The Gaian Dragon Moving Mandalas 1
Sunday, December 31, 2017
The Blog Digest One Hundred Seventeen
The Blog Digest One Hundred Seventeen
Doctors Without Borders Videos 41
The Gaian Dragon I Ching : The Week of Peace
Doctors Without Borders Videos Digest Four
The Gaian Dragon I Ching : The Month of Deliverance
The Gaian Dragon I Ching : The Week of Meditation
The Gaian Dragon I Ching : The Week of Modesty
The Gaian Dragon I Ching : The Week of Adversity
The Gaian Dragon I Ching Calendar : Week of Grace
The Blog Digest One Hundred Sixteen
Saturday, December 23, 2017
The Yule Faeries - A Winter Solstice Story
Green Mother Blessing
The Yule Faeries - A Winter Solstice Story (author unknown)
A group of little Faeries huddled in their home deep under the roots of a giant oak tree. They were safe and snug in their tiny underground cave lined with dandelion fluff, bird feathers, and dried moss.
Outside, the wind blew cold and the snow fell softly down to cover the ground. "I saw the Sun King today," the faerie named Rose said as she pulled her mossy cloak tighter about her. "He looked so old and tired as he walked off through the forest. What is wrong with him?
"The great oak said he's dying" answered Daffodil.
"Dying? Oh, what will we do now?", Little Meadow Grass started to cry, "If the Sun King dies, our little plant friends will not grow. The Birds will not come and sing again. Everything will be winter for ever!" Lilac, Dandelion and Elder Blossom tried to comfort their friend, but they were all very sad. As they huddled together, there was a knock on the tiny door.
"Open up, Faeries," called out a loud voice. "Why are you hiding instead of joining us in our Solstice celebration?" Rose opened the door and the little gnome Brown Knobby pushed inside, shaking the glistening snowflakes off his brown coat and hat.
"We are too sad to celebrate," Daffodil said wiping her eyes, "The
Sun King is dying, haven't you heard?"
"He is dead you silly Faeries." Brown Knobby's round dark eyes sparkled with laughter. "Now hurry, or we'll be late for the celebration!"
"How can you be happy and laughing?!" Elder Blossom stamped her little foot and frowned at the gnome. "If the Sun King IS dead, it will be winter always. We will never see the Sun again!"
"Silly little child-Faeries." Brown Knobby grabbed Dandelion by the hand and pulled her to her feet. "There is a secret to the Winter Solstice. Don't you want to know what it is?"
The Faeries looked at him in surprise. "Secret?" they all said. "What secret? We are only new little Faeries, you silly gnome. We've never been to a Solstice celebration before."
"Come and see. Come and see. Get your capes and come with me." Brown Knobby danced and jigged around the room. "Hurry, Hurry, don't be slow! To the Sacred Oak Grove through the snow!" He danced out of the door and disappeared.
"What did that gnome mean?" Rose asked as she gathered up her cloak of dried rose petals held together with cobwebs and lined with goose down.
"I don't know, but the Lady lives in the Sacred Grove." Meadow Grass pulled on her hat.
"Perhaps if we go to see the Goddess, She can explain what Brown Knobby was talking about".
The Faeries left their snug little home and trudged off through the snow toward the sacred oak grove. The forest was dark with only the light of the Moon shining down through the thick fir branches and bare limbs of maple and hawthorn. It was very difficult for them to get through the snow because they were very, very small. As they waded through the wet snow and shivered in the cold wind, they met a fox.
"Where are you going, Faeries?" the fox asked.
"To the sacred grove," they answered, they were cold and shivering.
"Climb on my back and I will take you there swiftly."
The fox knelt down so the Faeries could climb up. Then he raced off through the dark.
"Listen!" Lilac said as they neared the Grove of Sacred trees. "Someone is singing happy songs. A LOT of someones."
The beautiful music carried over the cold, still, moonlit air. It was the most beautiful music the Faeries had ever heard. The fox carried the Faeries right to the edge of the stone altar in the center of the grove, then knelt down.
"Look!" said Elder Blossom as they slid to the snow covered ground. "There is the Maiden and the Mother and the OLD Wise Crone, and many other Little People."
"They are all smiling and happy," said Lilac as she looked around at all the creatures.
"All the animals are here too," whispered Dandelion. "Why are they all looking at the Mother?"
The Faeries moved closer to the three Ladies seated on the altar stone. The Mother held a bundle close in Her arms, smiling down at it. The Maiden reached down and took the Faeries gently in her Hands. She held them close to the Mother so they could see what She held.
"A Baby!" the Faeries cried. " A new little Baby! Look how he glows!"
"He is the newborn Sun King," said the Maiden smiling.
"But Brown Knobby and the old oak tree said the Sun King was dead," the Faeries answered her. "How can this little baby be the Sun King?"
"That is the great secret of the Winter Solstice." The Old Wise One touched the baby's cheek with her wrinkled hand. "Every year the Sun King must come to the sacred grove during the darkest days of winter where he dies. I take his spirit to the Mother who gives him new life again. This is the way for all creatures, not just the Sun King."
"You mean everything lives and dies and lives again? the Faeries looked down in wonder at the baby Sun King, nestled in the arms of the Mother.
" Yes, Little Ones," answered the Old Wise Crone. "There is never an end to life. This is the great mystical secret of the Winter Solstice."
The Faeries laughed because they were so happy.
"I think the little Sun King should have gifts," said Rose. "I will show him where the wild roses bloom in the early summer."
"And, I will teach him to call the birds and listen to the songs of the wind," exclaimed Dandelion.
"When he is older and stronger, " said the Mother, "then the flowers will bloom at his touch, the birds will return to sing their songs, and the air will be warm from his breath, and winter will be gone for a time. Then the Sun King will run and play with you in the forest."
The little Faeries sang to the Baby Sun King, songs of the coming spring, the sweet smelling flowers, the bumbling bees, and all the secrets of the forest. And all the creatures within the sacred grove sang with them. Then the fox took them back to their snug home under the roots of the giant oak tree where they dreamed wonderful dreams, waiting for the warmth of spring and the fun they would have with the little Sun King
(author unknown)
Some people have asked me why I didn't put my name on this piece. Darn. If I had written such an adorable Pagan Fable, I most certainly would have!
If I ever find out who did write this, I will put their name on it, and add a link back to their website.
If I could be a character in this story, I would be Knobby Brown
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Friday, December 1, 2017
The Circle Garden
Dvorak - New World Symphony - 4th Movement
The Circle Garden combines Permaculture, a self-watering system, and Sacred Geometry
Dig a Circle one foot deep, and four feet across. Pile the dirt you dig out beginning at six inches from the edge. This will become a swale which will direct rain water towards the plants in this sunken Garden bed.
Weeds are especially good at pulling nutrients from the soil, so use weeds in the compost. Put in about three inches of weeds, grass, kitchen compost, and a few leaves at the bottom. Anything without thorns that you have to cut back, is also good. You might want to cut all this stuff into small pieces and mix well.
Now crumble up some peat, and put about half an inch on top of it. Sprinkle in some worm castings. Cover this with one inch of some of the dirt you dug up, and then walk all over it, pressing it all down.
Now put in another three inch layer of the mixed weeds, grass, kitchen compost (coffee grounds), and leaves, all cut up to small pieces. Crumble in another half inch of peat, sprinkle in some more worm castings, and another inch of dirt. Walk all over it again.
Now take an unglazed clay pot WITHOUT any drainages holes that should hold about two gallons of water, and place this in the Center of the Circle. This is your watering system. It is easy to reach from the side, and the water will gradually leach out into the ground at root level for the plants on their demand. This ought to cut your watering in half.
The pot will need a cover (or plate) to keep the bugs out, (like mosquitoes). It should be on most of the time, but you might want to remove it just before rain. The plants will drink the water you cache that way, a day or so later.
Next put in another three inch layer of the chopped, mixed weeds, etc around the pot, with another half inch of crumbled up peat, some more worm castings, and another inch of dirt. Walk on it again to really get it all well pressed down. You ought to have room for one more layer of all this, but if it works out to be a little bit higher, it won't matter.
Now let it all sit for a good six to nine months, while the bacteria and the worms are doing their thing. Add water from time to time, as needed, to make sure the metabolic processes are going well. Come Planting time, this will be very rich, Vegan soil. You'll be able to put the Plants right in.
Put in especially big, or tall plants further away from the Sun, and place the smaller plants nearer the Sun. That way nobody will get crowded out. I should also point out that this soil will be so rich, that you ought place plants twice as far apart, as you would usually be told. They are all going to get huge...
Put in Flowers and Herbs, as well as Veggies. This is promotional advertising. When Bee Scouts come and check the place out, if all they see are Veggies, they aren't going to be very interested...
Now this is just one Circle Garden with a swale around it. You'll do well with it, but if you have more space, you can put in six more Circle Gardens around the one in the Center. The swales will connect up, and you'll have a place to walk, and be able to easily get at everything.
If you have even more space, you can put in twelve more Circle Gardens around the central seven, and have plenty of food growing. See where the Sacred Geometry comes in? The shape of this project should really promote plant growth, and it will have beautiful energies.
Now with all this Garden happening, you'll probably need a fence. I suggest a circular cyclone fence around the whole thing, with the gate facing your source of water. The fence should be about five feet away from the outer swales. You are going to need this room.
Right at the cyclone fence, plant perennial Berry Vines, or Grapes. As these plants grow, you can sort of weave them through the fence, and end up with a Living Wall, which will help protect the inner Garden from windy days.
Imagine being able to go out in season, and pick fresh Berries, or Grapes, with lots of nice stuff to munch on inside...
Good Times!
Blessed Be!
These animated Moving Mandalas are very large files. Please click on the pic, and wait for it to load. The Contemplation will be very enabling, carrying your Mind beyond the mundane world
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