In Dark Silence come Whisperings of New Beginnings...

Blessed Samhain to you all, my dear Lair guests!  It's been many a Moon since I attended you all.  For that, I beg your forgiveness.

Tonight, when the sun sinks low in the Western sky and the light softens to a violet, our celebrations and observances of the Dark Half begin.  Hearth fires will be extinguished and new fire will be kindled.  Many of us will dance 'round the bonfires (for the dwellers at the Lair, it's a firepit) as we commune with the Spirits.  Within the "death" honored tonight is also the promise of renewal.

The veil is thinnest tonight--our ancestors return to impart their Wisdom to us as seed is spread prior to germinating.  The planting commences for them...but will be reap a Harvest of knowledge or insight?  'Tis ours to tend, to nurture, and to gather.

Listen intently...let your focus soften and your awareness sharpen.  Do you hear them?  Do you feel the soft breeze of their whisper at your ear?  Do you feel the draw?

Blessed Samhain, my friends.  Bright blessings to you all!

In the softness of the Moonlight...

The Crow Moon Cometh

Changes come and we in the Pagan community tend to look for signs--harbingers--that herald the alterations in our lives.  Invariably, the "new" is questioned, weighed, and then we look to see if {DRUMROLL} "Mercury is in retrograde."

Does this sound familiar, my darling Lair residents?  Do we question "where" change came from or do we {GASP} embrace it regardless of its origins and make the best of our situation?  Do we focus on what was or what might become?  Do we doubt or welcome?

The Crow Moon, according to my new little MoonPhase app, is the Northern Tribes' name for the full moon which will take place on March 8th (or thereabouts).  Though it goes by other names, this moniker designated, to the Old Ones, that the crow was taking flight to be replaced by the robin.  It's a Moon of balance...of growth...of renewal and change.  It's to be embraced.  It heralds the season of Ostara and the coming of our celebration OF Ostara.  Spring is change...it is balance...it is life.

So, my darling ones, embrace the new surrounding you...live in the moment...and know that She will not abandon you.  She, too, is finding Her new, invigorated form as Maiden, full of hope and life and renewal. 

In the softness of the Moonlight...

Loss and Grieving

Yesterday, quite suddenly, life here at the Lair was turned upside down.  My dear companion of the past twelve years--a handsome, black & white, neutered domestic longhair named Ozzie, had to cross the Rainbow Bridge due to complications from undiagnosed and untreatable cancer.  He's been my assistant, my confidante (albeit we have three loyal and loving pups), and my sounding board since he was 5-weeks old.  It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make and yet one of the most peaceful and graceful moments I've ever been honored to witness and be part of.  He curled into me--visibly exhausted and "ready," purring as loudly as ever he did, nursing one last time on my earlobe--and then they administered the medicines.  He merely fell asleep mid-purr, still curled gracefully and lovingly in my arms, paws holding me. 

I miss him so very much. 

He's buried, with his sister--Athena--who some of you know succumbed to kidney disease two Yules ago, under my outdoor altar by the Pond...between two magenta crepe myrtles.  Still a companion and still my assistant...just without rather than within. 

I'll be posting again soon...but thought all you dear ones would care to know why there's a bit of a shift in the energies.  I've an emptiness within me that's going to take a while to heal. 

In the softness of the embracing Moonlight...