There's been the most beautiful moon the last few nights. Traditionally a full moon is the time for all sorts of magical work and centuries ago it was believed that witches held their sabbats on the full moon, so that conjures up an image of some miserable old witchfinder going out witch hunting once a month. Did they ever catch anyone at these meetings, I wonder? Or did they just go to watch?

Most of the people I know who would describe themselves as witches don't run around naked under a full moon. Instead they observe rituals often described as 'honouring the moon'. This can be as simple as just 'keeping the moon company' to lighting incense and candles and talking to her (it's funny how many of us always refer to the moon as 'she'). Obviously these moon rituals can be as complicated as you like, but in my own experience the simpler the better. They come more from the heart, somehow!

The moon has a known effect on the tides around our planet. Given that our bodies are made up of so much water (fluid, anyway!) it's hardly surprising that she can affect our emotions and health too. I once knew someone whose entire personality seemed to change around a full moon, every month without fail! Maybe there is something in those old stories about werewolves after all!

Brightest blessings
Tylluan

Today I was lucky enough to travel up along the Welsh Marches as far as Bishop's Castle - wonderful countryside, just buzzing with life in the aftermath of Beltane. Something I've discovered is that you can almost feel the year changing gear - it's not just a date in the calendar, it's real, you can see it for yourself.

So today I saw banks of cowslips, bluebells, bright yellow gorse, wild garlic and hawthorn hedges just bursting into flower - they looked as though someone had sprinkled a dusting of icing sugar on them.

If you observe the seasons carefully you will see that each has its own pulse and rhythym. Try it and see for yourself!

Brightest blessings
Tylluan

What is it about Mayday that has made it such an enduring festival? Other pagan festivals such as Imbolc or Lughnasadh have lost much of their general appeal, but even people without a shred of interest in paganism tend to think of Mayday as a day of celebrating, with or without maypoles on the village green.

When I was young, May Day was just like any other day – you went to work or to school, there was no bank holiday. Yet even then there was an element of mystery to the day, a folk memory of earlier times when people danced and made merry. A golden age that never was? Perhaps. But sometimes folk memories have a way of intruding into the everyday world, making us remember (and sometimes experience) things we might otherwise miss. For example we may not have physically celebrated today (how many of us have a maypole handy anyway?) and yet in our hearts a part of us has danced amongst the buttercups and daisies, and skipped along the woodland paths.

Some people might argue that this ‘interior celebration’ is somehow inferior to the real thing. I beg to differ. If we cannot celebrate for whatever reason, or do not wish to take part in whatever celebrations are on offer then that’s our decision. We can celebrate within ourselves, and magical journeying is a useful skill to learn. It's not quite the same as meditation, but sometimes it's too close to call!

I might try and post some magical journeys up here one of these days.

Brightest blessings
TYlluan

Before we all get too dewy eyed about Beltane tomorrow, spare a thought for today’s pagan celebration, Walpurgis Night, sometimes referred to as ‘the other Halloween’. It gets this reputation from the medieval belief that on this night, the last in April, the witches gathered together for their sabbats and orgies. They must have been living in a totally different world from the rest of us then. Given that Walpurgis Night is mostly celebrated in northern Europe I can’t imagine an outdoor orgy at this time of year (at especially at night!) Maybe the weather was different in the Middle Ages, but only in the sense that it was much colder; the period from about 1200-1600 is sometimes called a mini Age Ice. Even the Thames was known to freeze over, the ice so thick you could roast an ox on it.

While Walpurgis Night has retained something of its sinister reputation (thanks in no small measure, I suspect) to the dreaded Denis Wheatley, Beltane remains a sunny, happy celebration around the maypole on the village green. Why should this be? The two are a part of the same whole, for in many ancient cultures celebrations began the evening before. A good example of this would be the Jewish Sabbath which actually starts on Friday night not Saturday morning.

Well, I’m going to celebrate both. I’ll pour a libation of cider to my chosen gods (and anybody else’s, for that matter, if they call around and bring a bottle) and I’m going to enjoy a spot of scrying, diving, invoking and spellwork too. Life’s too short not to celebrate!

Brightest blessings
Tylluan

MY first blog. You'd think that at my age I would be sitting in a corner knitting, or zonked out in front of the telly watching a soap or something, but as I get older time seems to pass more quickly. I am painfully aware there is less time - and still a lot to do. Besides which, I intend to grow old (older??) disgracefully. Again, there is still a lot to do!

These pages are part of a magical journal yes, but also part of a life journal too. Let's enjoy it!