If we saw the brain
As an elaborately folded flower
Containing thought bees
Nestling among the petals
Searching for nectar
We might think of the soul
As the roots of that flower
Drawing nutrients from the river mud.
Inspired by the phrase “lily-minds” in Elegies by Kathleen Ossip.
Twilight. Betwixt. Liminal.
The setting sun
Making an archway
Through the trees
A window to infinity.
Things half-seen
In the mazy places.
Not sure where this path goes.
Maybe through, or within.
Some hollow place.
The half-light transforms
Known into unknown.
The woods drift between.
Trees asleep,
Nocturnal animals stirring.
Shadows gather.
Time stretches out,
Ready to pounce.
One star. Night’s eye.
Colours drain away.
Everything waits
For moonrise,
To flood the woods
With silver.
Yvonne Aburrow
8:15 am, 29 April 2022
Inspired by the phrase “into the twilight woods” in Iowa City: Early April by ROBERT HASS
See the world as a rabbit sees it.
Wide angle view,
Not straight ahead
As a predator sees,
But sidelong, as prey animals see.
Long shadows,
Tall grass.
Noting every hiding place.
Ready to bolt
At the first sign
Of predators.
Each breath taken
Short and shallow.
Darting from shelter
To shelter.
Grass here,
Lettuce there.
Sun is warm,
Earth is kind.
Yvonne Aburrow
7:50 am, 28 April 2022
Inspired by the phrase “three large rabbit-breaths of air” in the poem My Weather by Jane Hirshfield
Just out of the corner
Of your conscious mind
Something lurks in the shadows:
A half forgotten memory
Surfacing from below.
A shark or a whale
Sliding through dark water.
The mountain of a lost continent,
Land of make-believe
And childhood imaginings,
Or some drowned feeling
Covered in seaweed.
Not quite reachable,
Not quite visible,
But it leaves a trace
As it heaves through
The dark oily water.
Yvonne Aburrow (8:28 am, 21 April 2022)
Inspired by the phrase “submerged peaks” in Great Ships
by ADAM ZAGAJEWSKI
translated by CLARE CAVANAGH
I was on the Missing Witches podcast recently. It’s a new and original format for a podcast: more like a structured group chat, ably facilitated by the lovely hosts.
Among other things, we discussed the subject of the book I’m currently writing, Changing Paths, which is about changing from one spiritual path to another. I was also really pleased with the circle opening that I did for this episode.
You can catch the episode at Missing Witches.
What is the fulcrum of your life?
Do you keep it in that drawer of odds and ends
Near the sink? Or the basket of mismatched wool and thread
That sits neglected under the bed?
Does that old key still have a matching lock?
What about the oddments sitting quiescent
In the basement, gathering dust?
Are any of these the key to your dreams?
The one lever that would make you turn
And view your life from a new angle,
Or lift the carpet that hides the stain on the floor?
What is that different fulcrum,
That would turn your face to look up at the stars
Or down at the flowers around your feet?
Yvonne Aburrow
9:34 pm, 18 April 2022
Inspired by the phrase “that different fulcrum” in Making Peace by DENISE LEVERTOV
In the candlelight,
faces and bodies are rosy, softly lit.
Love springs from gesture and sound.
The repetition of familiar words
So we know we’re on holy ground.
We walk together
into known and unknown
Steering our vessel
by the winds of the unseen
Sharing our journey within.
Yvonne Aburrow
10:15 am, 15 April 2022
(About the experience of a Wiccan circle)
Inspired by the sentence “Dear faces like a multitude of moons hang over the table” in The Seder’s Order by Marge Piercy.
Shadow work seems to be the thing all the kids are talking about these days. I assumed that people were talking about the integration of the shadow as is talked about in Jungian psychology. But do you know about the concept of the Golden Shadow? Check out my YouTube video, “Archetypes and shadow work” for more about Jungian shadow concepts, including the Golden Shadow.
Continue readingIncredibly clear, beautifully written explanation of the Hermetic Qabala and its inherent queerness, expressed in the idea that there are three pillars (force, balance, and form), and that the Divine includes all genders and sexualities.
The book is written with style and wit by an expert in the subject. There are pathworkings to help you fully experience all aspects of the Qabala, and journal exercises to deepen your understanding of the worlds, spheres, and pathways of the Tree of Life.
All the aspects of the Tree are related to queer experiences and life events like coming out to yourself and others, and finding queer community. It explores both the wonderful and the scary aspects of being queer, including queer joy and sorrow.
This exploration of the many aspects of the Tree is grounded in a deep knowledge of the Qabala, and the overlapping Pagan and queer communities. This is a vision of Qabala that understands the importance of cyclicity: growth and decay, death and rebirth, darkness and light, immanence and transcendence, the manifest and the unmanifest.
It offers magical workings based on queer Qabala which relate to each sphere of the Tree of life and everyday experiences like getting a job or finishing a project. It is pragmatic and fun, accessible and inclusive.
This book will be valuable to everyone from beginners, who will find the subject thoroughly explored and explained, to people who are already working with Qabala, who will gain a fresh perspective on it. Sure to be a contemporary classic!
The candle. September Pagan Challenge # 15.
Candles must be the most versatile magical thing there is.
Dowsing for Divinity 