Happy Ostara!

Well, time slipped away on me and I wasn't able to get a video or pictures of my Ostara altar done before today. But for those of you who enjoy the videos, not to worry, I'll have one up in a day or two!

Sending everyone Happy Ostara wishes and may the Goddess bring you abundant blessings!

Ch, ch, ch, changes . . .

Well, it seems like here in Wisconsin we skipped over spring and went straight into summer. The temperatures have been in the high 70s and low 80s. It is so nice to wake up in the morning to the sound of birds singing!

On a sad note, our dog Shelby was diagnosed with bladder cancer back in September and he has progressively been getting worse. So we made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to let him go. I can't tell you how much my heart aches . . . if you've ever been in this situation you know all too well the pain and heartache of having made such a decision. I am most grateful to my friend Marsha for suggesting a veterinarian that came to our home. Shelby was able to pass over in the peace and comfort of his own home. As difficult as it was, it was also peaceful and I know we did the best we could for him. I'll always miss his physical presence, but I feel he is still with me in spirit. He is now with our Teddy over the Rainbow Bridge having a ball! Rest in Peace, beloved and loyal friend and companion.

I started my Volunteer position with Agrace HospiceCare last week and have been assigned to two lovely people. Although I've only had a few visits, I have to say that I'm looking forward to my visits next week and in the weeks to follow. And I learned how to play Kings in the Corners! What fun!

And lastly, I'm moving my Reiki practice, Loving Heart Reiki, LLC, from the Harbor Wellness Center to a new space in Madison above the Duncan Edward salon. In order to provide a more relaxing, tranquil and peaceful experience for my clients, I feel this move is necessary and I'm looking forward to the change.

So, it's been a heartbreaking, life changing, moving forward kind of month, but this I know for sure, time heals and change happens . . .

Imbolc/Welcome Spring

This year is decidedly different from last year. The energy feels different. And the way I'm viewing certain aspects of my life is different. Rather than focusing on a single idea, I find that my mind is stretching farther - out of it's limits you could say. I'm expanding, growing and learning things about myself I didn't know before. And part of that growth and change includes my beliefs and spirituality.

While I was clearing away my Yule altar and thinking on what I wanted my altar to represent for Imbolc, I decided that while I respect and admire Brigit, setting up an altar to her this year didn't seem to fit for me. I was quite perplexed and at one point thought that setting up an altar for this Sabbat was going to go the way of the Dodo. And as usually happens in these moments of uncertainty, when I clear my mind of any thought on a thing, is when Divine inspiration hits. 'Spring' said inspiration - set up an altar for spring.

And while it seemed a little early to be celebrating spring in my neck of the woods, I heeded inspiration's voice and started setting up an altar for spring. And as usually happens when I start working on an altar, I am led by Divine guidance. I never know how an altar is going to turn out until it is done and I'm lighting the incense and candles. I stand back and look in awe and amazement and what has been created. Not of me, but by me.

I had originally thought that I'd be placing one of my Goddess figurines on the altar, but as happened last year at Ostara, Mary called saying that she wanted and needed to be on the altar. And as I always do, I listened to Mary's gentle urgings and placed her on the altar.

And so whether you're celebrating Imbolc, Candlemas or Spring, tune out, listen for Divine inspiration and get ready to set up your own altar in whatever way inspiration leads you. You can't make a mistake . . . Inspiration won't let you.

If you're looking for more information on this Sabbat, I came across a wonderful website by Mara Freeman. She elaborates deliciously on Brigit, Imbolc and Candlemas.

Happy Imbolc! Happy Candlemas! Happy Spring!

May ~ Mary's Month

May is traditionally the month set aside to honor the Blessed Mother 'Mary' as May is considered to be within the season of the beginning of new life. In Greek culture May was dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of fecundity. In Roman culture, May was dedicated to Flora, the goddess of bloom and of blossoms. The Romans celebrated ludi florales (floral games) at the end of April, asking the intercession of Flora for all that blooms.

At one time, the custom of having a Mary-month was independent from the month of May as such:

A very old tradition known as Tricesimum (Thirty-Day Devotion to Mary; also called Lady Month) was originally held from August 15th to September 14th. The exact dates or origin of this devotion are unknown, but the custom is still practiced here and there.

Mary Month, as yet unrelated to a specific period, has been known since baroque times (Sources: Johannes Nadasi; Theophilus Marianus, 1664; J. X. Jacolet, Mensis Marianus, 1724). This devotion was comprised of about thirty spiritual exercises in honor of Mary.

Since medieval times, we have had the combination between Mary and the month of May. Among the earliest witnesses are: Alphonsus X, "el sabio," King of Castille, Spain (1221-1284) with his "Cantigas de Santa Maria" ("Ben venna Mayo"). Here and elsewhere, both Mary and the month of May are greeted, welcomed and celebrated on specific days in May. Later, the whole month of May became the month of Mary. On each day of this month, special devotions to Mary were organized. This custom originated in Italy (Ferrara, 1784). It was spread widely during the nineteenth century, a century well-known for its monthly devotions (Heart of Jesus in June; Rosary in October).

Since Mary introduced herself to me several months ago and has since become my Patron Goddess, I have decided to honor her throughout the month of May. I have dedicated an altar to her and will periodically place and change out fresh flowers such as roses, Lily of the Valley and other spring flowering flowers. I have also written a ritual to honor Mary (my first ever and inspired by Mary herself) which I have posted on my 'Sabbats & Esbats Ritual Pages'. Feel free to change the ritual in any way that honors your path. I've also written a 'Rosary' that you can pray when the spirit moves you throughout the month and thought it would be a nice ending to the ritual I've written.

My hope is that you will use these as guides to honor the Goddess as you see her and your relationship with her. Blessings for a Happy May!

Plant in pretty blue pot is 'Lily of the Valley'.

Whispering Wind

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I took advantage of it going outside to rake up and clean up my backyard. It was gloriously warm with a soft breeze blowing. After putting the birds to bed last night, Brian and I headed outside, he with coffee and me with a hot cup of apple cider. It was so beautiful with a spring storm brewing so I decided to snap some pictures and was moved to take a video as well.

If you listen at the end of the video you can hear the chime . . . what a perfect ending!

You might want to turn off my blog music by going to the bottom of the page and clicking on the large button to the left of the music player.

Oh! To be in England . . .

As most of you know by reading my profile, I'm a Canadian living in the United States who wishes she lived in England. There is no time when that is more true than in the Spring. With thoughts and memories of our trip to my beloved England five years ago to warm me, I'll have to content myself with pictures and daydreams of visiting once more . . .

Photo by Patrick Mayon

Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!

And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows
Hark! where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge
That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!

And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower, -
Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Robert Browning
(1812-1889)

Ostara

I wanted to share with you a bit about Ostara, but rather than go into a diatribe about what Ostara is (because there are so many fabulous blogs and websites you can visit for more information) I decided to share a few things of how I'll celebrate this year.

An acquaintance from my Reiki class has invited me to a Labyrinth Walk on March 20th in the evening to celebrate the Spring Equinox. I'm so excited about this event as I've never experienced a labyrinth walk before and I think it will be a beautiful way to honor this time.

Ostara is the Goddess of Spring and the Dawn, whose worship goes back to ancient Pagan Teutonic/Saxon cultures. Contemporary Pagans of many paths honor Her at Spring Equinox time. Also known as Eostre, the Christian festival of Easter was named for her. The Easter Bunny, baskets, and colored eggs that are part of spring and Easter celebrations in America, Europe, and other parts of the world are rooted in her lore and symbology. Here is a lovely meditation to honor Ostara.

I'll also be performing a ritual to honor spring and my hope is to be able to do it outside, in the early morning as the sun is rising. It might be a little chilly, but it's a good time to reconnect with the Earth. I found a lovely ritual here that can be done by solitaries. Of course, feel free to add your own prayers or invocations as the mood (or the Goddess) moves you.

I also created some Ostara Eggs a few posts ago which were a lot of fun. Here's the link to that post.

And with that I'd like to share my Ostara altar with you. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was guided to have a statue of Mary on my altar. The statue arrived last Friday and it was with reverence that I added Her to my altar. I am so moved by all that She is bringing to my life at this time . . . spring truly is the season of new beginnings!

If anyone lives in a warmer climate . . . would you like to adopt me?

So yesterday was a cloudy/partially sunny day and most of the snow was melting away. It was a chilly, but nice day and it gave me the feeling and hope that spring was indeed, just around the corner.

SCREEEEEEECCCCCHHHHHH!

Today I woke up to this . . .

Really, seriously, if anyone in the southern States or Hawaii would like to adopt me, my bags can be packed in a jiffy and I'll be on the next plane . . . sigh . . .

Imbolg ~ February 2nd

Here in the northern hemisphere, most of us are still in the grips of winter. For our ancestors, snow covered the earth, the nights were still long, and the festivities surrounding Yule and the Solstice are long since past. Food supplies were beginning to dwindle and become moldy and the promise of spring seemed far away. Yet with all this, they still celebrated. In the cold darkness, they found reason for hope, thus creating a holy day, a festival, a feast.

Imbolg became an important festival to the Celts who were pastoral herders. Imbolg (pronounced em-bowl/g) means 'in the belly' and refers specifically to the pregnant sheep and more broadly to Mother Earth who is beginning to show signs of life. Another name for this holiday was Oimelc which means 'ewe's milk', an important life sustaining beverage for the family. Because it was so important, an offering of ewe's milk would often be left overnight for the God/dess as a libation to encourage bounty.

Imbolg is also considered a great fire festival with the emphasis on the light of the fire rather than on the heat it gives. The sun's light is noticeably with us longer each day and is our assurance that the Wheel is turning and that spring and summer will return.

Other traditions observed during Imbolg are meditation and divinations to determine what a person should focus on magickally or spiritually for the year, writing poetry or weaving (crocheting for me) in honor of Brigit, rituals to ask Brigit or another personal diety for inspiration, or simply rituals of gratitude for the growing light. In many Wiccan traditions, Imbolg is also a time for initiation.

Imbolg is about the first signs of spring, the promise of returning life, about sunlight and ripening and the growing conviction that the community will survive another year. Perhaps so but in my neck of the woods we're expecting up to 13 inches of snow with wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles an hour over the next two days. Spring may be on its way, but it sure is taking its damn time about it!

Have a blessed Imbolg!