Hedges and Boundaries

Since the turning of the season, and the recent "super" moon, my thoughts have been directed to creating boundaries....

... a concept of creating a line over which we will not step or tolerate others stepping over....

... lately, popular labels of "hedgewitch", "hedgewizard", "hedgedruid" etc indicate a new fascination with boundaries and containment, or lack thereof....the excitement, perhaps, of going beyond what is known, or socially acceptable, is attractive to some people...

I like boundaries... around a home a hedge delineates private property from public space...

... around a vegetable garden, it protects food plants from marauding wildlife....

....locked doors require people without a key to be invited in....

.... and within a home, doors on the various rooms facilitate privacy and containment...

.... I suppose I could speak to you about these doors being metaphorical symbols for what's within the psyche... but you can draw your own conclusions, and make your own associations, so I don't need to...

Boundaries though, do more than simply mark out a physical space....

Gardens planted within a fence grow better... I don't know why...it's not simply a matter of shelter, or micro-climates.... the plants seem to feel the boundary, and actually enjoy its containment...

Draw a line around an image, for instance, using a border, then notice how it strengthens a design... picture framers know this well - the choice of a mount for framing is crucial ...

Creating a fancy seam or border on a piece of cloth makes it look complete, or "finished"... I don't know why...

.....and on it goes...

Ritualists will often create a boundary around a ceremonial site by casting a circle, or making a sacred sign around the area to separate it from the mundane world ....

 

.....it seams to me that people enjoy boundaries as much as plants do, whether emotional, social, physical, or energetic...
.....because they can choose to stay within them, or leap over .... and like plants, people thrive when empowered to choose the situation that best suits them....

.....sometimes, the prettiest blooms are those that bravely poke through a fence to reach more sunshine...