Week 17: 3rd High Holy Day Recap

Related to Requirement: #8 – High Days Attended 

Required Reading: None. 

I obviously need to still do week 16, the essay about the holiday, however, this one is a lot easier to do at work.

• How did the rite go in terms of structure? What things went wrong during the ritual? What things went right? 

While writing the ritual, I kept to the Grove's basic outline of ritual. So everything required for an ADF ritual was present. I am a crappy liturgist. I didn't practice nearly enough, or even read some parts out loud while writing them, so the rhythm was stupid and awful. But for all that, things went ok. It wasn't the most elegant ritual we've done, but we also weren't struck by lightning or set on fire.

• Who were the patrons of the rite, and who was the gatekeeper? 

Earthmother: Jord

Gatekeeper: Heimdall

Patron: Freya

• Did you have problems with saying the words without stumbling, or did everything come out smoothly? Did you forget to bring a sacrifice? 

Most of the speaking problems would have been solved by me reading things aloud and fixing the rhythm before we started ritual. One of the good parts of the Marvel movies being so popular is that folks know how to pronounce most of the major Gods in the Norse pantheon. The only one we had trouble with was Jord and that's just due to Germanic vs Spanish pronunciations. 

I remembered all the sacrifices... but we failed to remember cups or other forms of holder for them. So the liquid offerings were all held in a number of different (inappropriate) containers: a dice set box; a reusable cup from my favorite bar, my faire mug that I only had because it was attached to my belt... There are worse problems to have, but it was pretty embarrassing. The grain just got left in its ziplock bag, the incense and strawberries hung out on the table.

• Were you alone, or with a group? If you were with a group, did you say anything or do anything? 

As woefully under-prepared as I was... I led. So I did most of the speaking. I need to get better at both public speaking (SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!) and blessing things. 

• How did the rite go in terms of function and feeling? 

I think we adequately expressed our excitement that spring is finally here and summer is within sighting distance? I don't feel like we insulted anyone (and I included an extra sacrifice in case we did). It did feel rushed and awkward. I'm not sure if that's because I wrote it (maybe everyone thinks ritual they've written feels awkward?) or if it really was awkward as all get out.

• Did you feel anything during the ritual? Could you feel the presence of any deities, spirits, or powers? Did you experience doubt or confidence? Can you describe what happened? 

Group ritual is about the worst way for me to feel connected to anything. I can get through the Two Powers meditation, feel nice and connected... and then that disappears over the course of the ritual. Part of that is I'm spending as much time anticipating what needs to happen next as I do on the actual ritual. This time, the wind was a serious hindrance, kept blowing the ritual/ script around. I actually felt more connected as I was writing it than while I was performing it.

I try to do a second rite by myself within a couple of days of the holiday in an effort to actually feel connected to something, but there was just no chance of that happening this time. Last week was just too busy.

• If you were with a group, what did the other people say about what happened? 

No one said anything. Which my brain interprets as a sign that I failed miserably. But the folks who were there also don't generally discuss the ritual in specific terms afterwards. The 3 of us who are working on our DP do that... but the other two weren't there.

• What omens were drawn (if any), and what did they tell you?  

Ancestors:  Wunjo. The ancestors bring us joy and love.

Spirits:  Thuraz. The spirits bring us both the thorn in the path and the beauty of the rose. The thorn is both hazard to caution and protection against forces that wish us harm.

Deities:  Othala. The Gods bring us our inheritance and the joy of it. We are linked to our past and our future

• What else about the rite struck you, or do you want to share?

I did a shite job at organizing this. I should have practiced more and let other people know what assistance I needed from them. It wasn't a disaster, but it felt like one.

Week 16: 3rd High Holy Day Essay

Related to Requirement: 

#2 – Meaning and Discussion of High Days 

Required Reading: 

 Our Own Druidry, p. 62 - 74 (Hearth Cultures & High Days) 

 ADF Constitution, Article 4 

 The ADF Core Order of Ritual for High Days

Optional Reading: 

 Our Own Druidry, p. 51 - 75 (The Very Basics of Ritual); 

 A Crane Breviary and Guide Book by Rev. Michael J Dangler: <> 

 Appendix 1: Resources and Rituals for the Wheel of the Year in this book; 

 Step by Step through a Druid Worship Ceremony, <>; 

 The "Liturgy and Rituals" section of the ADF page, <> 

 The Three Cranes Grove, ADF, outline of ritual (with example prayers), <>

The May Cross-quarter is perhaps the closest fit between the popular conception of the holiday and the Norse hearth culture. The sudden resurgence of Walpurgis Night aside, May Day and Beltane celebrations can often be transferred with very little effort to be Norse focused. The Norse Goddess of fertility and beauty, Freyja, is also the goddess of magic and death. It is fitting that Maitag, devoted to the plenty of spring and summer as well as fertility rites of all kind, is preceded by Walpurgis Night, when the ancestors and spirits draw near.

Walpurgis night is celebrated with bonfires, feasting and dancing. The bonfires are used to keep away any spirits that mean harm or mischief. There is considerable debate regarding the origin of Walpurgis night. The name is known to dervive from St. Walburga of England who worked towards the Christianization of Germany in the Eighth Century. Little textural evidence exists that implies the celebrations pre-date St. Walburga. Simply the date of her canonization was conflated with the existing May Day celebrations and the holiday expanded.

May day is celebrated much the same way throughout the British Isles, Germany, and northern France: joy and dance that the spring has come and summer is coming. It is about this point in the agricultural year that it finally becomes warm enough to start planting the fields. The fruits and berries start to appear and milk and eggs become abundant. More than anything else, that is the message of May Day, that the days of plenty are here.

Weeks 13-16 Gah. I'm so far behind!

Well, somehow, I went from being about half a week behind to being 4 weeks behind. Not sure how that happened, but it means I have a lot of catch up work to do this week.

Week 13: finish wisdom exercises and write essay-- DONE
week 14: altar changes and write up-- DONE
week 15: piety exercises and essay-- DONE
week 16: 3rd high holy day essay

So yeah. Lots of stuff to get to. And it's a busy week on top of all that: in addition to my normal social activities (Tuesday), the Grove is volunteering at the local soup kitchen on Thursday, we have ritual on Friday, and Earth Day and Druid Moon on Sunday. And somewhere in there, I need to watch my shows and a movie I've borrowed from a friend, bake things for ritual and druid moon, and sleep. I love being busy. It's great.

So yeah, expect updates this week. lots and lots of updates.

Week 13: Nine Virtues: Wisdom

Related to Requirement: #1 – Nine Virtues
Required Reading:

• Our Own Druidry, p. 15 (Virtue, Piety and Study); 
• Our Own Druidry, 85-90 (Lore and Essays) 

Suggested Reading:

• A Virtuous Life Nine Virtues study guide

But first, recap of last week since I didn't get anything up.

Some how I got ahead of the group, so I had a bye week last week. I used the time to create a set of rune staves and to spend lots of time outside (to the dismay of my sunburnt ears and nose). I also finally got the Beltane ritual written.

I'm really happy with how the rune staves turned out, even if this is just meant to be a temporary set until I can get better wood working skills. Also, I probably shouldn't have started them just before lunch as I was starving by the end since it took a good 2 hours. I'm not sure how true they read, but since I'm really bad at interpretation anyway, I think it'll probably be ok. I have switched from iPod divination to drawing a rune instead during my devotional. Its practice and that is needed.

Mom requested a new retaining wall and a trip to the zoo for her birthday. So I spent most of Friday and Saturday outside, working and walking. Walnuts hurt to have jammed into your knees and penguins and polar bears are pretty cool (pun not intended). Sunday was spent inside helping Grandma around the house, which was not really how I wanted to spend it... but it needed to be done and I was the one available. And it wasn't too bad this time: just moving heavy stuff she can't manage and some computer stuff.

Writing the ritual was more of a thing than I was expecting it to be. I'm not sure if I was just blocked or if I'm a horrible litergist. Or both. At any rate, after combing through... several... books, every non-shitty website I could find, and a couple shitty websites that at least weren't racist, I finally got enough information to write this. I really need to find reliable sources of information. I have more research and information on exactly how the pleating was done on viking apron dresses than I have on what the appropriate deities are for different holidays. I'm going to publish at least the parts of it that I wrote after Beltane so other folks have a bit of an easier time. At any rate, ritual is written and sent off for editing.

Week 8: Meditation and Mental Training

Related to Requirement: #6 – Mental Training
Required Reading:

• Our Own Druidry, p. 93 - 99 (Druid Mental Training) 

Optional Resources:

• Meditation for the Type A Personality by Jenni Hunt
• Basic Meditation by Brenda Stumpp
• "Letting the World Slip Away" by Ladytoad
• "Laughing Meditation" by Brandon Newberg
• "An Anywhere Devotional" by Brandon Newberg
• "Dual Trad Daily Devotionals" by Tanrinia
• Sacred Fire, Holy Well by Ian Corrigan, p. 71-81;
• Training the Mind: Techniques of Trance and Meditation CD by Ian Corrigan;
• The Solitary Druid by Rev. Skip Ellison, p. 40-45

Personal Choices:

• A Short Devotional Rite
• A Daily Morning Bathroom Devotional and Meditation
• A Morning Devotional
• An ADF Nine Virtues Bead Devotional
• Mindful Knitting: Inviting Contemplative Practice to the Craft by Tara Jon Manning

I've been expecting this to be a hard part of working on DP, and so far, I'm not seeing anything that changes my mind about that.

I do think switching back and forth between the Anywhere Devotional and meditation will work well for me. Well, as long as i can resist setting my house on fire.  However, the second go run through Saturday morning was much better than the one last Wednesday.  So it might just take practice.

I'm investigating a new (to me?) form of divination for the devotionals.  I'm not looking to replace the more traditional forms of Rune or Ogham reading, however, those are both a bit more than I can manage on short notice.  Particularly since I don't have a good set of runes made up yet.  I'm keeping those for formal occasions and will switch over to runes more often when I have a set made up.

Somewhere, I read about iPod (or music?) divination. Essentially, when you reach the part of your rite where you would normally do your standard divination technique, you put your mp3 player/ full library/ iPod/ phone/ whatever you listen to music on and have handy on full random and the first song that plays is your answer.  In my head, while this is easier to cheat/ force the answer you  want (you do get to choose what songs are available), you can do that with runes/ ogham/ tarot too.  Anymore, your phone is going to be as closely attuned to you as any tarot deck.  Most people (certainly I) have my phone with me at all times, normally in my pocket. At any rate, this works for me for right now and is likely to be more convenient in the mornings.

I am going to put together a string of prayer beads. Or rather, a physical representation of the Core Order of Ritual so I have an easier time keeping track of where I am. I know what i want to use for Earth Mother, Gatekeeper, and Noble Ones, I just need to find beads that both visually and texturally represent the other beings and steps.  I have a feeling this is just going to involve wandering into a beading store and seeing what i can find.

------------------------------------

The weather is finally turning nice enough that I can be outside without it hurting.  I like this A LOT. I've got a bunch of outside projects to do (like... setting the back fence back upright.) so I should be able to spend my assigned hour outside this week.  And probably for the next several months as well.

I had every intention of spending this last weekend working on my review for my IE book.  Instead, I went car shopping with my sister and her partner, antiquing with my parents, split a few bottles of wine with my best friends, lunch for Gma's birthday, and then watching my cat terrorizing my mom's chickens while discussing home improvements and which need to happen regardless of divorce settlement and which need to wait.  Not a whole lot of time to sit down and write.

I also still need to finish up the Maitag rite.  I know which deities go where I think, so now just the plug and chug part.  I should be able to get that done... this week?  Maybe?  I really wish March wasn't so busy. Because I also need to find a weekend to make runes before Maitag. 

I'm publishing this before I freakout more about time and not enough and plans.

Bye Week therefore Housekeeping

It's a bye-week for Wheel of the Year, so updates on continuing projects/ assignments/ whatever.

Indo-European Book Review:

So I read the Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory.  I have feels, bad ones.  Not because I disagree with Eller, but because the Matriarchal prehistory folks fail basic feminist thought and logic.  I have never wished so badly that an argument was a strawman. And it's not like I'm well known for my grasp on feminist theory.

My initial review is going to be far too long.  Once I've gotten it written, edited, and privilege checked, i'll post it.  Then I'll edit it down  for DP stuff.  Or, more likely, I'll write an abstract and use that.  

At any rate, it'll be up in a couple weeks probably.  Right now, I'm still in search of sources that back me up on how racist the theory is (I've already got sources on how sexist/ anti-feminist it is).  I love JSTOR and having friends who are in academia who will allow me to abuse them for access to articles.  I've already started the blog post for it twice and it's just not there yet.  So it'll be there when it's ready.  Also, I apparently need to re-memorize MLA since I'm out of practice.  There's been at least one update come out since I stopped using MLA for everything.

Shrine Update:

Luna has been very good about staying off my altar so far.  She nearly burnt herself while I was meditating with a candle lit on it Saturday morning, but figured out that it was hot before she got too close.

I think I'm going to pick up an air plant terrarium to use as my tree.  It's not appropriate for my hearth culture at all, but sometimes hearth culture needs to take a back seat to "something I can keep alive and wont' poison my cat." I might pick up another cedar branch to use if I feel the need (the cedars in my back yard had a couple of branches die over the fall/ winter, so I can harvest those).  And, the more cedar in my wool filled house the better.

Apparently, I decided this week was going to be the week I started my rune set.  Not sure that's actually going to happen, but I'll contemplate it.

Nature Awareness:

My awareness of nature right now comes down to "it's freaking cold.  Frozen got it's EGOT, Elsa, can you please end the endless winter now?"  And making chili and potato soup.  I'm essentially just hiding in my den, and, for the most part, feel no shame in that.

Per the Weather Channel, we're supposed to warm up to the mid-fifties by next weekend.  If that's true, I'll go tramp around in the woods Thursday afternoon.  I really want to go camping, but that's just not going to happen right now.

At any rate, I really need to get the initial write up from week 5 written.  

Holy Days:

I think I need to go re-work the initial Imbolc paragraph back in week 3.  I'm not sure it hits the word count and it's certainly incomplete.

Our spring equinox ritual is going to be Slavic.  I know nothing about slavic cultures other than what I learned in a history course 8 years ago and that didn't focus much on folklore, mythology, or even the pre-christian religion.  I do have a book of Russian folk tales. I should probably pull that out and skim through it just so I have something resembling a base.

May 1/ Beltane is the Norse ritual that I'm creating.  Assuming we're focusing on the fertility aspects and not the German ancestor aspects, GateKeeper will be Heimdall on the Bifrost, DoO will probably be Frey.  I'll have to poke around some more to find the appropriate Earth Mother, nothing is sticking out at me as I thumb through my books. I'm also probably overthinking the ritual itself and need to NOT reinvent the wheel.

Library:

Not really strictly part of my DP stuff, but is happening in conjunction with, and has mental health implications.  I've started the great book purge. I know Goodreads has a scan function to add books to your library.  I need to experiment with it to see if I can get it to tag every book I scan in at a session with "Book Purge" or something similar.  It's that or type everything into a spreadsheet on Google so folks can lay claim to anything they find interesting. None of this can go live until after the divorce is finalized of course.  And I'll probably run most of them through a book buyback to see if i can get any money for them before putting them up for grabs. But expect that to be coming shortly.  There's likely to be lots of art history and books on Martin Luther.

My goal is to clear enough space off my bookshelves that I can have one bookcase (one of the short ones) dedicated to Pagan Library stuff in my bedroom.  This will also give me some more space to spread my altar out if I feel the need.  Which I don't right now but *shrug*.  It'd be nice to have the option.

Meditation:

This is... not going as well as I would like.  I'm trying to average 5 times a week (gives me a couple days to be tired or busy without fretting about it), but I'm at best, averaging 2-3 times a week.  I'm contemplating just not moving my body clock with daylight saving's time next weekend, but I'm not sure how that will work. But I do need to come up with something.  

Unless I decide to bypass meditation and just do a daily devotion.  Which is a possibility.  I don't know.  It's something to think about at least.  The devotionals will also serve to get me more familiar with CoOR. Or maybe daily devotionals and meditation.  That might bridge the gap I'm feeling.  

I think I'll try doing either a devotional or meditation every day this week and next and see which one fits in with my life better.  I'll either pick one or continue doing both throughout the year.  This also means that it's less awkward to excuse myself for 30 minutes when I have company.  I can wait until they leave and even if I'm too tired to meditate, I can at least do a devotional.  Perhaps this is where I should start contemplating prayer beads.

Beltane Ritual Planning: Resources

This series of posts is mostly going to be for my own benefit.  Mostly a slightly more private place to stash links for writing the Maitag/ Walpurgisnacht ritual for May 1.

I realize that I'm over-thinking this and freaking out about what should be nothing.  But this is what I do.  So I'm just going to accept the whole type A personality thing about wanting plans and calendars, and ORGANIZATION.  I'm happier when things are organized, so... yeah.

• Existing ADF ritual for Maitag.  I understand the instinct to call upon gods in their native language (do gods have native languages?), but there's just too much German in this.  And it's set up for a Norse focused grove, not a pan-indo-european one.
• Solitary Fellowship Grove May 2013 ritual.  I'm not sure how useful this will be, but *shrug* i don't think it will be useless.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it will mostly be useful for my personal practice.  But more information is always better.

Heathenry festivals

• Asatru Alliance 
• Walburg: this is better known as Walpurgisnacht or May Eve. Walberg is a goddess of our folk combining some of the traits of Her better-known peers. Reflect on this day on Freya, Hel, and Frigga as the repository of the glorious dead, and you will have an idea of Wulburg?s nature. On this day pour a horn of mead upon the earth in memory of our heroes. 
• May Day: The first of May is a time of great celebration all across Europe, as the fields get greener and the flowers decorate the landscape with colorful confusion. Freya turns her kindly face to us after the night of Walburg. Celebrate the birth of Spring and the gifts of Freya on this day. 
• WizardRealm
• The festival of Walpurgis, a night both of revelry and darkness.  The nine nights of April 22 (interestingly enough, the modern festival of Earth Day) to April 30 are venerated as rememberance of the AllFather's self-sacrifice upon the World Tree Yggdrasil.  It was on the ninth night (April 30, Walpurgisnacht) that he beheld the Runes, grasped them, and ritually died for an instant.  At that moment, all the Light in the 9 worlds is extinguished, and utter Chaos reigns.  At the final stroke of midnight, the Light returns in dazzling brilliance, and the bale-fires are lit.  On Walpurgisnacht, the dead have full sway upon the earth; it is the ending night of the Wild Hunt.  May 1 is the festival of Thrimilci; the beginning of Summer.  Thrimilci is a festival of joy and fertility, much like Ostara; however, most of the Northern World is finally escaping from the snow at this time.
• Timeless Myths
• May Eve coincided with the later German Walpurgis' Night, because it marked the last day of winter. It is a German version of the Celtic Beltane's Eve (see Celtic Calendar). May Eve marked the last night that Odin hanged from Yggdrasill (the great cosmic Ash tree). Odin has a noose around his neck for nine nights, between April 22 and April 30, as a sacrifice to master the nine mighty rune spells. See Search For Wisdom. 
•  May Eve also marked the time when the spirit world roamed free on the earth's surface, while witchcraft and sorcery is the most potent at this time. After midnight, bonfires were lit to celebrate beginning of summer (May Day or May 1), which also marked the end of the Wild Hunt.
• According to Germanic and Scandinavian folklore, Walpurgis' Night marks the occasion of the witches' coven or revelry at Brocken on Harz mountains; one of the important sabbats in witches' calendar. The celebration was linked to Walpurgis or Walburga (AD 710-779), a Benedictine abbess and saint, whose feast day was held on February 25. She was sometimes confused with a pre-Christian fertility goddess named Waldborg, and also with Waluburg, a 2nd century Germanic seeress.

Food:
http://ribevikingecenter.dk/en/learn-more/food-solstice-feast.aspx
http://nvg.org.au/documents/other/vikingrecipes.pdf