Brave Saint Michael is my guide
As free and fearless forth I ride
With courage of Saint George of old
I dare to face fierce dragons bold
Did you have a lovely Michaelmas? It was such beautiful autumn weather here – blue, blue skies with a light breeze. We enjoyed a late afternoon stroll in our local park before returning to a feast of beef stew, Dragon bread and blackberry jam tarts. (Remember – no more blackberry picking from now on; the old legend says that when Michael cast the Devil out of heaven, the Devil landed in a blackberry patch and promptly spat on them!)
The girls and I have also begun to prepare our ‘Courage Balm’ – a home made balm to rub on to any wee cuts or grazes, stings or rashes. We shall be giving this as Christmas gifts and also keeping a supply for ourselves – it is wonderful stuff!
Firstly we have to soak the herbs for a few weeks to make an infused oil – the recipe is very fluid to allow for what you have on hand from your garden. But make sure to dry your herbs first, or the oil may go bad with the presence of the moisture.
We have used lavender and calendula from our garden, plus some organic chamomile that I purchased. The herbs we covered with Organic olive oil and will be left in a sunny spot for a few weeks, then we shall make the balm.
We had a couple of recitations of the poem we have been learning this month ‘Brave Saint Michael’ along with stories of our brave Saint. (Stories, always stories!)
The inner work of this time of year is always challenging – taking stock, what needs to be left behind and finding the strength to face my own dragons….
Saint Michael has helped our family in a very personal way, however. Do you remember how we struggled to find a name for our new kitten?
He has now been named Michael. Our very own fierce and fearless warrior!
