Super blood moon lunar eclipse

You've probably heard of the rare occasion we witnessed last night: a supermoon lunar eclipse. The last one was in 1982, the next one will be in 2033. So what is this phenomenon? I'll let NASA explain as they are much better in it than I am.

Over here in The Netherlands started at 2.11AM and ended at 7.24AM. The total eclipse was visible from 4.11 to 5.24AM. So I had to give up a night's sleep, but I have no regrets at all! The sky was very clear and the moon was beautiful and visible from our roof terrace. I tried to make pictures with my mobile phone and Canon Ixus. They were nice, but during the total eclipse Ron helped me to install his Canon EOS on a tripod. Lots of pics were bad, but still I got some acceptable and even good pics. I made a little video of them:

If you want to see the separate pictures, look at them here.

Wonderful weekends

We've had quite some wonderful weekends this August... We are blessed.

The first weekend started on Friday night with a very special and magical (almost) full moon celebration with friends on our favourite spot in the dunes. This time it was an international group of people with guests from Australia and the UK, so most of the ritual was done in English. Against all odds (bad weather forecasts) we only had a few drops of rain, thank the gods. After the ritual we had food and drinks, and chats and music, until it was time to go...

The next evening Ron and I went to Haarlem for an intimate living-room concert by the Australian singer-songwriter Wendy Rule. We had been to a similar concert in 2012 so we were very much looking forward to it. She has an extraordinary voice and sings about her pagan path, mythology, magic and more. Her concert feels like a ritual experience, you can feel the energy flowing. Wendy brought out a new cd this year called Black Snake, of which she sang several songs. I especially loved the enchanting "Home", it felt so vulnerable and personal that I didn't even want to make a picture... Unfortunately she had only 2 copies of the new cd left to sell, she almost sold out the stock she brought with her on the Goddess Conference in Glastonbury (where she performed before coming to The Netherlands). I really like her music, enjoyed myself very much and so did Ron. Afterwards we talked with friends and made music under the full moon on the terrace. A lovely night to remember!

photo: Astrid v.d. Berg

After a short night I drove to Haarlem again to do a workshop by Wendy Rule with 8 women (so 9 total, nice number). The workshop was called "Creative Divination", teaching us how to create and read our own divination kits: we all brought 5 to 10 small objects, and things from nature. We exchanged our ideas about the objects and did a round of divination for each participant with her own kit. It proved to be a very powerful tool for every one of us. I will definitely keep using my kit, and that's exactly what the others said too. :)

~*~*~*~*~

The next weekend the spotlight was on Kellianna, pagan singer-songwriter from the USA. On Saturday evening we enjoyed another living-room concert. Although there are definitely similarities with Wendy (they sometimes team up for a special performance), Kellianna's repertoire is slightly different. She performs song and chant inspired by myth, magic, sacred places and ancient times, honouring our Earth, deities and ancestors with her voice, drum and guitar. Of course everyone sang along with her best-known song "I Walk With The Goddess". We had a wonderful time. She did two sets, but time flies when you're having fun... Concerts always seem too short! Afterwards two friends went home with us to spend the night at our place, but of course we didn't go to bed immediately... :-)

photo: Astrid v.d. Berg

Sunday afternoon it was time for another wonderful workshop. Kellianna is a certified teacher of SpiritSong, a powerful tool for freeing your voice, for accessing the authentic sound that is you, and for entering into Spirit. Kellianna was trained by Shawna Carol in facilitating this unique approach to spiritual growth. You can read more about it here. Although I wasn't ready (yet?) to stand up and make my sound I really enjoyed holding the space for the brave women and men that did, and I loved the chanting together. Who knows, maybe next time I'll stand up... or not, and that's okay too! I already tried it several times (with varying success) when I was alone, just me and my sound.

In the nick of time

Yes, again life got in the way of blogging. Life hasn't been easy, 2012 definitely wasn't our year... So now we have our hopes on 2013! :) I'm ending this year on a positive note though: in those difficult times we got to know who our real friends are. We are very blessed with wonderful friends and some family that support and help us wherever they can. So I won't lament over lost friends or disappointing people, we are very thankful for those real friends. In return we try our best to be good friends too!

Let's see what I can tell you about the past two months. Again focusing on the positive things!

Early November I attended another workshop with Vivianne and Chris Crowley. In March I was at their workshop "Change, Growth and Renewal" and loved it. This time the theme was "A Samhain Journey", focusing on the Dark Goddess and the Lord of Death and Rebirth, working with meditation, story-telling and ritual to connect with our ancestors of spirit, blood and land and to learn to harness the creative energies of our deeper, hidden selves. It was very interesting and gave me a lot to think about and work with. Vivianne and Chris are wonderful people, down to earth and with a lot of knowledge they are happy to share. Chris also has a gift for guided meditations; his voice takes you away within seconds!

On November 9th I went to the "Zorgfestival" in Amsterdam, a festival for people who work (or want to work) in the health sector. Together with other 'experience-workers', we ran a workshop / lecture about our experience with mental health issues.  I was first to tell my story about eating disorders and depression, answer questions, etc. The audience were teenagers, students that are going to work in the health sector. The others told their story, read poems they have written and did an interactive part. It was a success and we got lots of compliments.

In November and December Ron and I went to the full moon celebrations. This year we attended most of them. With a varied group of people we do a ritual outside in the dunes near Haarlem. Meditations, stories, sharing, ritual work and more. I love it! Ron is the 'fireman', he makes and looks after the fire in the middle. Afterwards we gather around the fire with food, drink, drums, chats etc. In November I made a video that gives an impression of the 'after-party':

Last Friday we celebrated the last full moon of this year, the 13th gathering. It was the largest group of people, 15 men and women. The organizing couple announced we will continue the celebrations in 2013. Yay!

On the morning of Yule (Winter Solstice, longest night of the year, Midwinter) at sunrise we were at the same spot to celebrate the returning of the light. This time only with 3 people, but that was okay too. We did a simple but beautiful ritual. Afterwards we burned the Yule log, enjoyed hot chocolate and ate 'snert' (Dutch pea soup). A wonderful day with friends!

Last Sunday we were volunteers at the "Langste Rollade Ter Wereld", a world record attempt to make the longest rolled rost in the world, surrounded by a Dickens-style market with old trades (smithy, beekeeper, leather work and more) and a living nativity scene. The attempt was successful and the new record is 155 meters and 25 centimeters (509.35 feet)! Here's a video of the result:

It was made by a group of traditional butchers with free-range and organic meat. Afterwards the rolled rost was cut into pieces and donated to food aid for people that can't afford much. All the proceeds of the event went to another good cause.

This morning at sunrise we walked a labyrinth on the beach between Bloemendaal and Zandvoort. It was the fourth time that friends of us made a labyrinth there on December 31st, and our third time to walk it. It was very windy, but a wonderful experience, shared with friends. I made a lot of pics and some video's. I shared them publicly on Facebook in the album "Labyrint 31-12-2012". Just click the link to see the pics.

Well, that's it for now. See you next year! :-))

Blue moon of August

Yesterday it was a blue moon. That is, according to the modern definition of 'second full moon in one calendar month'. More info on origin, definitions etc. can be found here.  Some scientific info by NASA:

In this blog I'm referring to the modern definition. I'm told by several sources that a blue moon is special in a spiritual/magical sense. Hmm, I'm not sure I agree. To me every full moon is special. A blue moon is made special because of our calendar, not because of the alignment of planets, or a rare phenomenon, or scientific cause, etc. So, is it special? Yes, but not extra special. Just my two cents, feel free to disagree. :)

This blue moon coincided with the funeral of Neil Armstrong, who died on August 25th at age 82. To me he is a hero, also because he never considered himself to be one. He was a team-player and never capitalized on his celebrity as the first man to walk on the moon. I salute you, Neil. Rest in peace among the stars.

Yesterday evening Ron and I went to the full moon celebration at 'Kraantje Lek' in Overveen. Outdoors on an open space at the top of a dune 14 people gathered to celebrate together. When we arrived, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky. It was a lovely ceremony. This full moon is called the moon of connection, so we talked and shared stories about connection. To me the circle is a perfect symbol of connection: with other people, with nature, with deity, ancestors, etc. We also held a red thread together as a physical connection. Astrid recited the lyrics of this Stevie Wonder song:

Ben told us a fascinating story about the young Merlin. During the story a bunny walked by just a few meters behind Ben and just sat (and listened?), later I saw two of them.  Ben guided us into a wonderful meditation. Unfortunately a rain shower interrupted the meditation. Later the sky got clear in a circle above us and the beautiful moon showed herself in all of her glory. Afterwards we sat and chatted in her light and shared some delicious food and drinks. As usual everyone brought something to add to the 'buffet'. Jurre has made his famous warm apple juice with indigenous herbs, yummy! After midnight we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. What a lovely evening it was...

Full moon at Lughnasadh

Yesterday evening we celebrated the full moon on 'our' place in Overveen. During the day the weather was hot and humid, in the evening it started to rain and thunder. There was a promise of dry periods too, so we took the chance and went for it. 13 brave die-hards showed up! :-)

After a wet start it díd get dry. We had a wonderful ritual anyway.
Ben told a story that belongs to this full moon, the story of Adonis. In Greek legend, the grain god was Adonis. Two goddesses, Aphrodite and Persephone, battled for his love. To end the fighting, Zeus ordered Adonis to spend six months with Persephone in the Underworld, and the rest with Aphrodite.
Jurre told the story of Tialtiu and her adopted son, the sungod Lugh. It was not easy to find the complete story, so Jurre put bits and pieces together into a great story, which he told with a gusto.
This moon and Lughnasadh stand for the first harvest. Astrid told us about a custom: during this time a burning wheel was rolled down a hill. That wasn't something we could do, so she made a beautiful wheel which we burned on our fire. Meanwhile we shared stories of what we had harvested or are about to harvest.

Ben led us into a guided meditation, focusing on our personal harvest. Afterwards we shared all the 'cake & wine'. Astrid had made a bread in the shape of the sungod, Jurre made his famous warm apple-juice with herbs and there was lots of other yummy stuff. We sat and chatted until the thunder returned and it was safer to leave.

(and a blessed Imbolc to my pagan friends in the Southern hemisphere!)

Supermoon

Yesterday the full moon was special. Well, it always is, but it was a supermoon or perigee full moon. A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon (or a new moon) with the closest approach the moon makes to the earth on its elliptical orbit. Full moon at perigee is 12 to 15% larger and brighter than an average full moon. That has effect on the tides on earth and often people feel the difference too. I'm a full moon child and feel best around that phase, although dark moon has its appeal too as every phase does... It might be explained by the fact that the moon was full at my birth. To check what moon you were born under check this site. What it says about you can be found here and here.

Ron and I attended a full moon celebration with friends, outside on the top of a dune. We welcomed a special guest from Australia and had a wonderful ritual. We talked about this moon and her symbols. It was also lunar Beltane, so fire was all around! Ron made fire with a magnesium-stick, his knife and some tinder he found on the way up the dune. We passed around a big torch on a long stick and shared stories about our relationship with fire. I've always had an ambivalent relation with fire: appealing and scary at the same time.

I shared a very personal story in the circle. I burned something to say goodbye and give closure to a certain period on my path. I asked the fire to transform the feelings of sadness, disappointment and anger into new opportunities and add to the positive feelings I already have about this. It's the circle of life. Death and rebirth. Farewells and new beginnings... I felt free and relieved while I watched the items burn up completely.
After a guided meditation and the cake & wine we opened the circle. Time for some music around the campfire with drums, tom-toms, djembe, rattle and didgeridoo. Wow...

About half an hour before midnight the moon finally showed herself. The sky was clear with just some clouds floating by. We welcomed her and enjoyed the sight. After goodbyes we all went our ways. The moon accompanied us home, but somewhat later she disappeared in an overcast sky.
It was a great and magical night!

Full Harvest Moon

Last Monday it was full Harvest Moon, time to harvest my oils. I used the cold or long method: bottles with herbs/plants in a base oil, put them in the sun and let it stay there for the summer. The result is called a macerate. Monday I filtered the oil and put it in little blue storage bottles. On the picture above you can see my harvest. I want to make nice labels later. I have oils with lavender, mint, St. John's wort and camomile. I still have viola tricolor to harvest. I store my oils in a wooden trunk Ron gave me.

With Ostara (March 20) I had planted an acorn in a flowerpot. It grew pretty good and had leaves in no time. Unfortunately the cats discovered the leaves tasted good... Nothing left but a pitiful stem... I wasn't prepared to give up though. Ron thought I was being silly. I watered the stem and talked to it, even gave it reiki. It helped! Last week I noticed a little green sprout and today it looks like this! Ha!