Any Witches Here? Part 14.

[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.

My eldest is home educated so we are only expecting one result tomorrow. (He did his English last year, Maths this year and has just signed up to do two more next year)
He's at his dad's until Friday but I suspect he is totally unphased by it all as he's not really a stressy teen. It's different for him though as he's not relying on the results for next steps.

Sending positive energy to all those DC getting GCSE results today. I remember the anxiety well, both from when my DC got there's absolutely when I got my own many years ago!

It's a very grey day here. We were forecast sunshine all week but it's not materialised so far. My tomatoes are never going to ripen at this rate! I'm avoiding the work I should be doing and writing a list of things I want to do this autumn.

Hello majestic lovely people. Good luck to those receiving their results today.

@AnotherCrazyBirdLady how are things?

Thanks for all the replies about Castlerigg, or The Carles which I didn't realise thank you, @BlankTimes Your photos are amazing. I want to go in the winter now and was thinking how incredible it would be for Litha.

@LumpySpacedPrincess I really empathise with your worries. It's so difficult to live with feeling so powerless and infuriated about these big issues. And no quick solution apart from trying to find the joy where we can. I always connect with the earth in my practice but need to explore spells and rituals for actively healing the earth. If you haven't already seen it, I watched this film again at the weekend, which I got from a recommendation on here. It never fails to soothe

It seems that so many of us have a soft spot for autumn. I was wondering why that might be and for me, it is the association with cooler, crisper days, autumnal colours and when the power of home and hearth come into full power. @VioletCharlotte any exciting things on your list?

That looks great BlurpBlorp, I'll watch it later

Results received and she has done phenomenally well in a very tricky year.

I love the autumn as it's a changing season, like spring, so lots going on. It's also appeals to my introverted nature as it leads to winter and I adore winter too.

I'm planning on getting up early tomorrow and going for a long walk with a flask of coffee. I'm determined to walk 50k a week before I return to work in September and I'm only half way there this week.

Hope all the results were received and were what everyone wanted/needed.

Hello, one and all!

@BlurpBlorp, better! Thanks to the wonderful wishes sent from this thread, I am happy to say things are a bit quieter, and I have slept more deeply than I have for months! I'm just keeping my head down and keeping busy.
Hope everybody's DC got the results they wanted - it's such a stressful time for them, especially after the 18 months we've had

Not much to speak of, weather-wise - pretty grey but with a lovely breeze. We do have a new face in the garden, though - George and Mildred, the herring gulls that live on our roof, have had a chick, which is currently enjoying landing in our garden, screeching VERY loudly!

Hope everyone's day is smooth sailing!

Results were what was needed stress varnished with a pop and sheer exhaustion was left behind. I slept through the timing of my medicine so the next 24hrs is going to be problematic.

Glad to hear of good results coming through. Happy news here too. My DD ( who is just about to graduate) starts a new job- staff nurse in
peadiatric intensive care unit. She is so happy- and so am I!! A big job for a 21 year old.

I have a question for you wise women.

A couple of weeks back there was a very close lightening strike, which fried a lot of the electrics of the building I was in and, sounded like a bomb. It left me shaky and blood fizzing for a couple of days. My energy is still off and I am struggling. I have tried my normal grounding tricks but they have left me anxious rather than calmed. I am not quite sure where to turn next. Part of the problem is that with throwing off my energy it has thrown off my concentration and that is a bit of an issue as I have a lot that needs doing and the fact i have been unable is just feeding the anxiousness further. Do you have any suggestions how I can find my equilibrium?

Oh congratulations to your DD Speakout. That is an amazing result!

@BlurpBlorp I think I like the autumn because I find it is a great time to reflect. We bathed in the golden glow and feel energised to prepare for winter. I love the colour changes too. Autumn tends to be my preferred temperature, summer is too hot, winter too cold and spring too unpredictable.

This year I have really felt the season cycle spinning and changing faster than ever. I have a couple of big changes coming up this autumn, new job and new home. After this I should be facing a long period of stability which I am craving.

The only addition to this will hopefully be a new family addition. DH is desperate to extend the family but respects my wishes for stability in work life and home life.

@speakout

Glad to hear of good results coming through. Happy news here too. My DD ( who is just about to graduate) starts a new job- staff nurse in peadiatric intensive care unit. She is so happy- and so am I!! A big job for a 21 year old.

Well done to your DD. A truly vocational career.

@HillsBesideTheSea

I have a question for you wise women.

A couple of weeks back there was a very close lightening strike, which fried a lot of the electrics of the building I was in and, sounded like a bomb. It left me shaky and blood fizzing for a couple of days. My energy is still off and I am struggling. I have tried my normal grounding tricks but they have left me anxious rather than calmed. I am not quite sure where to turn next. Part of the problem is that with throwing off my energy it has thrown off my concentration and that is a bit of an issue as I have a lot that needs doing and the fact i have been unable is just feeding the anxiousness further. Do you have any suggestions how I can find my equilibrium?

I think anybody who had that experience would feel shaky, let alone someone who uses their inbuilt intuition with nature like you. My only suggestion would be to do some research on how nature recovers from a lighting strike and mimic that? Nature always recovers and thrives, we can learn a lot from it. I'm sure another wise sister will be along shortly with better advice than me.

I have had on my list of things to do, to go back through the old threads and pull out the info i want to keep and be able to refer back to. I was slowly doing this earlier and found the first time i stumbled onto these threads. I was in a very bad place and needing to learn in a hurry how to shield and control some gifts. it is interesting to look back to that me 3 years ago and realise how far i have really come in practising and developing my practise. How much your wise words were influential in helping me find the path where i could really start to follow my journey. It is an interesting point to reflect to. Shadow work, shielding, visualisation, awareness of things i did that i didn't realise i did. I am very much in a happier place as a whole. I still have work, but i am at least on the right path rather than stumbling about in the dark with my eyes and ears shut. The right people with the right advice at the right time have had some amazing results. So thank you.

Toto your advice makes a lot of sense. And as nature requires water and nutrients to heal it is a fairly simple one to start with. I have bone broth in the freezer i intend to liberate tomo to help. tonight was just some vit suppliments and some electrolytes. Some times it takes someone to point out that the solution is right there in front of us and we cannot see for the looking. Thank you.

HillsBesideTheSea I hope you are feeling a little better today. Thank you and TotoAnnihiliation for your kind words about my DD.
I read this this morning and thought I would share
Friday the 13th is our day, witches. Always has been, which is why it has come to be associated with the implied darkness of all things occult. A magical word that simply means hidden, sacred knowledge protected from mass consumption and the dilution that accompanies the commodification of mystery and magic.
Every Friday the 13th I tell the scarytale of the burning times, because those who refuse to remember their past are condemned to repeat it. Not on my watch, witches.
There is actually a great deal to be said for thirteen, its magical impact creeping through the cultivated lore. There are 13 moon cycles in a year and covens traditionally comprise 13 witches, though our Coven Electric boasts greater numbers. The power of 13 thrums in our bodies as we menstruate 13 times a year.

The fear of female power and wisdom is real, I feel very blessed to be living in a time and in a country where we are reclaiming with our strong fists what has been stolen from us for millennia Turning over stones, even surveying accepted goddess archetypes with a critical eye, nothing escapes question. Many of the first goddesses were pretty kick ass individuals but were mollified and sugar coated to make them more acceptable to increasing patriarchial palates.
Even right up virgin Mary- underneath that sanctified and chained representation of the she still lies a bearing heart, a wild energy, how I would love to take her by the hand, drink gin together and take her for a barefoot mud dance.
Summer Catholic festivals in Gozo are nominally christian, but the events there feel decidedly pagan. Gozo is home to the oldest Goddess temple in the world, and during the summer villages take it in turn to hold evening parades and street parties.
The virgin Mary is given local brandy, cigarettes to smoke, sunglasses and swimwear as she is proudly carried through the streets to a heavy rhythm, music and dancing. The atmosphere crackles with earth energy. The Gozitan people can feel the power contained there.
I can but dream of travel and exotic destinations!!

Wishing everyone a magical Friday 13th.

Very powerful speakout, thank you for sharing that with us

Friday 13th blessings sisters

Thank you for sharing Speakout , that's so interesting. I've never thought about the connection with the moon cycles and menstrual cycles. Very powerful indeed.

Hills great idea to go back through all the old threads, there really is such a wealth of knowledge here. Interesting too to see how far we've all come and how we've grown stronger, both as individuals and as a collective. I hope you're feeling better today, that must have been very frightening, I'm not surprised it's shaken you. DS2 was almost hit by lightening when he was little (he was out playing when it started to rain and he decided to shelter under a tree) he still remembers it well now. I like Toto's advice about looking to see how nature recovers from a lightening strike. This aroused my curiosity enough to google how trees recover after being hit by lightening, it seems repair includes removing damaged branches, irrigation, fertilization and spraying with insecticide. I wonder if you could use this as a metaphor for some restorative work? Letting go of what no longer serves you (declutter physically and energetically?), doing a cleanse to detox your body, eating nutritious, healthy food, and putting protection around yourself? You could use it as an opportunity for a mini home retreat!

Speakout I'm so pleased to hear the news about your daughter's job! Just fantastic, you must be so proud of her. She's a real credit to you.

Congratulations also to everyone whose DC got their results yesterday. The end of an era and the start of a new one - exciting times!

BlurpBlorp there are so many reasons I love the autumn. I love all the seasons, but for me, autumn is the witching season! I can always feel a real crackle in the air, especially as we approach Samhain and the veil thins, it's always such a special time. I also associate Autumn with happy childhood memories - back to school, new uniform, shoes and stationery, collecting conkers, my birthday in October, Bonfire night, Trick or Treating... I love the colours too as the leaves turn, and being outside in the cooler air, collecting blackberries, making crumbles and stews, the darker evenings, candles and getting cosy by the fire...I could go on all day!

These threads are like a time machine. I’m on old thread 4 (I think) and @speakout your daughter had just started her nursing degree and now she’s graduated! I’m also watching the date on the posts thinking “how will everyone cope with the pandemic?”!

Fantastic post speakout, much to think about.

I've had a glorious morning walking, then home for a strengthening yoga session. The local stray we've been feeding let me stroke behind his ears today too! Happy Friday 13th one and all.

Speakout that's a fantastic achievement for your DD, she deserves to be on cloud nine for quite a while yet, and so do you

Trenzalor It is truly amazing what one post by Speakout has blossomed into. I'm sure a lot of our strength is in our diversity, as well as our shared philosophies. There's always something new to look at or to learn, a new perspective, an activity previously unknown, a recipe or a small act that benefits the giver and the recipient.
We are each a thread or several threads in a rich tapestry, I remember saying that and everyone joined in with the metaphor, you'll likely find it somewhere in your forays into the previous threads

Did anyone else see the Perseids last night? It was the best night for frequency, but if there's a clear night for the next few nights, do look. Our sky was crystal clear, the Plough was dead ahead, the Milky Way made its sparkling arc and the Perseids were incredible. What a start to Friday 13th, every atom of my being was singing.

I came across this and thought I'd share it. I've read it through a few times, as well as sadness, it makes me feel furious at the injustice and suffering our sister faced. And so many years later, women are still discriminated against and face violent, abuse and unequal treatment. I've been reading today about the horrors happening in Afghanistan, women and girls being brutally raped and having to flee for their lives. It's horrific and makes me so furious.

I'll be dedicating my 8pm candle in honour of our sisters across the world, both present day and past.

"It was not witches who burned.
It was women.
Women who were seen as
Too beautiful
Too outspoken
Had too much water in the well (yes, seriously)
Who had a birthmark
Women who were too skilled with herbal medicine
Too loud
Too quiet
Too much red in her hair
Women who had a strong nature connection
Women who danced
Women who sung
or anything else, really.
ANY WOMAN WAS AT RISK BURNING IN THE SIXTEEN HUNDREDS
Sisters testified and turned on each other when their babies were held under ice.
Children were tortured to confess their experiences with “witches” by being fake executed in ovens.
Women were held under water and if they float, they were guilty and executed.
If they sunk and drowned they were innocent.
Women were thrown off cliffs.
Women were put in deep holes in the ground.

The start of this madness was years of famine, war between religions and lots of fear. The churches said that witches, demons and the devil did exist and women were nothing but trouble. As we see even today, there is often a scapegoat created, and the chaos escalated in Sweden when the Bible became law and everything that did not line up with what the church said became lethal. The Bible fanaticism killed thousands of women. Everything connected to a women became feared, especially her sexuality. It became labeled as dark and dangerous and was the core of the witch trials through out the world.

Why do I write this?
Because I think the usage of words are important, especially when we are doing the work to pull these murky, repressed and forgotten about stories to the surface. Because knowing our history is important when we are building the new world. When we are doing the healing work of our lineages and as women. To give the women who were slaughtered a voice, to give them redress and a chance of peace.
It was not witches who burned.
It was women."~

~Fia Forsström

VioletCharlotte

I think like others we are affected by the news and the male violence, that has and contunies to bring so much pain
I heard a live interview from a female film maker in Kabul this morning - she was so upset, afraid, angry. I started crying when I heard her words.
She said the Taliban actions are a war against women. Pure and simple.
My time of being tolerant to the institutions which idealise male power is over. These ideologies have given permission to men to subdue and control, and own and rape and disempower. Still they spout their words of filth, and still supported by governnments.
It is shameful.

It is shameful. I agree with all you are saying Violet and speakout I will be with you at 8

Beautiful @VioletCharlotte and I’m going to rephrase that every time I hear it. “They weren’t witches who burned, they were women” - how different that sounds.

Afghanistan is very worrying. I’m desperately hoping the children from my class who wanted to visit family there didn’t go.

Actually beautiful is the wrong word but I hope you know what I mean!

I will be here at 8pm to raise energy.