Mabh Savage's Blog: A Celtic Witch, page 24

DIY

The dog pant roar

Of a hand saw

DIY, oh why

In this heat

They must be mad

Have they had

Enough of dust

And rust

And just one more shelf

Rollers in hand (not hair)

And sleeves to there

Or not at all

Vested women

Bare breasted men

Sweating and red

Dripping on the deck

Burn, burn, burning

In the July sauna

Each droplet of damp

Just adding

To the humid mug

Clinging, and invisible

Formless foe.

Still they hammer

And spanner

And measure

And screw

And sweep

Just sleep, you fools.

Just sleep.

Friday I’m In Love

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Venus.  Image processing by R. Nunes. 

I’ve been learning a little bit about planetary magic over the past couple of weeks, courtesy of some daily devotional work to Hekate. I had a lovely little conversation this morning with my eight-year-old son, Nathan, which reminded me of how the most serendipitous things can take you by surprise.

Me: “Did you know that Friday is associated with the planet Venus?”

Nathan: “No, what does that mean then?”

Me: “Well, if you expand that to include the Goddess Venus, there are associations with beauty, love…”

At this point, my little boy interjects excitedly, “Oh! Yeah! The Cure wrote a song about it!”

I crinkle my nose in puzzlement then laugh in delight as he starts singing,

It’s Friday I’m in love!

From the mouths of babes, eh. I wonder if Robert Smith et al knew they were inadvertently evoking Venus as they sang about love appearing out of nowhere at the week’s end?

I hope Friday is treating you well and you have a lovely weekend to look forward to. Enjoy a little bit of musical Venusian magic!

Humiditties

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Summer Jewels

Summer walks with the children.

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Greydawn

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When the sun doesn’t rise

Majestically over

The horizon

But diffuses through cloud

Like milk spilling

Through ink

When bird song sends

Rain shivering

Onto sodden paths

When the moon has fizzled damply

And stars have sighed and left

Without saying goodbye

When night passes into day

With no great change

Just black to less black

To pale and washed away

This is greydawn

A haunting morn

Not a time

To be reborn.

A Day in the Woods

What a lovely weekend. I was honoured to be a part of the Online Beltane Music Festival, run by the Pagan Federation Disabilities Team, and really enjoyed seeing the other speakers and performers and interacting with the guests. For those who can’t get out and about due to physical or mental health, these festivals provide a real life-line.

I’m lucky enough that I’m quite mobile at the moment. Last year I was pregnant from February to November with various problems including a severe musculoskeletal condition which left me on crutches by the time I was 6 months in. So, despite continuing issues with hypermobility and chronic pain, I’m actually feeling the best I have for ages! So me and my friend took advantage of the summer-like Sunday weather and headed out into the woods.

Our destination was Post Hill, so named because it was previously owned by the newspaper, the Yorkshire Evening Post. These woods have a chequered history, having been used in happy times as a venue for motorbike hill climb events (it’s still a popular biking venue today) but also, in darker times, as a prisoner-of-war camp in World War II. There’s no evidence of these very different yet both very human endeavours today. The woods are lovely, dark and deep…

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Online Beltane Music Festival!

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Just look at this line up! I’m so excited to be on the same line up as Damh the Bard and Inkubus Sukkubus, as well as amazing speakers such as Kitchen Witch Rachel Patterson and Hopeless, Maine‘s Nimue Brown.

Here’s the link to the event. These online festivals have been the brainchild of the amazing Pagan Federation Disabilities Team, designed to allow those who struggle to get to physical festivals a chance to join in and celebrate with the rest of the Pagan community. A stalwart weapon in the war against isolation, these festivals are now being hosted by the main Pagan Federation page which should allow them to reach even more people who may otherwise find it difficult to join in with the celebrations.

A new feature for this year is the Online Beltane Marketplace. Just like a physical festival has stalls, the online festival has a marketplace where you can browse and maybe even make a few purchases. The marketplace is open now if you want to pop in!

Saturday the 12th and Sunday 13th May, from 12pm both days. I’ll be doing a short set of music at 14.45 on both days. I look forward to seeing you there!

Beltane Fire

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Moonlight Haiku

Door slam traffic jam

Fuming, steam from ears, hot mess

I pause, moonlight healed.

Rules for Living on the Moon

Don’t touch the flag

Kicking moon dust

In faces

Is Not On!

Look frequently towards

The earth

Admire the sun

With protection

Of course

Reflect

Inwards and out

No cheese jokes

Ok, that’s not mandatory

The only holes

Are in the plot.