The Himachal folk music is the greatest solace to the poor people living in the remote areas. The Junju Sukrat Bhunkh and Roopshu songs of the Chamba valley, the Mohna of Bilaspur, the Jhoori or Sirmaur, the Laman of Kulu are all rooted in the daily life and rich folk tradition of the area and each has notable features of its own.
Most of the songs require no instrumental accompaniment. The themes are usually common ones like human love and separation of lovers. Some songs are about rituals. Chhinj, Laman, Jhoori, Gangi, Mohana and Tappe are love songs. Dholru is a seasonal song. Bare-Haren are ballads about warriors, Soohadiyan are songs sung at Childbirth. Losi and Pakkahad and Suhaag songs are all family songs, Karak are songs of praise in honour of the deities and Alhaini is a song of mourning. All these songs follow a specific style of singing and the geographical facts have a deep effect on these.
The songs are sung in unison and the singer decides how and which way the notes and syllables are to be pronounced. They make changes in lines and substitute or replace words.
Jhoori- The word means a lover or a beloved and is said to be connected with Jhoomar. Jhoomar is a female dance form. Both men and women sing and dance to Jhoori. It is a dance performed in the open and describes extra-marital love. It is very popular in Sirmaur and Mahasu areas and has a special rhythm of its own. Each piece has four lines and the last syllable in the first line is pronounced in a drawn-out fashion. The Jhoori songs place a great importance on the rhyming pattern within the song.
Laman- Laman singing is popular in the Kulu valley. These songs sing of the romantic love between men and women. The first line is only for rhyming with the second and it is the second line which furthers the theme. Syllables like Oa, Aa form the ‘Tek’ or the note which is prolonged at the end of the line. These syllables help the singers establish a certain resonance and a definite rhythmic pattern.The Samskara songs (sung at family festivals and other such occasions) are based upon classical Ragas. These songs are sung by women from the higher castes in the morning and at night time. Some of the morning songs have traces of Raga Asa in them. The songs sung at wedding are set in old Ragas like Durga, Malkauns and Bhoopali.The Jhanjhotis are based on Ragas like Bindrabani Sarang, Durga, Tilang and Des. The martial songs have combined traces of Asa and Durga. The Gidda songs are in Raga Durga. The songs sung by professional singers have very attractive classical overtones.
The famous love-lyrics in Himachal areas are Phulmu-Ranjhu, Kunju-Chanchalo and Raja-Gaddan. the Phulmu-Ranjhu lyric tells of a tragic episode. In Kunju-Chanchalo the song takes the form of a conversation between the lover and his sweetheart. The Raja-Gadden song records the wooing of gaddan Nokhu by Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra.
There are also songs which recall some important historical events like the sacrifice of Rani Suhi for a public cause, like bringing drinking water to Chamba town. The song called Sukrat is soulfully rendered and depicts the great story of the sacrifice of the Rani, famous for her feeling of love for the people and her deep human sympathy for them. Another tragic story telling the love of a brother who takes upon himself the blame for the murder his brother committed and thereby goes to the gallows in Bilaspur is depicted in one of the saddest song called Mohana.
Ceremonial lyrics such as Bhayi, Suhag, Suhagare and Vidayi are sung on special occasions like birth, betrothal and marriage. Seasonal song like Chhinj are sung only in Chaitra (March).
Ainchaliyan - Ainchali is a religious ballad. The customs of singing Ainchali in the house of the bride is common among the farming communities. In this the men-folk go to the houses of the married couples and sing these romantic Ainchali songs to the beat of drums or platters of pictures. The women sing these songs in the house of the unmarried girl. In these songs, incidents from the marriage of gods like Shiva and Rama are sung with great gusto.
In the Chamba-Pangi areas, the professional singers go from village to village with a khanjari (tambourine) and play on these as they sing. They also use string puppets. They sing traditional songs from Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the month of Chaitra, the Doms and Domanis go from house to house and sing Dholaru songs to the people.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS- A variety of drums are used in the Himachal area. Drums like Dhol, Dholku, Dolki, Nagara, Dammama, Damanght, Nagarth, Gajju, Doru, Hudak and Dhaunsa are some of them. In the Kinnaur, Lahaul, Pangi, Sirmaur and Kulu areas, drums of different shapes and sizes are played at different festivals. These are stored with great care in holy spots like temples, Gompas and Madhis. Before they are played, flowers, turmeric paste and rice is offered unto them and prayers are chanted. In the plains large drums known as ‘Tamaka’ are played at fairs. People belonging to the Bharai community perform the ritual playing of this drum at the fair site and then all the young ones sing and dance together to the beat of these drums. Playing upon these, signals the beginning of a fair or a festival.Among the Gaddis small round drums known as Dafale are played at weddings. These are slung round the necks of the players and rhythms like Dhamal and Lahauli are played upon these.These drums are made with locally available material.
Their shapes and the methods of playing upon them reflects local traditions. The Dhol of Kulu, the Damangtu and Nagartu of Sirmaur are all played differently in the tribal areas. As soon as the drums sound the entire community gathers together and loses itself in lusty singing and dancing. Earlier the Baren (martial ballads) of Ram Singh Pathania were sung to the accompaniment of Dafale by singers known as Adavale. These songs are sung in the Sirmaur area. The largest of the drums is Dhaunsa which is played standing. Tung Yung is a similar instrument.Rana Singha, Karnal, Turhi and Flute or Bishudi, Algoja (twin flutes), Shehnai or Peepni are popular wind instruments. The flute is favourite of shepherds and weary travelers.
Rana Singha, Shehnai and Been are usually played at wedding and on auspicious occasions. At the time of the ritual puja at the temples, Rana Singha, Karnal, Conch shells and Shehnai are played. These instruments accompany the processions of gods at festivals. In the Lahaul-Spiti areas in Granyang and Jumang and Mahasu some ancient musical instruments like Kindari can be heard.
Percussion instruments like Jhanjh (large cymbals), Manjira (small cymbals), Chimta (tongs). Ghanta (gongs), Ghariyal (large gong), Thali (platter), Ghunghru (bells), Kokatha Murchang (a stringed instrument played with a bow with bells) are quite popular in folk dramas like Jagarata, Bhagat and Kariyala etc. During the singing of Ainchali or Jagaratas a pitcher is placed upon a platter and played with an iron bangle. On such occasions, wooden castanets (Khadtal) and bells are also used.Ektara, Kindari Davatra, Gramyang or Rabab, Sarnagi, Jumang and Ruman are some stringed instruments, commonly used by professional singers. The folk singers of the Chamba valley known as Ghurai sing to the accompaniment of cymbals. Gramyang, Rumals, Jumang are tribal instruments of the Lahaul and Kinnar areas.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Blood
Blood is as in abrasion
Impact, slice and laceration.
A rusty red copper congealed
A wet blue ice pack until healed
Impact, slice and laceration.
A rusty red copper congealed
A wet blue ice pack until healed
Overwrite the stretches of my lineage
With the infusion of warm alternative flow
Circling the girdle of conscious motive
Going deeper into the self-epic
Sieve of loss.
The hip, the square and the tragicomic
All sway towards the fire that makes us sick
Step through the road songs
And jagged edges in silence
Into the rubble of the mind
Spell out the empathic avoidance
Of the end of the struggle I left behind
Soft gristle pulp underfoot of what
Was once thoughts of the soul.
With the infusion of warm alternative flow
Circling the girdle of conscious motive
Going deeper into the self-epic
Sieve of loss.
The hip, the square and the tragicomic
All sway towards the fire that makes us sick
Step through the road songs
And jagged edges in silence
Into the rubble of the mind
Spell out the empathic avoidance
Of the end of the struggle I left behind
Soft gristle pulp underfoot of what
Was once thoughts of the soul.
Reflected opinions on a dusty screen;
My waiting gets the worst of me.
I leave, she follows me asking,
‘Where have you been?’
I listen silently, inside I grieve.
When distances become reason for doubt.
Where do I go and what shall I do?
When I can no longer pour it all out.
And when I finally answer her,
I half expect her to say, ‘So, what’s new?’
My waiting gets the worst of me.
I leave, she follows me asking,
‘Where have you been?’
I listen silently, inside I grieve.
When distances become reason for doubt.
Where do I go and what shall I do?
When I can no longer pour it all out.
And when I finally answer her,
I half expect her to say, ‘So, what’s new?’
Reason to Live (song)
I still see your eyes
Looking back at me
Between what went wrong
And what could be
Through the tears and the pain
I can still hear your voice
The silence and my song
Instead of the whispers and sighs
I lie awake at night
My thoughts are soaking wet
Till dawn, I walk the streets
I don’t know what I can do next
I wanna be alive
Just like I used to be
With you right next to me
I wanna be alive
So give me back my reason to live.
Looking back at me
Between what went wrong
And what could be
Through the tears and the pain
I can still hear your voice
The silence and my song
Instead of the whispers and sighs
I lie awake at night
My thoughts are soaking wet
Till dawn, I walk the streets
I don’t know what I can do next
I wanna be alive
Just like I used to be
With you right next to me
I wanna be alive
So give me back my reason to live.
Early poems - Kinda Dax Noire
Last cigarette
Eyes kicked open with coffee
I stare at the bathroom mirror
Sour milk ---
The smell of squeezed whiteheads
In my dreams I move
From triumphant violence
Searching for a new woman
Somebody begat my heart
Somebody stirred my soul
With a recipe for beginners
Opening my weekends with sleep
Closing it with nightmares of tomorrow
Eyes kicked open with coffee
I stare at the bathroom mirror
Sour milk ---
The smell of squeezed whiteheads
In my dreams I move
From triumphant violence
Searching for a new woman
Somebody begat my heart
Somebody stirred my soul
With a recipe for beginners
Opening my weekends with sleep
Closing it with nightmares of tomorrow
Monday, January 25, 2010
Maybe Someday
All alone inside
A room with no windows
There’s a door
That I can’t find
There’s no key either
Maybe someday,
Maybe someday.
A life without you
Is no life at all
Maybe someday
Even if I love
I might be okay but
It will never be
Worth that much to me.
It was simple
To begin with
Now I’m trying
To keep it simple again
Midnight; nowhere to hide
(Turn to) Face the inevitable
But my soul runs from it
Maybe someday
Maybe someday.
Everything is the same in
My world running today
I’ll be running tomorrow again
But somebody somewhere
Turned the colours off
Maybe someday
A life without you
Is no life at all
Maybe someday
Even if I love
I might be okay but
It will never be
Worth that much to me.
A room with no windows
There’s a door
That I can’t find
There’s no key either
Maybe someday,
Maybe someday.
A life without you
Is no life at all
Maybe someday
Even if I love
I might be okay but
It will never be
Worth that much to me.
It was simple
To begin with
Now I’m trying
To keep it simple again
Midnight; nowhere to hide
(Turn to) Face the inevitable
But my soul runs from it
Maybe someday
Maybe someday.
Everything is the same in
My world running today
I’ll be running tomorrow again
But somebody somewhere
Turned the colours off
Maybe someday
A life without you
Is no life at all
Maybe someday
Even if I love
I might be okay but
It will never be
Worth that much to me.
Do You Still Believe?
Do you still believe?
There is a reason for everything
Do you still believe?
Everything works out fine
Well; then take a good look at me
Look again; now tell me what do you see?
I’ll play it just as I feel
The boss of melancholy
In the middle of uproar
The silent vestige of pride
In the middle of the pragmatic
See the snowman on the moon
I wonder if they can see him
In Jabbalpur. When I was there
See the sounds on the wire…
What’s the use? Well, you can
Always start again, so no fear.
Except brother, I’m tired of trying
To take my feet up that hill
I think I’ll stand around a while
And just think about how I feel.
There is a reason for everything
Do you still believe?
Everything works out fine
Well; then take a good look at me
Look again; now tell me what do you see?
I’ll play it just as I feel
The boss of melancholy
In the middle of uproar
The silent vestige of pride
In the middle of the pragmatic
See the snowman on the moon
I wonder if they can see him
In Jabbalpur. When I was there
See the sounds on the wire…
What’s the use? Well, you can
Always start again, so no fear.
Except brother, I’m tired of trying
To take my feet up that hill
I think I’ll stand around a while
And just think about how I feel.
I’m Done
Hoping to get it right
With my accounts in hand
It’s not hard to understand
I’m done before I’ve begun!
I’m going down into the ground
Gonna lie down and die without a sound
Hey heroes! I’ve been had
Before I started, ain’t you glad?
I’m done before I’ve begun
I’m done, I’m done
I’m done, I’m done
I’m done before I’ve begun
I’m done before I’ve begun
[x 4 bars, followed by lead solo]
With my accounts in hand
It’s not hard to understand
I’m done before I’ve begun!
I’m going down into the ground
Gonna lie down and die without a sound
Hey heroes! I’ve been had
Before I started, ain’t you glad?
I’m done before I’ve begun
I’m done, I’m done
I’m done, I’m done
I’m done before I’ve begun
I’m done before I’ve begun
[x 4 bars, followed by lead solo]
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Mr Clean - another song of mine
Mr Clean, there's nothing he ain't seen
from wolves to queers, sharks and their dead bodies
lying in the gutter, no telling where they've been
no sir, not one word from Mr Clean
Mr Clean, he's okay to be 'has-been'
Mr Clean, my uncle knows the Dean
Mr Clean, there's nothing he ain't seen
from panties, the Sixties, to guns pointed at him
by men who want to relocate his spleen
in a city of malcontents
he knows the real rebel scene
says it takes genuine strength
to make a statement even if your face is turning green
while you beg your feet to keep walking on your dream
Mr Clean, Mr Clean, Mr Clean!
there's no telling where I've been
I'm fucking crazy, as your wife has seen
I'm gonna go through and through you
until there's nothing I haven't seen
from wolves to queers, sharks and their dead bodies
lying in the gutter, no telling where they've been
no sir, not one word from Mr Clean
Mr Clean, he's okay to be 'has-been'
Mr Clean, my uncle knows the Dean
Mr Clean, there's nothing he ain't seen
from panties, the Sixties, to guns pointed at him
by men who want to relocate his spleen
in a city of malcontents
he knows the real rebel scene
says it takes genuine strength
to make a statement even if your face is turning green
while you beg your feet to keep walking on your dream
Mr Clean, Mr Clean, Mr Clean!
there's no telling where I've been
I'm fucking crazy, as your wife has seen
I'm gonna go through and through you
until there's nothing I haven't seen
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
I've Been Speaking Wi' Tha' MAN!
I closed my eyes and floated up to my Maker. My Maker said,
"Son, there are wonders in heaven that you cannot comprehend. Things that make spirit, stature and imagination grow like freedom for the brave. Things that must be blessed with peace in your grave for when the final veil is drawn, you’ll realize that you never really stood alone. If you did; t’was because your creation wore a frown at the ways of man.
“So put your precious future in my open hand. Don’t hesitate, for we both know my victories were sweetened when your feet beat a retreat. Well, get out; get out of my kitchen if you can’t take the heat. Energies pure and twists of faith will always combine. Just as you think bottle sunshine can be hidden in dark wine. So too shall glory spread its breezes and fan those who choose to walk along the land.
“I never really believed you would consign a part of your future as mine. You made your choice, chose of your own will, to test it thrice. Thus too, you shall reside where your eyes beckon with calm each sunrise and dissolution depths in each sunset -- so too in my promise to the wise. All things were created equal; but have you looked into your own eyes and seen the squalor of your self pity blanket every mechanism installed by me? Yet you wish to live with regret because in your mind, you are surrounded by a curtain of incompetence. This is where your struggle begins and ends!”
My Maker just is like that with me; has a strange way of talking too.
"Son, there are wonders in heaven that you cannot comprehend. Things that make spirit, stature and imagination grow like freedom for the brave. Things that must be blessed with peace in your grave for when the final veil is drawn, you’ll realize that you never really stood alone. If you did; t’was because your creation wore a frown at the ways of man.
“So put your precious future in my open hand. Don’t hesitate, for we both know my victories were sweetened when your feet beat a retreat. Well, get out; get out of my kitchen if you can’t take the heat. Energies pure and twists of faith will always combine. Just as you think bottle sunshine can be hidden in dark wine. So too shall glory spread its breezes and fan those who choose to walk along the land.
“I never really believed you would consign a part of your future as mine. You made your choice, chose of your own will, to test it thrice. Thus too, you shall reside where your eyes beckon with calm each sunrise and dissolution depths in each sunset -- so too in my promise to the wise. All things were created equal; but have you looked into your own eyes and seen the squalor of your self pity blanket every mechanism installed by me? Yet you wish to live with regret because in your mind, you are surrounded by a curtain of incompetence. This is where your struggle begins and ends!”
My Maker just is like that with me; has a strange way of talking too.
Heart of Darkness -or- I couldn’t care less
Every day went by in a dream
Every night I shudder and scream
Somewhere between the dream and the shriek
I fall asleep, I fall asleep.
Only to wake up in another dream
Dreams die, fade or remain unpaid,
Unsaid, never to see the light of day.
Do you remember the noise we made?
Expansion chambers, speaker baffles and engines of steel
Amplifiers, electric wires and no big deal
Hospitals and former cricket players forgotten on the highway
Don’t cry darling just because the sun isn’t shining
Nothing can take away the way I’m feeling
My blood is fuel for your heart of darkness
Pour me out; set me on fire, I couldn’t care less.
Now bottle broke, don’t choke, and just put me in a coffin
All long, low, swoopy and signed ‘Arlen Ness.’
I missed the beat on a one-way street
Only to fall asleep, only to fall asleep
Only to wake up in another dream
My throat is dry, my eyes are wet and they say boys don’t cry
Boys forgive their transgress not half as much
As girls digress in a suggestive system;
Nor ask why mental incompatibility is easier than experimental fidelity
Don’t cry darling, just because the sun isn’t shining
My blood is fuel for your heart of darkness
Pour me out; set me on fire, I couldn’t care less.
Every night I shudder and scream
Somewhere between the dream and the shriek
I fall asleep, I fall asleep.
Only to wake up in another dream
Dreams die, fade or remain unpaid,
Unsaid, never to see the light of day.
Do you remember the noise we made?
Expansion chambers, speaker baffles and engines of steel
Amplifiers, electric wires and no big deal
Hospitals and former cricket players forgotten on the highway
Don’t cry darling just because the sun isn’t shining
Nothing can take away the way I’m feeling
My blood is fuel for your heart of darkness
Pour me out; set me on fire, I couldn’t care less.
Now bottle broke, don’t choke, and just put me in a coffin
All long, low, swoopy and signed ‘Arlen Ness.’
I missed the beat on a one-way street
Only to fall asleep, only to fall asleep
Only to wake up in another dream
My throat is dry, my eyes are wet and they say boys don’t cry
Boys forgive their transgress not half as much
As girls digress in a suggestive system;
Nor ask why mental incompatibility is easier than experimental fidelity
Don’t cry darling, just because the sun isn’t shining
My blood is fuel for your heart of darkness
Pour me out; set me on fire, I couldn’t care less.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
here's one of those three-part marriage counsel programs that can be used in other places too.
Phase I: Individual Healing - Understanding Personal Feelings and Sorting through Emotions
* Take control of the paralyzing emotions.
* Regain your sense of stability and get rid of the images.
* Eliminate the paranoia and restore your self-confidence.
* Cut-off the issues and move back to your spouse.
* Replace the lies with truth and start over.
* Understand why the fight happened.
* Uncover what was missing and how to add it.
Phase II: Healing As a Couple - Working Together to Identify and Resolve Key Issues
* Accelerate the healing process: Protect your relationship from further harm.
* Discover how to talk about the details.
* Transform your relationship with a heart-felt apology.
* Generate new honest communication.
* Ignite a renewed life-long commitment.
* Capture peace of mind with true forgiveness.
Phase III: Negotiating a Renewed Relationship - Understanding How to Rebuild and Sustain a New Trust-filled Partnership
* Eliminate the suspicion with complete transparency.
* Restore your life without haunting visions.
* Proof your marriage for life.
* Develop lasting safety, honesty and respect.
* Accept the past without being tormented.
* Take control of the paralyzing emotions.
* Regain your sense of stability and get rid of the images.
* Eliminate the paranoia and restore your self-confidence.
* Cut-off the issues and move back to your spouse.
* Replace the lies with truth and start over.
* Understand why the fight happened.
* Uncover what was missing and how to add it.
Phase II: Healing As a Couple - Working Together to Identify and Resolve Key Issues
* Accelerate the healing process: Protect your relationship from further harm.
* Discover how to talk about the details.
* Transform your relationship with a heart-felt apology.
* Generate new honest communication.
* Ignite a renewed life-long commitment.
* Capture peace of mind with true forgiveness.
Phase III: Negotiating a Renewed Relationship - Understanding How to Rebuild and Sustain a New Trust-filled Partnership
* Eliminate the suspicion with complete transparency.
* Restore your life without haunting visions.
* Proof your marriage for life.
* Develop lasting safety, honesty and respect.
* Accept the past without being tormented.
FEW DRINX DOWN
Two drinks down
And I realise
That everyone’s got
Their heads stuck
Between their thighs
Living in an apartment
Living in a society
So full of propriety
Giving me anxiety
Why do I do this?
Climb the roof and make a wish
Tomorrow you’ll be gone
And I’ll be all alone
Three drinks down
And I realise
That everybody’s got
These shoes which are
Kinda oversize
Working in my company
Working in my department
Thinking in a compartment
Dunno where the money went
[BRIDGE]
Four drinks down
This time I wear a frown
This rhyme’s gone around
Time after time after time
Time after time after time
…
And I realise
That everyone’s got
Their heads stuck
Between their thighs
Living in an apartment
Living in a society
So full of propriety
Giving me anxiety
Why do I do this?
Climb the roof and make a wish
Tomorrow you’ll be gone
And I’ll be all alone
Three drinks down
And I realise
That everybody’s got
These shoes which are
Kinda oversize
Working in my company
Working in my department
Thinking in a compartment
Dunno where the money went
[BRIDGE]
Four drinks down
This time I wear a frown
This rhyme’s gone around
Time after time after time
Time after time after time
…
I’M STILL NOT SATISFIED - a sort of answer to 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction' by The Rolling Stones
I’ve heard them speak
About almost everything
I’ve seen them cry
When they first get high
I’ve heard them sing
About faded jeans, faded dreams
Corrupt money minded angry screams
I’ve seen them grow
And never loose hope
In the great Indian heliotrope
My countrymen shining
Great global guns inna zealous grope
Teenage poets commercial cock truckers
(We got poultry farms, you know)
And sedentary govt. job muck suckers
(Cybersex hurts when your daughters know)
Suddenly everybody’s got a thing
For pretty brown girls in the ring
[x2]
I’m still not satisfied
I’m still looking for someone
I’m still not satisfied
You’ll go ahead have your fun
Child bear and keep distance
Tourists love white elephants f’r instance
Doesn’t matter how we spell chowmein
One dip in our river and you’re clean
So what if our human rights are obscene
We do sisters, not mothers, know what I mean?
Everything you see is incomplete
Let me buy two cars before the ozone depletes
And that’s why I’m still not satisfied
I’m still looking for my gun
Y’see I’m still not satisfied
Y’all go ahead and have your fun.
About almost everything
I’ve seen them cry
When they first get high
I’ve heard them sing
About faded jeans, faded dreams
Corrupt money minded angry screams
I’ve seen them grow
And never loose hope
In the great Indian heliotrope
My countrymen shining
Great global guns inna zealous grope
Teenage poets commercial cock truckers
(We got poultry farms, you know)
And sedentary govt. job muck suckers
(Cybersex hurts when your daughters know)
Suddenly everybody’s got a thing
For pretty brown girls in the ring
[x2]
I’m still not satisfied
I’m still looking for someone
I’m still not satisfied
You’ll go ahead have your fun
Child bear and keep distance
Tourists love white elephants f’r instance
Doesn’t matter how we spell chowmein
One dip in our river and you’re clean
So what if our human rights are obscene
We do sisters, not mothers, know what I mean?
Everything you see is incomplete
Let me buy two cars before the ozone depletes
And that’s why I’m still not satisfied
I’m still looking for my gun
Y’see I’m still not satisfied
Y’all go ahead and have your fun.
Sleep on the Floor
Dead rat at my door
Makes me want to sweep the floor
This house is falling flat
While I’m hung up on natural facts
Don’t know what I did
Don’t know what was done
Yet every night I sleep with
These thoughts of how
I got here after it began.
I can’t stand it any more
This whole world stinks now
That I am just a salary whore
Looking for a weekend score.
So until I know I can be
What I was before
I’ll just sleep on the floor
Well until I know why
Rats in love must die
I’ll just sleep on the floor.
So until I know I can be
What I was before
I’ll just sleep on the floor
Well until I know why
She couldn’t take any more
I’ll just sleep on the floor.
I killed the king
When I made her my queen
Now she’s gone and
My kingdom is poor
Well until I’m rich again
I’ll just…
Sleep on the floor
Stare at the door
Go back for more
Her current dude
Looks like a bore
Since I can’t
Take my chances
I’ll just
Sleep on the floor.
Makes me want to sweep the floor
This house is falling flat
While I’m hung up on natural facts
Don’t know what I did
Don’t know what was done
Yet every night I sleep with
These thoughts of how
I got here after it began.
I can’t stand it any more
This whole world stinks now
That I am just a salary whore
Looking for a weekend score.
So until I know I can be
What I was before
I’ll just sleep on the floor
Well until I know why
Rats in love must die
I’ll just sleep on the floor.
So until I know I can be
What I was before
I’ll just sleep on the floor
Well until I know why
She couldn’t take any more
I’ll just sleep on the floor.
I killed the king
When I made her my queen
Now she’s gone and
My kingdom is poor
Well until I’m rich again
I’ll just…
Sleep on the floor
Stare at the door
Go back for more
Her current dude
Looks like a bore
Since I can’t
Take my chances
I’ll just
Sleep on the floor.
Down Song
The hail came down.
The hail came down.
It filled the sky
With a rattling sound.
The rain came down.
The rain came down.
Now green grass grows
All around my mound.
The snow came down.
The snow came down.
Cold and white enough
To rake a dead man’s bones.
Then the sun shone down.
The sun shone down.
If you lie really still
You can hear butterflies around.
The hail came down.
It filled the sky
With a rattling sound.
The rain came down.
The rain came down.
Now green grass grows
All around my mound.
The snow came down.
The snow came down.
Cold and white enough
To rake a dead man’s bones.
Then the sun shone down.
The sun shone down.
If you lie really still
You can hear butterflies around.
Online & Unrequitted? (Lurk B4 Love)
I don’t know why
Still not more than I
Sure you don’t think of me
Since it was a struggle to be free
So what’s been happening
You saw me start to dive
(prompt you interested)
What kept me alive
Flashback seventh wave reprise.
Though ordered shoot on site
Me thread highjacker bright
Deplored existence every night
Since your social bet online
You might’ve seen my world
Falling down from above
What once felt like genocide
Became a simple mugging of love
To know you are not listening
While I reel around drunkenly
I found it was habit-forming
Sure you don’t think of me
Since it was a struggle to be free
Everyday I collect a few little acts
Of kindness while my heart faces facts
That this is it and that is that
Didn’t stop to think or lurk before love.
Didn’t stop to think or lurk before love.
Still not more than I
Sure you don’t think of me
Since it was a struggle to be free
So what’s been happening
You saw me start to dive
(prompt you interested)
What kept me alive
Flashback seventh wave reprise.
Though ordered shoot on site
Me thread highjacker bright
Deplored existence every night
Since your social bet online
You might’ve seen my world
Falling down from above
What once felt like genocide
Became a simple mugging of love
To know you are not listening
While I reel around drunkenly
I found it was habit-forming
Sure you don’t think of me
Since it was a struggle to be free
Everyday I collect a few little acts
Of kindness while my heart faces facts
That this is it and that is that
Didn’t stop to think or lurk before love.
Didn’t stop to think or lurk before love.
Mine
Uh, oh! y'know
i never thought
every time i fought
i got as much as i gave
i stupidly thought
i gave as much as i got
now you've got a point
when you asked me
to stop making love
to that joint especially
since I’ve done that for years
y'see i'm too old to explain
its been me looking after me
i got me as far as i could
from a lost boy to today
yes i can hear you say
theres no need anyway
funny thing lover is
l8tly i've been feeling the same way
i know its a cross i needn’t bear
since i cut my hair
its been a matter of time
I’ve been getting bored
of my wasted years
with no sense of time
but offensively mine
but i cant tell you
how glad i am
that you are here
somehow you got it
already fair and early
instead of running away
now if you dont mind
i'll take you up on that
and get back in line
and if they’re handing out
another chance and
I'm gonna make you
MINE.
i never thought
every time i fought
i got as much as i gave
i stupidly thought
i gave as much as i got
now you've got a point
when you asked me
to stop making love
to that joint especially
since I’ve done that for years
y'see i'm too old to explain
its been me looking after me
i got me as far as i could
from a lost boy to today
yes i can hear you say
theres no need anyway
funny thing lover is
l8tly i've been feeling the same way
i know its a cross i needn’t bear
since i cut my hair
its been a matter of time
I’ve been getting bored
of my wasted years
with no sense of time
but offensively mine
but i cant tell you
how glad i am
that you are here
somehow you got it
already fair and early
instead of running away
now if you dont mind
i'll take you up on that
and get back in line
and if they’re handing out
another chance and
I'm gonna make you
MINE.
Scum Feeling
That old scum feeling
comes around reeling
Out of the cold
In the house he just sold
Strange no one could tell
State of his mental health
It’s like he once said
All’s well endeth in hell
All that’s well ends in hell
When she went from him
It ended the dream
From her wandering
She returned to a better home
She stayed out of that zone
And that stopped the scream.
Now all that’s well ends in hell
All that’s well ends in hell.
Well they got it together again
Separately found new lovers without pain
And went back to living forever
He wasn’t running away
She wasn’t coming back anyway
Now we’ve run out of things to say
Now we’ve run out of things to say
Still all that’s well ends in hell
All that’s well ends in hell.
comes around reeling
Out of the cold
In the house he just sold
Strange no one could tell
State of his mental health
It’s like he once said
All’s well endeth in hell
All that’s well ends in hell
When she went from him
It ended the dream
From her wandering
She returned to a better home
She stayed out of that zone
And that stopped the scream.
Now all that’s well ends in hell
All that’s well ends in hell.
Well they got it together again
Separately found new lovers without pain
And went back to living forever
He wasn’t running away
She wasn’t coming back anyway
Now we’ve run out of things to say
Now we’ve run out of things to say
Still all that’s well ends in hell
All that’s well ends in hell.
(Straight Jacket) I Believe in Flowers
Where I stand, It’s my choice
It’s where I chose to use my voice
I don’t care if you don’t understand.
It’s all my hate, I think ingrained
Used to be a fool Now self-restrained.
I used to believe love gave me a chance
Until you gave me a glance
Like a leaf on a tree
Dreaming flowery memories
Of red fingernails and black grease
Too good to be true
In a butterfly breeze
I don’t know, did I explain
To live with hurt we learn to hate
I don’t believe you know what you’re saying
I don’t know if you’re praying
To your gods in contempt of others
I have seen other lovers
Still I believe in flowers.
Still I believe in f-lovers.
It’s where I chose to use my voice
I don’t care if you don’t understand.
It’s all my hate, I think ingrained
Used to be a fool Now self-restrained.
I used to believe love gave me a chance
Until you gave me a glance
Like a leaf on a tree
Dreaming flowery memories
Of red fingernails and black grease
Too good to be true
In a butterfly breeze
I don’t know, did I explain
To live with hurt we learn to hate
I don’t believe you know what you’re saying
I don’t know if you’re praying
To your gods in contempt of others
I have seen other lovers
Still I believe in flowers.
Still I believe in f-lovers.
You’re So Right
I don’t know what you’ve been told
If summer mornings start turning cold
I want to kiss your eyelashes as you sleep
Let my imagination suck the dreams you keep
Behind them as I stare at the puddle on the pillow
Made by your hair, I want you to know
Somebody did care, I want you to know I care.
You’re so bloody right
You so uptight
When you wake up in the sunlight
After another whispering night
You always get it right
While I loose the beat
End up on the wrong end of the street
Well you know that’s why
All the angels upstairs weep
If you end up as a bride
In your head, its like beating the retreat
cause your independence sure is sweet
Me, I’ll take a lecture tour
Get laughed on my face for sure
Still nothing can change
Me or the human race
Like a blind man drowning
Below a dying world’s surface.
You’re so bloody right
You so uptight
When you wake up in the sunlight
After another whispering night
You always get it right
While I loose the beat
End up on the wrong end of the street
If summer mornings start turning cold
I want to kiss your eyelashes as you sleep
Let my imagination suck the dreams you keep
Behind them as I stare at the puddle on the pillow
Made by your hair, I want you to know
Somebody did care, I want you to know I care.
You’re so bloody right
You so uptight
When you wake up in the sunlight
After another whispering night
You always get it right
While I loose the beat
End up on the wrong end of the street
Well you know that’s why
All the angels upstairs weep
If you end up as a bride
In your head, its like beating the retreat
cause your independence sure is sweet
Me, I’ll take a lecture tour
Get laughed on my face for sure
Still nothing can change
Me or the human race
Like a blind man drowning
Below a dying world’s surface.
You’re so bloody right
You so uptight
When you wake up in the sunlight
After another whispering night
You always get it right
While I loose the beat
End up on the wrong end of the street
What Happened Today
I could set back time
With each gentle caress
Gently rising gladness
Cyclops dreams of horses
Infinity beckons madness
Up and down tracks on your back
I can feel your deepest night
I can see your brightest day
I collide with stars
Trying to get a grip
On what happened today.
Say, do you dare
Take care of yourself for me
Don’t know what you’ve got
Oh, but it sets me free
It’s the only way to be
By your side
By hook or by crook
Think you could spare another look?
Say do you dare
Take care of yourself for me
Don’t know what you’ve got
But it sets me free
By your side
By hook or by crook
Think you could spare just another look?
I crossed the seven seas
Thinking I really was free
I thought I was dreaming
In the distance, nothing returning
Open eyes wide style
Empty sky and sparse mile
I can feel myself once again
Set my sights on heaven.
Desire is a burning bush
Where no one can see it
Think I could go back
Thought I would fly
Even felt I should try
But I collide with stars
That get in my way
Trying to get a grip
On what happened today
On what happened today.
With each gentle caress
Gently rising gladness
Cyclops dreams of horses
Infinity beckons madness
Up and down tracks on your back
I can feel your deepest night
I can see your brightest day
I collide with stars
Trying to get a grip
On what happened today.
Say, do you dare
Take care of yourself for me
Don’t know what you’ve got
Oh, but it sets me free
It’s the only way to be
By your side
By hook or by crook
Think you could spare another look?
Say do you dare
Take care of yourself for me
Don’t know what you’ve got
But it sets me free
By your side
By hook or by crook
Think you could spare just another look?
I crossed the seven seas
Thinking I really was free
I thought I was dreaming
In the distance, nothing returning
Open eyes wide style
Empty sky and sparse mile
I can feel myself once again
Set my sights on heaven.
Desire is a burning bush
Where no one can see it
Think I could go back
Thought I would fly
Even felt I should try
But I collide with stars
That get in my way
Trying to get a grip
On what happened today
On what happened today.
we collide and crash like stars
knowing that we just gave birth
to an engine of re-creation
While the rest of our issues
struggle for justification
we know the things we push
away today will return tomorrow
to miss and haunt us as we go.
It's true; some days are diamonds
the rest is also true while you
are lying in the gutter your mind
can clear out some of the clutter
that you find in the back of behind.
Ever wonder why you react the way
you do and reasons for what you say
Just pushing or are you fading away?
The gleam of my regret shines through
the doorway while my regret wont let
me forget what I did. I could feel more
than I could ever begat, it's true
If I cannot let go of my anger and what
makes me more than my insurrect brain.
She cried when she could not understand
what makes a woman more patient than a man.
I thought you would realise the pain
that kids go through just to feel the main
thought that re-courses through your refrain
that you've bugged me enough, so shut your brain.
Ten fingers and ten tiny toes
Cannot tell me where your milk goes
Still I must wait and measure
What the future can only promise
Naked you are my third hand
while our baby looks at the future.
I wonder what sin this wrought
But I am sorry, I just forgot
that I was writing and leaned back
to bump my head and forget all thought.
To morrow, while in repose or the onslaught
of a workday morning, I should remember what
I could not do and should be done in the light
of what into the wold I brought
Another sorry pun, but I regret to say
I shall live to type another day
knowing that we just gave birth
to an engine of re-creation
While the rest of our issues
struggle for justification
we know the things we push
away today will return tomorrow
to miss and haunt us as we go.
It's true; some days are diamonds
the rest is also true while you
are lying in the gutter your mind
can clear out some of the clutter
that you find in the back of behind.
Ever wonder why you react the way
you do and reasons for what you say
Just pushing or are you fading away?
The gleam of my regret shines through
the doorway while my regret wont let
me forget what I did. I could feel more
than I could ever begat, it's true
If I cannot let go of my anger and what
makes me more than my insurrect brain.
She cried when she could not understand
what makes a woman more patient than a man.
I thought you would realise the pain
that kids go through just to feel the main
thought that re-courses through your refrain
that you've bugged me enough, so shut your brain.
Ten fingers and ten tiny toes
Cannot tell me where your milk goes
Still I must wait and measure
What the future can only promise
Naked you are my third hand
while our baby looks at the future.
I wonder what sin this wrought
But I am sorry, I just forgot
that I was writing and leaned back
to bump my head and forget all thought.
To morrow, while in repose or the onslaught
of a workday morning, I should remember what
I could not do and should be done in the light
of what into the wold I brought
Another sorry pun, but I regret to say
I shall live to type another day
Meanings of the Moon...sort of
Moon Magic
It talks of the fluid ever changing cyclical nature of all beings and things which is mirrored by the constantly changing phases of the Moon and the cycles of the Seasons.
The 8 Sabbats – Seasonal festivals
o Autumn Equinox – 20-21st Mar (southern hemisphere) Sep 23rd (Northern Hemisphere) :
A wonderful time to celebrate Menopause! Build a bonfire. Prepare an altar with autumn coloured candles and autumn fruits. Place symbols of the fruits of your labour on the attar. Take turns to circle the fire as you name each fruit you have brought to bear. Drum, dance, clap and sing!!!! Invoke Ma’at Egyptian goddess of balance and justice to help you celebrate the moment of perfect balance. Burn myrrh incense as you meditate on the justice card from the Tarot. Complete your ritual with a Feast.
o Beltane – 31ST Oct (southern hemisphere) 30th April (Northern Hemisphere):
One of the four Celtic Fire festivals – called the Cross Quarter Days. This festival is about celebrating blossoming sexual passion and the inherent creative force. An outdoor activity with beautiful fragrant blooms and lots of rose coloured candles. Anoint your body with “Ylang – Ylang” oil. It is traditional for lovers to jump the fire together while holding hands. You may also do this with a beloved friend to affirm a special bond!!!
o Candlemas – 1st Aug (southern hemisphere) 1st Feb (Northern Hemisphere): also called Imbolc. Dress in white!!!!! Light as many white candles as possible! Place seeds, flowers and crystals on the altar. Burn rose/ incense oil. Beg in your ritual around the fire with a group breath. Honour the four directions and the elements. Call upon the goddess Brigid to inspire each seed to flower and fruit in the year ahead. Drum, chant and spiral dance!!! To complete your ritual share a yummy Feast together.
Dark Moon – There was a time when the year was divided into 13 lunar months. At this phase, we draw close to the ending, closure or death phase of any cycles. This is a time of germination. Draw inward and meditate on the inevitability of endings and of how they always precede new life and growth. This is the best time of the year to also banish and let go of pain associated with loss. Most potent time when the dark moon is in Capricorn! Burn black candles!
Esbats – at this time the Moon’s energy is at her most expansive. Gather together in a circle outside in the light of the Moon. Join hands and ground your energies. Inhale and exhale together and feel the vitalizing force of the breath moving through the body. Look up at the Moon and bathe in her fecund energy. Raise energy by drumming and dancing. If you wish to burn or anoint with oil, then go for jasmine or patchouli!!!!
Feminine Spirituality – Woman centred spirituality focuses on being in the body and in touch with the intuition. The physicality of a woman’s monthly cycle and her life – giving potential means that she carries within her body the Great Mysteries that so many seek from without. Let us remember that the Divine lives within each one of us in our ordinary daily rituals and in the cells of our bodies. We are Sacred!!!!!
Godiva – means Goddess. The story of Lady Godiva evolved from an annual Beltane procession in which she rode through the streets on a white horse to ensure the fertility of the land in the coming year.
o Hallows/ Samhain – 30th April (southern hemisphere) 31st Oct (Northern Hemisphere) :
This is the time of the year when the veil between the worlds is thinnest. Time when it is easiest to make connection with those gone into death and beyond!!! This festival brings us closest to revelations about the death phase of the great ‘Round’. Call upon Hecate, Kali, the Morrigon and Carridwyn for illumination!!! To create a ritual burn black and white candles and myrrh incense. Decorate your altar with dried seed pods and place on it photos of those gone beyond the veil. Use a large bowl of water for scrying. Honour the crones you know and solitary work.
International Women’s Day – 8th Mar – Spend a week celebrating the gifts women bring to the world. Focus on your own gifts!! Name them!! Take time to nurture yourself and your women friends. Pamper each other!!!
Jambu – Jambu Island is a tantric maternal paradise, in the shape of a Yoni. A land of the sacred life giving Rose – Apple tree which has a spring at its root and corresponds with the Western Isle of Avalon – appears as the body of a woman.
Kali – The powerful Hindu goddess often seen portrayed in her destroyer aspect wearing a necklace of skulls. Her energy destroys old outmoded ways and brings us to transformations and renewal. On 16th Nov, each year Indians celebrate Diwali, a festival of Lights in the honour of Kali.
o Lughnasad/ Lammas – 1st Feb (southern hemisphere) 1st Aug (Northern Hemisphere): This is one of the Cross Quarter Days or Celtic Fire Festivals. Use this time to acknowledge what you are harvesting in your life. Burn cedar incense, green and orange candles! Have two loaves of bread set aside. Pass the first around for each person to break off a piece as she names her hopes. When this is complete, eat your pieces. Repeat this round with the second loaf of bread naming your fears. On completion, burn your piece of bread in the fire. In early Celtic tradition, this was a time when women gathered together to hold rites of passage and to celebrate the mysteries of the feminine.
Moon - The life long cycle of a woman physically and symbolically reflects the phases of the Moon.
Menarche – the young maiden’s blossoming into her sexual awareness.
Mothering – the passionate full flowing middle years involving the gestation, life giving and nurturing of physical and/ or creative children.
Menopause – when a woman has the opportunity to step fully into her potency and journey deeply into her life’s work.
Natal Moon – This gives insight into your lunar nature – your inner world. It reveals information about your feelings and instincts, about how you respond emotionally, what makes you ‘secure’, how you relate to women and about your approach to nurturing and dependency issues.
Owl – The owl is the bird of wisdom of the night and was sacred to Lilith, Athene, and Bloduewedd. From the Welsh myths, Bloduewedd was conjured from the blossoms of Oak, Meadowsweet and Broome. She is a ‘Flowerbridge’ - an archetype of women kept in their maiden aspect. Bloduewedd transforms into an owl, thus coming fully into the feminine mysteries.
Pomegranate – With its red juice and many seeds, the pomegranate is a symbol of the womb and its life giving uterine blood. It is a potent female sexual symbol called the fruit of the tree of knowledge. In myth, souls in the underworld ate the pomegranate in order to be reborn.
4 Quarters of the Moon – The first quarter of the Moon from dark to waxing is the best time to begin new things, to define new goals and aspirations. The second quarter from waxing to full is the best time to build and give stability to form. A time of creative action and strength! The third quarter from full to waning is a time of accomplishment and relatedness. And the fourth quarter from waning to dark is the time when form is broken down. Release the past and dream the future. Time to reflect and turn inward!
Ritual – Ritual brings meaning, power and consciousness to whatever its focus is.
1. Allow time and space to focus your intention.
2. Make the altar the central point and place symbols of the 4 elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
3. Carefully choose the things you wish to use – symbols of your intention.
4. Before performing your ritual, soak in a bath to which you have added the appropriate oils that can cleanse the psyche as well as the body.
5. Finish with a ritual feast!
o Summer Solstice – 21/ 22nd Dec (southern hemisphere) 21st June (Northern Hemisphere) :
Midsummer’s night!!! Celebrate the heat and passion of women in your midst who are in their middle years. Burn red candles and geranium oil!!! Decorate the altar with full blooms and ripe fruits – a luscious summer feast.
o Spring Equinox – 23rd Sep (southern hemisphere) 20/ 21st Mar (Northern Hemisphere) :
A time of sweetness on the verge of passion!!! In myth, Persephone returns from the underworld to be united with Demeter, her mother. Burn green candles and celebrate the maidens in your midst who are on the verge of Menarche – first Menstruation. Garland them with spring blossoms! Bring things that evoke the senses; luscious food, perfumed oils, footbaths, massage.
Triple Goddess – She is Maiden, Mother and Crone.
Vesica Pisces – Vessel of the Fish! It’s a symbol of two interlocking circles; a powerful representation of the union of opposites. The interlocking area represents the vulva, symbol of the creative force, gateway to spiritual knowledge. This area is also called the Mandorla.
o Winter Solstice – 21st June (southern hemisphere) 21/ 22nd Dec (Northern Hemisphere) :
Also called the Yule!! This is the darkest and coldest time of the year. Then we can celebrate the birth of the Sun and the new beginnings of light and warmth.
Xikum – The tree of heaven with its roots in the underworld and its branches in the Heavens! An emblem of Ishtar, the Babylonian Great Mother of All!!!!!
Yoni – Since we are all born to this Earth through the Yoni, this place in a woman’s body has long been considered Sacred and variously honoured as the “Gateway Of Life”, “Garden of Paradise” and “Gateway to the Underworld”. The Yoni embodies the spaciousness, receptivity and nourishment of the Feminine. The Vulva is worshipped in wells, lakes and valleys, shells, fruit, flowers and rocks world – wide. In our personal reclamation of the Feminine, the Yoni is the gateway to one’s passion, sensuality and creativity. Celebrate her pleasure and mystery power!!!!!
It talks of the fluid ever changing cyclical nature of all beings and things which is mirrored by the constantly changing phases of the Moon and the cycles of the Seasons.
The 8 Sabbats – Seasonal festivals
o Autumn Equinox – 20-21st Mar (southern hemisphere) Sep 23rd (Northern Hemisphere) :
A wonderful time to celebrate Menopause! Build a bonfire. Prepare an altar with autumn coloured candles and autumn fruits. Place symbols of the fruits of your labour on the attar. Take turns to circle the fire as you name each fruit you have brought to bear. Drum, dance, clap and sing!!!! Invoke Ma’at Egyptian goddess of balance and justice to help you celebrate the moment of perfect balance. Burn myrrh incense as you meditate on the justice card from the Tarot. Complete your ritual with a Feast.
o Beltane – 31ST Oct (southern hemisphere) 30th April (Northern Hemisphere):
One of the four Celtic Fire festivals – called the Cross Quarter Days. This festival is about celebrating blossoming sexual passion and the inherent creative force. An outdoor activity with beautiful fragrant blooms and lots of rose coloured candles. Anoint your body with “Ylang – Ylang” oil. It is traditional for lovers to jump the fire together while holding hands. You may also do this with a beloved friend to affirm a special bond!!!
o Candlemas – 1st Aug (southern hemisphere) 1st Feb (Northern Hemisphere): also called Imbolc. Dress in white!!!!! Light as many white candles as possible! Place seeds, flowers and crystals on the altar. Burn rose/ incense oil. Beg in your ritual around the fire with a group breath. Honour the four directions and the elements. Call upon the goddess Brigid to inspire each seed to flower and fruit in the year ahead. Drum, chant and spiral dance!!! To complete your ritual share a yummy Feast together.
Dark Moon – There was a time when the year was divided into 13 lunar months. At this phase, we draw close to the ending, closure or death phase of any cycles. This is a time of germination. Draw inward and meditate on the inevitability of endings and of how they always precede new life and growth. This is the best time of the year to also banish and let go of pain associated with loss. Most potent time when the dark moon is in Capricorn! Burn black candles!
Esbats – at this time the Moon’s energy is at her most expansive. Gather together in a circle outside in the light of the Moon. Join hands and ground your energies. Inhale and exhale together and feel the vitalizing force of the breath moving through the body. Look up at the Moon and bathe in her fecund energy. Raise energy by drumming and dancing. If you wish to burn or anoint with oil, then go for jasmine or patchouli!!!!
Feminine Spirituality – Woman centred spirituality focuses on being in the body and in touch with the intuition. The physicality of a woman’s monthly cycle and her life – giving potential means that she carries within her body the Great Mysteries that so many seek from without. Let us remember that the Divine lives within each one of us in our ordinary daily rituals and in the cells of our bodies. We are Sacred!!!!!
Godiva – means Goddess. The story of Lady Godiva evolved from an annual Beltane procession in which she rode through the streets on a white horse to ensure the fertility of the land in the coming year.
o Hallows/ Samhain – 30th April (southern hemisphere) 31st Oct (Northern Hemisphere) :
This is the time of the year when the veil between the worlds is thinnest. Time when it is easiest to make connection with those gone into death and beyond!!! This festival brings us closest to revelations about the death phase of the great ‘Round’. Call upon Hecate, Kali, the Morrigon and Carridwyn for illumination!!! To create a ritual burn black and white candles and myrrh incense. Decorate your altar with dried seed pods and place on it photos of those gone beyond the veil. Use a large bowl of water for scrying. Honour the crones you know and solitary work.
International Women’s Day – 8th Mar – Spend a week celebrating the gifts women bring to the world. Focus on your own gifts!! Name them!! Take time to nurture yourself and your women friends. Pamper each other!!!
Jambu – Jambu Island is a tantric maternal paradise, in the shape of a Yoni. A land of the sacred life giving Rose – Apple tree which has a spring at its root and corresponds with the Western Isle of Avalon – appears as the body of a woman.
Kali – The powerful Hindu goddess often seen portrayed in her destroyer aspect wearing a necklace of skulls. Her energy destroys old outmoded ways and brings us to transformations and renewal. On 16th Nov, each year Indians celebrate Diwali, a festival of Lights in the honour of Kali.
o Lughnasad/ Lammas – 1st Feb (southern hemisphere) 1st Aug (Northern Hemisphere): This is one of the Cross Quarter Days or Celtic Fire Festivals. Use this time to acknowledge what you are harvesting in your life. Burn cedar incense, green and orange candles! Have two loaves of bread set aside. Pass the first around for each person to break off a piece as she names her hopes. When this is complete, eat your pieces. Repeat this round with the second loaf of bread naming your fears. On completion, burn your piece of bread in the fire. In early Celtic tradition, this was a time when women gathered together to hold rites of passage and to celebrate the mysteries of the feminine.
Moon - The life long cycle of a woman physically and symbolically reflects the phases of the Moon.
Menarche – the young maiden’s blossoming into her sexual awareness.
Mothering – the passionate full flowing middle years involving the gestation, life giving and nurturing of physical and/ or creative children.
Menopause – when a woman has the opportunity to step fully into her potency and journey deeply into her life’s work.
Natal Moon – This gives insight into your lunar nature – your inner world. It reveals information about your feelings and instincts, about how you respond emotionally, what makes you ‘secure’, how you relate to women and about your approach to nurturing and dependency issues.
Owl – The owl is the bird of wisdom of the night and was sacred to Lilith, Athene, and Bloduewedd. From the Welsh myths, Bloduewedd was conjured from the blossoms of Oak, Meadowsweet and Broome. She is a ‘Flowerbridge’ - an archetype of women kept in their maiden aspect. Bloduewedd transforms into an owl, thus coming fully into the feminine mysteries.
Pomegranate – With its red juice and many seeds, the pomegranate is a symbol of the womb and its life giving uterine blood. It is a potent female sexual symbol called the fruit of the tree of knowledge. In myth, souls in the underworld ate the pomegranate in order to be reborn.
4 Quarters of the Moon – The first quarter of the Moon from dark to waxing is the best time to begin new things, to define new goals and aspirations. The second quarter from waxing to full is the best time to build and give stability to form. A time of creative action and strength! The third quarter from full to waning is a time of accomplishment and relatedness. And the fourth quarter from waning to dark is the time when form is broken down. Release the past and dream the future. Time to reflect and turn inward!
Ritual – Ritual brings meaning, power and consciousness to whatever its focus is.
1. Allow time and space to focus your intention.
2. Make the altar the central point and place symbols of the 4 elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
3. Carefully choose the things you wish to use – symbols of your intention.
4. Before performing your ritual, soak in a bath to which you have added the appropriate oils that can cleanse the psyche as well as the body.
5. Finish with a ritual feast!
o Summer Solstice – 21/ 22nd Dec (southern hemisphere) 21st June (Northern Hemisphere) :
Midsummer’s night!!! Celebrate the heat and passion of women in your midst who are in their middle years. Burn red candles and geranium oil!!! Decorate the altar with full blooms and ripe fruits – a luscious summer feast.
o Spring Equinox – 23rd Sep (southern hemisphere) 20/ 21st Mar (Northern Hemisphere) :
A time of sweetness on the verge of passion!!! In myth, Persephone returns from the underworld to be united with Demeter, her mother. Burn green candles and celebrate the maidens in your midst who are on the verge of Menarche – first Menstruation. Garland them with spring blossoms! Bring things that evoke the senses; luscious food, perfumed oils, footbaths, massage.
Triple Goddess – She is Maiden, Mother and Crone.
Vesica Pisces – Vessel of the Fish! It’s a symbol of two interlocking circles; a powerful representation of the union of opposites. The interlocking area represents the vulva, symbol of the creative force, gateway to spiritual knowledge. This area is also called the Mandorla.
o Winter Solstice – 21st June (southern hemisphere) 21/ 22nd Dec (Northern Hemisphere) :
Also called the Yule!! This is the darkest and coldest time of the year. Then we can celebrate the birth of the Sun and the new beginnings of light and warmth.
Xikum – The tree of heaven with its roots in the underworld and its branches in the Heavens! An emblem of Ishtar, the Babylonian Great Mother of All!!!!!
Yoni – Since we are all born to this Earth through the Yoni, this place in a woman’s body has long been considered Sacred and variously honoured as the “Gateway Of Life”, “Garden of Paradise” and “Gateway to the Underworld”. The Yoni embodies the spaciousness, receptivity and nourishment of the Feminine. The Vulva is worshipped in wells, lakes and valleys, shells, fruit, flowers and rocks world – wide. In our personal reclamation of the Feminine, the Yoni is the gateway to one’s passion, sensuality and creativity. Celebrate her pleasure and mystery power!!!!!
To My Baby
I hope you are okay
I hope you are smiling
If you’re not, you took mine.
Keep it under your pillow
For a while and don’t tell mom
She doesn’t think
Anything from me is any good
But she still took you away.
Now you’re both gone
And it’s hard carrying on
I’ve got to stay alive and strong
Each and every day, I go to sleep
With nothing to do but stare
At darkness and hope somehow
It doesn’t reach you and wonder
If you, I or she will ever believe
Everything we hear after this respite
From initial violence our lives
Are underscore hopelessly entwined
I never asked her for money
In my weakness, you would’ve died
They paid the bills and helped you live
Since then, it was clear, when it comes
To you, my baby, I have no rights.
Fact is, I never got it right
The first time, now all I
Have besides my pride cannot
Make me forget I don’t have you.
Still, hang on to that smile in secret
Make sure mommy doesn’t know
You’ve got something from the past
Besides lies bitched and bandied about
By us grown-ups in your tender presence
It didn’t help your mother and I
When tempers fly, no one thought
Of your tears but I hope stray dreams
That she will dry that one good well.
All my love, I really miss you
In case I never see you again;
Goodbye.
I hope you are smiling
If you’re not, you took mine.
Keep it under your pillow
For a while and don’t tell mom
She doesn’t think
Anything from me is any good
But she still took you away.
Now you’re both gone
And it’s hard carrying on
I’ve got to stay alive and strong
Each and every day, I go to sleep
With nothing to do but stare
At darkness and hope somehow
It doesn’t reach you and wonder
If you, I or she will ever believe
Everything we hear after this respite
From initial violence our lives
Are underscore hopelessly entwined
I never asked her for money
In my weakness, you would’ve died
They paid the bills and helped you live
Since then, it was clear, when it comes
To you, my baby, I have no rights.
Fact is, I never got it right
The first time, now all I
Have besides my pride cannot
Make me forget I don’t have you.
Still, hang on to that smile in secret
Make sure mommy doesn’t know
You’ve got something from the past
Besides lies bitched and bandied about
By us grown-ups in your tender presence
It didn’t help your mother and I
When tempers fly, no one thought
Of your tears but I hope stray dreams
That she will dry that one good well.
All my love, I really miss you
In case I never see you again;
Goodbye.
