Tree Time...New Witch in the City!

Apologies for not writing for a few days  - it has been quite a busy time, I've been doing many many readings for people, and with Mars going direct things are getting uber speedy! I've learned at least one thing of late however, and that's how and when to stop to recharge the batteries, physically, emotionally and spiritually. On 'down' time this past week (or perhaps it should be 'up' time), I've been tripping out to the sounds of the Planets; no  - not Holst, but the NASA recorded frequencies of the Planets. I wont describe them - please go and listen on YouTube if you have a moment - they truly are inspiring, elevating and celestial which will soothe and stimulate you, as well as sometimes freak you out a little...

 It's almost Beltane here in the UK and we've been having thunder storm after hail storm -  far from the much debated drought we've been threatened with. I've been sneaking out in the rare sunny moments to relax with the trees on the lush green heath.

Before the storms I did this little video - with the help of the genius Gordon, about one of my many favourite subjects - Trees & Tree Spirits -  I hope you will enjoy it! :) As always please let me know what you think, and if you haven't already, please subscribe to my lil YouTube Channel :).
Here we go...

As you may have notice I love trees, and the above video is hopefully the first of many on these beautiful beings.

We are now in the Celtic Tree month of the Willow -  so I'll be doing a Willow blog very soon!
I'll leave you now, but before I go here are a few more photos from Hampstead Heath -  before the rain poured!

My new pal -  a gorgeous Beech, who lent me strength and support, as I wasn't feeling too well today....

 Me sitting by my new Beech friend - basking in the Spring rays and feeling supported - with my nice shiny new boots!

Bluebells!! I love Bluebells. The Faerie of Bluebell woods are known not to like trespassers, so tread gently and be polite when visiting them...

The Caring Tree - I sat for a while and sketched this tree and the surrounding flowers. This lovely tree (beech I think) seemed to have her arms outstretched over the flowers in a nurturing embrace, she also had a lovely face if you look closely you should be able to see!

Until next time - Happy Earth Day!
Tree Hugs x
Laura

Magical Art

Hi Lovelies -  Just a quick post to let you know that I also have an Art Blog www.lauradaligan-art.blogspot.com and I've recently started telling the faerie tales behind my paintings... if you'd like to have a look and comment please do :).

BB

The Morrigan Shrine

Hi :) Here is a little picture of a shrine I have in my house to a Goddess I have been devoted to since I first took my 'proper' steps into Witchcraft in the early noughties. 


I remember hearing about The Morrigan, but not knowing too much about her. I went to an open ritual at Beltane around 2004 and in the group meditation/pathworking which was all about Cernunnos and nothing to do with The Morrigan, She appeared to me through smoke and mist and, pretty much kidnapped me at spear-point! She had decided I was going to follow Her now... and follow Her I did and do! 


The Morrigan is a complex and POWERFUL Goddess - whose guise covers many many aspects.
I will write more about who Morrigan is and her energy another time, and I'm also in the process of making a devotional and fact based video about her, which will be on my YouTube channel soon! http://www.youtube.com/user/lauraredwitch?feature=mhee

Here is also a painting I have done of The Morrigan... I hope you like! If you like my art - please visit my art blog www.lauradaligan-art.blogspot.com and/or my website www.lauradaligan-art.com.

With Love x
Laura

Easter Traditions & Paganism...

Hello and Happy Easter to you. Hope you are enjoying some choccy goodness.

Easter as a festival shows a great intertwining of Christian and Pagan beliefs and traditions. For Christians, Easter is a celebration of the rebirth of Jesus, and the egg for Christians symbolises the potential of life coming into the world. Easter is celebrated at the time of the Spring Equinox where Pagans celebrate the coming of Spring, the quickening of life, and the new buds and seeds.

The name Easter springs from (see what I did there;)) the Goddess Ostara, also known as Eostre, who is a Saxon and also Northumbrian Goddess of the Spring.  The 8th Century scribe Bede, wrote of the feasts held in April by Anglo Saxon Pagans in honour of the Goddess Eostre/Ostara. As signs of fertility, Spring and new life, eggs, Hares and Rabbits were sacred to Ostara. She was/is also a Goddess of the Moon, and Hares are also linked with this side of her nature. eggs were decorated, carved and given as gifts to honour Ostara and her festivities.

Anyway! I must go to work now! have a lovely day, and enjoy the rich interweaving of faiths, traditions and beliefs.
Blessings xx

The Alder Part 2

Once I get started on something I'm pretty tough to stop, and I woke up with more Alder -y plans this morning! Perhaps the tree's spirit was whispering through the curtains ... maybe!

I was reading that the Ancient Brehon Law of Ireland levied fines against anyone who cut down trees ( should we re impose this now?) and the  amount of fine depended on what type of tree was cut down according to MacManus in his 'Story of the Irish Race' the tree categories were: Chieftain/Noble, Peasant/Common, Shrub, and Bramble.

The Alder fell under the category of Peasant/Common, so this was a tree for everyone, a tree of the people.
Other attributes of the Alder to add to my list from yesterday's blog are:

• Guardianship
• Banishing
• Divination
• Transformation
• Rebirth
• Foundation
• Evolving Spirit 
• Healing

Elemental attributions: Fire, Water & Air. Alder makes awful lighting wood, but burns very well as charcoal, Alder's roots are in water, and is extremely resilient to the effects of water.
'Pan' pipes made from Alder wood, were thought to control the weather and summon the winds.

 The Ogham alphabet letter attributed to Alder is Fearn or Fearne this is the Old Irish name for the Alder tree. Here is the Ogham letter Fearne:

Alder is also the Tree of the God Bran. Other God associations are: Odin, Apollo, Manannan Mac Lir and Proteus.

Goddesses: Calleach Beara, Branwen, Freyja.

With the Bran and Odin associations I'd like to add Ravens to the animal list from yesterday's blog!
The Star sign of this tree is Pisces, but as this passes through Aries too, I'm going to use both signs as correspondences.

People born under the sign of the Alder have 'tremendous courage in the face of obstacles and the power to win disputes' according to Kim Rogers-Gallagher in the Llwellyn Witches Date book 2000.

I could go on all day with various tales and attributions, however the best way to get to know a tree and to understand it's deep and varied meanings is to get out there in the fresh air and visit the woods!
Using your intuition, head to a tree you feel drawn to in some way. Ask the tree for permission to spend time with it. If you feel permission is granted (you will just know), meditate with the tree, aline your back to it's trunk, allow the tree to commune with you.

 Each tree is unique, and you will over time get a feel for the energy, message and 'personality' of your chosen tree.

Over the next couple of weeks there will be a 2 or 3 new videos on my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/lauraredwitch about Trees, the Alder, and also about the recent Ostara celebrations. So please subscribe if you enjoy my videos and feel free to leave comments and questions.

Happy Tree Hugging!!!
Laura x

The Alder Full Moon

Full Moon Magick, Blessings and Balance to you! Tonight is the Full Moon in Libra, it's the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox or Ostara.

 Full Moon behind the Alder Trees

Today is also the Christian celebration of Good Friday and the Hindu festival Hanuman Jayanti, which celebrates the Monkey - Warrior God, Hanuman. Hanuman symbolizes strength energy and devotion. So a big day of high energies!

The Full Moon in Libra represents harmony and balance. Over this Moon it would be a good idea to harmonise any relationship issues and learn to see things from another's perspective. As we are in the Sun sign of Aries (and approaching my Birthday btw!!) the energy can be quite heady, full on and self focused. Libra brings the perspective of balance and working in union with others rather than being head strong on one's own!

If you feel a tipping of balance, or a tension between you and others, meditate on how you can resolve this.

In the Celtic Tree calendar this is the time of the Alder Tree Moon. The Alder Tree (Fearn) is a tree close to my heart, and my doorway! As it's my Celtic Birth Tree, I feel a natural kinship with it's pioneering ways, and when I moved into my flat a few years ago, I realised in the back communal gardens there are a couple of large Alder trees, one right outside my window, which I commune with daily. It's probably bored of me by now...

My Alder friend

Now Alder trees grow where there is water.. and hmmm Camden is not known for it's great rivers - so me and a friend surmised that there must be underwater rivers/streams running by us, possibly tributaries of the Fleet, flowing below our gardens.

Alder's connection with Water and the Fae make it a psychically potent tree. The Alder tree is thought to be a gateway to the Otherworld, and wood from the Alder has apparently been used since ancient time to summon spirits from the Otherworld.

The Alder can represent...

• Defence and Protection
• Psychic Abilities
• Pioneering Spirit
• Strength
• Faerie Contact
• Spiritual Vision
• Blending of Masculine & Feminine energies
• Balance

Animals associated with the Alder Moon are Foxes, Bears and the Falcon.

As the Alder Moon is at the time of the equinox and spring, it's also known as  the Seed Moon and the Growing Moon for obvious reasons. :)

All magic to do with creative projects, new starts, fertility, balance and harmony are good to focus on at this time.

The Alder by my flat

Full Moon Blessings,
Laura x

Hi there, my name's Laura and I'm a Wiccan Witch living in the City!
I've been living in London since  early 2003. I only originally planned to be here for 6 months... but here we are 9 years later... ahem!

London has been an extremely interesting, exciting, at times ridiculous (but never boring) journey for me, and to be honest, I've met some amazing, inspirational people on my spiritual journey here. London is an exciting occult centre, with enough wonderful bookshops, moots, events and festivals to keep the fledgling Pagan, Witch or Druid happy! After 9 years I am planning on moving out to the Country - but more on that another time.

I have a great love of the Fae - the Sidhe, and a lot of my blog posts may well be about these magical beings.  I have a fascination and passion for myth, legend and folklore, and as an artist I am usually to be found drawing Goddesses, Gods, Elementals and the Sidhe.


Over the past year and a half I've been making You Tube videos under the name 'Witch in the City'. There are loads of videos on my channel if you wanted to go and have a peek! I've had the pleasure of interviewing some amazing people including Faerie Artist and legends Brian & Wendy Froud...

 

There's also videos on Faerie Magic, Goddesses, Wands, Casting a Circle and much more.
Here is my latest video on the Wiccan Wheel of the Year...

So if you like the look of them, please feel free to check out my channel: www.youtube.com/user/lauraredwitch and comment, connect and subscribe :).

To find out more about me and what I do please check the 'About Me' section, or visit my websites: www.lauradaligan-art.com and www.lauradaligan.com.

Thanks for reading! More blogging and videos coming soon!
BB ) O (
Laura