• Home
  • Blog
  • Books
    • BOOK: Your Faery Magic
    • BOOK: Gods and Goddesses of Wales
    • BOOK: All That Glitters
    • BOOK: TWISTED
  • Storytelling
  • The Enchanted Academy (TEA)
  • Become a Patron
  • The Crimson Coven
  • Resources

Halo Quin

~ Author, storyteller, witch

Tag Archives: gratitude

The Forest, The Dark Mother and Elephant snot (part 1)

11 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Following Delight, Magic, Reflections

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Devotional, Faery, Forest, Goddess, gratitude, Honesty, Living Life, Magic, Religion, Skande Vale

Skanda Vale Forest

The land is alive around us...

A three-part story of a pilgrimage to The Community of the Many Names of God – Skanda Vale.

Four of us walked through the darkening forest, a reddening full moon rising over the horizon as raindrops dripped upon our brows.

The trees were full of magic, the Spirit and spirits of the land – I could feel them around us, moving swiftly, watching.

I last stood on this land after an early morning Puja to Her, several years past. I’d stayed at Skanda Vale for two days with a friend and we’d been to every Puja each day. I was burnt out. The lack of sleep, the intensity of devotion-devotion-devotion in a language I did not really understand, the immense amounts of vegetarian curry (very tasty but not my normal diet!). We’d planned to stay a further day. I left that morning and said, even then, that I’d love to go back to visit the land if only I didn’t have to go to the Pujas too.

Last night, as I walked through that forest, I remembered why I fell in love with the land there.

Somewhere so alive my skin tingled and my heart overflowed with joy.

The twilight filtered through the trees and lit the way. I felt blessed to be able to feel the life that flowed through that place, recognising that the work I’ve been doing to open my awareness is not without success. I once thought myself as psychically sensitive as a brick, unable to sense the magic in the world around me. Now I step onto devoted land and almost fall over. Take heart, the things you long for can be developed over time.

I grinned the whole walk up through that beautiful, haunting forest and wondered what the Dark Mother, in the Dark time of the year, under a Dark Full Moon would share with us at the Temple that evening.

Skanda Vale’s site is here… and parts 2 and 3 of the story will be posted soon…

Facing Fears

06 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Following Delight

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

challenge, Determination, Devotional, Facing fears, gratitude, Imperfection, Living Life, Magic, Music, Singing

Today I opened Pandora’s box and sang on stage.

Pandora's Box by JW Waterhouse

When we look in the dark corner of our minds we find spells woven by ourselves and the people around us - our friends are the ones who help us break the spells that hold us back and weave new webs of wonder. Open the box and face it with friends.

Not only did I sing on stage – I pushed for the chance to do so.

I was terrified.

And afterwards… people were supportive. No one laughed at me (though I think I made a few people giggle at my antics), the world didn’t end (though it might have crumbled a little round the edges) and I feel proud of myself.

The reason I could do this when my self-belief was shattered long ago by people I trusted? Dear friends who have helped me rebuild my confidence. And one particular person who faced her own, rather similar demon with me.

When we face demons together, we can conquer them.

When we spend time with people who put us down, the demons grow, even where there weren’t any before.

The people we spend time with are important.

Who in your life binds you with your fears? Who builds your demons up because of their own? And who stands by you, helping you to break the spells that hold you back?

Who in your life helps you to enchant your world for the better?

We enchant ourselves and each other with our words, its up to us to choose which enchantments we’ll accept in our lives, and which we will break.

I will be singing to an audience again… with gratitude to the people in recent years who have helped me break the chains that bound my wings.

Who stands by your side and helps you fly? They’re your true friends, know them well.

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?

 

Being a Creative Philosopher in an Analytic World.

26 Thursday May 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Creative Process, Following Delight, Philosophy, Reflections

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

choice, creativity, Determination, gratitude, Heart, Honesty, Imperfection, inspirations, Intent, learning, Living Life, musings, Philosophy, Strangeness of Life

Emerging

Many things make up who we are - what do you share and what do you keep precious from the world? When do you ignore the 'sensible' and leap into what you love?

How often have I tried to hide?

I know it would be safer to keep my head down, to keep my lunacy separate from the rational academia in which I’m slowly-slowly carving a place for myself, and yet I also know that to hide is to deny myself.

So I shut my eyes and I leap.

I see a scary thing ahead, and I take a deep breath and tell my Sensible Self to close her eyes… and then the moon-kissed heart of me steps off the cliff and trusts the wind to carry her.

It’s never dropped me yet.

I know as well as you do the risks of being seen as crazy – it’s a not-so-secret fear of mine, you know? – if they see me and dismiss me I’ll be left out in the cold. If they think I’m crazy they’ll turn me away… I’ll lose friends and opportunities and it’ll all be for nothing.

So says my Sensible Self. She has good reason to believe these things, and yet I know that even if the worst happens, the Wind will not drop me. At least, he will not drop me far!

I’ve friends who have seen me star-struck and moon-kissed and standing on edges. I’ve friends who’ve stood beside me as I’ve opened doors and boxes which Sensible Me says would be better left closed. In leaping I’ve found people who encourage me to fly, even in the most unexpected places.

Those who shake their heads and sigh do not need to know my heart, but as long as I follow it, the Wind will carry me when the ground falls out beneath my feet. Those that know what flying means will soar with me, even if they ride another breeze.

And only those that understand dreams of flight are worth sharing my secrets with. Only those who already share a spark will understand what I say.

And so I come full circle.

No longer do I hide, but neither do I need to tell everyone I meet my deepest, brightest secrets. That those lights guide me is no reason to announce it to the world.

My dreams, my passions, my obsessions filter into my academic work, and you’d be amazed at how often people ignore the bits they do not understand. It’s not easy to have a touch of the irrational in a world of rationality, but they feed each other and both grow stronger from it.

I am me. Every day I learn to be more me, I am always becoming, and I do not hide…

But I do keep secrets.

***

For more musings delivered to your inbox weekly subscribe to my newsletter here.

Enchanted Empowerment – Genesis

20 Friday May 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Creative Process, Following Delight, Philosophy

≈ Leave a comment

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

≈ Leave a comment

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! 🙂

Announcing: A Parcel of Pixie Kisses!!!

21 Monday Mar 2011

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Art Craft and Beauty, book, Completion, Faery, Faery Queen, Feyhearted path, gratitude, growing things, Heart, Honesty, Living Life, Magic, Suggestions, The Faery Heart, Tools

Hello Feylings!

If you’ve been following this blog and the Feyhearted project for the past few months, you’ll have seen the Pixie Kisses – weekly posts of suggestions for inviting enchantment into your life…

I am delighted to announce that these posts have been collected into a book, alongside the letters to my mailing list which accompanied them, paintings and photos from my own feyhearted explorations, and some extra material written especially for the project.

And it is up on Lulu now! Here it is:

A Parcel of Pixie Kisses

Enchantment in little kisses...

Do you long for enchantment?

Do you revel in delight?

Are you drawn to the Fey?

Choose, now, to walk in a world of beauty, of delight. Choose, now, to be enchanted by life!

Suggestions, musings and explorations of enchantment in bite-sized kisses in a dainty book, ready to wing its way into your life and guide you through play to the magic that surrounds you every day.

Be enchanted!

Feyhearted – Pixie Kiss # 16 – The Faery Queen’s Blessing

18 Friday Mar 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Faery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Faery, Feyhearted path, gratitude, Heart, Honesty, Intent, Magic, Suggestions

This is the sixteenth post in a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here.

She who goes by many names, who wears so many faces…

The embodiment of Faery itself, The Faery Queen is the consciousness behind the patterns, the weaver of the web that underlies the natural world. Faeryland is the world of the spirit, the world of blueprints from which our world manifests, and she is the one that directs the creation of these blueprints.

And she is calling…

Continue reading →

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!!!

Feyhearted – Pixie Kiss #13 – Circles in the Mist

25 Friday Feb 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Faery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Faery, Feyhearted path, gratitude, Heart, Magic, Tools

This is the thirteenth post in a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here.

In many magical traditions, a circle is cast. Circles to protect, circles to contain, circles to focus, circles to mark out a space beyond the everyday world.

Here we will look at circles, not circles that divide us from the world, but circles of blessing and transformation.

Continue reading →

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,539 other followers

Meet Halo

Snow Pixie

Welcome to my world!

Halo Quin is an author, a storyteller, and a practicing witch with a lifelong relationship with the spirit realm (faeries, deities, and the primal powers of land, sea, and sky, specifically) who aims to share magic through experience. Halo lives in wild West Wales, right by the roiling sea, and loves to sing, dance, and otherwise enchant through performance. She also runs the local storytelling circle, and an ADHD resource centre, and ultimately encourages self-knowledge, self-acceptance, self-healing, and self-enchantment through everything she does... leading to:

Beauty ~ Magic ~ Delight

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

Upcoming Books!

Toss a Coin to your Witch

If you like my work, you can help with costs (and keep me fueled with tea & cake) with a tip via ko-fi, it all helps! Thank you!

If you like what I write then please do consider supporting me as a Patron here.

Thank you to my Patreon Patrons for your support!

Courses at The Enchanted Academy

TEA with Halo

Contact Me

I'd love to hear from you! Email me at haloquin@gmail.com Or find me on Twitter!www.twitter.com/haloquin

Recent Posts

  • The end of a chapter
  • Book Review: Sekhmet
  • Book Review: Intuitive Magical Practice
  • Book Review: The Bird Atlas
  • An Ode to Books
  • Still a Witch
  • NEW HOME FOR TEA!
  • Cycles and Stillness
  • 5 ways to do magic when you feel disconnected
  • Priestessing

I’m on Facebook!

I’m on Facebook!

Birdsong

  • RT @geniuswithinCIC: One of the most common #Myths about #Autistic people is that they lack empathy This belief has led to #Stigma & #Disc… 1 day ago
  • RT @Joannechocolat: Making art is freedom of speech. Criticism is freedom of speech. Parody is freedom of speech. Blocking people is freedo… 1 day ago
  • RT @mental_activist: Not only was this not harmful for me, growing up under s28 it was a glimpse of hope for a different future. 3 days ago
  • RT @RebeccaPapin: Writing is the only thing that makes you a writer. There is no other criteria - not a specific degree, not being agented,… 4 days ago
  • RT @culturaltutor: The Ancient Greeks had two words for time: 1. Chronos = sequential, quantitative time 2. Kairos = fluctuating, qualitat… 4 days ago
Follow @Haloquin

angel Art Craft and Beauty Bardic beauty Beginnings book challenge choice Commitment Completion Craft Creation creativity Determination Devotion Devotional Dreams Druidry Enchantress Faeries Faery Faery Queen fairies Fears Feyhearted path Garden Goddess gratitude growing things Healing Heart Honesty hope Imperfection inspirations Intent Iron Pentacle Journalling Journey learning learn magic learn witchcraft life Living Life Love Magic moment musings ogham oracle cards Pagan paganism Painting Pearl Pentacle Philosophy Play Poetry Pride process project questions reasons Reclaiming Solstice Stories story Strangeness of Life Suggestions Tarot Tools Treelore Wales Witch witchcraft writing

NSFW – Twisted

And for the over 18s… My alter-ego, Ms Quin, writes erotica, kinky poetry, on sacred sexuality and the like. You can explore some of Her writings and poetry readings, and find her sexy book of poetry via links at Twisted Ms Quin.

Archives

Connections

You can...
Email me at craftyhalo@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter
Find me on Facebook

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Halo Quin
    • Join 1,539 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Halo Quin
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...