Tuesday, 29 March 2011

Two very special wands ...

As promised, I've added the two wands which were crafted on the Spring Equinox, also known as Eostre or Ostara.
Above and below: Willow Ostara ogham wand which is crafted from naturally twisted willow wood, a rarity! It is carved with the ogham alphabet, following the twist and has an Ostara Sun added to the handle celebrating the new life at this time of year.

Above: Detail of the Willow Ostara ogham wand
Below and also, the top picture of this blog post: Wild Honeysuckle Ostara wand which is crafted from wild honeysuckle wood which has a naturally deeper coloured core which is exposed in natural patterns. The honeysuckle was gathered and crafted on the Spring Equinox, also known as Eostre or Ostara, and the resulting wand feels full of that wild spirit so noticeable in Nature at the time.

Plenty more new items left to come ... :~)

Monday, 28 March 2011

Eostre greening and woodland walks

What a beautiful week Eostre has been! We were blessed with sun, warmth and bird song :~) As you can see, Andy has been busy crafting ... so busy in fact that I'm having trouble keeping up with the photographing and listing! I've still got another couple of wands to be added in that wonderful, wild style that seems everywhere at the moment ... so full of energy! There are also some Stonehenge Wayfaring Tree staves in a birch bark box, several other stave sets and numerous pendants all waiting their turn to be added.

The pendant above is Bran's Raven. Crafted from warm-coloured alder wood, it marries three traditional associations: alder wood which is connected with the Celtic god Bran and Bran's totem bird, the raven. Bran is an interesting character with links to the Tower of London and the Ravens who live there. You can find some excellent information out about him here.

Another pendant which is newly listed is the Sunwheel shown above, carved from the deepest black Celtic bog oak. You can find both pendants listed here, each with an instant purchase option.

Above is a wand, carved on the equinox and celebrating the sun ...
Walks in Eostre week found such beautiful sights ... Silverweed and lichen ...
... primroses too, all bathed in the warmth of spring. It's been unseasonably warm in England this week and it's a welcome end to the winter.

Above is the finished Eostre ogham wand which will hopefully be listed on the website later on this week. Below, you can see the pussy willow looking so soft against the blue sky.

Softest moss for Faery beds and our faithful big hound the colour of dried Winter grasses ...

... little hound with her spotty bandana, sniffling and snuffling and wagging her tail ...

... ladybirds, venturing out after their winter hibernation and hover flies on primroses ...

... clumps of violets and even more primroses, dotted across the whole of the woodland floor.

Everywhere at the moment, new leaves are breaking out in so many different shades of green. Greening, greening, everywhere ... bliss! :~)