Modred June, 2011

Get Wild & Dirty This Spring

Tags: spring

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Alex Crowe June, 2011

We have all heard that term Spring Cleaning. It is that time of year that you go out of your way to make sure the spider’s webs are clogging up your corners, your stove is spotless and your carpet is fresh as the day it was placed. It isn’t that you don’t do this already on a weekly basis, but you go that extra mile.

To be honest, I don’t know exactly where the term spring cleaning came from. There are many thoughts that it came from the New Year’s traditions of the Scottish to it being a good time for dusting due to the climate in the northern hemisphere. Either way, we all know that once a year, it is something we all go through.

That leads me to the thoughts of how we use the chemicals that are given to us by the industrial supply companies to use in our house. Why do we use these things? It isn’t that there is not better option out there that is safer for our households. We have many things that work just as well already in our cupboards. Is it that we are too lazy to get up and go get it? Not really, after all we drive how many miles to the store to buy that product that promises to make your coffee table streak free?

Chemicals are given to us simply because we are used to doing things that way. We go about learning from our mothers, who were taught by their mothers and so on. We didn’t give it a second thought that the chemicals we were placing on our stove were so volatile to our skin, and the fumes linger and damage our respiratory system. It doesn’t ever cross our minds that the stuff that we put into the air to make it smell fresher in our home is the same stuff that is used to embalm cadavers in funeral homes.

When I first started researching about the things we use in our homes I was astounded at all the things that harm us in the process of having a house that is spic-n-span. There are chemical free substitutions that you can use and it is VERY easy to do this. It isn’t all that time consuming and it would be better not only for your family, but the environment as well.

Take your stove cleaner and look at the list of ingredients. Did you know that if you use that stuff then turn on your oven it makes it worse for your breathing than if you would simply take ¼ c. baking soda
2 tbsp. salt, and hot water to make a paste. Let the paste sit for five minutes. Make sure to keep it off of wires or the heating elements. Wipe away and you are good to go. You have no worries about the lungs getting polluted.

A great everyday cleaner for your household is ¼ cup baking soda, ½ cup borax, ½ cup vinegar and 1 gallon of water. Mix together well and use on everyday surfaces. If you need something that has a more scouring power, try moist sea salt or more baking soda. Use a green pad scouring pad. Those are available at your local stores. They work quiet well and are even able to be washed in your dishwasher.

Speaking of dishwasher, I learned that the stuff that dishwashing detergent is made with has chlorine in it. Now, each time we wash our dishes, a little of that residue is left on them. I am sure that you find it as comforting as I did to know that it is very poisonous. As you place food on the dishes to eat from, your food will pick up this residue. So, you are eating a little bit of chlorine each time.

For a more natural way of cleaning your dishes with a dishwasher use this formula: In a plastic container with a lid that is snug mix 1 cup borax, 1 cup baking soda, ¼ sea salt, ¼ cup citric acid, 30 drops of citrus essential oils- lemon, orange, etc. Put in your airtight container and shake it to mix it well. Put one tablespoon into each cup of your dishwasher. A note on the citric acid, you can buy this at any brewing store.

Now, for your hand washing dishes, you can make soap out of one cup of liquid castile soap, 2 tablespoons water and a few drops of essential oil. Mix it well and use. It works great and is easy to make.

Now, what do I do if I want to use something for my wooden products? That is easy too. Furniture polishes usually contain things like petroleum distillates and they have been known to cause skin and lung cancers. We don’t want that so instead of using those chemical based products try this: two teaspoons lemon oil with one pint of mineral oil in a spray bottle. Spray and wipe your furniture down. For those hard water marks, use toothpaste. I know that it is a great use for those old toothbrushes you always throw out.

There are many ideas you can use to clean your house without chemicals. I hope that this article inspires you to go about looking for inventive ways to clean safer for your family and your environment. I welcome all your suggestions. I know I could learn a few more.

It is always said that we leave this planet to those that come after us. That may be our children, our grandchildren, friends and family and the children they bring. So, why not teach them to take care of the world so that she will enjoy the life she has for many years to come. I know Gaia would enjoy not having so many infestations of pollutants in her. Plus this way you save since the containers you use can be used over and over. You don’t have to worry about throwing another piece of garbage out onto her.

I want to thank a member of my Circle for the inspiration of this article. Thanks M. Without you giving me the ideas, this article wouldn’t have inspired me to become more of the person I am inside. I wish many blessings to you and those reading this.

Tags: cleaning, spring

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Miss Dana April, 2011

April Showers of Blessings

The world is busting out in life as April reveals herself. Hope is seen everywhere as bulbs planted last fall push their way through the chilly earth to greet the sun.

Hope and life are the two main themes at this time of year for those of us who follow an Earth based religion as well as our Christian family and neighbors. There is an amazing energy of love that cannot be contained within one belief system. The power of growth and warmth infuses not only the plants and earth, but each of us as well.

It is the time to push through our own darkness of the winter and reach for the healing light of Father Sun – a time to be “born anew”. The painted egg symbolizes the beauty awaiting us once we break out of the darkness. The birth of lambs and rabbits as well as chicks fills us with tenderness. Tenderness we need to give to ourselves as we, too, are wobbly and drowsy coming out of winter’s slumber.

We fill our house with the children’s stuffed animals.  Little lambs, chicks, ducks, and a baby deer pile on fireplace hearths, shelves, tables and baskets. Tissue paper blossoms hang from the seasonal branch over the kitchen table.  Dyeing eggs and making works of art on blown eggs are just as appropriate for our families as those of other beliefs.
Windsocks made of vines twisted into a circle and then crepe paper streamers tied around are fun to make as well as bubble wands made of chenille sticks. To blow bubbles is an amazing way to calm our kids or ourselves. And it is beautiful the way they dance away from us. Hopes and blessings can be blown into the bubble and then released to manifest in the highest good for all concerned.

We all join together and begin the season of light and growth, of hope and life. Breathe deep the sweet air and keep your face toward the sun.

Tags: april, spring

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MeadowMoon May, 2010

Tags: spring

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OSusun S. Weed April, 2010

Sweet Taste of Spring

March winds blow the sweet scent of maple sap boiling to my questing nose. When the days are warm and sunny and the nights below freezing, the sap rises in the trees. If those trees are sugar maples, then it is worth drilling a hole in the bark, inserting a tap, and collecting their sweet sap. There is so much sugar in sugar maple sap that it can be boiled and turned into maple syrup and maple sugar.

There’s about one gallon of maple syrup and ninety-nine gallons of water in one hundred gallons of maple sap.* A hot fire and a slow but steady boil send that sweet-smelling water vapor high in the clear, cold sky. The March wind blows it to me. I close my eyes and remember my years of “sugaring”, making maple syrup.

There’s something special about a task that requires one to stay up all night. Maple sap starts to ferment if it is left at normal temperatures for very long. Once ten or so gallons of sap have been collected, the boiling begins … and cannot be stopped until the finished syrup is achieved many, many, many hours later.

I have never sugared without at least one overnighter, and sometimes two. A large operation boils sap for weeks without stopping, just drawing off the syrup as it forms, if the run is steady and copious.

It was a picture of Helen Nearing driving a team of horses through the woods standing on a sleigh loaded with buckets of maple sap that made me long for a homestead where I could lead The Simple Life, like her. Two years later, I had my own “sugar bush” (an acre or more of woodlot where large sugar maples grow). Spring equinox found me with my drill in hand, a pocket full of taps, and a bunch of funny buckets with lids to hang from the taps. “Ting, ting,” the ping of sap filling the metal buckets echoes, tying me through time to every woman who has ever sugared, and bringing a smile to my heart and face.

My groves of sugar maples have never been large enough to require a team of horses or a sleigh. I’ve always lugged a big bucket out to the trees and poured the sap from the collecting buckets into it. When I have two or three buckets full, I pour them into a big galvanized tub set up on cinder blocks over a fire and commence to boil it down.

Native peoples valued maple sugar so highly that they set up camp in the sugar bush and lived there until the sap stopped flowing. Lacking metal drill bits, they cut a shallow groove in the bark and pressed hollow elder stems into service as taps to direct the flow of sap into birch bark containers.

I can heat the sap directly in my metal tub, while they had to hollow out a log, put smooth rocks into the fire, heat them, and put the hot rocks into the sap in the hollowed out log to boil it down into maple syrup and sugar. Whew! I am impressed with the power of the desire for sweet. It takes far more calories, in fuel and human energy, to make maple syrup or maple sugar than it returns.

Grandmother Twylah taught us that maple trees are friendly and companionable, colorful and expressive. They always have a positive attitude and are adept at helping us see solutions to impossible problems. Maple trees are devoted and true. Make friends with a maple and you will have a friend for life, she advised.

Ellen Everet Hopman, green witch, reminds us that maple-syrup-making time is Eostre’s time. Eostre (ee-oh-stir) is the Teutonic goddess of fertility and manifestation. Her symbols are the egg and the rabbit; her time is Spring Equinox. A lovely custom, still enacted, but without the underlying magic, is to paint a picture of something you desire on an egg and plant it in the ground so Eostre can help it grow and become real.

If it’s too late to tap your maples, or you live too far south for the sap to flow strongly, you can still be blessed and embraced by maple. A decoction of maple bark boiled in water can be used to ease sore eyes externally and to tonify the uterus after birth internally.

A magical wand of maple wood is used for spells that bring harmony, especially in the home. And maple leaves sewn into a charm made of green flannel, tied with a golden string, will bring abundance into your life.

Indulge your desire for sweet. Celebrate spring equinox and Eostre, who loves sweet things. Have a stack of pancakes swimming in butter and maple syrup. Or pour maple syrup over plain vanilla ice cream and savor the sweet taste of the friendly maple tree.

Green blessings.

* How much sugar per gallon of sap is quite variable, depending on the type of maple, the growing conditions, and especially the amount of sun the tree gets. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) sap is the sweetest, followed by the saps of silver maple (Acer saccharinum), Northern red maple (Acer rubrum), and Norway maple (Acer platanoides).

Tags: spring

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Hearthkeeper April, 2010

Spring solstice is past.. and we are preparing to plant or preparing to settle in for the winter in the Southern Hemi.. I want to start this month with a poem I received.. I know not the author.. but it was lovely

BLESSING THE EARTH FOR PLANTING ~

O gentle Air, we do come before Thee
To ask that your gentle tender breezes kiss
The plants that will come forth.

O fearful Fire, we do come to ask that
Your hot heat be but a gentle warmth
To help the plants grow.

O Water of Life, we do come before Thee
To ask your gentle waters to bring life
To the tender plants that come forth.

O Great Mother, let thy dark womb care
For the tender seeds, to push them up when
The time is right for the plants to come into full bloom.

We do thank Thee, Mother of All Living Things and Giver of Life.

Blessed Be.

So with that in our heads and hearts lets look toward spring planting

If you want to grow a garden this spring, it’s never too early to start planning. Take a look at some of the seed catalogs that many companies will send for free. They will give you great ideas

For beginners, I recommend starting with these crops below. All are easy to grow, and present lots of possibilities for cooking. Some of these crops are best grown by setting out started seedlings, but most are easy to grow from a packet of seeds.

1. Radishes. Radishes do well even in not-so-great garden soil and are ready to harvest in only a few weeks. Plant the seeds in spring and fall.

2. Salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula and corn salad). Pick your favorite, or try a mix — most companies sell mixed packets for both the summer and winter gardens. By planting seeds in spring and fall, and you can have fresh salads almost year-round.

3. Zucchini, bush style. This squash won’t take up as much room in your garden as many other types, and it’s very prolific. Start from seeds or transplants. You won’t need more than a few plants for a bumper crop..

4. Peppers. Both hot peppers and bell peppers are easy to grow. Start with plants and let peppers from the same plant ripen for different lengths of time to get a range of colors and flavors.

5. Strawberries. Perfectly ripe strawberries are unbelievably sweet, and the plants are surprisingly hardy. Buy bare-root plants in early spring. Put this perennial in a sunny spot and keep it well weeded.

6. Onions. Start with small plants, and if they do well, you can harvest bulb onions. If not, you can always eat the greens.

7. Green beans. Easy to grow and prolific, If you get a big crop, they freeze well Start with seeds after all danger of frost has passed.

8. Tomatoes. There’s nothing yummier than a perfectly ripe homegrown tomato, and it’s hard to go wrong when you start with strong plants. If you get a big crop, you can steam them and then can or freeze.

9. Basil. Many herbs are easy to grow, but basil is a good choice because it’s a nice complement to tomatoes. Basil grows easily from seeds as well as from transplants.

10. Potatoes. An easy-to-grow staple that stores well when kept cool; A simple and low-maintenance approach is to plant potatoes in straw rather than soil. “Seeds” are whole or cut sections of potatoes, sold in early spring. You can also grow them in a garbage can.. look on the farmers almanac for a video lesson.

Some hardy herbs will grow almost anywhere there is soil, sun and a water source. With a little encouragement, fibrous-rooted herbs can provide fragrant weed control along walkways or the difficult-to-maintain areas between stone pavers. Little herbal gems tucked into stone crevices can define a stone pathway, lure walkers down rocky steps or highlight an unusual hard scape feature in a garden. Discover the ways to take advantage of these tight spaces.

Creeping pink thyme (T. praecox) is a low-growing semi-evergreen with pretty, little pink flowers that last most of the summer. The fast-growing creeper is well suited to the confines between stepping-stones, filling in between stones quickly with tiny complementary gray-green leaves.”

Sweet violet does best with a fall or winter sowing, as the seed benefits from the cold. Violet seed is slow to germinate and will cheerfully appear between the pavers in the spring with small but mighty purple blooms.

For stepping stones in shade, Corsican mint is very aromatic and grows only 1 or 2 inches high. this mint works for moist, shaded areas. Because of its carpet-like growth requiring very good drainage and plenty of shade,

Creeping golden marjoram makes a tough but attractive groundcover this herb can be mowed or trimmed with pruners to keep it flat.

Lawn chamomile is a perennial that grows no more than 6 inches tall. It is a nonflowering herb. The apple-scented chamomile forms a compact mat, useful as a pathway. It is a good in full sun and well-drained soil.

And during this time you should be planting the things you want to bloom in your life… happiness, prosperity, balance, peace.. These things need to be place in your heart on purpose and tended all the season long (your life). So that when you harvest them you will have strong roots and no weeds ( negativity). You are the only one REALLY in control of your life.. You sow both good and bad; but if you weed out the bad and tend the good then you will have a happier life as well as a clean and balanced one. Your life and body like your garden need purposeful attention.. both will wilt and die if you neglect them. And as you work towards and happy healthy garden you will find that you will remove many things you did not know were harmful as well as ad some things you did not realize you were missing.. this also holds true during harvest time when you would be preparing your garden and body for the restful time between planting..

And not to have my friends from the Southern Hemi think I am forgetting them here is something I found in my folders for Mabon for you

Away from the Harvest

Tune:  “Away In A Manger“

words adapted by Blake TaylorMixon

Away from the harvest the seasons have turned
The nights have grown colder and fires we’ve burned
The stars in the heavens look down where we stand
Neighbors and friends with candles in hand.

The warmth is returning, the sun and the light
Will brighten our days and shorten our nights
Come gather around the Solstice is here
The old one is passing, begins the new year.

This is a powerful time in the Southern Hemi as you are starting to reap the harvest and all the work of the summer… planning ahead for winter.. even though it is a while away . Blessings for protection and prosperity are most powerful done at this time as well as for harmony and balance. Canning and freezing of all the wonderful gardens will be going strong .

Now is the time to start to harvest the good in your life as well.. with positive affirmations as well as actions.. if you have planted the things you desired in the spring and tended them all season(your life) then now you should be able to reap what you have sown …. And not be unhappy about it. But remember that this is the time to prepare the ground for the coming spring.. you must tend it with love and fertilize with balance… so that while resting the winter away you and it will also become the fertile area to grow even better than this year.

And following the last article I wrote about Spring cleaning you home and your self.. here is a ritual to rid yourself of some deep rooted weeds in your life..

Weed the Garden Ritual

Wait for the waning Moon, you can weed your garden and do magic at the same time. Start by thinking about what you want to get rid of in your life, and perhaps in the world. You may find some deeply rooted junk
Then go into your garden, equipped to weed with kneepads, hoe,
Fork, and the like. As you pull each weed, name it, and say what you wish to remove:

I remove …….,
I remove ………
I remove ………

And so on. You will find that your garden gets neater and your heart gets lighter.
Afterward, be sure to dispose of the weeds carefully.
Either bag them and put them into the garbage immediately.
Knowing they are going away, or if you compost,
Ask the Earth to transform them as they rot.

Then the following full moon go back to the same place and plant something new. Start by thinking of the things you NEED to become part of your life, and your world.

Then go into your garden, equipped to weed with kneepads, hoe,
Fork, and the like. Plant the plants or the seeds, name it, and say what you wish to add to your life

I plant….

I plant….

I need to plant….

Water well and ask God/dess to help these thing to grow not only in your heart and life but your garden as well.. so that you have a visual manifestation to show you how well they can grow.

Until next time

Blessed Home and Hearth

The Hearthkeeper

PS. If there is anything you would like to see here.. please email me at thehearthkeeper@gmail.com

Blessed be…

Tags: spring

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Hoi Sum April, 2010

Tags: easter, Ostara, spring

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Hearthkeeper March, 2010

In my Notes article this month I wrote about spring cleaning, both physical and spiritual.. so in this article I will give you some recipes for eco friendly cleaning supplies…

Scouring Powder
1c baking soda
1c sea salt
1/2 c lemongrass
1/2 c lavender flowers
10 drops lemon, lime, or grapefruit essential oil

Combine all ingredients in the blender or food processor and pulse until they become a powder.

You can choose other herbs that go well together..as well as those that purify.

Carpet Freshener
1/2 c cornstarch
1/2 c baking soda
1/4 c lemongrass
1/4 c lemon peel
6 drops grapefruit essential oil

Combine all ingredients into the blender and pulse until they become a powder. Transfer into a mixing bowl and stir occasionally until completely dry. Sprinkle onto carpet and let sit 15 minutes before vacuuming.

Lavender dryer sachet
Some of you may have made the muslin bags filled with
Lavender buds to add to your clothes dryer.
Here’s a little different twist.
Use raw uncooked rice in the muslin bags.
In a bowl add Lavender essential oil to the rice, stir and place
in bags. You can also use handkerchiefs or other material.
Just be sure to seal or tie it so you don’t end up with rice in your laundry and dryer.

Carpet Freshener Recipe II
This makes a big batch of carpet freshener that will last quite awhile. See the  end of this recipe for additional combinations.

Carpet Freshener
Ingredients:
6 cups baking soda
3 cups dried lavender buds/flowers*
1 cup cornstarch
Directions:
Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container (a clean ice cream pail works great). Set aside for a couple of days before using. Sprinkle generously on carpet and let sit for one hour before vacuuming.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Alternative recipes:
Cloves & Cinnamon (50/50 mix or whatever you prefer)
Lavender & Rosemary (50/50 mix or whatever you prefer)
Dried Mint Leaves
Eucalyptus
Potpourri

Crush the herbs or flowers up a bit first before adding to the recipe.

Cleaning Floors
To clean hard floors, add l/4 cup of white vinegar to a
bucket of water. Then add 5- 10 drops of lemon oil. If the
floor is especially dirty, add several drops of dishwashing
soap or Thieves Household Cleaner. This will clean even
the dirtiest floor.

Oven Cleaner

Mix together: ¼ c. baking soda
2 tbsp. salt
Hot water, as needed to make a paste.
Let paste sit for 5 minutes. Caution: Keep off wires/heating elements.

Oven cleaner II
2 tbsp. liquid soap (castile, peppermint)
2 tsp. borax
1 qt. warm water
Spray on oven and wait 20 minutes, then clean. For tough stains, scrub with very fine steel wool and baking soda

Feel free to adjust the recipes to your preferred strength and scent or create your own combinations to make them your own

THE CLEANING CABINET ESSENTIAL 10

For basic cleaning, the following items are all you need.

1. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

Mineral made from soda ash. Baking soda is a miracle cleaner – it absorbs odors and is mildly abrasive. However, make sure it’s fresh to ensure its cleaning powers. Test it by adding 1 tbsp to ¼ cup vinegar. If it fizzes, it’s fresh.

2. White distilled vinegar

An acid made from the fermentation of dilute alcoholic liquids. Excellent disinfectant, deoderizer and anti-fungal.

3. Borax (sodium borate)

Alkaline mineral. Another miracle cleaner – however it is an eye irritant and toxic if swallowed. Keep out of the reach of children. (Caution: some borax has been found contaminated with arsenic from where it is mined. Use sparingly.)

4. Washing soda (sodium carbonate)

Chemical relative of baking soda, but more strongly alkaline. A great solvent, but slightly caustic, so wear protective gloves. Don’t use on wax floors, fiberglass or aluminum.

5. Hydrogen peroxide (household concentration 3%)

Bleach substitute in place of chlorine.

6. Bon Ami (original)

Founded in 1886, made from calcite and feldspar mineral abrasives. No chlorine, perfume or dye.Biodegradable. Excellent non-abrasive glass and appliance cleaner.

7. Liquid vegetable-based soap

Vegetable-based soap sometimes referred to as castile soap.

8. Liquid vegetable-based detergent

Detergents are chemically different from soaps in that they are made from synthetics. Look for products that are biodegradable and made from vegetable-based ingredients rather than petroleum based.

9. Olive and essential oils

Lavender, lemon, tea tree, and peppermint essential oils add natural fragrance and have antiseptic properties.

10. Grapefruit seed extract

A powerful anti-bacterial.

Many of these ingredients can be found in your local grocery store or health foods stores.

Enjoy until next month.

Merry Cooking and Blessed Eating

The Hearthkeeper

Tags: cleaners, eco friendly, spring

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Willow Winterborne March, 2010

*The Hedgewitch lives in the space between the Village and the Forest. Between the mundane and the magical. S/He lives with a foot in both worlds.
This column is dedicated to the Hedgewitches of the planet earth.

The Dormant Season
or A Survival Guide to Life in Limbo
Spring is just around the corner, and new life is beginning to manifest itself everywhere. Even in snow-covered places, the crocus and other bulbs begin to emerge from their long slumber. Flowering tree buds swell and begin to defy the cold with their colorful, hope- and cheer-inducing blossoms.

It is easy to see the parallels between the cycles of Nature and the cycles of our lives, as magical people. We pay attention, and are mindful of the changes.  In some of our “seasons”, we are busy and industrious. In others, there is nothing to be done, but to trust in the return of the sun, and that the dormant phase will eventually end. Sadly, our seasons are not always tidily placed into 3-month increments; predictable, steady. Our cycles can last for months or even years.
Yet, there is the aspect of predictability in that they will end, and transition into a new cycle, without doubt.
All things change, both in Nature, and in our own lives.
The very essence of magic is change, if our lives do not change, we know we are magically ineffectual; even stagnant.
Some would say that the times in our lives when we are involved in great productivity and observable change are the most challenging. Sometimes even stressful.
But for me, it is the dormant season that feels the hardest.
The times when it feels like nothing is happening.
This past 3 month period has been one of those for me.
As my garden has lain barren, so it has felt as though my life was taking no forward turn whatsoever.
I have felt like I was between lives. One still ending, the next not quite underway.
It has been quite maddening for me, as I am the sort who feels strongly compelled to make lists, manifest change and get a move on.
As with all seasons, they last exactly as long as they are meant to, quite without regard for how we feel about it.
I have tried various coping methods for this period of limbo my life has been in. This missive is to share those strategies with you. Perhaps you are also awaiting the start of your new life; The Spring for you.
Hopefully, these tips will help make your transition easier, as they have mine.

* Recognize that it is a dormant period for you.
In the same way we know better than to be angry with winter trees for not having leaves, we can ease our own burden of inactivity by realizing this is a dormant period, rather than a productive one.
Just understanding that this is a normal aspect of one’s personal development helps to remind us that spring will come, when it is time.
During this phase, patience, remaining grounded and embracing (even encouraging) the quiet can help us cope.
Accepting that you are not moving forward is not the same as being in denial about it. Know your options and stay abreast of the developments, but also recognize when there is nothing you can do, and accept it as reality.
*Release attachments to a specific outcome.
Just as working a love spell to attract a specific person can be troublesome, so can being attached to only one outcome. The Universe may have something completely different, and unexpected, in mind for you, next. Being attached to any single potential outcome limits your own creativity, and stifles the energy which is interceding on your behalf to create a new life. The best things that happen in our lives are not planned, so trust the process enough to let go of how you think it “should be”.
*Be kind to yourself and others.
Times of uncertainty and stillness can make us frustrated, frightened and even angry. These are excellent times to nurture very simple and necessary pleasures. Good sleep, healthy eating and exercise are often the first things to slip when we feel uncertain. A drop of lavender oil in a tub of hot water can provide a much-needed respite from the cares of the times. Gentle exercise like yoga can help center the body and encourage deep, restful sleep.
Just for kicks, do your hair. Or dress up. You don’t have to have anywhere to go, to make yourself feel special and beautiful.
Splurge on a box of your favorite tea, and take time to quietly enjoy a cup every day.
Create sacred space and spend time in the company of the Divine.
Each positive step you take for your own care will reap benefits far beyond what you can imagine.
*Ask for help, when you need it
In all our lives we have people who love us and want to help us. So often, we believe we should be able to “do it myself”, and disconnect ourselves from those who most enhance our lives. In allowing others to help us, we give them the opportunity to be blessed. We all understand the importance of giving, and its necessity. But we must be equally willing to receive, and to allow others to be blessed for their contributions to our lives.
These can be difficult and uncertain times. But we have tools available to us to not merely survive, but to shine in difficult times. We have families, communities and a Universe which supports us even when we can’t feel it.
Know that the Spring will come and the leaves will return to the trees. The ice of inactivity will melt, and the new phase will emerge.
So often, after a period of inactivity, we will see why it took so long. The perfect place we now walk into is a direct result of having been patient while all the tumblers fell into place.
Trust the process, and be mindful of the blessings along the way.
And know that you are not alone, in whatever season you currently dwell.
Brightest Blessings for a Most Magical and Magnificent Spring,

Tags: self help, spring

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Patrick McCleary March, 2009

Spring is nearly here, the cold weather is beginning to wane and the showers of Spring will soon begin to fall. A short time after all that the plants will begin to bloom and the trees to turn green again. The animals will awaken and go out to forage and look for new food to fill their bellies empty from a long winter hibernating.

For me and my family this month has also been a time of rest and renewal. With nearly two months between Sabbats, we can take a break and turn our focus onto resting and preparing for the work of the coming season.

Soon we will be planting our garden and we will take this opportunity to teach our children about the importance of hard work, perseverance and patience.

Hard work because planting and digging is not always easy to do. Although my youngest seems to enjoy it. I think it is the playing in the dirt thing.

Perseverance because they have to take it on faith that the work that they are doing now will show rewards in the coming months. Plus, here in Florida, the heat comes early so they get hot quick and tend to want to quit almost as soon as they started.

The final lesson is patience. There is a process to gardening. From preparing the soil and planting the seeds. To the waiting for sprouting and then the cutting back. My children want to do it all right away and at the same time. So I have to hold them back and make them wait for the right time. They get tired of hearing the words, ‘Seeds don’t sprout overnight’.

These lessons are important and are sorely lacking from the rest of the world. We rush and rush in our society. We want it all and we want it yesterday. If we were a little more hardworking and patience and stuck it out to the end, than we would all be better off.

This is also the season of burgeoning fertility. We celebrate, like so many others, by painting eggs. In our Family Coven’s tradition this small act is an act of magick that will aid the Goddess and God in their bringing back the warmth and growth of the Spring. I also tell my kids that Coyote, the trickster steals the eggs and hides them. And so the egg hunt begins.

Of course the hunt also helps to spread the magick around. So my children learn from this that even though things may not always go according to plan and that bad things happen, that in the end they will work out for the best.

So as we go forward from here into Spring and the warmer weather comes take some time to go outside with your children and watch the world begin to waken from their long Winter slumber. Here in Florida one of the most common animals we see are cows with horses being a close second, and I know that in the next few months I will be able to point out the foals and calfs to my children.

And maybe you can pass on some of these lessons of Spring to your kids as well.

Tags: children, eggs, kids, Ostara, spring

• Children and Parenting