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...

Into the Mystic

I know I really haven't posted a lot this week, been a little pre-occupied with things. My apt got new windows & a new front door, so I really couldn't leave my place or go on the pc (too much noise to concentrate).

On Monday I went out with my friends, Lisa & Julia to go get our Tea Leaves read at Into the Mystic. It's another Pagan store over in Dartmouth, we missed going there on our last roadtrip. When we got there, we found out that the lady who does the Tea Leaves was out on vacation til next week. The owner, Donna, said she reads Russian cards, so we opted for that instead. The shop also has a tea room where we sat & had a cup before our readings. Lisa got a coconut chai, Julia got the chocolate chai & me...well, I could make up my mind, all the teas smelled delicious. I ended up making my decision based on a tied & true method: Eenie, meenie, miney, moe. I had the chocolate chai, too.

Lisa went first with Donna up to the loft that overlooks the shop. They have 2 Arabesque tents where they do readings in. While she was getting her reading done, Julia & I sat & enjoyed our tea, chatting, playing with a magnetic pendulum board & perusing the shop. I found a lot more goodies that I want to get next time I'm out there.

About a 1/2 hr later, Lisa came down & Julia went up for her reading. During her reading, a few customers came in wanting to go upstairs to see the tents, but couldn't as there was a reading going on. Another lady (a regular customer?) came in & got a tea and chatted with the other employee who was cleaning the jewellry. When Julia came down, this lady went up for her reading. I was miffed that she "butted" in the queue. They only do readings from noon til 4pm and it was already after 3pm.

A little while later, even though it felt like forever, they came down, Donna made more tea for us & took me upstairs for my reading. I never saw cards like the ones she had. They were gorgeous!! She said she's been reading them for 25 yrs. The cards are a little tricky to describe, but I'll try anyway. Each card has 4 halves of a picture, the card is divided up with an X shape. After all the cards are laid out onto the table, it becomes like a matching game. You make up a complete picture by moving adjacent cards to complete an image. The cards have to be beside each other or on top of each other, no diagonal matching. Does this make sense?? Donna said that an average reading yields about 4-5 images, I had 6. The interpretation of the images' position, whether reversed, rightside, or sideways give a whole new meaning. I had a good reading, even though my 1st card was in reverse. It was an Anchor,meaning instability, but all the other cards came up excellent. I even got a money card!! That means that money is coming my way, but it's money like a bonus, not like winning the lottery. I enjoyed my reading. I won't post all the cards & the meanings, as that would take a lot of time & you have better things to do than read my reading...lol!!

After that, she read my palm, too, as she is learning how to read them. I have a really great lifeline, very strong then it gradually fades away under my Mound of Venus. I don't know too much about Palmistry, I may have to look into that form of divination, as it is uncharted territory.

So that was my reading from last Monday. I had fun hanging out with Julia & Lisa. Great girls they are (I know they read this so I better be good ;-) LOL!! )

My Solstice Day

Well, I went on a Pagan mini-roadtrip with my 3 new friends, Lisa, Heddy & Julia. We packed into Lisa's car & headed off on out little adventure to some cute little Pagan shops that I never knew existed. First, we went to a cute little shop called Sarah's Spiritual Treasures. It's about 15 minutes outside Halifax in a community called Lower Sackville. It is a small shop, but filled with wonderful goodies!! I was happy that finally found my fav. vanilla incense. I've been looking for it since last Ostara & no one was carrying it. Lisa found a cute little treasure, incense matches. She bought Frankincense, as there was no Sage. She had an idea to smudge her car with it. It smelled so yummy!! I found a good size chunk of clear quartz, it's about 2" big and it was only $8.00. I'm going to use it a my want topper after I charge it.

After departing Sarah's, we headed onto the highway for another 20 minute drive outside the city to Whimsical Cottage Soaps (not to be confused with the Etsy shop, The Whimsical Cottage). It was another small shop, located in the house of a very nice lady, Lori. She makes handmade soaps, lotions, etc. Her shop was filled to the ceiling with alot of awesomeness!! She has so many crystals, books, etc. She's also a Shaman, so there was a lot of native Mi' qmaq (pronounced Mig maw) drums, dream catchers, rattles. She treated us all to some chocolate, she must've sensed that we were getting hungry, as we didn't start our trip til after lunch. She had the cutest little salt & pepper shakers, they were cast iron cauldrons!! I fell in love with this store. I didn't get anything here, as much as I would have love to, but being jobless, my funds are tight for the time being. I will be back to this little gem of a shop. There were a few Faery necklaces that I loved, soaps I want, ok, I want the whole shop...lol!!

We headed back on the road to the city. It was time to eat so we headed to a cute little diner for some grub, before going to Into the Mystic. They were doing tea leaves until 4pm. By the time we ate, it was after 4 and getting darker. We decided that we will go there another day...yay, another road trip!!! We dropped Heddy off at her place then I came home with Julia, as I lived near her bus stop to get her home in the "Darkside".

She hung out with me for a few hours. We talked about everything, from Paganism, to guys, stuff. It was really nice. Time flew by so fast & before we knew it, it was close to 10pm & she had to bid me & my 2 kitties farewell. All in all, it was a great day. We shared some laughs, chocolate and camaraderie. It was nice to be in the company of other Pagans who are genuine with their friendship, not deceitful, as others I have met were with me. I am glad to have my foot in the door to the local Pagan community here in Halifax. I'm meeting so many wonderful people who share a common spirituality with me. I feel the Goddess is blessing me in so many ways recently. I thank Her with my whole mortal heart.

So, I'm going now to welcome the sun, as it will be rising soon over the horizon. Have a Blessed Solstice/Yule. May the Goddess be with you in your journey.

Love & Light!! )☼(
Rowan