The time of the first fruits holds a special significance for many people and many groups. The first fruits spawned religious and cultural festivals and summer rites because …
Author Archives: Via Hedera
The Lughnasadh Spirit
The Home, the HearthWhen moving into a new space, I do the cleaning first. This means smudging every corner, the way my mother taught me, placing an old penny above the doorways, leaving salt in the corners of the kitchen, walking the house with the idol of She-Who-Protects-The-Home, leaving sea-glass wrapped in copper hanging in the windows- all the little charms and rituals that I’ve been doing for house blessing my whole life. …
Light Bearing: My Candles
The candle in my practice is not an accessory as it seems to be to many other witches. I don’t take it quite as seriously as some do, yet it is a central part of my practice. For me, the …
Little Locavore
Going locavore is a huge goal of mine and Andrew’s, inspired by my years of scavenging and his love of sustainability. We even found out there’s a hot-spot app for locavores in Seattle! I already have a bunch of areas that are marked off in my book of Banes and Betters and in my cunning diary that produce an abundance of northwest plants.
You don’t really have to go far to get food and to scavenge- …
Here and There
Yeay! Andrew and I finally moved! Our place is cozy but cute and I’ve already begun to unpack my vast amount of crap! We’re still waiting to move the heavier furniture, that comes later on today when my friend Trish comes over with her truck. ^_^ I am a very happy camper.
And wouldn’t you know it, on the day we move the bulk out, the sun was shining and the garden was ready for some initial harvesting. Peas, squash, lettuce, collards, corn, onions, oh my! Everything looked and tasted delicious and I’m glad it all came in before the house got demolished… Hopefully the first fruits from Pomona’s grove will ripen just in time for the festival. I love the many holy days of summer: lughnasadh is one of the most fun days, then the First Fruits, the Mysteries, the rites of the Corn Woman, the Mead Day Festival, it goes on and on and ends with the Last Harvest (Autumnal Equinox).<br …
Bat Crossing
During last night’s binding and banishing rite, bats suddenly appeared overhead just as I began to dance. You don’t see many bats in the area, it was my first time ever seeing them outside of the mountains. They were small, delicate and beautiful and made the sweetest chirping sounds that echoed into the night. As I was dancing swiftly round the ring, they swooped and ed overhead, shadows against the dark blue sky. Wormwood and sage incense wafted around the yard, the cauldron fire was low and red and the spirits were on the move while I fell into the trance, dancing and spinning and ing like the bats who joined my rite from the first drum beat to the last. When the music stopped, the six or seven little winged things disappeared over the river, through the pines, into the distance.
To continue reading, please see the original post at “Bat Crossing“.
Art Rosmerta and other crafts
So, we’re in the process of moving which cuts into my blogging time, lame, but I have some very cool announcements to make in the coming week and look out for updates. One of the announcements is that after many requests from dear friends who take time out of their days to check this blog, Andrew and I have decided we will take our Morrighan and Rosmerta devotionals in to be made into prints, which we plan on selling. As some of you know, I’m weird about charging money for my crafts but the prints took so much time and turned out so freaking cool that we decided to sell them on an Etsy shop in print form in a month or so. Along with the prints will be some sets of sigils, symbols and runes made from madrona or pear-wood and some other neat stuff.
To continue reading, see the original post at “Art Rosmerta and other crafts“.
A Garden, A Rose, A Snake
I love watching a garden grow. I love seeing changes every day, witnessing all life benefiting from it. I never wear my shoes in my garden or yard, I need to feel the wet soil, the cold grass and the tickle of insect feet across my toes.
To continue reading, please see the original post at “A Garden, A Rose, A Snake“.
A Vision in the Forest
I walked near the dark heart of the forest: a place where the woods are so tall, so thick, so old that you couldn’t see but five feet ahead of you before being lost in a billion pine needles, cedar boughs, deep green hawthorn branches and thick red madrona. The boundaries are marked by windthrows, nursing logs decaying on the bottom to red dust and thriving above with ferns and shoots. The path along is only ivy and Herb Robert with patches of wild flowers and thorn bushes drawling low against the damp soil and fallen foliage.
To continue reading, please see the original post at “A Vision in the Forest“.
Nature Being Sexy
Calystegia silvatica or giant bindweed may be the species of Morning glory growing so prominently in my yard and all over the place or it’s likely Calystegia sepium or hedge bindweed, it’s sort of hard to tell some species a part so if anyone has a better idea based on the pictures and my location (near Seattle WA), I’d love to hear it!
To continue reading, please see the original post at “Nature Being Sexy“.