Blessed Samhain

31st of October is very important in the pagan calendar. The sabbat Samhain is a fire festival, marks the start of a new year and is when the veil between this world and the otherworld is at it's most thinnest. 

Over the last few years I have seen Halloween become very commercialised like Christmas, with the high street supermarkets bringing out the same skull head goblets and zombie costumes but for me it is more than that.

Samhain is a time of reflection, of honouring our ancestors and remembering those who we have lost.

This is the perfect time for divination also and to plan what is to come in the year ahead.

However you chose to celebrate Halloween or Samhain may it be a time to reflect on what you have achieved so far.

To find out more about the sabbat of Samhain visit: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/samhainoctober31/p/Samhain_History.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/samhain.shtml

Avalon faery ball and fayre.

On 26th October I went to the faery ball and fayre in Glastonbury. I have wanted to go to this event for several years and this time I booked the travelodge, brought the tickets and set off.
We left Kent at 6:30 in the morning and arrived in Glastonbury just after 10 o'clock and spent the day mooching about, meeting up with all my faerie friends and fellow artists.
Now from my previous blog post regular readers (and I know you exist because I have met a few of you over the weekend!) will know my heart lives in Stonewylde and I was lucky enough to meet the author who was doing a book signing in the lovely shop Cat and the Cauldron. I was so excited to meet Kit and to show my appreciation for her creation I gave her a mounted print of one of my paintings 'Monarch of the Stones' which Kit seemed very pleased to receive. A lovely lady!

Me and Kit taken by Mr. B

After perusing the wares on display (and buying a few) in the shops and at the fayre we had to get back on the road.
We were staying in a Travelodge in Wincanton which was a 40 minute drive from Glastonbury so we had a short nap before getting ready for the ball!
I decided to go steampunk for this event and over the previous month I had been raiding charity shops and eBay for anything I could use for my costume. I also made some wings to wear (it was a faerie event after all!) but decided against wearing them because a) they were only made from Cardboard and would get broken, b) they were too big and would have been a nightmare to navigate through the throngs of people in the hall.

Me and Leon, Steampunks!

Everyone looked amazing! It was a shame it was so busy as I didn't get to see everyone's amazing outfits. There was a lovely mixture of fantastic creations. Faeries brush wings with pirates, mermaids, Ents, goblins, Celtic maidens and other Steampunks.

Celtic moon look positively lovely!

With Esther Remmington in her gorgeous costume made by Martin of EBG Leather and Sarah Aiston, my faerie arty friends. (Only of the bottles of drink was mine, promise!)

We danced the night away to the Dolmen and with sore feet I hobbled back to the car with a huge grin on my face. What a night!

Sunday morning was a dull and wet and my plan to walk up the Tor and visit the Chalice well gardens was put on hold. Instead we went back to the hall and talk to more of my artist friends, including the lovely Linda Ravenscroft, Tamara Newman and Sue Clyne. I also brought a silver bracelet from the very talented Terry English and the new book by Emily Carding called Faery craft which features many of my friends.
All too soon the day come to an end and we had to get back on the long journey home, tired but very happy.

I didn't take any photos so I would like to thank Esther Remmington and Sarah Aiston for letting me use their photos!

Follow me to Stonewylde

I first became aware of the Stonewylde series in 2010 after listening to the Damh the bard's Druidcast podcast interview with the author Kit Berry. Breaca from Celtic Moon told me she had started reading them and on that same day, in a spiritual shop in Rochester that was having a closing down sale I found 2 books from the series 'Moondance' and 'Solstice' at half price so I brought them. 

I saw it as a sign.

I ordered the first book and I devoured them very quickly and I have just finished book 5 and the last book in the series.

Stonewylde's target audience is young adult but don't let that put you off, I know many of the readers are adults.

The story centres around a 14 year old girl living in London called Sylvie who is very sick, as if her body is allergic to the modern world. One of the doctors suggests she visits Stonewylde, an unspoilt estate in the depths of Dorset, run by the charismatic leader know as Magus. 

Sylvie and her Mums life is turned upside down when they move in to the idyllic community, walled off from the outside world before Christianity took over as the main religion of the UK, Stonewylde is a pagan paradise. However not all is as it seems.

There are two types of people who live on the estate. The villagers, who live a life from a bygone era. Their cottages are rustic with no electricity and they work the land as labourers growing the food, chopping the wood, working the dairy and other work intensive jobs in tune with the natural rhythm of the landscape and the turn of the wheel.

The second type of people are the hall folk. These people can be identified by their blonde hair. They live in a magnificent Tudor building on the grounds and have access to class rate education and electricity and mod cons. 

Yul is a village boy who is also one of the protagonist of the story. Through his eyes we see the beauty of Stonewylde, with it's cliff top views of the sea and ancient standing stones and stone circles and untouched woodland. But we also see a very dark and cruel side. These books are not for the faint hearted. It is shockingly violent in some chapters with Yul suffering from abuse at the hands of his father and the Magus. It might put some people off but for me it only served in making the story more real.

As Sylvie gets better from the Green magic given to her by Magus she discovers for herself the true beauty of the Goddess in the landscape and witness the magical rituals performed by the community. What I wouldn't give to take part in taking part in a Beltane ceremony in Stonewylde!

I'm not going to go any further then that about what the books are about, that should be enough to pique your interest. 

These books take hold of you. The characters are believable, and rich. You care about them which is what made reading the last and final book so very difficult for me.

If you are interested in pagan fiction then I would recommend reading Stonewylde and when you do come join me and other fan over on the Stonewylde community at www.stonewylde.net

Stonewylde is waiting, are you ready?

Celtic Moon pagan community

So I have mentioned Celtic Moon a few times on my blog now and I thought I would expand on my own experience with this very special group I am a part of.

I joined Celtic moon of July 2010 after meeting the priestess Breaca at one of the festivals I had a art stall at in Canterbury. It was the same time I had set up my own group on the Ning social network called 'Faerie Seekers'. I was looking for more like minded folk to interact with as I felt I had been on my solitary path for too long. Ning decided to stop it's free content so I had to close 'Faerie Seekers' and put all my focus into Celtic Moon and I am so glad I did.

By joining Celtic Moon I have not only made some wonderful friends but I now truly feel pagan where before I didn't know where I was headed (this was also the same time I found my patron Goddess Elen.)

On the Celtic Moon website you can have a page where people can contact you just like on Facebook, post blogs, join groups and discussions on lots of different topics, from spirit guides, crystal healing and magick to name a few.

Through Celtic Moon I began my journey as a Bard in training and the Druid group has been very important in my studies.

The Celtic Moon big days out are a great way to get together and have fun with people who won't look at you oddly for wearing toadstool earrings or comment on why you have a Star of David necklace on (been there, got the t-shirt.)

In May of this year I attended the Celtic Moon Pagan pilgrimage which has to be one of the highlights of this year for me by far. You can read about the pilgrimage here :

http://therockabillypagan.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celtic-moon-pagan-pilgrimage-part-1.html

http://therockabillypagan.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celtic-moon-pagan-pilgrimage-part-two.html

And it was during this holiday that I was invited to join the Celtic Moon Circle as a member which means I now attend physical moot meetings with the other members and join in with sabbat celebrations and rituals.

Celtic Moon at present does not have any room in it's circle for new members, however there is plenty of room over on the website for members to join.

A few weeks ago we made a introduction video for new members to get to know who the circle members are, if you see any of us in the chat room don't be scared to say hello. We don't bite and I look forward to welcoming you to the community.

www.celticmoon.ning.com

Drum birthing and the Goddess

The last couple of days have been truly exceptional in term of unforgettable experiences.
On Friday 28th September I went to Caer Corhrain Shaminic Center to birth my very own shamanic drum.
It was a wonderful day and I met some lovely people. It was all carried out in ritual and we were all there to do the same thing regardless of the reason why.
Lynn, Jonathan and Bruce were excellent tutors, everything was at a perfect pace and my early nervousness soon evaporated.
         My drum is made from deer hide which I chose to represent and honour my lady Elen of the ways. My hide even carries the bullet hole from where the animal of course was shot. Some people might not like to be reminded that the hide was killed in such a manner but as I was making the drum and working with the hide I asked for the deers love and forgiveness and promised that her death was not in vain.
In the afternoon we were then blessed by a visit from a beautiful golden Eagle. When he flapped his wings in this picture....

A tiny part of feather got caught in my hair which I then placed in the beater head I was making. So deer and Eagle, two animals I have strong connection with coming together.

I can't recommend birthing your own drum enough. To have a tool that I have created with my own hands, that I have now got such a deep connection with does not beat (excuse the pun) buying a drum off the Internet.
    More about the shamanic development centre and Touch the Earth band and events http://www.touchtheearthuk.com/

The drum birthing group and our drums. Look how happy we are. Any one spot the orb?

Photos courtesy of Lisa Hill.

On Saturday 29th at the Mabon Celtic Moon moot I held a introduction talk about my patron Goddess Elen. You can read more about the Goddess in this blog post http://therockabillypagan.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/elen-of-ways.html
My talk was a deeply personal account of how I became aware of Elen and how she has helped transform me as a Pagan.
I then took the members of the circle on a drum journey, deep into the forest to meet with Elen and in turn blessing my own newly birthed drum. I couldn't play my drum as It was still drying at home and I have to wait a week before I can play it and get to learn it's tone and voice.
This talk turned out to be extremely emotional for me which took me completely by surprise. Before I discovered My Lady I was very lost on my path. In fact I was very close to not calling myself Pagan!
At the end of the talk I had the other members of Celtic Moon say how much they enjoyed my talk and that made it all worth it.

Photo by fellow Celtic Moon member Esther show my little altar I set up, including her lovely portrait of Elen.