Midwinter is here. I feel it in my energy levels. I see it in the light. It’s been cold here: dry and close to freezing most days. Today it warmed up enough to rain. In the mornings we’re awake for the sunrises, but we don’t have to wait long. The days feel ever so slightly longer. The growing light is welcome. The first part of winter always feels intense to me. It comes on the end of an autumn cull... Read more
When I hear this word I think of knights and samurais: people who live by what seem to be (according to romantic and anachronistic novels) hard-and-fast codes of honor. I also think of ‘honor killings,’ where people murder others (usually women, sometimes themselves) in order to ‘save face.’ I can see nothing honorable about killing somebody else because you feel ashamed of their actions. That to me is not honor, or even remotely healthy boundaries. And yet we have phrases... Read more
Tomorrow I am driving north to Seattle for a dedication. My dedication. For the last year I’ve been driving 70 miles every third Saturday of the month to study with two amazing Feri/Faery initiates, NG and W. I haven’t written about it; it’s been something close to my heart and I wanted to keep it to myself. My teachers are private and don’t have much of an online presence. I only learned about their location and openness to teaching through... Read more
It’s been a while since I’ve tackled the Delphic Maxims. I definitely have no ancient context for the Maxims. I’m not doing any research into what the original Greek meant and for what context this phrase might have been intended. I think that would be very worthwhile! But I’m not doing that. I just ponder what this phrase means to me in the here and now. Let’s jump right back in with ‘clinging to discipline.’ This particular Maxim is extremely... Read more
Yesterday I posted about my 2012 collage, what came to pass and what did not (click here to read that post). For 2013 I did a tarot reading. I used the Mary-El tarot. I drew the 9 of Swords, the King of Disks, the Devil reversed, the 2 of Swords reversed, the Moon, and the Hanged Man. Basically, I have yet another intense year ahead of me. (What I’d like to do is take a moment to whine about how... Read more
Every calendrical new year I collage. You can read about last year’s collage and see pictures of 2011’s and 2012’s here. This year it took me and Adam a week to complete our collage. Both of our kids were very interested in what we were doing. We tried to wait for the youngest’s nap times. My son even managed to make his first one. He says it’s a collage about Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. A born story-teller, he... Read more
My 2012 has beld into my 2013. There is no such thing as a clean start. We are always in motion, ever evolving, never entirely leaving the past behind us. I’m still working on my new year’s collage! For now, here’s a post of mine over at A Sense of Place. It’s about one of my favorite places here in Olympia. For those you who observe the Gregorian calendar, may your new year’s provide you with a fresh burst of... Read more
Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my leaving the UK and arriving in Olympia. This has been a big, exhausting, amazing year for me. I have learned so much. Let me share with you: *I have an irrational love of the British Isles. The land there feels good to me in a way that makes no sense. It took me a good 2/3 of my year to stop waking up missing the Welsh sky. *When you follow the magic,... Read more
Today, if the world hasn’t ended, marks one year since my family packed up and drove away from Lampeter. We pulled out of the driveway before dawn. We watched the sun rise on the incomparable Teifi Valley. Our car was headed for Cornwall to spend Christmas with friends before heading back to the United States. (I linked to my last real post in Wales over on today’s A Sense of Place.) I find Washington to be far more wild than... Read more
I’ve been quiet lately in this space. There is a lot of intensity in my personal life right now. The last I wrote with any depth was about praying to Kali. She continues to work in my life. I continue to ask her to slay the fears that limit my spirit, and she continues to give me plenty of opportunities to face my fears. I rarely like what I see, nor do I feel all that secure. I made a... Read more
A Witch's Ashram
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