Category: wellbeing

Spring

Finally it feels as if spring has truly arrived here in Glasgow.  The weather is milder, buds are swollen on the trees and some are even beginning to burst open.  At last daffodils are beginning to flower although crocuses have been out a bit longer. I’ve even seen a little bit of blossom out on the cherry trees in the park near my work.

For me personally, this time of year, centered on the spring equinox, is laden with meaning and significance. It was at spring equinox years ago that I first made a committment to being Pagan. It was at spring equinox the following year that I did my Bardic initiation rite with the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids and in following years I have continued this personal spiritual tradition with other initiation rites. I don’t mean that I have done such things every year by any means but, more often than not ,when I have undergone rituals of this nature they have been in the spring. (I’m not an active OBOD member now but still my roots are with them.)

This time of year remains laden with memories of new beginnings, fresh starts and committments. And this year is no different. My life has been changing over the last few months with some intense emotional upheavals and major personal changes. Change on this scale brings both death and rebirth. As the land about me moves forwards more fully into the spring it is renewal and rebirth that I begin to focus on more and more.

Last weekend I was out in Pollok Park in Glasgow with others in the Glasgow Pagan community celebrating the equinox and as part of that open ritual there was be a baby naming and blessing for the youngest daughter of a couple I had the priviledge of handfasting in 2009. What better way to add to those memories of new beginnings and fresh starts than with the blessing of a new life?  Many blessings for your future little Amelié.

As the spring moves on I hope the seeds of change that were planted in my life in the darkness of this winter will begin to grow and flourish.

Meet Katy

On Saturday I went to a Vauxhall dealer in Glasgow and test drove a diesel Corsa.  She is in excellent condition and driving her felt good.  My dad was with me so he had a good look at her too and neither of us could find anything wrong with her.  So next Saturday I get to go and pick her up!

Katy is going to make my life much easier and her colour is just perfect for me too.  Couldn’t believe it at the time, kept looking for something to be wrong but it wasn’t.

Storms easing

While I still have many difficulties ahead of me for the next couple of years the worst of the storm now seems to be easing.

There has been damage and pain but new patterns will emerge and long term I am convinced things will be better for all.

I am truly grateful for all the support I have received and continue to receive.

Storms

Just when you think all is calm and well another storm shatters!  This is a time of great changes for me on several levels.  I know I have the strength to get through the current storms but it’s going to be hard for a while – possibly the next few years. And the current storm will echo across my whole family. 

May the gods guide me well.

Boasting time!

I can officially announce that I have now made my final weight loss target.  I currently weigh 74.9 kg which is 11 stone 11lbs.

As regular readers will know I started loosing weight just over a year ago and when I began I weighed in at 99kg or 15 stone 8lbs.  I have lost a total of 24kgs (52.8 lbs).  I’ve also lost 8 inches round my waist, 6 inches round my hips and 5.5 inches round my bust.

I’m fitter than I’ve been for years and feeling really good about it.  Now all I need is more new clothes!

Oh and as some of you know already I also have a new tattoo.  This is partially a reward for reaching 80 kgs and staying there or better for three months but it also turned into something of a marker for a rite of passage for me. I had it done on 16th Dec and today is the formal unveiling.

My lovely new tattoo!
Of course the work doesn’t end here.  I need to maintain my weight at this level or even loose a little more but I’ve done it.  Just me! No fancy diets, no appetite suppressing supplements, no clubs.  Just the support I have received from friends and colleagues and my own determination.  Having got this far I have every confidence that I can keep this up but I know I will need to continue to work at it.
In the meantime I’m basking in the glow of my success!  And boasting about it 🙂

Reflecting on my harvests

I don’t grow fruit or veg in our garden, most of it is grass although we do have a small flower bed area.  I do have a couple of lavender bushes and some of that gets harvested for assorted uses but that’s not really my harvest.  My harvests tend to be more in the achievement of goals and targets that I set myself.

Back in February I wrote about some decisions I had made about changes I was trying to make.  I had put these into three areas of Mind, Body and Spirit and at sporadic intervals I’ve posted a few bits and pieces of updates. At this stage I have decided to do a full reflection on what I have done so far.

Mind
I wrote in February of my intention to continue learning Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig).  I completed the second beginners course at work but since then there haven’t been any further courses freely available at work.  I had planned to try and keep my hand in with the BBC course Beag air Bheag but I haven’t managed to do this.  So while I can now manage a couple of basic conversational exchanges on the whole I do not feel that I have achieved what I had hoped in this area.  I haven’t totally given up though.

Body
My plans in this area were to continue to loose weight and to get fitter as well.  In this area I feel I have been very successful.  Since February I have lost about 15 kg in weight, I didn’t record my weight at that point so I’m not certain what stage I was at.  What I can say is that since I started loosing weight I have lost 22kg (that’s 48.4 lbs or just about 3 and a half stone). I’ve also lost 6.5 inches round my waist, 4.5 inches round my hips, and 4.5 inches round my bust since late January.

I completed the classes in Body Balance and Belly dancing and when they stopped I kept exercising.  Up until two weeks ago I was doing one class and also going swimming every week.  In the last two weeks I’ve added a new class and I’m thinking of switching the swimming for another cardiovascular activity for the winter months.

I’ve still not reached my final weight target but it’s looking as if I will manage to by the Winter Solstice and possibly before that.  I haven’t been this light or healthy since my early twenties so I feel pretty good about this and have discovered that I do have a touch of vanity lurking within me after all.  There’s a big mirror on one of the landings of the building I work in and I keep stopping in front of it and admiring myself!

Spirit
Under this section I didn’t really talk about targets as such but about things I was just beginning to do.  I have continued to carry out lunar devotions at full moon to the Goddesses Brigantia, Rigantona and the Cailleach and at dark moon to my ancestors.  For three moons after Calan Mai I felt that honouring the Cailleach didn’t fit but I think that was a height of summer thing as last moon it felt right to honour her again.

In addition to my lunar observances, a few weeks ago I started with a weekly observance for Maponos.  I’ve had some odd experiences connected with this that I will write about later.  I have become convinced that what I am trying to do each week is going down well with either Maponos, a local spirit or a combination of both.

I’ve also come to some conclusions about past experiences in meditative journeys and shamanic style practices.  I may well write more about this later although I’m not sure if I will at the moment.  Some of it is hard to put into words.

Since February I’ve also been able to resolve a few things that were troubling me thanks to the support of members of Brython.

Conclusions
All in all I think my harvests have been pretty good.  I’ve not had success with everything but that’s life.  I am particularly pleased with my physical improvements as I expect you can tell 🙂

A bit of boasting

Some of you will know that I suffer from the fate of being too short for my weight and that for a while now I have been working on loosing weight.

Yesterday evening I purchased a couple of tops in a size 16 for work because a fair amount of my clothing is now looking much too big for me.  I can’t even remember when I could last wear a size 16.  Today I am wearing one of my new tops and I look good!  I’ve had compliments from a few folk at work so it’s not just my own vanity.  And of course knowing I look good makes me feel even better.

I’ve still not reached my final target weight but I am getting there!

Midsummer reflections

My midsummer celebrations began on Friday the 18th with a half day off work during which I went to the hairdresser.  For many of you I am sure this will seem like a very ordinary thing to do but I hadn’t been to a good hairdresser for a very, very  long time.  In fact I can’t really remember when I last went to a hairdresser of any kind for anything more than a basic trim.  I think it might have been for my mum’s wedding 10 years ago. 
Here are the results

There’s also a blue streak at the back part way down rather than from the top.  This was also a reward to myself for getting healthier and getting down to a certain weight.  I am still working on loosing more weight but I’ve done pretty well so far.  My next reward is a tattoo!
On the afternoon of Sunday 20th I was in Pollok Park with a group of local Pagans for an open summer solstice ritual.  There are a small number of us that take it in turns to write and lead the ceremonies and this time it was my turn.  I forgot to count but I think we had about 20 folks there some of whom were new and others had been along to other rituals in Pollok Park.  It was a hot sunny day, perfect for a solstice celebration.  Everything went well and everyone there seemed to enjoy themselves.  After the ritual those who are able to go to the cafe in the Burrell Collection building for something to eat and drink and a good chat.
That evening at dusk I went outside into my back garden and quietly offered a triple toast to Maponos, the summer solstice and the tribe of Brython knowing that several  others would also be offering a similar triple toast at some stage that evening.
I had been asked the week before if someone in the family could come along with my son’s class for their school trip on Monday 21st.   After talking to my mum about it we agreed that it made the most sense if I took the day off and went so I also had the solstice day off work.  This time though I was spending it in the company of a large number of excited primary school kids as we went to Blair Drummond Safari Park.  A good time was had by all on a day that started off a bit cloudy but turned into a scorching summer’s day.  We didn’t have enough time to see everything as we had to leave at 2 pm to get back to school for home time.  I think my favourite bit was the sea lion show. 
The only bit of the trip that didn’t go so well was getting into the coach to go home.  The coach by this time was incredibly hot and stuffy and my son got rather upset with the heat.  Once the coach got moving properly the air conditioning kicked in and everyone cooled down. 
That evening I watched the end of the sunset from an upstairs bedroom window while the children slept peacefully.  The colours were magnificent.  Patches of high cloud were painted with pale yellows and light pinks deepening over time to rich golds, salmon pinks and reds.  Finally deep red-brown clouds were touched with greys against an ever darkening sky.  And throughout this process the pale light of the evening star glimmered between the clouds. 
And today the schools here in Scotland finish for the summer holidays.  Seven weeks before we have to get used to school routines once more.
Tonight I will make an offering to Brigantia, tomorrow is the full moon and I will make my offering to Rigantona. 

Falls of Clyde

About 12 years ago I visited the Falls of Clyde in Lanarkshire with a group from a local pagan moot. I’ve been meaning to go back there ever since and today I made it.

Today I took the family to visit the Falls of Clyde. Rowan hadn’t seen a large waterfall before and neither had Rose. Even though my husband has lived in this area of the world all his life he had never visited the falls before today either.

It’s about 45 minutes in the car from us if you don’t make mistakes on the route which I did on the way there but it was very good driving practice for me and a lovely day for it.

The picture below is of the larger of the falls at Bonnington. In the past the volume of water going over the falls would have been greater but there is a hydro-electric power station there which diverts much of the water. It was the first one built in the UK in 1926 and it’s still operational today. Even with much of the water diverted it’s a lovely area and well maintained by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.