The Rose Window

Dear Friend

As the crinkling of drought-parched leaves and a crispy cooling of the sultry air announce the first days of September, I’m looking forward to a new season of word and…

Hey Vocal Ramblers!
This month I’m experimenting with some special extra resources for these Lunar Ramblings (please forgive any technical hitches as part of my Substack learning curve).
All feedback welcome - thank you!

Here in the UK, summer is…

SPECIAL INVITATION TO JOIN THE VOCAL RAMBLERS

With thanks for reading these rambles, from today you’ll have the option to become a Vocal Rambler and access content to support your creative expression:

🌛 Lunar Tunings - audios to align your…

Dear Friend,

The rite of passage into my 50s, including my Glow & Glitter event,
has unleashed a tidal wave of gratitude for life and the people I’ve crossed paths with over five…

To be great, be whole: nothing that’s you
Should you exaggerate or exclude.
In each thing, be all. Give all you are
In the least you ever do.
The whole moon, because it rides so high,
Is reflected in each…

Crab Dance

Play moonlight
and the red crabs dance
their scuttle-foot dance
on the mud-packed beach

Play moonlight
and the red crabs dance
their sideways dance
to the soft-sea beat

Play moonlight
and the red crabs dance
their bulb-eye dance…

Dear Friend

A Strawberry Full Moon Ramble

As the roses reach full bloom, our songs for Glow & Glitter have been ripening under the June sun - a summer feast of song and…

Tonight’s New Moon rises in the twinkling eyes of the Twins Castor and Pollux, one mortal, one divine, symbolising the unification of opposites. Traveller’s guide and mercurial trickster, Mercury, ruler of Gemini, offers a double-edged perspective on the nature of…

Dear Friend

A Blue Micro Moon June Podcast Ramble
Hanging at its furthest point from Earth, this weekend’s micro moon is dubbed Blue, as it’s the second full moon in a Gregorian calendar month. For…

Reset
A homecoming,
A string of moments,
A beating heart.

Reset
Back again to the feet,
The breathing body,
And the listening ear.

Reset
Return to the bass line,
Feel the beats, encoded with love,
Percussing the soles of the…

Dear <<First Name>>

A Bumper May Day / Beltane / Flower Moon/ Podcast / Ramble

A fertile celebration of love and life, May Day was traditionally a time to unite with nature and community…

Freedom - what does it mean to you?

For me, roaming natural landscapes is a beloved freedom, offering respite from London’s hurly-burly, so it was a moving experience to wander the Kent countryside whilst hearing the stories of people with…

Tongue

Raffi Joe Wartanian

^{translated from the Western Armenian by the author , published on Poets.org
for Dr. Haroutune Armenian}

Estranged from my tongue 
Words dissolve to drops 
Until meaning remains fluid 
Until my self becomes 
M i r r…

Dear Friend

There is nothing like the glow of spring emerging; a banquet of blossom breaks out of incubation buds as a bouquet of bird song bursts from the trees. Sun yolk melts over lengthening…

With That Moon Language

Admit something:
Everyone you see, you say to them, “Love me.”

Of course you do not do this out loud, otherwise
someone would call the cops.

Still, though, think about this, this great pull in us…

What dare we dream of?

As the mechanisms of hate roll out their ego-pumped drones of destruction, hopeful buds peel open on tree branches. In Syria, preparations are underway for Nowruz celebrations, heralding the first official recognition of a Kurdish…

Dear Friend

A Woman’s Voice

When you think of women’s voices, who comes to mind?

Do you hear the soothing voice of a mother, grandmother, or auntie
or the instantly recognisable tone of a beloved female partner or friend?

Which…

Sky
The Wind will Blow Us Away

Inside my little night, alas,
the wind has a rendezvous with the leaves;
inside my little night, there is fear
and dread of desolation.

Listen.
Hear the darkness blow like wind?
I watch…

I’m sitting in the park watching a crow have a wash in the lake with a flurry of flapping and ripples, as droplets of fresh February light bounce off sable wings. The water shimmers as I think of people around…

Dear Friend

Happy Valentine’s!

Whilst the shops fill up with cards and flowers focused on partner love, zooming out reveals the infinite forms of love in this world, be that love of self, lovers, partners, friends, family, ancestors, neighbours, mentors…

Here in soggy London, Spring26 is in activation - the tight grip of winter loosens, as blades of green poke through the sodden earth, and a widening band of light appears at the end of each damp day. This emergence…

Dear Friend

Happy New Year!

London in January: whirling winds, thrumming rain, drifting cloudscapes pierced by precious, dazzling sharp shards of winter sun. 
The hibernatory quiet of long dark nights are a bridge to Spring - a time to knit…

A scrabble of hooves and a scramble of pebbles falling. A glint of glassy eyes watching intently, head quizzically tilted to one side, ears forward, horns curled back amongst burnt orange rocks. Wildly entrepreneurial (especially when getting their noses into…

To see the Moon that cannot be seen
Turn your eyes inward
and look at yourself, in silence.
- Rumi

Under the light of tonight’s Wolf Moon, we may catch sight of her, slinking amongst the shadows, eyes scanning the…