this gives tipping the velvet and I'm here for it.

As hard as it was emotionally for me to process a beautiful bird into meat for the pot, I feel so deeply grateful. Something sits awry every time I buy meat from a supermarket. I want to fully feel the sacrifice, the gratitude, the death that feeds my life. And so this is another step along the path

My suburban younger self would be impressed. Or horrified. I'm not sure. But there was something profound about the whole experience. Blessings offered. An meaningful alternative to Pukeko becoming flattened roadkill. Shared learning. Tangibly understanding where my meat was coming from. Honouring.

He seems to be a very smart and intuitive fellow. It feels good to be forewarned & have an idea of what's to come. And that fostering community is a helpful way forward. No simple task to dismantle the old paradigm within though!

This is a powerful watch, thank you for sharing!

We learn ceilidh dances, laughing and swirling as the last of the sun departs. The children are like lost spinning tops, free-wheeling through the procession, laughing and full of wonder.

We collapse and depart in waves. Hearts full of love and abundance as we drift away to our homes.

That same young woman is leaving home, towards life in the city. We stand in a circle as she steps up to each of us to receive guidance & blessings. Her best friend hugs her as they both shake with love and grief. Her mother cries. Her mentor is so proud of her bravery as she claims her own path.

A 16 year old youth steps up to run our Eistedfodd. She’s thrown a curveball when a young couple asks to be handfast for a year & a day. She scrambles through her notes, she’s studied this, she knows how! But she’s nervous.
She speaks the words from her heart, with grace and power beyond her years.

A no-money market of shared skills & abundance was held amongst general chaos. Homemade chocolates wrapped in banana leaf swapped with beautiful pastel art. Tarot readings and hula hoop lessons. Capsicum seedlings and a grinning 3 year old asking everyone to read out the haiku he had help to write.

Trickster youths ran rampart, teasing out laughter when once there had been scowls, fond exasperation finding root in harried frustration. They don’t even notice the changes they wreak, running barefoot from chaos to chaos.

A young mother became the Loaf Priestess, gathering seeds from families who had brought them as offerings from their land. She made dough, adding all the seeds, and we consecrated our newly built clay pizza oven by baking Lughnassadh’s first loaf within it. We ate it in circle, with gratitude.

After completing our opening ritual, we heard a crack. A kereru fell to the ground, its neck broken. Everyone, from babies to youths to adults gathered around. We said a blessing, small hands stroked feathers, and we spent the next hour listening to each other, exploring what it meant, what to do.

oh this is exquisite.

Welcome! <3

Oh that sounds so wonderful, it sounds like you have such a great team & a place that feels nourishing and uplifting to visit. <3

They can be such a wonderful way to connect with nature, right? Especially when we live in cities or suburbs. What the one you volunteer at like?

I had it 20 years ago when I was a teen and have since passed it on to a young witchy friend. It's beautiful. Full of simple spells to do in nature, which prompted me to get outside and try things, and inspired me to create my own simple nature spells too.

I AM THINKING ABOUT IT