my coming to the goddess age

oh lord, this Croning ceremony, has taken off like a runaway train! I decided to open another blog dedicated to my croning and wanted online friends to participate... however - I will have to limit the numbers (to 13) that are actually a part of receiving the gift from me on my birthday (january 1) due to the high postage costs.... unfortunately the quota has been reached but you can read all about the process here:
coming into the goddess age

and as we go along, I would love if you would like to participate in any way you wish to!

blessed B xo

winter solstice gift-away

* ~ * above is a winter solstice collage that will be included in the gift * ~ *

don't forget to sign up here for the winter solstice gift-away! I draw the name on Monday (my time) - blessed B xoxo

coming up for us soon is the winter solstice - yule-tide. Being winter, I am in the mood for creating some fabric craft for Christmas - what better time than when the weather is cold, a hint of snow every now and then - the perfect season for it! It is just at the wrong time of year. However - it is yule-tide in Australia and there is not a thing I can do about it.

we don't do gifts at this time of year so to make it kind of 'real' - I thought a little gift-away would help me get into the yule-tide spirit.

all you have to do is comment on this post and your name will go in the drawing. I will close it on 11th June so that gives me plenty of time to get the gift to the winner by Winter Solstice - June 22....

blessed be!

the Croning

it is just under six months til I reach 50 years of age! as most of my readers know, I have struggled for a year or two with all manner of emotions. In 2001, I was put into instant menopause at age 43 - radiation killing my ovaries. So for the past few years I have been taking HRT, sporadically. When I forget to take it - I am a raving and ranting lunatic - falling prey to a melancholy that is just awful - couple that with being severely influenced by the moon - well, I am sure you all know...
quite a few of you have supported me through my ups and downs - giving sage advice when I ask - emails that sometimes touch me to the very core....

* a friend emailed me a few months back - talking about my age, approaching normal menopause. She likes to think of it as the "goddess" age instead of the crone.

in her words:

""Most people call it the "Crone stage" ~ I call it the Goddess stage, because when you think about it, you can only become a Goddess when you have enough life experience. Goddess is so much nicer than crone, more stately and commanding. We must always remember we are remarkable, experienced, commanding women, that have battled through life and should now be due some serenity

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.""

so coming up to 50, I am going to plan a Croning Ceremony. I have been reading about it in a book I have - Sacred Ceremony by Steven Farmer ~ not sure how I will do it but I am planning on having a little online ceremony here on my blog, somehow - I hope you will all come and celebrate with me!

we all need to ground ourselves

there is much going on before this dark moon - people are feeling really odd. Moonstones aren't even doing it for me right now. I have them beside my bed, a moonstone pyramid under my bed. I have my black obsidian and I am wearing my moonstone pendant. seems to me that I need more.

I think we need to do a grounding. You can do this inside but it is so much better if you can kick your shoes off and be really connected to earth.

*take your time doing this grounding meditation... there is no rush...

stand somewhere that you feel is a sacred space for you and close your eyes - loosen yourself up & be totally relaxed.*

Imagine the trunk of your body is that of a tree - with roots growing from your feet - deep into the earth. Through all the root fibres of other plants, through crystals, rocks and stones. seeking out pockets to grip into. wrapping around those rocks and crystals. gathering energy and grounding as you go. going deep down through all layers of time - until you come to the heart of our earth - the core. Rest in the warmth of this molten heart & feel connected to all that is . Now bring that energy back up - back through all the layers of time - bring with you that connectedness, that grounding. Right back up through your trunk to the crown of your head and out through the space where your head was open at birth - spilling down over your body, like branches of a tree. stay with this for as long as you need. When you are ready, kneel down and touch the ground with your hands.... earthing yourself. Open your eyes and breath.

I do this quite often. when I feel ditzy and spaced out. it gives me a grounded-ness.

let's hope it works this time!

the month of Mary

on the catholic calendar, May is supposedly the month of Mary. And even though I don't consider myself a 'christian' in the real term - I do have a strong devotion to Mary..... gee, I don't really know what I am in terms of religion - I was baptised a Church of England, did one year with the seventh day adventists when I was 12. Confirmed into the catholic church at the age of 33 - tried buddhism and many other ways of 'believing' - have been a 'witch' all my life without knowing it....

as usual, I get off the subject - during May, I like to honour Mary - with roses - a bunch picked from my garden in front of one of my vintage statues....

this month I also hope to build a shrine outside in my garden - much like the one in Under the Tuscan sun. a place where I can go and put flowers whenever I need some extra *help*.





and did you know that lady beetles/bugs are really 'our lady's bugs'? tis true!


"In the olden days, British farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help with their crops. Then ladybugs arrived and helped the farmers by eating crop-eating bugs and saved farmers' crops. In honor of these bugs, the farmers called the beetles "Our Lady's beetle," which turned into ladybug."

Samhain

above is my Samhain altar in my dining room - photos of my grandmas, a ring that belonged to my nan, my dad's kookaburra rattle, some knuckle bones that were my grandmas and a piece of jet - I will light a black candle at dusk which will burn until dawn ( well, that is the theory!)

I am quite new to this and learning as I go along - with the help of a wonderful friend.... kind like 'witches school' - does that mean I will become a member of the black hat brigade?

Samhain ~ the day when the veil is thinnest between the worlds. I wonder if this is why I have been seeing flits of light lately? a few nights ago, I woke around 2am in the morning and there was a bright light next to my bed, that flashed away when I opened my eyes.... I have also been seeing sparkles on and off for the past few weeks.....

I was sitting here looking at Laura's photo and imagining what it would have been like for her parents living in Cornwall in the 1800's and I went into a kind of meditative state and even heard my great-great grandfather..... strange things happen or else I am losing my mind....

so Samhain down here - not alot happens as we don't have the commercialism of Halloween to deal with.... I gathered some apple leaves that had fallen on the ground and placed them into a terracotta pot - and thought I would have a lovely little bonfire - to keep those wandering spirits away - not a real good idea as it smoked and smoked - with Joe racing out thinking what the hell I had done.... so I will just stick to lighting lots of candles... dinner tonight is whatever I can find really - sausages and the remainder of my zucchinis just picked from my garden.

to all of my friends up in the Northern Hemisphere - I wish a blessed Beltane! xo

and yet another belief of mine ~ totem animals

sometimes people think I am weird, yes truly they do! They come to my home and begin to wonder about my sanity. You see, I cover all bases with my spiritual beliefs. I have statues of Mary, Joseph and St Therese scattered about my home. I have crucifixes and rosary beads - bells & tassles. I have altars to various gods scattered about my home.

My main altar is my heart belief - wiccan/pagan.

I have the Goddess Kwan Yin in my bathroom, buddhist prayer flags hanging around my home, I burn incense and on my front door I have oak twigs tied with red ribbon. I grid my home with crystals and I cast spells when I feel the urge. I talk to dead people and sometimes they answer. I believe I am surrounded by fairies, sometimes I can feel their sparkly larkles around me. Sometimes, I even question my own sanity.
until something happens to make me realize that it is not my imagination at all.....

I went to a meditation a few nights ago for a healing of a friend and I 'saw' a wolf and called him in... the next day - the friend who had the healing - pulled the wolf card from her card pack...
when I attended the Doreen Virtue seminar last year - I bought a book by her husband about power animals and it resonated with my soul.....
just last week a friend sent me this link to find your power animal - it is a wonderful tool... for those times when you need a little help & guidance from our animal friends (turn your sound on)
the enchanted forest

Easter ? saturday - confused thoughts from my journal

lord, I am confused or at least my soul is.....

just having celebrated Mabon - we are now celebrating easter. to me, it feels ridiculous to be celebrating oestra/easter in autumn

- with baby chickens, eggs, and bunnies that are really springtime things. But that is the way it is and I find if I can blend all of this, without fighting it, I become more settled. Easter is a christian celebration and I guess being bought up a christian, I can still embrace it with my pagan touch. . .same as I have to for Christmas in summer.

If it were just me - I would just go on normally but I have grandchildren and I must have easter eggs for them

. . . so down here in Australia this little witch's wheel of the year is slightly different - Mabon, easter, Samhain......

I struggle with who I am and where I belong.... lately I have been feeling very strong connections to earth, as if I am part of it. Part of this wonderful, vast land, we call Australia.

On my maternal nana's side I am a 4th generation australian but on my Pa's side, I am only 2nd generation - and that is where I feel my soul connection to Cornwall... it is still a part of me, still in my genes...I guess handed down from my great Nan - Laura Tregilgas...so I plod along, this easter Saturday, dazed and confused..going about my daily life.....today we are going to the organic supermarket. I am gradually switching over to totally organic - a hard thing to do but well worth the effort. I need to buy some organic pecans & chocolate - I am making a chocolate pecan crumble cake for tomorrow. Then when we come home, I hope to spend some time in my garden...

(you should be able to print the colouring pages out, so that you can play & colour over easter)

10.07 am - autumn equinox - believe in magick! (and the recipe)

sitting here having a cup of tea this morning ~ reading emails - getting ready to post this:

doesn't feel like autumn at all but by the calendar it is the autumn equinox..
the leaves are still green & it is really humid.. however - the currawongs are carolling outside and that always heralds autumn for me...
my wish for the world today is to go back to simpler times....

and the currowong sang at exactly 10.07am!!!!

ahh life is indeed magickal in my world

here is the promised link to the apple & cinnamon cake

autumn equinox cake

autumn equinox

while you girls in the northern hemisphere prepare for spring - I am getting ready for autumn - today is the autumn equinox, at 10.07 am today~ Mabon.

a time when the trees don their autumn ball gowns - gorgeous colours of russet, gold, copper and burgundy.

A day of meditation. A time to enjoy the fruits of our harvest.

a time for me, to shed old thought patterns. a time to release regrets and sorrows... a time to seek balance in my life. . .

yesterday I visited the cemetery, tidied the grave and burnt some incense.. i placed an apple and some rose hips.. I have no idea what people thought of me as I muttered about the graveside and you know, I am beyond caring. a good thing for me.

I have a lovely day planned today. a morning blessing, baking an apple cake, preparing Daisy's guinness & beef casserole for dinner, taking a food package to St Vinnies. I have scattered some grain outside for the birds and I will set my altar up later today. I am also going to spend some time in my sacred space, jotting down all those negative thought patterns that I have..these will be put into an envelope and placed in my soul journal...to be reflected upon and released over the next few weeks..

It gives my soul a certain satisfaction to do all these little rituals ~ the simplicity and the childlike 'playing' - makes me feel kind of in control... (yeah right)

when the sun sets - I am going to light candles in my home & garden... weave a wreath for my door, using some items that I found on my walk yesterday and say this spell of protection:

amidst the autumns darkest nights
our home be bound by brilliant light
a web of hope and joy and peace
be woven now, all dangers cease
by watchful eye
by lock & key
protect our home
SO MOTE IT BE

to all my friends in the northern hemisphere - I wish you a magnificent spring equinox * think of me on the other side of the world as i prepare for our autumn

namaste xo

(oh and I will be posting the apple cake recipe in my book of shadows soon!)