July 2017 Column:Take A Break: Where Do You Want To Go?

July Column:  Take A Break: Where do you want to go?

It's midsummer really; the flowers, the trees, the gardens are pregnant with flowers.  There is so much colour to be seen and the bees are busy pollinating the flowers and fruit.  You can see apples and pears starting to grow from the spring blossom and my raspberries are coming along nicely. All in all nature is resplendent and flourishing.  How are you?  I don't know about anyone else but I'm feeling that mid-year lull, when, like the children who are about to break up for the long summer holidays, I too am ready for a summer break.  I wish I could take 6 weeks off and disappear to a lovely villa in sunnier climes.... It seems an impossible dream, but who knows...Anything is possible if you truly believe it will happen.

Most of us aren't lucky enough to have a bolt hole abroad.   A week away in the summer is probably more realistic, but some of us don't even have that to look forward to.  Yet everyone needs a break, so I'm going to take you on a little 'holiday' which hopefully will help you to feel refreshed and as if you have visited your own special haven of sunshine and peace, and you will come out of July feeling relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated! 

It's not just our physical body that we need to rest, it's our psychological one as well.  It's no good going to bed early to get those precious 8 hours sleep if your brain is whirling around, tormenting you, and your stomach is in knots over issues you need to deal with.  Truly resting is finding some way of relaxing our mind, body and spirit, so that we are then ready to deal with the next challenge that life throws at us. 

Practical Magic

Here's what I want you to do this month.  Choose a candle that you like, it might be a 99p one from a local supermarket or a posh scented one, it doesn't matter as long as you like the colour and smell.  (If you want to feel more 'alive' pick a brightly coloured one, if you want more calming relaxation choose a muted pastel colour).  I want you to choose how often you can have your 'holiday' time.  It  might be every day, or it might only be once a week,.  You just need about 10 minutes to put aside, just for you, no disturbances, no guilt, this is what you've earned.  So each time you are able to 'journey ' on to your mini 'holiday' destination I would like you to light the candle and if it's evening time dim the lights. (please remember never leave a candle/flame unattended!!!).  Now get yourself comfortable, sitting/or lying down and choose where you want to go.  It might be Malaysia, France, Spain, the Seychelles, the Caribbean, LA; anywhere you want!  You might want to be lying on a beach with the soft warm breeze gently blowing your hair and the heat of the sun beating down on your bikini clad body; you might choose to be in a busy Moroccan market sampling spices, bread, olives, touching brightly coloured silks and scarves and bartering loudly with exotic looking stall holders.  I want you to really picture yourself at this destination and ask yourself questions: what's the weather like?  How do you feel?  what can you see/smell/touch/hear.  Allow every one of your senses to be stimulated. Take time to listen to your surroundings, touch what you can see in front of you, taste the air/the food/ the salt on your lips, note what you can smell and soak up visually the delights your brain is conjuring up for you.  How do you feel in this place?  Do you feel calm/excited/relaxed/tired/happy/emotional? Make a brief note of your feelings then bat them away gently, it doesn't matter, nothing matters except that you have chosen this journey to go on. You might visit this place tomorrow and feel different.   For now, just allow your body and your mind to soak up the atmosphere and just 'be' in he moment that you have chosen.  You have no cares and no worries in this special place, no deadlines, no one to answer to except yourself.  You can spend as much time or as little time here as you want, there are no limits. You can drink and eat what you want with no repercussions or expanding waistlines!  You don't need SPF as you won't burn here, and you don't need to be able to swim to enjoy the feeling of floating in the sea.  Your mind is a wonderful tool and you can do and create whatever you want in this special place as it belongs to you and no one else.  You can even conjure up Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise to accompany you if you want!  When you are ready to leave this place I want you to focus on every single part of your body from the top of your head right down to the tips of your toes, and individually I want you to tense and then relax them.  So start from your head and go to your eyebrows, your eyelids, your nose, your cheeks, your ears, your chin, neck, shoulders, arms lower arms, wrists, hands fingers,  chest, back, lower back, stomach, hips, pelvis and pelvic floors thighs, knees, lower legs/calves, heels, feet, toes. Each muscles in those areas need to be tensed and then relaxed.  By now your body should be extremely heavy and relaxed.  Gently open your eyes when you feel ready and gaze at your candle.  Just focus on the flame, the flicker, the colour, the warmth, the shape, as other thoughts pop into your head gently swat them away and go back to the flame of the candle.  Breathe  deeply and evenly as you do so.  If the candle flame becomes too difficult to focus on and your mind keeps wandering go back to your breath and think about that, in and out, in and out.  You will probably only be able to do this for a few minutes as meditation (which is what this is) is very difficult and takes time to build up to.  It's so important to try to empty our minds of all thoughts from time to time as it's the only way our brain really ever gets a 'lie down', as even in sleep our brain is sifting through everything we have done in the day and processing the information.  Meditation allows your mind to go on holiday, just in the same way we have taken our imagination on a break and our bodies on one with the tensing and relaxing of the muscles.  Try this at home as often as you feel you need to and I'm hoping you will feel as though you have given your mind body and spirit a chance to recoup, relax and revive itself.

Crystal of the Month - Moonstone

I've chosen this stone because it's my birthstone (July/Cancer) and I feel a great affinity to this crystal.  The iridescent colours seen in it are simply breathtaking and it seems to have a certain mystery around it, like the moon itself....  Moonstones are great stones for women as they can balance hormones and help regulate menstruation.  They are also said to promote long life, happiness and loyalty to the wearer.  The best time to use a moonstone is  obviously at the time of a full moon, when it is at its most powerful.  Moonstones are said to reflect the true nature of the wearer, they show you to be as you truly are, so they are a perfect stone to use when meditating. (try holding one during your practical relaxation exercises).

Angel Card of the Month - Explore Your Options

This card has come up to remind you that although you have worked your hardest on a situation, maybe it is time now to look elsewhere and make plans.  There is no need to compromise anymore, you should move ahead with exploring alternative options that allow you to be your true authentic self.  Perhaps it's time to look for another job?  Is it the right moment to leave an unhealthy relationship/find new ways to heal a situation/change your Dr?  Allow yourself to daydream about your possibilities!

Moody Moon

This month the full moon is on July 9th at 5.06am in the earthy sign of Capricorn, so although things come to a head on full moons, expect results to be not as forthcoming as you had hoped.  There may be some tough conditions or restraints associated with what you are doing/hearing about on this day.  Capricorn will just be ensuring that you do really really want this, and that you are prepared to work for it and that you can be responsible. 

The new moon is on the 23rd at 10.45 in the sign of Leo.  Leo is loud and proud and wants to be noticed, so this is a great day for job interviews or getting your opinions heard and more importantly listened to!  Any new beginnings will be thrust at you today with the power and roar that the lion beholds.  Here I am! Take me and the opportunities I bring!

According to my moon calendar look out for these planets appearing next to the moon on these dates in the night's sky: 1 July - Jupiter, 7 July - Saturn, 20 July - Venus and 28 July - Jupiter. If you are looking for your family to expand or more opportunities /money to come your way choose Jupiter to gaze at and offer a prayer to him, choose Saturn if you need rules in place or need someone to take responsibility for something and choose Venus if you are looking for love.

On July 29th there is what's called a Delta Aquarid  Meteor Shower which produces up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak.  Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius but can appear anywhere in the sky.

Eat: apricots, beetroot, lamb, mackerel, sea bass, tomato, raspberries, peas, watercress

Play: Go get some holiday brochures, cut out the places and picture of where you'd like to go or where inspires you and stick them up somewhere in your kitchen, like a makeshift mood board.  Gaze at them every day and before you know if you'll be making it happen.......

Love: To Travel, whether it's in your mind, on a local bus route or flying to a holiday destination..... embrace the different sensations and sights to your senses.

June - Celebrate Our Absent Friends

June - Celebrate Our Absent  Friends.

June as a rule marks my most favourite Wiccan festival of them all, Litha, or Summer Solstice to the layman.  I love the fact that in the past, when I lived down south, it would often be pretty hot on this day, the late afternoon and evening bringing a balminess which would somehow lend a magical air to the evening.  I wanted to dash down to Stonehenge and join in the celebrations with complete strangers, drinking wine around make shift fires and catching the eye of a handsome pagan through  the shudder and shimmer of the flames.  I never did.  I sat in my little garden and toasted the sun and the moon and enjoyed the fact that the day would stretch on and on, ignoring of course that after this the days would actually get shorter.  It also marked the time when the sun moves into Cancer, which is my star sign, so in many ways this festival has always felt like mine.  My own private party, a time for making wishes and dreaming big, and hopefully manifesting those dreams instead of fantasising about adventures, which is what I used to do when I lived alone.

I started writing this months' column in April during an incredibly sad period.  Our  beloved Bob, our ginger and white cat disappeared during the night and I felt absolutely devastated.  This is what I started to write: 

'nothing feels like it will ever be the same again.  He was always a special cat, when we first rescued him and his sister from the Cats Protection League we were told that he had had a seizure when he first came into the home.  Of course they put this down to stress and a 'one off incident'  and they could find no medical evidence of any ongoing problems.  He was such a loving soft cat, you could cradle him in your arms like a baby, kiss him and he would reach out to touch you with his paw gently.  He would 'tread' my hair when I was laying in bed, and snuggle down into it, using it like a comfort blanket.  He was our special needs boy, we used to joke about it,  but I really do believe he was slightly brain damaged.  He had the gentle  innocence of child, no common sense whatsoever and the only time he would ever show any sort of aggression was after a seizure when he would sometimes growl and cry if you tried to pick him up.  He just needed to eat and sleep it off, sometimes taking a day or two to get back to normal.  So we realised we had adopted a very special boy, who needed lots of extra care.  The tears are streaming down my face as I write this as I cannot comprehend that I will probably not see him again.  I feel like we have let him down terribly.  Perhaps I should have kept him indoors, but this is so difficult when he loved being outside, he never wandered far, and his sister needed to be outside too.  I couldn't have kept him indoors like a caged bird just for my own selfish needs to know he was safe.  During the 18 months that he has lived with us he's had the best of everything; the best love, toys, food, warmth.  We couldn't have loved him or cherished him more.  And the weird thing is I was reading about Litha and how the Oak and the Holly gods sacrifice themselves to ensure the safe harvest and that the wheel of life continues and I thought how ironic that in a way we have had to sacrifice our Bob, I don't know why or what for, maybe I will never know, but maybe it's also a comfort too'  

Thank God our darling boy returned after 9 days all by himself, a little thin, but otherwise fine.  During the time he was missing we had done absolutely everything to find him, we scoured the streets, we did all kinds of crazy things to 'scent' the surrounding area so he could find his way home.  I had almost given up hope when he returned.  I did feel like we had lost our boy forever, that we had had to sacrifice him.  I was at the point of letting him go when he returned.  What is the lesson in this if any?  I guess I feel there are several pointers; never underestimate somebody!  We had categorised him as 'daft' and unable to find his own way home and yet he did!  I guess not giving up on something or someone is important in there too.  We were focussed on finding him, even though hope was dwindling.  Yet what stands out to me is the fact that he was out there somewhere, we didn't know where, we didn't know what road, what house, what area he was in, but we hoped and prayed he was out there, and he was.  We couldn't see him, or touch him but he was there.  Just because you can't see someone/something doesn't mean they aren't there.  People lose loved ones every day, my belief is that they aren't gone.  Yes they are visually absent, physically we cannot touch them, but I feel they are somewhere else, their energy is around us and we should celebrate their mark on the world in  a positive way.  I was lucky that our Bob returned, but I know he isn't mine to keep.  I cannot hold him prisoner, I have to give him his freedom and love him enough to let him live the life he wants to lead.  I have to give him 'wings'.  Several friends have lost loved ones recently, ultimately there are no words of comfort to offer.  One tries to write compassionate words of comfort, offer hugs, extend  religious assurances, but all these seem futile and banal in the wake of their obvious grief.  How does one carry on when your husband or wife or loved one has passed on, how can life ever have any meaning again?    I really can't answer that, except to say how I feel which is just because they have 'gone' visually and physically doesn't mean they aren't there.  You don't have to believe in heaven or hell or god to believe that our energy remains; our soul is on a journey which, although may be at its end in this life,  cannot be destroyed.  The love that those people created, is very much apparent, in their children and in the footprint of life  they left behind.  The people they touched throughout their lives, the memories they were part of  will all live on.  Let's celebrate our absent friends this solstice, with the energy of the sun at its highest and the mysterious hidden world of the moon closest to earth at this time, until we meet again, and you will, you will.

Practical Magic

This is a very simple instruction this month.  Litha is such a charged powerful time, raise a glass to the sun and the moon, raise a glass to your absent friends, what would they say to you now about your life?  What should you,/could you be doing differently?  Make some promises to yourself, do it, just do it.  This poem by Philip Larkin sums up to me the love that is left behind after the seemingly finality of death.

An Arundel Tomb by Philip Larkin

Side by side, their faces blurred,   

The earl and countess lie in stone,   

Their proper habits vaguely shown   

As jointed armour, stiffened pleat,   

And that faint hint of the absurd—   

The little dogs under their feet.

Such plainness of the pre-baroque    

Hardly involves the eye, until

It meets his left-hand gauntlet, still   

Clasped empty in the other; and   

One sees, with a sharp tender shock,   

His hand withdrawn, holding her hand.

They would not think to lie so long.   

Such faithfulness in effigy

Was just a detail friends would see:

A sculptor’s sweet commissioned grace   

Thrown off in helping to prolong   

The Latin names around the base.

They would not guess how early in

Their supine stationary voyage

The air would change to soundless damage,   

Turn the old tenantry away;

How soon succeeding eyes begin

To look, not read. Rigidly they

Persisted, linked, through lengths and breadths   

Of time. Snow fell, undated. Light

Each summer thronged the glass. A bright   

Litter of birdcalls strewed the same

Bone-riddled ground. And up the paths   

The endless altered people came,

Washing at their identity.   

Now, helpless in the hollow of   

An unarmorial age, a trough

Of smoke in slow suspended skeins   

Above their scrap of history,   

Only an attitude remains:

Time has transfigured them into   

Untruth. The stone fidelity

They hardly meant has come to be   

Their final blazon, and to prove   

Our almost-instinct almost true:   

What will survive of us is love.

Crystal of the Month - Green Aventurine

Green aventurine is a type of quartz, it is a stone of abundance and career luck.  It encourages prosperity and thus is a good crystal to take with you on a job interview, or if you are hoping to change career or move on up in your chosen profession.  It has a gentle energy and is also associated with the heart chakra.   I use this stone in my chakra stone balancing kit, you can use either green or pink colours for the heart chakra, but I prefer the calming influence of the green.  It Is also supposed to help relieve migraines and is the birth stone of the sign of Libra.

Angel Card of the Month - Your Inner Guidance Is Real and Trustworthy

I let my cat Bob choose this card which made me laugh really as I wondered if it was his little message to me too! This card is about trusting your instinct and taking action when you are feeling uncertain or confused with a situation, you may feel like doing something but be hesitating.  Don't hesitate, just go for it!  The card confirms that is it safe to go forward and make those changes.   Trust that you will be guided in making the right decision, there's no such thing as a wrong decision!

Moody Moon

This month the full moon falls on June 9th at 14.09 in the sign of Sagittarius.  It's a day for adventures and taking a few risks.   Today is a great day to travel or start a new job or 'adventure'.  Fortune favours the brave, let that be your motto on this month's full moon!  The new moon is on 24th June at 03.30 in the sign of Cancer. Today a house move will be advantageous, or having a baby or starting a new relationship, all things linked to maternal home loving Cancer.  It's an emotional day but a positive one for new things starting.  Don't think about those things ending, concentrate on the new beginnings.....

If you look carefully in the evenings you will see Jupiter in the south, Venus in the east in the morning and from mid June Saturn can be seen all night long..........

Eat:  Broad beans, chicory, crab, French beans, peas, nectarine, raspberries, watercress

Play: You know the photos you always keep meaning to put in an album?  Stop procrastinating and get on with it!  Enjoy those memories.

Love: the moment.  The past has gone, the future is yet to come, all we have is the present. Grab it, do it find it NOW

Get Attached, Get Detached And Get Going!

May 2017 Column

Happy Beltane!   May 1st, otherwise known as 'May Day' is the Wiccan festival of Beltane.  It's a wonderful celebration of the joining together of the male and female energies, so it makes sense that it is a very popular time for hand fasting ceremonies to take place (pagan weddings).  These pagan ceremonies are beautiful and involve binding the couples hands together to symbolise the joining of the two individuals, you then jump over the broomstick together which symbolise you entering your new life as a couple. 

In years gone by Beltane was celebrated as an early pastoral festival which accompanied the first turning out  of the herds out to wild pasture.  The cattle were driven between the Belfires to protect them from illness and disease.  Any contact with the fire was seen as symbolic contact with the sun.    Beltane is also a time when fertility and sexuality are exalted too, as well as reaping the harvest we have sown, both physically in the first harvest, and spiritually in terms of karma.  Traditionally a maypole is erected (the phallus) and ribbons of all different colours are hung from its top and then men and women both dance twirling the ribbons around the maypole in spectacular fashion, to make a beautiful woven design which symbolises the coming together of male and female.  .  So in terms of fertility, if you are looking to conceive then May 1st is a great time to go for it!  Hang different coloured ribbons from your bed and braid your hair (shows you are honouring the union of man and woman and goddess/god).  Other traditional practices include jumping  the Beltane fire for good luck (not to be advised unless you are a responsible adult and it's a very small outside fire!), and hanging a rowan branch over the fire in your home (this preserves the fire from bewitchment as the house fire is seen as the symbolic luck of the house).  It's an interesting festival I think as on the one hand its champions the male and female joining as one, (fertility), procreation and the coming of sexuality in order to make new life, and on the other hand it also celebrates the maturity of love in terms of commitment (hand fasting ceremonies) so to me there lies a dichotomy between the heady, lusty, first flush of love with the more considered,  mature love which seems to carry more depth.  That said, perhaps this festival simply covers the diversity of the marriage of male and female, yin and yang, new love and mature love.  Although I have talked predominately about heterosexual love with regards to Beltane, there is no reason why the diversity of love celebrated could not also encompass homosexual love too.  The joy of Wicca for me, is in the fact that we respect both the natural world and each other, and part of that respect is in welcoming people from all walks of life.  We all come the same way, we all go the same way, we all need to love and support each other. 

Practical Magic

Everyone needs love in their life, young and old. It needn't all be romantic love, clearly children need the unconditional love from their families, and as adults some of us have romantic love, but we also need love in the forms of friendship, support and companionship, particularly as people get older and their life situations change.  Retiring from work, being made redundant, losing a partner, kids leaving home;  these are all situations  where people can find themselves 'rudderless', so to speak and in need of some friendship.  My magical tip for this month is to make a may day lucky charm to give to someone in need.  To do this take a small branch from a tree preferable a rowan tree (see image below), just a piece of branch around 7 inches long, take 3 or 4 pieces of different coloured ribbon and attach to the top of the wood then weave around the branch so that all the ribbons are intertwined, secure firmly at the bottom.  This symbol of the maypole will act as a lucky and colourful charm for your recipient.  You can also leave tassels of the ribbons floating at the bottom of the branch if you think it looks prettier.  Give it to the person you immediately think of that needs it.

 Crystal of the Month: Malachite

I chose this beautiful emerald green stone partly as it is the colour associated with the festival of Beltane.  It is a deeply protective stone, absorbing negative energies from the atmosphere as we;; as well as clearing electromagnetic pollution- you can keep it near microwaves or in the office and it will protect you against harmful rays from technological equipment.  It is often used during travel too, particularly air travel, so if you are afraid of flying take a piece of malachite with you and it will calm you down as well as keep you safe.  In terms of healing Malachite is a stone of transformation. It will show you what is blocking your spiritual growth and help you to discard old outworn patterns of life.  It is a highly adaptable stone and will give the owner what they need in terms of support and protection.  In terms of transformation, it will know how far to push you and enable you to reach your true potential according to where you are at right now in your life's journey.  As I sit holding it my hand and rubbing my fingers over its smooth surface, I feel my mind's eye filling with light as if the possibilities are endless and little opportunities are exploding into the atmosphere all around.  I hope you will feel these possibilities too!

Archangel Michael Card 

This month's angel card is 'Detach from the Situation' and suggests that you may have become too embroiled in a situation to the point where you can't see it objectively. Take a step back, don't allow yourself to become so emotionally involved or take other peoples actions personally.  Give yourself permission to withdraw from the situation, you don't necessarily need to know the solution now, have faith that it will reach a happy conclusion.  In terms of specific meanings this card can be read as: don't take on other peoples arguments, be compassionate without carrying others burdens, maybe it's time to leave an unhealthy situation or relationship.

Moody Moon

This month's full moon falls on May 10th in Scorpio at 22.42, Scorpio is one of the three water signs, and the only water sign that will seek revenge if hurt, so beware!  They really do have a sting in their tails if you upset them!  Henceforth this full moon indicates a time when feelings will run particularly deep, try not to allow yourself to say things you don't mean.  The new moon is on 25th May at 20.44 in Gemini,  new opportunities , new jobs, interviews, anything communication related will be great on this day as mercury the planet of communication rules Gemini.   On May 6h look out for Eta Aquarids Meteor shower.  Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius but can appear anywhere in the sky.  For the best chance of seeing them look from a dark location after midnight.  

Mars will be visible from the west in the evenings throughout may, Jupiter will be visible all night, and Mercury Venus and Saturn are visible from the east in the mornings.

Eat: Asparagus, new potatoes, radishes, samphire, spinach, spring onions, watercress, bananas, basil, nasturtium, parsley, rosemary, lamb, wood pigeon, crab, haddock, sardines, salmon

Play: Hard to get. Aim high, don't settle for second best.  You deserve to be number one.

Love: the diversity we have in our communities.   Different can be good, different can be scary, be proud of your uniqueness and help others celebrate theirs too.