The Seven League Boots

Last night, after reading a blog about putting flying ointment on the soles of your feet as a way to fly over the hedge, I felt a little twinge in my brain, as it sounded so familiar to me, flying about the countryside by putting something on your feet.... like.. and then it hit me... like seven league boots.
If you've ever read the full version of Puss and Boots you remember that footwear.  I think the lads name was Lord Caraboose, (I'll have to find a copy and review it, as I've not read the story since I was about 10ish).  He stopped by the side of a stream, removed his shoes and put on the seven league boots in order to get  to another realm, I believe it was one of the worlds of faerie he was entering.  I even recall a tale about the seven league boots for another story, but that was long ago.
Anyways, it got me thinking about fairy tales and travel and flying ointments and the need to hide things out in the open.  It looks like I'll be doing some studying and seeing what other conclusions I can come up with.  I was an avid reader of Fairy and Folk Tales when I was a child, and deeply moved by mythology legend, and history.  I was always in trouble for having my head in a book... the wrong kind of book.  I was supposed to be studying math and french, social studies and science, which I found boring. It was the 70's I was female and I needed my fathers signature on my curriculum and was saddled with languages sciences math and social studies.  He wanted me to be a Travel Agent and I wanted to be an archaeologist, or a writer, or an artist and take art history, English Literature, and history.
 I think this epiphany has led to to the beginning of an adventure into the realms over the hedge, for I put the flying ointment onto the soles of my feet last night and I still feel it's effects today.  I'm trying to figure out my dosage, because I feel I can go up a little more, and after last night, I know I can knock it up another notch.  I'll wait a few days for the effects to wear off and then knock it up to a double dose, I think that should be fine, as one and a half still was not the effect I was hoping for.  I'm pleased there seems to be no hangover or headache afterwards, and that the feeling of euphoria lasts longer than the evening.
Now is the time for me to study and reflect on what my next step should be, but I suspect I'll be wandering towards a copy of Puss and Boots and seeing what kind of plants grew by the lake where the seven league boots were.

An omen from my flying ointment

A few days ago The Witch of Forest Grove wrote a wonderful article, On Flying Ointments.  It was well written and included not only the basics of how to make one, but the various components you can use, and the implications of making ones that tend to use the more baneful herbs.  She will not give dosages, however, she provides cautions and warnings and just enough information for further study to help you along your task.  For a long time I have wanted to know just a rough guideline for more information on how to get over the hedge more easily without getting stoned.  I'm a serious student and am not looking for a cheap high.  Sometimes though, the gate to the other-side just remains elusive and all I'm looking for is the right key to get me over.  Sometimes I can get over on my own on purpose, more often than not though, I get there by accident, just bumbling over.  I'm looking for more controlled ventures.
This is not a calling for everyone, I felt the calling towards hedge-riding years ago, long before I knew about flying ointments or even what going over the hedge was.  I was very young then (about 7) and it was like watching TV these dreams, only I could somewhat control the outcome.  From then on I wanted to get over more frequently and control it.  I had no one to guide me or council me in this, yet I persisted and eventually found the information I needed here and there, to keep me going one step at a time.

I am now cobbling together all that I have learned over many years into what I call the "Big Blue Book of Keep the Fuck Out"  The way I look at it, this was my tale of my journey, and what I did to get here.  It's also the journey I am now making and I don't want short cuts; it would take away from the adventures I will go on and all the exciting things that I will seen.
I did try a flying potion... I had a little wormwood.... and no I'm not telling where I got it, but I did and I have a little left, which is a good thing, because I want to use it again.  That was the herb I used when I made my flying potion on the afternoon of the 10th of September.  I didn't even wait for my partner to go to work, I was that excited and that impatient.  I read up on Wormwood and on Thujone before I continued.  I used a small amount in my potion and set it to heat in the oil on, of all things, an electric coffee warmer.  I infused the oil for the correct time and added the wax and a natural preservative (I have a full arsenal in my witches cupboard of rare and exotic, weird and bizarre).  I couldn't get it to cool fast enough and so carried it to the bathroom (in-case it was messy).  With my partner working grave-yard shift, I would have the entire night to myself to give it a try and see what happens without any interruptions.
I deliberately made it less potent, but with what I thought would be enough of a sample to see if I liked it and if it would do as I hoped.  Using my fingers to scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the very oily mass I smeared it on the back of my neck.  I don't know why I chose there, I just did.  The ointment was so greasy I was rubbing it in for a long time and ended up giving up and just letting it sit there for a bit, and then a little later I rubbed the last little bits in.
At first I didn't feel anything, but after a while, colours were more intense, and I had this sense that I could see things really clearly, as though I was truly seeing them for the first time in my life and now things made sense; at last... true clarity.  I saw where I had been going wrong with some things and what needed to be done to rectify my life and simplify things.  I had been so intent on this wheel of the year, and I still am.  I was originally going to study this year and learn more about all the rituals throughout a Witches year starting at Samhain.  About a week later I had this brilliant idea that I would open an online store and sell my crafts and get that all done for Samhain. (<This is the omen part> What I quickly realized was that although the store is a great idea, it's time has not come yet.  I need to learn more about ritual, paying homage, feasting, playing, working, magic, consecration.  I'm not ready now for the dream of the store.  However, I am ready to gather items in a couple of months and sell them off at a craft fair or farmers market. ) As I learn more, I won't struggle over the simple things and so the store (which I have wanted to do for years and years, <small business workbook dated 1990 was eye opening> perhaps decades) will have a better chance of surviving.
I saw that sometimes we as people, get caught up in the dream and completely miss out on the experience.  I was about to sell myself short.  I have been obsessed the last month crafting and studying and crafting and drawing, wanting to know everything all at once and cursing my lack of knowledge.  I was taking all the fun out of the upcoming year, and I hadn't even started it.  So I'm going back to my original plan; Wheel of the Year here I come.
There were other insights that I had as well from the flying ointment.  More personal, but helpful none the less.  I would also say yes, it helps when hedge-crossing, it did make it easier for me to lie down, relax and go over the hedge and talk to my Grandma.  The usual drowsiness I encounter when hedge crossing was not there, instead, I felt alert, but not as though I was controlling the situation, nor was I having a hallucination.
It was a positive experience and something I will take up a notch, but not a big notch.  I'm not interested in getting high, I'm interested in clarity, visions, hedge-crossing and enlightenment.  I feel this fills the bill.  There will be other experiments of course with other herbs and dosages to find the best fit for me in all this and I'm excited.  I'm keeping lots of notes in the "Big Blue Book of Keep the Fuck Out" and perhaps one day I'll pass it on.  

On Crossing the Hedge

I have been focusing for the last year on what I call travelling the Hedge, hence the name of my blog, Somewhere Over the Hedgerow.  There are many different names for what is basically astral travel, and the destinations although all similar are a world beyond ours, where we go through the mists to visit with ancestors, other wordly beings, the divine, ancient races that exist in this realm no longer.  The entrance is achieved via trance and this can be reached using entheogens, meditation, alcohol, just a  little loosening so that your mind is free.  It is important not to be inebriated, just happy, open to the adventure.  Where you go and what you set up is up to you.  A guide is vital, as there can be dangers once you follow the crooked path.  An open mind is good, but don't fill the open mind with thoughts of your own, let them come to you, and they will come.  After all, you don't want to be having imaginary conversations, you want to stimulate the life spark and speak with those beyond.  I chose to look for my Grandma, who when I was a child, looked out for me and my best interests even when my own mother would not.  I loved that woman and knew that she would be a good choice for me to let me know what is up, which is what the guide is for.

If you are confused, don't worry, it can take a long time for all of the ideas and concepts to sink in.  Once embarking on the path, maintain time in the real world.  Grounding yourself in the real world is important, as spirits can be cheeky or malevolent, kind or curious to see what reactions they can get from you.  They are not like humans, there is a sense of nonsense to them and for them that is natural.

I have a fairly easy time of it, getting to the meeting place I mean (there is nothing easy about crossing the hedge).  When I was 6 my appendix ruptured and I died on the table.  I remember looking down at my body and this was my first out of body experience.  I saw them working on me and then suddenly I was waking up in my bed and I was very sick.  I was in the hospital a long time, I went in just after Christmas and came out Easter Sunday.  I convalesced at home for a month, and then returned to school.  Now TVs in hospital rooms were not the norm, so I had to entertain myself, it was then I develloped a passion for books.  

As I grew up my dreams became interesting, I saw things and knew things that others did not.  For me, these things were obvious, but it set me apart from my peers and they just thought I was creepy.  It was the 70's and you just didn't go around yelling... woo woo... I'm a witch.... You just kept it to yourself.

However, in 1977, Rankin and Bass made an animated film of the hobbit, and the notoriety of The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit opened the eyes of many people.  Magic and wizards filled the air, and suddenly the 1980's had witches starting to come out of the broom closet.  This was great because suddenly a wealth of information including anthropological studies, women's studies, art, science, crafts, started to make sense.  

So with my new found information and a lot of floundering, I found my own way, albeit slowly, over the hedge.  I taught myself to go into a trance without falling asleep.  I would meditate walking along a wooded path and then going beyond the hedgerows and into the wildwood where I would sit by a fourway crossroad and just wait to see who came by.  I had problems connecting with anyone there and often sat alone on a rock.  Then one day I reached out to my Grandma on my father's side, I called out to her and she came.  She has been guiding me ever since.  

I have worked on the crossroad, and now there is a beautiful garden at the crossroads with an outdoor pub, where I get together with my recently departed relatives and we talk.  We keep away from my mother's relatives, but that's a tale for a different day.  Anyways, this is how I get in.  In your mind, you can build a crossroad, a safe place, and from there your guide can take you into the world beyond.  I have not travelled often beyond the safety of my crossroad, but it's an issue with my mom and as I said earlier, that's a tale for another time.