Just Checking In With My Monthly Update

Yes once again I have been absent for another long period of time... Not letting anyone know my whereabouts or what may be or not be going on with me. As I have said in the past it has been a "different" year. I would have to say it has been much about change and self awareness as well as awareness of those around me and the enviromnent itself. I like to think I am good with change but in all honesty are any of us... Yes I know it is good for you and it keeps one on their toes but still...

 

I do believe although I can not say I truly enjoyed it all, that it has made me aware that possibly I was taking my easy life a bit for granted. Not truly realizing the ease that I may have had it at.... I would take it all back if it would change things but I know that is now how a life lesson works and so I will move ahead and work through the situations and "adventures" that have come my way.

 

It has been a brutally hot summer thus far. Really it started before summer even officially came. First it was the storms that when they did erupt were destructive and deadly. Then after we were hit with that the heat came. Nine days straight of 100 plus temps. Yesterday it was 110 and felt like 113. It was hard to even go outside. We went ahead and had Winston sheered this summer. Yes I know he is a lab and a white one at that but he was taking the heat so hard I began to worry about him. He is just getting over his stubble growth and I think has gotten used to his shorter cut. I can tell a vast improvement in the way he has been.

 

You all know my procrastination... yea got to love it... I finally went to the dr. a couple weeks ago. Had the much needed women things done. I hate to say it but it had been since 2006. Yes I know that is 5 years. First visit went great. All results came back fine just a stern finger wagging telling me to not wait so long next time. This morning I received a call on the second visit. We all know that when they call it is not necessarily ok. My mamogram results suggest I need additional viewings is what I was advised. So next week I return to see if this adventure will end then or continue a bit longer. Fingers crossed.

 

I have had some blessings this year. I have been abundantly blessed with many visits with my grandkids. Not only to their home but they came up to Oklahoma a couple weeks ago which was so much fun. There is nothing like a house full of grandkids to keep ones spirits up. I always cherish the memories made with them, as they always leave me with just a bit more love in my heart.

 

Here is hoping that all are having a wonderful fun filled summer and that the heat is not taking too much of a toll on you. And any of my friends who may be or have been in the paths of the waters that have covered so much this year, my thoughts and prayers are with you as well. Take care and be safe.

Early Morning Sundays - Be Yourself

To be nobody but yourself

in a world

that is doing its best

to make you just like everybody else,

means to fight the greatest battle

there is to fight and never stop fighting.

 

E.E. Cummings

An Interview with Mother Moon - Conclusion

Q: Do you wear or own any Celtic Motifs? (such as jewelry, tattoos, art or so on?) I wear a Celtic cross which some call a witches cross. In earlier days I wore a cross at all times. It gave me comfort and peace. As I allowed myself to embrace the beliefs I held I felt that wearing the cross no longer was appropriate yet I wanted to wear something. I searched until I found my necklace. It called to me and so I embraced it. I also wear a collection of silver Celtic designed rings. A pinky ring with a green stone, a larger one with a garnet and a larger Celtic ring design.

 

I have wanted to get a tattoo for some time yet have not as of yet found the symbol I would like. I am leaning heavily towards a replica of my necklace.

 

Q: If you do, what means the most to you? I once had a small pinky ring of Celtic design with a small garnet. I loved that ring until one day that I lost it. Now in its place I wear the one with the green stone. I have lost this ring off of my fingers many times. Even outside in my yard it has fell from my finger. Yet each time I lose it I am always reunited with it. I have come to believe that it is a lucky symbol. It means a great deal to me and I never take it off. (unless of course it chooses for fall from my finger)

 

Q: What makes you like Celtic Lore enough to write about it? It has inspired me in many areas of my life yet most of all it has inspired me in a spiritual sense. It has brought questions to me as a person going through life yet if I ask for answers, in some way it always seems to answer. I do not ever mean to push or shove my beliefs onto anyone. I feel that each ones spiritual journey is a personal walk that they must take alone. There are always guides along the way to help us see a bit more clearly yet the path we travel is one of solitude or it should be. Because of the things I have been shown and the things I have learned I feel it is only right that I share. What one does with such information is completely up to them. It may speak to some and say nothing to others. That is not for me to decide. Yet to keep the knowledge I have to myself I feel is not right. I would want someone to tell me if I was about to walk off a cliff. It doesn't necessarily mean that I would not still walk off the cliff but I would do it in a completely different manner.

Q: Has it influenced you any other ways? It has influenced me in regards to the way I act towards people. It has helped me to become for accepting of differences in those who do not believe as me. I used to be somewhat pushy in regards to trying to make others see what I was saying. I see now that it is not for me to say. We each have the struggles we have and it is not necessarily our place to tell others how to deal with such struggles. It is our place to be there for them.

 

Q: How so? Many times this entails simply sitting and being still. My tree lore has helped me with this as to get to know nature one has to sit and be still and listen. Not to our minds or thoughts but to the simple sounds that surround you. One also has to be attentive to the smallest of detail and realize its effect on that around it. It can make one so much more aware of the huge impact they may have on the environment around them.

 

Q: How do you think Celtic Culture has influenced people of today? There are still many today that even though they may not realize it they in some way celebrate and acknowledge Celtic ways. So many of the holidays that celebrate today were replicas (adjusted slightly) of pagan festivals celebrated long before the church. Yet as a means to "convert" the pagans, the church designed like holidays with different names of course to take their place. They incorporated just enough of the previous theme to make the pagans feel they were still celebrating their old ways. Prime examples of such events:

 

*Yule and  Christmas

* Samhain and Halloween

* Ostara and Easter

I think also that in many family and cultures there are traditions passed down through the ages that still hold glimpses of the old ways to them. This can be seen in cooking ways as well as old remedies to help colds, upset stomachs and such. When my granddaughter lived closer, each winter I had a special tea that I would make. We would drink a cup at the beginning of winter along with some special fairy cakes I would make. We would never get colds yet all those around us would. We told them that is was due to the tea and cakes yet they laughed at us. I have tried to pass such bits down to her as she grows. I keep a book for her of tiny tidbits and such for when I am gone. In her I hope the tradition continues as I feel assured it will

 

Q: Do you know anyone else who has been influenced by the Celtic World? I think there are many. I do not necessarily go around asking of making a point to note how I may feel one is affected. Yet like I mentioned earlier, it can be seen in many ways and some are ever so slight. I watched an old Scottish woman make shortbread once. She was infatic about the manner in which she combined the ingredients and also about the markings that were to go on the top as it baked. I asked her why and she looked at me and said so that the blessing will be good and the eater will receive it.

 

Also I know many that as they prepare their gardens each spring that certain rituals must be held and performed before the ground is tilled, the seed is sown, and the crop is harvested. There are more than likely many who partake in such rites that no one knows about. A simple toss of salt over ones shoulder, although some think is just an old wives tale is the purification of the area around oneself from the evil that may be present.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add? I think that regardless what ones heart may be calling them to do in regards to the answer to the many questions that come to all of us throughout our lives, we should all be open to at least listening. There are so many influences in so many forms that attempt to tell us these days that this is wrong and this is right. Take this pill and it will do this. We become so excited that there is actually something that will fix this that we fail to continue to listen to what it could also cause in its place. We are a world of fast moving, high rising, got to do better than before people. We have lost the simple secrets that the world has to offer us. They have not gone anywhere , although we with our ways of improvement will see that that will not always remain the case.

 

There will come a time when there will be no more time to "fix things". It may not happen in my life, your life of anytime soon after that, yet the time will eventually come. Although we have been raised to believe that we are not doing good unless we are creating a new, we are being led astray. Technology is the snake in the Garden of Eden we have been given.

Thank you for joining me in the sharing a little of myself.  Blessings

An Interview with Mother Moon - Part Two

Q: How have Celtic Tree Lore come to interest you? When we first moved to where we live now, at the bottom of our yard was a small straggly oak tree. It was no more than a twig sticking out of the ground. I tended it, gave it water and pruned it each year so that as it grew a pleasant shape would take form. The first witch bottle I ever created I buried beneath the slight shade of it. The spot where I buried it remained bare for three years. After that time the grass finally grew. The tree has grown through the years and now I can no longer reach to the top of him to trim him if needed. It has become a friend to me.  It is a place I go to at times of contemplation and pondering. It is this relationship with this small oak as well as with the many willows that encircle my pond that brought me to look more into Celtic Tree Lore. I developed a respect and love  for trees that before I did realize was possible. I realize and acknowledged them as living beings and I look at them and behave differently with them than before.

 

Q: What exactly is Celtic Tree Lore? Celtic Tree Lore encompasses a wide variety of subjects. Some examples are as follows:

 

* Following the Celtic tree calendar which is similar to that of the zodiac yet the signs are represented by trees.

 

* Following or using the Ogham . It is believed that Oghan was first started by Ogma the Celtic father figure and Sun God while others think it is a making of the druids. It is an ancient Celtic alphabet that is still used by some today. Each symbol is made up of straight lines and represents a particular letter. It is written vertically and read from left to right. The Ogham can also be used as a form of divination. In this case some take a small stick from each tree represented and carve its symbol onto it. To read the Ogham in this manner one would pull sticks from a bag or toss them from the bag and then read. Much like that of reading tea leaves. I myself have a tarot deck of Ogham. It is much more intricate than the average set of oracle cards and the readings are usually over a broader spectrum of time.

 

* Although not necessarily connected the reading of Runes is part of Tree Lore at least for me. Runes, like the Ogham is not a spoken language but a set of symbols which represent letters and/or sounds. I create my own runes from the willows that I have on my property. It is with the working of the wood and the concentration of the creation of each rune/symbol that has brought me much insight.

 

* Then there is the simple admiration and conservation of the tree itself. Each tree has a personality of its own. Each one is characteristic of specific attributes and abilities for various things. Such as in medicinal manners, magical manners and creative manners. Studying the many qualities that each tree has and learning how to use them to their largest benefit is probably the largest part of Tree Lore.

 

Q: What is your favorite? My favorite if you are speaking of Tree Lore is the study of trees in general. It has fascinated me to learn the many helpful traits that trees have. As I said earlier, technology has rendered man somewhat ignorant when it comes to sustaining himself if by chance he was found to be without his "iphone" I myself am guilty of this. Yet I also have the added ammunition of my knowledge of trees and plant life in regards to how each can assist me with various things that may befall me if I was to find myself in a situation.

 

Q: Has it influenced the way you think? Very much so. I have learned that being still can lend itself to teaching one a great amount of things. A simple slow walk around my yard can bring me so much knowledge. I have learned to read the weather, the seasons as they are coming or going and more. It has influenced me to respect myself and not necessarily feel that I have to rely on the synthetics that man makes to replace the natural things we already have.

 

Q: Has Celtic Lore in general inspired you? There was a time when I was fearful of allowing the questions and thoughts that circled my head to be spoken or known by those around me. I felt as if I would be shunned or laughed at. Although that outcome is still possible today I do not fear it as I did. I have learned through example where the truth really lies and it is not necessarily where some may think. People of older times took heed to the signs that nature and those leading it attempted to show them. They were blessed for doing so. Man today attempts to manipulate the world around him.  He attempts to do as he feels that it should be, forgetting that it was here long before he was. So yes, I think Celtic Lore has greatly inspired me or at least made me realize my place.

 

Join me tomorrow for the conclusion of my interview. Blessings