Loki's Children: A Tale of Hubris by the Aesir

 Dear Reader,

Knowledge is knowing tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it into a fruit salad. When the All-Father went to the Volva seeking a prophecy, he was told that Loki's children by Angboda were going to bring great misfortune and suffering to the Aesir. Odin did not listen to this warning  but reacted on emotion. This is a situation where I think things would have turned out differently if Tyr was ruling the Aesir. (It is believed that prior to the migration period of the Nordic and Germanic people, Tyr was the King of Asgard and held the title of All-Father. Much debate goes on over this point.)

Just as King Cohnochbar sought to prevent the destruction of his tribe over the beautiful woman named Dierdre, Odin ignored important elements of the prophecy out of his fear of his tribe being destroyed. Chonochbar (one of the spellings I've encountered for this name, I doubt it is correct but Anglicized.) locked Dierdre away and sought to marry her when she was of age. His prophecy said that kings and princes would seek to marry her and bring ruin to his tribe. Chonochbar in his fear for his tribe and his desire for Dierdre, locked her away and brought about the beginning of the prophecy.

Odin and a strong force of warriors came to Angrboda and forcibly removed her children from her as she cried 'They're children, what harm can they do?' Odin ignored her and cast Loki's eldest son out into the sea to seek his fortune as the Midgard Serpent. He gave Hela the lands of Helheim and rulership over the dead of the nine worlds, for none would marry her. Giving her no escort or gifts to recognize her rulership, he casted her down into that dark place.

Loki and Angboda's youngest child was but a pup. The prophecy said that he would grow in terrible size. Few had the courage to foster him. Thus Tyr befriended Fenrir and fostered him. Tyr taught Fenrir many things as he grew in size and cunning. Then it happened one day that the other Aesir came to bind Fenrir. Young as he was, he gave into their words of flattery and broke the two iron chains they loaded him down. Tyr muttered to Fenrir 'Be Cautious. Odin's guile knows as many bounds as your father's."

Then came the dwarven ribbon Glepnir fashioned of impossible things. Fenrir at first refused to continue the 'contest' that Odin had thought up. Finally, he said that he would allow himself to be bound if one were brave enough to put their hand in his mouth as a sign of good faith. Tyr knew it was a trap. Fenrir knew it was a trap. Yet, when Tyr put his hand into Fenrir's mouth, Fenrir's fury boiled over. His wrath at being taken from his mother's warm home to a place where he had to live in the cold and weather nearly blinded him. His fury at his brother casually cast away into the sea and his sister banished to the cold halls of death made his heart hammer.

Fenrir strained and the bonds grew tighter. He glanced at Tyr. For a moment, the fury cleared and there was pity. Then he bit off Tyr's right hand and bolted it down before howling his rage. As the great wolf howled his wrath at his mistreatment, a sword was put between his jaws. He shook his head to try to cast it out but failed. He continued to howl most awfully and the Aesir had an inkling of what folly they had committed. From his jaws, saliva dripped and created the river named Hope.

Long time later, Tyr tired of Odin's behavior. Taking a pair of sheep sheers, he came to Fenrir. He cut the ribbon, for it could not withstand the cutting action of the sheers. He took the sword from Fenrir's mouth. He whispered, "Remember the plan." Tyr then disappeared into the night as all manner of ill began to happen.

- The tale as recounted to me by my mother (There's more to it but none so dramatic as Fenrir's part.)

Working Magic In Stitches

 Dear Reader,

As any crafter can tell you, what they do is a labor of love and a work of art. Even the kiddie artwork with the googly eyes counts because they put their heart into it and worked hard. When you start looking at old fashioned crafts (i.e. knitting, crochet, needlework, weaving, etc.), you can discover a world of folklore surrounding these crafts and myths featuring them. Careful examination of the folklore and mythos behind these crafts reveals that they are not mere past times to wittle away idle time. You will discover there is true magic hidden there.

Some of the modern folklore seems odd but unerringly true. Consider the tale of the 'Boyfriend Sweater'. A young knitter is utterly smitten with their boyfriend and decides to make them a love gift of a sweater. After many hours of tiresome and at time tedious work, the sweater is done. The knitter presents their gift to their beloved only to discover that their boyfriend's response is tepid and they never wear the sweater. Eventually, the couple parts, for our young knitter realizes that the boyfriend didn't truly appreciate them or their effort. Many knitters can tell a story like this of people disregarding their handwork in favor of mass produced goods.

There is the folk-wisdom of weaving a strand of your hair into a garment for a person will bind them to you as long as they own the garment. I've yet to hear of this little gem failing.

In ancient times, weavers were considered to have magic powers. Their ability to weave, to tangle, and untangle their work sympathetically effected their people's success on the battlefield and abroad. Spinners were also viewed in this fashion. Indeed, some cultures regarded spinners highly and with great caution because through their work they could influence one's fate.

Those who could sew (and by extension do embroidery and other forms of needlework) could bind or unbind people. They could fashion intricate sigils and spells of protection with the designs they produced. The core element in all of these crafts is not merely the fact that they are fiber arts, but they are highly effective means of casting intention into action. And such deeds could be done openly when more overt ritual practices are opposed by the overculture.

Elemental Lesson Series.

 Air Elementals

Fire Elementals

Water Elementals

Earth Elementals

Practical Witchery: Working with Earth Elementals

 Dear Reader,

Earth Elementals are surprisingly easy to work with. They are not, generally, as mercurial in temperament as Fire Elementals or Air Elementals. And they tend to be more orderly and less prone to rapid changes than Water Elementals. For many 'baby' witches, Earth Elementals are where they begin serious study of Elemental magic because of how accessible they are.

Show in the picture to the right is my big chunk of Rose Quartz. It is both a stone that I use to charge other ones for different purposes and a place where an Earth Elemental ally of mine likes to reside. In folk lore, Earth Elementals can be described variously as dwarves, gnomes, or any other spiritual entity that resides within the earth. They are associated with stability, prosperity, endurance, and wisdom. 

The cardinal direction that Earth Elementals are associated with is North in most European-centric magical traditions. Earth Elementals hold sway over the forms of magic and divination involving the use of stones and dirt. You should call on their assistance when engaging in any form of magic that uses these elements for extra emphasis upon your spell craft. Earth Elementals are associated with the magical 'weapon' of the paten (the plate upon which the ritual meal of cakes/bread and ale is served during a rite) and the symbol of the pentacle in the direct orientation (along with the High Ones, for the pentacle in this orientation is an indication of spirt/mind over matter).

To establish a good relationship with Earth Elementals, consider things like a houseplant that is dedicated to them. Earth Elementals are deeply entwined with the flora and fauna of a region. Regular care and maintenance of said plant acts as regular offerings of good will to the Earth Elementals in your region. This is even more the case if you happen to be lucky enough to have an outdoor garden where you can really get your hands into the local dirt and build that spiritual imprint with them.

You can also collect stones and ask that an Earth Elemental for an alliance and that they reside within the stone. Giving offerings then resembles giving offerings to other spiritual beings. Something that is specially set aside and placed on an altar for a time until your intuition (or common sense) tells you it is time to properly dispose of it. A unique method of giving offerings to Earth Elementals outdoors is to build a cairn in your garden area and pour the liquid offering over the stones. It is a good idea to put it in a spot where there is good drainage and it will not disturb the plants. Wine, for example, is not good for hostas and you don't want that offering to kill off the nearby plants. Cairns make a good place for Earth Elemental allies to take up residence and assist in the magical protection of property and one's home.

Recommendation: Internet edition.

Dear Reader,

If you haven't checked out the Internet Sacred Texts archive, you really should. There's tons of great information on pretty much every topic you can think of. Their digital occult library is fantastic. This is a site where you can do deep research on obscure things. Their digital reproduction of J.G. Frazer's The Golden Bough is excellent, for example. If you can't find what you're looking for elsewhere, check this site out. They've been around since the 90s and are 100% supported by donations. If you were looking for a good place to donate money to help preserve our cultural heritage, this is one of the ones I would recommend as well.

Pagan Parenting : Bedtime stories.

Image from Wikipedia

It was exciting this weekend to take the boys off to the Special Olympics. They competed and won medals. It was all in all, a very good day, even if the weather was chilly and raw.

A habit we have gotten into is on the nights when Beloved is out or not putting the kids to bed, I read them or tell the stories about the gods. Their favorite god to hear about is Thor, followed by Loki. Saturday night, my eldest son asked me to tell him a 'Thor Story' and I knew what the perfect one was.

The story about his merry jaunt off to Jotunheim and their contests. Both boys were impressed with the story. They also decided that Thor and company need to come participate in the Special Olympics so that the games are actually fair.

I thought it was pretty awesome to see that kind of compassion extended towards a deity. Most people I know don't pause to consider that sort of thing. So, these bedtime stories about the adventures of the gods can make for great lessons about the world we live in.

I'm pretty sure that this is going to become a big thing moving forward. It has that sort of feeling to it, like when the kids lit up at the sight of a lawnmower for the first time.

Herbs, Treasures, & Tools.

Initially, I started out with this wild idea that I was going to write weekly posts about herbalism. I then realized I did not know quite enough to do so and the end result was my basically sharing what I was finding via research as soon as I found it. This lead to some poor posts and I stepped back to reconsider the whole matter. After a great deal of thought, I have come to a few conclusions.

First, I am going to start posting again about herbs and plants. Those posts will talk about things ranging from the basics on how to keep your plants alive to what the folklore surrounding the plants is. I will also have stuff talking about what bit of familial knowledge that was passed down to me by my relatives. Some of it is going to sound a little odd, but it actually does seem to work. I am also going to be posting my notes as I am engaged in my attempt again to grow something of a container garden this year.

Secondly, the posts about herbs and plants are not going to be the only topic that comes up at this time of the week. I am going to begin a series of posts talking about magical tools. I sort of started with that post I did a little while back regarding sickles. The next one is going to be addressing wands. There will be a short video to accompany these posts. The video is going to be featured on the main site. The text discussion (with some pictures to illustrate my points) will be available on the main site and the mirror site.

The third new element that is going to come into play here is something that I am not entirely sure how often it will show up. I am going to start posting about items that I find truly wonderful and special. I will be posting a picture of my treasure. I will also be posting a little bit of the story about how the object came into my possession and what I love about it. Some of this is going to be jewelry that I inherited, random stuff that my kids have made, and items that if you just saw them sitting on a shelf you would have no idea why they mattered to me.

I look forward to sharing this adventure with you. I hope that you have a lovely day and that something delightful happens to find you at just the right time to make you smile when you need it.

♥

Superstition and Religion (Part 1)

Superstition and religion have a symbiotic and complementary relationship within the context of modern American Witchcraft. There are many practices that can be upheld as similar between religion and superstition. The act of lighting a candle which one has dedicated for a specific intent is a fine example. How this act is viewed within the social setting determines if it is stated to be a superstitious or a religious one. Prior to the rise of modern American Witchcraft, the only setting where it would be viewed as a religious action is within a Christian church (and this would vary according to the denomination of Christianity espoused). The lighting and blowing out of the birthday cake candle(s) would be categorically a superstitious act, perhaps some vestige of an ancient rite within the cultural memory of the people.

The birthday cake’s wishing candle, and other superstitions within the United States (primarily) were frequently decried as things that the irrational manⁱ would believe in. Following the rise of the Industrial Revolution and the development of a more urban cultural identity within the United States, many of the folk practices and beliefs began to be held in contempt. As such, they were referred to as superstitions for the sake of denigrating their prominence in the culture and to make room for a new set of beliefs. As such, things such as the belief in ghosts and the minor vulgar rituals, such as turning the statue of St. Anthony to face the wall until a lost item is found, went underground and disappeared from the surface of the cultural identity of the United States. The main reason for this happening was that people did not want to appear out dated or foolish in the eyes of their peers.

Even now, one will find that an openly professed belief in ghosts (for example) is generally scorned and mocked by the majority. Rephrase this belief into the context of the colloquialⁱⁱ version of Christianity that’s ubiquitous and you find it is a belief in angels rather then ghosts, which is now more of a religious then superstitious belief. In the early 1960s, modern Witchcraft was introduced to the United States by Raymond Buckland. Initially, he disseminated information via word of mouth. At roughly the same time, Zusanna Budapest (more commonly known as Z. Budapest) began to disseminate information via word of mouth.

In roughly ten years, both of these individuals burst onto the cultural scene. Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft quickly became the cornerstone of the voluminous body of work surrounding modern American Witchcraft. Z. Budapest and her coven rocketed to something akin to stardom with their involvement in the Feminism movement. It was within the context of Witchcraft that the folk practices that had been decried as superstition began to take on a more legitimate appearance. (Russell, p.172) As the glamour and celebrity status of these and other Witch authors grew, the concept of Witchcraft as a religion grew.

Witchcraft as a religion, rather then a set of superstitions, provided a place where one could openly express the suppressed elements of the cultural identity of the United States. For this reason, it flourished and multiple elements from various sub-cultures began to become present as well. As a result, many different Traditionsⁱⁱⁱ were established and other occult practices and belief systems began to become apparent. Public works discussing practices such as Louisiana Voodoo and folk practices began to be produced targeted for the common man rather then academia. This broad spectrum of information quickly set the stage for Witchcraft to receive a minor degree of approval in the United States as a religion. Aside from the readily available information, individuals who had been engaged in covert practice of these marginalized belief systems and practices found it a safer environment to publicly express themselves on these topics.

If one looks at the seminal works of the entire modern Witchcraft movement, one finds that these early texts were of an academic tone. Many of the early modern Witchcraft authors worked to retain the apparent authenticity that came with academia. Using Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft as a representative of these early texts, one finds the book is organized much like a work book. The chapters are organized into a combination of lessons and exercises. In Buckland’s work, it is apparent that he drew a great deal of material from folk practices that he found about him, just as Gerald Gardner and others before him in England had.

These folk practices, such as not walking under a ladder, were part of the common knowledge of earlier generations and the efforts of authors such as Buckland to place them into a religious context served to legitimize the remaining inclinations towards ‘superstition’ present for many people. Within academia, much of this work was met with great excitement. These modern Witchcraft authors were drawing from anthropological studies and similar academic endeavors to recreate ancient beliefs upon the basis of vestigial elements of practices that linger in the superstitions and folk lore of the region. When these authors presented apparent evidence supporting the theories they referenced in their works, this strengthened the legitimacy of their claims in the eye of the common man.

As legitimacy was acquired from the academic connection, the number of adherents to the modern Witchcraft movement began to rise significantly. From this rise came a development of communication between many of the different groups. As a result, the community of modern Witchcraft began to diversify. With a boost in the number of people looking at the issues and bringing their unique perspectives to the discussion, the distinguishing line between superstition and religion within modern Witchcraft began to blur to some extent.

Given the highly individualistic nature and cellular organization of modern Witchcraft, as well as the lack of any formal hierarchy structure, a great deal of the question determining the difference between superstition and religion became quite difficult to ascertain. It quickly became apparent in the period of time between the 1970s and the 1980s that the practices of a single Witch were of equal validity as those of an entire Tradition. From this point, there was found not only a great deal of diversification but also the resurgence of superstition within the context of modern Witchcraft in the United States.

Among the ways that superstition and religion can be distinguished is the way the rituals and associated behaviors are explained. Superstition often gives little, if any, explanation for why the action is carried out. Generally, a superstitious action is reactionary to a situation and has little connection to the event it is used as a reaction to or the intended result. With a religious act, the explanation may seem insubstantial but there is an explanation which can be placed into the context of the cosmology and theology of the given religion. Sometimes a superstitious act can be confused with a religious one due to ritualism. Ritualism is an over emphasis upon a series of actions and the elements that form a ritual rather then the objective of the ritual. Ritualism can be described as a subset of superstition or an intermediate point between these two concepts which are often upheld as opposites.

Ritualism and superstition within modern Witchcraft became increasingly prevalent due to a sudden influx of Seekers and Neophytes into the subculture. These individuals, eager to discuss and explore their newfound belief system reached out to each other thru the different means of communication available to them. Volumes of information were made available during the publishing boom that occurred at the same time the Internet started to become a cultural force. The sudden proliferation of information about Witchcraft resulted in an increased awareness of this movement by the culture at large, as seen by the rise of more mainstream references to Witchcraft, generally in a negative sense as proscribed by the old cultural stereotypes which continued to echo in the more urbane modern society that Witchcraft was reemerging into.

This created a degree of tension between the established practitioners and individuals who were seeking to learn about modern Witchcraft. As a result, many of the Witches who had sufficient information to adequately teach others in the more ‘traditional’ method of taking a Seeker into the coven and educating them personally refused to do so. Fears of legal reprisal and persecution forced these Witches to become extremely selective of whom they taught. Unfortunately, the volume of people seeking information greatly outstripped the number of teachers who were made available.

As a direct result of this, the Seekers were looking at the various published and publicly shared information available and attempting to educate themselves. At this point in time, ritualism became increasingly apparent. Ritualism was an influence upon the introductory phase of the development of modern Witchcraft in America but it was largely confined to the Neophyte Witches of the covens. With the population boom of Seekers and Neophytes, many failed to understand the language of modern Witchcraft and how elements of Witchcraft such as magic worked in the worldview of the belief system.

With the increased ability for Witches to network and communicate with each other, there came a rapid dissemination of poorly understood ideas and poorly communicated concepts. This ushered in a new development within the relationship between the religion of modern Witchcraft and the superstitions surrounding it. Superstition had additionally come to incorporate the flawed understandings of the basic concepts of modern Witchcraft. A fine example of this is the supposed animated aspects of a Tarot deck. A Tarot deck is a pack of 72 illustrated cards used for the card game Triumphs and also as a divination tool. Within the community of modern Witches and occultists, Tarot decks are primarily used as divination tools. Many of the second generation Witches explain the Tarot deck’s effectiveness as a divination tool in terms of the deck’s personality and moods, ascribing to the cards a semi-sentient quality. In concurrence with this have arisen many minor rituals to appease the semi-sentient pack of cards and assure a favorable result in working with them. Unfavorable or confusing readings are ascribed to a displeased Tarot deck rather then potential difficulties upon the part of the diviner.

The idea that inanimate objects can have human personality qualities is one that perpetuates fairly widely across the pagan community online. It is the conflating of animism with superstition that results in the premise that a pack of cards is angry with a person for not using them more frequently and this is why they are giving an unfavorable result. Animism, the premise that all things that exist are endowed with a spirit of some sort, is an ancient belief system that has seen some resurgence in the West. It is confused with superstition that says that the Tarot deck that is stored on a low shelf is acquiring unfavorable aspects versus the one stored on a higher shelf. As a result, the person with the Tarot deck will say that the deck's spirit is angered with them for its placement on the shelf when in actuality the reader is coming to the session with their internal compass for reading set to anticipate unfavorable results due to where it is sitting when they come to collect it for use.

Disentangling superstition and animism is part of the process of freeing modern pagan practitioners from the paradigm of fear that tends to plague them. While many religions are build upon a basis of fear, which feeds into superstition, growth within faith comes from resolving the fears and acquiring knowledge of the deeper truths of the religion in question. An enormous mystic tradition can be found in faiths  all around the world that seeks to divorce superstition from belief. When superstition is carefully excised from faith practices and the associated thought forms of a given religion, the practitioner moves into a deeper, more intimate and more deliberate relationship with their faith.

In part two, I will cover additional material regarding the interplay between superstition and modern pagan belief systems.

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i I am using the term ‘man’ in the sense of referring to all of humanity in this sentence. I will be using this convention for the sake of clarity and convenience.

ii‘Colloquial Christianity’ is the vulgar form of Christianity as found in the mainstream culture of the United States. This secular form of Christianity is divorced of any theological teachings and holds only a few rudimentary vestiges of the religion it has bastardized. Among them being the celebration of the nativity of Jesus, the inclination against working on Sunday, and the pink and plastic amalgamation of the solemnity and celebratory aspects of Easter. Colloquial Christianity lacks any but the barest remote resemblance to the faith system it has grievously abused and repackaged into a commercial product. In light of this, however, one must recognize that colloquial Christianity is pervasive and often argued by many to be the state religion of the United States. It does have a dramatic impact upon the culture and deserves to be recognized as the culture shaping force it is.

iii The term ‘Tradition’ is used within the Witchcraft community and the Neo-pagan community as an alternative for the word ‘sect.’

Originally Published 2012 on Helium under the pen name Deb M.

Witchcraft Basics - Wiccan history.

Ancient Myths & Modern Man

Unlike other religions around the world, Wicca* has a very 'open source' relationship with mythology and ancient wisdom. As a result, different Traditions** have developed relying upon various aspects of our collective cultural heritage. While the various Traditions based in familial practices do exist, it is the ones that draw upon ancient cultures that we are addressing today. Among the most common Traditions available for one to follow, Celtic Wicca is among the most popular.

We are going to examine the process of interpreting and applying ancient mythology to modern life within the context of this Tradition. The process that we use will be applicable for other Traditions based in different mythologies. It is vital to remember that the differences between modern and ancient man are quite large. Illness, for example, was often interpreted as the anger of the Gods or a supernatural attack of some sort. This does not indicate that ancient man's wisdom is no longer useful for modern man, only that it must first be considered in context. It is contextual analysis that takes a myth from a place of mere curiosity to its true role as an educational tool.

The value of myth to ancient man is equivalent to the value of education to modern man because myth was part of the method by which ancient man passed down knowledge. Carefully couched within language specific to the society that birthed the mythology that is to be examined, one can find deep theological wisdom and valuable insight into the human condition regardless of time or socio-economic status. It is unfortunate that the word myth has become synonymous with falsehood. Wicca, in many ways, seeks to rectify this within its various Traditions by attempting to decode the wisdom hidden within the myths referenced.

To understand Celtic mythology, one must first have a working understanding of ancient Celtic society. The ancient Celts were initially a nomadic people that came across the Russian Steppes prior to the advancement of the Huns. Some archaeologists and anthropologists theorize that the pressure of the Huns was what spurred the migration of the Celts into Europe. Given what can be determined of the economic pressures and the challenges of scarce resources within that region, it is a logical theory. When the Celts entered into the fertile regions of Europe, they intermarried with the native peoples and the previous wave of invaders, the Aryans.

The society of the ancient Celts was very different from the more familiar ancient Greeks or Romans. Women had greater freedoms compared to their contemporaries, frequently being found to hold their own property and voice in affairs of state. While their apparent equality was greater then that of the Greek or Roman women, they still were found to have curtailed freedoms compared to men. Ancient Celtic women, like the ancient Germanic women, did upon occasion ride into battle or on the hunt. It is believed that these women were the origins of the Greek myth of the Amazons.

Like their contemporaries, the ancient Celts did practice slavery. It is inconclusive if this was strictly upon the basis of spoils of war or if there was an active slave trade element to their society. It is presumed that then ancient Celts, like the ancient Germanic tribes, had four social classes, not including slaves. These social classes were priestly, royal, warrior, and serf. The Druids of the ancient Celts are something a mystery. Much of the knowledge we have of them comes from the biased perspectives of the Romans and the later Christian clergy. The little that we do know is that they had a special status that in many ways put them apart from society much like the priestly caste of early Hinduism. It is unclear if the division between the four classes were as 'hard' as the divisions of early Hinduism or not.

Among the ancient Celts, it is difficult to determine what were the chief deities followed. It is apparent, however, that the God of the Animals (known variously as Herne, Cerrunnos, or Kernunno) was a figure of prominent worship. Also, the Goddess of the Horse (most famously known as Epona) was a popular figure of worship. It stands to reason that these two gods are among the oldest of the Celtic pantheon. They are found in various guises among the ancient regions inhabited by the Celts and mentioned by several of their contemporaries (the Greeks and Romans). Various local deities, which are most likely remnants of earlier faith practices of the conquered peoples, pepper the Celtic pantheon, making it difficult to assemble a definitive picture of what the whole of ancient Celtic worship was like.

Equally challenging is the recreation of the various ritual practices of the ancient Celts. It is with some difficulty that the written language of Ogham is translated from the various stelae and other carved objects found within Celtic archaeological sites. The lack of something akin to the Rosetta Stone serves to hinder much of the efforts to translate this ancient language. What can be established is that the Celts, like their Germanic contemporaries, buried their dead with grave goods. Individuals who were of the higher social strata were often buried with cherished possessions, slain horses, and, at times, slain slaves. It is purpose, presumably, for these grave goods to serve the dead in some afterlife. There also appears to have been some evidence of ancestor/hero worship, much like the ancient Greeks and Etruscians.

A practice that has echoes in today's folk practices in places like Ireland is the veneration of holy wells and similar sites. The survival of practices like the veneration of holy wells suggests that these rituals were deeply entrenched in the cultural consciousness prior to the arrival of Christianity. It is unclear if these are practices that the Celts acquired when they intermarried with the native people of the regions or if they are practices that they brought with them. In equal obscurity is the origins of the now famous fire festivals of Imboleg, Beltaine, Lughnassad, and Samhain. There are practices, however, that are described by the contemporaries of the ancient Celts that serve to illuminate at least a portion of their practices. The practice of divination, ritual taboos, and the importance of oaths are described in some detail by both Roman and ancient Greek sources.

In the light of all these things, it becomes difficult to see how the myths of this mysterious people can be applied to the life of a person living over two thousand years later. This is where we look at the major details that we do know about ancient Celtic society.

• Oaths are taken seriously and were upheld as a matter of honor.
• Nature is venerated and rituals to invoke the blessing of natural spirits/local Gods were common.
• Equality between the genders.
• Courage in the face of battle or conflict is praised.
• Ritual taboos were observed.
• Curses and 'black' magic were potent weapons within a magically skilled Celt's hands (most frequently women or Druids).
  

It is this information that provides the basis from which we examine the mythology of the ancient Celts. If we were to be examining the ancient Greeks, we would need to establish the same essential facts to sketch a rough image of their cultural values. It is from these cultural values that the values reflected in the myths are established.
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* Wicca is being used as a general term and is being considered interchangeable with witchcraft.

** Tradition is used to describe a sect of Wicca.

Originally Published via Helium in 2010 (approx.) This is part one of a small series of posts.

The Role of Myth and What It Does for Us.

Myth is a commonly misunderstood term. Just like the term 'fable,' the term myth has become associated with the concept of untruth and lies. This colloquial understanding fails to consider the role that myths serve in the continuation of cultural context elements, the instruction in social roles, and developing the personal concept of how one's life is supposed to unfurl. Just as culture is fluid and will change as time progresses, so too have myths. Their method of transmission has altered considerably. Also, the context where these stories are drawn from have shifted with the way the culture of the United States has developed over time.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines myth as a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. Renowned mythologist, Joseph Campbell, explained that myths served to help people in the past to understand the major questions about life and existence. Many people who study myths consider them to serve, in some part, as a route by which the recipient can build their comprehension of how the fundamentals of life unfolds. Campbell referred to this as the Hero's Journey.

This journey has many different manifestations depending upon the cultural context the myth is from. Within the American context, the hero's journey consists of a disturbance of the known and familiar environs, movement into unknown territory, confrontation with oppositional forces, triumph over the opposition, return to the place of origin and celebration of victory. This mythic architecture is difficult to identify in things such as the folktales that are found in the different regions of the United States due to the very diverse subcultures within the country. However, when you consider the larger, national scope body of myths, we find this pattern emerges.

Consider for a moment the mythos surrounding World War II. The commonly assumed mythic elements about this most egregious period of world history is that the United States was most undoubtedly all 'good' in their conduct. The movies and propaganda from the era perpetuate the image that the hero of this period was a white male between the ages of 20 and 25 in excellent physical health of a heterosexual orientation. Additionally, the hero is understood to have come from a close knit community, where he is of a protestant Christian background and possessed of a middle class upbringing.

The initiation of the war serves as the event that disturbs the hero and prompts him to action. The hero then moves into the theater of war. There he engages in dramatic combat with the enemy. The hero then defeats the enemy and both enacts vengeance for the event that sparked the war (the Pearl Harbor bombing) and rescues the oppressed. The hero then returns home to life a life of domestic bliss as defined as the American dream. Part of the success of this myth is that a significant amount of the myth's materials are drawn from actual events. Another part of the success of this myth is the way that it encourages the American listener to think positively about themselves, easily envisioning themselves as the hero of the myth.

When compared to the grisly and complicated facts of the war and life after World War II, the myth is clearly found to be overly simplistic. This myth, however, serves several very important functions. The myth arose during a time of crisis and there was a necessity for unity within the culture. Myths act to transmit important information about cultural identity and taboos through a society. The myth in this example, tells the listener that Americans are 'good' people who take up arms in defense of themselves and to right the wrongs of the world. It also tells them that people who engage in such action will be rewarded for it. Thirdly, the myth reinforces that the cultural norms of the era are upheld, including the biases against people of non-Caucasian descent.

Historical myths served a similar function. When considering the myth of Odysseus, we find that similar information can be conveyed with respect to what ancient Grecian heros (and thereby men) were expected to be like. The first thing apparent is that the hero of this myth is of an upper class background. This tells the listener that Greek men of importance must be born into the high social strata. It leads one to think that the higher their social standing, the greater their importance.  Odysseus is clever and clearly educated, which transmits that high status is placed on intelligence. His continual effort to return to his wife and son tells the listener that a Greek man is expected to honor their familial and social obligations. Many other messages, some far more subtle like the abuse of Odysseus when he is disguised as a beggar, come together to present a complex picture of what the social landscape of ancient Greece was at the time that this myth was produced.

With the advent of more complex communication methods, the adaptation of myths is much faster. Traditionally, a myth would develop different nuances over the course of generations as it was passed down orally. With the development of writing, myth became less fluid and themes persisted longer. It is from this that many elements such as religious dogma developed. At the beginning of the 21st century, we see a return of the more fluid mythic structures. Memes are transmitted faster and myth cycles move through more rapid fluctuations because of this.

Unique to modern mythology is the 'urban legend.' Urban legends are the immediate forerunner of internet memes. With the rise of the internet, urban legends propagate faster then ever. They serve both the role of a fable and a myth. Like fables, most urban legends serve as cautionary tales. Some of the most virulent urban legends and the most persistent urban legends share a common theme with the larger body of mythos that they exist in.  The popular anti-vaccination urban legend takes the cautionary warning that one should not vaccinate their children because it is comprised of dangerous components.

When we consider this 'mini-myth', we find that several things are being transmitted to the recipient. First, the listener is told that vaccination is dangerous. This is then followed by the message that past knowledge is insufficient. Additionally, the subtle message is given that the government, in most manifestations of this urban legend, is seeking to harm the populace. This urban legend fits into a larger mythic scheme that exists within the United States at the moment. The larger mythic scheme tells the audience that the government exists to oppress the citizenry. It exhorts the listeners to rely on smaller social entities and take a more isolationist, independent world view.

Urban legends, when considered within the mythic structure they contribute to, suddenly become parts of a more complex picture. They are no longer laughable random nonsense that are to be mocked as the words of the ignorant (which is another mythic structure that subtly influences social interactions). Instead, urban legends are revealed to be the working components of the linguistic machinery that shapes how culture develops. Through careful study of the prevalent urban legends and mythic structures in play, one can build an accurate anthropological portrait of the era that is being examined and project how the next era will unfold.

This is where the real value of myth shines through. Myth is more then the lens by which one might examine a culture. Studying myth and the ways that it unfolds allows for one to develop a predictive model for future social developments. Myth tells the people of a given culture what social norms they are expected to conform to. It also reinforces existing cultural structures by providing an ideological basis that is connected to past events.  

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This was originally published 2007 on Helium, under the pen name Deb M.

Law of Attraction: A Rant

The above image is just another iteration of things of similar expression that I keep seeing on Facebook and in other social media. At first blush, it looks like a very 'spiritual' sentiment and sounds like it could be valid when taken from the pseudo-hermetic perspective that is predominant in the pop-culture occultism. (Yeah, that last pairing of terms felt like an oxymoron to me, as well. Consider it something like a two word Zen koan.) It is a statement that I see a lot of people sharing and praising as wisdom.

I have a huge problem with this 'wisdom.' The first statements here I am inclined to agree with and would hold them as correct. The Universe is not punishing, blessing, or controlling us. It simply exists. We are part of it and it functions in ways we honestly have no way of fully comprehending. The questions of our relationship to the Universe¹ and our role within it are the reason why we have the sciences and philosophy. They're enormous questions that we have been trying to hammer answers out to for over five millennia and I don't think we're going to figure out any hard and fast answers at any point in the next five millennia. 

It is the following statements that I take issue with. The premise that our positive and negative experiences within the world are the result of our personal mental/emotional/physical state is one that I reject. This places the onus of one's experiences upon their own shoulders. It tells the listener that they are morally culpable for all that they have experienced, regardless of the actions of those around them. I'm sorry, but I cannot accept that argument. The wealthy man who lives in luxury did not summon his wealth to him by being of a positive mindset. The poor man who lives in utter squallor did not cause his poverty by being in a poor mindset. 

Good and ill happens to humanity in a manner that often seems capricious and uncaring. As much as we want to use trite expression like those in this meme to tell ourselves that we summon our good fortune to us with 'positive' thinking, that's just now how it works. Our positive thinking may encourage us to subconsciously seek out favorable conditions and it may create a small magical ripple in the fabric of reality that encourages those conditions to arise. This, however, is a small thing compared to the prevailing circumstances that we exist in. A person dying of an incurable disease is not killing themselves with 'negative' thoughts and they are not going to cure themselves with 'positive' thoughts. Those positive thoughts may help them endure their disease and assist them in creating conditions that are conducive for them to live longer with their disease, but they will not make the disease go away.

That negative thinking business, it doesn't cause our suffering. It may add to it, but it is not the source of it except in specific cases. And in those cases where our negative thought patterns have caused our suffering, it is not because we've summoned it out of the Universe. A person who has been the victim of assault did not summon, consent, or encourage their assault to happen just because they happened to be depressed at the time. A person who has suffered tragedy after tragedy did not cause these things to happen to them on the basis of their 'negative' thinking. Suffering is an inherent part of existence. We can't think our way out of it and we sure as hell don't cause it to happen to us on the basis of the fact that we're not having the magically correct thoughts.

This pseudo-spiritual garbage is hubris and victim blaming. Each time I see it posted, I see someone who has it good thumping themselves on the chest saying 'I created my prosperity with out anyone's help.' and conveniently failing to acknowledge how many people assist them in reaching that position of accomplishment. Each time I see it posted, I see someone pointing at the person who has been victimized and telling them "You caused your suffering. It is YOUR fault this happened. Suck it up and fix it." Callous is too kind of a word to describe the person who takes the latter position.

I believe in magic. I practice magic. I am involved in the occult community and I do think that our thoughts have the capacity to shape reality to some extent. This does not mean that I support this nonsense. I recognize there are limits to what we can do via the occult arts. I also recognize that the causality chain that leads to our present situation has far more links in it than our feelings and thoughts, most of them completely unrelated to our present mental state and forged in the past in ways that we are not going to be fully aware of despite all our efforts to consider all the factors.

If you want to say that these sorts of memes are accurate and correct, I highly suggest you stop following this blog. I am going to continue to declaim them as harmful to the mental health of all people and detrimental to actual occult practice. I may become even more sharp in my expression of this sentiment as time goes on. I find that my tolerance for such nonsense grows smaller as time passes. I deal with real magic and real spirituality. This nonsense is neither and should be rejected.

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1. I am not 100% sure if they're including Deity in the term Universe. Some people do. I am using the term in the sense of the whole of reality that we experience and can observe. It is my understanding that Deity is both immanent and immersed in reality. That said, I believe that the whole of reality functions differently than at the will of Deity because there is a plurality of deities and no one deity controls everything. The will of the plurality of deities is going to be complex and contraindicate each other. From this dynamic tension, there are going to arise things in the Universe that make no sense. I'll detail more about my thoughts on this matter in another post.

Weather Magic (Part III): Dispelling Precipitation

In my previous post, I talked about how one could call rain (sleet, snow, whatever precipitation you desire) through simple magic. Sometimes, however, rain is not desired, needed, or even harmful to the situation. The folk practices that I had seen to summon rain had only a few correlating practices for dispersing it. I think this is because the place I grew up in had relatively few problems with flooding. And those problems were generally due to excess snow melt in the early spring. I can remember only a few years where rain was a problem because there was too much of it. Usually, it was a problem because it came too early in the season and the latter portion of the growing season was too dry.

Still, when I look at the news and I see a big snowstorm coming, I usually want to try to encourage the worst of it to go past us. Partly because I hate driving in snow, partly because I dislike shoveling snow, and partly because I want the kids to get the most out of every school day possible. (Education is very important in my family. We're working to instill such an attitude in the kids. It is not going quite as well as we'd like. Any suggestions for how to get kids to enjoy school a bit more would be appreciated! I have a few different spells that I use to move the worst weather around us.

The closest I have to a folk practice to move a storm away is prayer that is focused on seeing the worst of the storm pass us by. This generally works fairly well, to be honest. My spell craft functions upon sympathetic magical principles. When I am attempting to dry out sodden soil, I will take a small fireproof bowl and fill it with a bit of soil and some water, making sure that it matches the consistency of the soil's saturation. I then place my fireproof bowl on my tea light wax warmer (I have one that is ceramic and has the bowl removable.) and proceed to heat the soil and water mixture from below with a tea light. As this is occurring, I make a pronouncement that as the soil in the bowl dries, so shall the soil in the ground. This takes a little while to take full effect. The shortest time frame that I have seen where this one works is a week.

For a more immediate concern, I will take a twig and wave it in the air in the direction the prevailing wind is blowing. As I do so, I will command the storm to follow the wind. I then throw the twig in the direction that I would see the storm go, for a bit of extra emphasis. The larger the twig, the more wind will blow the storm along. Take care, however, in using this spell because it can potentially invoke a windstorm.

I also have a spell where I light a bit of incense and then extinguish it. In this manner, I am connecting with the clouds of the storm through the incense smoke. When I extinguish the incense, I disperse the clouds and their attendant precipitation. I usually say something along the lines of "Storm begone, I scatter you to the four winds."

Weather Magic (Part II) : Invoking precipitation

Much of weather magic can be divided into two major parts. One part is invoking precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, etc.) and one part is driving precipitation away. Growing up on a farm, I have an intimate knowledge just how important precipitation is for the growth cycle of plants and the water cycle. I remember when there was a drought of some significance in my area when I was small. Tensions ran high among the farmers because everyone's crops were at risk the longer the drought continued. Even the farmers with livestock had concerns because the pasturage they were using to feed their animals was suffering from the drought and producing less feed for their cattle, horses, and pigs.

One of my clearest memories of this time was of my grandmother shaking out the dust from her broom in the backyard. It was something that struck me as odd. I asked her why she was doing it and she just smiled. I also remember my aunt storing her broom upside down, with the bristles pointed towards the ceiling (a thing that just wasn't done most of the time). Not long after this business with the brooms happened, we had drought breaking rain. A storm system popped up over the Great Lakes and blew in with soaking rain for the whole region. It was years later, when I was reading about weather magic in my research of folk magic, that I stumbled upon a description of housewives shaking their brooms in the air and storing them upside down to invoke rain during the pre-Industrial era out in the rural places where folk magic was still fairly widely practiced.

There is the practice of hanging out washing that was wrung to nearly dry to invoke rain as well. It is like the comparatively modern one of washing your car on a dry day. Hanging out things to dry or washing your car to summon rain is not as effective as the broom method, from what I have seen. They are, however, less conspicuous than someone waving a broom around in the air. Another practice is reciting a prayer for rain (to the deity of your choice) while shaking a rain stick. This was one that my mother used on a regular basis.

In many ways, the same practices work for summoning snow. I have also found success in tossing a small handful of white ashes up into the air while praying to the gods for snow. Invoking snow is also possible through tossing finely cut pieces of paper in the air while saying a similar prayer. The falling ashes and paper resemble the snowflakes and act to draw the snow to you.

Timing magic to draw precipitation can be tricky. Greater success comes on humid days than dry ones. It is also easier to draw precipitation when the moon is waxing or full.

Divination: Pendulums

A pendulum is one of the simplest divination tools. With nothing more than a weight on a string, it is possible to answer most any questions with some patience. Pendulums have been in use since antiquity. There has been a range of explanations given for their movement. Ninety percent of those explanations involve some form of magical action. The scientific explanation is that our hands make tiny movements, even when we think we are holding them still. These movements are magnified by the pendulum, which then swings according to the movements of our hands.

Some would say that this means that all of the answers from the pendulum come from ourselves, be it from our unconscious mind or some form of wish fulfillment. I would contend that it is the smallest and least invasive from of mediumship. The deity or entity you wish to contact influences the motions of your hand which, in turn, influences the motion of the pendulum. I also believe that there are instances where they will move the pendulum directly. The frequency of those instances, honestly, are pretty much impossible to determine. Given the near infinite possibilities for how things in the universe work, we must, however, keep this potential in mind when we approach any form of divination with even a modicum of scientific thought behind our work.

There are a few different ways to use a pendulum. One is to hold it and begin asking questions. As you do so, observe how the pendulum swings. Starting with an obvious yes-no question that has a decisive answer is a good beginning. The pattern that I use to establish the results the pendulum presents for answers to my questions is the following:

• Yes-no question with an obvious 'yes' result
• Yes-no question with an obvious 'no' result
• Yes-no question with a 'maybe' result
• Yes-no question with an uncertain answer (I like to use a variant of Schrodinger's paradox.)
• Yes-no question that can not be answered

Another option is to use a map similar to the one printed below. The box in the diagram is supposed to represent circular motion of the pendulum. It is possible, however, for the pendulum to go stationary after a question is asked, so that can be another manifestation of that result. The use of a charted diagram for answers allows you to get to the business of answering questions faster, sometimes. There are times, however, where the pendulum doesn't swing according to what the map presented projects. Then you have to go through the process of establishing how it swings to answer questions.

The type of questions best suited to use with a pendulum tend to have binary answers. This is because the pendulum is a more limited tool in how it can present information. As such, unpacking the result of a question that has multiple elements to the answer gets very difficult and you wind up asking that series of yes-no questions in the end anyways. Reducing your query to a series of yes-no questions can result in some creative phrasing of questions. It can also make the divination session take much longer than it would with other tools. For example, learning a name of a person involved in a situation would need to be spelled out by repeating the alphabet multiple times for each letter in a position after inquiring how many letters in the name.

I find the pendulum is best suited to answering simple questions quickly. When you just need a direct yes or no, pulling out the tarot deck may not be the best technique to use. It takes more effort and the answer can become unnecessarily complicated. (There is a trick to answering yes-no questions with a tarot deck, I'll share it as a footnote below.[1]) They are, however, an extremely portable tool. It is also a technique that can be used in public as a 'stealth' divination practice. The questions asked need not be externally verbalized.

Purchasing a pendulum versus making your own truly is a matter of preference. In the years that I have used pendulums, I have had equal success rates with pendulums that have been purchased, given to me as gifts, and I have fashioned on my own. The use of special stones or items as the weight for the pendulum is limited only by your desire. If you are one to practice magic involving stones, you may find that something using rose quartz is best suited for answering questions surrounding a love interest and one using clear quartz is good for general purpose questions. Making you own pendulum is incredibly easy. A traditional method that has been used in the United States since at least the 19th century is to suspend a wedding ring on a hair. This is used, according to the folklore, to determine the sex of a baby while it is in utero.[2]

Regardless of the style of pendulum used or how you derive your answer set, the pendulum use is essentially the same for all questions. Thus, it is possible to use different pendulums for your questioning, for the same questions even, and still get the same results. It is equally possible to get different results because the pendulums are weighted differently and will swing in a slightly different fashion. And with a pendulum, a small difference in how they swing manifests with larger implications because, as with the pendulum's motion magnifying small movements of the hand, it will magnify the difference in movements. They are, however, exceptionally simple tools that are well suited to the beginner or the experienced diviner.
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1. To get a yes-no answer from a tarot deck, shuffle the cards. Ask your question. If the card is direct, the answer is yes. If the card is reversed, the answer is no. An uncertain result, however, will not be presented so the possibility of false yes or no answers comes up with this method.

2. Folklore states that if the ring swings in a linear fashion the child born will be a boy. If the ring swings in a circular fashion, the child born will be a girl. There are some regions of the United States where the results are switched. I honestly have found that if you set one motion to correlate with a given answer and another to correlate with the second answer, it is effective regardless of which motion is defined as which answer.