rise and root

***

~*~*~*~



The Flame Haired Solstice Dreamer

Cold winter brings the Everfrost and jewels every tree
In a forest new as birth and old as old can be
A flame~haired dreamer wanders there and shelters from the wind
And spins her dreams around the trees to break the ties that bind
She takes her thread and spins anew and how the Greenwood smiles
As she spins a spell for freedom and for her spirit Wylde

The dreamer finds an ancient oak and shelters in his lee
In a forest new as birth and old as old can be
Tis summer now and birdsong weaves its magick through her spells
And humming bees drum drowsily in the foxglove's bells
The dreamer sits beneath the oak with yarn upon her knee
And spins and knits and weaves her dreams and sets her spirit free

***
"When birds fall from the sky and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people...shall come unto the earth from many colors, classes, creeds, who by their actions and deeds shall make the earth green again. they will be known as the warriors of the Rainbow"

Hopi Prophecy

Our great symbol for the Goddess is the moon...


merry meet )o(
i was doing some re-reading earlier and there was a section on the Malleus Maleficarum, so i decided to read further and came across the Cornell University Library Witchcraft Collection and i admit it made me feel quite ill. i have read what is published of it before so maybe its just my present mood making me feel a bit more sensitive than is usual.

it makes me feel glad that we live in more tolerant (sometimes!) times, where paganism is concerned. imagine if we now had to hide our practices and pretend to belong to a religion we had no belief in (nazi germany comes to mind here and that is not really so long ago). however even now, some folk, when paganism or witchcraft is mentioned, will look, depending on their belief...not scared...but as if something has been mentioned that is just a story, something that does not exist, not even in history. or of course they immediately think of all the negative images that exist, satanism and black magic and are perpetuated by the notion of 'halloween' and all those hollywood based productions that link paganism with the devil.

i once had someone tell me that seth (during one of my pre or post seth concerts!) was another name for satan and for the first time in my life i spoke the words 'i dont believe in satan' and they actually looked a bit shocked.
i never actually talk about what i am or what i believe, except on here and via e~mail with someone i have contact with through a pagan website,and i do not 'advertise' what i am but people who come to know me well pick up on a few things and of course it will just become known as a matter of course.
but i am honest if asked, and if people are genuine in their interest i will discuss it properly. This year i have that happen to me twice; the first was a lovely couple from scotland we have known for a little over a year and they asked if i minded talking about what i believe, which i thought was really nice. the second was not long after where i answered honestly but got the reaction along the lines of 'oh no watch out she is going to put a spell on you' needless to say the conversation went no further...'sigh' i know the person quite well so i should have known i would receive that kind of reaction, maybe i was feeling quite benevolent and giving her the benefit of the doubt, to react in a slightly more sensible (?) manner. but there you go.

one of our camping groups is having its usual halloween fancy dress camp, although it actually falls before samhain.
but i feel quite torn, i love to go and meet up with friends again and of course being away camping, but the whole halloween thing i just cant make myself be a part of~its just so far removed from what this time of year means to me that i cant make myself dress up and be jolly. i seem to have come so far down the line in my personal belief that i just cant do it...heck what a party pooper i have become! i know i should go and just treat it as a party...but i cant, it feels wrong to me.

4 comments:

Miss Robyn said...

here I am! oh how I know what you mean. I got sick of hiding that I am a witch so I tell people I am.. they think I am either evil, or play acting. I don't know enough to even try to explain to them and heck, why should I have to.
and when I tell someone I am going to a Goddess circle, they think I have lost the plot! I only tell people because I want to share and am excited.
is this the post you wanted me to come & see?

Leanne said...

Lee, i hid my beliefs for over 20 years, I had fledging beliefs as a teenager but in my marriage had to bury them within me. When that marriage ended i gradually realised I could be truly 'me' and not hide half of me anymore. Sorry if this doesnt make much sense. Now I am open with my beliefs - my home shouts I am pagan lol, but its my personal space so why not? I am open in that if asked I will talk, but only If i judge the person is genuinely interested. I too have met those who react stupidly.I dont mind the halloween celebrations, i do decorate my home but I do that every season to honour the wheel turning, and samhain/autumn decorations are just part of my personal decoration ritulas! I do object to the wicked witch stereotype though, i have a lot of books about the persecution throughout the centuries and it makes me go cold too
if you want to discuss this more, email me via my blog anbd we can exchange experiences.

Leanne x

laoi gaul~williams said...

Hi miss*r...yes it is :)

Hi Leanne, yes you make perfect sense to me! although i was brought up a pagan by my dad i was always too much of a shy child/teen to accept being me and fully embrace my belief. it was only over the past ten years i have accepted myself and become open about what i am...and it feels so good!
like you my home (and even pippin~ think tiny green men and mobile alter!) shouts pagan and i do decorate my home in following the seasons...maybe my halloween thing is because i dont have children???

Miss Robyn said...

I think the whole Halloween thing that you refer to is just because it is so commercialised. I am lucky in that we don't celebrate it here. Plus our 'halloween' is at a different time to you... so I am lucky to be able to celebrate Samhain without the frills.
yep, my home shouts pagan too! except I do have some vintage statues of St Therese.. who I invocate when needed :)
Christmas is the same - it is actually midsummer when Christmas falls here.. so I celebrate Midsummer on 22nd December then the ridiculous hot christmas on 25th ...
I decorate my home seasonally and follow alot of folklore 'ideas' to bring my past lives into my present one!
this is such fun to finally discover some more witches. Would you believe that when I first said I was a witch on one of my previous blgos - I was hounded and persectuted by some other bloggers. It near sent me insane

All things share the same breath~the beast, the tree, the man, the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.



Chief Seattle






Johney Gaul~1915

Johney Gaul~1915
1890-17 september 1918~France