Author: hcourrier

Summer hydration

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Water is a vital component of all living cells and extracellular fluids. Water acts as a solvent, regulates body temperature, aids in food digestion and helps regulate the acid-base balance. The balance between water intake or loss and electrolytes is essential for a healthy adult . Water deprivation occurs when the balance between water intake and loss is disrupted and causes a state of dehydration.

Dehydration is caused by not drinking enough fluid or by losing more fluid than you take in. Fluid is lost through sweat, tears, vomiting, urine or diarrhoea. The severity of dehydration can depend on a number of factors, such as climate, level of physical activity and diet.

Common symptoms of dehydration are dry mouth/tongue, thirst, headache, and lethargy.

Rehydration blend recipe

Electrolytes are essential for the human body to function. These minerals regulate everything from blood pressure to pH levels to the fluid levels in your body. They also play a key role in contracting muscles, transmitting signals to nerves, building new tissue, and blood clotting.

When sweating (because of the heat) or when we have diarrhoea,  we lose electrolytes and become dehydrated. Research shows electrolytes are useful when it comes to remedying the signs of dehydration. To prevent too much liquid being lost from the body, an effective oral rehydration solution can be made using ingredients found in almost every household.

About lemon essential oil : it can help purify the water in which you wash fruits and vegetables before peeling them. Lemon essential oil has stimulating, calming, astringent, detoxifying, antiseptic, disinfectant and anti-fungal properties. Ideal to treat your digestive system while hydrating.

Ingredients

6 tea spoon sugar

1/2 tea spoon salt

1 drop lemon Essential oil

Directions

  • Combine sugar and salt in a small jar
  • Add drop wise the lemon essential oil 
  • Close the jar and shake the mixture.

Application

 Add to this mixture a liter of water (a pint). Drink this home made electrolyte to rehydrate. It  should be given to every time a watery stool is passed.

  1. Fluid and electrolyte needs for training, competition, and recovery. J Sports Sci. 2011;29 Suppl 1:S39-46. 
  2. Rehydration project.com
  3. Public knowledge of dehydration and fluid intake practices: variation by participants’ characteristics. BMC Public Health. 2018 Dec 5;18(1):1346

How to make a vision board

.Reading time 1 minute.

 What is a vision board?

You can see a vision board as the first step into the manifestation of your dreams. Indeed, it’s the first shape you give to your ideas, dreams, desires, heart longings…

Why make a vision board?

You can make a vision board for all different reasons. Starting from materialistic, organisational, to spiritual life changing:

  • interior design vision board
  • event organisation
  • dreams and longings

Rules for a successful vision board

First, it’s about the energy of the images you are choosing: what feeling does the image give?  happiness, freedom, love, connection, fun…. those are the energies you are calling into your life.

  • use happy, fresh, lively images (your own or from magazines that inspires you)
  • you can add quotes that are inspiring you
  • collect and assemble the images in a way or into symbols that are meaningful to you
  • remind yourself that it’s by changing yourself that the world around you can change…

Celebration of Holy Nights

.Reading time 4 minutes.
The celebration of Holy Nights, or the Twelve Nights of Christmas, is observed in many cultures. It can be celebrated as an Inner Journey that we take to give birth to the sun in our being in order to illuminate the darkness. Holy Nights begin in the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere when the forces of Nature have withdrawn into the earth. Outside, there is usually snow and cold, a calm that is not available at other more active times of the year. It reflects a desire for inner peace that is not easily accessible in an outwardly material Western culture.

During the celebration of Holy Nights, the windows of heaven are opened so that you can see your potential in a new way. The veils are raised between Heaven and Earth. Archangels are free to create a choir of revelation and full knowledge is possible.
During each night, in our sacred space, we can reflect and welcome in our heart the different virtues. It is interesting to take notes of your insights. 

Ways to celebrate
There are many ways to celebrate the 12 holy nights. The best is to explore  yourself on basis of meditation and cleaning ritual. But here you can find a structure that can help you to start. 

Each night: highlight at sunset a coloured candle. There is also a zodiac sign corresponding. If desired, the previous 12 months can be explored for lessons learned and accomplishments made. We will literally give birth to a new world through our love and honor for the earth and the stars.
The Twelve Nights ritual uses candles in 12 different colors placed in a circle with a gold candle, honoring the golden light of the sun, in the center. If you can find them, here are the suggested colors: Dark Red, Pink, Peach, Red-Violet, Blue-Violet, Purple, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Gold.
DaysignVirtuelessons
to remember
from		color candle
24 DecPiscesGenerosityDecemberdark red
25 DecAquariusDiscretionNovemberpink
26 DecCapricornCourageOctoberpeach
27 DecSagittariusSelf-disciplineSeptemberred-violet
28 DecScorpionPatienceAugustblue-violet
29 DecLibraEquanimityJulypurple
30 DecVirgoCourtesyJuneindigo
31 DecLionCompassionMayblue
1 JanCancerAltruismAprilgreen
2 JanGeminiPerseveranceMarchyellow
3 JanTaurusBalanceFebruaryorange
4 JanAriesDevotionJanuaryred
5 JanTranscendenceAllgold
Twelve Nights symbols, monthly lessons to remember, color of the candle to light that night

On the 5th Januari, this night of Holy Epiphany, we light the gold candle, representing transcendence, the Highest Light. We have created the entire circle, by remembering all lesson learned each month of the past year. All the virtues are now integrated. We now see the year as a whole and we are prepared in a mindful way to start the year to come.

Dreams are important Holy Nights. By turning inward during the twelve nights, we create a space to listen to our dreams*. It is said that dreams during this period predict the future. Each night represents a month of the following year. The first night represents January, the second night February, the third night March etc. Each night dream predicts the future of its related month.

*By having a dream notebook, and the intention to remember the dream before sleeping helps to have a mindful dream life. In your dream book, note every detail of your dream in order to interpret all symbols offering you a message. Also you can put herbal sachet under your pillow, this will help you to dream and remember your dreams.

Wishing to all a mindful holiday and more…

Hélène Courrier

Elder moon

.Reading time 5 minutes.

In the Druid tree calendar, the Elder is the 13th and last tree of the year. It closes the year ( 25 November and ends the 23 December) and stands for death and rebirth. It was considered as a sacred tree by the Celts. Elder is the “tree of death and life“. He embodied the infinity of life: in winter the tree was “dead” – in spring it awoke to new life.

History

  • Germanic tribes like the Frisians buried their dead under the Ellhorn (elder) near the house.
  • The Teutons revered the elder and offered it bread, milk and even beer.
  • The similarity of the name of Holunder (elder in German) and Holda, the mother goddess from Germanic mythology, is not accidental. The name Holda (also Holla or Hohe, in Grimm’s fairy tales: Frau Holle) means the “radiant one”. Holda was worshiped as a house goddess, like Hestia. Her offerings were brought to the elder bush. Holda was also the patron saint for people & plants. She was able to heal people from illness. In her the goodness of mother earth and the radiance of heavenly light were equally embodied.
  • Freya, the Germanic goddess of love and fertility, is also said to have a special relationship with the elderberry bush and live in the Holler.
  • As long as people believed in Frau Holle, it was forbidden to fell or damage a elder bush. Illness and death, it was said, were the consequences.
  • In the course of Christianisation, St. Nicholas replaced Frau Holle. The elder branch he held in his hand – a symbol of fertility – turned into a rod.
  • It is said from the 17th and 18th centuries that people asked forgiveness for the elder when they had to cut it down. Only widows & children were allowed to cut them down.
  • An old belief says that it is a sign that a deceased has found his peace when an elderberry branch planted on his grave begins to grow.
  • References to the elderberry is also found in the Bible: the cradle of the baby Jesus is said to have been made of elder wood, the Holy Family is said to have rested under an elder tree on their flight to Egypt. Hence the belief that the elder is one of the trees that are not struck by lightning. The cross of Christ is said to have been made of elder wood Judas is said to have hanged himself from an elder tree.

Moonwork

Because a damaged Elder tree can regrow and a replanted branch can root from itself, the Elder tree represent the power of energy renewal and regeneration. This lunar month offers the energy to end the year mindfully and get ready for a new start

In the dark days of the end of the year, our energy goes inwards to feed our inner journey, to feed our heart’s desire. To start the new year, with this past year wisdom, we need to gather the lessons and release that does not serve us anymore. Indeed, it’s time to make an annual evaluation, by acknowledging old patterns restricting our growth and happiness and heal the eventual wounds. Taking time to evaluate what we have learned this last year and how we want to move one next year. Therefore time is needed to listen to our dreams, concentrate, go back to our roots in order to create new dreams for the New year which are blessed to become true during this moon .

Botanical

The latin name of Elder is Sambucus nigra is composed of "Sambucus" which in ancient Greek comes from  "sambúkē", a string music instrument, made from the wood of the elder tree.  "nigra" means "black", and refers to the dark berries.

Since Hippocrates, the Elder has a very great fame. We use the flowers, leaves, the second bark, berries for multiple domestic or medical uses. 

Berries and flowers have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing properties. Berries work on the airways and are  prepared as cough syrup.
Gender: Female
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Divinities: Holda, Hestia, Freya
Powers: Protection; Counter-spell; Healing; Prosperity.
Elder makes the strict and rigid person softer and gives to the too soft person structure and clear boundaries.

H.C

Smell training for odour loss

.Reading time 2 minutes.

There are many people who have lost the smell and taste after having corona. It differs per person for how long they don’t smell a scent, for one it is about 10 days and for the other it is months…. Losing our 5th sense affects one’s ability to form and maintain close personal relationships. Without our nose, our environment, our taste, and the contact with our family becomes flat. Loosing the smell dimension gives the feeling of being isolated and cut-off from the world. This feeling can lead to depression.

The good news is that with loss of smell (after corona), you can train the sense of smell through olfactory training with essential oils.

Essential oils for odour loss
For the training you will need the following essential oils:
rose
lemon (citronella) or lime 
eucalyptus
clove
mint 
jasmine 
thyme 
mandarin


Carry out the smell training as follows:
1. take a bottle with oil
2. Look carefully before smelling which fragrance you are using
3. hold this about 3 cm below your nose. It is important that the
oil does not touch your nose
4. relax and take a slow, deep breath through your nose. If you go too fast
inhale, the smell does not enter properly
5. repeat 4 times; you have inhaled the scent a total of 5 times
6. rest for 1 minute before moving on to the next fragrance
7. Repeat the above steps for all fragrances. You can choose the order yourself
choose scents
Repetition of the smell training
Repeat the 7 steps preferably 2 times a day, for example in the morning and in the evening. It is important that you continue the training for as long as needed.
Sources: University Wageningen, Reuk- en smaak centrum

Reed Moon

.Reading time 3 minutes.

The Reed Celtic Month starts on 28 October and ends the 24 November. This lunar month offers the energy to take distance with the outside world enabling deeper connection with our inner world and our ancestors.

All Festivities under the Reed Moon are linked to death and rebirth. The celtic tradition of Samhain, meaning literally “summer’s end” corresponds to the end of the harvest that marks the end of celtic year, and the start of a new year with the entering in the dark season. The veil between the worlds is thinner, enabling live and death to connect at a deeper level. In other regions, we celebrate “dia de la muerte” in Spanish and la “Toussaint” in French. It is the occasion to celebrate our ancestors, wash and decorate their tombs, talk about them, celebrate them, inviting them to be present in our life.

The Reed Month is also the time to let all the battles go and gain some insight of the year that has been.

Reed is a common name for several tall, grass-lie plants of wetlands, so they are may species. Common Read is Phragmites australis derived from the name φραγμóς meaning “barrier, palisade, fence”. Reed is associated with water: it grows in wet and swampy soils and to air.

Reeds spread in three ways: by seed, vertically by rhizomes and horizontally by suckers

Signature

At first, leaves emerge in the form of sword blades, linear, slightly wavy at the edges. Here we already recognize its aerial signature, the preferred space of the soul. Then its floral stalk rises with disconcerting ease towards this privileged azure because it benefits from the light reflected by the surface of the water.

Meditation

Here is a little meditation in the middle of the reeds:

May I be as resistant as the Reed
having his feet in the cold water and in the ice
May I be as flexibel as the Reed
that is bending in the wind
May I receive all the sun, and the reflexion of the sun,
to have even more light in me
May I sing and dance with birds coming near me
May I let things go and let it be as it is

Reed is also used in phytoremediation to clean industrial polluted grounds.

Ivy Moon

.Reading time 3 minutes.

The Ivy Celtic Month starts on 30 September and ends the 27 October. This lunar month offers the possibility to be grateful for life’s blessing and prepare to inner growth during the dark season. The Ivy month coincides with the end of the harvest season, where success and failure are put onto the balance so that we can learn from all.

Taking into account that opposition, negativity or pain are also teachers, gives us a wiser perspective on life in which all becomes a blessing. This balance in learning to see ” the good” and “the bad” as ONE, enables us to take full responsibility of our life, take off our victim coat and embrace fully what’s coming up without giving a judgement, knowing that it makes you stronger.

Ivy is strong, it grows in spiral resining us stay center and move along while focusing on the core.

Signature

The latin name of ivy is Hedera helix, which means “hold on” and “spiral”. When ivy can no more grow, it is going to bloom. Flowering occurs in November.
It is quite impressive to see how Ivy holds on to a tree: by sucking the tree bark with its aerial roots. In the signature theorie, this means that ivy is for people who seeks support and contact. Finding ivy climbing on an oak is a sign of wisdom. But ivy is also able to squeeze the oak to death, showing its possible oppressive relationship. The evergreen, woody and autumn flowering Ivy stands for resistance. When leaves get older, they also get rounder showing softer temper. the black berries makes from the plant a female symbol.

The Ivy is a plant for people who know who they are but haven't found a way to express it. That is why they rely on a partner and stay in the shadow. It is a plant for high sensitive person who get overstrung in an oppressive relationship until they learn to find a way to be authentic to themselves. Ivy supports in transforming normal in wonderful!

In ancient Greece, was ivy used to color grey hair dark again and also as anti-poison. Dionysus wore ivy as a wreath to protecting him against alcoholic intoxication, to help to think clearly and creatively. Brides and grooms in Greece wore crowns of ivy as a representation of fidelity.

Magic

House protection: Hang at your door an ivy wreath with rose and myrtle

Love: Place Ivy and Holly together around a white candle to harmonise love with your partner.

Femininity: place holly fruits around a white candle to honour your femininity

Vine Moon

.Reading time 2 minutes.

September 2th – September 30th

In the Celtic tradition, the lunar month of the vine offers the opportunity to bring your plan to fruition before the winter.

Summer has brought its abundance, enabling early harvest.

At this time of the year, the grapes are green and still need to grow. They will mature with the support of Nature’s last burst of energy before it enters in the Autumn equinox, when the day and the night are equal length (September 22nd) .

Like the warmth of the earth, the sunlight, the bees and all elements collaborates for the vine to grow and ripe, we need the extra support or cooperation with others to complete the projects we started this year. Indeed, when we follow the rhythm of the Nature, our project feel like unripe grapes who need a little external support. Until the 22th September, it’s time to focus on the last solar energy for our project maturation.

This Month we will concentrate on the valuable input from others, consolidating relations and network. It’s time to make peace, end arguments, pay off existing debts to be aligned in our community where our project has a meaning. Collaborative work made under the Vine Moon may be very valuable for the forthcoming darken months.

In the ancient times, Grapevine was a symbol of fertility as well as bramble or blackberries in the colder areas where Grape didn’t grow.

Hélène Courrier

During this MOONLIGHT MINGLE, we will:

  • Bring peace within
  • Open up to fruitfulness at this time of the year
  • Find ways to complete your project
  • Eat a prosperity pie

Reserve a spot : here

Ash Full Moon

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Welcome to the second Moonlight Mingle of the annual year 2020. In the celtic tradition , the Ash tree accompanied us from 18th Februari until 17th March. Today is the 27th Februari marks the Ash full Moon.

Mythology

The Ash is in the nordic mythology the evergreen sacred ” Tree of life, also called Yggdrasil around which nine world are existing.

The Ash supports the sky and lets light come through its spaced foliage and branches so that all forms of life can grow under his protection.

Yggdrasil roots are reaching three magical springs : a bubbling boiling spring whence all waters rise, a well of fate guarded by three immortal sisters (past, present, future) spinning the destiny of gods and men and a wisdom well for which Odin scarified an eye to drink from it.

Yggdrasil is constantly put in danger by the dragon gnawing his roots.

Symbolism

Ash symbolizes strength and rebirth, as it draws its life force from the water of three fountains: Love (the source of all) Strength (faith and goodwill of the divine intent ) Wisdom (that nourishes our mouth and actions) The Ash is an inspiring symbol in our life path. It is a tree whose qualities and energy invite us to connect to our center, to what connects us to both our inner and outer world. The Ash helps us to connect to universal knowledge and to understand our being, our thoughts and our actions. He invites us to follow our intuition and listen to the soft inner voice of our authentic self, to be open to signs and messages that life delivers to us. The inner changes will manifest in the outer world; and the outer changes will be reflected in the inner world. He shows us the way to take a right action, he shows us how to dare to step forward towards our inner call with confidence. 






Moonwork
As the last month of the winter season starts , the crocus are sharing the woods with the snowdrops, and the first air of an early spring is to be felt, we feel our strength getting back and an energy drawn to the outer world. Keep looking inside for what you want this year. Ash helps us as a bridge to travel between inside and outside. 

In this second lunar month, write the wishes that want to manifest in your life path in 2021  :
Where do you want to put your energy?
How do you want to feel?
With which values do you want to live?
On which subject are you making no compromise?
What are your needs?
What does your soul longs for?
How do you want to manifest your dreams?

It is the perfect time to a vision board.
Imagine all your wishes as little seeds that you put in one pot with the best soil. 



Botanicals
Fraxinus Ornus  is beautiful tree loving full sun and attracting birds. He can reach 30 m high and is flowering before the leaves are coming out from April until May.  Its flowers are fragrant, white and  fluffy. 
In therapy is used the white, sugary extract from the sap of the plant, called 'Manna'. it crystallizes immediately after its harvesting. Manna' is also used in food industry as sweetener, because of its high sugar content.
Manna' has mild diuretic, laxative, astringent (causing the contraction of skin cells and other body tissues) and antipyretic (prevent or reduce fever) properties. The leaves of the plant are recommended for the treatment of arthritic and rheumatic pain, myalgia, and fever.
The plant is administered as laxative and astringent in the form of infusion (2 spoons of dried herb in a cup of boiling water, twice a day) and in the form of powder from the dried leaves as analgesic against rheumatism, arthritic and myalgia.








Focus on your seeds by giving them attention everyday: watering and feed the soil and see what's happening...

Until the next full moon, the Alder full moon...
Aho 


Hélène

					

	




					
						


			

					

		

		

			
Rowan Full Moon
		

		
.Reading time 2 minutes.

		

			

The first full moon of the year calendar 2021 was celebrated online without knowing who would come and when.





It asks a lot of #resiliency when knowing that last year, we were 11 women sharing the same space celebrating this very first moon under the Wolf native American symbol, with Christmas cookies and a lot of other delicious things in a beautiful garden cottage. From the wisdom I have now, I have noticed that things are never twice the same; so enjoying every moment in every form it takes, without expectation is a good recipe for happiness. 





The Rowan tree stands for the tree of the first moon of the year (the Celtic new year starts in November, but I will stay with the modern calendar year). It’s winter, cold, frost and snow make the earth sterile to our eyes, but underneath life is waiting to deploy. In the fields, winter ploughing is performed to prepare the soil to receive later the seeds that will turn into harvest. It is a good time to make groundwork in the garden. If you consider your mind as a garden and your thoughts as seeds, then it is also time to gather positivity, love and abundance as a groundwork for your mind. 





Here the Rowan guided imagery to help you to gather the strengths you need before seeding;










Here are the strengths that the 10 Rowan Moonlight Minglers gathered this year. From all the #Love, I got the #inspiration to make this warm color artwork:










Have a great Rowan month,





Hélène