Sheena Cundy's Blog

Anything Is PossibleHard though it may be for us to belie...

Anything Is Possible
Hard though it may be for us to believe, but Spring is only around the corner – really!  Now is the time to nurture the seeds of those dreams and ideas that we planted at Imbolc when the earth was still slumbering.  
The spirit of Spring calls us to wake up and consider the idea of possibility in our lives. It beckons us to begin planning and think ahead. But before we get carried away and have the rest of the year written off let’s just stop for a moment and think about how the energy of Spring speaks to us.
As Mother Nature begins to awaken all around us we will see that she takes her time, she is not in a rush to get anywhere. And as new ideas come to the surface in our minds we can allow the time to ponder over them before starting the process of moving them forward.
As energy follows thought we can begin by trusting in the magical power of nature as she constantly reminds us to take our plans one step at a time. Why do we feel the need to hurry? Thoughts of not enough time do not serve us.
If we believe that we have plenty of time then we will. We don’t need to fall into the lack trap!
Self-Belief
It’s time also perhaps to look at our beliefs because they truly create our experiences. When making plans, we must believe that they can and will happen. This requires that we have self-belief, for without it nothing will progress in the way we want it to.
Turning in the direction of your dreams will renew your faith in what you know you can do. If you can imagine it and dream it, you can do it!
Spring urges us to believe in ourselves. She awakens us to the idea that whatever we can see ourselves doing and being we can do and become. Once we truly believe this we can move on in our thinking…
Expectation
By cultivating our ideas with faith and fully expecting them to happen we breathe more life into them. The buoyancy of Spring helps us to do this as she rises up and points the way onwards.
Expectation brings hope for what’s to come. It is the fuel that propels us upwards as we seek to expand and grow at the level of the Soul.
Planning
Knowing what and where you want to go is the first step in successful planning. Do not get caught up in the ‘how to’ because this will waste your precious cultivation time! You don’t need to know how it’s all going to happen. By allowing and trusting the plan to unfold naturally; the way forward will become apparent in time.
 Does Spring work it all out before hand? No! She pushes gently ahead, going with the flow of life as it happens at its own pace.
Jumping too far ahead does us no favours as in the meantime we miss the all too important signposts that are right under our noses. Being receptive to further direction calls us to curb any over excitement and wait for the next part of the plan to emerge with the faith and belief that it will.
Contemplating the wonder of Spring will bring a sense of renewed hope and cause the stir of a growing awareness within that all is possible. She reminds us to let go of all self- limiting beliefs and put our faith in ourselves and our dreams. She heralds a time of confidence and optimism for each of us and empowers us from the inside out.
Be guided by her, listen to her, watch and enjoy her as she shows you that Mother Nature really does know best.
Enjoy the Magic of the season!
Bright and blessed be,
                      Sheena )o(
www.themagicofnatureoracle.com
www.sheenacundy.com    Illustration by Tania Copsey                        

Witch Lit Giveaway results!

Review of The Madness...

       
     The Madness & the Magic ~ A Review by Willow   
  The first thing that strikes the reader of this book is the beautiful
       presentation - a tactile satin-like feel with a bold image of The
       Hanged Man.  The Madness and the Magic is a story of magic and mayhem,
       love affairs and menopausal antics, all presented in a mixture of
       dialogue and narration.  Cundy immediately gets the reader's attention
       in her opening line - 'Crafty Cottage waited in darkness at the end of
       the path'.  What path is this? For whom or what is the Cottage
       waiting? And does Crafty Cottage have some kind of supernatural nature
       that it can be described as 'waiting'?
    
       The author has a way of springing surprises with a seamless switch
       from the magical to the mundane and back again, along with the ability
       to lift the mood of the story by the use of a simple quip.  Cundy's
       style of writing keeps the reader wanting to know what comes next and
       is easy to read, offering both humour and pathos. The book has a
       satisying end and leaves the reader feeling content and happy that the
       story has the right outcome.
    
       On a personal note, I found this book to be unputdownable.  I laughed
       and cried at the very humanity of the story, whilst appreciating the
       mix of menopausal madness and the magic, both of which are entwined in
       a totally believe-able way.  This book is definitely a must-have if
       you want a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Many thanks to Willow.
       http://www.moon-books.net/books/madness-magic

Trevor Greenfield... be my guest!

Publisher at Moon Books, a Pagan imprint for John Hunt Publishing, Trevor kindly took some time out to answer a few questions...  1. You are both author and publisher... how did your love of books begin and what came first, the written word or the spiritual inclination?

When I was eighteen I took Religious Studies as an A Level option. I think I thought it sounded easy. It wasn’t as I recall, but it was fascinating. Old Testament studies, The Genesis material and the Exodus, Prophets, Judges and Kings, Yahweh versus Baal… great stuff. To this day I think there are fewer greater pleasures than a TV documentary exploring Biblical history and the fact that half the world’s archaeologists say the Exodus never happened and the other half say it did just makes it better… the romance, the believing, the not-believing, the wondering, the search, the not knowing.

So I went to College and read Religious for my BA and MA which got me into Christianity and Christian Theology which is another really cool thing to get into. It’s funny, I was reading a new discussion on Anselm’s Ontological Argument the other day and it occurred to me that Philosophers have spent a thousand years debunking his argument on the grounds that thought and reality aren’t linked and now some scientists are saying the opposite.

Anyway I ended up a Christian (didn’t even see it coming). Then I got into Radical Theology, you know, God is Dead, Christian Atheism, that sort of thing and then one Sunday I was reciting the Nicene Creed in Broadwater Church and it occurred to me that I didn’t understand it… not didn’t believe it, just didn’t understand it and didn’t have the capability to do so. And then the serendipity moment, Philip Carr Gomm turned up at our College to do a lecture on modern Druidry and that was it… I just knew that was how religion had to develop, subjectively, free from dogma.

Meanwhile, I had been considering a PhD in Theology and wanted to do radical Theology. I made a start but it was so boring I gave up and the material I had turned into “Introduction to Radical Theology” published by O-Books. Through that I ended up working as an editor for JHP. So, one day, when John said we need to split up into imprints I said, I’m interested in Paganism and that’s how Moon Books started.

So the answer, I suppose, is the Old Testament came first, then Anselm and then Philip Carr Gomm!

2. How would you describe yourself as a writer?

I think I’m pretty much retired. I have plans to write a book with my daughters next year titles ‘Finding Frederick’. By chance we found out we had unknown relative who died in the Great War which has given rise to a lot of research that we would like to get together in book form. Other than just writing a blog article can leave me exhausted for days! So, getting to be Publisher of moon Books was ideal, I can flit about in the book world and be bookish without having to make the effort to write one!

3. How have your own spiritual beliefs developed/changed since heading Moon Books and coming into contact with so many diverse points of view..?

I don’t think my underlying beliefs have changed in that I am still theistic in outlook. I have always believed in a creator deity and I still think that if you consider the totality of human experience throughout history (and not just what scientists today tell us) then a worldview that includes a deity is the most complete one. In that respect Paganism simply allows for a non-doctrinal expression. So I can believe in God or Goddess without the requisite requirement to want to kill anyone who doesn’t agree with me. Having said that, I am hugely more intolerant of some religious views than I ever used to be, but I think that’s more to do with the ageing process and becoming a miserable old git, a life-role I increasingly embrace!


4.  Where do you think contemporary Paganism is heading and how do you see your own part in that?

I think that’s a really interesting question. Personally I think the future is Pagan. I don’t think religious belief will disappear, it’s innate in human character. But I think Paganism offers a spirituality for Western secular society. How people express that belief will vary widely from performing rituals at Avebury to recycling. Of course, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, the world’s major religions aren’t going to disappear, but once the media grow tired of the popular characterisation of Pagans as weirdos, hippies, whatever and start writing about them as being a significant part of the spiritual landscape and as offering a valid spirituality for the modern world, more people will take the ideas on board. And as the tradition is essentially subjective in nature it presents an attractive option to dogma and doctrine. What part will I play? Well I’d love Moon Books to publish the book that helped to change people’s perceptions. Or perhaps I could write it; that would be cool!

5.  What do you read for pleasure?!

I like to read books on history, any period really, but mainly British History. I read books about life after death because that’s an interest of mine. But here’s my guilty pleasure… back in the 1990s just by chance I read Robert Goddard’s debut novel, ‘Past Caring’ and I’ve read every one he’s published since then. He’s the perfect way to lose a couple of days!

6.  If you could have half an hour with anyone (famous or not) from the Great Cauldron in the Sky, who would it be and what would you say to them? 

The famous person would have to be Jesus of Nazareth. After two thousand years of devotion, scholarship and speculation I’d love to hear from him what he believed and the meaning behind what it is claimed he said. The non-famous person would be great-uncle Frederick. My daughters and I have been researching his life but it would be great to have his side of it!

7.  What advice would you give to any aspiring and unpublished writer?

If you’re going into writing to make money, forget it. You’ve got to write because you love to write. Be prepared to accept criticism. What you’ve written might be very good but it won’t be appreciated by everyone.

 8.  What do you do to relax/switch off?

 I love football. I’m a Brighton & Hove Albion season ticket holder and I go along with my daughters (my son hates football, not sure what happened there, it’s like bringing up an atheist!) I also watch way too much TV; sport, comedy, documentaries. And I like the cinema. On a slightly more active note I like walking the Downs.

Some great answers... thank you Trevor!

For more information about Trevor- visit: http://www.moon-books.net/authors/trevor-greenfield







 

Be My Guest...Melusine Draco!

A WALK ON THE DARK SIDE“You’ll enjoy these,” said my friend. “Couple of them are a bit on the dark side.” Being of a Gothic-bent in my youth I do enjoy ‘dark’ literature – in exactly the same way as I relish dark chocolate, Mahler and moonless nights. Dark doesn’t necessarily mean horror, morbid or sombre – dark chocolate is bitter but gives immense tow-curling enjoyment; Mahler reaches down into the pit of the soul and can be tremendously uplifting. Dark nights enable one to slither down from the belfry and … oh, never mind … Dark fiction is a very personal thing and if I were to think of my own favourite novels, we’ll find that these have a very dark side indeed. Top of my list, where it has remained for over 40 years is John Fowles’ ‘The Magus’. This is a peculiar book and not just in content. Described as ‘a towering entertainment’ and a ‘virtuoso feat of storytelling’ it was often accused of being incomprehensible; to add to its strangeness, the author even put out a revised version of the novel’s ending a decade later. Most of the story takes place against a backdrop of pagan sensuality on a remote Greek island in the 1950s but the principal character and narrator elicits little sympathy from the reader as he clumsily attempts to unravel the complicated skeins of truth and illusion spun by an adroit puppet-master. “Why have you no imagination, no humour, no patience? You are like a child who tears a beautiful toy to pieces to see how it is made. You have no imagination ... no poetry,” accuses Lily by way of a rebuke as he tries to smash his way past her reserve. There is a strange ‘otherworldness’ that requires the suspension of reality, the flight of imagination - or, like Nicholas, the reader flounders in a quagmire of resentment at not being let in on the secret or allowed to enter the domain. Although it was made into a film starring Michael Caine very little of the original plot was utilised to any degree of satisfaction. This is a book that once read, is never forgotten - a genuine modern literary masterpiece. An older favourite going back to schooldays, Dumas’s ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ is the archetypal revenge story on a magnificent scale. How many remember the wonderful BBC adaptation staring Alan Badel - the only actor to ever bring Edmond Dantes to life. It has been claimed that for ‘pure inventiveness and fecundity in narration, ‘The Count of Mount Cristo’ is the greatest story in the world’. Not a bad review to have under your belt. The story is, of course, too well known to need any introduction but the justification is as chilling today as it was in Dumas’ time: “... but I never seek to protect society who does not protect me ...“ comments the Count upon his arrival in Paris prior to his seeking out and destroying those responsible for his 14 years incarceration. An innocent man condemned to die in prison for a political crime he did not commit, he rises like a spectre from the grave to exact a revenge never tempered with forgiveness for the guilty. Although never having had the urge to write an historical novel, it would be wonderful to claim credit for ‘Julian’ by Gore Vidal - Julian being the last pagan emperor of Rome. The narrative consists of a correspondence between two old, waspish philosophers that takes place 17 years after Julian’s mysterious death. The author uses contemporary material to re-create the life of his subject, which is remarkably well documented considering the fact that his name was reviled as ‘Julian the Apostate’. He has nevertheless remained something of an underground hero in Europe and ‘Julian’ furthers this romantic image without resorting to cheap romantic tricks. It may not be one of Vidal’s better known novels but it surely must rank as one of his finest. In ‘Doctors Wear Scarlet’, Simon Raven broke the Bram Stoker mould of swirling cloaks and crypts to create the perfect up-to-date (1960) vampire tale - although the film version was a total embarrassment. Using his favourite backdrop of Lancaster College, Cambridge, an assortment of academic characters and an Aegean setting, Raven’s utilisation of the Greek vampire myth is a vivid tapestry of supernatural and superstitious illusion. ‘Doctors Wear Scarlet’ has all the ingredients of a classic horror story without the cheap ticks, because the sheer power of the writing lifts it well above the mundane clichés of other run-of-the-mill writers in the genre. What are the common denominators? All four books have a highly distinctive literary style and enviable use of language; each is an adventure, if not necessarily in the accepted sense of the word; none of the characters are pedestrian, stay-at-home people and each novel contains characters with brilliant minds. All the plots have an ‘otherworld’ element in the story-telling and none of them come to a satisfactory conclusion, leaving the reader with dozens of unanswered questions even after repeated readings. Perhaps it is the latter quality that gives them their unique appeal - in that by not having a real ending, the story goes on forever in the reader’s imagination. That … and, of course, the delicious darkness.Melusine Draco FB link: https://www.facebook.com/Melusine-Draco-486677478165958/


Melusine DracoMelusine Draco is the author of numerous esoteric books - both fact and fiction. She is also Principal Tutor of Coven of the Scales and Temple of Khem.

Writing Witch Lit...the Mad & Magical Way!

 From Seed to Fruition I do love an idea. When I learned about NaNo WriMo three years ago – an annual online challenge to write a novel of 50,000 words in the month of November – something happened. Like a wild and startled horse, impulsiveness will gallop aimlessly into danger if it’s allowed to.
Nervous energy is like that.
But tame it, temper that wild spirit without breaking it and it will serve you and become one of the best travelling companions you’ve ever had.

Acting on impulse - a typical Sagittarius trait - has led me into trouble more times than I can remember and as I approached my fiftieth birthday in 2012 it I wondered if I might just be getting the hang of it. So with broomsticks crossed I made the decision to do it, have a go and write a novel in a month.
How hard could it be?
After registering my place with only a few days to kick-off, there wasn’t much time to think about it and that was a good thing. It stopped me dithering and taught me something important. When it comes to writing, or anything else for that matter, too many options are not a good thing.

Choosing one is all that’s needed. In fact it’s the only thing that’s needed. Giving way to uncertainty and doubt soon breeds fear and then you’re stuck. I didn’t have time for that and very quickly I learned another lesson which became a constant teacher over the next month… nothing concentrates the mind like a deadline. So I went for the write ‘what you know’ as the easiest option and - as it turned out – the most enjoyable. Without a lot of time to choose, picking from the ether became a habit I took great delight in. A title and a short description of the story was a necessary part of registering on NaNo and as ‘what I knew’ materialised into myself and the menopausal disease I had become so deeply infected by at the time – The Madness and the Magic was conceived.
Immaculately, of course.
So… I had a title and a theme was emerging which, the more I thought about, the more excited I became. Minerva appeared as a character, who I knew, would be a lot of fun to work with. If I was in for some hard, serious work then I needed that at least. I decided on Goddess names for all the female characters and without too much forethought, discovered as I got further into the story, that I had picked just the right ones for each. Rhiannon and Ronnie have a lot in common as does Sophia and even Isis evolved quite magically with her fetish for Egyptian attire. As for Minerva being a Goddess of wisdom, it’s debatable I know, but remember she is under the influence of two rather toxic things; the men-o-what-sit and brandy. One can hardly blame her for a little unruly behaviour here and there.
And of course, she’s a Witch, so throw some magic in and the plot thickens very nicely.

Once I had the idea of a title, theme, characters and what might happen to them… it began to unfold and I was ready to go.

Another lesson there… don’t get caught up in the ‘how-to’.

Once you’ve decided on an idea, begin! The doing of it becomes clearer as you go along, trust in that. You have to… It’s when the magic starts working and if you are a Witch then you can do so much to help that along. You have all the tools… use them.
 I did. My trusty Tarot were never far from me and my laptop and I consulted in them daily. In fact, therein lies the fact in the fiction. All of Minerva’s experiences with the cards were the real deal as it were. I picked them all for her and the story was led by that.
Using a magical tool really helps.As anyone who has done NaNo WriMo will know, producing that first draft in thirty days is hard graft. It takes commitment, dedication and focus; not forgetting a big, juicy early retirement carrot for one long suffering and supportive husband. Mr. C works well with a nice bit of bait.

Writing almost two thousand words a day is not easy and unedited work was something I had to get used to, quickly. You can’t afford to be self-critical at all if you want to create quantity in anything and where there is quantity; there will be quality if you do it for long enough.
The gold is there if you keep digging for it.
...And once I got used to working with that flow of consciousness , I enjoyed the freedom and realised it was that fluidity in the writing which gave it momentum. And you have to keep moving with a story once you start… that is if you want to finish it.

 When the last day in November arrived I never thought I’d be so glad to see those final two words. The End was something I had no idea about when I started the story and I think for me, that’s what kept me going… the journey is what’s important not the destination. The excitement throughout, the sense of achievement at the end… of writing something of that length - which gives so much pleasure - is difficult to describe.
So I won’t try.
Let’s just say celebrations were in order. My fiftieth in December was a good party, a lovely Three of Cups energy to round off the completion of a project in the initial stage… Three of Pentacles!
I had written a book, a first draft. Now what?
Next instalment… Moon Books and the magic continues...
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Be my guest...Laura Perry!

Madness and Magick It’s interesting what mainstream society considers to be acceptable thought patterns and what’s labeled as crazy. If you believe in one god (specifically, the masculine deity of the Abrahamic traditions) you’re perfectly sane. But if you believe in multiple gods and goddesses – literally, not as some sort of Jungian psychological construct – you’re on mentally shaky ground. And if you throw in nature and land spirits, fairies, and gnomes, then you’ve gone off the deep end. And heaven help you if any of them speak to you.
But it wasn’t always this way.

Hildegard von Bingen heard the voice of God, as did many other medieval mystics who were fully approved by the Church. The inhabitants of the Celtic lands have long told tales of the Fair Folk interacting with humans. And of course, there are plenty of modern Pagans who value the conversations they have with deities and spirits.
And then there’s magick. That’s magick with a k, the spells-wafting-through-the-ether kind, not sleight-of-hand. Probably not a subject you want to get into with your next-door neighbor, unless you have a very special neighbor.  Even within the Pagan community, there are folks who’ll look askance at you if you talk too sincerely about spellcraft and its effectiveness.

That, too, hasn’t always been the common attitude. There are a great many beliefs and practices that have come and gone over the course of human history, and at some point most of them were considered quite sane. No one would have thought you mad for following them.

  My dictionary defines psychosis as ‘fundamental mental derangement characterized by defective or lost contact with reality.’ The question is, who gets to define ‘reality’? What if my reality is different from yours? We can probably come to some sort of agreement to disagree about these sorts of things, as long as no one is insisting that anyone else use a pre-required definition of reality. (FYI Mental health professionals generally characterize mental illness as a condition that inhibits your ability to function in daily life. There is some debate as to exactly what constitutes mental illness if you meet all the symptom requirements but are still functional and aren’t endangering anyone, including yourself.)

 But what if madness itself is your goal? That’s a whole different bag of magick beans, and a goal that has been (and still is) far more common than you might think.
 Consider Merlin, not the effete court magician of high-falutin’ Arthurian romance, but the Wild Man of folk tradition. He is a familiar example of the magically-minded individual who pursues madness as a doorway to inspiration, to the divine. Nikolai Tolstoy’s book The Quest for Merlin offers some fascinating insights into this type of practice, the purposeful unhinging of the mind for spiritual ends.
 But most of us don’t have the luxury of wandering off to the mountains in order to seek illumination. So, you might say, we don’t aim at madness the way Merlin did. Not to the same degree, certainly, but consider the fact that practices such as meditation and drumming produce a trance state, a removal of awareness from ordinary reality to something different – broader, deeper, however you want to describe it. The handy thing about this sort of activity is that as soon as you stop, you return to ordinary consensual reality. But while you’re ‘there’ you can’t function in the regular world, can you? Is that short-term madness?
 There are those among us who seek even deeper, more profound separation from the mundane world in the process of our spiritual practice. The purpose might be healing (a special kind of magick all its own), enlightenment, celebration, or the working of spells. The method might be a well-practiced shamanic journey, a sacred herb, a powerful ritual. In these cases, the release from the ordinary is much more striking and the carryover lingers for some time afterward, flavoring the experience of everyday life. Reality, such as it is, never looks quite the same again.
 If reality itself changes, does it still count as madness?
 I’ll leave you with a few thoughts to chew on as you go about your day: The working of magick requires intent, which requires belief in the fact that magick exists and that it works. These notions stand in direct opposition to the mainstream view that things are real only if they can be measured by scientific instruments.* In other words, the working of magick requires a separation from reality, a certain kind of madness. Personally, that’s a bit of madness I’m willing to embrace.
 * Yes, I realize this argument implies that bacteria didn’t exist before the microscope was invented. I never said I agreed with it, just that it’s the mainstream view.
For more about Laura and her work, check out: www.lauraperryauthor.com
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The Heart Of Life

A ReviewIn this fascinating book, Jez Hughes bares his soul through a deeply personal account of a journey into shamanism as a healer and teacher. Here is a story into the mind and heart of a man who has discovered the shaman within through the fierce initiation process of a life so far, who has faced his demons and is not afraid to talk about it.
     It is a story of healing that reflects how some of the most challenging times in a person's life can be turned around, of how the dark night of the soul can be an opportunity to grow and learn - to ground the spirit and be fully human. The author has done this with clear, down to earth writing and an endearing honesty which is hard not to like.
     Divided into three parts of the Body, the Ancestral and the Dreaming Soul, the author shares with the reader the teachings of his own experience through his travels and encounters with the indigenous people and shamans of the world. And his trust in the spirits and guidance received from those subtle realms demonstrates an unwavering faith in a journey of personal discovery and deep transformation.
     In The Heart of Life, Jez Hughes is both the seeker and the seer, the wounded healer and the wisdom keeper. Ultimately, he has produced an important work - one which will resonate with and further the knowledge of those already on the shamanic path and for those who have wandered too long without clear and conscious direction... now they have it. Well done to him.
A book to inspire and treasure.

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Full Moon Blessings from Morrigans Path

     Draw Her DownWhat do you care enough to fight for?
Enough to wear your battle crown?
Why do you stand and stare at the moon this night for?
The power there...and draw her down

Let Her in now...blood and bone
Make a moon vow...of your own
...body, you will give birth!
Draw Her down into the earth

What do you know is right or wrong now?
She of the sky, the land and sea
Ask Her where do we belong and how...
Will She talk to you, will She talk to me?

Let Her in now...blood and bone
Make a moon vow...of your own
...body, you will give birth!
Draw Her down into the earth

Now draw your sword and think of glory
A warrior's word and a maiden's shield
It's time to write a different story
And tell it on the battlefield

Let Her in now...blood and bone
Make a moon vow...of your own
...body, you will give birth!
Draw Her down into the earth

Lunar rays upon and all around you
It won't be long before you know
Where She comes from and why She's found you
The tide is strong... Her ebb and flow

Let Her in now...blood and bone
Make a moon vow...of your own
...body, you will give birth!
Draw Her down into the earth

Morrigans Path

Draw Her Down ~ Morrigans Path