Lughnasadh 2012

Lughnasadh passed in a blur of work, celebrations, more work and exhibitions. I'm really struggling to meet the deadlines for these posts!

The Celtic Year concept was a blog that shared the Celtic celebrations and cultures of friends around the world, I feel that its time for someone else to explore Celtic Culture through the blog and that perhaps this will give it a new lease of life. New beginnings!

So the Autumn Equinox post will be my last and I trust one of you will e-mail me and offer to be blog mistress or master for the new Celtic Year at Samhain. If not then the Celtic Year will lie fallow and I will try to find a way to capture the wonderful pictures, poems and thoughts here.

It is a fascinating blog to be involved in and I would contribute if someone else "managed" it and gave it the attention it deserves. I truly believe that  it needs to be diverse in terms of contributions and after 2 years I need a rest!

Maybe I need to do my own blog but that too will have to wait whilst my life re-orders itself and I regain a rhythm!

With love, here are some words and images about my summer

My first ceramics only exhibition!

a lamb burst through the fence and ate all the tender veg 

I had to paint a sun - it was just so wet here this year!

My favourite clematis

an old rose

been getting addicted to using lustre glaze

this beautiful post box caught my eye in Durham

Drove over Hartshead Pass

To Potfest in the Pens

Where I bought this..from Steve Booton - inspirational!

Met my lovely Celtic sisters in the garden

and traveled to the Scottish borders to stay here

In beautiful Bella Rosa in this fabulous meadow

Oh and met the geese - a very proud and protective dad!

they have their own beautifully reflective Lochan

Mostly we sat on the deck, sunbathing, drinking in the meadow, basking in the tranquility. 

We laughed and drank, painted and wrote, shared stories and gifts, ate and drank.

An inspirational and special time - thank you sisters!

I'll leave you with a sky, which at night was filled with stars and meteors but through the day was wide and blue - love this shot it seems as if it were taken from space and actually...it was!

Love and Light Celtic Yearites

everything crossed that someone wants to take on this fascinating journey through The Celtic Year!

I'd miss it very much

Lindsey

The Longest Day

Ahhh... the longest day

 bitter sweet celebration

flowers fade so fruits can ripen

Summer Solstice always takes me by surprise, the longest daylight hours come and pass too soon.

But the garden's full of colour, fruit, veg and bird song. 

Harvest lies ahead!

Mushrooms all over what passes for our lawn - they've thrived in all this rain we've had 

and so have the weeds!

Potter's Pink

Why "Potter's Pink"? My garden was full of pink and red and I've been busy playing with clay getting ready for my first ceramics exhibition, part of Spennymoor Town Hall Gallery's July exhibition. Very exciting!

"Peace"

What I wish you all!

Happy Solstice

Love and Light

Be your Dreams

Lindsey X

Beltain/ May Day 2012

A late post again, like our Spring, I feel too busy living to post sometimes!

So... was there much dancing round Maypoles, jumping through fires and unbridled merrymaking for Beltain where you are on our wonderful planet?

I'd love to see your celebrations

Here, for many reasons, it was a quiet celebration with fire, food, music, meditation and gratitude. 

New life is everywhere, lambs in the fields behind, leaves and blossom all around and the air is filled with busy birds mating, nesting and singing.

So early this morning, before the Bank Holiday crowds arrived, Berry (my little terrier) and I walked through Hamsterley Forest, have a photo stroll with us!

The gorse lined path from Bedburn

Glorious!

this reflective face 

wood anemones 

the music of this waterfall

The Green Man looking particularly virile this morning!

forest blossoms

Bluebells promises!

fresh red growth among the glaucous greens

where the wild primroses grow

 a field full of cowslips provided a fanfare on our way home.....

Happy May everyone

Love and Light 

Lindsey

Spam and word verification

Well we've just tried a little experiment over the last few weeks. We removed the need for word verification when posting a comment on the blog to help some readers who have great difficulty in reading the words they need to copy to post comments.
Sadly the blog has been inundated by ridiculous Spam comments advertising medication and, believe it or not, porn.
The blog authors' e-mails have been choked by these and although Blogger has sent all to the Spam file we have had enough!
Word Verification is re-enabled and until hopefully this will stop the Spam, if not then we will have to take further advice/action from Blogger.

I'm so sorry to those of you who struggle with Word Verification (I dislike it myself) but things have got to an intolerable level.

To you who Spam: stop it, we don't want your products and we don't want your energy on this blog.

5 days 'til the Spring Equinox 2012: Light of the Earth

Alban Eiler, the old naming of the Vernal Equinox, translates as 

The Light of the Earth. 

I see, think, feel these words; warmth rushes through me; delicious emotions flood my throat, freeing me; I stand taller, rooted in earth and reaching for sky.  

Spring tastes of rejuvenation, smells of sap rising and feels like these Stella buds, impatient to be open.

The flavour is sweetly yellow

tete a tete chatter

  forsythia promises

daffodil dances solo

    this morning the sun softly pushed the mist 

back to the far horizon

 (blurry) ladybirds surfaced from their winter quarters to soak up the sun 

 this Camellia (against the fence) just begs to be painted!

The sensational Spring!

The equinox lies ahead, the time of balance, of equal day and night,

 as important now as it was in Megalithic times

Signalling the new season of fertility

of growth in many ventures.

May the Horse Goddess ride over all your ploughed fields,

make them fertile and blessed!

(try here for beautiful information and art about Alban Eiler)

love and Spring light

Lindsey

Share your Spring inspiration here - e-mail me!
celticyeartwo@btinternet.com

Still talking about Imbolc 2012!

Whoops just didn't find time to do a post this Imbolc, life has been so busy! 

With what you ask well....

There's been a lot of this and not all of it on fb

https://www.facebook.com/starbornart

come and have a look!

 there's been a lot of sore fingers making these "Ebru" mobiles

there has been much trying to keep warm whilst loving the seasonal beauty around me

oh and a few favourite first flowers of the year

the photo was taken at Imbolc and now the garden is a snowdrop heaven!

but mainly I was preparing for A Carnival of Colour - a joint exhibition with the fabulous Catherine Howard

wagging my finger! 

sooo much work we but had such a laugh!

and we're planning more - hurrah!

Oh and I've been painting and potting 

Here's today's (wet) painting

appropriately dreamy?

Well that wasn't really an Imbolc post was it? But we did celebrate, it was preview night for our exhibition , had great food with family,  burnt my Yule greens, honoured all those who have left us for Summerland and planned, oh boy did I plan, for the coming year and Spring! These last few days - I really think it's here!

Promise to try and be on time for the Vernal Equinox!

Love and Light to you all

and especially to Laura for knowing just how to motivate!

Lindsey

Yule 2011: Goddess of Air by Chrissy Heaven

A beautiful poem from Chrissy, this gave me such peace...

Goddess of Air

In frosty blasts of cold Yule air

Winter Lady breathes the stillness

To shimmer our landscape white with ice

And snow as silent rain

When Danu comes again

Her owlish essence

Whispering wisdom in the winds.

She blows a breeze that frosts her web

Sheer and glinting in winter sun

Inviting herself into our waiting hopes

Our steamy breath carrying silver strands

To weave us into her spidery domain.

Be still and rest whilst there …

Its time to sleep and dream

Cocooned in powerful threads

Dream new desires into form

On pause till Imbolc's call

Holding ancient memories of all

Ready for Bridie's fire.

Chrissy Heaven

Thanks lovely lady, brightened this dark January day

Love and Light 

Lindsey  

Winter Solstice Yule 2011

The Solstice sunrise heralds the lengthening days

and the longest night's clouds scatter

offering, in their passing, a transient window blessing

Many original Yuletide decorations grace our home

Foggy, Jamie and I made this revolving and annually evolving mobile 

and my sister, Sheila made the beaded snowflake

Victor consents to join us for the party!

The holly and the ivy

and Foggy's Christmas candle lights 

 Ficus has a festive dressing

I love this year's mistletoe mobile...

A bit of bling with senti-ments gathered over the years 

we feasted, laughed and drank

raised our glasses to absent friends

ate homemade pizza

played music

told stories

passed a Wassail cup

re-lit last year's Yule log and lit the next

burnt our holly sprigs with all last year's trouble

and crowned the Yule Jester, Bob

What a lovely time of year for parties, family and friends

for remembering and reflecting

 planning and dreaming 

Be your dreams

Solstice blessings to you all

Love and Light

Lindsey

x