Taexalia
wild.life
Mester Assipattle and Mester Stoor Worm
It is said that once there was a great Sea Serpent who came down through time named The Stoor Worm. The Stoor Worm was so enormous that one woman could spend a lifetime travelling without seeing all of its great body. Many tales abound, or have been lost or forgotten but the tale that is spoken most often is the tale of Mester Assipattle and Mester Stoor Worm. The great Mester Stoor Worm held the people under a spell as it ... read more
Winter Aconite Spittle of Cerberus
Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) emerges soon after the Snowdrop. Although not a true aconite, it is closely related to them, being also a member of the Buttercup family. As with true aconites, all parts of the plant are poisonous, however ingestion would mean enduring a bitter taste sensation. Aconites are sometimes referred to as Wolfsbane ~ plants that were said to repel werewolves and also said to cure lycanthropy, the cause of the shapeshifting condition. It is said that these ... read more
Dancing With Bluebeards and Red Shoes
"While the cause of much human suffering can be traced to negligent fostering, there is also within the psyche naturally an innate contra naturam aspect, an "against nature" force. The contra naturam aspect opposes the positive: it is against development, against harmony, and against the wild. It is a derisive and murderous antagonist that is born into us, and even with the best parental nurture the intruder's sole assignment is to attempt to turn all crossroads into closed ... read more
It is all in the timing
Some of you may know that we replaced our entire central heating system in the early months of 2007. What none of you will know is that after I had pulled up all those nails and lifted the hardboard that lies over the floorboards (definitely not the most bizarre flooring combination in this block I can assure you!), and after the lovely men had performed noisily for an entire week... a decision was made that the hardboards would henceforth be attached to the floorboards with screws instead of ... read more
Pink in Places
I was standing in the bath, post shower catching the drip with a towel, as you do, when the white oval bathmat on the floor caught my eye. It's a really insignificant bathmat usually, but on Sunday it appeared to have acquired a strange pink footprint pattern.I was bit puzzled as I hadn't noticed it before and I looked at my feet, and the bath, to see if I had somehow walked through a tin of paint. As you do. Nothing. I finished drying off and stood in the hall getting dressed, still ... read more
What Is That Mark On The Carpet?
I decided to have a late afternoon shower, as those of us who are self-employed can choose to do. So I did the whole naked and soap thing and once I was nice and shiny I pushed the shower curtain back and as I reached for the towel to wrap my hair, I caught sight of a small brown mark on the floor. It was about an inch in diameter. I thought "What is that, I'm sure that wasn't there before..." (it should be noted that I do not wear my glasses in the shower). As I wrapped my hair in a towel, ... read more
A Sixx And Lee Sandwich Will Do Nicely, Thank You.
Mötley Crüe kindly organised a gig at the Manchester Apollo on the 12th. Perfect timing as a bonus detour on our way to Denmark, and a perfect gig too. We were warmed up by Papa Roach who pounded from start to finish and got my booty shooglin.. They left us wound up for more and after a (too long) interval I caught a movement offstage and spotted Mick making his way through a door - within seconds the edgy mood of the impatient audience erupted into a frenzy as the band finally blessed us ... read more
Of Mouse and Woman
So I'm sitting writing my Morning Pages in my bed and two or three times I think I see movement out of the corner of my eye. Every time I look across to the doorway there's nothing there, but I say good morning to the ghost cat :) Something catches my eye again and as I look up a small dark beastie looks back then darts away up the hall!! I jump out of bed and run after it but there's nothing there. I send Allan a text "there's a moose loose aboot this hoose" and he replies ... read more
Diving In
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="386" caption="Diving In"][/caption] When I was in primary school two things happened that I am remembering today... Actually I'm not sure about the first one because I might even have been in nursery still... I painted a train and I don't remember all of the details, perhaps I should phone my Mum and prod her memory, but my painting somehow got entered into a competition. I don't remember painting the actual train but I remember we had to find our ... read more
Feeling Alive Again
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="*sigh*"][/caption] It's been a down and up week for me... Last Friday I got my annual migraine as I was travelling to the storytelling workshop "Animal Magic". Despite the fact I couldn't see, I managed to get some pills from a pharmacist and take them before the pain set in - I was absolutely NOT going to miss the workshop. My vision cleared soon enough and although I felt a little spacey, I was able to participate and I got a lot ... read more
Storytelling Workshop
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Liminal Spaces"][/caption] Saturday definitely goes down in my story as a pivotal day. I'm still reeling from the whole thing - it was awesome in so many ways and I was awesome in so many ways that I think I'm still floating Way Up There... Although the floaty stuff came after the workshop as I managed to remain as present as I needed to be throughout.. David Campbell is a genius! He crafted a workshop that gently initiated people ... read more
Out of the Comfort Zone
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Hermit Crab ~ Coming Out Of My Shell"][/caption]
Coming out of my shell
Random conversations can lead you to the most interesting places... Yesterday a friend posted on a forum asking about Rumpelstiltskin - she had come across a little figurine that looked like him and wanted some advice. It sent me off on a lovely tangent recalling the story and in the end she concluded that the little figure must ... read moreStoryteller
This is the first SoulCollage card that I made. It was made intuitively and I took a little while to realise what it meant, although I find that it means different things from time to time... [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Storyteller SoulCollage Card"][/caption] Who are you?
I am the one who hears the stories of women. I am the one who listens to the ancient stones, to the myths and to herstory. I am the one who spins words and ... read more