September 19th, 2017

SIPA hosted their annual Mabon ritual this weekend, which was being led by a group of Ár nDraoícht Féin druids, which was really cool!

The ritual was held at Giant City State Park, and we had perfect weather - warm, but not humid. We also had a really good turn-out, with around 50 participants, including a lot of first-timers.

We had a visit from a very persistent racoon, who was intent on climbing into the trash can.

The sacred space was in a big clearing and encompassed a tree, cauldron of water, altar, and fire pit.

We were asked to bring water from our watershed, so I did, as well as our favorite glass for the sumbel toast. I brought along my chalice, which has been a bit under-utilized as of late.

The ritual was fairly Celtic in format, but was focused on honoring the Norse pantheon.

After the ritual, I found this stick insect hanging out in the shelter!

O hí Lughnasadh

I haven't done an actual Lughnasadh ritual in at least four years because I'm always spending the weekend at Fairy Fest. This year, however, with Destiny coming over, we're planning to do something in the evening. As such, I figured I ought to get my altar set up ahead of time.

I rather like this design. I might edit it a little still before next week, but I think I've got a nice, solid foundation.

On the left, I have my chalice, gourds, (plastic) grapes, a cup and saucer for water, salt, and a pair of dried corn cobs.  I also have a "corn dolly" goddess figure (actually made out of taffeta) which I put together several years ago. 

In the center, I've my elemental candles all sitting around the direction plate I got at the auction last month. In the center is the tea light from Rebekka, as well as a tiny incense holder and my new Selenite wands. 

Over on the right side of the altar, there's a god figure to match the goddess one, as well as my wand, athame, and a feather. There are more gourds and grapes, and I filled my cauldron with some festive potpourri I found. A seasonal fairy hangs in the back, and up front sit pieces of Orange Calcite, Citrine, and a crystal which I've finally identified as Aragonite. 

All of this is sitting on an orange tablecloth with a smaller green swatch in the center. The orange is one which I've generally reserved for Samhain in the past, but I decided that I might as well use it since I likely won't even be here for Samhain, and I wanted some more color. The green is actually a piece I got in Japan during a high school calligraphy class. Hidden under my elemental items is the Japanese kanji for "festival"; it's really just as well that it's hidden, because I didn't do the neatest job of writing it. C'est la vie.

Still not entirely sure what our ritual is going to consist of - I'll continue researching that this evening - but I'm excited!

February 23rd, 2015

The universe is really on my side today. I lost my purse this morning and was freaking out, when my Speech teacher went to use the restroom and found it tucked in the corner in there. I'm not sure how I managed to miss it either of the two times I looked, but whatever. Problem solved.

And then, I gave my speech! I think it went really well; to recap, I had to give a 4-5 minute informative speech about a culture I belong to, so I decided to talk about being Pagan. It seemed like a good opportunity to actually talk about something important. Here's a transcript of my script. I'm going to leave the formatting as-is, because I'm lazy:

Cultural Artifact Speech

I. Introduction: A. (Attention Getter) Merry Meet, everyone. That phrase, “merry meet”, is commonly used in Pagan circles to open a ritual or ceremony.

B. (Background/Need) Paganism, and the many forms thereof, is growing as a religion in the United States. Most contemporary estimates describe the American demographic as being about 1.2 million people. Despite this, mainstream media rarely acknowledges the many branches of Paganism or terribly misrepresents them.
C. (Thesis) As a Pagan myself, it is important to me that people understand something of my religious background. Prejudice and discrimination are serious problems that we face every time religion enters the conversation.
D. (Preview) In opening that dialogue today, I will share some of the most common beliefs held by modern Pagans and a special ritual chalice, as well as where I fit into this conversation.

*** Transition*** To talk about religion, it helps to contextualize what a person actually believes in.

II. Culture: All systems of belief have ideology, and they have practices.

A. Beliefs: Paganism is extremely varied in individuals’ beliefs; it has been said that there are as many branches of Paganism as there are Pagans in the world. That being said, a few elements are common themes through most branches. Pagans are polytheistic, which means we believe in multiple gods. These may be referred to simply as “God” and “Goddess”, or we may choose to call upon a specific deity from a specific region, such as Zeus or Astarte. We also tend to believe in other spirits or energies. Many Pagans accept that there are plant and animal spirits, as well as ones of earth, air, fire, and water. Respect for nature, as well as the idea of reincarnation, feature heavily in most branches of Paganism. We do not have any concept of Hell, but many of us do believe in karma, and that the actions we take come back to affect us in our lifetimes.

B. Practices: Pagans do not have designated church spaces – the majority of our worship is done in the home, or at the homes of Pagan friends. Most of us keep altars which display statues of our deities, candles, incense, and other ritual items. Those following Wicca, the most well-known Pagan subculture, have eight holidays throughout the year celebrating the change of the seasons, human growth and development, and mythological cycles. Non-Wiccans may also celebrate these holidays, or others specific to their deities. We also have a monthly ritual called an Esbat on the full moon, because the moon symbolizes the goddess. Pagan rituals usually call upon the elements and our deities. After that, we worship. This may include singing, dancing, making offerings, or whatever those involved deem appropriate. At the end, the elements are thanked, and we take communion.

*** Transition*** Now that you know a little Pagan 101, allow me to introduce this special drinking vessel.



(You may have seen this before - I've posted pictures of it in the past.)

III. Artifact: There is a communion expression which goes, “Drink. May you never thirst”.
A. Chalices: Chalices are a common feature of Pagan altars and represent the goddess. The cup shape is reminiscent of the womb, and suggests creation and female power. A woman entering into adulthood is often given a chalice as a symbol of her coming of age, and her right to choose her path for herself. Male Pagans are traditionally given athames, a type of ritual blade which is symbolic of the god, and is used to direct energy in rituals.
B. This chalice: I was given this chalice by my Aunt Christine as an eighteenth birthday present. The symbol in purple represents the goddess in three parts: as a young girl, a woman, and an elder. I use it in ritual to hold communion juice.

*** Transition*** Having now seen the chalice, I’d like to take a moment to explain the significance of my religion, and also the chalice in particular.

IV. Significance: Paganism has affirmed my existence in a way which organized religion was never able to do.
A. Culture: I was raised in a Christian household, and couldn’t feel enthusiastic about a judgmental god looking down upon me from heaven. Moreover, I disagreed with a lot of the Bible’s content. I was only twelve when, after doing months of research, I decided that Paganism was a path I connected with. Since then, I’ve been to Pagan festivals and local, Pagan stores. One of my best friends is also Pagan, so sometimes we get together for group rituals.
B. Artifact: My aunt is the only Pagan – and indeed, the only non-Christian – of which I’m aware in my family tree. I always connected to her and her beliefs growing up, and I felt so validated when she gave me the chalice. My choices are legitimate to her, and her support next to my family’s usually unsupportive attitude couldn’t mean more.

*** Transition*** You should now understand the basics of my religion, and why I practice it.

V. Conclusion
A. (Review main points) Having explained Pagan culture, my symbolic chalice, and some of their significance,
B. (Restate Thesis) I hope that you can respect us for what we believe in, even if your beliefs are very different. I also hope that I’ve cleared up any misunderstandings you might have had.
C. (Concluding Remarks) Merry meet, and merry part, until we merry meet again.

September 28th, 2014

I love pottery! Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go over to a craft fair which was also selling raku pots that you could glaze and fire yourself. After picking up some organic soap, I got a little mini pot which I thought looked like a Japanese tea ceremony cup. I glazed it purple on the outside and green on the inside, and then sat and made friends with a really nice family there visiting their daughter. We got coffee together, and then I headed back to the courtyard where they were doing the firing.

This is my pot after I glazed it, but before it got fired.

This is the kiln. The pottery gets heated to 1800⁰ F.

After about an hour, the pottery is removed from the kiln while it's still red-hot.

The ceramic pieces get put inside garbage cans full of wood shavings. The lids are clamped on, and the heat of the ceramic sets the shavings on fire, generating a ton of smoke. The smoke finishes the chemical reactions in the glaze, giving the pieces their signature blend of colors, crackle, and iridescence.

My finished pot. These are not food safe, but can be used to hold water.

One woman, a craft shop regular, had numerous pieces she had made that she was glazing. This one came out rather black on the other side, and she wasn't happy with it, so she gave it to me because I thought it was gorgeous. Just look at the butterflies! So pretty.

I've added my bowl/cup/pot(?) to my altar, and to be honest, I'm super happy with how it looks. I hadn't been sure when I moved into my dorm if I'd be able to have anything really like a permanent altar since I didn't know what my roommate's attitude would be, but I think she's just accepted that I like shiny things and hasn't even questioned why half of my dresser is covered in crystals and has a chalice and a picture of pretty fairies.

It's so cute! Not sure yet how much seasonal decoration I'll be doing. I had to leave most of my usual things at home, so it'll require some ingenuity, certainly, but at least for Samhain, I'm sure there's plenty of places to get gourds or pumpkins around here.

My other vase I set on top of my microwave with my mask, because I'm a designer in training. Even microwaves need to look attractive, and if they have something vaguely theatrical or occult about them, well, so much the better.

If you've never done raku and you get the chance, I really recommend it. It's an ancient Japanese art form that combines all the elements in a manner which is really primal in its nature. The earthy clay, airy smoke, blazing fire, and water to cleanse the finished product are all united by human creative spirit. It's truly a serene art form, and the results are as unpredictable as the elements which go into its creation.

September 7th, 2014

Moving to college is a little more hectic than one might immediately assume it would be. I've just wrapped up a big architecture project, and am trying to give myself the day just to relax as a result. It occurred to me that this was a perfect opportunity to fill my readers in!

(Actually, I wanted to post yesterday, because my girlfriend informed me it was National Hummingbird Day, but got distracted by the aforementioned project.)

What with tomorrow being Esbat, I've been working to get things in order for a nice first ritual here at school. There's a really nice wooded patch just outside my residence hall, and I think I can go out there and perhaps borrow a tree stump to set up my travel altar on. It's also supposed to be a Supermoon tomorrow, so the view should be good!

I've been rather cautious about setting up anything too overtly Pagan in my room (no need to freak out my roommate), but I do have sort of a casual altar established on my dresser, next to the microwave. Is it lacking a certain mystic quality? Probably. But it's functional.

I have an electric tea light in a paper lantern (candles and incense are both prohibited), a My Neighbor Totoro washcloth serving as an altar cloth (I bought it in Japan, and let's be honest - that's a beautiful movie), a card with a fairy print on it, some silk flowers, and my chalice. All the rest of my goodies are carefully packed in a desk drawer where I can grab them when I need them. Did I bring my entire crystal collection? You better believe it. 

I've developed a bit of a headache, so I may do a crystal layout and try some meditation this afternoon. There's free canoe rentals over at the boat docks as well, if I can successfully get myself out the door.

Litha Altar

It's a bit late now for pictures, I suppose, but I did want to share some insight into my Litha altar from earlier this month because it highlights a couple of new design elements.

If you're familiar with how I usually lay out my altar, it's pretty immediately obvious what one of those changes is - I've got my BOS moved over to the left side instead of centered. I actually don't like that as much, because it feels a little off-balance to me, but I just bought the navy blue altar cloth at Kinkakuji in Kyoto, and I didn't want my binder covering up the design. Naturally, it got covered up anyway. Go figure.

I also bought this little guy in Japan - he's my new (read: only) crystal ball. In actuality, I'm reasonably sure the ball is glass, but it works as a focus point, and it's being held by a precious little bunny, so how could I refuse?

And then there's this. I mentioned it a few posts ago, but this is a (bad) picture of my new chalice from Aunt C. It's hard to tell with the poor lighting, but it has a purple triple moon symbol on it with a triquetra in the middle.

Finally, this little guy is a Daruma doll. I'll probably blog more extensively about them later (especially if and when I use it), but in essence, one paints a single eye black and makes a wish, and then paints the other eye when the wish is fulfilled.

June 22nd, 2014

Well, I celebrated Litha on time, even if my posting about it isn't. Yesterday was the first day of summer, solstice, and longest day of the year. I completely redecorated my altar earlier in the week, developing a new style to incorporate a fancy metal chalice, which was a graduation present from my Aunt C, and several of the things I bought in Japan. Yes, Japan! I finally got to go!

We left on Wednesday, May 28th, and stayed through June 11th. Among other memorable activities, we visited several temples and shrines, each of which will warrant their own post, and I bought a number of amulets blessed at these shrines as magickal souvenirs. It was an amazing trip.

Before I left, I put together a little travel-safety amulet of my own. I'll share it here, in case you're looking for a quick and inexpensive spell for before an extended journey or vacation.

Hummingbird's Travel Amulet

Begin with a small drawstring bag. Have on hand a handful each of rose petals and lavender, a piece of turquoise, and a small representation of a bird (if traveling by air), a fish (if traveling by sea), or a horse (if traveling by land), either as a photograph, drawing, or other token.

Then, cast a Circle and cleanse all the items with holy water. Individually empower the items as follows:

- Rose petals: positive relationships between your party and the people in the region you are visiting (rose is an herb of love, after all)

- Lavender: general calm and peacefulness throughout the trip

- Turquoise: safety in travel (a property for which this stone is well-known)

- Animal token: to guide you there and back again

Put all the ingredients in the bag and say a final blessing over it. This could be as simple as presenting the pouch to the elements and Spirit and asking their respective blessings. When you've finished, pack the amulet in your luggage. The best part? The herbs make your clothes smell good.

As per the usual, any of these ingredients can be freely substituted to tailor the spell to your specific needs. If you have any particular worries about the trip, you may add a token to solve them. If you think you may use my spell, send me a comment. I'd love to hear what you thought of it!