Week 14 - The Home Shrine (revisited)

I’ve added a picture above my shrine and a letter given by my wife in blessing of my path, a piece of Icelandic spar to help me find my way, and two hand sickles as Samhain approaches and I move to that part of my Lady, Persephone. I’m likely to remove the holder for the incense, but I’m still debating that.

The hand sickles were just refinished by a devotee of a metalworking god, and I’m just beginning use with them, so they’re on the altar for both seasonal and hallowing reasons.

Does it feel like there is something missing? Does something seem out of

place? Is it just right?

The glass and plastic incense holder will probably go pretty soon in favor of a small cauldron or iron plate to burn loose incense on. I’m feeling a pull towards heavier and more solid objects.

How have you worked with it over the past seven weeks? Has the method

of your working shaped the way the altar looks now, or does the way the altar looks

affect the way you work? Are you happy with the location of the altar? Have you

moved it in the past seven weeks? Do you plan on moving it in the future?

I’ve added the picture when I made my dedication to my Lady and the sickles when I was given them at a Mabon celebration. Other than that, it’s probably as it will be for the next while.  I do change things seasonally.  I don’t have a lot of room or spots living in an apartment, so it’s on the cabinet at the foot of the bed, which is the best I can do for someplace I consider private and special.

Now, what would you like to do to improve it? Write down your dreams, or

sketch out your dream altar. Can you make it look like that? What do you need to

do in order to make your altar look the way you want it?

A huge house with a room or outbuilding devoted to being a temple would be nice, but that’s not coming just yet. I’m happy with it, though I’d probably use a different cabinet beneath it, perhaps a wooden one in which I can store those seasonal items.

Finally, consider how this shrine compares with the spot where you visit

with nature. Do you feel that nature is accessible from this shrine? Or do you prefer

to be outside in order to deal directly with nature? Are there ways to bring nature

into your Home Shrine?

The shrine isn’t as much about nature as it is about my connection to my Lady.  It’s a spot for focus and meditation and prayer.

Meditation Log - Week 16

Week 16

Nature: I’ve not had much chance, as Lady Beth’s funerals were this week, but I’ve tried to take notice of the trees, the leaves, the changes, the differences between here and South Carolina. The pine tree species and maples change the color pallette.  

Meditation:  I’ve been doing this mostly while on the long drives back and forth, letting my mind spin down, somewhat like highway hypnosis while Jennifer sleeps.

Two Powers: When I’ve needed to feel centered during the ceremonies, I’ve sunk my roots and stretched my branches, and it’s helped.

Meditation Log - Week 15

Week 15

Nature: I did this for a while before the Samhain ritual, while getting ready to smudge the site. I was very disturbed because of Lady Beth’s death, but I cherished spending time at the farm, especially watching the clouds rush past across the sky as the front moved in.

Meditation: Been continuing the walk-the-dogs devotions, looking to the sky, and it helps bring me back to center in those moments.  

Two Powers: I’ve been using this more and more as my go-to ground and center type practice. Before it was just roots, but now it’s roots and branches in the wind.

Meditation Log - Week 14

Week 14

Nature:  It really felt like fall, with that leafy skittery sound across parking lots, the rains and leaves falling, smell of woodsmoke in the air. The bunnies are hiding, but the deer are realllly out and about!

Meditation: It’s been early mornings and late evenings, but in between the classes I’m teaching, I’ve been catching spare moments of silence. I need to have more dedicated longer periods of time, though.

Two Powers: I’ve been scared to do this while working at a hospital, but I’ve tried once outside, and it’s been fine. Maybe I’m just scared, given the old baggage.

Meditation Log - Week 13

Week 13

Nature: I’ve just stared in absolute awe as the leaves have been changing, the cold weater finally arrived.  There’s a scent to the air, the faintest hint of fireplaces and woodsmoke, and of the papery scent of leaves as they skitter by.  This morning, I saw a deer bound across the higway on my way into work, even this far into the city, and it brought home for me that there is no place that is not wild.

Meditation: I’ve been keeping up with the daily devotions in the morning and evening, and they’ve helped re-center me a lot.  I’m going to work more on the longer meditations as a friend is having good results with it.

Two Powers: first time I go out in the daylight, I’ve been pulling from my roots and from the sky, and concentrating - a shorthand of it, but useful

Week 13 - The Nine Virtues: Wisdom

Our Own Druidry defines wisdom as : "Good judgment, the ability to perceive people and situations correctly, deliberate about and decide on the correct response." The definition seems to hinge on the word “correct”. “Correct” is a word with variable meaning and situational aspects. What is correct for one may not be correct for another, and what is correct may be overridden by a more pressing ideal, and living up to that ideal may be the better course, even if it doesn’t produce the desired outcome.

The first definition of wisdom in the Mirriam Webster dictionary ("Wisdom." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wisdom>.) is “1a: accumulated philosophic or scientific learning : knowledge, b: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships : insight, c: good sense : judgment, d: generally accepted belief”.

To me, wisdom is that deeper understanding of the patterns of things, allowing you to see past what has happened, and extrapolate and divine what will most likely be, and then make your choices from among those principles you hold highest. So in that way, my personal definition is going to be much closer to B and C above.

People who are often seen as wise reserve judgement, don’t jump in, don’t give their opinions too freely. They err on the side of caution where they might be an example for others. Wisdom is often personified, Sophia, etc, but often it was wisdom in a certain area or focus. Wisdom is often depicted as being gifted, instead of earned through countless mistakes. I think that leads us to put people on pedestals about being wise, and not accept that people are constantly evolving and gaining wisdom.

Wisdom as the ability to reliably guess the correct path to produce the desired outcome, is a valuable thing. But sometimes Wisdom isn’t about that, it’s about deciding that the outcome is immaterial and the principle must be upheld, for it’s own sake. I wouldn’t take it off the list, but I don’t agree with the ADF definition.

Week 12 - Ancestors, the Mighty Dead

The Kindred of our Ancestors is both those of family and those of heart, profession, or other kinds of lineage. Both blood and learning shape us into who we become. The ways Ancestors are worshipped varied by culture, in timing, practice, and intensity. For example, many in the far East take ancestor veneration quite seriously, and every year when paper goods are offered it always makes the news. Greeks, Celts, Norse; they all had their special dates and special rites. Today, Samhain is often conflated and secularized to emerge as Halloween, but it’s also become Day of the Dead and All Saints Day and similar, as the concept is one that resonates with more than just one culture. I value my dead, those of blood, those of relationship, those of teaching, and those of example. Of all the Kindreds, they have perhaps the most personal investment in my well being and success, for they are my kin, my family, and my success is the success of their line, be it of blood or thought. The ADF suggestion is to offer them alcohol, but I’m not sure that’s the most appropriate for my individual family given a history of alcohol abuse. I’m still discerning what might be a better way, or perhaps I’m making too much of it, as I’ve thus far not fallen down that hole and am watchful of my habits with it. And so, in it’s own way, I’ve learned from my Ancestors, and hope to continue to do so. My grandmothers were both very strong women, and they are my prime examples as I begin to age. Yesterday, I saw the face of a deceased friend in a student. At Samhain, I will be officiating at a ritual of remembrance, and will be making offerings, most potently of shared stories and memories of those in the group.