New Year!

In our busy lives, we have forgotten many traditions honoured by our ancestors but the ‘New Age’ seeks to bring the past to light so it can be examined and updated and made current, applicable and useful for today’s world. The New Age honours all religions and none, taking the bare-bones of spirituality in order to campaign for more compassion, integrity and justice in our communities. Learning to value our personal experience and the development of our own understanding of people and situations is more important than doing what we are told by others. Growing in maturity and independence and the gaining of skills and abilities is what matters as we try to rediscover the wisdom of ancient times.

As we celebrated the ending of the old, and the beginning of the New Year, we probably sang a traditional song called ‘Auld Lang Syne’ (roughly this translates as ‘old long since’ or ‘long time ago’). In this song the question is posed whether we should forget old acquaintances and never bring them to mind at times of special celebration. However, by posing the question, we naturally remember and give thanks for beloved friends and mourn those who are unable to join in what has become a ritual way to start a new year. 

The Gate of the Year

 I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year “Give me a light that I may tread faithfully into the unknown”, and he replied “Go out into the darkness and put your hands into the hand of God and that shall be to you better than a light, and safer than any known way”. 

May that hand of god guide and uphold you. By Minnie Hoskins 

A card for 2026

Renewal card, 20 from Angel Wisdom Tarot by Radleigh Valentine. Archangel Jeremiah is known for helping us review our situation so we can choose the path we will take next. He is the Archangels of dreams and visions. He is often called upon to re-evaluate the past and envision the future. 

Discuss your thoughts and feelings honestly with those you love. We are invited to question what next? This is a time for review and reflection. Where have you come from? Where are you now? Where do you want to be? This is your time to prepare for a bright future, the best it can be! As with any quest, we need to be able to clearly visualise where we want to go. We can’t just accidentally arrive there. We need a spiritual map of the journey. Envision your happiest and most productive future. Bring the law of attraction to its zenith of power in your life, and when you have it figured out then, and only then, take action. Until that time, peacefully develop the awareness of flashes of inspiration and original creative ideas. These epiphanies are part of our life purpose, and are meant to guide us on our way to joy. Possibilities for 2025. A job or career change. An important milestone. A call to fulfil your destiny. 

New Year Folk Song

Here we bring new waters from the world so clear, for to worship the goddess, with this happy New Year. Sing levy dew, sing levy due, the water and wine, with seven gold wires, the bugles that shine. Sing reign of fair maid, with gems on her too, open the west door and let the old year through. Sing reign of fair maid, let her beauty show, she has great power, let the New Year blow!  Here we bring new waters from the world so clear, for to worship the goddess, with this happy New Year. 

December’s Oracle and Rituals

Celebrate not only what has been brought to fruition during the past year - and also in your life. If there is a clear night arriving, visit a high place with a view of the night sky when the moon is full. This month it will be December 15th. Take a drum, a cup of mead or wine, a warm blanket and a cushion on which to sit and wait. This is the time to write a poem or update your diary or Book of Secrets. When you see the moon, call upon the Moon Goddess, our most extraordinary satelite luminary. It is exactly the same size when seen from the Earth as the Sun. It keeps only one side of its face towards us. On our right, is the Moon card, number 18, the Night Journey. On our left is card number 6, the card of the Lovers, both are images from Amy Zerner and Monte Farber's The Enchanted Tarot. 

Oracle for the New Year 2026

Four cards chosen for 2026 The first is from Influence of the Angels Tarot by Jody Boginski Barbessi and Karen Boginski. Here we have the Magician, number 1 of the Major Arcana. We see Michael whose name means 'to be like God'. He provides his courage, leadership and protection. He points heavenwards, with rays of light entering his body which he directs to the tools and chalk board table upon which he works and produces magic for our world through skills and intentions, focus, solving problems (not creating them), accomplishing goals. The message is: Pay attention to the difference between self confidence and overconfidence.  

The Grail -One

 The dream like story that Chretien presents, is that of a grail, golden and encrusted with gems and radiating a great light, but it is the host that the ailing King requires to keep him alive. Later legends of Joseph of Arimathea report that the Holy Grail is the cup from which Jesus drank from at the last supper, but Jews considered blood unholy and would not have thought it sacred. 

The Papacy, at the time of the story creation, were building massive cathedrals and were requiring relics to attract pilgrims. The church was very wealthy at this time due to relics, such as those brought from the Holy Land, bits of the cross, for instance, of which there was so many it would need an entire forest to supply them. The cup that Jesus drank from at his Last Supper would have been the highest of status symbols as the lips of Jesus had touched it. 

This Year - A Poem

 This year I do not want the dark to leave me.

I need its wrap of silent stillness,

its cloak of long lasting embrace.

Too much light has pulled me away

from the chamber of gestation.

Let the dawns come late,

let the sunsets arrive early,

let the evenings extend themselves

while I lean into the abyss of my being.

Creating a Vision Board

First Step: Get a large board like paper. Poster paper is perfect. You will need glue or two sided tape and scissors. 

Second Step: You will need lots of different types of magazines. You are going to look for pictures that either show how you want to feel, where you want to go or want you want to have. If you don't have many magazines search for pictures on Google and print them out.

Include the ocean or a beautiful house, or find a picture of that house on the ocean. Look for pictures that really light you up inside when you look at them.

If you want to lose weight find a picture of the physique you want to have.

If you want to travel cut out or print out pictures of the places you want to go. Find pictures of someone doing the things you want to do, sailing or skiing, climbing a mountain or hiking.

Christmas Postbag

Dear Wendy, can you provide a Christmas meal prayer please, Jenny S.

Dear Jenny, this is my suggestion, change it as you would like to!

I call upon the Godhead of all names and none, as I give thanks to those who grew, transported, prepared, packaged and sold the food and prepared and cooked it for today. Especially I give thanks for any animals that were involved in food production. I ask that the food is blessed so I can eat with love and honour, and can enjoy every mouthful and pray that it will renew and revive my health with good quality nourishment. I give thanks for my life and remember those who have not survived to celebrate this day. I remember those without food, comfort and kindness as we celebrate Christ’s birthday, as he was the one who said ‘Do unto others as you would be done by’. Amen. 

Dear Wendy, can you explain the first verse of the carol of ‘Once in David’s Royal City’? Myra 

Mother Mary’s Story

All saviour gods have virgin mothers! 

Mary and Joseph made a powerful team. Both of the royal line of David, the shepherd king, their first born son would have been a contender for the role of King of Judah. Like many female visionaries, Mary was around the time of her menarche when she became pregnant by an Angel. Angels at this time were not winged. They were always men and their meeting often resulted in a pregnancy. But this illegitimacy of Jesus may have caused him embarrassment. Joseph was not mentioned in the gospels after the childhood of Jesus. And what caused Jesus to be scathing and rude to his mother? She was a young mother, and maybe she was seduced and deceived  by one who presented himself as an ‘Angel’. It dashed his chances of a bid for the legitimate throne. 

Her correct name was Miriam and in legend, she was the daughter of Joachim and Anne. From the canonical gospels, we are told that Mary’s story begins when she was described as a virgin - a young girl before marriage. She would have been betrothed around the age of puberty and would have been living in an extended family in Galilee, such as the tribe of Ephrahim. She would have sat by the river bank, watching the water ripple as the breeze created waves. This Galilee sea is shaped like a harp - it’s a beautiful and romantic setting. Whilst engaged to be married to Joseph, the Angel Gabriel is said to have visited her and told her she would bear a son who would become the long prophesied messiah. Both she and her fiancé Joseph were of the royal line of Judah, and therefore their son would be the rightful royal heir. At that time, a ruthless puppet king, Herod the Great, sat on the throne who would do all he could to destroy the lives of Mary and Joseph.

Mary’s Story

Luke uniquely tells us the story of the mother, whereas Matthew’s account has the father as the central character - history was told always from the male perspective! We read of a girl named Miriam (or Mary in translations), who had come of age to marry, she would be around the age of 12 - 14 yrs old. We are told she was betrothed to a Joseph, meaning that they were engaged but she would be living with her parents, a home she would rarely leave until she married. They were of the House of David - a royal line when a corrupt puppet king sat on the throne of Judah. 

Suddenly, a supernatural messenger from God, an angel named Gabriel appears. Mary was agitated and disturbed by his presence, because this Angel has a name that translates from the Hebrew as the ‘strong man of God’! This unobserved girl, concealed in her family home, finds herself no longer isolated but in the presence of one who is spoken of as an angel who is called upon to incite war and who destroys the enemy! Here Gabriel acts as God’s instrument, and a young girl is confronted and alone with a male stranger to whom she is not related, and she refutes accepted customs!

The Story of Jesus

From the earliest written gospels, we have the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. “Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven, give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us, our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

The name Jesus is a corruption of Yeshuah; in the Old Testament name, it is Joshua. 

Jesus spoke the language of the people, Aramaic, he also read in the synagogue, so he knew Hebrew, and when interrogated by Pilate, the Roman governor, he may have spoken to him in the Latin language. 

Herod Antipas thought that Jesus was John the Baptist who he had imprisoned on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea in the Machaerus fortress and his death was by beheading. Jesus was also, like John, a revolutionary spiritual teacher whom Herod also feared. It is likely that John and Jesus were of the true royal line, unlike the King (tetrach) Herod. We know a little about John, an ascetic who proclaimed the end of the world and who baptised all people without exception in the Jordan river in the name of forgiveness of sins. He also, like Jesus, had a miraculous birth and was a messiah in his own right. During his imprisonment, he asked if Jesus would step up to take his place, and Jesus accepted the role. We know far more about the life of Jesus, his birth, miracles, teaching, his disciples, his torture and death and resurrection. We know also that he fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures where the life of the messiah was foretold of a glorious king, a conqueror who would give sovereignty to the nation,  a suffering messiah, humble victim, whose destiny was sacrifice. 

Christmas Past

The ancients observed the sun, moon and stars. They lived by nature and knew when to plant and when to harvest, when to feed the beasts and when to kill and salt. They would place a post in the ground to measure the length of the shadow cast each day. At midsummer and midwinter, the sun appears to stand still for three days, hence the name 'solstice' from the Latin 'stetit', when the sun appears to ‘stand still’.

Carvings on Long Meg in Cumbria are aligned with the sunset at midwinter. In 4AD the church changed the calendar so the equinox provided a consistent date. The date for Christmas was not changed. Many ancient stone circles are aligned with the sun festivals, such as Stonehenge, and Mays Howe.   

The sun was thought by the Greeks to be hauled across the sky each day by Apollo in his chariot. Christmas falls on 25th December rather than on the winter solstice because in the time of Julius Caesar, the calendar was obviously out. As it was based on the ancient Egyptian calendar that was 3000 years old in Julius' day, he introduced in 45BC the Julian Calendar. 

Away in a Manger

Mary and her husband Joseph were descendants of David, the first King of Israel, and they were both true heirs of that royal line. At the time of the birth of Jesus, Herod, a puppet king was seated upon the Judaic throne by the Roman oppressors. 

David was born in Bethlehem many hundreds of years previously. He was a a young shepherd boy, guarding flocks of sheep on the cold hillside. These were unblemished lambs that were slaughtered by the High Priest in the Temple of Jerusalem for the remission of sins. Mary's cousin, Elizabeth's husband, Zachariah, was that High Priest. They were too old to have children, yet, when an angel appeared and Elizabeth became pregnant, Zachariah was struck dumb for his unbelief in this miracle. 

Xmas Poem

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed for the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day, Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay; Enough for Him, whom angels fall before, The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;

But His mother only, in her maiden bliss, Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him? Give only my heart.

Symbols of Christmas

Each Christmas, we remember a story that began 2000 years ago and involves a very poor young woman, perhaps only fourteen years of age. Her name is Miriam, and she is engaged to Joseph, of royal blood and descendant of the line of King David. But she is met by a man, as angels in the Bible are ordinary men! She becomes pregnant and could be stoned to death for fornicating outside marriage, but Joseph marries her and her life is saved. When she is in the final stages of this first pregnancy, and suffers the discomfort of a long donkey ride with her husband, to pay their taxes in the homeland of their ancestor, King David. But her story begins far earlier, as a descendant of the royal line, Miriam is a princess - but in a land oppressed by a foreign army and with a puppet king on the Jewish throne. The two together could create a power base to jeopardise the puppet king and raise an army against the Roman oppressors. It’s a dangerous and very specific situation as Judah was desperate for a messiah. 

Create a Lunar Altar

 From Moon Magic by Marie Bruce - An Element Book

“ Setting up a lunar alter in your home is a great way to connect with the moons power. Having a special place dedicated to the moon and your magical practice is one way you can begin to invite the magical light of the moon into your life. Begin by collecting items which depict all represent the moon, so postcards, pictures, ornaments, candleholders, crystals, mirrors, and so on. Find a place in your home to use as a moon alter. This could be a windowsill, a countertop small to side table. You might like to cover it with a white or silver cloth, but this is optional. Next arrange all your items in a pleasing way, ensuring that you have a couple of candles ready to burn, place towards the back of the water. I don’t incense burner and alter is ready for medical use. You can use the space to cast spells, perform rituals, lay out divination card spreads and lights in the sense in honour of any Luna dirties you are working with. Add a statue of the loan a totem animals you connect with and make the space that is personal to you and your magical moon journey Finally, that’s the space by sprinkling a little spring water over the altar, and saying the following words. I dedicate the sacred space to the loaner light and to the moon is magical grace.”

Star of the Messiah

The Gospel of Matthew describes how astrologers travelled to Jerusalem where King Herod met them. They told Herod that they had followed a star that prophesied the birth of the rightful King of the Jews, and they came to worship this baby. Herod was concerned about his own position as he was just a puppet ruler, and he asked the wise men to return to him when they had found the child. He called his scribes to him for information. In the Book of Micah, it states the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, birthplace of King David. The wise men continued to follow the star which led them to Bethlehem. We are unsure of the exact date of the birth of Jesus but a bright conjunction, supernova or comet could have been ‘the Star of Bethlehem’.  

It might have been a conjunction (coming together) of two planets, one being Jupiter which is known to represent Kingship. (Jupiter is known as Sedeq to the Jews, a word which means righteousness - a title for the Messiah). Regulus might have been the other star - this name means, in Latin  'prince’, and in Arabic, it means 'the heart of the lion' because it appears in the constellation of Leo and also represents Kingship. These two stars appearing together would have been a meaningful sign to the star gazers of the Middle East (possibly Mesopotamia where astrologers were recognised since very ancient times). 

Malidoma

“At this moment in history, western civilisation is suffering from a great sickness of the soul. The West’s progressive turning away from functioning spiritual values, its total disregard for the environment and the protection of natural resources, the violence of inner cities and their problems of poverty, drugs and crime, the spiralling of unemployment and economic disarray, the growing intolerance towards people of colour and the values of other cultures, all of these trends, if unchecked, will eventually bring about a terrible self-destruction. In the face of this global chaos, the only possible hope is self transformation.”

King Solomon's Mines

Jews worshipped in tents on the top of mountains, where god appeared or where his voice was heard, until the first temple was built on a threshing floor where the wheat was sifted from the chaff! This was the citing of the first temple, Solomon, the wisest and richest king of Judah, and the temple had two pillars and it contained 3 rooms, the farthest of which was the Holy of Holies. 

     We know of Solomon’s great wealth, and the mines of gold found in Ophir, of three days travel. The box called the Ark of the Covenant and the golden menorah were said to be just two of the great ancient treasures. The Ark was said to be able to miraculously bring success in war. Maybe at the time of the first temple conquest, it was abandoned, or perhaps taken to Babylon in 586BC. The great magical Ark that brought success in war did not always provide success and Solomon’s Temple was destroyed! Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland to rebuild their precious Jerusalem Temple.

This second temple contained the menorah which is said to have been taken to Rome in 70AD when this temple was destroyed and the Jews dispersed. 
How can we investigate these temple sites because there is no evidence for the Temple of Solomon! 

It has been suggested that there was a huge mistake in the names of kings and the dates of this one great building. Amenhotep III was a great 18th dynasty Egyptian king who embarked on a great building spree. The description of Medinet Habu sounds identical to Solomon’s Temple! He built it in Canaan, and he is known to have built on Temple Mount in Jerusalem. 

And here we come to ahi ram of Tyre, the place where the great cedars of Lebanon grew. The Melqart Temple also had courts and two pillars, one of gold and one of green stone. What is most surprising is the cherubim were depicted on the Ark and all over the Temple building, however the Jews are not allowed to reproduce the human form. 

The 10 Commandments were originally thought to have come from Egypt, and many of David’s psalms are almost identical to those from Egypt. 

Was the entire Jewish Bible a fabrication, a jealous god wanting what Egypt had in abundance. 

Charlie Kirk

Hi, this is a stream of consciousness, having watched a good part of the memorial service for Charlie Kirk late last night. It was a mixed bag. Firstly, my criticisms: I feel uncomfortable with religion mixed with politics. Politics adulterates religion and I suspect the manipulation of minds. Sadly, it became a political rally as they used every opportunity to be salesmen for the masses who were there and those watching across the world! There are times when I felt that Charlie Kirk (who as a human being was not perfect - we are all found wanting in the sight of God) yet it was alluded to several times that there were comparisons between Charlie Kirk and Jesus Christ - an exaggeration that is tantamount to hubris, and  adulation. The speakers were trying to outdo each other to praise him in extreme ways. 

The Grail -Two

Extract from The Grail Legend by Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz.

“ The fact that the Grail was considered to be a real object engendered the very widely held belief that it was identical with the vessel known as the Sacro Catino, a bowl, believed to be made of an emerald, brought back as plunder and payment by the Genoese after the seige of Caesaria in 1101. A 16th century Genoese Chronicle in the library at Berne says that the exceedingly precious bowl was called the Saint Graal and that according to some it was a platter Christ had used at the Last Supper with his disciples but that others thought was the vessel from which King Arthur ate, very devoutly at important ceremonies, with the companions of the Round Table. Napoleon took it to Paris, where under expert examination, it was found not to be made of emerald stone at all, but simply moulded glass! 

Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind

Mind Body & Soul book post: Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind - The Zen Journal and Letters of an Irish Woman in Japan by the late Maura Soshin O’Halloran, published by her mother upon her early death. 

At a time when female monks were rare, Maura having gained a very good degree at Trinity College, Dublin, studied Zen in Japan and wrote this remarkable and moving journal. Her mother published the journals after her daughter’s death. The name that Maura was given, Soshin means Pure Heart. Waking up to enlightenment requires intense chanting meditation known as zazen. The privations amount to malnutrition, being cold and uncomfortable.She became second in command of the Buddhist Temple and she tended the gardens. Begging was an important spiritual practice for a once a day meal.

Praying the 'Hours'

 Praying The Hours - An Introduction

Praying The Hours provides a rhythm for our days, establishing a rhythm in order to connect with the sacred. Bee is speaking about the Catholic way of praying the hours. The Liturgy of The Hours has changed over time and is sometimes called The Divine Office and within that are the canonical hours (hours that mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals). A book known as a ‘Breviary’ containing weekly cycles of psalms, prayers, hymns, antiphons, and readings which changed with the liturgical season is commonly used.

Bee will be making her own book of hours and is collecting quotes and images that are meaningful for her. In Bee’s favourite book about praying the hours there is a wonderful quote- Meister Eckhart says,

 ’If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is Thank You, it will be enough’

If we just stop what we are doing to say thank you, if we come out of clock time/calendar time to move into sacred time then we’ve done it. A pause is enough.

‘Pete Greig says the reason for praying the hours is to get to know the creator of a hundred billion galaxies’

Let Me Go - A Poem

When I come to the end of the road, And the sun has set for me,

I want no rites in a gloom filled room Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little, but not for long, and not with your head bowed low, 

Remember the love that we once shared, miss me but let me go. 

For this is the journey we all must take and each must go alone.

It’s all part of the master plan, a step on the road to home. 

When you are lonely and sick at heart, go to the friends we know. 

Laugh at all the things we used to do, miss me but let me go.

First Force Field Analysis

Hello! The light in me bows to the light in you! Here are some life tips taken from my old diaries!

Be specific with the following questions. Write the answers down and refer back to them after 1 month:

What one thing would add to/improve/enhance your life?

What are you prepared to do to achieve this?

Is it within your control to get it? What might be the obstacles or not within your control?

How could you sabotage yourself from getting it? 

Will others know you want it?  Will they know when you get it?

Is it in keeping with your standards, judgments and ethics?

If Nobody Smiled - A Poem

IF NOBODY SMILED

 

If nobody smiled and nobody cared, and nobody helped us along; If every fellow looked out for himself, and the good things all went to the strong; If nobody cared just a little for you, and nobody thought about me; And we stood all alone in the battle of life, what a dreary old world this would be.

Life is sweet because of the friends we love, and the things that in common we share; And we want to live on, not because of ourselves, but because of the people who care. It's giving and doing for somebody else - on that all of life's splendor depends; And the joy in the world, when you've summed it all up, is found in the love of our friends.

Fifth Field Analysis

Words to live by: - Integrity, Authenticity, Discernment, Responsibility, Accountability, Courtesy, Resilience, Empowerment, Truth, Honesty, Empathy, Equality, Humility, Service to others! 

4 types of family systems: 

Distracting, Placating, Computing, Blaming. 

Defence mechanisms: Retroflexion It’s all my fault. Attribution: To assume, interpret and judge. Projection: Your unowned trials and emotions attributed to others. Seeing the splinter in their eye not the log in your own. Introjection: to swallow whole, attitudes, values, beliefs. You believe what you are accused of without question. Deflection: Backing away, denying. Confluence: agreeing and never risking disagreement. 

Which is your easiest zone? Comfort zone, Learning zone, Panic zone, Stretched zone? 

What do you want to communicate? What would heal your pain/ brokenness?

What do you consider is unacceptable behaviour?

Better Relationships Part One

Assertiveness: Being assertive - an honest and direct communication without blame. It is a form of communication that is neither manipulative nor aggressive. It is designed to enable both parties to be heard without creating hurt or distress, and leaves the situation open for further discussion. Assertiveness provides the following 'rights': 

Everyone has the right to say 'no' without feeling awkward, uncomfortable or guilty. Everyone has the right to change their mind. Everyone has the right to ask questions. Everyone has the right to make mistakes (providing they learn from them). Everyone has the right to ask for help. Everyone has the right to ask for what they want.  Everyone has the right to get what they want, need or desire (in ways that do not hard others). Everyone has the right to self esteem, and to feel good about their capabilities, talents, experience, achievements, etc., (providing these do not harm others). 

The Birch Tree

From “Tree Wisdom - The Definitive Guidebook to Myth, Folklore and Healing Power of Trees”  by Jacqueline Memory Paterson. 

The birch tree is known as the lady of the woods. It is a womanly, constant and friendly, a tree of enchantment. When seen in the Moonlight, it presents its most outstanding feature, a gleaming silver bark, which Legends throughout Europe described as the hallmark of the fairy. This white bark also gleams attractively in the Sun and shows the lightness of the tree’s spirit, the ethereal beauty of the innocent, dancing quality of the female in nature, with delicate branches, and leaves to match. It is the tree of love, protection and purification. Birch wind has special properties. 

As Birch is one of the first trees to leaf in spring. It is known as the tree of inception.It is also seen as a treat of purification, cleansing the old to make way for the new. At the ancient Beltane festivities, Birch twigs were used to light the oak fires, and traditionally the May day love making was enjoyed in a Birchwood or forest. Being a white tree, a silver birch, what is seen to have the ability to ward off evil or negative spirits. Traditionally, Birch rods were used to drive out the spirit of the old year and for beating the bounds of the parish. They were also used in the none too kind practice of beating spirits and demons out of lunatics. The Romans carried Birch rods when they installed their Consuls, no doubt to beat back the crowds in an early use of caning. 

The birch is believed to grow at the gates of paradise. It is primarily a tree of the Sun and sky. When use for the first ogham inscription in Ireland, the Birch became associated with sun. God Lugh, for this first inscription warned him that his wife was being taken away to the land of fairy. Birch is dedicated to the Norse goddess. Frigga, goddess of married love and the sky and clouds. She became Odin’s wife. Frigga had 11 handmaidens who aided her in caring for humanity, and she pun golden threads, and the rainbows of spring. It was believed that she had seven mortal sons who founded the seven Saxon kingdoms of England.

The name batch is thought to have derived from the Sanskrit word, which means a tree has Barkers used to write upon. The second king of Rome, successor to Romulus, is said to have written books on birchbark in 700 BC, which legend says are buried along with the author. In all probability, because of the indestructible quality of birchbark, these books would still be in good repair if found. So far, this has not occurred. Birch has great healing properties, including the fragrance it emits after the rain. Brooms were made from birch sticks and twigs. 

Circus - A Story

 “When I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. In front of us there were eight children, probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money. The children were well-behaved, standing in line behind their parents. They were excited about the acts they would be seeing.

The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adults." The ticket lady stated the price! The man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price. He didn't have enough money. How could he tell his eight children?

Sacred Wild Woman Medicine - A Challenge!

Who are you becoming?

"I don’t care how spiritual you are. How long you can melt in the sweat lodge. How many peyote journeys that have blown your mind, or how well you can hold crow pose. Honestly. I don’t.

I don’t care what planets fall in what houses on your birth chart, how many crystals you have or how vegan your diet is.

I want to know how human you are. Can you sit at the feet of the dying despite the discomfort? Can you be with your grief, or mine, without trying to advise, fix or maintain it?   want to know that you can show up at the table no matter how shiny, chakra- aligned or complete you are- or not.

Can you hold loving space for your beloved in the depths of your own healing without trying to be big?

It doesn’t flatter me how many online healing trainings you have, that you live in the desert or in a log cabin, or that you’ve mastered the art of tantra.

Shrines of France - A Visit

I left London with my travelling companion, Laura, firstly to visit the chapel and castle of St Mesmin. The traffic was congested so we continued on to the city of Orleans. This was an ancient town in 1424 when an illiterate girl, only 12 years old, saw visions and heard voices of the saints, Michael the archangel, Catherine of Antioch and Margaret. She also communed with the archangel Gabriel. Their voices inspired her to lead French armies in victory against the English during the Hundred Years War, restoring the crown to Charles VII. Shockingly, she was betrayed by the British, tried in court and burnt at the stake as a witch in 1431. We wondered why Michael and Margaret, both dragon slaying saints and therefore both related to leylines, were involved in Joan’s mission and we discovered strong leys in the area of Orleans. We visited the house in Donremy where Joan or Jean - the female form of John - was born and said mass in the thirteenth century church where she prayed. The original statue of St Margaret is there before which Joan prayed. It is a particularly powerful statue and myself and my colleague received an outpouring of love and strength, and we also received a message about the pointlessness and poisonousness of war, it's swings and roundabouts, and losses that last for generations. The energies in the forest where Joan received her first messages from the saints we’re still there to experience.  The spring - which in ancient times provided healing for those with fever and which the judge questioned her about during her trial - registers extraordinary energies. In the local town of Greux is a special shrine to St Margaret whose energies are very powerful.

Force Field Analysis No 6

Examine and describe in detail your values, motives, emotions, beliefs, attitudes, intentions, abilities, traits, and personality type. 

Relationships can provide health, wellbeing, contentment, harmony, joy, and ecstasy, as well as fear, distress, ill-health, wasted years of life and pain, tears and suffering. What do relationships mean to us, how do we maintain good relationships, how do we nourish and support those whom we love? How do we neglect, starve and undermine ourselves and others? 

The Golden Rule: Temperance (balance), humility, integrity, industry, simplicity, modesty, courage, justice, patience. 

Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. 

Questions to ask yourself for personal growth and self development! Becoming a person of excellence!

How do you damage your own life?

Do you damage the lives of other people?

Can you accept the treasure that is in yourself accepting you are not perfect?

Can you accept the treasure that is in another person accepting they are not perfect?

Are you too sensitive? Do you over react? Do you accuse or bully?

Can you expand on narrow thinking to be a person of generosity and kindness?

Do you limit your love and caring?

Forecast Reading

From the Soulful Woman Oracle Cards by Shushann Mousessian and Gemma Summers, I have chosen:

Boundaries. “Boundaries are necessary and we all have them. They keep us safe and healthy, and without them, we are in danger. The reading states: "My boundaries are like energy doors that help me manage my life. At times, I have the doors open , inviting in blessings from others and my environment. At other times, I need to close them in order to replenish my energies, nourish my creativity, and defend my well-being. I feel good about having boundaries and for being able to say "No Thanks" because I know when I say "No" that I am expressing an important aspect of myself as a person. Having clear boundaries allows me to protect myself, nurture my intentions, and follow my true self. Boundaries are an essential part of self care. Affirmation - My clear boundaries allow me to protect myself, nurture my intentions and follow my true self."

Second Force Field Analysis

Which of your emotions need changing? 

What habits are you tied to? 

What is at the root of your worst problem?

What grounds you/centres you? 

What desires do you wish to fulfil?

How are you using your power?

What are you envisioning, instigating, or initiating?

How do you express your ability to love?

The Journey to You

The Journey to You - A Shaman’s Path to Empowerment is a book by Ross Heaven that links spirituality and science. It will guide you on your spiritual path in a grounded way that has benefits for you and the world today. It provides healing practices and techniques, such as image work, journeying and soul retrieval and draws on the latest scientific research and provides guidance from leading figures. For each book sold, there is a contribution to the Dream Change Coalition for Rainforest protection and the preservation of indigenous shamanic wisdom. 

The shaman asks ‘does it grow corn?’ Or does it have a useful purpose that provides value to people? We are all gods of a kind, that can assist, support and provide, and we have a responsibility to do this. The shamanic world is experiential but it has purpose and meaning, without which it is null and void. 

Saalumarada Thimmakka - A Tree in Time

Saalumarada is known as a folk hero in her home area because, when she was a teenage girl, she planted her first Banyan tree just outside the remote Indian village of Hulikal in south western state of Karnataka. She was illiterate, but had green fingers, and enjoyed the planting of the tree and watching it grow. Though Saalumarada was born into poverty and married very young, she had not fallen pregnant. There was a local folk tradition that if a childless woman planted a Banyan tree, the national tree of India, she would be rewarded with a child. She did not conceive a child, but she continued to plant up to 380 Banyan trees, watering them daily, and creating a 28 km tree lined avenue near her village. To add to this, she planted another 8,000 trees of different kinds. For this, she was granted the highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri Award in 2019 when she was almost 100 years old. 

7 Habits

Personal Mission Statement: 

Succeed at home first. Seek divine help. Never compromise with honesty. Remember the people involved. Hear both sides before judging. Obtain the counsel of others. Defend those who are absent. Be sincere yet decisive. Develop one brand-new proficiency a year. Plan tomorrow’s work today. Hassle while you wait. Maintain a positive attitude. Keep a sense of humour. Be orderly in person and in work. Do not fear mistakes, only the absence of creative, constructive, and corrective responses to those mistakes. Facilitate the success of subordinates. A listen twice as much as you speak. 

 From The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey

Perfume Toxicity

 

The New Scientist publishes the concerning levels of perfumes in the atmosphere and water. 

Synthesised perfumes have reached detectable levels in the air we breathe. The compounds can accumulate in our bodies. About 8000 tons of Musk fragrances are synthesised every year for perfumes, cosmetics and soaps. Researchers have found synthetic musk compounds in fish and muscles, and in human fat, milk, and blood. The compounds build up through the food chain in much the same way as polychlorinated biphenyl and some pesticides such as DDT. Now these molecules have been found in air samples. Robert Gatormann and his colleagues at the Norwegian Institute for a research  in Tromse found high mass concentrations in indoor samples and much lower concentrations similar to PCB levels in outdoor air. it originates from cosmetics and all kinds of cleaners and air freshener sprays. He said that humans can build up compounds in the bodies by breathing in these organic pollutants. As well as my eating contaminated, food. Exposure can also come from textiles that are washed in powder containing musk compounds.. 

Leadership Styles

 

Your Garden Meditation

 

With thanks to Erica Longdon for the voice over and video creation.

 

Lot’s Cave - An Extract

A monastery dedicated to Lot, (the hero from Genesis who escapes God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) has been discovered on a remote mountainside in western Jordan near the Dead Sea. The excavation is funded by the British Museum, and has uncovered a basilica with semicircular apse and a grotto that early Christians believed was the cave where Lot, the nephew of Abraham and his daughters took refuge. A 7th century monastery was discovered during the excavation of a stone reservoir near the south-eastern end of the Dead Sea. Decorated with vines and animals, mosaic floors date the Basilica to 691 AD, a period when monastic groups were developing in the region. 

Despite its arid location, the site was fed by a spring that irrigated terraces where monks grew grapes, apricots, and olives. Seeds and bones found at the site reveal 25 different foods, including meat and fish which were served to visiting pilgrims. Archaeologists also discovered. a 7 cornered pulpit, coins, fine pottery and fragments of hanging lamps. 

Two angels were invited to stay at Lot’s home in Sodom. The people came and demanded the angels were given to them to have sex. Lot offered his two daughters to the crowd instead. They fled the violence to seek safety in a cave, so the story goes, both daughters got Lot drunk and had sex with him! The eldest daughter gave birth to a son, Moab who become the patriarch of the Moabites, and the younger daughter also gave birth to a son, Ben Ammi, patriarch of the Ammonites. 

One cave yielded a clay pot and drinking cups dating to the Bronze Age when Lot is said to have lived. Did his daughters seduce him in this cave and give birth to sons whose descendants populated ancient Jordan? 

Tarot life path reading

Strengths come up as priority development. These involve having the resources to cope well with setbacks in life. The fool is demanding and incapable. The lightning struck tower follows when all is lost and not recovered. A breakdown. This cannot happen. The consequences are major for life progression when things go wrong, when the querent causes things to go wrong. It is a tragedy when opportunities in life are lost, instead of a good life, this is replaced by a very difficult life, struggle, weakness, illhealth, adversity. The fool does not correct the difficulties with speed. The tower has fallen, and rebuilding requires great strength and determination, sometimes it can take generations to recover.

 Grief, anxiety, maybe anger with oneself and others occurs. The Fool does not see problems arising in the future, like driving, we must anticipate what could occur in the future. The Fool fantasises and is not in the real world but the disasters are real. The Fool is a wake up call. 

Free YouTube Healing Meditation

Please do not drive whilst listening to this meditation. Make yourself comfortable, close your eyes, take a couple of deep breaths, relax and imagine.... Meditation presented by Erica Longdon with text by Wendy Stokes  
12Radio Breakfast With Erica and works at

ANGEL HANDS HEAL

and 12Listen.com

Tarot Card Origins

 First published in Psychic News Magazine:

 Playing cards for recreational games of chance and skill were first developed in China and were printed on bamboo strips for use by the leisured class. Due to advances in paper and wood block print technology in the 9^th century Tang dynasty and, over several centuries, a large variety of these card games spread westward along the Silk Routes to appear in the Middle East with ornate calligraphy and elaborate abstract designs. These were known as Mamluk cards (in the Topkapi Palace Museum) and were used by the Sultinate in Egypt from late 1200s with Moorish and Saracen associations. In the 1300s, card games reached Europe with designs of birds and Roman Gods, some included astrological symbols and elements (such as the Minchiate deck) and depicted people in medieval costumes. Cards were used by wealthy nobles, merchants and scholars and were often hand painted and with gold leaf. 

Better Relationships - Part Two

Validate what you like in the Other person - their values, actions, skills and abilities. Look for areas of rapport, agreement and similarities. Ask genuine interest questions and be open to speaking your truth and to listening with an open heart. Want the best for the Other, so they can be confident, content and productive in their life. Focus on a way forward to always improve the quality of the relationship, setting daily goals to please each other. Expect the best and give the best, but bear in mind that some people are naturally better at relationships due to empathy, being articulate and being more consistent and steady in their thinking and relating style.Women are usually better at collaborations than men, though there are exceptions. 

Can you discuss everything, your priorities, hopes, and ambitions, your personal thoughts and feelings, even those that other people might not like? Do you feel fully accepted as a person and do you feel you develop yourself with this person, growing in understanding of yourself and of them too? What are your criteria for a relationship and does this person tick your boxes?What are the boxes. Define what you are looking for in your relationship. Do you think you are a good match? Are you close friends who communicate well or do you feel you need to put on an act or a mask to please this person? 

Getting to Know the Goddess Course 1:1

Goddess-Pages online course.
This  purse is practical as well as educational, and it has made me think about so many aspects of my life and society in general, as well as put me in touch with antiquity, with womanhood throughout the ages, and about many of the women in my life that have influenced me. I had never thought of ‘Goddess’ as a diminutive word, such as waitress, but She is the original, the first, She was the one and only, and therefore maybe I will attach a prefix such as this when describing Her. 
I have a connection with the Goddess and relate to many of Her archetypes. She is healing, and when focussing, and meditating on ‘the Lady’ especially in Springtime, as Flora, my meditations are wonderful, and full of images of beauty of all kinds. I love the early archaeological discoveries of the sculptures of the ‘Venus’ types. I am reflected in these images. I am very concerned about the incredible temples in the Middle Eastern war zones, unexplored, with the ground full of wonders, many, I am sure, would reveal much more about Her if protected for the future. I feel very aggrieved about the archaeological atrocities, despite many being in protected World Heritage sites. (Not to say anything about the animals, and rare species especially those that are badly affected by war, the ecological damage – as well as human suffering beyond our ability to imagine). I am against war, war on people, animals, and the delicate ecology of the planet.

Waltham Abbey Church

In the time of the Danish King Canute, around the date of 1030, his standard bearer, Tovi, owned land in the area of Montacute (locally called Lutegaresberi) near Glastonbury which was a very prestigious monastery. A blacksmith on Tovi's land had a dream - a vision over several nights resulting in fingerprints left upon the arm of the smith by an Angel who showed a hill top where great treasure was buried. So, with prayer and fasting, an investigation was organised by the village priest. A delegation of dignitaries, in procession, singing litanies, dug to a depth of forty cubits where the dream suggested, and there a large black stone crucifix carved skilfully onto black flint was discovered. With it was a smaller one under the right arm, and a bell under the left arm. There was also a book of the gospels. The Lord of the Manor, Tovi was called and they were taken to the graveyard. The small cross was placed in the Montecute church. 

The other precious objects were placed on a wagon with twelve red oxen and twelve white ones. Holy sites were named by Tovi to the animals, such as Canterbury, Winchester, York, Glastonbury, Westminster, etc., but the oxen failed to make any movement forward. Only when Tovi called the name of Waltham was called did the cart move. Waltham was a tiny church and hunting lodge, on the Lea river owned by Tovi. The animals immediately started walking and continued until they arrived at Waltham when they abruptly halted. Along the route many were healed of illness. The crucifix was taken from the cart and erected at the tiny church which was named after the holy cross. 

Introduction to Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust was founded by author and naturalist Gerald Durrell 50 years ago with the mission to save species from extinction, and it has a proven track record of doing just that! Species that have been pulled back from the brink include the Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon, echo parakeet and the Mallorcan midwife toad, and our dedicated conservationists are hard at work in threatened habitats around the world, continuing each day to protect and conserve many more amazing species.

Due to the increasing demands of humans on the environment, we have witnessed in recent decades, a massive rise in the rate of extinctions.The number of species under threat has reached alarming proportions, including 23% of mammals, 12% of birds and 32% of all amphibians. A wide variety of species are necessary for the building blocks on which our ecosystems are sustained and it is these ecosystems that provide us with previous resources, such as clean water, fuel, fibre and food. 

Meeting the Crow Tribe

Les Fuller Interview ‘MEETING THE CROW TRIBE OF EAST LONDON

Les is a trained healer and platform medium and has worked in the Essex/East London area for over 40 years with his partner Jacci (pronounced Jacky) who quietly supports him with her own healing and mediumship skills.

Les has had many tutors and mentors, but he also has worked closely with his own spirit guides to enhance the empathic and authentic spiritual life path that he walks. Over these many decades of working with Spirit, Les has been inspired and encouraged by his First Nation/Indigenous American spirit guides to work in new ways which provide relaxation, joy and upliftment and can be profoundly moving experiences for those who attend his workshops and meetings. One of his early mentors was the late Ernie Alexandra of Waltham Abbey, a recruiting medium who recruited Les and Jacci to his training circle. Edmonton was another early centre of gaining knowledge of spirit and spirit messages and he has worked at Cheshunt giving talks and at Manor Park.

The Fox

About 16,000 years ago, when Paleolithic painters were drawing steppe bison in the Spanish cave of Altamira, A woman of unknown name died in what is now Jordan, in a site called autumn al-Hamman. The body was laid among flint and ground stone, and a red fox was carefully placed beside her ribs, resting with her fraternity on a bed of ochre. The care in the joint burial is believed to suggest some emotional link between the human and Fox, beyond that shown to wildlife perceived as food or clothing. It has been speculated that these pre-Natufian people coexisted with foxes that we’re at least half domesticated. It is clear that Fox’s held a strong cultural significance for these people of the Levant. They are commonly found in human graves in modern Israel, dated around 8600 years ago, while stone carvings of foxes with thick brushes adorn the pillars of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, believed to be the world’s oldest temple. Bones from two foxes have been found in a grave in North Yorkshire at Star Carr and ancient settlement along with those of Britain’s first known domestic dogs.