Rochester! Sweeps! Morris! Faeries! Oh my!

What a blast of a bank holiday that was!

Another Beltane has come and gone and with it the Jack in the Green's have been on parade. Last year I went to the Hasting's Jack in the Green festival but this year we decided to go along for all three days of the Sweeps festival which is a wonderful gathering of Morris dancers and some great folk bands.

On Saturday we met up with Esther and Martin to check out the faerie event that I would be exhibiting at on the Monday. Here we got to catch up with the wonderful faerie artist Linda Ravenscroft and the beautiful Bryony and Bruce Whistlecraft with their Woodland Wild elf locks stall.

In the afternoon we meet up with Celtic Moon members, Breaca, Vandrake, Midnightstar and Feena who had come all the way from Norfolk for the event. It was lovely to finally meet!

         Celtic Moon sisters. Photo from Feena and used with permission.

On the Sunday we went back to Rochester and met up with some of the Morris dancers we befriended during last years folk week and enjoy the music on offer. In the evening I got my gothic faerie gear on for a Faery rock night with some great bands including Lightwish, a Nightwish tribute act. Suffice to say I knew all the words and sang along.

Monday was an early start to the Royal Function rooms and set up my Wylde Embers stall. I have done a few stalls in my time but this was the first time under the Wylde Embers banner and I was a bit nervous on how I would be received.

I had no worries. Everyone who came to look at my stall only had kind words to say about my work and when I told them I had only just started pyrography in February they were stunned.

I made a few sells which I was really pleased with.

In the afternoon was for me the highlight of the festival, the parade. 

I have done the parade before as part of Celtic Moon but this time I was part of the faerie entourage.

Sporting wings made by the talented Twinkle. 

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TwistedTwinkle

Faeries on parade!

The weather during the weekend was glorious and I had a great time but seemed over all too quickly.

Avalon moot

On Saturday was a Celtic Moon moot long anticipated. Ever since Priestess Breaca started walking the Avalonian path we have watched in wonder as this new spiritual direction took hold of her in a very creative and positive way and last night she gave a talk with a little more insight to what she has learned in the past few months.

Breaca's passion for Avalon has been infectious but that is not hard with such a mysterious and magical place that is Glastonbury, thought to be the physical reality of the Isle of Avalon.

Through Arthurian legends Avalon is known as a sacred place, where Arthur was taken to be healed so that he will one day return to lead the people of Britain once more.

Glastonbury is a melting pot of culture and religious belief. Here the Christians pilgrimage to see the sacred thorn and the pagans come to worship the Goddess in the landscape.

My own experiences of Glastonbury cemented my belief in my path.

I first went to Glastonbury in 2009 when I was not sure where my spirituality lay. Once surrounded by the wonder that is Glastonbury, sitting next to the Chalice well and reflecting on own my beliefs I decided that I couldn't be anything but pagan. It is part of me even if I found it hard to define. Since that first trip I have been a further 4 times for various reasons and I have loved each trip.

Back in 2009 in the Chalice Well garden

In Breaca's talk she gave an overview about Glastonbury and it's sacred landscape in relation to Avalon and how it has become this amazing spiritual centre for many many faiths.

She talked about the different traditions of the Avalon path and about the Goddess aspects and how they relate to Avalon. The Avalonian path is very female centred but that is not to say that the God is ignored.

After her presentation we moved into the altar space, which was decorated beautifully with images of the Lady of Avalon and the Nine Morgans which Breaca made from clay.

We sat in a circle and were all presented with a candle and our own Lady of Avalon sculpture.

My little Lady of Avalon on my Altar.

In the circle we then went on an Avalon Immrama Journeying Meditation, lead by Breaca and I found it very very moving.

The last few weeks have been full of turmoil, sadness and disappointment but at the same time overwhelming clarification. The meditation made me put these things in to perspective and I realised that I had to learn from them otherwise what was the point.

After the Immrama we each lit our little candles with a flame from Avalon and sent love, light and healing to those who need it most. Our candles are now part of a large network of Avalon candles that are used every month as a light for peace.

This moot was a long moot. I didn't get home until 2am but it was worth it for the knowledge I have gained and the strength I received from being with my Celtic Moon sisters.

The Avalon path is something I would like to look into further and many of the things Breaca talked about last night rang true with how I feel about things, especially when it comes to the Maiden, Mother, Crone aspect of the Goddess. Technically I am no longer a maiden (as much as I like to think I am) but I am yet a mother, so where do I fit?

Breaca wrote a blog post about the nine Morgans which you can read here: http://blackcatsandbroomsticks.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/the-nine-morgens-of-avalon/

Where do you fit? Are you Maiden, lover, mother or crones?

Lover here. ;)

I would highly recommend reading Breaca's blog to learn more about the Avalon path or wait to read her book which will be a fascinating read when it is published.

Links:
http://www.kathyjones.co.uk/- Main author of the Pristess of Avalon
http://www.goddesstemple.co.uk/- Goddess Temple in Glastonbury
http://www.awakeningavalon.com/

Celtic moon pagan project: Shamanism

In my last blog post I mentioned that Celtic Moon circle members have been asked to undertake a personal project and I have chosen Shamanism.


Why Shamanism?

I don't want to be a shaman, someone who heals others by retriving their lost souls from the otherworld (one definition) but I want to know about shamanic practices which have always fascinated me yet at the same time scared me too. I have never used drugs to induce spiritual visions or wish to but I can not help be curious about it.

So what am I hoping to achieve during this project?
Discovering what being a shaman means, in history and in modern day society.
Shamans in different cultures- Africa, Sami, Native America and other First Nation countries.
Celtic Shamanism- Druidry?
Riding the Shaman's horse - power of drumming.
Power animals
Shamanism in art

What shamanism means to me.
As a teenager I had an interest in Native American culture. At school I learnt about different tribes and their beliefs. This was a catalyst for me to look at Native American art and I fell in love with the animal carvings of the Coast Salish tribes.
Anyone who knew me at school knew I loved whales and dolphins and so the stylised killer whales of Salish art captured my imagination.

A project at secondary school where I made a totem pole.

After this time I began looking at paganism and witchcraft but the draw of the spiritual path of the Native Americans did not leave me.

Little coincidences started happening. When I met my boyfriend he was dressed as a 'Native American Indian'. I had a psychic reading in which I was told I had a spirit guide of a maiden Native American (doesn't everyone?) I liked listening to music inspired by the chants and drums of the tribes. However it was not until I birthed my own shamanic drum when I decided that I would look deeper into shamanism.
I started to attended open drum circles and on hearing the beats of the drums could go on journeys far better than any meditation I have tried (which frankly I am rubbish at as my mind is way too busy.)

When my priestess Breaca set us the pagan project to do from now until November I immediately knew what I wanted to study. Having studied the Bardic grade of Druidry and feeling that the next step of the course, the Ovate grade sound much more like what I wanted to learn to begin with; tree lore, sharp shifting, earth mysteries, etc, I concluded that Druidry is a Celtic Shamanism and my next step should be to look at Shamanism on a much wider scale.

My patron Goddess Elen to me is much more shamanistic in nature than most Goddess I have come across. The reindeer herders of the Sami people also have shamans and although Elen is not mentioned in their culture there are many aspects of their beliefs that ring true with how I feel about Elen.

There is something about shamanism, how it has been portrayed in film, books and games which does make me reluctant on how far I should go with my studying. Most of the practices I am interested in are very difficult to do as someone who house shares with other and already find my collection of antlers 'a bit weird'. How are they going to react when I tell them I am going to fast for three days, lick a mushroom and go on a vision quest?

This journey can't be all consuming as much as I would love it too be as I have commitments in the mundane that must be kept in order for me to survive and to keep a healthy relationship with friends, family and my partner.
So my studying will involve reading, taking part in drumming circles, performing ritual and other forms of exploration which won't see me jumping on a plane to find a mentor halfway across the world and call myself Orca Moon.... Mores the pity.

My beloved drum.

The Rockabilly Pagan blog is One today!

A year ago today I set up my new blog.

My aim for this blog was to be somewhere I could share things that are important to me  and that I found interesting, hoping that others would find it interesting too. Well it turns out that you do!

On my many travels to events people have come up and said how they follow my blog and on twitter and facebook and enjoy my blog post! 

So I say thank you to all my readers, new and old and here is to another year of blogging!

Wylde Embers

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts of late. Had a lot of personal issues to sort out over the last couple of weeks.

I have also been keeping busy doing my pyrography. I have now created a Facebook page for my wood burning which I have called Wylde Embers.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wylde-Embers-Pyrography/502518209783842

I have created several boxes including a Elen of the ways box and a Avalon tarot box for Zee.

Elen of the ways box featuring a doe. 

Zee asked for a box to keep her Avalon oracle cards safe and asked that it included images associated with Avalon.

I got busy sketching out some ideas on paper which I then drew on to the box. As I worked more ideas for images came to mind and the box turned out to be one of the easiest designs I had made. I look forward to next weekends moot when I can give it to her.

This was based on a image her husband took of her greeting the sunrise.

Have also been creating totem key rings and I made a key ring for one of my work colleagues of his pet dog Diesel.

I have been a digital artist for over ten years, I love creating art in this medium but I had a hard time explaining to others how the images are created. With pyrography nothing needs to be explained. You can easily tell that all the markings have been created using a hot tool.

Everyone seems to really like my new art medium and I am loving my new craft. You can find me busy burning designs almost every day and I am getting commissions.

One such commission was for a key ring featuring a antlered goddess form and a copy of a box I had already made but had sold before.

Also I have been busy studying for my Celtic Moon pagan project. The purpose of the project is to dedicate time to explore our spirituality and perhaps look at other paths that perhaps have always intrigued us but never been more than a passing interest.

For me I have chosen to look at shamanism in it's many disguises but mostly the use of drums in shamanism. I will explain this further in a future blog post.

Until next time!

Moots, friendship, drumming and pyrography!

The weekend just gone was very busy for me.

One of our Celtic Moon sisters, Fawn, was back in the UK after being away since the Pagan Pilgrimage last year!

After work on Saturday I went to pick up Fawn from the train station and then we were off to Dartford to see the rest of the Celtic Moon clan for a social get together.

Also when I arrived at Breaca's home she told me she had a surprise for me which turned out to be a beautiful sculpture of my patron Goddess Elen playing a drum. I absolutely adore it!

Photo by Breaca.

Afterward the meet up I drove back home and Fawn stayed the night with me as she needed to go back to Canterbury and I was headed there the next day because of work. Plus she got to meet Keijo!

With the lovely Fawn

The Celtic moon circle all together 

The next day I dropped Fawn off in Canterbury although I couldn't say goodbye very well so I will say it here.

It was lovely to see you again Fawn. Good luck for the next stage of your journey and see you again later in the year. Xx

On Sunday night it was a trip over the Dartford bridge for the Celtic Moon Grove moot at Esther and Martin's abode. A lovely relaxing evening followed with chat, yummy soup and discussion about the future. Rather than drive home that night I decided to stay and enjoy E and M's company a little bit longer.

On Monday we went into town to trawl the charity shops and picked up some amazing bargains, including this little guy, who I just fell in love with and couldn't leave behind!

He is hand carved out of Meadswood from New Zealand and at a pound he was a steal! 

Then Esther took me to the QD store and to the aisle which contained lots and lots of plain wooden boxes, perfect for pyrography. I almost brought their whole stock!

That afternoon I showed Violetstar the joys of pyrography and being a talented artist she took to it straight away.

That evening I went along to the Southend Dolmen grove moot and Imbolc ritual.

This was a lovely gathering of souls which also included a talk on natural dentistry and a raffle. I didn't win anything from the raffle but I did put in one of my pyrography key rings as a prize which someone won and said they really liked it. 

At the end of the night we gathered in a circle to do some drumming which I really enjoyed and once the beat picked up and I felt it I began chanting. I wasn't expecting to do so but because I have been attending the Shamanic drumming circles over on the Isle of Sheppey where shamanic drumming includes chanting I just couldn't help it. 

When the drums quietened and came to a stop I was surprised that people actually thanked me for doing the chanting!

As it was quite late one I was invited stay over another night with the lovely Esther and Martin.

The next day saw us going back to QD's to get more wooden boxes and doing more pyrography.

A lesson in pyrography. Photo by Esther.

Day like these don't come around often but I love it when they do!

More fun with pyrography

Blessings of Imbolc to you all. Finally we are seeing the light lasting that little bit longer each day and the first stirrings of green shoots can been seen in the brown earth.

The past week has been quite hard for me as one of the members of my family is quite ill in hospital and we are unsure at the moment for their future.

I have been keeping myself busy of late with my pyrography. Since I last posted about it I have been bust practising the craft on paper, wood and leather.

here is a selection of what I have burnt so far:

Lady of Avalon and Badger keyring

keijo our dog

Dia De Los Muertos 

  

 Mountain Lion and cub with a work in progress showing sketch, outline, shading, shadows and finish.

Thor's hammer

Taking photos of pyrography is turning out to be quite difficult and they look better in the flesh.

I am loving this new craft and have many requests for designs which I look forward to starting on. I am currently waiting for some small plain wooden chests to arrive that I plan to decorate.