Wintery Celebrations

Beautiful Sun Setting in the week

So, what do you do when you've planned to get up early on a Saturday morning and go for a good old roam around the countryside to reconnect and watch the earth wake up, when you discover you didn't set an alarm, you've slept in until nearly 9 and it's piddling down? It's a bit like the old lemon scenario you can gripe or make lemonade. A bit early for lemonade, so I chose tea and a curl up with some feline friends and catch up on just a bit more reading instead then, whilst making a mental to do list. Catching up on things that I keep meaning to get on with, like...er Blog - it's been a while hasn't it?

I've come to the conclusion that I hibernate like a bear or prehistoric ancestor, that emerges from the cave  back into the light yawning and scratching a mop of wild tangled hair, well here I am in all my Goddess bathed glory - PJ clad and attempting to throw something semi coherent together. Certainly not a spring time Goddess that flows through my veins! Having said that I was super busy over Yule/Christmas - blessed with visits from all my family and friends, seriously I went back to work in the new year for a rest.

Solstice Table

We had a beautiful meal for Solstice, I've pinched a couple of my Lulu's photos (She of Beltane Morris Dancing Fame). I decorated fir cones with egg white and sugar like  you do cocktail glasses to make them look snowy without adding anything chemically to them as we were going to burn them later and added them to brown card luggage tags to make place cards with a dual purpose. Much hilarity at the at table I can tell you, my lovely parents came and were on top form, myself and David, our son's lovely man had finished work early and enjoyed a few proseccos whilst we were getting it all ready... After dinner we wrote thanks for 2017 and wishes for 2018 on the back of the luggage tabs and braved the elements to have a magickal fire, whilst Mum and Lulu threatened to dance round the garden before we threw our fire cones into it and sent our Solstice thanks and wishes and thanks to Goddess or whoever we individually believe in. Simple, fun and wonderful.

 

 

Magickal Fire

Last weekend saw us off wassailing again, everyone does it differently it seems, everyone furiously debates who, when, where and how but our usual one is good enough for me. Listening to the rhythmic drumming resound back from the castle walls in waves that vibrate and resonate through your whole body, the sound of the old instruments accompanying the morris dancers  as the stepped their circles round, all lit by hundreds of torches I felt tribal energy and could easily imagine the simple satisfaction and awe of the ancestors as they took part in these simple farming and abundance rituals asking their Goddess of the land for a good crop, offering up bread and wine in return. Torch Light Procession Feeling big and brave, me and my lovely friend Maria went exploring in the dark and brooding twilight grounds of Pevensey Castle. Every single time I've been there, I've felt the eerie presence of something, Maria had never been before and seeing as she too is an intrepid paranormal investigator, I confidently offered to give her an impromptu tour in the dark. No surprise she too felt the same feelings of dread and fear in the same places.  Spot The Orb! Walking back as nonchalantly as possible we heard the strains of a bagpipe close by...turning our heads in slow motion we looked at each other, confirming that we could both hear it. Through the darkness we could just make out a shadow moving by the castle wall, convinced we were about to encounter a headless ghostly piper or some such apparition, we both jumped as it gave an almighty bellow wail and cough and a Morris dancing musician came into focus in the gloom as he finished his warm up and strolled through the exit back to the market place for the wassail. We moved pretty damn quickly for two strapping lasses in walking boots back to the pub and civilisation.... oh how we laughed! Well that's a quick catch up of how I've been celebrating the short days and dark nights of winter, taking the chance to look inwards whilst the Earth sleeps, listening out for the Crone in the rushing call of the wind and seeing her in the stooped withered trees. I've taken the opportunity to make time to read my way through some of my reading pile, created a warm nest in my little crafting room and started on some of my plans that were permanently on the back burner. it looks like I'll be looking forward to the fertile spring, to celebrating Imbolc and watching my ideas take shape and grow.                                         Have a Blessed Week x x