Has Spring Sprung?

(Ploughman in the Fields near Arles--Vincent Van Gogh)

I was listening to the weather report the other day, as we living in these heavily snow-covered regions are known to do, quite frequently mind you, when I heard a weatherman saying it was already spring. I know I have a tendency to get busy with my work, losing track of time occasionally but how had spring escaped me, I thought as I searched for my fur-covered snow boots?

Then I listened more closely. He was explaining meteorological spring. He said it is kind of like a bookkeeping matter. The date is handily assigned to the beginning of the month, when spring will occur to make things smoother. Smoother? Really? Nevertheless, in this case the assigned date was March 1st.

If you have been reading my blog or books for a while, you know I get pretty excited about the changing of the seasons. In fact, "Four Seasons of Mojo: an Herbal Guide to Natural Living" guides readers through the seasons of the year and the seasons of life, advising herbal wise ways to put magic in every season.

Needless, to say, I am greatly looking forward to Ostara, which falls on the Spring Equinox. To me and I'm sure to many of you, that is when we can celebrate the wonder and magic that comes with that colorful and fragrant season of growth, renewal, change and hope.

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Gran Bwa

Gran Bwa is a lwa that helps you connect to ancestral roots or the spiritual home of Vodou. A friend of mine, who is an expert on Haitian Vodou, who has spent a lot of time in Haiti with the artists there, told me I had painted Gran Bwa when I made this spontaneous work out of walnut ink and sumi-ink on handmade paper. I had considered this painting a self-portrait. She now holds this piece in her private collection: Quite a few people are afraid of Vodou but it is an awe-inspiring tradition of bringing together plant energy with divinity, spiritual and personal energy. My friend who is very involved with Vodou, especially the art that surrounds it, is from European ancestry. She is light in spirit and bubbly, with a close relationship to nature and her garden. Vodou affirms the relationships between cycles of life, trees of knowledge and spirit. The Vodou vision of lwa , understands them as the intelligence of energy present in humans, nature and thoughts. Mysteries ca

Xochitl--Flower

(Winter Poinsettia by Stephanie Rose Bird, oil on wood) One of my Facebook friends does daily posts and shares called "I love Flowers." I love flowers too, in real life, in my garden, in paintings and as they are related to the gods and goddesses, in healing, as well as their use in folklore like Hoodoo. Not long ago I posted about Xochipelli (Sho-CHEE-pee-lee) prince of flowers and Xochiquetzal (Sho-CHEE-ket-zul) goddess of flowers in anticipation of April's blooming season. The Goddess and Prince of Flowers post is here. Today, I want to focus in on the root word of their names and it's symbolism. This word is Xochitl (Show-CHEE-tul) in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs. This word means flower. ( Frida Kahlo "Self Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser) In many different belief systems there are nature gods and goddesses connected with flowers. Flowers possess symbolism,

Follow Fest Interview and Sharing

When I first became a blogger it was difficult to know if I had readers and visitors coming to my blog. I’d post and be met by the sounds of crickets. Then, I branched out into the world of the blogosphere, a world I didn't know really existed. From my ventures, I met a lot of interesting bloggers. I've started following and commenting on numerous blogs, for you see, prior to my outings, I too was out among the crickets. Lurking about but seldom saying anything. A fellow blogger I've met through my journeys around the blogosphere is Melissa Maygrove . She had the brilliant idea to have a Follow Fest , where we share about who we are, what we do and most importantly, how you can connect with us further. It is my intention through joining Follow Fest, that I’ll connect with many more readers and people interested enough in what I do to want to learn more by following. So, here goes my entry for the fest. Name: Stephanie Rose Bird Fiction or

Stephanie's Studio

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