SIPA Imbolc

Since SIPA always has a potluck with their rituals, I borrowed a pot and made up some soup this evening; it wasn't anything fancy, just a mix from the convenience store and some tomato puree, but it turned out pretty decent.

I've hardly ever used the dorm's communal kitchen, but this seemed like as good a reason as any. I even got a bonus view of the sunset.

This little framed painting was, I think, unrelated to the ritual, but it was sitting out in Gaia House, and I liked it. "But still, like air, we rise. ~Maya Angelou"

The main altar; I love the cloth, I need to see about getting one for myself sometime.

I wish I would have gotten a picture of the Air elemental altar. All the elemental altars were nice, but the one for Air was just so pretty - it had a bunch of crystals, including a gorgeous Quartz cluster, a drawing of a deity who I think was Hermes, and a Pegasus statue. A very elegant set-up.

Ritual fire in the fireplace; I took this right after it had been lit, so it hadn't quite caught yet.

The main portion of the ritual was spent chanting while making Brighid's Crosses. They came out looking more like God's Eyes, but it was a lot simpler for a large group to do than trying to teach everyone to weave straw the traditional Celtic way, so it worked out.

My Brighid's candle, which I lit in the last part of the ritual.

The potluck was afterwards, with lots of good food, and then I headed back to my dorm room. Great night!

July 12th, 2015

Destiny came over for a while this afternoon, and among other things, we decided to make God's Eye crafts. We found some redbud tree sticks out front of my house, and then I had no shortage of yarn for the actual construction.

Mine is the green, and hers is the blue.

~~~~~

The history of the God's Eye amulet is an interesting one. I've used them in the past for altar decorations at Mabon or Samhain, and have seen them conflated with the Egyptian Wedjet (Eye of Horus) elsewhere on the internet.

While they may serve similar purposes, further research tells me that the God's Eye is not Egyptian at all, but actually originated in the Americas. The jury is out on whether the design comes from the Pueblo people of present-day New Mexico, USA, or from the Huichol people of Sierra Madre, Mexico. Either way, similar crafts were produced across much of the region for spiritual and decorative purposes.

The more correct name for the God's Eye is Ojo de Dios (literally "Eye of God" in Spanish). To the Pueblo, they were tokens of celebration or blessing. Often, they were given as gifts and/or were used to bless a home. From the 1500s - 1800s, they were found along trails or places where people worked to "see" things not visible to the mundane eye. To this end they had a protective quality. They were made meditatively, either in solitude or with others, and the making was a spiritual undertaking.

The Huichol and Tepehuan natives used the Ojo de Dios as a ritual, magical, and cultural tool. They referred to them as Sikuli, which meant that the crafts symbolized the power to see that which is unknowable. Meanwhile, the four corners represented earth, air, fire, and water. Sikuli, along with other objects including feathers and arrows, were left in sacred caves as offerings to the gods. 

Some Christians have appropriated this craft as a symbol of their single, all-seeing god. 

Making and Ojo de Dios is simple. The materials are only sticks and yarn, although a drop of glue may be helpful for children. Cross the sticks, and wind the yarn around them as seen in the diagram:

They can be further decorated with beads or feathers, as desired.

Place on the altar, or hang near a door to bless and protect a space.