If you are interested in keeping up with my poetic writings, please visit Within The Desert Beside the Forest. That is where I will be uploading my poetic ramblings from this day forward.
Writing
H e l l o S p r i n g
⇇ h e l l o 🌸 s p r i n g ⇉
They said that she would return, to bring the spring flowers and warm breezes – they told her she would soon see the sun overhead, and hear the songs of the bluebirds filling the air.
She exited the dank stairwell that led up from her Underworld, out into the sunlight that poured through the trees. She gripped the cool stone of the cave entrance, peering out to the path that led to her home, to her mother, to her family.
A wreath of Starflowers and Baby’s Breath adorned her soft auburn curls, and wildflowers grew from her arms as if her flesh were the richest soil. Hepatica, Violet, Marigold – they fell from her wrists to awaken the other wildflowers that lined the path.
The path was still covered with patches of white snow, but as she stepped from her hiding place, the snow began to melt away, feeding the soil, giving it life. The branches that were bare dropped tears of joy on her cheek, blossoms bursting forth from their winter beds.
She danced down the path, touching the tree limbs, sweeping her lithe fingers through the tall grass, bringing to life the rainbow of flowers that signalled her return. She ran through a field of golden stalks, leaving in her wake millions of tiny Fire Pink blooms.
Her return meant warmth and life – something she saw very little of in her Underworld. But she was home, above that dismal place, and she had brought the colors of Spring with her.
My Writing – Update
So, I’ve been trying out some new concepts for writing – namely, Prose Poetry. The definition of prose poetry is:
Prose poetry is poetry written in prose instead of using verse but preserving poeticqualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis and emotional effects.
I’ve been experimenting with this style and seeing what I can do with it, especially with my current writers block in my ongoing projects. I came up with an interesting piece, and even more concepts for future pieces. I don’t really know where this is going, it could just be a fleeting fancy of mine that dwindles out – much like the others have. *shrugs* Who knows.
I also have decided to rewrite some of the Bran and Bryn tales – specifically the Alphabet ones, seeing as they were originally much longer parts. They have become short pieces that make it easier to tell my children so that their attention is kept. Other than that, haven’t really been doing a lot recently with writing. I miss it, especially writing poetry. Hopefully this is not a passing interest and I keep on with the prose poetry.
Dear God in Heaven
These children are going to kill me. Maybe not literally, but already my right hand is hurting. Unfortunately, a lot of the stories provided in our curriculum are not engaging enough for these sweet little ones. Once I introduced Bran and Bryn, Sunstone and Moonstone have been uninterested in the other tales I’ve been telling. You know what that means, right?
I have to write more. And with no printer, and a current lack of funds at my disposal, I have to write it all by hand. With arthritis. Needless to say, I’ve only written about four pages… of the first chapter for form drawing… I’m going to die.
But, you wanna know something? First of all, I am really enjoying writing more (even if it isn’t my normal topics), and if it gets them engaged and willing to learn, what the hell?! I’ll do it. We are also going to follow a different type of Form Drawing block than the one provided (just for the Main Lessons, everything else will remain the same).
So, now we have The Alphabet, The Esbats, and Form Drawing as adventures for Bran and Bryn to go on. These little kids sure are busy bees!
Chronicles of the Eternal
Many years ago, I read Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice. This set me on the course of being an author. I had characters, setting, a story – but I never finished the first book of the series. Victoire has haunted me ever since, for 16 years, poking and prodding and trying to inspire me to finally finish her tale. I’ve started it many times, more times than I can count, but I never seem to stick with it for long.
Well, however unfortunate it is, I started it up again. I’m going for a different style, less methodical and routine, more free flowing. The parts are written in verse, at first, and then fixed up in prose format. It is what I would consider “poetic prose”. Thus the reason for no capitals, as you will see. Even the punctuation is not hard – everything about this writing project is soft.
I hope you will enjoy it. I will post a link shortly.
The Erenon Chronicles, Update
It has been a very long time since I updated anything on The Erenon Chronicles. No, unfortunately, I haven’t been writing it… But I am starting to get more inspiration again, which means I will likely be starting it up once again. My current inspiration has to do with my characters. I feel a total disconnect from them, so I thought about doing some Aesthetics for each one. I hope to have a biography of each character to go with the images, in the end (once they are all finished).
The Alphabet
So, we are going to be using the Earthschooling curriculum for first grade, and we are starting with the August lessons (the very beginning of the academic year, the month deals with Language Arts and getting into the rhythm of school). I like some of the stories offered in the curriculum, but some of the verses, and the delivery, are lacking. Because of this, I decided to give Bran and Bryn some more face time with the kids, and they will be going on a quest to obtain all 26 symbols, place them in a magical book, and keep Wisdom in the world. The finished product will be The Tales of Bran and Bryn: The Alphabet. The tale is inspired, highly, by The Wise Enchanter by Shelley Davidow. The letters themselves will still be introduced by the tales and in the order provided by the curriculum (at least if I like the stories), but they will be introduced in the context of Bran and Bryn’s quest.
Bran and Bryn’s first symbols will be A and E (AH and EH). The book will not be in alphabetical order, so in its final form it will not work for traditional school (however, I don’t doubt that the resourceful Waldorf homeschoolers out here in Blogging Land, will be able to modify and adjust the stories to fit their needs).
I just finished the Prologue and AH-The Vowel of Wonder, and am starting to work on EH-The Vowel of Balance. I will post the tales each week, with the artwork that goes along with it (both my feeble attempt at chalkboard drawings, Sunstone’s MLB, and whatever else we decided to draw, paint, or make).
I’ve also written some verses for the vowels (currently need to work on EE and OO) with suggestions for movement/eurythmy for each line.
As you can plainly tell, I am super excited about this. I am anxious about not being prepared, but I am so ready to start! I am going to introduce the vowels with a story starting on Monday (last week of January) – the story is provided with the curriculum, and is called The Golden Key-Rainbow Colors. I will read it to the kids while we drink our chamomile tea before bedtime. It is a really long story, so it will work for the entire week, and then on the first day of school, we will read the Prologue I wrote.
I will leave you all for now, I have to work on these tales!
Oh, as a side note, I got some wooden People from Hobby Lobby and painted them yesterday! I have the Math Gnomes done, and I even made one of Bran and one of Bryn! I will post some pictures once I have their capes and other accessories finished!
The Tales of Bran and Bryn: Esbats
Alright, so I know I posted about this last night – I wanted to expound upon the topic of these stories a bit, and where I want to go with the series.
The Tales of Bran and Bryn: Esbats is a series of short stories that follow the adventures of the siblings Bran and Bryn each Full Moon. I believe that next year, come January, I will begin writing short stories to go with the Sabbats as well (as Sunstone and Moonstone will be older and more solid in knowledge of the seasons and the Wheel of the Year). Though we plan on working through the Sabbats starting with Imbolc this year, I will be using tales found on the internet. For all my studies these last 15 years, I am still at a loss for Sabbat inspiration! I am going to try and outline some ideas for the Sabbat series before January comes again, try to get a feel for what it should entail and such.
Though deities do have a role to play in the Esbats series, they may not play a traditional role as we adults would view it. They guide the children on their quests, and offer materials that will help them in their spiritual growth. In Storm Moon, the children meet Brigid of the Well, and she gives them a clear crystal that will summon her if their need is dire (it wont work for simple problems or mundane tasks, more of a life or death situation). She also gives the children a task – to find her three sisters. I know that Brigid is a Solar Deity, a Fire Deity, but the Sun and Moon are linked and therefor her three sisters are Lunar Deities: Diana, Arianrhod, and Selene.
Why did I choose Deities from different pantheons? Because I believe in providing my children a well rounded spiritual education, and they need to know that all deities ARE equal. I am not against those who focus on a single pantheon, I did for many years (started with Greek, then Egyptian, then Celtic) but realized that it didn’t matter who I called on for specific work or that I mixed Hindu and Greek deities in a job spell – it all worked for me, nonetheless.
Back to Storm Moon. Bryn holds onto the clear crystal. Diana gives Bran an enchanted Arrow that will guide the pair to her at any time – really what it means is that it will guide them out of the path of danger, but it uses Diana’s energy so an arrow may appear to direct them away from the danger, or her Stag may appear. Arianrhod gives Bran an owl shaped Moonstone pendant that will help the siblings to be wise and to find the answers to even the toughest questions. Finally, Selene gives Bryn her torch in order to light their way through darkness – whether physical or otherwise.
I just want to say that though I used traditional deities, they may not appear in any of the tales as how you might see them. The reason for this is because I write about my experiences with them, however brief they may be, not traditional experiences.
I really do hope that everyone enjoys these tales, and if you decide to use them in your own practice, I sincerely hope that you are yours enjoy them as well!
The Tales of Bran and Bryn: Storm Moon
So, instead of waiting to reveal the tale of the Storm Moon, I have decided to post it early in case anyone else wants to use it. I am doing this with some serious faith in the blogging/reading community. Please understand that this story is mine, and it took time to write.
If you use this, please leave a comment on this post telling me how it worked. I would strongly prefer that you only repost a portion of the tale, and link back here so that your readers can get the full version.
If you repost without credit or claim this as your own tale, I will probably get incredibly pissed off, send some strong words, and perhaps do some retribution work – though the first two are not too severe, retribution work is nothing to take lightly. Again, I am trusting you to be respectful of me as an artist and a fellow Pagan.
A note on Age Range: Though my children are 4 and 6, I believe this tale is good for any and all ages, even adults!
The Tales of Bran and Bryn
So, I stated in my last post that we are homeschooling now. Well, we are starting in February, and the curriculum is a Waldorf one. This style of education is art centered, and very free in the academic department. It is wonderful, and with all the problems Sunstone has been having with traditional education, I truly believe that this is an appropriate educational method. I will talk about it more in a later post.
The Waldorf style allows for a lot of introduction into my faith, which is generally a Pagan faith. I am very eclectic, and though I am not particularly religious about my observances, I know that children benefit from having a faith. So, I’ve decided that Sunstone is old enough to start learning this path. We are going to start with basic Sabbat information – pretty much a story, a craft, and a meal will be our rituals. I am also going to get Sunstone and Moonstone into doing Full Moon rituals. They are going to be a bit more involved, but I will post our ritual once we perform the first one (for the Storm Moon in February).
For these rituals, I decided to write a story. I am going to write each story the month before, which means I just finished the story for February. I am of the mind of a Universal Pantheon, which means I draw deities from all over the world, and even mix deities in my rituals. I have never experienced anything negative from this, and I definitely do my research before hand.
These stories are called The Tales of Bran and Bryn, and are based on a brother and sister who go on adventures and meet Gods and Goddesses associated with the Moon and/or that particular Full Moon for that month. As Imbolc, or Brigid’s Day, is February 1st/2nd, this month they will be meeting Brigid who is in search of her sisters Diana, Arianrhod, and Selene – all of which are associated with the Moon.
I am going to sit down over the next few days and try to do some artwork to go along with the story, but I may just end up doing some little peg figures to represent the children and symbols for the deities. We shall see. I will post the story after the Full Moon ritual, with how it worked for the kids.
Lost in the woods 