Bardic Circle

Essays, Poetry, Stories and More…

Give All to Love

Published July 16, 2009 | By Juniper

Give All to Love

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Give all to love;
Obey thy heart;
Friends, kindred, days,
Estate, good-fame,
Plans, credit, and the Muse,
Nothing refuse.

‘Tis a brave master;
Let it have scope:
Follow it utterly,
Hope beyond hope:
High and more high
It dives into noon,
With wing unspent,
Untold intent;
But it is a God,
Knows its own path
And the outlets of the sky.

It was never for the mean;
It requireth courage stout.
Souls above doubt,
Valor unbending,
It will reward,
They shall return
More than they were,
And ever ascending.

Leave all for love;
Yet, hear me, yet,
One word more thy heart behoved,
One pulse more of firm endeavor,
Keep thee to-day,
To-morrow, forever,
Free as an Arab
Of thy beloved.

Cling with life to the maid;
But when the surprise,
First vague shadow of surmise
Flits across her bosom young,
Of a joy apart from thee,
Free be she, fancy-free;
Nor thou detain her vesture’s hem,
Nor the palest rose she flung
From her summer diadem.

Though thou loved her as thyself,
As a self of purer clay,
Though her parting dims the day,
Stealing grace from all alive;
Heartily know,… Continue reading →

Posted in Bardic Circle, Everything Else | Tagged classic, inspiring, love, Poems, reading

Interview with a Hedgewitch

Published July 2, 2009 | By Juniper

Interview with a Hedgewitch

You can call me Dizzy; I am a thirty-something Greenwitch, no affiliations, no initiations. I am something of a girly girl, a blue-collar babe, love to garden, hate to cook. I work as a manager at a greenhouse and garden center outside of Edmonton, Alberta. I am married with no kids, yet. I have been practicing witchcraft for a little less than ten years now. But not very well and not working as hard as I should at it either. I am a pagan and I follow a sort of Gaulish inspired path that way.

Juniper is a 29 year old Hedgewitch, who has been practicing since her mid-teens, no affiliations, no initiations … or wait, she just joined OBOD for some reason, so that’s one.
Juniper owns and operates Walking the Hedge, a blog and forum and sometimes other things as well for Hedgewitches and Kitchenwitches and Trad Witches and anyone else too really.

Juniper’s blog has a small following and is known for being controversial and written in very plain language. She even swears sometimes! She writes raw poetry in an almost street style and rants and writes articles on life as a witch… Continue reading →

Posted in About Juniper, Bardic Circle, Getting Started | Tagged 101, About Juniper, interview, Nature Witch, Paths & Traditions, Witchcraft

A Meditation on Water (Juni Style)

Published June 29, 2009 | By Juniper

Water, water, not everywhere
How many cups of tea do you drink in a day?
How many times do you wash your hands?
How much is every drop worth to you
When you have to carry it on your back?

I have no running water in my home
I lug it up a mountainside
A ¾ km walk
Most of it up hill, of course

Water, water in my sled
Dragging through blinding snow
How much do you weigh, oh jug?
How much mass is this?
Yes, oh yes you can melt snow
For the toilet and the dogs
But thanks to all our pollution
I would rather haul the water for drinking

Wrapped in many layers
Some I crocheted myself
Wool and cotton wrappings
And leather boots in the freezing
Dragging food and water up the mountain

And then we come to Summer’s heat
When water is much more needed
Once I crest the steepest part of my journey
I come to the long flat spot
Open, with no trees
Open to the Wind
Exposed to the Summer Sun
Beating upon the mountain

I feel the thirst in mouth and throat
I stop for just a moment
I pause… Continue reading →

Posted in Bardic Circle, Life of a Hedgewitch, Musings About the Land, Rantings & Ravings | Tagged elements, meditation, Poems

Pagan Values: Back to Basics

Published June 23, 2009 | By Juniper

The more we get together,
Together, together

The more we get together,
The happier we’ll be

When your friends are my friends
Then my friends are your friends

The more we get together
The happier we’ll be

~ Traditional Children’s Song

And in case you missed it, because I’ve been blogging lots … Pagan Values: Catch Phrases

(PS I am still searching for a home, will keep you posted folks. Thanks for thinking of me!)

Posted in Bardic Circle, Community | Tagged Community, ethics, values

Silly Father’s Day Poem (full of in-jokes)

Published June 21, 2009 | By Juniper

His name is Jim and he’s my Dad
And yes, yes, yes I am so glad
He taught me how to find my way
East and North and South and West
By gazing up at the stars at night
He taught me how to ride my bike
He taught me how to ride it right
He taught me how to stand up to a man
And never let one take advantage
He taught me how to be stronger than
Most other women can
He taught me how to comand respect
And still act like a sweet lady
And never once has he said
That roast beef has too much gravy
His name is Jim and he’s my Dad
And yes, yes, yes I am so glad

Posted in A Sense of Humor, Bardic Circle | Tagged Poems, Wheel of the Year

Walking the Hedge

Give All to Love

Give All to Love

Interview with a Hedgewitch

A Meditation on Water (Juni Style)

Pagan Values: Back to Basics

Silly Father’s Day Poem (full of in-jokes)

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