Travelling Musings

Living in a town and working full time means that I don't get to spend as much time as I would like out in nature and walking the land.  But I do get to drive through the countryside quite often 

During my journeys I watch the seasons turn, I see the first buds on the trees as spring starts to stir from it's winters slumber and fields full of lambs, playing and skipping.  I watch as the trees become full of leaves and abundance at full summer.  I enjoy driving past fields full of pink poppies and watch as the farmers start to harvest their crops (getting stuck behind trackers isn't so pleasant though) 

But my favourite time of year has to be autumn.  Watching as the leaves on the trees turn into glorious colours.  This symbolises the year going out in a final blaze of glory, like the finale at a firework display when the best and most colourful of fireworks are left til last.  Autumn for me is Winter's Spring.  

But what struck me as I was driving to a meeting this week is that the trees look most beautiful when they are waning in energy.  

They don't fight the ageing process or the cycle of their lives; they surrender to it and they are stunning.   So even in death there is beauty to be found if we only just surrender

Magic happens ... even in Zumba class

I have quite a stressful job so when the weekend comes around I need something to help me let go of all that tension.  My Saturday morning ritual usually consists of a really energetic zumba class to blow away the cobwebs

Personally speaking dance and movement are the best ways to raise energy, they can also be a form of meditation.  There aren't many thoughts that sneak into my head in zumba class that's for sure!!

This week has been particularly stressful at work ... I won't bore you with the details but I was feeling all sorts of emotional.  So whilst in Zumba class today, when the energy was at its highest, I just let go of it all.  I watched as all the pent up feelings just floated out of the nearest door or window and it was like a weight lifted from my shoulders.   I asked for all the negativity I'd released from myself to be dispersed and recycled by the universe :-)

Then for the rest of the class I set the intention to be filled with joy and laughter, and I wasn't disappointed as it turned out to be one of the best classes with some great tracks.  We were dancing like gangstas one minute, playing air guitar to a rock song the next, followed by smoking hot salsa tracks ... all therapy for me

So you don't have to make time for magic, you can do it anywhere ... even in a zumba class :-)

Rituals ... What are they?

While putting the finishing touches to the Kitchen Witch Elen ritual ready for next weekend I got to thinking about rituals in general.  What are they, why do we do them and what are the rules?

So I looked up the definition of a ritual and found this

A religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.

Most pagan rituals will follow a set order, cast a circle, cleanse and smudge the circle, call the quarters and deity etc but they are anything but solemn.   While we are serious about reverence for deity we also believe there should be a bit of mirth and merriment in the mix too.   Our Kitchen Witch ceremonies are fairly relaxed and as we are a training coven we are always happy for people to ask questions about what we are doing. 

Pagan rituals should be joyous occasions; times of laughter and celebration of the turning of the seasons and the cycles of the moon.   We often make mistakes during our rituals but we are quite prepared to laugh at ourselves when we do.  We believe the Goddess likes to laugh along with us too.    I've been to rituals where the group have put on a bit of a skit to re-enact the myths of the season, I've even been witness to the fight of the Holly King and Oak King played out with rubber chickens.  So you can definitely have fun while still touching on the deeper mysteries.

As I am a Kitchen Witch I  don’t follow some of the strict Wiccan rules that some covens do but when I am attending someone else’s ritual I follow their rules and ask what will be expected of me during the ritual beforehand.   Quite often there is a dress code or a potluck feast and it is only respectful to the group to join in.  Something I personally like to do is bring an offering of some herbs or flowers for the altar.

While most Pagan rituals are relaxed there is one golden rule and that is attending a ritual is not like attending a party ... it’s not fashionable to arrive late.  In fact arriving after the circle is cast disrupts the flow of energy and focus for everyone in the circle.  If you’re running late let the organisers know and they may be able to delay the start of the ritual by a few minutes.  If you arrive after the ritual has started be considerate and hang back until the end.

When I first started out on my path as a witch there were no open rituals anywhere, now there are quite a few popping up and it is really lovely to see.   So as well as holding our Kitchen Witch rituals next year I hope to get along to some others and make some new friends along the way.

Stop and smell the tulips

I've spent most of the afternoon out in the garden.  I've cleared away a lot of spring flowers that have finished blooming and I've planted some shrubs.

As I was working I was suddenly aware of silence.  Before all the birds were singing, there was the odd car driving by and the chatter of people in neighbouring gardens.  But there was silence. 

It was like nature was holding its breath or at least having a siesta.  A red kite glided soundless across the sky.   And I enjoyed the moment, relishing the opportunity to be held in this pause ... to just be. 

Then a dog barked and the world came back to life, but I'm left with the reminder that sometimes you need to stop and smell the roses ... well tulips today as my roses aren't in bloom yet ;-)

Feel the fear and do it anyway

I'm usually quite a shy person,  letting fear of what people think of me hold me back.  Always thinking I could never do that ... not me. 

But since finding my path as a Witch I have really come out of my shell.  I write rituals, workshops and even speak in public ... willingly.    Something I would never have done before.  Of course Rachel, my partner in crime does have a hand in that, usually giving me a good 'ole shove to push me outside my comfort zone ;-)

This weekend saw me taking it a step further as I attended a Shamanic workshop with the awesome Rich Lister.   We spent the morning journeying with spirit animals, learning Apache smudging rituals, sitting on reindeer skins and eating cake.

Then Rich dropped the bombshell that we would be finishing the workshop by doing an Airwolf ritual.  I thought he was talking about a TV show ... but no.  What he wanted us to do was break an arrow with our throats!  Yeah, right was my immediate thought.   But he was deadly serious *eek*

We started taking it in turns to break our arrows, moving around in the circle, we were all beating our drums to build up the energy and atmosphere.   As it became close to my turn I was fighting the urge to run away. But I thought I would only regret it if I didn't try, right? So I buried my fear and I went for it.  After two attempts I DID IT!!!  I'm really proud of my new warrior self and feel ready to take on anything.  Thank you to Rich for giving me this gift :-)

I highly recommend Rich's workshops and drum birthing days for info can be found on his website www.theherosoul.com

Messages from nature

It's been such a long time since I wrote anything in my blog, but then I've never been big on journalling anything.

I was out in my garden yesterday, just pottering around as you do when I noticed this tiny, yellow flower growing in the grass.  
I certainly hadn't planted it there and didn't really know what it was other than it was really quite striking for such a tiny flower.

I felt I had to look up what it was and what was it's meaning and the flower turned out to be celandine.  It's quite a common plant in the UK and seems to be a daytime plant as its petals do not open much before 9am and tend to close again after 5pm.  They also close when it is about to rain.  

What a clever little plant.  Here is some more information I found out about it.

Flowering months:  February to April

Habitat:  Hillsides, moist fields, shady areas under trees, damp hedgerows, open woodland, bare ground meadows, ditches and banks, sometime forming dense clumps or patches.

Folk Names:  Small Celandine, Figwort, Smallwort, Pilewort, brighteye, butter and cheese.

Effects: Natural power, war, rage, destruction, force, action

Planet:  Sun

Element: Fire

Associated Deities:  Bast, Eostre, Kwan Yin, Sunna, Artemis, Belinos, Diana, Hecate

Magic: Psychic Abilities, protection

What was this little flowers message to me? The sun it out and its your time to shine :-)

"There is a flower, the lesser celandine,
That shrinks like many more from cold and rain,
And the first moment that the sun may shine,
Bright as the sun himself, 'tis out again!"

Extract from The Small Celandine by William Wordsworth (Publishd 1888)

Sources - TheWhiteGoddess.co.uk

Awen

I was listening to a really old Druidcast podcast on my journey home from work today.  It contained an interview with Phillip Carr-Gomm in which he discussed the Bardic grade of Druidry; in particular what creativity can mean and how Awen can flow in people.

Until today I had always thought that being creative or indeed to be a bard you had to be a poet, a singer, a musician, an artist, or at least have a talent that is can be seen or heard.   I possess none of these skills.  I'm one of those people that when the talking stick is passed around at a ritual I'm frozen with fear.  Not because I'm scared (although I am a little) but because I don't know what to say other than a timid "thank you for the ritual, it was great"  So for me being passed the talking stick has become a moment of dread and looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

But what Phillip said in the interview changed my whole way of thinking about creativity and what it means for me.  Creativity isn't always a tangible thing it could be something like parenting.  Now I'm not a parent I know but I am mentor at work and have also been a mentor at online schools I have been involved with.  I am now a clan guardian at the Kitchen Witch School of Natural Witchery.  I have written lessons for the school and I write some of the rituals for our online and offline gatherings.  My husband says I'm a natural teacher and leader, I just haven't got the patience to teach him anything :-)

So does Awen flow through me?  Yes I think it does just not in the conventional way.

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