よいお年を： Happy New Year

"Yoi o toshi o" is the Japanese greeting used on the last meeting before the New Year. On the occasion of the first meeting "agemashite omedetto" is used.  The time between Yule and the New Year always seems fallow to me, in the sense that I seem not to do anything, but there is a feeling that something is about to start. Though sometimes it can feel a little negative, if I think of things that I didn't do or complete to my satisfaction in the year.  I was feeling that way this year, but I sat down and wrote a list of the most important ten things in my life. For each, I wrote about this year and my plans for next year. I then realised that this has been a wonderful year, I have not succeeded with everything I started, but I have great foundations for next year. I am now really looking forward to the New Year.

This year I haven't written so much in this blog, I have been concentrating on it's sister blog, a bi-lingual explanation of the Wiccan year. Because I write the Japanese first, it is really pushing my ability and I make a lot of mistakes, but my ever patient teacher Naomi carefully and kindly puts me right. Because I am using my weaker language to write, the English translation is much more simple than if I first wrote it in English. But I really like this simpleness. When I have finished it, maybe I will go around again and give a more detailed account. But I also plan to write more for this blog next year too (this year if you are reading this in 2016).

I have been reading the tarot for more years than I a willing to count, but this year with Naomi I have been concentrating on practising tarot in Japanese. It is amazing how much more fluent I become in Japanese during a reading. But I still use English for professional readings. But maybe the time has now come to start using Japanese for those who want it. Interestingly I was doing a reading in English yesterday and at one point had to ask "How do you say muishikiteki in English? (subconsciously).  So maybe my subconscious is telling me something.

As ever my camera and I have been out in nature all year. I have made a little video of some of my shots through the year. For those who do not know, the music is Pan Dance by Jethro Tull.

Bright Blessings for 2016

The return of a treasure

Probably the most personally important book I have had about Wicca is Scott Cunningham's "Wicca, a Guide for the Solitary Practitioner".  It was by no means the first book I read, but it was the one that encouraged me to take the jump from having a interest in Wicca to becoming a Wiccan. "A Ritual of Gestures" from the book was my first Wiccan ritual; a simple, but beautiful ritual. As with all my treasured books, tarot decks and such like, this book was left behind in England when I moved to Japan in 1999. But it has always been in my heart. 

Recently I was checking Amazon and I came across a Japanese edition. This year for the first time it has been published in Japanese. So I ordered a copy and also an English copy. So now I am the owner of two versions. The Japanese version arrived a week or so ago, but the English one arrived today. It is fantastic to have such a wonderful old friend back. In this book, the first Wiccan festival to be written about is Yule, so the timing is perfect.  Although it is a basic book and I first read it over 25 years ago, it still holds so much knowledge and encouragement. A beautiful book.