Mostly Misty Mornings at Marigold's

The outrageously brilliant Copper Beech in last week's entry is now naked, thanks to some rather strong winds earlier in the week. Each night is cold, each morning misty, & the days are cool. Yesterday we were enveloped in a cloud, & the temperature stayed between 4 & 7 deg. Celsius - perfect for cosy fireside living, warm kitchen cooking, & internet plotting & planning with friends.
Just before the Winter Solstice, I begin to start pulling together all the new ideas upon which I have been musing..... it's not a conscious effort, I simply feel a stirring. Soon the darkest night will be over for another year, so I'd better see which things I really want to put my energy into, & what seems ready to come to light. Also, I must decide which ideas I'll let go. Sometimes it's hard to put an idea to rest if it's not strong enough to manifest, but it must be done so that the stronger ones will flourish. This is the way of my world.
With the return of the sun's strength, I like to recognise the past year & begin anew. For me, it's New Year, & what a relief it is to begin again! I will release any negativity within & without, take deep breath of clean, cold air, & begin again. In the Southern Hemisphere, New Year is not after Christmas, but definitely follows Winter Solstice & the Wheel of the Year turns again.

I'm rather excited. My dear friend Lily has invited me, along with some other dear friends to celebrate the Winter Solstice in her recently awakened garden. She has lately been spending more time there, watching, listening, nurturing, & generally forming a relationship with her land & all that lives within it. I expect it will be wonderful, as it is on the edge of the forest, & very magical. I am planning to bake some fairy cakes & make some Jerusalem artichoke soup, as this particular group of friends like to share the produce of our gardens when we meet.

It's a rather fundamental, but often overlooked principal, that you become what you ingest. So, by partaking of each other's produce, we share in becoming a bit of each other's gardens, & so become a bit closer to being made of the same substance as each other. It's not just physical, it's energetic, elemental, spiritual, or whatever you want to name it - by doing this we form a special bond. It really gives another dimension to the idea of thanksgiving, & to husbanding the land.

The Old Celts believed that the land was the perennial Queen, & that a King should firstly be married to the land. If he was a good husband, & cared for her properly, his wife, the "Earth Mother" would be fertile & bountiful, but if he was negligent or incompetent, she would withhold her bounty. Hmmmm, does this sound familiar? Well, these days, we who are blessed with land to care for need to take responsibility, as sovereigns. We need to remember we are not to reign over it, but to husband it! Yes, husbandry means caring for it so it can bear fruit. And so it goes.

Having said that, the current environmental crises happening around the world seem to have the same effect as they did in ancient times. They destabIlise politics! Obama is not the only political leader who might be concerned his popularity is waning due to the inability to protect his assigned piece of the Earth. The oil spill has really shown the world governments, our new "sovereigns", even the most powerful ones, still need to husband their land properly. This means protect it.

This week I haven't done much in the garden. I put in some broad beans & weeded a bit, but the soil is damp & cold, & I'm a bit sick of being muddy. I am knitting yet another pair of stripey socks, & will have a go at a Greek slipper pattern after that. It's the Belgrave Lantern Festival next week, so I will make a new lantern for that. I haven't been to the last 2, but intend to attend this year. Winter Solstice is such a great time to share.


I've been contemplating how "the Goddess" (whatever that actually means) may manifest in a visual art piece. I don't know where it's going, but I think the ideas around this subject are as much for my own contemplation as anyone else's, so I won't disclose details until the work is made. Enough to say I'm already feeling challenged technically, & I haven't even lifted a pencil!

Well that's quite a long post. Perhaps I should blog more frequently.

Blessings of the Silver Bark,
Blessings of the Misty Morning,
Blessings of the Glowing Fire.