Any Witches Here? Part 21

[speakout]

Just settling into the new place, plumping the cushions and opening the windows. Welcome to n everyone, newcomers, old friends, the curious.
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..

Thanks so much Speakout for Merlin. It's such a joy to know which bird has which song. They are so hard to see now the trees are in leaf. My first is at dawn, just after 4am currently, it's a song thrush.

I remember the painted rock and pebble trend. They were sold in giftshops too. It used to be the norm here if you were a visitor to take one as a gift for the host's rockery/garden.

Some were real works of art, one I remember was a large pebble with a fault right across it. Someone had painted a line of tiny but very detailed mountaineers roped together traversing the 'crevasse' 😂

If you are looking for more ancient Knowth has the largest collection of Megalithic art.

Newgrange has the most recognisable entrance stone and interior stone with triple spiral carvings.

If you fancy carving patterns as opposed to painting them, a dremel-type tool is great.

Hello all. Having been on here a lot last summer, life took over and I didn't have the head space for very much. I have continued to drop in and read posts however. I have continued with my journey by practising a lot of yoga, observing the moon, holding on tightly to crystals trying (but failing!) to turn my hand to tarot. I have found a local group who hold full moon circles but still not plucked up the courage to go to one yet. Anyway. There was a bit of space in my brain to reach out and say hi. I hope you are all having a peaceful Friday night x

BlankTimes thanks for the ideas for my rock art. I have had some lovely succeses but some failures too! Designs that require too much symmetry are a bit too challenging, I have tried using templates etc, but that takes away from the flow and expression as I am too hung up on accuracy.
I may try some sigils, I have been wanting to leave an offering inside the church in my nearest town that carried out many murders during the burning times, and sigils can carry the message I need and hide in plain sight.
I am glad others are enjoying Merlin too, I am inspired to make some rock art with bird themes.
It is so interesting to listen at different times of the day, I find early morning the busiest, and different species in the woods and river. I am recording now, and have picked up 18 different species in the past 10 minutes. I think my record is 23 in a 10 minute session so far.
It gives me a cosy glow to know nature is still a powerful force and Gaia is strong.
Good to see you back Stepbreathesweep. Life can be so consuming can't it. We all have such busy lives, work, family, obligations, I am glad to hear you are holding on to your yoga practice, magical and sacred, allowing us to root, rise, ground and journey back to our core self. My yoga keeps me afloat, and my magical practice does too. It has been hectic in the past few weeks, getting Mum's new place ready in sheltered housing, she had no furniture so we have had to get everything in place.
Once this time passes I need to slow my pace, plan some recovery, restore and replenish myself.
This morning I have body balance in a little seaside town just a short journey from home. It's a time for OH and I to catch up, do some shopping together and maybe a coffee. We don't get much time through the week, he works long hours and often stays away if working far.
I may just hop onto the beach to collect some rocks. My local river has plenty, but mostly all the same type and colour. I am hoping to find a few other types and colours of rocks near the sea. I am also aware that I need a crash course in geology! I would like to know what types of rocks I am using- I feel a wormhole ahead!!
I would love to read any bird lists from the Merlin app- I imagine they will differ in various parts of the country.

Off for a spa shower- rose and geranium for a feminine boost.
Have a good weekend magical sisters.

I keep a nature journal, drawings and paintings and observations of the wildlife and plants in my garden and the surrounding area, and the wood near my home. I'm in Angus, five miles from the sea. Here's my list of creatures I've seen or heard over the past years - I'm really glad I can match the song to the birds with Merlin now! As you can see I'm not very up on insects!

Just popping in after being under the weather. I had a (unusually for me) stye which became infected and not sure if it was a bug or a reaction to the antibiotics. I'm on the mend now, though.

I've had quite a busy few days catching up. Assignment and going through the response to a formal complaint we've made re: dd2 and the lack of timely support.

However, this morning I went to Hatha Yoga and this afternoon there was a Feelgood session at another nearby yoga studio, with a menopause workshop, feldenkrais session and a sound bath. I'm currently trying out our firepit in barbecue format, waiting for the flames to die down. The self-lighting charcoal, didn't but I had lighters to sort it out.

@FizzingAda that's a lovely idea for a journal. I have a mixture of yoga/meditation/art in my journal.

Early to bed. Yoga was an unmitigated disaster today. Fibroflare wiped me out and I spent most of the class sitting on the mat fighting back tears of frustration.
I'm tired of trying and failing.

Healing thoughts to you, @Hedjwitch . I know I get so frustrated with illness/injury also.

FizzingAda I love your journal/almanac/grimoire- that's such a good idea to keep track of creatures.

quirkychick I hope your workshop was soothing, I have never heard of feldencrais, but a menopausal workshop sounds a wonderful idea.

Hedjwitch my heart goes out to you dear sister, it must be so hard living with such an illness. The thought of you sitting crying at a yoga class makes me want to throw a soft blanket of healing around you. I hope you are feeling a little better today, I will light a candle to strengthen you this evening. X

Thank you @speakout that's very kind of you.

Witches of Scotland Tartan

This looks interesting, I'd love to see some as garments.

https://www.witchesofscotland.com/tartan

@BlankTimes the tartan looks great, the whole website looks interesting tbh.

I hope you're feeling a bit better @Hedjwitch .

@speakout the menopause workshop was quite interesting, but unfortunately more product placement than practical advice. The Feldenkrais is apparently a somatic practice - lots of lying on your front/back and moving legs/arms to gain proprioception and help you move. I had done a lot of exercise, so it felt good after.

The tartan is lovely isn't it. But very poignant too.

The witch murder rate was 5 times the average in Scotland.

I love the symbolism in the tartan design.

This design was created to memorialise those who suffered as a result of The Witchcraft Act 1563 to 1736 in Scotland. This tartan will be woven to make products to help create a ‘living memorial’. The black & grey colours are intended to represent both the dark times of this period and the ashes of those burned. It also incorporates red & pink colours, symbolic of the legal tapes used to bind papers both during that time and now. The threadcount of this design incorporates the years 1563 and 1736, represented as single entries, 1+5+6+3 = 15 and 1+7+3+6 = 17. These are shown in black and grey surrounding a white check of 3 threads, these threads represent the core objectives of the campaign, which are to ensure a pardon, an apology and memorials are achieved. The large black section of 173 threads is intended to represent the 173 years of darkness and red and pink sections are repeated 3 times, for the 3 prime objectives of the Witches of Scotland campaign.

Better today thank you, quirkychick. This has been a bad flare. Monday in work was awful. The team could clearly see something was wrong as I hirpled round groaning. But feel better today. Visited a little potager garden in the next town and got a load of borage for £3. Bargain! And in an effort to reduce my wine intake I have had a tea of skullcap and lemon balm,with a little spiced honey. It was delicious.

@Hedjwitch I'm glad you're feeling better, your tea sounds delicious.

@speakout the tartan is indeed very poignant. The book sounds very interesting too. Lucy Worsley did a documentary looking at documents in witchcraft trials. Both horrifying and important to remember.

I am glad to hear you are feeling a bit better Hedjwitch, and the borage sounds a great find. Not a herb I have used recently, but I believe is good for inflammatory conditions.
I watched the Lucy Worsley documentary quirkychick it was informative.

The witch trials go so much further than first appears. there are so many layers to this heinous time. Set against church reform, government change and deepening of patriarchial architecture, the perfect storm for whipping women back into their place and remaining silent.

So much to do with feminism, the power of women, the fear of women the fallout from these times persists even today.

We should not forget.

Morning all.

I seem to feel overwhelmed at the moment despite not really having any great demands on me. I think the limbo of waiting to hear from the hospital about my latest MRI is probably a big factor.

Yesterday one of the village cats ran under a van and unfortunately died on my drive. I was with her as she passed, and had to break the news to her owner. My DH witnessed it and the van driver was distraught but DH says he literally couldn't have avoided it.
My poor neighbour just couldn't cope with it, so I had to wrap the cat in a towel and place her in a box. I am one of those people who can cope with this kind of thing so it's just as well I was at home when it happened.

I have a speech therapy appointment this afternoon, I finally have an explanation for my issues. I am now doing some exercises, and only time will tell if I am simply in preservation mode or if I will see improvement and be able to sing again.

queenrollo I hope your speech therapy session was healing for you. Waiting for results can be a heavy load. My OH is waiting for an outcome atm, not health related but something he has a great emotional investment in. and is also in limbo. He may get a resolution today. it may be another months, and he doesn't know what the results will be, so is also in limbo.

Sorry to hear about the poor cat- I am sure your presence helped the poor soul to pass peacefully.
You did such a kind thing for your neighbour too, dealing with the cat shows great courage and sensitivity. I am the dealer of dead things in our family too- every life is so precious, no matter how small the animal. I feel sorry for the insects that come into my home and die before they can escape.
Although I have just caught a honey bee and released it today. If bees look a little sluggish I will make up a few drops of sugar water and place it near the bee outside, it is very heartwarming to watch them drink and revive.

I am just back from a one to one class from my daughter, an hour focussing on yoga headstand and wheel asana.
It was really helpful to refine my technique and find more confidence.
DD isn't a yoga teacher-although she practices- but does teach ballet and acro dance, there is quite an overlap of all the disciplines.
Her studio is well equipped, a huge very thick dance mat and pads to cushion my (many) falls! She even made some videos of my attempts enabling her to show me points I need to consider.
Plus I was able to spend time with DD in a different relationship, her the teacher, me the pupil. She has become a very wise woman!

@queenrollo I hope you get some answers soon and that the Speech and Language Therapist helps. I'm so sorry about the cat, how distressing. Many years ago, I had a similar experience and our neighbour's cat came to our back door after being run over, making a terrible noise. Our neighbours were away and the cat died on my lap in the car, on the way to the vets. Delivering the news was very hard. Some of us step in when others can't - but that in itself is not easy.

@speakout your yoga session with your daughter sounds amazing. The witch trials are sadly still pertinent today. I do think history is important in showing us how we are today.

Thank you for the kind words, as always this is a soft place to land.

I did cradle the cat, I placed hands on her and spoke her essence into freedom. It's a kind of ritual I do when I find any dead animal, but this was poignant knowing it was a much loved pet. My neighbour did not want to see her at all, but her older teen son was curious and gingerly asked me if he could look and touch her. I facilitated this, I think it's important to allow people to approach death in their own way.

My speech therapy appointment was very helpful. I am learning lots of exercises to help retrain all of the musculature and my breathing.

My DS was given a reward in school (along with others) of a trip to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich so he has been there today. We went last year but didn't;t actually go in as I felt it too costly, for something I have little personal interest in. I'm glad he experienced it this way, the museum provides more value for school groups I feel. He's home now, absolutely shattered.

Good evening!

I’m so glad the poor cat was held in loving arms and treated kindly at the end.

Today has been lots of tidying indoors and some garden planning. Having been deeply indifferent to gardening for most of my life, I’m beginning to see why people enjoy it. We’ve been adapting some areas of our garden so that Mr Crafty has some gentle and easy access to growing things.

Craftycorvid I am glad you have found your green thumb! I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea but there are so many pleasures and healing in tending a garden.
This happened to my lovely niece too- she had no interest in gardening at all until her late 40s but she has had a big turnaround. Her garden and verandah pots are jam packed with a huge variety. She lives in a warm country with round the year growing season- that must be amazing too.
I love gardening, but my time is stretched paper thin, so rarely spend time in the garden unfortunately.

It's been a challenging week, and I am heading to body balance this morning. Normally Mr speakout joins me, but I really want some time alone. There is a tv being delivered this morning, so I have told him someone needs to be here to receive it.
Most of my waking time this week has been to tend to the needs of others, big things, hundreds of small things, food, arranging, buying. My mother has been packing clothes for sheltered housing, I had a look in one of the bags- all the clothes from her wardrobe were dirty, food stains, grubby marks.
So I have washed everything- 4 loads to wash and dry, on top of all the other house laundry. I'm not sure why this happened, I have noticed not many of her clothes have been in the communal laundry bin, and questioned her about it. Underwear, t shirts do appear in the bin, but I didn't know she had so many dirty clothes in her drawers. She wears glasses, but has excellent eye sight when she wears them.

I may pop into M&S for some food treats for myself. My appetite has been poor for a few weeks, I often can't face something I have made.

I hope everyone has a magical weekend.

Morning folks.
A treat today of a belated birthday present from Dd2 so off to Glasgow for cocktails and a matinée of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.

I don't envy you the sewing on of name tags Speakout. I remember it well. Plus the subsequent unpicking only 3 weeks later so mum's clothes could go to charity.

Happy Saturday, everyone.

I'm definitely a fairweather gardener, just as well we have a small, city garden. My wisteria has been lovely, as has a hebe covered in white flowers, that the bees are enjoying. I'm quite good at pots, with mostly herbs in.

I managed my first vinyasa class for a couple of months. I've definitely fatigued my muscles, I can really see how much strength I've lost. Even the regulars agreed it was a challenging class!

I've had a week of preparing evidence for an official complaint re: dd2. Social Services have been more than economical with the truth, luckily I have lots of emails etc. to support what our case. It's exhausting and brings back all the trauma of last year. Luckily, we have the support of our local Councillor, who is fab.

@speakout the washing reminds me of when dd1 was at home. Every so often, I would get a huge mountain of very dirty washing. Ugh.

@Hedjwitch that sounds lovely - what a wonderful day out. Have a fabulous time.

Hedjwitch I hope you have a lovely day, things have been tough for you recently I know, you deserve a treat.
quirkychick your garden sounds magical.

Thankfully no name tags - my mother is moving to sheltered housing, so will be responsible for her own laundry. I have been taking stuff to her new place all week so have visited 6 or 7 times.
The complex has a laundry room, several washing machines and driers ( free to use)- everytime I have visited I have had a little look - seems to be a place where residents gather. There are chairs, tea and lots of chatter. Reminds me of the steamies or washhouses- most cities would have many, as families in tenement buildings found it difficult to wash and dry clothes. The last public washouse in Edinburgh closed in 1982

These "steamies" were a place that women could gather, share and talk, support and build community- a woman's circle of its day!

I know my mother will never give up the chance to have a chat and a cuppa, so I am hoping that will provide motivation to wash her clothes more regularly.

I am just having a little break and a smoothie- a tropical one today with mango, pineapple, banana and coconut milk, some lime juice to spark it up too!

I

Oh sisters,the ballet was amazing! Not a huge ballet fan tbh but the male dancers as the swans in Swan Lake were just amazing. Gave a whole new dynamic of power and aggression as well as beauty. Really mesmerising interpretation. ( And when the black "swan" appeared all in leather,there was a collective hot flush across the audience!