Full Thunder Moon blessings! A garden meditation...

This morning I did something I don't normally do. I got up early to watch the sunrise. Simple enough. And it wasn't planned. It actually came from me being a neurotic and paranoid mother of a 4 month old who has just recently began sleeping the through night in her own crib, in her own room... and after checking on her repeatedly and seeing she was in a very deep sleep and knowing I wasn't soon to follow, I decided to just go make a cuppa tea and relax. As the tea steeped... Moroccan mint, soooo delicious... I looked out our back window and thought, "Well Cindy, you're up now, might as well make the most of this. I mean really, how many sunsets do you ever get to witness?" Not many. Usually life is far too hectic with work and sleep schedules and other duties to even think about waking up at 5 a.m. just to do something as "silly" as watching the sun rise. I thought of it as a gift from the Goddess and quickly took heed to go enjoy this time that's been given to me. Had to slip on a hoodie this morning, since it was only about 60 degrees, unseasonably cool but reminded me of those early fall dawns when the crispness starts to take hold of the morning air, transitioning the season to autumn... ahh, it was just lovely. I sipped my warm tea while I strolled through my front gardens, greeting all my plants and beloved gnomes for the day. I saw the last twinkling stars from the night sky above slowly fade as it brightened with each passing minute. The chirping crickets were soon being outvoiced by the waking birds. Everything was a muted version of its bright daytime colors, just the perfect setting for watching the faeries flit by and seeing the richness of the auras of the all plants surrounding me. Sensing this vitality but being reminded that the apex of the year has already came and went, it was if the Universe was gently reminding me to reflect. So I did. I thought about all the things that have come to fruition this year and how I am blessed to have all that I do. I showed the Earth my gratitude during my silent meditation. It also made me think of what things, people, etc. no longer served me that needed to be cast off, much like the ripening fruit, vegetables and herbs that needed harvesting from the Earth. Everything is closely reaching its peak as the wheel of the year slowly but surely turns to the season of harvest. This is when we reap what we sow, literally and figuratively. What relationships have you nurtured and which ones have you cast off? Which aspects of your personality have been brought to light and which ones have been thrown into darkness? Are you nurturing your physical self as well as the spiritual? All of these reflections are necessary to steer us where we need to be, as we all have some weeding to do in our personal lives. Without a strong physical and emotional body, we cannot garner a strong spiritual one. But all of these bodies must come into balance. And that is what the Universe has shown me today, with this garden meditation and it made me feel quite energized and uplifted, so that is why I am passing it to you. As the sun rises through our tall, strong poplars in the backyard, I spend a special moment with my handsome boxer, Brutus.

He has a gentle, healer's soul and I gave him a bear hug to thank him for being with me today. I am filled with gratitude. I hope you all can find the balance in your lives and heed the call of the Goddess when she asks you to take time for yourself, as well. ~Many fae blessings upon you today and always!~ xxxxxx

Starting Your Own Faery Garden - Part One

Well today is the first day of July, also the new moon in Cancer cycle starts today, and when I walked outside to greet the day, I spotted the first hibiscus bloom of the summer! Bright red and just gorgeous, and it has already started attracting hummingbirds. My two other hibiscus plants are about to burst as well, and when they do I'll post some pictures of them in all their tropical, fiery glory!

The first hibiscus bloom of the season in our garden

Whilst visiting my gardens, I also got a chance to say hello to the dragonfly that has been frequenting them and got a pretty good close-up...

Anywho, let's get on to starting your very own faery garden! All the beauty of the season has inspired me to start my own, so I am going to take you through it step by step and explain how to you can do it in your own garden, no matter what the size. The first step is to pick a spot in your garden specifically dedicated to the fae, or if you're like me you can choose to place it all in a flower pot to keep it all in one tight organized and moveable location...

Front stoop with a blank slate faery garden pot, just waiting to be filled!

The second step is to cleanse the area, smuding works good for this purpose or hosing it down with water works too. Bless the soil and imbue it with you intention of attracting benevolent faefolk to your garden to grace you with their lovely presence and keep watch over it.

The third step is to rumage around your house, garden, sheds, yard sales, antique shops, just anywhere you can find diminutive objects that you can decorate your faery garden with. Anything that strikes you will do as long as it makes you think of the fae. My daughter is one of my biggest inspirations, and she is always "helping" me outside while I work in the gardens...

Olivia Fae, just under 4 months old

In my following blog posts, I will go through the rest of the steps with you all as I create my garden, including what kind of plants to attract the fae to your garden. Stay tuned! ~Fae blessings~ xxx

Gardening = Grounding

Over the course of the last few days, whilst I've been away, I have been practicing one of my favorite ways of grounding. And this is through gardening. My grandma has always had a green thumb, and she passes her wealth of knowledge of the green world to me bit by bit with every visit she makes to my home. Lately it has been about every 2 weeks, since the birth of my daughter, so she can see how quickly she grows! We mulched and added some new plants to my gardens...

The faery ring

Some of my precious guardians, keeping watch over my late-aunt Sandra's hydrangea bush

... and she showed me how to propagate some of our green friends too. My first experiment with this is a cutting from my corkscrew willow.

The grandmother corkscrew willow that provided the cutting

I feel my root chakra opening; I have had issues with it being too closed in the past and this is something I am trying to remedy, although it's a work in progress. I am a type 5 enneagram (more info on that here: http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/typefive.asp) and it is very important for people of this personality type to open their root chakra, as we tend to very easily become overwhelmed. The root chakra is related to our unconscious, Mother Earth, our sense of smell and our primitive, or "reptilian" brain. It is associated with all means of survival, including security, money, home and sexuality; it helps us stay connected with the here and now. Very recently I have felt disconnected from many things, having the "brain fog" that many new mothers complain of. Digging in the earth, smelling her soil and introducing new plants into my gardens has helped return my vigor and make me feel more stable, or grounded. I still have a lot of work to do, and will be calling on the benevolent elemental beings that reside here to help turn to tide, as right now it seems to always be "feast or famine". Money matters are my biggest problem and I do believe grounding and clearing my root chakra more often will assist in setting these matters right again.

Well mommy duty calls, so I shall head off now... expect a new post very soon regarding starting your very own faery garden! ~Sprinkling pixie dust and blessings!!~~ xxxxxxx