Motherhood at Lughnasadh

At the agricultural feast of Imbolc we welcomed the goddess of regeneration back into the world as a corn-baby preserved from the previous year’s harvest. By Beltane she had matured into a fertile corn-maiden with no shortage of earthy suitors. She is now at her most bounteous and it is time to honour her fruitfulness as the corn-mother.

Witchcraft is a nature-based religion and I would like to believe that most witches have a reasonable knowledge of herbs and plants (botanicals) to enable them to make incense and alternative healing aids.

Plants play an important role in a witch’s life.  Witches work with Nature’s energies, Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit; as well as planetary influences and the powerful energies of the Moon, and of course, not forgetting the important Elementals.  Plants are amazing, not only do they have their own ‘life force’ (Spirit), but they also incorporate all of Nature’s energies - grown in Earth, fed by Air and Rainwater, nourished by the heat of the Sun and the power of the Moon.

A Great Adventure

Some years ago, I was standing in the Cairo museum looking at a statue of myself that had been unearthed near the step pyramid at Saqqara. This statue had brought me all the way to Egypt as Margot, my then mother-in-law, a very intuitive lady, had visited the museum on a previous occasion and had known at once that this effigy of an unknown scribe was a previous incarnation of me. 

Working with the skulls has made me get out of my comfort zone in a big way and just learn to ‘go with the flow’. So I invite you to sit back, relax and do the same as I do my best to explain just a tiny part of what I have learned from the skulls and from other Crystal Skull keepers so far, since I’ve been working with them.

What are they?
Crystal Skulls are exactly that, crystals or minerals carved into the shape of a skull. Most commonly used is clear quartz, but you can find them being carved and manufactured in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours nowadays.

Buddhism and Hatha Yoga. An examination of (Tibetan) Buddhist forms of Yoga

Hatha Yoga is wonderfully neutral, it does not rely on religion. Although the HYP (Hatha Yoga Pradipika) ( *1) pays homage to the lineage, this is a standard structure in any classical text, and at no point are we expected to believe in any gods or demons. Buddhism too is totally neutral. Although classified as a world ‘religion’, there are no gods or ideas to believe in. Quite to the contrary, Buddha always admonishes us to not take his word as gospel, but to investigate the truth for ourselves and to never jump to conclusions based on untried assumptions.

Recently we've had a couple of discussions here at Gristmill concerning various aspects of peak oil; hat is, the assertion that very soon (if it hasn't happened already) the global supply of oil will peak, and even though demand is going up, supply will start to come down, so prices will skyrocket.

It seems to me that some of the contention in these discussions boils down to the question: would it really be so bad if the oil started running out? After all, we would stop mucking up the planet with the pollution, carbon emissions, and infrastructural damage we have been inflicting for these hundred-years-plus of the petroleum age.

The following is a quote from the Wise Earth School of Ayurveda, whose core philosophy of healing lies in the principles of mindfulness (sadhana) and ahimsa (non-violence).

“We are always mindful of the moment. When we engage every moment without the cares and fears of the beyond, we are able to harness the spirit of sadhana, and every moment is filled with divinity. Sadhana can be practiced simply by breathing, having a compassionate thought, saying a kind word, reaching for a blade of grass, plucking a fruit from its vine, sitting in the sun and feeling its warmth, touching the earth with bare feet. In short, sadhana is the integral connection that keeps us forever dancing in rhythmic measure with the cosmic pulse. Our moment-to-moment awareness of this connection is the heart of sadhana. "

Mention colonic irrigation and you can sense the apprehension that many people have for this subject. Mental images of enemas, scary looking tubes, hot water bottles suspended from the ceiling, smells and strange gurgling noises prevent many people from exploring this therapy further but, just for a moment, I’d like you to put all your preconceived ideas to one side and allow me to put your mind at ease and introduce you to a fabulous therapy for maintaining well-being.