THE CORNER 4 WOMEN

Friday, 14 June 2024

How Ravens Came To Be Black

"How Ravens Came To Be Black" (author unknown) T. Babireski Artist

"Once upon a time and long ago, Odin was walking under the branches of Yggdrasil when two ravens swooped down and settled upon his shoulders. The raven on his left was white as the mists of Niflheim (for back then, all ravens were white), and his eyes mirrored the clouds. The raven on his right glistened in the sun like the snows of Jotunheim, and looked at him with bright clear eyes. And Odin called the raven to his right Hugin, which means Thought, and the other one he named Munin, which means Memory.

As the days passed, Hugin and Munin matched the All-father’s curiosity for everything in the Nine Worlds, flying around and watching and listening to whatever they could, and in the evenings, they returned to him to tell him all they had seen and heard in the long hours of the day. They told him about the slow thoughts of the mountains, the colourful and ever-changing memories of men, and the sound of the song in the heart of everything that lives.

And though Odin delighted in the knowledge they brought, he always felt they had missed something, and he said, “That was much, but not yet enough. Tomorrow you must fly again. Try to rest now.” And the ravens slept uneasily, not knowing what they had missed, and every morning, they flew out again.

There came one of many evenings after another long day when they had once again seen all that Sunna’s shine could show, had listened to all men’s bright thoughts in Midgard, and read their waking memories, when Hugin said to Munin, “We cannot return yet. It is not enough. We must go farther.” And they flew on into the night.

And Hugin flew through the dark dreams of mankind and heard their thoughts which they dared not think during the daytime, not even before themselves. He winged through the black void between the stars where there was nothing at all, and on to the twilight world of the future, where there is equally nothing and everything at once. And when he returned, his feathers, from tip to tip, were black as the night. And Munin flew through the minds of men into the shady corners and cellars where they had hidden all the things they did not like, and locked them away, saying “I do not remember.” He soared through the sightless void of Ginnungagap, and on and on until he arrived at the ashes of Ragnarok which obscured this age from the next. And when he returned, his feathers, from beak to tail, were as black as soot.

The ravens returned to Odin just before the break of morning, when the night is at its darkest, and when they settled back on his shoulders, he knew all that they had seen, and they did not need to tell. And he understood what had been missing, and nodded, and said, “It is much, and it is enough. For tonight. You may rest.” And the ravens blinked drowsily into the first rays of the rising sun which glinted on their now black feathers, tucked their beaks under their wings, and slept very well.

Since that time, all ravens have been seen to be as black as a shadow on a starless night. Very rarely it happens that somebody catches a glimpse of a white raven, and should you ever be lucky enough to see one, you’ll know that you have wandered far off and back into the land of memory, before ravens came to be black."

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I MADE A PROMISE TO MYSELF by Tahlia Hunter

"I MADE A PROMISE TO MYSELF"
by Tahlia Hunter

“Each person has their own dictionary

that has been formed over time

by the stories that were told to them when they were young,

as each second of each day,

we are always writing invisible letters to others

through the words we speak aloud

and those that we speak through our hearts.

And so, the world is filled with people who cannot see how beautiful they are

as they have never been told so

by people who themselves have never been told that they are beautiful.

And so I made a promise to myself:

that I would choose carefully the words within my dictionary

that defined me,

and the stories I chose to retell,

and strive to let no one who entered my life

leave it without feeling better about themselves.”

********

Words by Tahlia Hunter

https://www.facebook.com/TahliaHunterBlog

Artwork by Catrin Welz-Stein

DANCING INSIDE by Becky Hemsley

"DANCING INSIDE"
by Becky Hemsley

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass..”

Except that sometimes it is.

Sometimes you are waterlogged.

Waterlogged and wading through flooded waters.

And you are exhausted.

Sometimes you’ve had too much of the storm.

Because sometimes it has taken too much from you.

So you don’t have to dance in the rain if you don’t want to. You don’t have to embrace it if you think it might drown you.

You can sit and read a book.

You can call a friend.

You can close your eyes and sleep.

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.

It’s about figuring out the best way through it.

And sometimes that means facing it,

sometimes embracing it.

And sometimes that means

closing the curtains,

turning the music up,

and dancing inside instead.

*****

Becky Hemsley 2023

https://www.facebook.com/talkingtothewild

Beautiful artwork by Femke Muntz

'Dancing Inside' is from Letters from Life

https://a.co/d/foOyIWZ

Thursday, 13 June 2024

A MAGICAL WISHING WELL by Tahlia Hunter

"A MAGICAL WISHING WELL"
by Tahlia Hunter

There is a magical wishing well that exists within you.

It transforms each of your wishes from

“I wish I had done this differently”

into “I will do this differently today,

and in all of my tomorrows.”

And every good wish or intention you make for another

is returned to you.

And though you may stare into the well

and wish to relive the past,

there is no one who has ever walked this planet

who has never at some point in time felt the same way

or ever learned to master life

without making mistakes.

And everyone learns different lessons at different times

in different circumstances and in different ways.

And you are a far better person than you realize,

for the desire to do good and choose anew

is the true reflection of who you are.

And if you could see yourself through the eyes of those who love you,

you would see that you are incredible

and worthy of love and forgiveness at all times

should you choose to reconnect with the love that you are.

Your beauty and innocence

are far greater than you could ever imagine,

no matter who you have been

or what you have done.

Even if you have made mistakes,

you are still deserving of all the beautiful things in life.

And there is no mistake you could make

that could prevent you from reaching your destiny

should you wish to reach it.

And there is no rule in life

that says that if you make a mistake

your life is over,

as there is always a second chance

to choose differently

and for each new day

to mark the beginning of a new life.

You do not realize how far you have come

and how many wonderful things you have already been and done.

There are many beautiful things you have already created

and are still to create in this lifetime

and of them all, you are the most beautiful,

for it is your beauty that will touch and impact others.

And it is never too late for you make a wish,

to choose again, and create a beautiful life,

for your present is far more powerful than your past.”

*********

Words by Tahlia Hunter

https://www.facebook.com/TahliaHunterBlog

Artwork by Catrin Welz-Stein

ROAR by Becky Hemsley

"ROAR"
by Becky Hemsley

As children we’re convinced

That monsters hide beneath our beds

But as adults we soon realise

That they walk the streets instead

It’s not their face that’s monstrous

It’s their loathing and their lies

For it isn’t how they look -

The monster’s who they are inside

And at first we tiptoe round them

Terrified to make a noise

But slowly, very surely

We are bound to find our voice

But as fear gives way to anger

And our loathing multiplies

We start becoming monstrous

And we think we’re justified

But flames won’t put out fire

Water will not halt a flood

And we cannot stop the monsters

By behaving as they would

You see, anyone that’s ever

Loved somebody else before

Knows no matter how much hate we feel

Love always matters more

So though you’re brave to fight them

And your courage makes you tough

Don’t fight them out of hate

But to protect the things you love

And when life gets too scary

Promise me you will make sure

That you won’t become a monster

But you’ll still learn how to roar

******

Becky Hemsley 2020

https://www.facebook.com/talkingtothewild

Artwork by Fred Calleri

Roar is from Talking to the Wild https://a.co/d/7KhInfX

A SIMPLE WORD by Joanne Boyle

"A SIMPLE WORD"
by Joanne Boyle

Grief is just a simple word.

It has so much meaning.

It has no specific definition.

It can make us feel demeaning.

Grief is born from loss,

but loss can still be seen.

It doesn't only represent a

someone who's once been.

It could be someone that you know

where circumstance did change.

An illness could have stolen them.

An addiction made them strange.

It could be yourself you miss.

Everyday you are someone new.

There's all kinds of grief.

We adapt to make it through.

Grief has many branches.

Leaves don't ever grow.

They just keep reaching out

with their nakedness on show.

Grief is surrounded by colour,

but it remains in black and white.

It represents an emptiness,

that's invisible from others sight.

Grief shall always win

each battle in your mind.

So, we meet another you,

at every obstacle that we find

********

Author Joanne Boyle Heartfelt

art by Steffi Krenzek

Brought to you by https://thecorner4women.com together with our sister website http://www.nicheebookcollections.com and our growing e-book library available FREE, through our Newsletter sign up page here:-
https://tc4women.nicheebookcollections.com/NEWSLETTER-EBOOK-LIBRARY-SIGNUP.html We now have over 1900 e-books on our library shelves for your reading pleasure, so do come along and check us out.
More articles by Su DeNyme (our resident writer) & John A Elliott are available here: https://www.nicheebookcollections.com/TC4W/ARTICLES.html

Wednesday, 12 June 2024

SISTERS by Joanne Boyle

"SISTERS" by Joanne Boyle

Let us sit together

and tell tales of the past.

Let us remember,

the dreams we once cast.

Let us meet once again,

be the children we were,

before you disappear

or I'm no longer there.

Let us laugh like we did

when we were both young.

When we would hide.

When life was fun.

Let us not forget

the blood we share.

Instead forget,

those words of despair.

Let us run free,

despite our age.

Let us write new chapters.

Let me read your page.

Let us be sisters

and best friends too.

Let us be us.

A me and a you.

********

by Joanne Boyle Heartfelt

Art by Steffi Krenzek poem

THE RIGHT TO CALL YOURSELF A WITCH by The Crone’s Cottage

"THE RIGHT TO CALL YOURSELF A WITCH"

by The Crone’s Cottage

Whether you are just beginning your journey in witchcraft and still seeking your place in the grand scheme of things or you are a seasoned witch, hear my words. If you run into a witch who tries to tell you that you are not a witch or that you are not practicing witchcraft properly, do not take their negative words to heart and begin to doubt yourself.

There is no right or wrong way to practice witchcraft. There are no hard and fast rules. It’s your practice and you get to make the rules - for yourself. Ancient witches weren’t given a set of rules to follow. They learned through experience what worked for them, then continued in that direction until they discovered something new that worked. Then they incorporated that into their practice. You can do the same.

It’s important to believe in yourself, in your magic, and in your path. When you do a ritual, raise your energy, then cast your spell. Do not let doubts about your effectiveness creep into your mind. Resist the temptation to place time limits on your spells to determine whether or not they worked. The universe does not follow the man made construct of time. Things happen when the time is right.

Know in your heart of hearts that you are capable of learning to read the tarot, to scry, to meditate, and any other aspect of witchcraft because you are a magical being. You have every right to call yourself a witch no matter what anyone says. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

But remain open to the possibility of learning from other witches when they share their knowledge and experience. Keep what resonates with you and dismiss the rest. We can all learn from each other and pass along what we've learned to those who are searching for answers.

********

~ The Crone’s Cottage

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076134828159