Tag Archives: spring equinox

Mar20

New beginnings at the Spring Equinox

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It all began at the full moon before the Winter Solstice last year, a few words of a conversation that gave me an idea. At that moment, The Riverbank Witch was born. My gorgeous, talented, magical friend Rhea Ruth Aitken, designed my logo for me from a doodle I showed her.

The Riverbank Witch already existed as the story teller on the riverbank, reading magical short stories and book extracts on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw3ee9CuNdek9ZC1Im8I_iA?view_as=subscriber but at the end of last year, I saw the potential of combining magic and stories in a more practical sense. I created a chakra bracelet of semi-precious stones and lava beads to go with the Lizzie Martin series of books. I loved threading the beads, creating the magic on the thread.

Then the Australian bush fires got out of hand. Called upon to help, I knitted joey pouches and sewed cotton liners, collecting donations from others and taking them to a distribution point in Wales, ready to be shipped to Australia. Out of this random act came a renewed passion for knitting.

I learned to crochet last August, but hadn’t knitted for a while. At the next new moon, I asked the Goddess for advice, and she suggested The Witches Cwtch, a shop where witches could sell their magical crafts. We could knit, sew, crochet, write, sculpt, draw, paint, recycle and upcycle. I was concerned about taking on the project myself, but having spoken to my daughter and sister-in-law, between us we were confident we could make a shop work.

Together, we began working on the premise for the shop …

“The Witches Cwtch is where dreams become reality.

We’re modern witches who care about our world and the creatures that live on it.

At The Witches Cwtch we believe in sharing the love, giving back, passing forward and supporting the local community, as well as our world wide family.”

But there are many things to consider when opening a shop, not least creating the magical products to go in one. We were keen and determined, but the world has changed since we began. Storms here in Wales took down my internet connection for almost three weeks. Last week, all the book and craft fairs I had planned for this Spring and Summer to promote The Riverbank Witch and The Witches Cwtch were cancelled. In this climate of uncertainty, we decided to postpone the shop.

This Spring Exquinox morning, I woke to a bright sunny day. Sheep and lambs baaed in the fields and the birds were singing. On my riverbank it’s difficult to believe there’s a terrible virus raging through the population of this country and the world, taking the lives of the elderly and infirm, and spreading fear and dread in its path.

So I asked the Goddess how I could help, and she told me to share my magic. Today, I’m opening The Riverbank Witch facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/The-Riverbank-Witch-107997124171331

My sister-in-law is The Hilltop Witch https://www.facebook.com/HilltopWitch

Liking the pages would be wonderful, and the first product I will list will be the chakra bracelets. The semi-precious stones are cleansed on my riverbank, beneath the full moon, and will help balance both mind and body, grounding the wearer to the earth. I’m working on listing them right now!

Is it the right time to launch something new? Probably not, but I am The Riverbank Witch and I want to share my healing magic with the world.

Ostara Blessings to you all xx

 

Mar21

From Samhain to Spring Equinox

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Living my life by the Sacred Wheel of the Year, my new year began after Samhain with dance workshops and performances and meeting up with an old friend. There’s been book fairs and fairytale fairs, my long awaited tattoos and happy family gatherings in our farmhouse in Wales.

I write every day but in January I began editing my first Witch Lit novel and writing dance workshops. Learning new recipes to enhance my plant based diet has been both exciting and challenging. I’ve made new friends, meeting and supporting authors and welcoming new ladies to my dance classes. Tribal Unity Wales hosted a wee hafla for S.H.A.R.P. Swansea Humanitarian Aid Response project and raised £170 and gathered boxes of clothing donations.

I’ve cut back brambles and nettles, clearing my land to allow the plants and my apple trees to breathe.

My second Witch Lit book is written in first draft and the spring flowers are brightening up my hill top.

It’s been a long, cold, wet start to the year but it’s all been leading to today, the launch of The Naked Witch, a Lizzie Martin story, dedicated to my amazing daughter, Jasmine and written for all the strong, beautiful and amazing women out there. Bright Spring blessings to you all xx

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naked-Witch-Wendy-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B06W5D6GVV/ref

and for my friends across the pond

https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Witch-Wendy-Steele/dp/1543165044/ref

Mar23

Spring, hope and the sun

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I left my house in murky fog. Up on the hill road, I turned a corner and the sun was in front of me. I saw the first nibble from the disc.

11041844_1585014265090397_2718004587334536536_oFrost on the grass greeted us as we set up to dance in the park. The sheep and lambs in the adjacent field skittered and baaed, unsettled by the eerie light. As we raised the energy in the circle, silence descended. Sheep and lambs stood immobile. Birds ceased their calls.

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13373_1585014318423725_528174782061120311_nBefore the sun and moon we danced. We danced for my beech tree and the worms rose from the earth. We danced for Tribal Unity, those present and those absent and the shadows lengthened. At 9.25am we danced for the sun, his glorious smile captured beneath the moon.

11082364_1585014298423727_8986934141949935446_oMy feet were muddy and numb but I feel blessed to have been present, surrounded by my sisters, at one of the best natural wonders on earth.

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Welcoming the sun, appreciating the turning of the wheel of nature, is dramatic for me this year. The changing seasons are more obvious in the countryside. The sun’s path across the sky dictates our work outdoors. Once it dips behind the hill in the east, we lose light rapidly and the chill descends. Through the winter, we struggled to fit in outdoor jobs between the hours of daylight and the changeable weather.

Since October, when we’d been in our house a year, as the days shortened, my confidence, resolve and hope began to wane. Losing my Mum in November added to the sombre mood I wrestled with. Looking forward to the return of the light and a roof for the house, got me out of bed every day.

Snowdrops lifted me. First, a few clumps on the grass verges made me smile and then, they carpeted my lawn and blazed down the grass banks through the lanes. The crocus became my purple flame of hope, pushing up through the grass before opening to the light of a watery sun.

The first tiny bleats in the field, a new young life, awakening to its first dawn turned up the burner on my flame but not until I welcomed the sun on Friday, did I feel that spring was truly here.

Bright Ostara Blessings xx