September Tarotcast
The Tarotcast for September will be posted in the next couple of days, so drop by and have a look. Well, my dad's 90th birthday party to which I referred in my last blog went ahead yesterday and I think it has to be said it was a resounding success. The whole thing lasted three days for dad, as his Dutch 'family' came over from Holland on Friday and went home earlier today (technically yesterday as it is after midnight) and he has had the time of his life. It was wonderful to see people come from far and wide to celebrate dad's birthday and to see how loved he is by so many people. He can talk the proverbial hind legs off a donkey lol and to prove it, he now has a rusty throat and I could hardly hear him tonight over the telephone! So Dr. Merrymoon has ordered three days complete abstinence from speaking - not that he is going to take any notice, but it has been a weekend to remember, for all the right reasons. Queen Elizabeth II has been informed that she should prepare to send dad a telegram in 9 years and 364 days and I believe she is doing so as I write :-p
Hmmm, I don't quite know what to say now.........perhaps it's better to say nothing if there's nothing to say, so on that note, I will say......
Goddess Blessings, Willow
A Straw Poll
It was Meg's birthday on Friday........when asked her age she will tell you she is twenty-one plus VAT........hmmmm..........can't believe just how much VAT has gone up since the new Coalition government came into power. But we have had a lovely couple of days together. On Friday we went for a pub lunch to a place we found by accident some time ago. The desserts are definitely to die for! Banana and cindertoffee icecream Sundae (even though it was Friday) was utterly gorgeous and my mouth is watering even now at the memory of it. Then today we had another meal with my family and a good time was had by all. I have to say I was impressed that this pub had a couple of vegetarian options that weren't all about cheese and pasta - I had broccoli and cauliflower pudding (would madam like gravy or custard with that?), yummy yummy. Meg has a penchant for straws and one of the presents I gave her was a straw construction kit, consisting of sturdy clear plastic tubes with connecting pieces so that she can design her own shape of straw.......the box showed a beautifully complex one which dipped into three different glasses at once and looked more like a kind of maze for hamsters! Just for the record, Meg's true age is kltikdpeifjeo.........oops, she nudged me when she saw I was about to reveal all lol!
Speaking of birthdays, next Saturday my dad will be ninety and we are having a 'bit of a do' for him. He is a very sprightly nearly-ninety-year-old who goes walking every day and will probably be the fittest one at his party. There is a group of people coming from Holland (dad is an Arnhem veteran and goes on an annual pilgrimage there, where he has been staying with the same host family every year for years now) along with other friends and family members. I am looking forward to meeting some of dad's old army pals that he talks about and hearing what they have to say about him.
On another subject altogether, I got my picture in a newspaper this week! My sister Sue rang me on Thursday and told me that she'd seen it in their local paper (the town in which I grew up). It was in one of those 'fifty years ago' sections and is of the morris dance troupe of which I was a member at the age of nine. We had blue and white gingham dresses with knickers to match, and bells on our plimsols, and we were to perform at a carnival but rain stopped play. One of the songs that we danced to was 'the Happy Wanderer' and I do indeed have very happy memories of being a morris dancer. Ah well, I guess that's my fifteen minutes of fame.........although I did once do a Tarot reading for a famous actress from 'Coronation Street' (I do think 'Tarot Consultant to the Stars' has a good ring to it he-he).
Goddess Blessings, Willow
Tarotquest Revealed
Less than twenty-four hours after my last blog entry, here I am doing another one. I have had feedback that some of the Tarotquest questions are a bit tricky, so after v...e....r...y much thought I have taken the R...R...R...Radical Decision (Please note Capitals!) to let it be known that all the answers can be found on my website in amongst the Tarot Deck Archive. I originally decided not to do so as I thought it might make it all too easy, but I would be very happy to have some feedback from your good selves, so get emailing me now if you have something to say.
Goddess Blessings, Willow
What s Good for the Goose....
Well, folks, I am very happy to be able to say that I have had a really good experience this week regarding access statements on websites of places that people might want to visit. I am going to Glastonbury later in the year and so looked at the Chalice Well website. They didn't have access information so I emailed them to ask for it, and also suggested they might want to think about putting a statement on their website. That was on August 1st and on August 5th they emailed me with the statement that they had prepared and it will be going on their website very shortly. It's fantastic to be taken seriously and not brushed off like a fly on someone's hand. I have made what I consider to be polite suggestions to a number of websites over the last year or so and some of them didn't bother to reply at all, whilst others made all the right noises but ultimately did nothing. I don't want to spend half my energy fighting for the cause but sometimes I really feel the need to act. I have had numerous poor experiences when trying to use loop systems (for hearing aids) in theatres and other public venues and it is incredibly frustrating. Good job there's an Amazon in me!
As I sit here at my computer I can hear music in the distance. There's a music festival here in the local park and it sounds like everyone must be having fun. Thankfully, the rain has kept off for the most part (yes, I know, how very British of me to comment on the weather!). And just below my house people are working on the grounds of a de-consecrated church. Once a month volunteers keep the grounds looking beautiful and it's a pleasure to walk through. The church was de-consecrated quite a number of years ago and now it is a venue for all manner of things.........hmmm..........I seem to remember that I commented on it a few blogs ago........oh well, we'll put it down to a senior moment - of which I have a few.
Well, I think that's my cue to say ttfn. Oh yes, I almost forgot :( to say that Tarotquest number eight is now posted for your edification - or maybe headache! I'm off now to polish my walking sticks........
Goddess Blessings, Willow
Greetings at Lughnasadh
Yes, we're into August now and the August Tarotcast is posted. I seem to remember that this time last year, Meg and I went for a pub lunch and they had a red christmas tree up advertising the christmas day menu :( This year I am finding myself wanting to avoid that particular pub.......the sight of that red tree was most offensive! Another reason to avoid it is because I am vegetarian and they have the most limited and least imaginative vegetarian menu I have ever seen. Wherever I go, it seems to be cheese, pasta, cheese and pasta, pasta and cheese, and oh yes, cheese and onion pie, cheese and onion/tomato sandwiches. "Cheese and onion sandwich please"........."would madam like cheese with that........" Heyho.
It's the festival of Lughnasadh today (Lammas) and it is time to celebrate the first fruits of the harvest. I am going to do so by making bread, some of which I shall eat and some of which shall go back to mother earth. The poem below is by Kaaren Whitney and she has some lovely suggestions on her website for celebrating the different festivals, along with poetry for each one. To see for yourself click on the link 'Living the Wheel of the Year'.
BEFORE THE BREAD
Before the bread there is the harvest.
Before the harvest there is the wheat.
Before the wheat there is the plant.
Before the plant there is the seed.
Within the seed there is the idea.
Within the idea there is the harvest.
Goddess Blessings, Willow
Of Birthdays and Blogs
Well, following yesterday's blog, here is another short but perfectly formed entry! I have had a lovely day with my son, celebrating his birthday. We had breakfast at my favourite coffee shop, followed by a 3-D viewing of Toy Story 3, a film not to be missed by anyone who loves a feel-good-factor film (the 3-D effects were stunning), after which we went to TGI Friday's, an American themed restaurant for a delicious meal - so yes, it has been a day of indulgence and delight!
The other major news is that my blog has been featured as 'blog of the month' on Tracker, the monthly newletter for TABI - Tarot Association for the British Isles - and I am absolutely over the moon :) To see the TABI website and/or to subscribe to the newsletter just clink on the link on the right. So a big thank-you to Sara for 'blog of the month'!
Goddess Blessings, Willow
From Pancreatitis to Pancakes
Well, it's been a hectic few days.......one of Meg's dogs has been very ill with pancreatitis, something I've never heard of in an animal before, so she has been in hospital for a few days and Meg brought her home about twelve hours ago. Thankfully, Sacha is much better, still poorly, but she's getting there. Also my sister and brother-in-law have been staying for a few days. They've gone home now but we had a lovely time together. and now my son has come to stay for two nights. We are celebrating his birthday with a visit to the cinema to see Toy Story 3 in 3-D and then for some yummy scram at TGI Fridays!
Well, it looks like this is going to be my shortest blog ever as I'm completely out of steam. I could say stuff like, aren't the nights drawing in, or have you seen the price of fish lately, but I'd just be filling space, so I won't say them........
Goddess Blessings, Willow
Which Witch is Which....
Hi everyone.....just got back from a few days away with Meg. We were holidaying in 'witch country' - Pendle Hill in Lancashire, reputed home of notorious witches several centuries ago, although rumour has it that there's not a few still living there......we did the Pendle Witches Car Trail, visiting various locations connected with said Lancashire Witches. One of my all-time favourite books is 'Mist Over Pendle' by Robert Neill, which (untintended pun!) I used to read every year for about ten years. In the village of Newchurch there's an old church that has the 'eye of god' on the side of it, put there to ward off evil, and one of the main witches of the time, Alice Nutter, is reputedly buried there. I've visited the area many times over the years and it never ceases to amaze me how Pendle Hill always looks brooding, even on the sunniest day. But anyway, it's back to everyday life now. And I've just realized that somehow I have managed to turn the heating on when re-setting the boiler and I'm being boiled alive........I'm gonna have to force my weary legs to make the trek back downstairs and my even wearier legs to drag me back up again.......
When I got back today a neighbour had kindly taken delivery of some books for me - Kit Berry's 'Stonewylde' series, recommended by my soul sister. I have just started reading the first one and I AM HOOKED! Why didn't I know about them before??? I love it when I get a book that is so good I don't want to put it down. I've always loved books and remember reading them under the covers with a torch at bedtime as a little girl when I should have been sleeping. Enid Blyton's 'Famous Five' came alive for me and I loved nothing better than a visit to the library with my dad. It was a shock to me when I went to grammar school at the age of eleven and found that in general most of the girls' reading material was much more sophisticated than mine. That's when I was introduced to Shakespeare and I have to say I hated it from the start (don't worry, I have begged forgiveness and done my penance). Going from Enid Blyton to William Shakespeare overnight was not a good idea and the only time I ever did enjoy any Shakespeare was in my mid-twenties when I did A-level English and was taught by Victoria Wood's mother. The highlight of the year was going to see a production of 'As You Like It' at Lancaster but I'm afraid it was a very brief love affair with Will. The next time I went to see a Shakespeare play after that I left at the interval. I just didn't see the point in staying any longer. And so, my relationship with WS lies well and truly in the past.
Anyway, I can no longer put off the moment of going downstairs and need to save the rest of my strength for the hike back up. I am very good at procrastinating and come up with the most inventive excuses for myself for putting off till tomorrow what doesn't have to be done today. Procrastinate no longer, Willow Merrymoon.
Goddess Blessings, Willow
Retreating Thoughts
Greetings at the New Moon, dear friends. Tarotquest number seven has now been posted so it's time for those thinking caps again! I must try to remember where I put mine.......it's been a while since I did much thinking......
Meg and I are having a few days away next week at the same place I went to for my 'nearly-retreat'! I'm hoping I don't end up coming back after the first night again. But seriously, we are so looking forward to the break - I've got my pile of books, cds and tarot cards ready to pack - plus candles and joss-sticks to help set the atmosphere.......I can feel myself relaxing just thinking about it :)
I came across a lovely website today - www.spiralgoddess.com/homage.html
and thought I'd share Abby Willowroot's 'Pagan Prayer' with you, written in 2008..............
May my mind be gentle
my mind still and open
my spirit unshackled
my awareness keen
my conscience clear
my nature giving
May I be a healing energy
may I be of benefit to all
may my life enrich others
may I know all that matters
and live in harmony with Nature.
Goddess Blessings, Willow
July Tarotcast
Yes, the July Tarotcast is now posted so do drop by and have a look. This is the second time I have tried to write this blog, so I'm hoping I get to the end this time. Yesterday I started it and got sidetracked - as is all too frequently my wont - and somehow or other I managed to lose what I had written. Fortunately it wasn't much but it was so late that I was too tired to start it again so anyway, here it is. My memory cells seem to have gone walkabout - which reminds me of a funny incident from way back when in the 1970s..........a friend gave me a cutout from a magazine inviting me to send off for a booklet on how to improve my memory..........but I forgot to send it off lol!
As I'm sitting here in my 'den' with the window open I can hear an owl hooting and it's been raining and mother earth is giving off the most wonderful smell in thanks to the rain goddess. It's nights like this that make me feel so alive and so glad to be here. My den is my favourite room in the house. It's where my computer is along with my collection of Tarot cards and books, and is decorated with a night-time theme. I come in here in the mornings to have my first cup of coffee and to pick a 'touchstone' card - a Tarot card that I go back to mentally at various points in the day to give me focus.
In my den I have a prayer plant that was given to me by a very dear friend, Louise, about fifteen years ago. It was the first plant that I have been able to keep alive as I've never had much success with plants before that, having killed them all off with what I now understand to be over-watering. If a plant wasn't flourishing, water it was what I did, not understanding that I was drowning them - but since the prayer plant came my way, I have happily nurtured various plants, in particular an aloe vera plant that was given to me about ten years ago by a neighbour. It was amazing and produced many young - or pups, as they are called, and those went on in turn to produce many more young. My plant flowered six times during it's life, which was absolutely incredible as they usually die after one flowering. To see the flower appear virtually overnight and grow to a length of about twenty-four inches within a couple of week was nothing short of truly remarkable. As for the prayer plant, it's had a number of near-death experiences and somehow keeps coming back from the brink. Louise died a few years ago but I'm sure she would be happy to see her prayer plant still growing and thriving. Strangely I have never felt her presence with me at all, which is surprising as I am often aware of 'visits' from other people who have passed away.
An update from last week's blog about the German version of 'Daughters of the Moon Tarot' - the book arrived this week, thankfully in English - I still don't know how I managed to order the German version of the deck. Sometimes I worry about myself (when I remember he-he)!
For the people who have sent in to Ask Willow, your questions will be posted in the next couple of day.
Well, I think that's all for today,
Goddess Blessings, Willow
