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© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Our Deepest Sympathies & Prayers
Our Thoughts For Boston, Massachusetts
Everyone from my family and at Spring’s Haven send our thoughts and prayers to all those involved in today’s Boston Massachusetts bombings. We hold all competitors in today’s Marathon, their families and friends; here and far away at home in our hearts.
May the Great Spirits watch over those hurt and injured,
May the families and friends of those lost, find strength to endure.
May all first responders pull together in clarity and mission,
providing help and healing where ever it’s needed before them.
We send our thoughts to the international community present
and we pray that compassion and forgiveness will find its way to all.
~ Springwolf
We also send out prayers to those angered by today’s event, that they find patience and tolerance. Please do not make this tragedy worse by harming any group of people or persons based on assumptions of bigotry and hate.
The community of the world can only find peace when compassion is shown to our neighbors. Only when we allow patience to thrive, allowing justice to flourish will those responsible be held accountable for their actions.
© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Responses Failed In Delivery
Today I was able to concentrate on my inbox and get through all my email correspondence. I love getting email from people around the world. I receive some very interesting questions, along with people asking for clarifications, sharing their experiences and asking for some insight.
It really is fun reading your stories and I’m truly honored that some of you feel safe in sharing personal items with me. I do everything I can to answer and address each and every piece of correspondence I receive. You took the time to write to me and I feel it’s my ethical duty to give you the time and consideration to send a response.
However …..
It’s really frustrating when I take the time to send a lengthy response only to have the email returned as undeliverable. If you have sent me an email, but haven’t received a response, chances are it didn’t come back because there was an issue with your email address.
Today I had 6 email failures and a couple of these were second responses to previous emails. I know those emails used to work, but they don’t exist now.
So if you didn’t get a response, let me know what your question was, make sure your email address is correct so I can respond and I’ll copy/paste the response I tried to send today. Just email me again and let me know you didn’t get an answer.
I really do want to answer your email, but I can’t intuitively decipher your email address. I’m good, but I’m not that good. 😉
© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The Vernal Equinox – The Festival of Ēostre
By Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. 🐾
The Spring Equinox festival is based in Germanic Paganism. Ēostre or Ostara (Northumbrian Old English: Ēostre; West Saxon Old English: Ēastre; Old High German: *Ôstara) is a goddess in Germanic paganism who, by way of the Germanic month bears her name.
As a pagan holiday Ostara is one of the more confusing and convoluted festivals in terms of its history. It’s claimed by German neo-Pagans, Norse, Saxon and Celt. Celts admit that holiday is not one of their original observances and therefore it’s accepted to be part of a reconstruction of old Celtic ways.
There is speculation that this holiday owes its roots to the Romans who took their holiday into the invasion of Ireland and even spread into Germanic cultures. However, this does not play out when one reviews Celtic or Germanic mythology and history. Continue reading
The Tribal Wolf
The Genocide of St. Patrick
To begin this story let me start with a little Public Service Announcement (PSA). This year, 2014, I learned that the Irish do not care much for we Americans and Canadians calling their national holiday St. Patty’s Day. But probably isn’t what you think. Which is what I thought; it’s Patrick, not Patty. Nope that’s not it. Well not entirely.
I discovered a PSA had been posted in the Dublin Airport correcting a misconception for those of us in the Americas. It’s not Patty, it’s Paddy. Seems Patty is short for Patricia and of course, Patrick was a male priest. The proper shortening of the male variation is Paddy. And St. Paddy’s Day is perfectly acceptable. So now we know.
Now on to our tale of Pagans and Paddy. First, we must start with some of the early inhabitants of Ireland. What little is known of these people come from Irish songs and poetry, oral legends and Roman writings. The Celtic lands of Ireland, Scotland and Wales were populated primarily by individual or regional Clans. Small communities that were close knit and survived on nature through farming and hunting. Continue reading
Afternoon Tea Parties
a lovely book by Susannah Blake
Making Plans
Today I came across a beautiful quote:
“A goal without a plan is just a wish”. Antoine de Saint-Exupery French writer.
How many Tarot drawings have we pulled in the past few years that emphasize making a plan for your dreams? As much as resisted joining Pinterest it has become a big part of my week. I don’t know how others like using it, but one thing I’ve discovered it allows me to do is plan!
When I was a kid my grandmother told me about a book she kept with clippings from magazines. Things she’d like to have, places she’d like to go and so on. She didn’t have that book anymore and didn’t remember where she lost it. But it seemed sad that she no longer had it to look at.
She inspired me to create my own book of dreams and I’ve made several of them over the years. Today they’re packed somewhere in some box some place here in the house or attic. When I started using Pinterest, I realized it’s a digital dream book. A place to gather ideas and make plans.
Sometime in the future when I can get the center into a physical space again, I plan on having various types of gatherings. Some formal, some educational and some simply for fun.
One of those fun ideas is Tuesday Tea Time at Two. A simple gathering for conversation and elegance. High Tea where we can dress up and feel pretty. Low Tea for those days when we want to relax. So here in this board on Pinterest are my inspirations… Tea, Coffee & Cakes
© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Springwolf Reflections
Protecting Your Intellectual Property
Sometimes authors, artists or anyone who creates intellectual property may need to submit a request to an individual or individuals who have taken their material without permission. The first thing to know is that your intellectual property is protected through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Unfortunately this week I’ve had the need (twice actually) to submit a cease and desist order to someone who copied material from my blog without permission and seemed to have claim it as their own work. Never a good thing. And sadly I think it’s some what worse for spiritual material. There is karma involved here after all.
After doing a little research and talking to my legal adviser I thought perhaps others could use this information as well. I’ve shared some information, resource links and the general process here on a new page About The Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
I hope you never need it, but I hope if you do, this information helps.
© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Warding 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
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
Springwolf Reflections 