Written In The Stars

So I wasn't planning on writing a blog today, not at all, I was intending to sort out two funerals instead. No one panic! They're mock ones for me to have a practice at honing my skills, now that drum roll purleease.... I've finished my Funeral Celebrancy training! Hurrah!
My lovely friend Laura has very kindly shared her late Grandma's memories with me to practice my eulogy writing skills and my equally lovely friend Jen has kindly agreed to be 'killed off' so that I can practice a virtual funeral via zoom. Not as in the human sacrifice you understand, I don't demand that level of attention to detail! 
Anyway that's what I had planned as I sat having a cuppa on the patio, but Goddess had other plans for me and I long ago learned to go with the flow and see where my journey takes me....

Those of you that follow either @walkingwithmygoddess on Instagram or Walking With My Goddess on Facebook might have seen the beautiful poem above written by the awesome Nikita Gill that I shared this morning already. I save 'pretties' as I see them and share them as the day and my thoughts take me. So this one caught my attention this morning and a little bit of research later I discovered how much truth is in it. I mean I knew scientifically we were stardust and earth, but not how much. The proportions astounded me, along with connotations and connections for us all here on Earth since the dawn of time.
So here's the science bit... (Maybe I should have listened more in Chemistry)

Chemical Make Up - Courtesy of the Natural History Museum

So sitting there pondering the world over my cup of Lady Grey this morning, it struck me that our ancient ancestors knew far more than we thought possible. For millennia, we have looked to the skies and to the stars in the night skies, we have venerated and worshipped the celestial bodies that we have seen there. Gods and Goddesses have given their names to stars, planets and constellations, some believed that Heaven was there before a vision of a Christian Heaven was ever articulated and believed that the stars were are home before and after life, and we weren't wrong. Even if we didn't know the scientific facts, our hearts, souls, spirits and intuition, our ancient wisdom was right. 

When I was a child and a beloved relative or  pet died, they became stars in the sky, "look for the brightest star" my Mum and Dad said "that will be them, they are twinkling their hellos to you". I believed it then and I still do. I said the same to my children, we always looked for the brightest star, always finding the North Star or maybe even Venus and the magic passed to another generation. Nothing new there, the conscious thought stream of our connection to the stars is as old as time throughout the world:

Image Courtesy of www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/556687203924132460/

I've certainly bought many a sympathy card with that or similar words on, and in a way it's true.

Nearly all cultures have Goddesses (and Gods) of the  Stars - Arianrhod, Inanna/Ishtar, Nut, Taonoui, Gendenwitha, Ausrine, Ch'aska and Asteria to name a few. There are more as I found out...

So, as part of my Funeral Celebrancy course, I had to do a meditation to meet my plant ally, hmmm. I love a meditation, and this was one I hadn't contemplated let alone tried before. Wondering how this would I work I sat down and followed the guided meditation. I ended up in some kind of root chamber, with a plant I didn't know with star shaped red flowers circling and entwining tendrils round my wrist, before suddenly whooooshing and stretching up to the heavens, floating around in the stars before coming back again and feeling a tad purplexed. These things are never simple are they? So I set about recording what I had 'seen' and researching it. After a quick google, identifying the flower was easy, a scarlet pimpernel.. Oh yeah, flipping great I thought, how is that going to lead me forward in my journey as a funeral celebrant? At this point I pulled an oracle card from my Angels and Ancestors deck.

Now this has popped up before, my interest and curiosity peaked a little, this card talks of the Star Ancestors named by Native Americans, of otherworldy support and friends in the stars who will support you, of cosmic guidance  and being on your true path. Ok sounds promising. That promising in fact, that the same card then came out of the pack for the consecutive 3 days!

Some research on the Scarlet Pimpernel (not the elusive variety) revealed some astonishing mythology and folklore, or perhaps I should say ancient wisdom. Other names for it include Poor Man's Weatherglass and Shepherd's Barometer due to the fact the petals close up if bad weather is coming and as the day draws to a close. It's magical uses include healing, second sight, protection, transformation and consecration - all pretty apt for my new path and it's associated Deity is Maia. 

Maia? Quick google - mother of Hermes, blah, blah, Greek blah,blah, one of the Seven Sisters, hmm, Pleiades, wait what - isn't that a star cluster? Yes it sure is. Situated  in the North West of the constellation of Taurus, it's one of the most easily recognisable in the sky. Thank the Goddess there isn't a star named Scarlet Pimpernel or my head might really have exploded. Maia is also a Roman name for Midwife, Wise One and Grandmother. So all of a sudden that makes a bit more sense, lots of interesting strands to explore and digest, to weave into my journey and carry me forward. 

So bit of star gazing coming up for me I think and some time for meditating further on the gifts that Goddess has shown to me. It's not coincidence that these things reveal themselves to me as they do, I used to say 'a weird thing happened', but I don't anymore, I just roll with it, and now I can honestly say it's written in the stars!

Have a Blessed Week x x 

References:

https://www.instagram.com/nikita_gill/?hl=en

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/are-we-really-made-of-stardust.html

Gifts From The Goddess

Sun behind the clouds in nearby Hunton..

Weird, dark  and scary old times we're living in right now aren't we? I hope you're all well and safe wherever you are. As expected, there are some people are moaning but the general consensus amongst my family and friends is that if this is the crisis of our lifetime and if this is the war we have to fight, we're grateful it doesn't involve sending our loved ones away to kill and maim each other like our grandparents had to, and we're blessed that our part - for the most of us, is just staying in and staying put, which is a very small part to play.
Himself is still out trucking to keep our infrastructure supplied and ticking along and whilst we had to close the winter shelter a week earlier than planned, I'd already got a new part time job arranged which will still involve heading out as it's care work, but hey ho. For the most part, when I'm not delivering shopping to Mum and Dad, through their double glazed 'air lock' porch',  I'll be tucked up safe and warm. 

Beautiful Hellebores in Mum and Dad's Garden

That has been the worst part for me, waving a bit forlornly at them through their patio doors - especially on Mother's Day and Mum's birthday, the day after, although I was blessed to be able to sit on their patio in the sun the other day and 'chat' with them through the glass in their self- isolation. A bit of shouting was involved but it worked!! 
In times like these, I'm glad that I'm a glass half full kind of person, it's not that I don't see the dangers, the worries, the bad news, nor is it that I choose to ignore them. The truth is I'm a disgustingly and annoyingly positive soul, which has been pointed out to me on more than one occasion, I'll deal with all the bad things but literally can't help but choose to keep all the things that are joyous high on my agenda and remember and honour them for what they are - little gifts from my Goddess...

Jen's Daffodils

Daffodils, these beauties in my garden make me think of my wonderful friend Jen, she wrote a hilarious poem about their glorious yellowness and just looking at them makes me smile and recall her reciting it with her mischievous smile!

I've had the time to remember to charge my crystals in the light of sun and the darkness of the new moon, just looking at them made me ooh and arr at their colourful and magical wonder and shiny splendour.

Oooh Shiny!!

Lots of little things are the big things right now: discovering Zoom and having face to face video online chats with my family and friends, a Family online quiz night arranged for next weekend, a virtual dinner party last night - we all got dressed up, put our heels and slap on, grabbed a glass of something nice and huddled round our phones and laptops to chat a load of twaddle to each other! Warm cat cuddles and kisses in my bed this morning from Old George who has braved an operation and made it through when he might not have done and sitting on a covered patio watching the hail fly past! 

All little gifts and wonders that I might not have taken the time to see or experience before.

Little gifts from the Goddess to keep me sane whilst I stay in to be safe.

Keep looking for yours, they are there.

Have a Blessed Week and Stay Safe x x 

Absolutely Shameless

Courtesy of NeemSanctuary : https://www.facebook.com/neemsanctuary/

A dear friend posted this meme in our Moon Circle group page last week and it really struck a chord with me. It's so joyously simple - there is that old adage that a problem shared is a problem halved and as long as you don't tell your new best frenemy and they share it all over social media before you've even had a chance to regret your honesty, it really is true.

I was lying there last night in the wee small hours between a snoring husband and cat thinking how very true this is. Many is the time I've laid there tossing and turning, consumed with some worry or remembered embarrassment that the shame demons have gleefully resurrected from 1995 to torment me with, not last night though, I was just being profound (check me out) and crafting sage words for this blog that I cannot for the life of me remember this morning! Luckily for me, himself is very good with dealing with tears at 2 am, cuddling them away with a cheerful and devoted "come here you narna!" but of course he also works away.....

Our Moon Circle was last Friday and before we had even started the conversation turned to a let's call it a 'romantic encounter' of the week that was a bit of a disaster to say the least, cue supportive comments and understanding murmurs all round, when I say that I mean laughter and shrieks of delighted shock, followed by "that happened to me!" and a noisy screeching crescendo of similar tales and salacious confessions. We laughed, cried, whooped, snorted and wept with hilarity and glee, very thankful for the wide range of feminine hygiene products that are available these days. the embarrassment and shame demons took one look at us and scarpered into the night, tails firmly between their legs.

Source unknown - happy to add!

All jokes aside, these were embarrassing situations rather than one of utter shame and humiliation and many of these were being viewed through the kaleidoscope of time and acceptance, you can't merely laugh off the visceral emotions grief, domestic abuse or rape for example. Somewhere further down the line though, beginning to unpack the burden of shame into the warm supportive light of a circle built on mutual respect and non judgement, fortified by understanding, caring and empathy which has evolved into love and sisterhood has a balm all of it's own and can allow deeper healing to start. Even if that is only holding a safe and sacred space and being witness to the emotions and pain, hand holding and passing the tissues - we've done plenty of that in our circle too, sometimes there are no words just the listening and honouring of the pain or events, watching as it is woven in and out of the tapestry of life.

Venus of Willendorf Photo: Wikimedia Commons GNU FDL

Last night however I amused the insomniac facet of myself with the Goddess and Shame - wracking my brains for Goddesses who were bowed down with shame for being themselves for being beautiful, clever or wild and free with their love? I couldn't see the Venus of Willendorf being a figure of ridicule for her voluptuousness. For their acts of retribution or revenge?  I struggled, most decent Goddesses worth their salt seemed to have roared their love, their anger or vengeance from the top of the nearest mountain without a shred of self consciousness. Certainly the earlier civilisations seemed to have been oblivious (hurrah!) to the concept of body shaming, slut shaming and all the other toxic restraints that modern society and the media inflicts on itself.

Aidos and Nemesis looking a bit judgy....  

www.theoi.com

I found a Greek Goddess Aidos, goddess of shame, modesty, humility and respect who was also confusingly a concept of shame and was considered a personification of it. She seemed to be more about honourable behaviour than judginess, though interestingly she was a close companion of Nemesis - Goddess of vengeance and retribution and they were definitely more about pointing the finger outwards rather than inward reflection. Hmmm something to ponder upon!

Courtesy of Gloria Steinem/Enlightened Consciousness

I was just considering how to finish and this popped up, it's either serendipity and the work of the Goddess or Big Brother really is watching me. Either way it sums it up for me. Those stories told and retold in safe havens of trust not only start to send the shame and humiliation demons packing in defeat but also help to heal more than just the person telling releasing their burden of shame, but also those who have felt it in the past and those who will feel it in the future.

Have  a Blessed Week x x 

2019 - A Year of Change

So 2019 is almost over, not sure where that went! I always find New Year a strange time looking back and looking to the future simultaneously, this year is no different.

It was a year of changes, sadly a huge one as we lost my Husband's wonderful Dad, Ben after a short illness in October, so Solstice / Yule / Christmas was tinged with sadness and poignant reminders with it's missing place at the table and it's  bittersweet  memories, not least of all this cushion I made for himself from Ben's old Bowls Shirt.....

My father in law was hilarious and even at the very end of his illness - the dreaded C Word, he was as mischievous and quick thinking as ever. I spent a lot of time with him, time that became so precious it was almost magical, he knew he was dying, we knew he was dying and you know what he was ok with it, more so than us, we talked about it and even joked about it. One evening when I arrived to visit him, he was dozing and I hadn't realised he had woken until he took my hand, telling me he hadn't long left, I smiled and agreed, he asked the time - it was ten past five, then he asked what time I was heading off, about half past five, I replied, quick as a flash he said "Well I should be ok until then!" with a cheeky grin.... His funeral was a mirth filled celebration of his life, all his friends and family sharing funny stories of a life well lived, just perfect.

Some Homemade Yule Gifts

We celebrated Solstice and Christmas though, plenty of my infamous Gin Infusion recipes made an appearance and gave a few sore heads and I got even more arty farty this year which pleased my inner creative Goddess.

Even the Gents didn't Escape the Glut of Body Butter and Lip Balm..

This year has heralded some other big changes too, I started working as a registrar for weddings which I absolutely love and plan to carry on and expand on my knowledge in 2020 as well as me deciding to quit my other full time job and make a radical change. Scary wasn't the word, terrifying might be! 

Whilst I was sat with Ben one evening he said he was ready to go and he didn't have a single regret about his life, that he'd done what he wanted to do, been where he wanted to go etc and I started wondering would I say the same? The answer quite simply was no, I enjoyed my job but I was stuck in my comfort zone, thinking about what I wanted to do but not doing it, scared to make the leap. That night I went home and meditated on what I really wanted to do, went into work the next day and handed my notice in. I told my father in law who was a bit surprised but encouraged me to do what was right for me. 

I gave myself two months and applied for a temporary part time job at the Winter Churches Homeless Shelter (kind of ironic but hey ho). 

I told Ben I had applied and he was delighted, but sadly he died about an hour before the interview, I held myself together and went anyway. I got it, the very same day. I hope he knows, I'm sure he does. So I am delighted to announce that I am now a part time temporary project worker there! A generous leaving gift from colleagues and service users paid for part of my funeral celebrancy course and it was once again very generously topped up by himself and my parents for Christmas. So that's what I'll be working on  whilst I 'just' work part time in the New Year! Come April when my new job ends (eeeek) I can begin to carve a name for myself in a new role as a Funeral Celebrant and train to be a Soul Doula/Midwife as I have dreamed of. I'll still need to find a part time job to begin with (at the very least) to be my bread and butter money but I've taken that leap. Scary and exciting times! 

Hence my latest vision board for 2020 - if you've never done one, give it a go, let your innermost wishes, dreams and goals run riot! Make a visual representation of it and keep reminding yourself you can do it. You'll be surprised what you can achieve, you really will. The universe has a strange way of having your back too, just this very morning I was gifted an inheritance from my lovely much missed Father in Law Ben, via himself. I'm going to use it to pay for my Soul Midwife course - I think he'd approve x x x 

Have  wonderful New Year and I wish you all the best for 2020 x x x

A Visit From The Ancestors

I've been wanting to knuckle down and write something for ages but life has been even more hectic than usual, with Samhain looming I saw the perfect opportunity to get my act together at last. I dreamt up a ritual at a beautiful local sacred site for my local Pagan circle last weekend and then planned a solo ceremony for Samahin itself,  I really should have known better shouldn't I?  
One day I'll learn, I promise....

As usual the Goddess had other plans, as time ran out for preparing something new for the group ritual, I resigned myself somewhat dejectedly to reusing the one I wrote last year, hoping desperately not to disappoint anyone with such a simple and basic format. As it turned out it was actually just right (of course) and people merrily joined in with their own contributions of poems, songs and words weaving their magic round the bones of my simple ritual and bringing the voices and memories of the ancestors to life at the peaceful and enigmatic longbarrow nestled in the shelter of the North Downs.

The Coldrum Stones

Several new members turned up and we had the joy of meeting a lovely young lady called Katie who had spontaneously driven down from Cambridge just to visit the stones and meditate that day. She was actually delighted to bear witness to our ritual and then play her ukulele and sing us some of her own songs. What a surprise blessing, topped off with a cheeky half pint of cider!

The lesson of simplicity still ringing loud and clear in my ears, my total sum of planning for my solitary Samhain itself (himself was away trucking about in Wales and The West Country this week) was to buy yellow roses and visit the ancestors where they lay a few miles away, have a quiet hour with them.... that was working right up until the day before when I sneezed, and didn't stop. 
Laid low by a stonker of a cold (a mild form of the plague no less I suspect) it became clear that getting dressed wasn't an option, much less leaving the house and traipsing about in a cold and chilly church yard. 

Instead of wafting about in a churchyard scaring the locals, my Samhain was spent wrapped up in my dressing gown, sipping a lemsip, poring over my family tree. Using an incense aptly called Kentish Roots, I recited aloud all my known ancestors by their names, before taking each name in turn and talking to them, recalling cherished memories of those I knew, scrabbling in the darkest depths of my memory to remember their voices, spending time with them and experiencing the utter joy of remembering long forgotten detail of moments with them.
Pausing to scour my memory for all the little details; the cold tiles of the fireplace, the ticking of the mantle clock, the ridged pattern of the settee covers, the rusted hole of the washing line pole, the earthy smell of the veg patch, Grandad's chuckle, banging on the wall for Nanny Next Door at coffee time, listening for her to knock back and scattering cats flying through the cat flap as I rushed in past the old blue 50's dresser....

Those I didn't know personally, I recalled the scant facts about them that I know, a great, great grandmother who died 4 months after her baby was born aged just 21, leaving her aged and widowed mother to rely on parish relief  to care for him, another great grandmother who brought all her younger siblings up when her own mother died young. It was good to spend time with them, seeing and feeling them as real people, not just names on a tree.
Later I spent a long time meditating, watching all the much loved familiar faces coming to mind, faces from photos coming to life, listening out for their wisdom, thinking about what I may have inherited from each individual, what words they may have had for me, a laughing voice rang through my head - ' We've come to see you!'  and you know what? I rather think they did.

Blessed Samhain x x x

Morris, Maypoles and Mischievous Masons

Blessed Beltane to Everyone!

I hope however you marked the great union of the Goddess and The Green Man it was a celebration. As we both had work the following day and to be honest the thought of getting up super early to watch May Day dawn midweek was not a joyous one, ok we were feeling lazy - we had a Beltane Eve fire and a little ritual in our garden, burying offerings for the Goddess and the Green Man along with a list of our personal aims and achievements to come to fruition and planted some mint that I had impulse purchased on the way home whilst looking at fire pits.....  Quite random I thought until I researched and and found that simple garden mint  has the spiritual attributes of inner truth and focus, journeying and your personal path as well as focus and clarity. Pretty apt then, coupled with the fact that it's a prolific grower. Let's hope it liked pizza and cider too!

Beltane Eve Celebrations

You'll be pleased to know that less lazy pagan celebrations were indulged in this weekend when along with a group of lovely Moon Circle ladies, I headed over to Rochester for the annual Sweeps Festival - held every May Bank Holiday weekend. Historically the chimney sweeps, mainly young boys had just one day off a year on May day, resulting in sweeps parades and festivals country wide combining with old May Day customs and traditions such as the Maypole, May Queen and Jack in the Green. The Climbing Boys Act of 1868 finally ended this child labour for children under the age of 14, which meant that in time the Sweeps parades and festivals faded out. This parade was brought back 38 years ago and is still going strong.

Some serious Morris going on...

There were sweeps costumes a plenty, steam punk costumes, hair garlands and pagan folk of all variety - quote of the day was my friend Olwen's "I know that Wizard!" as well as morris dancers galore, who braved the cold temperatures and dark skies in dance-offs throughout the city, their commitment only waning when the hail came when they all scarpered quite wisely to the take cover in some of many pubs!

Zodiac Floor Tiles at the Cathedral's High Altar

As I said it hailed, and then some. We weren't sure if it was actually snow at one point, like the good pagans we are we took refuge in well, the Cathedral (you thought I was going to say pub didn't you?!) There has been a place of worship here since 604 AD and probably a place of pagan worship long before that. The high Altar has a beautiful zodiac tile floor restored in 1870 but they are copies of the medieval ones that were there...

One of the 8 Green Men on a 14th Century Bishop's Tomb

One of our party the amazingly knowledgeable Wolf took us on a wonderful impromptu tour showing us all the little Pagan quirks within the Cathedral, such as the Zodiac tiles, The abundance of foliate Green Men - Jacks in the green, signs of virility and fertility carved into the stone work and also high on the ceiling the wooden roof bosses. It made me smile to think that these traditional symbols were still important  and meaningful to the masons and accepted by the Church - the 14th Century one of many above would surely been removed if it had caused offence? Were they just humouring the old ways and their followers? Maybe still assimilating and merging ideas and faiths... whatever reason I love it! It's worth noting that there were morris dancers performing in the cathedral - one of them wearing a dog collar - how awesome and hopeful is that?

A very modest Sheela-na-gig

Once the hail stopped and we ventured outside another friend showed us this Sheela-na-gig on the main entrance of the Cathedral, sadly like a masonic labiaplasty the lips have been filed away (ouch) and there is no hint of a vulva so it's a more modest and tame version and certainly not as out there and 'cop a look at this!' as some I some I have seen, but one nonetheless complete with an ear of corn signifying fertility and ripeness in pride of place. Again as much as I like the thought of a cheeky mason who follows the Old Ways designing this as a fiesty rebellion, it has obviously been included as a nod to the beliefs and customs of the people. Must have raised a few eyebrows and pulses though!

Dancing The Maypole

After exploring the city walls we came across the Maypole dancing - the ancient mayday fertility ritual and tradition that was first documented* in the UK in the mid 14th century but is believed to pre date this by many centuries. All in all, a fantastic blend of old traditions, cultures and beliefs, topped off with a visit to an amazing crystal shop called I Dig Dinos!  That's enough celebration for me, thank the Goddess it's a bank holiday and I can have a lazy pyjama day today!

Have A Blessed Week x x 

Reference:

*  Hutton, Ronald (1996). The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain.

Links:

http://moonflowersarah.blogspot.com/2014/06/mint-magic-from-mundane-to-mystical.html

https://www.medway.gov.uk/info/200235/sweeps_festival/605/about_sweeps_festival_2019

A Gathering of Women

So, I had planned to write about my latest adventure this month, I was due to start a reiki course with my wonderful friend and old neighbour Di yesterday but she was sadly too poorly so we have had to postpone it until a few weeks time. Get well soon Lovely Lady x x  I was all ready, pre course prep done thanks to a variety of Yule gifts from loved ones, excited, well rested and keen. 

Reiki Ready...

As himself was planning to go out I thought I'd make some alternative plans. Well that wasn't happening: nope, non, nada. Now, by now I've learnt that when life gives you lemons, you freeze them and throw them at your enemies...  no sorry, wrong quote, I meant make lemonade! Watermelon lemonade as it happens that I'd bought to take, so yesterday was spent gently pottering about, organising a few bits and bobs, planning a few future events and mainly relishing the time to do well, basically a whole lot of nothing! 
So this morning drifting awake slowly from my slumber haze, that magical dreamy moment between the worlds of sleep and consciousness, lying snuggled under the duvet, Lola Cat snoozing on (hogging) my pillow, snoring gently, her paws as always lovingly batting me on the nose; I flexed my fingers and thumbs and watched in entranced at my thumb's mundane but intricate and seemingly effortless movements, I realised I didn't know what I was going to write about instead. 

Beautiful Lola Cat - My Feline Shadow

My thumb, wonderful and fascinating as it is, wouldn't really qualify to be the focus of a whole blog. Fear not, as much as my thumb managed to hitch a lift into your world this morning (see what I did there!) the old grey matter managed to fire up the neurons and find a few more ideas for me to wax lyrical about.
So last February I wrote in Spinning In Circles about the  Red Tent, that we had christened the Moon Circle I was starting or birthing for local Pagan Women and promised you an update, well La voila! A year later almost to the day!  I have just re read the article I had written and laughed, I was scared - what were we creating, what if no one came and what if everyone came? I was so nervous that first night waiting for ladies to arrive, candles lit, incense smouldering and soft Goddessy music playing in the background. I'd even begged and borrowed some red drapes to create a suitable ambience!

Setting the Scene

I truly needn't have worried, one year on, we have created a wonder, truly a gift to ourselves. Never has no one come and mercifully neither did everyone ever pile through the door on the same night! As my friend Jenny always said, the right people will be there and that is exactly what happens, there have been 3 of us and there have been 9 of us, from a core group of about a dozen who attend physically and at least another dozen or so who join in and contribute to our online page. It's a fantastic eclectic mix of witchcraft, wicca, druidry, the divine feminine and heathen practices and beliefs. The most beautiful thing about the group is that we have built up such a high level of trust, friendship and free honest conversation. 

A Beautiful Gift That Justina Made For Our Circle 

We meet on the night of the new or dark moon and start as all good gatherings do with a cuppa and a natter, before holding a simple opening circle. Sometimes we drum and sing a song that was brought to us, other times we call in the quarters/elements North, East, South and West - Earth, Air, Fire and Water, the Goddess, The Gods, Spirits of Place and The Ancestors - all dependant on who is there and how people want to do it. Next we have a sharing circle where we are open about how we are feeling and any events that have happened since we last held our space, here where we are vowed to keep everyone's confidences I have felt a deepening trust and bond that is so far unshakable, there are no words of shame or judgement in this circle, no issue is too small, tears, frustrations and anger are welcomed, listened to and honoured, sometimes just witnessed, whatever is needed. Vital in today's 24/7 lifestyle and rat race.

Making Moon Salt

After our sharing circle we  have a discussion such as  juggling stress, our experiences of periods and childbirth, even death planning or talk about a subject, last month we all did some 'homework' and all brought some information about a Goddess of Spring to share which worked really well. 
It's only right that we should break for tea, cake and nibbles at this point, ok so it's an all out feast of whatever everyone has brought! This always results in lively chatter, much hilarity and howls of laughter with himself good naturedly banished to the upper level of the house when it's held at mine, not that I think even he would want to brave the melee round the kitchen table! 

Our Autumn Mandala

After this, we usually have a craft activity, a memorable one being creating our own Moon Salt - which we later found out is slang for Crystal Meth! - popular night that! We blended it as a group adding oils, herbs and then took some home in jars to use as a protective and aromatic salt for our home, not edible I hasten to add! Other creative activities have been drumroll please..... making smudge sticks of course, as well as that, we have also made a beautiful Autumn Mandala for Autumn equinox with leaves, chestnuts, berries etc gleaned from our gardens, created Witch Balls filled with herbs, plants, charms and spells  to protect our homes and loved ones, made Vision Boards to express and capture our hopes, aims and dreams and regularly practising our tarot and oracle card reading on each other. We've been busy!

Beautiful Witch Ball

We've even got a mini retreat booked for next month, when 8 of us are going away for a weekend to do Goddessy Girl Stuff - meditations, crystal therapy, a psychic development circle, singing and drumming, vision boarding and some crafts to name but a few of the activities. To put it mildly, we have blossomed!

This is what we've evolved in our sisterhood, I know other people do different things at different groups, but if you are interested I'd really recommend visiting and joining one or starting your own if that feels right for you! It has definitely highlighted a need amongst our circle and community to nourish ourselves, our souls and our lives, even our families have commented on how much we appear to get out of it.


Ladies have a look at these links if you are interested in finding one: Moon Woman or Red Tent Directory these cover UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Australia
Gents - you can read more about WhiteTent Movement too.
These links also contain information and ideas on how to start one too!

Have A Truly Blessed Week  x x