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Today I am going to review a book written by a friend. The title of the book is An Ogham Wood by Cliff Seruntine. In a nutshell, the book is a wonderful faery tale for adults and young adults. On a deeper level, An Ogham Wood is a Celtic tale of a man who finds himself and finds healing in the last place he ever expected to find it. He sails to an island possessing mysteries, magic, myths, lore, magical creatures, history, and legend. It has something for everyone.

Swyen deSauld is emotionally wrecked over the loss of his wife Eilwen. He finds himself on the shores after a storm at the isle of Man-by-the-Sea. There, he embarks on a quest to find the true story of his wife Eilwen and on a journey of self-discovery. The story was engrossing and engaging throughout. It held my interest from the first page to the last typed word. I had to know if he would succeed. All through the book are wonderful vivid imagery, poetic descriptions of the faeries, the land, even a kitchen is described carefully in enough detail to allow a reader to feel they are right there in the room with a roaring fire and a pot of stew on the woodstove. The pacing is a little slow. Cliff tells the story slowly, allowing the reader to experience the story fully. The entire story seems woven with magic. This makes it a true gift to literature. It is a rare story because of its genre and its telling. This makes it unique. It is its’ uniqueness that makes it stand out.

The descriptions were lush and vivid. I saw the faeryish beauty of the island. I felt like I was truly there, beside Sweyn as he struggles through the mysteries of the island as dense as the trees and the myths of the fae. Cliff guides the reader to Sweyn’s self-discovery to his acceptance as Laird of the Island. The process of change that the character goes through is so satisfying by the end of the novel. You root for him.

While some people may be unfamiliar with Cliff’s use of the fae – or faeries, those with the Sight, which Sweyn achieves before the end of the novel- enabling him to accept his place on the island, the readers can still enjoy the story. As I mentioned above, there is something for everyone. For those who can relate, they will enjoy the novel.

Cliff writes with authority on the world of the fae, myths, magic, mystery, lore and legend. His command of knowledge is evident in the language the characters speak and when Sweyn travels through the magic forest. He makes the world believable. That can help a reader to understand the story and see it. The cover art is beautiful. It made me want to escape the mundane world and join the characters in the book.

An Ogham Wood is available at local bookstores and on Amazon. I highly recommend everyone read this book!!!
http://www.amazon.com/An-Ogham-Wood-Cliff-Seruntine/dp/1905297459/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337716407&sr=1-1

Today I am going to talk about writing and getting published. It is blooming spring here. My garden grows more beautiful each day, more like each passing minute. Trees are festooned with blossoms.

Recently I attended a workshop at a writer’s organization. For discretion’s sake, I won’t say where or who here. The workshop went well. However, one thing stood out to me as shocking-and unnecessary.

A person participating in the workshop mentioned, albeit innocently, that a writer starting out in her career trying to get published should hire an editor. This is false. If a hopeful writer hires an editor to clean text for the person, that writer will never gain the skills or enough of an objective perspective to their own writing. It costs a lot of money to pay an editor. A writer must learn the knack themselves. Knowing how to clean text comes with practice. Skill is developed over time. I have had more than twenty magazine articles published and more upcoming, and I have never had an editor unless it was the editor of the magazine, change the text for me. That taught me how to edit my writing. Now I know what you’re thinking, a novel is a different story, no pun intended. You still have to learn to do the editing yourself. You are the one who knows your story. I know it is hard to sit and edit. I am experiencing that as I type! Yet an editor may sense you have enough confidence in your abilities to not need to rely on an outside editor and that does matter!

One way to gain confidence is to try to write smaller pieces at first then try a novel or novella, once you feel comfortable with it. I confess that I had to relearn how to write novels when I began writing my second paranormal novel. It was years since I wrote my vampire novel. Frustrating, oh yes. I hate not knowing something. It is my peculiar human nature. I don’t regret the amount of information I gleaned in the last nine months. If I feel I absolutely can’t work on it, I try a different genre-or this post! Poems, diary entries are practice. Practice. Eventually like learning to skate or ride a bike, it becomes easier.

There seems to be a criticism or a attitude that lurks under the surface toward unpublished writers. I really hate it. Once a writer is published, that writer seems elevated to an elite pedestal and the unpublished writers’ chins are jerked upwards to honor these new gods. I don’t buy it. It’s a farce. They struggled too, and while perhaps that attitude wont’ be changing, it doesn’t have to be liked.

Do not feel awkward or bad for not having a novel published or like you have to compare to Tolstoy. I know that too is easier said than done, but try. J.K Rowling and Stephen King have their own voices, their own styles. You have your own voice, your own style. That should be something to be proud of. Keep trying. Let your words grow like the flowers in the gardens blooming everywhere. Blessings!!

I apologize for the late posting. I know you are anxiously awaiting Samhain, as am I. I do not have much decorating to do. That is because, truth be told, my apartment looks like Halloween all year. Ha ha ha. I have my witch dolls, and everything else set up in full view all year.

Tomorrow I plan to make more pumpkin soup and maybe some pumpkin bread. I have been busy with the shower wall repairs, and have completed writing the plot for a new novel I am working on that has really inspired me. I’ve been on long walks on the trail where I can enjoy the last lingering notes of summer mesh with the striking colors of fall. Trees are painted in hues of gold, red and other fiery colors.

I hope you are all finding ways to prepare for Samhain. A friend of mine mentioned a dumb supper. I look forward to performing it and I can think of one or two people I would like to honor this Samhain. The first that comes to mind is my dear grandfather. Samhain is usually on October 31. However, the planets may have the final say this year. Samhain begins when the sun reaches 15% Scorpio on November 7. That is a cross quarter day. The moon will be in Aries. moon will be in Capricorn on Monday, October 31. We have plenty of time to prepare and to look forward to till then!

I have had my kitty for a year now. She is a Samhain kitty though her birthday is in January. I adopted her at Samhain. She is a wonderful animal familiar.

So get out your cauldrons, pumpkins to carve and seeds to roast. I wish you all a wonderful Samhain this year! Remember to honor your ancestors and to have lots of fun.

I have noticed the skies in October are the bluest of all year. Leaves are colorfully sprinkling over the lawns and fields and pumpkins are glowing ripe orange. My garden is slowly going to sleep for the long cold winter ahead. The leaves, buds and petals are fading. I have taken the decorations and put them aside till next spring. My garden is still lovely. The worn rocks, dark soil and vermillion green leaves are striking in their beauty.

October 11 is the time of the Full Moon, the Blood Moon. This full moon arrives before Samhain and it is the moon of change and of falling leaves. The correspondences are dark colors such as blues, purples, and black. The gemstones are obsidian, amethyst and tourmaline. The gods Herne, Apollo, Cernunnos and Mercury will appreciate being honored this Samhain. The herbs to use in your rituals are apples, pomegranates, pumpkins, mint, sweet annie, catnip and pennyroyal. The element of air also corresponds with the Blood Moon.

The veil is at its thinnest at this time of year. Use this time for spiritual growth and to practice your divination. You can also try to contact a deceased ancestor if you seek guidance in life. The Full Moon is known among the Natives as Hunter’s Moon because the deer would be fat and the foxes would be easy to spot from the fields that were cleared.

The 28th of Friday is the beginning of the Celtic Tree Month of Reed. Reflect on what you have accomplished during the year since last Samhain and what worked in your life. Begin the new Celtic year on the right foot. Donate unwanted items to charity and take the time to fix, repair things and clean so it is fresh after Samhain. Give your altar and tools a heavy duty cleaning to remove stale chi.

Make a mugwort infusion and rinse your altar tools in it. Scrub down your altar with the mugwort infusion. Mugwort or yarrow are cleansing and are associated with magick.

Poetry can surprise us. When we listen to our subconscious, we truly express ourselves and are more creative. This poem I wrote captures a way I have been feeling lately and I am sharing it with you, dear readers. Blessed Be.

Prisoner

My craving crawls up the walls like a lizard,
races like mice at night. I
long to feel your arms around me.

You are as remote as the flaming sun.
I scale a wall of obsidian to reach the other side.
Hot asphalt scalds my palms.

Your name is Love. I heard it
whispered on the wind. I
clench teeth on the taste of grit in my cup.

On the walls of the cell, I scratch how many
days I’ve been here;
hieroglyphic etches in the sand.

Echoes lost in the dust. I count
the lizards’ footsteps
on the erratic sandy trail.

Hard to believe how time has flown by. It is as if it was on the wings of faeries flying over flower buds, it passed so fast. Hurricane Irene left barely a scratch on Halifax. My garden looked undamaged the next day. I hope it was the same for you out there too.

I bought myself a good gardening shovel, the kind that lets you dig deep into the soil of Mother Earth. I finally achieved what I had been itching to do all summer but needed a good gardening shovel to do it with. I feel empowered owning my own good quality gardening tools. Having the tools makes a huge difference. The gardening work I did involved moving plants to new spots and mixing up the soil and things like that.

I added chocolate mint to my garden family of herbs. It smells divine. As I was replanting my shrub and columbine plants, I inhaled the perfume of the soil, felt the energy of the garden, felt the sun beat down on my back and when I watered the garden in the evening, and stood back to admire my hard work, I appreciated the beautiful sight before me. A bee visited my Echinacea and many moquitoes bit me, loving the free meals. Note to self: next time, be properly dressed when gardening to avoid bites.

Today I broke down and bought more herb plants. It has not sunk in yet that plant roots need room to grow and that I don’t have to cover every inch of soil with an herb. Yet I persist. I am restraining myself to not cover all the soil, but it takes real self control. It is tempting to do. Well to be fair, there was about three feet of space that needed to be filled. Right. Halifax Seed has pots of herbs on discount as the season is drawing to a close. I will miss my garden in the winter, in its dormant resting season. I know my garden needs the rest and the roots need to, well, root. Staring at five months of snow is hard. In the spring, tender shoots will emerge and the amazing, awe-inspiring, miraculous cycle of life will begin anew. This year, I plan to put bulbs for spring in the soil.

The leaves are turning from a verdant green to golds and fierce reds. Students are packing for school and collecting school supplies. The next turn in the Wheel of the Year is Mabon. Mabon is a magickal time of year. It precedes Samhain and I like to think of Mabon as leading us up to the stronger energies of Samhain. Enjoy the season!

I recently bought a book called Wandlore: The Art of Crafting the ultimate Tool by Algerian Gwydion MacLir. I have not finished reading it but I am so glad that I bought this book. It tells in painstaking thorough detail how to make a wand that would rival Harry Potter or make him jealous.

There are photos in color and in black and white in the book. The author is a writer and has made over 200 wands. He is a Druid Companion of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, and is a 32nd degree FreeMason. He served as Chief Druid of Darach Growe (OBOD) in Minneapolis, Minnesota and as a Professor of Wizardry. It doesn’t get much better than that. He has combined his knowledge and experience to write a wonderful book of magic and wands and has a keen insight and respect for nature.

I have given it lots of thought and arrived at this conclusion. I am endeavoring to make a wand hopefully with the same talent, skill and intent as his. I want to use oak wood for the reason that it is solid and strong and therefore long lasting. Oak is a faery wood and the Druids revered oak trees. I always loved oak trees for their leaves and seeds. I want to collect the wood for the wand from an oak tree in Pleasant Bay because I know the energy of the ancient woods there. I plan to purchase my supplies from Lee Valley Tools and they have decent prices on their basic woodcarving tools. This project will demand time and patience.

I also want to add crystals to the wand. At the tip of the wand (pommel), I want to add a tiger’s eye crystal. The Siberian Tiger is my animal totem. At the lower point of the wand, I will add a smoky quartz crystal. Smoky quartz is protective and grounding. I will carve runes, leaves and polish it with beeswax and paint the wand in a way to display the natural beauty of the wood but I want a dark brownish stain. I know it will look beautiful. I can’t wait to get started. Of course, this means I actually have to travel 450 kilometers to get to Pleasant Bay. But like all things in life that demand such artistry, anything worth doing is worth doing well.

Blame it on the faeries. Today I put a day’s work-unintentionally, into my Dark Faerie Garden. I have dubbed that name on my garden because of the amount of shade it gets, growing at the foot of a shed. I was undaunted by the amount of shade and my garden was too. I felt a tug as I returned from my walk and googled plants to grow in my garden. Like a good gardener, I put in the work on the soil first before planting.

I cleaned out a corner of my garden where it gets the most sunlight. I worked the soil and added fertilizer and bone meal and dug that in. I thoroughly watered the soil and dug out a large rock-used as an edging, of course. I tore out the grass roots and added some dry chamomile and corn husks for compost. I was left with well turned, damp, composted and fertilized soil. I bought a lovely English Lavender, “Munstead” variety at Halifax Seed and went home. I also moved my spearmint which was choking my lady’s mantle, propogated the lemon balm, and moved my bleeding heart to the spot. The bleeding heart did not blossom this year. It was growing in the darkest corner of my garden. See why I call it the dark faerie garden? I have chives growing there too.

I like the look of herbs growing and draping over the rocks. In the spring, when the plants emerge from the melting snow, it will look lovely. By then, the herbs will have stored their energies over the winter and benefitted from the nutrients I just put in the soil. Bone meal is a long lasting fertilizer.

The picture above I took after all that hard work. I love how it looks-truly faeryish and magickal. It feels good to work with the earth. I harvested my chives on the other side of my garden and they grew right back. Many Lammas blessings!!

Merry Lughnasadh everyone!! I hope you all have a wonderful day today and for the rest of the Sabbat.