Glimmers (and Guardians)

Shows all I know!

I’d thought the word ‘glimmer’ started with The Glimmer Twins  – Jagger and Faithfull, along with Richards and Pallenberg, were on a cruise to Brazil in 1968/69.

They were the ‘glamour ingredient’ in a ship full of older seagoers, who were extremely interested to find out who these beautiful young people were. One lady asked them to ‘give her a glimmer’ – a clue, or inkling – of who they were. Mick’n’Keith liked this expression, and The Glimmer Twins were born!

And Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist’s Way talks about glimmers – small fleeting moments of gladness and reflective creativity. 

Smaller than a spark, faster than a flash, a glimmer can occur at any time, in a serendipitous fashion.

Noticing them can bring brightness and joy – they’re known as the opposite of ‘triggers’.

The earliest use of glimmer, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, was in 1683!

I’ve also been thinking about Guardians a lot – especially those in the forms of people, dogs, and horses. 

They’ve been filling up my heart, and there’ll be more about them next month.

For now, here’s a beautiful Guardian, like Yeats’ ‘glimmering girl’ in the poem The Song Of Wondering Aengus’. This is one of Sarah Rickard’s exquisite cobalt angels.

My guardian Remedies this month are Walnut – for safety, protection, and transition – and Star of Bethlehem, which is known as the comforter of all sorrows. There has been both sadness and thankfulness this month.