The Dark and the Light of Samhain

Samhain Thoughts.

This as we know is the time of year when the veil is at is thinnest, we remember our ancestors of line, place and blood. Especially we remember any of our family or friends who have departed for the Summerlands in this last twelve months, all this is natural.

Every year we have the same feelings....should we allow our children and ourselves to loosen up a little and enjoy the dressing up, the fun costumes and should we be giving our children sweets, nuts or perhaps fruit? Naturally the latter is always a good idea and the odd plastic spider in a bunch of bananas won't hurt anyone. 

It is a time to remember, it is a time to be still and listen to the inner voice, to practice our divination and to pray.

All our festivals have been to an extent hi-jacked by those who simply want to make money, sell lots of ghoulish treats and tricks, in the same way as our midwinter festival has been taken over by commercialism. 

I have had more time over the last two weeks to think, partly because my husband has been having eye surgery and needed someone with him most of the time, so I sat and watched him come to terms with firstly very poor sight and then a week later, far better sight. 

I personally don't see why our children should not have a little fun, and the adults for that matter. And to that end I did take a selection of spooky sweets to the gathering last Sunday.

Sadly we were rained off, very heavy rain bouncing off the paths and causing little streams where footpaths once were. But we do need to keep a balance between the fun of each festival and fun is a very good thing, and the real intent which we need to have for each season. 

So I am remembering, I always will remember, but I am also seeing the fun side, for the sake of the children, a little laughter goes a long way and is very healing.

Let's Talk About Pagan Festivals

Let's Talk About Pagan Festivals

For months and months this little book has been in the making, it grew from a request from the Nursery School that my youngest granddaughter went to for a booklet or some details of what the Pagan Festivals were and how to help teach the children a little about it.

The felt that they taught about several different other religions and to be able to widen this would only help the little ones's development and understanding. So I wrote a booklet, shared with a few of my friends who had small children and in a short time I was writing a whole book. And now its ready for pre-order, the first in a series of books written to help parents, teachers, guardians share a little about the Pagan faith with stories, things to do, recipes, coloring and pages.

There are some beautiful graphics in the book done by Nina Falaise who herself is a very remarkable women, born deaf and turned down by the royal ballet school she didn't give up, she got a place in another ballet school and became a prima ballerina. Retired from dancing she took up art and has now illustrated three of my books and one of my husbands.

http://axismundi.spheresoflight.com.au/index.php?page=NinaFalaise04


Its all happening so quickly now, I shall have news soon of a website with details of all the books, so you can read a little more about the whole project.

So the last few days with Jupiter travelling through my 10th house of profession and carrier, expanding everything it touches I am working with the flow to write more. All the while my publishing company Moon Books: http://www.moon-books.net/welcome-new.html is organizing some marketing for the little series.

Let's Talk About Pagan Festivals is aimed at children between the ages of 4 and 8, depending on if their grown up's read the stories to them or if they are older and can read the stories themselves:-)

Available already to pre-order from Amazon. 

The waiting game

I'm playing the waiting game at the moment, soon we will begin to let people know a little bit more about the new series of children's books I have been writing, the first will be out in December, "Let's Talk About Pagan Festivals" which was written for parents/teachers/guardians and their little ones from the age of four to perhaps eight.
Very little is available for folks to work with their little ones, so I have written  notes, some gentle stories, added some 'things to do', and a recipe and we have also added a coloring page. I have taken the children through the year, right through the eight seasons and festivals of the Pagan Wheel.

I've got another two books in this series in the pipeline so I have everything crossed that these are going to be well received by the children, their parents, teachers and guardians. 

I was made very aware this week that I see Deity as a Mother/Father image, although I also see the power of the divine within all of nature, its trees, flowers, rivers and seas as well as all the many animals we have on this earth. I would go one further that this and say that I feel there is a power which flows through the universe, call it a 'Great Power', 'Holy Spirit', 'Source' to name a few and some say 'a Noise'. 
But humans being what they are, the majority need to understand this in a form they see themselves, so they build a person, a God/Goddess to which they can relate. Over and over again through the ages people have done the same thing, written stories, painted pictures, carved images all of them being their Deity. Then we have the wars about which is the best one, or the only one? 
The only thing that most (not all) will agree on is this power, this supernatural flow, and that this in turn is within everything.....not just in humans.

So are there Cows in Heaven? Will I meet my dogs in the Summerlands? 

Thoughts are very powerful, sparked with this supernatural flow, I think we will see all the creatures, but hopefully we won't have so much muck to clear up?

Insects that Bite

Insects are abundant in Scotland! We are famous for tiny little midge that leaves you with thousands of tiny pin point red marks that then blister and gradually start to make you feel very ill. 
Well that was the case until I started research into pure natural essential oils!


I'd been doing a lot with incense and essential oils for many years, I used to farm in the southern uplands of Scotland, I had a herd of beautiful dairy goats and we all got very badly bitten. One day I mixed a spray with some essential oils and sprayed the poor creatures in an effort to try and help and it did up to a point. I clearly didn't have the recipe quite right because I think if I used the one I have now then the poor goats would have felt a lot better.


But happily now, with a blend of five different oils, in different strengths I have come up with a blend that when mixed together and allowed to mature and then added to different base products really does work!


I tend to make my blends up at the full moon and our flat is frequently smudged with incense, and circled with prayer. I feel with the right mindset, with the intention of helping and healing the discomfort and pain caused by insects, I can put some of this into the product. 


I'm very much tuned into healing of all kinds of ways and this is one which happily does work well.


I feel happier in the knowledge that I am wearing something that will cause an insect to simply fly away rather than produce a nasty chemical spray which will kill the insect and no doubt harm my own lungs at the same time. 


So I'm not going out in this mild damp weather without my "No Bites" !

Is Chocolate Healing?

There's a lot written and talked about when it comes to chocolate, its fattening, its full of fat, its addictive so they say. I have never been a great chocolate eater until the last few months and then I've allowed myself a gluten free Belgium chocolate wafer every day, but I have to admit to sucking the chocolate off slowly to draw the moment out.


Many do say there is a calming effect in chocolate and a little bit does no harm at all,'a little of what your fancy does you good', so they say.


Stress is an odd thing, it makes you feel on edge, your'r walking close to the edge of dissolving in a puddle of tears or laughing hysterically. So some grab some chocolate or something sweet to offset the nerves.


I've been working with essential oils for most of the morning, mixing them into different blends for different reasons, but it can be dangerous. Not a good idea to get your head over the jug in some cases, but it certainly clears the head:-)


I think the aroma of some essential oils does work to dispel that feeling caused by stress, I notice the difference if I'm working on blends for relaxation, I end up so relaxed I could sleep!


But sadly none of them smell like chocolate, and they certainly wouldn't taste like it either.

Tummy Healing - Gluten Free Style

I have come up with a few suggestions for coping with this sore, bloated painful tummy that persists after eating anything at all with gluten in it, so here are my thoughts on controlling the tummy and perhaps dropping a few pounds in the process:-

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Tummy Healing - Gluten Free Style

Breakfast:

Fresh fruit porridge ( for one):

30gm of dry weight gluten free oats

One glass of water and semi skimmed milk

Half a teaspoon of mixed spice

A good handful of either raspberries, blueberries or other fresh fruit

Pinch of salt

A desert spoon of organic honey

Method:

Put all the dry ingredients in a microwavable bowl, make a well in the middle, add in the liquid and fruit but not the honey.

Cook for 3 mins on full. Take out and add the honey, mix well and if its too stiff add some more water.

Pop back for one min on half heat.

Stand for one min and then serve.

Alternatives 1:

Two slices of brown gluten free toast, with light spread, with a poached egg, add seasoning to taste.

Small glass of fresh fruit juice

Black coffee or black tea or fruit tea

Alternative 2:

30gm of Gluten free honey puffed oats (Rude Health)

Semi skimmed milk

A small glass of fruit juice or add some fresh fruit to the cereal.

A cup of tea or coffee.

Alternative 3:

2 scrambled eggs on brown gluten free toast

Tip…spread a little marmite or vegemite onto the toast before adding the scrambled egg.

A small glass of fruit juice

One cup or tea or coffee (you could have this first thing when you wake up and then just have the juice with breakfast)

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 Gluten free lunch:

1.     A sandwich made with two slices of brown gluten free bread, warbertons now make a very nice one! Use either slices of low fat meat or cheese.

A fat free fruit yogurt…..Mullar now makes some very nice thick Greek style ones. Or a Shape far free yogurt.

Fresh fruit: either one apple, banana or a pear, or a small bunch of grapes, an orange.

Drink a glass of chilled water with your lunch and try and drink several glasses of water a day!

2.    Soup: Veg, ie any combination of veg with two teaspoons of gluten free stock, add in a handful of red lentils tip…..avoid adding too much potatoes as they absorb all the stock and the soup tastes very bland…..you end up adding far too much salt!

Either some fresh fruit or a yogurt (fat free) Or both!

3.    Four slices of rye crispbread (completely rye is almost gluten free) with low fat spread, use some low fat cheese or marmite/vegemite or if you eat meat try a slice of cooked ham. Or one packet of corn crispbreads, these are gluten free!

Sugar free jelly or fruit or yogurt (fat free)

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Dinners:

You can eat a fairly normal dinner, smaller portions than normal and more veg, avoid too many peas as apparently these are a little higher in cals.

You could have meat/fish or completely vegi meal, potaotes, or gluten free pasta.

Snacks:

Give yourself one, two finger chocolate gluten free wafer (Kit Kat look alike) a day and you could have two cookies, or a Naked Bar. Or you could choose to have a bag of low salt crisps or a packet of snack a jax.

So that’s two treats a dayJ Or you could have the equivalent in chocolate if you want.

Drinks:

Lots of water, plenty of black tea or coffee, fruit tea and herbal teas are fine also.

Avoid ‘sweetened’ drinks if possible because the chemicals in the sweetener can do damage to the nervous system over a period of time. You are far better off drinking black tea or coffee or take a small amount of semi skimmed milk each day.