Spring Update
2010
by Silver RavenWolf
You haven't heard much from me in a while, so I thought I'd give you a brief update of all the magickal happenings here at the RavenWolf Hearthstone!
HedgeWitch Gardens -- My garden(s) project went into full swing in early April. This is the fourth year of our official magickal gardening work. I took full advantage of the record breaking temperatures and dug, hauled, mulched, dressed and planted. Most of my herbs were in the ground and perking along by the end of the second week in April. I tried a new product, an organic antifreeze for plants. It worked well on everything but the basil. Basil is historically fussy with cold temperatures and even with this product, they did not fare well. All the rest: Dill, White Sage, Thyme, Marjoram, Parsley, Butter Lettuce, Broccoli, Peas, Sunflowers...even Beans and Geraniums are perking along well.
The most memorable event of the garden so far came with a Healing Circle Night, where all the fellas and I stood out in the pouring, bitter cold rain and unloaded a pallet of stones off my son's truck and onto the property. We were all soaked to the skin and shivering like mad as we hefted stone after stone through the driving rain in the pitch dark. Gotta love it! Surprisingly enough, I didn't lose most of my plants over the winter months, and many of them woke up early (the last week of March). The Valerian is already a foot high, the Horehound made it through no problem. Berg Sage, Savory, Oregano, and many of the Thyme are going strong. The Hyssop plants held on as well as the St. John's Wort. Woodruff popped back up and the Grand Dame of the front property (the oldest plant) held on. Only the elder four of the Silver Leaf Lavender look sick. Those I planted last year seem to be doing well.
Plants will tell you by their behavior what weather is coming. For example, everything woke up really early (basically) except Hibiscus. Those two just sat there, defiantly, as I broke up the ground, mulched and applied top dressing. This made me suspicious. Two weeks later, a nasty frost hit. Today, April 16th, I'm finally seeing small leaves on the youngest and mere buds on the oldest. From now on I'll pay particular attention to these two ladies for temperature information!
During the month I got out my HedgeWitch Garden Journal and made updated entries. I recorded what survived, what didn't, what new plants I bought, the weather, and the work I did in March and April. The book has become an invaluable resource. Have you started your HedgeWitch Garden Journal yet?
Traveling and Touring -- in March my husband and I had two great experiences, first at the Turning Wheel in Baltimore and then at Celtic Myth and Moon in Reading, Pennsylvania. Both stores are well stocked and run by great folks! We really enjoyed ourselves meeting new people as well as connecting with old friends. I'm looking forward to traveling more over the summer as opportunities arise. On May 1st I'm one of the clergy giving an opening prayer at the Amani Festival in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. I'm very much looking forward to this experience as I will be the first Wiccan in the fifteen year history of the Festival to give a morning blessing. I am planning to return to the Turning Wheel in Baltimore in the Fall to give two Angel Magick classes. I'll have more on this as we firm up plans.
Pow-Wow and Genealogy -- Although you haven't seen much from me on the subject of Pow-Wow in the last two months, there has been a tremendous amount of behind the scenes work. From the seminars in Baltimore and Reading, to really going back into my files and digging, to expanding back out into my local community to gather as much information as I can there are papers flying, notes pasted everywhere and a . I've met with another Pow-Wow practitioner raised by the Amish, done more work with my students, taken in two new students (yes, fellows, I have not forgotten you) written the first, basic lesson for training and enrolled in a genealogy class. Tracing your pedigree (as it were) is a far more daunting task than I first imagined. I have, however, come across some very interesting energy forms. Yep, you read that right.
The teacher of the class (a seventies-something minister's wife) made two remarks over the past several weeks that have stuck with me. First, she says that repeatedly she's seen where unusual interests are passed from generation to generation, or skip a generation and then are taken up again further down the line. She wasn't talking about things like music or art; but, common, everyday interests or odd little talents that people don't much talk about. For example one senior in our class raises beautiful tomatoes. His never get the blight, and he doesn't do anything special with them other than following his own planting schedule. His father before him did it, and his father before that. What is interesting is that the senior in the class didn't have much interest in raising tomatoes when he was young. He was drawn to raising them as he grew older.
The second remark that stuck with me centered on a common problem in genealogy. You are perking along just fine in your research and all of a sudden you hit a brick wall (like the census fire in 1921 that destroyed all the 1890 records except for 6,160 people) or you come across the fact that your great-great-great grandfather appears to have had two wives that died in the same year with similar names (no kidding) but different parents. She said -- You will find the information you are looking for -- with an odd inflection to her voice coated with an iron shell of certainty. Now, on the surface, that seems to be a minor, placating statement, and not worth contemplating, except this week, I totally understood what she meant.
People's pedigrees can be utterly boring to everyone but the person it belongs to (trust me on this as I sit through the first hour of each class as students excitedly trod through what they've found that week -- the only saving grace is their personal animation and excitement, which is worth the boring details)-- so, bear with me as I try to get to the point. There was somewhat of a mystery around my grandmother's early life. I never knew her mother's name and she rarely, if ever, talked about it. I knew only that her father was a minister and that when her mother died, he took her brother with him to Pennsylvania and abandoned the girls. Later, he married another woman and had a big, new family -- he never came back to collect the girls (my grandmother and my aunt). Although I knew my grandmother's father's name -- I knew little else (other than the fact that he was a stinker).
Fast forward to my son and I up in the attic this past week, clearing out things for a collective family yard sale we are having in May. I pull out a box that seems empty. The attic is dim and dusty, and I didn't have my glasses on (argh, growing old can be a pain), so I shove my hand in the box and pull out a wad of papers and junk. Flower funeral cards from my mother (major ug), the funeral attendance books of both my mother and my grandmother (double ug), my mother's favorite pearls (no shit) and a lone piece of paper dated 1957 (over fifty years after she was born). It appears, for some reason, my grandmother was making a petition for her own birth certificate (which must have been destroyed or lost). Notarized and copied, I now had (what I considered) a gold mine of information (what genealogists equate to a valuable primary source). Where she was born, when, her mother's name, her mother's birthplace, and more. I couldn't believe it! I sat back in amazement and absolutely understand how quantum physics plays into your needs -- if you only let it. I will not be sharing this train of thought with the class -- they'd think I was crazy. I already dropped the bomb about searching for Pow-Wow information so I have become that weird student over there in the corner. Once I'm further along in my research I'll post some of what I've found. Maybe we're related!
I could go on about my research; but, I've bored you enough. Suffice it to say, my friend and I have plans to go out into the countryside this summer armed with names of seniors who might be willing to talk to us about genealogy. Strangely enough, I found that Peggy (that's not her name) and I are not only friends -- but, stars and garters, we are related! Several of our mutual ancestors came to the USA from Germany before the Revolutionary War. Another line traces back to Scotland around the same time. And, there are more mysteries to discover, untangle, and research. When working on my original Pow-Wow book I interviewed people as an author and newspaper reporter -- this time around I'll be interviewing with the hope of finding more information about my family history as well as any interesting stories of Pow-Wow I can collect. Wish me luck!
Healing Circles and Healing Shawls -- Although I've not been on-line much these past few months we have continued to hold regular healing circles every other Thursday. Last Thursday, in particular, was a big one -- I really had a house full! Out of that a particularly nasty court case was won, someone had an insurance problem which was resolved, and of course we did our normal healing for illness related work. Oh! One individual lost his dog after it was hit by a car (the dog got up and ran off) the day before. We empowered the leash to pull the dog back to its owner. In 24 hours, the dog was found, with only minor wounds. This doesn't mean that the owner didn't run all over town (he did, plastering posters everywhere). His comment to me over the phone later was, "Wow! We were really banging, weren't we!" Yup.
Our Crochet Circle continues to meet every other Monday. I posted a picture of some of the shawls I've competed. The group has finished many squares and my daughter is edging them. I'll attempt to put them together to make a Magick Hugs Lap Blanket hopefully by June. Everyone's skill level is rising and several have begun and even finished some of their own projects. I really have to give these folks credit for hanging there, driving in bad weather all winter long, just so they can donate their time, energy and talent to a good cause.
Silver RavenWolf Website (seen here) -- is rebuilt. Thanks to some wonderful, hard working folks, we launched after the Mercury retrograde.
My E-Mail and FaceBook Friends List -- I'm way behind on the e-mail. With all the activity here there were weeks where I didn't even get a chance to sit down at the computer. So, if you have been waiting for a response -- I apologize. My Friends List is another matter. On Facebook, you can only have 5,000 friends (which I mentioned to you a few months ago). To work around this, I opened a fan page. Unfortunately, I have over a thousand people on my normal page asking to be friended -- which, I can't do. So! If your friends would like to connect with me, please have them go to the fan page if you can. I hope, at some point, this might change. Unlimited friends on Facebook would be nice.
I've really missed being in touch with you all. Give everyone blessings, kisses, and hugs for me!
Silver
by Silver RavenWolf
You haven't heard much from me in a while, so I thought I'd give you a brief update of all the magickal happenings here at the RavenWolf Hearthstone!
HedgeWitch Gardens -- My garden(s) project went into full swing in early April. This is the fourth year of our official magickal gardening work. I took full advantage of the record breaking temperatures and dug, hauled, mulched, dressed and planted. Most of my herbs were in the ground and perking along by the end of the second week in April. I tried a new product, an organic antifreeze for plants. It worked well on everything but the basil. Basil is historically fussy with cold temperatures and even with this product, they did not fare well. All the rest: Dill, White Sage, Thyme, Marjoram, Parsley, Butter Lettuce, Broccoli, Peas, Sunflowers...even Beans and Geraniums are perking along well.
The most memorable event of the garden so far came with a Healing Circle Night, where all the fellas and I stood out in the pouring, bitter cold rain and unloaded a pallet of stones off my son's truck and onto the property. We were all soaked to the skin and shivering like mad as we hefted stone after stone through the driving rain in the pitch dark. Gotta love it! Surprisingly enough, I didn't lose most of my plants over the winter months, and many of them woke up early (the last week of March). The Valerian is already a foot high, the Horehound made it through no problem. Berg Sage, Savory, Oregano, and many of the Thyme are going strong. The Hyssop plants held on as well as the St. John's Wort. Woodruff popped back up and the Grand Dame of the front property (the oldest plant) held on. Only the elder four of the Silver Leaf Lavender look sick. Those I planted last year seem to be doing well.
Plants will tell you by their behavior what weather is coming. For example, everything woke up really early (basically) except Hibiscus. Those two just sat there, defiantly, as I broke up the ground, mulched and applied top dressing. This made me suspicious. Two weeks later, a nasty frost hit. Today, April 16th, I'm finally seeing small leaves on the youngest and mere buds on the oldest. From now on I'll pay particular attention to these two ladies for temperature information!
During the month I got out my HedgeWitch Garden Journal and made updated entries. I recorded what survived, what didn't, what new plants I bought, the weather, and the work I did in March and April. The book has become an invaluable resource. Have you started your HedgeWitch Garden Journal yet?
Traveling and Touring -- in March my husband and I had two great experiences, first at the Turning Wheel in Baltimore and then at Celtic Myth and Moon in Reading, Pennsylvania. Both stores are well stocked and run by great folks! We really enjoyed ourselves meeting new people as well as connecting with old friends. I'm looking forward to traveling more over the summer as opportunities arise. On May 1st I'm one of the clergy giving an opening prayer at the Amani Festival in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. I'm very much looking forward to this experience as I will be the first Wiccan in the fifteen year history of the Festival to give a morning blessing. I am planning to return to the Turning Wheel in Baltimore in the Fall to give two Angel Magick classes. I'll have more on this as we firm up plans.
Pow-Wow and Genealogy -- Although you haven't seen much from me on the subject of Pow-Wow in the last two months, there has been a tremendous amount of behind the scenes work. From the seminars in Baltimore and Reading, to really going back into my files and digging, to expanding back out into my local community to gather as much information as I can there are papers flying, notes pasted everywhere and a . I've met with another Pow-Wow practitioner raised by the Amish, done more work with my students, taken in two new students (yes, fellows, I have not forgotten you) written the first, basic lesson for training and enrolled in a genealogy class. Tracing your pedigree (as it were) is a far more daunting task than I first imagined. I have, however, come across some very interesting energy forms. Yep, you read that right.
The teacher of the class (a seventies-something minister's wife) made two remarks over the past several weeks that have stuck with me. First, she says that repeatedly she's seen where unusual interests are passed from generation to generation, or skip a generation and then are taken up again further down the line. She wasn't talking about things like music or art; but, common, everyday interests or odd little talents that people don't much talk about. For example one senior in our class raises beautiful tomatoes. His never get the blight, and he doesn't do anything special with them other than following his own planting schedule. His father before him did it, and his father before that. What is interesting is that the senior in the class didn't have much interest in raising tomatoes when he was young. He was drawn to raising them as he grew older.
The second remark that stuck with me centered on a common problem in genealogy. You are perking along just fine in your research and all of a sudden you hit a brick wall (like the census fire in 1921 that destroyed all the 1890 records except for 6,160 people) or you come across the fact that your great-great-great grandfather appears to have had two wives that died in the same year with similar names (no kidding) but different parents. She said -- You will find the information you are looking for -- with an odd inflection to her voice coated with an iron shell of certainty. Now, on the surface, that seems to be a minor, placating statement, and not worth contemplating, except this week, I totally understood what she meant.
People's pedigrees can be utterly boring to everyone but the person it belongs to (trust me on this as I sit through the first hour of each class as students excitedly trod through what they've found that week -- the only saving grace is their personal animation and excitement, which is worth the boring details)-- so, bear with me as I try to get to the point. There was somewhat of a mystery around my grandmother's early life. I never knew her mother's name and she rarely, if ever, talked about it. I knew only that her father was a minister and that when her mother died, he took her brother with him to Pennsylvania and abandoned the girls. Later, he married another woman and had a big, new family -- he never came back to collect the girls (my grandmother and my aunt). Although I knew my grandmother's father's name -- I knew little else (other than the fact that he was a stinker).
Fast forward to my son and I up in the attic this past week, clearing out things for a collective family yard sale we are having in May. I pull out a box that seems empty. The attic is dim and dusty, and I didn't have my glasses on (argh, growing old can be a pain), so I shove my hand in the box and pull out a wad of papers and junk. Flower funeral cards from my mother (major ug), the funeral attendance books of both my mother and my grandmother (double ug), my mother's favorite pearls (no shit) and a lone piece of paper dated 1957 (over fifty years after she was born). It appears, for some reason, my grandmother was making a petition for her own birth certificate (which must have been destroyed or lost). Notarized and copied, I now had (what I considered) a gold mine of information (what genealogists equate to a valuable primary source). Where she was born, when, her mother's name, her mother's birthplace, and more. I couldn't believe it! I sat back in amazement and absolutely understand how quantum physics plays into your needs -- if you only let it. I will not be sharing this train of thought with the class -- they'd think I was crazy. I already dropped the bomb about searching for Pow-Wow information so I have become that weird student over there in the corner. Once I'm further along in my research I'll post some of what I've found. Maybe we're related!
I could go on about my research; but, I've bored you enough. Suffice it to say, my friend and I have plans to go out into the countryside this summer armed with names of seniors who might be willing to talk to us about genealogy. Strangely enough, I found that Peggy (that's not her name) and I are not only friends -- but, stars and garters, we are related! Several of our mutual ancestors came to the USA from Germany before the Revolutionary War. Another line traces back to Scotland around the same time. And, there are more mysteries to discover, untangle, and research. When working on my original Pow-Wow book I interviewed people as an author and newspaper reporter -- this time around I'll be interviewing with the hope of finding more information about my family history as well as any interesting stories of Pow-Wow I can collect. Wish me luck!
Healing Circles and Healing Shawls -- Although I've not been on-line much these past few months we have continued to hold regular healing circles every other Thursday. Last Thursday, in particular, was a big one -- I really had a house full! Out of that a particularly nasty court case was won, someone had an insurance problem which was resolved, and of course we did our normal healing for illness related work. Oh! One individual lost his dog after it was hit by a car (the dog got up and ran off) the day before. We empowered the leash to pull the dog back to its owner. In 24 hours, the dog was found, with only minor wounds. This doesn't mean that the owner didn't run all over town (he did, plastering posters everywhere). His comment to me over the phone later was, "Wow! We were really banging, weren't we!" Yup.
Our Crochet Circle continues to meet every other Monday. I posted a picture of some of the shawls I've competed. The group has finished many squares and my daughter is edging them. I'll attempt to put them together to make a Magick Hugs Lap Blanket hopefully by June. Everyone's skill level is rising and several have begun and even finished some of their own projects. I really have to give these folks credit for hanging there, driving in bad weather all winter long, just so they can donate their time, energy and talent to a good cause.
Silver RavenWolf Website (seen here) -- is rebuilt. Thanks to some wonderful, hard working folks, we launched after the Mercury retrograde.
My E-Mail and FaceBook Friends List -- I'm way behind on the e-mail. With all the activity here there were weeks where I didn't even get a chance to sit down at the computer. So, if you have been waiting for a response -- I apologize. My Friends List is another matter. On Facebook, you can only have 5,000 friends (which I mentioned to you a few months ago). To work around this, I opened a fan page. Unfortunately, I have over a thousand people on my normal page asking to be friended -- which, I can't do. So! If your friends would like to connect with me, please have them go to the fan page if you can. I hope, at some point, this might change. Unlimited friends on Facebook would be nice.
I've really missed being in touch with you all. Give everyone blessings, kisses, and hugs for me!
Silver