Monthly Archives: February 2021

Friday photo. 26/01/21.

The almost full moon last night.

Monday Mooncards – 22/02/21

What a really positive card and a great start to the week!

The energy and your emotions are building, the sky is the limit, your dreams can come true. Keep moving forward as your goal is in sight.

I think this is a great card, coming right after Mercury has gone direct. The time is now to plan and do. There’s always a sense of hurriedness once Mercury has begun moving forward, but slow and steady wins the race, remember that when the current energies are urging you to move, move, move.

What a great start to the week!

Review of Last One At The Party.

This, for me, was an uncomfortable read. I get the fact that many people have said this is a witty book, it is in parts. But there is a lot of darkness in it, and some pretty graphic details. If we weren’t currently living through a pandemic I think I would have enjoyed reading this book.

The story is set in late 2023/early 2024. A new virus named 6DM (six days maximum) has wiped out the human race. It is the end of the world. Yet there is one woman still alive. Despite coming into contact with people who have 6DM, including her own husband, this woman survives.

The book is written in the style of a diary that is being kept by this woman – unnamed – and it discusses her life before 6DM hit, how the new and deadly virus ravaged her life and loved ones and how she survives. She comes across as quite self-centred and I think the point is to show the reader how she has had to adjust from selfish to self-reliant.

For me, there was too much graphic content in terms of animal suffering. The demise of the humans she knows and encounters is almost comical in some parts, but the description of animals suffering and dying as a result of the deadly virus really upset me.

The end was quite disappointing. We don’t get to find out what happens to her. We do find out that she wasn’t the only survivor – there are a couple of clues in the book that suggest this – but we don’t get to know what happens to her.

This is not the kind of book I would normally read, much less during a real-life pandemic! It is well written, and yes, there are some witty moments in the book. Like other people have already discussed elsewhere, the woman isn’t that likeable, but that’s probably the point. I would have liked to know why she seemed to be immune to this virus too.

Overall rating 7/10 3 stars ***

The origins of Shrove Tuesday.

It’s Pancake Day here in the UK. As a child pancakes were something we ate in the run up to Easter, to herald the start of Lent. My family were fairly religious, so this was something we did partake in.

As an adult and someone who has practiced the craft for over 30 years, Pancake Day was acknowledged in my house as my children were fond of pancakes. The religious meaning behind the day had gone.

But did you know that the original celebration was a pagan festival?

The Slavs – a diverse group of tribal people, who lived throughout central and Eastern- Europe circa the 5th – 10th century – worshipped a God named Jarilo (I think it’s pronounced Yarilo). They believed that the changing of the season, from winter to spring, was a struggle between Jarilo, who was the God of vegetation, fertility and springtime, and the spirits of the cold and darkness.

They believed they had to help Jarilo win this struggle and this was a part of their spring celebration. The entire celebration lasted a week, with a large part of it making and eating pancakes. The hot, round pancakes symbolised the sun, and the Slavs believed that by eating the pancakes they would be imbued with the power, heat and warmth of the sun.

I think that is a wonderful and happy belief to have.

Monday Mooncards – 15/02/21.

This card, for me on a personal level, has come at a crucial stage in my life. The past has held me back and I’ve been afraid to move forward for fear of hurting the feelings of someone.

But that’s the past and I’m not going that way anymore.

Letting situations go is never an easy thing to do. We always feel safe in the tried and tested, why would we unsettle everything?

But it is in the unsettling that we find our voice, often find out who we really are, not who we are pretending to be for the sake of others.

Embrace change. Let things go. Move forward knowing it is the right step for you to take.