Currently I am procrastinating on finishing up my proposal... this is silly as I am going to visit Grandparents this afternoon, working all week, then flying to Germany for Feri Camp!!! Yay!!!! Feri Camp! Adventure! Planes! Whoooo!

I am excited, can you tell?

Then, as a beautiful gift, my Dad and step-mum are sending me and my lovely boyfriend to Paris for a long weekend... I am uber-excited.

And then I have a week of work, travelling to Lampeter, and, assuming I get my proposal in and am accepted as a student... really need to get it done... then I start work the day after I plan to arrive in the union shop. But only if I'm a student.

Hmmm.

Yesterday I visited Step-mum, Dad, and their four boys. And the new hampster. All of which was lovely.

Last weekend I went to boyfriend's. (Marvellous)

In between I've worked.

I actually haven't had a day with nothing planned for quite a while now... could do with a day off! I get next Sunday, though that'll have packing in it, and then after that its pretty much no free days until a few days into October. I'm glad to be doing things, just wish I'd spaced it out a little better! :)

Exciting times.

Every day the sun rises.

Every day the sun sets.

This year the sun rose and set on the very first Sunrise Camp. A beautiful new venture in magic... a rising of dragons.

A camp which held itself together through sheer determination, and not a little magic.

It took a dragon-hearted commitment from the organising team to pull the dragon out of the hat, but we did it. And I'm proud of this fledgling camp.

This was my first year teaching at a Witchcamp, and I'm so grateful Sunrise was my first time.

Let me tell you a story, a story of campers who chose to be dragons. A story of magic and wonder and strength.

Once upon a time that was, is and shall be, two new campers came away from a Witchcamp in the heart of South West England so inspired that they plotted another camp, one a little different to the gorgeous and luxurious Camp which filled them with such magic. The years passed and the inspiration became a dream, and the two campers grew a little older (though not much) and a little wiser (and a little more foolish, although who can truly say which is which?)

Time danced circles with them, and new relationships grew like flowers in fertile soil. And one day the dream was planted, like a seed, in the same soil that nurtured the friendships, and so an organising team came together. Plans hatched and grew and died, and soon, one plan stood out from the rest as yeilding a harvest. But now Time danced smaller circles, and the dates chosen were so close, with so much to do!

But magic has a wondrous way of bringing everything together, and the organisers chose, like the dragons that they are, to make the Sun Rise. And, of course, it had to.

Sunrise began and the campers came. A new place, a new adventure, new faces, and some that had been around since before the camp-dream was a twinkle of inspiration. Every individual brought something beautiful to the mix, themselves.

They made perfectly imperfect offerings to the Spirit of Dragon, nurturing that force within themselves. They wove a nest of starlight and wonder and love and community and everything that they had to offer. And the egg hatched, and the dragon took flight!

And on wings of magic, the dragon-hearts of the campers also spread their wings, they were challenged, and met the challenges, and received gifts. They learnt to read the world around them for directions, and to see their own desires in their deepest of dragon hearts.

And each one made a choice, to be themselves, in a world which shies from shining-dragon-hearted people.

We all made a choice to step into the world under our own terms, to shine with our own colours, knowing a little more about ourselves, and claiming our power to shape the world a little to our own designs, so that dragons can fly free and wild again!

Seen Sunrise Camp finally happen!
Taught at a Witchcamp for the first time! (At Sunrise, to be precise.)
Finished a set of 8 cards which have been around in some incarnation or other for over 3 years...
Graduated with a Philosophy Degree.
Found a summer job quickly.
Read the amazing 'Palimpsest' (it really is good!)
Put a song on the interwebs (eegads)
Finally mended my wooden Kala cup.
Begun putting together a magical wardrobe that fits in my pocket, for travelling you know.
Stopped living in near-constant ache from back. (Thank you acupuncture!)
Sold a triptych of paintings on commission :)
Taken up learning flute, penny whistle, electric guitar, harmonica, drumming and singing.
Successfully learnt to play 4 notes on the flute.
Successfully played around with hand drums a few times.
Successfully gained some confidence with singing, in the shower.
Enjoyed myself immensely with all of these instruments!


And more... but thats enough for now.

I may well post something more detailed about some of these at some point... like an account of Sunrise, photos of projects, and so on... but for now I'm just lettign you know I'm still here.

The Camp Website

Our Facebook Page


Dear Community,

First, the organizing team for Sunrise camp we would like to thank you for all the support that sunrise camp has thus far received from the community - all those people who bought raffle tickets (and we're sorry there were only 5 prizes), people who've sent us donations and people who've helped with publicity - handing out flyers and posting links for us, said nice things about us (and to us) and probably a few more that we are forgetting - we are hugely grateful!

And we need to ask for more support - currently the camp is about 9 people away from break even point, with 6 weeks to go before camp starts, we are decidedly anxious (the organising team is financially liable for the venture, and none of us have any spare cash).

we have crunched numbers back and forwards many times, and are running at our bare minimum, with no extras - both the org and teaching teams are donating their time for free.

We are committed to Sunrise camp going ahead in one form or other regardless of bookings - and we are really hoping that we will find enough extra people so that camp can go ahead as originally planned with 6 teachers and three paths, and many happy campers, that is our vision! If this is not the case we will have to make some changes to the structure of camp (not its length) and the size of our teaching team.

If you are planning on coming to camp and havn't yet booked, please do so! or at least drop us a line to let us know you are intending to come and a booking will follow!

If you want to come to camp and can't quite make the fees, please contact us, we can't promise much, but we are committed as a group to making camp as accessible as possible, so it's possible we might be able to work something out.

if you can't come to camp, but would like to support us, perhaps you would like to consider making a donation to the cause, or donating something to the camp raffle/fundraising.

perhaps you could put some flyers or posters in local shops or give then out at local events - we have pdf's of flyers to print out, or drop us a line with your mailing address and we can put some in the post to you.

and of course! positive energy and magic for Sunrise camps sucess is always welcome and appreicated.

with thanks and gratitude,

the sunrise camp org team

flame
Halo
Katy
Peter
Raven

(PS... sorry to those getting this from every organiser!)

I expect many of you have heard about this already, but for those that haven't, in South Wales (UK) this summer...






We're running on a shoestring, and Raven has made the most gorgeous bracelets, so if you've a couple of pound to spare to help out with some fundraising... or you just really like interesting bracelets... please check out our raffle!
Fundraising Raffle here!
</div>

The soft sun warms my skin... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Life is Sweet!

Tortellinni, for once perfectly cooked, delights my tongue... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Life is Sweet!

My final essay is done and in and no longer a weight on my mind... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Life is Sweet!

There are blue-tits playing and forgaing in the garden, and white butterflies in the blossom filled breeze outside my window... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Life is Sweet!

And I am listening to amazing music which makes me want to smile and dance... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Life is Sweet!

Life is sweet, and I am so very grateful!

My heart goes out to everyone here, everyone who is struggling with health and work and stress and everything... I send you a piece of joy to keep you warm...

In Delight,
~Halo xx

I am listening to a brand new album (for me) by Skinny White Chick called Blessings (Pagan themed, check it out! Thanks gwydion1987 )

The second song April Fools Day is really making me giggle!

She's rather good...

In other beautiful news... I have gorgeous food from the local farm shop *noms*

loveandpower 's Beauty we Love Course is intense and makes me Sing!

I am full of joy! My uni work-pile is rapidly diminishing, my dissertation is close to done, my magical practice is expanding, my Faery Path is winding on and everything is winding together in my heart into a beautiful, glowing, sensual whole!

Everything is feeding into each other, supporting each other, building each other....

The only part missing is my Lovely, and he is working to rebuild his foundations... so thats ok. Thats good.


Some lyrics from SWC's Firebird's Child

"If you're brave enough to dance
then you are brave enough to fly!
Forget what's right and proper!
You won't know until you try!
If you're brave enough to fly,
then you are brave enough to burn!
Take my hand and join me in the
Carnival of Dawn!

I am the firebird... "

In Love and Beauty and Delight!


ETA: The next sone that played... Rabbit... for some reason filled me with so much joy and ebauty and, somethign, I am actually crying! I do not cry at media. But I'm weeping now. Oh! I am Touched.

For reasons known only to the voices in my head (and they're not sharing) I found myself walking home with a beautiful second hand flute today.

I can't read music. I can't play the flute. And yet, I bought it.

My friend is a very persuasive woman. She offered to teach me to play. She haggled the price down so I could afford the service to bring it fully back to life. She played each one on offer and told me the benefits of the one that came home with me.

So, despite the fact I'd decided not to spend any more money so I can afford to travel instead, I bought it.

And she's beautiful.

Silver-coloured, with the slight patina of age that comes from not being polished for a while, and engraved with the company name: Lark.

I had, for the aforementioned unknown reasons, decided to go check out the stall selling musical instruments in the Union this afternoon. There were also books, but nothing that caught my eye. I looked as I passed it at the guitars and trumpets and wondered why I'd bothered... but then my friend called my name, and, turning, I spotted the three flutes, waiting.

And there, nestled in the blue, was the little SkyLark.

I say little, apparently she's quite chunky for a flute, but, I am told, this is perfect for beginners, it makes it much easier to find the buttons.

So, yes, I brought her home.

Synchronicity or impulse? Time will tell.

One thing is for sure, this morning, waiting for the physio appointment that tunred out to be (hopefully) the last I need, I tried to sketch myself with a flute. I couldn't recall how the hands went and drew a front facing flute instead, but the urge was there.

So something made me think of flutes today.

And lo, the manifestation is complete.

And yes, after I finished the first draft of my essay, before I sat down to write this, I took her form her box, assembled her, and played a little, practising how to blow and trying to discover how to make the notes change. I never imagined a flute had so many buttons and levers!!! For once, however, I was not frustrated by the instrument. The slight ache in my hands from holdign an unusual object doesn't bother me, my inability to get anything resembling a tune, or even scales, is not a problem. The fact I know other people could hear me doing really badly... didn't bother me one bit. And normally any one of these things would have encouraged me to forget it.

I'm optimistic.

We'll see what happens over the next couple of months, won't we?

I've just had a lovely Sunday.

I decided not to go to Art Soc, and this was fine.

I spent the afternoon at a new friend's house, with others, as she talked to us about her faith, Bahai.

My sweetheart drove me up there, and I forgot the directions so I had to direct us through vaguely remembered instructions... Oops.

It was beautiful though, the rolling Welsh countridie is gorgeous in a very soft way :)

We got there eventually and Avril greeted me form her doorway. I was just in time.

it started with music and words to meditate to, and then silence.

Next she explained a little about Bahai, and then we asked questions about it.

Eventually it, unsurprisingly, evolved into a gernal discussion about things, which was really nice. And there was cake and tea. Mmmm.

I got a lift home with someone I know from class, and he pointed out Venus as the sun set.

Now I'm pootling online while my lovely sits reading... and I'm listening to 'Spanish Earworms' ~ learning Spanish for my trip!

Pleasant.

Oh, and in a bit I fully intend to start work on my next essay. I still haven't cut down the previous one!!!

I'm trying to cut down 3,151 words of essay to 2,000.

This is difficult.

I don't want to complain, but I think I will.

New rules mean that instead of having just finished half my essays for this module, I have to put in extra time to have finished a third of them. How bizarre is that!?

On the plus side, I now don't have an exam for this module. On the down side, I have less time to do all the work I need to do. And I LIKE exams. *le sigh*

Meh.

Back into the fray.

Story Charmer

In the back of my mind, through the forest of thoughts, I catch glimpses of the story. Its shy, but longing to be shared, and though I can't quite make out its shape occasionally, just for a moment, I catch sight of its colour.

Warm markings full of depth and glowing orange-red flash between the deep green leaves, like a goldfish in the ocean, dark and murky.

The story sneaks closer and I sit patiently, my pen flying across the paper while every other part of me is still. Waiting. Waiting for the story to lay itself down in the movement of ink, the flow of words across the crisp paper transforming potential into reality.

(posted here: www.haloquin.blogspot.com)

I'm thrilled to be running this residential workshop with my friend flame :)

The Elements of Magic

Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th April, 2009
Eskdalemuir, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland

A core class within the Reclaiming Tradition of Witchcraft, led by flame and Halo

Join us for a residential weekend in the peaceful hills of southern Scotland.

We will take a journey together through earth, air, fire, water and spirit, focusing on our most important magical tool and the foundation of our spiritual practice: the body.

Using breath, voice, movement, imagination and creativity, we will explore the basic skills and tools of magic and spiritual practice in the Reclaiming Tradition.

***Full cost, including food, accommodation and all materials: £90-£120 sliding scale.***

For more information and to book visit http://reclaimingscotia.wordpress.com/core-classes/the-elements-of-magic/

Hello all!

I started up a new blog to share and keep track of arty-crafty things I make.

For your enjoyment:

My Studio

There is currently a giveaway of a little Dotee doll on there, for One World, One Heart, so if you'd like to win a pretty little creation, please comment in the post about the giveaway, I'll be drawing a winner randomly on Thursday 12th February - you have one week to join!

PS: please leave some kind of contact details otherwise I won't be able to let you know if you've won!

Bad news for handmade toys in America.

Thankfully this has been put off for a year.

I'm baffled.

Found at Eloah James' blog.

A flister linked me to this. I don't get it. Why would you remove ribs from a reproduction of an artist's work? Why? Whats so good about anorexic versions of beautiful artworks?!

Le sigh.

And I struggle not to apply these thoughts to myself. Anyone who's met me would probably agree I'm not anywhere near too fat. I see these kinds of reductions of beautiful ladies so often though that I find myself uncomfortable with my curvier figure.

(Ok, so I could stand to lose a few pounds for health reasons, but I'm not that bad dammit.)

On a whim, when we arrived back in my home town, I applied for a job.

I just had a phonecall asking if I still wanted it.

The honest answer is not really.

But.

Money would be useful, and I can do it, and if it turns out to be too much work with my studies I can quit.

So theres no real harm in taking the offer.

I do it, it goes fine, I get money. I win.

I do it, its horrible, I quit, I get a little bit of cash and a story. I win.

Win-win situation.

So why am I panicking?

I really like being unemployed during term time. I like being able to concentrate on studies and crafting and beign a student. I won't get many other chances to live like this I expect. I know I'll have to work in the future, but I don't really want to.

And its in a fish and chip shop. Although I'll apparently be working the till mostly.

*shrugs*

Informal interview type thing tomorrow afternoon.

It'll get sorted I'm sure.

Interesting aside... I guess this highlights interesting things about me and money. I'd rather not have money than get it in a way I don't enjoy. Huh. Guess I shouldn't take the job then. We'll see.

I'm quite capable of remaining oblivious to most Orwellian schemes our government concocts, so this database of communications shouldn't surprise me. But it does. How can such a plainly ridiculous idea seem like a good one? Does our government look at the world through warped mirrors?
Why this seems like a stupid idea.

You know, I'm really pleased for America, but I do find it a little unsettling when I'm excited about America's new president, and following sites which list the wonderful things he is doing... and I roll my eyes whenever our PM speaks. Isn't it sad, Mr Brown, that your country's people are more interested in the president of somewhere far across the ocean? When we feel that better things can come of this than what you seem to stand for?

I am relieved for my friends and family living in the US, I am grateful for what Obama has already pledged to do for Civil and Human Rights, and I'm pleased that there is hope. A part of me hopes in the name of all that is holy that he can carry through on his promises, and isn't assasinated, or worse, breaks his promises and betrays his people, but its only a small part that thinks this might happen and worries for the people placing so much hope in him. Oh yeah, and a part of me is jealous that America has a President that looks to be making good things happen and we're stuck with a government that is dissolving into 1984, and only looks to get worse.

Can we haz a golden candidate now pleez?

PS: I wasn't joking when I said I'm good at being oblivious to our government, I'm honestly mostly fairly oblivious to general politics, so yeah.

An art therapy rehabilition centre in Saudi Arabia for ex-militants. Beautiful.
8 Minute Documentary
Artworks

(A Focal Point Episode, from Wide Angle)