Any Witches Here? Part 11

[speakout]

Or Wiccans. or Pagans? Or anyone who is interested in a magical path or feels some magical stirrings.

A place for support, learning, swapping ideas and magical inspiration.

In haste, clouds you say, lovely, check out the Cloud Appreciation Society website.

Here's one that caught my eye in the garden the other day.

KateF I love the sound of your blackberry picking. A perfect activity.
It is lovely to hear of your caretaking of a child at work. I hope she loved the brambles!!
blanktimes I have noticed the crazy clouds this week too!

Blanktimes beautiful photo, I love looking at clouds and seeing what pictures I can see. I see a face in this one, looking out to the left.

KateF I've been picking blackberries too and have made a crumble this afternoon. There's some really juicy ones this year - delicious! I hope your promotion at work comes off, I'll send you some positive energy 💫 Good news about the cleaners, I can understand how tiring it must be to have to clean after a full days work. Looking after children is hard work!

Speakout so glad you enjoyed your beach yoga. Was this your first time practising in a group since lockdown? I'm loving being back at my classes, online is ok, but being in a group is so much better. There's something about being amongst all that energy.

I've had a quiet but enjoyable day. I met a friend this morning for a coffee, then a walk in the woods with my dog and some blackberry picking this afternoon. On the way back we stopped at the pond to look at the swans and their cygnets, who we now almost as big as the adults. I've been observing since they first hatched and have early enjoyed watching them grow. I love how protective the parents are of them! When I got home I cooked a vegetable chilli and made a crumble. Both DS have been out all day so I've enjoyed having the house to myself.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's full moon. The energy feels pretty strong already!

Good morning sisters and welcome to another week, heralded in by the full moon.
I have a few things to cleanse and some full moon water to make, and I look forward to a divine sleep tonight!!
VioletCharlotte I love hearing of your blackberry picking.
It was a family activity when I was a child, we would collects buckets of them from local woods and my father would set out a huge copper pot on the stove as we cleaned and washed the fruit to make jam.
Old jars woud be saved all year and sterilised in the oven, each piping hot full jar topped with a circle of waxed paper befor the lids being put back on. My father would make bramble cordial too, which I loved.
The jam would see us right through the winter months, no doubt a nutritious addition to a time when other fruits were scarce.
The cordial never lasted more than a week or two- a big favourite.
My gran would make rose hip syrup too in the autumn, that was medicinal, I am not sure she even knew about vitamin C, but was something her mother had shown her how to do in the 1880s.It was also delicious- but only a spoonful a day!!

Yes it was my first time at a group yoga class since lockdown, and the energy was lovely. I think the teacher is planning anothher class soon if the weather holds up.
It is feelng very autumnal here today, the light has such a deep golden quality, blue sky and still.
OH off for a few days to Lodon, and everyone else is still asleep, so taking a few moments to myself, to light a candle ans savour the morning.

Have an enchanted week sisters.

It’s good to sit down with a relaxing tea and catch up with everyone’s posts. I’ve been enjoying dragonfly tea night sky calm recently, I’d recommend it to help unwind.

I see the face in the cloud picture too- looks female to me, like she’s watching over, lovely.

Post forage blackberry and apple crumble has been on the menu here too and I’m smiling at the memory of my grandfather’s rosehip syrup. I love the synergy of experience and roots we share here.

We went to the woods yesterday and it was the perfect recharge ahead of the start of my working week. The energy was ethereal and felt alive with fae presence. Wished I’d taken my swimsuit but very much enjoyed a paddle anyway. The riverbed quartz I found is out in the garden to soak up tonight’s full moon energy.

Full moon blessings to all 🌕 ✨

YashmisCrone beautiful photos- I can feel the magical energy!
Your tea sounds interesting too- I have never heard of that brand.

Last night's full moon found me oversleeping- 10 hours last night, magical dreams of Shamanism and forest dwellers.
So feeling very zen like today.
I have torrential rain here- has been soaking everything for the past few days, so fresh and green, my container of full moon water is overflowing.

Wishing everyone a happy day.

Your dreamscape sounds like a powerful place to be speakout, feels like ancient wisdom. I hope the zen like feel has accompanied you throughout your day.
On a similar vein, I dreamt about a sparrowhawk, which I like to look at in a shamanic way too - the message for me was about embodying warrior spirit - decisive action.
Some strong energy around right now!

Today I tried for the first time to influence something. My colleague was very upset as she thought she'd lost her engagement ring at work. We searched but couldn't find it. When I got home I lit a candle and concentrated really hard on visualising it in her hand. Half an hour later she texted that it had turned up at home 🙂

www.whatdadcooked.com/recipe/rosehip-syrup-foraged-wild-dog-rose-hips/

I’m fascinated to hear about home made Rosehip syrup and blackberry picking. I can’t find any ripe blackberries near me.
I am reminded that many years ago I booked a cottage on an island off Ireland. When we arrived, we discovered that there was not much food to be had. The only shop was very expensive and had a limited choice. I was a student at the time . I picked blackberries and we lived on blackberry pies and potato and cheese pie. (Potatoes were cheap).

I would love to know more about the uses for moon water. Do you remember how to make Rosehip syrup Speakout?

Love the beautiful pictures of the river. It can feel the energy of the place. I’m waiting for some decent weather to go wild swimming.

I make rosehip syrup most years. It can be a fiddly job and patience needed for straining it - you must be sure to get all the fibres out as they are an irritant.
It is honestly one of the things I most look forward to every year.
I have a wild rose that self-seeded in my garden some years ago and it is a prolific bloomer and I leave all the hips so that I know my syrup is clean and organic.

I use the River Cottage recipe as it is simple enough but I don't use a food processor to chop the hips - I don gloves and just cut/crush them.

I am still decorating my kitchen, there is just so much wall/ceiling and lots of fiddly bits which need time and care.
It is my eldest son's birthday today, a strange event in lockdown though he has only a small circle of friends anyway and is a real homebody so it's not much different!

I am not sleeping at all well this past week and feeling really quite weary - physically and emotionally.

Good morning, an early start here, off to the supermarket and getting started with work early.
YashmisCrone I love the sound of your sparrowhawk- they are magnificant creatures, We have many of them around here.
KateF thank you for sharing that- I am glad the ring turned up!
KatherineParr4 blackberries are not quite ripe here either- our autumn bounty is a little later than southern parts of the UK.
I am afraid I don;t have the rosehip syrup recipe- these things were rarely written down in those times.
I remember block sugar, and lots of bubbling and straining through cloth but not much else.
One of these arcane secrets!!!

That’s lovely about the ring KateF, great work!

I’m enjoying the rosehip/blackberry discussion and also liking the sound of the cheese and potato pie!

I did try making some rosehip serum last year but I think I have a way to go with my potion making in that respect..

Cooler here today and we had rain in the night- my plants seem happy for it.

I hope everyone’s day is punctuated with moments of magic

And happy birthday to your DS queenrollo I hope the celebrations go well

Love the blackberries and rosehips.
The blackberries are just coming in our garden now. And hopefully we will have elderberries and rosehips to make syrup/cordial from.

It feels like summer again, the air is very heavy and it is actually quite dark with stormy clouds. We need a good thunderstorm.

queenrollo happy birthday to your DS!
Small events can be enjoyable and powerful, I hope he has a magical evening.
It's been quite cool here today, lots of rain again, I have the heating on tonight.
A quietish day, having another week off work- although no such thing for me, I have been building a web site, with the help of my DD and the belief of a good witchy friend who helped me with text.
But I am feeling confident to navigate my way around the web site builder, use the tools, add, edit and modify, I have put this project off for so long as it seemed so daunting.
But it's lovely to have learned some new skills and I feel able at least to create a small web site and I am glad I was brave enough to give it a go! I realise I need to brush up my photography skills too though, but I can change and enhance my images through time.
So a relaxing evening, DS is coming to watch some Netflix with me, DD is tired after a day out with a friend so has taken to bed to watch a movie.
I have some chamomile tea brewing.

Have a magical evening.

Loving all the discussion of blackberries and rosehips. The hedgerows here are bursting with berries, a combination of lots of sunshine and rain this summer seems to have led to a bumper crop! I picked some more blackberries today to freeze and discovered an elderberry bush full of ripe berries just around the corner from my house. I'm going to harvest some tomorrow morning and have a go at Elderberry syrup - I feel that anything that boosts the immune system must be a good thing at the moment!

There's a real autumnal feel in the air today. It's very warm, but windy with moody low cloud. I noticed today that acorns are beginning to fall from the trees and have spotted a few squirrels collecting their nuts to store for the winter. I love Autumn, it's such a magical time of year.

Kate F well done on your bit of magic - what a great result! Your friend must have been so happy and relieved.

Yashmis and Speakout very interested to read about your dreams. I don't seem to be able to remember my dreams recently. I have a notebook by my bed and always mean to write them down as soon as I wake, but don't seem to be able to grasp hold of them before they float away.

Queenrollo wishing your DS a very Happy Birthday. I'm sure he had a lovely day. I firmly believe that simple celebrations with the right people are for more enjoyable than big parties. I've had a few interrupted nights as well, but I never sleep well during a full moon, so perhaps this is affecting you too?

Love to you all for a peaceful evening 💫

Friday has come around again. I remember as a child always feeling happy on a Friday, the end of the school week, the weekend about to start, Even as an adult I feel the same.
For many of us Friday is still the end of the working week, but for others not. I have a busy weekend of work ahead, but I still get the Friday feeling, very strange.
I have woken to a chorus of wood pigeons this morning, they sound like woodwind instruments, a lovely way to start the day.
I am off shopping with DD this morning, I need some candles and herbs, food for supper, and she wants to buy some clothes. I have a stack of work to do, but it is important to carve out time to spend with family.
We are not a family that spends much time together as one group, the dynamics don't often work, but in twos or threes we have fun.

I am about to start my day, I hope there is some Friday magic in the air for everyone.

Friday always feels magic to me too speakout, an energy of anticipation seems to accompany it.

The rain has just started here along with the rumble of thunder. I’ve taken a few minutes to sit on my back step and soak up some of that wonderful stormy energy. The petrichor is delicious

Wishing everyone a magical Friday

Fridays are most certainly magical! There's always a slightly more relaxed vibe at work as we all take our feet of the peddle a little and get ready to slide into the weekend.

No rain here, it's really hot with brilliant blue skies, almost like being on holiday. Temperatures of 30 degrees plus are forecast for the next four days, which is lovely, but it does make sleeping uncomfortable.

Loving the sound of the Friday magic.
It is a pleasant 23 degrees here, but overcast and feels quite humid.
Enjoy the petrichor YashmisCrone one of my favourite scents!

DD were out shopping this morning, but he shops became busy quite quickly so we decided to cut it short, a quick trip to the supermarket for food and back to my favourite place- home!!
I am hoping for a relaxed weekend, OH has been in London all week, driving back right now- but it is quite a drive back to Edinburgh, so he will be some hours yet.
I am in need of some magical inspiration, so I may delve into some Tarot working this weekend or maybe treat myself to some new magical items. I also have a new pendulum that I need to start a conversation with.
Just having a little space atually helps- I find pottering one of my most magical activities!!

Happy Friday everyone! I've been off work today as I've caught a cold and with it a cough. Consequently not allowed back until my Covid test results come back. I'm one hundred percent sure I just have a cold so it's a bit frustrating.

I spent the morning in the garden with a book and the dog but it was too hot for us this afternoon. Have just finished running Mum's taxi service for the evening so relaxing with a herbal tea.

Have a lovely weekend.

As Friday turns to Saturday it's still too hot to sleep here.
I lolled in front of a cold air fan all day, put the thermometer outside at 5pm and it was 37 degrees C

How did your Elderberry Syrup go Violet ?
I've discovered a very interesting youtube channel and as serendipity would have it, I found a very simple Elderberry Syrup recipe that could help with any viral infections over winter. I'd strongly suggest making your own and keeping it in the medicine cupboard for this year and into next
My elderberries in the garden aren't ripe yet, but depending on where you live in the UK, like Violet, there may be some ripe berries already near you.

I make elder rob every year and my sceptical husband has never wanted to take it. Of course this year science shows it effective against things such as Covid and he's changed his tune!

I have slept so badly the last week, and so I fell into bed at 6pm yesterday and basically slept 12 hours.

I am going out today, a local 'busking' event and several friends are performing. The good weather is a blessing as obviously it's all outdoors. I am looking forward to (socially distanced) catch up with friends!

Morning all. Another hot and sticky day here. I'm rather envious of Speakout and anyone else living anywhere that's cooler than it is in the south east at the moment.

Blanktimes I've picked lots of elderberries and frozen them. My plan was to make the syrup this weekend, but it feels like something I want to do on a more autumnal day (not in 30 degree heat!) I'll let you know how it goes. Like you, I feel we need to do all we can to boost our immunity ready for the winter.

Queenrollo good to hear you enjoyed a restful nights sleep. Busking sounds wonderful, I hope you have fun.

KateF fingers crossed the Covid test comes back clear. A few of my colleagues have been for tests this week, all negative thankfully. I think there's a summer cold doing the rounds. I hope you feel better soon.

Speakout I hope you enjoy your relaxed weekend. Like you, I have no real plans so hoping to get my tarot cards out. I've been doing an online holistic herbalism course, so will spend some time on that too I think. But for now, the supermarket beckons!

Love to you all ❤️

I hope everyone is having a good day.
I love the energy of a waning moon, a time to relax, to let go, to reflect and consider. A time to offload and unburden.
I imagine it is too warm for many today, here in Scotland it has been a calm 21 degrees with a cool breeze. Perfect for laundry magic!