An Early Imbolc

Budding Daffodils

Imbolc Blessings to you all! 

As the sky lightens earlier and the days grow visibly longer, I can feel the energies changing and see the land begin to awaken once again, life slowly returns to the land with the sun and we celebrate the turn of the wheel as the Maiden draws near and the Crone drifts away until Samhain. Imbolc is a fire festival to welcome the rebirth of Goddess as maiden known to some as Brigid/Brighde/Bride or Brigit's Day, it's name possibly meaning Ewe's milk referring to the lactating Ewe's - one of the first signs of the approaching Spring. Also known as Candlemas - the Christian festival celebrating the Virgin Mary's purification following the birth of Christ. This long standing tradition held that Women needed to be cleansed from the blood and bodily trauma of childbirth and received back for blessings from the Church, often referred to as 'churching' a long time after the child's christening which were held very early on due to high infant mortality. I'd like to think that this was for the exhausted women to recover from the birth in peace and designed as a celebration of the wonder of birth, but I suspect not and much prefer the more earthy celebrations of Imbolc!

A Bracing Cliff Top Walk

Friday found me with a precious day off, so I roped my lovely parents into a drive out to the East Sussex coast for a somewhat bracing walk with their dog Scrumpy, relishing the nostalgia of sitting in the back of their car again as we headed of to some new destination - a park, a castle or a town to explore as we did most weekends of my childhood. We headed for a country park that we used to visit when we stayed nearby in our caravan many years ago - the comparison of remembering feeling like a small child and the changing energy of the Maiden as we approach Imbolc not lost on me at all, the bracing winds on the cliff top blowing away the final vestiges of Crone energy.
The country park is known locally as the Fire Hills due to the flame colours of the Broom and Gorse that grow there - the difference between them being that Gorse (also known as Furze and Whin) has spiny

Windswept Gorse

thorns and Broom doesn't although they share very similar flowers my Dad informed me, and closer inspection revealed him to be right - as usual!  I can remember these cliff tops being ablaze with bright yellow and vivid yellowy-orange blooms  - very apt for the approach of a fiery Goddess at Imbolc! 
Interestingly a bit of research* has suggested that Gorse is one of the plants sacred to the Callieach Bheare in the Scottish Highlands - a Crone associated with Winter and that this 'furze' was milled to provide fodder for horses through the winter, both ideas speak of connections to the changing energy and the qualities and associations

Oak  Marble Galls ?

of my Goddess Ker to me!

As we walked back to the car, we found these - what we thought looked like oak apples on an odd looking tree, a shrivelled oak leaf on this low and sprawling tree the only way to identify it, so unlike an oak that it took us a while to figure out exactly what it was, then trying to decide whether it was an oak apple or an oak marble - apparently this is dependant on the exact type of wasp larvae that grows there and then ejects chemicals over the leaf buds that produce these odd anomalies. Our jury of 3 decided on an Oak Marble Gall albeit with the aid of Google images when we got back to our house! It never fails to amaze me, this level of understanding and  countryside knowledge of my parents (evidence of ancient bloodlines and wisdom in all of us?) along with the fear that in just 1 or 2 generations this could easily be lost along with the green spaces around us. What has already been lost from living memory that we may never rediscover?

Our family's Imbolc celebration started early on Saturday at a  local Italian restaurant to celebrate our son Dan's 21st Birthday - to say that I am amazingly proud of him is an understatement, it has been a truly wondrous journey to learn from him as he has grown from a cheeky, loving boy into a  wonderful man!

It was a typical family occasion, all the generations regaling each other with anecdotes, family legends and antics..... you know the usual embarrassing stories of when I got head stuck in the high chair as a toddler and made myself sandals out of a weetabix box and string ..classy huh?! The conversation turned to the mound in the woods that I found last week and all sorts of theories were suggested and discussed before it was decided to visit the Local Archives in the very near future to pore over old maps and documents to see what was actually there!

Impromptu Altar

Today I cleared my kitchen altar and will leave it empty over night to clear energies as well as smudging the house before starting to adorn it again tomorrow for Imbolc and the Maiden Energy. I took the ivy from the altar down to the woods, ok - to my special mound, that just seems to welcome me, found a spot that felt right - between the Yew and a Holly bush, made a circle of the ivy and lit a candle to give thanks for the peace of the place and to mark the turn of the wheel at such a beautiful site. Again the place was deserted apart from bird song and calls and the gentle sound of the wind playing with the boughs above me, no one came by at all and the energy felt stronger and slightly different to when I had visited last week with Mark, but not in a bad way. It almost as though the woodland was waiting to see what I was going to do next , don't ask me I'm still learning and feel the stir of the maiden energy so anything is possible!

Have a wonderful Imbolc and A Blessed Week xx

*http://www.druidry.org/library/trees/tree-lore-furze

Wicker, Woods, Walks and Windmills...

Well hello! 
I hope you've had a good week?

My Latest View...

Following  some further reading of my current book, I have unleashed my inner wild woman - the wild Goddess inside whilst at work, well when I say She's unleashed I found a suitable image to placate her at work whilst the mundane Claire has to type reports, write risk assessments, balance budgets and deal with the daily minutiae that pays the bills....as suggested I found an image of a beautiful mountain cloaked in heather and a rainbow, which certainly makes me stop and smile during my day, which must be doing something to sate the appetite of my

A Halfway Horse!

restless inner wild woman /Goddess as well as drawing some admiring 2nd glances from others in my office. It certainly helps to feel balanced and grounded during the day instead of pining to escape and roam! 
Last week whilst travelling between my two sites I came across this beautiful wicker horse outside a pub, tethered as though her rider was inside having a swift drink! On making enquiries as to any particular reason for it the landlord told me that it was a 'Halfway Horse' for a Halfway House - the name of the pub a gift by a talented travelling artisan - fabulous to see that old skills and crafts survive and certainly adds to my already amazing drive.
Inspired by heather, hills and wicker horses, I dragged my husband out with me to rediscover more of the local woods, he thought he may have a nasty case of man flu but thankfully  I managed to walk it out of him! A longer than usual walk took us out onto the nearby Greensand Ridge, the 2nd

A Woodland Wonder

highest point in Kent and overlooked the spectacular views of the Weald and an unexpected flock of sheep, the second I've seen recently on former agricultural land! In what felt like the middle of nowhere we came out of a footpath and found a static caravan complete with an elderly lady inside watching her tv and waving at us, surrounded by home made arches and trellises clad with trailing plants and vines - it really was quite magical and I couldn't help but think that this was someone who felt totally at home with their surroundings in the woods and with

nature, I think Mark was getting worried in case I get any ideas.....how right he is! 
We also discovered some infant snowdrops and daffodils nestled safely amongst larger plants and shrubs, shyly but proudly heralding the advent of Imbolc and return of the light as the wheel turns again. The bitter dark greens of holly and ivy are slowly given way to a brighter fresher green of new growth and thickening grass overtaking the bright berries on their stark stalks reflecting the imminent birth of the maiden Goddess as the crone relinquishes her reign until Samhain again. I can almost see the land stretching, yawning and coming out of her deep sleep.
About half a mile on, we ventured into some woodland, that stirred some dormant synapses and felt vaguely familiar, amongst a cultivated and partially felled coppiced area was a considerable mound of earth that I remember my brother talking about, I'm sure he said it was known locally as 'Mount Sinai' and I know it was the place to go BMXing locally

Earthworks In the Woods

in the 1980's! I instantly loved the atmosphere and energy there. The top is flat and has a ring with a dip in the middle and on the other side I was delighted to find a large yew amongst the coppiced Hazel - it's bigger than it looks in the photo! I knew straight away that it felt special to me and later when we walked away, Mark turned to me and said as much to me and that he knew it would be my place! I can't explain the connection I felt - happy, old, new, familiar, excitement all rolled into one!
Some research into the site late into Sunday night was at first frustrating, suggesting earthworks of troops stationed nearby in the Napoleonic Wars and Beacon sites during the era of the Spanish Armada - all fabulous history but disappointingly nothing remotely Goddessy or pagan to explain my intense connection to it! 
However after posting some

Odd Place For A Yew Tree...

photos to facebook one friend remembered going there and was told it was an old burial mound, but I could find nothing to corroborate this although I know they have found many ancient artefacts along this ridge dating back 1000s of years, then a dear friend of nearly 20 years who it emerged was actually a distant cousin last year said that she used to walk there with her Nan as a little girl which peaked my interest. 
We share our Motherline about 140 years back ...could this be the pull for me, seeing as we both have deep roots here? Possibly, this has left me pondering many questions whether my ancestors walked here, whether it was a old burial site as suggested and why has the Yew been allowed to stay and sit so happily in residence? Even if there was nothing significant here yesterday I came to the happy conclusion that both our descendants will walk there and our maternal line can go forward, something that I had never really paid too much thought to before - children, grand children, great grandchildren and so on walking where my distant cousin and I have trod, listening quietly for a stir of memory or a whisper of us -quite surreal! 
A further search has found the site was known prior to this as Windmill Mound or Windmill Ridge - now that is exciting!  What do windmill's mill? Corn, grain, wheat.... the very essence of Ker! I can't prove anything but that does explain the shape and size and would more than explain my instant connection.... You can guess where I'll be found when I get a spare hour next!

Have a Blessed Week

A Spirited Wassail

A Temporary Veil

I wasn't going to start with the weather this week, really I wasn't, but during the night Goddess cloaked  the land in a thin veil of the white sparkly snow and it was a rather beautiful sight to wake up this morning - especially as we knew it wouldn't last too long! 
So that's the weather out of the way, what else have I been up to this week? 
I seem to have spent the week marvelling at amazing sunrises and sunsets on my way to and from work, as well as doing a bit of work in between! 

Linton Hill

I really love my job and all the fabulous characters - both clients and staff that I work and wouldn't change it for the world, these are the people that happily embraced Gabriel Roth's Endless Wave in 'movement to music' - (we can't call it a dance session, as we're not trained dance teachers, just in case you were wondering) and not only humour my rapt descriptions of sunrises on the way in, but share them with me, such as this point on the journey in that I share with one of my team Emma, we often mention it's beauty and admire the sun through the trees. So it was with delight this week I managed to find a quiet enough moment to snap the sun through the trees. 

As much as I love it there are days when I'd rather be at home or roaming around the fields and woods, and sometimes struggle to weigh

up my work/spiritual balance during the week, rushing around with work, children, life and remembering to find enough of the right time for Goddess - Imagine my delight when I found this little gem hiding under some boots I was looking for last week, I'd bought it in a charity shop and forgotten about it. I was even more delighted when I started reading it and found that it's authoress Zsuzsanna Budapest (whose book The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries sparked my interest and set me on my path over 30 years ago) is wickedly funny and has the whole work/spiritual balance firmly in perspective - a suitable midway between ball busting workaholic, uber-focussed career woman and lentil proffering commune dwelling free spirit. I'll discuss it in more detail when I've finished reading it, but so far I'm acknowledging my wild woman and finding her a place to sit with me while I'm working...

The highlight of my week has undoubtedly been the Wassail I went to with my friends  David and Kie last night at Pevensey. We had to stop the

car on the way down to take time out to admire the amazing fiery sunset, all of taking photos and bathing in the orange light, much to the confusion of passing motorists! Traditionally a Wassail is a ceremony involving singing and drinking, intended to awaken the apple trees, scare of evil spirits and ensure a bumper harvest for the orchard particularly prevalent in cider producing regions, such as Kent and Somerset. 

This particular Wassail was held at the Oak and Castle Pub (always a good start) - adjacent to the ruins of Pevensey castle and was hosted by a locally based drumming group - Pentacle Drummers . Before the event started although the castle was closed by then, we took advantage of the remaining

Pevensey Castle

twilight to explore the grounds surrounding the ruins. Taking a few minutes to ground myself again, we explored the dark grounds independently of each other, there were certainly a few odd spots in there and on more than one occasion I had to tell my hammering heart, that it and the rising hairs on the back of my neck would not get the better of me and that I was going to take some photos! At one point on the bridge by the main entrance, as a noise snapped right beside me I had to close my eyes and envisage Goddess walking right beside as I walked back to join the others, determined not to look back! There was another spot by the old Roman wall where there was a 8 or 10 drop, a woman's voice in my head was insistently telling me to move away before I fell in.... regrouped and not unmoved by the experience we headed for the pub and a sustaining mulled cider, as you do! After discussing our exploration it was comforting to know that the others had identical feelings in the same places!

The brilliant Pentacle Drummers started the Wassail off with 

Tribal Unity

some wicked powerful and energetic drumming that tangibly raised the energy in the old market place in front of the pub and echoed against the walls of the castle, resonating through us. It felt both primitive and natural at the same time, I could imagine my ancestors listening to this round many a fire! This was followed by dancing from a Tribal Unity that infused many different dances, cultures and traditions, influences from India, Middle East, Romania and Asia just for a start - it even had old two left feet me swaying my hips to the music! After this we had the Hunter's Moon Morris

Hunter's Moon Morris

Dancers complete with weird mist in the photo and then Smoke and Mirrors - Fire Dancers before the actual Wassail. Usually this would be in an Orchard or grove but this year a young apple tree was the centre of attention in the ceremony in the Market Place before it's eventual planting in the pub garden which all felt quite fitting. In a circle the 4 quarters were called in as well as Goddess and the Gods and we sang a Wassail Song with some gusto by torchlight and lantern light (the proper old fashioned sort, no batteries) before the apple tree was blessed and toasted by everyone 

Wassail

in the circle with some lovely local cider, the cry of 'Wassail!!!!!!' replied with by a lusty 'Drink Ale!!!' 

It really was a thoroughly brilliant evening, the performers were all going to do another slot each, but having observed the moon with it's beautiful rainbow halo, a reflection of forming ice crystals, we decided to start our journey back as it would take over an hour and it was absolutely freezing! My feet had just about thawed out when I got home, full of plans for my very own wassail next year on the allotment with my 4 mini trees, maybe less fire dancing though....

Well those keen readers amongst you will no doubt be marvelling at my early post! Tonight we have our first online moot at my local group - Maidstone Pagans that I admin for so I need to get myself organised, not sure how this is going to pan out, but I'm sure you'll hear about it next week! I took so many photos that there was no way they could all go into my blog, so I'm going to add them to my facebook page if you are interested!

      Find me here :  https://www.facebook.com/walkingwithmygoddess/ 

Have a Blessed Week x x 

Inspiration on Rainy Days

A Rare Burst of Sun Through the Clouds....

Well it's certainly been a very bleak week weather wise here - how very British that must sound! Fortunately no flooding for us but day after day of rain has left vast pools in sodden fields and rivulets of clay coloured water have covered the roads, in fact the view from through the window wherever I have been all week seems to have been blurry.  Apart from one glorious morning, Wednesday I think where I had to stop to take a photo of the sun boastfully bursting through the clouds with ill conceived confidence, the photo doesn't do it justice but it was that spectacular that I felt the urge to pull over to capture it. Fortunately there were no passengers to witness my acts of eccentricity that morning, although many are now used to impromptu and bumpy swerves into lay bys. Brave daffodils, snowdrops even our passion flower and rhododendron appear to be fooled by the mild temperatures and making an early entrance, I fear they may be in for a shock......  
I've been contemplating the allotment and how I'm going to work with it again this year, trying to learn from my mistakes made and lessons learnt last year. These mainly being that I need to allow more time for it, need to prepare the ground better and to decide to grow fruit and veg that I need and will be used throughout the year, possibly planting with a better idea of crop planning, but hey you live and learn! Bearing in mind that we were pretty much beginners last year we had a fair yield for the time and effort we had put in. Reckon it must have been those incense sticks and whispered requests for blessings to Ker whilst I was planting, as it really wasn't my green fingers, so back to the very  start and prepare the land properly, that's going to kill me!

Without the Christmas tree the house

Ivy Clad Altar

felt so bare, I took the holly branch and mistletoe away from the altar, and have left it to dry right out, I'll use it for my Beltane fire  in May to link in the changing wheel of the year and to offer it back to the land and my Christmas tree will be cut into logs - hopefully this year they'll survive to solstice - one to made into a decoration of some kind and the others to be burnt at Yule, unlike this year where a certain pyromaniac husband 'may' have accidentally burnt them at a barbecue! As my altar looked bare I found some ivy in our garden choking another plant so decided to split them up. I had a reluctance to do it initially as it felt too

Altar Decorations Representing Ker

'christmassy' and then laughed at my thoughts that leaving Christmas decorations up past twelfth night would be bad luck! A lingering superstition from a happy christian childhood, a comment, not a criticism, all the while reflecting that my Goddess would love her altar adorned with her vines, like I do her fruit and flowers in the summer. It also occurred to then that I very rarely have  a Goddess figure on my altar, is that too a lingering nagging doubt about false idols? Very likely! So now I'll be on the look out for something that calls to me and reflects Ker and I already know it will the last thing I'll be looking for and somewhere where I least expect it! In the meantime I decided to add these pretty glass dishes and  decorated pebbles to my altar, I love the design on this one, to me it speaks of the returning light, the 8 turns of the wheel - all the sabbats as well as representing 

Making Use of the Fir Cones

the glowing colours of my Goddess in her summer glory, where I first met her. For some unknown reason I also searched for a dragonfly brooch and ornament I had to complete my altar. Knowing that this would be for a reason, I did a little research only to find that I was reading about connections to superstitions, change and self realisation - of course!  Just jumping back to my thoughts on having no Goddess figure as such on my altar, I've literally just laughed aloud at myself, what I have instead are stones and trees to represent her and as we now, girl do I love a tree or a stone! There you go, when I'm not looking for it...
Still inspired by the thoughts of decorating the house with what's to hand and what speaks to me of the land and Goddess, I filled a large wooden bowl with remaining pine cones, twigs and bark with a few drops of scented oil on them and placed the remaining candle from the holly wreath in the middle as a centre piece for the coffee table, why should fir cones with a sprinkle of silver  and a dusting of white not be a beautiful adornment later into the year? They too can join my Beltane fire...  

The Start of  Wheel of Memories

My journey with Ker has also made me look more deeply into how we treat the land, especially recycling and reusing things, I've been keeping ribbons, pretty boxes, bought gift bags that can be reused instead of wrapping paper and always recycle jars for my jams and chutneys, so as  I washed up a rather attractive coffee jar to reuse I immediately found the perfect home for it and have hopefully  set a new tradition in our house.... Facebook users may have seen a rather lovely idea for the new year to write down happy memories, achievements, gratitudes etc and store them in a pretty jar to remember next year, with my own spin on it I decorated the jar with the peeled off snowflake stickers

I had used on the windows and started writing memories to cherish at this years winter solstice - our first one being a happy memory of Yule 2015, my plan is to add at least a memory a week and to add a decoration of some kind to mark each Sabbat throughout the year, be it a coloured ribbon, sticker, charm or dried flower. This also means

Finally Being Used to Keep Memories Safe

I've brought myself to use a beautiful notepad that Sophie bought me back from a school trip to Germany about 5 years ago, that was too nice to use and has been waiting patiently for it's moment of glory on my bookshelf! 
Let's hope I have lots of wonderful memories and gratitudes to safely store in there throughout the year.

I'm off to my first ever wassail next weekend, before you know it I'll be planning one on my mini orchard of 4 trees on our allotment, wait... now that's an idea!

 Have a Blessed Week x x x

Realisations and Aspirations

Divine Colouring...

Wow it's been a really windy week, and I'm not just talking about the brussel sprouts and the butter nut squash and lentil casserole! Hurricane Frank has been whirling around loudly and violently, with disastrous effects in some places, for us here in Kent it has thankfully just meant some wild and hair raising winds (literally). For the first half of the last week I enjoyed taking advantage of my week off work and enjoying the 'bracing' air in the back garden when I have my first cuppa of the morning much to the surprise of next door's cat who has stared at me beadily every morning from the safety of the fence. We have one of those melodic wind chimes - sounds of mercury or something, that are supposed to be actual notes and I've even noticed the different tunes the varying force and direction of the wind has produced on different days! To feel the wind lifting my hair and the sound it makes as it whooshes through the trees and rattles the branches has helped me feel more connected to the earth again, well that's before the rain came back again! This week I've made a conscious effort to find some time to relax, enjoying my remaining days off after

My Zen Garden

a wonderful but hectic week with all the family from near and far, I have to say I really enjoyed my adult colouring book - a stocking filler from my husband - obviously the first one I did was of Goddess! It was just one of the many presents that I was so thoughtfully given by friends and family that don't necessarily follow or understand my path, but went the extra mile to find a lovely gift that can become part of my journey such as mead, candles, handmade jewellery, and this beautiful Zen Garden that one of my best friends bought me (she of the candle holder at solstice fame) even though she really doesn't agree with my views and often ponders about my sanity! What a tolerant and loving world we could live in......

Moonlit Woods

Despite personally coming to the understanding and conclusion that the new year varies wildly depending on your personal beliefs, Winter Solstice seems a fabulous end and starting for me, I have no problems at all with joining in with the Gregorian calendar New Year with friends and family, so we braved the slightly soggy walk along to the next village, relishing the chance to see in the new year and celebrate with old and good friends, who equally think I'm a bit eccentric, but love me anyway! Once at their party, I was almost instantly rewarded with a lovely lady whom I had met just once before, approaching me and saying - "ah you're the blog lady!" Cue a few weird looks and a fantastic hour long chat on blogs, Goddess, crystals, allotments, art and creativity, future art projects, spirits, witches, finding yourself, trees, stones and nature....you name it! On the way back we walked via the woods, and were accompanied by the waning but luminous

Looks Like Someone Was With Us....

moon and a plethora of stars, as we walked down our lane we stopped to stare at Orion and The Bear (*note to self -add 'spend more time star gazing and learn more constellations' to your to do list!)  I was attempting to take a photo of the moon - for some reason the zoom wouldn't work so after taking a few and realising it looks the size of a marble, I gave up as we were nearly home, I had a bit of a shock when I went through my camera the following day especially as there is no sign of this mist in the frame before or after..... I thought it was my laptop screen to start with!

Muddy Field Portal

I've been itching to get out on the land this week, partly to feel connected with it and also to build some kind of outside altar to Goddess, but we've had so much rain I've not managed to. Earlier today, clock ticking down ominously on my time off - back to work tomorrow, I was having a huff and puff about the rain, and checking the weather I realised if I waited for some sun so that I could go for a walk through the fields I'd have to wait until Wednesday. With a wry smile it occurred to me that I hadn't seen the fields in the rain, all wet and muddy, blessed by the downpours that nourish the land and make it so green. I needed a bath and hair wash anyway (not that I was going for a naked ramble you understand!) so donning my old coat and wellie boots I set out huddling into my hood, wishing I had windscreen wipers on my glasses and splashed my way down the lane - jumping in all the puddles like a big kid, much to the amusement of an elderly rambler who passed the time of day, waved his walking poles at me before suddenly disappearing from view along the path.....

Boot and Paw Prints

Not that this was going to stop me, although the mud underfoot nearly did for me on a couple of occasions - a very uncomfortable cuddle with a hedge to avoid the electric fence - I wasn't chancing it in the rain and didn't fancy the barbed wire much either ! I stood on the track in the middle of the corn/bean field and watched the boot and paw prints in the mud fill up with rain listening to the sound of the rain patter down on my hood, saw the wind chasing dark clouds across the sky and quite frankly wondered why I'd never walked out in the rain before....

Lichen and Moss Adorning The Stile

On the walk back I saw this beautiful lichen on the stile along with the moss, a sure reminder that spring will soon be here, green will start returning to the land, hopefully the first signs of life will survive any cold, bitter weather or snow we may still get - although I think this lichen will make it whatever weather comes our way. Arriving back home soggy, muddy and inspired, a variety of thoughts and contemplations surfacing and new ideas for projects fighting for room in my head, I warmed myself back up in a hot bath with a solitary candle watching the sky darken through the window, realising that I hadn't grounded or spoken to Goddess, I took the opportunity to do it there and then as the light faded and birds chattered as they settled in their nests in the eaves, the water seemed fitting for my day.

The Foals Have Grown...

I emerged nearly an hour later refreshed and soothed, plans forming for the forthcoming months for the allotment, art and writing..... roughly plotted and charted around the more mundane, realising how little I've walked along my path, how much more  there is to discover and aspire to, it's a bit like moving on from reception class, thinking that 'Big School' is the be all and end all only to find that you've only seen a fragment of the beauty and read a sentence of the knowledge there is to explore in the book of my life!

It's going to be a Busy Year! Have a Blessed Week x x