Monday 13 October 2014

October Poetry Writing Month - Day 10

Morning Train

Sleepy eyes and tired bones 
Slightly damp from the morning rain
Which caught me before the bus could whisk me away
On this, my latest adventure

I sit.
Huddled beneath layers of wool, and fleece, and cotton
As I wait for the train to move off from the station
I sip at steaming morning coffee
A small luxury served in a paper cup
My morning medicine, to wake me up

The train shudders and shakes
No new speedy engine this one
More like a primeval beast
Lumbering through the countryside
But eventually we reach full speed
The jolts become a gentler hypnotic drum

I feel the steady hum of the train beneath me
As scenery flashes by my window
The Sun is coming up
Turning a dark sky to azure blue
The golden orb of our fiery star peeks tentatively through the clouds
As we head towards the city

The light is reflected off of the tall glass buildings
And the city seems ablaze with golden reflections
Not long now to my destination
I relax into my seat
Enjoying these minutes of quiet
Before the bustle of city life surrounds me


October Poetry Writing Month - Day 9

First day at school

I wake up already nervous
Chew toast
Drink tea
Auto pilot pushing me forward
Smart new clothes
New bag
New pens
Tidy! From my neat hair to my shiny shoes.
The bus takes forever,
But I don't mind if we never get there
Suddenly, the bus stops
The driver looks at me with pity
As I make my way to the front and alight
Into the foggy grey of this September morning.
Dead leaves, frosty under foot,
Crunch and crumble
In to the gate I go
There are groups of kids huddled together
In packs, like wolves,
They stop talking when they see me.
Eyes stare from the windows
And through the tennis court fences
Inside I scuttle
One quick cup of tea to warm me
And it is time...
The bell tolls and I open the classroom door...
"Good morning  class 3, I am your new teacher, Mrs B"
 


Saturday 11 October 2014

October Poetry Writing Month - Day 8

Day 8

Oh the sweet sweet joy of a new book!
The glossy cover,
The perfect spine,
This is a moment to be savoured.
This new tome,
Freshly plucked from shelf in shop,
Or torn from postal packaging at home.
This small book is cause for celebration,
A sort of romanticised ceremony
Of ethereal jazz and distant chatter,
Any coffee shop will do,
It really doesn't matter,
But the comfort and bliss
Of sitting and sipping,
And then the first turn of the first page
Careful not to break the binding!
Slowly, into the narrative you find yourself sliding
Minutes turn into hours...
Pages turn into chapters...
You are lost in this new world
As your cup grows cold
And the light diminishes
"Just one more page" you think, 
"I need to finish this".
And when the day is almost done
You reluctantly head for home
And when at home, It's up to bed,
To read some more, until sleep claims your head.

(C) Arietta Bryant
October 2014

October Poetry Writing Month - Day 7

Day 7

Free Bird

I see my life flashing by
But always forward must I fly
I am a bird upon the breeze
The path of least resistance please!
To be a bird would be quite a thrill
With feathered wing and chirping bill
I take flight now to ride the winds
But now I know on each dice spin
I can be the master of my life
I am more than mum and wife
I am the wise owl of the night
I can choose which way I fly


Tuesday 7 October 2014

October Poetry Writing Month - Day 6

"Write!" she said...

"Write the words and they will heal you",
"Tell your story" she says, "And they will hear you".
"Go to the dark place and I'll be your light".
"I will be there for you in sorrow filled nights"

But what if the door to that place can't be closed
What If I'm lost there with memories of old
I don't want to open the door in the dark
To remember the days of a horror that's passed

I just want to be light and joy filled and happy
There are things best left hidden and wrapped up in plastic
I don't want to go to the dark place I scream
Typing so hard that my fingers might bleed

If I just keep typing and think cheerful thoughts
She won't make me go there and open that door
But for all my protesting I feel I am moving
Getting a bit closer, but unsure what I am doing

There is a door up ahead it's bolted and locked
It's covered in cobwebs and rusted up shut
But just underneath it I think I see light
Perhaps I might open it up... tonight  


October Poetry Writing Month - Day 5

Behind the Curtain

Standing in the dark behind the curtain
I wait...
Feeling the energy rising
I breathe...
Adrenalin coursing
I close my eyes...
Heart pounding In my chest
I am ready...
But in the back of my head, that nagging doubt
Why do I do this to myself?
For all that I fear it,
In these moments of quiet panic, before the lights come up
I live for the rush, the thrill
To live my art
In body, soul and heart 


Sunday 5 October 2014

October Poetry Writing Month - Day 4

Lonely in the crowd

Each day the journey is the same
Travelling with strangers with no names
Heads bent low they read their phones
Each in a bubble all alone
We don't speak or chat to others
Head phones in signals "please don't bother"
We are a nation of social networkers
Each in trapped a spidery web of isolating connections
Alone in the hustle and bustle of the world
Crowded streets where no one sees anyone

Friday 3 October 2014

October Poetry Writing Month - Day 3

 
3rd October

Dancing with Words

When I write poetry
I like to watch the words as they fall onto the page
They seem to dance like stardust,
Slowly they settle into their right place
They squeeze themselves into pentameter and stanza
Into sentence and into rhyme
They yearn for me to use them
Each and every one
Golden nuggets brought forth
From beneath chewed pencils and smudgy pens
They leap and jump at my command
(And sometimes of their own free will)
 We - The Words and I -
Carve out our dance floor together.

Arietta Bryant (c) 03/10/14


Wednesday 1 October 2014

October Poetry Writing Month - Day 2


2nd October - In the UK today is National Poetry Day and the theme is "Remember"

Remember!

Waking from dream sleep
Fractured memories I keep
They flit and fly, like darting bugs
Glowing dots in darkening fog
A metronomic tap, tap, tap
The nagging sense of almost knowing
Almost remembering
Almost forgetting
I blink and clear the sleepy haze
And with each blink so die the waves
Of hidden images and scenes
The things I see within my dreams

(C) Arietta Bryant

#octpowrimo
#thinkofapoem
#npdlive

 

Tuesday 30 September 2014

October Poetry Writing Month - Day 1

1st October...

Just past midnight the clock is chiming
I am still awake, my cogs are not unwinding
So tightly wound by a busy day
I feel they will never be the same

I close my eyes, I lie in bed
But cannot quiet my chatting head
Just as I think I'm beginning to quiet
When once again I sit up, too wired

So out and down the stairs I creep
Past my children, fast asleep
I tip toe softly down the hall
Into the garden where moonlight calls

I stand with bare feet on chilly stone
Feeling connected, no longer alone
I breathe, my pulse begins to slow
Thoughts come to my mind, but I just let them go

I offer a prayer to my moonlit Gods
I turn from the garden and back to the house I plod
Sleep is now stalking me, close at my heels
I climb into bed and I feel no more ills

(C) Arietta Bryant 2014
#OCTPOWRIMO

Monday 3 February 2014

Approaching Epona


Alongside my personal projects (finding a suitable illustrator for "Little Lizzy Witch", finishing the first draft of "A Magickal Scrapbook" and constantly refining the "Tarot of the Yellow Brick Road") I have been busy with several small collaborative writing projects.



One of the most exciting and challenging of these has been the Naming the Goddess Project. 

Organised by Trevor Greenfield for Moon Books (an imprint of John Hunt Publishing) the project invited authors to submit essays on various Goddesses and I was selected to write about Epona.

Epona has been a part of my life for more about 10 years now but my personal relationship with her has always been more instinctual than intellectual and so the challenge for me, with this project, was to bring more history to the article and less personal, emotional, stuff. This was hard to do especially when I think about the first time I "saw" her...


I attend a twice annual Pagan camp and part of this camps tradition is to perform a ritual to Epona, at dawn, on the Saturday. Now I am not known for my early rising and so had not really expected to be awake at 4 in the morning to take part, but as it happens I didn't need to be…

Around 4 am I was laying in my sleeping-bag, asleep but I became aware of a distant drumming and although I remained in my tent I saw in my minds eye, a rolling fog coming towards my tent, across the field, and in this fog were the images of pale coloured ponies. The drumming became louder and I realised that it was the sound of galloping hooves. Suddenly they were surrounding me and I seemed to be outside with them. A woman, made of the same grey mist as the horses, held her arms open to me in a welcoming gesture, she seemed to be waiting for me to say something but as I went to speak the vision cleared, I was back in my tent, in my sleeping bag and I could hear the ritualists finishing up outside and chatting as they moved back to their own tents to make breakfast or grab a few more hours sleep.


You can read more about Epona and other Goddess in "Naming The Goddess" coming 2014



https://www.facebook.com/NamingTheGoddess

'Naming the Goddess' is a new community book from Moon Books featuring contributions from over 75 writers. Part 1 features a series of critical essays discussing contemporary Goddess issues. Part 2 is a Spiritual Gazetteer of over 60 popular Goddesses. 'Naming the Goddess' will be published in 2014. 


20 Questions with Author, Cindy Mitchell


This month we meet author, Cindy Mitchell



20 Questions

1. What are you best known for?

I really don’t know to be honest. I suppose many people would know me for having long hair (I have no idea why this is such a big deal, but people often mention it to me!)  Having a lot of animals and making awesome sugar cookies. I have to presume that when I say ‘I’m a writer’, most people think it’s my hobby and not something I am trying to pursue as a career!

2. How did you get involved in your line of work?

 I have been writing since I was able to as a small child. My mom used to bind my books with birthday wrapping paper and string. In my ‘other’ life, I am a small farmer & I have been doing that since 2010.

3. What advice would you give someone just starting out in the same line of work?

 If you want to be a writer, you really just have to start writing. It really is that simple – there is no right or wrong way to do it.

4. What was your last project?

My last project I suppose would be my first published project, ‘Eve’. All my other work is in progress.

5. What’s next?

As my book is the first in a series, the next book will be a vampire novel and will center around a character we met in ‘Eve’ called ‘Olivia’, who is a near 1000 year old Vampire.

6. Name a person in the same line of work as you who you admire

Oh, I suppose I’d have to say the author of this blog now, wouldn’t I? *wink* Or a mutual friend Romany Rivers. Both have been indispensable in offering sage advice on this publishing lark and writing as  a whole.

7. What one thing would you do if you knew that you could not fail?

I’d love to learn a musical instrument actually. I’ve tried before and I’m terrible at it.

8. How do you want to be remembered?

I think just as a good person who was loved. You can’t ask much more than that, can you?

9. What do you love/enjoy most about your work?

 I love that I love it. Being able to do something you love for a living is a wonderful thing. In my case, I get to do two things I am passionate about. Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” - Confucius.

10. What was the strangest or funniest incident you've experienced?

My father used to be a truck driver & delivered almost daily to a place where Andrew’s father used to work, almost 20 years before we met.

11. What do you do in your spare time?

In my spare time I watch movies & TV with my family, read, spend time with my fur-babies and learn how to be self sufficient. I’ve learned to make much of my own beauty/home/cleaning products & I’m currently building up the courage to make soap.

12. Who inspires you?

 I’m inspired by loads of people, too many to mention. My friends & family inspire me the most. Authors inspire me in that even as the world goes more digital, some people never give up and are successful even in a world that is turning against their medium.

13. Describe yourself in 3 words

Writer. Farmer. Life-student.

14. Favourite colour

Purple

15. If you could have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Stephen King. My brother. Shakespeare.

16. What would I find in your refrigerator right now?

Leftovers, lots of cheese, mason jars and every kind of condiment you can imagine.

17. What is the last book you read?  

The last book I completed was ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest’.

18. What is next to your bed at the moment?  

A lamp, the book I am reading, a box of tissues, a tin of lip-balm, hand lotion,  and an alarm clock

19. What would your one “can’t live without it” item be?

My laptop. Or cheese.

20. Favourite Season

Autumn, for sure. The colours, the ever-changing weather and the general atmosphere. Always makes for good writing days!

************

Author Bio:

C.M. Mitchell is a part time writer and part time small farmer. She was born in Ontario, Canada; lived in the UK for fifteen years before moving back home where she resides on a small farm in Quebec.
She has worked a range of jobs, but has always concentrated on writing and learning about genealogy, history, literature and most anything she can learn about living a self sufficient life. 


Wednesday 8 January 2014

Book Recommendation - The Last Observer - Out Now!



The Last Observer: A magical battle for reality

Written by this months guest author Dr Gary Michael Vasey, The Last Observer is out now and is a must read book with believable characters and a good plot which takes the reader through a twisting tale of quantum physics and mystical magic.

Synopsis.

The Last Observer is a compelling tale of magic, alternative realities, murder and conflict. An ordinary man is abruptly dragged into the middle of a violent struggle between black and white magicians who both seek to use his extraordinary powers of imagination and observation. He soon learns that reality is not at all what it seems before being called upon to play a decisive role in determining whose reality will prevail.

Features a preface by Anthony Peake - author of Is There Life After Death? and many other books.

PUBLISHED BY: Roundfire Books
AVAILABLE: August 30th, 2013




AUTHOR BIO:  Dr. Gary (G.) Michael Vasey writes extensively across a number of disparate areas in which he has a passionate interest. He is the author of over 200 articles and several books on the energy & Commodities industry, two books of poetry, and several books about magic and our ability to shape reality. He now lives in Prague in the Czech Republic, but is British by birth and hold US citizenship meaning he pays taxes twice.


LINKS

Author website: http://www.garymvasey.com
Author Blog: http://www.asterothsdomain.com
Publisher website: http://www.roundfire-books.com


Tuesday 7 January 2014

Guest Author - Dr Gary Michael Vasey - Consciously Creating Reality


Happy New Year to all of my followers!

This month we kick off with something a little different. Today's blog post was written by author Dr Gary Michael Vasey and centres on the theme of crafting your own reality...

Enjoy!

Arietta

****************

Consciously Creating Reality

 by Dr Vasey

If you follow the odd headline around the theme of science, you may know that there is a growing view among certain physicists and others that we live in a hologram[1]. In fact, recent news stories that crossed over from the realm of science include the notion that we are living in a computer simulation just like the Matrix[2] (or better yet – The 13th Floor) movies. For decades, quantum physics has put you at the center of that Universe as the conscious observer that dictates exactly what happens[3] in your reality. Increasingly, the idea that you create your own reality is gaining momentum in the scientific community.

If you think that this is stuff and nonsense then consider it from another scientific and philosophical angle. Meditation reshapes the brain and brain chemistry[4], convincing yourself that you are still young makes you younger[5], visualizing success works[6] and I could go on and on for pages on this theme. The proof is out there that we can create our own reality the way to do it is also known. It used to be called Magic and those who practiced it were burnt at the stake or worse.

Let’s quickly compare science and psychology against magic and occult to prove my point shall we? In science, the conscious observer dictates what happens. If the conscious observer engages in meditation and visualization, even acting out what it is they desire’, they re-program themselves in a way that makes it easier for them to create the reality they wish for. A magician or occultist goes within themselves through meditation to understand who they are (Know Thyself!) and engages in magic ritual which is nothing more than an elaborate acting out and reminding the subconscious mind of their desires. Is this not the same thing?

This is a central theme in my fantasy adventure novel – The Last Observer (Roundfire Books, 2013). The story involves Stanley who lives a boring and humdrum existence but who loves to read as it activates his amazing imaginative faculties. Stanley’s abilities come to the attention of two groups of magicians who are engaged in a bitter fight over reality. One group wants to change reality by controlling just who gets to create it murdering those who have this ability strongly developed and who will not use it to serve their ends. I blend my practical knowledge of magic with quantum physics throughout the book to build the story that ends with a couple of massive twists and turns that will astound you.

Of course, quantum physics has caused much consternation in the science camp as what has been discovered at the quantum level is so crazy, so weird that its difficult to believe and the implications are quite mind blowing. It has led some quantum physicists and other scientists to make some quite extraordinary statements;

“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself”
 - Carl Sagan

“All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter” 
 - Max Planck

[I can't accept quantum mechanics because] "I like to think the moon is there even if I am not looking at it."
 - Albert Einstein

"Observations not only disturb what is to be measured, they produce it."
 - Pascual Jordan

However, here is the funny thing. None of this is any way, shape or form NEW. Nope. Magicians and mystics have known this for millennia. They came to these same conclusions via meditation and personal insight. Science and scientists must be shaken to the core to know (if they have looked at all) that what they think is new science and discover has in fact, been known since ancient Egyptian times and probably millennia before that.

The biggest part of magic is imagination. You simply have to be able to imagine and to see/feel/hear things that you imagine. One exercise I practice all of the time is visualizing a fire. I try to see it, feel the heat, smell the smoke, and hear the twigs crackling. I find that sometimes, it is tough to visualize something so I imagine that I can. Yes, I imagine that I imagine something..... Weird eh? Nevertheless, you know what it works. Why? Well, because magic is mostly the ability to imagine as I said before. Mediation helps get you into a state where imagination is easier. It is a sleepy sort of state in which the body sleeps but the mind is awake. In this state, your imaginations may take on a life of their own. Suddenly, you are not imagining but experiencing. Careful though, don't jump when you realize this as it will destroy the state of mind that allows this mindful wandering.

We are all magicians creating our reality every instant unless of course, you are what are referred to as a sleeper and you are allowing everyone else to create your reality for you.




Author Bio - Dr. G. Michael Vasey



Gary has written nine books on a remarkably wide number of topics ranging from energy and commodities to (real) magic.  He also blogs extensively both in his professional career as an industry analyst in the commodities space, and for fun as a hobby.

His first book was an account of his studies with an occult school or, as he prefers to put it, an account of being a real magician (Inner Journeys: Explorations of the Soul) published by Thoth in 2005. This led him to the idea that a book in his professional field might also be useful as well as profitable and so Trends in Energy Trading, Transaction and Risk Management, A Primer, appeared in 2006. Since this was sponsored by his clients and self-published via Amazon’s publishing house, it turned out to be a very profitable venture and spun off a second edition in 2010 and another book about ETRM software in 2008.
In 2006, he was asked by Wiley Finance to collaborate with a colleague on a book about energy hedge funds. He has also submitted chapters to a variety of other books on the topics of energy risk management and hedge funds.
In 2012, he published material about the hexagram as an esoteric symbol, along with a colleague, through specialist publishing house – Datura Press and began work on his first novel – The Last Observer – published in 2013 by Roundfire Books.  In between, he self-published two short volumes of poetry titled Weird Tales and Poems for the Little Room. A third book of poetry combined with blog posts from Asteroth’s Domain will shortly appear as Astral Messages.
He continues to blog avidly at garymvasey.com and asterothsdomain.com and is currently at work writing the prequel to The Last Observer and a book about the role of the Fool in esoteric work.
Complete List of Works
Astral Messages (Createspace) -  to be released
The Last Observer: A Magical Battle for Reality (Roundfire Books), 2013
The Mystical Hexagram: The Seven Inner Stars of Power (Datura Press), 2012 (with SC Vincent)
Poems for the Little Room (G&G Group sro), 2012
Trends in Energy Trading, Transaction and Risk Management Software 2009-2010 (Createspace), 2010 (with Patrick Reames)
Selecting and Implementing Energy Trading, Transaction and Risk Management Software: A primer (Createspace), 2008 (with Patrick Reames)
Weird Tales: Otherworld Poetry (Booksurge Publishing), 2006
Energy and Environmental Hedge Funds: The New Investment Paradigm (Wiley Finance), 2006 (with Peter C. Fusaro)
Trends in Energy Trading, Transaction and Risk Management Software, A Primer (Booksurge Publishing), 2006 (with Andrew Bruce)
Inner Journeys: Explorations of the Soul (Thoth), 2005

LINKS

Author website: http://www.garymvasey.com
Author Blog: http://www.asterothsdomain.com
Publisher website: http://www.roundfire-books.com