I am at a loss because of this post migraine nonsense.

Dear Reader,

I was going to come up with a divination related blog post for you today. The problem is I had a migraine last night as a front moved through and being post-migraine makes it hard for me to put together words in a way that actually conveys what I want to express. It is highly frustrating, as well as the lingering mild headache that makes my ears ring.

To my friends in the Filianic community what special plans do you have for Advent and the holy days of the month of Astrea. (Forgive any misspellings, I can't quite see right.) One of my big plans is cleaning as much of this apartment as I possibly can. This way we just might find room for a real Nativity tree.  We have a 1 ft. fake tree that we've been using for years and it is beginning to show it's age. If I have to find a tiny wee beastie of a treelike plant, I'm going to hunt down a rosemary bush. Or, maybe I will be lucky and find a sapling of a conifer species.

Today is the Full Moon (my family call it the Hunter's Moon because hunting season for big game happens this month). I hope that Déa will forgive my lack of bread and wine to offer. I do, however, have coffee and a delicious cookie. It a very lax version of the Rite of Sacrifice, but I am not feeling well. I am sure that Mother forgives all faults and understands my struggle.

May all of you be blessed.

Practical Witchcraft: Dirt Poor Witchcraft pt. 2 - Candles.

 Dear Reader,

An altar lit by wax candles is a romantic image. Some people have the space to make a grandiose job of it. It can be really impressive. And then there's what they show in the movies where the back room of the spooky spell shop turns out to be a cathedral of sorts with hundreds of candles and elegant icons. (That movie back room has to be a TARDIS because every spell shop I've been in has a back room that's barely big enough to turn around and spit in.)

If you're in the position that I'm now in (the landlord renewed the lease and said no candles or incense) or you simply can not afford actual candles even from the discount store, this post will give you some ideas on how to work around this.

The first suggestion I have is a little on the pricey side for initial payment but as a long term budget expense, it actually turns out to be less expensive than buying candles in bulk every few months. Get a package of electric tea lights. "Burn" them only for the duration of your work. As soon as you finish your spell or prayer session, turn it off to conserve the battery for the next use. And screw anybody who says you can't use a candle over again or that electric candles will screw up the magical energy of anything.

Experience has shown me that electricity in the vicinity of any magical item serves to increase it's capacity for use. They act like spiritual batteries/capacitors that release the energy when you put them to use. And unlike a battery or a capacitor, they won't explode if you try to push too much energy through them, they'll simply ground the excess. But I digress.

My second suggestion is a bit cheezy but it works. Take some colored paper, make a tube of a suitable length. Glue together. Add a flame shaped bit at the end that you've determined is your top. With this version of a 'candle' you are going to focus elemental fire energy into the candle until it feels 'full'. Remaining on the altar, this paper candle will be continually replenished by the high magical energy quotient naturally present in the altar space. Shrines are also places of high magical energy that can recharge these.

My third suggestion is take an item associated with elemental fire energy and place it on the altar. Citrine is a good stone to use for this because of its association with the Sun. Equally good to place on the altar is lava rock. This includes: obsidion of all varieties, lava stones, and pumice. Any igneous stone is a good choice as well because they are formed in the Earth under high heat and pressure, and they will carry traces of that heat in their matrix.

(Posted late because of my kitchen disaster) Divination: Rune Study - Gebo

 Dear Friends,

The rune Gebo (also known in some parts as Gifu) is a very important concept in ancient Northern Germanic cultures. It was, you could say, the backbone that served to help hold the culture together. Gifts were given often and served to cement social bonds. It is claimed that the All-Father advised "It is better to give too little than too much." Sounds like odd advice.

When living in a culture where gifts are given and debts can be incurred on the basis of what kind of gift is given, this is where the advice of the All-Father is actually really smart. In the ancient lands of old, visitors were given gifts of new clothes (and towels if they were wet from the weather). This was not because of the fact that the host was so delighted to see them but because it was a big part of basic hospitality. At the minimum, a poor host would give their guests food and drink.

These gifts put the guests into debt to their hosts, ensuring that they would behave properly while during their stay. A similar weight was on gifts given as part of marriage contracts between two families. (Mind you, during this era if a man assaulted a woman, she was free to cut off the offending part and nail it to the wall as a warning to others. Divorce was also a thing.)

Peace gifts were also a thing to in this era. They were given to cement the bonds between rulers. To refuse a peace gift was almost tantamount to declaring war.

When interpreting this rune, there are two things I keep in mind. This is one of the irreversible runes. That which is a blessing to one person may be a bane to another. (Think of the infamous white elephant story.) The most important thing for interpreting this rune is context. If it is in near proximity to runes known for benevolent influence, it is safe to assure that the gift coming is a good one. If it is in near proximity to runes known for malevolent influence, the gift coming should be handled with great caution and awareness that it might be a poison pill in disguise.

Practical Witchery: Air Elementals

 Dear Reader,

This is by no means a comprehensive guide to the Air Elementals. Each tradition has their own associated directions and attributes for each Element. I aim to provide a gentle introduction to working with Air Elementals and an overview of what manner of things fall under their purview. This is a Wicca focused post because in my work with the Elementals, it is based in my training as a Wiccan priestess. Different faiths and traditions of magical practice have different modes of interaction with these spiritual beings.

Air Elementals have been known by many names. They have been associated with many different spiritual beings. Within the tradition that I was trained, the Air Elementals are slyphs. (The Wikipedia article that I have linked actually has a pretty good set of sources for this entry.) Slyphs look like the diminutive fairies of Victoriana artwork. They are winged and dressed in fanciful things such as cobweb gowns and dew drop jewelry. Slyphs hold reign over the action of Air. 

They are typically benevolently inclined towards humanity, though their mischievous streak is legendary. The slyphs are a class of faery that is considered to be less powerful than other faeries¹.  This argument, however, fails to consider the fact that they are the Guardians of the Elemental Force of Air. They have the ability to influence weather and to influence intellect and communication (which are both considered in the Wiccan tradition I was trained in to be under the influence of Air). Most of the time. slyphs are insubstantial like the wind and their presence can only be felt by those who are psychically sensitive. 

In the case of a ritual where one invokes the power of Air, slyphs will come to the circle and give counsel and advice. They will also act as guardians of holy spaces from spiritual beings that attempt to assail the person who is engaged in magical work. It is not entirely effective against physical beings. (Alexander Pope's famous poem The Rape of the Lock demonstrates this.) Though slyphs seem to be less than impressive, they have the capacity to wreck havoc when angered. Some of the activity attributed to poltergeists is actually the action of slyphs against people who have offended them (i.e. random items going missing and then reappearing in strange places, unexpected gusts of wind that cause mild chaos with one's plans, etc.).

To appease angered slyphs, the old practice of putting out milk, bread, and honey as an offering is highly effective. The use of this sort of offering to gain the good will of slyphs has a long standing history of success. Home made bread is a favorite but store bought works just as well. It is the intention that is important. The offering should be placed outdoors at a secluded spot where it can be consumed by nature. If it is not possible to place the offering outdoors in such a location, it should be left upon the altar for a period of 24 hours to allow the Elementals time to enjoy it and then disposed of in a ritual fashion. (I have a compost bin that I put such offerings into and then return them to the earth once they have broken down.)

Building alliances with slyphs is a good idea for someone who is working with academics or subject matter that requires a good deal of hard thought. It is also helpful for someone who is seeking to get good with weather magic. Through regular offerings and time spent communing with them via meditation and divination, one can build a strong relationship with the Air Elementals and be able to call upon them at any time for assistance, not just when in the ritual circle.

Filianism and Magic.

Dear Reader,

Some may wonder if Filianism or Déanism have a prohibition against the practice of magic. In my research, I have yet to find conclusive statements for or against the practice of magic. I would argue that the practice of magic is a non-issue here. As long as one refrains from demonic invocations and theurgy calling upon demonic beings, I think that one can practice magic within this belief system with out much difficulty.

It is my understanding that theurgy that calls upon the Janyati and Dea herself would be highly effective. This would differ from the theurgy of other faiths to some extent because the ritualistic elements are still being developed. Some established worship practices, such as praying the rosary, can be adapted to theurgy. The act of praying the rosary while meditating upon a goal is a form of theurgy. For example, I pray the rosary every Monday. Since learning of the existence of concentration camps within my country, I have been praying for the liberation of the people held within them and their reunion with their families. Instead of meditating upon the holy mysteries of the life of Our Lady, I meditate on this desired outcome and pray for it through the rosary prayers. This is a simple form of theurgy that is accessible to most anyone who knows the rosary.

Novenas and septenas are theurgy. They can be highly effective forms of theurgy. The trick to successful theurgy is the same as the trick to successful magical work of any school, focused intention and aligning your will with it. Once will and intention are focused and aligned, releasing the magical energy to do the work is all that is necessary. Repetitive prayers are just like chanting a spell. It builds magical energy with each repetition and when the chant is complete, that energy is released. Unlike other schools of magic, one leaves the direction of the magic for manifestation in the hands of Dea and the Janyati. Thus, once the prayer/spell session is complete, one need not do any additional work to focus the spell craft.

Full Moon Rite: Full Corn Moon/Full Barley Moon

First, I must apologize for this post being a week late. Things have been quite busy with the start of school and I simply have not had the time to get this finished by the last full moon (Sept. 6, 2017). This rite is one that could be used for pretty much any full moon during the harvest season. What I am presenting here is a fairly generic ritual that can be applied with minimal modification for other deities and faith practices that fall outside of the cultural norm of the USA (mostly Christian).

Like most of the other rituals and spells I present, I use a lay out that is similar to a recipe. Spells have a more focused 'ingredient' list and the steps taken are going to be different but the methodology is actually pretty close to the same for these. It is because I believe the more consistency we have in our magical and spiritual lives, the much easier it becomes to access this part of our lives at any given point in time.

For this ritual, it is best if it can be performed outdoors to take advantage of the last of the warm season's weather. Inclement weather will always demand safety of the participants (and comfort can be a big part of safety so don't count that out). If you are doing your rite indoors because it is cold and rainy, this is not a problem. (And may actually be an excellent time to acquire some rainwater for future ritual and spellcraft use.) The ritual has a central space for focus, this is the altar space. It can be a table dedicated for this use specifically. It can also be as simple as a coffee table in the living room. A cloth that evokes autumnal qualities is pleasant, but not vital. The rite can be performed with out an altar cloth of any sort or a table. As long as the altar space is visually designated as separate from the rest of the ritual space, that is all you really need here.

Candles are popular. In some cases, the old fashioned flame burning candles are not a good choice. I have found equal success with electric candles as I have with wax. (I do my best to use rechargable batteries with my electric candles to minimize the environmental impact of disposing of batteries. If I must throw my batteries away, I collect them in a safe container and then bring them to places where they are disposed of properly. If you ask your local electronics store or automotive store, they can usually tell you where they are collected for disposal.) At least one candle is dedicated to the deity(s) you are invoking.

In addition to candles on the altar, ritual tools for cleansing and purification are there. As are offerings and some manner of nourishment to be shared with the deity(s) and participants in the ritual. Breaking bread together has long been a blessed sacrament in countless faiths into antiquity as it is an expression of trust and community. If you can not make your own food stuffs for this rite, don't be troubled. Store bought is just as good (as a certain famous chef has said).

The Pre-Ritual Rites

Prior to this ritual, please make sure that the area is clean and easy to move through. This helps the ritual to proceed easily.

With the altar space clean and ready, place all tools, candles, icons, and food stuffs for the feasting portion of the rite. With the first tool for cleansing the space (I prefer to use incense of a floral nature with pine resin added in.), walk the perimeter of your ritual space. (If you are working in an established, permanent ritual space, the cleansing of the space via spirit is not a necessary step, though it may assist you in entering proper ritual mind set.) As you walk the perimeter, declare the intention that the space be cleansed of harmful and contrary energy to your goals. The first pass around the ritual area complete, place the first tool of cleansing on the altar and then repeat the process with the second tool (I asperge the space with blessed salt water.).

Ritual space established, if a candle is being used to signify the presence of spiritual allies, guardians, and guests, light said candle at this time. As you do so, make your invocation of these beings, making your invitation as specific as possible. This is an excellent time to request your spiritual allies and guardians to ward the ritual space and participant(s) from harm by way of malevolent and contrary spiritual beings that seek to disrupt or otherwise influence the ritual.

Invitations made to those upon the spiritual realms that you desire to have present or witness your ritual, it is now time to invoke your household and personal deities. (In my case, I would be requesting the presence of Ingvi-Freyr; Anna, the Priestess of the World; Mother Marya; and Deam Mysterium.) At the time of requesting the presence of the deities, it is good to state what the purpose of your ritual is and ask their blessing upon it.

The Ritual

The Full Moon rites of Wicca, and related faith traditions, are generally ones of thanksgiving when they are not focused upon magical work. The ritual I present to you today is based in the Wiccan ritual format, as this is how I was trained initially in ritual practices. The Full Corn Moon / Full Barley Moon is the harvest celebration that is closest to the Autumnal Equinox and when the harvest celebration of Mabon (one of the major celebrations of Wicca and related faiths) happens.

[...]

Alright folks, I need some help here.

I'm looking this post over and I feel like I am just going on and on. I'm going to take another swing at this, but before I do, I would love some feedback.

Where do you think the strengths of this style of post are? What do you feel is missing? (Other than the other half of how to do this ritual.) I don't want to be boring you. I worry that this post's high level of verbage is taking away from the really purpose and goals of this post - to be informative and making knowledge accessible to pretty much anyone.

So, please, take a look at this draft. I've been trying to fix it because I have the distinct feeling something is wrong with it. I just can't place what it could be.

Please post your comments, suggestions, and recommendations in the comments below. Thank you so much for your time and your help. I want to make this the best little blog I can. I need a bit of help to do so.

Herbalism: Tools of the Trade - The Sickle

I am renewing my series of posts regarding herbalism. While I am tempted to jump into discussing plants and their properties, I really wanted to take a more complete approach this time. I am starting with the most basic elements here, which could be viewed as magic or science. (I am a bit biased, however, and I will contend that science is also a form of magic.) The very first thing we are going to look at here are the tools that you would be using in your herbalism efforts.

We're all pretty familiar with the rake, shovel, and spade. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with gardening will recognize these tools on sight and intuit their use shortly there after. So, I am going to skip ahead to looking at one of my tools for harvesting herbs (and flowers, leaves, etc.). In this post, we are going to look at how to use and maintain a sickle. After I get past the practical matters, I will give you a little bit of the magical associations of this tool and some folklore.

This little beauty that I'm holding is my sickle. This particular sickle is designed for cutting herbs. There are larger versions that can be purchased at gardening stores that are for cutting grass. In both cases, the methods of keeping a sickle sharp and well cared for are essentially the same. There is some similarity between how to maintain your sickle and how to maintain a scythe. Scythes fall outside of the scope of these posts, but you can find lots of good information through the gardening sites that I've seen posted from people in Britain. (I don't know why, but most of my searches kept turning up pages and forums from people located there. It leads me to suspect that there is a larger population of people who use these tools in that region than here in the USA. I may be wrong, though. Idle speculation and such.)

The use of a sickle is very different from how to use a scythe. Scythes are fixed to long poles and are used with a sweeping motion. This video that I have linked to here gives a demonstration on how to use a scythe. As you can tell from the video, scythes are something that you need to use with great care as to not harming people around you. A sickle, on the other hand, is a tool that doesn't require as much physical space to use. The likelihood of cutting another person is dramatically lower with a sickle.

A sickle is one of the easiest tools to use in the garden, in my opinion. This video that I link to here demonstrates proper use of a sickle. As the gentleman in the video shows, the trick to proper application of this tool lies in using the correct cutting motion. Many people first approach using a sickle as a tool that is used for sawing the plant matter. I made this mistake when I first began using mine. The proper technique is to take hold of your plant that you are going to cut and pull it taught. Make sure that you leave enough space between where you will be cutting and your hand to prevent injury. Then, slice the plant matter with a single sweeping motion. As with all bladed tools, make sure that you cut away from your body to prevent accidental injury.

Ideally, you will be cutting your plant near the base of the stalk. In plants that you are collecting material from that have branches, you will be cutting close to the main stem. A sickle is best for stalks of a narrow diameter. It is also most effective on stems that are not woody. If you are collecting herbs from a plant that has a woody stem, the youngest and most tender stems are the ones that you should be cutting with your sickle. Harder stems will increase the need for greater force in cutting them, which will increase the risk of your sickle swinging wide after you've successfully made the cut. Greater force on a blow means greater risk of losing control over the motion of the tool after the cut is made.

In the video above, the gentleman speaks of peening a sickle bade. While this is ideal, if you are like me, you don't have access to the tools proper for doing so. Thus, the use of a whetstone is necessary. In my video below, I show you how to use the whetstone to sharpen your herb cutting sickle. This is similar to how the gentleman in the first video I linked sharpens his scythe. If you look carefully, you will not that he and I, both, sharpen with the blade facing away from our body and move the whetstone so that it moves away from our body, this lessens the risk of cutting ourselves if we make a mistake.

Sickles are ancient tools. They have been used since antiquity for the purpose of gardening, harvesting grain, and related purposes. Sickles have been mentioned as noteworthy elements of ancient cultures. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder recorded an account of ancient Druids harvesting mistletoe with a golden ritual sickle. The sickle is part of the iconography of fertility deities on the European continent. It is also the basis of ancient weaponry of similar design. (Interestingly, the ancient Egyptian sickle-sword, the khopesh evolved from battle axes rather than the sickle.)

The sickle is associated in modern Western iconography with the mythic figure of Death. It is also considered to be a standard in the depictions of Demeter/Ceres. Within the Filianic community, the sickle is associated with Sai Rahvë (the Janya of severity, death, and restriction). It is also associated with the Dark Mother, Deam Mysterium, by several believers. The sickle is an icon on its own that is attuned with the completion of cycles, the mysteries of death, and the clthonic aspects of the Divine for many different belief systems. It also has the potential to be upheld as a lesser version of the Moon Blade carried by the Daughter (and other lunar associated deities).

Sickles also are tools associated with political things as well. Perhaps the most famous association is that of the hammer and sickle of Russian Communism. The sickle is long associated with agrarian work. It is an implement that was among the tools carried by the lower classes when they engaged in uprising as makeshift weapons. (As a weapon, the sickle is a truly effective and frighteningly gruesome.) The sickle has a very wide range of associations and a history that is rich, complex, and ancient. It has the capacity to be used as a humble gardening tool, a powerful ritual focus, or a fearsome (albeit unconventional in the modern era) weapon. With proper care and maintenance, a sickle can be a tool that is handed down through generations with out losing its usefulness.

Veiling during ritual? (Part I)

There's been some buzz in the pagan veiling community (I just have to pause to note how awesome that statement is. Pagan veiling community!) as to if one should cover their head during ritual or not. The consensus seems to be: yes, except for when you don't. Like veiling at other times, there is a whole spectrum of responses to this question. I can not speak for others here, nor would I attempt to. I do, however, wish to share some of what I have observed from the sidelines of this discussion and give my angle on the matter.

There seems to be a higher percentage of people who veil for religious observances (ie. whilst praying, giving offerings, etc.) than those who veil for magical working. The general arguments in favor of covering one's head for religious observances seem to fall along three lines. The first is that it is something that has historical precedent for one's practices. (Religio Romana seems to be the best documented case of this from what I can tell.) As there are many who are either influenced by reconstrutionist positions or active in reconstructionist pursuit of their faith, this argument really makes a lot of logical sense. Being a person who has a very eclectic background, I can find some examples (like in some branches of Filianism) where there is an established practice of doing this in my own roots.

The second general argument in favor of covering one's head for religious observances is to distinguish it from 'normal' time. It is, for some, the equivalent of putting on their Sunday best before going to pray. It is both a gesture of respect and a gesture that denotes the sacred as different from the 'mundane.' There really is a lot to be said for this position. It is one that is actually pretty common across religious lines (if you include all forms of special dress for worship) and veiling just seems to be another manifestation of this. I don't know if it makes prayer more effective beyond the fact that it helps the practitioner focus more intently on it. As I don't really engage in this practice, I can't say much about it beyond the fact that it happens, like the former argument.

The third general argument for veiling during religious observances is because it is observing a taboo. I set this apart from following established precedent because not all taboos have such origins. There are some who are called to cover when they engage in prayer and that calling comes from no higher then that of their deity of belief. This argument could, I suppose, supersede the others but I think that is just playing with semantics. (For the record, when I engage in formal worship activities for Dea, she has instructed me to have my head covered for some forms of worship and bared for others. As of right now, I am not able to speak much about this set of taboos beyond noting that they are present.)

The arguments against veiling during religious observances are myriad as well. Just as there is historical precedent for having one's head covered during worship, there is precedent for having one's head bared. There are those who are instructed to adhere to a taboo that requires them to be bareheaded at worship and others who do so for the sake of comfort and to distinguish from their daily practice of covering. In looking at both sides of this, I can only say that they all are legitimate positions and they should all be respected. Everyone's individual circumstances are going to be different and have different requirements and needs.

Pouring out wine for the gods.

It has been a challenging week around my household. Between recovering from illness and attempting to put the household to rights after the holidays, I found myself struggling to keep up my devotional activities. Some days, all I could manage was a tired prayer of gratitude for the ending of the day. Other days, I chattered away at the gods as I did my work and generally attempted to keep a positive focus.

Keeping a positive focus is hard to do when you're sick. When you're in pain and depressed, it is hard to focus on anything other then your own misery. I sat down at the computer this evening at something of a loss for what to post. I had lit my candles. I poured out an offering of wine. I did my level best to put myself into as receptive of a state for contact with the gods as I could manage.

I can not say that there is deafening silence. I know they are there. To a limited extent, I can interact with them. But there is so much noise between us, that it is very hard for me to feel the connection with them. At one point, I would have given up on the effort. I would have declared my attempts at contact a failure because there wasn't immediate information flowing to me. I also would have been very angry with myself because I would have viewed this as a failing on my part.

Now, I recognize that it is enough that I make the attempt. Indeed, when I am not feeling well and the act of making said attempt is challenging, I suspect that is what makes it even more valuable. The Christians have a parable of a poor widow giving her last coin in offering after a wealthy man gave riches. The apostles asked Jesus if the widow's offering was of lesser value because she gave so little compared to the wealthy man. He replied that her offering was of greater value because she gave all that she could, where as the wealthy man did not do so.

Some days, all I can manage is a prayer before I go to sleep. Other days, all I can manage is to think of the gods because I haven't the strength to pray. Then there are the days where I can move easily through ritual acts of devotion and make greater presentations of my homage to them. Doing what you can with what you have is, really, what is at the heart of keeping up one's devotional activities.

If you are struggling like I have been, forgive yourself for what flaws you see in your work. The gods know far better then we realize just how much that 'flawed' work has cost you. And they treasure it for the effort that you have extended on their behalf. Don't hold yourself up to the standard of your best days for your everyday worship activities. And don't set the bar at what you can only accomplish on your worst days. Judge each day on its own merits. Let today's worship be today's worship. Don't compare it to yesterday because today was radically different from them. And don't anticipate tomorrow to be like today, because it will be just as different from today as today has been from yesterday.

Be kind to yourselves. May the gods keep you close and give you boundless love.

Spiritual Cleansing: Places

From Here

In previous posts, I discussed how to spiritually cleanse oneself and items. The same principles applied for these purposes are used in how to spiritually cleanse a place. There are, however, some differences in the techniques used.

Different spiritual traditions have different methods for how to cleanse a location. The examples that I will give in this article come from my own background. They are easily adaptable to other spiritual traditions. The basic format of these rituals have much in common with the rituals of other faiths. One element that these rituals have in common is the use of blessed elements (holy water, incense, and candles). They also incorporate basic spell craft (prayers being considered a form of spell craft) whereby the ritual participants impose their will upon the situation or invoke a spiritual being to take action on their behalf.

The most basic form of spiritual cleansing is to focus your will upon cleansing a location of unwanted influences as you physically clean there. In Wicca, there is a tradition of using a besom (ritual broom) to sweep the circle area before establishing sacred space. The circle area is swept in a counter clockwise spiral that starts in the center and moves outward. This is because the counter clockwise direction (known as widdershins by many pagans) is considered to be a direction of banishment. Some incorporate a chant that they use to the rhythm of their sweeping gestures. A quick google search find many chants that you could incorporate into your cleaning.

You can incorporate other elements into your cleansing to make it easier to align your will to the task. Prayers and visualization are helpful for this task. Calling upon one's preferred deity to bless and sanctify a location works to cleanse the location upon a spiritual level. This, however, must be maintained with some effort by the person calling upon the deity. Failure to do so runs the risk of irritating the deity. It would be like you calling upon a friend to clean up a messy room. If you do not put any effort into keeping the room clean afterwards and continually call on them to do it, they will become upset with you for not doing your part.

Walking the boundary of the location to be spiritually cleansed with incense and waft it into the location while envisioning the incense chasing away undesired entities and spiritual energies is a common technique used in the pagan community. It is also done with holy water. The Catholic Christian belief system has several beautiful rituals to consecrate and cleanse locations. These rituals combine the elements of prayer, incense, and holy water. If I recall correctly, there is one that incorporates candles as well.

Which ever method of spiritual cleansing you choose, it is always useful to revisit them on a regular basis when maintaining a location as a permanent sacred space. The act of spiritual maintenance of permanent sacred space helps make ritual work that happens there more effective because the location is prepared for it already. It is also a gesture honoring the spirits of the location and the spiritual beings that were involved in the establishment of sacred space.

Rituals for the Gods & Offerings

My spiritual education is eclectic Wiccan. I draw from the rites of the Asatru community, the Wiccan community, and generic Christian forms of worship in my own practices. Many of the rites of the Filianic community resemble the Christian worship methods because the ritual structure is what is most familiar for many of the worshipers, as they come predominantly from a Judeo-Christian background (here in the USA). My rituals of worship are generally fairly simple affairs that are woven into my daily tasks.

Most days, I say a prayer of greeting to the Sun at sunrise or when I first see the Sun. When I do so, I address my prayer to Sunna, the Norse goddess of the Sun, and give thanks for her bringing the new day to us. My prayer is very simple and often consists of:

Hail Sunna! Thank you for bringing light and warmth to us after the long night. May you be blessed.

I try to remember to say a prayer of gratitude for that which I have in my life when I sit down to my meals. It is not one I remember to do every meal or every day. I haven't settled into a comfortable prayer routine for this. As I do so, I will note what prayer coalesces for this purpose. My goal with this prayer is two fold. First it is to recognize and be thankful for the food and good things I have in my life. Secondly, it is to hallow the simple act of eating so that I remember that it is necessary and valuable. Some people, like myself, struggle with eating and we need reminders to stay healthy in doing so. Prayer is the vehicle that I have chosen for this.

After I have had my breakfast, I go to my altar. I light three candles. One is a scented candle for Loki. (He really seems to enjoy the food scented ones, especially if they're scented like baked goods.) One is a novena candle for Dea. I like using novena candles for my offering to Dea because I hallow one candle and it lasts me approximately a week. In the end, I then recycle the glass container. My third candle is one that is dedicated to all the gods and goddesses who love me. Because I have limited altar space and the potential for a fire hazard with many candles is very real, I use one candle for this purpose, unless directed otherwise by the deities. When I light each candle, I state whom the candle is for.

Lighting these candles in the morning and having them burn while I am home and awake does two different things. First, they are a reminder of the presence of the Divine in my life. The scent of Loki's candle is a subtle reminder through out the whole apartment that he is with me or but a prayer away. The light of the other candles help me to focus upon the gods rather then my anxiety or more mundane troubles. It is something that soothes me and helps my life to go more smoothly. The second thing that these candles do is they silently carry my prayers to the gods, even when I haven't the words to express them. Looking at them (or in the case of Loki's candle, smelling it) turns my mind to the Divine and helps to open up a dialogue between us. It assists me in turning every act that I do into a prayerful one.

There are times where I am pulled to do something more formal. I have a special bowl that I pour offerings out into. It is in someways like the Hlautbowl of an Asatru blot. My offering bowl is a footed silver bowl that I found at a thrift store many years ago. Interestingly, the inside of the bowl never tarnishes. I think this is a sign of the approval of the gods upon this choice of vessel for offerings. When I make an offering, I place it within the bowl and hold it up. As I do so, I call upon the gods to be aware of my offering. After this, I place it upon my altar.

Sometimes, the offerings that I am encouraged to give come from a different direction. Loki likes to share coffee with me. He has his own glass demitasse where I put a small portion of my morning coffee in before I have any. Freyr likes it when I share tea with him. There is a small pottery demitasse that I was gifted by my sister-in-law that I use for this. As with the coffee, I give the offering before I drink any. The one offering that does not go into a special container or have any sort of special statement made before I give it is flowers.

I try to have a bouquet of flowers on my altar at most times. In the winter, my bouquet is fashioned from artificial flowers. During the spring, summer, and fall, I have fresh flowers in the vase. I try to use wild flowers when I can but when I am moved to do so, I will purchase a bouquet from the store for this purpose. The offering of flowers is something of a hold over from my Wiccan practices. While the Wiccan Lady does not ask for blood sacrifice, an offering of flowers is something that I found She approved of, when given freely.

Interestingly, handmade artificial flowers from recycled materials have been met with greater approval then fresh flowers. I think this is because nothing living is harmed in the process of making the offering and the offering is a dual sort. It is not only the sacrifice of an object but also of time and effort. Giving these things to the gods will always be appreciated. Indeed, it seems that the giving of time and effort is valued more highly then that of material goods.

If I am not called to make an offering, I spend my day doing my usual tasks about the home. I try to dedicate my efforts to the gods. It does not equate to making things like washing a pile of dishes more fun, but it is my feeling that it gives it deeper meaning. Indeed the things that you do which require greater effort, when they are done in honor of someone (Divine or not), has greater value then it does alone. Why? Because you are giving the action additional layers of meaning and yourself additional motivations to do so. If we undertook an action for our own sake, we have only ourselves to win approval from. If we do so for another's, we have their scrutiny to uphold.

Now, it is my observation that the gods are generally looking for us to give our best efforts, irregardless of how difficult the task is. They tend to frown, however, upon people who say they will do something and then fail to do so. The failure to act, even if it is an action that results in unsuccessful or unsatisfactory completion of a task (including the inability to complete it), seems to be the thing that counts as an affront to the gods. It is a failure to keep your word and honor the promise that you have made in making the offering.

At the end of my day, I extinguish my candles. As I do so, I quietly thank the gods for their presence in my life. Where some people would say a prayer before they go to sleep at night, I don't because I have done my nightly ritual of gratitude when I extinguished my candles. There are, however, some things that remain lit through the night and during the day.

I love electric tea lights. They are safe and effective ways to give a 'fire' offering even during the night when you are sleeping. I am in the midst of looking up ways to dispose of the batteries that are ecologically friendly. I have one that I keep lit upon my ancestor's shrine at all times. This is because it is my offering to them and my sign that they are welcome in my life.

I also have one that I keep lit upon my altar as an offering to Dea. During the day, the light of the tea light candle is replaced with my novena candle. The candle for Dea is much like the one in a Catholic church that signifies the presence of the Eucharist (and by this the presence of Christ). The candle for Dea signifies not only my prayers and my spiritual reaching towards her. It also signifies her presence and her reaching towards me. The only time that light is extinguished is when it is Hiatus. This is because during Hiatus, the Daughter is not with the world.

Spell Craft: Rituals

A simple axiom to remember when considering spell craft is that all spells are rituals but not all rituals are spells. Ritual is extremely important for spell craft because it helps us to reach the correct mental state to engage in this work. A ritual does not need to be extravagant. At it's most basic, a ritual is a repetitive action performed to accomplish a specific goal. My morning cup of coffee is a minor ritual that assists me in starting my day. With out it, I find it difficult to concentrate and fully wake up. Some of this is due to the lack of caffeine but mainly it is due to the disruption of my habit (which is built upon a collection of rituals).

Some people distinguish 'high' and 'low' magic by the degree of ritual required. 'High' magic is often described as extremely ritualistic in its orientation where as 'low' magic has very minimal ritual requirements. Modern witchcraft's 'high' ritual magic owes a great deal of its structure to the ceremonial magicians of the 19th century. The use of a ritual circle to 'contain' the magical energy did not become a commonly accepted practice until the Victorian revival and romanticism of the pagan practices of their ancestors.

Prior to this, such practices were restricted to ceremonial magicians and those who would attempt to engage in demonolatry . It is the conflation of demonolatry , ceremonial magic, and the practices that were known as 'low' magic later that were poured forth in the Malleus Maleficarum that laid the groundwork of what developed into what we recognize today as codified magical systems. Before the period commonly known as the "Burning Times," written record of magical practice was infrequent and predominantly limited to that which was preserved from antiquity.

With the rise of interest in the occult and pagan systems of the past, a rough ritual format became standardized. Some variant of this ritual format has been in practice in most of the modern pagan systems that are employed within Western society, with the exception of a few specific areas. Upon examination, this 'basic' ritual format can be found to resemble the ritual format of the Catholic mass. I do not believe this is a coincidental thing. Indeed, the Catholic mass is one of the oldest rituals surviving in Western society.

A ritual can be understood as something of a private (typically) drama that serves to recreate the universe in microcosm and allow the practitioner(s) to adjust their situation. The changes enacted in ritual creates an effect upon the universe at large by a process that is described in classical Western metaphysics by the axiom:

As above, so below. As below, so above.[1]

Most rituals can be broken down into a simple format. The ritual opens with a recognition of the necessity of the ritual. Some do this by way of a declaration of intent. Using my morning coffee example, my ritual begins by stating "I need some coffee." Then the practitioner uses the tools assembled to enact the steps of the ritual. Often, to make the ritual simpler, practitioners will gather their supplies before hand.

In the example that I present, I have already gathered my tools. I boil the water and put my instant coffee into my mug of choice. I then pour the water into my mug and mix the contents together with three counter clockwise turns. (Just because I feel like it and it's habit.) If I were charging my coffee to assist me in my writing, at the time of mixing the contents together, I would intone my charm, directing my spiritual energy down the spoon and into the beverage I am making.

My little ritual of making coffee complete, I would then clean up my work area and enjoy the results. Because, a hot cup of coffee in the morning is well worth enjoying, even if it is instant. The same process of recognizing the necessity of the ritual and stating objective can be found in various other places. Ritual magic is not the only place that uses this format. Indeed, if one were to conduct a science experiment, many of the steps are quite the same.

1. Form a hypothesis
2. Design an experiment to test hypothesis
3. Observe experiment and record results
4. Determine if hypothesis is proven valid by testing
5. Re-test as required

In a spell craft situation, the steps can be summarized thusly:

1. Determine objective of spell craft
2. Design a ritual to accomplish objective
3. Observe ritual and record results
4. Determine success of ritual
5. Re-cast spell as required

Some practitioners do not engage in steps four and five. I find this poor practice because it is important to determine what spells work and what spells do not. If one find that they are exceptionally talented at poppet magic and that is where their highest rate of success lies, it would only make sense to focus upon this as a primary mode of spell craft. Engaging in spell craft willy-nilly and failing to keep methodical records during this day and age, wherein you have the means to keep such notation safely, is purely irresponsible [2].


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1. Please see my previous post discussing Sympathetic Magic.

2. It is for this purpose that ciphers were developed as were magical alphabets. Encrypting one's book of shadows (as the popular name for this kind of record is known) is a very old practice. The majority of spell craft that was practiced by the people in the past was not written down for two reasons. The primary reason was illiteracy. Instead, other means were used to pass the knowledge on. The second reason was because amongst those who were literate, it became quite dangerous to possess occult knowledge with the rise of the strong church and secular influences of the era.

Witchcraft became a byword for undesirable people. As such, people who did not fit the social mold, held dissident political, cultural, or social views, or were otherwise undesireable in this era of the past (the Burning Times) were accused of witchcraft and punished. Contrary to popular opinion, the most frequent punishment of witchcraft accusation was not burning at the stake but rather fines. The accusations became a means of redistributing wealth. A large amount of the difficulty during the 'Burning Times' came as a result of socio-political stresses within European culture. I will discuss this period in history in greater detail in its own post.