The Nature of the Poet

Bright Star seems as if it will be a true masterpiece. What could be lovelier: soul mates, John Keats, nature, dreams, Ben Wishaw? Keats was only 25 years old when he died, never knowing the mark he made in the world.

This film (coming in October) is based on the love and letters of Fancy Brawne and poet John Keats. For references to the natural world in Keat's letters, look at this webpage: http://users.dickinson.edu/~nicholsa/Romnat/keatslet.htm - it's delightfully beautiful.

"I think of green fields. I muse with the greatest affection on every flower I have known from my infancy--their shapes and colours as are [for are as] new to me as if I had just created them with a superhuman fancy--It is because they are connected with the most thoughtless and happiest moments of our Lives--I have seen foreign flowers in hothouses of the most beautiful nature, but I do not care a straw for them. The simple flowers of our sp[r]ing are what I want to see again."
(~ Keats, to Fanny Brawne, February (?) 1820)



"I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days ..."
~John Keats (To Fanny Brawne, 1 July 1819)

For the true story behind this film (and a sad tale it is) read this web page: http://englishhistory.net/keats/fannybrawne.html
I promise it will break your heart!

Portrait of Fanny Brawne: http://kmcless.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/fannykeats.jpg
Portrait of John Keats: http://www.saltpublishing.com/assets/authors/keats_john.jpg

Element of EARTH

Earth

La Terre

"I say the whole earth and all the stars in the sky are for religion's sake."

*~Walt Whitman~*

Direction: North

Color Symbolism: Green, brown, gold

Gender Symbolism: Female

Magical Uses: Grounding, cycles, physical matters, finances

Zodiac Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

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"Earth magick is a feminine energy ... its power can be assessed through herbs, plants, flowers, and crystals."

*~Ellen Dugan~*

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Earth is our mother, providing shelter, sustenance, nurture, and grounding to all her inhabitants. As Scott Cunningham wrote in Earth Power "Earth is our only home ... until recently, no living thing - save birds - left its surface" (29). Cunningham continues, saying that "Earth is the foundation of the elements, the base ... [it] is the realm of abundance, prosperity, and wealth ... without Earth, life as we know it could not exist" (22).

Kerri Connor's The Pocket Spell Creator lists that earth governs the "body, growth, nature, sustenance, material gain, prosperity, money, death, caverns, fields, meadows, plants, trees, animals, rocks, crystals, manifestations, and materialization" (10).

As our mother, the Earth (or La Terra) is the ruler of our bodies above all things. We perceive that her purpose is to nourish and nurture us, and to provide us with the elements that she supports: air, water, fire. The Earth is a great caregiver. She is, as Scott Cunningham wrote, the only reason life can exist.

The Earth is our mother, but she does one thing our own mothers do not: she takes us back when we are gone. We are born from the Earth, and we will return there. In these modern times, where stress and emotional burdens are overwhelming, it is crucial to turn to the Earth to find peace and relief. We must learn to borrow Earth's energies, and to pour our own energies into the Earth, as the two following meditations will instruct.

~LILY

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~*A Meditation from the Earth*~

Lie on the soil (or sit with your hands pressed against the ground) and absorb the energies you feel emitting from it. Let them fill you, envisioning the billions of years of Earth's existence enveloping you and entering your body. Let the energy radiate into your skin, through your body, and into your spirit. Allow the Earth to nourish every part of your body and soul that feels damaged, allowing her energies to heal you as a mother heals. Always ask the Earth's permission for borrowing its energies, and thank the Earth for allowing you to do so.

~*A Meditation For the Earth*~

On a day when your energy levels feel high and strong, lie or sit on the soil once again, attuning yourself to its energies. This time, however, instead of drawing from the Earth's resevoir of energy, allow your abundant energy to fill the earth. Speak to the Earth (this can be vocally or silently) telling it you are sending it your energies to heal the scars that Man puts upon it every day. Focus your intent on healing the damage that the Earth has suffered, allowing your own verve to nurture and protect your true home. Bless the Earth with your intent, and close the meditation.

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"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

*~Chief Seattle, 1855~*

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All Things Connect

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A peek at the coming week ...

Throughout the next week we will be discussing the five magical elements:

Earth
Air
Fire
Water
Spirit

These discussions will include spells, art, prayers, histories, magical symbolism, crafts, and qoutes/poems/songs to inspire.





"Who bends a knee where violets grow, a hundred secret things shall know."
~ Rachel Field ~

*~Lily~*