All Things Goddess and a Greenman.

 Happy Christmas Eve to All!

 With all the busyness of getting packages out all week and closing up shops until after the New Year I have finally found the time to take a photo of  the Autumn Goddess slow stitched piece.

I don't plan to start on the Winter goddess until late next week or in the new year.  Here is a look at the other seasonal goddesses I made this year. Spring is below and Summer below the Spring

Speaking of Goddess, you may know I have followed a Goddess Spirituality path for over 40 years, I'm always in search of unique items for my goddess altars. I have one across my my work space so when I look up from my computer I can gaze on it.  

Recently I found 2 lovely pieces from an Etsy Shop Laser Cuts and Curios, here is the link to the shop

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaserCutsAndCurios?ref=yr_purchases&page=1#items 

This first one in the photo I will use year round, it comes with it's own stand and looks great set up on my altar.

Here is the shop link to this one https://www.etsy.com/listing/1662390403/spiral-goddess-wood-engraved-greeting?click_key=82640cd34952459788b5161f30c013665750b734%3A1662390403&click_sum=cba0ff9f&ref=shop_home_active_12&frs=1

This one is a Yule Ornament, I opted to hang it on my wall this year. Both have the option to be personalized if you are gifting them to someone. 

Here is the link for this one: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1603774311/spiral-goddess-ornament-yule-card?click_key=65a151ffc006fe2e44dbf303e44e2b3dc704b3d5%3A1603774311&click_sum=314c2c16&ref=shop_home_recs_2&frs=1

The shop has some lovely wood items.  There are several other Goddess items as well as some wonderful witch pieces. I know I will be a repeat customer.

I am currently reading two Goddess books for the 30 Days of Goddess I participate in, this month our goddess is Cerridwen, and in January our goddess for the month will be Circe.

I can't believe this January will be the 5th year of #30 Days of Goddess, what started out as a simple month long devotion to goddess, turned into years of practice.  Taking part has deepened my own goddess path in ways I never imagined.

Molly Remer created the 30 days of Goddess and offers free resources to members.  Here is the link to the Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/brigidsgrovecreativespiritcircle  If you are interested in or follow a goddess path or just want to be among women who are loving and supportive of one another check it out.

This coming new year I am once again going to create a few goddess embroidery pieces and more slow stitched goddess pieces. For the slow stitched pieces I'm thinking maybe the Elements or the 8 Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year; both if time allows. 

 I also want to focus on completing a few of the projects still unfinished.  Mainly the Greenman I started a few years ago.  

He has had quite a journey, he was left at a friends house last year and when he was being shipped back to me he bounced to a few post offices around the globe before finally arriving home.  He once sat beneath a pile of other works in progress and once on the bottom of a pile of magazines I hadn't had a chance to read.  A terrible habit I have with magazines so I cut back most of my subscriptions.  

When you find yourself reading the January issue in July it's time to decide do you really need this magazine? If  there is an issue of a magazine I want to read I will just buy a copy instead of subscribing knowing the issues will be unread for a few weeks and in some cases months.

The January 2025 issue of Art Journaling just arrived today. I let the subscription go along with the Somerset Studio, I still have the Summer and Autumn issues to read for both.  

Happy Winter Solstice! Blessing for a Happy Yuletide Season.

“So the shortest day came, and the year died,

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing,

To drive the dark away.

They lit candles in the winter trees;

…They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long

To keep the year alive,

And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake

They shouted, reveling.

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them

Echoing behind us – Listen!!

All the long echoes sing the same delight,

This shortest day,

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, feast, give thanks,

And dearly love their friends,

And hope for peace.

And so do we, here, now,

This year and every year.

Welcome Yule!!”

– Susan Cooper, The Shortest Day

Over the years I have kept many Winter Solstice images in my PC files so today I am sharing a few of my favorites. I shared this one above for the first time in 2013

And this one was posted in 2014, time sure has a way of going by  in a flash.  This month has gone by so fast I can barely remember the days.

This image first appeared in 2012 and the one below it is the first image I posted way back in 2010

It's been a rough year health wise for me so my main focus for the New Year will be my health and getting a better grasp on the A-Fib because with a little of the research I have done there is more out there than just taking an extra blood thinner to prevent a stoke.  

Brightly burns the Yule log tonight,

Magic dances in firelight.

Hold my hand and join the song,

Raise the Sun King bright and strong.

Dark is giving way to light,

As brightly burns the Yule log tonight.

 

Walking the Wheel of the Year: November's Full Moon

The Full Beaver Moon is shining brightly in all her glory above my house tonight. 

Full Beaver Moon-Nov. 15, 2024

This full moon we honor the intricate dance of nature, the slow shift of seasons, and the profound energies that guide us through transformation and renewal. As winter approaches it is time to prepare and take the time to reflect.

A lovely idea is to cleanse your home in preparation to receive all the wonderful energies that this full moon will bring.

Home Cleansing Spell

Clear your home for winter with a simple home cleansing spell. Combine salt, dried sage, and lavender, and sprinkle the mixture around your home, focusing on windows and doorways. Visualize negative energy dissipating, making space for positive and protective energies.

May your celebrations be filled with magic, intention, and a deep connection to the natural forces at play.

Not the greatest photo which tends to happen with the phone and night setting. 

 “Fall through the portal

of November’s full moon

into winter’s womb”

Suzanne De Baca, “Haiku for November 15”

Art: Lucy Grossman.

Samhain Blessing and Happy Halloween!

 And as the light around us fades

In golden shadows through the glade,

Like distant echoes down the hall,

we answer Samhain's ancient call.

From everlasting times 'til now,

To storied lands, we all must bow;

Where magic rings within our souls

And as we shatter, we are whole.

This is the night to join the Dance,

Partake in all-renewing trance;

Where worlds within and out are One,

Our sacred journey now begun.

To greet the ones we loved before,

Our kith and kin from days of yore,

Forgiven foe and long-lost friend -

We dwell among you yet again.

For now the worldly veils are thin,

Where hope and healing can begin.

Our deeds are done; the hour is late

To rest within the arms of Fate.

By fin and feather, leaf and bark,

As sun now banks to sheltered spark;

This year of trial and joy is past

Within the Circle we have cast.

And as the light around us fades

In golden shadows through the glade,

Like distant echoes down the hall,

We answer Samhain's ancient call"

~ Marc Hirsch

Tonight as the barrier

Between the two realms grows thin,

Spirits walk amongst us, once again.

They be family, friends, and foes,

Pets and wildlife, fishes and crows.

But be we still mindful of the Wee Folk at play,

Elves, Fey, Brownies, and Sidhe.

Some to trick, some to treat,

Some to purposely misguide our feet.

Stay we on the paths we know

As planting apples we go.

This Feast I shall leave on my doorstep all night.

In my window, one candle shall burn bright

To help my loved ones find their way

As they travel this eve, and this night, until day.

Bless my offering, both Lady and Lord,

Of breads and fruits, greens and gourds.

Another little poem as we approach Samhain

 

"Take your feathers, leaves, and bones.

Add them to your roots, your stones.

Mix them in your cauldron's womb.

Dance for rain and add that, too.

Your time is now, each heartbeat rings:

Remember Witch, Remember.

You know the way, you know the song.

You've walked this path your whole life long.

Drumbeat sounding, heartbeat pounding

The Ones before you, love resounding.

With every turn of season, moon

With every deosil swirl of spoon

You chant the words, you hum the tune:

Remember Witch, Remember.

The stars are out, your feet are bare.

Your arms are raised into the air.

No one told you what to do.

You know the way, the Way knows you.

So let it go. Release it down.

Heart and blood and bones to ground:

Remember Witch, Remember."

Just a little verse to share to let you know I am still here.

 

The Veil is Getting Thinner

As I went out walking this autumn afternoon, I heard a whisper whispering. I heard a whisper whispering,

Upon this fine autumn day...

As I went out walking this autumn afternoon,

I heard a laugh a' laughing.

I heard a laugh a' laughing,

Upon this fine autumn day...

I heard this whisper and I wondered,

I heard this laugh and then I knew.

The time is getting near my friends,

The time that I hold dear my friends,

The veil is getting thin my friends,

And strange things will pass through.

Stitching and Health Update

So after 2 weeks wearing a heart monitor the update from my cardiologist is I am constantly in Atrial Fibrillation (aka A-fib). For now I am just taking an additional blood thinner to prevent the possibility of a Stroke. I can continue my exercise and daily walks. Since I only drink one cup of coffee in the morning so I will go to decaf and eventually go back to just drinking tea, usually decaf and herbal. I just have to get used to the rapid heart beat, shortness of breath and being tired most of the time. I can do this. I better because the alternative doesn't appeal to me.

On the Crafty side of things, I have stitched up a few blocks of the Kathy Schidtz Woven Wreaths SAL, these are June through September 

These are May through January, some how they loaded in reverse order.

I just ordered this wonderful table topper Fright Night by Kathy Schmidtz, I love the vintage Halloween images they remind me of the old Beistle cardboard cutouts and other Halloween decorations I used to hang up when my son was a child.

The table topper comes with the backing fabric pieces as well and is available on Spoonflower, just need a 1 yard cut.

I am trying to decide whether I want to stitch them in just the 1 color recommended or do them in colorful Halloween colors.  

A few months ago I started the Roxy Journal of Stitchery Vol.6 SAL, we started with Spring and are now in the 3rd prompt for summer which is Lazy Days of Summer where anything that reminds you of a lazy summer day would be your thing to stitch.  The first Summer prompt was, Wildflower and the 2nd prompt was butterfly or insect.  The Spring prompts were Bulb, Nest and Blossom or Bloom.  

The K3nclothtales SAL we are up to week 38 Nature's Textures.  I am still working on week 37 Home.

Anyway with Autumn only a few days away I need to begin my autumn goddess so I will be pulling the fabrics for her later this week. 

Thats about all that has been going on.

Ending August with a few Health Concerns.

 It’s been a rather crazy week for me, on Monday I had 2 biopsies performed by the gynecologist and then the following day, Tuesday I go to see my Cardiologist for what I thought was a routine checkup and the EKG revealed I have Atrial Fibrillation or Afib for short. When I left the doctors office I was attached to a heart monitor. I had every symptom all spring and summer thinking it was a long bout of bronchitis for which my GP prescribed antibiotics for. As a Cardiac patient when the symptoms still bothered me weeks after the antibiotics were finished I should have called my cardiologist to check things out. Funny thing is today I was going to ask him about all those symptoms to see if they may be heart related. He already had the answer. I'm going to be attached to the little device below for 2 weeks. The good thing about the heart monitor and the Afib diagnosis, it has kept my mind off waiting for those biopsy results. You know it's always something.

It's been a very long summer dealing with what I believed to be a long bout of bronchitis, the shortness of breath started to get real bad a week before I saw the cardiologist and had I not seen the appointment on my calendar I was planning to call the office to make an appointment because things just didn't feel right.

The biopsies performed at the GYN office came about when the pap and the ultra sound revealed a few concerning things.  I had waited 10 weeks to see this doctor, my gyn retired and the office never notified anyone, so when I started having post menopausal bleeding again I thought I had another fibroid which would need to be removed.  When I passed through these doors for the first time it's what I expected to hear. Unfortunately a phone call a few days later I was in another room waiting for the magic to happen.

Now I wait for the results of the 2 biopsies, I see the GYN on the 4th of September and I am hoping to have some news by then.  Strangely enough I am not stressing about it, somehow I knew all those years of suffering and battling with endometriosis would come back and bite me in the butt someday.

Welcome August the Turn of the Wheel to Lughnasadh Lammas Time and the 1st Harvest!

August 1 is the cross-quarter day between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox, and it has always seemed to me that the cross-quarter days are the times when the light changes. At Lughnasadh/Lammas, I usually notice a change in the length of daylight hours and a slight change in the quality of light from the high Sun of Summer Solstice. Do you notice these changes too? Paying attention to such changes is part of my Walking the Wheel of the Year journey and somehow makes me feel closer to Mother Earth.

Demeter, Lady of Fruit and Grains,

of ripening suns and harvest rains

I call to you, Mother, hear my plea,

Bestow your Blessing here on me.

Lammas Ritual For Gathering In Abundance.

Perform this ritual anytime over the next few days.

You will need:

A Broom or Besom

Don’t worry if it isn’t a traditional besom, any broom will do as it is always intent that is important. The besom/broom is a potent symbol of hearth and home. It is a traditional magical tool useful for everyday charms as it has the imprint of its owner firmly on it. Sweeping is a natural gathering gesture.

Ribbons

A piece of green ribbon (for abundance), a piece of gold ribbon (for prosperity and gathering)’

A Sprig of Mint.

Take your broom and tie your ribbon around the top. Tie in your sprig of mint. Take your broom outside, place both hands on the stave and focus on your intention – gathering in your harvest for winter. Turn slowly three times in a clockwise direction then start to sweep towards your door saying:

“By one, two, three and four, sweep Lammas gifts to my door. May abundance be a constant friend, by my hearth till Winter’s end.”

Repeat this three times, then take your besom/broom back into your house and put it in its usual place. You can leave the ribbon on for as long as want to, for a lunar month, or until winter is done. The mint can be returned to the earth with thanks.

If you do not have an outside space you can sweep from your front door inwards to either your kitchen or hearth using the same ritual.

Happy Summer Solstice and Litha Blessing

 

Beltane Blessings and a Happy May Day!

 

This artwork below by Moon & Furrow for Beltane is inspired by the tale of nine Welsh woodsmen entering the woodland to gather sticks and branches from nine different trees to burn on a sacred fire. The trees included are Oak, Ash, Willow, Alder, Hawthorn, Birch, Blackthorn, Holly and Hazel.

There are also plants to forage for at this time of year: Ox-eye daisies, Jack in the Hedge, Violets, Dandelions, Fumitory, Ground Ivy, Gorse, White Deadnettle and Comfrey.