Monday, November 5, 2007

Ebay Store up and Running!

Well here it is my - eBay store. You can click on this link and it will bring you to all the wonderful items that I am making to sell to all Faerie, Druids, Witchy and Wizardly folks!http://stores.ebay.com/Harvest-And-Home-Natural-Fiber-Garb
The wool cloche hats you can view on the right of this page are just a sampling of the items you'll be finding in my new store. Hope you enjoy what you find. And keep checking in, I'll be adding new items regularly.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Harvest and Home

The name of my business came from the concept of the holiday called Harvest Home. FOr a great explanation of this seasonal event click on the following link http://www.geocities.com/athens/forum/7280/harvest.html.

The focus of Harvest and Home is to bring to you made things and found things that will warm your hearth in Winter and ease your Summer days. COMING SOON - my ebay store - Harvest and Home Natural Fiber Garb.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

First Fire

During the fall when the weather begins to cool I practice a small ritual to honor the trees that will provide heat for the fire to warm me during the months ahead. It is a flexible date because I wait until the days are consistently cool before I start my wood stoves to burning. During the year I gather any small branches that may be presented to me, a fallen apple branch, a twig of oak, a flower that has blown onto the path. These treasures are kept in a basket or bowl on top of the kitchen wood stove and are used for the first fire ritual.

When starting this stove for the first time I tie with twine a bundle of each type of wood that I will use to heat. This year it is apple, black walnut, oak, hawthorn, and birch. This bundle is used as the kindling for the first fire. Once the fire is going I offer the treasures one by one and recite "By oak ash and thorn I honor these who will warm my hearth with a blessing of the trees" I then recall the year, and whatever comes up I give to the flames so that the year will pass and allow new experiences to flourish. I will also add a blessing to the Beavers who left many downed trees before they left the pond and eased my workload of felling trees for wood. Praise to the engineers of the wood and wallow!!

This rite is followed by a meal of seasonal foods - Squash with Rice, raisins and apples, Pumpkin ice cream on Gingerbread, and of course Apple Cider.

Now the preparations for Yule begin.

A Year and A Day

Welcome to you all!
I will be posting my experiences here as I journey through the first year of my AODA (Ancient Order of Druids in America) candidacy. This past week Oakstone Grove visdited my farm for the first time. We met at the Henge at U of Mass in Amherst, fulfilled a sweet Samhainn ritual and then gathered at the farm for a feast of shared foods. There was much to discuss as we are in the process of creating the structure of a Study Group. I am so blessed to be among such folk as these.

I have been reading for about 25 years about Celtic and Earth Based Spritualities. It seems I have been doing druidic things even before I decided to formalize my path by becoming a member of AODA. When I moved to this farm it became very apparent to me that a grove should be planted. I selected six Washington Hawthorns and two European Mountain Ash. The two Mountain Ash were planted at the beginning of the path to the outer grove or nemeton, and they are called the Guardians. One of the Hawthorns is planted just beyond the Ash and and it is called the Gatekeeper. The other five Hawthorns (one for each of the elements - earth, air, fire, water and spirit) were planted in a circle. However the Hawthorns had other ideas. Two of the trees danced away on their own and instead of a circle there is a crescent of three and two have been found together pointing the way to the inner grove. I have created a fairly complete Ogham garden and even before I had discovered that the Ogham had existed.

I believe in something I call memeory of blood. That which was experienced in the before, (past life experiences) and may sometimes come from genetic memory which is passed down through the blood. It is this memory of blood that I believe has guided my hand and heart in creating these gardens and these groves.

Hawthorns provide healing for the heart, are a symbol of hope and happiness, are associated with Brigid, and are part of the magickal triad named as Oak, Ash and Thorn.

Harvest and Home is the name of my business. Through Harvest and Home I will share with you my recipes, crafts and ideas which are my celebrations of the cycle of the seasons.