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.

Glad to hear it went well Elphame and that your day has lifted speakout. I think it’s incredible how adaptable we are, even on darker days.

I’ve been delighting in new shoots of growth too- sunflowers, peas and onions have sprouted in the last day or so. It amazes me how much growth can happen in such a short space of time. Other veg is pending!

I pulled one of these animal cards for our group today

maiatoll.com/the-illustrated-bestiary/

I like the message the shape shifting fox has for us 🦊

Also thought Maia Toll’s ‘night school’ looks interesting

maiatoll.com/the-night-school

Wishing everyone a relaxing evening ✨

YashmisCrone thank you for that card pull- a very astute message.

I love that deck, I have never seen it before.

Morning everyone.

The sun is out and it's warm enough to open the French windows. now what mischief can I get up to this afternoon! The delivery from the gin club membership I was given for my birthday should help there....

Hello everyone, what a week! It's so lovely to come to the thread and feel your warm, nurturing energy, I really need it right now.

After a week of early starts and long days spent in front of a computer, it was good to sleep in a bit later this morning and potter about a bit, so some yoga, put the washing on the line, etc. I can feel myself beginning to unwind.

Yashmis thank you for sharing that card, the imagery is beautiful. Foxes are really special to me ❤️

Speakout I'm glad things are calmer and more relaxed in your house now. It's not easy to all be stuck inside together for long periods of time, however much you love your family members!

Elphame glad the online class went well. So many people are making use of technology, it's great that we can still connect in this way.

I'm going to get on with cleaning my house now, I've for the windows wide open to let them fresh air in, cleaning away the negative energy and tension of the week. I'll draw a card for us all later this afternoon.

Hope you all find some magic as you go about your day ❤️

Sounds like a great plan Elphame, enjoy!

Beautiful here too. I pushed myself to get out for a little walk, took a path I didn’t know the destination of and was rewarded by the wind in my hair, beautiful wildflowers and a much needed dose of endorphins.

I hope everyone is able to get a boost of sunshine today 🌞

Cross posted with you Violet, glad to hear you’re winding down a bit, I can empathise with the long hours in front of the computer. Flinging open the windows and clearing space feels so beneficial doesn’t it. Sending love for a relaxing day 🦊💜

Meant to post this earlier..
Today's card is the Empress
The Empress calls on us to draw on our feminine energy, more than ever before, we're called upon to nurture and cherish those around us. The Empress also serves as a reminder to take care of ourselves. When times are stressful, it's easy to neglect ourselves, but this is the time when we need to really focus on self- care, as if we don't look after ourselves, we won't be well enough to look after others.

Think about the little things you can do to nurture yourself - whether it's a long relaxing bath with essential oils, getting an early night or cooking healthy food.

The pregnant Empress also makes me want to talk about the Pagan goddess of the sun. I feel this card is a reminder to us all that the wheel of the year continues to turn, the trees are beginning to blossom and the earth is coming back to light. The Empress is a reminder that soon the light will return once again 💜🌸💫

The Empress ❤️

I haven't posted much, but still following along as this thread calms me slightly. I still have to work and am ever fearful of bringing the illness in to the house.
I'm trying to find a new routine for calm. I might try a herbal tea when I get in and I am trying to get a walk or a run in early in the morning.
Soups for dinner as they are wholesome and soothing.
Laundry on every nice day (having to do lots more recently as am changing every time I arrive home), getting in to the garden to plant seeds and bulbs
I have a few little bell pepper plants sprouting from a red bell pepper I was eating and some peas (three pea pods so far!)

Good morning. Lovely to see you again rivierliedje glad you are finding ways to find calmness. It's Sunday morning here, I am just about to do my yoga routine now a daily practice for me- which I hope will continue when we move forward in times to come.
YashmisCrone spring is galloping apace isn't it, with or without us, it's quite humbling and serves as a reminder that humans are not the ones in charge!
VioletCharlotte thank you for that wonderfully uplifting card. A reminder of the divine within us all, and a promise of positive manifestation for the future. A sign of hope.
I have to go food shopping this morning, so will pop out soon, hopefully the shops will be quieter.
I hope everyone finds some magic in their day.

Good morning ❤️ I'm feeling wonderfully calm today. I didn't sleep all that well, and woke up early, but this meant I was able to lie in bed and watch the sunrise and listen to the birds, a perfect start to the day. I've done some yoga and been out for a walk with my dog, I love seeing the blossom on the trees.

I'm sitting in the garden now, enjoying my coffee. I live on a fairly busy estate, but it's much quieter and more peaceful than usual. My DS are both still asleep, so it's nice to have the house to myself for a while.

Speakout I hope the supermarket is ok, I'll be visualising a cloak of protection to keep you safe. Although, the supermarkets do seem to be doing a great job. I went yesterday and it was very calm and well organised and plenty on the shelves.

Rivier I'm also sending a cloak of protection to keep you safe while you work. It's good to hear of the things you're doing to nurture yourself.

Blessings to you all for a peaceful Sunday 🙏

VioletCharlotte

Thank you for giving us some of your peaceful energy.

The supermarket was fine, it was quiet, well organised, staff were all very helpful - also playing music outside as we lined up in a quick moving queue. Shelves were well stocked and no one panic buying. So not as bad as I thought.

I even managed to buy another jasmine plant- it is huge, full of bud, in good health- and reduced to 50p!! The last one on the shelf.
So I have it happily nestled on my planting table with the other matron jasmine and all their little puppies.
I have planted some night scented stock and green bean seeds to join the party!
I have a lot of work to do today, and OH bears the kitchen load to let me tackle it.
I have my clean laundry outside, waiting for the sunshine, while I have a quick blessed coffee.

Wow that sounds like my kind of bargain speakout! I love the sound of your planting table and it’s matron plants- so full of divine feminine energy. Goddess work. I hope your working day runs smoothly.

Violet, thank you both for that wonderful card and for your beautiful calm energy, I’m glad you’re feeling it after a busy week.

Rivier sending love and protective energy your way too. I hope you can have a little respite to ground. I loved hearing about your planting. I think I’m a bit behind- my seeds are only just sprouting. I’ve also planted peppers from the seeds of ones I’ve eaten.

I gifted myself a morning in the garden for grounding. Clearing some space to hopefully grow a bit of veg. I met some fabulous spiders. My sage was profuse to say the least so I’ve cut it back, hoping it’s not too late to do so. It seems pretty hardy... anyway, now I need to decide how to make good use of all the sage...smudge anyone?!

Love to all for a little sunshine in your day 🌞

Good morning sisters,
It’s a cooler, clear one here and the grass is jewelled with raindrops. Feels fresh.

Another busy week ahead, I feel blessed that I was able to get out for a walk and spend some time in the garden over the weekend.

But like many of us, I do get overwhelmed in these strange times. I think we’ve just got to carry on protecting and raising our energy as best we can. I needed to remind myself this morning that much of the angst I experience isn’t actually mine- on top of concerns I have, including for others wellbeing is my reaction to their reactions! These words came as a useful reminder to me.

Everyone is fraught in their own way and I’d do well not to rise to it/take it personally/see it as my responsibility to fix. I was reminded this by a supermarket security guard who told me some of the aggression he’d experienced from shoppers. He dealt with it by seeing it as fear, manifested in different ways. He responded with compassion. Admirable I thought.

Whatever the day brings I hope we can all find a moment to focus on our own energy, this is where we can take control and change things

YashmisCrone wise words, and a vauable reminder that people react from a position of fear.

And yes everyone resonds in a different way. Just looking at my immediate family a huge range of responses. some taking it in their stride, one is responding with a good deal of anger, particulary directed towards me- which is hard to take and causing me to question my mottivesa nd actions.

And our central heating boiler has sprung a leak, so no hot water or heating. Water was dripping over electrical parts and I don't know how to turn off the water supply to the boiler, so have turned off the water at the mains, and switched off electricity supplying the boiler.

So we have no water, hot or cold and no heating.
Thankfully the engineer is coming today at some point.
I managed to pop down to Morrisons to buy a huge 5 litre bottle of drinking water an hour ago, only to find that my mother has tipped the whole lot in the sink with detergent to wash a woollen cardigan.
I still have a kettle full and plenty of lemonade!!!!!

For anyone doing yoga at home I have just done my 11th consecutive morning with Adriene on you tube- it is a life saver right now.
Todays practice was Shakti raising awareness- the great mother- thought I would share some of her energy here.

@YashmisCrone I love that message, it's so true and a useful reminder always but especially now.

@speakout that image is so beautiful and powerful, thanks for sharing it.

@rivierliedje it sounds like you're doing wonderfully in very challenging circumstances. Your routine sounds very grounding, I hope it's helping you.

I'm not sure if any of you remember me as I haven't posted in ages. I've just had my baby, so I think I have a valid excuse . It's lovely catching up on this thread though, it really calms me down just reading your words and learning about the little routines and rituals you stick to to help ground you in this chaos.

I am doing OK, but I've definitely felt a bit fraught which I'm sure is partly to do with whats going on and partly the beautiful mess of new parenthood. I had a 65 hour labour (very rough labour, magical and incredible delivery!) and then had to go back into hospital a few days later for four nights for a rip roaring infection. I'm feeling much better now, but it took it out of me and six weeks on I'm just starting to feel a bit more normal.

Things I am doing to stay calm: exercise in our little makeshift home gym (endorphins), batching cooking on the weekend so we can eat nutritious meals throughout the week with hardly any effort and getting out for a daily dog walk to be amongst nature and breathe in some fresh air. I've also ordered some lettuce seeds, so I'll be having a go at growing this week too. Other than that, I'm delighting in getting to know this brand new person and I'm soaking up all the newborn cuddles.

Something I'm struggling with is guilt. While this is a hard time for humanity, my life is pretty easy and often enjoyable right now and sometimes I feel guilty for enjoying myself and my new baby meanwhile other people are out there on the front line risking their health and lives. It's hard being a human sometimes.

Anyway, I'll stop rabbiting on. Wishing you all a peaceful week x

purplefig

How lovely to see you again, and congratulations on the arrival or your baby.
Sounds like you had a challenging time- birth is not always the easiest process.
Go easy on yourself- it takes time to recover from difficult birth and complications.

I hear what you are saying about guilt- there is so much tragedy and heartbreak in the world right now, and if we personally don't have loss we can still have empathy for others.
I am in a very fortunate situation too- income is not affected ( yet), and I live surrounded by miles of open space and forest, I have a garden too, and everyone in my family ( so far ) is well.

But we don't make these choices any more than people make choices to be struggling right now.
It is the throw of the dice.
I assuage any guilt by trying to do what I can to spread some light wherever I go.
I think even a smile at someone next to us in a queue or across a carpark.
Wave at someone in the street, I tell check out operators and staff at the post office how much I appreciate what they do, I thanked the gas engineer who just left for helping us even though he is putting himself at risk.
I have been donating more to food banks.
I have been doing daily magical practice to help heal and support.

Keeping myself grounded and stable also helps my family who are having wobbles. If they see me calm and soft energy then it helps them relax too.

Enjoy your baby!!

@purplefig Congratulations on your new baby! Don't feel guilty, enjoy your time.

Thank you all for your well wishes. I have a general hum of anxiety running through me that I am trying to calm as much as possible, not always succesfully.
Last Tuesday I left work early as it was so quiet and managed a lovely walk and swim in the sea. I've managed walks most days, and a run on Saturday morning and today. I've also been playing more music which is great. Yesterday we had a picnic in the garden and just lay about reading until it started raining. I'm also letting myself get completely absorbed in planning things for the Brownies; writing letters with activities and posting them out.

Everyone's planting sounds wonderful. I've never really grown anything succesfully, so this is just an experiment!
@SPeakout I hope your water woes are fixed soon

@speakout hope all is sorted now! Eek!

@purplefig congratulations! Lovely news for these crazy times.

@VioletCharlotte I have been enjoying your cards so much, you have such a gift. So reassuring to see the Empress this weekend. I am self employed with an 18 month old and a 4 year old at home, there will be no new hobbies or Kondo-ing for me during lockdown We are in survival mode. I am determined to use the extra time to appreciate my children and there is much joy but much drudge too! The usually calm youngest is teething, whinging and clingy and I have been battling these last few days, mentally kicking against it even though it always makes it worse. A message to keep nuturing us all was so welcome

Also loving everyone’s plant chat, and the accurate and charming description of our very own matron plant! Stay safe everyone x

Good evening everyone

Purplefig congratulations on your new arrival, such lovely news 😊 Please don't feel guilty about enjoying this special time. It's ok to be happy, despite everything that's going on. I had this internal debate with myself a couple of weeks ago, and came for the conclusion that no one benefits from being miserable. I'm a firm believer that we need to put out positivity when things are going well for us, as this will help uplift those who need it.

Adjsavesmylife I was thinking earlier how much more challenging the lockdown would have been had my two been small! I imagine it's hard work, lots of fun, but exhausting and draining at times. I hope you manage to carve out a little bit of time just for you now and then.

Yashmis your security guard speaks a lot of sense. We were talking about this at work last week when things got a bit fraught. None of us have ever experienced a situation like this before, so none of us really know how to behave or what to expect. We have to cut people some slack if their behaviour seems irrational and be tolerant of one another. Social media seems to bring out the worst in people sometimes.

Speakout
I hope your boiler is sorted now and all working again. I've been doing Yoga with Adrienne too, I really enjoy her practises. They're just the right length for me, at the moment o don't have the focus for a full length class.

I've just been for a dog walk, the moon is beautiful.

VioletCharlotte

Thanks for the heads up about the moon, I have just opened my bedroom curtain and she is shining brightly - nearly full- through my window.

purplefig lovely to see you and congratulations on your new baby! I’ll echo the wise words of the others and say that I think you should enjoy every moment you can and take good care of yourself as much as possible. Be kind to yourself x

speakout thank you for sharing the Shakti energy with us, that picture is so beautiful and powerful. I’m glad the gas engineer was able to get to you so quickly and hope that everything is running smoothly again now. Like you I’m feeling more appreciative of others work to keep us all safe and supplied with what we need and am taking every opportunity to express my gratitude.

adjsavedmylife I hope you’re able to grab the odd moment to nurture yourself amongst it all. I agree that survival mode is the reality for so many right now and must be particularly testing with young children. I’m wfh full time without LOs around and am finding it exhausting. I have a lot of respect for you managing to get through the day
atm. It’s wonderful that you can find moments of joy too. I think whatever any of us can achieve is enough right now and that finding joy and peace amongst it all is what will see us through.

Violet I’m pleased you were able to get out and see the moon, her powerful yet gentle energy is just the tonic at the end of a busy day isn’t it.

I’ve taken joy this morning from more of my seeds sprouting. I think that first unfurling as they break through the soil holds such magic. Bit of a mix up with what’s what though- I currently don’t know my courgettes from my beans! Hopefully it’ll become clearer as they grow!

Love to all ✨

Morning all- still freezing cold here- frosty outside, but no heating or hot water inside!!
At least cold water has been switched on again!

@speakout thanks for the kind words and sage advice. What a lovely idea about trying to spread light wherever you go - some excellent ideas in there. This is pretty small but I just rang up the GP to register the baby ready for her jabs and before hanging up thanked the receptionist for all her hard work during this time. A tiny, tiny thing but the more we can do the better. I really hope you get heating and hot water again soon - any idea on when it's likely?

@rivierliedje thank you very much. I'm so glad you're managing to get out and even have a swim in the sea, I bet that felt amazing? We lived a few minutes from the coast and I was only saying to DH the other day if this carries on into the summer at least we can go for sea swims. Your lazy day in the garden also sounds like the perfect tonic for these tough times.

@adjsavedmylife thank you - she really is getting me through and is the most wonderful distraction. It sounds like you are doing really well in incredibly challenging circumstances. Have you heard of motherkind? It's a podcast but the lady who does it is on Instagram too and she has been posting loads of super sane, compassionate stuff for mums. Could be worth a look?

@VioletCharlotte thanks for sharing your thoughts - I think I ultimately feel the same, I just need to shrug the shroud of guilt about it. I love speakouts idea of essentially paying your good energy forward by putting out light and love into the world. Goodness knows it needs it right now. Glad you're enjoying yoga with Adrienne - I find her energy infectious, she's such a force for good. I've been doing the wind down bedtime video lately, as it's only 7 minutes, and it feels so lovely. How was your night time dog walk? I noticed the moon from my bedroom last night too - it was looking resplendent!

@YashmisCrone thank you very much, I am going to make that my mission! And I agree that watching seeds sprout is pure magic - I can't wait for my lettuce to arrive

I made the mistake of watching the news before bed last night and consequently had a very unsettled night. When will I learn?! It's another bright and blue day here - I can't wait to enjoy it more on our daily dog walk. Though this lockdown is incredibly trying, it sure does make you grateful for the small things doesn't it? In the past I've been guilty of thinking of the dog walk as a chore on some days, now it is my daily tonic that keeps me sane.

purplefig

It gladdens my heart to hear of your kind words.
The receptionist you spoke to is probably at the brunt of other people's frustration and fear right now, and will have her own concerns to deal with- having someone acknowledge her efforts will have lifted her. And perhaps she mentioned it to her co workers or her family- who in turn will have a little more light in their hearts as a result. Like ripples in a pool we can spread love- and it is empowering to know that just a few kind words can be impactful.
It also makes us feel a little more in control knowing we can sow seeds of light, however small to help others carry their burden.

Heating is fixed!! I am so grateful to the engineer who came to my rescue!!