Getting to Know the Ancestors (I Never Knew) I never knew my maternal grandparents. My maternal grandfather passed away before I was born, and my maternal grandmother passed died on my second birthday. I know them from pictures on the wall and from stories I have heard. Now, I wish to know them better. What I do know My grandfather was a vegetarian, like I am, unusual for a person living at the turn of the 20th century. He worked... Read more
Finding Cernunnos Finding Cernunnos is one of those classic Celtic undertakings. The destination is uncertain and the journey is through a number of passageways which may lead to wonderous discoveries. Or to dead ends. This post is about that journey. Better yet, it is about that journey, so far. Gundestrup I cannot remember when I first saw an image of Cernunnos for the first time. I know that it was the image from the Gundestrup Cauldron, but the exact year... Read more
Building a Devotional Practice with the Shining Ones As Pagans, we can merely observe the eight High Days and then move on with our lives. As Devoted Pagans, we develop a daily practice that helps us to build better relationships with the entities, spirits, and allies in our lives. This is the sixth in a series of “Building a Devotional Practice with” presentations. The first three dealt with the Land, the Sea, and the Sky. In this offering, we conclude... Read more
Right in Liminal Space Earlier this week, I was thinking about liminal space. What is liminal space? It is that place that is “in-between” the world, so to speak. Let me give you a classic example. I live really close to Lake Erie. I like to go to the lake and look at the place where the water meets the horizon. That meeting place, that intersection point: that is liminal space. It is hard to tell, in this example, where... Read more
Let the Realms Surround Me In the days and times of uncertainty, one occasionally needs some grounding and centering. In the Indo-European worldview, we have the three realms that make up our world, those of land, sea, and sky. I recently wrote this prayer for a friend and I share it with you. It is meant to be said first thing in the morning, when one is unsettled, or just before one goes to sleep. I pray that it is... Read more
Devotions can be accomplished in front of an altar, a shrine, the rising sun, or many different places. I recently discovered that I could do my devotional work in 8/10s of a mile. Read more
Building a Devotional Practice with the Nature Spirits As Pagans, we can merely observe the eight High Days and then move on with our lives. As Devoted Pagans, we can develop a practice that we undertake daily that helps us to build better relationships with the entities, spirits, and allies in our lives. This is the fifth in a series of “Building a Devotional Practice with” presentations. The first three dealt with the Land, the Sea, and the Sky. In... Read more
Timing While the Summer Solstice occurs on June 21st, Midsummer occurs around June 24th. The summer solstice is when the sun is the highest point in the sky and when the Northern Hemisphere sees its shortest night. Like Midwinter, the sun appears to stand still for three days while it is stationed at the highest point in its analemma. The date midsummer was most celebrated was St. John’s Eve(June 23rd) and St. John’s Day(June 24th) (Kondratiev, 2003). Greetings, Sun of... Read more
Many of us are self-isolating due to the COVID-19 crisis. This has given us a chance to catch up on activities that we have perhaps neglected in the past or that we just are behind on in the present. While catching up and coming to balance is very important, we also have an opportunity to establish new habits and methodologies that we perhaps were not employing and enjoying before. Read more
This post offers an alternate view on the death of the god Miach, as interpreted from the lore. It picks up after part one which you can read here. 365 Days of Discovery – Conclusion Morrigu: “Some Gods have existed here since the beginning, such as Lir and me, to name a few. Others have come into being at a later time and while we, as Gods, can speak their lineage, we know that there was a time when they... Read more
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