Stripey Socks & the Toad

Illustration by Jen Oaks at http://www.jenoaks.com/

Wallow, follow the empty look.
List what you cannot see,
hear what you cannot touch,
and smell what you cannot love.

Follow the empty look.

Slept fitfully and still in a dream,
her stripey pink socks and ever so red boots,
make for an interesting sight as she
rummages through her pockets.

Stood at the side of a gloom filled road,
she looks for a toad,
destined to become a Prince.
She drumes her feet,

pitter, patter
on the gloom filled street.

It's after dark.
The stripey socked princess is looking for her toad,
buried beneath a pile of rubble,
at the side of the gloom filled road.

No luck, no joy she cannot see,
but when she turns round,
he is there 'look at me!'.
Fully formed and wide eyed,
a toad, now a man.

No longer the empty look
when she once waited for sun

Juniper and Lemons

Clouds of smoke lift on, upwards, bellowing out of the large man's body.... He lifts a wrinkled arm to wave at the pink cloud as she walks on by. The aromor of juniper and lemons fills the room as the cloud wafts on up and up to fill a haze drenched ceiling.

The juniper makes love to the lemon and creates a fire of citirus and a glow of amber as the large man looks on in awe....

Treacle falls down and lands at his feet.
His wrinkled arm reaches out as a nicoteine stained finger finds the treacle and lifts to his mouth to taste. Instantly, he is transformed.... His limbs become young and his mind returns to what it once was.

Agile...free...happy...

The man loosens his tie and rises up, onwards, higher to join the candy floss cloud and juniper and lemon scent.

He returns to love and joy....

Old ground new interest!

View from the top of Rivington

So, with Richard visiting the UK for the first time I have found myself visiting well trodden paths with new eyes. It is interesting looking at such familiar sights through the eyes of one from the US. I mean I have now come to the conclusion that Yes, we do drive way to fast and pack way too many cars in tiny streets.

Goodness knows how many of those streets I have driven up this last week! And yes, at least where I live, there is way too much crap and litter chucked about! But also, yes, we have some really lovely places...even up 'ere in the north west!!! It's been a whistle stop tour of the north west and we have yet to do Manchester, Liverpool and the Lakes before I go back to work next week!


York....

So York was extremely interesting and I got to meet Mark Cottrell in the flesh (at last!!!) It's quite weird knowing that Richard met Mark before I did in the bloomin states and Mark being here in this country! And having chatted to Mark via email and phone and IM's over the last year or 2 it was nice to actually meet the sweet feller!
Mark and Richard in the Evil Eye

Ah well we meet at last and what a lovely meeting that was! Sat in the Evil Eye taking pics as Neutral Sons meet in the flesh for only the second time! Then a boozy evening spent at Mark's place with Richard and Mark making some kind of sounds and a lovely meal cooked by Mark and his lovely wife Ali. Breakfast was a treat, Mark (resplendent in dressing gown and lovely knees) cooking a lovely Cheese on Toast (the gourmet version no less...) before moves had to be made back home to a Lucy cat awaiting breakfast...
and

Rain rain rain.... lots of rain interspersed with the odd spot of sun....

Hebden bridge....



But Sunday was literally 'Sun' day and we headed out to one of my favourite places, Hebden Bridge, and Richard got to meet a friend of mine and her cute dog Poppy! ..

Walking through Hebden it was lovely, the sun and the people and the vibes and stopping off for a cuppa coffee by the river and walking along the canal in the afternoon sun... A lovely place to dream of living...


Rivington.....



And so to Rivington, a local beauty spot complete with reservoirs, follies and walks a plenty! I have visited here many times before but it was interesting showing Richard around and reaching to the top of the hill with Richard.
Tired though!
So, all packed into just over a week! Not sure how much more I can fit in before work next week! It's certainly been action packed so far....!



Till next time!
Blessings
xxx

Blue Star

"More streams of consciousness from the vault of a bag ladies' meddled mind!"

Blue star set in a pale purple stone,
open to possibilities and making its' way
back to the home.
A land of infinite possibilities,
where black laboured sighs are eroded.

The blue star carries onward,
reaching up to the plane of celestial dreams
and cathartic nightmares.

He will break through the boundaries and
open up horizons of unknown possibilities
awaiting untamed potentials,
patiently waiting for the harvest to yield.

Blue star, with cherry blossom scent and
orange glows abound,
tells the tales of the unconscious mind
and release the ties that surround.

I saw the blue star in my dreams,
and now feel the star in my waking thoughts.
The blue star will light up the floor, the hearth and
my heart...

Fear Away...

More streams of gubbins are flowing as I decided to separate my rambles of consciousness from my runic ramblings into different blogs....

Fear Away

I still continue, surprisingly. The pen still glides effortlessly over the paper, on the lines. It is only fear that closes down the mind, closes down the channel through which creativity can flow. Fear of writing, fear of going outside the box, fear of 'what if it's crap?' 'What if it's like pink blancmange and babycham?'
Fear begone so the pen lingers on. Stroke after stroke of words upon words.

Words within a world of blue and orange and spiders who ride the camels back without looking back. No more fear, the pen moves ever forward and I move on. Forward to a life of love, adoration and kisses, hugs and warmth. Fear distinguished and love envelops. Love for my love who's embrace knows no fear. Only warmth and softness with just a hint of a whip and ever so slight grip.

Fear be gone, love I am home....

The Troll and Mannaz...

http://www.antiqueletters.com/RcSet1_Mannaz.JPG

So, I am doing quite well in my ruminations of the Runes I think...not sure what you are thinking, or whether you think I should be carted off to the nearest hospital for a time of 'recouperation'. If you are not yet convinced of this then my next stream may have you wondering otherwise......

The Little Troll..

Standing in a lift, the music dances off the walls, screaming 'lounge'. We step inside and move up to the 12th floor as the lift screams to a halt and a little troll gets in on the 6th floor.
Wearing a gown of blue and silver shoes he does a little dance between us and he starts to incant ' You will not get to the 12th floor, no you wont, no you wont!' As the dance gets more frenetic he starts to climb the walls of the elevator, his silver feet somehow finding grip on the silver walls.

'No you wont get there!' he sings as his green eyes dance and shine.

The lift reaches the 12th floor. In a haze of ire and angst the little troll slides back down the wall, shuffles off out of the doors and wrinkles his whiskers at us in defeat. We walk out onto the 12th floor amidst a cloud of candyfloss and pearlescent rain.

~~~~~~~~~

Haha poor troll, so definate in his rant and it to end in such an anti-climax!
Bare in mind that is what was in my subconscious at the time, waiting to be poured out... funny what goes on inside the mind isn't it? But it is interesting as looking at this I CAN find an inner meaning (believe it or not....!) as with the others! It does also help me to tap into some creativity I never thought was there! Plus, it is, as I have said before, a great exercise to do before meditating on me runes.....

The Rune of the Day....

Mannaz ; 20th Rune My Waffles....
" A rune of cooperation, humanity and interdependence. 'No man is an island' or so the saying goes! And Mannaz offers us this saying. Work together and we can move mountains. Love, live and laugh in cooperation.
Alone we stand divided, isolated and left to 'fight' whatever it is, alone. If we multiply 1 by 2 and get 2, then 2 by 2 and so forth and see all these numbers as people joining together for the common good for ALL then we can succeed as humanity. Hippy dippy, all you need is love stuff, maybe, but I sure do dig Mannaz!"


The Official Waffles....
So I was kind of surprised when I checked on the 'official' meaning denoted by Mannaz in that I was quite accurate in my waffles! So, far this exercise has shown me how close I am to understanding the general meaning of a rune which is, I am sure, the beginning! So here we go;
Mannaz holds the elements and concepts of;

• Humanity as a whole


• Companionship


• Assistance from others


• Intelligence


• People


• Cooperation


• Organisation


• Empathy


• Tolerance


• Compassion
  
• The Divine in the human
  

So I am quite enamoured of Mannaz. I mean I do like my isolation at times, and have always hated crowds, but I think the idea of love, companionship, empathy and helping your fellow human is vital! I am often of the utopic mind of peace, love, and tolerance conquers all and the ole phrase 'why can't we just be nice to one another' seems such an easy thing to say but seems very difficult in todays society....
Anyway I shant go on with me idealistic ramblings! Till next time....

Put a little Mannaz in yer soul!
Blessings
xx

P.s Can anyone tell me why blogger is so insistant on changing my spaces when I go to preview? Even when I have saved before hand! It sets it out nothing like I have and when I come to post the bloomin thing I am left with gaps all oo-er the place and spaces I never included...phew...now I have to reset it all....!

Uruz

http://www.antiqueletters.com/SW38RunesPt2.html

The stream of consciousness..
So another stream of consciousness and i continue each day to do this. Again I wrote just anything that came to mind before focusing on the runes and, the other day, this is what ...er..came to mind!

A girl and her dog: Emily Slapin at http://emilyslapinart.blogspot.com

Away, Away the black fly in the morning,
itchy nose, itchy feet full of yawning.
Chasms and cracks, hear the black quack.
Does he breath, does he scream and shout, does he cry?
Lost in the woods, a young girl cries.
Cries for her dog who has run off and cries as she hears no barking.
Where did he go? The little Russell.
Someone must have found him, curled up sleeping in
a hollowed out tree. Found him, picked him up and took him home
for tea.

So, do the flies buzz around and look for food underground?
Yes, and they climb up higher and higher,
Looking for Rover and the little girl and a spider.
Maybe they are all curled up, asleep in the warmth of a
hollowed out Oak tree trunk,
waiting for the light to come and give Joy....

Hmm there you go! So come on, analyse me! Blimey...

The Rune of the day....
So, onto more 'serious' business. The rune I went on to choose that day and my ramblings thus..

URUZ the second Rune.
My ramblings....
Well, a rune of great power is Uruz, a rune that charges forth like wild oxen. Imagine the strength and vitality of a herd of wild buffalo racing across the open Savannah. Imagine the unseen energy and force behind such power. Driving on and on, reaching its' destiny. That may be Uruz. Imagine a creative, untamed force. The strength to force forward, a creative burst of imagination that carries us on. One that inspires and carries the artist. Imagine R sat with his guitar, playing instinctively, the creative, untamed force flowing through, bringing forth music from an unknown source. That is Uruz, I thinks!

So, now the 'official' meaning...
A rune of health and vitality that holds untamed forces. The elements it holds and inspires including;

* Strength
* Healing
* Courage
* Tenacity
* Strong emotions
* Untamed potential
* Create and make things happen
* Overcoming obstacles
* Natural forces
* Allow changes and go with the flow of Uruz!

So with that in mind I am moving on to try and tap into Uruz and get some of this untamed potential! Find wherefore art it lurks!
Blessings
:)

A Rune a day...

www.antiqueletters.com/SW40RunesPt4.html

Keeps the bad vibes away! Well, that's what I try and think!
So, here goes, my first post of many I hope. I did want to keep it as a 'Rune Only' blog but, knowing me and knowing how hard I find it to stay on track, I think this will not be adhered to!

Anyway, with that in mind I blog on, starting of on the right foot, trying to get back into me Runes, trying to stir a bit of creativity in this melting pot of a brain of mine and ultimately trying to find some focus and generate a little bit of fun along the way! Yes, Runes should be taken seriously and yes, there is a responsibility when interpreting the Runes and how they can give you clarity, focus and a deep sense of meaning. BUT I am also not one for getting all 'Ah, this is the way you should do it otherwise you aren't truly a Rune master' - I have always been one that hated exclusivity, everyone should feel welcomed, everyone who is interested in Runes (or anything for that matter!) should feel inspired and feel that they DO have the ability to tap into this power. I mean if I, a common garden fairy, who wears odd socks and woolly hats, from the cultural wastelands of the North West can do this and ENJOY it, so can you!

A stream of Consciousness...
So, I am trying to learn my OWN interpretations of the Runes and to kick start this I made a promise to myself to start the day with writing a stream of consciousness - the first thing that comes to mind without actually thinking about it. Note easy for me, unless it has a structure or framework I sometimes have great difficulty! But I tried! And it worked, straight after doing this I did my Rune a Day and then wrote a 'stream of consciousness' about this BEFORE reading the 'official ' meaning.. So here goes, I bare my soul (and terrible writings) to you all (or maybe to you both reading..or none of you!)... My stream of consciousness before rune related tinkerings..

Self reflective, reflexive clear water,
Cat on the mat, green eyes clear,
Spoon fed salmon and peas, wanting more,
But not the rabbit...

Winter's coat comes and goes,

Waxes wanes and spreads to seed.

The cold night, dark light,

Bells that tinkle and an earthy sight.

Hmmm so there yer go, have a go yourself and see what you come up with. The only rule is...don't think about what you are writing, just write, even if you think it's nonsense something may come out of it!

The Rune of The Day...An alternative approach and meaning..

So, with that in mind I delved in and chose a Rune for the day after my er, creative exercise. The rune I chose was...
Eihwaz (pronounced Eyewaz) The 13th Rune.

Now as tempting as it was to check my books and see what the 'experts' say, I decided, time had gone on long enough and I had done enough now to try and decide for myself, see what I remembered and what I thought the Rune meant to me. So, with my stream of consciousness mind still in full flow (scary I know!) I just went with it. The waffle I came out with was thus.....

" A rune to overcome odds, to find a warrior within, to defend bad vibes and survive attacks. To defeat those bloody gremlins that nip at your ankles until your feet fall off, a rune of hope and protection of strength to overcome these things and more. A rune that says 'Fuck it!*, I am going to trample over these bloody barriers, knock them out of the way and climb that bloody hill covered in ice, get to the top and say "There yer go yer bastard* , I, we did it!!' Thanks Eiwaz."
* Sorry for the language, that's just how I wrote it at the time..I must have forgotten to take of the 'rant mode' when the stream began to flow....

So, for those those that know the 'true' meaning of Eiwaz and are rolling your eyes at me (and I don't blame you!), please bare in mind this was a stream of consciousness. For those not aware, meanings giving to the Rune include;

The Yew Tree (Yggdrasil - The World Tree)
The Divine
Magic
Protection from attack
Defense (Representative of The Archer and the bow)
Foresight
Perseverance
Endurance
Achievable goals

So with that in mind, and my little stream of ranting, I suppose I wasn't that far away. And if anything to come out of this, I have at least now started to remember and recognise the Rune more effectively when casting! So I do think I shall try and do this exercise each day, think for myself before actually consulting the books and see what turns up!
Until next time may you be blessed with Eiwaz and it's powers!!!!

Blessings!
Lilly-Wren...

xx