This week seems to have been one where I seem to have upset more people than I’ve pleased. This week I refused to teach a 15 year old about Wicca after she asked if she could be my “apprentice”. That was also after she asked me how to hex her ex-boyfriend! Er, nope, ain’t gonna happen on my watch!
I’m human and like many folks, when the proverbial hits the fan or I get emotionally hammered by someone or something, I feel like giving up on all the hard work I’ve put into so many things and walking away from it. Of course the rational part of me says “don’t make rash decisions until you’ve thought things over for a few days” so that’s the point I’m at now. Thinking things over. And over...
I’m having my contact lenses fitted today (I have odd shaped eyeballs apparently so I need special ones) and it got me thinking about how our witchy ancestors and folk healers would have coped with deteriorating eyesight as they grew older. Not only am I blessed to live in a time when glasses and contact lenses are available to help my own aging eyesight, but I also have electricity to light my reading and tasks at night. My ancestors had a candle to light the way in the evening or just the light of the fire and that was it.
I love the feeling I get after I’ve completed a long task of duties. That moment when I can cross the last thing off the list. Yesterday was a massive day going through my ‘to do’ list and getting things done which had been piling up waiting for me. This morning I look at my desk and know that I can rest easy knowing I’m on top of the workload. Woohoo!!! That’s stress relief!
Smiles and blessings, Amethyst
Yes, it’s been two weeks since I’ve made any post to this blog which is a reflection of how little spare time there has been this month so far. I am so looking forward to this next week with no uni expectations so that I can catch up on the emails that are piling up and have a couple of hours free each day just for me. What bliss!!!
Smiles and blessings, Amethyst
Second day of Spring and thankfully that stinging cold wind seems to have abated. This is, without doubt, my favourite time of year when the bulbs are blossoming, when the lambs are being born, and finally when the cold weather relents. My arthritic joints and spine don’t handle cold and wet weather very well so Spring is a relief for me both physically and spiritually.
It’s the first day of Spring today and it was a beautiful blue full moon last night. Our coven celebrated the event on the beach with a wonderful circle and some time connecting to the cycle and rhythm of our amazing planet and our ever present deities. The slight drizzle of rain as we set up meant candle lighting was a little more difficult than we had planned but otherwise, this was a peaceful, relaxing, rejuvenating circle that lifted us all and made us smile. How wonderful to celebrate it on the beach, such a magickal place!
Smiles and blessings Amethyst
As I head into the last few weeks of my 4 year degree and my full qualification as a naturopath in November, I’ve been working on the business launch plan and the idea of offering a couple of pro bono (free) consults each week to folks in need. Obviously I cant do the whole clinic as free because I have to pay expenses myself but I think I could manage a couple each week.
Time is a manmade construct to help us better understand and mark the passing of the days and seasons and in fact there is no such actual thing as time. So the comments like “time seems to go so quickly” “time is dragging today” or “where has all that time gone” are silly really yet we use them so often to describe those feelings we have of our experiences.
Even as a senior member within my spiritual/religious community there are days or periods of time when my belief in deity waivers. Yep, I’m human and so I sometimes wonder what the heck I’m believing in and why I do all this ritual and meditation and teaching and constant ethical questioning about my behaviours and actions. For the most part, it would be fair to say that my belief is strong and solid but there are days, there are those brief spells of time when I seriously wonder what the heck I’m doing.
I am so disappointed to see continuing arguments, bitching and fence building within the broader Pagan community. In a religion that is supposed to respect the views and rights of all, we apparently don’t exercise that right to our own. Makes no sense to me and I find myself aghast at the intolerance sown on occasions.
I love my life, I absolutely do and I know how blessed I am but sometimes things all come at once so instead of having a steady flow of things to deal with. I have a few days of R&R and then get swamped with “EVERYTHING” all at once. Then there’s a bit of peace again and then another “whamo” dollop of things to get through.
I spent the weekend on ambulance duty again which meant staying close to the pager and in fact yesterday was all day inside the station co-marking team assessments until 7:30pm. This morning I have withdrawal symptoms and need to sit amongst the trees for a wee while just to soak up some blue sky, some damp green grass, some earth below my feet and the touch of tree bark and leaves. Nature has a wonderful way of rejuvenating the batteries when my body has been confined inside the four walls of a building. Going to get my nature fix :)
Smiles and blessings, Amethyst
Creativity and inspiration doesn’t always come at convenient times does it? I was trying to sleep last night knowing that tonight I won’t sleep because I’m on ambulance duty all weekend. Anyway, right through till gone past 2am, my brain was creating songs and poetry for me to then work on with my guitar today. I’ve never written a song before and I have no idea why my brain decided that midnight onwards was a great time to become a musical writer. My musical talents thus far have been less than inspiring at the best of times so why they had to blossom at that time of night is beyond me!
I lead an active face to face and online teaching coven and love it, I really do but now and again (only rarely of course) I sometimes wonder if it would be easier on my workload to just be a solitary. Let me stress that I’m not complaining and I LOVE my coven family and everything we do. I love both the face to face component and the online activity and we have a thriving, caring and nurturing group of people.
Apparently the weeds haven’t been told that it’s winter because they are growing like... well, like weeds! My sacred space is full of them again and I must weed them out this coming week because next weekend I am conducting a wedding in the sacred space and it should look neat and tidy for the bridal couple.
I was thinking about my life this morning and how “un-normal” it is. It’s not “abnormal” at all but it’s not a routine “normal” life either. One week is never the same as another and I’m blessed to have considerable variety and opportunities that come up each week (albeit sometimes overwhelmingly so).
It’s been a long weekend (and it’s still going) down here in the very south east of South Australia, close to the Victorian border. I’ve driven all over the place in our ambulance despatched to various places to provide cover and I’ve learnt a fair bit too along the way. Talking to others (and more importantly, listening) who have “been there, done that” is a great way to gather more ideas about how best to do your job. I love learning from them and incorporating successful strategies into my own practice.
Stay safe everyone!
Smiles and blessings Amethyst
I have always chosen to be a positive rather than a negative person but occasionally that determination gets a little tarnished. I’ve always tried to see the good in people, to see the best in a situation and to try and focus on what I’ve learnt from a difficult or traumatic experience. But I’m human and on occasions I despair of my abilities or of a situation, I think that makes me ‘normal’ in fact. I suspect even the most positive of people have moments or days or experiences when their outlook on life is less than positive.
I’ve spent the entire weekend on ambulance duty and while I thoroughly enjoy it, it can be very tiring indeed. How the full timers do it is beyond me!
We’re half way through July and the days are slowing getting longer again thankfully. I’ve noticed those biting chilly nights seem to have abated although winter often delivers a late sting just to remind us of her power.
I’m on ambulance duty all weekend for 36 hours straight including Saturday night so I’m hoping it wont be too cold down south where I’ll be. Finger’s crossed.
Smiles and blessings, Amethyst
We had a great Outer Court last night with the students discussing tools of the Craft and their importance or otherwise to your practice. My gorgeous athame “Quercus”, made to my design by the very talented Brendan at Fable Blades in Western Australia, was on show of course and it reminded me again of the relationships we develop with our tools.
As Wiccans, we theoretically give respect to crones but I’m not sure I want to be termed a ‘crone’. Yes, my body is aging and yes I am definitely middle aged and on the downhill side of 50 but I still don’t see myself as a crone. In fact, I’m not sure what age/level to label myself to be honest.
