Archives

The Blue Bottle Trees

Mar2

bluebottletree2Warding Off Evil Spirits

Oral traditions are very important, especially in society today. We are over run and inundated with TV, computers, smart phones and tablets that provide us with an inconceivable number of videos, movies and other types of entertainment. Because of this modern technology, our old stories are being lost and forgotten.

Author/Storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham and storytellers like her, have became concerned over the loss of our old stories. Thankfully they are setting these stories down on paper in a series of books that are worth reading. (You can find the Jeffery series by Kathryn Tucker Windham on Amazon).

One of my favorite stories comes from old Appalachian folklore tale called, The Blue Bottle Tree and The Witch’s Heart.

The legend goes like this:
If you place blue bottles in a crape myrtle tree they will help you ward off evil. Evil spirits are very curious. The blue bottles are so attractive that the evil spirits are drawn into them. Once inside they become confused and get trapped. Some variations of this wives tale, continue by adding the destruction of the evil within the bottle. Much like a Native American dream catcher; when the sun rises in the morning it’s warmth and bright light destroys the evil that was trapped inside (or within the web of the catcher) so that it can never do harm to anyone again. Continue reading →

The Story Of The Blue Bottle Tree & The Witch’s Heart

Mar2
Blue Bottle Tree

Blue Bottles In A
Crape Myrtle Tree

An Oral Tradition From The South

Here in the southern United States, we have a great many stories and legends relating to ghosts and spirits. I’ve read many account from story tellers suggesting the south has more ghost stories than any other place in the U.S. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it certainly makes one take a second thought about the claim. After all, some of the first big conflicts in this country began in the south. From the invasion of the first white Europeans with Native Americans, to the Civil War and on into modern times with the fight for Civil Rights.

Southern Appalachia is widely known for its oral traditions and story telling. In fact the International Storytelling Center is located in the small historical town of Jonesborough Tennessee (my home town). If you have an opportunity for a visit to the oldest town in Tennessee, I suggest going during the first full weekend in October when the Center holds the National Storytelling Festival. It’s a big and wonderful event that draws storytellers and people from around the globe.  One of my favorite stories comes from this festival. The Blue Bottle Tree.

There are many stories about blue bottle trees. Perhaps because this is the first one I ever heard makes this one my favorite. Or possibly because the main character in the story share’s my last name. This isn’t an exact version of the story I heard. But it’s the one I tell today. I hope you like it. Continue reading →

What Matters Most…

Feb20

CompassionDo You Reflect What You Believe?

Those who slap you on the back and laugh with you may be fair weather friends.

Those who hold your hand and cry with you are where true friendship lies.

And if you’re lucky, you’ll find the people who will share your life with you, through the laughs and through the tears no matter when and where you are.

What matters most, is that you’re one of those friends to those in your life.

I spoke with a friend today who was down and almost in tears. Turns out a friend of his, a young boy with cancer, lost his battle with the disease and my friend was notified today.

My friend…we’ll call him Anthony to protect everyone’s privacy..had meet the young boy; we’ll call him Steven, at a racing event. Anthony as it happens is a race car driver. Steven was a big fan of dirt racing and for some time he wanted to meet his home town hero; Anthony. Continue reading →

The History of Imbolg

Feb1
Paganism

Imbolg – Celebration of the Maiden Goddess

The Festival of Lights & Brighid
By Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D.  🐾

Known as Imbolg or Imbolc. The Old Irish gaeilge  i mbolg translates to “in the belly”. Linguistic historians say this refers to the pregnancy of ewes and links the festival to fertility. As gaeilge progressed and evolved, Imbolg eventually becomes Imbolc. Thus the holiday is known by these two names. So either is correct.

Because the feis or festival is associated as the first spring holiday, it is linked to the returning of the sun, along with longer and warmer days. As such, it becomes known as Imbolc: the Festival of Lights.

In Celtic ceremony, Imbolg falls between the Winter solstice and the Spring equinox on February 1st or 2nd in the Northern Hemisphere and August 1st in the Southern Hemisphere. Continue reading →

The Importance Of Mind/Body/Spirit Thinking

Jan30

crystalwolfHow To Develop Your Spiritual Consciousness Connection

Every animal on this planet has an inner instinct or insight. We’ve heard stories about Elephants grabbing people and running for high ground as a tsunami approaches all in danger. For centuries, scientists have said to watch animals for predictions of bad weather.

According to the USGS in an article entitled “Animals & Earthquake Prediction“:
The earliest reference we have to unusual animal behavior prior to a significant earthquake is from Greece in 373 BC.  Rats, weasels, snakes, and centipedes reportedly left their homes and headed for safety several days before a destructive earthquake.  Anecdotal evidence abounds of animals, fish, birds, reptiles, and insects exhibiting strange behavior anywhere from weeks to seconds before an earthquake.  However, consistent and reliable behavior prior to seismic events, and a mechanism explaining how it could work, still eludes us.

As human beings we are part of that animal kingdom with an inner ability to sense the unseen subtle changes in energy around us. But many have lost or turned away from these natural instincts. They have degraded those who do believe in these inner instincts, ridiculed those who are in-tune with these abilities and vilify those who try to explain and teach others to connect to and talk to their natural intuition on a daily basis. Continue reading →

Today’s Number: 444

Jan23
444th Post On Springwolf Reflections

444th Post On Springwolf Reflections

Reflections Hits 444 Posts

The number 4 has always been significant in my life and over time it has come to be my lucky number, as well as, my favorite number. So today when I posted the Daily Tarot Meditation message and noticed the next post would be the 444th here on Springwolf Reflections, I took notice.

This post..this one right here..is the 444th Post I’ve made on my new blog since it began February 1st, 2012. Yeah!! That deserved some type of celebration! And it’s a good time to show how we can use numerology in our every day lives.

Numbers like this don’t have to represent something to the world. Such as the date 12/12/12; December 12, 2012. They can be any number, or series of numbers that gain your attention or hold special meaning to you. In my case, that special number is 4. Which has corresponded to things like the time I was born, 4:48am. The birth of my son on the 4th at 6:45pm. Continue reading →

Thank Yourself Too!

Jan20

proverb

You can read all the graphics with wise statements, fine sayings, great proverbs. But they don’t mean anything unless you put their words to meaning in your life. When you do, don’t thank the author. Rather thank yourself. You made the choice to make a difference in your own life. That takes courage, effort, work and perseverance. Shouldn’t you thank yourself for that kind of self-love?

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

2013 Appearances

Jan5

Come Hear Springwolf!Spring’s Appearances – For 2013

From time to time Spring makes appearances for lectures, workshops, book signings and interviews. We share the dates, locations and information about these events here on Springwolf Reflections.

______________________

The Ænigma Project:

Spring appears every Monday night, 9pm eastern on The Ænigma Project – on the Tenacity Radio Network.

You can listen online and join the chat room to share your perspective or ask questions for the panel. Or you can check out the many ways you can listen on the go, at home, at work or in your car. If you don’t want to drop by the chat room, you can listen live to the Ænigma Project on TuneIn.com-Tenacity-Radio.
 Continue reading →

Two Wolves – Who Will Win?

Dec28

conflictMyths, Legends and Sharing Inspiration

Where do lessons of morality begin? Do they come in big packages that can’t be avoided? Or are they small gifts of opportunities to do the right thing? How small is to small when it comes to Walking Your Talk©?

There is an image circulating around Facebook sharing an old Cherokee legend and attributing the authorship to an anonymous person. Being a writer I often find it insulting when someone quotes a work, yet doesn’t give the credit to the original author. You have the Library of Alexandria at your fingertips. It doesn’t take much to look up an original artist for a picture or search for who originally said a particular quote you like. It only takes a bit of your time and a little effort.

Often times the “shared” information on social media networks are incorrect or inaccurate as well. So sometimes it really does help if you search for a legitimate source for information before you share the post or tweet and continue the process of misinformation.  Such is the case with the “Cherokee Legend” also known as “Two Wolves Within“. A story that has great wisdom and many lessons within its words. Continue reading →

The History of Yule

Dec22

The Winter Solstice
By SpringWolf, D.D., Ph.D.

The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year and the beginning of Winter. In simple terms it is one of two points on the ecliptic at which the sun is overhead at the tropic of Capricorn, when the Sun is at its southern most point for those in the Northern Hemisphere.

“The earliest people on Earth knew that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shifted in a regular way throughout the year. They built monuments such as Stonehenge in England and Machu Picchu in Peru to follow the sun’s yearly progress.”
Deborah Byrd

The Winter Solstice has marked the beginning of winter and provided a point in time where homes and communities needed to be prepared and ready for the barren cold months. For some it designated the official end of the harvest season. For others it marks a time of spiritual celebration. And for others it’s nothing more than an astronomical occurrence and scientific event. But to Pagans, it marks the beginning of the 12 Days of Yule and time to honor the Triple Goddess and rebirth of the God. Continue reading →