The life is this wee blog has been short and sweet...
I've now created a new blog where I'll post my Moon Dreamboards - among other things ;)
ALL ARE WELCOME at
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
Sunday, 3 May 2015
Full Willow Moon Dreamboard
Fifty-one years ago I was born under a Full Willow Moon... A Moon associated with Beltane and the Maiden... A Moon of feminine power, earthy fertility, and in-between places - between land and water, air and fire, head and heart.
Left-hand page
I've actually taken pages from this year's We'Moon diary as they're so perfect. I begin with Full Moon Riot by Angela Gayan Galik (2013), a wonderful poem celebrating the sheer joy of spending time with Mama Luna.
To the right of the poem is Queen of Hearts - a nod to Princess Diana who's son and wife welcomed their second child yesterday, a wee princess. The image is called 'Foolish Heart' by Sophia Rosenberg (2008).
Towards the bottom of the page is a page from last year's quote-a-day calendar which reads 'Daydream believer', with flowers, and leaves and butterflies...
Right-hand page
Two more pages from this year's diary - a wonderful piece about Beltane by Carolyn Myers (2014) with a lovely image 'Upon a Bed of Roses' by Cori Caputo (2005). Below that is a beautiful poem by Cathy Casper called In the Middle of a Hug (2007)
Then there's two elegant ladies enjoying afternoon tea in the garden, an image called 'Dancing with the Sun' by Mara Zareen Friedman (1994), and two art stamps called 'Beginnings' and 'Dreamaker'.
As I write this, the sun finally makes an appearance after a cold, cold morning of wind and rain... Finally, the day feels like a May day rather than a revisit of November!
Left-hand page
I've actually taken pages from this year's We'Moon diary as they're so perfect. I begin with Full Moon Riot by Angela Gayan Galik (2013), a wonderful poem celebrating the sheer joy of spending time with Mama Luna.
To the right of the poem is Queen of Hearts - a nod to Princess Diana who's son and wife welcomed their second child yesterday, a wee princess. The image is called 'Foolish Heart' by Sophia Rosenberg (2008).
Towards the bottom of the page is a page from last year's quote-a-day calendar which reads 'Daydream believer', with flowers, and leaves and butterflies...
Right-hand page
Two more pages from this year's diary - a wonderful piece about Beltane by Carolyn Myers (2014) with a lovely image 'Upon a Bed of Roses' by Cori Caputo (2005). Below that is a beautiful poem by Cathy Casper called In the Middle of a Hug (2007)
Then there's two elegant ladies enjoying afternoon tea in the garden, an image called 'Dancing with the Sun' by Mara Zareen Friedman (1994), and two art stamps called 'Beginnings' and 'Dreamaker'.
As I write this, the sun finally makes an appearance after a cold, cold morning of wind and rain... Finally, the day feels like a May day rather than a revisit of November!
Sunday, 19 April 2015
New Willow Moon Dreamboard
A tad late as I was out all day yesterday...
I think the images say it all, so I'll let them speak...
Left-hand page
Right-hand page
Saturday, 4 April 2015
Full Alder Moon (Egg moon)
Our part of the UK has been under thick, grey cloud for a couple of days now, and it isn't forecast to disperse any time soon...
So I haven't seen the Alder moon waxing to its peak, but I've been feeling its effects :)
Not surprising, this Full Moon is often called an Egg Moon coinciding with Easter and messages of new life, growth and fertility.
Left-hand page
I had to start this page with a postcard of SeeQueen's beautiful meditation stone, looking both like an egg and a moon :) Followed by a page from a wee vintage poetry book and a print ATC by Dancing-Girl Art.
Underneath is a fun sticker of vintage pens and inks (very much to the forefront of my mind given my current obsession with dip pens and writing letters!) And next to that is a card showing the painting 'Arboretum' by Laurel Porter-Gaylord - a beautiful, blossom-laden tree.
At the bottom is an evocative image from Gillian Lee Smith's exhibition brochure We All Cast Shadows on which I've written 'there's always a story to be told'... and finally an image from an old We'Moon diary called Oshun: Goddess of Love by Sandra Stanton 1999.
Right-hand page
A very simple page - a sticker of vintage stamps to show my letter-writing exploits this month, and a classic Papaya Art! sticker. Then a wee hand on which I've drawn a spiral to show all the movement and life my left hand provides...
Then the words 'The Secret Coolness' from a magazine advert over another We'Moon image on which I've stuck a clockface.
Lastly, a postcard from a ceramic exhibition (I can't remember when or where) on which I've stuck a crafting leaf and three wee flower stickers.
And that's it. Today's Full Alder Moon evokes so much on this Easter Saturday - the day Christians remember Jesus' time in the tomb... a somber day in many ways, but also a day full of wonder, magic and mystery... a day of 'secret coolness' deep in the heart of the tomb where death turns into new life...
So I haven't seen the Alder moon waxing to its peak, but I've been feeling its effects :)
Not surprising, this Full Moon is often called an Egg Moon coinciding with Easter and messages of new life, growth and fertility.
Left-hand page
I had to start this page with a postcard of SeeQueen's beautiful meditation stone, looking both like an egg and a moon :) Followed by a page from a wee vintage poetry book and a print ATC by Dancing-Girl Art.
Underneath is a fun sticker of vintage pens and inks (very much to the forefront of my mind given my current obsession with dip pens and writing letters!) And next to that is a card showing the painting 'Arboretum' by Laurel Porter-Gaylord - a beautiful, blossom-laden tree.
At the bottom is an evocative image from Gillian Lee Smith's exhibition brochure We All Cast Shadows on which I've written 'there's always a story to be told'... and finally an image from an old We'Moon diary called Oshun: Goddess of Love by Sandra Stanton 1999.
Right-hand page
A very simple page - a sticker of vintage stamps to show my letter-writing exploits this month, and a classic Papaya Art! sticker. Then a wee hand on which I've drawn a spiral to show all the movement and life my left hand provides...
Then the words 'The Secret Coolness' from a magazine advert over another We'Moon image on which I've stuck a clockface.
Lastly, a postcard from a ceramic exhibition (I can't remember when or where) on which I've stuck a crafting leaf and three wee flower stickers.
And that's it. Today's Full Alder Moon evokes so much on this Easter Saturday - the day Christians remember Jesus' time in the tomb... a somber day in many ways, but also a day full of wonder, magic and mystery... a day of 'secret coolness' deep in the heart of the tomb where death turns into new life...
Friday, 20 March 2015
New Alder Moon Dreamboard
What a day!!!
Began recording the wonders of a full solar eclipse - probably the last one I'll see (next one expected 2090!!)
It was so eerie how the birds fell silent as the sky darkened... there was a heavy, reverent hush as the sun disappeared behind the moon...
Don't sit still!
Let your inner being pulse with the wings of a bird
rising and falling with the breath.
Let the wild thing inside you soar beyond its cage
unseen by the keepers of the classroom or the office
who would have you stay motionless
dying within your skin.
Don't sit still!
As though your teeming energy submitted to these chains.
Let the waters of your body roar,
churning oceans in a seashell.
Let the rhythmic snake inside climb the tree unseen.
Let the tips of your fingers open, curiously, each one
the eye of some wild creature.
Don't sit still!
Let your inner being venture out into the wildest terrain,
tasting the fruits that flourish there, tasting the fresh unsheltered sky.
Deftly seek the motion that you may find in stillness,
for there is a current of life inside you, strong enough to lift
your pinioned feathers into flight.
This is EXACTLY how I've been feeling these past few days... Having discovered I can write quite legibly with my new dip pens, I've been scribbling and feeling my spirits soar every time I dip the pen into the ink, leaning on my beloved writing slope...
Began recording the wonders of a full solar eclipse - probably the last one I'll see (next one expected 2090!!)
It was so eerie how the birds fell silent as the sky darkened... there was a heavy, reverent hush as the sun disappeared behind the moon...
My new journal method is writing with a dip pen - with sepia ink!
And of course, it's the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (Autumn in the Southern) - all things converging in this one wonderful day...
There is a definite Spring-like enthusiasm about this Dreamboard :)
Left-hand page
There's the Spring Equinox page from this year's We'Moon diary praising the balance of day and night, the wonder of Girls, and bees, and birds...
So there's tag of a hive and a thrush proudly protecting her nest and a cute vintage playing card of a Slick Chick :)
Below these is the word Hope and this poem from a We'Moon diary
Harbinger
What's astounding is the five minutes worth
of trailing flocks of snow geese that pass overhead
weaving black and white lines
of distant honking
to the northeast.
I'm looking up for guidance, for reassurance,
they are following ancient patterns
they see through our map of upsets,
connecting to what is good,
what is right, what is natural and
they know what to do,
they are hauling spring in behind them.
(excerpt Mary Kate Protzman 2010)
with a gorgeous painting by amara bronwyn hollow bones (2009) behind it.
Then these a splendid African woman/goddess and a Papaya Art postcard with the words 'dwell in possibility...', the word Dream and a vintage illustration of Zulu Women.
And at the bottom of the page a Spring kitchen window, a wee bird singing in the Alder New Moon and a mandala with the words Balance, Light and Dark.
Wow, a very full page!!
Right-hand page
A string of hydrangeas edges the page, then a page from last year's quote-a-day calender declaring 'be happy' and a page from an old We'Moon diary about the Wild Child (March 20 - April 18). Below here are the words that came to me as I pondered the new Alder Moon:
maiden
fertility
growth
feminine power
feminine mystery
communing
cooperation
giving
generosity
sheltering grove
comfort
Apparently every part of the Alder is useful - the bark for tanning leather, the leaves for dyeing, and the wood is strong and waterproof and perfect for building bridges...
Next to my list is a wee flap page with the word Play on it where I've written Sap Rising and Time to Grow. It's a secret what's under the top flap...
And on the bottom row is a watercolour palette with pinks and greens, another wee bee, a painting of a sculpture of a woman's form and this poem by Renee Hummel (2006)
Don't Sit Still
Let your inner being pulse with the wings of a bird
rising and falling with the breath.
Let the wild thing inside you soar beyond its cage
unseen by the keepers of the classroom or the office
who would have you stay motionless
dying within your skin.
Don't sit still!
As though your teeming energy submitted to these chains.
Let the waters of your body roar,
churning oceans in a seashell.
Let the rhythmic snake inside climb the tree unseen.
Let the tips of your fingers open, curiously, each one
the eye of some wild creature.
Don't sit still!
Let your inner being venture out into the wildest terrain,
tasting the fruits that flourish there, tasting the fresh unsheltered sky.
Deftly seek the motion that you may find in stillness,
for there is a current of life inside you, strong enough to lift
your pinioned feathers into flight.
This is EXACTLY how I've been feeling these past few days... Having discovered I can write quite legibly with my new dip pens, I've been scribbling and feeling my spirits soar every time I dip the pen into the ink, leaning on my beloved writing slope...
Truly, I feel powerful and able to do anything, and go anywhere my words choose to take me... After almost 8 years inside the cage of disability, I feel REBORN...
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Full Ash Moon Dreamboard
As my Full Moon Dreamboard journal is A4 (as compared to the A3 New Moon one), each spread seems to fill up very quickly - a handful of images on each side, and we're done!
There are echoes of the words and images from the New Moon, and once again I repeated the 'Invocation' poem... I plan to type that out and mount it on card, so I can say it before I create each Dreamboard...
Left-hand page is pretty self-explanatory.
The egg tag has the info on this Full Moon written on the back (date, main themes/thoughts). The stunning female torso wood carving is called 'Harmony' by Marsea H. Ilio (1989) image from old We'Moon diary. The 'Find Beauty in Rain' is from last year's 'quote-a-day' calendar and the Klimt tree of life is from a greetings card. The blue woman is called 'Prayer to Tara' by Molly Sullivan (2002) and links with Right-hand page
... where the words of the prayer are written
Self-Arising Tara
Ma
my source
creatrix of all
She's real
alive and
humming deep
in ancient space.
May we all
arise as Tara
May we all
be awakened
and free
like you Ma
like you Ma
please come
arise in me.
Other images include another page from the quote-a-day calendar 'Live Simply', a Papaya! Art postcard with the Chinese proverb 'If you keep a green bough in your heart, then the singing bird will come.'
Below that is a card with the words 'Our ability to be compassionate and experience our humanness never leaves us' from my stash - I just love the yellow primroses being cradled in gentle hands...
Then an Art&Ghosts image of a typing rabbit (of course!) and finally another We'Moon image called 'Wisdom' by Meinrad Craighead (1983).
I have felt the power and the rhythm of this Ash Moon month, with the Celtic themes of 'As above, so below' - the sense of deep stirrings in the earth, in my belly, manifesting above ground in my body... And it will continue as this Full Moon shines brightly and then slowly wanes down to the next New Moon, which just so happens to coincide with the Spring Equinox (oh my!)
I suspect there will be even more of Nature's power to come...
Thursday, 19 February 2015
My journal...
When the Muse knocks, all too often I ignore her (to my own detriment!)
But after the New Moon Dreamboard yesterday, there's still some creative energy floating around...
A page from Toast's Spring lookbook, on which I wrote random words - which could become a poem...
But after the New Moon Dreamboard yesterday, there's still some creative energy floating around...
A page from Toast's Spring lookbook, on which I wrote random words - which could become a poem...
dark, moist earth
rich compost
Bulb - orb
of new life
like an egg
bright strong stalks
pushing their way
through tp the Spring air
And here, small suns
trumpetting the arrival
of life.
Then poetry by Mary Oliver (Wild Geese) and Jeanne Lohmann (Invocation) - so integral to making my Dreamboard yesterday...
This journal is my Book of Me I'm making in a year and a day with Angel Sullivan. I've been a tad lax with entries, but I have till October to finish it :)
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