by sarah | Sep 3, 2020 | Reviews
This is the first children’s novel from Emmerdale actor Samantha Giles. I had high hopes for this story and it is indeed a fun, magical adventure that explores the world of magic as much as it does the everyday worries of lots of families but I also found it a little hard to get through just because I’m an adult and it is a story for younger children.
It has everything a 9-12 year old would want in a tale including an exciting mission and smelly farts but I also found it had some small problems. Rosemary’s language is sometimes exactly that of a 9 year old and at other times it is way above that age and understanding.
I absolutely loved the approach to talking about mental health and Samantha got it just right as to how a child of Rosemary’s age might see problems like these and try to deal with them. I also liked that the adults in the story were totally human and trying their best to juggle their messy lives and everything in them.
I think children of the right age group will absolutely love Rosemary and the Witches of Pendle Hill.
Bright blessings,
Sarah x
by sarah | Aug 17, 2020 | Reviews
The Folklore and Magic of Dolls gave me several hours of happy reading. I have always found dolls to be fascinating so was intrigued to find out what was within the dark green covers of this book when it arrived, and I wasn’t disappointed.
It is filled to the brim with stories, ideas and ways of bringing dolls to life through myth and magic. From the earliest known dolls all the way to the most modern, I enjoyed learning about the history of dolls and their importance to our lives as humans, whether we’re children or adults. Then I delved into some amazing stories about dolls from the most beautiful to the strangest and scariest and finally was taken on a journey to discover how to make several different kinds of dolls so that I could bring dolls into my magical practice. It has knitting patterns and paper templates to work from as well as recipes for making salt dough dolls and tips on using correspondences to make your creations more personal and even more magical.
I have loved this little book from beginning to end and I can highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in bringing these magical little beings into their world.
Bright blessings,
Sarah x
by sarah | Aug 6, 2020 | Reviews
I am a mother of four and unlikely to ever experience another pregnancy at this point in my life but this book still held a lot of interest for me as a mother who might help her own children through one of the most important and life-changing events they will ever go through during their lives.
It is beautifully presented and sensitively written to include all the possible roller coaster aspects pregnancy can bring to someone and how they can be honoured and dealt with from a witchy perspective. It brought back memories of my own pregnancies and had me thinking how I might have experienced them differently had I have had a book such as this at my fingertips!
From the very beginning of considering pregnancy right through to birth and the very new post-partum world that can never be truly appreciated until it is experienced, this book takes your hand and helps you every step of the way to honour your path as much as prepare yourself in a spiritual way for the arrival of a new life. It approaches the concept of the unexpected events that can befall someone during the journey in an honourable and sensitive way helping to provide support as well as ideas of how to cope when these events cross our path.
I especially loved the creative format of this book which leads you to explore yourself as much as appropriate deity and how to follow the pregnancy journey from a spiritual aspect while supporting yourself physically, emotionally and mentally.
Definitely a book that anyone who follows a goddess/Pagan/nature based path should think about picking up if they are thinking about having children and experiencing their pregnancy as a spiritual journey.
Bright blessings,
Sarah x
by sarah | Jan 22, 2020 | Healing
I get asked a lot what the benefits of energy healing are – indeed many wonder if there’s any point to it at all. Believe me I wouldn’t have put nearly fifteen years of my life into healing if I hadn’t seen its positive effects both for the people I have treated over the years and for myself.
In fact, for me, the difference between times of actively applying energy healing techinques and not using them at all have been all too easily identified. It has kept me sane, helped me to heal and shaped the way I think and feel in a positive way. It has helped pull me from the depths of grief and supported me while battling lifes challenges and the symptoms of complex PTSD. It’s not been everything that I have needed, for that I have had to spend time with doctors and mental health professionals but it has held me on that road safely and steadily all the way to today.
So how does energy healing achieve this? It has some delightful effects including:
- Encouraging deep relaxtion
- Bringing balance to both your mind and your emotions
- Promoting feelings of calm, wellbeing and peace
- Encourgaing and supporting positive personal life choices
- Promoting a calmer response to life’s inevitable challenges
- Working effectively alongside orthodox and traditional healthcare
- Reiki especially is easily adapted for most conditions and is suitable for all ages, in any situation (apart from in a medical emergency, nothing should replace reliable urgent care when needed)
When I get off the couch after a healing, I can feel a subtle difference in myself from lying down at the beginning. Its a little like the subtle difference between glass when its cleaned, somehow I can see things a little clearer, my body feels better aligned and solid in its connection with the ground I stand on. I feel calm and able to cope for a good while after as well as being able to sleep a little easier. I find coping with my rather crazy family is less stressful and tiring and my focus is sharper.
The opposite is true when I don’t find time for it. I become fuzzy headed, emotional, stressed and I can get physically and mentally unwell if I ignore it for long enough. The same is true when I forget any of the other things I do to help myself stay whole and healthy.
I wouldn’t be without energy healing in my life now. I’ve known it with and without its influence and for me at least, its an essential part of my self-care.
Bright blessings,
Sarah x
by sarah | Jan 22, 2020 | Healing
Healing tools are mostly thought of as things like crystals, pendulums, herbs, oils and the like – and that is very much true. I have explored several of them over the last decade and a half of being a healer and they truly amaze me each and every day when used with the right person, using the right technique and all at the right time for them to help them move forward.
There is a wider truth though and that is that a healing tool can be anything that provides help in someway or comfort and support when you need it. These items aren’t things we can’t do without, they’re things we call on when the time requires for them to help us through, soothe our hurts a little and provide a source of comfort that we can rely on. This means that not only can we use the commonly thought of items, we can also use therapeutic techniques, medicines, exercise, food and a myriad of other things to help support us while we deal with something that’s happening for us whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual.
Some of the best healing tools I have ever known include things like childhood teddies and toys that stay with their now grown up owners, pictures of loved ones and favourite books and stories. All had the power to connect the person with them to another person in their life who they knew would hold and support them as well as giving them what they needed to get up and carry on again. Yet to anyone who did not know that person or item, it would just be another thing with no significance.
I’ll be exploring all the possible healing tools I can find over the coming weeks and months on my blog and in the articles I write, keep checking back for new things!
Bright blessings,
Sarah x
