Leaving the Lair

Our house is being sold and soon me, my husband, and my pet bunny will be heading out on a cross country journey to see America. One last time I look upon my meditation room or Wendilea's Lair as I like to call it and reflect on all the magick that has occurred in this tiny room at the top of the house. It has been my sanctuary and I have been fortunate to have this room as my own for many years. The sun has risen through the eastern window during my morning meditations and I have often caught the moonlight in a bowl of water here for "drawing down the moon" ceremonies. The few tools that are special to me will be packed into the Eurovan, and I look forward to setting up my alter under the trees in the forest, or in the desert sands under the stars, or even in the tent on a rain soaked night. My last ceremony here at the home we have shared for the last 17 years will be on the Autumn Equinox and then we will be leaving shortly thereafter. I am thankful for this wonderful little space and it has served me well. In addition to the few tools that I will be taking are my tarot cards, runes, my book of shadows, and a few books that give me daily inspiration. All my other books will be sold at our estate sale unless someone cares to send me an address and I would gladly send them on, as I don't foresee them being hot selling items in this neck of the woods. After Mabon I will be posting from somewhere in the country in a "church" which will be literally under the Sun, the Stars. and the Moon. Blessed Be!  

“Dreams are like stars...you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny.”

Rabbit Consciousness

I just adore my pet bunny Otis, and since his adoption in June of 2007 I have come to love rabbits in general in a whole new light. When I first got him it was if there was an infant in the house. I came down at night to visit him in his indoor hutch to see if he looked cosy and warm. I read the rabbit care guide cover to cover many times over to be sure of his proper care and in the morning I held him on my lap and stroked him for a half hour (with a cage liner) and didn't mind his cute little pee and poo, knowing he was relaxed and feeling mommy love. He is now full grown and has full run of the house (completely litter trained) and often shares the fruit in my cereal bowl with me. He is not the brightest crayon in the box as pets go, as he will not come running to the call of his name, but open the refrigerator door or rattle a plastic bag of dried craisins and he will come tearing into the kitchen in search of his certain treats. On hind legs he will beg and reach for his treat and then greedily run away to eat it in peace. He has learned the time of day when his meals are served (blueberries for breakfast and carrots for dinner) and will flip his glass bowl with his teeth if his meal is late. But during the day he spends much of his time under the dining room table in quiet meditation and seems content in his own rabbit world. He reminds me that to keep my inner peace, I must do the same.  

I also have a wild pet Bun, who has chosen my yard which is full of clover and free of pesticides to feed and rest during the daylight hours. She doesn't run when I approach to wish her a good day, and even if her little baby bun is nearby, doesn't seem to mind if I approach him in greeting as well. When it is hot they make a little scape in the dirt (the baby's scape is closer to the hedges than the mom's) and they lay with their legs splayed behind them to keep cool. I am so enamored with rabbits that my husband and I count them as we take our evening walk around the block and it is our team game to see how many rabbits we can spot. This week we hit an all-time high of 31 rabbits!

My life is so filled with the joy I get from rabbits that often when I am out riding my bike in the most out of the way places, I will see a clump of leaves, some fallen sticks, or other such natural wonder and you can bet that often it is in the shape of a rabbit.

Celebrating Lammas

Lammas is the first harvest in the turn of the wheel, and for me a celebration in which the bounty of good food is paramount. It is referred to as "loaf mass" and so I baked a delicious rhubarb streusel bread (recipe included), as this is the only time of year when we can get the beautiful red and green stalks of rhubarb at the market. As I delight in the various celebrations of friends in the blog world, I made a colcannon from a recipe from one of those friends at Celtic Dreamscape. It was the best colcannon ever! And being from NJ, how better to celebrate the fruiting harvest then by preparing a simple salad of our fresh jersey tomatoes with dill and a light vinaigrette. My husband grilled some lamb chops marinated in lemon and garlic and we toasted the Lord and Lady with a nice alcohol free merlot. Our nightly walk included a game of rabbit spotting, as they are abundant this year and we spotted 11 in 20 minutes. My ceremony included the lovely poem by Robert Burns, "Lammas Night" with thanks to Mother Moon. The evening ended with a bright bonfire and quiet reflection to the symphony of cricket song. Slainte mhor agus a h-uile beannachd duibh or Good health and every good blessing to you!

Reflections on a Stream

Have you ever consciously watched the thoughts that float in and out of your head and make the "eureka" connection that so within... without. Perhaps you were strolling around the grocery store looking at all the cranky people and then realizing that in your current mental state you were in good company. Or on a more  positive note you are enjoying all the beautiful sights of Nature on your walking meditation and passersby suddenly seem so friendly and cheerful as you marvel at all the beauty around you. When we finally make the connect the dots association of thoughts as things and mind over matter there is a fleeting sense that we do in fact have creative power over the world in which we live and serendipity should be the rule and not the exception. The hard part is holding the mind accountable and maintaining that utopian vision where peace and beauty are expected to envelop all those dark fearful thoughts and transport them away somewhere. I suppose it is possible, but if you thought for a moment about the tedium of sameness, wouldn't a little drama once in a while break up the boredom of all that nice quiet peace. Would there be anything in the world to laugh at if things were always so lovingly peaceful? I wonder.

Window to Within

When I came across this door I marveled at the window that reflected the colors of the outward surroundings... including the light of my flash. Those darkened diamonds truly hid the contents of the garage within. The sanitary whitewash of wood surrounding the windows stood in lined contrast to eerie eyed patterns of the aging beveled panes. People are like doors with windows. Sometimes they are open, transparent, and there is an honesty as they share of themselves. These are usually the people to whom the comment is made, "she/he is like a breath of fresh air." At other times people are closed shut, locked, and hiding in a fearful darkness  that merely reflects the gaze of those who look upon them. I can hear the phrase, "I just can't get through to him/her..,"  The next time you are speaking with someone... be aware of your own windowed door. Is there eye contact or are you looking through the person? Did you really hear what is being said (or are you only thinking about what your next words will be)?  When we truly connect with another person from that light and honest place we should see beyond the reflection of our own scary judgements. 

Healing Power of Birch Sap

I have always loved the beauty of the Birch tree... I'm an admitted Tree Hugger and there is no tree that I don't love. Recently I was hospitalized for pain in the place where my gallbladder had been removed. Long story short, it seems that one of my main health issues stems around the elevated cholesterol that my body produces. I have cut out saturated fats (for the most part), lost eighteen pounds, and have done research on natural products to lower cholesterol. Serendipitously, I saw a container of Birch Sap in the supermarket the other day and decided to give it a try. To my surprise it's main health benefit is the elimination of cholesterol from the body. Other health benefits include it use as a mild diuretic, anti-rheumatic, anti-infective. Externally it can be used to promote healing of eczema and other forms of dermatitis. As I was making my purchase an older woman with a very ruddy complexion told me she was buying the birch sap for her unnamed, but obvious skin disorder. Well, for the cost of $1.99 a quart I think we were both making a healthy choice of medicine for our ailments. Will keep you posted of any progress!

Here is the link to my research: http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/birch_tree.html

Sticky Flower

On Monday I was strolling along the little park across from my daughter's home with my baby grand-daughter, when I came across a weird new "creature". Sitting on the branches of the small cedar trees were these globs of orange, with sticky looking finger-like projections. Of course, I left my camera at home so I couldn't catch them in all of their glory ( I also missed a red winged blackbird and a meadowlark). I was intrigued as I had never seen anything so strange looking (almost frightening) that just appeared out of the blue from my otherwise familiar walk. I went home that evening and searched the Internet and found that the thing is called Apple Cedar Rust and it is a parasitic fungus that will damage surrounding crabapple trees while not necessarily harming the cedars. The spores of the fungus can travel up to two miles to attack the apple trees. On Tuesday I went back to the scene of the creepy fungus and already it had started to shrivel up in a gelatinous mush (otherwise known as a gall). Although disappointed that my pictures didn't do the creepy thing justice, I was happy to have learned something new about a natural phenomena. Something I will be able to teach my grand-daughter when she begins to question the world around her. 


Here is a link and a better photo of the Apple Cedar Galls: 

http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/articles/2002/CedarAppleRust.shtml 

The Ballad of Bunny Fay

There you are my Bunny fay
What have you to teach me today?


Fecund is a word that might sound funny
but it means to be fruitful, said my mild mannered bunny.


Do what you love and don't be shy,
the world is your oyster and you are it's eye.


It doesn't matter if your words are trite
they are your own which makes them right.


Then she wriggled her nose and nibbled some clover
winked at me once and the lesson was over.

Smile of the Moon

I love the moon in all her mysterious phases and often I can't help but try to capture the allure of her shine through the darkness. I particularly love the smiley moon... the crescent glow of mouth that reminds me to laugh more, to smile more and notice the loving smiles of others, and also to find humor in the darkness... and let it lighten up my mood. No matter what is going on I can be sure that when I look up and notice the moon, she will whisper to me in loving words... and on "new" nights when she seems to have disappeared, I have faith that she is still there, and will come back when I need her loving encouragement.

Playing Around with Fantasy

If I had to pick a single hobby that brings me joy beyond compare... one where I can completely lose myself in the moment, it would be photography. I usually take my camera everywhere, even on my daily walk around the block. I have missed a lot of great opportunities by not being prepared. You would think I would want to learn everything there is about the camera I have, but I am impatient and dyslexic and can never get past page 6 of the manual. It doesn't matter that I don't know what an f-stop is or what aperture means... I have more fun just playing with the fancy dials and leaning from mistakes. You would think the picture icons would make photography idiot proof... but the picture icons don't tell the whole story. When I see something that is photo worthy it really excites me and sometimes when I see something without my camera in tow, it will haunt me and I will come back to the scene and start snapping away. Then it's a race home to upload and review. Some photos are good enough not to be altered... but mostly I love playing with software and re-coloring or distorting what I snapped to put it in line with what I "saw." I have an active imagination and I can play with my photos for hours on end until they tell the story of some faraway place that I can mostly recognize in my dreams.

A Stroll in the Park

There is a little park across the street from my daughter's home where I walk my baby grand daughter on most days that I care for her. She is only four months old and usually decides to nap as I stroll her past the pines, the beeches, and the willow trees that line the walkways. Sometimes she will wake with sleepy eyes as a red winged blackbird shoos us from a treetop, but often she is oblivious to the team of robins that appear on the school soccer field as if they are in play. From this little vantage point surrounding the pear, the cardinals have a field day trilling back and forth as they hide in the bushes... but a patient eye can always spot them in their red feathered finery. I even love the beautiful dandy lions that spread like a rash over the green grass of the fields. On close inspection they are as beautiful as the finest flower and they seem to love the company of the purple henbit that also color the spring fields. Every day I find a new species of tree or flower or weed to investigate, so I may share all this knowledge of Nature with my beautiful grand-daughter.

The Beauty of Spring Leafing

Spring is my favorite season, especially as I look to the woods behind my house at dusk. It seems that in the span of one week, the bare tree branches spit out their little buds that seems to explode into those beautiful spring green leaves overnight! Just one warm day (recently it went to 88 degrees) and the bees come out of the woodwork, the leaves seem to grow right in front of your eyes, and the birds are singing their little hearts out. I especially thrill at hearing the trill of the Carolina Chickadees as they call each other from their perches in the trees. I also like to watch the studly antics of the male sparrow who woos lots of ladies in the hemlock tree in front of my house. He puffs himself up and tweets, and when a female comes by they are suddenly flapping together towards the bushes. I have seen him with six females in a hour and yet he can also be seen dutifully assisting with building of various nests for the children he fathers. The squirrels are hunting their buried nuts (and my planted bulbs, oh well) as well as chasing each other in pairs around the trees. Frolicking is rampant! As I take the time to watch all this spirited energy around me, I am very thankful that I have the time to enjoy the delights of this wonderful season.

Celebrating Holidays

Greeting from my bunny Otis, who celebrated Ostara with my husband and I two weeks ago. Though he took a sniff at my colored eggs, he got much more excited by his feast of baby carrots and dessert of blueberries. He is my current "baby" as my children are grown and starting families of their own. None of them currently share my Wiccan beliefs and they celebrate the more traditional of the Christian holidays, but they are accepting of my ways nevertheless. I have always told them the importance of finding one's own way to be in the world, and to seek in the Socratic tradition of "question and challenge." Once you do find your way, I stressed that it is also important to be accepting of others for the sake of kindness. I am proud of my children and often they tell me that they are proud of me! So as they celebrate the Easter holiday, I will celebrate the wonderful diversity that exists in our big extended family.

Spring Tease

Spring's arrival in NJ met with some splendid balmy weather this year, but as usual, it also heralded the cool and rainy season that comes as "April showers." Though it is windy and chilly again, there is the greening of the lawn, the blooming of daffodils, and the blossoming of the magnolia trees that gives a vibrant touch of color to the awakening landscape. Spring is the time of year for putting those plans arising from the quiet, contemplative, meditations of Winter's rest into action. Sometimes it hard to stay motivated when the weather turns cold and damp... there is that cozy retreat into non-action, which is fine, even Mother Nature takes a step backwards now and again. But as the wheel turns and budding season gets under way, I usually get a surge of energy that will ensure my projects and plans move forward with bursts of vigor. So bring on the chilly showers... they will only serve to make me appreciate the warm weather and "May flowers" all the more!

Welcome Spring!

Wish you could have joined me early this morning for a breakfast of home-made Ostara Buns and coffee. I've already been flying around the neighborhood... on my bike mind you... to see all the early delights of the first Spring day. The trill of the songbirds, the bursting popcorn kernels of the dogwood, and even the hustle and bustle of human activity that has been dormant over the chilly Winter mornings. May the sun shine upon you as you celebrate the sights and sounds and activities during this beautiful budding season! 

New Moon Banishment

Ram Dass once said, "if you think you're enlightened go spend a weekend with your family." Well, although I am not planning on achieving enlightenment in this lifetime, I try to be a spiritually minded person and sensitive to the beliefs and opinions of others. I don't parade around spouting my brand of spirituality and yet I don't hide it either. My immediate family includes some self righteous siblings who usually don't give me the time of day, unless they are trying to convince me that the Catholic religion we grew up with is the source of their success and happiness and that my path will lead me to eternal damnation and hell. Little do they realize that in their criticisms of me and their fear of my way of life they are the promoters of the Hell that I don't choose to believe in. That being said, the negativity that comes my way, however, still has the power to push my buttons and make me feel mad, resentful, and down-right agitated. I could verbally fight back, Goddess knows I have learned to be comfortable with my darker side, but spiritually speaking, what goes around comes around and I hate confrontational merry go rounds. Lucky for me there is a New Moon, so I will be able to take the negative thoughts I have, put them down on red parchment, and then burn them in my cauldron. I will then recite the Charge of the Goddess to remind me of who is in charge of my life and then the ashes will be scattered out into the cold night air (along with the liberations I will offer to my numinous friends). In my mind "family" is a term for those people who love and support you unconditionally... perhaps I should just banish those relationships that just bring me down.

Aglow

Alone in the darkness

the soft silken dance

of the flame

mesmerizes...

with thoughts on hold

the Gaze catches twins

that reach and pull

the Light to a heart

where all is One

and Wonders never cease.

The Lady's Prayer

The Earth is my Mother.
I shall not want.
Her hand brings forth the green pastures.
She tarries within the still waters.
She leads me in fields of fruitfulness for my Glory.
Yea, as I walk through the summer of life unto death,
I will not be afraid, for You are with me.
Your womb in the earth will enfold me.
You prepare a harvest before me and bless my home with children.
You fill me with milk and honey.
My cup overflows.
Surely, goodness and beauty will nurture me all the days of my life,
and I will become part of the earth forever.

Author Unknown