Jack frost has lain his winter carpet over the land.
The trees skeleton like limbs silhouetted against the cold leaden sky.
I see a glint of colour in the holly tree.
As robin red breast calls to say hello and blue tits flutter by.
Offering brightly coloured inspiration for new life that is to come.
First green shoots trying to push through the frosted hard earth.
Dormant plants showing the first buds of new life.
Waiting for the young sun god to mature.
Waiting for the land to be bathed in the warmth of regeneration,
Waiting for Imbolcs maiden goddess.
Stormwatch - January 2009.
Onset of Spring
Dark veil Lifting,
Darkness and light in equilibrium.
Winters Gloom gives way to springs burst of colour
Flowers burst forth from the barren landscape
new buds on trees, new life awakens, birds nesting, flowers blooming
From the grey gloom of winters past comes the inspiration of new life Hail the earth goddess,
who in her fertile new beginnings brings us new hope for the future.
Stormwatch - March 2009.
Beltane
Fertile maiden goddess,
bringing life throughout the land,
tress sprouting shoots of green,
flowers blooming, birds nesting,
new life abound across the land,
The ripening sun gives us renewed light and warms the earth with his maturing strength,
The May queen prances across the land, dancing a merry dance pursued by the mighty oak king at his fertile peak.
Birds sing out in celebration at their union,
natures chorus filling the air giving us hope for the future,
Let us remember those that have gone before us,
Let us bring joy to those here now and let us bring inspiration to those that are to come.
Hail the maiden goddess who gives us natures beauty this Beltane and throughout the seasons to come.
Stormwatch - April 2009.
To Summer
Sun shining brightly
Birds hopping sprightly
Singing their happy song
The green land blossoms
In the heat of the summer sun
Tall trees majestic in their leafy splendor
Looking down over their lordly realm
As the holly king returns to take his crown
People in green parks are turning brown
Omnipotent sun giving energy all over the land
Strolling minstrels, a bardic band.
Children laughing on the beach in watery fun.
Hail to the sun as we celebrate and enjoy.
Stormwatch - May 2009.
Elfed's Time Is Here
The heat of Summer is waning fast,
Fallen leaves carpet the ground,
As the vibrant green of Summer gives way to the golden hues of Autumn.
Acorns of Oak, nuts of Hazel, apples on the trees.
Sloes and Bramble berries in the hedgerow ready to feast on at last.
The sky is dotted with birds silhouetted migrating south.
We see creatures gathering in their life giving harvest,
and farmers reaping Ostara's hope
The light still receding, but now in balance.
It is the darkness which beckons
As energy falls in anticipation of winters rebirth
We enjoy the final days of sunlight warming,
but sense Jack Frost is calling.
We celebrate and thank Gaia our great mother
as she gives up her fruits to sustain us through the darkness,
We ask the greenman, our father to nurture the land through the cold months of Winter.
As we look to the return of the light once again.
And to the eternal cycle of natures rebirth.
The Summer has past, the reaping finished.
Elfed's time is here again
Stormwatch - August 2011.
Samhain's mystical Call - An Autumn Trilogy.
Sunlight Waning
Earths fertility is failing
Ripened crops in the fields
As Mother Earth gives up her fruits
We reap the harvest from springtime sown seeds
The darkness beckons peaking over lights shoulder
As natures orange cloak prepares to descend over the green trees
Celebrate in corns golden joy
The Sunlight fades as the darkness approaches, but today is in balance.
The harvest of fruits from the trees gives life to the creatures of the earth.
The final warmth of summer bathes the land
As the plants and trees start to withdraw into winters gloom
But first comes the Autumnal hues of red, brown, yellow and gold
proceeding winters stark grey cold
Birds fly south across the autumn skies
As the glint of summer sun disappears from our eyes
Now is the time to withdraw
As the nights draw in and temperature falls, we look forward to Samhain's mystical call.
The heat of Summer, but a distant memory.
As Father Sun descends the western sky.
Darkness now reigns as the light is retreating.
The veil between the worlds is thin.
This is the time to celebrate the turning of the years wheel,
to remember those that have passed.
This is the time to rejoice in Samhain's mystical call.
Dark windows dressed with orange bright Pumpkins.
Their twinkling light warning the spirits,
Enchanting the children with their flickering glow,
as through the trees the first chill winds blow
Let us raise our glasses to the ancestors and toast to the future,
Let us cast a spell for good health,
Praise the goddess, the mother, the crone.
As we drink our mead and feast on earths harvest
It is the time to embrace Samhain's Mystical call.
Stormwatch - Autumn 2009.
October
September wanes into the distance,
The waxing darkness of October is here.
Trees give up their lush green leaves,
To make way for orange, red and russet hues.
Migrating birds signal the passing year.
The harvest is done, the warmth is over.
We give thanks to what has been and what is to come.
Fallen leaves spin around the ground to caress our feet.
With the decay comes new life as we remember those who have passed.
The turning of the year has come.
Hail Samhain as we celebrate with orange bright pumpkins.
Dark ale warming our spirits as the veil between the worlds is thin.
Come October spirits and walk among us,
Before the Oak king returns in the depth of winters gloom.
Stormwatch - October 2015.
The Shortest Day
The day is short, the night is long,
Darkness rules, as the Oak king returns to take up his reign o'er the earth.
Yule logs alight, Mistletoe is cut from sombre tree bough.
Winters white, cleansing the land in anticipation of returning life.
Wine is mulled and Chestnuts roasted while Mead is quaffed,
Celebrating the rebirth of light.
This Winter Solstice morn.
People scurrying in commercial haste,
Plastic, electric, tons of waste.
Shiny gifts under pointy tree from white bearded uncle.
Homes decorated, twinkling lights, a glittery grotto.
Celebrating with family and friends.
Fires burn in homely hearth, crackling orange glow,
The woodsmoke wafting around the frosted rooftops.
Robin red breast in prickly Holly bush,
blown by Winters chill wind.
Animals foraging food on snow covered land.
Jack in the green takes the hand of the Goddess
Preparing for the warm days to come.
Remember the reason, rejoice in the season.
This Winter Solstice night.
Stormwatch - 28/11/2009 Amended 04/12/2019.
Dawn Chorus
As the orange glow of streetlights fade.
Tree tops and hedge spring to life.
The birds sing out in anticipation at the dawn of the new day.
The shrill whistles and muted warbling wash over you.
Natures choir from leafy stage.
Screaming feathered arias from tree on high, whispered calls from inside bush.
Heard but not seen, you stand in wonder at this aural delight.
The birdsong signalling the sun it is time to rise.
A distant drone of human transport telling the creatures of the night it is time for bed.
Morning mist rising ethereal from the grassy carpet caressing the tree trunks.
The sun has arisen woken by winged alarm.
Another new day has dawned in natures never ending cycle.
Stormwatch 13/05/2010.
Spring Beckons
The time of Spring beckons, the fertile maiden brings forth.
With the promise of new trees, plants and creatures.
From the Winter of decay, all will return from the Earth and the cycle will continue and with it comes inspiration.
Bursts of colour sprout from the barren grey land, Snow drops virginal white, crocus purple, orange with Daffodils yellow
burst from the frozen earth,
In natures never ending cycle, not to be affected by the worlds golden leaders,
Not swayed by the eternal struggle of monetary balance or political agendas,
Your celebrity life has no direction,
Your currency has no sway on natures struggle,
The ebb and flow controlled by Sun and moon.
Rejoice in the land and the great mothers energy as new life beckons,
Winters cold grey gives way to Summers light and warmth,
as the Earth blossoms anew with the green new life.
Stormwatch 24/02/2017.
The Greenman
Many names has He Dyonisis, Pan and Osiris being just a few,
But There is a name that echoes in my heart
That being Green Man
My father, Nature
But all people see of Him is a stony mask slightly macabre
They never visit Him in his home.
In the wilds of nature
There to find Him
All leafy green
A vibrant figure
Playful, Mischevious,
The father of all the green things
that grow at his behest.
So leave the cathedrals lofty heights
you will not find him there
return to the wild wood
For if you are very quiet as you go
you may catch a glimpse of my father
The Green man.
Pangurban 2006
Ostara
Welcome Oh Ostara
Goddess of balance between night and day
But also between male and female, inner and outer
Balance is precarious for us
So please help us to keep it intact.
Welcome Oh Ostara
Your fertile promises are dear to our hearts
As the days are getting warmer
And the Earth shows evidence of your work.
Avid keeper of moon cycles
Soft and warm like the hare that you are
Arrayed in many bright colours
Full of promise and new life
Like an egg waiting to hatch!
So let us welcome you Oh Ostara
Ladden with spring flowers
And holding 3 symbolic branches from the tree mothers
1 of Birch for new starts and rebirth
1 of Ash for cosmic understanding
And 1 of Alder source of magical wisom.
We present these to you in your honour
With our hearts full of joy and hope for the future.
Ivy Moon
Imbolc ... we wait.
She is cloaked in winter, her breath is chilled
Frost still settles upon her homeland
Lord of the sun, horned one of wild places
Breathing his love upon her skin.
Gently kissing away her discomfort.
Fraught with sweet frondescence,
calm before the storm of growth, her words yet to be spoken.
And so we wait in impetuous silence.
We wait with wanting, unseen eyes.
We wait for her to bring into existence, the essence of her immortal being.
Brigid your beauty is in its waiting and not knowing,
The potential in our spirit stirs for new beginnings,
thus across the lands and beneath all skies,
we wait and we wait with an honoured trust
Celtic Ivy - January 2017
Two Sparks
A robin flits amongst the snowdrops,
two sparks of life in a sleeping Earth.
So oft we wish for summer,
but there is beauty in every season.
Every knoll, bud and stem has a light,
shining throughout the wheel.
Spring shows the promise of new life,
bursting forth from the crisp, clean Earth.
A wintery blanket is gently lifted,
gifting the delicate flowers to the Sun.
Awakening energy is felt by all,
as the wheel turns anew.
Morwen - Feb 2013
Lammas Sacrifice.
Summer sun is waning and the first breeze of Autumn whispers through the trees.
Birds packing for migrating south, scurrying tiny harvest mice.
Barleycorn bends his weary head, his life too soon to sacrifice.
Fields of golden brown, spotted red poppies in memorial
As Lammas signals Johns time is near.
With the swathe of the sickle cut down dead in the harvesters merciless wake.
To feed the animals and brewed into ale to lighten your head
So as you take your fill look over the barren fields strewn with straw
Pause for a moment and thank John Barleycorn for his golden glory will return again next year.