Halloween/Samhain, Reed Moon & Fog Moon

Halloween is also called Samhain (Sowen) in the pagan community. This is classed as the Celtic New Year. It is a time of endings and of beginnings. I find it deeply satisfying that the Celts celebrated their new year in the dark, before the return of the light. It is a time of inward-ness, of looking to ourselves, facing our fears and shouting 'I am not afraid to face this year. I will take all that it throws at me and I will roar in its face.' There's a fierce defiance, a fierce careless bravery about this.

As a time of endings, we say farewell to our loved ones and think about those who have gone before. Not just our parents/grandparents, but those several generations back. We wonder how they lived, loved and died. What their dreams and fears were.

In Scotland, telling ghost and faerie stories is a favourite past time and has been for a few centuries. Halloween has always been the favoured time to do this. Apple dooking (bobbing for apples) is another. And divining for your future lover/life partner is another. There were many ways of doing this - peeling an apple while reciting the alphabet and whenever the peel fell away on a letter, that would be the initial of your lover. The same goes for twisting the stem. Looking into a mirror to see a face was another way. Popping a posy of herbs under your pillow at night was a way to entice dreams of your love as well.

In the UK we never had 'trick or treating'. We had guising. This was the same sort of thing but the guisers, those going round houses looking for treats, had to tell a joke, poem or sing a song to win their treat. And you didn't trick someone. I miss this aspect of life. Only in the last 20 years has this died out.

So what do you like to do for Halloween? Do you like to dress up and party or light a candle for those who have passed? Do you celebrate the New Year or do some quiet divination? Or a combination?

The 28th of October is the beginning of the Celtic Tree Month Reed (or Elm). A water element tree. This is a great tree for using music in your magic, as well as for divination. Protection spells are good just now. It is also a good luck tree, so talismans made with this wood are especially effective. It is sacred to Odin, and the Festival of Woden is on the 2nd of November.

On the 1st of November, All Saints Day, or Beltain in the Southern Hemisphere, we also see the festival of the Fogmoon. This was a day of remembrance, dedicated to Odin and also to Freya. This is also the festival of Pomona, called Pomonia, the Roman Goddess of orchards. This is a very busy time of year.

Sacred fruit of this time are apples and pomegranates but also anything coming from an orchard xx

BB x


On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scotland about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback: The Island of the Mist is book 2 The Stone in the Sword is book 1
The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats: The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Autumn Equinox and Virgo

We are on the cusp of Autumn, my favourite time of year. The colours, the scents, the crisp air, all make me feel alive and vibrant. Everything is at its most at this time of year. We are also approaching the Autumn Equinox (called Mabon). This is a time of balance and reflection, of looking at who you have been and what you have done over the last year. It is time to let go of the things that hold us back or do not serve us, and keep those things that make us happy, or think of new practices to begin that can bring joy into our lives. September is a contradiction in terms. It is celebratory and reflective, joyous and analytical.

We are entering the darker half of the year, when Hekate emerges from her threshold, half her face still hidden in the shade, the other half turned to face the Atumnal sun. She holds a lit torch in one hand and a set of keys in the other. We are entering the mysteries, the path inwards, where initiation truly takes place.

Demeter still calls out as the harvest has not fully taken place. Yemaya still holds sway over the water but the dark ones await the days that shrink, when the nights stretch out and the northern hemisphere once again becomes enshrouded in Night.

September's full moon has 2 names. The Vine moon in Celtic Tree lore (see my post from this time last year), and the Harvest Moon, because it is the main harvest month, and because this moon is usually that little bit brighter (not as bright as Hunter's Moon next month though).

We are now fully into the sign of Virgo - mutable earth. She is often depicted holding a sheath of wheat. Virgo, the vigrin, is all about the subtlety of the intellect, service and critical analysis. She is a symbol of feminism, not in the sense of Aphrodite but in the sense of Athena, in that she is wise and idealistic. However the usually discriminating eye of Virgo can become cynical and skeptical when faced with disappointment. Mercury governs Virgo, and as such, communication is a key feature in this zodiacal month. Always remember that Mercury is also a Trickster, like Coyote or Loki, and as such magic practiced in this month should be ever watchful that all parmetres of your spell are carefully marked, in case you open the door for the Trickster to enter (be careful what you wish for).

A few correspondences for you:
Colour: lighter blues and orange (much like Mercury), less so olive green
Flower: Cornflower, Rosemary, Lily
Plant: Ivy
Stones: Sapphires, aquamarine, carnelian, corundum
Tarot: The Hermit & Queen of Pentacles
Animal: Cock & Squirrel
Number: 6

I am currently focussing on working with runes - more magically than for divination. I find that using runes as sigils can bring about real and great change. They tap into an old section of your brain and make a real connection.

With the intellectually awakening Virgo we enter the 'learning' phase of the year. Our brains awaken after a hearty summer and want for stimulation. Given that Virgo is a month of counselling, really looking at yourself and knowing what you want/who you are, the perfect phrse for Virgo, to me, is 'Know Thyself'.
BB

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scotland about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback: The Island of the Mist is book 2 The Stone in the Sword is book 1
The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats: The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Summer Goddesses

Summertime is considered by many people to be the firm domain of the God, where he/they are at their peak but this is also a time of Goddess and while most people associate Goddesses as being spring or winter holders, summer is also a season of the divine feminine. Here are a few of the wonderful women of the summer.

Demeter & Persephone - the Greek Goddesses are abound from mid spring through to the autumn, when Persephone must return to her dark lord!!

The Horae are the Greek Goddesses of the seasons and Auxo was the Goddess of summer, although later forms of Horae would have Theros as summer.

Another Greek deity, Aphrodite, is seen by many people as a summer Goddess, as she is most often depicted with scallop shells and roses. Venus, her Roman counterpart, is also a summer deity.

Hera can also be associated with the summer through her mother Goddess position and cuckoos as one of her birds (peacocks being the main one).

Yemaya, a Yoruba Goddess, is the ocean (and often a River deity) and is another mother Goddess. She is often associated with Isis in her form of Stella Maris.

Isis is the principle Egyptian Goddess and is very much a Goddess of Summer, mother of the winged Horus and re-animator of the corn God, Osiris, her husband.

Keeping to the Egyptian pantheon, we have to add Sekhmet, lion headed Goddess to the list of summer Goddesses. Sekhmet bears a solar dis on her had and is a solar deity, one of the few female solar deities. Wadjet is the other Summer Goddess of Egypt I'd like to mention. Another lioness head, she is depicted as having a snake on her head, also occasionally depicted as being a snake with a woman's head. Her festival is Midsummer.

In the myriad Indian pantheon, Shakti is all seasons, the divine mother of all and can therefore represent the summer. She is often depicted with a swan and a snake.

Amaterasu is the Japanese Sun Goddess and is depicted with rays of light spreading out from her head.

Most mother Goddesses can be seen to represent summer, although some are clearly more autumnal than others.

In the summer, most of us try to spend time at the sea, on beaches or near large bodies of water. This is very much a Goddess domain and in visiting these places, spending time there, making offerings, we are connecting with the summer goddess.

Enjoy the warm days filled with light and sunshine xx


On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scotland about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback: The Island of the Mist is book 2 The Stone in the Sword is book 1
The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats: The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Summer Solstice 2014

Apologies for not blogging for a while, had a beautiful baby boy in March (on the Equinox actually), so its been all go here. Finally settling in and can attend to a few things now :)

Tomorrow (Sat 21st) is the Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere. For us in the north, it is a time of power, of heat and warmth, of love and justice. This Solstice is about the peak of masculine energy, the healing energy of the sun. It is the most 'active' festival, as this is very much a time for doing. We are also in the Year of the Horse, which is very much about actions, especially activism. This is what I would like to talk about today.

Around the world male energies are being seen in a very negative light, and those abusing the power of masculine energy are really going for it this year. Take the Uttar Pradesh region of India, with the raping and killing of not women, but actually children. 12 and 14 year olds are not women! It is so shocking and enrages me so much, as police officials stood by and did nothing! Within a few more days more girls were raped, some murdered. In fact, within a 36 hour period, 3 more rapes occurred, one of which included a police officer as a perpetrator! This is an abuse of the masculine life force! It is very bad that many people will now associate this region specifically but India as a whole with the rape of young girls and women. I am sure that Indian men do not hate women but Indian men must take a stand and rise up against those who commit such hideous acts. They need to reclaim their masculinity by showing the world but those women close to them in particular that real men do not harm women. Real men love, nurture and protect those in their lives. It will only be when the men of India rise up and take a stand, proclaiming that this is a terrible injustice that those committing the crimes will actually take notice. I have seen a few Indian men marching on this subject but they need to come out in greater numbers and actually, I would say that about men across the globe. Show the world what men really are, fathers, husbands, lovers, compassionate, decent honorable people who do not accept that it is fine to hurt girls and women.

There seems to be a craze in the music industry to glorify rape (Robin Thicke) and degrade women (Pitbull). I am utterly disgusted that more people have not called these guys (I refuse to call them men) out. They are utter cocks and do not deserve to be in the public eye. I would also say shame on any woman who buys their music because they are saying this is acceptable and it really is not.

Another thing that I am noticing in the press and social media just now is the shocking portrayal of animal cruelty. WTF are people thinking of? Anyone who abuses and animal is either a sociopath or a psychopath and should be institutionalised to keep the public safe!

So I would like to focus tomorrow on the promotion of creative, abundant, compassionate, vibrant and nurturing masculine energy. Bang your drums, beat your chests, do what you do to celebrate this wonderful time and think of obliterating all the injustices of the world, and of men reclaiming their energies for the positive and calling out on the negative.

I hope you have an honourable and just solstice,
BB xx


On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scotland about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback: The Island of the Mist is book 2 The Stone in the Sword is book 1
The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats: The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin