Animal magic...

Animal Magic...nope not the Johnny Morris type (you will have to be my age to understand that...) I am talking about the magic, knowledge, guidance and energy that working with animal totems/spirits/guardians brings.

I think my own personal experience with animal magic started at an early age with dragon magic...at the time I didn't know what it was and it only became apparent when I started on the Witchcraft pathway years later.

I have worked with animal totems ever since my journey began.  My life long totem found me a long time ago and came in the form of a wild boar which seemed very fitting as I spent a few years of my youth on a pig farm (don't you love synchronicity) so I already had a connection with the pig family. My wild boar has been with me ever since.

But then comes the question I get asked a lot "can you have more than one totem" well all I can answer with is my own personal experience and that would be "yes".

I have my main totem, the wild boar but I have worked with many different animal totems over the years, some come and stay for a while, some come and go quickly and some come and go as and when I need them.

Seagull appears in my life when there are emotions to deal with.
Magpie appears when I need to keep an eye out whether it be for gossip or sticky situations but he also brings wisdom and knowledge with him.
I suspect Pigeon appears purely to eat the bird food that I put out in the garden...have you ever seen a fat pigeon try to squeeze into a small covered bird table?  But he also brings peace and simplicity with him.  These three are the 'regulars' they aren't with me all the time but they come and go as and when I need their specific energies or with messages.

And of course I have a dragon...well two actually.   A huge and quite intimidating fire dragon who appears very rarely but when he does I know I have messed up big time and he is there to kick my butt good and proper.  Then my smaller dragon, a dragon in training who arrived during a ritual at Stonehenge, he learns with me.

There have been odd ones that have appeared for short periods of time, imparted their wisdom and then left completely.  There was a period of time when I kept seeing elephants (no not the pink variety) everywhere and no not actual real elephants, that would be very unusual in the middle of my kitchen, but on the TV, in books, out in shops there would be elephant patterned material, elephant earrings and elephant ornaments...when I finally listened the elephant was guiding me to work with the deity Ganesha.

My most recent animal totem is the frog (yep I know it's a bit stereotypical for a witch but what can you do?) he arrived during a drum birthing meditation to find my drum spirit which is where he stayed for a while but now he is sitting next to my wild boar...he has some very strong energy to share with me for the next part of my journey.

So I have quite a zoo well maybe more of a petting zoo...but each one is important and each one helps me in different ways.  What is important is that I have never turned any of them away.  I have never said "no sorry I am going to ignore you because I already have a totem" because each one has been and continues to be very important to me.

Be open to whatever comes your way...even if it is a dinosaur or an ant - no matter what form of animal they all have magical properties, strong energy and messages for you.




The image used here is Wisdom Seeker by Kay Kemp

Books...in case you didn't know what I do...

Yep more book stuff...but it's what I do...no point writing books if you don't tell people about them is it?

My last book ... A Kitchen Witch's World of Magical Plants & Herbs was published on 31st October 2014 and whilst I was writing it I realised that it led onto magical food...so I started work on A Kitchen Witch's World of Magical Food ... a subject which is very dear to my heart ♥ the new book will be published on 26th June 2015 but is available for pre-order NOW... get 'em while they are hot as they say...

The magical herbs and plants book blurb:

Every plant, every flower, every herb every tree has energy and that energy has magical properties.
This book is not about medicinal herb uses, but about magical ones, although you will find the odd tea and occasional food recipe inside.
A journey into the magical world of herbs and plants, filled with magical uses, folklore, history and practical magic.
A go to guide on how to work with magical herbs, how to use them and what to do with them.

and then onto the magical food book blurb:

This one covers magical food - how to work magic into your cooking, kitchen rituals, your kitchen space and altar, kitchen deities, seasonal recipes, tea recipes, cooking with the moon cycles, magical recipes for all intents, food spells, food list of magical correspondences - lots of information and loads of recipes.

It even talks about psychic pasta...

But don't take my word for it...hop on over to my website www.rachelpatterson.co.uk and see the reviews that lovely people have written about both books (I promise no bribery was involved...not even a cupcake...) or over to Amazon and see the reviews there and even if you fancy it...to pre-order the new one...or purchase the magical herbs book...if you have it already and haven't popped a review on Amazon or Good Reads that would also be very much appreciated.

And a big thank you to my husband who designed the covers for both books.

And why yes thank you for asking I am writing my next book...but without herbs...or food...

Round up of the week...Hi De Hi, beaches, books & animals...

I am back from a week of holiday with my family...

We spent the week in Dorset at a holiday camp, thankfully not the Hi De Hi knobbly knee contest type, this one is set in woodland and the chalets are all log cabins, they also have a nature reserve, deer roaming freely on the park and lots of conservation awards.  But they still have entertainment and children's clubs along with an indoor swimming pool, arcade, roller rink, crazy golf and restaurant and a Costa coffee (seriously I think Costa are trying to take over the world...).

Park Dean Holiday park in Warmwell, Dorset was our destination, we actually knew the site from many fabulous weekends spent there with the New Forest Harley bikers and it is a lovely place.

So a week of chilling, playing cards and charades, tuppeny machines in the arcade, walks on the nature reserve and every day in the swimming pool, where youngest learnt to swim...oh and half board so also a week of fried breakfasts and not having to cook dinner either...there was a lot of food...but that probably doesn't surprise any of you.

We also visited Bridport market (lots of bric a brac stalls and interesting food vendors), West Bay (pebbly beach, indoor market, cafe and a heap load of seagulls) and Weymouth (lots of shops, lovely sandy beach, more seagulls and lots of crows).

The added bonus of Warmwell is that the internet signal is non existent, so apart from logging into their wifi once a day at dinner time we were pretty much cut off...bliss...allowing me to switch off completely...or so I thought, because actually in not having the internet to connect to my brain switched to imagination mode and I now have a head full of ideas, plans, seeds of projects and huge amounts of inspiration all fighting amongst themselves to be heard...

I did get the chance to read quite a bit and managed to re-read the first three Pratchett books in the Tiffany Aching series - Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith (the fourth book is I shall Wear Midnight).  As with all the Terry Pratchett books they are brilliantly written but he seems to have absolutely captured everything about witchcraft, real hands on witchcraft, perfectly.

And we were visited by quite a lot of animals during the week...

Deer that wandered around the park, a robin that visited our veranda every day, plenty of seagulls (including their poop) and I was surprised to see lots of crows on Weymouth sea front, their must be a message in there somewhere...

So now it is back to routine, the children went back to school today and hubby went back to work. The house is quiet (and tidy...except for truck loads of washing) and I am starting to get myself organised...although I may have to empty my head into an 'ideas list' before it lets me think about anything that I actually really need to do...

Code Red

CODE RED: know your flow, unlock your monthly super powers and create a bloody amazing life. Period.

By Lisa Lister
Release date: 13th April 2015

I was given a sneak peak at the new book from lady of sass Lisa Lister and I have to admit it is not a book that I would normally pick up to read... it is not fantasy and it definitely doesn't have wizards or dragons...but I am very glad I did...I first met Lisa about ten years ago...pretty much at the start of her journey with the content of this book and I can tell you that every word is true...

Every woman NEEDS to read this book. It will make you laugh, cry and nod in agreement but it will also give you aha moments of total inspiration, this book tells YOUR story. Lisa Lister is handing us the key to our own freedom, enabling us to find ourselves and reconnect with our own inner power, releasing us from the bonds that society, media and even our own minds put in place. This book brings a new era...Vive la menustration revulotion!


The offical blurb:

So, there’s a code.
A lady code.
It’s ancient, it’s deeply spiritual and more than that, it’s powerful.
Fiercely powerful.
So powerful that it’s barely been spoken about in over 2,000 years.
Your menstrual cycle.

There’s a code.
An ancient, fiercely powerful lady code.
So powerful that it’s barely been spoken about in over 2,000 years.
Your menstrual cycle.

Yep, your period is way more that PMS, carb cravings, pain and rage, it’s actually a four part lady code, that once cracked, will uncover a series of monthly superpowers that can be used to enhance your relationships with others, build a better business, have incredible sex and create a ‘bloody' amazing life.

Code Red from the creatrix of www.thesassyshe.com, Lisa Lister, is your call to action. A rallying cry that dares you to explore, navigate and most importantly, love your lady landscape.

Ten years ago, Lisa didn’t like her body. She was binge eating in secret and hiding the wrappers down the side of the sofa. She was striving hard to ‘be’ and ‘do’ in a job she thought she wanted, but instead of feeling success and happiness, she became jaded and stressed. She was in a relationship that was going nowhere, yet she didn’t dare to demand more. Her periods were heavy, all consuming and hurt like a motherlover, sex was painful and orgasms were nonexistent.

She was told she had Endometriosis and that her womb would have to be ‘whipped out’, which quite frankly, was not an option. Driven by a deep anger at modern medicine’s quick-fix response to women’s health, she went on a ten year adventure exploring her own lady landscape through women’s wisdom, cycle charting, ancient goddesses, yoga, Shamana rituals, belly dance, IN:bodied

practices, sacred pilgrimages, divine movement - all of which brought her into a rather incredible relationship with her womb, her body and herself.

In Code Red, you’ll learn to live and work in alignment with the rhythms of nature, the moon and your menstrual cycle, be inspired by insights from Wise and Wild women like Meggan Watterson, Alexandra Pope and Uma Dinsmore Tuli. You’ll gain access to easy-to-follow strategies and SHE Flow practices, and you’ll be invited to re-connect with your true nature as a woman, tap into the
transformative power of your innate feminine wisdom and use your menstrual cycle as an ever-unfolding map to crack your lady code.

Ayurveda Viking style...

I have to admit until yesterday I had never had a massage...the whole idea of getting your kit of and 'hands on' from a stranger never appealed to me...as I say, until yesterday.

A friend of mine runs Ayurveda healing sessions and I offered to write a blog post about it...but of course that involved actually experiencing it first...

Rich Lister from The Hero Soul is firstly a trained nurse (which always makes me feel safer) and is the most amazing Shamanic Practitioner and having been to some of his workshops before I knew it was going to be a good experience.

I was ushered into a beautifully calm room that smelt gorgeously of incense and then we sat and had a consultation to discuss my health issues and general state of well being and to discover what Dosha I am (Pitta in case you wanted to know which is a heap load of fire and a drop of water...for more info read Rich's website which explains it all www.theherosoul.com/ayurveda/).  We then chatted about the best options for my individual needs such as what foods I need to eat or avoid and then what massage suited me best.

Rich is a total professional and I felt completely comfortable and not even the slightest bit embarrassed and yes I got to keep my Bridget Jones pants on!

The oil used is a sesame seed base which smelt lovely and is used warm which was fabulous.  I totally and utterly zoned out during the massage and when it was finished I was completely spaced out, relaxed, calm and centred and my joints felt the best that they have in ages.

Following the massage Rich leaves you with hot flannels coz let's face it ...I was a bit oily!  Which were lovely.

Finished up with another brief chat to make sure I was OK and if I had any questions.

If you are looking for a complete holistic package to sort out any health or emotional issues or even just to chill out and pamper yourself I can highly recommend this, go take a look at his website www.theherosoul.com...he is based in Porchester, Hampshire.

Let's talk about books baby...

I read a blog post on the lovely Nimue Brown's blog last week that struck a chord www.druidlife.wordpress.com and it was all about books.  It got me thinking...ruh roh...

I have a LOT of books and have always been an avid reader (I am also very thankful that my children seem to have followed suit).   I have various book shelves around the house and several large boxes of boxes stored away (need more shelves...) and I also have a Kindle with several hundred books on...

I have my precious Terry Pratchett collection...all the hard back books in mint condition on shelves (there are a lot...) and duplicate copies of each one in paperback stored in a large box under the bed, the paperback ones have been read and re read and re read again, they are well thumbed and much loved.

I also have my non fiction shelves which are packed full of books from all avenues of paganism and beyond each one marking part of my spiritual journey from the early books on Wicca through Hedge Witchery, Green Witchery, Faeriecraft, Druidry, Shamanic practice, Akashic records, trance, trees, birds, dragon magic, mentoring, counselling, death, power animals, mediumship, goddesses, moon magic, hoodoo, herbalism, divination, Reiki and even other faiths such as Hawaiian spirituality and Hinduism.  I do have some of the 'classics' such as the original Farrar books and have read some Crowley...didn't get on with it ... sorry... in fact I attempted to read his fiction book Moonchild as well and gave up after the first chapter...but then I guess we are all different and not everyone is going to like everything!  I do prefer Gardner's writing but so much of that now seems very dated *ducks as people throw things at me*...it's all down to personal choice at the end of the day...

My fiction section is mostly fantasy with a bit of sci fi...not the grown up stuff but books from the teen section of the bookstore (don't judge...).  I have the usual suspects; Harry Potter, Twilight, Discovery of Witches etc but also others that I love - The Magicians Guild, The Bartimaeus Sequence, The Circle of Three series, Skulduggery Pleasant and Marcos Pendulum to name a few. Also the fiction books written by Silver Ravenwolf...they are extremely good, Beneath a Mountain Moon is particularly good.

My cook book collection is embarrassingly large...food from all across the globe...

And of course the classics; I can remember bringing Alice in Wonderland home from the library as a child, dad used to take us every Saturday, I sat and read that book from cover to cover in one sitting and I still re read it occasionally now.  The Hobbit of course which has been read so many times I am surprised the pages haven't fallen out especially as the copy I have was purchased on one of those Saturday morning trips to the library, found in their 'used books for sale' box.  All the Sherlock Holmes books which I have loved since I was young and of course all the Roald Dahl books which my son now loves too along with the Famous Five in fact all the Enid Blyton books really.

I love watching films, we have a big DVD collection of our favourites and I like watching TV, although not the trashy Jeremy Kyle/reality stuff that makes me very, very cross...I like the Star Trek, Columbo, Castle, NCIS genre...but the TV doesn't seem to capture and hold my attention like a book does.  I can get thoroughly lost in a book, my imagination gets taken hostage and I can lose all sense of time and reality along with that awful feeling of emptiness you get when you finish a particularly good book and have to come back into the real world...TV doesn't seem to do that.

I have the bonus of being able to review a lot of books via my publisher and if I find one I really like I do pop a review on the blog here but maybe I should start sharing more of my favourite books...let's get talking about books...