A Wizard in Ottertail County – Ann Mara MacGregor
June 4, 2009 by
Filed under Reflections From The Stars
A wizard lives in Ottertail County. I only recently learned this on a Saturday morning, when I decided that winter was over. I make this decision every year, and occasionally, the Frost Spirit (hereafter known as ‘Jack’T) decides I need more humility. But that is another story. So, this year, when I stood out in the yard and announced, ‘enough winter, cold and dark, it’s time to plant something,’ Jack T must have been busy elsewhere. Whew.
The ‘Plant Man’, my usual place to find green-beings to put in the ground, was not longer at his usual place of business. My first thought was that JackT was just being sneaky and had moved the Plant Man. But then I saw the little sign – I knew I had given JackT too much credit – indicating the Plant Man had new digs at the junction of a state highway 75 and a county road 54.
Off I went, down the highway, then back up the highway. I even looked at the map. County 54 did not exist. Again, back down the highway and out of the corner of my eye county 54 appeared. I planted the brakes and hauled the steering wheel to the right. The contents of the car first yielded to centrificial forces, then the car body relented, and the roadside ditch opened it giant maw, to suck me into its black hole of leftover winter trash, mud and mystery. I was suspended between two great galactic forces-for a moment I swear I could see into infinity and knew all the answers of the universe. Then, gravity asserted herself and settled all four wheels onto the road surface. Infinity vanished, I lost all the answers, time resumed, and I slowed down.
There was no Plant Man. Strange. Odd. Maybe JackT was a little brighter than I thought. I slowly drove east on county 54. Keeping my eyes peeled for a sign, an omen, anything. Suddenly, there it was, an omen- the 20′ welded-metal- mosquito-sculpture on wheels. But still no Plant Man – just the big metal mosquito. I still wasn’t ready to concede defeat to JackT. Passing the metal mosquito, I found a narrow lane, hidden by overgrown bushes. It was marked with a single potted apple tree sitting among pieces of rusted and broken farm machinery. At end of the lane was the Plant Man’s new digs. It was at that moment, I realized he was a wizard. How did I know this? The apple trees. They were everywhere. In pots, in barrels, big and little ones. That was the only kind of tree he had to sell. No maples, ashes, birches or willows. No oak, pear, or cherry. Only apple, and most were all in bloom, and in the fragrance a reminder of the tree’s mythic soul.
If you are so inclined, take a little journey to 75 & 54. Find the tumble-down digs of The Plant Man. Don’t let the collapsing barn, abandoned house, and tumbling down buildings fool you. Trust me, the Wizard is there, and he knows everything about apple trees. If it is it the gloaming time, you might catch a glimpse of the Faerie Queen of Avallach, or Cad Goddue, the Welsh Goddess known as the ‘Battle of the Apple Tree.’ In the distance is Emain Abhlack, the Irish Island of Apples. If you know the Ogam alphabet, look for Quert. That Saturday I saw both Thomas the Rhymer and Connla each with an apple in his hand; both falling in love with a Faerie Queen. Walk carefully among the clutter and you may find the magic apple path. If you do, ask Cuchulainn if you may walk with him. Along the way, pay respects at Ailinn’s grave – you will know it by the big apple tree with a lovely woman’s face. If you do not find the path, look for Idunn, the Norse goddess. Sit and have a chat with her. She has a wood box made from ash wood in which she keeps her magic apples. Maybe she will give you one. Think carefully before you take a bite – there is always a trade when you eat of the apple of immortality.
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Drumming by Jeanne Marie Troge
May 29, 2009 by
Filed under Reflections From The Stars
Medicine Wheel
May you and Mother Earth drum together in harmony,
Jeanne
The Song of the Frogs
May 24, 2009 by
Filed under Reflections From The Stars
I live on the Fish Hook River here in Park Rapids and the frogs have just started singing! Wow, what a sound. It is constant, a hum that holds the space of the evening. Frogs are about transformation through water and sound. Certainly their sound is something we can journey into. For me, it is like a chant, lulling me into the otherworld. The book Animal-Speak states that “frogs have been known to be heralds of abundance and fertility”. In this time of deep recession, perhaps we need to be working with frog. And in also working with water, the emotions, we should look at our emotions around abundance in our life.
Move into the sound of the frog with your mind and let it permeate your being, merge with it. Hold the intention for abundance in your life. Ask frog to help you recognize the abundance you already have in your life and how you can open to the flow of abundance. We give thanks to frog for its wisdom.
May the song of nature enfold you today,
Jeanne
The Green Man by Jeanne Troge
May 21, 2009 by
Filed under Reflections From The Stars
The Green Man is speaking to me again! In Celtic belief the Green Man is the Spirit of Nature, the Spirit of the woods. Wildness and passion are a part of the Green Man’s character. I’m sure you’ve seen representations of him as a face of a man covered with leaves.
For me his presence was strong about 10 years ago in my life. Now, he has resurfaced. Perhaps it is because it is spring, or he is returning because the world is now asking us to live green. For whatever reason, he is returning and he’s connecting with my heart.
He was reignited in me at the Celtic Shamanism training on the Druid Wisdom Tales with Tom Cowan. I feel he is challenging me to look at my own wildness (or unwildness) and passion. So many times I find myself living the same life day in and day out. He asks me to connect with the wildness within my heart, and ignite that passion that is in my heart and live fully alive! When I look at the forests, the trees now budding out and flowers blooming, I am captured by the glory of nature in all of its becoming! Such fertility and beauty!
Let us look today at our own lives and see if we can bring more wildness and passion into our lives so that we can “become” and feel that nature connection of fertility, creation, wildness, passion and beauty! Awesome!
May the Green Man visit your heart today,
Jeanne
