Gifts from the Nature Spirits

I took an overdue walk in the forest today.  My bronchitis and some severe rain kept me inside for a week or so.  I couldn't resist the pull any longer.  It was raining a bit today, but not enough to soak me to the bone and obscure my vision.  It was rather atmospheric actually.  In the forest, the rain hardly got through the leaves. It was like a percussive mist.

I gave an offering to the local spirits and spoke a bit to them.  I apologized for being away so long and declared how much I longed to visit.  From that moment it was one gift/lesson after another.  It started with the discovery of tiny bones near the shrine.  At first I thought they were from a bird because they looked so light.  Many of them were cracked, but some were still attached to their hinges.  I moved a tiny bone in its socket and thought of my own body.  I followed the trail, and eventually found the skull at left.  It was some sort of rodent but I'm not sure what kind.  Perhaps a chipmunk?  I thanked the spirit of the animal, for the discovery reminded me just how fragile life is.  I left the remaining bones for the mice and others to enjoy.

I found a few other things - some quartz fragments, a lovely white stone, orange jelly fungi, more jewelweed...  I even got to see a flash of deer leaping through the woods!

And then I found the specimen at right: the skull of a small carnivore, perhaps a fox.  I just happened upon it - a branch running through one of the eye sockets.  The rest of the body was nowhere to be found save the left canine tooth.  "What are you?" I asked aloud.  "How did you get here?  Where is the rest of you?  ...How did you die?"  What a mystery life is.  These creatures had lives and then suddenly - death and decay.  The trees themselves know the secret to this creature's death but they will never give up the story.

I delighted in finding these skulls and took great care in gathering them.  I feel I was very respectful.  I must seem like a strange vegetarian collecting animal skulls, but I gathered them out of reverence and a desire to learn from them.  I'm bleaching them at the moment.  They will undoubtedly end up on an altar dedicated to the nature spirits.  

As my entry from earlier indicates, I do feel the absence of a strong human teacher in my life, but I am very lucky to be forming a closer bond with the Nature Spirits.  For a Druid, witch, or shaman, nature is the best if not only real teacher.


( For My LJ Friends: http://adfcatprints.blogspot.com/ )

The Importance of the Axis Mundi in Ritual

I have another link to share with you, this one from one of my favorite blogs - The Witch of Forest Grove.  This particular entry is about the importance of the world tree in ritual, whether you are of Indo-European influence or a witch.


Check it out for a good read!

( For My LJ Friends: http://adfcatprints.blogspot.com/ )

Promises, Promises

When you make an oath, or even just a little promise, to the Kindreds, you're obligated to keep it.  Maybe there won't be any dire circumstances (I suppose it depends on the being you're interacting with), but there will be less trust.  The more I spend time with nature, the more I get the sense that nature spirits hold promises very seriously with humans.  We're constantly abusing them, even when we don't mean to.  I'm no exception, what with my driving a car and continual (though decreased) use of plastics.  That said, I think when we make an effort to commune with the Nature Spirits - a genuine, honest-to-goodness effort that goes beyond an offering on high days - they really start to respond.  It might not be all at once, and it might not be so very obvious at first, but they are there witnessing your actions and your words.  They see when you make a promise and don't keep it.  Again, this may not always have dire circumstances, but it weakens the trust they have in us.  If you are walking an earth-centered path especially, that trust is, in my opinion, essential.

Those are just the thoughts I had today after visiting the woods and keeping a promise I made the local spirits.


( For My LJ Friends: http://adfcatprints.blogspot.com/ )

Returned from the Faire!

Hello dear readers! I went away for a few days to visit some of the tribe and travel to the Sterling Renaissance Festival. Hubby and I go every year and always enjoy it immensely. As usual, Weretoad and I dressed up.  It was pirate weekend, but we dressed as ...  wealthy merchants?  Lesser nobles?  I dunno.  We wore nice outfits, how about that?  I wore the outfit my mum gave me.  It looked like this but in hunter green.  My husband wore his wedding outfit which looked somewhat like this but with hunter green accents rather than silver and Celtic knot embroidery.  I made us each pouches which I will display at a later date.


I purchased many lovely things.  I always save some money to indulge myself at the Renaissance Festival. I look forward to being more financially secure (if such a thing will be possible in the future) and buying a whole wardrobe or large pieces of home decor one day*.  Even when I cannot afford the luxuries, the numerous talented artisans annually inspire my imagination and encourage me to keep practicing.   

Anyway, I bought a miniature clay bowl for my traveling altar, two bottles of ink (one of green pigment and the other called "wine"), some echinacea root, witch hazel bark, coltsfoot, and rosemary incense.  My husband bought me a rose and an amazing sculpture to hang on our walls (Photo at left.  The sculpture was made by the talented Jason Bakutis).  It's supposed to be Bast but I don't get the Egyptian vibe from it.  When I saw it, I fell in love with it as a catsidhe or my personality incarnate**.  Art is all about interpretation, no?  Now I just need to figure out where to hang this beauty...  


We didn't see as many shows this time, which leads me to believe that we need to go twice next year.  There is just too much to see and do in one day.  I did, however, have an amazing discussion with the Earthcraftyr herbalist and self-proclaimed "ditch witch."  We talked about trance, flying ointments, different plants,  and connecting with nature.  I was so grateful that she took some time to share her wisdom with me.  I would love to take a class from her in the future.  




* "I wanna be a billionaire so freaking bad..."


**  All the same, I used to be devoted to Bast in my eclectic Wiccan days.  She helped me through some rough times and started me on the road to being a strong woman.  I'll always be grateful to her for that.  We grew apart eventually; I guess she had taught me all I needed and I was sent promptly to the Gods of Ireland.  


( For My LJ Friends: http://adfcatprints.blogspot.com/ )