Mental Discipline

An essay or journal covering the Dedicant’s personal experience of building mental discipline, through the use of meditation, trance, or other systematic techniques on a regular basis. The experiences in the essay or journal should cover at least a five-month period. (800 word min.)

Inadequate Adequate Excellent

  • •Word length under

  • •Period of time under
  • •Lack of real effort
  • •Unwillingness to try something new
  • •Lack of any reflection whatsoever
  • •Word length adequate
  • •Time period adequate
  • •Willingness to TRY
  • •Includes either journal entries OR detailed essay
    		•
  • •Publishable quality reviews
  • •Deep/unique insights
  • •Observable progression and spiritual growth
  • •Excellent reflection and analysis of process
    		•

    For almost the past year now, I’ve been working on finding a way to do some form of meditation or devotional in a way that both fits into my schedule without me forgetting about it, and that still carries some form of meaning. At the end of this essay I’ve included the outline of the different types of things I’ve tried over the past year, separated out by months.

    When I started out trying to get a hang of the whole mental discipline “thing” I leaned toward what I think of traditional meditation and the techniques I learned in dialectical behavior therapy. That (DBT), at least, is something that I’ve had to practice and get fairly good at. I’m diagnosed bi-polar, and one of the stabilizing therapies that is used is DBT. It is like a skill set that we’re taught that helps to manage day-to-day life on a more stable and consistent basis. So, since it already had some elements of meditation it was a good starting point for me, and has remained a skill that use at least in part everyday. Breath-counting as a way to get in a calm mindset, as well as mind emptying techniques. The one that has worked best for me is to try to sit with a quiet mind. It’s like my mind is a clear blue sky, and I picture every thought that pops into my head as a cloud. I acknowledge the thought-cloud and I let it blow away in the breeze. It is a way to begin entering a calm, empty mind state without getting fixated on any one thought that will pop into your head, because, let’s face it, it is nearly impossible to think of literally nothing. So this mind emptying as a sort of starting point has worked well for me. It serves as a base for nearly every other form of mental discipline that I’ve tried.

    With the base of just trying to quiet my mind and enter a state where I could try to focus my mediation to be more grounded in spirituality and religion I began trying some different things on top of that quiet mind. I was gifted a set of Hellenic prayer beads by Emerald. There are thirteen beads in all, one for each Olympian and one for Hestia. Included with the beads is a short litany with praise for Hestia (both first and last) and for each Olympian. It began as a good way to make connections with each of the Olympians and slowly developed into nighttime devotional (and for a few weeks both morning and night) that I would either do alone or with Thom (my fiancé). As Thom began getting more involved with these nighttime devotionals I toyed with idea of creating our own set of family prayer beads that honor our patrons, meaning it would be a mix of Hellenic and Celtic deities with the spice of a few other cultures thrown in. It’s not something I have done yet, but I still would like to, especially as we approach the child-rearing time in our lives and I would like to have family traditions that were can raise them in and pass on to them.

    Near the beginning of this, while still learning about different techniques for meditation, mental discipline, and energy work I attended a few meditation classes that Irisa and Paul, from my Grove, were hosting. The things I really needed (and still need) work on that these classes started with were shielding and grounding. And while maybe these aren’t exactly meditation, like the quiet mind exercises, they form a good base for being able to move in to different forms of meditation. I enjoyed the classes, but after moving, both because they were during the week and due to gas prices, I was no longer able to make it up for the classes.

    A big change for me this year is that it my first year of teaching and I’m working with high school students. Once school starting is was like a shock to system and to my sleep schedule. I had wanted to try morning devotionals, but always feeling rushed in the morning I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. I tried really hard those first few weeks to do a quick meditation to start each day, thinking it would help to ground me out and center me at the start of the day. Most of the time it just stressed me out because I felt like I was running late all the time. I couldn’t quiet my mind to even start since I was so worried about making sure my lunch was packed, I’d remembered to brush my hair and teeth, and that my lessons plans were in order for the day. There have been a great number of changes to this as the year has gone on to make some sort of morning devotional work with my schedule and still be meaningful.

    I tried pulling an Oracle every morning. I found my quiet mind, prayed to Apollo, and then pulled a disk. I would write it down, interpret it as best I could, and then use it message to guide my day. This worked really well at first because I was just starting to work with the Greek Alphabet Oracle, and so it both helped me begin learning them and gave my day a thought to focus it. However, with this method, I still ran into the time crunch issue. I slowly moved away from doing this in the morning because I was just pulling a disk, writing down the name, but then having to run out the door and I wouldn’t get around to interpreting it. I moved it to the evening, but by that time, the purpose I’d had for pulling it (as daily guidance) wasn’t as meaningful, because the day was already mostly over. So this attempt at a daily devotion phased out.

    As we had recently moved, right around when school was starting was when we began unpacking boxes in earnest. I began slowly building my altar downstairs in the living room. It had always been in my bedroom before. Moving it into the living room helped with the brief morning meditation a little bit. Because I was already downstairs getting ready for school, I was able to actually spend a few moments at my altar each morning before leaving. This is something that, at least in part, has continued to be a part of my morning routine. I greet the Gods in the morning, sometimes lighting a candle (I stopped doing this because I would forget to blow it out), and making a small morning offering. It is brief enough, and takes place where I already am, that I have been able to keep up with my “morning greeting.”

    The other form of morning greeting that I got in the habit of doing around November is what I like to call “car devotionals.” I have a 30-minute drive to work directly east that is almost always completely uneventful. The reason I began this type of morning prayer was because at that time of the year I got to see the sunrise every morning, driving directly into it. I was inspired to just speak directly from the heart about what I feeling and seeing. Bright and Beautiful Eos, Goddess of the Dawn, is who I most often call on those morning drives, but there have been many gods who have given me words for them. These car devotionals have been absolutely constant. Even now when I no longer see the sunrise every morning, I’m in the habit of delivering some words every morning to the gods, and so I’ve been able to keep up with it. That 30-minute drive, without the radio, is my time in the morning to calm, center, find guidance for the day, and offer praise to the deities of my heart.

    The deep of winter is actually when I had the most trouble with mental discipline. The obstacles I struggled with the most were not being home/travelling, and an overwhelming depression simply from the cold and the dark. The prayer beads helped with the being away from home factor, as I was able to take them with very easily. The depression was a lot harder to deal with. I didn’t want to do anything, not eat, not go to work, not go to activities or hang out with friends. The thought of sinking further into my own head when meditating scared me, quite frankly. This is when I began experimenting with active meditation. The idea of being able to keep my body busy so that my mind could free up a little bit. Over the winter I had good success with needlepoint and sewing in general. Cross-stitching was what I tried first, but that didn’t work very well because it required too much concentration or I would lose count of my stitches. However, when I started working on backing and quilting a quilt I was working on, that’s when I found I was able to actively meditate. My hands were busy, so my mind was free to wander. Because my body was occupied doing something I wasn’t scared of losing myself in my head.

    As spring finally began rolling around the winter depression and general down feelings ebbed, but I continued with the active meditation, but now taking a more, well, active form. I do karate and so I began trying active meditation with my kata (forms) and while working out. I was very helpful, very freeing. This occupied my body even more fully and so I was able to let my mind explore even more. As the weather gets even warmer, I’ve found that gardening also functions as a very good active meditation for me.

    So, over the past year I’ve developed a good base for meditation and mental discipline through the quiet mind exercises. I would still like to work more on the grounding and shielding so that I can perhaps step up the meditation to some trance work. But until I’m comfortable with letting my mind escape and until I ground properly, I won’t be trying that on my own. I plan to continue trying different things. I have a few methods, such as the car devotionals and active meditation, that have remained constantly useful during this time, and plan to continue using them until they no longer seem to work.

    June


    • -breath meditation (counting breaths, controlled breathing)


    • -quieting the mind with DBT techniques


    • –

    July


    • -breath counting


    • -Hellenic prayer beads morning & night


    • –

    August


    • -breath counting


    • -envisioning light and color shielding


    • -experience with vicodin and being an amoeba


    • -Hellenic prayer beads morning and night


    • -Oracle pull a day


    • –

    September


    • -start of school, morning devotionals


    • -building altar downstairs


    • -Hellenic prayer beads night


    • -Oracle pull a day


    • –

    October


    • -morning devotionals turn into car devotionals


    • -Hestia flame in morning


    • -Hellenic prayer beads night, thinking of making new combined set to include Celtic/Norse for Thom

    November


    • -car devotionals


    • -Hellenic prayer beads night

    December


    • -car devotionals


    • -struggling with not being at home for devotionals


    • -mind quieting


    • -“active” meditation – sewing/needlepoint

    January


    • -car devotionals


    • -struggling with schedule & depression


    • -mind quieting & breathing


    • -more altar visits (unscheduled)

    February


    • -morning/car devotionals


    • -still struggling w/ schedule & winter darkness


    • -shower cleansing


    • –

    March


    • -car devotionals


    • -active meditation – kata

    April


    • -car devotionals


    • -active meditation – kata, gardening

    May


    • -car devotionals


    • -active meditation – kata, gardening

    Two Powers

    An essay focusing on the Dedicant’s understanding of the meaning of the “Two Powers” meditation or other form of “grounding and centering,” as used in meditation and ritual. This account should include impressions and insights that the Dedicant gained from practical experience. (300 word min.)

    Adequate Inadequate Excellent

    • •Word length under

    • •Misunderstanding of the concept of “two powers”
    • •Lacking in personal insight/opinions
    • •Unwillingness to work with the two powers/give it a try
  • •Word length OK
  • •Use of “script” (at least to begin)
  • •Basic understanding of the purpose of grounding and centering
    		•
  • •Publishable quality reviews
  • •Deep/unique insights
  • •Extension of concept beyond basics
  • •Innovation/creativity
    		•

    Of all the kinds of grounding and centering I’ve tried, the two powers method is the one that I’ve experienced the most success with. At first I found it very difficult, especially depending on who led the meditation. It was hard for me if the guided portion didn’t go the same pace as what my mind was going. Normally things felt too slow for me. I’d be pulling the waters up and they’d reach all the way to my head before the speaker guiding the meditation would even have the waters reach our feet. I also had trouble with the guided two powers when the speaker would describe something differently than how I was seeing it. It was very jolting and would push me out of the meditation. I do really like the tree mentality though. It really helps me feel strong and firm. I’m able to pull energy up and center myself, but then also more able to ground it out after taking what I need.

    I had much more luck with the two powers meditation after I had done it by myself. When I did it myself for the first time I could go and my own speed and the way I described things was exactly how I saw them. I began really getting it, and was finally able to work in group two powers meditation after I’d had an experience doing it by myself outside. I sat at the base of an old oak tree on Ohio State University’s campus. I was able to use the quiet mind techniques I talk about in the Mental Discipline essay to enter a calm state, and then I reached my energy into the tree. I used a real tree’s root to help guide my energy formed roots deep into the earth and pull the dark chthonic waters up to nourish me. I used the trees own tree and leaves to help guide my energy formed leaves to open and welcome the sunlight coming down. By using the tree to guide me, I got a feel for doing the Two Powers meditation and from that point on, because I had experienced with a guide first, I was able to more easily connect during a guided meditation. The script I wrote, included below, reflects this experience. I lovingly call it my Dryad Meditation, because of how you become one with the tree.

    The Two Powers meditation I wrote for Three Cranes Grove’s Samhain 2010:

    “Children of Earth, take a moment to calm your mind and body. Breathe deep and close your eyes. Listen to the sound of your own breathing. Hear your heartbeat thrumming inside you. Pause for a second and just listen.

    ***Pause***

    See in your mind’s eye where you stand now, and picture yourself walking away from where you are. You’re walking towards a deep and old forest. Feel the cool, damp earth on your feet. As you enter the forest feel the cool autumn breeze brush your cheek.

    Notice the sounds around you. A gentle rustling of leaves, perhaps from the wind, perhaps made by a squirrel bounding by. Notice the sunlight dappling across your face. A last breath of summer caressing your face, heartening you for the colder days ahead.

    As you are walking deeper and deeper into the forest you suddenly come upon a clearing. There is a small pond in the middle of the glade surrounded by trees around the water’s edge. One of these trees calls to you and you glide over to it. Place you hands on the trunk and feel the rough bark against your palm. Feel the ancient wisdom emanating from it.
    Turn and place your back against the tree. Feel yourself sinking into it, becoming part of the tree. Feel your toes mix with the roots twinning down into the earth. Allow you mind to follow those roots and tendrils as they creep ever deeper, until suddenly they plunge into the cool deep waters far below the surface of the earth. Use the knowledge of the tree to pull those waters up through your roots. Feel them approaching you, up and up, until they reach your toes.

    Feel the waters pulsing up through your toes and heels, moving up your legs and pooling in your groin. Feel them surging up into your chest and down your arms. Feel your branches swelling and cool waters seeping into your fingers, your leaves. Feel the waters rush up and fountain out the crown of your head, your uppermost branches and leaves, and come cascading back down into the earth to soak back down cooling your roots again. Having taken your fill, feeling replenished, allow those cool, dark waters to bleed back down into the earth.

    Again feel the wind brush through your hair, your leaves. Feel as the sunlight shines down on you, brightening and invigorating you. Allow your leaves to take in that bright, golden light. Let it convert to pure energy and infuse your head and chest with light and energy. Let it saturate your branches and flow into your finger leaves. Feel as it washes down through your groin and flows down you legs and energizes you down to your roots. Having absorbed as much light as your body will hold, let the remainder reflect back off you, back into the sky.

    Feel how the combination of the cool waters and the bright light mixes within your body. Feel how it mingles and brings a new awareness to every essence of yourself. Let your attention drift over yourself from your roots, to your trunk, and on up to your leaves.
    Let a breath of wind catch one of your leaves and watch as it drifts downward to land fall lightly into the pond. Watch as the water ripples outward from this light touch. Allow your awareness to follow this ripple outward and see as it collides with other, similar ripples. As you follow those to their source you see that they also come from fallen leaves.

    Now seeing all these leaves in the water creating ripples that touch and rebound off your own, you notice all the other trees surrounding the pond. Reach out your awareness and sense that these trees are all part of this grove. Reach out and feel that you are not alone in this glade, but rather you are surrounded by the warmth of your kin. You are all here together.
    Take a moment and allow this feeling of togetherness and oneness to soak into your mind, your heart, your bones and your soul. Listen to the breathing of those around you. Your hearts beat as one now.

    ***Pause***

    With this new realization that you are here among family, you begin to disconnect your self from the tree, just as all those around you do. Wiggle your toes and separate them from the roots. Wiggle your fingers and feel the leaves fall away. Roll you shoulders, allowing you to step out of the tree and once again become your own self.

    As you now look around you see that while before you came to this glade alone, you now are leaving among friends. It is time now to turn away from the glade and walk back out of the forest. Listen, as before to the sounds around you. You can now hear the laughter of friends, and you feel now not just the warmth of the sun, but the warmth of companionship. As you break out of the forest and head back towards you body here keep that feeling that you are now one with the people around you.

    Now, step back into your body and take deep breath to settle yourself back in. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Now begin moving your arms and legs just a little as you feel yourself come back to this place. Here, among kinfolk, we may now move on with the work we have for today.”

    The Nine Virtues

    Written discussion of the Dedicants understanding of each of the following virtues: wisdom, piety, vision, courage, integrity, perseverance, hospitality, moderation, and fertility. The Dedicant may also include other virtues, if desired, and compare them to these nine (125 word min. each)

    Inadequate Adequate Excellent

    • •Does not include all nine

    • •Plagiarism/excessive quoting (dictionary definition does not go toward word count)
    • •Misunderstands meaning
    • •Word count under
  • •Includes all nine
  • •Word count OK
  • •Subjective combined with objective approach (ex: “This is what it means; this is what it means to me.”
    		•
  • •Includes nine or more
  • •Word count OK
  • •Creative approach
  • •Critique of why some virtues included, others not (“why” in addition to “what”)
  • •Three functional analysis
    		•

    Wisdom
    Our Own Druidry: good judgment, the ability to perceive people and situations correctly, deliberate about and decide on the correct response.

    Noun: the quality or state of being wise;  knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.

    “By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.”
     Confucius quotes

    Wait. There is much to be gained by taking your surroundings in. Watch. See the flowers bloom and the people rush by. Listen. The words spoken to you as a child and echoing in your head even now. Remember. Let your memories wash over you. Weigh. Every action will spark a reaction. Acceptance. Know that which is not your fault and take responsibility for what is. Wisdom. Taking what your know and have learned and applying it so that your every action results in the intended reactions. Knowing the difference between that which you can and cannot change and knowing the difference between what you sparked, and what you had no hand in. Initially innate, you must be patient, attentive, and willing to adapt in order to gain the knowledge of the truly wise, and in order to be truly wise, you must be able to take that knowledge and apply it to your actions.

    Piety

    Our Own Druidry: correct observance of ritual and social traditions; the maintenance of the agreements, both personal and societal, that we humans have with the Gods and Spirits. Keeping the Old Ways, through ceremony and duty.

    Noun: reverence for god(s) or devout fulfillment of religious obligations

    “It is rash to intrude upon the piety of others: both the depth and the grace of it elude the stranger.” ~ George Santayana

    Piety is a fire that never hungers and a well that echoes ever deep. It is a relationship built on *ghosti. Sometimes pious acts feel like just going through the motions, and often when the days are darkest, that’s all it is. But it is going through those motions, and experiencing the Gods in every aspect of your life, that will eventually lead to a relationship. Though you may observe every High Day, that is not piety. Neither is only going to your altar when you need something. Keeping the Old Ways everyday and walking the path everyday is piety.
    Yes, I must live my life with all the demands of living in this society. I need to have a job, I need to pay my bills, but I also need to live everyday honoring the Gods. If I consider the Gods in my everyday life, then I am living in a way that honors the old ways. To the ancient Greeks, religion was not just something that only happened at festivals, relegated to only certain days and times. It was steeped into everything they did, every moment of every day. It was an inextricable part of their life, and that is how I strive to live mine. When I drive into the sunrise every morning and praise Eos, when it storms and I give thanks to Zeus, when I see Kore in a flower, when I see Artemis in the wild animals… that is everyday piety.

    I grew up saying prayers every night before bed and now I have adjusted that idea to fit my concept of piety. I have a litany I repeat every night, as a reminder to myself and to the Gods that this is the path I walk, and while it is the words and actions I save especially for them that are the best offering and the deepest sacrifice, I see them, hear them, and honor them everyday.

    Vision

    Our Own Druidry: The ability to broaden one’s perspective to have a greater understanding of our place/role in the cosmos, relating to the past, present, and future.”

    Vision (noun): the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be: prophetic vision

    “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” ~Joel Barker

    While Our Own Druidry relates Vision more to knowing your place in the cosmos I see it in a different light: Vision is having a purpose in life. Not just seeing where you stand, but having some idea of where you are going. It is a gift that allows a person to see clearly where they stand in relation to others. It allows them to take their knowledge of what has happened in the past and apply that knowledge to similar situations and circumstances to be able to predict what future outcomes may be. In Neo-Pagan circles, we refer to it as divination, but it doesn’t have to apply that way. After all, in school when we learn history, we’re not just doing it to memorize facts for a test, though it may seem that way. Learning about your past, your country’s past, your religion’s past, humanity’s past and synthesizing it is what allows us, as the current generation, to attempt to learn from and avoid the mistakes that our ancestors made. It helps us to avoid those same traps. So Vision is understanding where you came from sp you can find your place in the cosmos and develop a purpose for your life.

    Courage

    Our Own Druidry: the ability to act appropriately in the face of adversity.

    Noun: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.


    “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” ~Ambrose Redmoon

    While the dictionary defines Courage as having no fear, I believe that Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is when you can laugh away fear in the face of danger. Your knocking knees and shaking hands covered by your display of confidence. The rush of adrenaline as you face head on that which scares you the most. You keep your head in the face of adversity. Like the stallion who charges the mountain lion to protect his mares and foals. Like the mother bird who feigns injury to lure away the predators. Like the African buffalo who charges forth to rescue a captured calf, even though it may mean death. Standing strong is not the only display of strength however. Fear does not overtake you or control your actions. You carry on, pick up the pieces, and try again in spite of the challenges and difficulties. Courage is the rising song in your heart that strengthens your resolve and buoys your confidence driving you and those around you to rally.

    Integrity

    Our Own Druidry: Honor; being true to one’s self and to others, involving oath-keeping, honesty, fairness, respect, and self-confidence.

    Noun:
    1.     adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
    2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished

    “If we are ever in doubt about what to do, it is a good rule to ask ourselves what we shall wish on the morrow that we had done.” ~John Lubbock

    I am only as good as my word, without that, I am nothing. This is something I have tried to hold myself to my whole life, and have also held others to. I’ve been told that I’m naïve and childish in this respect, as though my expecting people to be honest and true to what they say is a bad thing. Integrity is not just being honest with others and keeping your word though. That’s just the external part of it. Integrity is also being true to and honest with yourself. If you go against what is your true self for too long, then you will eventually break and lose yourself to whatever other forces you’re caving into. If you have integrity you will not compromise your beliefs, you will be self-confident in upholding your beliefs, you will be fair and honest to others and expect them act the same way towards you.

    Perseverance

    Our Own Druidry: Drive; the motivation to pursue goals even when that pursuit becomes difficult.

    Perseverance (noun): steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

    “The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.” ~Buddhist proverb

    Perseverance is the flame that continues to burn inside you when the storm seems the worst.  Sometimes it burns bright and strong with no trouble, though this is often only when the winds are calm, and the Theoi are easily heard on the breeze.  When times become difficult, and the rain is pounding down, the flame flickers, just barely keeping alight.  The sound of the rumbling thunder seems to drown out the Gods, and the lightning blinds you from seeing them in your life.  It is then that the flame needs to be tended most, and cared for.  And just as it seems as though it may extinguish itself in the whipping wind you remember: The Gods are always present in your life, and will hold you close and keep you tending that small flickering light.  After all, even when the storm seems worst, it is still the mighty Zeus.

    Hospitality

    Our Own Druidry: Acting as both gracious host and appreciative guest, involving benevolence, friendliness, humor, and the honoring of a gift for a gift.

    Noun:
    1.     the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers.
    2.     the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.

    “If it were not for guests all houses would be graves.”  ~Kahlil Gibran

    Hospitality is an imperative quality to have. The Gods reward those who welcome guests into their home, as shown in the myths of the Greeks. When I was in college, and not yet a member of ADF or Three Cranes Grove, I was taking an ethnography class where our assignment was to learn about a subculture through observations and interviews. Already being a member of the school’s Pagan Student Association I was in contact with two members of 3CG and ADF: MJD and Anna Banana. They graciously allowed me to interview them for my project. I was nervous about having to record the interview, but the thing that struck me the most about both of them was the hospitality, the *ghosti that they both demonstrated. Anna welcomed me into her apartment and gave me a tour and offered me dinner she’d cooked before we even got started. Mike did the same. He drove me to and from campus, gave me a tour of his house and introduced me to his cats. I had brought spaghetti to make for dinner, which we did. After the preliminary welcoming they both spoke freely about their spiritual lives, showed me their altars, and generally made me feel welcome. Of all the information I took away from those interviews, the thing that struck me most deeply was how welcome they made me feel. I was a guest in their homes, and they welcomed me in friendship and freely shared all they could. When MJD and Anna welcomed me into their homes they were gracious hosts. When I thanked them profusely, shared in the making of dinner, and listened attentively to their stories I was an appreciative guest.

    Moderation

    Our Own Druidry: Cultivating one’s appetites so that one is neither a slave to them nor driven to ill health (mental or physical) through excess or deficiency

    Noun: the quality of being moderate;  restraint; avoidance of extremes or excesses; temperance.

    “Excess on occasion is exhilarating.  It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.”  ~W. Somerset Maugham

    Moderation seems great in theory. It makes sense that you should not completely deprive yourself of anything, nor should you overly indulge in anything. But to me this has always seemed to resonate with the concept that everything should be taken in bland amounts. This is where the joking phrase “Everything in moderation, even moderation,” comes in. If you are moderate in absolutely everything you do, then that can begin to deprive you of the exhilartion and wonder of life. So, while I think it is important to be careful that you don’t become addicted to anything, nor irrationally avoid anything, it is just as important to have sometimes splurge or have “cheat” days. If you were moderate all the time, you would not know where your limits were on either end of the spectrum, and you would not appreciate what gifts are given as much.

    Fertility

    Our Own Druidry: bounty of mind, body, and spirit involving creativity and industry, and appeciation of the physical and sensual, nurturing these qualities in others.

    Fertile: Noun:
    1. bearing, producing, or capable of producing vegetation, crops, etc., abundantly; prolific: fertile soil.
    2.     bearing or capable of bearing offspring.
    3. abundantly productive: a fertile imagination.

    “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman

    The very first impression I get when I hear the word “fertility” is the picture of field full of grain that will lead to a bountiful harvest. The difference between a fertile and fallow field can mean life or death. I think that if we take that metaphor of a field and apply it to ourselves the consequences can be just as dire. An active, or fertile, imagination is one of the main components for innovation and inspiration. Without inspiration we would be desperately trying to connect and praise the Kindred, but would be lacking the words and actions to do so. With fertility we can create greats works of art, we can speak eloquently, and we can encourage those around us to do the same. Fertility is having a great abundance of ideas that we have the ability to make reality in order to enrich our lives, the lives of those around us, and to honor the Kindreds.

    The Three Kindreds

    When working within a ritual space I’ve called out the Three Kindreds in two different ways.  Each ways has its place depending on what the focus for the rite is, and depending also on what pantheon I’m working with.  The first way I call out to them, and the way I tend to do more often and feel more comfortable with, if by calling out first to the Ancestors, and feeling the power of them raising up from the ground and soaking up through the Well.  I associate the Ancestors with the Well.  I then call to the Nature Spirits all around me, within this world and realm.  I associate the Nature Spirits with the Tree.  Then reaching up to the sky, I call out to the Shining Ones, and feel their warmth wash around me.  I associate the Shining Ones with the Fire. As I’ve deepened my work however, I’ve begun to question whether or not this way of calling to them is always the best way.  After all, are there not Deities who reside below me, and Spirits of Nature in mythical forms that aren’t of this realm, and the Mighty Dead, the Heroes, who may drift up from the Underworld, who’ve been made constellations, or even those more modern heroes whose accomplishes still influence the world today?  So if I’m always calling to them in a way that partitions them into the Three Realms, am I then, in essence, unintentionally skipping some of the Kindreds?

    The result of this argument in myself was to begin changing the way I call to the Kindreds as the circumstances necessitate.  So now, the other way that I call out to them is by first calling to the numinous beings of the chthonic realm.  The Ancestors who dwell there, the Spirits of Nature who dwell there, and the Shining Ones who dwell there.  I then call out to the numinous beings of this realm, the beings in the world around us.  The Ancestors who dwell there, the Spirits of Nature who dwell there, and the Shining Ones who dwell there.   And then finally I call out to all the numinous beings of the Upper Realm, those in the heavens, on Mt. Olympus, or in Asgard.  The Ancestors who dwell there, the Spirits of Nature who dwell there, and the Shining Ones who dwell there.

    With this broadening understanding of where each of the Three Kindreds dwell, my understanding of each of them has also broadened.  The Ancestors are the Mighty Dead; the Ancient Wise who have gone before, and as such they have knowledge beyond my comprehension that can help me on my path, my journey.  There are three ways that I connect to the Ancestors.  There are ancestors of my blood, ancestors of my country/culture, and ancestors of my hearth.  My immediate thought has always gone to blood-kin first, and I at first believed that was the only way to approach the Ancestors.  So, that caused major problems for me because I’m adopted.  Trying to forge a connection the ancestors over bloodlines and ties hasn’t worked at all for me.  I think I probably have a bit of mental block against connecting that way.  I’ve tried to do some family history work to trace back my adoptive family, but even that only goes back four generations or so.  My family isn’t very talkative, and doesn’t seem to have any desire to talk about stories from their past, and there are no tales about the “Old Country.”  I’ve only got a couple of names and a few stories to connect me back, and it’s not a connection I feel particularly strong about to begin with.

    I’ve had more luck connecting to the cultural ancestors.  The me these are all the people who have helped to shape our world and culture, and made it what it is today.  For me, this means important figures in science (Galileo, Copernicus), philosophy (Socrates, Plato), literature (Shakespeare, Homer), history (Caesar, Queen Elizabeth, Washington), and human rights (Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa), etc.  By honoring the cultural ancestors I connect both to the culture of humanity as a whole, as well as to sub-cultures of people and professions that have shaped out society.  For instance, in healing I may honor or Brighde as well as someone like Alexander Fleming.

    The third way I make connections with the Ancestors is through the myths of the heroes.  This goes back so far as to include people like Herakles, Daedalus, and Theseus, but I also see it including folk heroes such as Paul Revere, Paul Bunyan, and the Chocolate Pilot.  They are the people who’ve experienced the world, strove to make it a better place, and because of that have had their stories told to millions.

    I see the Nature Spirits in two broad categories.  Those beings of nature that we can see, and those we can’t.  The first type of Nature Spirit is the more obvious.  They are the creatures that inhabit our world: the birds, fish, insects, reptiles and mammals, but they are also the trees, rivers, rocks, plants, dirt, and oceans.  They are all part of the ecosystem that makes our world work together and function, and that is a large part of why they deserve honor.  Of the Three Kindreds, the Nature Spirits are the ones I connect the most to.  I can see them everywhere, and interact on them in a physical sense everyday.  I can go out to my garden and I can honor and worship the Nature Spirits in a way that I can see results.

    The second type of Nature Spirit, the kind you can’t see, are the mythical beasts.  This incorporates creatures that live hidden in our world, are described in myths, or take on roles beyond that of their mundane counterparts: the unicorn, phoenix, griffin, dryads, and nymphs, but also the creatures like the crane, wolf, falcon and owl, who have extended responsibilities and duties.  These nature spirits are those who are our spirit guides, our totems, or those to deliver omens.  I connect to these in many ways the same way I do to the visible Nature Spirits, especially in the plants and waters.  I feel extreme connection to the wide variety of nymphs (the dryads, naiads, okeanides, etc.) and see them in the world all around me.  I see this second group of Nature Spirits as the tenders of the first, and it is my job to aid the second group in their care for the first.  And because of this relationship between us, the way I worship the Nature Spirits best and the way I am the most fulfilled by it, is through my active work out in nature, experiencing the world around me.

    The Shining Ones are grouped more based on their “job description.”  There are those who work in the Upper Realm, Gods of the sky, air, sun, wind, etc.  or those who are specifically said to dwell in the Upper Realm.  There are those who work in the mid-realm, like Gods of the forest, hearth, commerce, war, etc.  And then there are those who work in the Underworld, mainly the Gods of death.  When I work with the Theoi, I approach them first on a professional level.  When I’m learning about a deity and first begin my approach toward them based on what their “job” is.  I read the myths and occasionally ask others who work with the deity, but I approach them on that professional level.  It’s only after I’ve started to develop that base relationship where we can talk on a professional level that I can then begin to deepen my relationship with certain deities on a more friendly level.  So the Shining Ones are a great in power and in number.

    I find myself most strongly drawn to the Gods of the Mid-Realm, and I think that is probably because I’m so strongly drawn to the Nature Spirits.  And just as the mythical beasts protect nature, the Gods of this realm protect and work with all beings of this realm.  That includes the plants, animals, minerals, and humans.  In the sense that it is easier to connect to the Gods of the Mid-Realm because they are more connected to and invested in the affairs of humans.

    The Gods of the Upper Realm and the Underworld I generally have less connection to.  I still feel connected to the Upper Realm Gods who I can see and feel and interact with, like gods of the sun, wind, air, and rain.  Though they dwell above me, I directly feel their influence.  I think the reason I still feel only a slight connection the gods of the Underworld is because of my trouble connecting with the Ancestors.

    In conclusion, all of the Three Kindreds are tied together.  Each of their relationship to each other affects how I, in turn, am able to relate to them.  Because of my comfort with the more tangible aspects of the Kindreds, it is those particular entities in each of the delineations of the Kindreds that I best relate to, and the more work I have to do to grow the relationship with the others.

     

     

    The 8 Neo-Pagan High Days

    November 1 – First Cross Quarter

    The first cross quarter, often called Samhain, is a time of remembrance for the dead.  It is thought of as the time when the veil between the worlds is thinnest, and thus it is a liminal time when we can more easily communicate with the Mighty Dead, the Ancient Wise.  It is the final of the harvest festivals, and is often celebrated with a great feast honoring those who have passed.

    In our Grove we’ve celebrated Samhain by holding a “dumb supper.”  During this time we have a feast with the Grove members and create a plate of food specifically for the Ancestors.  Then one by one, while everyone is quiet, we go up the altar and tell a story or share a memory about our ancestors.  It is a time for community with each other and our ancestors.

    In current culture it is linked to Halloween.  Children wear costumes (which stems from the folk wearing masks so the spirits wouldn’t recognize them) and candy and other treats are given out, hearkening back to a time of offering hospitality to travelers.

    December 21 – Winter Solstice

    Winter Solstice, often referred to as Yule, is the longest night of the year.  It is seen as a time of death and rebirth.  It is the darkest night, but from that point on the days will get longer each day, and so hope is renewed that the winter will not keep getting darker and it will end eventually.

    Hellenic tradition celebrates Heliogenna at this time, as a rebirth of the Sun.  The honored deity is Helios, God of the Sun, and it is a time for the folk to reflect back on what they did the past year and to wipe their slate clean of that which they don’t want to take into the coming year.  This is similar to the practice in current culture of making New Year’s Resolutions.

    February 1 – Second Cross Quarter

    The second cross quarter, often called Imbolc, is the time of year when the sheep begin lactating again, signaling that the winter is coming to a close and spring is just around the corner.  Imbolc celebrates the fire that burns within, and the hearth.  This is likely because the family stays together more and remains around the hearth more in the wintertime.

    In current culture, Groundhog’s Day is celebrated on February 2nd, and is a time when people look to a groundhog leaving his borrow to see how much longer the winter will be.  So, in the same sense, winter is coming to an end, it will last just a bit longer, and spring is just around the corner.

    March 21 – Spring Equinox

    Spring Equinox, often called Ostara, is the time of year when winter is finally letting go of the world and the day and night are the same length.  It is a time for fertility, new life, and new beginnings.  Farmers can begin planting, and new livestock are born to sustain the herds.

    In Hellenic culture the festival of Anthesteria takes place around this time.  It is a three day “Festival of Flowers” that celebrates the coming of spring, new wine (honoring Dionysos here), and the ancestors.  The first day, the Opening of Jars (Pithoigia), is where the new wine was opened and libations to Dionysos were poured.  The folk prayed that wine drunk mixed with water as Dionysos taught would be good for them.  The second day, the Day of Cups (Khoes), was a time for revelry and merrymaking.  The third day, the Day of Pots (Khytrai), honored the ancestors by leaving out traditional food for the dead (Orsini).

    May 1 – Third Cross Quarter

    The third cross quarter, often known as Beltane, is a time of revelry, and like Samhain, a time when the veil between the worlds is thin.  It is another liminal time, though in the case of pop culture associated more with fairies and magical beast than with the dead.  However, this is okay because it is seen as a time when the folk can communicate more easily with the Gods and with the Nature Spirits.

    In our Grove we generally dance the Maypole, which is a derivative of Morris Dancing.  “Morris dancing, in fact, has been claimed to be a remnant of a pre-Christian Celtic, or Druidic, fertility dance” (Witcomb), though the historic evidence supporting this is questionable.  Despite this however, dancing the Maypole is an example of neo-pagan practices surround May Day, or Beltane.  It is considered a fertility dance that focuses on raising power.

    June 21 – Summer Solstice

    Summer Solstice, or Midsummer, is the longest day of the year.  It is a time to celebrate the glory and power of the sun, as well as the mighty Fire within.  During this celebration there often would have been many bonfires burning.

    A modern Hellenic celebration is Prometheia, referencing Prometheus, the Greek Titan who gave fire as a gift to mankind.  It is a three day festival with the first day honoring the ancient philosophers and remembering the ancient Greek culture and traditions. On the second day the surviving parts of the Prometheia trilogy by Aeschylus are performed.  They relate the tragedy of Prometheus and how he was punished for giving fire to mankind.  The theater performance is followed by revelry late into the night.  On the third day purification, name giving, and marriage ceremonies take place (Prometheia).

    August 1 – Fourth Cross Quarter

    The fourth cross quarter, also known as Lughnassadh, is the first of the three harvest festivals.  The summer months where food is in short supply due to the heat are coming to an end and the bounty of the fall harvests is a time for celebration.  In Celtic tradition this festival honors Lugh and a variety of warrior games were held in honor of Lugh’s foster mother, Tailltiu.  In Hellenic tradition warrior games were also held at this time of year for several days following the main ritual.  During Panathenaia a 2-mile uphill torch race was held ending at the Acropolis.  “The first runner one to arrive with a torch still alight was the winner and his torch was used to light the fire to burn the sacrifices” (Panathenaia).

    In addition to the competitions, Panathenaia was a celebration of Athena’s birthday, or the birthday of the city of Athens.   It is celebrated as a time when Gods and mortals feast together.  During the Greater Panathenaia the main workings for this festival were giving the statue of Athena a new peplos, or robe (Winter).

    September 21 – Autumn Equinox

    Autumn Equinox, or the neo-pagan festival of Mabon, is the second of the three harvest festivals.  It begins the dark half of the year, as it is the day when the day and night are the same length, but the nights will become longer from this day on.  It is a time for reflection on the joys of the summer months and the light half of the year, and a time for contemplation of the coming hardships of the dark half of the year.

    In our grove we celebrate this festival as our Anniversary Rite, a time when our spiritual work really took off.  We have a Grove Poem that is read every year at this time, adding a new stanza each year.  The new stanza reflects our work from the past year, carrying on the theme of reflection and contemplation.

     

    DP Book Reviews

    Indo-European Title: A History of Pagan Europe

    A History of Pagan Europe by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick is a reasonably well-written book, and a fairly good resource for Ár nDraíocht Féin’s Dedicant Path.  It works well as a source for studying the roots of Ár nDraíocht Féin because you can identify the common themes both in the rituals of Our Own Druidry as well as in the rituals of the ancients across the Indo-European cultures discussed in the book. The book is a very good resource if the reader already knows a decent amount about Ár nDraíocht Féin, because then he or she can then make connections between the ancient practices of various cultures and religions and what the current practice is in Our Own Druidry.

    There are many references throughout that book that are helpful for understanding our religion, specifically in regards to our re-creation of the cosmos using the fire, well, and tree.  For instance, in talking about the Greeks and Hellenistic religions the book describes how “many sanctuaries in later Greek culture centred on a sacred tree” and did dances in order to establish a connection between the worlds (Jones 6).  There is evidence at La Tene II barrow at Normee of this dancing around a central point, demonstrating that this idea of a sacred tree standing at the center of worlds (82).   There were Jupiter pillars as well, that seem to have served the same purpose.  The Baltic tradition uses a “pole or tree as a symbol of the World Tree, the celestial axis of the Earth’s rotation” (174).  All of these things relate to our current concept of the sacred tree, or the world tree, in Ár nDraíocht Féin.

    As far as the Well in Ár nDraíocht Féin goes, this book gives evidence for that as well.  The Celts had “shrines at springs, rivers, [and] lakes” where they kept holy wells that are still known today (Jones 81).  The wells were known for their healing waters.  The ‘sun springs’ that are referenced in regards to the Celts bear a certain resemblance to a version of our two powers meditation.  The idea the deep chthonic waters mix with the bright light of the heavens is a visualization that we in Ár nDraíocht Féin often use during an attunement (88). The waters for the Greeks were often the sites of Oracles and prophecy.  This can be interpreted as a connection between the Ancient Wise that dwell in the deep and the wisdom that the Greeks thought could be gained there.

    The sacred fire is also mentioned throughout the discussion of different culture.  Hestia and Vesta served as the flame and hearth keepers in Greece and Rome, respectively.  The Celts, “in County Kildare Brighde had a shrine with a scared flame, which was tended by a college of women” (Jones 102). When other religions sough to stamp out the various brands of paganism, one of the first things they attacked was the sacred fire.  “Various Church councils held in Germany called for the suppression of heathen practices, including … the need-fire” (131).  In Rome, when Catholic Christianity was declared the only allowed faith, many Pagan shrines and ceremonies were to lose State funding, but “perhaps worst of all, the Vestals were to lose their privileges and immunities and their sacred fire was to be put out” (71).  Fire was also very important in sacrifice so that the offerings could be burned and the smoke sent up to the heavens.  The Celtic and Germanic peoples echoed this importance or fire in the burning of the dead.

    In focusing on how the fire, well, and tree were treated in pagan practices in Indo-European cultures, it is possible for the reader to understand how those ancient practices relate to our current practices within Ár nDraíocht Féin.  These connections, among many others, make A History of Pagan Europe a good study title for use in the Dedicant’s Training Program.

     

    Cultural Title: Theogony and Works and Days

    Hesiod wrote Theogony and Works and Days during the period in Greek history when oral tradition was finally being record due to the emergence of the Greek alphabet.  His work was, in many ways, overshadowed by Homer and his writing, but Hesiod’s works are still very useful in learning about the Gods themselves, as well as the people who worshiped them.  Theogony is verse that explains how the Gods came into begin, and how they family tree, or more accurately, the family thicket, plays out.  It is a good explanation of the creation myth of both the Gods and of Man, but is also not necessarily a good resource for beginners.  The text does not explain what each god has specific dominion over, and thus how he or she relates to the world, and to us.  He also uses multiple names of some gods, which I’ve never heard outside of this text.  So it may not be nearly as helpful to those new to the mythology.  One of the things I noticed in reading the long lists of names of gods, was that those who actually had every god in a group listed were the daughters of rivers and oceans.  In this relatively short text, the percentage of text that is devoted to the names of the water deities shows how important sacred water was to the Ancient Greeks.

    In the notes and introduction before Works and Days Athanassakis notes how this text was likely written by Hesiod directly to his brother, so he could “speak to Perses the naked truth” (Hesiod 65).       It is a text that is about moral values and the proper time to do the proper thing.  I found this section both very boring and very interesting in sections.  Hesiod spent a lot of the text discussing how farmers and sailors should go about their jobs.  And while this is excellent anthropological information about the common man during that time period, it does not speak particularly well to me.  However, the portion that I found interesting was the section where Hesiod spoke regarding portents and the correct day and the correct month for certain tasks, saying “Zeus sends the days; observe them in good measure” (Hesiod 84).  This section provides knowledge for worshiping and living with the Hellenic religion as the people of Ancient Greece did.  Granted, some of it is outdated, and some may regard it as silly superstition, but that is that nature of faith and belief.  It is in the Works and Days that we are told which days are sacred to certain gods.  For instance, beginning at line 768, the sacred days are laid out:

    Here are the days that come from Zeus the counselor,

    If people judge their true nature and live by it:

    The chief sacred days are the first, the fourth, and the seventh;

    Leto bore Apollon of the golden sword on the seventh.

    This part of the text is what specifically makes Works and Days a good book for the Dedicant learner.  It provides specific information about how the Ancient Greeks lived, and how they worshiped.

    All in all, I would recommend this book, but encourage it to be read alongside a collection of Greek myths.  I think that the reader will get more out of Theogony and Works and Days if they have good background knowledge of the myths.  It is an excellent primary source that is beneficial to the Dedicant learner.

     

    Modern Title: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Paganism

    The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Paganism by Carl McColman provides a broad overview of varying kinds of paganism.  It is a mixed bag of information with some glaring inaccuracies as well as some valuable tidbits that could contribute to a budding pagan’s new spiritual path.  The beginning of the book focuses on the general beliefs that all pagans have and some of the larger brands of paganism.

    I had a difficult time with this first section because it tries to ascribe a set of beliefs to a huge group of people.  This not necessarily a fault of the author, but rather of the broad nature of the topic.  If one considers that the world could be divided into monotheists and polytheists, most people would agree that it seems mad to try saying “all monotheists think this way,” which in turn makes it rather insane to try coming up with a way to say “all polytheists believe this way.”  The other gripe I had with the majority of the book is how centered on Wicca it is.  Granted, Wicca and witchcraft is what gets the most press, and what will probably make the book sell, but for a book that is claiming to cover all aspects of paganism, many of the chapters and discussion within the book lean towards Goddess centered, Wiccan worship.  This, for the person who knows nothing of paganism, is likely to give a skewed picture of what types of paganism are out there.  The one other thing that made me question this book’s scholarly worth was the vast number of small, but easily noticeable and correctable, errors.  For instance when stating that Dianic Wicca is “named after the Greek Goddess of the hunt,” even though Diana is a Roman Goddess (McColman 54).  It is a small error, but one that is easily fixed.  These types of inaccuracies give the impression of little editing and research.

    The last part of the book I think is where the most value comes for a new pagan.  The book offers sound advice on starting to explore through meditation your own beliefs and finding the path that’s right for you.  There is a section of how to set up and altar in your home, how to start learning about different deities, and how to go about finding groups of pagans if you don’t want to be solitary.  It even gives a list of questions that you should ask before joining any sort of pagan group, which I think is especially valuable.  I would take it further and say it’s an important set of questions to ask before joining any religious group, because they include things like “Is it okay for members to disagree with the leaders?” and “Do you feel comfortable with the members?” (McColman 308)  These are questions that can help to determine if a group has cult-like tendencies.

    All in all, I would say this is a good book for the person who knows nothing about paganism and is trying to find their way spiritually.  It is a good exploratory book, and a good book for brand new pagans just beginning to develop their spirituality.  I would not recommend it to learners on the Dedicant Path if they have any sort of background knowledge on paganism, due to its heavy focus on Goddess worship and Wiccan paths.

     

    Grove Attunement Samhain 2010

    Children of Earth, take a moment to calm your mind and body. Breathe deep and close your eyes. Listen to the sound of your own breathing. Hear your heartbeat thrumming inside you. Pause for a second and just listen.

    ***Pause***

    See in your mind’s eye where you stand now, and picture yourself walking away from where you are. You’re walking towards a deep and old forest. Feel the cool, damp earth on your feet. As you enter the forest feel the cool autumn breeze brush your cheek.

    Notice the sounds around you. A gentle rustling of leaves, perhaps from the wind, perhaps made by a squirrel bounding by. Notice the sunlight dappling across your face. A last breath of summer caressing your face, heartening you for the colder days ahead.

    As you are walking deeper and deeper into the forest you suddenly come upon a clearing. There is a small pond in the middle of the glade surrounded by trees around the water’s edge. One of these trees calls to you and you glide over to it. Place you hands on the trunk and feel the rough bark against your palm. Feel the ancient wisdom emanating from it.

    Turn and place your back against the tree. Feel yourself sinking into it, becoming part of the tree. Feel your toes mix with the roots twinning down into the earth. Allow you mind to follow those roots and tendrils as they creep ever deeper, until suddenly they plunge into the cool deep waters far below the surface of the earth. Use the knowledge of the tree to pull those waters up through your roots. Feel them approaching you, up and up, until they reach your toes.

    Feel the waters pulsing up through your toes and heels, moving up your legs and pooling in your groin. Feel them surging up into your chest and down your arms. Feel your branches swelling and cool waters seeping into your fingers, your leaves. Feel the waters rush up and fountain out the crown of your head, your uppermost branches and leaves, and come cascading back down into the earth to soak back down cooling your roots again. Having taken your fill, feeling replenished, allow those cool, dark waters to bleed back down into the earth.

    Again feel the wind brush through your hair, your leaves. Feel as the sunlight shines down on you, brightening and invigorating you. Allow your leaves to take in that bright, golden light. Let it convert to pure energy and infuse your head and chest with light and energy. Let it saturate your branches and flow into your finger leaves. Feel as it washes down through your groin and flows down you legs and energizes you down to your roots. Having absorbed as much light as your body will hold, let the remainder reflect back off you, back into the sky.

    Feel how the combination of the cool waters and the bright light mixes within your body. Feel how it mingles and brings a new awareness to every essence of yourself. Let your attention drift over yourself from your roots, to your trunk, and on up to your leaves.

    Let a breath of wind catch one of your leaves and watch as it drifts downward to land fall lightly into the pond. Watch as the water ripples outward from this light touch. Allow your awareness to follow this ripple outward and see as it collides with other, similar ripples. As you follow those to their source you see that they also come from fallen leaves.

    Now seeing all these leaves in the water creating ripples that touch and rebound off your own, you notice all the other trees surrounding the pond. Reach out your awareness and sense that these trees are all part of this grove. Reach out and feel that you are not alone in this glade, but rather you are surrounded by the warmth of your kin. You are all here together.

    Take a moment and allow this feeling of togetherness and oneness to soak into your mind, your heart, your bones and your soul. Listen to the breathing of those around you. Your hearts beat as one now.

    ***Pause***

    With this new realization that you are here among family, you begin to disconnect your self from the tree, just as all those around you do. Wiggle your toes and separate them from the roots. Wiggle your fingers and feel the leaves fall away. Roll you shoulders, allowing you to step out of the tree and once again become your own self.

    As you now look around you see that while before you came to this glade alone, you now are leaving among friends. It is time now to turn away from the glade and walk back out of the forest. Listen, as before to the sounds around you. You can now hear the laughter of friends, and you feel now not just the warmth of the sun, but the warmth of companionship. As you break out of the forest and head back towards you body here keep that feeling that you are now one with the people around you.

    Now, step back into your body and take deep breath to settle yourself back in. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Now begin moving your arms and legs just a little as you feel yourself come back to this place. Here, among kinfolk, we may now move on with the work we have for today.

    Hellenic Kin Quilt Square

    I made the quilt square for the Hellenic Kin for the Artisan’s Guild Quilt project. I had the idea for the square, it just took me awhile to actually sketch out what I specifically wanted. Then I had to figure out how to get the sketch onto some fabric (Thank you gel pens!)  The design is a white owl in the center (it’s actually sketched off a barn owl), with acorns and oaks leaves in the corners.  Then there is the Kins name in English (White Owls Kin) and in Greek (Oi Asproi Koukouvayies), which actually translates to The Owl Kin.  The Fabric is cotton duck, and the design is done in puffy paints (brushed on) that are all metallic colors. I hope the Hellenes approve 😀

    And some details shots.  First a close up look at the owl:

    And then a slightly better look at the finished square:

    All hail the Muses!

    Genesios

    On the 5th day of the month of Boedromion Genesios is celebrated. It is a feast to honor the dead, the ancestors. Originally the plan was to celebrate this feast with the Delos, but since moving it’s been difficult to drive up to Columbus as often as I’d like. So Thom and I decided to celebrate here at home. He’s been a real sport with the Hellenic rites, since I know he doesn’t feel much from the Olympian Gods; he’s much more in tune with the Tuatha Dé Danann.

    Tonight Thom and I did our first Core Order of Ritual by ourselves. It was very brief in and of itself. I asked Hermes to be the gate keeper since he can function as the guide of souls. I don’t usually work with him, though I have felt a relationship just beginning to bud recently. The omens I took asked for advice from the Ancestors. I pulled Xi, Khi, and Iota. I interpreted it to mean that the Ancestors were reminding us that in order to succeed we must put in the work. We need to plan and labor, but we will have great success if we do. One of the reasons our rite itself was so short was because in feasting with our Ancestors, we wanted to go back downstairs, so we breezed through the main part of the rite. I think my phrasing was something like “Ancestors, we’re here to honor you tonight, to socialize and tell stories, and to introduce you to another member of the family, however, we don’t want to burn the house down, so we’re gonna tie up this portion of the ritual and we’ll meet you downstairs for food and alcohol.” It was kind of silly feeling, but also seemed like the smart thing to do, and the family didn’t seem to mind.

    The plan that Thom and I had was to each pick an ancestor and tell a story about them, and then introduce them to the other. We ended up telling stories for nearly an hour and sharing in the memories and good company. It was a lot more emotional that I was expecting, though I think I should have expected it. I offered ice cream to my grandpa, and Thom offered beer to his. We each met some of the other side of our new family, and learned some things about one another that we didn’t know before.

    I definitely want to keep doing rites at home with Thom. Though we occasionally frustrate each other in these situations, it is also very bonding and healing. I think I would like having some time set aside for us where we can continue to visit with our Ancestors, and begin the process of introductions and co-mingling. All in all, the rite went well, and I’d do it again.

    Offerings

    In preparation for Our Little Delos Noumenia rite I’ve been reading up on the types of offerings given to the gods. I want to try making offering cakes. They’re a type of honey cake with ingredients that are commonly offered tot he gods, such as barley, wheat, milk, and honey. I want to make an attempt at making them, though they’ll have to wait to make them with all the grain ingredients because I’m not sure where to acquire whole wheat and barley flour. I called Fairborn Natural Foods (937-878-7649) at 146 N. Broad St. and talked to a really nice lady there. She just put in an order for me for barley flour, and said she’ll call me when it comes in. That’s so exciting. This is the recipe I would like to start with, though after I make it once it may get modified:

    • 1 1/2 c. spelt or whole wheat flour
    • 1 c. barley flour
    • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
    • 2 eggs
    • 1/4 c. milk (goat’s milk or buttermilk may also be used)
    • 1/4 c. honey
    • Optional flavoring: 1 tbsp. rose water or 1 tsp. vanilla, almond, or lemon extract
    • Optional additions: sesame, poppy, or sunflower seeds

    Preheat oven to 350 F. and lightly oil a cookie sheet. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flours and baking powder. In a smaller bowl, mix one egg, milk, honey, and any flavorings until smooth. Add to the flour mixture and knead into a firm dough, adding more flour as necessary. Form cakes by hand, or roll out and cut into shapes. Place on cookie sheet. Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush the tops of the cakes with it. Sprinkle with seeds if desired. Bake 15-20 minutes for small cakes and 25-30 for large ones, or until done. Makes 2 small or 4 large cakes.

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    For this Noumenia I think I will be making just simple honey cakes with the flour I’ve got, using this recipe:
    For the cake:

    • 4 cups sifted flour
    • 1/2 cup butter
    • 2 T caster sugar
    • 2 egg yolks
    • 1.5 tsp baking powder
    • pinch salt
    • 1 egg white

    For the topping:

    • 1 cup honey (heather)
    • 3 T ground almonds

    Rub the butter into the flour, and gently heat the sugar and honey until it is well mixed, then stir in the baking powder. Add this to the flour mixture, alternately with the egg yolks beaten with the milk. Mix very well, and finally add the salt and mix again. Roll out on a floured board very lightly and cut into rounds or shapes. Put on a greased baking sheet and bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F) for about 20 minutes. Remove to a rack, paint the tops with lightly beaten egg white, and spread over the thick honey mixed with the ground almonds. Put in a very cool oven for no longer than 5 minutes to set. Eat either hot or cold. An alternative method is to serve these light little cakes hot from the oven with warm, melted heather honey poured over. Makes approx. 24 cakes.