The month of June and has begun very well. The sun as begun to shine even though the temperature is a little low for the time of year. The weather man continually argues that the weather is cool for a variety of reasons although nothing is convincing. Mother is unhappy at the way things are going on the surface of the plant and we go on to experience climate change. Like a child, I'm not very interested in explanations from the weatherman and, instead, I’d just like Mother to be happy and be respected I want the sun to shine and I want the weather to be warm. Let the good times roll! The turning of the wheel of the year has been very clear and obvious. From the ice cold depths of January to the warmer weather of June there has been a clear and slow progression and we can witness life in all its variety and diversity popping out. The trees and shrubs at the bottom of the garden are swaying in the breeze and looking nice. There is no doubt that the leaves are responding to warmth and the tracking of the sun across the southern sky. The light itself has a different quality for once and there is a blue and bright quality in the sky. In addition to the growth of the trees my own behaviour is changed with the turning of the wheel of the year. I've been outdoors enjoying the light and the air. I've been gardening in a major way and undertaking hard landscaping at the bottom of the garden. This area was a little dark and unfinished beside the railway line not used since the Beeching closures of the 1960’s. This small piece of the garden beside the tracks has been turned into a seating area that respects the few trees that I have added here and there and the wild plants that I encourage. The overall effect is pleasing, calm and serene. I’m aware of a different quality to the silence in this space as wind blows from the lower ground up the hill and through the pine trees. I'm quite proud of my work in arranging nature although I know that I only arrange nature rather than creating nature. In a way this gardening work is my part in the turning of the wheel. I understand that my behaviour is no different to that of the animals in the landscape as I live. In my life I also create life for other creatures as I plant, re-arrange and cover the earth with chipped bark and gravel. I'm energised by the gardening work and the opportunities for habitat I have looked for a statute of the Great God Pan to place in a prominent position although the price seemed much more than I wanted to pay – way more than I wanted to pay. Yes, you can buy some wonderful things although you have to give up a small fortune. To give an idea of the elements to the garden I’ve added a plinth in the garden with a compass point set into the base. This base shows the garden facing South and I love that orientation. In the South I have a resin Buddha sitting amongst the plants and waiting for a suitable base. Buddha represents ‘male’, ‘fire’ and ‘change’. I’m not a Buddhist although I acknowledge that the image of the Buddha gives a certain quality to the space. In the North I have a concrete statue of a rather sad girl or at least that is one interpretation for her stance and outlook. The harvested wheat carried at her side and the sickle at her feet means this could be Demeter harvesting and waiting for her return to the underworld. This is about hermeneutics or the ‘interpretation of meaning’. I remember the psychological question “Who am I for you and who are you for me?” This statue is Demeter for me or “Gaia” or ‘female, ‘Earth’ and ‘Stability’. I love her downcast features comprised of concrete drawn from the Earth itself. I have no water feature in the West, so far, although this is a matter of time. I do have a 700 litre water capture system from the roof of the garage although this won’t count for display purposes. I do have a tiny pond that I put into the garden to respect the Element of Water. The pond is filled with rain water and water snails on oxygenating plants. I even found a couple of Swan Mussels to clean the water. This tiny feature is a microcosm of life and also contains water from a nearby pond to bring life and bacteria and ‘critters’ into the system. Already birds try to bathe in the small pond and they drink in sunny weather. Birds also bath in the shallow water dish I put out nearby so although the water in the garden is not in the West I’ve tried to respect the Element. In the East, I have an large black bamboo. A survivor of harsh winters; the bamboo flutters in the breeze and blows around each day. It reminds me of the Element of Air and I love the way that when the day appears calm and warm the bamboo moves and has a life. Birds settle in the bamboo and hardly move the stems with their tiny bodies. Hedgehogs move around the base of the noble plant and the sound of them walking over dry bamboo leaves alerts me to their presence. I love hedgehogs although they are prickly and they small bad. The space beside the bamboo is the site of the Bay Tree that died from the savage winter this year. The bay didn’t survive and it is interesting that a nearby neighbour also lost the Bay in his garden. The weather in Norfolk is changing and for the worse as Mother becomes unwell and in search of a new climatic balance Herbs are now in the garden more than ever and I’m becoming aware of their properties in Wicca as I plant them. The turning of the wheel reveals more of their beauty and wisdom. There are plants for healing and plants for eating. I used to have them in a jumble and in the Earth but now they are surrounded by bark chippings and much more on display and the stars of the garden. Little natural blue flowers often mark out their location and my scullcap is something that I want to grow with vigour for next year. Every year the gardner plans for the year ahead and the next turn of the wheel. The garden has always been a way of staying in touch with nature and as a new Wiccan the garden has become a symbol of that new contact with the real world. I type this posting using technology and although my hands are happier in the soil and working with natural elements. This month is about giving something back to Mother. It is about working with Mother to fulfil her plans for the Earth. June is about the flowering of herbs and flowers and listening to the birds in the hedgerow as food is brought from the parents.

Nature observation: With the lead up to a full moon my cat (whom I believe to be an old soul) sticks to me like glue and is very vocal. this normally occurs 2 days before the full moon and once the full moon has passed he backs off. Although he is always near me, at these times he is constantly underfoot and on my lap or trying to get as close as possible

I’m new to Wicca. You could anticipate that ‘novelty’ has some positives and some negatives as part of learning and developing. I am more aware of nature. Yes, I have always been aware of nature in that I was in the town but with parents who were country people. They lived on the edge of our home town in a modern house although they always lived like people who accidentally wandered into the 20th Century direct from a Thomas Hardy novel. When I came home from school there was carp being prepared in the sink or rabbit skinning was taking place. The worst thing was plucking wood pigeon before I could settle to do my home work in the evening. Life followed the cycle of the year and my father’s friends swopped poached game amongst themselves. The men went sea fishing in the spring and came back with conger eels hauled from ship wrecks and they illegally netted rabbits on the warrens found in sandy soils. It was a strange life for a boy who went to the local school with the posh kids although it did put me in touch with the seasons. This was my life made more curious by the interests and obsessions of my mother who tried fortune telling by the use of a ouija board, tea leaf reading and the interpretation of dreams. I had many a prediction from my mother none of which came to fulfilment. I remain cautious of any attempts at divination. I don’t think my mother was a Witch although she was heir to a lot of Scottish folklore and traditions from the countryside mixed with some oddities all of her own. I always knew the names of my ancestors and prayed for them at Mass when we remembered the holy souls who had gone before. (The photograph is my great grandfather probably taken in the 1920's and it shows a hard working man forgotten by most people except for me. I never met him and yet I share his blood and heritage) ........ This then was the life of a boy brought up on the edge of his own town with and eye to the fields and woodland and with an eye to the future and working in the urban environment. Lesson 3 has been a way of “Coming out of the classroom” and being practical and I have been practical in casting circles. The shrine and altar set up in the man cave have been used well and consistently. Recent redundancy from work means that I have some time on my hands to practise and ponder. I haven’t brooded or been miserable about the redundancy although it hasn’t gone on that long. Perhaps melancholy will set in as time passes and inactivity moves into the summer. Circles have become more interesting as I meditate on the concepts involved. I have always had an interest in history and verifiable historical characters such as John Dee and Edward Kelly make academic reading more interesting. This is my angle on Wiccan study whereby the religious is mixed with empirical evidence and the proper ordering of that knowledge. I recently found bones in the garden and I’ve meditated on them. I think they are a mixture of sawn up food bones from years ago. One bone has cut marks and looks like it was a dinner for someone. However, a couple of bones are looking like a very weak clavicle along with some smaller bones from the feet. I wonder if I’ve unearthed bones that have been ‘kicking around’ in the top soil for some time? My garden is a few hundred yards from a Bronze Age find site uncovered when a new bungalow was constructed. It would be no surprise if the ancestors lived in the same place that I now occupy. Same place different time. The circle has allowed me to meditate on the nature of the bones and on a red pottery sherd retrieved from the garden that may or may not be a Roman roof tile. I’ll have to take these ‘finds’ to a specialist shortly and I’ll be disappointed if they aren’t human bones or Roman pottery. I also contemplate on human longing and desire for objects to be what we want them to be when they aren’t as we imagine. The circle has been repeatedly cast and I find that I remain self conscious and embarrassed and curiously aware of the ancestors. The idea of coming out of the class room is leading to the embarrassment because I haven’t completely identified with being a Witch. This is a term that has such baggage and doesn’t always sit easily for men. I’m happier with ‘shaman’ or even ‘Warlock’ although I understand the problems with that term. I am a Witch and in a positive tradition of Inclusive Wicca although it may take time to sit comfortably with the word. I have developed a ritual for money and this needs strengthening for correspondences and days, times of the Moon etc. Despite the need for some cleaning up I’m becoming proud of my work although not overly proud. After all, we all need to learn and tidy up our work through reflection and learning. Through Wicca the years are coming full circle. I’m once more becoming the boy who lives on the edge of his world and in a good way rather than a bad way. I am willingly moving onto the edge of the spiritual world as I come into contact with the energy of the Earth and the energy that results from life. The circles that I cast in the man cave are bringing me into contact with history, learning and even the ancestors. The wheel of life rotates for me and connects me once more with the natural world that I knew as a child and which I lost contact with in my thirties in the search for ‘stuff’.

Casting a circle. Last night cast a circle in the man cave (Phoenix's phrase which I like). Very exciting and fulfilling and I used the time to silently spend time with the elements especially water. The circle was in a newly painted man cave although this picture shows the old paint work. The lights are beautiful at night and cast a silver set of shadows which are conducive to an atmosphere of magick. I have previously cast circles and developed a ritual for money. I intend to use this ritual after training. ................."By fertile Earth and swirling Air, By heat of Fire and Water fair, By Spirit joined and all held fast, This circle now is truly cast!...............