IMBOLC ART

  In my mind there´s a picture, an ideal vision, of each sabbat´s soul. I want to get them out of there, to make them visible for everyone. It´s nothing I could photograph, it´s more like a dreamy state of being.
  I decided to paint them. Here´s the first one, Imbolc:

Dreamy light blue with hints of pale pink in the top left corner, and minty green in the bottom right (the hints aren´t as visible here as in reality). Painted with watercolors.

Flat paintings are boring. I want my paintings to have more depth, and I don´t mean only with the colors. I mean actual 3D depth. I glued these paper snowflakes on my painting  to really make them pop.

On the bottom of the piece, I glued a little light turquoise glitter on top of the mint color, to accentuate the icy effect I was going after.

I added these tiny Swarowski glue-on crystals to make resemble both stars in the sky, which are still a very remarkable part of this darker side of the year, and little ice crystals.

To give even more depth, I chose to use these bigger Swarowskis as well. Now that´s 3D!

This type of frame doesn´t draw attention to itself, and showcases the piece separating it from it´s surrounding. This baby ended up in our entrance hall. It´s the best place because you see it when you come home, setting you right into the mood of current sabbat, and is the last thing you see when exiting.

  I´m pleased with how this piece turned out. It wasn´t said that would happend, since I haven´t done painting in two decades.
  Not only am I happy now, but also encouraged to paint more sabbats!

WHITE WONDERLAND

  Imbolc´s other face, beside the sunny light blue one, is the white world. On a cloudy day, when nature is covered with fresh white snow, the world looks washed out of all color. It´s black and white. That´s a magical sight (note that the pictures are not manipulated).

It´s amazing how even spruces look black and white, although I know they are really green...

At the end of our home street there´s a humongous hill, perfect for sledding!

I can still (barely) squeeze into a kids´ sled for a bit of fun!

This humble young birch looks like a feather.

Our apple tree dressed in winter.

  Once again, all this beauty is right here on my daily path, with no need to go far and beyond to experience it. Embracing the little things in life is beneficial to both me and the planet!

HEART OF IMBOLC

  After discovering the wheel-of-the-yeart over fifteen years ago, I have built a whole new lifestyle for myself based on the eight sabbats. The eight in turn are based on the ancient way of telling time, marking solstices and equinoxes, and the points in between marking the turn of the season (spring, summer, fall, winter).
  Nowadays I incorporate each sabbat into my calendar by celebrating them approximately six weeks in a row. This year it took until now to tune into Imbolc full speed.

  Imbolc, February 1st, is for me the actual beginning of the new year. It is the point in time between winter solstice and spring equinox, thus marking the beginning of spring. A funny thing is that once, after learning about the whee-of-the-year, I was talking with my grandpa and found out that he perceived time this exact same manner by solstices and equinoxes! Needless to say, he´d never googled about paganism... =)
  By now the days have grown lighter, and it is inevitable to feel the change and look forward. Nature has turned white and powdery by snow, and the sky is glowing again with pastel colors on sunny days. As if the year is in it´s baby state.

  This is the heart, the foundation, of my Imbolc spirit. An abundant source of inspiration. And the best part is that it´s all free of charge, right here, surrounding me in my daily life! No need to go far to experience something miraculous. The fairy tale is happening right here and now, and I´m part of it!

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

  I have thoroughly enjoyed this Yule. Ever since Christmas we have staid home a lot with friends and family, eaten well, played lots outside, and today it is New Year´s eve. That means more friends, goodies, even some sparkling wine, and fireworks!

There is some magic about winter solstice, because (it seems) every year after we´re pass it, the sun slowly starts to reappear again. The days are still very short of course, but the clouds recede from the sky little by little, giving room to the sun.

So bottoms up, it´s time to celebrate the new beginning year! May it bring peace, happiness, and love to us all!

  Happy, happy new year 2015!

WELCOME YULE!

  Winter solstice is in two weeks! Now it is high time to say goodbye to Samhain and welcome Yule.

This year I begun by setting up the lights.

   It is always so refreshing to start a new sabbat! Isn´t life cool, living from one holiday to the next?! Virtually a non-stop party I´d like to think!

NOVEMBER RAIN

  This is why I dislike November:

It has been like this for weeks now. I reckon the last time I saw the sun was two weeks ago, and even then it was just for about five minutes.

This is from the other weekend. The weather is trying to draw all positivity and optimism out of me, much like dementors in Harry Potter.  =)

  But I must stay strong, drink my green smoothies, and memorize last summer´s never ending sunlight.
  Luckily this darkness is temporary (although feels forever now).

MABON

  What´s Mabon?

  To me paganism is all about wisdom and freedom. It shows wisdom to think outside the box (I mean the religion to which we were born and raised with), and then freedom of choice. We can either choose an already existing religion to follow, or "free fall" creating our own perspective on existence.

  I free fall. I ran into wiccanism fifteen years ago, and immediately adopted the wheel-of-the-year as my guide through times to come.

  To me Mabon marks mid fall, the equinox. There is equally light and dark time in a day, and from then on more dark than light. We are entering the dark half of the year.
  This year the fall equinox is next Tuesday (always September 22nd or 23rd), and it points the highlight of this season. I divide each sabbat into approx. six week periods, starting about two weeks prior to the actual date. I tune in with each sabbat for those full six weeks, and then move on to the next. By doing so my life has turned into a virtually continuous celebration of the wonders of nature. Not bad!

  Mabon is both joyful and sad time. Joyful because the first half of Mabon we still get to enjoy occasional warm summer-like days, and sad because the other half always is cold and ever darker. Leaves fall from trees and all green dies. We see less and less of the sun, and I get tired and want to start hibernating. =) There´s only little energy left.

  That´s the nature of nature, ever changing, ever evolving. And that´s the way it needs to be. No matter how sad I feel letting go of the warmth and light of summer, it would not feel so sweet if there was no cold and dark season in between.

Now it is time to enjoy the last bits of summery days and sunshine. Take it all in before it´s gone for a good amount of months! And to remember that life is always worth celebrating!

LAMMAS FASHION COLLECTION

  Yay, I have completed my Lammas garderobe!

#1: Linen & peach.

#2: Ragdoll.

This year I made a new necklace to the outfit. The wooden thread spools, of which I was looking for last year, finally reappeared in the craft store, and I was able to execute my initial plan.

#3: Mary had a little lamb.

The earrings are self-made aromatherapy ones.

#4: The nude hippie.

#5: Animal print dress.

Another pair of my aromatherapy earrings.

  Now seeing all the looks here one next to the other, I am pleased with the versatility. The overall feeling of the whole collection remains warm, natural, and calm. Just the way I like my Lammas to be. Happy!

DARKENING NIGHTS

  It is always an inevitable sign of fall approaching, when nights begin to darken. Summer nights are unbelievably light here in Finland, as the sun sets only for a couple of hours (or not at all further North) leaving the sky beautifully lit. But now darkness is creeping slowly back in.

In a way it feels calming, after a hectic and super energetic summer.

And it feels cozy to use light bulbs and candles again.

My zen.

As a bonus the solar lights I installed two months ago in our summer home´s brand new outhouse come in use, finally.

  I count these murk nights as the first sign of autumn.

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE!

  Although it sleeted and snowed here yesterday and the temperature dropped down to near freezing (colder than on last winter solstice!) I have to believe that it is summer solstice. Here´s the proof:

It is 11.27pm in this picture taken at our summer cabin! The sun will set, but only for a while.

The sight of this warms my heart, no matter how cold the temperature!

This is why I love summer more than all the other seasons. Sunlight gives energy and vibe to my being, even at night.

  Happy and lively Litha!!!

WELCOME LITHA!

  The time has come to greet Litha again. Earlier this week I emptied my wardrobe of Beltane clothes, and replaced them with Litha ones. There are three outfits still missing, so I have my hands full trying to get them done!

  Meanwhile, nature is in it´s fullest green, and flowers are blooming everywhere. The nights are light and short, and I freaking love this time of year! It has started off pretty rainy this year, but none the less, it is midsummer!!!

  Here is a little something my eyes have feasted on in the past few days:

Three years ago I planted these rhododendron to our backyard just to see if they would survive. I´m no gardener, and I do not want to spend my time trying to keep reluctant plants alive. But these turned out more than willing to grow and bloom.

In fact I´ve never really even liked rhodos, but there is naturally good soil for them in the far corner of our yard, so why not? And now seeing them bloom this gorgeously, how could I not like them?!

In fact, I could watch this beauty year round!

And then it started to rain again... Too bad for a sun lover like me, but naturally good for the nature.

  I can´t believe it is midsummer next week! Yipee!