Dealing with what you’re dealt

I don’t know if it’s Mercury retrograde or some kind of karmic whirlwind or what it is that’s been going on lately, but wow, life has been incredibly, horribly difficult. I could go with the more positive sounding ‘challenging’ but that just really doesn’t cover it. Things in my famIly’s life have just been really, really plain bloody difficult – to the point where I’ve pulled out a number of entirely unhelpful, self-defeating coping behaviours to try and manage the stress – not something I’m proud of, and not something I want to keep doing, and I’m working on putting those behaviours back where they belong, which is far, far away from me. But sometimes, that’s just the way I have to do things.

And then on Sunday I was reading this post by Sarah Wilson, which was profound enough, but then the comments section led me to another post by Danielle LaPorte, with whose work I wasn’t familiar: Strike ‘overwhelmed’ from your vocabulary.

I have to say, that article really, really pulled me up slap bang against myself, because if there is one thing I have been feeling over the last couple of months – if I were to pick one single word to describe myself – it would be overwhelmed: with worries about my son, my business, my health, politics, the crappiness of the world in general. Absolutely overwhelmed. But here is someone telling me, quite seriously, that I need to remove this very concept from my thinking; that whatever the situation is, I have the sheer capacity to cope with it; that I can ride that wave more-or-less gracefully to shore no matter how rough it is.

I shed a lot of tears over this revelation, partly of shame, partly of amazement, partly of gratitude. I’m rearranging my thinking. It’s not easy. I don’t want to have to deal with more miserable crap – and in miserable crap terms I doubt we’re out of the woods yet – but if I have to, I can. And I don’t have to do it alone, because as I’ve also recently realised, dealing with the situation you’ve been dealt can mean asking for help. Which is good to know, isn’t it?

Changes and transformations

Just a little note to let you know that we are in the process of making some changes to the way Lilith’s Herb Garden looks and works… At the moment our shop is in maintenance mode while we tinker away behind the scenes… We’re going to try splitting the Garden into two distinct sides – the Herb Garden, where you will find all the delicious teas and healing ointments, and the Shadow Garden, where we will stock our pathworking balms, incenses, energetic medicines and suchlike.

Here’s a sneak peek at our new look/s:

We’re excited to feel things coming together a little more cohesively – it’s been a bit of a tricky time, trying to sort out the best approach to the business, not to mention the steep learning curve of using GIMP to design our new logos… (one of my personal headaches!!) But that’s the time of year too, time to dig in deeper and get the foundations and roots sorted during these darkest days, and then once Yule has come and gone, to start to ascend again!

Of course, nothing is final and we will always be ready to change and transform further as we go. However it’s nice to feel that we’re getting over the first run of hurdles, which means we can get back to doing what we are really passionate about – working with beautiful herbs! There are several new teas in the works, including a couple of really delciious chai blends that I’ll be posting about once the shop is open again.

In the meantime, do chat to us on Twitter, check out our photos on Instagram, or email us: lilithsherbgarden (at) gmail (dot) com

 

Bright blessings on this super chilly Melbourne day ~

Verity

Let food be your medicine – the gift of meat

Over the weekend I have made oxtail soup. I’ve never made anything quite like this before: roasting the bones, simmering them slowly for a full day, straining the stock, adding soaked barley then simmering again, shredding the flakes of meat from flower-shaped bones, gone so soft that they crumble under my fingers, falling apart having given up all their nourishment into the soup we are about to eat.

Ten years ago I could not have understood how this could have been good for me. Today I don’t understand how I could ever have believed it would not be good for me.

This is not glamorous food; it’s not fancy; it’s not politically correct. It represents yet another turning point in the complicated relationship I’ve had with food throughout my life. For me this path is about true, deep, transformative nourishment: literally from the bones of this animal, this ox, into my bones.

I am grateful for this gift; I’m grateful for the animal that has given its life for mine, for the privileges that allow me to receive the gift and make use of it, for the people who have inspired me to do so, for the capacity to change my thinking and to continually learn better, to work on healing and connecting.

For those of you also interested in exploring the path of traditional foods, I highly recommend the website Nourished Kitchen and the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

Brightest blessings
Verity

Barefoot

I went walking barefoot in the park today. Not something I do very often, but I felt inspired; it was a lovely autumn afternoon and not too cold or too wet, at least not in the sun.

More and more leaves have drifted down from the trees, some of them are completely bare now and the grass – which is green again thanks to rain and cooler temperatures – was thickly carpeted with the fallen. There haven’t seemed to be many acorns this year – or perhaps the birds just got them all early. I’ve got a couple to carry around with me for luck, though.

I visited some of my favourite birch trees and sat with them for a while. A gardener on a ride-on mower was roaring about in the background. It wasn’t windy. I love how the light gets old so early in the afternoon at this time of year; as if it’s thicker and richer from being poured into fewer hours of the day. The are still bits of leaves and dry grass stuck to my jumper from when I lay in the ground.

I’m off to harvest some holly tonight. The berries are perfectly ripe, so shiny and such an amazing scarlet.

)O(
Verity

Magickal Samhain makings

On Samhain Cath and I got together for some magickal crafting… We made three different ointments: Dark Goddess, with infused oils of hemlock & dittany and patchouli essential oil – so earthy and deep; Third Eye, with infused oil of mugwort and essential oils of basil and frankincense – rich and heady to open you up to the astral realm while keeping you protected and grounded; and Hedge Riders’, with infused oils of hemlock, dittany & mugwort perfect just on their own for helping you pass the boundaries of everyday existence. Don’t they look delicious?

Then there were the ritual soaps, made with coconut & olive oils and delicious scents – one for the Goddess (rosewood and lavender and patchouli in that one), one for the God (full of bright masculine citrus oils and oats), and one for general cleansing (with infused mugwort oil, sandalwood and rosemary essential oils).

We’re excited to be debuting these items at the market this Saturday. Any leftovers will go into the shop so keep an eye out!

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

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

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