Hail and well met.....

I've had  such a fantastic  and busy week, it's difficult to know where to start, perhaps with an advance apology about the random selection of photos I'll be using as some of them are quite old. I've met a lot of new people in my journey this week, so whipping my camera out every 5 minutes didn't feel appropriate and also I probably wouldn't have been invited back!



A Face in the Countless Stones?

I'm very proud to say that I attended the inaugural meeting of Maidstone Pagans at Fortify a gorgeous vegan cafe in Maidstone. We had a small but lovely eclectic mixture of local people, our interests ranging from those of us journeying with the Goddess, Witches (as opposed to Wiccans - I learned how different their paths can be) a Lady interested in Crystals and some people who were just curious to discover more.
Very quickly we discovered that despite our differing paths we all had common ground in the form of our love of nature and a respect for our world around us, and after chatting about our respective beliefs, it soon became clear that a visit to the collection of ancient stone structures, known as The Medway Megaliths was going to be our first group event. Whilst looking at my photos from last week, I'd discarded the one above as I'd been trying to capture the pink tone of the rock, but looking again I found this half worn away face instead - an early example of photo bombing perhaps?!


Entrance to the Long Barrow,
Coldrum Stones

We're planning our field trip for June/July so hopefully there will be some more images to share then. To the left is photo from Summer Solstice 5 years ago showing the Coldrum Long Barrow at Trottiscliffe (Pronounced locally as Trosley if you should feel inclined to go looking for them!) which we also hope to visit along with another site that is on public property apparently the very elderly owner who has lived there for most of her life offers to lend you divining rods when you arrive as par for the course, should be an interesting visit!

Later in the week, my friend Naomi and myself drove to Folkestone to join some of the members of the Folkestone Pagan Circle who we first met at Beltane, for an evening of learning more about the Goddesses on the Wheel of the Year as well as chanting to each Goddess in each aspect of the wheel  and connecting with Her in Her many different forms and archetypes. How could we refuse such an interesting offer? I really didn't know what to expect, but after arriving in a sudden hail storm, we really were hale and well met.

Sulis Minerva at Bath

We started off by each 'randomly' picking a different Goddess name for each new aspect of the wheel, not a whisper of a corn or grain Goddess came my way, instead I was 'given' Artemis, Sulis and Hekate amongst others, then one by one started to chant, sing or in my case caterwaul Her name and sometimes Her attributes until we were all chanting and singing in some sense of unison or harmony - think Cell Block Tango in Chicago..... and do you know what? It worked, it really did - it felt powerful and amazing! The atmosphere and the energy were completely tangible. In between each aspect whilst picking our next Goddess name we learned about the plethora of different Goddesses and their attributes from all around the world.
Give it a go with some friends if you get the chance and see what happens. Thank you Laura for creating such a powerful and special space for a chanting circle.

The fact that I wasn't working with my 'usual' Goddess as we were chanting meant that I had the opportunity to look at other aspects and names of Her. Last week I shared with you all that I was quite surprised that Kerah whom I had intuited in my meditations felt like a warrior energy and it had really thrown me as I was expecting a more gentle or  a raunchier or sensual energy. It struck me whilst at the chanting circle that a lot of the attributes of Goddesses connected with the Lover such as Freyja and Ishtar are contradictory in the sense that they represent Love and War, so this was a bit of an Aha! moment.
Reflecting on it over the weekend, I have come to the conclusion that to be prepared to fight or battle for someone, something or somewhere you must have to love them or it with a huge degree of passion in the first instance, people describe themelves as passionate about a cause, a charity or saving a building, so for me at least it's all connecting up a bit more.
I've been continuing my usual daily practice, grounding and calling Kerah in whilst lighting candles and incense on my altar, and have really felt the energy around me start to change and grow. My interest in charity, conservation or social injustice awareness and campaigns has always been there but over the last month I've noticed they've made me more angry and upset, making me feel that I need to do more to try to promote and support what's important for humanity, animals, the environment and fight social injustice. I can't change the world, but I can make a difference - that's it,rant over - back off my soap box!

This week I'm hoping that as the moon reaches her final quarter that my meditation journeys will be more fruitful, I'm aware of a cave in the distance when I meditate, the time will come to see what's in there, which is hopefully as moon becomes full, even if I do need to do it in the early hours as I seem to be bidden. Also joy of joys, I am travelling back to Avalon this coming weekend for a day with my circle sisters old and new, excited is an understatement! 

                                          Have a Blessed Week x x



Shadow over the Copse

Sunset over the Orchard

A New Direction

Shameles Stone Selfie!

Well a very interesting week for me!
As you know, I've had several weeks of not quite 'feeling it', feeling as though the energy I was working with was not right for me and what I'm doing, which has been a bit frustrating and also upsetting.

Nestling in a Corn Field

On Monday afternoon I found myself unexpectedly finishing my work day near the North Downs and driving past the site the less well known Little Kits Coty House, known locally as The Countless Stones, just down the hill from the more famous Kits Coty House, where I went for May Day. Usually I've driven past before I've remembered it's there, but on this occassion I was feeling reflective and so I pulled over and went for a wander as well as a wonder. 

These stones  were thought to have originally been a standing structure, but have now collapsed and lie on top of each other,making it almost impossible to accurately count them, hence their local name, also sometimes referred to as the The Devil's Stones due to their fiendish nature! I counted them 4 times and made it 17 twice and 18 twice - the information says there are 20! It had been pouring on and off all day, but as I arrived the sun came out.


The Countless Stones

I cleared the site of rubbish left by some thoughtless visitors which really irks me generally, but it felt particularly important to tidy it up on this occassion. Once it was tidied,it felt clean again, so I offered up a prayer and blessed the land and the stones, as well as the corn (it had to be didn't it?) in the surounding fields, before settling down on a comfy stone for a simple pure meditation of just clearing my mind of all the minutae and stress of daily life, feeling the sun dance over my face and generally feeling part of the stones and the land, being a 'Major Hippy' as my daughter would say! Whatever I was doing or being, I felt refreshed and reassured that everything would become clear.

My Charity Shop Maraca

The following morning, after carying out my daily grounding practice, I decided to raise some energy before calling Ker in with this lovely instrument I had found in a charity shop, it's a maraca and I particularly love it as it is made from a gourd and filled with seeds or beans, this one is decorated with llamas and possibly a peruvian figure. I can honestly say that I felt a change in energy immediately and when I called Her in, I simply asked 'who are you?' The name Kerah, came to me at once, I was pronouncing this as Ker-ah, and chanting the name over and over again, and had subconciously started shaking the maraca and was chanting and shaking my way round the kitchen! The energy felt amazing, my heart was racing and I was grinning like the proverbial cheshire cat,  but a little negative voice in my head was telling me that I couldn't just stand in my kitchen, shake a gourd  and invent a new Goddess on a Tuesday morning before going to work!
Only one thing for it, I messaged Michelle, who had taught me so much on our Discovery training and started many of us on our own journeys, I told her what had happened and asked for some advice. A reassuring message pinged back via the cyber ether from Avalon telling me to trust my intuition and go with it, and when I explained that I had been 'following' Kathy Jones's retelling in 'The Ancient British Goddess' - she pointed out that Rhiannon or Kerhiannon has a totally different vibe to what I am working with, which sounded glaringly obvious! Of course all our journeys are not the same, we all walk different paths and Goddess loves our diversity.
So Kerah it is then, I have been calling Her in daily and it has been a much more positive experience for me. As well as being the Lover, this energy has a warrior aspect to Her too, not necessarily in a physical way, more like campaigning, becoming more active in standing up for people, places and things you believe in, making a difference - so it will be very interesting to see where that takes me. Perhaps picking up the rubbish was a start?

Purple Beans!

I have managed to get the corn planted on my allotment in the week, and found these amazing funky looking tricolour climbing beans which I planted over the weekend as part of my attempt at the 'three sisters' planting scheme. Everything seems to growing well, the peas are running away with themselves and potatoes are getting bushy. I'm putting my green fingered success down to the lunar planting, Goddess and my continued chanting and singing as I plant and tend the crops, well maybe not my singing!



The Allotment Track

 
This coming week I'm hoping to spend a bit more time meditating and journeying to my Goddess, hopefully down on the allotment if the weather is kind although I'm not sure if  Rio the dog and the other allotment folk are ready for maraca fuelled chanting around the corn... we'll see!!

             Have a Blessed Week x x 



Planting Paths Less Travelled...

Wild Poppies on
Our Allotment

Well another changeable week and I'm not just talking about the weather!  I've still felt like I have been  struggling to connect with Ker at this week and with hind sight I've realised that on several occassions I have rushed my morning rituals of grounding and calling Her in as I try to fit everthing into my busy day. Since then I have tried to take more time to devote to myself and talking with Ker and gradually I feel like I am reconnecting with Her, making the overused term 'quality time' and allowing myself to really feel the words that I am saying rather than just repeating words out of habit.

Self Seeded Cornflowers
in our Front Garden

From my initial meditation journey last year, poppies and cornflowers have been a constant feature and by the end of this week the Wild Poppies have come into bloom on our allotment and these beautiful wild corn flowers that have self seeded in our front garden over the last few years burst into life - seemingly overnight. I took this to be a sign from Her that I am back on track!

On the allotment I have been trying to use Lunar Planting guides when planning when to plant seeds, bulbs and plants. There are lots of additonal factors such as the constellations that are thought to have a bearing on the growth but in the simplest terms the first quarter following the new moon is best for planting above ground crops that have their seeds outside of their fruit such as corn,grain, lettuce and brocolli, whereas the second quarter is good for above ground crops with their seeds in their fruits such as peppers, beans, peas and tomatoes.

Pea Shoots Thriving in their
 Grass Cutting Mulch

After a full moon in the third quarter, energy is thought to drain down and this is thought best for root crops such as potatoes, carrots and onions. The final quarter is deemed best for maintainence work such as pruning, mowing etc as there is less growth due to lower gravitational pulls and less moonlight. It may seem crazy but it's likely that people planted and sowed their crops like this before the advent of modern calenders and weather forecasting. We'll have to see how they fare but they seem to be
thriving at the moment -although these peas were being investgated by a rather large rabbit when we pulled up today! The apples are starting to form were the blossom has died off.
                             

The Native Americans used a method known as the Three Sisters for planting corn, bean and squashes - part of their staple diet. This traditional method uses the corn to grow tall and proud, acting as a cane for the beans to entwine themselves round, whilst the squashes provide ground cover, detering weeds and luxuriating in the leafy undergrowth. These 'Three Sisters' or the Corn Maidens were revered by some tribes and are the sunject of much Goddess lore and mythology. Today we dug out another section to try this method, so I will be planting the corn later this week, the beans and squashes next week.

Whilst digging and weeding today I was humming and singing away asking Her to bless our little patch of land, if I'm feeling brave next time, I might take my drum and maracas to accompany my chants and invocations.
As we are in the far corner, we really do have peace and quiet on our little patch, something that I relish when I've had a busy week. Last week I heard the cuckoo's song, as well as hundreds of other calls that I don't recognise, as well as the drone of insects and an odd bubbling coming from the compost heap, especially after adding some manure and water today. There were some very strange clouds today - the picture to the left doesn't really do them justice but the horizontal ones in the centre looked like the feathers of a huge bird in flight - or maybe I'd just been out in the sun too long!




Taking a Well Earned rest after
 Helping me Dig the New Bed out.

Getting There, Albeit Slowly!

 



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                                       Have a Blessed Week

Lunar Musings

Finally! Apologies for posting so late - it's been one of those weeks.....  Nothing awful - just one of those weeks when nothing has gone to plan and I seem to be going round in circles. My new phone which had some beautiful pictures of walks and the allotment I was planning to post has decided to hide,if not delete them, computers are freezing on me, I've got my appointments muddled, resulting in fasting for a blood test for one morning that was actually the following day and generally far from feeling the warmth and love of the Lover that I have been calling in daily - I've  pretty much been a grumpy old mare. I very rarely read my tarot cards these days but as you can see I chose the moon, and even without looking it up, I know it will tell me of plans going awry, highly charged emotions and irritations......and breathe!

When we started our second Discovery course last year, I started keeping a lunar diary and over last week I have looked back over what I have recorded to look for any patterns, initially we were following our moon time in relation to the lunar cycle - but I have noticed that there is a pattern whereby I am moody and quite tearful around full moon although ironically, this is when I seem most able to deeply meditate - my body's self preservation mechanism or just tired from being woken by the moon light? My energy levels dip as the moon begins to wane and I tend to feel easily stressed, so not a good weekend for photos to be wandering in the ether. On a positive note, the moon wanes further it tends to make me more creative and imaginative so my mind is racing with ideas for a family party later in the year and creative presents for the upcoming 18th, 50th and 70th birthdays of my loved ones, so the love is there - maybe just not radiating at the moment.

Looking a little sorry
for itself...

On the allotment I have been singing to Ker whilst I plant and weed, and as the photos would have shown, my crops are bursting into life, my second planting of peas are shooting up and although the beans were slower to start with they are beginning to unfurl and make their way skyward. The apple trees are still in the last throws of blossom and I have planted wild flower seeds around them and the new plum tree in what I grandly call my mini orchard - all 5 trees- to attract bees and butterflies. 

Looking Good!

The potatoes are growing quicker than I can heap the soil on them as a jacket for the leaves. Sadly no photos of the allotment to share this week but I do have a before and after pictures of the famed Cardoon, it was looking awfully sorry for itself, and I had to cut it down to a few sad outer stalks and not much more than a root ball, but over the last week it has started growing some beautiful sage green silvery leaves and is looking healthy at last. This too should be a Bee and Butterfly magnet when it flowers!

Mother and Foal

A last minute walk for inspiration and replacement photos (my husband may well tell you it was more of  a route march and that I managed to stomp off my foul mood) revealed a beautiful new foal in the Horse fields shyly hiding from us behind his watchful mother, complete with matching marking on his side. I'd seen her just last week, the mothers to be with their ripe swollen bellies  in a separate field from the gents. We then walked on past the bluebell woods and the pathways that I journey through when  I meditate. 

Bluebell Woods and Lady

If I look closely at the tree just right of the centre, I fancy I can see a figure in the gnarly bark and the twists of the tree, the floor wood floor is carpeted with bluebells and woods anemones and you can hear the sounds of animals in the undergrowth, birds nesting, singing and bickering high up in the trees.

I walked through what I call the corn fields, at least that's what they have been for years, the leafy shoots are growing in their uniformly  

planted drills. the wind always rushes through this field and I love to walk through the footpath that runs straight through the centre of it from the horse field one side to the apple and pear orchards, with my hair flying and clothes flapping in the breeze. I always feel close to Her there, whatever time of day I walk the land, in the sun or the moon and whatever my mood! 

I'll leave you with a couple more photos of the fields and orchards and wish you all a blessed and stress free week. 

Footpath looking back into
the horse field

From the orchards looking
through the cornfield

               

                Sunset over the copse    

                                                                      

   

Meditations and Celebrations

                                

Local Pear Blossom

Happy Beltane!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic week and had a chance to celebrate Beltane in whichever way your personal path has taken you.

I am very happy to report that my meditation journeys are much more fruitful. I awoke early Monday morning last week with a start at 3.33 am with the half moon shining brightly into our bedroom and decided to try a meditation journey by moonlight. This time I was no longer alone with just the Maiden, but there were other people whose faces I couldn't see, but finally I could see and not just hear a softly babbling brook and with relief and growing excitement I saw stepping stones across the water covered in soft green moss.
I heard more distinct voices in the fields in front of me, deep throaty laughter and distinctly flirtatious giggles emanated from warm sunny fields and I was

aware of the contented drone of bees. I teetered as I reached the other side of the water and a hand took mine, it was the hand of a beautiful woman with long tumbling curls of burnt copper and a red flowing gown, She smiled and simply said "Come, dance with me".  Thank you KeRhiannon.
Heart thumping, I broke from my journey, Dancing - Me? For those of you that know me personally, you'll know that this brought me out in an immediate cold sweat, not only do I have the proverbial two left feet, I can't think of anything worse to do in public! 

Toasting May Day with Lu

The next day, still feeling daunted I did what 
we all do when up the creek without a paddle,  
I phoned one of my best friends...

I have known this lovely lady since I came 
home from hospital at a week old, and it's 
fair to say that we've had more than your
average share of candle lighting, mooching 
around old stones, ghost hunting, observing 
old and strange customs - just the person!      

A misty Kits
Coty House

May Day/Beltane sunrise dawned albeit mistily at 5.32 to see myself and my friend Lu at Kits Coty stones whilst Kits Coty Morris Dances danced in May Day with traditional dances, many of which re enacted or sang about planting crops and asking for fruitful harvests. A cake and locally sourced Sloe wine was shared out  among everyone and an offering was given to the stones and to the hedgerow to bless the land and the harvest. 

Dibbing the Earth

Whilst shuffling from one foot to another in some kind of rhythm to might not count as dancing, it's a start!
                            

Musicians

After recovering with a 3 hour nap, I cleaned and then cleansed our house with my favourite incense, asking Goddess to remove any negativity and to clear any old energies, before having a huge bubble bath - cherry aroma of course, and using very lotion and potion that I possessed for some very welcome 'me time'. I buffed, lotioned, potioned  and massaged until I was positively shiny and sparkling and then reset my altar with new red candles,flowers and a heady sensual incense. I then called Goddess in as the Lover Rhiannon/KeRhiannon.

Something I made earlier..

On Saturday, myself and Naomi, one of my circle sisters had arranged to go to a Beltane ceremony organised by The Folkestone Pagan Circle. So, I decided that we needed to look the part and needed garlands for our hair, so I made us one each. Neither of us knew what to expect and were a bit anxious as we didn't know anyone at all or even where we were going. 
We really needn't have worried, we found the group just off the coastal park and were warmly greeted by a group of lovely people following every sort of path you could think of! 

Stone circle at dusk

Still a bit self conscious we donned our garlands  and took our places at the stone circle, a new art feature, put in by the local water company about 10 years ago, now used in a much more suitable fashion!  We thoroughly enjoyed a ceremony on the beach itself, calling in Goddess, all the elements, the elementals, sending love and healing to those who requested it or needed it, (so much love sent to the people of Nepal) toasting Beltane and offering thanks before jumping the Beltane fire with our new friends.

Myself and Naomi feeling like flipping
blooming invincible Pagans!

How excited were we to run round the circle to join in this age old custom, curious onlookers forgotten! Thank you to all the lovely people we met. We walked back to the car along the sea front, head garlands in situ,nodding and smiling at passers by - feeling pretty blooming invincible!

Cer - Ker

All in all a pretty amazing week, I made a lovely Beltane feast for my family, red wine, red onions, red cabbage, red fruit - you get the picture and we toasted a fruitful  and prosperous year, I even got an unexpected 'Blessed be'! 

My day however was topped off earlier, when I was at my friend Lu's House (the lady who came to Kits Coty with me), her 5 year old granddaughter was writing name labels for us all. 

This was her spelling of Claire  - originally I thought it said Cen, when I asked her what it said she said she spelt it out

C-E-R and said it was Care. I am going to say weird now!!

Oh and her name? It's Brooke......

                    Have a Blessed week )0(

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