The Wand in the Willows

I recently read a blog post on wands, it was the buy or make debate and as any good pagan knows make always wins.

I come from rural Alberta and around my hometown there are Poplar, Birch and Willow groves. For decades we have maintained a sacred grove here and have several sacred sites that we use for various reasons, one of them is a Willow grove that produces beautiful diamond willow. Three generations of sacred tools (wands, staffs and staves) have been found here by my family circle and it is where on a trip there many many years ago my wand began…I chose Litha for my wand finding pilgrimage. my Dad drove me out in the late evening to the Willow grove and went off on his own to leave me to my search. I wandered around a bit just drinking in the feel of the place and talking with the Willows, touching them, singing to them, raising energy as I explained why I was there and that I hoped to be honored with a wand. I left an offering of an apple for the Goddess and God, a small quartz and a dime for the Willows and the Fae then sat down to commune with the spirits of the grove, after a while I felt a pull toward the northern area of the grove with the whisper of sister sister sister and on the ground in front of the most sensual willow ever was the beginning of my wand and it was exactly what I had envisioned
I was so giddy I squealed and so excited I almost ran out of the grove to the truck with out saying thank you ( J remembering it still gives me the thrill of excitement) I caught myself tho and thanked the Goddess and the Willows for such and amazing gift!!
Over the next couple weeks I stripped and sanded all of the bark off, carefully carving and sanding out the diamonds, singing power into my wand with every session. I rubbed it with my personal power oil and thought I was ready to dedicate it. I took it to show my parents and my Dad asked me if I thought it was finished? Did it feel balanced to me? I told him that it was as best as it was going to get my original idea had been a wand woven of different woods and that was not this wand. He said no but we could incorporate other woods if I wanted and that he would show me how. My dad was an amazing woodworker and he helped me to make my wand perfect. We discussed the woods I wanted to use and why. I wanted to add Oak for the God and Birch for the Goddess and I wanted them to some how support the main part of the wand the Willow which I  consider my tree, I have been drawn to it since I was a child and love it so much I named my first born daughter in its honor. So my father helped me to created the perfect handle half Birch and the other half Oak then we turned it on the lathe to make it a perfect fit for my hand. He showed me the secrets of splicing the wood together and helped me to fit it to the main willow part but it still was not finished. I really wanted a crystal at the end and in true form my Dad already knew that :) he pulled out a quartz point that he had collected in the Caribou Mountains when we lived up north. We fitted the point and now it was PERFECT!! It was dedicated on my birthday which is the eve of Lughnasadh. I have made three other wands since for various reasons but MY wand is my favorite tool and this spring my oldest daughter will begin crafting hers after a pilgrimage to the Willow grove.

MY Wand

Half Birch Half Oak handle

Quartz point

The beginning of some catch up.

Now that the holidays are over I can breath a bit and catch up on a very neglected blog. So over the next little while my posts will be all over as I cover a bunch of stuff that I have wanted to get on here. The minions have been doing all sorts of stuff, they learned some pretty cool things and have had some fun adventures and Zed learned all about the harsh reality of being LAID OFF but as always another door opened.......

The night of the 23 he was informed that his company had no more jobs and until they did the crew was laid off, this is the first time that Zed has had to deal with a unexpected loss of work so he was pretty upset. I thought to myself "nice timing jerks", now Zed is a teenager and really does not NEED his job but the other guys on his crew do and one of them is a brand new father, really what kind of people do lay offs on the 23rd of December!! I told Zed maybe he should just look for a new job because does he really want to work for people like that, He agreed. So I mentioned to a friend of mine that Zed was looking for work and he put in a good word and Zed now has a new job framing houses. He is very excited that he will be working in the carpentry field. Wood has always been a big part of our world, one of my Dads passions was wood work and he made beautiful firniture. When Hubby and I were first married we worked with Dad logging for three years, they were great years. The smell of sawdust and woodsmoke are some of the most comforting smells in our world. So as one door closes another opens I hope Zed can make his way in this trade and that he finds as much joy working with wood as his Grandfather did.

Nope not a Scrooge... Just a pagan.

My neighbor asked me the other day why we had not yet decorated for Yule? She was surprised because we decorate pretty early and very extensively for Halloween/Samhain. So I explained our lack of decor was for a very good reason.....as pagans this is the dark time of the year when we are to reflect rest and heal. The time between the Gods return to the underworld and his return as the baby Sun God is the time to look into oneself, to be still and listen, to rest and renew.

The house is deep cleaned and re-organized then magickally cleansed and smudged.  We concentrate on any problems personal or in the house that need addressing and address them. Not taking this time in our yearly cycle to really look at ones self and take the opportunity to confront or try and fix ones problems is un-healthy. To hide our problems and let them build and build is society’s norm unfortunately but when you follow the cycle of the wheel it naturally brings balance. So in honor of this part of the cycle we do not decorate and we try to keep from the distraction of the rest of society that has decided that the Christmas season begins Nov.1.

We focus on us and the dark time and wait for the return of the light. So when do we start to celebrate the return of the light?    13 days before the Solstice.

Mommy’s minions…..Part 2

So I know it has been awhile, life got really busy and I have not yet found the time in my schedule to make this blog a regular thing but I will try harder..............best your gonna get right now :) So I told you about my boys now on to....

The Girls

Willowtree our oldest daughter is a Virgo born under a Cancer moon. She was all pink and ribbons and bows as a baby and little girl, everything sparkly and pink was her desire. Grampa called her Princess and she fit the bill. Around eight years old she started to become serious about her love of clothes and a fashionista was born! Now Willowtree definitely has her own sense of style, it leans heavily on gothic and 80's retro. Her hair color changes every couple months and has been through the rainbow spectrum at least twice. She loves animals and has two pets a ferret Loki and an Angore cat Koda, for a very long time she wanted to be a Veterinarian. She has a love of reading; sci-fi and fantasy are her favorite genres. She loves science, ancient history, cooking, baking and has been thinking of becoming a Forensic Anthropologist or a Pastry Chef. A born activist she is very opinionated and strong. I have never seen her back down from anything. She knows her voice and how to use her words, vocabulary and debate are definite strong suits. A devoted worshiper of Bast she has had dreams of becoming a high priestess since she was little. She loves herbs and has a very good command of there uses and applications already. Tarot is her favorite divination tool but she says she wants to learn the pendulum as well. She practices yoga, loves to ride her bike and figure skate. Like all girls her age Willowtree loves music and right now is totally obsessed with Marianas Trench and the lead singer Josh Ramsay. She is a social butterfly and has many many friends, most weekends are booked for sleepovers and it is always a fight for the telephone. Her totems are Bear, Butterfly and cat.

Bug our youngest daughter is also an Aries born under a Scorpio Moon and so much like her brother King Connaher it isn't funny. She came into this world early and still weighed a whopping 11lbs 3oz. It was a very rough pregnancy and even rougher delivery...but our family was finally complete. She has been called Bug since birth...Lovebug, bugaboo, lilbug, bugalug and then just Bug. She is a great balance between girly girl and tomboy and it is not unusual to see her catching bugs or digging in the dirt in a frilly pink gown. She is a natural singer and it constantly amazes me when I hear her singing a song with perfectly memorized lyrics after only hearing it a couple times. A true nature baby she prefers to be outdoors and will often come in for a meal and ask to take it back outside to eat :) Her loyal companion is her big brothers Doberman Pinscher Terra Mae and where ever she is inside or out Terra is right by her side. When she is inside she is an avid gamer and loves Mario and Sonic. She really likes anime and chooses to watch it over anything else, her and King Connaher spend hours discussing the stories and characters. She is learning to read but is very resistant to learning to write so I have been testing various methods to get her interested in printing. She likes her alone time and will spend hours playing by herself quite happily singing away. She is a bundle of energy and runs everywhere. She likes to swim and practices yoga. Her totems are Ram, Elephant, Phoenix and Red tailed hawk.

Mommy’s minions…..

So I told ya a bit about me, now here is a bit about the minions.

The Boys…
    Zed is the oldest an Aquarius born under a Taurus moon. When I was pregnant with him I had very vivid dreams full of wolves and a man who was also a Raven. The wolves were always running beside me and never scared me, I knew they were excited and anticipating this birth for some reason. The man was not scary either he was watching and protecting. (Now I know all about this and what it is about and I will post on it in the future I promise) Zed was born on Imbolc quick and easy with only three hours of labour. From a very early age he had an amazing connection with animals, I remember watching him play hide and seek with a wild weasel at the age of four. He is very much at ease in the wilderness and with all things wild. We have had a zoos worth of animals over the years and the majority were Zeds. Growing up he spent a lot of time with my Dad and learned as much as he could about nature and how to survive in it.  He loves all animals and wants to work in an animal conservation field eventually.  First tho he wants to join the military to serve his country just like his Dad did. He loves the natural sciences and excels in these fields and has a great passion for ancient history. He has worked part time since he was twelve and has tried his hand at cooking, dog training, logging, electrostatic painting, landscaping and last year he worked on a ranch for a dog breeder to work off a pure bred Doberman puppy, her name is Terra Mae.  He is very active and loves to wrestle has a great sense of humour and is fiercely loyal. His totems are Wolf and Otter and when he was nine he informed me he is owned by Loki and their relationship has been an interesting ride to this point.

King Connaher is an Aries with a Scorpio moon. He also had a quick entry into our world the doctor didn’t even make it up from the cafeteria a nurse had to deliver him. He is my warrior and has been obsessed with all things warrior since he could talk. As a young child he would spend hours building castles and fighting with his knights and dragons. He loves dragons!! likes to read and his favorite subject is history. He is becoming very adept at scrying. King Connaher is also a very talented painter, loves to invent and create and is always “doing experiments”.  He is a gamer and has a very frustrating habit of wrapping a game within days or sometimes hours of purchase. He loves zombie movies and says he prays for Z day (as does my husband and his older brother). He likes anime and the last few years he has shifted his focus to Japan and loves all things Japanese. He has started to learn to speak Japanese and is planning on visiting the country when he turns eighteen. He says when he grows up he wants to be a police officer or a soldier because they are todays warriors. Like me he needs his alone time so he practices yoga, tai chi and meditates daily.  His totems are Dragon, Ram and Red tail Hawk.

Happy Mabon

So today we are celebrating Mabon, the second of the three harvests we celebrate in our tradition. Mabon is the fruit and vegetable harvest as Lughnasadh is the grain harvest and Samhain is the harvest of souls or meat. This year we are celebrating with a feast as we always do. Bug busied herself most of the afternoon making a Mabon cornucopia out of construction paper, pipe cleaners, pom poms and foam shapes. Willowtree helped me in the kitchen.
This years menu
Stuffed Acorn Squash: Squash is a perfect autumn harvest veggie. In the stuffing there are apples, walnuts, cranberries all great Mabon symbols
Corn on the cob: A bountiful harvest veggie in our area
Waldorf salad: Apples, Grapes and Walnuts again all great Mabon symbols
Rosemary olive oil heavy bread: Rosemary is a Mabon herb
Rosemary Sage custard: Rosemary and Sage are both Mabon herbs plus they come from my own garden
Sour cream apple pie: Apples are the fruit of the Goddess they hold a place of high honor in our tradition and at this time of year.

We all sat around the table and gave praise and thanks to the Goddess and God for all of the blessings in our lives. Later tonight Willowtree and I will join our Coven and celebrate Mabon and the Harvest Moon in ritual. May you all be able to see the bounty in your lives
Goddess Bless you this Mabon

A series of unfortunate events........

One of the first questions most people ask me when they find out my minions are not in public school is WHY?  I was familiar with homeschooling the thought had crossed my mind on numerous occasions but like most my minions were in public school. I was too busy to homeschool, I wanted a career.
So why did I??
Let me tell you about a series of unfortunate events…..

When we moved to the city the minions (except Bug, she was still a baby) were enrolled in a public school only 4 blocks from our house, we thought it was a stroke of luck. Now living in this particular city was very different from the cities we had been in before within the first three months we had seen, heard and dealt with more violence than any other city we had been in, We brushed it off as "it's the city what can you expect."
    Summer holidays came and went and Zed was going to middle school, a different school than King Connaher and Willowtree. He was so excited!  There was going to be a bit of a bus ride on the city bus, but it was for students only the “School Special” they called it. Unfortunately the bus driver had a problem with the student only policy and let other passengers on all the time. The first disaster was a drunk who vomited all over the bus, then there was the junkie who wouldn't leave the kids alone and another junkie who freaked out and stole some kids backpack and terrified the whole bus. We complained every time and were given various excuses and told that we could always take him ourselves.     
    Meanwhile Willowtree had been having some bully issues at her and king Connahers school, we had been to the school a few times and the school was not doing a thing about it.
     Samhain was coming and one week before our favourite holiday one of my worst nightmares happened.  King Connaher and Willowtree were walking home from school about a block from our house when a guy in a beige van pulled up and ask them if they wanted a ride, they kept walking. Then he pulled up closer to the curb and asked them if they wanted some candy and held up some chocolate bars. They started to run and were screaming “Get away from me Stranger!! After I called the police I called the school to alert them and they brushed it off saying “this close to Halloween it could have been some one in the spirit” not even caring to alert the parents of the other students of this potential danger.
    At Zeds school there were some very disturbing events going on. He would come home with stories of fights being broken up by staff using excessive violence. Then Zed got into a fight at school it was a minor scuffle with some pushing, no punches were thrown and it was over before the teachers showed up to break it up but for some reason Zed and the other boy were very roughly physically restrained. Now I was pissed!! NO ONE puts there hands on MY CHILD!! We went to the school to deal with it and were told that the teacher was sorry and it wouldn't happen again but with what they had to deal with on a daily basis it was to be expected. What a load of BULL!!
     At this same time King Connaher was invited to start at a new school, his artistic talents had been noticed and he went to a special program in a different school to foster these skills.
    A few weeks later terror struck our city when a little girl was sexually assaulted in her school bathroom. I was horrified and even more disgusted when I found out how close this had happen to our school and that day they let the kids walk home even tho the monster had not yet been found. I called the principle to inquire why? He told me it wasn’t his school it had happened at and not a big deal that the kids had walked home! Willowtree never went back!! She was enrolled as a home school student the next week.    
     Awhile later a boy at Zeds school walked out into the crowded hallway during class change and slit his wrists from hand to elbow. That was the last straw now Zed was being homeschooled as well. 
    So that is the answer to Why I home school my minions, a series of unfortunate events led to the most wonderful adventure of our lives so far…… Oh and what of King Connaher you might ask…. Well he finished out the year at his new school but come fall the next year he wanted to be at home with the rest of the minions having a blast. So hubby and I decided that all of the minions would be homeschooled from then on.