Week 12: Ancestors, The Mighty Dead

Related to Requirement: #9 – Relationships to Kindred

Required Reading:
 Our Own Druidry, p. 120-121 (Kindred Attunement Work)
 Our Own Druidry, p. 42 (The Ancestors)

Optional Reading:
 "Ancestors Invocation" by Jennifer Ellison
 "A Beginner's Guide to Genealogical Research: or How I Connected to My Ancestors" by Meghan E. M.
 "Ancestors For Those Without Ancestors" by Renee Rhodes
 The Solitary Druid by Rev. Skip Ellison, p. 85-86

I'll come back to the ancestors later. This entry is mostly going to be catch up.

Nature:
It's spring. the trees are having sex and I can't breathe. I've not gotten as much yard work done yet as I really wanted to do, but there's time. Well, for most of it.  Looks like I should have gotten the strawberries in 2 weeks ago, as opposed to in 2 weeks when I have time and money to make it happen. But I should be able to get the mint in this spring. Or at least start getting the soil amended to what both strawberries and mint want.

This is my outside. Lawn and garden. I'm trying to not tear up too much stuff and to keep things still decently wild (or wild for suburbia) so that the Nature Spirits don't deal with too much change at once. Once the fence is re-built, I'll plant a bunch of butterfly bushes and other critter friendly plants.

I really dont know if this is what they want for nature awareness.

Meditation/ Mental Training:
This, contrary to all my expectations, is going ok. I'm not going to say it's going great, but the forcing myself to take time in the mornings is at least making me feel less anxious (most mornings). I'm still continuing with the Anywhere Devotional that I started out with. I do still need to create a proper rune set. In all the copious spare time I have for crafting.

Luna is being problematic in the mornings now that it's nice out. She makes it her goal to be as obnoxious as possible so I'll let her out in the mornings. Which means yowling at the top of her lungs, drinking from the well, trying to set herself on fire...  It's a bit distracting when I'm trying to be reach out to the kindreds.

I need to continue working on the two powers meditation. Will probably do that tonight after dinner while working on the stuff for ancestors.

I-E Studies:
I haven't touched this in weeks.

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.

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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.