In Which I Talk about the Gods

Gods, Gods, Gods,and more Gods. As someone recently said, "the Gods are not Pokemon"; so I guess this means we don't need to collect them all. For the most part, I work with only four different deities.

Concerning these deities; some days I am a hard polytheist (they are all separate real entities);other days I am a squishy polytheist (there are a small amount of deities that every culture has experienced and has made their own cultural version of these beings. An example of this might be Loki and Coyote are different cultural expressions of the same God); some days I am of the forces of nature; and some days I am rather agnostic.

I have had very real encounters with these four, but some days it is really easy to dismiss it as being all in my head. It is easy to dismiss, and yet hard; when you have felt a Goddess like Freya enter your being (one of my four).

Let me take Loki for an example (also one of the four), some days he is fire and all that implies. Fire is powerful, it cooks our food, provides us warmth, and gives us light; on the other hand, fire can burn our house down, it can consume our flesh, and is extremely deceiving.

To me, this is exactly who Loki is. As a Joton , he is one of the primal forces (much the way the Titians are in the Greek myths). In this way Loki is a protector of the hearth, a God of Wit, and a chaotic tricksy bastard (hey, I love him!) From him the Aesir gain their best equipment (Thor gets his hammer, Odin his spear and horse)

Also in my life is Cerridwyn, the keeper of the cauldron. She has shown herself to me in several visions and has given me my name (and nope, not gonna share it). She is always kind and hugs me. I sit by her fire at her cottage in the wood and we talk like mother and daughter. She has given me sage advice and for that I thank her!

Last, but not least as they say, is Pan. Lord of the wild mountain tops and of pastures (both wild and tame, suits him well). He only recently began paying me visits; also in he form of visions; and much like Freya; I have felt his presence as he lay himself over my soul. I even felt like I had horns on my head, and goat feet during this. I am still learning his presence, but I get the feeling he and I will do just fine together.

I have been feeling of late that Eris is another who should be added to the list. I am waiting till I know for sure if I right in her and Loki tag teaming in my life, or if it is just Loki ;-)

In Which I Start Something New

This is the first of, hopefully, a great many blog posts that will mostly be about my work toward completing the Ár nDraíocht Féin Dedicant Path (as well as beyond; barring a major typing injury, or blindness caused by the low level humming light of the monitor).

First, a little about me. I'm pretty much non-descript in looks. When people meet me for the first time; they always say they think they know me from somewhere, but they don't. I just look enough like just about anybody as to look vaguely familiar. This means I have passed up a perfect opportunity to be the world's greatest thief and pickpocket, but I don't think I could live with the guilt of some other non-descript looking gal ending up in a jail cell with a guard named Jimmy Bo John Jack (who, by the way couldn't get hired as an evil henchman, so had to take up the local correctional gig instead; the facility wasn't as picky about standards as Dr. Evil, Mass Murderer MD).

I am a book-a-holic. My house is wall to wall books; with some toys scattered about the warm colored hardwood floors by the various children I watch, or in some cases, gave birth to. I am currently feeling a bit of chaos in my life on this point. School starts next week, and I am loosing two of my kiddos permanently to the dreaded kindergarten; as well as watching my bio ones disappear during the day. It'll be me and the 6 month old. Alone. No other kids to make noise, or ask for snacks.

I have been a practicing Wiccan (witch) for some time now, but somehow it never seemed exactly what I needed, or wanted. When I first read about the various Druids here in the US, I felt a tug. After doing some investigation into some of the various groups, I felt that it still wasn't quite right....then I found the web site for the Ár nDraíocht Féin. This is it! This is what I was looking for! A love of scholarship matched with magik and devotion. Brilliant!

So, here I am, working my way through the basic training, learning a new way to do ritual, and loving it. I have done one High Holy Day with the ADF format. It was a wonderful experience that made me laugh when I pulled three runes; each of which described how I was interrupted repeatedly (you think the kiddos are in bed, asleep, and then the moment you pull out the wax drippy candles, and light a little incense; they wake up, run down stairs to find out what they are missing, and beg for a snack) , but that it was okay. I normally do ritual outside, under the cedar tree, but it was raining cats and octopi outside; and have you ever tried to keep a candle lit when you're breathing water?

My daily devotions have been pretty simple prayers of , "Hello there Gods, it is me again. Yep, I'm awake and saying hello...again. Yes, I said again, again. I can't help it. It just sortta wants to run out my mouth over, and over again; like a mantra... wonder if that would work as a mantra that would bring me into trance? again again Again...AAAAgain again again. Anyhoo...Oh, and ummm... By the way, here's some candle lighting action, and a piece of silver in the well; really it is a dish, but you gotta to move past the term, "dish", and realize that it a deep infinite well that reaches down into the underworld. REALLY, I mean it! Look, let us just step out of our literal minds here.... no, not step literally out of your mind! Put your brain back in your skull. Sheesh, some people! The point is, ritual is a great deal about imagination; and this is true of any neo-pagan endeavorer. So, I drop the silver, which is my ring, in and feel the depth of the world under my feet. I look to the thickish tree limb that I have set up as my world tree. After a moment to feel the sky above pressing down, and the world below pressing up, I intone the words given to me by the ancient and powerful Dedicant's manuel, "Between Fire, and Water, I find my balance". A quick drop of water placed on the forehead, and a staring match with the candle flame, then a hello to the land spirits, and the ancestors; before a quick thank you, and goodbye for now. Oh, and, with this ring taken back from the well, I re-affirm my feet to this work.

In total is takes about 5 to 10 minutes to do this in the morn, depending on if the candle and I get really into out doing each other with the whole staring thing. I feel a connection to the world around me, and to the Gods. The land spirits are not so keen yet on this whole business, and the ancestors are a little apprehensive; but I think they'll all warm up in time. So far, so good. A few steps begins a journey, right?