envelope

something

a crumb.
a red rosehip.
this way.
shhhh.
sit and listen.

spinning

I went to an ol' school chum's house today. 5 of us. then four. then three. With each departure the conversation got more intimate. A marital breakdown. A persisting negative body image. A longing for renewed intimacy.
Do you ever spin? asked M. Sometimes just moving helps shut up your mind and break the rut.
within 5 minutes she had the 3 of us giggling and wiggling and wagging our tongues. getting rid of the pent up energies, shutting up the busy brain that always says "yes But" to the kid, getting out of breath to feel alive.

Another friend spoke about how she explored the saying Spinning your tires. It's something she does a lot. Race car drivers do it so the wheels grip better and this means they'll go faster. She was relieved that what was perceived as a negative had a function. It became more bearable.

spinning a yarn and telling a story.

In my dream I was trying to capture the right light and adjust the lens so that I could photograph the spider webs. Webs the spiders had spun.

Yule time Fire

I enjoyed the company of new parents, young artists at a farewell
get together. We shared midwives and birth stories.
Later a bright open fire and Salmon that had been caught by the men sitting next to me and smoked locally. It was wonderful being welcomed in the home of my babie's catcher.
Bear was pleased.
I felt warmed inside and out.

new moon

New moon is the time to unburden our hearts, to tell our secrets, our faillings. We tell them in the darkness. We tell them to the Darkness. She takes them in, absorbes them, makes manure for the compost so that new things will grow or good things will grow strong.
I was wondering when it would be time to put up the new alter. The new cycle beginning seemed like the right time for a clean slate. I cleared and cleaned the altar space today. Washed the window. Spider is still alive. I disturbed her from her dreamtime. The rotting and rotten apples have moved to the garden under the peonie bush. In minus 26 degree temperatures they'll be preserved untill Spring! The ants will have something to nibble on when they awake from their slumber. Do ants slumber?
Dream catcher hangs where its maker hung it. I burned awarness and sage and healing. I burned black candle to collect and purify negativity, green for love and forgiveness, red for strength and courage. Yule is the time to make magick for children's health.

Sweeping

Brooms are often associated with witches.

Although mine is no besom broom (handel of hazel wood with a head of birch twigs )it has certainly played a role in my art practice in the past. This is the part of the practice that borders between art making and ritual it would seem. It is the tool that allows me to track and trap dustbunnies I've used in artworks. It is the tool oft used to calm and clear my head-- sweaping the slate clean so to speak.
I've discovered that in wiccan ritual a broom can be used to represent the element of air and is used to purify. The priestess sweeps the sacred space in a clock wise motion a few inches above the ground.

Wanning quarter moon