A Change in Behavior

Have you ever had something happen in your life that makes a change in how you see the world? I have and that is why I haven't been blogging as often as I was. I've been going through a metamorphosis, if you can call it that. In the past few months, I have been doing a lot more journeying into the Otherworld, meeting my animal totem, working with the Great Mother and of course, reading tons of books.

I'm finding that I am not doing much in terms of rituals. I am trying to live my spiritual life as an honour to the Goddess & God. I am trying to follow the Wheel of the Year as best as I can whilst living in an urban setting, not an easy task as city spirits are a lot more fickle than their counterparts out in nature. I'm not saying that I have stopped doing Ritual altogether, just not for every Esbat and Sabbat. I feel I can honour the Gods in how I live, not by what color candle I burn on my altar or what incense I burn. Honouring Deity is not all about ritual and I have finally realized that.

In my previous post, I mentioned about my recent visit to a working homestead. While I was planting those tiny parsnip seeds (which remind me of oatmeal) I felt that connection to the Green Man. He was helping me along the way and keeping the breeze from blowing away the seeds I held in my hand. Each seed I planted was an offering to Him and a quiet thank you for bringing me to this point. I have honoured the Horned God, Green Man, Cernunnos, but it wasn't as pronounced as my honouring the Great Mother. This was the connection I needed. As I rode in the back of the carriage through the woods, I felt His presence all around me. I silently thanked Him for letting me be in His "turf", so to speak.

I had posted my blog posting in my notes on Facebook, my good friend, Cliff, responded with some very profound comments for me. Maybe the bucolic lifestyle could be for me, even though I do consider myself as not very good in the garden dept. I did enjoy my time I spent with the horses, sticking up for Acorn as she was being bullied by the other two. I felt a kinship with her, as I was picked on by my older brother growing up and having one particular girl on my street who tormented me everyday.

That homestead did something to me in a way I cannot explain. I totally get power in nature that you can't get in a city space. The energy there is so different, even the moon looks better in the wide open space of a field. Does that mean I'm going to pack everything up & move to the country?? Probably not right this second, but maybe later on down the road (just have to find a man to join me). I saw Green Magic in its purest form, no ritual required, no special spells (even though they may have secretly been in use)

A Visit to Twa Corbies Hollow

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to have a good friend over to get her haircut. In exchange for the haircut she brought me some clothes that no longer fit her (bonus) and she did an Intuitive Art Reading for me. This meant that she would hold my hand for a bit while getting visions. She then would interpret those visions through her art. On the 5"x7" card she painted as she looked at me telling me of what she saw. One thing she mentioned that has relevance to this note was about my upcoming trip to Twa Corbies for a Spirit Journey Workshop. I was told that something of importance would happen to me that would blow me away. What did that mean, I asked. She just smiled in her cute way that I would have to experience it to know it. I had been planning on going up to my friend, Cliff's place for a bit and was excited to get out of the city & breathe for a change.

As the weeks rolled by, the anticipation grew. A couple of days before the long weekend, I received a group email from Cliff. He wanted to know who was coming or not to his place so he could make the necessary arrangements. I was the only one who responded. Was that a sign of things to come??

I took an early bus ride from the city to arrive around noon at part of my destination. I was picked up by Cliff & his daughter, Natalia. After running a few errands, we went to a cute Pagan stored in New Glasgow, The White Lotus. There I found some interesting herbal teas (Faery , Vervain, Oolong & Jamaican Spice), a few more crystals for my ever-growing collection, and a Goddess figurine (I can never have enough of Her). I also got a small hand-carved stone owl, my totem animal.

We took the scenic route back to Twa Corbies Hollow. I hoping to meet others that were also invited to come. Now, for those of you who know me well, I am quite a talker, but I got the case of the shyness (hard to believe, I know) I listened to Cliff talk to me about his horses, Aval, Acorn & Sidhe Bheg. Then, I saw them as we rounded the curve in the road approaching the Hollow. Wow, they're huge!! That was my first thought As we pulled up the driveway, I could see a black dog running happily towards the truck, I got a bit nervous, as my old fear of dogs came back to me. But this dog was a playful boy who wanted to play stick. he jumped up at me & proceeded to goober up my hand with dog kisses.

I was shown the gardens, where Lady Daphne & Ariel were working on making rows for planting. I saw Claire the cow grazing in the field nearby. She's not very social for a cow. After putting my backpack up in my room, I went outside & helped (as best as I could) with whatever work they needed me to do. Natalia took me down to the barn where I met the horses close up. Aval & Acorn were the gentle giants, I fell in love with them at first sight. Sidhe Bheg, what can I say about her?? If she were human, she would be the diva of all divas. Natalia warned me that she likes to nip people, so my hands stayed in my jacket pockets, nice & safe.

After a quick lunch, we got back to work. There was no word from anyone else who were supposed to be coming for the workshop. I had a feeling that I was the only one. After playing stick with Willowisp, Cliff got Sidhe Bheg ready to go for a carriage ride, while his oldest daughter, Ariel cooked supper. Daphne, Natalia, Cliff & myself took a long winding ride through the countryside. We saw a few deer, lots of apple trees and houses with stars on them (is this a trend or are they wannabe witches?). When we arrived back to the Hollow, no one had called or showed up for the workshop. Their loss was my gain, as I was thoroughly enjoying my time. After eating a hearty potato cauliflower soup with bread & homemade cheese, we watched the Simpson's episode where Lisa meets with the Wiccans.

The next morning, after a restful sleep, I was awaken by a somewhat large furry being in bed with me, licking my hair. That could only mean one thing, my new playfriend, Willowisp was with me. I got dressed and headed downstairs to see what was on the plan for today...planting in the garden. I got to plant parsnips, get eaten alive by blackflies (still recovering from them) in spite of wearing long sleeves, bug repellent and no deodorant. They saw me as their "all you can eat buffet" and they feasted. I also went & visited with the horses, saw the goats and played stick with Willowisp. Ariel & I also pruned the apple tree next to the house. For being a city girl, I think I did alright...going without makeup, hair not done and not caring how dirty I got. I was having a blast!!

I ate homemade cheeses, organic food, drank mead for the first time (yum!), tried new things, watched a few movies, gardened, learned new things about myself I really didn't know. I didn't get to ride a horse, but maybe on my next visit I will. I even tried...miserably...archer

y and played croquet (how did I go from 2nd place to 5th so fast?) Even though no one showed up for the workshop, it was well worth the 3 hr trip from the city. I even gave Lady Daphne a haircut, using a broken hairbrush & kitchen scissors. Next time I'll bring the real scissors with me.

I would write more, but my calamine lotion needs to be reapplied, as my arms are raw from the scratching. All in all, I had a wonderful time & I can't wait to go back to the Hollow very soon. My hosts were the best!! I can always come back in time to harvest my parsnips...