Dear All,
There is an old saying that goes “In beginning or in end, March its
gifts will send” a reference to the idea that March is a month of
many weathers. Its around this time of the year that the blackthorn
decides to produce an abundance of blossoms, fooling many into
thinking that the chill of winter is over and done with. Sadly, we
still have to wait a few weeks for the daylight to be greater than
the darkness in the days here in the UK. But not too long before
those Spring Equinox celebrations where we can all proclaim “thus we
banish winter, thus we welcome Spring…” and hopefully this year,
with more gusto than last year to ensure that there will be no repeat
of all the flooding and misery that it caused in 2007!
I am obviously still getting used to being a mum and being distracted
by all that goes with it. Today is Mothering Sunday, a day which
according to some have been celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent
for many centuries as a time when children, sometimes as young as 8
or 9, working away from home would be able to return to their homes
for a weekend before the busy Easter period. This was before the
days of public transport and the children would often walk back home,
picking wildflowers for their mothers as they did so, and sometimes
with gifts from the people they worked for to take home to their own
families. Thus a tradition was started and continued to this day,
long before the days of tacky commercial cards and chemically treated
flowers flown in from the other side of the planet where they are
often tended by child labourers! (at least the latter
is “traditional”, sadly so)
Yesterday here in Wales, people celebrated St David’s day, a day all
about that wonderful allium the leek which was the favourite
vegetable of St David commemorating his death in 589 CE. Whilst he
went about his own life causing wells to spring up everywhere, he
also lived as a strict vegetarian in Glyn Rhosyn, which is now the
smallest city in the UK aptly named “St David” on the west coast of
Wales.
For those of you who have, with the recent campaigns raising
awareness of the way chicken farming is done, decided to raise your
own chickens in your backyard (and apparently there are around
300,000 homes in the UK doing this now) March is a great month. This
is because chickens hatched in March have long been considered to be
luckier, healthier and also more fertile than those hatched in the
rest of the year – so a great reason to get that chicken run sorted
out asap if you were considering it before. (and if not, why not -
unless of course like me, you are a vegetarian because of chickens
your parents kept in their backgarden when you were young!!!)
Members of the Avalonia Discussion Forums who tried logging in this
evening will have noticed that the forums are currently disabled.
This is because we are upgrading the forums at the moment. We hope
that things will be back up and running by tomorrow (Monday) evening,
and ask that members bear with us whilst we sort out any growing
pains. All current user accounts and threads should still be active
when all is done. I apologise for the downtime, hopefully it will
give you all a chance to think of new and exciting topics for
discussion when we get back online! Confirmations will be sent to
all members when the forums go live again.
Blessings & LVX
Sorita d’Este
http://www.avalonia.co.uk
http://www.avaloniabooks.co.uk
———————————
MARCH NEWSLETTER 2008
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CONTENTS
1. New Book Reviews
2. Pagan Federation Brighton Conference
3. London Event / Pagan Circle: “Some Secret Place”
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1. New Book Reviews (February)
A little late this time, the February book reviews have finally been
added to Avalonia.co.uk. A complete list of the reviews for the
month of February can be found at:
http://www.avalonia.co.uk/books/review_books
These include: NeoPagan Rites by Isaac Bonewits; The Circle of Life
Tarot; Freemasonry : The Reality by Tobias Churlton; Nobly Born by
Stephen Dafoe; The Temple of High Witchcraft by Christopher Penczak
and The Thoth Companion by Michael Osiris Snuffin.
Of course the reviews of previous months can also be found here, so
make sure to have a look if you haven’t done so already.
————– )0( —————
2. Pagan Federation Brighton Conference
————– )0( —————
The Pagan Federation South East is organising their first conference
in Brighton this April. It will be held at the Unitarian Hall,
Brighton. BN1 1UF & The Great Hall, King and Queen Public House,
13 Marlborough Place, Brighton. BN1 1UB on April 12th 2008.
Full details can be found at:
http://www.pfse.org.uk/ASPPFSE/PFSEConference.aspx
For speakers and performers see:
http://www.pfse.org.uk/ASPPFSE/PFSEConferenceList.aspx
————– )0( —————
3. London Event: Some Secret Place
When Peter asked me to list this group on Avalonia I said yes without
hesitation. Peter used to be a regular at some of the earlier Lapis
Companions meetings David and I used to run in London and we both
remember him as a thoroughly lovely guy. He is now running a monthly
pagan circle called “Some Secret Place” in London. Full details of
this meeting circle follow for those of you who are interested in
finding out more:
“Some Secret Place is a monthly ritual evening focused on deepening
one’s personal relationship with the pagan gods. The focus is
experiential — concentrating on spiritual devotion and development,
with activities including discussion, meditation, and participation
in ceremony. It is aimed at people seeking an introspective and self-
reflexive environment, who have done some reading on witchcraft,
Wicca and/or paganism, and are familiar with its general theological
tenets. Group size is kept deliberately limited to enhance the
personal experience — maximum 17 places per session. Booking in
advance is required. The event is held in Treadwell’s Bookshop in
Covent Garden — they also take bookings for the circle (their phone
number is listed below.)”
When: The second Friday of each month
Event Location: 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden, London
Event TIME Details: 7.15 for 7.30pm start
Phone (for booking): (020) 7240 8906
Email (for information): peter@somesecretplace.co.uk
————– )0( —————
Look out for our next newsletter, later this month, which will be
filled with more news, more events, more book reviews and an extra
special offer on books too.
http://www.avalonia.co.uk
http://www.avaloniabooks.co.uk
“Above, the gemmed azure is
The naked splendour of Nuit;
She bends in ecstasy to kiss
The secret ardours of Hadit”
The Book of the Law, Aleister Crowley
