MOON Gemini SUN Gemini

I have been lucky enough to be inspired again by Michelle Duke & her magickal herb mixes to develop a Dark Moon Rite that will connect me more intimately with my Fae-self, harnessing the energy of Gemini to explore integration of opposing forces within myself & release me into a more natural & magickal state. The artwork in the photograph above is by Justin Balmain. I will be performing this rite on Wednesday night the 28th of May at the Witching Hour (AEST).

Gather into your sacred space the following dried herbs in 4 separate dishes…

Lavender & Sage

Bay & Dragon’s Blood

Skullcap & Thyme

Mugwort & Vervain

You will also need 4 incense coals in 4 heat proof dishes, a green candle in an appropriate holder & a cup of warm water with a teaspoon of Poppyseeds steeping in it. If you are unable to ingest Poppyseeds then substitute with a herbal tea of your choice. A journal or paper, & a pen will also be required.

Face East, light your incense coal & add the lavender & sage. Send out your prayers to the Keepers there & sit quietly in contemplation of Air… of your Mind… of your Thoughts… of your Memories… Search for any imbalance in this area & decide where you can support a more balanced Mental Body. Write these instructions down.

Face North, light your incense coal & add the bay & dragon’s blood. Send out your prayers to the Keepers there & sit quietly in contemplation of Fire… of your Spirit… of your Crafts… of your Desires… Search for any imbalance in this area & decide where you can support a more balanced Spiritual Body. Write these instructions down.

Face West, light your incense coal & add the skullcap & thyme. Send out your prayers to the Keepers there & sit quietly in contemplation of Water… of your Heart… of your Wellbeing… of your Cycles… Search for any imbalance in this area & decide where you can support a more balanced Emotional Body. Write these instructions down.

Face South, light your incense coal & add the mugwort & vervain. Send out your prayers to the Keepers there & sit quietly in contemplation of Earth… of your Body… of your Health… of your Possessions… Search for any imbalance in this area & decide where you can support a more balanced Physical Body. Write these instructions down.

Move to the center, light the candle, drink the poppyseed elixir & prepare for an internal journey…

Find yourself in a Forest, take in all that you see & become one with the space you are in. Search for tracks or signs that will lead you to the nearest Fae community. When you arrive, ask for permission to meet with someone, giving your own name. When you are together be guided by your Fae Self, be open to sharing intimate thoughts & feelings, especially the ones that came up during the beginning of this rite. Let this interaction be natural & organic. When you are ready, be sure to give thanks. Return & record your experience in your journal straight away.

Release your circle in the way that you feel most comfortable.

Snuff out the candle & relight at any time that you can revisit the words you wrote during this rite, checking in to see how you are progressing.

Toss the incense dust to the winds as soon as you can.

)O(

MOON Aquarius SUN Leo

Full Moon meditation

As the Sun will be moving into Leo at 1:57am AEST & the Moon into Aquarius at 4:08am AEST Tuesday the 28th, I will be performing this meditation at Moon rise tomorrow.

Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit for the duration of this meditation.

Light a candle, burn incense, create an altar, do whatever your process is to get into the head space for meditation. Say the name Etain (pronounced Ay-deen) three times taking three breaths between each annunciation.

Begin in your Power Place, explore & ensure that it is your perfect space for you in that moment. Then take a journey along a path with the intention of meeting Etain, the Shining One.

When you find Her, She is going to illuminate the parts of you that are rising with the growth of this past solstice/super moon/water trine/retrograde period. So much wisdom that has been developing within you in a whirl of life experience & mental processing. Etain will show you how to ride this into a balanced whole from which your next journey can begin. Allow Her to guide you without any preconceived idea of how that will happen, put your trust in Her as she works with you.

When She bids you farewell, be sure to offer Her thanks & head back to your Power Place. Spend some time thinking back over your experience before coming back into your body.

Write your experience down & revisit these words after a day or two has passed.

)O(

MOON Gemini SUN Pisces

There is something so gracious about the fabric of this place, this world & its many folds  & the delicate openings to other realms…

Today while I was walking I was swollen with gratitude for the peace & leisure which I can carry as I wonder around my inner city suburb. Quietly leading my littlest one as my Faekin from across the fabric leave me gifts & clues & flirts along my path, above me, inside of me. Ah, I am truly blessed!

My greatest messenger today was the Sulfur Crested Cockatoo, reminding me that I have the clarity & the vision to see my Way & all that I ever want is there for the taking if I can hold no fear in my heart. And so I set to work clearing the fear, forgiving myself & letting go.

Blessings on your journey.

)O(

MOON Pisces SUN Scorpio

Tomorrow Father Sun begins travelling with Sagittarius, an exhilarating time in my family due to families coming together & children finishing school for the year & the warm weather encouraging much outdoor activity.

I went for a Mountain drive with a dear friend yesterday & was reminded of the potency of Universal language flowing through ALL of Creation. My messengers in the Eastern Mountains were Raven, Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo, Kookaburra, White-tailed Black Cockatoo, Rosella & Willy Wagtail as well as Mint, Oak, Patchouli & Fern Tree. Much to ponder today…

In preparing for the Litha Picnic on the evening of the 21st I will be drawing on these allies for guidance & support. This festival always holds me to the story of the Fae king & queen coming together. Solstice is a wonderful time to take a good look at both horizons without one dominating the other. It is within this balance that clarity & purpose can be harnessed & set into action for the next cycle.

)O(

Tribes Woman of The Hedge Realm Part 2

This is a sacred time… Moving towards Dark Moon in Gemini, of which there are two this year… The Eclipse only hours away… The harvest is in & the cold winds are rising… The Fae Gate stands invitingly open every which way I turn… I love this time of year.

Memories abound of my life as a childhood Princess, called often Alison Maria Angel Chicken Plum Pek-pek Bramich by my Father. He placed us on 20 acres of farming land at the Northern end of The Great Dividing Range. Our land was always home to many animals, both domestic & wild. We grew our own food, or our neighbours did. The Land & the Animal Kingdom held us in a rhythm that has never truly left me. It was in this magickal place that Mother Earth began showing me things…

The communication between animals was the first discovery I remember, a discovery that felt more like a distant memory than something new. I would look deep into the eyes of the cows or the kangaroos or the dogs or the fish, whatever would hold still long enough to be able to commune with me. I would hold their gaze & think really hard about something then gauge their reaction. I surprised myself with the thoughts I would muster, not always in a good way. Never the less, the animals always reacted, in varying degrees. Dogs spoke back very clearly into my mind (I actually thought it was out loud but their mouths didn’t move- I was totally fascinated). Cows sent me feelings that reminded me of when my Mother gave me a hug. I even tried my Mind-Speak method with bugs!

It was an amazing time. I learned a lot about myself during this process. This was before I began school; I must have been 3-4 years old. I remember thinking about the way the animals reacted to me & wondering what that meant about me. Why did the cow make me feel that way even though we ate cow meat? How could the dog trust me so much? The Animal Kingdom was seeing me as something way more loveable, trustworthy &powerful than I thought could be. So, I tried to raise myself to the challenge! There was one time when we were out assisting with the birthing of a calf & the mother was having a lot of trouble. I thought of how the cows usually made me feel & so I put my hand on her flank & sent that feeling through my hand & into the cow. Her breathing changed & the noises began to subside. Before long the calf was born in a flood of fluid & legs. I will never forget that moment. Since then I have been very comfortable about using Mind-Speak with my cousins from the Animal Kingdom.

It was different with the birds. We had so many birds! My Father had aviaries filled with dozens of rare, probably illegal, Feathered Beings. I was a little older when I started trying to understand what they were always chattering about. I began with learning their calls, both the wild birds & the ones in the aviaries. I don’t know nearly as many any more, but there was a time when I had quite a store of bird calls in my memory bank. Then I started listening to the way they communicated between each other, both within a species & between differing species. Birds are quite the social creatures! They seemed to be always discussing where food was abundant, what predators were around, what the territorial balance was…So organised are the Feathered Beings!

When I was about 6 years old I saw a Silver Crow. I ran about telling everyone I knew but alas, no-one was excited, barley anyone believed me! It was after this that the Fae Gate opened for the first time to let me re-enter the Faery Realms. I was playing in The Creek, an amazing sculpture of white, orange, red & brown clay surrounded by scrub. The bubbling water spoke to me & announced that I was required to make preparations for the King & Queen of the Faery Realm were on their way. Well, you can imagine my excitement! I enlisted the girl from next door to assist with the building of little houses & boats & carriages & gardens & swimming pools & food & drinks for the special guests. We worked whenever we could get away from our chores & family obligations for months on end! The outcome was magnificent, of course, & when the Royalty arrived, we were proclaimed honorary members of the Royal Court & given the title of Princess until further notice. My Dreaming at this time was very much based in the Fae Realm & I spent hours exploring the wonders that lay beyond the Fae Gate.

When I began school, the play area I was drawn to was rows of Pine Trees, probably about 4 rows with 20 trees in each. The trees were magnificent, old, wise Standing People. I would make things out of the carpet of dried pine needles that lay at their feet & occasionally they would speak to me. I would feel the air quiver & that would be my invitation to put my ear against the trunk of nearest tree & listen. Often I would be standing there for quite some time before I was given any message. The main theme behind these messages was about local environmental issues or misuse of animals or abuse of children. I know, heavy right?!! But in my childish way, I did what I could. I told people how bad it was that trees were being cut down to make more houses & that there were already enough trees that had to leave this place because of all the farms. I told people how the Ingham Chicken Factory next to our school had too many chickens in the sheds & they had no feathers, which meant they were really sick. I also stopped telling on the naughty girl because I knew that her life at home was terrifying. Instead I became her friend so she could have sleep overs at my place & not have to be at home as much. She was really mean to me, but I was OK with that. Through all of this, my wise council of Standing People kept me strong & clear & sure about myself.

I was really blessed to be able to grow & learn among the creatures & beings of the Land for they compliment the teachings of the Father & the Mother & the Society. Being in a family with 4 kids, in a time when you could let your kids play on the street, in a place surrounded by friendly neighbours meant that I was often given the freedom to explore the other realms that exist among us without being held back or questioned or ridiculed. This means that these other realms became such a deep part of me, of my perception of this world. In the 30 years that have transpired since this time, I have always had access to these places because I was never told with enough force that they don’t exist.

This is the childhood that I asked to receive me & assist me to become the person that I am to be. Everything that I needed was there for me, in many forms with many messages to guide me along my true path.

Thank you for hearing my truth. There is more to come!

)O(