Spring Equinox Tree Walk - Witchcraft Diaries The next tree walk is Saturday June 15th on Hampstead Heath. If you'd like to RSVP please visit the facebook event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/128608014004333/) Please check out Zoe's YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/zoeastro ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for watching! Please share this video with your friends as it really does help me out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Find out more on Laura's Blog http://www.witchcraftdiaries.blogspot.co.uk Follow Laura on twitter http://www.twitter.com/lauraredwitch Laura also has an Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/lauraredwitch This video and all content is copyright © Laura Daligan 2013
Friday, 24 May 2013
MAGICAL TREES: The Hawthorn (Huath) - WITCHCRAFT DIARIES
MAGICAL TREES: The Hawthorn (Huath) - WITCHCRAFT DIARIES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for watching! Please share this video with your friends as it really does help me out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Find out more on Laura's Blog http://www.witchcraftdiaries.blogspot.co.uk Follow Laura on twitter http://www.twitter.com/lauraredwitch Laura also has an Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/lauraredwitch This video and all content is copyright © Laura Daligan 2013
Monday, 20 May 2013
The Witches Zodiac
Over the past few months I've been compiling some exciting videos with my Astrologer friend Zoe Hind. As both of us are drawn to astrology, nature, folklore, Wicca and Druidism we thought it would be interesting to create videos relating the astrological wheel of the year, with the pagan wheel of the year.
If this idea is confusing, here is the pagan wheel of 8 festivals (image from wikipedia) and below is the
zodiac.
Often people find ideas of astrology quite scientific and hard to grasp. The way stellar movements are described usually leaves the layman feeling like it's all going 'out there somewhere' and not deep within every breath. As the saying goes 'As above, so below, as within, so without.' Not much goes on' up there' without affecting the energy and actions of our daily lives.
The pagan wheel of the year has always gone hand in hand with the cycles of astrology and in this series of videos we show you how. The videos are fun, informative and relaxed - and hopefully you will take away with you a deeper knowledge of pagan festivities and astrology.
On my YouTube Channel we have already, Ostara, Beltane, Litha & Lughnasadh. Autumn Equinox and Samhain are coming very soon. Please go and check them out if you haven't seen them already... I'll add the next festivals on here...
Litha is the Summer Solstice (around the 21st June) and Lughnasadh is on the 1st August.
Litha is my favourite one so far... I hope you will enjoy!
Many thanks! :)
If this idea is confusing, here is the pagan wheel of 8 festivals (image from wikipedia) and below is the
zodiac.
Often people find ideas of astrology quite scientific and hard to grasp. The way stellar movements are described usually leaves the layman feeling like it's all going 'out there somewhere' and not deep within every breath. As the saying goes 'As above, so below, as within, so without.' Not much goes on' up there' without affecting the energy and actions of our daily lives.
The pagan wheel of the year has always gone hand in hand with the cycles of astrology and in this series of videos we show you how. The videos are fun, informative and relaxed - and hopefully you will take away with you a deeper knowledge of pagan festivities and astrology.
On my YouTube Channel we have already, Ostara, Beltane, Litha & Lughnasadh. Autumn Equinox and Samhain are coming very soon. Please go and check them out if you haven't seen them already... I'll add the next festivals on here...
Litha is the Summer Solstice (around the 21st June) and Lughnasadh is on the 1st August.
Litha is my favourite one so far... I hope you will enjoy!
And here is Lughnasadh...
Many thanks! :)
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Faerie Queen Workshop & Meditation
The other weekend I had the pleasure of holding a special workshop in a yurt at the Magical Faerie Festival in Findon. Due to the wonder of modern technology and by the magic of my partner Gordon we have the workshop, including the guided meditations and the shamanic drumming recorded here for those who couldn't make it to enjoy, and also for those who were there go back into their meditations.
This short (1 hour) Workshop is an introduction to Faerie Queens. I will be doing a full Faerie Queens Workshop on the 3rd August 2013 with Inspiral Mediums in Essex.
My recommended Faery reading list is on my Amazon store which you will see in the menu here.
I hope you enjoy the Workshop and Journeys...
This short (1 hour) Workshop is an introduction to Faerie Queens. I will be doing a full Faerie Queens Workshop on the 3rd August 2013 with Inspiral Mediums in Essex.
My recommended Faery reading list is on my Amazon store which you will see in the menu here.
I hope you enjoy the Workshop and Journeys...
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Totem Tuesday - The Cat
Brand new Totem Tuesday, where I look into the wealth of myth and folklore about the fabulous Feline, and also celebrate my Cat's birthdays! :)
One thing I forgot to look into is why are cats thought to have nine lives... more on that coming soon!
Many thanks for watching.
Laura x
One thing I forgot to look into is why are cats thought to have nine lives... more on that coming soon!
Many thanks for watching.
Laura x
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Avebury Birthday
On a misty April morning there are few better places to be in England than Avebury. In fact, take that for most days!
The only place where a village is contained within the largest stone circle complex in the UK! So I thought for my Birthday this year, I would like to spend it there. I've been a couple of times before, and each time has been magical and insightful in many ways. The first time I went, we were guided around by the inspiring and exceptionally knowledgeable Maria Wheatley and Busty Taylor, and the second time I went with the gorgeous Lucy Cavendish.
Avebury is not too far to get to from London, the train to Swindon takes about 50 mins, and the beautiful bus ride is only 20-30 mins through rolling countryside, where if you look carefully you can see a chalk Horse carved into the hillside.
Arriving in Avebury by bus, you get dropped inside the stone circle, yup I did say inside. Some divine inspiration no doubt, carved a small but very main road through the middle of the large stone circle. Such is the respect for our wonderful megalithic past!
It's not too hard to imagine the grandeur of what the Avebury complex may once have been, (if you ignore the lorry going past you, and pretend that potentially hundreds of the stones had not been destroyed and/or made into parts of the village houses, walls, chapel, etc)
If only it was preserved more like it once was. It took our ancestors many, many generations to complete such an ambitious temple and processional works. Alas, despite the magical and majestic power house of energy of Avebury, it didn't take long for people to destroy it! Most of the stones were buried in Mediaeval times, perhaps from fear of persecution from the church, or maybe to clear the land. Later in the 17th Century, worse still many of the stones were destroyed, vandalised and used for housing and church building.
Thankfully around the 17th/18th Century, some people saw sense, namely William Stuckeley who was responsible mainly for how we envision the Avebury complex now,
Here are some drawings images from Stuckeley and just after Stuckeley's time of how Avebury might have once looked:
The first time I went to Avebury, I learned how to dowse and tune into the powerful energy ley lines there. Despite the destruction it is still a place of amazing energy and astrological alignments.
Inside the outer circle there is temple to the Sun and the Moon, with alignments to different festivals and Solar and Lunar events.
There is a long processional way leading from what is called 'The Sanctuary', on the right of Stuckeley's area drawing above, which leads to the main banks and circles. The deep ditch/bank, which surrounds the circle would have been a lot deeper and higher when the temple was in use, with the chalk underneath gleaming bright white. What a sight it must have been, travelling through the processional way, with only torches and starlight to guide you, and seeing the bright white bank of the temple circle!
Back to the modern day, and back to the pub! Everyone who has visited Avebury will be familiar with the Red Lion pub - a pub in the middle of a stone circle - awesome. It's also thought of as one of the most haunted pubs in England. It can hardly escape having an interesting energy, considering where it's place. It also does fabulous grub and beer to keep you warm on a long day exploring!
We also walked to West Kennet Long Barrow (which is the first Long Barrow I visited a few years ago, and ever since I have become fascinated with them). A place of such astounding energy and history, where a deep respect for the ancestors flows through the earth. It is believed to be around 5000 years old, and when using dowsers in there, they react very interestingly - swinging one way then the other suggesting underground water activity there.
As we walked to the barrow you can't help but notice Silbury Hill, the only remaining man made pyramid/mound in the UK. Little is solidly known about the uses of the Hill, but we have a few ideas and theories....
Here are some photos by my partner the fabulous Gordon Burns of my Birthday day trip to Avebury, after you've looked at them go check out his amazing work!!! :)
Thank you for reading. x
The only place where a village is contained within the largest stone circle complex in the UK! So I thought for my Birthday this year, I would like to spend it there. I've been a couple of times before, and each time has been magical and insightful in many ways. The first time I went, we were guided around by the inspiring and exceptionally knowledgeable Maria Wheatley and Busty Taylor, and the second time I went with the gorgeous Lucy Cavendish.
Avebury is not too far to get to from London, the train to Swindon takes about 50 mins, and the beautiful bus ride is only 20-30 mins through rolling countryside, where if you look carefully you can see a chalk Horse carved into the hillside.
Arriving in Avebury by bus, you get dropped inside the stone circle, yup I did say inside. Some divine inspiration no doubt, carved a small but very main road through the middle of the large stone circle. Such is the respect for our wonderful megalithic past!
It's not too hard to imagine the grandeur of what the Avebury complex may once have been, (if you ignore the lorry going past you, and pretend that potentially hundreds of the stones had not been destroyed and/or made into parts of the village houses, walls, chapel, etc)
If only it was preserved more like it once was. It took our ancestors many, many generations to complete such an ambitious temple and processional works. Alas, despite the magical and majestic power house of energy of Avebury, it didn't take long for people to destroy it! Most of the stones were buried in Mediaeval times, perhaps from fear of persecution from the church, or maybe to clear the land. Later in the 17th Century, worse still many of the stones were destroyed, vandalised and used for housing and church building.
Thankfully around the 17th/18th Century, some people saw sense, namely William Stuckeley who was responsible mainly for how we envision the Avebury complex now,
Here are some drawings images from Stuckeley and just after Stuckeley's time of how Avebury might have once looked:
The first time I went to Avebury, I learned how to dowse and tune into the powerful energy ley lines there. Despite the destruction it is still a place of amazing energy and astrological alignments.
Inside the outer circle there is temple to the Sun and the Moon, with alignments to different festivals and Solar and Lunar events.
There is a long processional way leading from what is called 'The Sanctuary', on the right of Stuckeley's area drawing above, which leads to the main banks and circles. The deep ditch/bank, which surrounds the circle would have been a lot deeper and higher when the temple was in use, with the chalk underneath gleaming bright white. What a sight it must have been, travelling through the processional way, with only torches and starlight to guide you, and seeing the bright white bank of the temple circle!
Back to the modern day, and back to the pub! Everyone who has visited Avebury will be familiar with the Red Lion pub - a pub in the middle of a stone circle - awesome. It's also thought of as one of the most haunted pubs in England. It can hardly escape having an interesting energy, considering where it's place. It also does fabulous grub and beer to keep you warm on a long day exploring!
We also walked to West Kennet Long Barrow (which is the first Long Barrow I visited a few years ago, and ever since I have become fascinated with them). A place of such astounding energy and history, where a deep respect for the ancestors flows through the earth. It is believed to be around 5000 years old, and when using dowsers in there, they react very interestingly - swinging one way then the other suggesting underground water activity there.
As we walked to the barrow you can't help but notice Silbury Hill, the only remaining man made pyramid/mound in the UK. Little is solidly known about the uses of the Hill, but we have a few ideas and theories....
Here are some photos by my partner the fabulous Gordon Burns of my Birthday day trip to Avebury, after you've looked at them go check out his amazing work!!! :)
Me at Avebury
Avebury Stone Circle
Silbury Hill
Me at west Kennet Long Barrow
Thank you for reading. x
Monday, 8 April 2013
Magickal, Mad March & April Part Two - A Deeper Healing
After the excitement and busy-ness of the wonderful Avalon Faery Ball and Stall in March we spent a little time on the following Monday morning finding solace in one of my favourite places Chalice Well Gardens.
We originally planned to climb the Tor first, but the icy wind was so strong that we decided against it this time. In the more sheltered gardens we were still chilled by the incoming March snow, but I hardly noticed as the atmosphere and energy of the gardens is always perfect.
There is always a special bird which makes themselves known in Chalice Well, usually for me it's their famous personality filled Robin, who follow and keeps a curious eye on you - a real emissary from the other world!
This time is was the magical and melodic Blackbirds who stole the day, scurrying around amongst the emerging green. The Blackbirds were acting like they owned the place at time of year. The Blackbird heralds the dusk and dawn - the 'in-between' times (please see my video on Blackbirds for more info), and what more perfect bird to greet us in this true gateway between the worlds.
I love listening to the waters travel from the well through the gardens. I start my walk in the gardens via the gateway yews and walk up through the small gates to the healing pool. In late October last year me and two friends paddled (albeit briefly) in the healing pool (picture below - of me loving the cold!), this was not going to happen this visit! Brrr
As I wander through the gardens up to the well and beyond I am at peace with the land, flowing like the waters, gentle as a spring breeze, deep as knowing.
The Red & White Wells of Glastonbury (the White Well is just across the road from Chalice (Red) Well) are places of absolute bliss and power. they both feel so different; one comforts, the other opens you up and allows you to let go.
The picture currently used as the background for this blog is from the deeply powerful White Well.
I always wear my Chalice Well ring, and as it picks up 'crap' from every day life it was good to cleanse it in the well waters...
My chalice ring looks quite happy here, after the cleansing!
My favourite place to sit in the gardens is a swinging chair, where you get a lovely view of the Tor. When I spent a few days in Glastonbury in September 2011, I sat sketching for a few hours on this seat, in the afternoon Autumn sun - I was kept good company by Dragonflies and Robins then. It's a perfect place to relax and wonder.
And then, alas it was time to drive back to the chaos of London, but I took a bottle of well water, as well as a more peaceful heart with me back to the big smoke.
The true healing power of water will be explored more in my next blog update, as well as the wonderful benefits I've been experiencing from Qi Energy Treatments.
Thanks for reading,
BB
Laura x
Photos by Gordon C Burns
We originally planned to climb the Tor first, but the icy wind was so strong that we decided against it this time. In the more sheltered gardens we were still chilled by the incoming March snow, but I hardly noticed as the atmosphere and energy of the gardens is always perfect.
There is always a special bird which makes themselves known in Chalice Well, usually for me it's their famous personality filled Robin, who follow and keeps a curious eye on you - a real emissary from the other world!
This time is was the magical and melodic Blackbirds who stole the day, scurrying around amongst the emerging green. The Blackbirds were acting like they owned the place at time of year. The Blackbird heralds the dusk and dawn - the 'in-between' times (please see my video on Blackbirds for more info), and what more perfect bird to greet us in this true gateway between the worlds.
I love listening to the waters travel from the well through the gardens. I start my walk in the gardens via the gateway yews and walk up through the small gates to the healing pool. In late October last year me and two friends paddled (albeit briefly) in the healing pool (picture below - of me loving the cold!), this was not going to happen this visit! Brrr
The Red & White Wells of Glastonbury (the White Well is just across the road from Chalice (Red) Well) are places of absolute bliss and power. they both feel so different; one comforts, the other opens you up and allows you to let go.
The picture currently used as the background for this blog is from the deeply powerful White Well.
I always wear my Chalice Well ring, and as it picks up 'crap' from every day life it was good to cleanse it in the well waters...
My chalice ring looks quite happy here, after the cleansing!
My favourite place to sit in the gardens is a swinging chair, where you get a lovely view of the Tor. When I spent a few days in Glastonbury in September 2011, I sat sketching for a few hours on this seat, in the afternoon Autumn sun - I was kept good company by Dragonflies and Robins then. It's a perfect place to relax and wonder.
And then, alas it was time to drive back to the chaos of London, but I took a bottle of well water, as well as a more peaceful heart with me back to the big smoke.
The true healing power of water will be explored more in my next blog update, as well as the wonderful benefits I've been experiencing from Qi Energy Treatments.
Thanks for reading,
BB
Laura x
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