The no-nonsense explanation is that these rings are caused by a fungus growing and feeding just below the surface of the lawn. There are a number of types of fairy rings. One has no mushrooms, another type contains a ring of mushrooms as well as a ring of stimulated grass growth. A third type only contains a ring of mushrooms with no evidence of unusual grass growth.
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A Guided Animal Spirit Meditation Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. If this can be out in the open air so much the better but it can be a favourite indoors place where you can feel relaxed and comfortable. Have a pen and paper handy for making notes after your meditation. · Sit quietly. Relax. If you are outside, listen to the natural sounds around you: the birds singing up on high, the leaves rustling in the breeze, the steady trickle of a waterfall. If you are inside you may find that some music playing quietly in the background will help you relax. · Close your eyes. Once you have spent a few minutes calming your mind, imagine you are in a quiet open space. This place is surrounded by a beautiful white light. This inner space is protected by the light. Walk along until you find the habitat of your spirit animal forming around you. It might be a garden, a beach, the sea, a river or in a forest perhaps. · You feel calm and peaceful as your spirit animal appears before you. Spend time with your spirit animal. Feel the connection. If you are lucky your spirit animal will bring you some wise words of advice. Ask your animal questions if you wish. They may answer later through visions that suddenly come into your mind or flashes of inspiration. Spend as long as you would like in this happy space. · Once you are ready to leave, say goodbye and thank your animal spirit guide for coming to meet you. Allow the background to gently fade out around you. · Now open your eyes and write down or draw what you saw. The results could surprise you. The Celts believed that the Otherworld existed alongside our normal world. We may not be able to see the Otherworld but at certain times of the year, the veil between the two worlds was thin. This is when it was more likely that spirits and creatures who inhabited the Otherworld found it easier to cross into our world (such as at Halloween).
It was also believed that gateways existed in caves, woods, beside streams or wells where man could cross into the Otherworld. It was a magical and mystical place. A place of happiness, good health and eternal youth. But also a place where fairies and wicked beings could sometimes be indistinguishable. Spirits of the Otherworld might help or hinder people according to their whims. Often in order to gain help from those of the Otherworld a challenge would be involved. The Celts would ask fairies, tree spirits and the spirits of nature to come to their aid. But their capricious nature was always respected. That’s also why fairies would be blamed for just about anything that went wrong from poor harvest, bad weather, milk turning sour, infant death to items going missing for no accountable reason. Dream helper crystals
Amethyst; Putting an amethyst stone or geode/cluster near your bed at night can help with dreaming, both in inducing a calmer sleep and in helping you to connect more while sleeping. Dioptase; This stone, if you have it, can help to make your dreams a bit more vivid, therefore it may be easier to remember the details. Scolecite; This stone, if you have one available, can help you to understand the subtle messages from your subconscious that are coming through your dreams. It can also help with recall the dreams and allowing for better lucid dreaming and more restful sleep. Malachite; can improve the imagery of your dreams. Labradorite; if used while daydreaming/lucid dreaming, it can help you understand things to a higher degree as it helps you to become more connected overall. As with the guide connection crystals, you can also use a quartz crystal to help, and you can supposedly use one for better dream recall by "programming" it for such things as recalling the dream of the night before or retaining the important messages from your dream for later in the day. I have not tried this as I really have no time for dreaming and then trying to interpret them If you find other gems that you want to tuck under your pillow, go ahead and see if they do anything with your dreams. There are very few that will not help, the only one I would advise against, is a lapis lazuli IF you have low blood pressure. They are said to lower blood pressure, and I have always found they make me dizzy ( I do have consistently LOW bp), and so if you sleep with one of those you may end up not feeling so well in the morning! If you do have a random gem you would like to try, make sure you find out a bit about it before sleeping with it, just to acquaint yourself, and cleanse it first as they can pick up energies from other gems and people while waiting for you in the shops! If you have any questions please feel free to ask! - Rosemary Eir Here is my list. Remember, everyone is different and what works for one will not necessarily work for everyone else.
Also, there is no need to rush out and buy new gems just to try this. You can get the same connections with a quartz crystal. A quartz crystal can be used to replace any other gem when its needed. It will require programming, meaning that it must be cleansed and then the intention to be clearly put "in" the crystal, and so if you have the other gems, they are possibly easier for you to use unless you are comfortable working with crystals already Other stones known to help with meeting guides, are Angelite, Selenite, Apophylite, and Kyanite. I personally use Sunstone, Celestite, Rose quartz and Labradorite for connecting. The reasons being, they are chosen by my guides. My one guide sent me on a two week search for sunstone to use with him.... The sunstone is for a Phoenix guide I have, and is NOT a common spirit guide connection stone. However, when I'm doing spiritual work if I find myself grabbing my sunstone, it is to enhance my connection with him, usually because he will be quite prominent in the task ahead of us. The celestite is for a family angelic guide and a very common connection stone. The Rose Quartz is for another "family" guide which I am able to connect to through the heart chakra, again not a common stone for connecting. And finally, Labradorite is one I find myself drawn to many times when I am working with others to help them reach their guides. It is a stone for working with spirit and guides, and so if you happen to have some, this will help you as well. The reason I have shared my personal stones with you, is to show you that its not all black and white. There is no hard fast rules as to what to use when where and how; its as unique as the individual. Following the general guidelines is how you can get started, and then from there you move on into your own comfort zone and patterns (c) Rosemary Eir The Celtic Cosmos consisted of three worlds, the Lower World (or the Otherworld) the Middle World (where we live) and the Upper World. All three Worlds are linked by the Celtic Tree of life or crann bethadh through its roots, trunk and branches. The roots of the Tree of Life would travel deep into the Lower World. Its branches grew upwards and stretched to the heavens above while its trunk remains on the earth’s plane.
The Celtic Tree symbolised the balance and harmony within all forces of nature through the interaction of different energies of the Universe. Trees were worshipped for their wisdom, strength and longevity. As the Celtic Tree of Life reaches up towards the stars, the Sun and the Moon and into the universe and delves down below the lower world before meeting up again, like Celtic knots, it has no beginning and no end. The Celts believed the crann bethadh to have special powers. When clearing a piece of land for human settlement, the Celts of Ireland would leave a tree at the centre. They would hold assemblies and festivals beneath this tree. Druids could traverse the three Worlds by climbing the Tree of Life into the Upper World of stars and celestial bodies (the dwelling place of many Gods, the great Mother Goddess and spirits of the air.) They would descend through its roots into the Otherworld ruled by the Lord of the Underworld or the Horned One and Protector of Animals. This is where Druids would meet with their power animals and spirit guides. Meet Anu – Celtic Mother Goddess
Anu is the Celtic Mother Goddess, associated with fertility. She is also called the Dawn Mother and the Goddess of death. Her priestesses comforted the dying. Anu is associated with wells and water and is the Goddess of cattle, health and prosperity. She is also called Ana, Annan, Danu or Don and was the wife of the Sun God Belenos. Anu is the oldest Celtic Goddess and is often called the mother of the Irish Gods. Her power is in the land and in the imagination of those who see magic in the twilight mists between this and the Otherworld. Like Angels and Guides, Celtic Goddesses/Angels will also come to the aid of those who call on them. Anu can appear in the form of a white swan. To connect with Anu you might feel her energies through quietly meditating on her picture or creating pieces of art, poetry or writing on swans. You might also feel Anu’s energies when you are near streams and running water. As mother of the faeries she is ever present in the land and near water. Celtic Myths: Selkies
Selkies, also known as Silkies are mythical seal creatures in Irish and Scottish mythology who can transform themselves into humans. The north and western coasts of Scotland and into Ireland are rich in Selkie lore making it likely to be Celtic in origin. Some believe these legends originated from Orkney Islands where selk(ie) or selch is the Scots word for seal (Old English seohl). Some though link the Selkie myths to Finland or Scandinavia. The Selkie is a shape shifting faery that lives off the coast of the Shetland and Orkney Islands in Great Britain. They appear as seals, with distinctly human eyes. When it shape-shifts, the Selkie shows itself as a beautiful woman, or handsome man. The men, apparently, made good lovers and were happy to please any unsatisfied woman on the islands. If a woman wanted a Selkie lover, she just had to go to the sea and cry seven tears into the ocean. During the day the magical seals dwelled in their grand ocean palaces. At night they would shed their seal skins and dance or frolic on the beach in their human form. The selkies had mystical seductive powers over humans. Occasionally a mortal man would desire to have a Selkie woman for his wife. To have the love of a faery wife, it is said, is to have heaven on earth. If he found, stole and hid away a Selkie skin, this enchanted creature would be bound to him and they would wed. Female Selkies were devoted wives and although the couple would be happy, the sea would always call to the Selkie woman. If she found her magical seal skin she would return to the sea and her home under the waves. Once a long time ago, a man found a Selkie’s skin and gained himself a faery wife. They had three children and were married for many years. She was a faithful, dutiful wife but her heart longed to return home to the sea. One day her children were playing and they found an old trunk. At the bottom of the trunk was a mysterious skin. They asked their mother if she knew what it was. It was her seal-skin cloak. She took it to the seashore and vanished into the sea. Her husband, they say, died of a broken heart. For once having tasted the love of a faery woman, no mortal woman could ever compare. Some say that the Selkie occasionally returned to the beach to teach her children faery healing. The moral of this story is to remind us of the power of our connection to our native lands, the homeland of our ancestors. Although the Selkie loved her husband and children, the sea was in her soul. Somewhere in our past, the land of our ancestors (or our past lives) call to us and we too feel the longing to be back home. The ancients had a close relationship with trees, believing them to have special powers. Dead wood found lying on the ground would be accepted as a gift from the woods, for carving utensils and gifts to offer their Gods. Live wood would be used for magical, spiritual and medicinal purposes. The Celts had a secret knowledge of the trees and of the natural environment. They wove trees into their worship and spiritual and magical rituals.
Despite the Christian association with the Devil and temptation, ancient rituals connected with the Apple tree were all about love, romance and having fun. In many cultures and religions, the apple tree is respected as a holy tree and in many countries it is unlucky to destroy an apple tree. The apple is the fruit of the gods and if sliced horizontally, it will reveal a pentagram. Apples are a good source of fibre in the diet and they help keep the liver healthy. Apple juice is used spiritually and medically for good health, insight and vision. Apple blossom incense is used for love spells and Venus related spells. Bach flower remedy Crab Apple is used to help calm someone who is excitable or nervous. It can be used for treating obsessive compulsive disorders and for bringing balance between mind, body and spirit. It is believed that an apple a day helps reduce the risk of cancer and helps regulate bowel movement as well as keeping the heart healthy. Dried apple peel can be made into a tea for rheumatism. The ancients would use apple wood for making small tools and dowsing rods. Burning the pruning and cuttings of an apple tree will bring blessings of love and luck to your home. The cherry tree is sacred to Apollo and Venus. The bark can be burned as an incense in love rituals. Its wood can be used as a love wand. The dead wood of cherry trees are sometimes used for magic fires and for house blessing fires. Medicinally, cherries are used for pain relief and can be a good alternative for aspirin. Herbalists use cherry bark as a mild sedative and to calm excitement. Wild cherry bark is also used for coughs and colds, asthma and bronchitis and as a tonic for the digestive system. Bach flower remedy Cherry plum is used to help relieve stress and calm a fearful mind. Both apples and cherries are fruit that are believed to enhance fertility and increase sexual energy. Both are used in magic for love spells. Sources http://www.mymedicinalplants.com/ http://www.rwood.com/Articles/Cherries_Natural_Remedy_for_Aches_and_Pains.htm http://www.herbalextractsplus.com/wild-cherry-bark.cfm http://www.rainbowcrystal.com/bach/bfr/cp.html http://www.bachcentre.com/centre/38/cherrypl.htm © C Somerville. This article has also been published in Yahoo Voices and Helium. Permission to republish in print or online must be granted by the author in writing. The Celts were a race where reality blended so naturally with mysticism and magic that distinguishing one from the other would have been, at times, virtually impossible in the minds of these ancient people.
Was the storm that occurred at an opportune time to flood the rivers and prevent a rival clan from advancing, the work of nature or a was it a Druid controlling the elements? Druids, the religious leaders of the Celts could see deeper than the surface and had the incredible ability to remain still, silent and focused and to see the future in sacred waters, sticks or flames. Some Druids, it was believed, could command the will of wild creatures and change themselves into animals and birds in order to travel more easily over rough terrain. This was a race so in tune with nature that they believed some people could communicate with the spirits who lived in the trees as well as with animal spirits and mythical beings of the “Otherworld.” The Celts had great respect for the “little people:” the faeries, elves and gnomes living in the Otherworld. Imagine for a moment, the enchanted forests in which the Celts would dwell with their winding paths through oaks and elders, the myriad shades of green and brown, the dappled light on the forest floor, foliage stirring in the breeze and suddenly, a sense of something moving within the patterns of light and shadow. Here those who were sensitive in spirit would discern the forms of the tree folk with their garments of leaves, moss and cobwebs and occasionally there would be a sighting of the delicate and beautiful faeries themselves. Within the forests lay mystical portals: doorways to the Otherworld and within the Otherworld lived the Fair Folk or faeries with their queens and princes who fathered children in the human world from time to time. In fact the faeries too would have their dalliances with human men as some myths tell of how the Fair Folk don’t breed so easily among their own kind so the most certain way to conceive a child was to couple with a young and healthy mortal! A human child who was also an offspring of the Fair Folk was called a changeling. Legends also told of human babies being stolen by faeries and sometimes being replaced by sticks and stones and moss of the forest or in some cases elderly fairy people who could be cared for and fussed over by its human parents. Humans who were descended from branches of the Fair Folk may have had psychic powers of their own; some where known as sorcerers or sorceresses. Occasionally humans would lose their path in these enchanted woods and enter the shadowy realms of the Otherworld. A man or woman could spend one night in the realm of the Fair Folk, according to myths, and return to find many years had passed by in the human world. Or someone might linger for a good part of their life among the Fair Folk to return to their own world with less than a week having passed by! Festivals and ceremonies throughout the Celtic year celebrated nature’s cycle and the seasons. The year began at Samhain when the veil between the two worlds was so thin that it was believed deceased ancestors could return to warm themselves at the hearths of the living. At Midwinter there would be boughs of greenery, holly and ivy placed above each doorway and hung in the rooms of their homes. A great oak would be placed in the hearth to be lit with ceremony; bonfires would be lit on the hills and midnight toasts made to the spirits of the forest. Rituals and festivals were a part of Celtic life and Celtic magic, opening up the minds and spirits of the people to allow the magic to flow. Magic was a natural part of the life of these spiritual people. They would make talismans to ward off evil or to harness beneficial spiritual forces, or to protect or heal the wearer. Before going into battle women would sew a cross of rowan twigs into the garments of their men warriors (a potent charm against death in battle) or slip a packet of protective herbs into his boots. Celtic knots and symbols were characteristically a cluster of flowing, unified spirals that represented the oneness of nature. The forests offered them all they required for healing and magic and none of this was taken for granted. No animal was ever hunted for pleasure. No tree destroyed for the sake of it and there would always be a thanks offered and sometimes a gift to the tree spirit whose leaves may have been taken for a healing potion or to an animal that had given their life in order for a human to have food. Imagine for a moment travelling back in time and wandering through a mystical, enchanted Celtic forest. Then you may find yourself wondering: was all the magic and enchantment really just imagination and nonsense? Or could it be we have lost something special during man’s journey from Celtic to this present time? © C Somerville – This article has also been published on Yahoo Voices and Helium. Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing |
Welcome to the Celtic OtherworldInvisible to the naked eye and visited by only a few, here are tales of the magical and mysterious Otherworld. Archives
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