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Holly of the Woods blog

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If you’re here, you’re a searcher who loves to explore life’s big questions. On this…

January 29, 2020

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Have you seen it? Have you seen a curling oak lea

Have you seen it?

Have you seen a curling oak leaf dance down from a high branch, making its one glorious ballet down to earth?

Have you, when quietly sitting, heard the whoosh of a blue tit’s wing?

Have you seen a butterfly creating a shadow on a sundrenched leaf as it passes overhead?

Have you felt the slightest rustle and known that a mistle thrush tosses dried leaves in the undergrowth nearby in search of its meal?

Have you felt the subtle currents of air moving through the wood, the gentle out-breath of trees?

Have you smelt the momentary fragrance of some unknown pollen as it passes you by on the breeze?

Have you seen it? Have you seen it yet?

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#summerinlondon #mindfulmoments #natureworship #tootingbeccommon #tooting #mindfulwalks #summerwalks #quietmoments #dailyreflections #liveinthemoment #liveinthenow #mindfulness #meditative #naturemedicine #naturemeditation

The May tree in flower, at dusk. Belated Beltane

The May tree in flower, at dusk.

Belated Beltane blessings! On May Day, I was celebrating at a gorgeous wedding, which is an altogether appropriate celebration for Beltane.

Beltane is a popular and traditional day for hand-fastings and weddings because it is the celebration of the hieros gamos, the Sacred Marriage between the sun god and earth goddess which represents the annual peak of fecundity, growth and life across the natural world.

And, if you didn’t know, the passing of May Day means we have now entered summer in the northern hemisphere…

The time when the cow parsley grows shoulder-high and the bumblebees buzz in the hedgerows and cider tastes cold and sweet on the lips in the evening and you wish it could last forever.

Summer is here, and not a moment too soon - we will need all our powers of creativity, of growth, to birth the new world that is waiting in the wings.

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#mayday #beltane #handfasting #maytree #mayflower #hawthorn #dusk #hawthornblossom #hedgewitch #blessedbeltane #beltaneblessings #summerishere #maythe4thbewithyou #anewworldispossible #reproductiverights

Today, my love, is the day you have waited for. A

Today, my love, is the day you have waited for.

A new morning has arrived for you.

The stone over your resting place has felt too heavy by far. Trust that someone is helping you push it away.

Feel those grave clothes which have bound you start to disintegrate. Trust that you deserve to be seen just as you are.

See that? A shaft of morning light has travelled for millions of miles to warm you back to life. That light! It will hurt your eyes after your long sleep, but don’t be afraid.

Smell that? Lilacs crushed underfoot offer up their gentle perfume to wake you to your senses.

Today is the day you come up from the grave. New life is waiting inside you.

You are risen. Believe.

[Written last year and re-shared today because tbqhwy I really like this one]
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#easter #easterblessing #oestre #easterblessings #easter2022 #startagain #newlife #happyeaster #sundayvibes #sundaythoughts #sundayreflection #sundayreflections #sundaysunshine #springsunday #easterweekend #eastersunday #wearerisen #resurrectionsunday #tablemountain #tablemountainview #tablemountainnationalpark

A little miracle. ___________ #springflowers #mag

A little miracle.
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#springflowers #magnolia #giftsofnature #springhassprung #springhascome #aprilshowers #aprilshower springtime #springflowers #magnoliatree #magnoliablossom

Did you know your heart is sometimes described as

Did you know your heart is sometimes described as a second brain, because it has its own nervous system complete with 40,000 neurons? 🤯

This makes total sense to me because as someone with a history of anxiety, I am very familiar with the feeling of tightness in the chest that anxious thoughts can bring.

Even these days, when I’ve done a lot of work ‘re-wiring’ my *brain* away from over-anxiousness, there are well-worn pathways in my *heart’s* nervous system which fire more than they need to, giving me that tense, anxious feeling. Woah.

It was in seeking to heal this relationship that I discovered the book The Heartmath Solution, which essentially teaches practical, clinically-tested tools for a more heart-centred life.

They bear a lot of resemblance to me, to the Buddhist loving kindness meditations, gratitude practices and many other more ancient modalities.

But it’s amazing to learn that there is an observable connection between the physical heart and the metaphorical one.

One more fact - trials showed that using heart-centred emotions like compassion, care or appreciation increases immune responses!

During this exploration, A Heart Full of Love by @gyallikeclee has been going around and around in my head like my own personal theme tune, cheering me on as I seek to build a new relationship with my heart. Pretty cool ❤️

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#lovingkindness #mettabhavana #gratitudepractice #gratitude #gratitudeattitude #lovingkindnessmeditation #compassion #heartcentred #heartcentredliving #heartmath #heartmathinstitute #mindbodyconnection #spiritualityandhealth #mindbody #bodymindsoul #bodymindspirit #heartfulloflove #aheartfulloflove #cleosol #positivepsychology

On the spring equinox When light and dark are in p

On the spring equinox
When light and dark are in perfect balance,
May you feel life start to grow again in places that have been fallow
May you gently open yourself to new possibilities

May your inbreath invite abundance,
Your outbreath joy
Abundance, joy
Abundance, joy

This year,
The grounds of our community, our shared humanity, our very being
Have felt dry and unnourishing

But if the tenderest green stem
Can push through hard soil
Always knowing which way is ‘up’
To bloom under the sun

How much stronger must our spirits be?
And how much more resplendent their blossoming?

May the fragile shoots
Of newness grow
In our hearts and our communities

May this be a time when we all equally stand in the sun
Bend in the gentle breeze
Move in the direction of growth with ease
Accept and receive our birthright:

To breathe in abundance, to breathe out joy. 🌱

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#springequinox #ostara #springequinox2022 #equinoxblessings #earthspirit #gaia #springishere #springtime #blackthorn #springblossom #springblossoms #blossom #springflowers #springwalk #wheeloftheyear #naturespirituality #blessedbe #ostarablessings

Imbolc is here - the very first day of Spring in t

Imbolc is here - the very first day of Spring in the ancient Celtic reckoning (1/2 February).

Imbolc looks ahead with hopeful expectation to the season of new life. It is also associated with the goddess energy of Brigid, who is understood to be both a pre-Christian goddess and a Christian Saint.

I love Imbolc as it offers a sip of hope after the long winter, and an opportunity to gently invite yourself to look ahead to brighter, more vibrant days.

No rushing, just sweet anticipation.

Here’s an Imbolc blessing for you. Content warning - birth/fertility metaphors.

🌱 NOT NOW, BUT SOON 🌱

Spring does not arrive with a crash of symbols
But rather with the still, small voice of Imbolc
A stirring deep in the dark soil
A subtle quickening in the womb of all things

Today, there’s no need to leap up from your bed
To start spring cleaning
To make ambitious plans
To try to dissolve anxiety or stale energy
Through action

Rather you are invited
Simply to glory in the knowledge
That the wheel of the year is moving again
The sun is turning his face to us
And fresh, new things are on their way to you.

This Imbolc, may you honour the ways
You carried yourself through the winter

May you allow your imagination to lift its nose
And sniff the air

May you sense within the rich dark soil of your self
Those seeds which may be ready to sprout
And show their colours

May you hear in the morning air
That same thrumming of divine possibility
In the heart of all things

Today, may you yawn and stretch and start to feel
That soon you might be ready for a new adventure

Not yet, not yet – but soon.

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IMAGE: Holly, a white woman with long bronde hair and wire rimmed glasses, basks in a patch of spring sunlight.

#imbolc #imbolcblessings #brigid #brig #saintbridget #1stdayofspring #newlife #spring #springiscoming #anewworld #changeiscoming #selfgrowth #decolonizespirituality #syncretism #wheeloftheyear #firefestival #pagan #hedgewitch #bloggersofig #blessedimbolc #daffodils #celticspirituality
#neopagan #wiccan

It feels corny to say it’s been a while since I

It feels corny to say it’s been a while since I checked in with you on here, but facts are facts. 💁🏻‍♀️

But I wanted to share a little more with you about the training I have mentioned.

Interfaith ministerial training is what it’s called, though the name doesn’t tell you too much.

What it feels like from the inside is two years of deep inner inquiry, community-building and spiritual growth.

We are learning how to hold space for others’ truths, and our own; how to plan and deliver spirit-full ceremonies to mark life’s milestones; how to offer spiritual counselling.

Together, my coursemates and I are leaning on the rich spiritual traditions of millennia, AND forging new paths through the Mystery, to the Mystery.

I really can’t express to you the depths of this work, or how profoundly I feel like I’ve found my place and my calling for this time.

I want to share more with you. This training is deeply nurturing the work I have been offering here and on my blog, and I’m excited to find ways to share that.

But for now, just hello ❤️

Photos: here I am enjoying the beauty of Ammerdown Park, where my training takes place.

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#interfaith #interfaithminister #celebrant #celebrantintraining #spiritualitymatters #selfhealingjourney #healingjourney #witchythings #celebrantlife #spiritualcounselling #hollyleaf #spiritualcoaching #ministerintraining #spiritualgrowth #innerknowing #innergrowth

If you arrive at this Christmas season depleted If

If you arrive at this Christmas season depleted
If your stores of comfort and joy were not replenished sufficiently through the year

Then, friend, that is more than fair

May you offer yourself loving acceptance and deep understanding
May you gently release the need to dredge up stores of glee that may not exist

May you look within
And see what you really need during this season
May offering yourself simple kindnesses
Be your Christmas gift to you this year

This Christmas
May you be well
May you be held in love
And may you trust
That your portion of happiness and joy
Is not finite
It has not run out forever
And will return

Then perhaps, we might find a sip of courage
To be like the innkeeper of Bethlehem
Who looked at what he had to give
And offered it expecting nothing back
And which turned out to be
The little space which invited in the possibility of a miracle

And may that make all the difference. ❤️

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#christmas #christmas2021 #christmasreflections #christmastime #covidchristmas #burnout #covidstress #yuletide #winterhibernation #hibernation #hibernate #festiverest #blessedyule #christmasmood #wintersolstice #hardcandychristmas #toopoopedtoparty #mondayreflections #restandrelaxation #crimbo #festivespirit #festiveseason #bekindtoyourself #bekindtoyourmind #christmasmentalhealth #feelingfestive #notfeelingfestive

Even now, deep into Winter, the trees have leaves

Even now, deep into Winter, the trees have leaves yet to fall. Though a blanket of thousands coats the ground, there are those which have not made their one, joyous dance down to earth.

If there is something in your life you feel you are ‘too late’ for, or an opportunity you think you’ve missed, this is here to tell you - you aren’t too late, and you haven’t missed your chance.

Dance!

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#winterwoodland #december #sundaythoughts #sundayreflection #decemberlove #londongreenspaces #tootingbeccommon #tootingcommon #wintermorning #winterwalks #woodlandwalks #naturewisdom #wisdomofnature

Advent is here - the season of hopeful expectation

Advent is here - the season of hopeful expectation.

I love advent. Christmas’ quiet, more contemplative cousin. An opportunity to settle down into the dark season and soak in all its riches. To cultivate the capacity for hope - a rare commodity in these times.

Here are some very simple ways to ‘feel into’ the advent season.

Post text:
- Go outside and spot a holly tree, ivy or mistletoe
- Quietly watch a winter sunrise
- Lie in the dark under blankets and visualise yourself resting under earth like a seed
- Bake something festive
- Write a letter by hand to a friend who lives far away with reflections on your year
- Make a playlist of music that means December to you - doesn’t have to include the crimbo classics!

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#advent #adventjournal #happyadvent #adventcalendar #blessedadvent #adventreflections #adventreflection #christmasiscoming #christmasiscoming🎄 #countdowntochristmas #adventsunday #christmas2021 #yule #blessedyule #yulesabbat #yuletide #decembernights #soufulsunday #december #wintervibes #wintersolstice #blessedbe #yulealtar #soulfuldecember #summerofthesoulindecember

For one ready to dive deeper: a blessing If you f

For one ready to dive deeper: a blessing

If you find yourself standing at a shoreline
Sharing out onto the surface of an inner ocean
With your sea-chilled toes gripping pebbles underfoot
And your heart straining like a balloon in the wind

Then this day you may have realised
That you are not destined for the shallows of life
Kind though they have been to you
(For what is kind is not always what is true.)

Instead, you called to dive deeper
You are summoned
By the slow, deep, sweet heartbeat
That reverberates from somewhere below

Do you hear it?
Then, dive.

Dive down courageously into your life
Until true things press in on all sides
Lose the light, forget which way is up
And follow more subtle currents

‘Til without ever surfacing,
You somehow wash up on shores
Which, though strange, are also familiar

Tonight as you stand on the shore
The deep is calling
You are brave enough to
Answer.

🌊🌊🌊
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#heartmedicine #mindbodysoul #spiritualgrowth #healingjourney #healingfromwithin #youhaveapurpose #youhavewhatittakes #blessingsforthedepths #divedeeper #wordsforthought #wordsforthesoul #soulsearcher #spiritualjourney #wednesdaywisdom #wednesdaywisdom✨ #divein #spiritualjourneys #godeeper #spiritualwriter #writersofig #dailyreflection #reflecting #reflectiongram #reflections #writersofinsta #deepandmeaningful #woodlandphotography

I am thrilled to share that @enfleshed’s upcomin

I am thrilled to share that @enfleshed’s upcoming anthology ‘HELD: blessings for the depths’ will include my blessing ‘For a difficult parental relationship’.

This gorgeous anthology is going to be small enough to carry with you, and I’m already certain it will be a truly nourishing and comforting companion for me and so many others as we navigate life’s depths. 🌊

Thank you @enfleshed for including my writing in this special collection, it’s an honour.

You can pre-order HELD now - I’ve put a link in my bio.

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#spirituality #spiritualitymatters #spiritualwriter #interfaith #spiritualityandjustice #mindbodyspirit #publishedwriter #milestonemonday #heartmedicine #healingwords #godeeper #simplespirituality

Friends, I’ve got no words for you today. Just

Friends, I’ve got no words for you today.

Just as well that this still pool at close of day speaks for itself.

Love you.

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#leaffall #novembermood #sunsetoftheday #coldbutbeautiful #coldbutgold #winterbaby #winterperson #winterlover
#winter #wintry #tootingcommon #tootingbeccommon #winterwalk
#sunsetsky #naturephotos #pinkclouds #momentofbliss #momentofcalm #londonparks #londongreenspaces #greencities

Samhain is the final harvest festival of the year,

Samhain is the final harvest festival of the year, and begins the descent into the dark part of the year. As we turn towards the introspection of the winter season, I invite you to consider the inner, often unseen, fruits that you are reaping in this Samhain harvest. There is much you can be proud of ❤️

Going down into the deep earth of ourselves can be frightening, lonely work, but do not fear the dark. Dark is kind. Dark is nourishing. Dark is restful. Dark is rich. In the dark, you see yourself with that inner sight, that deep knowing that is beyond biography, beyond the masks you wear.

Samhain blessings to you, and may you know yourself better when the sun returns on Imbolc (1 Feb- not too far away!)

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samhain #samhainblessings #samhainaltar #samhainiscoming #halloween #allhallowseve #spookyseason #spookyszn #spookyseason👻 #pumpkinspiceseason #veilisthinning #ancestors #ancestoraltar #ancestralmagic #wheeloftheyear #neopagan #pagansofinstagram #pagansofig #naturespirituality #autumnvibes #ancestral #spiritualpath #blessedsamhain #blessedsabbat #somoteitbe

We may think of pumpkin carving and Hallowe’en c

We may think of pumpkin carving and Hallowe’en costume parties as modern inventions, but a remarkable amount of common Hallowe’en festivities have their origins in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. 🎃

Samhain is the threshold onto the dark period of the year - a time of dreaming, resting & healing. It offers us a chance to honour and connect with loved ones who have passed from this life. It invites us to release some of the busyness of our lives and delve inwards to explore our inner landscapes.
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#samhain #samhainblessings #samhainaltar #samhainiscoming #halloween #allhallowseve #spookyseason #spookyszn #spookyseason👻 #pumpkinspiceseason #veilisthinning #ancestors #ancestoraltar #ancestralmagic #wheeloftheyear #neopagan #pagansofinstagram #pagansofig #naturespirituality #autumnvibes #ancestral #spiritualpath #blessedsamhain #blessedsabbat #somoteitbe

Rest a hand over this heart of yours This is an i

Rest a hand over this heart of yours

This is an invitation to let her rest

Remind her:

She cannot carry everything
She cannot love everyone
She cannot do everything
She cannot heal overnight

Today, all she needs to do
Is what she is most wonderful at –
Persist.

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#sundaythings #sundayvibes #cosyvibes #hygge #hyggelig #sundayafternoon #sundaymood☀️ #sundayreflection #sundayreflections #neverthelessshepersisted #persist #sunday #sundayscaries #sundayrest #nosundayscaries #sundayscariesbegone #sundayeveningreminder #sundayevening #sundaynight #sundayinspiration #sundayblues #sundaythoughts #sundayeveningvibes #restisimportant #takeapause #sundaypause #pressthepausebutton #slowsunday #slowweekend #slowliving

As we soften down into the autumn season May you g

As we soften down into the autumn season
May you gather yourself in lovingly

May you allow attention, imagination and effort to come home to roost
And nestle close to you until springtime is near

May you release the bold, brash industriousness of summer
And offer to your imagination a gentler pace

May you take a moment to reflect on all the hard work, effort and emotion
That you have given in the past few months
And see with clear eyes all that your harvest table now holds

In the months ahead,
May you ponder questions without needing to find an answer

This autumn season
May resting be your work
Noticing your daily practice
And the guidance of dreams your instruction. 🍂

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#autumn #fall #autumnleaves #fallcolor #earthwisdom #seasons #changeofseasons #seasonal #natureswisdom #autumncolors #autumncolours #simplespirituality #interfaith #spiritualityforeveryone #restisbest #restisimportant #heartmedicine #selflovejourney #bekindtoyourself #sacred #soulful #affirmation #gentlewisdom #samhain #spookyseason #spookyseason #naturespirituality

Walking in my neighbourhood: a hymn Praise the st

Walking in my neighbourhood: a hymn

Praise the street tree, planted in concrete,
That patiently pushes up pavement
Praise the little yellow flower that springs out from the cracks to have its day in the sun
Praise the scrubby roadside hedge, from which robins and sparrows sing
Praise the yew in the crowded churchyard, that watches over those that sleep
Praise the ivy that clambers over slower growing things in its love of life
Praise the insects that come in to winter with us in our homes
Praise the bird that strikes up its song outside our window before the sun rises
Praise the sunsets which spill across the sky to remind us that no skyline is too high to block out the sun
Praise the quiet tenacity of growing things
Which remind us that to be human is to be wild.

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#tooting #tootingcommon #myneighbourhood #greenyourcity #citywalks #urbanlife #citylife #crunchyleaves #greencities #natureisamazing #autumnwalks #fallcolors #autumninlondon #autumnvibes #autumnleaves

The leaves are turning to gold, the arils are ripe

The leaves are turning to gold, the arils are ripening on the yew trees and another season of this land begins.

It feels like a new season of the soul for me, too, because in October I begin a 2-year training course in Interfaith Ministry with @bringittothealtar!

The training will invite me to deepen my spiritual practice and learn new ways to hold space for others in deepening theirs, whatever that may look like for them.

This feels like the next step in a journey I’ve been on since I asked my dad if he believed in God when I was like seven years old. The path of a seeker. The way of a pilgrim.

As I prepare for this new undertaking, I’ve also listened to an intuitive prompt to take a natural pause in my writings and my presence here on Insta. I don’t know what that pause will evolve into, but I’m trusting that it will become clear with time.

Which leads me to a question for you, sweet one: what prompt or prompts are whispering to you from within your inner Knowing? Listen carefully and bravely. Could these autumn days be offering you a new season of the heart, too?

__________

#newseason #newseasons #autumn #autumnequinox #mabon #spiritualjourneys #pilgrimage #interfaith #yewberries #yewtree #seasonsoftheheart #seasonsofthesoul #souljourneys

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