21/12/06 11:45 GMT

I wish to send Grateful Thanks to for the Solstice gift I received this morning. Love & Blessings to you & yours Jim


Since coming here in September, I've found so much warmth & friendship. In fact, it's taken my breath away, and for that I would like to send you all a little blessing. It comes from the

SOLSTICE BLESSINGS

Love is the most important thing in Life,
So whatever your Religion or Spiritual Path,
Give that to each other at this Turning of the year.
For Love is the Gift you can give when you have nothing else.

For Children and Parents, for Partners and Friends,
And for our beautiful Earth, whose Children we all are,
Love is needed, for Love brings about the successive
Generations with which Life can transcend Time itself.

With the Coming of the Dawn on the Day of the Young Light,
The Reborn Sun returns, bringing the Light of the World.
May Its Light Guide you through the Seasons as they Turn,
And may Its Warmth fill your Hearts and Soul with Love.
And may It bring Peace to All Life on our troubled Planet.



Watch out for "Solstice Greetings", I'll be posting the yarn on Tuesday evening.

21/12/06
When I logged on this morning I got one hell of a shock, in fact I logged out again as I thought I was on the wrong page, but no. Some one brought me to tears, happy tears, this morning, by gifting me a year's subscription. Who ever you are you have my heart felt thanks & love, please make yourself known to me as I would like to thank you personally.

btw, Sharp frost this morning, maybe winter isn't far away

Not being a subscriber, I couldn't decorate or play with my journal.
But to all my friends who are caught in my weaving web:


And to other friends out there in dA Land, some of whom are:


A Merry Solstice

on

Every where I go these days, be it on the web or on the street, people are complaining of stress, & it's all down to Xmas. There's very little of the "Good will to all men" about, no, push, shove & grab, and give the sales assistant a little piece of plastic. Mammon has caught you in his trap, live now, Pay later, but you're paying now, with the stress of wondering if you can afford to Pay later.

There are more heart attacks over the two months after Xmas & New Year than at any other time, no wonder, when the monthly statements come through the door, & it gets worse every year. Got to get bigger &/or better presents, see who's tight, who's on the Xmas card list this year. That is not the way to celibrate your Lord's birth, it should be with Peace, Love & Good Health. But sadly most don't see it that way, not anymore. The true meaning has been lost under all the commercial hype, why, there were Xmas cards in the shops in September and the ads on TV, all gearing up to get you to spend, spend, spend. And you do.

Still, I'm glad that doesn't effect me. Yes, I'm sending out cards, Winter Solstice cards, that I make myself, along with a few gifts that I've also made with love, not stress. For me, this is a time of slowing down, to recharge the batteries, and at Solstice, to honour friends & the rebirth of the The Light of the World, for without it I would die.

Here's hoping you all have a stress-free festive season

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Some of my close friends in my web


And here's a few other friends that need watching:

Well, that didn't take long. Now take a look at their work, it covers quite an area.
The first 10 artists are:











Now you guys set-up the same thing on your journals & keep the baton moving.
Good Luck

Four weeks to Mid-Winter, waiting for the Sun to be reborn again, to bring its light & warmth to the world. In the days of the Long Ice we made a gift to the Sun at mid-winter, that it may return & lighten our lives. Now mid-winter blesses you with a festival of commercial extravagance & consumption, of over eating, drinking & all that that entails. Yet you are not aware of why we have a festival at mid-winter, no, it's not for your godling son, he was born 3 months earlier, the christ people took the Solstice festival for their own, they changed the rebirth of the Sun, the light of the world to the birth of a son, a boy child. Their festival is just a trick of words in the last few seconds of the history of man.

You still have a tree from the northern forest & hang it with sparkling lights, you utter the words  'Yule Log' without knowing where it came from, the burning branch with which I brought Solstice fire & light to the hearth to ease the birth pangs of the Sun, climbing down through the smoke-hole of the hut with fetishes of deer, bear, salmon and other animals for the children, so that the hunting would be good in the coming year.
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At the moment I'm working with a yarn that I wrote back in the '80s, I have to memorize it for an event, a Winter Solstice Moot, a gathering of friends who, hopefully, will bring along their party pieces as well. The yarn, titled "Merry Solstice", is from the shaman's point of view, how it was then to how it is now. To read it out takes about 20-25mins., that's alot to remember, I don't want to have the sheets of paper with me when I weave it.

After the event I'll post it here.

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Here are some close friends who have got caught in my web;


And other friends who have yet to be caught:

Where have the seasons gone that I knew in my childhood? Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter. Yes, Winter, I can't remember the last time we had a good winter here, as a kid, I can remember shovling the snow from the door to the gate, just so I could get to school. Not anymore, OK, I know I'm not at school, that was 43 years ago, but what has happened to winter, come to that, what has happened to all of the seasons.

Back in the early '70s, I went to a syposium on Atmospheric Science, there, people talked about the pollution we were puting in the air and what may happen if we carry on the way we were going. Funny, no one outside took any notice until a scientist from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) found the Ozone Hole, he had spoken at the meeting back in '71. It took another 7 years before it was clear there was a depletion of Ozone & the cause, CFCs, propellents for aerosol cans & coolant for air-conditioning systems, freezers & fridges and we were just chucking it all away. It took another 5 years to get CFCs banned, but the damage was done & it made others take a closer look at out planet, and what we were doing to it.

For the last 20 years, scientists have been studying our planet as no one has ever done before. Within the first 5 years they were stating that the Earth was warming, yet again, No one took any notice, some, mentioning no names, said it was all a load of cock & bull. Major companies, with lots of money kept up the pressure against the climate scientists, and lined the pockets of Their politicians, to keep their minds off the real need to act on Climate Change. They did a good job of keeping it out of the media & out of politics until the late '90s. Then came report after report stating that the Earth was warming at a greater rate than at any time in the Earth's history, and still there are those who have stuck their heads in the sand (I'm being polite) & still say it's not man who's causing the warming. Their profits mean more to them that the lives of their Grandchildren.

I have two Grandchildren, Kaia & Ollie, or as I call him 'Olly'Ed. What will they face when they reach my age? I dread to think. I know there Will be suffering across the world, food shortages, coastal flooding as we've never known before, environmental refugees in their millions, conflicts over water & much, much more. Am I being pessimistic or looking at the reality of what Climate Change can mean for poeple in 50 years time maybe even less at the present rate of CO2 emissions & the melting ice-caps, permafrost, glaciers & sea ice. A few years ago, down in Antarctica, the Larsen Iceshelf collapsed, an area far greater than Rhode Island fell into the southern Ocean & a certain person turned his back. Now he's lame, let's hope that things will now change & the world will give the US all the help it needs to come on-board & start working to mitigate the disaster that will come. Sadly, it's now a Damage Limitation exersise but it will only work if we as a species workn together.

I, for one, am doing what I can. On another website, I use, as a sig. strap-line, a quote from the eminent Ecologist Eugene Odum, whom I met in'84. When asked in an interview for an American PBS TV station, what was the worst case scenario (you do like your scenarios, just wish you took notice of what was said) when it came to the Environment, Eugene replied "HE WHO COULD DO LITTLE DID NOTHING" Think on that.


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On a lighter vein, here are some friends who could do with keeping an eye on.:-

I've just spent the morning in the woods with a class of 8yr olds, using our senses & our minds. The sunlight was great, casting dappled light through what leavs remain. On the way there, we saw a Roe deer doe & her fawn on the edge of the wood, the kids kept quiet & watched as the doe led her fawn into the fields beyond.

As we entered the wood, a pair of Buzzards flew overhead, one higher that the other & calling out in the joy of the still air, Rooks rose to see them off, mobbing them untill they were away from the rookery. The Buzzards just carried on their way, up towards the Mendips. Some of the children asked about the Rooks & what they were doing, & before I could answer, a young girl told her classmates what had happened; so I gave her a dip in my Magic Bag it contains crystals & rocks, for being correct.

In the wood, I asked them all to keep their eyes, ears & noses open & their mouthes shut until we got to the Badgers' sett, and amazingly, they did. When we arrived at the sett there were a couple of fallen trees which made good seats, so, with their Head Mistress & their teacher, I got them sitting down in a rough semi-circle, 22 children, 3 parents & a TA, all still being quiet, after a fashion, waiting, wondering what was going to happen next. They soon found out. I asked each one in turn what they had seen, heard & smelt. What I got gave me the threads for a yarn about the wood, which I told later. Then we had a good rummage around the sett, to see what could be found, & turned up some badger bones, including a lower jaw, sadly not the skull, some pheasant feathers (food for a fox) & plenty of hazel nuts, acorns & Beech mast.
The Magic Bag came out & many had a dip.

Sitting down again, we played I Spy, the kids had a laugh as their teacher got herself flummoxed, only to find out that something beginnig with T, was her. After that, it was a case of matching the leaf to the tree, then I did some weaving, about the Lord of the Wildwood, his creatures & plants. During this I got such a look from one of the parents, I had forgotten that the school was a CofE one, and their god was the lord, not Hern. I just smiled at her & carried on. At the end, the Head thanked me, & asked the children if they would like me back to do some more storytelling, they cheered their approval. So I'm going back, towards the end of term. Might do a yarn about Winter Solstice

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Here are some friends who need keeping an eye on:

My daughter, Alison, was in bed, at the maternity hospital, going through labour, painful, though I don't know how painful, never having to give birth. The clock on the wall said 9am. Ali started screaming for Kaia, who was due to have surgery at 9. The midwife asked her if she wanted a pain-killing injection. Ali told her, in no uncertain terms, what she could do with the syringe, I started laughing & both of them started as well. A nurse came in & told me that there was a phone call for me. I went down to the ward office, the call was from the Marsden, Kaia was not to have any surgery, there was no secondary cancer.
As I made my way back to the room that Ali was in, I heard her screaming "No, I don't need it." at the midwife. I walked in just as the midwife was trying to give Ali an injection, I reached across the bed & grabbed her uniform, pulled her towards me & said to her "My daughter said No, that is a positive answer." Letting go, I stepped back and apologized, the midwife also did, to Ali & I. I told Ali the good news, it started her crying but she had a smile on her face.
During anexamination, Jane, the midwife, said that she thought the baby would be a girl, I said, "Most definitely not, it will be a boy." Ali laughed & said that Jane shouldn't argue with me as I'd know she was pregnant before she did. The three of us were laughing when Ali had another contraction.
The labour was a long one. When the 2pm shift change came, the new midwife came in and was told by Jane that she was going to see this one through & smiled at Ali, who smiled back. 16 minutes later, the baby boy was born, weighing in at 7lbs9oz. After the umbilical cord was cut, he was past to Ali, who put him to her breast, and boy, did he have a glug. After some minutes, Ali said to him "You better go & meet your Grandad as I've something else to get rid of." She past him up to me and he started kicking, his eyes locked on mine, I welcomed him & asked Ali his name, she told me that it was Oliver Edward, I laughed, looking at him I said that I would call him 'Olly'Ed, he cocked his head & gave me a look.

To cut a long story short, Kaia went through a 2yr chemo protocol & was free from the disease for 5yrs, then it caame back, more chemo & it seemed to go away again, but in   2004 it came back with a vengence, in September 2005 Kaia had a Bone marrow transplant, which was done on the 29th, the day before her 11th. birthday, what a birthday present. This September, on her birthday, we had one hell of a party. She's looking good and is doing well at her school.


Here are some friends worth watching:

Back, in early '98 I was getting ready for my 50th Birthday(a non Birthday, as I was born on the 29th. Fed). I was going to have a do at a friend's place, & my daughter & grandaughter were coming down for the weekend, great.

The previous summer, I was Yarnweaving at Worthy Farm, Pilton, at the Glastonbury Festival. Alison, my daughter, & Kaia came with me. Ali looked after our crew, with coffee, meals & whatnot, Kaia was in her element, loads of nice people to play with her.

I was sitting down, after doing a gig in the Earth Lodge, having a drink of Hind's Breath, with a friend, when Ali walked past by with Kaia in her arms, I raised my goblet to her, she smiled & went on her way. I turned to Christine, and said that Ali was pregnant, & he will be born on or near our birthdays, she laughed & asked when had Ali told me, she got a sipprise when I told her that Ali didn't know yet. Six weeks later, Ali phoned me to tell me her good news, she asked if I was sitting down, so I told her, her news. She was annoyed that I had been talking to her mother, I said I hadn't, & that I knew at Pilton, she didn't believe me, so I asked her to phone Christine, which she did. Later that evening, she called me again, this time in a bit of shock, she told me I'd got the dates wrong as the doctor said it would be late March, early April, I said, "We'll see".

What nether of us knew was the future & what it would bring.

On the Monday before my 50th., I phoned her to find out what time they were arriving. My ex-sister-in-law answered & told me they were both in hospital, the shock was massive, I asked her, had there been an accident? She replied that Kaia had leukaemia, I nearly fainted from the shock. Why her? I was in a state & went around to a friend, as I needed someone I could talk to. I saw Richard's office light on, so went into the barn, Richard saw me & asked what was wrong & I told him. He came & gave me such a hug that I broke down & started hitting him, he held me tight until I calmed down, his wife, Moyra came in & they both held me for quite some time. Richard finally got out of me which hospital they were at & phoned it. I talked to Ali, it was hard, for both of us, & of course for Kaia, who was 3&1/2 at the time. I said that I would go up as soon as I could.

Beithe, my lady friend, said she would take me up there, then her car broke down, so it had to fixed. We got up there, to the Royal Marsden, Wolfson Children's Cancer Unit, thank God she was there, it's the best in Europe, on Sunday March 1st. Ali was in a state, as Kaia had woken up that morning, paralysed down her left side, & they had been waiting for an ambulance since 7:30am to take Kaia to another hospital for a brain scan, it was now 1:30pm. Ali was heavily pregnant, so you can imagine the tress she was under. Finally, at 6pm, Kaia was taken for the scan. Beithe & myself were asked if we would like to stay the night, rather than drive back to Somerset without knowing the results, so we stayed. It got worse, the results suggested there was secondary cancer on the brain, Ali couldn't cope anymore, she just stormed out of the office, followed by the consultant & siister, they hugged her & I saw, through my tears, a bell-jar like energy surround them, I'm crying as I write this, can't see the keys properly, I hope you don't mind but I feel I need to get this out of my system. The three of them came back into the office & we all had a hug & a cry. Why, oh why? It was decided that Kaia would go down to the theatre at 9am, the following morning, for exploratary surgery.We all went to bed that night totally exhausted & feeling...I don't know how I was feeling, I can't find the words.

Sleep was hard to find as well. At 5:15am, a nurse came & woke me, telling me that Ail had gone into labour, I laughed & got a hard look from the nurse, who said that I was needed as Ali had to go to the maternity hospital 3 miles way & she wanted me with her. I have to take a break as my tears are making it difficult see, I'll finish this tomorrow.

It is the time of Darkening of the Year, the coming of Winter. There are adjustments to the increasing darkness & the losing of light. Autumn is here, the Fall of leaves, birds migrating, the first frostsn come & aome animals start to go into hibernation.

Accept that Winter is approaching, at least I hope it does because we need one here in Somerset. It is the time of the Long Sleep, Death, yet there is the knowledge of Rebirth. Honour Death & celebrate Rebirth, and the cycles pf Life.

This is a time of adaptations.

Hel was one of the names of the Goddess of the UnderWorld, incarnate in the Elder tree.
Hella was originally a uterine shrine or sacred cave of rebirth. In matriarchal beliefs, the The Womb of Mother Earth was where the fires of purification were. When patriarchy took over, in fear of the feminine energy, they changed its identity to the place of the devil, Hell, that fiery furnace.

"Having been raised in patriarchal cultures, most of us have learnt to fear the dark reaches, and have to learn to undo the way in which this aspect of ourselves is suppressed. She is the Guardian at the Gate, for each one who makes contact with there deeper or higher Self (As in meditation or any deep psychic or emotional opening) All the fears & unwanted feelings that we have pushed into our subconscious, are lurking there at the threshold of consciousness, when ever we begin to cross over into unknown realms. If we can learn to let her be, to face what she means to us, and go through it, we can free the energies that lie beyond the conditioned unconscious. As we begin to accept her presence as another aspect of our whole-selves, she stops being a monster to fear, and starts becoming an ally, a spirit-guide through the labyrinth"
(Extract from WE'MOON Almanac) This applies to all of us, men & women.


May you & all those about you, those gone on & those yet to come, find peace & joy in the coming turning of the year.


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Remember that Samhain is a Festival for the Ancestors as well as New Year, for the Celts. The christians changed it to All Souls or All Hallows, and the USA gave us trick or treat, pumpkin pie & faces, witches & goblins and all the commercial dross that goes with it.

As the Festival of Samhain will soon be upon us, I thought I would begin my journal as we come to the end of the old year.

THE SAMHAIN GREATER SABBAT

The Celtic year ends and now the new one begins, rebirth in the midst of darkness. Samhain (pronounced "Sow-wen", think pig) is named after the Aryan God of Death, Samana, 'The Leveller',or 'Grim Reaper', leader of ancestral ghosts.

The veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. The recent dead vist their loved ones & a place is made for them at the feast. Rituals were enacted at the barrows & mounds, & shamanic journeys were undertaken to the UnderWorld, to connect with the dead & gain seer knowledge & healing powers. It is a doorway between the seen world of the flesh & the unseen world of the Spirit.

Through the rent in the fabric of space-time comes the Wild Hunt riding into this world to collect the lately dead & take them to Annwn, the Summerlands of the UnderWorld. The Lord of the Animals, who rides a huge White Hart, leads the Hunt. The Lord is the consort of the Goddess, who has many names.

The Autumnal Fire Festival usually took place at the Dark of Moon, in mid Scorpio. Since we now have things fixed to dates, Samhain takes place on the 31st. October. Samhain & its polar opposite, Beltane, are also linked to the setting & rising of the Pleiades which mark vital turning points of the year. The aspect of Orion, the Hunter, also plays a part in the Wild Hunt.



I will follow up with more tomorrow evening.

EH