Marlow’s Blog Post Archive

Samhain- The Veiled Door and That Which Abides

October 31, 2014 by marlowpurvesnet, posted in Creating Ceremony, Creating Ritual, Spiritual Awakening, Uncategorized

Here we are hurtling forth, in descent, into darkness, into chaos and into the unknown of the underworld of long nights. There is no turning back, the harvest is gathered…the crops are in and the herds have been culled. Time now to examine our inner resources, to account for the growth of this last cycle and decide what we will sacrifice, let go of and what we will gather within to carry us through until the new growth of Spring reveals it’s possibilities. We cling to notions of who we are and what we do in the world as though they were the truth. In the news much of what we see or hear about is the crumbling decay of many of our institutions, public figures and our environment. We are seemingly on a collision course with the end-times. Given that so much energy is devoted to tending our bodies, staving off the inevitable, feeding our various appetites…paying taxes, organizing, striving, how do we succeed in NOT succumbing to despair and hopelessness?

Samhain or Halloween is the third of the harvest festivals in the Celtic calendar, it is a time when fears are made conscious; when the physical world is muted and the we are invited to glimpse beyond the veil. Contrary to popular belief it is NOT a celebration of death. In this feasting of the ancestors we have our opportunity not only to remember those who have ventured before us, but also a time for us to be reminded of the door between this human incarnation and a much larger experience of life. As with each of the holidays we consciously take ‘time out’ to release our grip on this imagined reality and glimpse something far bigger, this is the sacrifice that is demanded of us in this harvest…

Traditionally Samhain is where we ‘meet and greet’ our beloved ones who have passed away. We honour and remember them with stories and food – a welcome chair at our table. It is not just about celebration and remembrance that we gather though, it is a time to remember our own (im)mortality. The darkness is upon us and we in the northern hemisphere are certainly experiencing decline in light and warmth – a drawing in. Our awareness of our intangible and immortal spirit through the links we have forged and maintained with our ‘Gone Befores’ as we sit, feast, remember and commune with them is strengthened; we can, at this time, reach across and know the truth of endless spirit by the one true portal – that of loving connection. This festival provides us with an quiet space in which to reflect on what is real and what is imagined and that which abides.

Blessed Samhain!

Fair Harvest – Just Desserts

September 19, 2014September 19, 2014 by marlowpurvesnet, posted in Astrology, Creating Ceremony, Creating Ritual, Intuitive Healing, Practical healing meditation, Spiritual Astrology, Uncategorized

And so the Wheel turns and we approach Mabon, Autumn Equinox and the second of the harvest festivals in the year. It is the sacrifice of the animal, just as Lammas marks the harvest of the vegetative God, here we are confronted with the hard decisions that need to be made in terms of the herd…the old, the sick, the weak must be separated out and killed so that the community can eat, so that precious resources are not used to feed and maintain that which is not strong. It can be a ruthless sort of selection, one that is familiar for the Goddess. There is grief here too, for all that was sown and did not thrive. Seeds must be selected and saved, guarded carefully to ensure another year’s fruit. It is time now for reflection upon the harvest of our dreams and plans, winnowing of experience and savouring the blessings; mourning the losses.

Mabon is celebrated when the Sun moves to 0° Libra, like Spring Equinox, it is a balance point of the year. For the past month, Virgo has been transited and now we approach the changing time between very different energies: Virgo with it’s discerning, discriminating, critical and preparatory nature moving into Libra’s balance, accentuating harmony, appreciation of beauty, an emphasis on relating and the ‘other’.

‘Fair’ and ‘Just’ are words that are inherently Libran. Ruled by Venus, the Goddess of Beauty and of Love we can understand ‘fair’ in it’s context of balance, symmetry and harmony. Libra’s symbols are the Scales…the Scales of Justice, where every thing, act, and thought is weighed in relation to the ‘other’ and balance is demanded.

This moment between Virgo’s harvest and Libra’s balancing act is ruled by the element of water, a reflective element. It is also an element that is essentially always seeking its own balance. Water’s reflective quality offers us a mirror, to see our beauty and also to see ourselves as we are. This ‘still point’ offers us a bit of a reality-check, an opportunity to see what actions need to be taken to bring about balance and rectification, the active principles of Libra that will prepare us more fully for the descent into the dark part of the year.

The caution is that we don’t over-indulge in the newly realized wealth of the harvest, that we guard against collapsing ourselves into the warmth and moistness of the golden days of the season. These ‘Indian Summers’ can lull us into a kind of sleepy forgetfulness. Beauty, harmony and appreciation of the receptivity of the feminine can invite a certain indolence. Now we are bidden to move from the somewhat austere measures of Virgo to create a new-found sense of balance in our lives. There is so much beauty, such bounty, fair dues.

The Equinoxes and Solstices are magical moments that are out of time, a bridge between two seasons.

Peer into the water and take time to celebrate. Blessed Mabon!

Lammas, Insurance Policies and Fear

August 5, 2014 by marlowpurvesnet, posted in Creating Ceremony, Intuitive Healing, Spiritual Awakening, Uncategorized

Lammas, as all of the other holidays, demarcates the tipping point and heralds the movement and changes that will characterize the coming weeks.

Traditionally, Lammas, one of the cross-quarter festivals is associated with Fire, sacrifice and blood. It finds its place opposite Imbolc on the wheel of the year. As Imbolc is the time of first shoots and stirrings of life following the Winter Solstice, Lammas marks the first harvest, following the Summer Solstice. Each of these cross-quarters contain within them the element of RISK. Imbolc’s new shoots are easy prey to the threat of frost and snow and Lammas’ ‘almost-but-not-quite-ripe’ crops are at the mercy of potential rains, blight and hail.

We are here now, poised in the slow, languid days of summer where everything in nature is beginning its inexorable journey inward and down. The seeds are ripening, growing thicker and making the imperceptible shift into a condensed and potent form – seed that will be harvested for food, stored for later use and some portion thereof retained for the planting next Spring. This very seed is our insurance policy, insuring us against hunger in the cold days and nights of winter, insuring another year, another cycle of sustainability.

Insurance the halfway mark between hope and fear; hope that ‘enough’ will be realized as we move toward reaping and fear, an awareness that all can still be lost, in the blink of an eye, to the ravages of wind and hail.

Insurance is not a new notion though our ancestors made a bid for it – in a manner of speaking – through prayer, gratitude and sacrifice rather than policies and contracts. Insurance hinges upon the notion of a future outcome or potential threat to security. Sacrifice is an acknowledgment of our connection to all life and gratitude is based on the remembrance of the past, expressed in the moment’s eternal NOW.

There is no such thing as a guaranteed outcome – as much as our fear-based consumer society would like us to believe there might be; there is only the present – ever-evolving, ever-cycling, the truth of what IS.

In the face of this we can give thanks, acknowledge that we have thus far been carried by the grace of Life itself, to this moment and that this same moment will undoubtedly usher us forth into the next moment. By acknowledging our place in the continuum of life and its inevitable growth and decline, fear dissolves and we are free to breathe each breath and embrace each moment.

Blessings on the first harvest!

Litha -This is IT

June 21, 2014 by marlowpurvesnet, posted in Uncategorized

Summer Solstice – The Summit

Solstices are the crisis points of the year. The darkest and the lightest, containing the seeds of each within the other. Today we stand at the very top of the Light. The sun will grace us and create the longest day of the year.

No more anticipation, hope, preparation or increase. We’re here, at the brightest spot, the longest day and the height of the season. It seems that so much of our time is spent in preparing, diligently working toward the ‘Golden Time’ when we will hit our stride and truly shine and be seen to do so. The seeds that we have planted and nurtured over the past few months have flowered and are setting fruit, succulent, sustaining – a potent reminder of the sweetness of life. The fruit bears seeds too though, not yet ripe and not yet revealed, very much in their infancy…a sign of the time to come.

It is now that I find myself wanting to step on the brakes, to pause the relentless movement of the planet…I want to bask in the intensity and vitality of the light. In an odd way we are granted a few blessed days now, til Midsummer (June 24th) to step out of the ‘real’ world and dream. This dreaming is not just a joy ride though, it is a rich time to review the last six months since Yule, to do an inventory of what we have planted and developed, what has thrived and what has withered. It is also a time to celebrate and acknowledge the fruits of our labours and successes, within and without.

In some sense it is a perfect expression of a grown-up kind of union, the first stirrings, the tender pangs of first love and the frolicking of exploration and abandon are behind us. As we reach this point in the year, we become aware of the sweetness AND the responsibility of life and its continuation. As the sun begins it’s journey southward, there is a consolidation of the fruit, a potentization of sorts. Right now though, it is time to indulge in the ripeness. It’s a wonderful opportunity to join with family, community and friends, share the sweetness of all that has been manifested and bless the passing of that which has not thrived.

I wish you sweet dreams of the Midsummer!

Homoeopathy for the Home – Classes in Cambridge

April 7, 2014 by marlowpurvesnet, posted in Cambridge, Cambridge Homoeopathy, Health, Holistic Healing, Uncategorized

We will be starting another Homoeopathy for the Home Class on April 9, here in Trumpington. Five-two hour classes in which we’ll cover the basics of homoeopathy AND the practical application of 36 Common First Aid Remedies. We’ll also touch in on the history of homoeopathy and how remedies are made.

This series is designed to enable each participant to feel confident and supported in using remedies in their own lives as well as those of their families and friends. Based on real case histories, we will move between theory and practice. There will be loads of ‘extras’ in terms of tips for prescribing, ‘When to see the Homoeopath/Doctor’ and signs to watch for.

This series will be based in Cambridge and will be small enough to accommodate and respond to the interests of the particular group. SO if you have ever wondered about Homoeopathy and how it might play a part in your self-care plan, THIS is your opportunity to find out!

Contact Marlow at: 07528-188901

Spring into Clean!

March 25, 2014 by marlowpurvesnet, posted in Cambridge, Cambridge Homoeopathy, Health, Holistic Healing, Homeopathy, remedies, Uncategorized

We find ourselves answering an inner urge at this time of year, the return of sunny days enjoining us to clean the windows and to let in the fresh brisk air; the riot of new growth in the garden has us hustling for our shears and trowels in preparation for the promise of the next harvest.

Physically we often do a minor review at this time – how have we fared with our new year’s resolutions?! Did they get buried in the cold dark winter nights? Here we are, emerging, feeling perhaps, blinded and sluggish in the wake of the lengthening days; restless to be out in the garden, on our bikes, actively inhabiting our bodies.

Spring is a jubilant, sap-rising time of year and just as nature responds to the tilt of the earth and longer days, so do our bodies. The Chinese know a thing or two about how energy flows in nature and consequently in our bodies. Spring is associated with the element of wood, which corresponds to the liver and gall bladder. As ‘The General’ of the organs, the liver is a power house and multi-purpose generator, a strategic Overlord of sorts. The excitement of the season serves to activate the liver and thus it is an ideal time to focus and support it by giving it a ‘Spring Clean’.

In modern culture we tend to overindulge in many practices that tend to tax our livers heavily, resulting in symptoms ranging from a lack of energy, headaches, digestive troubles, irritability, craving of stimulants, difficulties in decision-making to sleeplessness. One of the characteristics of someone with a ‘dodgy liver’ might be to make rash and sometimes dramatic decisions (or to be paralyzed and unable to act) perhaps as a sort of backlash against the general sluggishness and feeling of toxicity.

The secret of success for most ventures lies in the preparation. There is little value to be had in ‘painting over the cracks’, so too when we seek to ‘do a cleanse’ – Fasting, Diets, Cleanses – very much in vogue these days. Many novice enthusiasts undertake their new regime of juice and greens with great gusto and good intentions – unfortunately the success rate can be disappointing without a little preparation and understanding.

There are many ways to undertake a liver cleanse ranging from cutting back on alcohol, coffee and sugar to a more rigorous regime that may include fasting and the use of herbs, acupuncture or remedies.
In my practice I am occasionally asked if I can ‘give a pill’ to effect a cleanse. The answer is, “Yes and No.”

YES – There are remedies that have a proven track record in promoting the clearing of the system and there are others that are known to specifically support a damaged or struggling liver. These remedies are prescribed under particular circumstances (based on the WHOLE PERSON) and act as a safe, gentle and effective support to the individual’s best efforts to be self-regulating.

NO – It would, in my opinion, be irresponsible to prescribe a pill with the intention of cleansing an organ without tending to the person as a whole. This is where a little understanding comes in and the marriage of common sense, nutrition and lifestyle meets homoeopathy. If we are serious about a Spring clean, we need to be thorough and take into account that it would be counter-productive to stir up a lot of dust without opening the windows! To that end, remembering that the bowel, skin, kidneys and lungs are major organs of elimination, it behoves one to make sure they are functioning and supported before initiating the clear out. This again is where remedies can play a pivotal role.

Diet is also crucial part of the whole process. I will occasionally recommend a fairly simple diet guide to patients to support them in their re-calibrating process. This eating plan offers a gentler approach to cleansing than a more rigorous juice and or fasting regime.

The Liver Diet

Do this for 10 days to 2 weeks. During this time make sure you are drinking 8-10 glasses of fresh (non-fluoridated) water per day. Get plenty of sleep and spend some time outside in the sun every day. Also, if possible, have regular saunas and consider treating yourself to some reflexology or massage sessions.
Keep warm and pursue gentle exercise to keep yourself flexible. Take naps!

AVOID ALTOGETHER

salt meat dairy
sugar fats spices
wheat alcohol processed foods
coffee/tea tobacco

Drink warm water with lemon first thing every morning. Eat LOTS of fresh organic green vegetables, fruit, seeds, onions, garlic and rice.

Be advised that a change in diet can create very noticeable effects. Headaches, low energy, skin eruptions and irritability are not uncommon initial reactions. These will be passing symptoms, IF they persist beyond the end of the 10 days consult a practitioner/homoeopath.

If you do decide to have a ‘proper clear-out’ take heart, nature is on your side and will lend her abundant energy to your endeavour. You will emerge feeling lighter with a sense of renewed vitality and clarity.

Happy Spring!