A Holly, Jolly Solstice

Weretoad and I had a lovely Winter Solstice!  I was so excited and in a festive mood.  While he was away at work, I finished wrapping gifts, put on some Solstice music, and lit the tree.  It's the only night we leave it on and it's a great reminder of what we're celebrating.

I also busied myself preparing the feast you see at left.  I made a vegetarian roast with baked scallions, carrots, and potatoes.  I also made fresh bread, steamed brussels sprouts, and bread pudding.  Mmmm...carbs... Magical, wonderful carbs!

In addition, I brought home cranberries and made popcorn to turn into garlands.  We did that after our ritual.  After discussing what we should do, Weretoad and I decided to honor the Nature Spirits who have to struggle through the bitter cold.  It is a hard time to be wild.  Many creatures die.  Food is scarce.  We forget that in our warm homes with our stocked larders.  Our main offering was the garland which we put on the little spruce we keep on our patio.  Next year I would like to do more for deities as well but I'm still uncertain as to who I should honor.  Should I visit the Norse deities of my Germanic ancestors and honor Odin as he rides through the sky?  Should I honor the Cailleach as the crone of winter?  Should I give praise to Angus as he is associated with New Grange and thus the Winter Solstice?  I lean more towards the latter two...  I guess we'll see what next year brings.

We went a bit overboard on gifts this year.  In years past we kept a tradition - three large gifts and three stocking stuffers.  This year...  we kind of forgot and got lost in the joy of giving to each other.  We really need to restrain ourselves next year.  That said - I got some lovely gifts from my husband!  In addition to some shiny and practical items, he also contributed to my growing Pagan library. I got a recycled three ring cardboard binder - something I want to use to make my new Druidic grimoire.  I also received The Black Pullet (an old grimoire) and Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants by Claudia Muller-Ebeling, Christian Ratsch, and Wolf-Dieter Storl Ph.D.  (For my birthday a week ago, he gave me Toads and Toadstools: The Natural History, Mythology and Cultural Oddities of this Strange Association by Adrian Morgan.)  Needless to say, I have a ton of new books to enjoy and learn from!  Squee!

Today I am busying myself with last minute gift sewing and wrapping.  Yes, I still "celebrate" Christmas with my vaguely Christian family.  I love the excuse to see them. They know I consider the gifts I give them to be Solstice gifts just as the ones they give me are for their own holiday of giving and love.  We somehow meet on common ground.  At the same time, I look forward to having my own large home and throwing wonderful Winter Solstice parties for the whole family...  Some day...  This year, I enjoyed my quiet Solstice with Weretoad. :)

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

Personal Growth

Today was a stressful day.  It was, as I told my husband, the Monday of Mondays.  Getting to work was not difficult, but once I was there it was one thing after another.  There was a lot of absenteeism today.  Many people are out with whooping cough which is kind of uncomfortable.  I took my lunch break to run some errands.  I sent my grad school application off which was good.  The rest is in the hands of the administrators and the Gods. I then took some time to make what I thought would be a quick business call.  It turned into a very long and stressful exchange, but supposedly everything was rectified.  A second time.  Gods willing, everything is fine and I will get my bloody certificate of authority so I can legally sell at the upcoming craft show!  Everyone was very kind, patient, and helpful so I can't fault them too much...

I've come to accept that it's going to take me awhile to finish my Initiate Study Program.  Hell, it took me at least a year to delve into my DP, and three years after that to finish.  I took my time.  Who can blame me?  I was working on my first degree while working part time and maintaining various hobbies.  Working full time while attending grad school?  I know I'm going to have my hands full.

I am finding myself less resentful and guilty for my limited Druidic studying.  I do what I can.  I do my short daily devotionals, I pray, I make offerings to Brighid when I sew, and I do my weekly ritual complete with ogham reading.  I practice bits of kitchen magic here and there.  I try to make time for meditations and walks in the woods.  I listen to Pagan music and podcasts.  I alternate fiction with Pagan studies when I read before bed.  I get in touch with my inner self and the spirits through my art.  That is how I am living and experiencing Paganism now.  Do I feel like I could do more?  Sure.  But I'm not beating myself up over it now.


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Letter to the Kindreds

Dear Kindreds,

I know I've been a bit distant recently.  My ritual last week was tired and rushed.  I forgot my usual peace offering for the Outdwellers.  I forgot to honor the bardic spirit until after I made an offering to the ancestors.  I forgot the ale but, luckily, had whiskey on hand.  It felt like one of my first rituals.  I was embarrassed and felt defeated.  My daily devotionals have been lackluster.  I've waited until the last moments to do them before I lazily drag myself to bed far too late.  I speak in hushed tones or in my head because my husband is often there getting ready for sleep.  The altar is in the bedroom and I feel exposed and/or distracted at times.  I know I should do my rituals and devotionals earlier when my husband is at work or busy in the living room, but I spend my time doing other things.  There are things that need to be done, like cleaning.  There are things that I feel called to do, like sew.  There are also huge wastes of time...  Most days, I just want to sit and relax after a long day of work.

I would blame leaving home and visiting family over the weekend for my disrupted routines, but it's really my own lack of discipline.

I hope you know that you're never far from my thoughts.  I see you in the trees, feel you on the breeze, hear you in my dreams, and experience you in my art.  I try to keep close, but sometimes I feel like a boat that, while tethered to the dock, has floated lazily away.  I don't know how others do it.  How do they complete their study programs so quickly?  How do they meditate so regularly without falling asleep?  How do they write articles and books?  How do they do all that while having a job and social life?

Great Kindreds, I will work harder to spend more time with you.  I will work on taking better care of myself and getting to bed sooner.  I will try to waste less time online. I will try harder...

With love,

Grey Catsidhe

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

Consecrating Ritual Space

I recently posted about moving my altar into the bedroom.  This made space in the art room for Weretoad's new workbench.  We're still moving things around, but the important aspects of my altar are set up in the bedroom nook.  It's actually a perfect spot for my altar in terms of size.

The photo is a bit tilted, but you can see how lovely everything looks, if a bit cramped.  I like the symbolism of the three walls.  The wall on the left is dedicated to the nature spirits, while the wall on the right is for the ancestors (as featured in a previous post).  The middle wall is the focal point with the sacred tree taking center stage.  On either side of the tree are representations of my patron deities - Brighid and An Dagda.   Above the tapestry is the shining sun.  Below that I intend to put some other divine representations, including something having to do with Manannan.

The ancestor wall is coming along nicely.  I would like to add further photos and representations, but it will require more frames and shelves.  The nature spirit wall will undoubtedly grow with time as well.  Here's a better shot of it.  So far I have a shelf that belongs to my main spirit guide, the lynx.  Above him is a representation of the catsidhe, and a bodhrán with a green buck on it.

The main altar is made of an old vanity.  I removed the mirror and have been using it as a sacred space for nearly my entire Pagan career*.  I believe that it is already infused with a lot of energy, but I wanted to consecrate the new ritual space.  For my most recent magical working, I took advantage of the close walls and put my hands against them while pushing my feet into the floor.  I chanted, calling the land, sea, sky, fire, well, and tree to be present in my altar.  I invited the Kindreds to my personal sacred space and charged the whole lot of it.  It was a rush, and the empowerment will only continue through use.

For me, this wasn't as much about creating a safe place to practice magic as it was about creating a personal, welcoming place for the Kindreds I am closest to.  At the moment, I am not calling on any truly chaotic or infernal beings.  If there is a dangerous nature spirit, ancestor, or lower God lurking about, I would like to believe that the very powerful Dagda, Brighid, and Manannan will help to keep me safe.  At the moment, I am content making a peace offering to the chaotic spirits and asking for the elements not to destroy me.  Should I ever seek wisdom from Bres, the Cailleach, or Balor, then I would most certainly consider more protection.  For now, I will work to form closer ties with the beings who bless me.


* When I was experimenting with Wicca my altar was on a shelf behind my bed and then on a little book stand.  They tended to gather dust.  What an adorable neophyte I was!  
( For My LJ Friends: http://adfcatprints.blogspot.com/ )

Samhain Snow

I woke up this morning, opened the bedroom curtains, and beheld my first snow of the year.  You can see it just starting to frost the Earth in the photo below.

I find it appropriate, somehow.  The ancient Celts saw Samhain as the end of the light half of the year - the summer months - and the beginning of the dark half of the year - the winter.  Although Samhain comes with the promise of new life, it is full of death.  The leaves are dying.  The creatures that cannot find shelter, hibernate, or migrate are dying.  Our ancestral spirits wander the Earth.  The pooka is about, waiting for his share of the harvest.  Anything left on the vine tomorrow will be his.  They will assume the shape of death and no longer be good for humans to eat. The snow is the final touch.  To me, it is the Earth Mother snuffing out the flame of summer for good.  It burned brightly this year, but now it is time for the green world excepting (of course, the strong and magical evergreens) to rest until next year.

The wheel of life turns.

My Samhain plans?

I used a rotting pumpkin to create ZOMBIE PUMPKIN!  The nails just make it for me.  :)

On a more serious note, I moved my altar - including my ancestor shrine.  I hung photos of various ancestors on the wall (Weretoad's grandfather was wobbly until Weretoad himself fixed the frame).  I included a wall sconce on which I can light candles and leave small offerings.  I would like to make or find a small shelf on which I could place larger offerings.  I will probably move items on my main altar to create a dumb supper for our ancestral spirits tonight.

Last night I attended Muin Mound Grove's celebration.  We cleaned the nemeton, put our jack-o-lanterns around the hedges, and honored the ancestors, as well as Dagda and the Morigan, through fire, song, libation, and sacrifice.  The omens were good.  They spoke of building community and protection from the spirits.  

Inside we had a wonderful feast of corn and black bean salad, red beans and rice, lasagna, pumpkin bread, cranberry and orange bread, carrots, pumpkin seeds, and apple pie.  A portion of each was given to the ancestors first.  

Blessed Samhain to you and yours!

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

Magically Mundane Mondays - Part 1: The Neti Pot

This is the first of a series of what I hope to be weekly posts about a subject I've become passionate about - filling my life with magic.   To the uninitiated*, living a "magical life" must sound fruity and idealistic at best, and delusional at worst.  To many Pagans, magic is very real.  What people outside of the proverbial magic circle struggle to understand most is that a lot of magic is just a different way of seeing and interacting with the world.  Magic means intentionally focusing on the intent of an action.  Magic is very much living a purposeful life.  Although some of what I talk about may seem to some as an impractical waste of time, to me my little rituals and magical acts are how I maintain a spiritual connection to the world outside of ritual and meditation.  Some of what I write about will be influenced by Druidism, folk-magic, and kitchen/green witchcraft.  A few will incorporate other cultural/religious practices.

I'm going to begin by talking about the object pictured at right**.  It's called a neti pot and I've been using one for the past two months.  My father gave it to me after I told him I was suffering from possible allergies and wanted to obtain one.  It has been one of the best and most practical gifts ever.  This may sound gross to those of you who have never tried a neti pot before, but you combine water and salt to make a solution.  You then pour the liquid through one nostril at a time while you lean over a sink and breath through your mouth.  The solution flushes the irritants from your nasal passage and is very effective at reducing the symptoms of allergies and colds.  From what I understand, it is a Yogic practice but many Muslims also us a form of nasal irrigation.

"Ok Grey," you say.  "Yoga aside, what does flushing snot out of your nose have to do with magic?"

Everything!  First of all, healing is one of the most basic ways of practicing magic.  By taking your health into your own hands and using a natural method to fight allergies instead of using expensive drugs, you are moving into what I would argue is a closer relationship to the Earth Mother.  That's pretty Druidic!***

How else is using a neti pot magical?  When I prepare my solution, I go about it in a semi-meditative/ritualistic way.  I fill the pot with warm water and think on the fact that this is the combination of fire and water.  I add the salt which represents the earth - land.  Fire/sun/sky, well/sea, and sacred tree/Earth are present in this simple healing ritual.  They mix in the neti pot (cauldron of transformation).  As I stir the ingredients together, I perform the Two Powers meditation and direct the energies of above and below into the "potion."  I say, "By fire, well, and sacred tree / let this salt water heal me!" before using the neti pot.  Trust me, approaching any form of traditional healing according to your spiritual practice is really empowering****.

Finally, using a neti pot is a great way to prepare yourself for another ritual or magical act.  Many cultures or people talk of purifying baths to prepare for ritual.  If you are the sort who likes to mentally and/or physically prepare yourself for a rite, but you either can't or don't want to bathe, a neti pot is a great practice before ritual that can be combined with washing your hands and brushing your teeth.  Even if you believe that our bodies don't need any such preparation to enter sacred space, using a neti pot has a great practical use before ritual - it helps to alleviate sinus discomfort so long as you are gentle and make sure to blow your nose after using it.  As someone who often sniffles, this is a great practice for helping to remove a distraction to myself or others during magical workings.


*And by that I mean the non-Pagan people in the world...
**I wish I took that photo!  I found it on this blog.  
*** For all the whiners and nitpickers out there, I am not against modern medicine.  If someone has a real debilitating issue going on, by all means take what the doctor prescribes you!  I just think our society is a little too pill-popping-happy.  There are more natural ways to fight common allergies.  Even my doctors agreed with me about that.  
****Yes I realize this is a type of cultural appropriation.  I'm giving credit where credit is due and learning more about it all the time - so there.


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

Mmm...essential oils...

Today, Weretoad and I went to a craft show in Clayton sponsored by the Thousand Islands Art Center.  It was exquisite with high quality artisan crafts; probably the most diverse and interesting craft show I've ever seen - along with Utica's Indie Garage Sale.  Weretoad bought me a stained glass triquetra.  I bought tea tree and fir essential oils and a foot scrubber from Harmony All Natural Soaps and Oils.  I'm running low on oils lately.  I like to use them as offerings to spirits and for certain magical workings.  I very nearly bought juniper berry oil as Northern Europeans burned juniper as incense and I've found it to be very effective in my rites.  I decided to go with fir needle instead because I recently made (and have been using) juniper smudge sticks and I've never had fir oil before.  I rather like it and think it will be excellent for working with local nature spirits.


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

Thoughts on the Esbat and Some Shopping

Today I attended an Esbat - the first in a couple years, I think.  It was put on by the local CUUPs chapter.  There weren't as many people there as there were last time, but still some familiar and new faces.  The ritual was very Wiccan, which isn't a problem, of course, but I've not been to anything like that since leaving Utica.  I wasn't exactly sure what to expect and the ritual wasn't briefed very well beforehand so there were some awkward moments.  We did get some energy flowing, which was fun.  We made some holy water for spells and consecrations which will be nice to have.  The ritual leader never lead us through a grounding which I believe helped trigger a headache.  I did some grounding when I returned home which helped. So...  all in all, pros and cons to the ritual.  I really liked getting to know people, working with others towards a magical goal, and seeing new ways of doing things, but I think they could plan it better.  In their defense, they did admit that they hadn't really planned well to begin with!  I do intend to keep going for now.  There was some good energy and the fellowship is nice.  

I also did some shopping today.  I bought some clothes, some art supplies to make more tree spirits, and the latest edition of Witches and Pagans.  I have a lot to keep me busy!


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

Oath Ring

When I performed my oath rite as part of ADF's Dedicant Program, I decided to wear a ring as a sign of my commitment to the Kindreds.  I found a lovely silver spiral ring and used that.  It weakened and broke.  I decided to replace it with a spiraly ring that had belonged to my mother.  I performed a ritual to renew my oath and transfer the energy from the first ring to the next.  Life goes on.

Today I discovered that the ring from my mother, my second oath ring, is starting to break.  This saddens me because it is doubly special.  I have decided to take it off in an effort to preserve it as I love having a trinket from my mum's girlhood.

I am now seeking a more solid oath ring.

I like this "I am of Ireland" ring but I'm not sure if it's the most appropriate.  I am very proud of my Irish heritage, but I've never even been there...  To say I am of it...  I don't know...

I also like these Druidic triad rings but I can't seem to choose just one and I'm not sure about wearing three rings at once.  Two on one finger seems like enough!  lol

In the end I'll probably go with a nice spiral or Celtic knot.  It seems to be what I love most.

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

Hospitality and Piety

I love having company over.  I so rarely get to see the people I consider my tribe, so it was a real treat to have friends visit.  We had a lot of fun in Alex Bay and Watertown, but we mostly stayed home for chatting, snacking, and playing copious amounts of games.  If only there had been more time for more fun.

Having guests is always a test of virtue.  I try my best and take pride in being a hospitable hostess.  I love to cook fresh meals and share my drink.  Hospitality aside, my piety to the Kindreds is also tested.

They are never far from my mind to begin with, and I pray a lot - especially before eating and while traveling.  Yet when people share my home, my routine is always a bit disrupted.  (Truthfully, it already was thanks to my infernal, cough-inducing allergies...)  My devotionals are shortened because I need to be a good hostess and it is too loud for me to meditate.  I am proud of myself for getting up and doing my full, formal ritual yesterday, but even that was not as usual because of my need to assist my guests.  I felt self-conscious chanting, as well.  I found myself whispering the songs.  It was not a very powerful ritual but I am glad to have done it.  I like showing the Kindreds that I care, and I think they understand the strained ritual when I so rarely entertain.

I believe that ritual, trance, and meditation aren't the only ways that we show honor to the Kindreds.  When we find joy with our tribe, treat others with love and respect, and celebrate life - even in a non-religious context - the Kindreds are there.  Strengthening bonds with the tribe is just as important as ritual on my Druidic path.


( 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/ )

My Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh started yesterday for me.  Weretoad had to work but I still wanted and needed to attend Muin Mound Grove.  I had committed myself to make the main offering - a doll of Tailtiu, Lugh's foster mother.  It is because of her that we celebrate Lughnasadh.  The story goes that she cleared the fields for agriculture and, after that, died*.  Lugh declared Lughnasadh as a feast day in her honor.  It was a day when the tribes gathered, judgements were made, and games played.

Because Weretoad worked, I drove all by myself to East Syracuse.  I'd never done that alone before.  It was a harrowing experience for me.  I even managed to get lost and called my husband, sobbing out of fear.  Pathetic, I know.  Worry not!  I reached my destination alive and well**!  I made it to the business meeting (where I was officially elected to be the new secretary) and played some games with the other ladies***.  I won the contest of strength but that's only because I was able to hold a yoga pose for a long time.  Candee was the ultimate champion, however, because she was able to accurately answer the most riddles and toss a nice, if modified, caber.

The ritual went well.  It felt faster than usual, but that was probably because we had such a small turnout.     Tailtiu was placed in the sacred fire and we all grew quiet as she burned.  It's always very moving to watch as a piece of art is willingly given to the Gods, but this is the first time that I sacrificed a piece of my really elaborate art.  I put a lot of work into her and everyone thought she was lovely, for which I was grateful.  I'm really proud of how she came out.

I had to leave shortly after the ritual to make it to Watertown in time to fetch Weretoad, so no yummy potluck.  Hubby and I came home pretty late and crashed into bed.

Today was very relaxing.  To celebrate Lughnasadh, we had a picnic lunch under a couple trees followed by a short nature walk.  We studied the local plants and observed some lovely insects.  I later went out by myself and took a short trek in the forest.  I left an offering for the local spirits, gathered some small pine cones, a few rocks, and some sticks to practice carving.  I also found this lovely specimen.  It looks like a variety of fly agaric, perhaps amanita formosa or amanita guessowii.  I have always wanted to find fly agaric in the wild, and to find it when my interest has been most intense and on a high day was truly a blessing.  I felt little guilt taking this one as it was half-eaten and unlikely to reach maturity as a result.  I wanted to bring it in, properly identify it, and sketch it in my journal.  I'm pretty certain it is fly agaric, but being that I have next to no experience in mycology, and have not done enough research on using it in trance, I only sketched it before putting it back outside as an offering.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to see a fresh fly agaric in person.  I've been able to look at some dry specimens before, but this was a real treat.  After I dug it up, I left a small offering to its spirit and built a little dolmen in the area where I found it.  There are likely to be more and I would love to take a photo of a fully formed mushroom (if it isn't devoured by the slugs first...)

So I think I had a very blessed Lughnasadh indeed!  I hope all of my readers had a lovely, fruitful day.

 *As much as a deity dies, of course. ;)


** The experienced must have really upset me, though, because shortly after getting there, I had a coughing attack.  


*** Strangely, no men came to the ritual.  Skip was away at a meeting, so it was just us hens!  There was something strangely witchy and gratifying about an all female ritual...  


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

4th of July

The latest post on The Wild Hunt inspired me.  Today I did a formal ritual to honor, well, the spirit of America*.  Most people who know me realize I'm not the most patriotic person in the world.  I'm proud of my country, but not blind to its offenses.  I also don't fly a million little flags around my yard like some of my neighbors **.  That said, I'm not afraid to say that I feel lucky to live where I live.  I read a lot of environmental and human rights news and, frankly, so many people have it way worse than us.  We have our faults, that's for sure, but at least most of us are relatively comfortable and, well, safe!  It's a shame that we have corporations who exploit developing nations and our own environment, and it's a shame that some of our ancestors did unspeakable things to the indigenous people who lived here first, but there's also a lot of good in America and I can think of that and celebrate it today.

Just as in my ritual, let me post it to my blog:

Hail to the spirits of America!
Hail to its Nature Spirits!  Hail to the high-flying, majestic bald eagle!  Hail to the forest turkey!  Hail to the river otters, moose, white tailed deer, squirrels, chipmunks, black bears, mountain lions, wolves, and bobcats!  Hail to the kangaroo rats, the coyotes, the scorpions, and roadrunners.  Hail to the great blue herons, the salmon, the monarch butterflies, the black widow spiders, and the alligators.  Hail to the sea turtles, the dolphins, the tuna, and the pelicans.  Hail to the ants, the bees, and the bats!  Hail to the unseen spirits who were here first and who came over with our ancestors!  Hail to you all and may we live in better harmony with you!

Hail to America's ancestors!  Hail to the Native American ancestors!  May we grow in friendship.  Hail to our immigrant ancestors!  May we remember where we came from.  Hail to the friends and family we knew in America, and hail to those who fought for our country - especially those whose intentions  and actions were honorable.  May we learn from your triumphs and mistakes.

Hail to the Gods of America!  Hail to the Gods of the Native Americans, and hail to the Gods of our ancestors!  Hail to Lady Liberty!  May we bring honor to you in all we say and do.

May we admit to our faults and work to improve them.  May we help the less fortunate, and welcome them to our country.  May we celebrate our diversity and learn to live together in peace.  May we develop better technologies so that we can live in harmony with nature.

So be it!


* As you may recall, I've been doing one formal ADF ritual a week.  I was cutting it close by leaving it until today, but I made it!

** Ahh...military towns...


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

Chant Help

Four or five years ago, when I was feeling my way through Wicca and eclectic Paganism, I was feeling "chant envy."  Several of my Pagan friends knew more chants than me.  They could all spontaneously break out in chant and everyone knew the words...  I felt left out so I went on a chant hunt and found some classics as well as some things that I don't often hear people use.

One of them went like this (more or less):

The Earth she is singing
Oh ma ma ma
The Earth she is laughing
Oh ma ma ma
The Earth she is dancing
Oh ma ma ma
The Earth is our mother
Oh ma ma ma 


Oh ma ma ma hey oh ma ma ma
Oh ma ma ma hey oh ma ma ma


I fell in love with it and was lucky enough to find an mp3 of it.  It's one of my favorites and I often sing it around the house.

Almost a year ago, some of my grovies came back from a festival where they had learned it and it was incorporated into our rituals when we honor the Earth Mother.  I was really surprised but delighted all the same. The only problem was/is...  people don't really know it.  Last week, during Summer Solstice, there was an embarrassing moment when we started the chant and the bard didn't know it and everyone was mixed up.  I was singing the version I learned, but even before the ritual there was a minor dispute between the grove organizer and the senior Druid as to what the actual order of the lyrics were.  It pains me to admit it, but it sounded horrible and the energy just wasn't there for me during that part of the rite...

I was searching around for the lyrics or even the mp3 I used to have but I can't find it anywhere!  Can anyone help?  My grove likes to sing and dance to it but we really need to be on the same page.  It's one of my most favorite chants and it's really embarrassing when the grove flounders so...

Help!




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

Keeping My Oath

Some of you may remember that I made an oath a few weeks ago in which I promised the Kindreds (and myself) that I would honor them with a formal ADF ritual every week.  I did this week's ritual just a little while ago.  Although it wasn't anything groundbreaking, I did feel more confident.  Brighid put some honey on my tongue or something.  I still tend to forget one bit of the COoR and then fit it in right away before the end.  It makes me feel a bit stupid but the Gods never seem offended.  Just doing ritual makes me feel closer to them and, each time I perform a rite, I improve.

Before my ritual I took a shower and did my best to focus on grounding and removing any negative thoughts.  I've found that ritual gestures are very important to me, if only to put me in the proper mindset for magic or ritual*.  In the shower I put my head under the water and then lowered my hands across my body until my fingers went into the water.  I visualized/felt the negative energy of the day flow out and down the drain.  Very effective for me!


* I recently read in Real Magic by Bonewits that tantric traditions refer to ritual gestures as mudra.  




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Of Visits, Traveling Altars, and Color

I'm back from a lovely weekend in the Mohawk Valley.  I was able to visit my family and some friends who graciously invited me over for tea.

I stayed true to my oath (vow?  Perhaps I should have gone to Seamus' workshop at Wellspring...) and performed a full ritual this week.  Because I was away from my altar I used my traveling altar.  I had been using the little dishes some tea lights came in as offering bowls.  When the candles were used, I decorated them with different designs.  I offered some oil Friday evening as part of my ritual.  Actually, that was pretty much all I had to offer because I can't fit much in the little box that is my traveling altar.  I left the oil in the dish over night and it seems to have weakened the plastic.  I'll have to rethink this...

In other news, I tweaked the color of the links.  It should look better!


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Gardening, Vigils, and Life Lessons

My sweet peppers have been eaten by something.  This makes me sad.  I shouldn't have put them out without a milk jug over them...  They were so little...  Everything else seems to be doing ok.  My hot peppers have flowers!  


 I was reading up on the vigil/welcoming ceremony Muin Mound does for people becoming a Folk of the Grove. I'm going to undergo the ritual in a couple weeks.  I'm really excited but also a little nervous about staying up all night!  I won't be alone.  My grovie Candee will be going through it as well!


Today I also sent an apologetic email to someone.  I was bothered by something and felt guilty so I wanted to get it off my chest and be honest.  I hope I did the right thing and that I didn't make things worse.  I did an ogham and animal deck reading shortly after because I was nervous about doing it.  The Kindreds seem to be telling me that it was a necessary step in the right direction and that it will mark a new beginning.  I'm hoping it means I will be closer to that person and think more carefully about what I say and do in the future.    



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Taking Care of Business

Wellspring really motivated me to delve deeper into the study programs I'm working on.  I kept making excuses for why I wasn't working harder.  Some of them are arguably valid, such as being tired after work, but I only work for five days out of seven.  There are two days that I could easily get something done.

Tonight I started to edit a book review for Oak Leaves, continued my work on the muse essay for the Artisan study program, and did a full ritual.  I used ogham to seek guidance from the Kindreds and they seemed to have a lot of positive things to say about my desire to do a ritual every week.  All signs point to it being the best thing for my spirituality.  The Kindreds seem to be saying that in doing so, I will grow closer to the land, myself, and the Kindreds in general.  I made an oath that, so long as I'm physically able, I will perform a full ritual once a week.  Should I fail, I will give up the internet (my biggest time sink) for the following week.  The only exception to that is my work email.  Otherwise, no surfing or checking status updates at all.  I've been pretty good about keeping my oath to do a devotional every day unless I participate in some other ritual.  Oaths motivate me.

So I feel pretty good about myself and my spirituality tonight!

In other news, my garden is doing so well!  The marigolds are starting to blossom which adds some much needed color to what is otherwise a collection of green.  I can't wait until my forget me nots blossom!





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Website Envy and Other Things

I felt really ill yesterday due to hormonal issues.  I accomplished nothing after work.

I don't feel fully restored tonight, but I've already been more productive than yesterday!  I did some work on a doll and did a quick ritual to promote healing in the areas surrounding the oil spill.  CedarLight Grove is encouraging everyone to take part, even if it's just through meditation.

Speaking of CedarLight Grove, do they not have an amazing website?  I hate to say this, because I'm very proud of my grove otherwise, but I totally have website envy.  Ours looks really out of date...  Heck, even some of the information is old.  I don't even want to link to it right now because it's kind of embarrassing...  I really want to offer Skip a hand but, at the same time, I don't want to step on any toes...  Maybe he's just been really, really busy with ArchDruid business and, now that he's "retired," he'll have more time for that?    I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

In other news, I'm trying to clean the house.  My family is visiting this weekend and hubby and I have been so lazy!  Despite the existence of a designated "art room," we tend to bring most of our projects into the living room.  I think the problem is a lack of surface area in the art room.  I'm going to be keeping my eyes open for a table to put in there.  Maybe that will help?

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Looking forward to Wellspring! *

Now that it's May, Wellspring is right around the corner!  I'm so excited to meet more of my fellow ADFers.  Yesterday at Muin Mound, I learned some very exciting things about Wellspring!  For one, Skip told me that the ceremonial installation of Kirk as the new Arch Druid will take place on Saturday.  This means I won't miss it!  YAY!  Second, apparently they're having a professional videographer coming to film the entire thing in the hopes of distributing it to something like the Discovery Channel for a documentary about us!  Holy dandelions!  That's so exciting if a bit nerve-inducing as well.  I would really love to take part in it but struggle with displaying my Pagan life in such a public way.  Someone at Muin Mound suggested making myself and my husband masks.  I think I'll do this.  We were highly encouraged to have ritual garb anyway (or just dress nice), so this gives me a good excuse to put together a new cloak at the very least**.

In other news, since Skip is now the head of the ADF store, I talked to him at length about the possibility of vending at Wellspring.  I explained that I didn't have a tax license and that I knew it was illegal to sell without one.  I'm just not willing to risk the huge fines, even if it's unlikely that I'll get caught at Wellspring.  After talking to Skip, I found out an even more important reason why one shouldn't sell "under the table," as it were.  Apparently there are vendors at the Brushwood Center all festival season, and they have to pay a hefty insurance fee to be there - slightly over $600 a year.  In my opinion, it just wouldn't be honest or ethical to sell under the table when there are other artisans legitimately selling and paying so much for insurance.

Luckily, Skip explained that ADF has figured out the consignment issue!  Thanks to some of Kirk's connections, ADF has a lawyer and a CPA.  ADF is now able to legally contract its artisans to sell through the online store and at festivals.  Skip gave me a contract to fill out (he said I was the first person to get one!).  ADF takes a cut and I have to fill out a W-9, but I don't have to worry about having a tax license*** (ADF takes care of that as well as the Brushwood insurance), and anyone (not just ADF members) can visit and purchase from the ADF store****.  I'm really excited and am definitely planning to sell some dolls at festivals and on the internet store.  I spent much of today going through my old inventory and  making new dolls!  I started two large dolls and am nearly finished with over a dozen little Goddess dolls.  Whoo!  I'm a one-woman sweat-shop!





* I know I've been posting a lot today...  I guess I just have a lot to say!

** My husband wonders whether or not people in masks and cloaks will make everyone look like loonies, but they're such an integral part of modern Paganism and general "shamanic" practices that, in the right context, I don't think it's a bad thing.  It's our liturgical wear, our neo-ethnic wear, and our mental key into ritual.  If people like to dress up and really express their inner selves during such a spiritual time, I don't see it as a bad thing.  I completely understand my husband's ponderings, and I often have them myself, but in the end I love dressing up.

*** We don't charge taxes anyway because of our church status.

**** I highly encourage any artsy ADF members to look into it, especially if you were thinking about selling anything at Wellspring.


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