Connection

There was a time when the only thing I was sure of was the sun rising and setting everyday, and being able to watch the moon move across the sky.  If I think about it that is the only thing that was consistent in my life.  It was in those moments of watching the sunrise and set, the full moon shining down on me that I felt connected to something. In this feeling of connection I felt like I was valued.

So much of the world today is about money and numbers not people. We are forced into this society to have a plan for everything. We have to know the outcome before we leap.  We are losing our sense of adventure if because we have to see what is coming around the corner. I am a planner and it really gets my knickers in a twist when I can’t plan.

My husband is a man who doesn’t plan, he lives by his own rules and whatever takes his fancy at the time. He never worries about the outcomes and takes one day at a time. He is in tune with the world around him in a way that I hope to be one day. He has a need and the universe always provides without fail.

He said something to me the other day that stuck a cord. That I have lost my connection to nature, that only when I am at the mercy of the elements will I fully understand what it means to be part of nature. He is right I have lost that, but have a chance at getting it back in our adventures.

Last night was a beautiful night so I spent some time outside under the full moon, listening the wind move through the trees, the silence of the night and I once again felt the familiar feeling of connection. It truly is a daily practice of keeping connected….and one that I won’t let fall by the wayside any longer.

So where do you find your connection?

I have this song running through my head....it seems to fit this blog

Wising you all a beautiful week!

Kat

RavensWing

The Copper Offering Bowl

Since ancient times copper has been known as the great healing and sacred metal. Fashioned into jewelry before recorded time, copper is the first metal our ancestors utilized. Metal workers were often regarded as magicians in early societies. Copper was also a symbol of power.

Created out of fine copper, this fantastic offering bowl offers the golden red finish copper is known for both within and without. On its outer surface this is accented by skillfully sculpted brass accents. These take the form of scroll work that decorates the bowl's rim and base, and intricate triple moon patterns, representing the Goddess, that run along the bowl's sides.

I have to tell you the first time I saw the picture of this bowl, I fell in love with it. It was different and unique. I have always found copper beautiful and with the brass trimmings it just stood out. I was quite pleased when the box arrived and I got to hold the offering bowl in my hand.

It is the perfect size for small offerings measuring 3” tall and 1 ¼” wide. It fits in the palm of my hand easily and would make a perfect addition to a traveling altar. I have been using this offering bowl for the last couple of months and here are several different ways I have put it to use.

 ~ As a tea light holder. By placing a small tea light in the center you will illuminate your altar with the light that reflects off the copper and brass. The light is warm and inviting and just a lovely addition to any altar. 

~  It makes a perfect bowl to hold many different things, sea salt, dried herbs, soil, small rocks etc. I  have also used it to hold water, but I empty it right after.

~ It also makes a wonderful bowl to hold your written intentions. I would advise against using it to burn herbs or anything else.

So I am quite please with this new addition to my altar. 

This retails @ $12.95 and also comes in the Om Symbol, Tibetan Dragon and Triquetra which can be found here.

RavensWing Singing bowls and Offering Bowls

Blessings,
Kat
RavensWing

Sickness and Healing

I am sitting here a month after my surgery amazed at how different I feel. Which makes me wonder how long I had really been ill?  How long had my body been fighting of poison that was running through it?

I look back and think before my surgery, IF they had only listened to me and ran tests, would I have been able to save the organ that I lost?  Could I have cured it naturally? I had been to the doctors 3 times and gotten the same answer, your fine it will pass.  Each visit was 10 mins long and they didn’t even want to take time to answer my questions. It took me walking in pain and very sick for them to realize – She is sick.   It was like a whirlwind of activity to get me in to see the surgeon  and the operation scheduled. If I had waiting any longer for the surgery it I would have been in dire straights according to the surgeon.

It seems to me that they want us to be over medicated; if we are over medicated then we are complacent, a way to control the masses. There is a drug for everything these days. An example, I went in to talk about leg circulation which is tied to my diabetes, and dizzy spells around my cycle.  My doctor wanted to give me anti seizure medicines and an anti depressant; well I told her where she could stick the prescriptions. I talked to my husband, we just decided to up my iron intake around my cycle and make sure I am massaging my legs, to help with the circulation. Problem solved….no drugs….just common sense. 

The point of this blog is to NEVER allow your doctor to just push you off, NEVER take the first pill they give you. Ask questions, CHALLENGE them make them explain WHY. If you can’t do this yourself, then take someone with you who can. 

 In this day an age of corrupt insurance and medical practices, you have to be your own advocate. YOU are the only on in your corner when it comes to your health. Because in reality we are just numbers, dollar signs and sheep to take the first pill given. 

Well my eyes are open; I will be fierce in my ability to know my own body better than my doctor.  I am grateful for having my husband in my corner. I go to him before I even think about seeing a doctor….he has never been wrong. 


Blessings to you all, 

Music that Stirs the Soul

Blessings all!

Well it has been a while since I have blogged!  Tonight as I sat working on the RavensWing website I was listening to music. Music has a way of bringing things to the surface for me. A vast array of emotions can rise to the surface with hearing a song or tune. My musical tastes covers a wide range of genres, much to my husband’s dismay lol   So tonight I sat and thought about all the music over the years that I have used in ritual or just in quiet contemplation. I have picked three songs that that I never get tired of hearing.

My first choice is a song from Loreena Mckennitt I can remember exactly where I was the first time I heard it. I was watching Full Circle a documentary by Starhawk. Her voice brought to life the sacred and stirred my soul. Over the years I have used her music in ritual and just in 

mediation. 

The Mystic's Dream 

Celtic Women - The voice

From the first time I heard this song it expressed things that I could not put into words, but how I felt about the world around me. The voice of The Mother that calls to us all. 

And last but not least R Carlos Nakai - Desert song. I have spent many nights under a full moon listening to this song. The haunting sounds of his flute never cease to sooth my soul.

So what music stirs your soul?

Dancing with Snake; Connecting to my Inner Self.

My mind has wandered to snakes tonight and how they always seem to get the short end of the stick.  Snakes have been linked over the years with so many negative connotations. However the serpent has long been a symbol of the sexual and creative life force within humans as is taught in many traditions.

For myself I see the snake as a way to embrace my creativity, sensuality and healing. It is a way for me to bring my awareness back to my wild self in all her beauty and above all else “Loving the skin I am in”  I have to laugh when I type this for the snake sheds it’s skin, but then so do I. I shed my skin, I shed the box the society wants to put me in, I shed stereotypes, perceptions and I keep on moving on my own path that I create.   Sometimes it is easy and other times…not so much.

How do I do this?   Movement, dance and enjoying the way my body feels when I move. Often times before ritual or just to relax I dance.  I put on some great music and I let myself go, swaying  my hips, being very conscious of my breath, moving my arms, throwing in some slow belly dance moves. Sometimes I end up on the ground , undulating, slithering and calling up the serpent. Opening up my senses, my taste, my smell, my mind I become the serpent.  In moments like this I feel more at ease, more sensual and powerful.

 

Along with this dance you can include affirmations:

I am Creative ~ I am Sensual ~ I am Fire ~ I am Power~ I am Priestess

This movement brings me back to my center, and I land smack dab in the middle of ME, and then I am ready to move into whatever my focus is at that very moment. 

I would love to hear how you connect to your inner self. 

Blessed Be!

Kat

RavensWing

The Path to Silence - Shakey Bridge, Wales

                                                                  

My first visit to Wales was such an exciting experience, I was walking into the land of the mists. The home of Mryddin and the Cymru people whose myths fueled my fantasies as a young child. Wales was more than my imagination could have ever conjured up.  A beautiful rugged countryside that takes your breath away and transports you into the past. 

The Path 

One of the many spots that my husband took me to was Shakey Bridge as the locals call it. It was home to a fortified outpost called Cefnllys built in the 12^th century and left to ruins.  The path to Shakey Bridge was a beautiful walk, the bridge crosses over the river Ithon and you find yourself walking up a path right out of a lord of the Rings.

 Tower of St.Micheal's Church

The path opens up to a huge meadow of sorts which a 12^th century church stands. We spent quite a bit of time in this beautiful place. The quiet sounds of the meadow that we shared with crows and other woodland creatures. For the first time in years I realized the true meaning of “simple”. As we sat on a log looking out at the countryside that surrounded us, I realized all that was truly important.  This place gave me a sense of stillness and comfortable silence that I had never really experienced.

From this place I learned what it meant to be silent and to take in my surroundings. In doing so I found myself relaxing for the first time in years and opening up to nature, love and new beginnings. 

Blessed Be!

Kat

RavensWing

Imbolc - Celebration of light and honoring the Sacred Flame

Imbolc Feb, 2nd 2009 not just Ground Hog Day.....

It is said the the Celts celebrated an earlier version of Groundhog Day, when the serpent is said to crawl out of the hole. Looking at it from a spiritual view, the serpent crawled out of the belly (womb) of the Goddess. This showed the world that the animal kingdom was stirring from their winter sleep, deep within the earth and light is returning to the world.

With the many pagan holidays the Celts have made their influence felt, as can been seen in the story of the Irish Goddess Brighid, who is the keeper of the sacred flame. It is said that her flame burned bright in Kildare. She later became know as the Catholic Saint Brigit. St. Brigit’s sacred flame was tended by the nuns until it was forced underground. For many many years the flame remained hidden, being kept alive by the flame keepers. Only recently with a rise of Goddess worship has the flame resurfaced to be shared with the world.

Brighid is also considered to be the guardian of home and hearth. To honor her, purification and cleaning are a wonderful way to get ready for the coming spring...hence our term Spring Cleaning!  She also a goddess connected to inspiration and creativity.

So on this day we can tend the flame within ourselves; we begin to feel the flicker of warmth within as spring approaches, the quickening within our hearts tells us change is coming.

So wherever you find yourself this Imbolc take a second to light a candle and let its warmth and light fill you as you know that spring will be soon upon us!

Blessed Be!

Rayven

RavensWing

Living in Reality

Blessings all,

Just back from my visit to Wales to see my husband, I am once again thrown into the mundane reality of life. With him on the other side of the world, I am faced feeling like I have a lack of connection.  But of what?  From myself? The world around me?  Nature?. As my husband so gently pointed out last night was I failing to see that my connection is all around me, and within me.  The simplest of things can be my connection.  The scent of rosemary drifting in from the back yard, the smell of my orange tree in the back yard or on a larger scale my connection to the land when I visit him. 

He is right, each trip I have taken I have come home with a special connection of some kind. My First trip was the a yew tree in a graveyard on an old Celtic Site,  and the Sheela-na-gig stone that so mesmerized me as I stood in front of her. Wondering what the carver was thinking as he or she carefully sculpted her.  On my second visit it was Newgrange & Loughcrew that spoke to me in more ways than I ever imagined, and my heart sang as we walked along the hills of Elan Valley.

 This time my trip was one of the present; city life. Beautiful Brits beaming with life and loving their lives. Taking time for the good things. Enjoying their food, their drink,their gift of gab and shopping.

 But my one very special connection was to the stone circle centered in the park right around from my husband’s flat.  I didn’t see it at first, for I was in awe of the beauty of the trees, watching the squirrels play. Then there it was, I didn't care who created it. I was being called. I approached the circle slowing taking in the detail of the stones, how they were placed, walking in between the stones I felt the boundary created.

 For so many years I imagined what it would be like to walk amongst the stones, and created the magick in my head. But nothing prepared me for reality.  This was REAL…I could touch the stones, walking around each one until I found the one that spoke to me. Running my hands over the stone I was mesmerized. Walking back to the center altar stone to inspect it, seeing the groves etched into the rough edge of the stone. Only to have my husband explain later that the Ancient Britains used these types of groves that were filled with sand to help drill and break the stones apart.  This only cemented the idea that this circle had been around for some time and not erected by the local council.  I became a part of this stone circle. I left a bit of myself and the circle gave me the REAL memory to draw upon at some later date when I needed to bring the feeling into my rituals.  

My path twists and turns as I grow, learn and expand. What I learned is that realty; what I can touch, taste, feel and smell…is all I need to create and manifest my magic. 

Blessed Be!

Rayven

RavensWing

Happy New Year and A Toast to New Beginnings!

Happy New Year!  We all associate new beginnings with the New Year, after we see the first light of the Winter Solstice sunrise we are reassured that spring is on its way, bringing new life into the world. With that said I found in my Book of Shadows a New Beginnings Ritual that I created years ago and wanted to share.

Candle Spell for New Beginnings

Tools you will need:

• Sacred space or Altar (create as you see fit. Can be as simple as one item representing each of the elements. Feather for Air, small tea light candle for fire , bowl of water for Water, a stone for Earth and something that represents you for Spirit)
• One purple Candle
• Small Cauldron, or offering bowl
• Matches
• Pen and Paper

You will want to sit and think about new beginnings, see where in your life you can let go to make room for the new. What no longer serves you?  The secret to good new beginnings is to make sure you are ready to make a fresh start. That you clear away the clutter and are at peace with your past and you are able to let it go. This could be endings in a relationship, a job, a situation or feeling that is not for your highest and best good.

At this time, I want you to write down what it is that no longer serves you on a piece of paper, and as you write envision it dissolving out of your life.  Once finished, take your cauldron or offering bowl and burn the paper. Knowing that the flames are destroying to make room for new growth and rebirth.  Let the paper burn into ashes and put the bowl aside.

Now that you have let go of these unwanted feelings, allow yourself to see the world through a child’s eye. See things fresh and crisp!  And as children know so well all things are possible if you believe in yourself and think about what new beginning you are seeking.

Next take the purple candle and set it in front of you and as you light the candle and watch the flame burn, speak out loud the following intention:

My Life begins today

I see new beginnings everywhere I look

In Nature I see the promise of renewal

I see the birth of new ideas

I see others and myself with fresh eyes.

I celebrate this moment, which will never be again

I release my ties to the past,

And come in peace with an open heart,

And step into my new beginning.

** Speak your New Beginning Intention 3 times and see it before you***

Blessed Be! 

Now that you are finished take the bowl of ashes and bury them outside in the Earth and know that you are now ready to make a fresh start. 

Wishing you the Brightest of Blessings for this coming year! 

Rayven

RavensWing

Witchcraft, Taxes and Fraud...Oh my!

Blessings all,

I read a very interesting article today from the Associated Press regarding Romania declaring Witchcraft as a legal Profession.  Please feel free to read the link below.

Witchcraft declared legal profession in Romania

I read this article and had myself a chuckle. Superstition  runs deep in the old country of Romania, steeped with dark myths of Vampires and the Curse of the Gypsy Witch.  At first being a witch myself you might think I was raising my glass and shouting  "Hail to all the Witches!" . That finally Witches and Fortune tellers were being recognized as a legit business and part of mainstream society. With Witchcraft being declared a legal profession would stop the prosecution of witches and begin a spread of new tolerance and acceptance.

Sadly no, this is not what this is about. The core issue is money.  The Government has been unable to pass the Witches and Fortune tellers Tax for fear of retaliation of the witches’ curse. Many well-known and powerful Gypsy Witches have stood up and threated to curse any who passes this law and the law makers’ tremble in fear and the law gets booted.  The reason behind this new declaration is that Witches have been well known to under report their income and not paying taxes.

At first you might think, that a fortune teller may not make much of an income. For some yes, and others their income is more than government officials. Partly because for the longest time Fortune Tellers and Witches are allowed to run TV ads on Romanian TV promoting their business. But yet they pay no tax, licence or fees. When the local government put a ban on fortune tellers broadcasting the Gypsy community was in an uproar and they wanted retaliation. For this act would cut into their yearly income big time.

I had a change to watch a documentary following the life on one particular Romanian Gypsy Witch and Fortune teller and I was amazed how she lured her clients in on the first consultation with the stand by “Someone has cursed you” and this is the reason the client is suffering from bad luck. The Fortune teller then gives her a ritual to break the curse, for a sum of $350.00 which in my opinion is overcharging for her work. 

What do you get for this money?  A small ritual that is prepared for you by the Witch, and in turn the client must do the ritual on her own and come back to see the witch 8 MORE TIMES to make sure the curse has been broken.  And you can bet the Client is paying for all her visits not to mentions she has to foot the bill for the ritual supplies and give them to the witch to prepare.

So when I read this article today I thought well done, it is about time they were being held responsible for their practices, but then again there will always be those that will look for a quick fix and pay the price. I would like to say that this type of business practice is not just in Romania but wide spread throughout the world.

I would like to note that I am a card reader, and am willing to do ritual work for and with people however I do have my own code of ethics which I follow, in this case of the young woman who got sucked in by the repeat visits was all based on fear, passed on to the client by the Witch. This is my Book of Shadows is wrong, and in the end Karma always finds you. 

I would love to know your thoughts on this subject.

Blessings to you all,

Rayven

RavensWing