Category: Nature + Moon + Tea

The Candle and the Moon

When I was 16, on the night of the full moon in September, the first full moon of Spring like today, I lit a candle on the sill of my bedroom window. I wrote a list of wishes on a piece of paper, said some prayers for healing and blessings, then read my wishlist to the great Moon Goddesss as she glowed against the darkness, constellations of stars twinkling about her.

“A woman is a story of ebb

      and flow and the moon that comes and goes.” ~ Kelliana

 

I have no idea why I did that. At the time I had no knowledge of the Goddess, Moon magic or deeper spiritual concepts. Raised in a Catholic family, it felt kind of blasphemous on some level. Yet something in me felt compelled to do this, and as I did, I felt my heart fill with a special kind of peace. Perhaps it was because I’d heard that if you light a candle when you said a prayer, a new doorway in heaven was opened and the angels would carry your prayers and dreams and wishes closer to God. Perhaps something in me wanted to understand why the ancestors of my land believed that the moon embodied divinty. Or perhaps a timeless piece of my soul that was once a priestess in a pastlife suddenly remembered a glimpse of that lifetime.

I’ll never know the answer, but what I do know is that it was an opening – into a journey of self discovery delving deeper into my inner wilderness and an opening into seeking a deeper understanding of Mystery. I felt a shift in me and saw my inner strength grow. Opportunities opened up for me academically, a period of loneliness ended as I found new friends and a veil of depression that cloaked much of my adolescent years began to lift slowly.

So tonight, many years later, I will honour the same moon and her mystery. I will light many candles, bask in her healing glow, commune with the angels and make crystal and herbal elixirs. I will release blocks and negativity and I will give thanks for her healing.

How will you celebrate tonight’s Harvest/Sage moon?

full moon

3 Blogs Worth Reading

Don’t you love that moment in the day when you can just sit down with a cup of tea and read some of your favourite blogs? I most certainly do. Here are 3 blogs that I love to read when I have some down time:

The Indigo Vat: A woman after my own heart, California-based Sylvia is fascinated with Nature. I love exploring the wild space of California through the photos and stories she shares on her blog. Sylvia is a gifted writer. I am so intrigued by how she incorporates the wild whispers of Nature together with aspects of folklore into incredibly crafted tales for her letter story series. I recently received the first instalment of new The Elkline Epistles in the mail and loved every minute of reading her rich and poetic writing. Each story is a novel adventure and I cannot wait to see where Sylvia’s tales take me next.

Vanessa Carnevale: If you need writing inspiration, then Vanessa has a lot to offer you. She shares practical tips and inspiring writing prompts that are of great help when I need to get my creative juices flowing. I appreciate that unlike many writing blogs, she takes a more soulful approach to writing that resonates with my intuitively or spiritually inclined nature. When you sign up to her subscribers list, you get to download her free ‘Write with Presence’ e-book, which is a stunning and uplifting resource.

Little Forest Flower: Anne is a gentle and beautiful Norse soul whose blog posts are always so refreshing to read. Her soulful prose has a way of centring you in the mystery of the present moment. Reading her posts are a window into how she explores her relationship with the world and the essence of Goddess permeates her writing and one cannot help by feel connected to the Divine Nature. I love the honesty and authenticity of Anne’s beautiful writing. There is always so much of what she shares that resonates on a personal level for me.

blogs i love

 

Hello Spring

Last Friday on my Nature outting, I sat at the edge of the water watching as golden glints of light glistened on its surface in the afternoon sun. The cold wind sent a wave of ripples across the gleaming dam, and as usual the moorhen and ducks sailed in silence. It was clear that this was the last cold snap of a fairly mild winter. Although there were two days of light snowfall in the mountainous coastal region late last week, it wasn’t as heavy as usual. Even the bite in the air wasn’t as icy as one would expect a wind whispered from the snow dusted mountains in the South to be.

Winter has been interesting this year, because I’ve experienced it so differently. I’ve explored the season with my intuitive senses, worked with its energy and I’ve been open to receiving so many of its sacred gifts. So it has been a period of healing, insight and full of wild whispers too. So much so, that a part of me is almost sad to see the seasons turn. But alas, it’s time to move on and with change comes new beginnings and reasons to celebrate.

Today, we celebrate the first day of Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Although the Spring/Fall Equinox is only on the 22nd September, 1st September is traditionally considered the start of Spring. I’m not sure why – My guess would be that perhaps this is because Spring sets in sooner down here than it does in the North. In this part of the world, the first signs of spring are already visible in the last month of winter. New growths have been sprouting and flowers have been starting to bloom for a few weeks now. That said, this year I was pretty surprise to discover some things blooming as early as July – in the dead of winter.

So September is all about beautiful weather, blue windy skies and planting before the first rains arrive in October. I’m looking forward to getting to work in the garden, tending to the herbs that are coming back to life and planting new ones too. I’m looking forward to the return of the butterflies and certain species of bird that I haven’t seen in months.

Now is the time where I get to work, Spring cleaning and clearing out the dust and clutter that have settled with winter. It’s a time for nesting, redecorating, bringing more Nature as well as fresh energy into my home. What I love is that it’s also a more social period spent reconnecting with friends, getting out more, going hiking and being able to sit out in the garden with a glass of wine while star-gazing/moon-gazing when the evenings get warmer. So as I greet the arrive of Spring, I invite the lessons, blessings and wild whispers that this new season has to offer. And I send love and blessings to you all too.

Hello Spring