Loving our beautiful land

Since Mother’s Day I’ve hardly been beyond my gate. I don’t go out often anyway, so I’m used to that. I have missed seeing family, but apart from that my life has been completely blissful. Since lockdown, we’ve had the most amazing weather, and nature is thriving. Traffic is much reduced and the road by my house has never been so busy with walkers, runners and cylists.

I’m very aware that the nature of life in my little bubble is not shared by all and many have been tested in these times. I’m also aware that outside my bubble, something is happening in our sacred land that both sad and shocking. It is hard to imagine how we could have got to this - a situation in which decisions are made about our beautiful country and her citizens by con men, and that we have collectively allowed, or even chosen, this situation.

Never in my lifetime has greed and corruption been so apparent. Never have the people been treated with such utter contempt by those who are meant to be in service. Never have decisions been made to let the elderly die, en masse. The other side of my personal bliss is utter grief and horror at what we have become as a nation. Those currently in power have claimed ‘national pride’ as their own - a national pride of arrogance, entitlement and assumed superiority. The acts of so many ‘ordinary people’ shame them - the everyday heroes going about their daily work to keep us safe, well and fed; the many volunteers in communities; all who willingly accept and endure personal privations for the greater good of all.

These wonderful qualities must eventually trump the greed and selfishness of the few. This situation must change us. What we value, how we organise, what we choose to believe and accept, what we allow or condone must change or inevitable future earth changes will destroy us all.

One of the many wonderful things that is emerging from the current situation is to see how many people are growing food, fixing and mending, cooking nutritious meals from scratch and re-evaluating what matters in life. I’ve seen that the media are now urging us to get back to shopping as quickly as possible. I was happy when the garden centres opened, because buying seed online proved to be very disappointing, but I truly hope that we choose never get ‘back to normal’ and instead seed a new way forward with much less unnecessary consumption and waste.

There’s lots of food growing here! Marcus has been building new vegetable beds, clearing overgrown areas and creating a chicken city; Sue planted lots of seeds; we bought 4 new chickens then lost two of the old ones to Mr Fox (hence the chicken city); the bees all died and we were devastated but it appears that a swarm has now moved in.

I was so happy to hear how much the crystals have been helping you all, and it’s been lovely responding to your requests for crystals. There’s quite a lot now available in the webshop. Please do have a look!
You can always email if you want something that isn’t there and I’ll help if I can.

Not only have I been working on a webshop, I’ve been writing these blogposts and have even ventured into the world of Facebook Live. Never, ever would I have thought that these things would happen! Who knows what’s next!

We now have surplus seedlings so the little stall is back outside the gate. For those of you who are near, now that some travel for exercise is safe, you can also collect your crystal orders here.

Next blog and Facebook live on Sue Weaver’s Crystal Barn Online
Citrine, Rhodonite and Banded Aragonite

The joys of Spring

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Spring is my favourite season. Since working consciously with the Wheel of the Year, I’ve learned to love the special qualities of all the seasons, but Spring remains the best for me.

My absolute favourite time of year is the lush fertility of May. To me, there is nowhere on Earth more beautiful than the Tamar Valley in May - but this early spring brings the exciting gift of emerging growth and the promise of things to come.

On Wednesday evening, a small group of us meditated together to mark Spring Equinox and the Full Moon. Because the Equinox was in the week, we had decided to hold a Spring Ceremony at the weekend and following the absolutely lovely Children’s Ceremony we held at Winter Solstice we decided to invite the young ones in our community once more. What a delight it was!

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We gathered in the Crystal Barn to open our circle. The altar had been created that morning and the children had been invited to bring two items – one that holds the energy of spring and one personal item. I love the joy of these altars. We had teddies and dolls and dragons and all manner of precious treasure joining daisies, bluebells, bulbs and seeds. We passed the talking stick, sang, drummed and rattled.

It is so very special to see children who, only a short time ago were too shy to speak in the circle, now confidently holding the talking stick and sharing their thoughts. Two girls, one of whom was just two when she first came to ceremony with her mother, are now among the older ones and they took responsibility for smudging everyone before we began.

In the winds last month, the lovely bunting that was made last year by Linda, Annie and myself blew away. Instead of making more bunting, I’d had the idea of painting prayer flags and so invited the children to do this. Each time we have had a children’s event, we’ve worked with the Elements, and this was the theme of their creations. They also made a flag to take home, enabling the recently pruned willow to be put to good use.

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I had thought that Spring Equinox would be the time we made felt for the Horse Drum bag, but clearly that wasn’t to be since events unfolded that prevented it happening. He was, however, insistent on being on the Altar along with his lovely drum bag strap.

At the New Moon ceremony on 6th May, dear Dee arrived with a Peruvian belt. She’d been going through some possessions and had had the strong feeling that she needed to bring it and give it to me. As yet I have no idea why the Horse Drum that is part of the work with our land should have a Peruvian belt . . .

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From New to Full Moon I had been intent on making the drum bag. With Full Moon/Eclipse I realised that what we actually needed to do was more work with our new Ceremony Circle.

In 2017 my lovely vegetable and herb garden was completely destroyed as it was necessary to dig out the leat that runs by my house. 25 years ago the National Trust did a typical penny pinching botch job that had led to quite a serious problems, so although the mess and noise and disruption was pretty appalling in this normally peaceful spot, it was good that the situation was being addressed at last! And there has been something very cleansing and healing about opening the space/water flow ‘right down to the bottom’.  

At the same time, a new, flat, south facing patch of land had become available to us – a much better spot for vegetable growing. Also, it had become clear that quite a few of our community members were finding it increasingly difficult to make the trek up to the sacred circle in the woods. So we decided that when the holes were filled and the grass growing once more, we’d create an additional, more easily accessible, ceremony circle.

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The very first step came when I was offered the 4 Directions poles following a beautiful women’s moon gathering I attended. They were stored, with the intention of placing them to hold the Directions in our new circle.

From May to August they rested in the barn. In August we shared some very special and powerful ceremonies in Stonehenge and at the Hurlers, and I woke up the morning after the New Moon with the feeling that it was time for the next step!

Helen, Linda, Sheila, Marcus and I meditated together in the Crystal Barn to discern the way ahead. We chose 5 Preseli Bluestones from the crystal grids and altars we’d been working with, and an extra stone for Fire, Earth, Air, Water and Spirit. Marcus measured the circle and we planted the crystal seeds. Throughout this time we had been blessed to have the ‘loan’ of dear Paddy’s magnificent Preseli Bluestone bowl – a very special Being who has now been part of many ceremonies on the land. With seeds planted, we left the circle to ‘bed in’ through the autumn and winter.

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As ‘my plans’ for creating the bag for Horse Drum faded, the thought came that it would be wonderful to take the next step of creating the Circle with the children – Spring energy and the beautiful energy of the children. I created small bags of crystals with each containing a Preseli Bluestone, a Rose Quartz and a tiny Herkimer Diamond. With a small fire in the middle of the Circle, the children planted their seed crystals in the ground. (They also got to choose one to keep!) Anwen started in the East – because she’d just had a birthday – and when the circle was complete, we joined hands and sang together.

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It feels so special to be involving the young ones in community events. They bring such a beautiful, joyous, curious, playful energy. In the evening, a small group of adults sat in the Crystal Barn to connect with Spring energy in a quiet way. As we sat in silence, the whole place seemed to hold the echo of the bright energy from earlier.

We wish you a happy Spring and Summer to come, and hope your dreamseeds become manifest.

If you would like to see more ceremony photographs, including some from last summer’s events - mentioned above - please go to our Heaven & Earth Community Facebook page

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Awakening energy & spring cleaning

Between grey rainy days there have been some days of complete delight lately – with clear blue skies, snowdrops in the hedge, catkins dancing in the breeze, the trees just beginning that gorgeous pre-growth shimmer and the first daffodils.

With this energy, last Wednesday I felt spurred to action and started thinning my books! The sitting room got a complete clean. All the crystals got a nice bath. Then it was time to smudge.

I’ve written about smudging before, but since following spring cleaning is such a perfect time to smudge your home, I thought I’d share once more.

Many cultures consider certain plants to be sacred, and to have special properties that can help us. For centuries, various plants such a sage, cedar, lavender, frankincense have been burned to create a fragrant cleansing smoke or smudge. Cleansing with sacred herbs is both a practical and sacred ritual.

There are many plants to choose from and you can choose a herb, or a mix of herbs, that you like and that feels good and appropriate to you. I like to grow and dry my own herbs to make special smudging mixtures.

The photograph below shows Sweet Woodruff - an absolutely beautiful plant with leaves in little star whorls. It loves my garden and grows prolifically. When dried it has the most beautiful sweet scent, but is an absolute labour of love to burn.

While I do use my own mixes for special ceremonies and events, the smoke that I find has the most effective general cleansing properties, and which I use most often, is White Sage (Salvia Apiana). This is imported from USA - as loose leaves, clusters of leaves, or wound into smudge bundles. I really wish I could grow it. I’ve tried, but this damp valley in Cornwall is not a good environment for the plant.

A longtime ago I made shamanic journeys to the Spirits of lots of plants used in smudging and asked if I could be shown how each works.

Apart from my preference for the smell of White Sage over lots of other plants, and the fact that it feels energetically lighter, what I was shown taught me that it is really, really good at clearing, cleansing and lightening the energy of people and spaces.

When I smudge myself, I often use my hand to direct the smoke. When smudging a person or a place, I often use a feather.

One thing you definitely need is a fireproof container. One of the true rules of smudging is that however hard it is to light the herbs in the beginning, when it is time to go out they will probably be burning well! The container can be anything that prevents fire from spreading and doesn’t burn your hand, so metal is out unless it is on a cord!

A strong ceramic bowl is good, and I have often used bowls with a little soil or sand in the bottom. Often a shell isused.

Smudging with shell and feather is particularly lovely since it brings in the 4 Daughters of Beauty or the 4 Elements. The plant represents the Earth element and the shell represents Water. They are burned and transformed by Fire into cleansing smoke. The smoke itself, and the feather, represent the element Air.

There are many ways of smudging - many traditions and rituals. You may well find that people are attached to ‘the right way’ of smudging. I’ve certainly been told off more than once for ‘doing it wrong’, yet I’ve watched several Grandmothers in ceremony, and they each have their own way. I have my own way to smudge my home, so I’ll share it with you.

I begin with cleaning on the physical level – a good tidy, dust, sweep, ‘spit and polish’, and a good crystal cleanse. I like to do this with windows and door open, whenever possible, and it is good to keep them open while you smudge if you can.  I set a clear, strong intent to clear any energies that do not belong in my home.

I start upstairs, in the corner of the bathroom. I move around the room, using the feather to wave the smoke into nooks and crannies, paying particular attention to corners, all the time focusing on clearing and cleansing. I then move to my bedroom and repeat, to the other bedrooms and then down the stairs. I move through the rooms downstairs, ending at the door.

Having completed the smudging, I sometimes go round again with sweetgrass. This herb smells divine and brings blessings into your home. It does not burn like sage, and you need to be patient and persevere. I will need lighting several times, but it really is worth it. 

You can light a stick of your favourite incense or diffuse an essential oil or a combination of oils. Put your cleansed and sparkling crystals back in place and add some vases of flowers.

There are some situations where it doesn’t work to create smoke, and indeed some people just don’t like it, so you could use my special Cleanse Aura Spray. This is made from my personal tried and tested recipe which includes a blend of 5 essential oils, my own Quartz Crystal essence, pure focussed intent and lots of love. It is so hard to find the perfect White Sage oil and it is pretty expensive. I’ve had many expensive disappointments along the way. Every bottle is made as part of a small batch at special times, such a Full Moon or Equinox, and each batch has its own energy. This Aura Spray is also very useful when you need a quick ‘clear and lift’ of energy – yourself or in a room.

You can buy Cleanse Aura Spray, White Sage - loose or in bundles, Abalone Shells in various sizes, Sweetgrass Braids and Feathers in my Facebook group sale tomorrow evening.
Sue’s Crystal Barn Online
Tuesday 12th February at 7pm.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CrystalBarnOnline/

I also have 2 lovely Home Blessing Kits available and can create ‘Mini Kits’ from a selection of items.

For those of you who are wondering about the Horse Drum, he is pretty quiet at the moment. He has found a spot to rest for now and seems quite happy there.

Happy Spring Cleaning! May your hearth be clear and bright, and filled with many blessings.

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Smudging Supplies - Crystal Barn Online tomorrow at 7pm
Home Blessing Kit: £19
Loose White Sage 25g: £3
Loose White Sage 50g: £5
Sweetgrass Braids: £5
Small White Sage Bundles: £3
Abalone Shells 4 to 5 inch: £5
Cleanse Aura Spray: £10
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CrystalBarnOnline/