As I type this one of my creepier eight-legged familiars keeps edging closer and closer towards me… as long as they don’t jump on me all should be well and this post finished. This past weekend I went camping deep in the forest with chatty ravens, feather-dropping barn owls, a pair of mouse-hunting eagles, and a very large and loud pack of coyotes. Oh, and there were plenty of witches there as well passing bottles of homemade mead around the campfire of fragrant cedar logs.
The massive fir tree near the fire was oozing golden sticky resin which I collected and put on log in the fire so it melted and smoked to release its scent. Talk about fresh incense! I had lots of time to carve sitting under a canopy of trees in the sunlight. I finished a wand as much as I could with just my knife and some sandpaper and then started on another. I have a bunch of things to make for friends before I can get back to carving for the botanica.
I also got to talking with one of the lovely witches about my feather collection and she graciously gifted me with goodly amount of blue heron feathers for my crafting. They are large and lovely and soft and will make a beautiful smudge fan. My sweetie also found a robin’s egg shell in the woods which may end up inside another familiar vessel. I found a massive felled hazel branch already split into two staff-sized lengths which I of course took home. What a beautiful relaxing weekend of carving mixed with rituals of drumming, chanting, a tambourine and a flute — just lovely.
Here she is now, my eight-legged friend half a foot away from my computer when she started off on the other side of the room… she’s now throwing herself off the shelf and then dangling in the air from a thread like a bungie jumper over and over – it looks kinda fun.
Hey thanks for adding a post about your trip…
Im so jealous, of your land, and your friends..
Here I only can find some fluffy wiccans that only wants to make their cristals rituals in their homes.. So I wonder how would be to be in a forest with a bunch of crazy witches drumming wow.. to much imagination for me..
What a beautiful place on this earth to be blessed to live near and what beautiful inspired work you do too!
I’m keen on feathers too and was thrilled to acquire a willow wand with barn owl feathers a few weeks ago!
Also read recently of an artist from Wales who paints art on swan feathers. He apparently got the idea from the Maori when he visited New Zealand a few years ago and it blossomed from there.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1164414/The-artist-feather-light-touch-paints-discarded-swan-plumes.html
I also had found prior to that a woodland style wedding that used feathers for place settings with writing painted or stamped on.
http://flowerwildevents.blogspot.com/2010/05/once-wed-shoot-with-duet-weddings.html
Close up of feather detail~
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JnAlheb1tjQ/S_LU6Qz9m1I/AAAAAAAABZU/yCMwnWCIg18/s1600/009525-R01-008.Jpg
The wheels began to turn in my head for practical witchly applications utilizing magical feather art…
Sounds like a beautiful weekend. Well after reading your post I felt like I was there. I know that campground so well and could imagine the people and drumming. I miss hanging out with the gang. Glad you had an awesome time.
Looks like a wonderful time! There is nothing better than fresh burning wood’s smell, is there?
Ahhh, sounds simply lovely. As much as I love my woods here, your woods look so darn -green- and far less apt to bombard you with 100+F days.