August 2026
Dates for your Diary: Moons – Full: Corn Moon: 28th
No workshops in August, but keep checking New: 12th (also Solar eclipse)
for exciting, new collaborative events and
don’t forget bespoke workshops can be
arranged for small groups.
Global warming has reached new levels this year but we can all do our bit for our communities . Use the car less when possible,use “grey water” on the garden (from bath or washing up), take shorter showers,avoid using disposable barbeques when out and about and don’t leave litter. Broken glass can cause fires on sunny days as well as lead to injuries. Remeber to have your quartz points point out from your house if you have them on the window sill, they can act like a magnifying glass!
If you have an outdoor space why not leave a bowl of water for the wildlife but make sure there’s a large stone in the bowl so small creaures don’t drown. A saucer of water with small pebbles or marbles in will be much appreciated by bees and other insects. All life on Earth is connected and interdependent in some way, and we don’t have supremacy over others or their needs. Every life is precious and shoud be respected if we are not to become the victims of the 6th great extinction!
The grass will grow green again and the reservoirs refill but we must be mindful of the consequences of our actions, thoughts and words . The Dali Lama said ” Your mind creates your world” and, as all energy workers know, where thought goes energy flows, so lets put out positivity and a vision of a world where greed and fear gives way to harmony and co-operation, and all life can thrive.
So mote it be!
Recipe of the Month
Strawberry and Rhubarb Pie
Shortcrust pastry( butter crust is best) If making your own add tsp finely grated orange
500g/18oz Chopped rhubarb
500g/18oz washed and cut strawberries
3oog/10oz beet sugar
1tbspn plain flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 220c/200 fan/gas 7 and butter a pie dish. Mix rhubarb, strawberries, flour, cinnamon and vanilla in a large bowl. Line pie dish with pastry reserving some in fridge for lattice top. Pour in filling, dot with butter and use remaining dough, cut into strips, to make lattice top.Brush with egg for a golden finish and crimp some foil around rim to stop it burning.
Bake for 15 mins. then reduce heat to 190c/170 fan/gas 5, for a further 45 mins.
Thanks to “Leaping Hare Almanac” for the recipe
Crystal of the month
Peridot
A protective stone for the aura and a powerful cleanser. It opens, cleanses and activates the heart and solar plexus chakras and releases “old baggage”. This stone helps you to understand your destinyand spiritual purpose and is especially helpful for healers. Also useful in alleviating negative emotions and reducing stress.It aids confidence and and helps you to be assertive without aggression.Psychologically it aids clarity and well-being and is attuned to the attainment of spiritual truth and also regulating life’s cycles.The stone’s gift is to help you admit mistakes and move on, taking responsibility for your own life, and it also helps improve difficult relationships.
In healing it has a tonic effect, healing and regenerating tissues,strengthening the metabolism,and is beneficial for the skin.Peridot aids the heart, thymus, lungs, gall bladder, spleen, intestinal tract, ulcers and stregthens the eyes. Placed on the abdomenit is said to aid childbirth by strengthening contractions and easing pain. in addition, it helps balance bipolar disorders and overcome hypochondria.
“The Crystal Bible”- Judy Hall
July 2026
Soon we’ll be celebrating Lammas, or Lughnasadh. The latter is the Celtic name for the festival and means “mourning” or “remembering” Lugh, the Sun God who sacrifices himself for the sake of the harvest. Lammas or Loaf Mass (Hlaefmass in Saxon),is the celebration/ thanksgiving for bread: The First Harvest or Firstfruits. In times past, when the wheat was cut by hand, workers would be organised into a gang. In some places the worker in charge was called the “lord” or “Mylord”and the second in command would be addressed as “Lady”. Maybe this custom was a throwback to more ancient times when the Lord and Lady of the harvest represented the Goddess and the God.
In Saxon times the flour from the first sheath was baked into loaves and used as thanksgiving offerings for the coming harvest.With the advent of Christianity the bread would be blessed in church before being distributed to the poor. The Celts, on the other hand, would celebrate Lughnasadh with games in honour of Lugh, with horse racing,athletics and trials of strength which brought communities together and ensured peace over the coming months.
Today we can mark the festival outdoors, noticing the signs of change: ripening berries, dry grasses, seeds taking flight and the harvest being gathered in with the same mixture of hope and thankfulnesss as our ancestors had. This is a time to reflect on which of our seeds has come to fruition, which needs more time and effort and which need to be released, like the chaff, from the threshing floor. It’s also good to reflect on our blessings and on how we can share our gifts with the wider community, after all the Sun makes the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our nourishment !
ref: The Wheel of the Wiccan Year-Gail Duff
Recipe of the Month
Raspberry Syrup
400g fresh or frozen raspberries
300g Caster sugar
1/4 tsp citric acid
Smallish lidded bottles or Kilner bottles
Rinse berries in cold water and drain well. Place in pan with 400mls water and the caster sugar, and bring to boil. Reduce heat and add citric acid, simmer for about 15 mins. until soft, then mash with potato masher.Cool then strain through sieve into sterilised bottles.
Store in a cool dark place and use within 3 months.It can be diluted and used as a cordial or used as a topper for icecream or desserts.
Ref:Urban Wild- Helen Rook
Crystal of the Month
Ruby
A stone imparting energy and vigour. It energises and balances but may be over-stimulating for sensitve people. It improves motivation and realistic goal setting.Ruby stimulates the heart chakra and encourages you to follow your bliss. A powerful shield against psychic vampirism and attack. Promotes positive dreamsand clear visualisations, it also stimulates the pineal gland and aids abundance and retaining wealth and passion. Ruby promotes dynamic leadership and transmutes negative energies.
Mentally it promotes a positive and courageous stae of mind and under it’s influence the mind is sharp with heightened awareness and concentration. Although it imparts potency and vigour, conversely it can calm hyperactivity. As a healer it detoxifies body, blood and lymph, treats fevers and infectious diseases and is also beneficial for the heart and ciculatory system. It acts as a stimulent on the kidneys, adrenals, reproductive organs and spleen.
ref: The Crystal Bible- Judy Hall
June 2026
The Summer Solstice and Litha festival on the 21st of this month is the mid-point of the wheel’s year. The sun, for a few days before and after the solstice, seems to stand still at it’s highest point. Vitality, abundance and fecundity are bursting out all over this part of the world and so this is another opportunity for gratitude and celebration, a dancing day! It’s the longest day of the year and the days slowly start to shorten from here until the winter solstice brings the sun’s return.
In days gone by bonfires were lit on hill tops and sweet smelling herbs burnt whilst cattle were driven through the smoke ( and ailing humans) for healing and good health. The “need” fire was leapt by those wishing to shed bad luck and to ensure abundance and fertility for both land and people. Midsummer Eve; a magical, liminal time when the “fair-folk” would emerge from the hollow hills to make merry and farmers would circle around their arable fields three times, with lighted torches, to celebrate the coming harvest and give thanks to the Earth for her bounty. Many towns and villages would hold processions and a boat might be wheeled through the town, symbolic of the Earth’s womb and the journey to the inner world as the outer expansive energy wanes and the inner energy grows. This is the origin of the carnival floats we see today at festivals.
It’s time to celebrate “who you are and what you have, to reflect on what you’ve achieved/manifested”
(Glennie Kindred “Sacred Earth Celebrations”) .
Dance, sing, drum, feast and make merry. Share the season’s bounty, spread the love and don’t forget to offer thanks to Mother Earth.
Recipe of the Month
Rose Gin
Fresh or dried fragrant rose petals collected on Solstice morning ( be sure to collect well away from busy roads and above dog-pee height).
A wide-necked jar or jug
Gin (best without botanicals already added}
Sugar to suit taste
Sterilised bottle
Pink or red petals are best and you could freeze some into ice cubes to garnsh your drink.Place petals into jar and cover with gin. Leave for 24 hours to infuse with fragrance ( no longer than 2 or 3 days or it will taste bitter). Strain the liquid into a bottle and add sugar. Simples!
( Urban Wild” Helen Rook)
Crystal of the Month
Chalcedony
A nurturing stone that promotes good will and enhances group stability. It can assist through transition and enhance telepathy.absorbs and dissipatesnegative energy. Chalices were made with chalcedony and lined with silver to prevent poisoning.
It brings mind, body and spirit into harmony and transforms sadness into joy.As a healing crystal it’s a powerful cleanser and is also said to increase lactation.It is also useful in improving mineral absorbtion and combating combating mineral build up in veins.In addition it is said to lessen the effects of dementia.
Chalcedony increases physical energy, heals the eyes, gall bladder, bones,spleen blood and circulatory system. The various colours give it additional properties.
(“The Crystal Bible”-Judy Hall)
May 2026
Dates for your Diary: Moons:
1st May: Beltane Full Moon; 1st (Flower Moon)
16th: Guardian Angel workshop New Moon; 16th
23rd: Reiki 1 workshop
30th: Wyrd in the Woods
Hurray, the merry monh of May is upon us, commencing with the festival of Beltane on the 1st…and it’s a full moon! There will be mayhem and madness. It’s a festival of fire, frolic and fertility. Nature is at full throttle, sap rising, everything bursting with fertility and the earth’s energy at it’s most potent. The Goddess and the Green Man are symbolic of the union of the male and female energies and this month is prime time for hand-fastings.
This high-energy vibe is a good time for putting plans and visions into action. As at Samhain, the veil betweeen worlds is thin, esecially at the crepuscular hours of dawn and dusk. Traditionally Beltane was the time for sleeping outdoors, especially in sacred places like holy wells and healing springs and also to jump the Beltane fire to ensure fertility in the coming months. Maypole dancing is a thinly disguised salute to the act of union, the phallic pole penetrating the ring of flowers to which the ribbons are tied.
Before we get carried away with the passion and frenzy of it all lets pause and consider how we could use all this potent energy to spread community, tolerance and love. Keep your thoughts positive – it’s your mind that creates your world – don’t let fear divide us. Love is the only reality all else is illusion and delusion.
NOW – get on with the fire jumping and making love under the full moon!
Enjoy
Recipe of the Month
Hand-fasting cake
Heat oven to 180c/350F/ gas mark 4.
125g/4oz butter
180g/6oz sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp rose water
4 eggs
180g/6oz self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Icing sugar
2 tbsp. rose petals
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Add honeyand rose water and mix in well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sieve and fold in the flour and baking powder and place mixture in a greased and lined baking tin.Bake in preheated oven for about an hour, let cake cool before removing from tin.
For the topping: mix icing sugar and rose water to a loose, pouring consistancy. Cover cake with icing and scatter with fresh or crystalised petals whilst icing is wet.
(The Kitchen Witch – Soraya)
Crystal of the Month
Emerald
A stone of inspiration and infinite patience, the stone of successful love. It enhances unity, unconditional love, partnership and friendship.A change in colour is said to signal infidelity.
Emerald calms the emotions and opens the heart chakra, it restores equilibrium and eliminates negativity.It enhances psychic abilities and was said to protect from enchantment. A stone of regeneration and recovery, it can heal negative motions and enhance the ability to enjoy life. It may be helpful for claustophobics. This crystal imparts mental clarity, strengthens the memory and broadens vision and also stimulates cooperation and understanding. Physically it aids recovery after infection, treats the sinuses, lungs, heart, spine and muscles and detoxifies the liver. Emerald alleviates rheumatism and diabetes. It is said it’s green ray can assist healing of malignant conditions. N/B Do not wear constantly as it can trigger negative emotions.
(The Crystal Bible – Judy Hall)
April 2026
Dates for your diary: Moons:
17th- Reiki share Full-1st (Wind Moon)
18th/19th- Reiki level 2 New:17th
27th-30th: Anglesey Retreat with Lorraine Keeling
April: all lambs and spring flowers! No sabbats this month but it’s joyous Beltain on 1st May. It’s a busy month,blink and you’ve missed it, so take a breath and get outdoors. The lenghthening days give us the opportunity to reconnect with nature and the earth, too much walking on paving and working indoors can leave us ungrounded and scattered,the warmer weather should entice out to enjoy the new life all around us.
A new cycle beginning and time to clear away the old patterns and baggage and welcome in the new energy.That’s what spring cleaning is all about! Here’s a little spell to help wash away the old and welcome in the new:
You will need a bowl of hot water
1 lemon quartered,
3drops rosemary or lavender essential oil,
A handful of sea salt
Draw the Reiki power symbol over the bowl and say…”Cleanse and bless this home and hearth, drive away all harm and fear. Only good shall enter here!” Wash the front and back door frames as you continue to chant the spell (in your head if neighbours are watching). When completed say :” so mote it be” and don’t forget to thank your unseen helpers.
Brightest Blessings
Recipe of the Month
Spring Brushchetta
(Serves 6) 3 tbsp good olive oil
6 slices of sourdough
a couple of handfuls of fresh peas (about 7oz)
150g soft goats cheese ( if you can find a soft goat)
3xtbsp marmalade
Pea shoots (optional)
Brush bread on both sides with a little of the oil and place on a hot griddle for a few minutes on both sides until you get those charred lines beloved by chefs. You can use your barbeque for this but if using the toaster omit the oil.Cook the peas for a few minutes in boiling water and drain. place the bread on a tray and spread with goat’s cheese then pile the peas on top. Make the dressing in a small bowl by whisking the remaining oil with the marmalade and any seasoning you require, you will need just a drop of water to thin the mixture. Drizzle the dressing over the brushchetta and garnish with pea shoots.
Crystal of the month
Moonstone
Stone of new beginnings and strongly connected to the moon’s energy, it reminds us of natural cycles and rythms. Moonstone calms the emotions and encourages lucid dreaming. It is the perfect antidote to the excessively macho man or overly aggressive woman. This stone smooths emotional instability and stress, and stabilises the emotions, healing disorders of the upper digestive tract that are related to stress.
Physically it is also beneficial for PMS, balances the hormonal system and stabilises fluid imbalances. Moonstone is excellent for all stages of pregnancy, from conception to birth, and breastfeeding. Also, it is beneficial for degenerative conditions of the hair, skin, eyes, liver and pancreas. As elixir it may be helpful for insomnia and sleepwalking.
from : The Crystal Bible- Judy hall
Why not come to one of my workshops and learn how to prepare a gem elixir (and room sprays) . Check out the workshop pages for more information.
March 2026
Dates for your diary: Moons:
Ostara – 20th Full Moon: 3rd “Storm”
Crystal Connections-21st New: 18th
Lunar eclipse : 3rd
Celtic tree month: Alder-18th
Lengthening days and welcome warmth – we celebrate Ostara on the 20th March ( my grandson Willow’s birthday) and bring in the Spring! This is the vernal equinox and balance is one of the festival’s themes. Equal hours of light and darkness, female and male energy, inner and outer worlds, equilibrium at so many levels. Our times seem to have lost the balance and the inequality in so many areas of life has left us fearful and anxious and often in such times we seek something /someone to blame. This leads to dark places in the history of humanity: persecution of minorities, intolerance and the rise of repression, violence and extremism. Ostara presents an opportunity to redress the balance and restore a fair and compassionate society of equals, working together harmoniously for the common good.
The goddess Oestre is the archetype of renewal. The triple goddess in her maiden form is often depicted adorned in spring flowers, carrying a basket of eggs and accompanied by her hare. The egg is widely recognised in many cultures ar a symbol of new life, fertility and potential. Ostara is the origin of many of our Easter traditions ( chocolate eggs and bunnies for example) and even of the name Easter. We derive the words oestrus and oestogen from this Germanic goddess of fertility’s name too.This phase of her cycle is the time of her union with the lusty young god which brings fertility and life to the natural world.
It’s not all eggs and rabbits though, dragon energy was also celebrated at the equinoxes. Interestingly St Michael was the Christian church’s dragon slayer and many St Michael’s churches are built over pagan sites on hill tops, like our own parish church in Macclesfield. At Glastonbury “Dragon Day” is celebrated with drumming and processing the red and white dragons through the town to the tor for a special gathering to celebrate the energy.
Enjoy this celebration of Spring in your own special way. Roll those painted eggs, dance with dragons, fly your kite in the March wind and run with the mad hares. It’s time to hatch your plans, sow those seeds, honour the earth and her cycles and give thanks for life’s abundance and resilience.
Eggs feature prominently in our supper ans visualisations at this festival and we will revisit some old ways of celebrating Ostara. You will be very welcome to join us but please let me know as our space is quite small. You can find out more under “Celtic Wheel” on the workshop pages of this website. Carry on incubating those plans and prepare for the the birthing of your dreams. So mote it be!
Bright Blessings
Crystal of the Month
Jade
Symbol of purity and serenity, jade is associated with the heart chakra, increasing love and nurturing. It is a protective stone and brings harmony, attracts good fortune and friedship. Placed on the brow it is said to bring insightful dreams. It aids emotional release, especially irritability, soothing the mind and releasig negative thoughts. Physically jade is excellent for the kidneys ad adrenal glands removes toxins and heals stitches. A good stone to aid fertility and childbirth.
There are many varieties of colour, each with different attributes: blue for peace and reflection, brown for grounding, green for calming and harmonising relationships,lavender for healing emotional trauma and setting clear boundaries. Red;passionate and stimulating, white to help direct energy in the most constructive way and aid decision making, and finally yellow which brings joy and happiness, teaching the interconnectiveness of all things and also aids the digestive and elimination systems.
Ref.:”The Crystal Bible”- Judy Hall
Recipe of the Month
Ostara Biscuits
Set oven for 300F/180C/Gas 4.
4oz/125g wholmeal flour
4oz/125g butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp.mixed spice
2oz/50g currants
1oz/25g mixed peel
4oz/125g soft brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 egg
1tblsp. milk/brandy
Rub butter into flour and spices and hand mix currants. peel and sugar. Make a well in the centre. Beat together the lemon juice egg and milk/brandy and pour into well.Mix to a stiff dough and knead lightly. Roll out to about 6mm thickness and cut into rounds with 6-7cm cutter.Lay rounds on floured baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until firm and beginning to brown. Allow to cool on wire rack.
Enjoy!
February 2026
Dates for your Diary: Moons:
2nd February- Imbolc Full moon: 1st Feb.
21st-Reiki level 1 Quickening/New moon: 17th Feb.
(Year of the Horse – Lunar New Year).
Candlemas – the first festival of light of the new year and a great time for new beginnings. All of life is waiting expectantly and the first snowdrops bring the promise of Spring. Imbolc (ewe’s milk) celebrates the first fresh milk available as lambing starts. The festival has many names, Pagan and Christian, or a hybrid of both. In the South of Ireland it is celebrated as St Brigid’s Day (Groundhog Day in the USA). Brid or Brigid is also something of a hybrid- Saint/Goddess, she is a much loved figure of both history and myth. So beloved that the “new” religion had to absorb and Christianise her. Brid the Goddess was patron of blacksmiths, midwives and poets who blessed the land with fertility and healing. Brigid the Saint was a pagan priestess who converted and became an abbess and was beloved for her practicality and hospitality. She has many miracles attributed to her, her cloak was used to trick a king to bestow land on which to build her abbey. She asked for as much land as could be covered by her cloak which miraculously covered acres! In the grounds of Kildare cathedral you can sit in the foundations of her famous Fire Temple where the sacred flame was kept burning continuously, tended by the sisters of her abbey, echoing her pagan past – Bright Brid. The little garden, where her well is to be found, is a haven of peace and a place of pilgrimage for many seeking healing and solace. When we visited in May it was full of blossoming hawthorn festooned with clooties and her statue held a bouquet of fresh flowers.
Imbolc is a hopeful, joyous festival, the beginning of the end of winter. In every ending there is a new beginning as the wheel of the year turns, so often what we thought was the end is actually the start of a fresh cycle, a chance to shed that which no longer serves us and embrace the new with renewed hope and enthusiasm. We turn to Bright Brid to light our way and ignite our passion and creativity to help us heal ourselves and our world.
So mote it be!
Crystal of the Month
Amethyst
A powerful and protective stone with a high vibration, it blocks geopathic stress and guards against psychic attack. This easily obtainable stone also has strong healing and cleansing powers and is a natural tranquiliser. Amethyst is extremely beneficial to the mind, calming or stimulating as appropriate. It helps you to be more focused and aids decision making. Dispelling fear, anger and anxiety it also can help alleviate grief and enhance the memory. As a spiritual stone it promotes love of the higher Power and is excellent for meditation. In days gone by it was thought an amethyst ring would support sobriety.
In healing it boosts hormone production and strengthens the cleansing and eliminating organs and the immune system. It is useful in reducing bruising, injuries and swelling and heals diseases of the respiratory tract, skin conditions, cellular disorders and diseases of the digestive tract. Amethyst cleanses the energy field and transmutes negative energy and also stimulates the throat and crown chakras. it can help stabilise psychiatric conditions but should not be used i cases of paranoia or schizophrenia. Finally, it is helpful for people about to transition through death.
Reference: The Crystal Bible- Judy Hall
Recipe of the Month
Nectar
This is an alcoholic beverage to warm the cockles on a cold February evening. Mead had spiritual significance for the celtic and Viking peoples and is produced from honey.
1 cup of milk per person plus a splash for the pot
A measure of mead ( at your discretion)
1/2 tsp. vanilla essence
1 tsp. honey
a pinch of cinnamon
Heat through the milk, mead, vanilla and honey mixture but don’t boil. Sprinkle with cinnamon before serving. It will replenish your inner Celt!
Reference: The Kitchen Witch_Soraya
January 2026
Dates for your Diary: Full Moon: 3rd New Moon: 18th
31st-Chakra Sounds:
(A new workshop in collaboration with Sound Circle’s Shirley Whalley).
2nd February: Imbolc- the returning light.
Happy New Year (again). 2026 will be the Year of the Horse, I’m a “horse” so I’m anticipating a fabulous year! A good friend of mine said that you should thank the universe and ask “how does it get better than this”, whatever your circumstances. There is so much to be thankful for that it seems greedy/ungrateful to ask for more/better, but the universe has unlimited blessings to share so “bring it on”. Set out your stall: envision your best life, being the best version of your self, then see what the universe brings your way. You may be guided to take a new path, lifestyle, friends or opportunities. Embrace whatever is offered with gratitude, even if the road is hard and you don’t know where you are going. Love will always find a way and bring you” home” in the end – the light is on your side. Don’t forget to share your blessings and remember there is no separation, we are all one energy, and so whatever you do for or to others you do for or to yourself. The world is changing on many levels and we must act in community to bring about positive change by seeking to bring balance between the masculine and feminine so that we work together as equals, in harmony, and for the highest good. It’s not too late, it’s never too late, to make a better world for all beings.
Make the year of the horse a golden one and let those in power know the earth is not a commodity and neither are the many lifeforms that share life on this planet.
December
Just an abridged version for December, too much to do! This month is all about celebration and plans for the new cycle. New dates are on my workshop pages and soon there will be some dates for Reiki workshops and shares. Endings and beginnings are also a theme and I have joined up with some like-minded people to present some exciting new events: Helen Gilman and I continue to join forces to teach Reiki healing, Shirley Whalley and I are working on a new Sounding the Chakras workshop and Antonia Greta Sherratt and I will be bringing in the May with a new Goddess workshop! Watch this space.
It was taboo to rotate any wheels at this time of year in Celtic traditions, as the wheel of the year was believed to stop briefly, as one cycle ended and the next began. The new year then, as now, was a time for reflection before moving forward with the plans for the coming year. Throughout history and myth there have been many saviours born at this time. In the pagan tradition the Sun King is reborn as Lord of the Light, In the Mithratic religion Mithra was born at Solstice and conceived at the Spring equinox ( Easter time). Norsemen celebrated the birth of Frey. Heracles, a Greek saviour, was born of a virgin and his twelve labours are said to symbolise the sun’s passage through the twelve signs of the zodiac. After this rite of passage he was clothed in scarlet, killed, and resurrected as his own Divine Father to go on to marry the Virgin Mother Goddess and be reborn again at solstice. The Celtic peoples saw the Earth as a manifestation of the Triple Goddess. The sun’s rebirth at solstice sees the Crone’s rebirth as the maiden/virgin. The constellation of Virgo rises in the east at the winter solstice.
Looking forwards to the new cycle, we celebrate the sun’s return and the new growth that the sun’s energy brings. We set our intention to heal the wounds of separation and promote the re-union of humanity by striving for the balance of masculine and feminine energies, and bringing the destructive cycle of fear and domination to an end.
Ref:” Sacred Earth Celebrations” by Glennie Kindred
Have a very Merry Yuletide everyone, and may 2026 truly be a year of peace and healing for our planet and all its’ inhabitants, human and non-human.
November
Get those crystals out in the moonlight again, another supermoon is on it’s way! There are no Sabbats this month (should be one for my birthday) so we look forward to celebrating Yule on the 20thDecember at Sutton St James church hall. Don’t forget to book a place early-all details are on the workshops page, under “Celtic Wheel”. It’s a busy month for Age of Light with two Reiki workshops as well as a Reiki Share. The Share is where all levels of Reiki healer can get together, share a group treatment and share experiences. It is held in the lovely Sunflower Centre at East Cheshire Hospice and the £5 voluntary donation will go to boost their funds and help them to continue giving wonderful care and support to people with life-limiting illnesses and their relatives.
The themes of this time of year continue to be remembering and honouring the ancestors. Diade Muertos is celebrated in Mexico on November 1st, a festival of remembrance to honour and thank departed loved ones for their blessing. This practice echoes the theme of our festival of Samhain. This month of long nights is a good time to think of those who have gone before us, not just our immediate ancestors but those who lived on our land and shaped it with their lives. We have absorbed so many nationalities, cultures and customs into our complex, diverse communities over the centuries but often we forget (or are gas-lighted into Xenophobia) that our own ancestors may have been refugees, migrants or conquerors.
In truth we are all connected; one great energy/spirit, separation is just an illusion often reinforced by those who seek to divide and rule. I recently attended a beautiful Kirtan session at Shambala (in Leek). John Walklate said a wise truth that really resonated with me;
” We are all one spirit looking at the world through different eyes.”
When we realise this we won’t look to hurt anyone else because we would be hurting ourselves.
Namaste
Recipe of the Month
3lb pumpkin
olive oil
2 chopped onions
3 garlic cloves
3 inches grated ginger root
1tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. turmeric
pinch cayenne pepper
1 3/4 pints veg, stock
s. & p. to taste
Sesame seeds and fresh coriander to garnish (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200 C? Gas 6. Prick pumpkin around top several times with fork. Brush with oil and bake for 45 mins. until tender. When cool enough to handle scoop out seeds and put in compost (or toss them in oil, sprinkle with salt and bake until crisp). Heat some oil in a large pan and add onions, garlic and ginger and cook gently for 5 mins. then add turmeric, cayenne pepper and ground coriander and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the pumpkin flesh and stock and bring to boil then simmer for a further 2mins.
Cool slightly before blending until smooth. Season to taste and serve with lovely fresh sourdough.
Bon Appetite
(from The Soup Bible by Anne Sheasby)
Crystal of the Month
Topaz
Topaz directs energy to where it is most needed. It soothes, heals, stimulates, recharges and motivates, and aligns the meridians. It also promotes truth and forgiveness and brings about trust in the Universe. Topaz’s energy brings joy, generosity, abundance and good health. A stone of love and good fortune, it supports affirmations and manifestations and also cleanses the aura. It induces relaxation and releases tension on all levels and can make you feel confident and wanting to share your good fortune and spread sunshine!
Mentally it can help problem solving and is useful for those engaged in the arts. It stabilizes the emotions and makes you receptive to love from every source. As a healer it aids digestion and combats anorexia, restores the sense of taste, fortifies the nerves and stimulates the metabolism.
October
Dates for your Diary: Full Moon: 7th, Supermoon
18th/19th – Reiki Level 2 New Moon:21st
24th – Meet Your Guardian Angel
31st – Samhain
Don’t forget to book your place for our Yule celebration on Saturday December 20th.
It’s that very magical time of year when the veil between worlds is thin and at the months’ end we celebrate the Pagan New Year: Samhain ( or Halloween as the Muggles call it)! This is a time for remembering our ancestors and departed loved ones and we symbolically set a place at our table to honour them them and welcome them in to our celebration. A short but beautiful part of our ritual involves lighting a candle and sharing a happy memory of someone, significant to us, who has passed, remembering and giving thanks for their lives. This is a solemn part of our evening and it is balanced by the more light-hearted celebrations.
All Hallows or All Souls Day has long been celebrated. In pre-Christian times it marked the beginning of winter and the end of the farming year. It is a fire festival where life and death are celebrated and acknowledged as part of the life-cycle of all the natural world. The harvest has been gathered, the cattle brought in to the byre and the hard work of the farming year pauses for a short time. In times past threshing and milling the grain would begin and plans and preparation for the new year would be the order of the day. The nights are dark and long but we look forward to the returning light and celebrate with fun, good natured pranks and feasting. Other names for this festival are Feast of Apples, Festival of Remembrance, Ancestor Night, Feast of the Dead and Fright Night.
One cycle comes to an end and another begins – a time for reflection and to recharge our batteries. Often this special night is used for divination and seeking guidance from the ancestors and spirit guides, taking advantage of the thinning veil. In the old fireside stories this was also the time for the Wild Hunt, which rides through the night sky to round up the souls of the earth-bound dead and take them to the Shadowlands. The tradition of telling ghost stories at Halloween derives from this time.
We always held a party for my children and their friends and made gruesome treats: Dead men’s fingers ( sausages with roasted peanut finger nails- very realistic!), Cauldron of Slime (green jelly full of jelly worms and other nasties) and spooky biscuits and suitably decorated cakes. They carry on the tradition to this day with their little ones. So, get those pumpkins (or turnips) carved and celebrate but don’t forget to honour those unseen guests!
Bright Blessings
Reference: Gail Duff “The Wiccan Year”.
Recipe of the Month
Soul Cakes
(serves 10-15)
150g butter, 1tsp. mixed spice
200g caster sugar 5x tbsp. currants
50 g plain flour pinch of saffron or turmeric
2 egg yolks
Set oven to 200C. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy then slowly beat in the egg yolks, putting in a little of the flour to prevent curdling. Fold in the rest of the flour with the spices and currants. Carefully add enough milk to make a firm dough that comes clean from the sides of the bowl. Empty the dough onto a floured board and roll out to a 1/4″ thickness. place on a greased baking tray and bake until golden. let them cool slightly before putting them onto a cooling rack.
From: “Halloween- The Quintessential Guide to Treats and Frights” Mark Doody ad Kristoffer Hughes
Crystal of the Month
Black Tourmaline (Schorl)
Protects against electromagnetic smog and negative energies of all kinds. It connects to the root/base chakra and is grounding but also increases physical energy. It disperses tension and stress and clears negative thoughts, encouraging a positive attitude. . Placed point-out from the body, it draws off negative energy . Black tourmaline defends against debilitating disease, strengthens immunity, treats dyslexia and provides pain relief. It is also attributed with with realigning the spinal column, treating arthritis and is excellent for making gem elixirs.
Why not attend an Age of Light evening workshop on making gem elixirs and room sprays?
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September
I hope everyone has had a good summer ( still summer until 22nd!).It’s been a busy time for me, lots to harvest and some projects still ripening, some to put on hold and a few to put down to experience . We celebrated our first harvest festival at Lammas and now look forward to the second harvest at Mabon. This festival celebrates the end of the grain harvest and gives thanks for all the abundance of fruits and nuts this summer has provided. It’s been a bumper year for apples and the grandkids and I made an Eve’s pudding from some lovely fruits from the community orchard trees behind our local leisure centre, This led to an interesting discussion about Eve with my five year old grandson, who disagreed with my interpretation of the story, saying that’s not what they said at school!
I’ve received lots of lovely gifts of apples so I’m taking this as a message about wisdom. Apples have long been associated with wisdom as well as health and longevity. The Isle of Avalon, where the dying King Arthur was taken, was known as the Isle of Apples. A lovely little ritual that we often perform, now or at Samhain, involves cutting an apple in half widthways to reveal it’s hidden pentagram, and then counting the pips in the half of our choice. Each pip represents a project which will be undertaken during the coming year. Now is the time for some inner work as the energy moves inwards and the shorter days bring a time for reflection. We look back over the months since Imbolc and review our achievements and lessons, giving thanks for what has come into fruition and letting go of the things that have withered. At this Autumn Equinox we also think about balance: light and shadow, summer and winter, life and death, work and leisure etc. It’s an opportunity to rebalance any aspects of ourselves that have become imbalanced and time to clear away anything that no longer serves our highest good and impedes our growth. Mabon starts the season of change, it can be a restless time for some and an anxious time for others. I always feel excited at Spring and Autumn when the winds of change blow through our lives and the wheel of the year turns, the world seems full of colour at these times. The Autumn colours feed our physical chakras; the red of root, orange of sacral and gold of solar plexus, and the Spring full of the fresh green of the heart chakra. If you would like to learn more about our body’s energy system why not book on to my Chakra Journeys Workshop? Enjoy your harvest festival, count your blessings and give thanks for the season’s gifts. On the subject of celebrations, please book early for our annual Yule celebration and peace ceremony, I need to get an idea of numbers to plan the day’s activities.
Bright Blessings to you and yours
Recipe of the Month
” Orange” Soup
Orange is one of the colours for Mabon and here is a recipe to energise your sacral chakra:
You will need... A large sweet potato or3or 4 small ones
Tbsp. Olive Oil,
1 Onion + a clove or 2 of garlic
4 Carrots
2 Red peppers
2 stock cubes
1L Water
1/4 tsp black pepper, paprika, turmeric, a pinch of chilli (optional)
Splash of lemon juice and Worcester sauce
A good dollop of creme fraiche or cream(if not watching your weight/ cholesterol!)
Prick the sweet potato and microwave/ bake until soft, when cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh and put to one side. While this is cooking heat the oil and soften the diced onion and garlic and the chopped up peppers. Put the lid on the pan and leave it to sweat for 5 or 6 minutes before adding the seasoning and giving it a good stir.
Scrub and chop the carrots and add to pan before covering them in stock leave to cook until soft then add the potato flesh and take the pan off the heat to blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice and sauce and adjust the seasoning to your taste before serving with a dollop of cream and some lovely fresh sourdough. you can use up the sweet potato skins by loading them with a filling of your choice, covering with grated cheese and popping them under the grill until the cheese melts.
Enjoy!
Crystal of the Month
Sardonyx
A stone of strength and protection, it brings peace, stability and happiness to partnerships and attracts good fortune and friends. Sardonyx strengthens character and will=power and increases stamina, vigour and self-control. It is also beneficial in helping to relieve depression and for processing information. It is reputed to heal the lungs and bones, strengthens the immune system and regulates fluids and cell metabolism. The following colours have additional properties:
Black- absorbs negativity
Brown-grounds energy
Clear-purifies
Red-stimulates
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June
New workshop dates now on web page: please read page before booking.
It’s full-on summer this month but after the Solstice the wheel of the year turns and days slowly get shorter- I know, where does the time go? Don’t despair, Mid-summer Eve is a magical night, stay up to watch the sun rise! In days gone by, effigies of the Green Man and of dragons were paraded through the town and burnt on mid-summer bonfires, farmers would walk around their arable fields three time, carrying lighted torches, in celebration (and anticipation) of a bountiful harvest to come.
It’s a time of endings and beginnings. Stone circles were aligned to the Solstice sunrise so that this important time of the year would not be overlooked. Nature’s season of exuberant growth has peaked as evidenced by the leaves, blossoms, flowers and developing fruits, flourishing vegetables and swelling grain. It is known as the Festival of Attainment, celebrating fulfilment on an individual level as well as the completion of a cycle. A time to sing, dance and make merry with gay abandon and rejoice in your uniqueness. As Sara Blakely says…
” Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else”.
Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by my ignorance and fall into “imposter syndrome” mode; how can I teach others when I’m so woefully lacking in wisdom and knowledge? Well, I tread my own path and teach what I do know to be authentic and beneficial. Humanity has millennia of wisdom and knowledge to draw from, but have we learnt to heal, share resources and skills, or negotiate with words and empathy instead of threats and violence, or to acknowledge and respect other cultures and the other life forms that share our beautiful planet? I trust that as more of us wake up we will reclaim ancient wisdom, find a way to live together in a sustainable way and reconnect with the oneness of all things in the great web of life. That is my Solstice wish!
Well, that’s me fallen off my soap box and I will now surrender myself to the gay abandonment of the season ( maybe not sky-clad!) and celebrate ME.I hope you too will accept and celebrate the glory of your uniqueness, with the exuberance of Litha.
Solstice blessings X
Crystal of the Month
Emerald
A stone of inspiration and patience. It is known as “the stone of successful love”- it keeps partnership in successful balance and enhances unity and unconditional love and opens the heart chakra. It also brings equilibrium to body, mind and spirit and eliminates negativity. There are many traditions associated with this gem: it is said to change colour with infidelity, protect from enchantment and foretell the future, Regeneration and recovery are promoted by this stone and it is also said to be helpful for people with claustrophobia, it also stimulates eloquence and co-operation.
Physically it is said to aid recovery from infections, treat sinuses, lungs, heart and spine, muscles and eyes, and also detoxify the liver. Further attributes include alleviation of rheumatism and diabetes and assist the healing of malignant conditions. A note of caution: if worn constantly it can trigger negative emotions.
( Always consult your doctor if you suffer from any of these conditions. Crystals are used as a complementary therapy not as an alternative to medical treatment).
ref: The Crystal Bible – Judy Hall
If you feel drawn to learning how to work with crystals, check out September’s crystal work shops on my workshop pages.
RECIPE of the MONTH
Eve’s pudding
2 lg. cooking apples
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp water
30g/1oz butter
2 tbsp caster sugar
Topping:
90g/3oz butter
125g/4oz caster sugar
125g/4oz SR flour
2 lightly beaten eggs
1 tbs boiling water
Preheat oven to 180C/350 F/ gas mark 4. Core, peel and chop apples and put in saucepan with the lemon juice and water. Cover with lid and cook for 5mins. until they soften. Add butter and sugar, stir and transfer to a dish about 2 inches/5cm deep and leave to cool.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy then fold in flour and eggs, alternating between spoonfuls, until blended. Add a spoonful of boiling water and fold in before spooning over cooled apples. Cook for 30-35 mins. until puffy and golden. Delicious with cream, ice cream or custard (or all of the above).
ref:” The Kitchen Witch” by Soraya
Book of the Month
Courting the Wild Twin
by
Martin Shaw
This is a book for both story tellers and story lovers. Martin Shaw encourages the reader to delve more deeply into story and into self. He recounts and re-examines versions of a strange and ancient story and almost forensically explores the hidden meanings and messages of the code-like language of myth and fable. the story itself is compelling and it’s weirdness seduces the reader into a suspension of disbelief. If you dare to look deeper at the wildness that lies within you then this is the book for you.
Mr shaw’s use of language is so rich and beautiful that it stimulates all our senses and reminds us of the potency of words. It is a timely reminder of the wealth and power of stories when told by a master story teller, in stark contrast to the emojified and abbreviated cyber-speak of our fast-paced modern world.
Top Tip
Count your blessings
Sometimes we get overwhelmed by problems and worries and it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This can lead to disturbed sleep patterns, comfort eating and maybe relying on alcohol or tobacco to get you through. We all have a tendency to catastrophise when we get trapped into that vicious circle of negativity and before too long we can lose all sense of perspective and spiral down into a dark place.
I know it can sound a bit glib and self-righteous, but having been there and got the t-shirt I found this habit helped me reframe my perception of my situation and, with time, allowed me to get into a better place in my head. A blessing journal is a good way to put yourself into a more positive state of mind. A few minutes at the end of the day writing down what you feel grateful for, what made you smile, can really help you sleep better and get up on the right side of the bed. Even the worst day has a blessing in, even if it’s just a smile from a stranger or lovely sunset. If you feel a journal is just too much, just try naming three blessings in your head.
Don’t forget there is plenty of help out there if you need more support, sometimes we just need to accept that we need it.
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