Dear Reader,
I am recovering from a migraine yesterday and dealing with intense pain due to arthritis right now. I'm hoping that the pain medicine will kick in soon and I'll have an easier time focusing. Until then, I must apologize for the lack of witchy content right now. I'm in a fair amount of pain and my brain isn't quite at peak performance right now. Please check back in a few hours or so. I may have something interesting up by then. In other news, arthritis can die in a fire.
Dear Reader,
There's a plethora of books about how to time every thing from planting your garden to cutting your hair with the phase of the moon. There's so much stuff about it, it even makes it in to the Old Farmer's Almanac (which is quite literally the last place I'd look for anything witchcraft related). Generally, the time frame from the new to full moon is good for things to increase. The time frame from the full to the new moon is good for things to decrease. This is a form of sympathetic magic that relies upon the apparent increase and decrease in the visible moon to affect the increase or decrease effects of your spell.
I don't use astrology except to idly note where the moon is located at a given time in the sky during the month. There are practitioners who time things by when the moon is located in specific signs oriented with different astrological houses. Again, as I am by no way an expert or experienced in astrology (too much math for me), I can't point you to good resources to help you with this form of timing.
I use lunar timing based off of moon phase because it is where I have gotten the most effective results. During the dark of the moon, that approximately three day period around the new moon, I find is most effective for shadow work and revealing things that are hidden. During the approximate three day period around the full moon, I find is most effective for general magical practice of any sort.
Dear Reader,
I am not the most proficient or strictly by the book reader of runes. At the same time, I have an intuitive method that seems to work pretty well (as long as I am not struck by performance anxiety). Runes are the basis of a number of alphabetical systems. They are the precursor of the Icelandic, Norwegian, Scandinavian, Finnish, and other Nordic written languages. They are also the precursor of the English language. There were runes that were still in use in the English language up until early Modern English, such as the rune Thorn as a short hand for the dipthong 'th'. If we look at early English and Anglo-Saxon we will find a combination of the Latin alphabet and the Younger Futhark used in manuscripts. This period has inconclusive evidence that they were used as a divination system.
Indeed, the only historical mention of runes as a divination system is mudded by the fact that Tacitus doesn't say what exactly is inscribed upon the slips of wood that the Germanic peoples he was interacting with were using to perform their divination. He doesn't give a very good description of the divination practice. This is part of the reason why there are historical questions if runes were used as divination tools. There are some indications with the Rune Poems that were preserved in the historical documents of the post-Christianization era of the Nordic and Germanic regions that this is a distinct possibility. But the evidence is very difficult to discern.
Ralph Blum wrote The Book of Runes in the late 1980s and published in the mid-1990s. With this book's popularity, the use of runes as a divination tool exploded. Suddenly, there was a great many people who were claiming that Blum was accurate and others claiming that Blum was inaccurate in his portrayal of the Runes. More books about the runes and runic magic came out during the late 1990s and early 2000s. They muddied the waters further because they were not academic texts but tried to pass themselves off as having the authority of such. It was not a good period for the research into runic magic and runic studies. Some authors, like Ann Moura in her Green Witchcraft series presented the runes as a magical short hand script for accomplishing things. Other authors, like Diana Paxton in her various works, did their best to provide a more nuanced method of using runes.
While there were authors in the pagan community throwing out just about anything that would stick to the proverbial wall, there was some serious academic research going on into runic magic and the practices of the Sami peoples (the last indigenous practitioners of native religion in that part of the world). That research was largely ignored outside of the academic circles because it didn't immediately clarify the use of runes. As a result, multiple systems of runic magic and divination have arisen completely divorced from all but the barest historical basis. (Now, this does not mean that these systems don't work. It just means that they're not the same as what the ancestors used. And that's ok because we live in a world that is very different from the ancestors and have different needs. I think that the gods answer our needs and do their best to meet us where we are rather than expect us to recreate lost practices whole cloth.)
I will be providing, in this series of posts, my interpretation of the Elder Futhark runes. These are, as far as I can tell, the ones used by the Germanic and Teutonic tribes that Tacitus interacted with. I suspect that they were used in divination cut into fruit bearing tree slips. I do not know if they were stained with blood as some 'traditionalists' insist or some dye like ocher. I don't have access to a rune set that is cut into slips of wood from a fruit bearing tree. I have the tile set from Ralph Blum's book set that I had bought ages ago when it first came out. It's rather worn and one of them is cracked. I also have a set that I made using pebbles and a set that is a bit larger that I made using glow in the dark 'pebbles'. In the case of all three sets, I've gotten the same results. This leads me to believe that the materials that your rune set are made from does not impact their effectiveness. At some point in time, because I'm half magpie and I collect things, I will probably acquire or make a set of runes from slips of a fruit bearing tree. If I do this, I will report back any finding as to how this impacts their effectiveness.
Dear Reader,
Life has thrown a bunch of curve balls over the last few weeks. One of my boys injured his eye (thankfully it was a minor injury and he's fully recovered), the school had a major meeting regarding my other son, and there's been a ton of issues popping up over the last few weeks like my shower attempting to come apart as we were using it. I've been trying to stay on top of the cleaning I had planned but it's a mess all over again because I have boys and I am in a depressive episode. Beloved's doing his best to help but the whole situation is like shoveling snow in a blizzard.
I get to where I have time to write and the words just go 'poof' and I'm left feeling exhausted and kinda dead inside because of the depression. I want to write, but it's really hard. I am trying to keep pushing forward but it's exhausting. I apologize for the fact that I wasn't able to provide you with regular content over the course of the last month or so. Time kinda blurs together and it's a bit hard for me to remember what day it is.
Being disabled is awful and I don't wish it on anyone. Having an invisible disability like mental illness or a chronic medical condition that make is hard for you to keep up with daily tasks is awful. On your good days, you might forget for a moment that you've got to conserve your proverbial spoons so you have the energy to stay on top of things later. The problem with being disabled in the fashion that I am is your energy levels fluctuate on a daily basis and what you were able to accomplish the day before may leave you exhausted the next day on top of the spoon deficit you may wake up with because you didn't sleep well/stress/anxiety/ect.
I'm trying to keep moving forward but I am very tired and downhearted. I haven't forgotten you all. I keep my readership in my prayers for your well being and my expressions of gratitude for your companionship. I just ask that you bear with me a little bit longer. I'm sure this depressive episode will lift eventually and I'll be able to get back to posting daily again. Right now, this is the best I can manage. Please forgive me if it is dissatisfactory or not enough. I'm trying my hardest to do my best.
I posted briefly on Tumblr something about my approach to heathenry. In some ways, I grew up with heathen values. Not the "Nine Noble Virtues" but things like be honorable in word and deed, always be hospitable to guests, treat strangers with courtesy, strength with out wisdom is wasted, and family is everything. Things did not turn out as I had thought they would as a child and my parents did not prove to have the values that I grew up on. I am so dynamically different from my parents and siblings that I have regularly been asked if I was adopted. (We're estranged now for various reasons, but to say the least, I did not mesh well into their family dynamic on the basis of my personality and sense of honor.)
I have some customs that sort of come from my parents and come from what I could extrapolate from the different pagan lore that I studied over the years. I always make enough food for a possible surprise visitor. My family make a point of being hospitable to any guest that arrives at our door, regardless of how we might feel about them personally. At the same time, we are very protective of our boundaries and do not allow folks that could be harmful past the threshold. We are polite but firm about this. Instead of words, we express gratitude with actions. It's like the old concept 'a gift demands a gift in return.' I also take the approach, that it is always better to give too much than be thought stingy when giving gifts. I have the habit of giving peace-gifts to maintain the bonds of good will between us and people who are important in our lives.
I am careful not to swear an oath that I can not keep. I am doubly so when it comes to teaching my children not to swear in such a manner. There are those who would take them at their word and treat them ill if they were unable to keep the oath. I make a point of giving offerings to my family's ancestors. We have a small ancestor shrine in the living room near the altar. Every morning, I give an offering to the gods and ancestors, asking their good will and blessings over all of our household. I do my best to maintain my plethora of houseplants in good care as an offering to Freyr, the spirits of the plants, and the landwights. I dedicate my efforts to maintain the household to the housewight. (Fortunately, they are understanding of my difficulties and tend to be bemused with the kids efforts to help that make more messes than they clean up.)
I do not engage racists, except to mock them or get into a verbal fight with them. I am firmly of the mind that the gods call who they call regardless of skin color or background. The gatekeepers be damned. I am annoyed with the conflation of the Marvel version of prominent figures from the lore (i.e. Thor and Loki) with the actual lore. I try to present evidence that the Norse pantheon is not the same as Marvel's version. At the same time, I recognize that popculture paganism is a thing. So, I try to be understanding. Loki likes to throw me curveballs from time to time in referencing Marvel's version of him just to make sure that I'm paying attention. Marvel!Mythology is different from the lore but in the eyes of popculture pagans, it is the same weight. I try to be sensitive to that.
I have a particularly strong loathing for trans-exclusionary radical feminists. Having been a target of their harassment by virtue of the fact that my vocal range is lower than most other women and my thyroid is a bit on the large side, I have no qualms about getting in their faces. I have in the past, literally had to fight people to make them stop harassing me over these things. I would do so again in a heartbeat if it were necessary. I defend the rights, safety, and honor of transgender people with all the same passion that I do the rights, safety, and honor of all non-heterosexual people. Part of this position is because I have people I love who are in these communities and I feel honor bound to protect them. Part of this position is because I am a Loki's woman and I believe I would be a hypocrite if I did not defend or stand up for the people who fall outside of the cis-het dynamic. It doesn't hurt that I happen to be bisexual and part of the LGBTQ+ community. If anything, that makes me a bit more aggressive about it.
I am something of an animist. I believe that just about everything has a spirit. I try to maintain a good accord with the spirits about me. The jury is still out if the computer has a singular spirit or if it is a community of spirits forced to work together. Electronics in general is a fuzzy area that I am still trying to parse out how they fit into this world view. But all living things have a spirit. Elemental forces are spirits. Deities exist in the realm of spirits as well as elsewhere. I do my best to keep the spirits on my side. That means caring for a garden and leaving out offerings when I can.
I am not a 'normal' heathen. And I'm ok with that.
Dear Reader,
We're now in the final week of Moura, the fifth season and thirteenth month of the liturgical calendar of Filianism and Déanism. Despite my best efforts to have all of the major cleaning done by now, my home is a mess again. I've been struggling with depression over the last two weeks. As much as I hope that with the coming of Eastre/Ostara, I will feel better, I suspect that my brain chemistry will remain malfunctioning at that time. A persistent sense of anxiety that I am not doing enough to be worthy of my family's love and that I am, ultimately, a failure.
I read the holy texts and contemplate them daily. Intellectually, I know that there is still hope. I feel, however, deep despair and grief. I know this is my neural-chemistry being awry and that it shall pass. It does not change the trouble in my heart and the pain that it brings me. I struggle with the fact that I am disabled. I remember life before bipolar happened and having the energy to get through a light day of activity with out needing a few days to recover. I am grief-sick over it. I grieve not my youth but my health. I have come to a place where I am safe and appreciated for who and what I am. I am profoundly thankful for this. It is an entirely different life for me than what I had in my youth. But, I grieve the fact that I haven't the health that I did before.
Dear Reader,
It's been a hard couple of weeks over here. There's the fact that I've been eyeballs deep in cleaning that has been keeping me away from posting. There was the drama of Lulu's shenanigans and my having to take everything down from there and republish it at Kindle Direct Publishing (an Amazon subsidiary). There has also been multiple doctor's appointments, one of my kids scaring the living daylights out of us (He's going to be fine, fortunately), and drama with the school for various reasons that I'm still trying to sort out.
I am desperately trying to get back to daily blogging. It's proving exceedingly difficult right now. I am exhausted from all the stress of this malarky. I am also exhausted because I haven't slept well in about two months (which everyone in my life agrees it is stress from all of this insanity). Trying to find time to write is at a premium. If I'm lucky, I may find a few minutes in the morning to type of a few prayers on Tumblr to share with everyone. It's been rough, y'all. Please bear with me a little bit longer.
Moura is proving to be a month of challenges and vexation. Hopefully everything will turn around over the next two weeks and improve. In the mean time, I have to go get ready for another eye doctor appointment. The visual field test needs to be re-done because their machine had a glitch and data is missing. Fortunately, there will be no co-pay, but it's going to take more time out of my day before I have to be 'on duty' as Mom when the kids get home from school. Then my afternoon is booked with housework and trying to figure out dinner stuff that will be reasonably ok for everybody.
Please don't give up on looking for future posts. I'm just having a really rough patch right now.
Dear Reader,
If you've been around for a while, you may have noticed that I have a lot of stuff over on Lulu.com and I'm in the process of moving it over to Kindle Direct Publishing (a subsidiary of Amazon). As of right now, books will be available as paperbacks and ebooks. I'm still hunting for where I can do these up as hardbacks and a secure site for the .pdf that has been requested. As I make more progress porting things over from one site to the other, I will update this list. Eventually, I'll update the books and goods page too.
The Clear Recital: The Children of Déa Version
Drowning In Light: A Mystic's Notebook
A Year With Déa: A Filianic Book of Meditations (Northern Hemisphere Edition) *
Rose Petals: A Filianic Psalter
The Unabridged Filianic Calendar Devotional: Universal Edition **
The Veiled Witch's Ritual Book: Vol. 1 : Filianic Rituals and Rites
The Veiled Witch's Handbook for Psychics: A Practical Guide to Divination and the Psychic Arts
~*~*~*~*~*~
* The Southern Hemisphere Edition should be up later this week, if all goes well.
** This book is a bit dated, but sometime later this year I will be updating the format, Déa willing.
This sigil incorporates the rune for Freyr, a patron deity of stable and loving relationships from the Norse pantheon. You begin the sigil by drawing his rune, Ing. You then create a heart that is overlapped by the rune. I added a dot beneath the center of the rune as an aesthetic element.
Above the heart, you place a crown that represents Freyr's kingship and royal status. Beneath the rune, you draw the rune Gifu/Gebo. This you turn into a pair of crossed arrows. The crown represents Freyr's authority to act as a leadership and protection figure. (Remember, the social contract between royalty and their subjects required the royalty to act in their subjects best interests and to defend them.) The rune of Gifu/Gebo represents the gifts that come from any loving relationship. Turning this rune into crossed arrows invokes protection against slander and harm, the proverbial and literal arrows that others would cast against you being blocked by the gifts of Freyr.
I apologize for the poor photo quality, I haven't the best camera or lighting to work with. Remember, extend the upper and lower portions of the rune Ing outside of the heart. And remember to draw Gifu/Gebo first before turning it into arrows. Aside from that, add any ornamentation that makes this sigil yours and unique to you. It could be more hearts. It could be additional sigil elements that focus this rather general purpose sigil into a specific need oriented sigil.
Dear Reader,
Witchcraft has become a popular topic. There are countless blogs, books, and other sources of media covering it. Sifting through it all to find what you need is a bit of a challenge. Especially if you're not familiar with the way things work and you're just looking for a good 'recipe' to solve your problem. The trick is, there are a lot of pretty and attractively assembled 'recipes' out there that won't work or are actually dangerous. Regardless of how pretty and attractive the presented site may be, be cautious about using what you find there. (I include myself here on the list of be cautious because even I make mistakes in my published 'recipes.')
If you go out looking for a spell to solve your problem, you will find so many different options it boggles the mind. Choice overload is a thing. As tempted as you may be to take the first option that pops up or the one that has the best aesthetically pleasing photography, don't jump in with both feet first. Make a point to check these spells out. Are they safe? Do they use components you can easily and safely access? Are they legal to perform? For example, a necromancy ritual that requires you to enter a graveyard after dark and take some dirt from a random grave is not legal in most places because most graveyards close at sunset. And the removing of dirt from a grave is legally considered disturbing the dead and can net you some criminal charges on top of trespassing. I do not recommend you go forward with that ritual. I also highly recommend against taking grave dirt from a random grave. This can anger the deceased and that's how you get haunted, folks.
Additionally, any spell that requires action against an unwilling participant (i.e. putting something in their drink) can get you into trouble legally. It won't matter to the court that you believe the person whose beverage you put a drop of your blood into is your soul-mate. It's still a criminal charge to tamper with food that is being served to people and can be considered attempted poisoning. Oh, and that spell that requires you to bury something under the target's door step is encouraging trespassing. If you're that committed to the act, recognize that you're facing a lot of possible consequences that are unpleasant. Trespassing charges, harassment charges, and more can result from this stuff. There's a reason why the spells that encourage these things tell you to do it under cover of darkness, to make it harder for you to get caught. But it's harder to do that these days because more and more places are well lit and fewer places have loose doorsteps you can bury things under.
Don't think that going for potions is the best route to avoid danger. A common mistake made is that potions are all edible. They're not. The vast majority of them include questionable contents that can potentially be poisonous. There is no quality control over spell supplies. This is not like pharmacology where there is strident quality control and procedures to ensure uniform product results. No one is running a double blind study to make sure that Mable's Love Potion is safe to drink, sprinkle on anything, or even be in the same room. (I'd like to remind y'all of the dangers of mixing random household cleaners. It kills people on a regular basis, hence the warning labels. Urine has ammonia in it, so don't mix it with bleach. The list goes on. Check your chemicals as to if they're safely compatible.)
Check your materials vigorously. If you're using herbs, consult with a pharmacologist or a nurse practitioner (who get trained in herbal medicine to some extent because of how common it is). Make sure that what you're using and its dosage is safe. If you are making something that is not to be consumed, make sure that there isn't any dangerous chemical reactions that are going to result from the different components being combined. Some chemical reactions will cause noxious fumes that can kill you. Some chemical reactions will cause burns. Others will literally start fires if not handled properly. Just because its sold in the store doesn't mean that you can use it for anything you want. (For example, always make sure your paint thinner rags are completely dried out and separated from anything flammable when you dispose of them. They will spontaneously combust.)
The internet is a gold mine of material and information. You have to sift the bad information out from the good and then you have to carefully go over the good information to make sure it suits your needs and is safe to use. Critical thinking skills and research skills are vital to the safe practice of witchcraft. Like when you're looking up a new recipe to cook for dinner, check your ingredients list and consider your guest list. You wouldn't want to serve something that would kill your guests or yourself, would you? Don't play games with magic, it can hurt you or someone else very badly.
Dear Reader,
If you've even mentioned a passing interest in divination, especially the ever popular Tarot, you may have heard many rumors and a few urban legends. The most popular one that has been around for about as long as Tarot has been used for divination is that it is bad luck to buy your own Tarot deck. Any cartomancer worth their salt will laugh at this implication and resume building up their hoard of decks. Seriously, most of the cartomancers I know have at least five decks. Then there's the serious collectors who have upwards of fifty. There's so much variety in decks that the sky (and your budget) really is the limit on this one.
The argument that it is bad luck to purchase your own divination tools or *gasp* make your own is strictly based in the premise that we must be gatekeepers of this practice. The persons who push this gatekeeping policy the hardest tend be the ones who feel that their livelihood is somehow threatened by transgressors: shop owners, professional cartomancers, other psychics, etc. If you look at the history of divination, you find that professional diviners had their trade secrets and they guarded them closely. One of the ways of doing so, was to tell people who were curious that divination was dangerous some how. The argument that attempting divination with out meeting certain arbitrary criteria (which differed from source to source) was ill luck is perhaps the most common one.
Today, we live in the era of open sourced divination. Diviners are networking and trading ideas at a rate never seen before. The market for Tarot decks is enormous and the uses ranges as widely as the different styles of decks that are out there. This old gatekeeping practice really needs to be abandoned so that new innovation can be encouraged in the age old practice of divination. Buy all the types of divination tools and books that your heart desires (and your pocket book can afford). You have no need to fear ill luck befalling you for doing so, just choice paralysis because there are too many varieties to pick from.
