Thursday 29 March 2018

Michaelmas? & a wobbly wheel

March 29

In days of old in the northern hemisphere, Autumn Equinox was sometimes known as Michaelmas, 29th September. It is difficult for me to juggle and sort days into some kind of wobbly wheel of the year here in the Southern part of the world. If we could actually exchange exactly, today would be Michaelmas. From what I read, it is a Christian observance of St. Michael and the Feast of Angels. But it is also a cross quarter day when darker nights and colder days begin - although here, you can never be too sure if that will happen either! Sometimes Mother Nature has a final fling and gives us some unbearably hot days... such is weather.
reading more:
"In British folklore, Old Michaelmas Day, 10th October, is the last day that blackberries should be picked and so says the Irish proverb: 'Michaelmas Day the devil puts his foot on blackberries' ”.
I don't have blackberries growing, but I will next year!!

I will wash my the threshold today with a mix of cinnamon and geranium oil, something I was told to do when I was in Glastonbury. In my previous home in Katoomba, I did this religiously every Wednesday. A ritual I must begin again.

Easter is coming up this weekend, and it takes me back to remembering about my own conversion to Catholicism, about 28 years ago. It was just after my mother in law passed that I went along to Easter Vigil Mass. The church was full, with standing room only in the back vestibule, so I stood there, with Sophie in a pram, listening to the Litany of Saints being sung, candles being lit and bells being rung. Tears began to stream down my face and I was bathed in white light. It was if I was standing on stage under a spotlight, it just kept pouring down over  me. I looked around and no one was aware of what was happening. I call it a moment of Grace. It was not the only time things like this have happened to me, but they are a story for another time. At that moment, I decided to convert to Catholicism and so my journey began. And ever since then I have struggled with it. with my faith and my path.


you see, I follow two totally opposite paths. The Catholic one, albeit loosely and the one of my ancestors. I won't call it pagan because I don't like putting a label on this. It is the way of my ancestors and how they followed the wheel of the year, with celebrations, foods, rituals, the Moon. Seasonally.
Combining these two is difficult. However, I seem to have come to a place of having it work, for me.

at the end of the day, each of us has to be true and happy with what we follow and believe. Because when it comes down to the bottom line, not one of us truly knows the truth of life, religion and spirituality, we only know our own truth.  And I am happy with where I am spiritually. I will still question and search, because that is who I am, never stagnant, always changing.

back to Michaelmas.. and the Michaelmas Daisy.. I don't have one growing, but I will find a plant and plant it in my garden

"The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds,
Bloom for St Michael’s valorous deeds.
And seems the last of flowers that stood,
Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.”
tomorrow we have Full Moon and I shall sip my brew in my Spiritual Sanctuary under the protection of a tree ally.
and with the coming of Easter, I hope to go to Easter Vigil Mass, with all the bells and whistles and maybe to a Sunrise celebration at a lookout with the Nuns. 
And then.. I look forward to Hallows.

Sunday 25 March 2018

Autumn Equinox doings

March 24
well the day of the equinox came and went. Without much ado. It was raining and quite heavily, which put a stop to gathering bits from my garden and hedgerow.
Today the sun is shining, bees are out gathering pollen to feed themselves through winter and the birds are shaking off their wet plumage and singing and chirping with joy.
I worked in the garden for a short while and decided to begin gathering bits for my equinox charm. One of Balance and harmony. It was surprising what I actually found as I walked around my garden. Gathering bits of bay, wormwood, branches of apple, a leaf of comfrey and a sprig of santolina. A spent hydrangea flower and a branch of a wild plum that has self seeded under the protection of grandmother cypress. From the hedgerow I picked some dock and lavender.


Weaving these altogether with words and string and tying them up with a piece of silk.
Once that was all done I sat with the charm for a short time near my altar candle “giving thanks to the powers that grew them”


This is now hanging in the little portico at our back door. Welcoming balance and harmony into Afallon through the long winter months. Reminding me to give thanks for all that I have.
Come next spring, once the plants in the garden begin to burst into bloom, this charm will be returned back to the earth, to compost down and feed the soil once more.

There is no special magic reason that I do these things as I journey around the wheel of the year, It is just something that my soul needs to do, for a spiritual reason. I try to find and follow that which my ancestors did. It changes each year. And each year, as I weave these little charms, wreaths and poppets, the magic grows. It is the intention in the doing of it that works. even just a candle, lit with intent, can bring magic into your life. magic in the way of love, peace, contentment and harmony.

March 25

Today was a perfect autumn day. Windy, sunny and a slight nip to the air. The wind whipped up at times, blowing the autumn leaves from their branches. Letting go. ahhh such a true autumn equinox thing. to let go of things that no longer serve our highest good. trusting in the process of life.


I got up early and made date and banana muffins to take to a friends home for afternoon tea. They turned out rather yum. Our new kitchen goes in this week and once that is done, I plan on baking each Friday (as I did in Woodford), so that Joe and I have home made treats over the weekend. Healthy & wholesome.

We decided to plant the apples today. They were supposed to go in at Equinox but it was raining.


We started to dig where we had planned an apple orchard but about 12 inches down we hit rock. And this wasn’t just a floater but a sandstone shelf. So we had to go to plan b which we didn’t have. But first to fill the holes in! After we had filled them in, we had two squares of bare earth and I began to wonder what we could do. Currants! It will be time to buy currant shrubs soon and I can plant a black and a red one. So that problem solved, now to the finding of plan B for the apples.


In the back yard, I had planned a potato and pumpkin patch in front of the shed and it is a perfect place to plant the apples, nice and sunny and I can plant potatoes and pumpkin under them when the time comes. although I will have to check on how they go as companions.

the garden here at Afallon, has a real magic to it. It is nothing grand and doesn't have designer specimen trees or shrubs, but it has soul. Dragonflies have started to visit, often. Bees too. little skinks have made homes in all the nooks and crannies in the brick walls of the garden.  And my chooks cluck happily. I have a cypress in my front yard that is a protector, a guardian. All very simple and humble. and that is the way I like it.

as I sit here, creating my blog, the wind and rain beat against those aforementioned aluminium windows. but no leaks. soup is simmering on the hob and I am warm, safe and snug. and that is just how it is supposed to be.









Wednesday 21 March 2018

on the ageing process & autumn equinox

I had taken a break from facebook. I wasn't sure if it was going to be permanent or just an extended break, but after pondering, I have decided to keep the account open so that I can share my blog, but take a week off around dark moon times and also at the Sabbats. I felt as if I had reached a point with the social media platform, where I was constantly questioning my reasons for sharing my life in abundance. taking the break has been a good thing for me. I continue to question and ponder life (I always will, it is part of my make-up) but I am also finding that my ability to write is returning, as is my desire to meditate daily. something I had let slip. facebook seems to suck the life out of me, it drains my thoughts and energies. Not many get that, but I know it does happen to me.

I have been writing in my journal and the following are excerpts from those ponderings:

March 6
a drippy, rainy day - wonderful for the garden & my new compost heaps.
From my journal ::
“The year I turned 60 has already entered its third month and it’s not going as I envisaged. It’s becoming more of a year of acceptance. Accepting the ageing process, the slowing down of my body and at times I struggle. But it’s also a good thing, this slowing down. It brings time to sit under a knee rug and ponder, to do my chores, mindfully instead of the need to rush to get it done, cups of tea while chatting about our days. Such a rich time in my life.
I have the opportunity to really commit to my spiritual practice. The teas, the Moon and meditation. Along with my seasonal rituals. The herb growing and learning more about each plant Ally.
But I need to slow down more, especially in my home & garden. And I shall. A promise to myself. Instead of trying to get all my gardens dug at once, I plan to approach it more mindfully. Not try to grow everything this year, but to put things into place, soil, compost, mulch and buy what I can’t grow for the time being.
And as I snuggle early morning, under my old vintage quilt, in this rundown ramshackle cottage that I now call home, listening to the rain drip onto our tin roof, I feel no need to rush. Surrounded by holes in the walls that need patching, looking out of aluminium windows that all need to be replaced, the list goes on.  so much work needs to be done, but there is no rush to do it. No rush at all. Just slow and steady, enjoying the process.
this brings me to thoughts of autumn. I can almost feel myself going within, physically and spiritually. Soulfully. With the seasons. Thoughts of soup simmering on the hob, gathering kindling, cardigans and candles throughout my home, burning even more brightly during autumn time. I do believe the glow of candlelight is such a spiritual thing as the wheel begins to turn toward autumn. The candles take on a certain kind of magic."
March 7
I went to sleep to the sound of wind and rain lashing against the walls of Afallon. It was almost reminiscent of a little cottage that we stayed at in Tintagel, Cornwall. The one where I saw the spirit of an old man, sitting by the fire, wearing a cardigan and smoking a pipe.
I ordered my garlic bulbs today, to plant in April. The garden where the garlic will grow has been prepared for a number of weeks now and will sit until it is time to plant the bulbs. I had planned on saving garlic bulbs from my own harvest, but last year wasn't a good year so I thought I would purchase new. I always buy from Diggers Club because I trust their ethics in growing and selling plants. 
I am making a spirit stick for our new home, to be hung over the hearth. Using apple wood and gathered bits and gifts from our yard. It will be a lovely thing to create with the coming of autumn equinox. Coming up to last quarter moon on Friday and I begin to ponder my herbal Moon brew.
I am blessed.
"in folklore, Equinoxes are mystical moments whose magical power still touches the earth today"
Autumn Equinox approaches:
honestly it hasn't felt like the equinox was approaching with the heat of high summer. I felt almost disconnected. And I hate that.
March 21
and so Autumn Equinox dawns.. after a night of rain and lashing wind, I woke to a glorious drizzly day, such perfect autumnal weather.
I did what I could to honour this turning of the wheel. made some apple cider vinegar from the last of my apples, I had planned on gather some herbs & flowers and weave a charm for harmony and balance but the rain has delayed that.. I shall do it soon though.. my carnelian fire agate pendant is sitting outside being cleansed for the coming weeks as I journey towards Hallows. I am planning on having a pendant for each Sabbat to wear until the next one, linking me with the seasonal wheel in yet another way. A small piece of fabric is sitting outside as well, in readiness to embroider for my Soul journey cloth.   I hope to gather pinecones and kindling on the weekend, something I have done for  many years at Equinox. For dinner, I think a dish of chicken and root vegetables.
 and a simple beeswax candle burns on my altar. that is enough. Simplicity.

Saturday 3 March 2018

notes from an early autumn day

we've been away for a very short break to the beach. my, how I missed my little cottage in the mountains, but it was good not to be 'doing'. Just a few days of reading, and relaxing.


early this morning I was out in the garden, digging up roots and rocks, to get the beds ready for over-wintering. On top of the brick wall that runs along the laneway, is a cascading rosemary growing in a pot and today, for the first time since I moved here, I noticed bees.

I had been concerned about the lack of bees and wondered if the wasp plague had actually affected bee colonies here. As I gardened, I was alerted by buzzing, coming from the mauve haze that is the rosemary at the moment. At first, thinking it was wasps, I stood back, wary. But as I peered into the rosemary bush, I saw a lazy buzzing bee and there was more than one! Bees are so calm compared to these introduced pests the European wasps, which dart all over the place.

I am very excited about the bees being in my garden. {I have actually decided to become a bee keeper and get my very own bees, but first my bee man, Albert is going to loan me a hive and teach me how to keep my own}

I continued to hoe, and a louder buzzing noise caught my attention, a very large brown and black beetle, another plus. It means that my garden is welcoming to all the beneficial insects and also  becoming healthy.

As I hoed, weeded and dug up rocks, bees continued to buzz. Even a blue banded native bee, wiggling its little bottom as it foraged among the self seeded tomatoes. And a dragonfly flew around me, wings shimmering in the sun. magic!

It is such a lovely time, that laziness of autumn insects, it is almost as if the insects are moving in slow motion, in that golden light of autumn.
a gentle breeze kept me cool-ish in the warm sun. I planned gardens for beans and sweet peas.

Nana always planted her sweet peas on St. Patricks Day even though she wasn't a Catholic, so I will follow suit. I adore the perfume of those first sweet peas in early spring.

I plan to add flowers to my garden but they must be plants that are loved by bees and insects, beneficial plants.

The blueberries are looking healthy and there are still a few berries on them, lemons are growing well with a few nice sized lemons developing.


 Apple trees will be planted on Autumn Equinox.


Today, I planted yarrow *such a favourite of mine as a healing herb,
and I planted Roman Wormwood [artemis pontica], which is different to the Artemis Powys that I planted the other day. I also planted Artemisia absinthium, or true wormwood. I am planting wormwood for the chooks to nibble on as an insecticide, to strew in their nesting boxes and because I love the silvery foliage and the aroma when brushed past.

I also planted a Washington navel orange tree [I must research what companion herbs to plant around citrus].
I have so many ideas for this garden, lots of work! But the garden has a soul. And honestly, it is so much like my garden in Woodford, albeit smaller. I quite often see myself in the future, a little old lady, cardi on,  pottering in the garden, cooking in the kitchen. It is almost like a vision of my future self.

A friend gave me a fig tree which I will plant in a rather large pot sometime this week. I have been reading about figs and they do very well in pots.

I must admit that over the past few years, of moving and trying to find 'home', I have been unsettled, ungrounded, a shadow of myself, of who I was back then. It is almost as if I had lost those parts of me that CAN grow vegies and CAN cook. But slowly, they are returning, I am slowly getting my confidence back. I have a lot of knowledge from reading and learning from others.  In past years, I have grown so much produce, I experimented with growing all kinds of things, had 17 chickens at one time and often cooked for family and friends. I do miss those days, I really do. But I find myself in a different life than I had back then, and it is here that I must create the life that I wish for. *and of course, I am still finding out, just what that is.

On St Luke’s Day, take marigold flowers, a sprig of marjoram, thyme, and a little wormwood; dry them before a fire, rub them to powder; then sift it through a fine piece of lawn, and simmer it over a slow fire, adding a small quantity of virgin honey, and vinegar. Anoint yourself with this when you go to bed, saying the following lines three times, and you will dream of your partner “that is to be.”
“St. Luke, St. Luke, be kind to me,
In dreams let me my true love see.” An Olde Proverbe

the Full Moon came and went without a herbal brew, although, I did sip rose petal tea. It was a very odd energy this Full Moon, leaving me with a feeling of apprehension almost. But I sat with it, did a card reading and it has passed. Over the next Moon month, I plan on creating my private contemplation sanctuary in the garden, a place where I can sit at night under the Moon. Maybe a Moon garden.. we shall see.



Friday 23 February 2018

into 2018


May your soul be at home where there are no houses.
Walk carefully, well-loved one
Walk mindfully, well-loved one
Walk fearlessly, well-loved one
Return with us, return to us
Be always coming home
 :: Ursula K. Le Guin

This little pocket of land in north Katoomba and the old rundown cottage that is tucked behind a crumbling fence, has captured my heart and soul.
It’s a place where my own spiritual path combines my love of Mary, the seasonal wheel, magic, ritual and meditation. Folklore and ancestors. The spiritual path, is becoming my own and I’m coming to a place of ease with that. When I am at home, here, I feel as if I am apart from the world, and that’s a good thing.


Almost to the end of February and the wheel is turning towards autumn equinox. The apple tree is beginning to colour up, with leaves falling gently onto my newly planted parsley. The falling leaves have the promise of rich compost in their rotting leaves. I’ve been creating veggie garden beds, filling them with compost and soil from heaps left by the previous owner. Joe gathered me a pile of half composted cedar leaves and I almost squealed with glee when I saw squirming worms in it. They were all placed safely into the new beds. And all covered with spent straw. Now the beds will sit over winter, slowly breaking down into a rich soil for spring veggies. The plan for this garden is mostly to be a food and medicinal garden. A bee hedge will be planted as well as a small orchard, with plums, apples and pears. A fig in a pot and lots of rhubarb. I hope to learn how to keep bees and become a beekeeper. Along the verge, I plan on planting citrus and currants, both red and black. Herbs will be planted, in a dedicated bed for both medicinal and magic and herbs will also be planted throughout the veggie garden in a companion type of way.
The cottage itself has a lot of fixing up to be done and we will slowly tackle that, all the time being very careful not to take away the charm that attracted us in the beginning and that we love so much. It’s exciting. We have road trips planned to the country to find old windows and architectural bits.

*self seeded tomatoes in my garden
 

It’s a wonderful place that I find myself in as I journey through my 60th year. I truly feel like I’ve come full circle since leaving Inglewood at Woodford

I have started back with my journey of hedgewitch - creating poppets and charms.
today, I made a protective charm poppet to help dispel negativity from our home, to help stop negative energies from crossing our boundaries...
using fennel, basil and oregano, a head of garlic, a black feather gifted to me from a currawong and a piece of black tourmaline.

 
*fennel: wards of negative energies;  basil, so I have read, is the protector of family; oregano if used as a wash, will form a protective barrier against negative energies (I shall do this as well, eventually), for the time being a sprig in my poppet will suffice) and we all know that garlic protects us from vampires but seriously, folk lore tells that it is a powerful protector from negative energies and it amplifies the effects of other herbs.
 

It is now first quarter moon in Gemini and I wish to begin again, the ritual of sipping herbal tea on the phases of the Moon.

first quarter Moon in Gemini :: ritual herbal brew ::
* lavender * skullcap * valerian * oatstraw
as it is autumn, I will mix the brew with warmed apple juice and use the essence cerato.
Gemini is connected to the lungs, nervous system and breath. tonight, I am going to make a concerted effort to practice a meditation focusing on my breath. I will also  make a self massage oil using peppermint & lavender.

that, is my day.