I've been reflecting on the ceremonies I've created over the years, thinking about what inspires me to create ceremony, to hold ceremony...

Perhaps now I’m the grand old age of fifty, in the wild wise woman phase of my life, you’ll permit me the indulgence of sharing some wisdom

To celebrate 4 years being an Interfaith Minister and 6 years since our first interview together, Tania Ashton-Jones of TJ Frog and I met...

(if you've not already read it, see HEALING THE WITCH WOUND - PART 1) As I stepped forward another woman also stepped forward and I offered her the space. I stepped back, thinking maybe I could slink back into the crowd, but as she finished all eyes turned to me... or at least it felt that way… as they knew I’d wanted to speak. I stepped into the space. My whole body was shaking, not with fear, with energy. What was I being called to? What would I say? I shared some of wh

Judge: I call forward Alice Nutter… Please state your name for the court Alice: Alice Nutter Judge: Alice Nutter, under the Witchcraft Act of 1542, you are accused of attending a witchcraft meeting on Good Friday in 1612, later causing Henry Milton’s death, how do you plead?” Alice: Not Guilty Judge: And how do you, the jury, find the defendant? Jury: Not guilty The ceremony had begun. We were one hundred and fifty (mainly women) gathered in the walls of Lancaster Castle, whe

I’m not like nature I AM nature So deeply rooted in the earth A giant oak Hundreds, if not a thousand years old Alive with Wonder & Awe Not imagining or embodying, but becoming … animal, fish & bird Beyond a separate self Transcending species Fire in my eyes I remember The wisdom of plants, elements, tides Moons, stars & cycles Knowledge, ripped from my ancestral line As if from stolen from the earth herself Standing at the edge of the loch Deep stillness of presence A wel

At this turning of the wheel... May we pause to notice the sweetness of life in this moment. May we have the patience to wait for all else to ripen. May the way in which we use the harvest contribute to our communities and our planet. May we show up fully and with courage, honouring who we are now, at this time in our lives and trusting the gifts we bring to the world. May we travel the spiral with grace knowing that each turn brings us deeper into ourselves. A wee Lughnasa

And so in this week of anniversaries, Monday my wedding anniversary, yesterday was my ordination anniversary. Three years since I ordained an Interfaith Minister. The ceremony wasn't as we expected because of covid. Instead of gathering with each other, our tutors, friends and family in a hall together, our ceremony was online. Although we must have been free enough between lockdowns to travel and to gather to some extent. And so, my study group and I came together in th

I was so glad I accepted Nicola's invitation to visit @meadowsweetcroft yesterday in honour of British Flowers Week. Marvelling at the spikey leaved oaks, Nicola told me how 11 years ago and long before the vision of becoming Skye's first cut flower grower, she'd planted trees for shelter and winter colour in her garden. I've attempted to look up the variety, not remembering if she said European oaks... and not realising there are no less than 450 varieties of oak! Wandering

May you feel connection with the energy of the earth beneath your feet always experiencing the wonder and awe of nature. May you find hope in the darkest corners of your despair and seed all that which will nourish and bless you this year. May the increasing light fill your being and come with the remembrance that the same light shines in all beings. May you find magic in the mundane, synchronicities in the simplicity and enchantment in the every day.

When I hold ceremony I feel like I'm always either laughing or crying! The tears often come from being connected... to Spirit... to those for whom the ceremony is for... from hearing a couple I'm marrying speak their heartfelt truths... And the laughter comes from everywhere... the wind blowing everything and everyone around... the giggly energy of opening to Spirit... the fairies... This photo was from a wedding ceremony with two gorgeous women last summer... although the p

I felt so much gratitude as I walked the Solstice spiral at Findhorn this afternoon reviewing my year past... for all the joy it's brought... in whales and seals, sunrises and sunsets, swims with friends and family walks, candles and altars, art and creativity, full moons and first flowers of spring, ceremonies and relationships, standing stones and standing people (trees), silliness and stained glass, the beauty and colours of nature. JOY was my angel quality of 2022. I walk

In tonight's Yule Ceremony... our final ceremony of 2022's A Year With The Wheel... I invited our Women of the Wheel into the darkness, to imagine themselves as a seed deep in the belly of the earth. A seed... not needing to do anything, not needing to take action... just resting... just being... no need to stir until Imbolc. I dropped into the meditation with them and got a deep awareness of how we, as humanity, are the babies of the earth... having hardly been around any t

...to the well... in memory of a wonderful woman. Sonja Eckl, known to many as Ganga. She inspired me to do Ministry Training. She connected me with lots of amazing people, bringing together therapists and others in the Health Oasis. She trusted me with her weddings and other ceremonies when she wasn't well enough to do them... She was so loved by so many and blessed so many couples with ceremonies over the years. She's left a deep hole in the community. As there won't be a

So today I got to spend the day with my friend @stonechat.baskets playing around with her homegrown, harvested, processed and soaked willow. How cool! She showed me some baskets she'd made, the tools, some different types of willow and some of her favourite willow weavers on You Tube and then we hung out and I had a go. Loved it! Pretty pleased with my wonky... gappy... lopsided... half made basket! Did I mention... I made this?! From scratch! It was top of my list of apocal

This morning I had a supervision session which brought up lots of feelings which have been hanging around the past couple of weeks... flat... joyless... unseen... invisible... alone... I started to go into the why... the 'becausing' as I call it... searching for the reasons... I'm less busy... my husband is super busy... my role at work has changed... blah blah blah... And then I read a post from my lovely friend @loveyourlifeinspirations about being in that place of searchin

I've started a writing 'group' with a friend. It's just the two of us! We meet on zoom... we light candles... we call in all the love and support... we sit in silence for a while... we check-in with one another... listening, witnessing... and then we write... My writing is on ceremony. Its something that came to me to do towards the end of my ministry training, my journey with ceremony being a bit of a roller coaster, and although I've had a few goes at writing something, I'v

A gorgeous Samhain ceremony with @space_for_grace_scotland and our women of the wheel (part of A Year With the Wheel). We journeyed back through our female lineage to find the gifts the grandmothers passed to us. And explored the wise, knowing, intuitive, nature connected, earth loving, healer and holder in us... the 'witch' within. We wove all the gifts of all the generations back into ourselves. So much insight... wisdom... connection and synchronicity as always. My gift fr

May you reap the abundance of your personal harvest May you celebrate your gifts, skills and successes from the year(s) May the cost of your harvest balance the return, not sitting too heavily on you May you know not everything that grows can be harvested immediately May you release the fallacy of continual growth And once you have gathered in your harvest, may you rest.

A year ago today I made a commitment to post about my ministry every day... my everyday ministry... Often when I tell people I'm an interfaith minister they assume that means my work is celebrancy and ask me about weddings... but its so much wider than that... and so much more than paid work too... I remember a friend talking about her 'work' encompassing all the things she brings to the world... all the way she uses her gifts... and I guess that's what my posts have been abo

We record our Year With the Wheel Lughnasadh ceremony. Lughnasadh falls at the traditional time for holiday, so it ensures we can have a holiday and that our Women of the Wheel don't miss it. One of the unexpected benefits of recording was that I could experience it myself this morning! With my crazy, spun-out summer diary, I woke early to spend an hour listening back. It was so gorgeous! Even the parts that made me laugh at myself (is 1000 000 000 a billion? Surely its not

Today I send my blessings to all the One Spirit Ordinands who are taking their vows. Vows which state how they promise to show up in the world... how they'll serve... 2 years ago on this day I took my own vow. Spoke the unique words that felt Divined. The words that came to me at the end of my ministry training. A culmination of the journey I'd been on... Through ceremony & my own biography and healing... Through spiritual counselling & an exploration of different religions i

Today I attended a Crowning... a Crone-ing... an Eldering... ceremony for a wonderful friend and teacher in Colorado. It was so beautiful to be part of this sacred rite of passage to honour her life to date and this shifting to a new life stage. Blessed to have been invited, delighted to have participated and feeling full of love and inspiration. Dearest Lisa Marie Luminescent Coyote Windwalker May you know the blessing you are to all you are in relationship with May your lig

I woke up with an empty diary (other than volunteering at Youth Club tonight)... No zooms! Awesome! Of course I could've spent the day writing ceremonies, updating my website, doing some banking, uploading blogs... but after a lazy morning when I asked myself 'What would bring me joy?' the answer took me by the hand and led me outside... reminding me to grab a sketch book, paints and inks on the way. I knew where I was headed... to hold ceremony, to have an encounter with a b

Pausing to count my blessings... each stitch in the spiral another thing I'm grateful for in my life. Stitched in a Solstice ceremony and on my altar since... reminding me of the abundance of blessings ✨️ In the Wheel of the Year ceremony we asked those present to make a stitch, starting from the outside edge... a stitch for everything they were grateful for... everything that blessed their life... slowly, mindfully. Once they were done, we asked them to run their finger ove

I can't tell you how many scarves, shawls, wraps and dresses I have bought recently in an attempt to begin to feel I have something to wear for the weddings and other ceremonies I'm holding this year! Most of them have been returned 🤦‍♀️ I do love these two kimonos though... especially the green one for midsummer.. but wonder if they might feel too much... especially out on the hill blowing about! And to wear my stole or not? The stole I made for my ordination was ministry i

Tea, scones and chat about death. What could be better? Today I hosted a Death Café with a friend here on the Isle of Skye. I love these wee gatherings (this was our second) where anything on the topic of death is up for discussion... There are conversations about pain, grief, family, suicide, assisted death, funeral ceremonies, fear, burial, cremation, spirit and our beliefs about what happens after death. Today I realised that I'd love to be sung across the threshold into

I'd been having some awareness about integrating the inner masculine and feminine. I seen in meditation that the two altars I'd most recently created had the same form, the female form, with womb containing egg, ovaries and birth canal. In the second altar I added a tall vase and placed the egg into it (it looked pretty phallic from the side! Did I unconsciously bring the masculine into the feminine?!) I'd also became aware in meditation that this second altar mirrored the s

Last Night I attended the first of four 'Plant Encounter' sessions with Jean Atherton-Dow www.jeandowherbalist.co.uk/ and a sister One Spirit Minister Kim Atherton-Dow. I especially loved 'meeting' the plant through smell, taste and intuition. We learnt about the historical and modern uses for the plant (realising biology might have been a useful subject in school after all... if only if taken it beyond the age of 12). And we learnt how we might use the plant in ceremony link

Yesterday was International Women's Day (IWD) and I know I'm supposed to be inspired by it, but it had the opposite effect on me. Something had happened at the beginning of the week which triggered 'unheard' and 'powerless' in me and I had dropped into despair, grief too, which often shows up in thoughts of 'what's the point?'. As I sat with it (I feel if it's possible to just feel the feelings that's what helps me to move through them). It felt much bigger than just the even