Samhain Friday 31st October 2014

Samhain is the most important festival in the Pagan Calender as it is a time when the veils between this world and the spiritual realms are at their thinnest and it is also the Celtic New Year.

A fire festival and it is a  time to honour the dead especially those who have passed over in the last year. We share fond memories of those we wish to remember and light a candle for each one.

I always find this a powerful festival, a time when our psychic powers are heightened and we often "see" and feel things and notice changes around us. I light candles at the windows to welcome the spirits and for me it is about honouring our ancestors and acknowledging their part in shaping our world.

This year I will be joined by a few women who have been part of my circle for over a year now as well as some new ones. We will share memories , light candles and afterwards feast with a plate of food set aside for those we are remembering.

The food is significant because in times gone by this would have been the last feast before the long winter months ahead.

This is the time of the Crone face of the Goddess and over the winter months we go inside and reflect on the issues we need to deal with to prepare us for the Spring to come when we start to see new growth.

Even if you are not part of a circle you can still honour the dead by lighting a white candle, putting out some flowers (ideally chrysanthemums) and just reflecting on what they meant to you.

Wishing you a happy Samhain

Creating a Magical 2014

So we are at the start of a New Year and from what I see and hear many new years resolutions are already waning. So why do we put ourselves through all this? I think we do want to look forward and by focussing on something we think we want, this initially feels good.

So how should we go about setting goals? Well the first step is to really want it. You have to feel passionately about your goal. Feel the emotion associated with the goal; where do you feel it in your body -  the excitement and passion?

Write your goals in the present tense eg I am... or I have... with a precise date. So this assumes you are already there and notice how good it feels. A real convincer for your unconscious mind, your goal getter.

Keep them simple, your unconscious mind likes simple. so much easier to handle. Must be achievable and realistic and make sure you believe 100% that you can make it happen. Then take Action, it is no use sitting and waiting for everything to find you,  take the opportunities as they arrive. The Universe is abundant we just have to know how to ask and what to do!

There is a Full Moon on the 16th January and a perfect time to reinforce your goals. Light a fresh white candle that evening and meditate focussing on your goals. Really feel the emotion around them.

Wishing you a magical 2014 filled with abundance, peace, love and fun.

Summer Solstice 21 June 2013

Tomorrow we celebrate midsummer (21 June) when the Earth is midpoint on her journey round the Sun. A fire celebration when the Sun is at the height of his powers

By concentrating all our thoughts on the Sun we gradually reinforce our connection to our spirit – the centre of our being.   The rays of the Sun that are present at sunrise are able to renew and transform us, and this is a time to sing, dance and celebrate life. 

 

So here is a sunrise meditation for you:

·         Start by breathing in the energy, draw your arms back, breathe out and push the air with your arms going forward, breathing in the light of life. 4 times 

·         Welcome the elements, your ancestors, the sun, moon, stars and spirit that lives in everything, and our own spirit guides and animals 

·         Set your intention to let go of all negative thoughts and limiting beliefs and be in balance. Find that fire within, the passion, creativity, love of life and see the fire without, the sun 

·         Breathe in the love of light, what is precious to you, hold it in your heart 

·       Meditate for a few minutes on the Sun, you can sit or stand, holding that light within 

·         Start to bring your awareness back to your physical body and allow in as much energy from the light as you can handle and ground this energy into the earth 

·         Feel the power of the collective energy around you and experience the light within, sing and dance and celebrate the Summer Solstice with love, laughter and life

 

With love and light

 

Colleen xx

 

 

Beltane Meditaton

It has been quite a while since my last Blog and so I thought that I start again with a Beltane Meditation.

Beltane is a Celtic fire festival and heralds the beginning of summer and abundance. A fertility festival and a time when animals and birds are breeding, blossom and spring flowers are all around and we are at our most creative. 

Our ancestors celebrated on the 30 April at moonrise when the young men and women would spend the night in the woods re-enacting the greenwood marriage between the God and Goddess. On the next morning, 1st May, all the villagers celebrated by decorating and dancing around the maypole and feasting afterwards. 

So for this Meditation, find yourself a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Get yourself comfortable and light a fresh candle. 

Now just imagine it is the first of May and you are walking in the countryside along a path with trees overhanging; you can feel the sun  warming you and a gentle breeze; you hear the birds singing and you are feeling warm and relaxed. You reach the end of the path and come into a clearing where many people are gathered, men , women and children.  You hear the sounds of laughter and feel the sun's warmth on your skin. 

You walk further into the clearing and see a large table decorated with hawthorn blossom, food and drink. There is also a Maypole decorated with ribbons and a bonfire being tended. You can smell the smoke from the bonfire and the sweet blossom and flowers. 

Then all the people move into a circle around the bonfire and you see a small table decorated with hawthorn blossom,  spring flowers, oak leaves, pink, blue and green candles. You also see a chalice and athame and on the ground in front is a large cauldron with floating candles. 

A woman walks into the centre and then she sees you and asks you to join them. In front of you several women move over to make room for you and they smile a welcoming smile. You take your place in the circle. 

The Woman raises the athame and casts a circle around the group and then calls the God, the Lord of the Greenwood and the Goddess, Lady of flowers, to join the rite. 

Candles are lit and in turn everyone jumps over the bonfire calling out what they want to let go of and jump back calling out their wishes. It is now your turn and you jump over the bonfire calling out what you need to let go of, you then jump back over the fire calling your wish.  

When everyone has had a turn the Woman raises the chalice and dips the athame into it to represent the union of the God and Goddess. The chalice is then passed around the circle and everyone takes a sip. It is your turn and you raise the chalice and take a sip of sweet apple juice and then pass it to the next person.  

The God and Goddess are then thanked for joining the rite and the Woman uncasts the circle. She walks up to you and invites you to join in the maypole dancing. You take a coloured ribbon and start dancing,  weaving in and out with the others. It is a riotous dance and at the end you feel thirsty. 

You then walk over to the large table and take a cup of apple juice and a piece of cake and join a group and listen to their excited chatter. They are hoping for an abundant summer with good crops and fertile animals.  

You spend some time soaking up the atmosphere and then it is time to leave; you thank the Woman for allowing you to join their Beltane celebrations and start to make your way out of the clearing back along the path knowing you can always walk this way again. 

Now it is time to put your attention back on your physical body and come back into this reality.

It is a good idea to ground yourself with some food or drink after the Meditation.

 

Wishing you a magical Beltane.

 

 

 

 

Full Ice Moon in Leo

On Sunday 27th January we have a Full Ice Moon in Leo.  We may find that dramatic things happen and we can successfully deal with people with power and authority. We have a choice of being a drama queen or just be romantic! Ambition and being a leader are important and we like to be the centre of attention. 

We are also approaching the Pagan Festival of Imbolc on 1st February, a Celtic fire Festival and Brighid, a solar goddess presides over this and our creativity starts to gather power again after the winter months.

So on this Full Ice Moon it is the time for the Mother aspect of the goddess and our productivity peaks  and we bring fully formed wishes into manifestation.  We should use  our creativity, power, fertility and sensitivity; we have clarity and things come within our reach.

Here is a Meditation for the Full Moon:

·         You may want to light a fresh white candle and put your crystals in the moonlight to recharge them

·         Tell yourself you are protected and safe

·         Find yourself in a place of nature where you notice an old path with branches of trees over hanging the path.  Dappled light comes through

·         As you walk along the path you come to the end and notice it is night time and walking up a grassy hill feeling the grass beneath your feet, the Moon appears from behind a cloud

·         It is a Full Moon and seems to be hanging round and bright in the dark night sky

·         You relax and breathe in its light till your body starts to fill with her wonderful silvery essence

·         What do you feel, what messages do you hear, what pictures come to mind?

·         Let yourself be drawn deeper and deeper into the meditation with the Moon and spend time with her

·         Thank the Moon for her time and for her love

·         Come back into the room and open your eyes and write up your experience

Wishing you a wonderful and magical Full Moon

With love and light

Colleen

Full Moon in Sagittarius

We now start our journey towards the Summer Solstice on 21st June and today, 15th June, is a Full Moon in Sagittarius. A wonderful time for a party and holding a ritual. This is a time of high creativity, excitement and tremendous potential; a time to connect with the Goddess as our psychic awareness is heightened. We can all focus together tonight, even if we cannot see the Moon because of the cloud cover, we can feel her love and energy and send this out across the world joining with all the others who weave a web of light, this special night. Enjoy.

Celtic Oak Month

What a magical month this is! Today is the start of the Celtic Oak month. The Oak is the Druid Tree and its Celtic name is Duir. It is one of the major sacred trees of Europe and connected to Thor, Zeus and Jupiter. It is the tree of the Summer Solstice and a log is also burned at Winter Solstice.

A symbol of strength and endurance and my favourite Oak is at Kenley in Surrey which is over 800 years old. I have planted acorns from it and now have 8 baby Oak trees.

Oak warns us to use our strength of character to overcome obstacles and take charge of our own destiny. It draws us to explore our spirituality in a deeper way. So this month sit with your favourite Oak tree and listen to its wisdom.

Meditation for your body and mind

It is now scientifically proven that regular meditation is highly beneficial as it can reduce the chance of heart attacks and strokes; lower your blood pressure and improve concentration and help you relax.

Nowadays we are bombarded in all our senses by information and it can be difficult to turn off the "noise". Just spending 10 minutes a day can bring enormous benefit to our bodies and minds.

Just find a place to be still, maybe play favourite piece of calming music, light a candle or just sit in nature. Close your eyes and pay attention to your breath, any thoughts that come into your mind just acknowledge them and let them drift away like clouds in the sky. Imagine you are sitting in a place you love to be, ideally a place of nature. What do you see, hear and feel? Stay there enjoying the feeling of peace and calm before you return to the everyday world.

Notice how different you feel and by doing this everyday you will notice cumulative benefit. Click this link for details of my Meditation evenings.

Celtic Hawthorn Month

Today, Thursday 12th May, is the start of the Celtic Hawthorn month. The Hawthorn has beautiful blossom in Spring and in the Autumn there are ripe berries for the birds to eat. The thorns are ever present although visible in the Autumn when the birds are feeding. The Hawthorn teaches us to protect our boundaries for self preservation and develop a deep understanding of our personal power and will.

We do have to let down our defences to connect with others in a true way and we need to make time this month to be alone, to think and meditate.

Rise to the challenge and embrace the opportunities this month offers us and beware of the thorns!

Wishing Moon and Full Moon

Today is a Full Moon, a Wishing Moon and a Seed Moon in Scorpio. So a time when our sensitivity and energy is heightened, we become more psychically aware, a time of death and rebirth. A time to let go of what no longer has any purpose in our lives and create the life of our dreams. Tonight, write your wishes on a piece of paper and make them very clear, add some Jasmine or Sandalwood oil and a moonstone, then light white candles and create your own ritual to bring your wishes into physical reality. Then keep your piece of paper and moonstone in a safe place till the next Wishing Moon. Wishing you peace, love, abundance, joy and freedom.

Celtic Willow Month

Friday 15th April marks the start of the Celtic Willow Month. The Willow symbolises intuition and imagination and its gift is psychic or clairvoyant leanings. Linked to the Moon, this is a time when our intuition is strong and maybe not a time for logical decisions. Keep track of your dreams and the messages that they bring to you and learn to take notice of your feelings as your intuition is likely to to be functioning strongly.

This is a good time to experience shamanic journeying in an altered state of consciousness and seek out our inner worlds and the messages we receive.

If you have a Willow near you and usually they thrive near water or damp areas, then sit close to it and meditate on the tree and just see what messages and feelings you get. If you follow your intuition it will guide you safely through what may be a time of sensitivity. Willows are flexible and bend without snapping as the one in my garden has done after the heavy snows. So perhaps we need to show that flexibility and learn to thrive and grow in whatever situations we find ourselves.

My Medicine Wheel

A while back Keith dug out a circle for me in the garden as I have always wanted to create my own Medicine Wheel. So over the last two weekends the edging went in and it is now filled with bark. I have marked out the 4 main directions, East, South, West and North and of course the Centre and have a stone or crystal at each one. The space feels good and it is somewhere to go and meditate being that much closer to nature. My good friend Els is coming to stay at the end of April and so I am going to ask her to join me in really dedicating this Wheel and harnessing the energies of the directions and welcoming in the gardens spirits. My cats, Fraser and Pinot are curious about it and walk round it so I hope to have some photos of the wheel and them as well to post soon.

Welcome to the beginning of Spring; Happy Oestara

Today is the Spring Equinox, the solar festival called Oestara. Growth is happening in Nature and the hours of night and day are equally balanced and the light will start to outstrip the dark with the sun growing in power. Days are starting to get warm although we can still get a frost.
It is time to plant seeds and this represents our goals and wishes for the coming months.

Today, have some spring flowers in your home and burn pastel coloured candles welcoming the rebirth and bringing light and growth into your life. Pagans celebrate this ancient festival by painting designs on eggs to symbol fertility, by using seed magic and feasting on hot cross buns and simnel cake.

Celtic Alder Month

Today marks the start of Celtic Alder Month and the Alder tree symbolises structure either our physical structure (our bones, joints, teeth), a building or our homes. The energy is fixed and grounded so can indicate inflexibility or a physical problem. It also represents our creative building blocks.

This is a good month to pamper yourself with a sauna or massage and connect with nature. Relax and enjoy the beauty of the countryside and allow flexibility in what you do and think whilst remaining true to your principles. Tap into your strong life force inside of you as in the red sap of the Alder and enjoy yourself.

Spiritual Coaching

So what is Spiritual Coaching? Spiritual Coaching is about change at a much deeper level so it tends to have a much greater impact on the quality of your life. We are all more familiar with the power of our mind/body connection and yet we still carry long held beliefs that can sabotage our efforts to lead the life we truly desire. These beliefs have their roots in our past and Spiritual Coaching enables you to understand what these beliefs are, the impact they have on your life and how to deal with them.

Spiritual Coaching is a journey with a destination and without a prescribed route, you just let it happen and you know when you have arrived.

As part of my Spiritual journey I am about to build my own Medicine Wheel in my garden. I have to say though Keith my husband has done all the hard work! So this weekend I will be starting to get it ready as my own magical space and somewhere to set my intention, journey to my destination and chill out as well. More to come.

Celtic Ash Month

Friday 18th February marks the start of Celtic Ash month and is also a 'Wishing Moon' and a full Moon so a wonderful magical time (see previous Blog).

Ash month is about rebirth, which ties in with the current season, and also symbolises our link with the cosmos - as above, so below.

Ash energy is positive mental energy, feeling good about yourself and using our personal power and confidence in our chosen community. We are challenged to see that our actions are ecological and for the greater good.

Druid wands are made of Ash as is the traditional Besom Broom, and Lintels over the doors of Romany Caravans are also made of Ash for protection.

Celebrating Imbolc

On Tuesday 1st February we are celebrating the festival of Imbolc - one of the four fire festival and dedicated to the Celtic Goddess Brigid. She is a triple Goddess and patron of artists, craftspeople and healers. Famous for helping others and for transformation.

This is a time of purification, to wash away the winter leaves so that new green shoots can appear. In our garden the snowdrops are putting in an appearance and bulbs are beginning to break through. We welcome the return of spring. Personally it is time to commit or recommit to our spiritual growth, a time to show love as we do on Valentines Day, and to focus on peace and hope.

On the 1st you can light white or gold candles to signify the suns' power and place yellow flowers around the house for the return of spring.

Find time to meditate and send peace, love, hope and joy out into the world.

Celtic Rowan Tree Month

On Friday 21st January we start the Celtic Rowan month. The Rowan tree symbolises action and energy and is a tree of powerful magic, with the berries called "food of the gods".

It is time to put your energy into your goals with a passion to succeed by manifesting your desires from thoughts to physical reality - drawing your power down.

Have faith in your ideas and trust your insight. This coming month sees much creative energy and also being able to overcome problems, you do though have to be aware of becoming too driven and aggressive!

Find a Rowan Tree (sometimes called the Mountain Ash) and sit with the tree and connect with its magic and energy.

Have a fantastic and magical month.

Wishing Moon

On Wednesday 19th January we have a Full Wolf Moon which is also a "Wishing Moon". During a Full Moon we are at the height of our power, fertility and creativity and things come within our reach. As this is also a Wishing Moon (there are 8 Wishing Moons in a calendar year) it is a good time to make a list of wishes, hopes and aspirations.

So you create your Wishing List, add a drop of Jasmine or Sandalwood oil to the list as this will help align your intentions with the right mental, emotional and spiritual state. Then create your own ritual by lighting white candles, wrap your list around a moonstone and bury this in the earth or put it in a secret place until the next full moon. Say what ever feels right for you in this ritual and feel the energy of the Wishing Moon.

Wishing you abundance, peace, joy and love in 2011.

The Magic of the Winter Solstice (Yule)

December has brought snow and freezing temperatures to the UK this year. Although we are experiencing the usual chaos, as I look in my garden I can see a wonderful robin sitting on the hat of my statue, Rosie Lee, who stands in the pond and the Oak tree looks lovely with the snow on its boughs. Other birds are coming and going feasting on the food we have put out for them.

My thoughts are turning to the Winter Solstice, a Pagan festival also known as Yule and one of the most sacred and magical of the festivals. The Winter Solstice falls on the 21st December, the shortest day of the year and the longest night, and was celebrated in Britain long before Christianity. It is the turning point of the year when the sun starts to grow stronger and traditionally in Celtic Shamanic practices the Druids would cut the Mistletoe from the Oak tree and give it as a blessing as it stands for fertility and birth. Pagans are known as “people of the land” or “country dwellers” and celebrating these Pagan Festivals is now more common with many of us turning to Shamanic practices as we become more aware of the effect we have on the earth and our environment.

Pagans celebrate the rebirth of the Sun at Yule and bring holly and ivy into their homes to symbolise the masculine and feminine elements and as they are evergreen this signifies that the earth never dies but just sleeps during the winter months. The Winter Solstice is a solar festival as the sun enters Capricorn and the Oak King challenges and triumphs over the Holly King and the Sun God is born.

This year the Yule festival is also a Full Moon so it is a time to make plans for the future and set goals as this is a time of hope, love and joy when creative energies are awakened. Holly, representing the Holly King, ivy, the Goddess, and mistletoe, fertility, should decorate your home and a piece of holly should be on the main entrance to your home to invite good fortune all year.

Many of these old traditional practices are still around; the holly wreath on our front doors; oranges used to be given in Christmas stockings symbolising the Sun; food is flavoured with cloves and spices which would have hidden the taste of stale and rancid food and of course the chocolate Yule log is still very much in evidence at this time of year.

Our Yule fire will have an oak log on it and a piece will be saved for next year representing the never ending cycle. Any candles burnt should be white with a main candle for the festival and smaller ones for all those present. This is time to spend with family and friends to celebrate this magical time of the Pagan Year and to look forward to 2011 using our creative energy for the year ahead.