Between the Worlds

Samhain Eve is upon us.  Thankful to have escaped the devastation of the hurricane, when so many did not. This morning the remnants of the storm finally passed on, and as I left work to make my way home I was struck by the astounding beauty of the clouds, as great masses of violet, lavender, and smoke drifted across the sky at various elevations; some quite high in the atmosphere, others obscuring the tops of the tallest buildings in the distance downtown.  It brought to mind many ancient tales of supernatural beings hosting through turbulent skies--the Valkyries, the Wild Hunt.  Although Science tells us such stories are baseless, there is some magic in such clouds that can't be explained away by water vapor and barometric pressure.  This is especially so on nights like tonight, which is widely celebrated as the Witches' New Year, when the realms of Faerie and the Dead draw nearer to our own.

The Three Witches From Shakespeare's Macbeth ~ Daniel Gardner

It saddens me that fatigue and the necessity of work prevent me from making a proper observance of the holiday, but I have meditated on it a great deal over the course of the day, and I plan to hold a little ritual a bit later in the evening, which will have to suffice for the present.  Next week when I have a bit of extra free time I may belatedly stage something a bit more elaborate.  With FaerieCon in particular approaching, I should more than make up for tonight's lost time communing with otherworldly beings :)

Since today is of course a celebration of all things witchy, I am including some wonderful 18th century portraits in this post, with an old favorite above, and a delightful piece that was brought to my attention this very evening below.

Horned Witch ~ Artist Unknown (French School)

A Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain to all who wander through...

The Lowering Sky

Sandy Approaches -- Foreboding storm clouds roiling above the parking lot as I left work this morning. The gulls carelessly played in the updrafts as below the panic-stricken populace rushes to stock up on batteries, bottled water, and potato chips. 

For my own part, I was more concerned with getting home to prepare my little rooftop garden as best I might for the impending hurricane winds.  A bit early for my annual end of season clean-up (these days we don't see much in the way of frost before the end of November), but I suppose it can't hurt to get these chores out of the way sooner rather than later.  Fountain, fairy lights, and statuary have all been safely packed away, and all the pots have been arranged to take best advantage of the sheltering side of the house.  All this accomplished, there isn't much to do now but wait and see if Nature's fury is indeed as severe as the forecasters have surmised...

Journaling: A New Leaf

Over the past two years or so I have drifted away from the habit of writing regularly for public consumption, but at last I am beginning to feel it is time to make a return to sharing my ruminations with friends and strangers alike.  In the interval since the daily blogging ritual got away from me, my inner landscape has gone through a great many changes--but no, 'change' isn't the right word, exactly.  I think perhaps it is more of a re-alignment, since instead of coming to a new set of beliefs and interests, I'm finding rather that many older aspects of my personal mythology that had faded into the background for a while are gradually asserting themselves once more.  I have been through a period of significant spiritual and emotional turmoil, during which I had to reconcile myself to a great many unpleasant aspects of my life which I do not have the power to improve at present; while at the same time recognizing that, in fact, there are still many areas where I can effect a change, and that I should be focusing my energies there rather than wasting my time fretting over circumstances beyond my control.  It is a continuing battle, of course, but for now at least I feel reasonably confident to face whatever new obstacles lie ahead.

So, moving forward.  At the moment I'm not really sure what form this blog will take.  I suspect that the overall tone will be a bit different from my previous venture on LiveJournal, which was the main impetus for me staking out a new plot, as it were.  Over the last few months I have been doing a great deal of writing in my various journals and notebooks, but it remains to be seen how much if any of that will translate into this new space.  Old friends and acquaintances will recognize the same devotion to art, literature, music, gardening, and history as always, in addition to a new emphasis on hiking, myth & folklore, mysticism & spirituality, and ecology & natural sciences, all of which I hope you will find as equally compelling as the old topics.  There will probably be fewer posts on collecting in general and dolls in particular, though I cannot promise they will be entirely absent ;)  Entries may be slow at first as I work things out, but with any luck I get the hang of this again before too long.

Well, it's getting on towards morning and my words are running out for the moment, so it seems like an opportune time to bring this to a close.  I'll leave you with some late Datura metel blossoms from the garden, since it seems a pity to end my first post without at least one picture :)  Goodnight, all!