This lovely refined image above is subtly carrying on the tradition of the likely much more sensual predecessor of "Maying"; with a sweet lady in front continuing the search for her fellow; while a courting couple trails behind ... Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2018 / edited 2021
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Do you ever wonder why so many household items for kitchens are rooster-themed? Everything from canisters to casserole dishes, potholders to pictures, and spoon holders to salt and pepper shakers. A rooster in the kitchen brings good luck to your household - plain and simple! This belief is pretty universal around the world. Many countries relay fables with a rooster featuring prominently as the bringer of good luck to some situation or other. So common superstition says you would be well-advised to add one to your kitchen paraphernalia - if you haven't brought one in already! Check your kitchen - there is probably a rooster lurking somewhere, as people often gift these good luck fellows in the form of towels, utensils, dishes or other kitchen do-dads ... they might even be worked into your tiles. I actually relish the day when the "sterile" stainless steel kitchen trend comes to an end ... and colour and variety returns. Then not only the humble kitchen rooster - but all those lovely French Provencal blues, yellows, terracotta reds and whites - can make a well-deserved comeback in our kitchen tiles, counter tops and floors. But in the meantime, why not incorporate a rooster into your kitchen decor to bring good luck and good fortune into your home? It's a very simple kitchen witchery trick and you'll get all of the benefit ... without any of that early morning cock-a-doodle-do-ing! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2018 / edited 2020 & 2023
Apparently, there is a folklore tradition, in Britain and North America, wherein it is very good luck to say "white rabbits" or "rabbits" or "rabbits, rabbits, rabbits!", or any combination of these words three times, on the 1st day of any month. Three's the charm as they say and is always an important component to the success of any spell. They must be your first spoken words upon waking on the 1st day of the month. I've never heard of it before but am going to give it a go this Sunday! How auspicious is it that the first day of our next month this year (April), is not only April's Fool's Day but also Easter Sunday. Can't get much luckier than that! There are so many diverse symbolic meanings attached to the rabbit - and often contradictory ones. But if you think of both the prolific nature of bunnies and also the common "trickster" aspect of the rabbit - the above charm makes a lot of sense. It both invites bounty and good fortune for the month ... while at the same time stymieing the possibility of silly tricks those cunning characters might play! Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2018
Isn't it charming that many people throughout time have had or carried good luck charms? Four leaf clovers, pebbles and coins - anything really that symbolizes good fortune to the holder. The four leaf clover is considered lucky because they grow few and far between in any bed of clover. The odds of finding one are stacked against the seeker, so it follows that the finder is inherently "lucky" to spot one. Any stone can be considered lucky - they are too numerous to mention. But the one I remember most from childhood was the "wishing stone". Usually found by the ocean, the wishing stone is a smooth black rock, with a single white line running in a complete, unbroken circle around it - hold it in your hand and make a wish. A hag or "holey" stone (pictured above) is said to offer the wearer protection -- and sometimes offers a view to unseen worlds. Both are relatively easy to find so I think the magic is less in the finding but rather in the vast symbolism of the circle..... And of course, lucky coins need no explanation - they are a very tangible symbol of wealth! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2018 / edited 2023
We are so fortunate to have received a visit from Jack Frost himself who painted this beautiful and intricate design on an old windowpane in the Grove. Here is photographic proof of the existence of the little folk! Where Old Man Winter can be stern and grim; Jack is all about fun. He sees the beauty in ice and snow; and not the hardships that can come with the harsh winter weather. Just before dawn, this sprite tiptoes into gardens and looks for tree branches and blades of grass to coat with his shiny, shimmering paint. He especially loves finding an old single-paned window or any other thin, clear surface that he can use for a canvas. Jack is willing to share the beauty of winter with you. Make sure you check early in the morning when the results of his work are still at their finest. If he paints an original masterpiece somewhere in your vicinity; take a few moments to examine it. Each of his works are unique ... and he created it just for your enjoyment! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2018 / 2023 Want a fun way to rid yourself of a bad habit this New Year? Why not try a little bit of sympathetic magic. Cut an apple in half, and "pour" in that bad habit, worry or negative feeling right into the apple's core. Put the two halves back together tightly. Tie with string, tape, or anything that works for you. Bury the apple in your back yard. The reason this works, is because you are consciously identifying the problem, making a choice to remove it from yourself, and then discarding it into another space. Works best for little things. Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2018
It is the dark time of the year. The clocks have rolled back, it's dusk at 4 o'clock and pitch black at 5 pm. The rain, and even the hail, pounds all day long. And the cats are sleeping more. Smart right? I mean, when there are so few usable hours (outdoors anyway) it makes sense to conserve your energy. Cats have definitely got this one right. I for one, welcome the dark time of the year. While it means fewer daylight hours ... there is a certain relief when the sky starts to darken at 4 pm. You can be "in for the evening" so much earlier than in the summer ... and really focus on indoor projects. And if you don't feel like working on a project? You have only to take a page out of your cat's book and curl up with that soft, furry, purry body on the sofa and enjoy a cat nap. Or drink in the blissful content on the face of another snoozing feline, smartly claiming an entire chair by the window. See and hear the rain splattering on that window pane and realize that it is okay to begin the annual winter hibernation. Rest and rejuvenation awaits! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 That's kind of sad isn't it? I mean what happens to all those dolls who didn't make it? The dolls who are broken, forgotten and thrown away? Made in the image of mankind, an emulation really ... made to entertain ... made to be loved ... and love? And now lost. Let's remember on All Souls Day, those lovely dolls - when such care was invested in their creation. Before all items were replaceable and disposable. Their hair, erroneously cut by a younger sibling, could be re-rooted! Much-loved and worn bodies could be re-stuffed and stitched. A faded face repainted. Broken ceramic head? No problem - you could order a replacement from the catalogue! No need to throw dolly away. When the clothes wore out from the many ons and offs; new ones would be lovingly stitched by Mama. So, on All Souls Day, let's think of all the dollies who didn't make it ... and restore the ones that linger in attics, basements, storage lockers and thrift stores - waiting to be loved again! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 "Rock-a-bye baby" is such a well-known Mother Goose nursery rhyme. Written with several different variations and popularized in song, it could mean, and has been interpreted to mean, so many different things (political, historical or maternal/post-partum feelings). I think, in an attempt to explain what appears to be a very negative situation! But what if it actually describes a joyous event? One interpretation I haven't found yet, and which seems plain to me, is that it could describe the process of birth. The tree top (Mom) is high up indeed for a little baby. The wind blows (Mom or Mother Nature) giving all those life-sustaining needs to baby through the umbilical cord; which makes the cradle "rock" (ie function properly and do what it was designed to do). When the bough (water) breaks, the cradle (amniotic sac) will fall ... and down will come baby ... cradle and all. Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 / edited 2020
Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan, 2017 / edited 2020 Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers that Peter Piper picked? Lots of us get lazy with our pronunciation of certain words - here's a little tongue twister that was designed to help children with their diction. Give it a try - it's lots of fun too! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 Cinderella climbs the ranks in society and in wealth, even as she climbs the stairs to the palace. The Shoemaker and Puss n' Boots make good on that as well. In fact, Puss is smart enough to ASK for the boots, as this kitty-cat already knows they are the necessary item to start on a successful journey to status and riches! Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz) and Karen (The Red Shoes) both have spiritual awakenings and realize that "happiness can be found anywhere", even in poverty or uncomfortable circumstances or surroundings. Wynken, Blynken & Nod have, at the same time, already arrived and still have a long way to go. They can afford to literally reach for the stars as they're dreaming safe in bed with a Mother's Love overseeing their slumber.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses require a lot more study - there is just too much going on there and lots of variations to the story. And the Poor Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe? There are many analogies suggested for its possible political meaning, but perhaps she is simply trapped in circumstances. Shoes tied to the back of the wedding carriage, symbolize both a binding contract and fertility. Well, she certainly got both of those in spades! It is perhaps a warning to be wary of what a simple pair of shoes can do for you ... be mindful where yours take you. Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 A: Her Fairy Godmother of course!
Well, although the appearance of the Fairy Godmother to supply the gown is undoubtedly the most common version of the tale - there are others too. Fairy Godmother The most popular and most-remembered version was written by Charles Perrault in 1697. His story introduced the Fairy Godmother who provided Cinderella with a beautiful ballgown and transformed a pumpkin into a coach to take her to the palace. Tree Spirits ("Elder Mother") and Birds In Grimm's Fairy Tales, such as Ashputtel/Aschenputtel, Cinderella is never visited by her Fairy Godmother at all. She must complete seemingly impossible tasks set to her by her Step-mother before she can attend the King's Feast. The tasks are completed by the birds, ants and other little animals to whom she has been kind. When even this fails to gain her leave to attend, Ashputtel prays and weeps at her Mother's grave, letting her tears water the hazel tree she herself planted. The ball runs three nights in succession and each night she finds a new dress, more beautiful than the previous, folded on top of the grave. Alternatively, the dress is hanging or falls from the branches of the tree or is brought to her by the birds who earlier helped her to complete the other tasks. The birds also help alert the Prince to the step-sisters' deception when they cut off parts of their heels and toes to fit Ashputtel's shoe and later, at the wedding, they peck out those same offenders' eyes. But there is enough material there for another post ... and we were talking about the origin of the dress. These versions nod towards tree spirits such as the dryads and tree worship in general. The tree is seemingly absent in other versions but the concept of the "Elder Mother" continues on in the Fairy Godmother. Walt Disney Walt Disney, forever clever and sometimes misunderstood as one who "sanitized" fairy tales, actually did a fantastic job of working into his animated classic many of the symbols of the original tale. The befriending of the little birds and mice that perform a task and make-over the dress that had originally belonged to Cinderella's own mother. When her step-sisters destroy the dress, Cinderella runs in tears into the garden, where her Fairy Godmother appears and "Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo!"; she conjures up a majestic white gown. Clever, no? Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017
Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 / edited 2019
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