Cassandra Eason - I salute you

Two quotes from "Every Woman A Witch", that have resonance for me at this moment:

"The old spells of the countryside talk of love, health, money and happiness, and were practised by ordinary people, especially women, everywhere. These have been lost from the everyday world, and the Wiccan movement, with its formal practice of witchcraft, has ironically taken the magic away from the lives of the majority, by its emphasis on obscure gods and strange rituals."

"The repealing of the Witchcraft Act in 1951 led to the establishment of Wicca, the formal practice of witchcraft. However, this is a mixed blessing, for although Wicca is a form of nature worship with many ecological strengths, it divorces natural magic from everydaylife. Most women do not wish to practise formal rites in secret, again handing superior power to high priestesses and priests, and learning rituals created by others that are not the magic of the hearth, the home and the bed."

http://www.cassandraeason.co.uk/

"First Page" anxiety

Time to start a new journal and I always feel anxious that the first page should be "right". I have chosen the faery picture above to go on the front cover. Something to set the right tone.

Hail! King

This is a mind-map I made last night during a visualisation of the Grail King of my Arthurian Tarot (King of Cups in more traditional packs).

It's strange the way I am working with my tarot at the moment. I get a feeling for which card(s) I should be working with and am not selecting them randomly from the pack. Last night I felt a very strong presence of the Grail King and also took from the pack Stone King and the Wounded King. The comment "Are we not the same?", came to mind. The writing in green pencil felt like a male voice: "It's not the same trip" being an observation of a French friend of ours.

Some of the links I was making:

• Jesus
• Herne the Hunter / Pan (linked via Thoth to Egypt, Tunisia and my bad back - weird, but there's a story there!). Anyway, I sensed the horned one abroad outside, and so did the dog, who started growling the second my thoughts turned in that direction.
• For the Wounded King, I thought of gays and men generally, struggling to find out they fit in the world today.
• N. America and native indian culture, somehow linked to Scotland and Ireland i.e. Celtic culture. I could hear the tribes dancing and celebrating, but the man's voice was clear that he did not want to get married.
• Then I heard jazz music and wandered off to New Orleans and a little vodoo culture.
• A thought for those guys getting ready to volunteer for CRISIS at Christmas (a little plug here for everyone who works so hard for such a great cause www.crisis.org.uk). Especially for the "Green Badges" - you know who you are!!
• I then went off to "Faery Glen" - actually, the visualisation was of the beautiful, candle-lit and crystal adorned grotto, created by the Lost Horizons tribe at Eartheart, Bridport, England, September 2003 - what a week that was!
• Then there were reminders about using my Bach Remedies - Walnut is a very useful one, but I have not tried Aspen before.
• "Pour the Waters" is a reference to the "The Healing Book of Waters" and the Goddess Nut standing by the Tree of Life and pouring water into the mouth and hands of another figure.

I want to Paint

These are some sketches I did for a painting I would like to create; trouble is, I don't know anything about painting and have no idea where to start.

The theme is a stylised me (plenty of artistic licence here!), surrounded by my 9 totem animals. They are in the 4 cardinal directions plus within, above, below, left and right. I had this idea of Wolf howling at the moon; night sky becoming day, merging into water with Dolphin and Beaver, the stream running down below the roots of the tree and opening to another world below, wherein Elk resides. I've seen many paintings that successfully combine day and night, this world and the Otherworld etc. that inspire me, but I need some help to get this to work.

I also can't work out how to get Turtle and Lynx to hold my hand. It just looks weird.

Kernow Bys Vykken - Cornwall Forever

Maids of Cornwall unite (and spread the light) !

Sometimes I feel very far from my beloved homeland, Cornwall. Never more than 15 miles from the sea anywhere in the county; now I am quite land-locked in central Portugal. Luckily, Cornwall is taken care off by some very special, loving people, including my best friends.

I want to talk about one of them; the most special person and a beacon of light and love. Julie: CONGRATULATIONS!
Julie has just been awarded "Highly Commended" for her business enterprise, Business English in Cornwall, in a Green Tourism competition. Her business was described as 'Eco-linguistics meets bio-diversity ... '. She's worked hard for this and at last she has recognition. She offers a lovely place to stay while visiting Cornwall, and what better place to study English. Check her out at http://www.businessenglishincornwall.com/.

Cornwall runs deep in the veins of old L.G.S. (Liskeard Grammar School) girls, and for Julie, so deep she finds it hard to leave at all. My contact with her keeps me connected to my roots and her emails give me such a warm, cosy feeling that I know everything really is alright.

Kernow Bys Vykken

"Time's Up" for The Awakener

Irresistible quote from Sandy Stevenson' "The Awakener":

"Perhaps you have also noticed that you can't seem to get as much done in a day, as you used to. The reason for this is that time is accelerating as the planetary vibration speeds up. although the clocks may appear to look the same, we have currently lost 6 hours, 25 minutes and 3 seconds (as at 12 August 1999) in twenty-four hour period. That leaves us with a 17 hours, 35 minute day. This pattern of 'losing time' has been occurring now for several years and the momentum is quickening. This will continue until there is 'no time' left as we move into the eternal 'now' of the fifth dimension."

So that's why !!!!

My Box of Tricks

Had to find some candles this morning which meant I had to delve into my box of tricks i.e. the place I store all those odd things that don't fit into our limited cupboard space.

I thought the contents looked rather lovely when I opened the lid, so I took this picture.

What you can see on the top is the lovely bag I bought at the Boom Festival 2004; the wand I made from English Oak, decorated with Little Owl feathers; a Marafona doll, made locally in Monsanto (it gives protection from thunderstorms and also is a traditional gift for a marriage bed because she has no eyes to see or ears to hear!); a Stork feather; a Durga postcard; my aromatherapy box; my I-Ching box.

Quote of the Day

"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (The World is a Family) - Hitopadesa

Discovered on the Indian Embassy of Portugal website.

Letting go is not easy

I am very tired. I am running on over-drive. I am experiencing an explosion of new ideas, insights and synchronicity and I am wearing myself out with it. I can't let go of the feeling that I need to capture every thought - every feeling - every whispered revelation. The old methods of writing long-hand or typing are too slow. My hand can't keep up with developments.

Deep down I really do know that it's not necessary to hold onto all the information - important revalations happen at the right time for us to be able to deal with them. Any that we forget were not important or will be revealed again at another time. For now though, I still feel the need to write and draw whatever I can remember.

This is a simple mind map I made last night based on the links I was making at the time. Goddesses, animals, symbolism, past lives - this and more are noted in my own style on this page.

Word of the Day - Numinous

I had to look this one up:

• Indicating the presence of a divinity
• Spiritual
• Awe-inspiring

I came across it in a review of the Goddess Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot: http://www.aeclectic.net/goddess/review.shtml.

Sim, my husband, surprised me today by picking out this tarot pack as an unexpected present for me. I will have to wait before I get my hands on it though - until he decides the time is right. I'm hoping that will be Winter Solstice which we will be celebrating somewhere in England.

I have to add that today has been totally "awe-inspiring" in it's deepest sense. Loads of synchronicity - a feeling of things coming together, balance, and revelation. I am very, very happy right now.

Bedside reading material

I never seem to have just one book on the go and currently I have a large stack for dipping into:

The Healing Energies of Water by Charlie Ryrie. A Gaia book. I love this publisher - everything they produce is so beautifully put together. This was a 50p bargain at a library sale on my last trip to the UK.

The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Dogs and Cats by the Editors of Prevention Pets Books. Also a bargain book; this time from a charity shop. I have no idea why there are no charity shops where I live in central Portugal. They are something I really miss from England.

The Awakener by Sandy Stevenson. This was recommended to me by an amazing traveller from East Timor, whom I met at this year's Boom Festival. I tried hard to seek it out on my last UK trip, trawling every shop in Glastonbury to no avail. Then, amazingly, the book nearly fell off the shelf at me in Waterstones at Fareham - the last place I expected to find such a way out book. I've finished reading it now, but am still referring to it. I had many "uh-huh" moments as I read it; there was plenty of resonance for me, but it also presents some very strange concepts.

The Spiral Dance by Starhawk. This is a classic Wiccan tome. I am not a Wiccan, nor do I belong to a coven, but this book is still very interesting reading, with plenty of sensible advice.

The Gentle Arts of Aquarian Magic by Marian Green. I've got to chapter 5, entitled The Magic of Air. Then I realised that I haven't really been assimilating what I've read. I haven't done the exercises either, so at some point I'm going to have to re-read this or I won't make much progress.

A Witch Alone by Marian Green. This is the book that inspired the title for this blog. I really am grabbed by the concept of workbooks generally (my favourite book is a workbook too). As with the previous title, I haven't been putting in the effort required to advance. My main stumbling blocks are lack of application to one task, and difficulty with meditation and mental stillness.

Pixel Juice by Jeff Noon. This is my purely recreational reading at the moment. The Times review of this title, printed on the front cover, says "Noon is the Lewis Carroll of Manchester's housing estates ... the cocktail of alienation, narcotics and gadgetry fizzes with energy." This is a book of short stories and so is ideal for a quick read before lights out.

Violet Flame by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. One of those little books you can read in one sitting, or dip into. I found it comforting and helpful leading up to my Mum's recent death. I am really trying to work on those purple flame visualisations, and the feelings I get remind me of sending and receiving Reiki.

Finally, I also have the September / October edition of Resurgence magazine. This has plenty of intelligent articles from respected writers such as Deepak Chopra, James Lovelock and Anita Roddick.

My little hag stone takes a trip

I really like this picture of my hag stone, looking like a demon on acid.

I found the stone at Totland Bay, Isle of Wight. In fact I found several at the same place, but have given away all the others decorated with runes.

This one has survived in my little bag of tricks - my Durga bag. Only recently have I found its' true use.

It looks so like a skull, with the eye holes in the correct position - you can look right through from one side to the other. I was able to find comfort in wearing it (hence the silver spiral around it) during the recent period leading up to my Mother's death last month. So it helped me literally to face Death head on.

It's other use, and the reason "hag" stones got their name, is for clear-sight - a vision into the other world. When in the right frame of mental focus, I can look through the "eye sockets", into other dimensions.

It's a powerful tool, that I respect greatly. I am yet to discover it's name though - something suitably demonic, given it's current guise in the photograph.

Strength

I immediately thought on seeing this newspaper clipping from the Algarve 1-2-3, that it would make a great design for a "Strength" card.

Soundtrack to the Journal entry of 1st December & my first ever Blog post

John Cale & Brian Eno - Wrong Way Up (entire album)
Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs (entire album)
Beatles - Revolver (entire album)
Beatles - Revolution
Poison Girls - Mandy Is Having A Baby
Poison Girls - Old Tart
Current 93 - Beausoleil
Current 93, Nurse With Wound & feat. Tiny Tim - Just What Do You Mean By Antichrist
Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Swampsnake

Then a few hours of indulgent BBC Radio 3 (thank you "Listen Again"):

Mixing It (in our favourite, Late Junction's timeslot):http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/mixingit/pip/6kloi/

followed by Jazz On 3:http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/pip/g038q/

Tarot, Dice & Crystal - Journal Entry 01-12-2006

Waxing Moon
Moon leaving Aries and moving into Taurus

My mind racing across many dimensions, like looking up inside a multi-faceted, crystal dome. Putting a peg on my speeding thoughts, I quickly sketch them on a journal page. Now I am drawing tarot cards from memory - I rarely use my pack.

In the past I have not been able to recapture the magical feelings I experienced at the time of making my journal entries. Now, with my first ever Blog post and a photograph, I can work out the links I was making at the time - like a 3-D mind map.