Nature never ceases to amaze me...

Beltane

"The fires of Beltane kindle the night reflecting the Green Man’s glance
His lady Queen of the May delights us all with her spiral dance
"Follow me to the source of all" he said "I am eternal fire"
"Come with me to the source of all" she said "I am your heart’s desire"

Celtic Druidism

The potential of the Path of the Celtic Druid today
Celtic Druidism is the ancient spiritual tradition of Ireland, it roots lie in the oldest temples in this island where many modern Druids still honour the Solar and Lunar cycles. Druidism is a spiritual path to gaining and holding inner Light and expressing your higher self. This path does not lead anywhere but as a Celtic Druid you have to walk it all the time. Walking this path is only possible by being balanced and in your centre. To be in your centre is to achieve a balance between thinking and intuiting. It is only in your centre that you can discover and express your magical higher self. Being in this balance means being in the godlike awareness we call the 'Witness'. This is where the modern Celtic Druid of today holds his/her awareness ie 'turned on and in balance'.

Technically speaking, this is not about killing the ego, it is not about killing the intuition, it is not about killing our base brain (medulla oblongata) ­ it is about working with all three and not being controlled by any of them. We need our left brain (thinking) and our right brain (intuiting) synchronised to transcend the reptilian brain (fight or flight) to activate the connecting bridge (corpus collosum) to hold our awareness in the higher mind. This I suggest is best done by focused magical training on a spiritual path of self-realisation in unity with Nature.

Witches Rune

"The continual exhalation of mosses gives the temperate rain forest much of its essential character; from bird song to banana slugs, it seems as if the entire forest is stitched together with threads of moss" R.W. Kimmerer

Mosses are an entrenched and enchanting part of all forests, and none more so than in the Pacific Northwest. This is because mosses need moisture in order to photosynthesize (and thus produce energy); dry moss cannot grow or reproduce. While other plants have roots that soak up water and nutrients from the ground, and strategies to conserve water, mosses absorb them directly from the air and from rain and spray water, and thus they grow most abundantly in consistently moist places. Luckily for them, mosses are poikilohydric- they dry out when the environment is dry, but can revive again once conditions are wetter. Most plants, if dried out completely, will wilt and die. By absorbing and retaining water from air vapour, and slowly releasing it to the ground, mosses actually contribute water to the forest, keeping the soil moist for trees and other plants to grow. As mosses increase, so does humidity from their ‘exhalations’, bringing about favourable conditions for even more moss to grow.

Their role in forest ecology is tied to, but goes far beyond, water balance. Mosses are preferred seedbeds for many tree seedlings, they get woven into the nests of many bird species (often providing a cushion for their eggs), are food for slugs, and countless insects and fungi depend on them for habitat. Large wet moss mats may contribute to the infrequent fire cycle in our regional forests- lightning may smolder on moist moss, but will never ignite. Ferns and other plants that grow on trees do not root directly into the tree bark; they depend on moss to be a substrate. Mosses are not eaten by most animals (including humans) due to the tough compounds in their tissues and their low nutritional value. This is used to good advantage by hibernating bears though- prior to getting into their dens bears will eat mosses and other tough fibrous vegetation, in effect producing an “anal plug” that keeps them from defecating through the winter.

Being food-focused to a fault in my foraging, the many ecological and human values claimed by mosses are an inspirational reminder for me to keep a broad outlook. Consider that historically, dry mosses were used as diapers and as menstrual pads- their combination of absorbency and large air spaces would effectively wick moisture away, while providing mild antiseptic properties that no doubt prevented diaper rash. They were used as lamp wicks, scrubbing dishes, insulation for humans (Otzi, the “Iceman” preserved in the European Alps, had his boots packed with Neckera moss to keep his toes warm) and for homes (e.g. chinking cracks in log cabins), a component of artisan works, and used in food preparation. Salmon were scrubbed with moss prior to being dried, while camas pit-cooks used moss as a source of steam during the cooking. Linnaeus, the father of modern plant taxonomy, bedded down on a portable bedroll made of polytrichum moss during his botanical explorations. It is not known whether he used a pillow made of Hypnum moss (think ‘hypnosis’) that was said to impart special dreams to the sleeper.

Human use of moss today is focused on epiphytic mosses (those that grow on trees) as decorative floral products. Every year tens of millions of kilograms of moss are harvested from the Pacific Northwest, bringing in tens of millions of dollars. Much of this takes place in National Forests of Oregon and Washington, but includes British Columbia (for which les information is available). Moss harvest has been significant since the 1940s, originally for use as a fruit-packing material, and has increased in the past couple decades as alternatives to timber harvest have been sought. It has shifted from patchy harvesting by local residents looking to supplement their income, to full time strip harvesting by seasonal crews from outside the region. While regulations exist, they are criticized as being insufficient and poorly enforced. Modeling exercises have projected the depletion of mosses in some areas if current harvesting rates continue, and some National Forests have enacted a moratorium until better management can be demonstrated. Ecologists are working to develop guidelines based on scientific and local knowledge of moss distribution and growth patterns. Peat moss harvesting from our boreal forests for use in gardening is a topic for a whole other ‘Non-timber Tidbit’.

A less commercial human use of moss is to monitor pollutant levels. Mosses usually lack a protective cuticle, and so they readily absorb heavy metals and other substances from the air and rainwater. Since they are often widespread, abundant, and grow in regular patterns, they can be appropriate tools for “bio-monitoring” pollution over time and space.

Recipes for such a non-edible forest product being scarce, the following one for Jamaican Sea Moss Drink, while having no relation to mosses as we know them, may be appropriate, as it includes the tropical non-timber forest products cinnamon, nutmeg, and the beautiful orchid vanilla, as well as the red algae carrageen:

- 1.3 L water
- 15 g dried carrageen
- 400 g condensed milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tp linseed /flaxseed (optional)
- Freshly-grated nutmeg
- Few drops of vanilla extract
- Little rum to serve (optional)

Soak the carrageen in cold water for about 15 minutes. Drain and place it in a saucepan with water, cinnamon and linseed and bring this mixture to a boil and cook until it begins to thicken. Strain the mixture using a sieve and discard the seaweed, linseed and cinnamon stick. Pour the liquid back in a pan and add condensed milk, vanilla essence and freshly-grated nutmeg. Boil the mixture and whisk vigorously to cool it. When this mixture begins to set, whisk it again vigorously and when the mixture cools, whisk once again and then finally cool it in the refrigerator. Before serving, whisk it again and add a dash of rum.

Wolf Moon

Robert Britt

- Space.com

- January 29, 2010

Biggest and Brightest Full Moon of 2010 Tonight

Tonight's full moon -- called the wolf moon -- will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. It offers anyone with clear skies an opportunity to identify easy-to-see features on the moon.

Tonight's full moon will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. It offers anyone with clear skies an opportunity to identify easy-to-see features on the moon.

This being the first full moon of 2010, it is also known as the wolf moon, a moniker dating back to Native American culture and the notion that hungry wolves howled at the full moon on cold winter nights. Each month brings another full moon name.

But why will this moon be bigger than others? Here's how the moon works:

The moon is, on average, 238,855 miles from Earth. The moon's orbit around Earth -- which causes it to go through all its phases once every 29.5 days -- is not a perfect circle, but rather an ellipse. One side of the orbit is 31,070 miles closer than the other.

So in each orbit, the moon reaches this closest point to us, called perigee. Once or twice a year, perigee coincides with a full moon, as it will tonight, making the moon bigger and brighter than any other full moons during the year.

Tonight it will be about 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than lesser full Moons of the year, according to Spaceweather.com.

As a bonus, Mars will be just to the left of the moon tonight. Look for the reddish, star-like object.

Full moon craziness

Many people think full moons cause strange behavior among animals and even humans. In fact several studies over the years have tried to tie lunar phases to births, heart attacks, deaths, suicides, violence, psychiatric hospital admissions and epileptic seizures, and more. Connections have been inclusive or nonexistent.

The moon does have some odd effects on our planet, and there are oodles of other amazing moon facts and misconceptions:

* A full moon at perigee also brings higher ocean tides. This tug of the moon on Earth also creates tides in the planet's crust, not just in the oceans.
* Beaches are more polluted during full moon, owing to the higher tides.
* In reality, there's no such thing as a full moon. The full moon occurs when the sun, Earth and the moon are all lined up, almost. If they're perfectly aligned, Earth casts a shadow on the moon and there's a total lunar eclipse. So during what we call a full moon, the moon's face is actually slightly less than 100 percent illuminated.
* The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches a year.

The moon illusion

Finally, be sure to get out and see the full moon as it rises, right around sunset. Along the horizon, the moon tends to seem even bigger. This is just an illusion.

You can prove to yourself that this is an illusion. Taking a small object such as a pencil eraser, hold it at arm's length, and compare its size to that of the moon just as it rises. Then repeat the experiment later in the night and you'll see that the moon compares the same in both cases.

Alternately, snap two photos of the moon, with a digital camera or your cell phone, when the moon is near the horizon and later when it's higher in the sky. Pull both photos up on your computer screen and make a side-by-side comparison.

Astronomers and psychologists agree that the moon illusion is just that, but they don't agree on how to explain it.

Copyright © 2010 Space.com. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For Haiti...

Tonight I light my candle for the people of Haiti... I'm proud of the humanitarians mobilizing and I pray that they will be of service and come home safe - that the Haiti mission and the resources that people are sending/taking (from the goodness of their hearts and the depth of their wallets)is not mismanaged.

I also pray that each and every one of those scumbags that have started scams to take advantage of this horrific situation are are held to the task of the law of three....what you sow shall be returned upon you times three...

So mote it be!