Blessing Moon

July's full moon is often referred to as the Blessing Moon and it  falls within the season of our early harvests. For this, along with the symbolic harvests within our lives, we count our blessings at this time. 

Back in March, I wrote about the Storm Moon which marked the perfect time of year for inviting new influences into one's life: I particularly focussed my ritual on reaffirming my desire to make more time for a return to the creative practices of  illustration and writing. 

Hopefully these little delvings into my sketch book will show that towards tonight's Blessing Moon I will be directing thanks for the inspiration and guidance to make this seed of intention come into fruition.

We also sometimes refer to July's full moon as the Meadow Moon or 'Wort' Moon. The word 'wort' comes from the Old English 'wyrt' meaning 'plant' and is most frequently associated with herbs. 

This time of year is perfect for harvesting herbs. They have been growing in abundance over the past few months and those which flower are likely to have done so already.

Designing a ritual today around the gathering of herbs would be the perfect way to celebrate and channel the energy of July's full moon. Those which you harvest can be dried and will hopefully last through the winter.

As this year's July moon falls in Aquarius, it is heavily influenced by the Aquarian attributes of innovation, inspiration and the expanding of the mind. If you have not yet learned the healing and culinary properties of the herbs you are gathering, you could begin doing so today, making a note of what you learn. Many garden herbs make nourishing teas, so perhaps you could experiment with some infusions, and begin keeping a journal of the flavours and qualities of each. 

However you choose to spend your days and evenings, full moon blessings go to all of you.

Post-box delights

When I checked my postbox this morning I was delighted and intrigued by what I found inside...

...a delivery from a faraway land!

Somewhere mystical, where faeries dwell...

...and one such impish sprite had travelled across oceans, to ensure this little package made it to my door.

A gift of imagination and magick!

My heartfelt thanks to Faerwillow over at ~serendipity~  for this beautiful hand-made gift.

One of the wonderful things that has arisen from beginning this blog is the discovery of interesting, thoughtful and like-minded people all over the world. 

Today's blessings go to Faerwillow and her little ones - whose hands have created this pretty postbox delight - for sending it on its long journey. 

Know that it will take its resting place on my wall where it will be treasured and admired. 

School's Out for Summer!

How cheerful are these gorgeous sunflowers?

They perfectly capture my mood today. 

I have five weeks to myself.

Time in which to enjoy catching up with friends and family, completing some creative projects which have long been intended but not yet begun and - most importantly - resting and refreshing my soul before I return in September.

Joy.

Chance

Looking at this picture now, it does not seem real. 

When I flicked through a day's worth of photographs taken around the farm on Saturday, I was not expecting the flight of the swarm of swallows, swooping in the sun, to have been captured. They are so fast, dive-bombing to catch flies and gnats in the air; it is a chance blessing that the shutter of my camera moved at the precise moment to capture this one mid-soar. 

Wandering curiously into one of the barns, camera in hand, I found the purpose for their frantic flight...

A nest tucked away under the eaves, containing hungry mouths to feed.

Entirely by chance did I choose this moment to explore, and I was blessed with this reward: the opportunity to capture a beautiful aspect of nature in action. 

To ponder...

Indeed.

A new moon, an eclipse and a reflection...

Yesterday's total eclipse of the sun was only visible for those in the South Pacific and yet it was on my mind for much of the day. 

Like the ouroboros serpent - with its tail in its mouth - the new moon eclipse brought a renewed sense of the self-reflexivity and cyclical nature embedded within everything we do. 

 This time last year I was celebrating finishing my teacher training with a trip to Geneva and was vividly aware, as I acknowledged the eclipse falling while sailing on the lake, that it would bring great change to my life.

A year later and I am about to celebrate my first anniversary with B, a time tinged with sadness as it carries with it the memory of first learning that my Dad was ill. Two events coincided in my life with that eclipse and yet I believe with my whole heart that they are far from 'coincidence'. B was led into my life at a moment when the gods knew I would need him most; and so my dad could see how happy I was before he left this world.

So, yesterday's eclipse led me to a reflection on how much has changed in my life over the course of just twelve moons and where I am standing right now.

The last new moon which eclipsed the sun was six months ago and I marked it with this blog's inception.

And here I am...still writing, taking more photographs than ever (which my dad would be thrilled about) and enjoying the small rewards that each day provides me. 

Today I celebrate...

Having successfully completed my first year of teaching.

Finding a home.

Eating food that I have grown in the garden.

Loving a man for all the right reasons.

Standing on the doorstep to my future.

down---to---earth

down---to---earth, is one of my favourite blog reads and I heartily recommend to those of you who haven't yet discovered Rhonda Hetzel's daily posts, about self-sufficiency and the simple life, to take a look. 

As an aside, these photos have nothing to do with the post.

Just thought they were pretty.

When I first entered blogland a mere matter of months ago, Rhonda's was one of the first blogs I found and I have subsequently gone back and read through her archive of informative, no-nonsense writings, finding each one as refreshing and filled with common sense as the next. 

Her blog and forums provide an online community for like-minded people to share ideas, recipes and tips about living economically, simply and naturally, with care for one's environment and one's own soul along the way. Truly inspirational reading and I would definitely guide you towards her tips on budgeting and stockpiling food if, like me, any of you are trying to be a little more money-conscious!

This week she has kindly featured my contribution to her series of posts about readers' workspaces called 'This is Where I Work'. Thank you Rhonda and happy reading, folks!

A Journey into the Past

A couple of weeks ago, B and I packed our bags, prepared a summer picnic...

...and  into deepest Somerset we headed, to take a journey down the coast, on the West Somerset Railway.

Spending our day hopping merrily on and off steam trains, snapping gleefully away with the camera and revelling in a day shared together, we let ourselves be carried along on the winds and wonders of yesteryear. 

Amidst the gardens of a medieval castle sat we two, eating our picnic in the shimmering sun... 

...and as we travelled back up the tracks, with the warm afternoon light glowing through the windows of our last train, I didn't want the day to end.

Studying the wonder in B's eyes as we spied our first steam train and sharing secret smiles as we set off into the past, I realised we are on a wonderful journey into our future.