Any Witches Here?- Part 17.

[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..
This is the 17th thread- anyone looking for a deep dive into juicy magical topics may like to browse previous threads.....

It is a long list!!

Part 1 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3241689-Any-witches-here?pg=1
Part 2
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3338025-Any-Witches-Here-Part-2?pg=1
Part 3
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3366411-Any-Witches-Here-Part-3?pg=1
Part 4
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3404406-Any-Witches-Here-Part-4-Edited-by-MNHQ?pg=1
Part5
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3437092-Any-Witches-Here-Part-5?pg=1
Part 6 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3482023-Any-Witches-Here-Part-6?pg=1
Part 7 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3520269-Any-Witches-Here-Part-7?pg=1
Part 8 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/a3568622-Any-Witches-Here-Part-8?pg=1
Part 9 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3637696-Any-Witches-Here-Part-9?pg=1
Part 10
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3726266-Any-Witches-Here-Part-10
Part 11
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3850635-Any-Witches-Here-Part-11
Part 12
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3997761-Any-Witches-Here-Part-12
Part 13 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4116107-Any-Witches-here-Part-13
Part 14www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4213962-Any-Witches-Here-Part-14
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4328830-Any-Witches-Here-Part-15?msgid=113505801
www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4435233-Any-Witches-Here-Part-16?page=40&reply=118807589

Joining at 8 for candle lighting
I have been doing some reading around Wicca and paganism. And around interpreting and recognising the sights/sounds of nature. I do wish that I didn't need to work anymore so I could devote more time to learning. I really wish I had started on this journey years ago

Thank you speakout that's interesting about Mercury

I get some anxiety about lighting candles when my mindset isn't great, so I might do some singing bowl chimes at 8 instead.

ringoutsolsticebells you feel you had started the journey years ago.
But you have started now- and that's important.
I am a great believer in things happening when the time is right for us- perhaps this is the best time for you.
I have done some psychoanalytic work this year with a therapist, and had some lightbulb moments.
I did wonder how my life may had been different had I dealt with these issues decades ago- but I don't think that was the right time for me- I wasn't in the right mindset.
I think that's even more the case for spiritual/magical discovery.
Focus on the here and now, and be glad that you have started that is something to be joyful about.
EmmaAgain22 I hope you find calm soon- I will send healing energy at 8.
I know some of our sisters had problems with candles when we first started the candle connection, some were in shared accommodation that didn't allow candles, they were travelling, or they had pets and little ones flying around. There were ideas for safer options.
A battery candle- or video of a candle propped up on your phone or device would work and allow you to join.

Hi I have been so busy over the Christmas period that I forgot to post here. I’ve also got a nasty case of mastitis, so I’m really exhausted and in pain. I have read through but then lost my reply 😡. So I’ll just jump back in from now

Backtotheland I hope your mastitis is clearing, it can make you quite unwell. It often comes hot on the heels of doing too much, I hope you have time to rest and recover.
I woke up so cold this morning, despite lots of blankets on the bed. I don't have heating on overnight, but my bed is usually cosy. I can hear wind and rain battering against the windows, it's a wild day out there.
I am back to work, I always have a fresh vigour after time off, it's so good to get back to what I love doing, surrounded by magic and all my familiar things. No queues at the post office either!
Mercury continues on a retrograde path for a few weeks, while the Moon is in Aries today, meaning time spent alone will be comfortable and productive. The Sun and Mars have a negative aspect- giving a conflict of our wants and sense of duty.
I am off for hot shower,more coffee and my morning self love routine, foot massage, Tarot pull, yoga class then a hot porridge bowl for brunch with all the yummies- almonds and hazelnuts,, blueberries, sunflower seeds and hot oat milk. Reading that back I sound like a diva lol!!! Maybe we all need to nurture our inner diva!
It isn't all play- xmas decorations back up in the loft, and work this afternoon.
Have a great day magical ones.

I'm struggling today, everything is topsy-turvy. I've been ill all week but there's no time for that as other people's needs trump mine. I don't have any of my usual things where I am. The atmosphere indoors is as unsettled as the weather outdoors today. What I'd really like is a walk on the beach, looking for sea glass and hagstones, and to let the sea wind refresh my spirit.

Good morning all,

I’m relishing my lazy mornings and being able to read and contribute to this thread until next week when my usual routine begins.
Another reason to be thankful for this time off is that DH & I would usually be out in this.

I missed the 8 candle lighting again (groan) I’m going to pop it in my diary so I don’t forget. If I’ve written that already somewhere earlier, apologies.

I’ve got a trunk of old greetings cards that I’m going to work through and declutter. 2022 for me has been about letting go. Letting go of physical clutter and emotional clutter: relationships / familial as well as friendships and the hope that some things could be different.

I’m looking forward to Imbolc because it’ll be my full year and a day of returning to this path which has brought so much comfort and peace to my life.

@queenrollo hoping you anxiety is easing or that you’ve gained insight as to why it’s problematic again.

@EmmaAgain22 I can empathise with your feelings of rage.

@speakout thank you for sharing mercury is in retrograde as thoughts and feelings for me have had a pin sharp intensity, but I put it down to picking up ‘A Little Life’ again to read. Especially when I believed I was strong enough to. I’ll blame mercury!

@Backtotheland I remember having mastitis and it’s horrible. I hope it eases soon. My late mum always used to swear by cabbage leaves when I had it, but a soak in the bath helped me.

@WiccanWonderer I hear you with not having your own needs met. The weather here is wild outside, too. Until you can physically do so, are you able to visualise that walk along the beach finding sea glass and hag stones?

Blessings to all

I've had a lump in my nose which first arrived during the initial lockdown. It's never bothered me and indeed a previous ENT Consultant had a brief look and said she wasn't concerned.
It got a little irritated during a recent cold so I thought maybe it was time to get it looked at again. The Nurse was unconcerned but we took a (not very good!) photo for her to send off for further advice.
This morning I have had a text that the ENT department have flagged it for the Two Week Pathway. Of course I am fully aware of what that is for and am just trying to reassure myself that in this case they want to see the lump in person to make a proper judgement on what it is.

But this is not the beginning to 2023 that I wanted!

I'm sorry to hear that queenrollo, I hope it is something easily fixable and they are able to reassure you.

Queenrollo I'm sorry to hear that, I can imagine how worried you must be, and not the start to the new year you had hoped for. As you rightly say, they have referred you so the specialist can see the lump and investigate what's causing it - there are many things it could be so please try not to feel too anxious (although I know that's easy to say).

Genexer I'm enjoying the lazy mornings too, it's nice to be able to stay in bed with a coffee and my book, especially on a rainy day like today!

Wiccanwonderer sorry to hear you're unwell. Are you staying with family at the moment? I don't like being away from home too long either. A walk on the beach would be wonderful. I normally go down to the coast over the Christmas holidays, but it's been so wet this year, it feels like a wasted journey as I don't think I'd enjoy it.

Speakout I'm smiling at your diva-like tendencies as I'm exactly the same! After years of having small children and putting others first, it's nice to have a bit more free time for princess-ing! I think I'll leave my Christmas decorations up until tomorrow. The tree makes my lounge feel cosy, but I do like to have the, away before the new year.

Backtotheland sorry to hear about the mastitis. Sounds like you need some rest (not easy with little ones I know) Have you tried cabbage leaves? I always thought this was an old wives tale, but they really do work! Essential oils can help too.

queen I have been referred on that a couple of times. Can you channel anything from here to alleviate the worry? There's lots of things it can be, including just human bodies being human bodies.

I am always rather taken aback by the talk of putting yourself first on here. As a single childfree woman - one of the few things in life that went as I planned - I am really struggling to support my elderly mother. It's not in my nature to put someone else ahead of me for a long period. The closest I have come is looking after a friend who had major surgery and needed regular help for a few months.

that was timetabled care, though I did get a couple of emergency calls. One of my struggles with mum is that nothing can be predicted.

I really struggled looking after dad as well. I thank my parents for so many things and I see their loveliness and know full well others haven't had that. (They even volunteered to house the friend I looked after, I told them it would be six months and they said "but that's okay, she's your friend, we will look after her".).

I really admire that generosity of spirit, the stoicism of "let's just crack on and take care of whoever needs it". I thought I would be able to repay it when the time came. But apparently not.

Greetings all. Like many I struggle with this in between time when things are all muddled up, although I am very much enjoying not having early starts until next week. I love my bed and need lots of sleep, so getting up expecially in winter is a real battle. Will light a candle at 8 to add to and take from the energy pool.

I'd like to join in your calming candle energy at 8. I, also, feel that I need this today.

I'm sorry people are struggling; @queenrollo it's good that this is being investigated but I know how worrying this can be at the time. I've had similar things checkout out in the past too.

I also feel so deflated and sad today. My mother-in-law visited yesterday. As she was a guest in my home I had cooked her a pot roast, and this is the first time she had seen me since my accident in June which caused life-threatening PEs in my lungs. I didn't expect her to show concern - I don't ask the impossible - but not only did she not bother to ask how I was, she refused even to speak to me. She fended me off with a sharp hand gesture when she was leaving and I told her to drive safely. Who visits someone else's home and does that? I have no idea what she thinks I've done this time; she gets in these odd moods on a hair-trigger and this isn't the first time she's been to my home and behaved like this. She ate my food, though. If she feels like that, why on earth did she come? On the next occasion she just carries on as though nothing had happened.

I'd had a rough year - having lost the riding I loved and struggled with constant back pain following the spinal fracture. And I always miss my lovely mum more at Christmas, making it harder to deal with MiL's hostility. I didn't want my child to see me cry - I don't want to spoil his relationship with his only living grandparent - but I couldn't hold it in this time. Now he's confused about why Nana is being unkind to Mummy and wants to know why she won't speak to me (I don't know), and I naturally feel terrible.

I spent this afternoon with my dear brother, to whom I'm really close. He told me gently that my first husband, who he was still friendly with, died of blood cancer whilst I was still recovering in hospital in July. I wasn't told at the time as a kindness: my DB and DH decided I had enough on my plate. I hadn't seen exDH for 20 years (we had no DC), but there was no animosity there and I was pleased he'd moved on and had a good life. I feel so deeply sad for him and them all, especially his poor mother who is still alive and must bear the pain of the loss of her child. He was 54 - a year younger than my mother was when she died. It had been a long time but he was my husband once.

I'm so sorry for the text dump. Felt a bit cathartic to write it all out. I hope you don't mind.

@EmmaAgain22 I don't know if this is any help for you, but I remember hearing the advice from mum's social worker: on a plane if your flight gets into trouble you always put your own oxygen mask on first before you help anyone else on with theirs.

Agree with this. Hope you are okay @EmmaAgain22. Caring is so very tough.

Candle.

GenExer my main issue seems to be I can't put someone's needs on a priority list. Just really selfish. Anyway, I will try to be better at it. I am so used to only thinking of me! I often feel a bit odd on MN because, naturally, it's family based.

Mariel I dip in and out, I'm sorry to hear about your back, I didn't know. I had a spinal injury years ago, and just today mum and I were talking about cerebral spinal fluid and stuff. I lost hair from the stress of it and not convinced it came back fully.

I hope you are doing okay now. It is traumatic. It took about a year before I stopped having weird dreams about it.

i'm sorry also about your ex, what a shock.

Meanwhile, your MIL behaviour is inexplicable. But tbh I'd ignore if you can, you've clearly had a hell of a time and don't need to give that headspace, if possible?

@queenrollo it is very scary hearing you’ve been put on to the Two Week Pathway. I’m thinking of you and hoping you get your appointment and they can tell you what this is.

@MarielVanArkleStinks reading about your MIL brought a couple of things to mind: firstly the fact she hasn’t acknowledged your health scare - having PE is everything to be concerned about, you had a ticking time bomb inside you yet you still didn’t expect her to be worried speaks volumes. Has she always been like this towards you?
I experienced this with my DH back at the beginning of November (he had one in his right lung and a DVT in his left groin) and I can remember how frightened I was for him.
But also her refusal to speak with you. This sounds like a method of manipulation and control, especially as you wrote this isn’t the first time she’s come to your home and behaved this way. You haven’t done anything to deserve this treatment from her. Her method of carrying on as if her silent treatment behaviour hadn’t happened the next time she sees you is a form of gaslighting. I’m guessing it leaves you questioning yourself when she’s ‘normal’.
I hear you with the concerns you have that you don’t want to sully DS’s relationship with his surviving grandparent but she doesn’t sound a very healthy person to have any kind of relationship with. I don’t know how old he is but there will come a time - if it hasn’t already - that he will work things out for himself and conclude his DGM isn’t someone capable of healthy adult relationships.
I’m so sorry to hear of the death of your first husband. Learning this long after the event puts your grieving behind everyone else that knew him and I know from experience this can be a tough place to be.

@EmmaAgain22 Caring for parents is bloody hard. Mine were already middle aged when I was born so I knew in my mid twenties that at some point I'd be caring for mum after dad died. Thing is, I wasn't ready in my late thirties for her to become so dependent, I still needed her to be 'my mum' and I felt so resentful. It dredged up a lot of unresolved stuff from childhood, too.
Making others a priority when you’ve only needed to think of you is so hard. When my children were born I really struggled with this - the constant drudgery and demands of these tiny little despots really sent me round the bend. I just wanted my life back.

@Hedjwitch it’s funny because I really love losing track of these days between Xmas and New Year. I can relate to the struggle getting up early in the darker mornings! I wish the UK was a little more temperate, not too hot, not too cold, just right 😆

@VioletCharlotte I’m just finishing my 3rd cup of tea before I head off to the shower and it’s another wild, rain lashed morning here. The trees outside are bending in the wind which I can hear howling in the eaves. My wind chimes sound lovely, though and the odd bird brave enough to weather the storm for a short chirrup.

Have any of you heard this by Shave the Monkey? I remember hearing it years ago when I was first really exploring witchcraft.

Blessings to all for your day ahead ✨

Thanks for the lovely, supportive messages. I generally can ignore MiL's behaviour, just put it down for the fact that she gets inexplicable moods and is a bit wappy (DH warned me of this before I even met her), but she caught me at a vulnerable moment this time.

In answer to @GenExer - she has always been like this but not necessarily with me, she used to ignore DH for days on end when he was a child. Not 10 minutes on time-out - days. She was okay with me for many years, I barely knew her until I had DH and she was around a lot in his first year. After that is when things went to pot. It's DH's sister who I never had time for and I think she's behind some of it; their mum is quite easy to lead, I think. SiL and I have been NC for many years. FiL is dead, but he was fine with me and we got on.

I think we can safely say this is her problem and not mine. But by now, I'm very tired indeed of being on the receiving end. I constantly pontificate on whether the relationship is healthy for DC - I've always had my doubts, but DH believes a relationship with a grandparent is to his benefit and he also has a say. But it's LC - we are talking twice or 3x a year, and MiL never facetimes or calls DC.

I am thinking a lot of my former MiL right now. Yes, my grief is behind theirs but that's as it should be; I left him because we simply weren't compatible and I guess had we wanted to keep in touch after the split, we would have. I shall grieve, but quietly, and do have my own good memories. We did a road trip from Key West to Boston to Niagara falls and back down again to Miami, back in the late 90s. We did what we liked, even sleeping in laybys if we felt like it, just got in the car and went! At some point when I get a moment to myself, I'll sit down with a small glass of something and the photo album from that trip and take some time out to remember him. He was called Chris.

I'm surprised how flattened I am by this news. So was my brother.

Hope everyone else is doing okay. I'm midway through dismantling the trees - and I'll probably do a cleansing smudge as well to invite new, positive energy for the coming spring.

I barely knew her until I had DH - sorry - I meant DC.

Will probably smudge tomorrow to start the New Year. I'm sorry for those struggling. Life really does heap a lot on the shoulders of some,doesnt it?

@MarieIVanArkleStinks I think it's definitely a good idea to sit with the album and allow your grief for your ex to filter through. I had a similar experience when I found out about the death of one of my ex boyfriends. I was months behind everyone else when the news reached me, I had no contact with him for years but it hit me like a ton of bricks. I loved him so deeply but his addiction was impossible to live with - and some 20 years later it is what killed him. My DH was incredibly sensitive in allowing me space to gireve for this past love, and I think that definitely enabled me to work through it.

I've had a day of wallowing, I feel like I am not sitting with my negative feelings properly and maybe they won't pass because I am not being ackowledged.
A friend dropped me a message to say there is some big energy shifting stuff going on in the Universe and he feels that maybe my sensitive nature is making very prone to it. He talked a lot of sense and has really helped.

My trees and decorations are still up, but I will most likely dismantle it all tomorrow. My DS wanted it all magical still for tonight so that's a good enough reason for me to leave it all be.

Mariel The late 90s must have been the best time for a road trip.

queen Interesting about the energy shift.

I have a couple of rituals I normally do for New Year and I'm not sure I can be bothered! Maybe I'll just do the bongs on the singing bowl! 😂

I have only just found this thread. I have been here for years. I've had a read through this last thread and I feel so at home without even posting.

I have had a pretty dreary time of it recently and I feel like finding you all on the eve of the new year is a sign of a better one next year.

Hope I'm ok to tag along.

Hello! Welcome along, I have some fruity fizz if you'd like to share.

Here's to better days <clink>