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Halo Quin

~ Author, storyteller, singer-songwriter, witch

Tag Archives: Commitment

Creating with Care

07 Monday May 2012

Posted by Haloquin in Art Craft and Beauty, Creative Process

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Art Craft and Beauty, Commitment, musings, Philosophy, reasons, Suggestions

Recently I stumbled across a very shiny project called Create With Care.

It was about looking at our art-making practices and challenging ourselves to clean up our acts… our creativity is often inspired by the natural world, our lives depend upon it and our very materials come from the earth. Without  big ol’ Mother Nature we creative folk (and that’s all of us) would be in very dire straits indeed!

I wandered into the party a little late (as usual!) and was just in time to send in some afterthoughts on why exactly we should strive to be aware of what we do – especially when we’re being creative – which Yaga kindly published… and I was inspired to put together a mini-workbook on the topic too. Sign up to my newsletter to get it when it appears!

My thoughts on the topic ran like this…

Our world is built on technology which has grown through a belief that the world is here for us to use as we wish. This belief has lead to clear-cutting of forests, polluted skies, oceans of plastic, extinction and genocide. As folk who are inspired by nature, who are connected to the most fundamental and natural human instinct after survival – creation – we can see how clearly this disconnection has cost us and we can show the world. We are capable of inspiring others to care for and protect and respect the world around us. This respect is what might, ultimately, save us and the land we live on.

If we are to do this, however, don’t we need to do our best to take this respect into the very practices that we love so much?

Read the rest over at Shiny Bubbles!

Dream to reality…

08 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by Haloquin in Art Craft and Beauty, Creative Process, Following Delight, Magic

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Art Craft and Beauty, Beginnings, Commitment, creativity, Determination, Feyhearted path, gratitude, Intent, Living Life, musings, process, Strangeness of Life

A month ago I posted about my longing for room to paint… since then I have cleared a corner in my living room where I can prop a large canvas and give my wings space to stretch and it worked! I made space and the expanses of colour I’ve been dreaming of became possible!

Image: A small space and a large artwork in progress
A work in progress filling the space…


Suddenly it felt easier to breathe into my art-making, to relax into it without a sense of constricting and confining what I make. Working on a small scale became easier too. I created the final three cards for the Faery oracle deck I’ve been working on directly onto the cards as I travelled.

Image: Faery Oracle Card

Tiny pictures completing the set...

And then, this Full Moon, I had an unexpected phonecall.

An offer of a space in a shared studio, in the centre of the town I work in!

A collective of artists, a light, airy space, a new project with room to grow…

How could I say no to the perfect opportunity?!

I am so excited to see where this leads next…

As I learn again and again; when I say yes to what I truly want, it comes to me.

What do you need to say yes to today?

Resolutions and Technical Difficulties…

06 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by Haloquin in Reflections

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Tags

beauty, Commitment, delight, Living Life, Pixie Kisses, technical difficulties

Hola Lovelies!
My internet has been down since Xmas eve and I don’t know when it’ll be back up so I’ll be doing my best to read any comments and keep up with things on here in the meantime.
Hope you all had a beautiful holiday-time and are staying cozy as the new year unfolds.

Heres something I wrote for New Years, a resolution if you like, for which an idea has begun percolating as to how to make it true:

I call myself enchantress-in-training. I am a Devotee of Delight.

I believe in the power of beauty, wonder and joy to heal the world.

I believe that feeding ourselves with delight fills our own cup to overflowing so we can give back to others, so we can heal the world.

I believe in the power of Love – as cliched as it sounds.

I have spent a few years musing on the idea, wandering round it, writing about it. This is why I wrote my Feyhearted books, especially Pixie Kisses.

This year I will find a way to act on this belief in ways that feel concrete.

This is the year that I move from belief to creating change.

Faith is no good without manifestation.

I resolve to manifest enchantment, to manifest more delight in the world, to bring healing through beauty and wonder and magic to those whose lives I touch… wherever I can.

I do not know how this is so, only that it is.

May beauty kiss your life, may magic grace your heart, may delight fill your days, and may you and your world be healed through each moment of bliss that pixie-kisses you.

What happens when you’re honest?

29 Friday Jul 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Following Delight, Magic, Reflections

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Beginnings, choice, Commitment, creativity, Determination, gratitude, Heart, Honesty, Living Life, Magic, process, Strangeness of Life

Open your ears and listen. Take a breath and leap. Be vulnerable and open... and the world will respond in kind. This is magic.

The world fills with beauty.

I wrote a post last week about taking a risk and being open about myself in a situation where I’d normally have translated my language and edited things to hide those parts of my life which I fear rejection for…

This past fortnight I have practised not hiding those parts anymore…

I sang long and loud and in front of people, even when I messed it up…

I shared my dreams of pursuing a magic-based business… and openly claimed the title ‘Enchantress’ in front of ‘normal people’…

I spoke my truth, and got excited about the things I love…

And it worked.

No one reacted with derision. People asked questions, shared stories, made connections.

And I got even more excited and finally found some clarity on how to bring my passions together.

Magic happens when you’re honest, when you take a risk and open up…

What are you hiding from the world because you’re scared? What would happen if you shared it with the people around you?

What magic happens in the vulnerability of honesty?

 

Enchanted Empowerment – Genesis

20 Friday May 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Creative Process, Following Delight, Philosophy

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Tags

Art Craft and Beauty, Beginnings, Commitment, Completion, creativity, Devotion, Feyhearted path, gratitude, Heart, Honesty, Imperfection, inspirations, Intent, Journalling, process, project, reasons, Strangeness of Life, Tools

Purple Flying Fish

Enchantment and empowerment work together to transform our lives into something extraordinary!

You may have noticed a sudden invasion of flying fish on this site…

They are, in fact, a Sign!

A little while ago I was rolling the sense of enchantment on my tongue, wondering what was missing. I am a devotee of delight, constantly seeking to re-enchant my life and the world around me (though I’ll be the first to admit that its an ongoing saga, a work in progress for certain!) and yet there was something missing in my writings, something with backbone, something to give the enchantment strength… and so it came together in my mind!

The missing link was power; the power that rises from within, the power of choice, the power to shape our lives in the ways we choose.

As soon as the word ’empowerment’ clicked in my mind I understood: we need power to make our dreams come true, and we need to tap into the wonder of enchantment to shape our dreams in enchanting ways that feed our heart and souls.

And so the concept of ‘Enchanted Empowerment‘ was born!

This is so huge a concept that I felt the need to start at the beginning, and a week-long outline expanded into 6 months! I began, then, with Compass Building. Starting with where we are, Here and Now, a return to centre. Month one stands alone as a foundation for enchanted empowerment, and it will be built on further… first spiralling outward to the points of the compass, and then in creating a map to our dreams!

I don’t know where the flying fish came from, but once they appeared they’ve followed me since.

And they really do make me smile…

For more information on the course, and to sign up check out the page for month one here.

And for a weekly email of musings and updates sign up here!

Beltane! Art! Possibilities!

04 Wednesday May 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Art Craft and Beauty, Creative Process, Reflections

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Tags

Art Craft and Beauty, Commitment, creativity, Determination, Faery, gratitude, Heart, Honesty, inspirations, Living Life, musings, Strangeness of Life

Ink swirls form into shapes, like rorschach tests they show to us our hearts... I see a dancing faery goblin, what do you see?

I’m so excited that the summer is here! (For my readers in the Southern Hemisphere, thank you for letting us have our turn with the sun 🙂 )

Even though this past week has been really tough, it feels like the world is full of possibilities.

Beltane is that time when the past falls away and you can step into the future, so it makes sense that now is the time that things are shifting towards more freedom, even as it brings less certainty.

Just this last week my beautiful babbit died, circumstances surrounding my job have become unstable, and my partner rolled and wrote-off our car. So we’re pet-less, car-less and soon to be job-less…

Despite this, we’re both rather positive about life, it really feels like a door is opening, even though I can’t see it and have no idea where its leading! I don’t know how I’m going to pay my bills without a job, or get a new one with no transport, but somehow, I know it’ll be ok.

I’m at that point of breathing deeply and hoping I see the opportunity as it comes round the corner in time to grab it with both hands and ride!

Its hard, and its sad, and its scary, and yet… there is hope.

I spent Beltane-day itself making art… the colours flowed across the page and images emerged! I love making pictures so much and I’m trying to find ways of sharing the joy with other people, so many of the pictures I made this weekend will be landing on Etsy. I plan to post each one here first with a story or a poem or a little bit of writing to accompany it so you can see the story behind the paint!

And, secretly, I’m working on a special offering, an e-course on enchanted empowerment… keep watching this space for more!

In the meantime, how many people would be up for a series of posts on the nature of creativty? A little bit of philosophy, a little bit of inspiration, a little bit of practical-how-to on finding your confidence and creating intuitively? Comment below and let me know if you’d be interested… and what you might like to hear about.

PS: You can subscribe to my weekly newsletter if you like, with musings not posted on the blog, just go here! Or use the links above-right to sign up to my newsletter, the blog, or both! 🙂

Magical Groundwork – Earth Below

06 Wednesday Apr 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Magic

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Tags

Beginnings, Commitment, Devotional, Energy, Faery, Grounding, Heart, Honesty, Magic, Meditation, musings, reasons, Strangeness of Life, Suggestions, Tools, Visualisation, World Tree

Being pagan and loving the earth, its worth making sure you’re connected to it before any kind of magical act… as embodied beings we are made of earth, we walk upon her, we eat what grows on her, and we will one day be buried in her.

Being human, its worth making sure you’re connected to the earth!

Continue reading →

Pearl Pentacle – Knowledge

28 Monday Mar 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Magic, Pentacles, Reflections

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Art Craft and Beauty, choice, Commitment, Heart, Honesty, Imperfection, inspirations, Intent, Iron Pentacle, Journalling, Journey, learning, Living Life, Magic, musings, Philosophy, Suggestions, Tools

Knowing

Knowing

What do I know?

What are my skills?

What have I learned in my time incarnated?

 

We all know something so well we forget others may not understand it.

We all have skills we have learnt to help us survive.

When we begin to know ourselves, we begin to know what we know… Who we are includes our skills and knowledge, and who we are is expressed through that which we have invested much energy learning about. We are, in the world, what we do; our actions are a true reflection of what and who we are… Even when we wish we were different.

 

What do you know?

How do you express that knowledge?

When you act from what you know you express that part of yourself in the world. Only you can share that knowledge, those skills, that understanding in that way.

Know what you know, and know how you express your knowledge, and you will know who you are… And, perhaps, what you need to change in your expression in order to become the best you that you can be.

 

Know your self.

 

Know your skills.

 

Know your role in your world…

Ancestors and Family Trees

13 Sunday Mar 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Magic, Reflections

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Tags

Ancestors, challenge, Commitment, Family, Heart, Living Life, Magic, musings, spirit, Strangeness of Life

I’ve often tried to map out my family tree, but with divorces and remarriages it tends to scrawl over the edge of the page into a tangle. Perhaps I’ve more of a family vine than a family tree?

I’ve some information on one of the branches of the American part of my vine, but very little on the British parts…and I’ve well loved family who have been disconnected through divorce.

I return periodically to trying to develop a magical practice to honour my ancestors, connect with my roots… but it tends to wash away on unstable foundations… so how can I reconcile these things? How can I find a practice that I connect with, so I can feel what I’m doing when I work with them?

And do I need to? It feels like the right thing to do, so I guess so…

Its come to mind again, I guess its time to revisit what I used to do and see what I can do now. A box altar worked well last time, where I had to interact with the objects, and then time spent talking and listening to them. Pretty much how most of my spirit based work happens – tricky when ‘hearing’ is so damn hard for me! Make of that what you will…

Suggestions welcome!

The Faery Heart – An Announcement

06 Sunday Mar 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Art Craft and Beauty, Faery, Following Delight

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Art Craft and Beauty, Commitment, Completion, creativity, Devotional, Faery, Faery Queen, Feyhearted path, gratitude, Heart, Intent, Journey, Living Life, Magic, project, Strangeness of Life

 

Faery Heart Book Cover

The Faery Heart

I am delighted to announce:

My book has been accepted by a publisher!!!

A lovely German publisher has decided to take on The Faery Heart, and to publish it in a German translation with new illustrations by a gorgeous artist.

Celebration time!!! 🙂

It’ll be out, at the very earliest, late spring next year… so, in the meantime:

The original, English, version is up on Lulu!

Complete with my own illustrations.

Have a printed copy sent to your door, or download a digital version to read right away.

I feel like I’m flying 🙂

Happy thoughts to you all!!!

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(c) Halo Quin ~ author, storyteller, witch

Re-enchanting the world, one story, one song, one spell, at a time.

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