 |
| A lovely view but a bit cold on the bottom! |
2013 already and I think I’m a bit late to say ‘happy new
year’ so I’ll send many blessings for a wonderful 2013 to you all instead.
I have been staying in Durham, in the north of England with
my friends Joe and Claire. It’s a very
exciting time because they are expecting a human hoglet. Human hoglets are called babies so I’ve been
learning all about them so I can be helpful.
Hedgehogs have a litter of four to five
hoglets after a five week pregnancy.
Poor humans take a whole nine months of pregnancy to have one baby
although sometimes they can have more.
Like hedgehogs, humans like to prepare a nesting site for the baby and this
is called a nursery. So I’ve been
helping prepare the nursery.
 |
| With new friends in the nursery |
Apparently
they don’t like compost bringing into the nursery though, although personally I
think it would make a lovely warm baby bed.
Customs for welcoming the human baby vary around the world including decorating
the nursery, giving the baby presents when it arrives and holding a special
ceremony to welcome it into the world. According
to my research sometimes special adults are chosen to protect the child so,
just in case, I looked this up.
Obviously I couldn’t be a godmother as I’m a male hedgehog, although I
quite fancied the idea of having a sparkly wand and casting a blessing on the
baby when it arrives. So I looked up
godfather instead which was a bit confusing as I don’t think Joe would like me
making anyone who upset the baby sleep with the fishes!
 |
| These fishes look wide awake! |
It is so wonderful that Joe and Claire have let me be a part
of their family at this very special time.
As you probably know if you have been reading my blog I was born at Secret World Wildlife Rescue who do wonderful work in raising lost hoglets and looking
after injured hedgehogs. Preparing for
Joe and Claire’s new baby has made me wonder if it is time to meet a nice sow,
settle down and have hoglets of my own. It
doesn’t really work like that for hedgehogs though as we are pretty solitary animals
so maybe the settling down bit wouldn’t work!
While I’ve been away June managed to get Issue 15 of the Indie Shaman magazine done and dispatched even though I wasn’t there to help. It’s a great edition featuring an interview with Christa MacKinnon, author of Shamanism and Spirituality in Therapeutic Practice, and articles including The Cactus Of Mystery by Ross Heaven; Web of Life: Guidance for your Life Journey by Yvonne Ryves; Northern Plantlore: Asparagus by Eoghan Odinsson; Mandalas by Cat Hawkins; Archetypes in Everyday Life by Judith Stafford and Shedding the Layers by Mark Flaherty. Plus a wonderfully informative article, Gateways of the Mind: Welcome to the Sun of Darkness, written by Paul Baskerville reporting on the Gateways of the Mind Event in London. And of course 50p from all UK subscriptions and all PDF subscriptions is donated to support wildlife including Secret World and Wolf Watch UK.
Maybe I’ll be back for the next edition which sounds excellent too with articles from Jim Pathfinder Ewing on Spiritual Eating in the Modern World and an article by John Lockley, an ancestrally trained and initiated Xhosa Sangoma (traditional South African Shaman). June is planning to catch up with John in person as Archetype Events are running a workshop with him in Bristol in June.
Archetype Events are also running the LucidExperience in London and Bristol as well as more Gateways of the Mind Events in Dublin and Amsterdam. If you are an Indie Shaman subscriber look out for special offers and discounts coming soon on these events.
 |
| Snow bathing! |
Following my quick trip into the snow with my new friend its
time I was off for a little dreaming of my own again - back to the
serious business of snoozing through hibernation.
 |
| Not sure if this is that comfy - maybe I'll try the cot |
Catch you all again when it’s warmer.
Many blessings
Your friend, Ezekiel
aka Shaman Sham the Wandering Hedgehog
