Hecate

As I flicked the page of  my Witches'  calendar over to November this morning, I was eager to read about this month, it said " there is just something about the month of November.  It is more personal, inrtrospective, and in some ways quietly creepy and mystical.  November brings chilly, misty mornings with a rim of frost on leaves and windows.  Winter is coming, and the gardens are soon to be put to bed.  Now more than ever, the Crone aspect of the Goddess seems to be everywhere as you look across the frosty and foggy landscape.  This magickal time of the year has always felt like the season of Hecate to me.  As a triple goddess, Hecate is typically represented in ancient art in triplicate form, all three-way crossroads were sacred to her.  The classic symbols associated with Hecate are the crossroads, graveyards, a lit torch, iron keys and black dogs."

This November 1st was certainly a misty day with plenty of foggy landscapes:

A foggy landscape looking towards Granny's Bay

I spent a little time selecting images from Pinterest representing Hecate to help connect and work with her as the wheel of the year rolls towards the season of winter.

The Goddess Hecate is also known as the liberator of women, as she sets women free from the bonds created by man.  That is why the Christian Church put Hecate down and created her as the Goddess of evil and destruction.  During Medieval times, pagans were being tortured based on their belief in the Goddess.  Patriarchy reigned and the fear of feminine power caused the Church to demonize Hecate.  She was made infamous as the crone; old, wrinkled, ugly, warts protruding from her nose and chin, mysterious, dark and loathsome. Not only was this Goddesss demonized, but  Priests and ministers used biblical warnings about witches to back up their beliefs against witchcraft and sorcery. 

It is sad to read that even in today's society in  African countries like the Gambia and the Congo, witch hunts continue to this day, with children singled out for persecution in some cases.

A couple of months ago I came across a link to a you tube film about the healing power of the whispering witches in Poland, which is fascinating:

Envelope Art

Inspired by an illustration on Pinterest, I thought I would have a  go at a little bit of envelope art.

I'm not great at drawing figures but I enjoyed doing this, it has a Secret Seven feel about it which makes me smile.

I found a few more examples of envelope art:

Wouldn't it be nice if all our post arrived in such beautiful illustrated envelopes?

April Love 2015

I've been participating in a programme this month run by Susannah Conway called April Love.

The theme of the challenge, is LOVE — love for ourselves, our lives, the world around us. LOVE expressed in gratitude and kindness.

If you’re ready to infuse a little more love into your life there are two ways you can play:
PART ONE: the Photo Challenge
The first part of April LOVE is the photo challenge, the prompts are an invitation to take a photo every day in April. You can use any camera. You could shoot every day or every other day or just on weekends. You can share your photos or just enjoy taking them without sharing. You can start and not finish. You can join in at the end.

PART TWO: the Daily Emails

 28 luminous women and one luminous man to share their tales of what self love/self care means to them personally and how they practice it in their own lives. These emails are a bit of extra inspiration for us to enjoy and ponder alongside the photo-taking.

Here are a  few of the photo prompts I have taken so far:


 Day 15: Yellow

Day 17 - A Life-Changing Book

Day 22 - Spring/Autumn

Magnolia

Sweet pink & white buds

gently open and unfold

for you I have waited

your beauty is fleeting

and my heart has melted