Any Witches Here? Part 16

[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.

Quirks in MN are very annoying. It keeps telling me that MN is offline online for it to auto refresh and i know others have had a lot of app based issues.

I have had a week on my own in the house, it has been very needed, even if the whole of that week i basically came to a massive stop and ceased to function. It has been restorative. I'd like to say i feel ready for ds to come home, but woke up with cough and no voice so now have the stress of not being boostered (due end of week) in addition to being under the weather. Have to figure that out, but if it is covid i will have another week on my own in the house, and will need to see if people can arrange for an extra night or 2 away to avoid the contamination stage.

I hit a bit of a wall yesterday. Spent a lot of time in bed crying. Really felt I needed to get it out of my system.
I think that after two years of pretty much no proper break from wife/mother/houswife I just couldn't cope with the anxiety of what is happening in Ukraine on top of all else.
I didn't sleep well last night and this morning I have a twitch in my lip that will not go away.
It is bitterly cold here and just started raining but I have spent an hour outside chopping kindling and bringing in coal and logs. It felt good to be busy.
I think I will bake. I haven't really been baking a great deal lately, but it's a very nurturing activity both for me and my family.

queenrollo sounds like you have hit a wall.
We can't go on caring for others without a break, sounds like you need one.
Dropping your burdens even for a short while can help.
I will light a candle for you today to help share your load, and bring calm. X

DH and I are actually going away this weekend childfree. Now he is older and less hard work my parents can cope with the youngest for more than one night. We've booked a quiet retreat, not far from my parents house so we aren't doing loads of travelling. We are both looking forward to a lie in, lazy days and conversations which are not repeatedly interupted.

Queenrollo a weekend retreat sound amazing and just what you need. When you have young children, it's so important to make time for yourself and to be alone with your partner. So many Mum's are guilt tripped into believing they're wrong for wanting a break. My view is that time to relax and recharge is essential and you'll come back feeling refreshed and better able to cope with the demands of family life.

Hills so sorry you're feeling unwell. I believe that illness is the body's way of telling us it needs to rest. I know you said you've had a week to yourself but maybe you need more time?

I slept so deeply last night. My yoga class last night was beautiful, before we started, we all lit candles and set an intentiion of love and peace. It was incredibly powerful and you could feel the shift in the energy in the room. I was reminded of a Martin Luther King quote that I've always liked;

"Darkness can not drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive hate out: only love can do that"

VioletCharlotte a beautiful quote- your yoga class sounds lovely. Candles are a special kind of magic.

New moon blessings dear sisters, the moon in Pisces may inspire our creative side, time to pimp up the grimoire or do some baking.
I plan to make a lemon and poppy seed cake today. A positive aspect between Mercury and Saturn means a good day for dealing with responsibilities and obligations getting our grown up affairs in order.
I have been dealing with unpleasant paperwork in the past few days, but all complete and ready to post- always feels good to finish a task like that.
I am off for a spa shower, I bought myself some shower melts, they are so lovely and came with some scented tea lights- perfect for my morning rituals.
I hope everyone has a calm peaceful day.

I hope everyone has a peaceful new moon today. Pisces can be such a beautifully gentle and soulful sign, I think we could all benefit from just letting go for a while. I read this yesterday, and thought others here may appreciate it: mooncircles.com/fierce-compassion-the-great-mother-the-war-machine/ It made me feel I can do something meaningful.

I have also been using this recently www.aldi.co.uk/forest-scene-black-tealight-holder/p/714920544666200 though mine is slightly different. It is helping me when I feel small and lost, that no matter how dark the night, there is always light to be found.

AnotherCrazyBirdLady that's an interesting link, thanks for posting.
Love your candle holder too- I have similar solar lamps in the garden, very atmospheric.
It's a calm day here, taking things at an easy pace, mulling over a trip to Lindisfarne with my DS.
I visited once, many years ago, it is such a quaint old place, and he is interested in the history. The causeway over to the island is passable only at low tide, so sounds a fun trip!

@speakout after teaching my class at school about Lindisfarne, I've heard it calling me to visit. It looks like a fascinating place.

TotoAnnihiliation is is quite magical. DS and I are watching the Vikings on Netflix atm, it's lightweight entertainment, but provides so many points for discussion and research. I am always keen to know more about my history and my heritage, and more about the culture and spiritualty of these Northern people.

Just had my government census form to complete- good to see there was a tick box for "pagan".

Just be careful as vikings has been slaughter pretty badly for mismashing things and inaccuracies. Watching those discussions has been pretty educational in itself.

I have plans to get out to see the rock carvings in Norway again and if you ever get chance to visit Olso there are some very good museums with the long boat information. The west coast has an entire recreated villages which during tourist season has historical actors etc there which i would also recommend.

The country's history is fascinating when you dig into it. Especially the unification for the kingdoms, how it came to independence from Sweden, and the conversion to Christianity. I highly recommend it all as a worm hole to fall into

HillsBesideTheSea

I appreciate that. We are aware that this is a dramatisation designed to capture viewers.
The Vikings mostly didn't have written language, so any history we have of these people is written through the lens of the victims.
I know that violence did happen, but they were also a stable agricultural society- all that day to day social history doesn't make it to the textbooks.
I know I have a lot of Nordic ancestry, it is so interesting to explore. Norway sounds wonderful, I would love to visit, Sweden too.

True but they left history in their churches and their buildings. There were stone carvings, there is surprisingly a lot known if you know where to look. The preservation of history has become a big thing in Norway over the last decade and there is so much more known due to them changing the stance of leaving for the future to discover to we are losing this history if we don't investigate it now. It has been interesting to follow this. There are some very interesting folk tales too which is on my list for translation but right now other things demand of my time. But from what information i have had within which lies far more links with the old tales and the old traditions. The vikings built their churches like this did their boats, will skill, precision and with a twist of the old mythos if you know where to look, and I have more that i have on my wish list to visit. more clues i wish to investigate and hunt down.

a teaser link

I'm fascinated with Norse mythology, luckily DH feels the same and we purposely chose a Norse goddess name as one of DD's middle names.

How lovely TotoAnnihiliation. Norse mythology has had quite an impact on UK culture too- father christmas for instance - like Odin with his flying horse.
My OH has a surname that is common in Norway, his family owned a ship chandlers business not far from Lindesfarne, passed down through the family as far as anyone can remember. I imagine there must be some Viking lineage in his genes.
Viking women had high status apparently, They could own land, initiate divorce proceedings, serve as clergy and run a business. No doubt that changed somewhat when the Vikings adopted christianity.

I am up early for a yoga class, starts at 7.30am, always surprisingly busy!! I enjoy a sunrise class to start the day.
Another day of rain predicted here, but tomorrow sees the start of a sunny few days. Time for stripping the beds so I can get the sheets dry in the spring sunshine. One of life's great simple pleasures.
Have a good Friday sisters.

The position of responsibility is something that i have had long conversations with those of Norwegian birth. The oppression of women was far later than the introduction of Christianity and was on no where near the same level of the UK. The impact of patriarchy is very different in Norway simply because it does not have the same historical impacts of Hierarchy and class system that comes with the ruling elite and their buddies that we suffer from in the UK.
It is a fascinating subject to delve into. there are some interesting tales about those who were key to ensuring that those of lower status did not suffer in the same way.

but it is interesting that some of the issue of power for women does come out of necessity. When the men folk spend time away from the farm it is essential that those who are left to run the farm have the power to do so. Especially for those on the coast where the availability of land is less but the gifts from the sea plentiful.

It is interesting to look at the ties between liverpool and the west coast of Norway due to the oil industry but also into the fact that this has major influence to their football teams, and the fact that there is a huge following for the liverpool football team in that region. Also that English can be more commonly heard spoken there in the big towns also.

Flying visit as usual, at some point I'll have time to pop in for a cuppa. Until then, here's a link to loads of ancient sites in Norway. www.megalithic.co.uk/search.php?query=&country=15

Candles lit here and support sent for all of our wonderful sisters who need it

Interesting link BlankTimes, thanks for posting.

Amazing spring weather here, deep blue sky, no wind, bright sun. Perfect for all the laundry I have done.
It was a very frosty start though, minus 4, and again the temperatures are starting to tumble as we head towards sunset. It will be be a chilly night again.
I have had a lovely quiet day, managed to do some reading- The Shadow over Innsmouth, DS is a big Lovecraft fan, and bought it for me to read.
Also about to tuck into my Yoga for Witches book again this evening, a book I have been dipping in and out of, rather than reading through. It is full of magical juice!

That sounds like a Good Day Speakout with some interesting reading too.

We've got a perishingly cold wind here today. I'm belatedly planting some tulip bulbs in small pots, ran out of plantpots, so nipped down the garden for some, then dashed back inside for a camera as I'd seen some interesting fungi on an elder. Allegedly it's jelly ears and edible, but I'm not going to eat any as I'm no expert, the risks are too great and I don't find its appearance appetising either. I'll stick with 'nice to look at'.

Magical photos BlankTimes. Like you I wouln't be confident enouogh to eat any fungus I found in the wild.
I always think toadstools and mushrooms have a touch of the fae, I often wake up to large fairy rings in my garden- a sure sign that there has been some pixie party overnight!

Flying visit again but sharing some sea magic from today - soothed my mermaid soul!

@hilariousnamehere

Flying visit again but sharing some sea magic from today - soothed my mermaid soul!

Your pictures have cheered me up immensely. I miss the sea and I am counting down the months until my holiday where I can be at peace in my favourite place.

Hilariousnamehere thank you for sharing the sea magic, beautiful images. The sea never fails to soothe the soul.

It's been a funny weekend. I'm finding it hard to shift the low mood that's been sitting with me since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. It just feels wrong to be enjoying oneself and making plans for the future when so many people are experiencing unimaginable suffering. I've been to yoga, done Body Pump, went for a swim, been for a long walk by the river, but feel like I'm going through the motions and not taking pleasure from things in the way I normally would.

VioletCharlotte I hear you.
It is hard to have an empathic nature being surrounded by conflict and suffering. There were a few of us in tears at my Friday yoga class.
Hard to live in a world that is so unjust, and hard when so many of us in society are concerned and upset too.
Being close doesn't make it worse, just a bit more real.
Part of living is moving towards joy during difficult times. Sorrow can swallow us up if we allow it.
I think it is important to limit our input of news, I check the main points, but don't over consume.
For me avoiding crowded or busy places helps too- I don't want to soak up the prevailing zeitgeist. I keep trips to the supermarket short at quiet times, make sure I am loaded up with protection.
As hilariousnamehere has illustrated the waves keep coming, the planet keeps turning, flowers are still blooming.
This time will pass, hopefully soon.
Keep grounded until then.