of the world. Release all the tension in your body and especially your womb. As you go deeper into your relaxed and meditative state become aware of any pain you may be holding in your body. Now, release the pain your body holds, from this life, and your previous lives.

Allow your body to float, and drift and connect with the divine Spirit, creating unity with the sacred source.

Feel you becoming one with the feather. Move deeper and deeper into your quiet and safe space. Now bring your consciousness towards your heart. Feel the weight of your heart. Does it weigh heavy against the day? Are there words you spoke which are held here still? Feel the weight of it, its heaviness or lightness, which ever may be the case. Take as much time as you need to feel it completely. Own the weight within it. Then, as your breath out, release the weight with your breath. Let it go, breath in lightness and breath out heaviness. Take as much time as you need, until you feel your heart becoming lighter and lighter still. Think again about your feather, laying gently over your heart, its lightness and become one with it. Once you have become one with the feather, imagine your heart and feather moving towards one another until they become one, and your heart has the weight of the feather.

Feel peace and calm flow into you as your inner balance is restored and renewed.

 

In Shadow and Light

M

Visiting

Last nights dreaming was just divine.
So much escaped me
as soon as I opened my eyes.
Most but not the feeling,
the residual after knowing.
The house,
so vast and old.
The people,
potent, electric and alluring.
And the veils hung from upon the beds
the windows and walls….
I look forward to more revealing itself
as my day unfolds

Feast of the Dead

Tis not the way man chooses to live a life that shows what lays beneath… but how he faces his death that shows us what he is truly made off.

Our deaths define the very lives we have lived

In the Southern Hemisphere, Samhain is almost upon us. The weather outside, is finally reflecting the turn of the Wheel. With darkening skies and multicoloured tree line streets… Ive been inspired to decorate the witches house and finally open my box of dark and delightful things. This week I will be treating myself to that which feeds my soul. There will be dark circles with sisters, catch up with honey bee to discuss all things astrology… drinks with the black magician, at naked for satan of course… mushroom foraging with my favourite Dutch girl… and crafting all manner of things with my circle sister Verity… it is the time I indulge myself in things which hold, honour and heal me… for my departed beloved are not too far…and this is how I best prepare for the bitter sweet journey ahead.

Samhain is a time when offerings of food can be left on altars and doorsteps for the wandering spirits. You may choose to light a single candle beside your window to guide the spirits of loved ones home. There origins of Jack O Lanterns no doubt. A dummy supper where you had a place for your beloved dead at the dinner table or near the hearth to honour and make them welcome. You would normally cook their favourite meal, making sure it was never consumed by the living instead surrendering it to the night. Apples were left along roadsides to provide for the spirits who had no loved ones to provide for them.

Death, Descent, Winter and Purity

As the god dances around the wheel it is his journey our mortal coil follows. As the Great Hunter dies, we too will one day face the Great Mother. Everything will be surrendered to her as we return to the belly of the earth…. At Mabon we began to journey to the underworld. The goddess in her loving grief opens the gateway between the worlds, the veil thins and we can communicate with our beloved dead.  At Samhain we now enter the Underworld and dance with the God of Death.  This is our opportunity to release all that no longer serves us.  To release that which holds us back.  Death is a series of release and surrender till ultimately all that is left is the spirit.   Seasonally as our qi descends deeper into our bodies, and eventually into the deepest organs and meridian pathways, we have the chance to let go of habits, people, even adopted belief systems that may have never belonged to us to begin with.

And as we approach Samhain and upcoming winter, this Sabbat is a reminder that Winter is potentially deeply restorative, a time of contemplation and meditation. Cleansing helps us prepare for this time, potentially preventing our energy from being misguided or misspent.

We are coming up to a unique seasonal opportunity, on both sides of the hemisphere. As the wheel is about to turn into winter/summer, we have three weeks of a unique energetic phase. This is the time for deep cleansing and for clearing. Now is the time to give yourself the opportunity to reset. Reset your body by fasting and preparing it for different seasonal foods. Reset your mind and your heart by asking yourself what old hurts and resentments you need to free yourself from. Emotionally, cleanse out the old baggage. Question the belief systems you have adopted that don’t belong to you. Ask yourself what really belongs to you and what you wish to let go off during the next couple of weeks? This cleansing helps the concious cultivation of purity in our lives.

 

In Shadow and Light

M

Star People

We have some very significant astral events this year. Tonight is the lunar eclipse in Scorpio, May the 9th we have a solar eclipse in Taurus, May the 25th we have a lunar eclipse in Sagittarius, Oct the 18th a lunar eclipse in Aries and and a solar eclipse in Scorpio Nov the 3rd.

So many ways to play with the fabric. Here’s a couple of thoughts on how I will be approaching tonight’s lunar eclipse, but also how to begin work on the up coming Scorpio and Taurus solar eclipses.

A lunar and solar eclipse in Scorpio gives us the opportunity to really see what lays within our emotional waters. One where our conciousness lights up the shadow, the other where the shadow steps into the light. A yin and yang of internal diagnostics so to speak.

Scorpio also gives us a strong personal defence against others and the shadows they wish to project upon us. Its strong armour shields us from such toxicity. Not forgetting the tail and sting that also protects us against such nasties. You can harness this protective aspect of this sign, shielding your internal watery feelings but also the strength it takes to protect yourself if you are cornered or provoked.

We can also pair up the lunar eclipse of Scorpio with the solar eclipse of Taurus. The polarity of these signs can be entrenched and unyielding. Issues here are often around resources and ownership, values and possessions, both personal and shared. These eclipses can be harnessed in changing outlook, perception, or overall thinking in these areas in your life, within and without.

There are so many ways you can weave the planetary energies to work upon yourself. Im certainly not an astrologer, just a dabbler who often picks the brain of a very close friend who happens to be an astrologer. Let me know your thoughts and any astrologers that can shed some light are most welcome.

In Shadow and Light

M

goddess

We all hold within us a sacred spark…

a connection to the divine.

One day we shall return to the source of that spark

and everything will be revealed within that awesome beauty.

For now lets treat each other and every day as sacred.

We answered a call to return and our spirit craves to be here,

to be made of sky and earth,

stars and clay,

and to experience the shadow and light our world contains.

Image: http://www.ideafixa.com/voce-nao-desenha-nada-roberto-ferrini