Mercury in Retrograde

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Holly & Jacques

Is it as bad as it’s made out to be?

Transitions in life are inevitable and bring about change whether we are ready or not.

How we go about approaching these transitions determines how gracefully and unscathed we move through them….do we fight, or do we give ourselves over to the experience, looking at it more as an adventure? Mercury in Retrograde is just one of those times where life will be affected and the only thing we can do is embrace and allow.

What is Mercury in Retrograde? It is when Mercury laps Earth, which is approximately every four months or three times a year. Planets closest to the sun move faster and those further away move slower. In this day and age, it is common knowledge that it is impossible for planets to move backward, it’s merely an illusion. Essentially, whenever you have two planets orbiting at different speeds there is the appearance of a planet moving backward when one laps the other. It stands to reason that there would be an effect on us earthlings when we are being lapped by Mercury, much like static on our phones or radios when we go whizzing by a county mounty. I can think of a most recent example when this last M/R began, Verizon phones were out all over for days and it was well over a week before we saw any consistency return.

Quick moving mercury~ the smallest planet in our solar system is ruler of Gemini and Virgo, has dominion over areas of communication and connection, intelligence and imagination, money and how we accumulate wealth. Organs of the human body governed by the Mercury are the abdomen, tongue, lungs, bowels, nerve centers, bile and muscular tissues. The anatomical structures governed by the Mercury are nerves breath, air cells, sense, perception, hair and mouth. Understanding the rulership of Mercury can help us understand the areas in our lives that will be impacted.

Mercury governs the 2^nd chakra, located in our abdomen. The 2^nd chakra is responsible for digestion, and creativity, it strengthens the mind-governing it’s capacity to think, complexity of thoughts and concepts as well as practical applications. This is interesting when we look at how the 2^nd Chakra Swadisthan, works to break up fat cells to be used by our brains while foods feed our bodies. Given that this area is also referred to as our second brain, we can make the leap that Mercury oversees the 2^nd chakra or second brain. In this matter, Mercury in this chakra concurrently synthesizes, converts and disseminates food, information and processes.

Historically Mercury has been known as ‘Messenger of the Gods’, associated with the winged footed Hermes who had one foot in the physical world and one foot in the unseen realms. Hermes was also responsible for guiding souls to the underworld or through transitional periods in our lives.

Where Mercury rests in our personal charts as well as the astrological sign M/R occurs affects our intellectual self-expression, what fascinates and enchants us, directs where our minds focus, things that we want to take apart and put back together from a sense of curiosity. Mercury is also associated with the Magician in the tarot, linking it to languages, communication, spells, mantras, travel and logic.

Mercury energy is cold, objective and unemotional. It is the child who feeds its curiosity and creativity by pulling apart of things so that it can analyze, sort, group like parts and figure things out. It’s one of the many ways in which we process and make sense of our experiences and the world. Quicksilver, as it’s also known, can be tossed across the surface where the beads of mercury will scatter, but it always somehow finds a way back to itself and all its other parts. This is very much akin to the gathering of all the different facets of our lives to process and redistribute to build something new. In this, we can see Mercury is also about the symbols-the detailed parts that create a whole. Languages, details, thoughts and technology are data bits of symbols with an endless number of combinations.

The facts are that all of the planets are in retrograde at some point in the year. However, Mercury rules not just internal processes, but our physical lives as well. Navigating Mercury in Retrograde is to remember that we are to slow down. In this day and age, everything seems to be traveling at the speed of light, with life coming at us faster than we can process. In understanding the rulership of Mercury, we can apply to areas in our lives where this will be the most impactful such as travel, crossed communication, sending messages to the wrong people, errors in texts, emails, contracts, the missing of details, our minds and bodies not moving in-sync and causing accidents. We have brain fog where it seems as if a veil has been pulled during the taking apart and resorting of our internal world. Sometimes we can experience lost communications or often have old texts, emails and letters pop up out of seemingly nowhere.

It feels somewhat akin to the Dark Time period that happens around our birthdays. As in all things in life, there are cycles that bring about transitions to propel us forward. For myself I have found that when Mercury is in Retrograde, I very much feel the need to slow down and be more mindful. I am a person who is racing 100 miles a minute, I make decisions quickly and act swiftly. I definitely find myself impacted by brain fog and details that elude me which can be a source of frustration. I have to be mindful to be patient with myself and others as we are all experiencing a bit of a challenge in clear communication. The wires in our brains get crossed and symbols are not always appropriately interpreted which directly impacts verbal and written communications. With the Venus influence, M/R cycles often spontaneously bring up old ideas, details from past relationships, interactions and experiences.

During these times I feel like a Crow… a new detail or thought has caught my attention like a shiny object bouncing with sun. I can’t quite make it out so I stop to pick it up and examine this detail from all sides and ask, is there something I missed or is there some important detail here that will change an outcome or my perception on a matter? What is the connection here? Though life doesn’t stop for us. As I stop to become completely absorbed by this seemingly stray thought, the momentum of life keeps moving and I am buffeted by the sea of people flying past all around me until someone invariably knocks into me. Being unable to take that time internally causes great anxiety.

However, when we do not listen to what our internal barometers are telling us we are unable to benefit from the cycle of M/R and instead find ourselves dealing with that the darker side of Mercury/the Magician which thievery, trickery, tall tales, lies, deception, manipulation and gambling at life. We open ourselves to these things because we are not paying attention.

For this reason, we need to make the time to take that time. The timing of Mercury in Retrograde is felt more than ever since we started the transition into the Age of Aquarius where the whole of society and its systems are in upheaval. Just as Helios brought information from the Gods/the Sun to us, M/R slows things down so that we can pause long enough to align with that information. This knowledge informs our spiritual practice and the types of magic we weave.

In order to make the most of a M/R cycle double check your correspondences, perceptions, social engagement and travel plans. Limit the number of activities and commitments you put on your plate so you can actively carve out the time you need for processing, reflection and ritual. M/R has the talent for muting the majority of thoughts and guiding our attention to those unresolved pieces that have come loose for whatever reason. You will find there is a pattern that emerges.

When I start a ritual for M/R I tune into what pattern has emerged with the ideas or thoughts that have caught my attention and made me curious. If I don’t have the space to process, I will write it in my journal for later. I then set my intentions to be open to what rises to the surface guiding me in what I need to reassess and integrate in this new internal order. For instance, this last M/R has seen patterns emerge around little bits of stuff I no longer want to pack around because they are no longer important as well as doing away with making comparisons. I have also been more willing to take the time with having things be less perfect and feed my science-minded curiosity through experimenting whether that be with my clothing, my art or the way I plant items in the garden.

In the most general terms, I will set an altar with those items I am guided to use-mercury being reflective in nature guides me to use mirrors or silver gazing balls. Mercury reflects aspects needing further examination, bringing them to the forefront so that our awareness can focus. I will use an altar cloth of black, violet or sunset colors. I will bring in stones and depending on the time of year decorate the altar with herbs and flowers as well as create an incense. The moon phase will determine the type of rite and spell worked, with the final aim to recalibrate the new internal order accordingly.

We are curious to learn how you experience Mercury in Retrograde. Please share!

Blessed be my Witchy Brothers and Sisters

Mercury Correspondences

Herbal Helpers-Almond • Alyssum • Anise • Crocus • Fennel • Hazel • Heather • Honeysuckle • Lavender • Magnolia • Marjoram • Mulberry • Mullein • Parsley • Pelargonium • Peppermint • Rosemary • Southernwood •Vervain

Stone/Mineral Helpers- •Moss Agate • Aventurine • Carnelian • Citrine • Mercury • Mica • Muscovite • Opal • Sodalite

Colors-Orange, yellow, violet

Symbols-wings, feathers

Tarot Cards-Magician, VIII Wands, III Cups, V Pentacles, X Pentacles, VI Swords

Season of Imbolg

Posted on January 26, 2019 by Holly & Jacques

celticT

he season of Imbolg is upon us at the midpoint between Yule and Ostara. The spark of light, life & hope born from the womb of the Goddess at Yule emerges from the cave of darkness, bringing forth the stirrings of newly regenerated life. Imbolc, meaning ‘in the belly’ is also known as Imbolg, Oimelc, St. Brigid’s day and the Christianized Candlemas is observed starting on sundown of February 1st through sundown of 2nd. This sabbat marks the beginning of spring, though admittedly in the PNW it doesn’t feel very spring-like. The light birthed at the Solstice, though not wholly noticeable, has increased incrementally enough that our hens are intermittently blessing us with a welcome egg or two.

Historically a festival celebration of lights is held in honor of Brigid the goddess of healing, smith work, poetry, sacred wells. Brigid’s association with water saw her as the protectress of holy wells where divination for the coming season would take place. Additionally, since Imbolc is a festival of fire and lights, omens may be discovered in symbols and imagery of the sabbat fire and subsequent ashes.

It can be quite cold where we live with combinations of wind, rain, fog and snow making travel treacherous. In all honesty, this is not a favorite time of mine to be out and about, so the first snowdrops peeking through the snow as well as the new fluffy white lambs lift the doldrums of the heart and mind. Living in the woods this time of the year means the poten candlemas tial blessing of early mushrooms, however, it also means diligence in walking the fence lines to check for coyote-dug holes that need filling or downed trees removed from fences.

The sparse but growing light gently awakens our souls from inner contemplation and asked to attune ourselves to the energy of purification, the promise of warmer days and growing things. We are not quite ready to be active, however, it is now the time to contemplate what we will sow in the coming year based on what knowledge was gained since the Season of Samhain. Externally our gardens are planned, seeds are purchased and the remaining yard and garden chaff of the previous year is removed and the land made ready.

Altars during the Season of Imbolg are simple, reflecting the newness and fresh start of purification. The dredges of winter are washed away in rituals of self-purification. Homes, altars, tools and sacred spaces are “spring-cleaned” in an effort to alleviate stagnation. Both sacred space and self are rededicated to the Divine and vows are reaffirmed to the path of the Old Ones. Candles of white and blue grace the altar along with small vases of rosemary, hellebore, willow branches, and snowdrops along with garnet, lunar quartz, aventurine, tigers eye, citrine and an offering bowl of milk & honey. Incense of frankincense, cinnamon, clove and last year’s lemon verbena fragrance the air and ignite excited expectation. A Brigid’s Cross made of reed rest on a corn doll embracing a priapic wand awaiting the many kisses of the ladyfolk. Baskets of candles await consecration and dedication to future works and sabbats.

As we cast our circle and call forth the God and Goddess, we make ready ourselves for the blessing and birthing of inspiration that is aroused after a season of surrender. While the Maiden circumambulates sacred space with her head wreathed in lights, we turn our mind’s eye partially outward and strike a spark to the hearth fire from which every candle is lit as a beacon to the sun in the darkness. However this must be done gently and with finesse; much the same way one strikes sparks onto dry kindling of leaves and twigs, then gently blows life-giving breath to the tinder encouraging a flame. We must now hold this flame in the palm of our hands and give the flame what it needs to have a full life, be it tinder or breath. Too much or not enough of one or the other kills the flame. It often seems that spring bursts forth quickly, however, we know it is reflective of the long and careful preparations that have been made to support the burgeoning and powerful forces. Until that time we sit quietly and give thanks for the simple beauty of the maiden goddess of light and life. As our rite closes we hold close to our hearts all that the eyes and ears have beheld so that we may ourselves be lights in the dark.

Hymn to Brigid
An Tri numh (The sacred Three)
A chumhnadh, (To save,)
A chomhnadh, (To shield,)
A chomraig (To surround)
An tula, (the hearth)
An taighe, (The house,)
An teaghlaich, (The household,)
An oidhche, (This eve,)
An nochd, (This night,)
O! an oidhche, (Oh! this eve,)
An nochd, (This night,)
Agus gach oidhche, (And every night,)
Gach aon oidhche. (Each single night.)
Amen.

Carmina Gadelica

To the Feast!

How to do you and yours prepare for spring?

The Season of Yule

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

ule, also known as the Winter Solstice, Brumalia, Saturnalia, Modrinacht, Tammasmas Nicht and Albun Arthan is a festival steeped in historic traditions and rooted in many pagan societies, whereby our ancestors gathered in the deepest darkness of night to pay homage to the twins of dark and light (the Holly King and Oak King) as well as the Goddess in her life-giving capacity. It is also one of the most recognized and largely shared pagan celebrations across the world(followed by Samhain). It is one that is so powerfully felt due to the mass numbers of people in the northern hemisphere with open hearts celebrating together. It is quite amazing and moving what people engaged in a single purpose simultaneously can energetically accomplish. If only all of our open hearts could be brought together for a single positive purpose all year long, imagine what we could accomplish.

Opposite of the Summer Solstice, Alban Arthan is the shortest day and the longest night of the year, signaling another change in our turning wheel. For three days the sun stands still and pauses, before starting on its journey once again. The Season of Yule is one of quiet expectancy, with the shifting of energy focused on the outward movement and expression of life, though it is hard to imagine spring at times during the hardships of winter. The subtleness of a longer day in the addition of an extra minute of light can also be lost on us when snow, clouds and rain are the order of the day or we are socked in by fog. However, the depth and void experienced at Samhain helped clear away the final chaff of the year, which now allows the quietness and stillness of the new solstice light to be felt, even if we are unable to see it.

At this time the Goddess in the cave labors to birth new light, hope and love in the world. A new baby in our family circle opens our hearts and as a soul tribe we are all called upon to participate in the love, care, nurturing and success of this new light in our lives. In this same manner, we are now called upon to love, honor, protect, nurture and engage in the long journey that brings fruition to the little seed of light within ourselves. With our hearts open it is also so much easier to give of ourselves to help birth the light in others.

At this time in the PNW, November winds have blown off the fall leaves on the trees, thunder has sounded and the driving rains are welcome after our hot summer. We are chipping ice out of the water buckets and horse troughs. Snow has intermittently fallen and the birds are relying on hawthorn berries, beauty berries and blackberries for sustenance as well as scraps from our chicken coop and seeds in the feeder.

On the first weekend of December, our family treks out to find the perfect noble tree. Sometimes the ground is frozen with snow and sometimes we are wading through mud. When our tree is in its stand we do a small rite to welcome the tree and give thanks for its life and the reminder of eternal life and the ability to thrive during all stages of growth. The trimmings from the tree are gathered along with grand fir, cedar, douglas and pine to fashion a Yule log to be burned on the Solstice. The fragrance of the season is both calming and uplifting, while also comfortingly reminiscent of family gatherings past.

Our altars are bedecked in evergreens, wintergreen, sprigs of bright green prickly holly with bright red berries and pure white snowberries. Mistletoe is strategically hung in an open doorway. White candles, statues, garnet, bloodstone and tigers eye grace our altars alongside offerings of homemade butter cookies, herbs and nuts. For several days before the solstice tales of Gods and Goddesses are told. On the eve of the solstice, fires are lit and flames are kindled to call forth the light, more stories are told as we indulge in festive treats. The kids will open a small gift from the Winter King before retiring for the night. Solstice morning we arrive around the fire ring to cast herbs of pine, grand fir, cedar and wintergreen berries into the needfire and burn the Yule log while we join hands to sing a song or two before wassailing and libation pouring in the orchard. Everyone quickly makes their way through the frigid morning air into the house, fragrant with brown sugar and cinnamon french toast and hot chocolate.

In a larger group, we come together to collectively create sacred space and call in the blessings of the season. We invoke the God and Goddess of Yule and give our energy to the birthing of the new divine light. In turn, our open hearts receive a piece of light and life to take out into the world that we continue to make the Lord and Lady manifest once again. We make merry as we share in a feast and heady wassail punch before heading out to the bonfire.

For many of us, the festivities shall continue over the days in visits with family and friends. For our family, festivities culminate in a large family gathering. Presents and breakfast are shared in the morning. We visit throughout the day with the menfolk making merry around the firepit with a libation in their hand and children playing with their new toys. Women visit in the kitchen and living room while a feast of roast beast, salmon, mashed potatoes, roast vegetables, pear and blue cheese salad and rolls are cooked up. Snacks are munched on throughout the day since breakfast is early and dinner is a bit more formal and later in the evening. The evening ends with the ladies convening on the front porch to share a drink and cigar (a carryover tradition of my mother’s Austrian family from the old country). Yule bird bath

To our pagan brethren across the globe, we raise a pint of wassail to you and wish bright blessings on you and yours! Blessed Be!

We would love to hear what traditions your family engages in to bring forth the light.

The Season of Samhain

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

Season of Samhain

amhain (pronounced Sow-een), also known as Samhuin, Oíche Shamhna, All Hollows Eve or the more modern Halloween is a sabbat with Celtic roots marking the darker/lighter, end of summer/beginning of winter halves of the year. Beginning at sundown on October 31st the veil is beginning to thin, but becomes it’s most permeable around the 6th and 7th. However, our Samhain season extends long past the sabbat day. It is also the beginning of a time in which we commune with our ancestors, celebrating our heritage and calling upon their ancient wisdom.

As with all sabbats, we come together to celebrate and acknowledge the transitional nature in both our spiritual and mundane lives as we say good-bye to one season and usher in another. We see the beginnings of death and decay around us as the Goddess withdraws, whether it be in molding fruits on the vine, rotting jack-o-lanterns, wilting plant life left in the field or the herd animals that have been brought down from greener pastures closer to home and driven through the cleansing fires to be culled for slaughter or breeding. The blood of butchered animals, as well as the burned bone ash, were offered to the God and Goddess and thusly sprinkled on the fields to usher in another productive year. This third and final harvest focuses on butchering or hunting and preserving of meats as well gathering the last of foodstuffs in orchard and root crops in the fields. We gather in the last of the foods stuffs before Samhain season begins and they are feasted on by the dead. It is understood that foods left to Samhain air are for the consumption of the dead and are not to be consumed by the living. We have said our farewells to the last vital and protective powers of the sun and stocked our food and wood stores.

It is a season of gathering and homecoming where we have prepared for our hibernation and hunker down to weather the winter storms. In the Pacific Northwest, our sights are flooding with brilliant and amazing colors of blush, gold, red, orange and scarlet. It fills our souls with one last burst of life before death as the fog rolls in and things grow dark and silent. A hush is cast across the land, filling us with anticipation of what is to come. Our persistence for survival often creates a struggle during the process of dying, that moment right before we give ourselves over to the moment and move beyond. That very reason is why the Season of Samhain is so important.

Our beautiful Samhain altars reflect the long-lasting foods of winter with luscious red apples, bright orange pumpkins and gourds. The last of summers flowers of deep red dahlias, brown and yellow sunflowers, calendula, herbs of fragrant angelica, soothing mint, protective sage and catmint along with deep golden maple leaves, fern, scarlet oak and blushing ash adorn the altar. Orange and brown candles flank our Lord and Lady whilst a large mirrored silver apple lies between to scare away those spirits that do not belong. Garnet, hematite, jasper and obsidian ground us in the here and now and sparkle in the candle glow. We acknowledge the decay of season with dried leaves forming an offering plate for fall harvested mushrooms, hawthorn berries and hazelnuts-calling to the wisdom of the ancients. The goddess has transitioned into her Crone aspect, therefore Hecate has been honored with black candles and an offering bowl full of belladonna berries. For many of us, our practice revolves around the veneration of our dead and there is, therefore, an entire space set aside for pictures, red votives, small belongings handed down, dried leaves, fresh flowers and offerings of bread and rum-or whiskey in my father’s case.

Ancestor Altar @ Rosethorn Manor

Samhain sabbat is spent giving thanks for our summers harvest and connecting with family who watch from beyond the hedge-making their favorite dishes. We spend much of our day turning inwards so that we are in a place to hear what the ancestors have to share. After ritual, we commence with a dumb supper. Each person brings to the sabbat table their ancestor’s favorite dish. I break out my Grandma Hebert’s mustard pickles and dilly beans as well as my father’s pepper relish canned at Mabon. I make a chocolate pie for my mom, while my husband makes colcannon for our Scotch/Irish heritage. We set an empty place for the ancestors in which they are served a bit of every dish before we all sit down to a supper of pumpkin soup in mini cauldrons and a feast, quite literally fit for the dead. We talk to the dead about the highlights of our year and then fall silent to hear what information we can. When we are finished with our supper, the ancestor plate will be left outside along with a candle so that our ancestors may warm themselves and glean enough energy to see them safely back across the hedge until next year, when the Crone Goddess visits us.

How do you prepare for the dark and how do you venerate your ancestors?

The Gates of Samhain

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

amhain is one of the most anticipated sabbats of the witch’s year. The leaves are burnished with red and gold, pumpkins, corn and squash are at the end of their ripening and the smell of fall fires are in the cold crisp air. On the winds we hear the call of our ancestors voices that are beginning to reach us and in our peripheral vision spirit activity is more visible.

Samhain (pronounced Sow-een), also known as Samhuin, Oíche Shamhna, All Hollows Eve or the more modern Halloween is a sabbat with Celtic roots marking the darker/lighter, end of summer/beginning of winter halves of the year. At this time, much like at Beltane, the veil between the worlds is thinning and it is at this time that spirits journey across the hedge and seek out their kin. As with many things in life, the demarcation line in spiritual matters is not so simple as black/white, opened/closed and this parallels the reality of the thinning veil. Image result for remedios varo's paintings

During Samhain we can hear the echo of the Goddess’ words from the Charge of the Goddess, that ‘no mortal shall ever see that which lies beyond my veil, for I am indeed mistress of the mysteries and keeper of the keys’. The Veil that we speak of is the wall or membrane that separates the land of humankind from the land of ‘other’; be it Fey, Summerland, the Underworld, the God and Goddess, Spirits and Ancestors, etc. The withdrawal of the Goddess across the veil is felt in lessening light of the Sun God shining upon her and as she withdraws her energy, so goes life until all lies still, quiet and fallow.

The Season of Samhain kicks off on or around October 31st, however does not reach its peak until around the 6th or 7th of November, when Sun is 15 degrees to Scorpio. Scorpio is ruled by Pluto (Hades) the God of the Underworld, who is now coming into his full power. Similar to Beltane, the veil is the thinnest and spirits activity is most prevalent. While Beltane energies are drawn upward and outward in the tree of life, toward the land of the Fey and Summerland; creation, fertility, light and life; Samhain energies are beginning to spiral inward and downward towards the underworld and spirits, death and decay, introspection and reflection.

Each one of these places all vibrate to a specific frequency, so to speak, which determine the placement of each of the ‘others’. Our rites focus on aligning with these frequencies to make it possible to more easily commune with our ancestors. Does this mean that we are unable to contact these other frequencies at different times of the year? The short and long of it is, No. The reality of it is, it is much more challenging to do so. Many of us venerate, libate, pay homage and speak with/to our ancestors all year long. The constant connection is often able to keep our most recently departed connected longer as well as aid in the petitioning of help or wisdom from our ancestors. There is, however, a lot of static at other times of the year. Imagine sending your call or your will through the eye of a needle in the dark when the wind is constantly blowing your thread around. At Samhain those winds cease to blow for a time and the energies become still.

The withdraw of the goddess energy is reflected in the highly spiritual practices that aid us in turning inward, more aptly allowing us to connect with the inner planes and attune ourselves to what is taking place. Energy goes where life flows and I believe that when one is aligned with and linked to deity/nature, our essential connected selves will follow where we can. Thusly, as the Goddess crosses that veil, we follow to the liminal outer reaches but are unable to cross. We know she’s there, we can feel her, but she’s not as easily accessed. Simultaneously, those on the other-side have awaited her presence and as the Goddess crosses over the veil is much more permeable to those with no corporeal body. Those who still yearn for their kin or have been petitioned regularly are eager to connect with those in the land of the living and make the precarious journey at this time.

Alternatively as the Goddess of life crosses the veil she transforms into the Crone of Darkness who had journeys forth from the Underworld. It is she who presides over the Cauldron that contains the essence of all mysteries, knowledge, life and the birthing of possibilities found in the matrix of unorganized and unformed chaos. It is the Cauldron of the Crone in which we seek visions of knowledge as we process our year and move toward spiritual understanding and enlightenment.

Samahin’s third and final harvest of field crops and butchering provide the required sustenance for the sabbat season. Those who walk the path of the old ones understand that where there is birth and death, there is blood and energy that will open portals and draw spirits. Our Samhain rites give the much needed energy and spiritual food necessary to make the journey here and back across the hedge safely. The rites also aid in protection against those convoluted soul energies that have breached the veil with more nefarious tasks in mind.

Lastly, Samhain is a Holy Day where open the portal or the guesting door, we light bonfires and hearth fires in the darkness to guide our beloved home for a spell as we call out the names of our ancestors and give thanks for their life blood that gives us life and runs strong Image result for remedios varo's paintings ly in our veins.

So……take a moment to rise up proudly, call your ancestors names loudly and drink heartily!

Blessed Be

The Season of Albun Eluid & the Fall Equinox

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

ea’n Fo’mhair known as the autumn equinox, Albun Eluid, Harvest Home and more recently as Mabon, falls somewhere between September 21st-23rd. The equinox finds us again with the longitude of the Sun is 0° and 180° and directly above the equator creating a day equal in both light and dark. Once the sun crests the days from here until spring shall grow shorter.

While the first harvest focused on the gathering of grains and grasses, this second harvest is busy with the gathering of ripening fruits, nuts and vegetables. Between Lughnasadh and through the season of Mabon grapes, plums, apples and blackberries are dried in our dehydrator or made into pies, sauces, cordials, shrubs, cider and ritual/table wines. Melons are finally getting ripe, peas have reached the end, green beans are eaten fresh and canned, cucumbers and small zucchini into pickles, tomatoes are dried or canned into a variety of dishes, beets, onions, garlic, early squash, carrots, artichokes-the list goes on. The race is on to gather walnuts and hazelnuts before the crows, chipmunks and squirrels. Rose hips that were starting to turn at Lughnasadh are now fully ripe with gorgeous vibrant red colors and ready to be harvested and added fresh to honey or dried for later spell working. Final herbs are harvested and gathered in bunches to hang dry for later cooking, medicine or spellcrafts.

The energy is a bit frenzied as we all watch for the perfect moment our foods reach their peak and then hurry to process making sure there is no waste.

Our Mea’n Fo’mhair altars reflect the hard-won abundance we have sown and harvested. Gorgeous red, orange and yellow leaves lay the foundation for colorful indian corn, bright red and green apples, nuts, purple wine grapes, textured gourds and luscious orange pumpkins. Red and orange candles flank our Lord and Lady while grape vines ring the harvest sickle and bouquets of sunflowers, seedpods, bittersweet, beautyberry, zinnia, dahlia, chrysanthemum, pot marigold and nicotiana adorn our sacred space.

Our pantries are filled with hanging herbs while jars of pickles, dried fruit, honeyed rosehips, dilly green beans, carrots, jeweled fruit jams, Dads famous pepper jelly, Grandma HeBert’s mustard pickles, elderberry cordial, raspberry shrub, blackberry and apple wines, as well as lemon verbena, conserve all vie for space on the crowded shelves. Our dehydrator is working overtime to preserve the last berries and herbs too delicate to hang.

The turning tides also find us with open hearts of thanksgiving for the abundance we are harvesting and processing. We call on the god and goddess of Mabon that we may share with them our abundance through libations poured and vegetables harvested, while also calling forth the blessings of plenty during winter scarceness. The frenzied days turn to twilight skies and lengthening shadows signal an important shift as we ride the double helix of what we have manifested and what is to come. We will feed our bodies with fruitful and nutritious sustenance while our souls are nourished with the vibrant colors of yellow, orange, purple and red turning foliage.

Mabon offerings @ Rosethorn Manor

The waning sun bows its head and we traverse the liminal thread of the double spiral of fate-seeking that still deep place we have long yearned for and travel towards in the coming season of Samhain. With the volumes of work to get the harvest in during the time of the shortening days, it can be a challenge to maintain our internal/external balance. Mabon is as beautiful, rich and decadent as the colors we are surrounded by and we find ourselves being filled with wonder and gratitude for the gifts of the lady and lord that will sustain us in the dark days ahead.

How do you nourish yourself or maintain your balance in the Mabon Season?

Lughnasadh

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

ughnasadh also known as Lammas, Lúnasa, Lùnastal, Luanistyn take place on August 1st or thereabout and find us celebrating the first of three harvest rites. While the timing is not necessarily technically middle of summer-in the PNW it is the middle of our hot and sunny season of the year and it is now that food stuffs are becoming ready for harvest and processing.

At this time in the PNW roses are still blooming and fragrant, yet the abundant hips are starting to turn a bright red signaling that there are changes coming. Wheat and oats have ripened and are ready to be cut. Grass hay and alfalfa have been baled and put up in our barns and fill the air with their fresh mown scent. Vines have climbed high reaching towards the sun’s rays with hop flowers being readied for tea or beer and grapes sweetening in their ever-tightening skins to be eaten fresh or made into wine and jellies. The puddles have long since dried and the water levels are getting lower in ponds and rivers which find little tree frogs, salamanders, bees, jackets and wasps crowding around watering holes and fish barrels.

As pagans, we have specific rites on special days as a way of bringing everyone together to raise energy that we may realign our frequency and sense of purpose to the season’s activities both internally and externally. However, the sabbat days we celebrate together are not the beginning and ending for us, but kick off an entire season of nurturing, maintenance, gratitude and harvest.

In the season of Lugh or Lammas, we honor deity and adorn our altars with sunflowers, red hollyhocks, elfwort, heather, roses, poppies, indian corn, blueberries, blackberries, squash blossoms, nasturtiums, topaz, carnelian, yellow gold and red candles. Ripened cereals of oats and wheat along with the first foodstuffs of corn, green beans, artichokes, crab apples, eggplant, early squash, a few grapes, mulberries, plums, pears and apples are added and generate gratitude in our hearts for the cyclic relationship we enjoy with our Earth Mother. Grasses and grains are fashioned into a Grain Goddess with plenty of seeds to save for next year’s sowing. Flours of wheat and corn are made into fresh loaves of bread and an anatomically correct John Barleycorn is added to our altar.

At this time we call to the Goddess of Abundance of the God of the Green. We give offerings of gratitude, enlivening our hearts and rejoicing in the abundance all around us. We acknowledge the strong life-giving sun while recognizing the change in shortened days require a shift of duties and focus. A noble and brave man is chosen to sacrifice himself for a time as John Barleycorn so that our cycles of give and take may continue. We use this time to clear out our physical and spiritual storehouses of that which no longer feeds or nourish us, so that we may make room for the strongest and most nutritious energy sources to sustain us during the fallow time of the year. At this time we have walked between the worlds and have gathered the required energies to move forward with the harvesting tasks at hand. We drink and pay homage to the old gods and call upon their continued favor for our crops that we have the energy to continue our journey.

Each area around the world has smells that speak of the seasons and for us in the summer season, it is bilberry/blueberries, blackberries and apples. It would not be summer in the PNW without the sweet pungent smells of those fruits baking in the sun. Blackberries, blueberries and apples are so nutritious and are eaten fresh, made into pies, syrup and wine. Can’t get enough of the blackberries! The lavendar has dried and been stripped of their stalks to be added to spell-workings and Full Moon Shortbread. The beauty and abundance is all around and fills my heart with gratitude. Though I will admit that all of the hard hot days of work see me longing for the cool crisp autumn nights and I relish the casual relaxed evenings with my family, the bbq’s, cool down swim time and midnight desserts. We ponder the work/life balance, knowing the necessary hard work in the next weeks leading up to Mabon and continuing into Samhain will end with a cozy firelit evening to rest and contemplate further the journey of our souls.

How do you celebrate the summer harvest and what smells signal summer for you?

Bright Lughnasadh Blessings to you and yours!

Litha

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

celticT omorrow we embark on a midsummer journey. The Litha solstice brings us to the longest day and the shortest night of the year where the Earth is at the midpoint on her journey around the sun. The word “solstice” is from the Latin word solstitium, which translates to “sun stands still” Depending on the year Litha will fall between June 20-22 or the 25th which was the Old Litha. Litha is also known as Alban Heruin and Midsummer’s Night. Historical writings have shown summer solstice celebrations all over the world and continue today as we honor the Old Ways.

In the Pacific Northwest, we are surrounded by the lushness of summer beauty

Solar Wreath fire @ Rosethorn Manor

due to the warmth. Usually we are still experiencing some precipitation, however, this year has been unseasonably hot for us. The gardens are bursting with roses, lavendar, honeysuckle, mock-orange, rhodies and lungwort. The apple trees have little baby apples that we have spent many an hour culling so that larger apples may grow, but not be such a burden on the trees. We are keeping an eye on the just budding St. Johns Wort that will be used in our protection bundles at Lughnassadh. The promise of abundance is everywhere and continues to grow until harvested at Mabon.

At this time we approach the sacred grove in perfect love and perfect trust, setting aside our difference and stresses of the mundane world to celebrate the Goddess in her lushness. We honor deity and adorn our altars with yellow flowers (sunflowers if I can get them to bloom in time), yellow candles, bouquets of rose, peony, lavendar, mugwort, thyme, rue, fern, cock feathers and iris. Fruits of the garden such as early strawberries and oak & holly leaves. Stones of lapis, tigers eye, jade and moss agate round out the frequencies we are aligning ourselves for the season of Litha. We praise the Horned God in his passionate love for the Goddess and the abundance and life their joining brings. In ritual we call forth the Sacred Spark of light and life to ignite change within ourselves, drawing on the strong and long light to bring forth balance and sustain us in our journey. We give offerings of honey cakes which are a favorite this time of year, remembering to leave plenty for the bees.

We close our rite by lighting a fire to Brigid and focusing on the necessary balance and changes needed in our life-sacrificing that which no longer sustains or benefits our journey so that we make room in our storehouse for the inspiration that will enable future abundance in our lives and our work.

How do you celebrate this sabbat in your own life?

Blessed be the season of Summer!

The Witch’s Garden…..and Sacred Space

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

“If such a consciousness truly is set loose in the world, nothing will be the same. It will free us to be in a sacred body, on a sacred planet, in sacred communion with all of it. It will infect the universe with holiness. We will discover the Divine deep within the earth and the cells of our bodies, and we will love her there with all our hearts and all our souls and all our minds.” Sue Monk Kid

Raised beds and stone circle @ Rosethorn Manor

I The Witches Garden

step into my witches garden full of intoxicating scents and sights that fill my soul. T’ween dusky dark and evening dew……these two magical times of day see the garden wrapping around its witch in a hug and beckoning me to commune and engage in the magic that surrounds. I am embraced and enchanted by the scents of spring roses, heady lilacs and early blooming wisteria. The freshness in the season of Beltane is a spring tonic for the soul that chases away the cobwebs of winter.

Earth magic is one of the oldest, easiest and most general forms of magic

Lovers Beltane Bouquet @ Rosethorn Manor

practiced, for we are but star seeds enrobed in earth. The earth is our bodies and the blood of the ancestors sing in our veins, informing our DNA, our frequency and the very core of our magic.

For a Witch, the land is sacred and we have many rites and rituals that honor her and express our gratitude. For me and mine, our land is also representative of our relationship with deity. We have lived and worked this land at Rosethornridge for over 20 years. Our land sits smack dab in the middle of older forests and new replants and is acreage that was originally logged and left. She was very sad and a bit crestfallen when we purchased her and took up residency.

Through the years we have worked very hard to bring back balance and harmony to our little neck of the woods. Intense practices of planning, organic farming, permaculture and forest scaping our space have created a haven for people, animals and nature spirits alike. We have built beds for flowers, shrubs and trees that nourish the soul, heal and feed the body, while aiding in our spiritual practice. Natural places have been incorporated to keep the wild mystery of the old ways alive. There are places to work and spaces play, perches to rest with a glass of sweet tea and contemplate the greater mysteries.

Every working on our place is created with intention as it is representative of my family’s relationship with deity, the trinity of the God, the Goddess and us. The blood, sweat, tears, love, joy and thoughts throughout the changing seasonal sabbats are our conversations with deity.

Butterfly & Delphinum @ Rosethorn Manor

The consistent and intentional cultivation of our space also intensifies our magical workings since herbs, flowers, roots, seeds, buds, leaves and other offerings of nature have been recipients of our attentions over many weeks, months or even years. Each plant has been welcomed to Rosethornridge, sown into the earth and nurtured through the love and attention it receives. When we dig roots for dark moon magic or gather roses and lavender for a lovers enchantment we have now, in turn, become recipients of the energies of the Earth. By creating sacred space and offering our gratitude through mindful intention, we have formed a bond and aligned ourselves with the plant energies long before they are ever harvested.

As with all worthwhile endeavors it has been a process to be sure. After many years of mindful intention, a frequency is now present that allows the spirit energy of God & Goddess to be made manifest on the earthly plane, independent of its residents. We endeavor to continue our symbiotic relationship with the land as an expression of our spiritual lives and practice. How does your garden grow, we would love to hear from you.

Blessed Be & Happy Cultivating!

Dark Time….in like a Lion out like a Lamb.

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Holly & Jacques

Dark Time-by Holly King

March 2000

irthdays are among the most sacred of personal holidays and more often than not greeted with mixed emotions. Some people await the day with bittersweet anticipation, while others look upon the day with dread. For many there is the apathetic acceptance that it is just another day full of yet more wrinkles with a foot in the grave. Unfortunately, the lack of proper understanding around this sacred day means a missed opportunity for deeply quiet rest and self-reflection.

History has shown that birthday ceremonies of past potentially began as a form of protection. It was believed that people were more susceptible to the influence of evil spirits and demons as the veil is thought to be thinnest for people close to the time of their birth. It is plausible given the vulnerable place that people find themselves in the weeks preceding a birthday. I would also entertain the possibility that it offered an explanation of peoples out of character actions.

As pagans, we live our lives attuned to both the nature around us as well as the sun, moon and stars above us. The more attuned we are the more we feel the impact of the movement of the planets that went into our creation and also affect our daily lives. In our natal charts and daily horoscopes, primary attention focuses on what role the sun plays in our lives with less acknowledgment of the other planets. In this instance it is to the stars we can look to help us understand the science of what we experience as we listen to our intuition to help us navigate this sacred liminal time.

Each year, approximately six weeks before our birthday’s changes start occurring as the transiting sun progresses towards the natal sun in its solar return. The activating presence of the sun normally stimulates us into action and provides the outward expression of our moon personality. It is also an important aspect in foretelling the conditions and activities of the coming year. As it heads toward the same position it held at birth, it slows the stimulation and physical activity as it transitions to a new cycle.

This slowing of the suns stimulation makes way for a period known as the Dark Time. This period is associated with the Moon as well as Saturn. The Moon represents the continuing cycles of ebb and flow and governs our internal dialog. Saturn is the planet of obstacles and self-undoing, destroying false ideals. The two together draw our center of attention inward and perpetuates a need for spiritual and physical hibernation. It is very similar to what occurs during a woman’s menstrual time or the 2-3 day period when our birth moon occurs in the month, though on a much grander scale. When one pays close attention, the very real sensation of the inward spiral can be felt as the protective veil of the birthing womb is drawn around us and the outer senses become numbed. We struggle as we buck the demands of others to engage our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual selves and do what or essence is intuitively inclined to do.

Being renewed and prepared for birth is an exercise in trust and letting go. There is not a choice given as to whether it will happen. Rest assured, whether it is by grace or force, it will. The only choice is how we engage this sacred period proceeding rebirth. Engaged properly we are provided with a period of purging, cleansing, healing and renewal on all levels. It is a time to dream, rest, reflect, meditate and follow the meandering path where intuition often takes us. It is a time to process the old year and listen to what your essence is telling you about what does or does not work in the progression of your spiritual journey. It is at its simplest, the time to just be and allow the natural unfolding of yourself so that recovery of your soul may take place. It is a time to be gentle with yourself. This is not a time to enter in and out of relationships, bind yourself in contracts and agreements, take risks or make big life-altering decisions.

Realistically, in our busy world, it sneaks upon us unaware as we fight what we don’t understand. When this happens we invite chaos, apprehension, anxiety, and feelings of impending doom into our lives. People get divorced, depressed, commit suicide, get into accidents, become clumsy and make bad decisions on a whim-only to find the hole of despair a deeper place than remembered. The Dark Time, no matter how one chalks it up, is frustrating. The very strengths that we rely on are gone.

What does this look like in the real world? I am sure if you look back over the time preceding your birthday a pattern will emerge.

I am both cursed and blessed to experience my Dark Time in the fall. My birthday falls on or near Mabon and this time is extremely busy making the most of the harvest season. My ‘burning daylight, need to keep going till it’s done’ mentality that usually works for me causes me to be slapped upside the head as my hibernation period descends and I’m left wondering what the hex and hades is going on. I move forward in action like everything is normal, unaware that I am losing pieces of myself little by little. Over the years this has expressed itself in many ways as it seems all of the very things I excel at, all of my strengths I take for granted, are gone. I am left feeling defenseless. My ability to organize-gone, ability to cope-gone, language, spelling, communication skill-not happening, my easy going nature:-(limited as it is) not there. I get along with most everyone because I’m only half functioning. Oh, but it doesn’t stop there. The amazing thing is that if you don’t consciously turn inward your body will do it for you. I found myself half functioning like a zombie while my body did the turning inward for me. It’s like walking in a thick fog with droplets of water here and there working like a telescope magnifying the outside world. One also learns that when stripped of the very skills we take for granted we are forced to find and discover one(s) we weren’t aware of. Even while we go within we are still being taught awareness. I have experienced an inability to communicate, I couldn’t write what I was thinking, I couldn’t spell, and my flow of thoughts was garbled. It has resulted in stupid actions such as backing over a bucket of newly dug potatoes in my jeep. It was one of those things where I put them in the way so as to remember to put them away. Needless to say, I didn’t see them as I stepped around them to get to the jeep, them remembered them just before the potatoes went flying and the bucket shot out from under the tire….obviously too late. I have proceeded to blow a small hole in the roof corner of my porch with my 22. in my angry haste to scare the horses off the fence because I didn’t stand out far enough on the porch. Those are just a few highlights.

When I finally started recognizing the signs of my impending dark time and wanting to take that time for myself, it seemed as if there never was any available. In reality, one must make the time. This is not an act of selfish need, but one of necessity. If not, you’re turned in by force. Our bodies will do the work even if we won’t. This ancient call goes beyond any calendar. In retrospect, I always come out on the other side with a burst of energy and a new appreciation for my life. I’ve been burnt and stripped of everything, only to arise from the ashes like the Phoenix, though the beautiful feathers apparently were not included in the packed deal.

Blessed be!