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!

September 25th, 2016

I just got back from camping out after SIPA's Mabon ritual - it was a very nice evening!

The site for this ritual was over at Devil's Kitchen Lake, on a little peninsula. It was sunny, and very hot - almost 90⁰!

Near the tip of the peninsula was a little shelter with picnic tables, where we eventually set up food for our potluck.

There was also a big stone fire pit, so some of the guys got wood together to build up a ritual fire later in the evening.

This is more of the lake - it was a very pretty view!

Somebody brought bubble wands, so a couple of us stood around for a while blowing bubbles.

I was borrowing the group leader's tent after she kindly agreed to lend it to me, and I ended up pitching it to the side of the trail with a nice view of the water.

There ended up being quite a good amount of food for the potluck, between cakes and mashed potatoes and pasta and fruit. I brought peanuts in the shells, because they're fun to crack open and also make good offerings.

One couple brought this large cow's skull to rest among some of the harvest offerings people brought.

There were also two little dogs, who quickly became good friends!

Starting the fire...

Sunset...

Some toads, who all things considered were pretty good-natured about being handled.

The ritual Circle, outlined with tiki torches and with the fire pit in the center.

The focus of the ritual was balance, recognizing the things which we meant to accomplish this past year and did not, and releasing that energy. It was simple and to the point, which worked well for the intended goal in my opinion. I volunteered to do Quarter calls for West; it was my first time taking on a role like that for a public ritual, so I was a little nervous, but I think it went well.

The stars last night were beautiful - there were so many, and it was such a clear night that there was really good visibility.

And then this image is from this morning, standing on the fishing pier and looking out over the lake.

View from the pier back towards the campsite.

The Samhain ritual will be held at this same spot, so I'm looking forward to that.

September 22nd, 2016

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain’d

With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit

Beneath my shady roof; there thou may’st rest,

And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe, 

And all the daughters of the year shall dance! 

Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers. 

“The narrow bud opens her beauties to 

The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins; 

Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and 

Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve, 

Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing, 

And feather’d clouds strew flowers round her head.

“The spirits of the air live in the smells 

Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round 

The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.” 

Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat, 

Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak 

Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load. 

- William Blake 

A happy Mabon to all; may the coming season bring you abundance, while the growing dark offer you rest and transformation.

September 20th, 2016

Every time I think 2016 can't get worse, it does. I know I haven't been very active of late, and I can't say that that's likely to change what with how busy school's been, and on top of that, my grandfather, who has leukemia, is in a very bad state and the doctors are guessing he only has a few days.

In light of that, I decided I needed to do something today to try and deal with everything. I've noticed over the past few weeks, a very specific labyrinth design kept popping up. First I saw it on a field trip to the Antheneum, and then there was a display in the theatre building using the same graphic, shown below.

I recognized it as being a slightly smaller version of the labyrinth at Gaia House, which is itself based on the labyrinth in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. Since the imagery kept reoccurring, I walked over to Gaia House this morning to spend some time walking their labyrinth.

The geodesic dome sculpture is in homage to Buckminster Fuller, who lived in this town for many years, while the labyrinth turns an old concrete slab into a peace park. It really was nice to enjoy the fresh air for a while before the day got really hot, and I've attended at least one ritual in this space, too, so that brought back good memories. I'd like to spend more time there if I can manage it, I feel like it would be healing.

There's also a really nice fountain and pool just beyond the dome, which is pretty.

The other thing I've noticed a lot lately is bird signs. This is a photo of three crows all sitting on top of a street light taken last week. I saw the trio a second time this morning. Birds always seem to show up at important times in my life. It's nice to see them.

I have done nothing to get ready for Mabon, and it looks like I'll be travelling on Thursday anyway. However, I am planning to attend the SIPA ritual this weekend, so I'm looking forward to that - I daresay I need it. We might even be camping out after the ritual, which would be cool.

September 30th, 2015

Just thought I'd share a couple of pictures from our Mabon ritual. I'm not positive whether it was the group's photographer that took these, or one of the other members, but in any case, it wasn't me.

Our caller for the North.

That's me in my blue cape. The little grill by my feet is where we were burning things, and the basket in the middle is where we were putting our produce.

Center of the Circle, altar, etc.

There's going to be both a Samhain party and a ritual next month - I'm really hoping to go to both! 

September 20th, 2015

I went out for a walk after lunch today to collect some leaves for my Mabon ritual, and I actually ended up finding all kinds of neat things.

I saw a bunch of birds, including two large hawks or vultures, I'm not sure which, and a hawk at the top of this tree. I also went down by the creek again and spotted more frogs. 

Here's my altar after I added my findings to it. My basket of leaves is in the back. On the left is a big piece of shelf fungus, and next to my little wreath is a collection of seed pods and acorns. I also found a piece of sycamore bark, which I'm now using as a stand on my desk to hold some offerings. 

This was the other thing I discovered: a tiny bird skull. It was lying in a pile of cicada exoskeletons, and I felt drawn to keep it, so I added it to my basket. It's now in a Ziploc bag where it will stay for a week or two, to be sure there aren't any organisms living on it. 

SIPA Mabon 2015

Yesterday was so cool!!! I really had a blast, and definitely hope to participate in more of their rituals in the future!

I left to meet my ride at the Gaia House around 3:00. I brought my food, of course, some extra plates and utensils, and my ritual robes, as I was unsure if other people would be wearing them or not. While I was there, one of my friends (who also needed a ride) offered me some fresh honeycomb.

I've seen it on occasion packed in jars of honey, but never fresh out of the hive, and I'd certainly never tried it. I thought it was really good! The beeswax has kind of a toffee-like texture and it is edible, although you can also press it against the top of your mouth to squeeze out the honey and then discard the comb if you like. I just went ahead and ate it.

That white box is the Gaia House beehive. I'd noticed in the past that they seem to have an awful lot of bees flying around the place, but I had no idea it was because they actually cultivate a swarm. They have to take honeycomb out every so often, and I guess I showed up on the right day!

We left for the state park circa 3:30, and it took another half hour to get there. We three were the first to arrive, although the others started getting there soon after. This open area in the trees was where we did our ritual. I didn't take any pictures of the actual ritual setup as I wasn't sure it was allowed, but they did have a photographer there, so theoretically there will be pictures on the Facebook page eventually that I can share with you all. Apparently they're a little behind getting things uploaded.

This was the shelter they reserved for dinner (that's my stuff sitting on the table).

A tree across the road covered in ivy.

We set up a lot of tiki torches. One got planted at each of the Quarters and Cross-Quarters around our circle, and then we had a bunch more canisters but no posts for them, so we just set a bunch of canisters on the tables to keep the bugs away from the food.

One of the girls found this tiny peeper tree frog!

Dinner, or "what I took my first time at the buffet to leave food for everyone else before I got seconds and stuffed my face".

Their banner, which they hung on the side of the shelter.

I got talking with some really incredible people over dinner. There were people of all different paths present: Wiccan, shamanic, Norse, Celtic, eclectic, etc. I decided not to wear my robes, although I probably should have, as it got really cold once the sun went down, but I did wear my blue cape, which got a lot of compliments. 

Ritual started at 7:00. The produce items we brought all went into a big basket in the middle of the Circle, which we empowered to attract even more abundance, as we were donating the food to a food pantry, and wanted to encourage it to draw additional food to feed the hungry. I wish I would have known we were donating the food - I thought it was just for decorative purposes, so I only bought one pepper, but I would happily have bought more to donate. 

We also did some banishing, writing down things we wanted to be rid of in our lives and then dropping the papers in a small bonfire. Though the Samhain ritual next month will likely be intense, and will presumably involve getting rid of a lot of negativity, the idea was to take a first step here at Mabon to lighten that load. 

I helped out with the Cakes and Ale segment, distributing cups of cider while another girl passed out mini cornbread muffins. 

As we were standing there in the dark, we could hear a drumming group performing at a local festival, which as far as background noises go was not a bad one to have during ritual. We could also hear the insects, of course, some frogs, and at one point an owl hooted.

After the ritual was concluded, I stood just looking at the stars for a while. I don't know if the view was quite as incredible as it is in the Boundary Waters, but it was still really something. One gentleman there pointed out some constellations to me, and I actually looked up in time to see a shooting star go through Cassiopeia. A Mabon wish was really the perfect way to tie up the evening. 

September 19th, 2015

I made a salad last night.

I hope it tastes okay, but it came out looking pretty good, so I've got my fingers crossed. I'm meeting the group at the Gaia House at 3:00, and then we're driving over to the park for the ritual. Really looking forward to it!

September 17th, 2015

I got ingredients for the ritual potluck today! Neither my roommate nor I have a car, but my roommate's friend was willing to give us a lift to Walmart this afternoon, so I picked up food, some hair ties, and a birthday gift for my little brother.

I meant to take a picture of the ingredients before I put everything away, but I forgot, so here's a not-especially-flattering look into my mini fridge. I'm going to make a salad with fruit, so I bought romaine lettuce, a package of strawberries, a package of assorted fresh fruit, and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Hopefully people like it!  

September 16th, 2015

I'm very excited - I'm hoping to go to a group Mabon ritual this weekend with some community members and other students on campus!

The ritual is this Saturday at a nearby state park, and we'll also be enjoying a potluck dinner and maybe camping, although that will depend on site availability. I volunteered to help distribute food for the Cakes and Ale ceremony, and we also were asked to bring a piece of produce to put on the altar besides our potluck dish.

I'm planning to bring this red bell pepper; originally, I had just been going to get an apple or something, but the campus' sustainable garden was selling these today for $0.25 each! 

As for dinner, water signs (I'm a Pisces) are supposed to bring a vegetable/side dish, so I'm going to go to Walmart tomorrow to get some things for a salad. I'll keep you all posted!

September 12th, 2015

I went on a field trip today! It was for my Architecture History class, and we went to check out a gorgeous Romanesque and Byzantine cathedral, and then we went to a cemetery.

I know it's not quite Samhain yet, but it certainly felt like October today, and it seemed appropriate to wander the grounds a bit. My professor described the architectural precedents for a lot of the mausoleums, and I tried just to honor the local spirits with a small offering when we got off the bus.

The newer area was designed according to Feng Shui principles. For instance, this fountain has a line running through it to mark the Northern direction. Theoretically, it would also align with local dragon energies. However, my professor explained that this area was actually built over an old garbage dump, and therefore has too much bad Chi to really fix with Feng Shui.

Here's a family grave marked with a Celtic cross, and which also has a statue of Grief personified.

This cemetery had a lot of obelisks, and apparently those are usually used for burying Free Masons.

We saw tons of really neat things today, but this mausoleum was possibly the most interesting to me personally. It's designed in an Egyptian style, and there's actually sphinxes on either side of the doors. The symbol in the center, with the sun disk, wings, and serpents, is actually the emblem of the goddess Isis, and is used on Her temples in Egypt. 

I was originally supposed to go on a camping trip this weekend with a local Pagan group, but it ended up being cancelled for a variety of reasons. Because of work and my field trip, I wouldn't have been able to go, anyway. However, we're supposed to be having a Mabon ritual next weekend, so I'm looking forward to that!

September 8th, 2015

It's been kind of a long day here, but my roommate offered me tea and I've been researching Japanese incense, so I've finally relaxed a bit. I found this site, Shoyeido, through HolisticAlchemy on YouTube, and I have to say, they have some gorgeous incense and incense holders. Also, Japanese incense is pure all the way through; that is, it's not a dipped wooden stick. Because of this, they produce a lot of fragrance with very little smoke. This particular brand ships out of Kyoto, and has been a producer of high-quality Japanese incense for 300 years. I would definitely be happy to order from them in the future!

In other news, I was walking to dinner after work tonight, and I found a big piece of pampas grass lying on the sidewalk. It was exactly the sort of thing which would work with my Mabon altar, so I picked it up. The whole stalk was a bit big to carry into the dining hall, but a piece of the top came off in my hand, so gratefully I took that with me. It's sitting on my altar now, and I'll have to take a picture later, but it was just a really pretty natural offering, and I was glad to stumble upon it. 

September 7th, 2015

Today I tried making a carved apple head! I read about them a long time ago in a book of witchy crafts, but then I was reminded of them about a week ago when Ember HoneyRaven did a video about making some.

That's how mine turned out. Apple heads are great decorations for Mabon and Samhain altars and generally for throughout the autumn season. To make one, you only need:

• Apple(s)
• A knife
• A peeler (optional)
• Lemon juice (optional)
• Paper towels

First, peel the apple. This can be done with a peeler, or a knife. Either way, be careful not to cut yourself. Then, take the knife and carve the outline of the main facial features into the apple.

Once the outlines are there, dig out the eyes. Those should be deeply carved. Also carve around the nostrils, though not as deeply. Add definition to the lips, and create a deep mouth cavity. If possible, over-emphasize all the features, because the apple will shrink as it dries. If desired, ears can also be carved on the sides, and one can add eyebrow ridges and cheekbones by carefully shaving away apple. 

Once the face is finished, rub it with lemon juice to prevent the fruit from browning.

Dry in a dehydrator, in an oven at 150⁰ for one hour, or over the course of several days in the sun. When finished, one can add a hanging string to the stem. 

For a visual tutorial, check out my video here:

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.