Mabh Savage's Blog: A Celtic Witch, page 41

Summer

   

Spiderlings 

  

  

Elderflower 

Negative affirmations

mabhsavage:

The power of ‘No'; being able to say no at times is crucial. Nimue says it better!

Originally posted on Druid Life:

I can’t. I won’t. I don’t like it. I don’t want to. It does not interest me. No.

The right to say no, and to have that ‘no’ heard and respected, is a key part of getting to be a functional human being. People who are only allowed to say yes, are not allowed to say anything at all. It doesn’t matter whether the pressure to be relentlessly positive comes from a belief system, or the demands of people, being denied the right not to want, not to like, not to participate, is to be denied a very large part of your self.

I am especially wary of spiritual positions that see anything negative as bad. We are finite beings. We really do have limits. While we occupy these bodies of ours, we have limited perceptions. We don’t know everything, we can’t do everything. Flesh boundaries us. Gravity inclines us…

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Diamond Encrusted Oranges

Asda asked me what my Click and Collect experience was like:

The whole process was a shambles. Ordering itself was OK, although the search function doesn’t work too well on the website, and if you are using the website/app on your phone, you lose some of the functionality.

I was told that when I went to collect my order, staff would be on hand to help me. No staff were available; I had to use an electronic system to open various doors; it was like being in an episode of the Crystal Maze. Once I had retrieved my crystals- sorry, shopping, I had to run and get a trolley to manhandle the lot back to the car, despite having been assured that staff would help with this.

Once I got to the car, I discovered that several items were missing. When I double checked this on the receipt, I also found I had been massively overcharged for my oranges. £1.50 an orange! Maybe they do have crystals inside them…

My oranges and I trundled to the customer service desk, and had to wait an inordinate amount of time despite there being two members of staff; one was processing a refund for another customer, but the other was scanning baby milk; she kept smiling and saying ‘won’t be a minute love’ which was a blatant lie as when I eventually left 20 minutes later she was still scanning said formula… The other lady was baffled by my missing goods and apparently platinum laced oranges, but wasn’t sure what she could do as the Click and Collect man (her words) had gone home. I find this baffling as I was told I could pick my order up any time between 8pm and 10pm, and it was only 8.15pm.

After 5 minutes of hand wringing she spotted a manager crossing the shop floor, who kindly found my missing items and instructed customer services to refund me £7.50 for the diamond encrusted oranges. This whole process took around 20 minutes, during which time I was documenting the incident on Facebook: if we know how to shop online, we sure know how to post our dissatisfaction online too!

I arrived home, exhausted and baffled, and unpacked without paying too much attention to it. Two days later, I was planning dinner when I realised I didn’t have the item I was planning to cook. I retrieved my receipt and discovered that there were 3 more missing items than I had at first realised! I have requested a refund for these so can only hope this is dealt with in a manner more befitting a supermarket than an 80s puzzle-based game show. I hope this feedback is useful. I really can’t see myself using the click and collect service again without some incredible incentive. It was hard work and I’m still dealing with it 2 days later. It would have been quicker and less stressful to trawl around the supermarket myself.

10 things meditation can do for you

mabhsavage:

Wonderful insights on meditation.

Originally posted on Druid Life:

It’s normal to see meditation described as a calming, soothing activity to reduce stress and anxiety. While it certainly can and does deliver these things, there’s so much more that is available.

1) Increased self awareness. If you regularly pay attention to your breathing, your thoughts and the general state of your body then your awareness the rest of the time will also increase. This can help you change your lifestyle to better match your needs.

2) Self control. If you learn how to drop into calmer states, how to calm yourself and direct your thoughts in very specific ways, this will be more available to you when not meditating as well.

3) Visualisation and pathworking meditations stretch and develop the imagination so that your mind becomes more flexible and creative at all times.

4) Consciousness shifts. Meditation is not just about being calm, it’s about deliberately being able to…

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How does Magical Thought in the Middle Ages differ from today?

Some work I’m doing for the MOOC course ‘Magic in the Middle Ages’.

One thing that magic in the  the Middle Ages and magic today has in common is that it is always a form of transformation. The sick are healed; the weather is changed; a shapeshifter moves silently through the night; a lover changes his/her mind. The main difference that I can see is that there was so little understood about the world in the Middle Ages, almost everything could be seen as a magical act.

A woman who used Willow bark to ease the pain of a loved one would have been branded a witch, but today we call it Aspirin and sell it in pharmacies worldwide. Western practitioners of Magic in the 21st century accept scientific rationality and work alongside this (for the most part) to continue and even enhance their magical practices. Without realising it, the sorcerers of the Middle Ages were doing this too, but unknowingly, with herbs, chanting and music (which can alter our brain waves), hallucinogens and of course fear; fear of the fairies, demons and even god.

I think it’s a generalisation to say we have ‘prejudices’ against this period, as most folks with an interest in the period will do some research to see how things really were, and those that have no interest will probably not even be aware of the magical practices taking place during this time. Popular culture has always painted the picture of the warty old witch or evil sorcerer, regardless of the time period, because of superstition created by the church; that magic is evil and powered by demons.

It’s easy to understand why people would be enamoured of the idea of the Renaissance bringing the ‘light’ of reason into a filthy, superstitious world. The downside to this, in my opinion, is the loss of ancient traditions and customs that are part of the growth of a culture. it’s great to understand why we do things, and the science behind them, and of course if practices are found to be dangerous, they should stop. But one day, we may not have access to electricity, medicine or even books, and the knowledge and practices of our ‘magical’ forebears could be the most useful hand me down available.

Magic is performing transformation for people. Science is understanding how you did that and how to do it again, exactly the same way. Religion, particularly Christianity in this context, often condemns both science and magic for being ‘against God’. Telling, no?

Gardening day.

  

Marigold seedling repotted.

  

Yarrow ready to go into the garden.

  

Asparagus peas: a new venture this year.

  

Fresh Black Peppermint. Smells divine.

What am I Making?