Wonderful Women's Day

I have very kindly been asked to talk about PMDD at a local Wonderful Women's Day.

The whole day is incorporating lots of activities, including an opportunity to experience Miranda Gray's Womb blessing in the company of others, AND a viewing of the film 'Things we don't talk about'.

If you live in the Hampshire area, why don't you come along!

For more details about activities please click the following links.

Miranda Gray's Womb Blessing http://www.wombblessing.com/
(You must register with Miranda to receive the womb blessing, chose 12 noon as the time if you are coming along on the day)

'Things we don't talk about' - Red Tent Movie http://www.redtentmovie.com/
(Admission to film only will be at 5.30pm with a suggested donation of £7)

Event run and organised by The Dreadess http://www.thedreadess.com/#/wonderful-womens-day/4576189163

Day 4

It's day 4 of my cycle.  I'm at that point where I'm done with resting, yet it's too soon to start anything.  My mind is still foggy, my attention span small.
Daydreaming is good, so is sitting, staring at things.
My mind goes off on different tangents every few seconds.  It like a rapid internet surf.  One random subject leads on to another and another, and before you know it, 4 hours have passed and you can't remember where you started.

I'm frustrated.  I want my energy back.  These last few days of menstruation are like the month of February...  The winter is not quite over, the earth is still waking up.  There are a few shows of life, but everything is sluggish and slow.  THAT is where I am.  I want it to be May, and the warmth of a new summer beginning,  I'm done with winter.  But that's not how it works.  The wheel turns at it's own pace.

I suffer from SAD in the winter months.  I find winter hard.  It's long, grey, cold and depressing.  I need sunlight so bad.  By February I'm hanging on by a thread, longing for sunny days and warmth.  Just like I am today.  The British summer has been terrible.  It will go down in history as the most depressing summer I'm sure of it.

So today, I forced myself to do something.  I had already thought of a million options, but settled for a piece of paper and some art materials.  I've barely seen anyone in days.  My kids are away and I feel like I've wasted the time, but I've had no energy.  Instead of surrendering, I've tried to fight all week, well, more like beat myself up, there wasn't much energy for fighting.  There wasn't much energy for anything.  All I could think was.. I should be doing this.. I should be doing that.. yet nothing got done.  Household business got done, the washing up got done, but anything for me? No.. because I was stuck in this frustrated state of nothingness.  Tired, lethargic, uninterested.

I feel like a caged lion.  Which is interesting as we are in Leo.  It is also the festival of Lughnasadh or Lammas, a fire festival.  The first harvest.  Oh! and did I mention a full moon in Aquarius... an air sign, therefore increased mental activity?  No wonder the past few days have been hard.

I let my hands draw.  I used ink pencils, water, brush, fineliners and a sharpie.  No masterpiece, I thought, just draw, just create... who cares if it's shit, just focus on something for a bit, DO SOMETHING.

This is what came out....

 

It's called, quite simply, Day 4.

To see more of my art, go to https://www.facebook.com/artbychaoticat.

7 years...

7 years ago, I was about to give birth...

She weighed 8lb 8oz and was born in my bedroom, in a birthing pool.
I was in labour for almost 8 hours.   From approx 3am.  Pain relief - tens machine, gas and air... warm water...

Fae Zanna was born at 11.45am on the 3rd July 2005, and she shares my Grandmothers (her Great Grandmothers) Birthday.

My Grandmother would have been 96 this year!  This photo was taken on the last birthday they shared together...  Fae was 2.

And here is my baby girl now!  next to her, her big sister, who is almost 14!

Happy Birthday Fae!

Leo Full Moon

Tonight's Full Moon in Leo (Full at 21:53pm GMT) is a chance to step back and re-create. Who do you want to be? What do you want to be?

This is the perfect moon to support those who feel like they don't fit in. Those of us who feel like we stick out like a sore thumb.. or should I say, stand out like a tall poppy! Take this moment to feel proud of all that you are. Rejoice in the fact you are different and unusual. Sing your own song and dance to your own tune.

Find the lioness within and roar. Be happy you are you. Unique and perfect and everything you were supposed to be. Spend time this evening creating something... draw, cook, craft.. Indulge and do something to support and encourage your own self expression.

Read more at http://www.mooncircles.com/fullmoon_april.html 

and at Auntie Moon  http://auntiemoon.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/full-moon-in-leo-living-from-the-heart/

A song for today's Leo Moon... Don't let life pass you by! Sing it LOUD!

Brandon Boyd is an Aquarius Sun and Leo Moon! I knew I was drawn to this song today for a reason!

Bat your eyes girl, be otherworldly. Count your blessings. Seduce a stranger.
What's so wrong with being happy?
Kudos to those who see through sickness. (yeah)
Over and over and over and over and ooh...

She woke in the morning.
She knew that her life had passed her by
And she called out a warning:
"Don't ever let life pass you by!"

I suggest we learn to love ourselves before it's made illegal.
When will we learn? (When will we learn?) When will we change? (When will we change?)
Just in time to see it all come down.
Those left standing will make millions
writing books on the way it should have been.

When she woke in the morning,
she knew that her life had passed her by
And she called out a warning (warning):
"Don't ever let life pass you by!"

Floating in this cosmic jacuzzi, we are like frogs oblivious
soon the water's starting to boil.
No one flinches. We all float face down.

She woke in the morning.
She knew that her life had passed her by
And she called out a warning,
"Don't ever let life pass you by...
pass you by..."

Womb Blessing Attunement with Miranda Grey

Today, with the Full Moon in strong, bold Leo, I tuned into Miranda Grey's first Womb Blessing Attunement.  With over 6000 women joining in with the blessings over the course of the day, it feel like a very powerful event to be a part of.

I decided I would combine this with a cleansing bath.  I added Jasmine essential oil and pure coconut oil to my bath water and climbed in about 20 minutes before the blessing would start.  In the background I played one of my favourite meditation cd's - Jonathan Goldman's Ultimate OM.
In the candle light, I began the Womb Tree visualisation, and kept focus on drawing down the cosmic energies through my crown chakra and branches and drawing up the earth energies through the root chakra and tree roots.  Seeing my womb expanding and growing, almost forming a huge womb-like bubble around myself.
Before or just as the blessing started, I could feel a tightening in my womb.  A definate sensation.

I am on day 28 of my cycle and due to bleed today or tomorrow, so the timing was just perfect.
After about 10 minutes into the attunement, I felt the energy change, The sensation in my womb was much more relaxed, so decided to leave the bath and sit in front of my altar.

On my altar was a lit candle and a glass of water containing a quartz crystal, and a red scarf to represent menstruation.   I sat, feet together, with visions of my womb being filled with positive energy, and the glass of water on the alter being charged with the blessings and energy from Miranda.

I re-focused on the Womb Tree and the connection between my body, the earth and the cosmos.
I put my hands over the glass and saw my own wishes and positive energies pouring into the water.   I then went through a colour chakra technique of pouring fresh colour into each chakra.  Towards the the end of the blessing, I held my hands up above my head and opened my arms out wide, imagining a rainbow of light forming from my hands and encompassing my whole body.
With deep breathing, I slowly drew the energy back in, the bubble getting smaller and smaller and returning into the safety of my womb.

I then went and just laid with the energies until I felt I was back into reality.  The music stopped and the sounds of everyday life slowly became recognisable again.  I went back to my altar and drank the charged water, ate a piece of fruit, and got myself dressed for the rest of the day.

I felt the blessing was very powerful, and I am already feeling the twinges of my imminent bleed.  The rest of the day will hopefully be spent drawing, maybe going for a walk in the winter sunshine and feeling content and happy that I participated.

If you would like more information, please visit http://wombblessing.wordpress.com/.

The next womb blessing event will be on 6th May 2012.  For more information, please go HERE.

Full Moon rising.

It's only a couple of days before we see another powerful Full Moon.
It's also a Lunar Eclipse, which makes for a very potent time.

Gemini Moon, Lunar Eclipse, December 10th 2011, 2.36PM.  Gemini/Saggitarius

The Mercury retrograde has caused me a few headaches, that and entering into my 'autumn', but I have managed to keep some momentum and I can feel the energies building for this Full Moon.
I have a Gemini ascendant, so am feeling quite wired.  I usually bleed a few days after Full Moon.  It's like, with the waxing energies and the culmination in the Full Moon, I find the energy to give work and life that final push, before descending into my 'winter' time with the waning moon.  This month, I really am planning on taking it easy when I hit that phase.

I'm planning on taking rest from all the frantic design work and poster prep I have been drowning in, and just... have.... some fun!  It's been a LONG time since I felt I could enjoy Yule, but this year is just SO different.  I am not scared!

A lot of things happened before mercury went retrograde, and the pause, although frustrating at times, has been a bonus.  I have had time to get things right.  To make sure, to check and re-check.

With eclipses bringing all manner of changes, opportunities, and shake-up's, and Mercury goes direct again on the 13th.. so as soon as we are done with the Full Moon and lunar eclipse, hopefully everything will start moving forward, and I have a hunch, this will be at speed.   


This is the LAST Total Lunar Eclipse we will experience for the next 3 years, so I imagine it will be, like me, giving everything a final push to get us moving into and through 2012.

I am hoping to work with these energies while I bleed....  Dive into the unknown and see what comes back with me.

2012 is a whole new year.. and it's just around the corner!

Oh yeah... and the poster?  It's now available for PRE-ORDER.  Just click the advert on the right!

The Moon is set to turn blood red during this eclipse.... very apt!

Aries Full Moon - October 2011

Full Moon Alert!!

Tuesday 11th October 2011  22:06 EDT

(Weds 12th Oct 2011 02:06 GMT)

Full Moon in Aries - The Ram - Fire Sign

Other current powerful aspects are Sun and Saturn in Libra - The Scales - Air Sign.  The current Sun position opposes the Moon so we have a tense Full Moon that will shine a light on decisions, relationships, finding and creating balance, urges to act quickly fighting against a need to make considered long term changes.

"There is an opportunity for insight and progress inherent in the FULL MOON. People often react emotionally during the days of the Full Moon due to a feeling of helplessness.  They become aware of the distance between the way they want their life to be, and the way it currently is.  Often, when they see this gap, they become upset.  Jan Spiller"

Over the next 3 days, we will feel the effects of this Full Moon more strongly, but the current 'issues' are one that have been with us for a few weeks now.  Something may have happened around the time of the New Moon  on September 27th 2011, that is now coming to a head, or end, or fruition....  or it's just time to re-evaluate and see if you're still on track.
Aries acts impulsively, not seeing any point in mulling things over, where as Libra likes to weigh up all the options before making a move.  You also have the mix of fire and lots of air.. what does that result in?? hot hot hot situations, explosions, and destruction.  Fire is a transformer though, and with the destruction, it leaves us  fertile, reborn, transformed into a new state.  The slate is clean and we are given a chance to start over.

With the Air energies about, we may find ourselves thinking lots, weighing up everything.  If you find yourself going round in circles, maybe you need to let a firey impulse sweep you away, or if you find you are acting too rash and impulsively, now may be a good time to hold back and curb the fire.  Go for a good long walk to work off the Aries energy and in the process, you will give yourself time to think situations through before you act or commit.  It is all about balancing the things in your life and making decisions.  Maybe some things, people, need to be removed from your life, maybe you need to change things within a relationship.  This Full Moon will bring those issues back into your mind.

If you feel any 'narkiness' in your life, whether that's from inside you or from people around you, try to rise above it all and let it go.  Spats, quarrels, arguments, disagreements could all get out of hand at the moment.  Let it go, your shit, their shit... all of it.  Just LET IT GO!  channel the argumentative energy into exercise, or a hobby.  Avoid people who are looking for a fight, don't entertain them.

Find the peace within and STAY WITH IT...  Good advice at anytime of the month, but ESPECIALLY, during this Full Moon.

If you would like to read more please visit these excellent links...


http://astrologywithjanspiller.com/2011/10/08/full-moon-reminder%E2%80%A6-tuesday-october-11th-1006-pm/

http://celestialspace.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/full-moon-in-aries-on-october-11th-2011/