Mandalas

I love the patterns of mandalas, I can remember colouring them in as a child and I do now on occasion too - it is extremely therapeutic.

However a mandala is not just a pretty picture.

The word mandala is from the Indian Sanskrit and means 'circle'.  Although far from a simple circle, a mandala represents the whole, it can be seen as a structure for life itself, it reminds us of our connection to the infinite, the world that is within our bodies and minds and beyond.

A  mandala represents all aspects of life, it is the earth, the sun, the moon and all the circles we recognise in our lives those of friends and family too.

Sometimes the centre of the mandala is seen as the essence, the centre of your being, and the circle that surrounds it is your support, that which binds you together.

The purpose of a mandala is to help transform your mind into enlightenment and to assist with healing, answers and directions.  It can be done as part of a meditation, it becomes the focus of your mind.

You can draw mandalas yourself, you can print them already drawn and ready to colour in from the net, there are people that will draw them for you using numerology - there are some links below.  They can be drawn and coloured using pens, pencils or paint but they can also be made from coloured sand, spices and herbs, flowers, leaves or crystals, in fact practically any medium - see what your imagination comes up with!

Tansy
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http://www.coloringcastle.com/mandala_coloring_pages.html
http://www.free-mandala.com/en/start.html
http://www.blueprint4creation.com/

NEW BLOG...

So many of you lovely people like our daily rune, oracle and tarot draws that we post on our facebook page and on our personal blogs that we have created a new blog, specifically to share our daily divinations with you all

www.divinationdivas.blogspot.com

Hop on over and take a look, we will usually post at least one draw a day - runes, oracle cards (we have many different sets between us) and tarot cards (again we have many different sets between us!).




The Kitchen Witch Leadership Team
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King Arthur's round table

On Saturday some of the Kitchen Witch leadership team met in Winchester...OK we really met to have cake but we also went to see King Arthur's round table.

Winchester Castle dates back to 1066 and the reign of William the Conqueror, but by 1216 and the end of King John's reign the castle and its royal palace needed a lot of repair.  Between 1222 and 1235 the hall was replaced with the building that is there today.

Henry III (1216-1272) and Edward I (1272-1307) both made alterations and improvements to the castle.  Edward and Margaret of France, almost died in a fire that destroyed the royal apartments in 1302.

At the end of the 14th century the roof and exterior of the hall was rebuilt.  The Royalists held the castle during the English Civil War until the Parliamentary Forces captured it in 1646.   Oliver Cromwell ordered the castle to be demolished, but the Great Hall was kept to use for assemblies.

In the 1870s the hall was restored and was last used as an official court between 1938 and 1974.

The round table hangs on the wall at one end of the hall, now known to have been made in the late 13th century and painted as it stands now for King Henry VIII.  It measures 5.5 metres in diameter, weighs 1200kg and is made from English Oak.

There is also Queen Eleanor's garden just outside the hall too.

It is free to visit (although donations can be given) and it is often the venue of re-enactments and medieval displays.

Tansy
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Obsidian Arrowhead

Whilst on a visit to Burley a couple of weeks back with some of the Kitchen Witch School leadership team, we were mooching around the shops...like you do...and went into one that had a really friendly lady owner and her lovely springer spaniel pup!

I didn't need anything in particular, we were just browsing but as I looked at the crystals she had on display an obsidian arrow head caught my eye.    I didn't know why I needed it or wanted it, but I did, so I bought it (it was only a couple of pounds).

It has been sitting on my table ever since, until today when I decided I needed to work with it, so into research mode, here is what an obsidian arrow head can do:

Works with the base chakra.
It's energies are used to help with scrying, grounding, protection, survival instincts, shamanic healing, creativity and intuition.  It protects from negative energies and helps us to stop having negative thoughts about ourselves.  It also teaches us self discipline.
The shape of the arrow represents truth and following your right path, going in the right direction.
It is also known as the 'wizard's stone' as it was used in the past to create magical mirrors.

Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.  It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth.  Obsidian is hard and brittle and when fractured has very sharp edges.

I think I may put it on some cord and tie it to my staff :-)

Tansy
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Sources - thecrystalhealer.co.uk
wikipedia
clarityofsight.co.uk

Three Milkings May

Whilst researching something on the internet I stumbled upon an article that discussed the meaning behind the name of the month of May, thought I would share it with you:


One of the suggestions is that May, the fifth month in the Gregorian calendar was named after the Goddess Maia.   There are in fact two Goddesses with that name, mother of Hermes, the Greek Goddess Maia and the Roman Goddess Maia, who was a Goddess of Spring.


Another suggestion is from the Latin poet Ovid who believed May to come from the Latin word 'maiores' which means elders.  June being named after the Latin word meaning 'youth'.


We first see the month of May being used in the 1000s.  In old English the fifth month of the year was 'þrimilce' which means 'three milkings', this was literally because it was the only month in the year when cows could be milked three times a day!

Tansy

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image - May by Leandro Bassano