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.

speakout unfortunately yesterday has added to exsiting anxiety and mood problems and I only got 3 hours fitful sleep. Just lots going on emotionally.
I gave up at 4am and came downstairs. Have cuddled the cats and am now watching the sky lighten.

Queenrollo so sorry to hear that. Be gentle with yourself today and rest if you can.

I came across this on Facebook earlier. I really liked it so thought I would share.

"You look like a witch," he said.
-If only! she replied.
-If only? What is the merit of being a witch?
-I'm going to tell you:
A witch is a woman who is connected to nature; knows the power of plants and understands the language of animals.
She travels between the worlds and communicates with the great spirit.
A witch loves herself and all living beings, respects and is able to listen without judging, and heal a broken heart.
Being a witch is knowing the power that is inside you, enjoying who you are without belittling anyone. The witches dance and sing without complexes, they decipher the messages of the moon and the wind and bathe naked in rivers and seas.
They do magic in their homes. With a good pot, they warm your body and soul. There are witches who sing and witches who write. Others make bread or sell their creations. You find them in all professions. Some gather around the bonfire on new moon nights, others invent rituals at home and put candles out. And do you know why? Because they are not afraid. They dance and sing in honor of invoking the ancestors who unjustly died. They raise their voices to wake up women that still suffer the spell of centuries of repression. Incantations of self-love are whispered, They pass them from one to the other and record them in their cells.
Witches, wizards, and sorceresses roam the four directions healing the world with their gifts.
I hope I am a Witch !!!
~ Author Unknown ~
Art Julia Jeffrey

I like that poem violetcharlotte
Sorry there is so much emotional stuff right now QueenRollo

Ds came home and was a baby elephant half the night. Riot act was read and will again be read later.

The lack of sleep has meant the clear headedness of yesterday has vanish. So i think the only solution is to head out for a plant... I mean a walk. well a walk that takes me to the plant store The fact that there is ice on the car this morning means there should be a bit of bite to the air and that is something that will help me think.

Everytime i am thinking of a past activity i did with fun, and loved but decide not to go back; I bump into someone from that world. Have the time the conversation leaves me longing to go back, the other time glad to be done. I have no idea what to make of it. But as it is happening repeatidly despite not bumping into these people in the 5 years I have been away, and the fact it is happening in locations well outside the area of this normal area. i am going to have to conclude it is a sign of some sort, just wish the message was a little clearer. Because i am torn about returning and this is something i do know.

queenrollo sorry things are so tough right now. Allow these dark moments to pass. We can't always change circumstances in our lives, but our ability to deal with them does ebb and flow. Allow these feelings, accept them, but let them release. Thre are some great short guided meditations on youtube centrered around letting go, some just 5 or 10 minutes long, they help me a long during hard times.
You have us too- your sisers are here to suppport you. X ,
VioletCharlotte Those are very profound and toucing words- thank you for posting that.

@AnotherCrazyBirdLady how did your housework go? I love the idea of seeing it as energy work and imbuing it with magic. Maybe that's just the motivation I need!

@VioletCharlotte your day of gym, friends and yoga sounds lovely. I admire you for making sure you leave work in order to get what you need to feel good done. I think it's something many people would benefit from, myself included. We can't pour from an empty cup, that seems to be a lesson I am destined to learn and relearn until I truly get it!

@Aerwyna It's fascinating that so many predicted big things brewing in 2019. I am still in this weird period where I don't even like looking at photos of 2019, so I don't think I could bring myself to trawl through old posts. I was heavily pregnant at the end of 2019, and 2020 was not how I had imagined it. I have done a lot of processing since, and reframing, but sometimes you don't realise the trauma of something until a certain amount of time has passed. Certainly I didn't. Anyway, that was a ramble! How is your 2022 so far?

@queenrollo I’m sorry you’re having an anxious time of it with your teenager, a lack of sleep won’t be helping. Why is it when we need sleep the most, it remains so elusive? Something that has been helping me lately is committing to a strict screen free few hours before bed and reading an actual book (a kindle doesn’t work in the same way for me). It’s like magic! I've actually just ran out of my library stash, so I have researched and ordered in some more as I miss the habit dearly when I fall out of it. Sending you sleepy, chamomile tea vibes for a restful night tonight.

Sorry to hear some of you aren't enjoying yoga with Adriene this year. I had signed up for it, but after reviewing my other commitments I decided it wasn't actually a priority for me this year. I do so love yoga, but I am fast realising you can't do everything and be everyone, so I am putting it aside for a while, while I focus on other things. It will always be there.

I loved reading all of your words for 2022. Mine, that popped into my head seemingly from nowhere, is: imperfect. I am going to try and learn to be OK with being imperfect, doing things imperfectly and life unfolding imperfectly.

As such, I allowed myself a lazy start. DH got up with our daughter and I started the day with a cup of coffee in bed, listening to a new podcast about the turn of the seasons (by the author of the almanac I bought). It was such a grounding, indulgent start to the day.

It was a rare day where my daughter was in childcare and I didn't have any work to do! So I spent the rest of the day planning and plotting for 2022 and getting on with a few errands. I did pop out with the dog for a walk too, my oh my hasn't the temperature dropped? Hello, winter!

Wishing you all a peaceful evening x

Thank you for all your wonderful words and energy. It is always soothing to come back to this thread and feel nurtured.

I hit a metaphorical wall at 3pm so my DH (who could see I was flagging) packed me off to bed for a nap. I put on a Solfeggio frequency track and drifted off into the most glorious and deeply relaxing sleep. I would have gone longer but my bladder woke me! That's a result of my concerted efforts today to hydrate properly, as I know I can neglect myself in that respect and it really does impact physcial and mental health.
Anyway, I will be heading to bed early tonight after a bath. And am thankful to early morning me for using the extra time to make a hearty soup. It means dinner is minumum effort!

Those struggling with exercise try RebelFit. He's on facebook. I have just signed up for Snackfit where you do little snackercises during the day from as little as 1 minute at a time.

De-cluttered my bedroom today and what a difference! I can feel the new energy. Going to be early bed with salt lamp, fairy lights and frankincense in the burner and reading my new herbal apothecary book.

Moregarlic the temperatures really dropped here too. NYD it was 14 degrees, today it's 3! The sky was beautiful and clear earlier this evening when I was walking the dog. I do love these cold, wintry days, much nicer than the constant rain we've been having! Starting the day in bed with a coffee is lovely isn't it? I do this most mornings now that I'm working from home. My dog normally wakes me up about 6.30 when he's ready for his breakfast, so I get up and feed him, let him out for a wee, then go back to bed with a coffee and a kindle for half an hour or so. It feels so luxurious after years of early starts and long commutes!

Queenrollo so pleased you managed to get some sleep and feel a bit more refreshed. I hope you have a better night tonight.

Dementedma thank you for the exercise recommendation, I'll take a look. Your bedroom sounds lovely. Early nights seem to be a common theme with us all today!

I did Yoga with Adrienne Day 3 this evening to see what it was like (and because I couldn't face going out in the cold to the gym!) I found it ok but I've been practicing for years. The side planks are challenging and definitely not for most beginners. It's a shame as she could easily have shown some modifications for most of the poses that would have made them much more accessible.

Beautiful new moon this evening 🌙

Just flying by, I'm enjoying reading everyone's catch ups.

The temperature has dropped massively here, my toes are rattling like ice cubes! I've been signed off from work and plan to spend the next few days nourishing myself with some homemade soup.

I shall also start on a painting, I've not painted for a long time, doesn't matter if it's any good, I just need to get in touch with my inner self and help her heal.

@speakout

I was referring to your post and that of queenrollo.

A "wormhole" in this thread anyway is not an insult- in fact quite the opposite.
We talk of wormholes as exciting new subjects to explore, research, lose ourselves in as our curiosity is sparked by neow slants or observations. We can usually get lost in wormholes, and often the cosiest and most interesting places to be and burrow into for a few hours. The earth is sacred after all.
I meant no offence- quite the opposite, I will be burrowing tonight as I worm my way into these new ideas.
Many of us here get lost in wormholes on a very regular basis,, whether learning about Tarot or Runes,plants, spell craft, making candeles, or how the planets are named after deities.
Wormholes are exciting places.

@speakout, oh I'm so sorry, I literally took the wrong end of the stick! Thank you for your explanation. It's a lesson for me not to jumo to hormonal reactions.

onedayiwillflyaway1 flowers] No harm done. X

No problem. Perhaps the term isn't as widespread as I assumed. On this thread it seems to be used a lot, and I guess us oldtimers have maybe become used to the idea of a "wormhole". Wonderful journeys often taking us off into completely different subject areas too.
A deep dive into research often with an unknown destination and no pressure to learn anything specific unless you want to- no goals- often opening up more wormholes in the process. I could spend days travelling through uncharted wormole country, and often exciting when you make connections between different subjects that hadn't occurred to you- and you find a wormtrail meets another that you have already been burrowing through months before hand.
Lots of treasure to be found in wormholes!

This popped up on my feed thought I would share
For centuries upon centuries sirens have been rendered perilous, their song a fatal enchantment that lured weak men to their demise. In mythology sirens are the embodiment of temptation, their otherworldly beauty a danger to those who heard their song and could not simply pass by. And yet nowhere in these ancient stories do sirens hunt, dragging hapless men to their death or smashing their ill navigated ships on the rocks. They simply sing their signature song, keening to forces far beyond mortality and myth.
Sirens bore the feet, wings and tail of birds, warbling to the world as nightingales do, perched on rocky outcrops and cliffs that claimed the ocean as their own. The handmaidens of Persephone, their lullaby a soporific lament that lapped at the weak willed and seduced those who could not strap themselves to the mast of their own good intention, hungry for someone to blame.
We still inhabit a world where women are held responsible for the temptation of their beauty and shamed for their siren song, neither of which have a single thing to do with anyone else. From Odysseus to wifebeaters everywhere, from lunatic legislators to the denizens of dark alleys, it is the poorest indictment on the world of men that weakness and lack of control has always been framed as you made me do it. The subtext screams of the fear of women's power and the fatal need to possess it.
A new song written now. Our voices louder, the diversity of melody emerging from the salt spray is telling an alternate tale. We are yet Persephone's handmaidens, in tandem with her cycles of descent and elevation, inhabiting life and death and rebirth every moon, in league with the mighty forces that have always lived within us.
We no longer fear the control. We do not submit to our burning or our pillaging. We refuse to walk behind or shoulder blame for the faults of others. We are forming vast choirs knowing there is strength in numbers as we sing truth to power. Just as we always have, bearing the greatest risk on our slim shoulders and radiating sublime faculty to all who pass our shore.
Two of my favourite Siren tracks.

(This one sung by Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins), one of my favourite all time bands ( anyone else travelled too deep in the 90s?)

Longer Siren music for a deep dive-

Powerful words there Speakout

Speakout it's a running joke in this house that DH would only ever leave me for two women and one of them is Liz Fraser! He was lucky enough to see her when she did some live performances a few years ago.

I slept so deeply last night. Lots of of (online) connection yesterday which helped me to process some of the emotions. A lazy wake up today and a cup of tea in bed courtesy of DH. It's our last lazy wake-up for a while as DS is back to school tomorrow. I am NOT looking forward to the 7am alarm.

Temperature drop here too, which we notice in the house as our Rayburn heating lets the rads cool overnight. The kitchen remains warm, but the rest of the house has a distinct chill. I think for the first time this winter I am in the territory of having to keep the dining room burner in overnight too. We live in an old Victorian school house, so you can imagine the size of some of the rooms and how draughty it is! I do love it, but it's not for the faint hearted!

I have a singing lesson this afternoon, but other than that we are not moving from the sofas. My friends are all out with their kids on last adventures, but I think a day of doing nothing is in order here as DS will be busy enough once school days are back in flow.

Sounds perfect QueenRollo

I am off out to enjoy the cold in the hills for a bit and hopefully clear my mind a little. Although, honestly, I just want to go enjoy the cold.

@moregarlic since I've changed my approach to housework, it's a lot more fun! Plus I always feel better for the new energy. My favourite 'chore' at the moment is cleaning glass and mirrors, I see it as removing anything that has been clouding my vision, and as I buff, I imagine I'm bringing in a new way of looking at things.

Very, very cold here, too - I am most grateful for fluffy blankets, hot water bottles and candles once the night draws down!
A bit of good news here, DS had an interview with an animal sanctuary yesterday, and has a trial shift next Thursday - he is so excited, as am I, we both love animals and have both brought home injured critters over the years and have cared for them, so this would be a perfect fit for him. If anyone has any spare blessings for him, it would be most appreciated!
Am feeling a bit rotten today, not covid, thankfully, but I will be drinking plenty of herbal teas and going gently.

Today, retrograde Venus is sextiling Neptune, so a perfect day to make a wish, and I wish you all healing, nurturing and a hefty dose of good luck!!

Your house sounds amazing @queenrollo, I love old buildings. In my previous I used to work for a museum service where I got to mooch around in old buildings. I don't ask you for photos as they might be outing, but can you tell me about your favourite part of your house? It will make my quietened historian a happy lady!

queenrollo glad to hear things are a little calmer for you today and you are able to have a relaxing morning.
HillsBesideTheSea I enjoy cold weather, particularly the crisp sunny winter days- even if it means having to scrape the car.
I spent a year touring SE Asia many years ago, and cold weather was the thing I missed most. I have the cold North wind in my bones.
AnotherCrazyBirdLady sorry to hear you are under the weather. I hope you recover quickly. Very exciting news about your DS, that sounds and incredible job, I imagine he has healing magic passed down from his mother! Fingers crossed all goes well.
A quiet day of work, early yoga class, and filled the slow cooker this morning so dinner will be easy later. Just back from the local post office, huge queues in the street, so many staff off sick with Covid they have limited opening hours.
So that's me in for the rest of the day, making some candles and more coffee.

This thread moves so fast, I love coming here to find everyone’s musings, happenings, shared wise words and support. Such a special place, teeming with energy and sparking magic ✨💫

Just sitting down for a herbal tea and a catch up and can’t think of a more inviting place to do so.

That is very exciting news AnotherCrazyBirdLady I think there’s something very healing about working for an animal sanctuary and the animals always have something to teach us too. I hope all goes well for your DS. I’m loving your magical reframing of housework too it’s very inspiring!

I hope you enjoyed the hills Hills I enjoy the freshness of the cold too, find it invigorating. I worked from home today, with the patio doors open to enjoy the same energy.

So glad you had a good night’s sleep queenrollo your plans for the day sounded perfect- I hope they have been nourishing and replenishing

speakout thank you for sharing those wise words and the fabulous Liz Fraser musical accompaniment this morning. Just the energy I needed to set me up for the day. I have such a wonderful image of you at home this afternoon weaving your magic, making those beautiful candles- a goddess at work!

TotoAnnihiliation I’m glad to hear you’re taking the time you need for yourself and hope the painting brings the healing you need right now. Go gently, follow what your heart is telling you it needs.

Violet, thank you for the new moon photo, she looks so beautiful at the moment doesn’t she. I’m loving her energy. I enjoyed the words you shared about what it is to be a witch- powerful stuff.

dementedma There must be something in the air- I decluttered my bedroom yesterday too! It’s been a dumping ground since before Christmas, I was busy with work then unwell so didn’t get round to doing it but I agree it makes such a difference- every queen should have her sanctuary I think- a lovely message of self care to the subconscious.

moregarlic I’m not surprised you don’t want to look back, it’s been such a tough time for you and I think you are wise to be gentle with yourself in this way. I agree that sometimes we don’t realise the impact till we’re a distance away from something. I had a tough 2020 in many ways and have recently been shown I still have healing to do. I think all the processing and reframing really does help and our healing processes happen in stages as and when we are able to work on different levels. I’m definitely feeling more hopeful for the future this year despite the challenges we all face, I feel like there’s resilience built that will help us dig in our heels when needed

BlankTimes I love your descriptions of our magical space here, the reminder of all the tools we’ve collectively gathered to infuse the magic throughout our days. The stardust was very much appreciated too- thank you!

I’ll light a candle at 8 to bring comfort to those feeling under the weather or weary and to celebrate the power of the solidarity and sisterhood we share here. Thank you sisters

Almost went arse over on some black sheet ice, but found some snow. Just a very little dusting, in only small patches. But there was snow. And I didn't want to stop walking. 3hrs was just not enough. Except it was iyswim. Mind was willing, body wanted common sense.

God morning sisters, another icy start here, I did notice it was lighter a little later yesterday, but perhaps blue skies gave that sense too, as we have had so many dark clouds blocking light recenty. Glad you didn't injure yourself on your icy walk HillsBesideTheSea thta's a beautiful photo. Glad you are feeling better and back to work Aerwyna, I find it hard to have patence sometimes when I am ill, I imaging it feels good to be back.
I love a de-clutter, although I tend to do things as I go, and I have a tendency to clear out when I am feeling cross, it really helps release those emotions, and I can rip through cupboards and sort things out with huge fire and energy in lightning time. Unfortunately I don't, always make the best decisions at these times, and tend to be too ruthless, often I realise some weeks down the line that something I want to use was taken to a charity shop some weeks ago. My family think it's funny- they will say " Have you seen that rack/car care kit/set of mugs/whatever" to my weak "I'm not sure" reply, they will smile and say " Chucked isn't it?" They know me too well!
I can't wait to get to my charity shop for a book rummage- I have also discovered a huge secondhand bookshop near my DD, a big warehouse in which you pay as you please- sounds great too.
But I have to work today, and already a lunchtime yoga class booked, I can't afford to take the time off to browse bookshops - today at least.
I am up to make an early start at work, hopefully get asm much done as possible ths morning.
Have a magical day sisters.

Bad typo there!! Perhaps Goddess morning!

Popping in to say hello as it is taking a while to read through old threads! Very interesting so far, though. And pretty cool to see some of the same names here from 2018!

I've also been doing some housework, making sure to fill negative space that I leave (an idea I got from these threads, thanks!) as we endlessly accrue clutter here. Finally looking clearer now after months (hard with 7 month old and 2 year old). Thinking of it as preparing for Imbolc.

Not so icy here in London.