Integration

Hello blog! This week has been incredibly busy involving a lot of work and travel and as such I've not had a whole heap of time to post. This morning is balmy and breezy. Sitting in my dining room I can look out to the far peaks and listen to the birds and wind and let my mind wander and assimilate the information I am reading as I enjoy some quiet time before getting stuck into house cleaning.

This next chapter commences with a discussion about the God and Goddess of the witches. It describes the triple nature of both, the cyclic role they both play in relation to birth, death and re-birth and the various images and language used throughout the ages to describe them. While my practice is based very solidly on the seasonal cycles of the year, it's really hard for me to describe my own personal practices surrounding them. I tend to see them more as external manifestation as aspects of ourselves that work as tools to enable us to focus more clearly on our objectives and aspects of ourselves we would like to improve, but having said that when out walking I often identify the sun as Lord, the mountains as Lady etc. In fact more often than not I associate most things with the Lady as opposed to masculine principles - does that mean I have an imbalance in my approach to certain aspects of my life as a result? It very well could and deserves further exploration!

I started off this post thinking that there is no way I can both view the Lord and Lady as divine beings *and* as externalised aspects of ourselves and started to write from that point of view, however now I'm thinking why the hell not?! I try to make an effort in my everyday life not to take an either/or approach as I think that style of thinking can be very limiting - why should I pursue it in relation to my spiritual beliefs? Universal energy is universal energy, matter is matter - it exists in various forms - why can this then not be the same? The Lord and Lady exist both within and without - we *are* divine and so is this beautiful world we live in. An interesting thought to contemplate as I go about my everyday tasks today....

This image is actually a beautiful t-shirt that you can purchase.

Catching Up

Well, it's been a while - and a very eventful while! Young Goddess has Type 1 diabetes and landed in hospital for a 5 day stay last weekend, so my time has been pretty much consumed. Work is still as hectic as ever and nights have been occupied with knitting gifts for the festive season. Amongst all of this, I've been attempting to stay centred and keep my balance - pretty tricky when you're juggling so many things! Young Goddess is fine, by the way.

Last Sunday to give the dog a break, we went for a walk in the off leash area which actually takes the course of the Bega River. A very pretty spot where you can lose yourself and forget that the town is just a few steps away, you can actually walk along the river bed because water has been diverted to the farms. It was quite hot and at times I needed to put my thongs on (Aussie ones, not American ones), because the sandy river bed was so hot. The contrasts between light and shade were absolutely beautiful and reflected a little on what my life has been like lately. If you look closely in the picture above, you can just see Gypsy revelling in the water. It was such a beautiful feeling to feel water flowing over your feet while you stood in the shade after working up a sweat walking in the sun, drinking in the sights and listening to the breeze and the birds. Dragonflies abound both at the river and around our house and it never ceases to thrill me when I see them.

I spend a lot of time while walking contemplating what this land must have been like when indigenous people were the only human inhabitants and feel sadness for the loss of their lifestyle and regret that I will never get to see the land as it once was. In the present, however, I wander - meditating, contemplating and exploring with the wonder of a child, thankful for the beauty that surrounds me and paying homage to that sense inside of me or that aspect of the God/desses that told me moving here was the right thing to do. In spite of the loneliness lurking in the background even when I'm not consciously aware of my man not being here, I am thrilled to the core knowing that this place is home.

I have so much more to write about - the history I've learned about the breathtaking mountain when you come here from the direction of Cooma, the nudist that once lived there, how bright the moon is when full and shining in my bedroom window at night, the beauty of the stars. Unfortunately more "practical" things call, including getting out and feeling the earth beneath my feet as I spend time in the garden. I may or may not get to post about the rest later, as I continue to explore as "A Witch Alone". Not long until the new moon, when I move on to the next Chapter, but for the time being I am content to get out, renew my links with the land and spend time contemplating this wonderful, wonderful country.