Imbolc blessings...

Happy Imbolc

I'll light a candle when I wake up tomorrow to last a couple of days as a tribute to Imbolc, Brigid and Spring and maybe an offering of thanks along with a tarot spread reading. What will you do to celebrate?
There's something very sacred for me regarding this sabbat. Maybe it's the candle representing the fire of this first fire festival. Or it could be that it's a time of initiations and the Goddess Brigid and a festival for us female witches (no, I am not being a feminist here. Can I help it if it's more of a women's holy day than a man's?!!). My relationship to Earth and Mother Nature is closest during this sabbat.
Anyway, what I just wanted to say is:
                                                            REJOICE!!!

February comes...

February Twilight

I stood beside a hill

Smooth with new-laid snow,

A single star looked out

From the cold evening glow.

There was no other creature

That saw what I could see--

I stood and watched the evening star

As long as it watched me.

Sara Teasdale

Don't forget to light a candle

 Imbolc is upon us. New life awaits us.

I always feel like somebody's watching me...

Who is your spirit guide?

Happy Year of the Dragon!!!

The year of the water dragon. I heard that Dog people, me (why am I not surprised!!), and dragon people don't get along. However, I've always had a personal fascination with dragons and think that history and legends have treated them unjustly. I live on an extinct volcano, surrounded by a lot of chestnut trees. I like to think that deep down inside the heart of the volcano lies a dormant Earth Dragon whom I can call upon for protection, even though I know that summoning a dragon is risky business.
I consider myself a forest and mountain witch, akin to animals, trees and to the earth (the element of both the capricorn and the dog in the Chinese zodiac). I have always been drawn to magick, but being born into a Catholic family didn't help me find out a lot as a child. I seriously started learning and practising in my late 20s. Haven't left witchcraft since then.
Anyway, this new year of the dragon has delivered its oomph my way and has infused me with new vitality and daring ideas. I'm thinking about opening a business and I'm planning new renovations inside my home too, not only in my garden. All in all, it definitely feels like a very promising year. Hope it'll be the same for all my witchy friends!!!

Happy Chinese New Year

Firecrackers explode and bang.
Cymbals and temple bells have rang.
Dragons parade through the street.
Chinese New Year, a yearly treat.

Fireworks explode in the skies,
a special treat for children's eyes.
Celebrations are all we hear,
For the animal of the year.

This year, however, is the best.
Dragons are kings o'er all the rest.
Sixty years passed reaching her own,
Golden dragon is on her throne.

Lair 2000

Please, please don't eat the daisies...

I discovered the joys of gardening fairly recently and reading Ellen Dugan's book on Garden Witchery made my initial experience even better. Eventually I'd like to create a magical atmosphere in every corner of my outdoor space (my entire garden is a work in progress). A kind of sanctuary for my animal friends and me. I'd like for it to be harmonious, full of different colourful, sweet-scented flowers, ornamental trees as well as juicy fruit trees. When I was reading book 3 of Nora Roberts The Three Sisters Island Trilogy - Face the Fire the description of Mia Devlin's magical garden created a precise picture in my head and I'd like mine to be similar. 

I'm even considering keeping a beehive, but maybe that's wondering a bit too far into the future.
I also need to fence in the perimeter as I've been receiving noctural visits from wild boar and am somewhat afraid for my dogs.
In Spring I fill the two flower pots on either side of my gate entrance with red geraniums (got that one from Ellen Dugan too!)and petunias; in Winter with red cyclamens. I was also thinking of adding permanent flower beds, but I'm still not sure if I want and can add spiral topiaries too.
I've been trying to put in garden lights and water fountains on various terraced plots, but those projects are also on hold till Spring-Summer. Too cold to work now!! Where's my cup of hot mint cocoa?!!

Back to the real world

After a week of being home sick with the flu, I have been yanked back to reality and have returned to my full blown job routine, which gets pretty hectic after the Christmas holidays, as, besides teaching in the morning, I am full of afternoon courses and private tutoring sessions. I don't dislike working, I just disdain getting up early (augh! If you read my piece on nighttime, you'll understand perfectly.).

Winter has been pretty mild so far and most of my bulbs were coming back to life, but we've been hit with some extremely frigid air coming from an Arctic cold front that has blasted the Mediterranean with temperatures falling below zero degrees. In other words, it's freezing! In a way I'm glad as I was feeling a bit deprived of a proper winter.

I have ordered various seeds hoping that I'll be able to grow new additions to my veggie garden. New herbs, some mini decorative pumpkins and some roots for vegetable soup. However, what I really hope is that the rhubarb will  sprout. I'm definitely looking forward to making rhubarb pie, which I tasted for the first time at my aunt's house in Blackpool, England. The most delicious  thing I've ever eaten in my life to this day! (I'll have to get the crust recipe from her too. ;-) ).

I'm also planning to add a firepit and some stone slab benches (just one in a long list of renovation projects.) where I can meditate and get closer to nature during warmer months. Moreover, I wouldn't mind finding room for a fish and frog pond (to add the element of water). I'll have to figure that one out, though.

Just love seeing ideas come to life. I feel like a better witch!!

Sunday's Tarot card

Tonight's Tarot for the next 24 hrs...

Winter

Wintertime is my favourite time of the year. Not that I don't enjoy the other seasons, it's just such a magical time for me, even though I don't get all the snow (sigh) I was used to getting when I was living in the States. The silence of the snow, the calming effect...love it. The season of the imagination. Snow transforms familiar landscapes into something completely unfamiliar, but intriguing. It's kind of like being in a Norman Rockwell drawing or in a snowglobe. The world seems smaller.

Cooking hearty meals, the smell of freshly baked bread and biscuits. A fire always lit in the hearth; snuggling on the couch with the pooches, drinking mint cocoa (what?!! it's actually good!!) and reading a good book or watching an old film (maybe Bing or Doris Day)...heaven. It's also a time to get  into closer contact with my subconscious and  my dreams. I reconnect with the earth. Things take on aura of mystery that is tantalizing.  

 I'm very attached to the earth and seasonal changes fascinate me and make me happy.  Autumn is my second favourite with the coloured foliage, the first chill anticipating winter's arrival, the beautiful landscapes, the harvests and the celebrations, not to mention Samhain! All delightful.

I feel closer to the elements during these two seasons than with the other two. And I have to admit that one hell of an element spell blasted my town with snow in the middle of April a few years ago, which I had specifically asked for (ok, I'll admit I was pretty angry at the time and asked for it only if I had just reason to do so, however, it was pretty impressive! I have calmed down since then    ;-)). So this actually goes to show NEVER to piss off a witch!!!

Good night to you all and happy dreaming!

Tonight's quote

"How lonely is the night without the howl of a wolf." -Unknown

Wolf Moon...

The moon has been pulling at me these last few days and as Ellen Dugan has pointed out on her blog it's Wolf Moon so now I know the reason of my increased attraction.
I love wolves. Always been attracted to them. Their howling calling at something in me, soothing me, protecting me. Strange effect when most people seem to be afraid of them. My bedroom, in fact, is full of photographs of wolves.
About 12 years ago I had a past life regression experience and in my visions there was a huge grey wolf that accompanied me wherever I went. He wasn't a pet, but part of the family. I was safe knowing that he was always there for me. I also remember wearing a turquoise necklace that established my status in the village. Funny the things we remember about the lives we've lead.
A short time after that I had a private tarot reading done and I was told that my spirit guide was a dog (or a wolf perhaps?!!) He follows me even now and I'm grateful to him.
Speaking of tarot cards, I've gotta go deal my card!!

Dopo 50 giorni si risveglia l'Etna - etna, eruzione, vulcano, lava, lapilli, fumo - RomagnaNOI

Dopo 50 giorni si risveglia l'Etna - etna, eruzione, vulcano, lava, lapilli, fumo - RomagnaNOI

Sleepless on the Old Continent

Nighttime, my favourite time. Always been fond of it. A time all to myself, so quiet and comforting, ideal for working, reading or just thinking. A magical time. A time of dreams and possibilities. Surrounded by my three pooches, I relax knowing I'm protected, feeling closer to Hecate. I savour the time I have. Outside the kitty-cats lurking somewhere in the shadows and me asking Bast to watch over them.
I adore all animals, but in the nature of things I guess I'm what standards define as a "dog person", however I've learnt a lot about cats in these last 3 yrs. They can be quite entertaining and loving (which I didn't expect knowing a thing or two about their nature). Each with their own unique personality, just like my poodles and the "big girls" who keep watch out in the garden. Funny how they're all bilingual too!!
 Brownie is the sweet one and the youngest to join the family. Took him in from the streets like the other two. He has an eye problem which doesn't seem to bother him thank the Gods. Mars is the curious one who doesn't like to be manhandled, and if I'm up on a tree trying to prune it there he suddenly appears on a branch attempting to swat me. Jinx, the eldest, is a ham, both in size and personality. Beautiful cat and probably aware of that (should've called him Casanova)!! He always tries to jump my poodles encouraged by his size, I suppose, which is humongous compared to the pooches.
Getting a bit sleepy..signing off. Good night.

Today's Tarot

Hmmm, the eight of wands... need to get back to work...and need to get new tyres for my car especially since a bout of bad weather is approaching!!

Today's quote

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.
William Shakespeare

Quote of the day

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart. W. Irving

Joys of reading

I love reading. Sometimes I haven't got enough time to do so or the right book at hand, but I usually try to find a new author to add to my "favourite authors list" when my in list ones are busy writing something new. J.K.Rowling created a whole new world as did Stephenie Meyers and the characters turn into your friends. It's a great feeling and a sad one when the stories end because you become attached to them. Some of the characters are so nice that you end up hugging the book when you're finished reading it. The first time I hugged a book was when I was in my early twenties and the book was The River God by Wilbur Smith. Taita, the main character in the novel, will forever remain in my heart. Each book, each character gives us something, something valuable. They enrich our lives making us laugh, cry, worry along with them..it's wonderful.
Funny when I was younger I wasn't fond of reading ( I hated writing book reports during my summer holidays...augh). I enjoyed fariy tales and Dr.Seuss books, my favourite is And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, when I was very young. My parents bought me a whole bunch of books from a second hand store on Broadway Street in my hometown. I was thrilled annnd I still own them!!
I've recently discovered some English and American authors that write delightful stories mostly Christmas stories (yes, I'm a Christmas fanatic!!!) Spent New Year's Eve reading Scarlett Bailey's The Night Before Christmas, fabulous! Discovered today that she has written a xmas story on her blog called Santa, Maybe. Needless to say, I've already read it! All I can say is wish I could meet a Santa like that!!!
Trisha Ashley was lovely as well. I highly recommend Twelve Days of Christmas, Chocolate Wishes and A Winter's Tale.
Melody Carlson and her Christmas novellas are also heart-warming, if you're fishing around for a good holiday read.
Well, I think I've written enough for now. I'll sign off and get some reading done. Next time(don't know exactly when) I might talk about my being a film buff. :-)

New Year's resolutions

Well, I imagine it's about time I started writing on my blog. I created it for a reason which was probably not clear to me at the time or maybe it wasn't my time yet, who knows. I've always enjoyed writing and haven't done so in such a long time....guess it's time!