30 March 2010

A slow process....

I am starting to realise that this blog, to begin with, will have entries few and far between. This journey will be long and slow and at 1st may not seem to have much to blog about. Especially considering most of my reading happens once I turn in to bed. But as I read tonight in 'The Intuitive Way', "There is only one journey. Going inside yourself." Rainer Maria Rilke. And to me that journey is worth all the time in the world, every slow and cautious step.

At the moment I am slowly working through 3 books, 'The Intuitive Way', 'Everyday Witch A-Z' & 'The Green Wiccan Herbal'. I have also started following quite a few pagan bloggers, some of who actually teach in their blogs. I could just sit and read these blogs all day if I could.

Some things I have picked up are that I was born on Beltane - May 1st, but this doesn't make me a Beltane baby because that is the name given to those conceived during Beltane. Also this would be in the Northern Hemisphere and I am under the impression that many/some witches work off of a Southern Hemisphere calander. 

So a calander of events / festivals for the Southern Hemisphere, along with an athame and a challice are some of the items I would like to obtain to assist me on my journey. However I have read that the athame is not something you should buy for yourself but be given as a gift or found....... which could make it very difficult. I could of course request the gift from someone like my husband?? But is it really a gift then if I have asked for it? They say if you have to buy your own athame from a store, to buy a plain one that you can decorate and personalize yourself and to of course cleanse and consecrate before use.

So I just did a quick google on the festivals, and here in Australia May 1st would be Samhain & not Beltane.


 Wiccan Festivals according to the Hemisphere

Date           Northern Hemisphere                Southern Hemisphere
October 30th   Samhain                        Beltane
December 21st   Yule (Winter's Solstice)                Midsummer (Summer's Solstice)
February 2nd   Imbolc or Brigantia                Lughnassadh or Lammas
March 21st   Ostara (Spring Equinox)                Mabon (Autumn Equinox)
May 1st   Beltane                        Samhain
June 21st   Midsummer (Summer Solstice)      Yule (Winter Solstice)
August 2nd   Lughnassadh or Lammas                Imbolc or Brigantia
September 21st  Mabon (Autumn Equinox)             Ostara (Spring Equinox)A



A brief summary on Samhain: Is said to be the one night of the year when the veil between the worlds is the thinnest. Some believe that on this night, all those who have died in the previous year pass over to the other side and those are which to be born in the coming year cross to join the living. It is on this night that you say your final farewell to those who had passed in that year and take the time to think back on our ancestors. At Samhain the goddess is honoured in her role as the crone, mourning her loss of her consort at Mabon, but looking forward to the birth at Yule. So Samhain is a time for reflection on the sorrows of our losses but also to celebrate the gifts of the future. This is what I have been given from the 'Everyday Witch A-Z', and I am sure my understanding and connection to this and all the other festivals will deepen as my readings and learnings broaden and continue.

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