Happy New Year ~ 2012

Happy New Year! Here at the old homestead, new year’s eve was an evening of creativity, drumming, singing, eating yummy food and last but not least a little magic & enchantment sprinkled all through the night.

 

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” ~ Neil Gaiman

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Music ~ Drums & Flutes . . . . . . . . .  ~  On my desk  ~ Watercolor & sketches . . . .

Rune Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     Goddess Oracle Cards for 2012

The golden glow of a winter sunset, warm fuzzy slippers to keep the cold at bay and a hot cup of tea is the perfect beginning of a brand new year. ~ Words for today … Grace ~ Winter ~ Home~ Welcome…

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“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”  ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce

“Everyday Goddessing  is about sharing magical techniques and sacred wisdom with other beautiful Goddess women. I believe that within every woman there is a goddess, a wise woman, beautiful, creative, powerful, with a deep soul, and that everything we need and are looking for is already inside  each of us.” ~ Rose Arizmendi

Pomegranates & Sacred Space

 There are months that seem to stretch out into infinity and others that go by much too fast and December is one of those that flies by in a blink of an eye. There is so much to do and so little time to do it in.

 

Once when I was living in the heart of a pomegranate, I heard a seed
saying, “Someday I shall become a tree, and the wind will sing in
my branches, and the sun will dance on my leaves, and I shall be
strong and beautiful through all the seasons.” ~ Khalil Gibran

Yesterday,  I took quite a few photos of  pomegranates as reference material for several paintings that I am currently working on. Above image is a portion of a larger painting in progress.

I love pomegranates and often use them as decoration during the holidays. Besides being  festive and delicious, they are also an important focal symbol in the mythology and folklore of many different cultures around the world, and are often referred to as “The Jewel Of Winter”. Visit here to learn more about the history, folklore and legends of the pomegranate.

Here’s Rupert tucking in for his afternoon nap, all cozy and warm.

To sit quietly and listen to him softly snoring as he sleeps for a few minutes, reminds me of how important it is to take  breaks, to rest, to give ourselves the gift of sacred space, a place where we are essentially feeding our heart, mind, spirit and soul

Tibetan Singing Bowls are one of my favorite ways to induce a relaxed and meditative state. I love the mystery and sound of the singing bowls and the way they make me feel so tranquil and peaceful when I play them.

Listen carefully to
The silence out of which
The sounds come
And into which they return.
A portal is opening up.”
 ~ E. Tolle ~

 Singing Bowl Meditation; Crown Chakra Set ~

Visit her Website for more information:   http://www.Bodhisattva.com  ~  Excerpt from her YouTube Channel ~  Shakti plays a recently completed crown chakra Master-healing set of antique high-wall (“Jambati”) type Tibetan singing bowls. This custom assembled 7-piece set was commissioned by a clinical health psychologist with a nursing background who now uses it in her integrative practice for stress management therapy.

 “Everyday Goddessing  is about sharing magical techniques and sacred wisdom with other beautiful Goddess women. I believe that within every woman there is a goddess, a wise woman, beautiful, creative, powerful, with a deep soul, and that everything we need and are looking for is already inside  each of us.” ~ Rose Arizmendi

Enchantment In The Air

May the whisper of the Autumn wind carry blessings of love & abundance to those you love.

I find myself staring out the window a lot these days as November’s magic swirls around me. Watching the golden leaves ~ floating to the earth below . . . the plants and trees slowly winding down their cycle of growth and beginning to die, and yet I love the energy and the brilliant colors of autumn.

~ For some unknown reason, I always feel younger and more alive during this time of the year.

A sense of stillness and inevitable change linger in the air . . . then the dark rain clouds overhead  suddenly release one drop . . . another drop . . . and then another. I am completely enchanted by every nuance of light and shadow, every smell, every sound, and experience of the rainstorm.

As nature undresses herself during the transition from autumn to winter, I often find myself in the garden, tucked away beneath a warm blanket where I sit and reflect on the incredible beauty of this season.

 Breathe in the magic and wonder of fall . . .

~ a bitter sweet tingle of enchantment in the air. ~

Each step we take in nature is a step towards deeper understanding, connection, love and  gratitude for this sacred planet.

  “…we are custodians of deep and ancient thresholds. In the human face you see that potential and the miracle of undying possibility.” ~ John O’Donohue

 

 A very enchanting short by Alasdair Beckett-King

“Delicious autumn!   My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns.”  
~   George Eliot 

 “Everyday Goddessing  is about sharing magical techniques and sacred wisdom with other beautiful Goddess women. I believe that within every woman there is a goddess, a wise woman, beautiful, creative, powerful, with a deep soul, and that everything we need and are looking for is already inside  each of us.” ~ Rose Arizmendi

Between Autumn & Winter

Tonight we celebrate the Celtic New Year with our friends and loved ones . . .  we honor and remember those now gone and embrace the magic and mystery of our own lives.

We gather to remind ourselves how truly grateful we are to be able to share our lives with each other. We weave our magic to create change, to help others find their own magic, to create a better life for ourselves and others, to connect and reconnect with the web of life that binds us all together.

Ladies & Gents . . . take up your magical brooms and sweep away the old and sweep in healing, abundance, goodness, love and protection.

Wishing all ~ Blessings of the Celtic New Year

Preparations for a Halloween Tea Party ~ are underway and there is a flurry of activity going on in my home. Tea cups, saucers, tea pots, vintage lace tablecloths, ribbons and candles are being assembled for the festivities tonight.

There will be Witches, Goblins & Faeries descending on my house and much celebration and magic under a waxing Halloween Moon. I have lots of treats in my cauldron and will be brewing plenty of tea  for all . . .

Magic & Enchantment is in the air . . .

Looks like someone left their witches hat and  jewelry behind.  Love the hat!

 I can’t wait to see all of it put together. . .

Took a little break and now I need to finish up ~ Have a wonderful Halloween!

In this most magical time of the year when the veils between the worlds grows thin, when the dead return, and the faeries gather on the hills, you can hear the ancestors voices carried on the wind.

 

Places to visit;

* Valerianna Claff at  Raven Wood Forest, has a wonderful blog post on paying attention to nature’s cycles. Also  be sure to listen to the song “Into the Mystery”.

* Tess Giles Marshall review of “The Dangerous old Woman” by Dr Pinkola Estes on her blog site Pilgrim’s Moon

* Check out Whispers of the Ancestors;  A Tarot spread for All Hallows by Joanna Powell Colbert. I did this Tarot spread for myself last year and I loved it!

Here’s a video to stir the heart and mind ~ Blessings to all.

“Everyday Goddessing  is about sharing magical techniques and sacred wisdom with other beautiful Goddess women. I believe that within every woman there is a goddess, a wise woman, beautiful, creative, powerful, with a deep soul, and that everything we need and are looking for is already inside  each of us.” ~ Rose Arizmendi

Rupert’s Birthday

 Each morning Rupert and I have a quiet moment together while I sit on the patio after breakfast, coffee in one hand, treats for him in the other as he takes in all the new smells and sounds around him. Eventually, he will settle down and begin to softly snore.  ~  I love this little guy  ~  so I’m  savoring this moment while it last.

~ Happy Birthday Mr. Rupert ~

 

 “He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.“
~ Unknown ~

Soon it will grow too cold and wet to continue to sit outside every morning and he will begin his yearly ritual of curling up on the sofa with his nose tucked under his favorite comforter or sleeping in my husbands arms. A safe, warm, cozy place to sleep and dream as the season changes.

As Mary Oliver says:
To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

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  “Everyday Goddessing  is about sharing magical techniques and sacred wisdom with other beautiful Goddess women. I believe that within every woman there is a goddess, a wise woman, beautiful, creative, powerful, with a deep soul, and that everything we need and are looking for is already inside  each of us.” ~ Rose Arizmendi