Appreciating the natural world is a huge part of my spiritual practice. I love to spend time in nature, with my my toes buried in the earth, while the the warm sun shines on my skin. However, those moments are much more challenging to experience in the middle of winter. I live in a location with very harsh winters. When the seasons turn, the days grow much shorter and the world ends up buried in snow and ice. The bitter cold prevents me from spending any quality time outdoors for several months of the year, which brings an inherent sadness to my practice. Even the sunshine doesn’t feel warm in these months. However, I try to put effort into appreciating the sun nonetheless. I focus on the returning warmth and light of the sun when it returns to power. This work helps push me through the coldest, darkest months. So, how do I honor the sun when I can’t spend time outside? I’ve got a couple of go-to methods that I use during the winter:
Yoga Yoga is an exercise that is fairly new to me, but I have fallen in love with it this winter. I view Yoga as a method of prayer that is done through different positions and body movement. There are specific Sun Salutations that can be done to express gratitude to the Sun, and to connect to the light and warmth it embodies. Even a short 15 minutes doing Yoga, like the video I linked above, can help me reconnect to the energies of the world, while also working on my physical body. Bonfire/Fireplace In the moments when the sun is hidden, I find that I can reconnect to it and appreciate the role it plays with other fires. I have a fire pit in my yard, so when it isn’t TOO terribly cold, I will light a fire and enjoy the warmth and light that it brings. Sitting around the flame and sharing happy stories, singing, and spending time with loved ones can be a beautiful way to reconnect with the light. You could also do this with a fireplace if you have one in your home. Watch the Sunrise I find that a really beautiful way to honor the sun is to watch it rise over the horizon, perhaps pouring an offering or saying a word of thanks as it brings light to the world around me. Because the days are shorter, the sun rises later in the day, so I find this practice much easier to follow-through with during the winter than in the summer (I'm a night-owl at heart, so mornings are a challenge for me!). Crafts There are also numerous crafts that can be done to honor the sun. This can be a lot of fun if you have little ones. Below are a couple of examples from different bloggers: Sun Weaving https://nurturestore.co.uk/sun-weaving-solstice-crafts Stained Glass Sun Catcher https://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/summer/sun-catcher.asp Melted Crayon Sun Catcher http://morningsunrae.blogspot.com/2010/08/catching-sun.html I hope these give you an idea of some ways that I honor the sun, even when the world is cold and snowy. If you have other suggestions on how to honor the sun during winter, I’d love to hear them. Also, if you decide to try any of these practices, send me a message to tell me how they worked for you!
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The weather today is warmer than it's been in weeks, and I see glimpses of the sun. I genuinely wish for a week that is much better week than we had last week, so I approached this omen with a shy amount of tentative hopefulness. Below is the message I received:
Eta - "Bright Helios, who watches everything, watches you." For me, this omen always indicates the importance of the ever-present sun. In the middle of winter, it's hard to remember the warmth and brightness that it brings, so it's a good reminder in the cold. However, Helios is also all-seeing, so this omen also acts as a message that SOMEONE is watching, so make sure you are staying true to your word and following through on your promises. Pi - "Completing many contests, you will seize the crown." Pi is a message of perseverance. It is a message to keep moving forward, even when things are difficult. Ultimately, you can find success if you persist in your efforts and put in the hard work necessary. Iota - "There is sweat; it excels more than everything. " Iota is a message that I receive regularly in my practice. It indicates that the work is never done, but that it is through hard work that we can find success. It's not always a fun omen to receive, but combining it with the other two lots, I think it's an important message. _______________ Again, the omen builds upon itself. Even when the world is dark and difficult, the sun is present to bring light and warmth, and to keep us honest in our efforts. We will succeed if we push through the challenges, but the work is truly never done. There is always more to learn or things to develop. It's a good reminder for all of us. This omen comes to us from the Greek Alphabet Oracle. Quotes come from an article by Apollonius Sophistes found here: http://opsopaus.com/OM/BA/GAO.html I hope you all have a wonderful week. Yule has come and gone, and the calendar has once again turned to a new year. Yule is the darkest night of the year, but it is also the very beginning of Winter. Even as the days grow longer, the world around me seems to grow colder each day. The snow is piled all around, and ice threatens to cover each and every surface. Stepping outside requires hats, gloves, and piles of clothes, which someone like me (who prefers to live in dresses) absolutely despises! As you may have guessed, winter is not my favorite season, so I find it difficult to stay motivated and productive in these dark months. It is exactly this lack of motivation that encourages me to put extra effort into my daily practice. From the heart of the cold, dark winter, I find it so important to honor the sun and remember the importance it plays in my life. The sun brings warmth and life to the earth. The weather is cold, but it is the hope and remembrance of the brilliant sun that keeps me moving forward through the darkness toward spring. Over the next couple of weeks, I will continue to build on the idea of honoring the Sun from the darkness. If you have ideas on how to honor the sun in the middle of winter, I'd love to hear them! For right now, I have written the prayer below to honor the sun through all of the seasons. Brilliant Sun, You who shine in all seasons, Bright and strong in the summer, And low and warm in autumn. Cool and distant in winter, And revitalizing the spring. Your light brings growth and color. Your heat brings life and comfort. Magnificent Sun, It is you who works with the earth mother, To nurture and sustain us, From high above. Thank you for the many gifts You bring to our lives. Shining Sun, we honor you! As the sun rises, I step into a new day.
This day brings an opportunity To learn, to grow, and to succeed. Let wisdom guide my thoughts While integrity guides my actions. As I venture out into the world around me. Some days are hard. On days like today, the bad news is too much, and it's hard to find a light in the darkness. You want to push forward, but the overwhelming weight of the world makes it hard. For me, today is one of those days. Sad news about friends, co-workers, acquaintances, the country I live in...it's just a lot. So today, I turn to the flame, both inside and out, and ask for a bit of healing, both for myself and for those around me who are suffering in their own ways. Sacred Fire, Burn within us! May the might of the fire burn away illness.
May the warmth of the embers comfort all pain. May the light of the flame brighten the darkness. By the spark, be connected and heal all malaise. This week I chose to use Astragalus as my method of divination. This type of divination has many names including:
This practice includes using the ankle or "knuckle" bones of an animal as the divinatory tool. Where most divinatory practices give each individual item or symbol their own meaning, this system seems to focus more on the message as coming from the grouping rather than the individual items. The set of bones I am using were inherited from my grandmother, so I don't exactly know where they came from, but I find them an interesting resource to use. I do have a book about bone oracle usage, but it relies on the use of 5 bones, and the set I have is only 4 bones. However, there was a document included in the bag with the bones that I am using for my initial interpretation. I'm not extremely familiar with this method of divination, but I enjoy experimenting and learning new systems. I am far from an expert! With those things in mind, below is my interpretation for this week's message: Bone 1 - Sheep Bone 2 - Sheep Bone 3 - Horse Bone 4 - Goat The message tied to this combination of bones in my documentation is "No difficulties ahead for the short term." Ultimately, I think this message is pretty straight forward, and I hope to have a positive and difficulty free week. If you have familiarity with this divination system, or resources for me to gain familiarity, I would love to hear about it. Have a wonderful week! Last week, I finished reading The Magician Tarok: The Origins of the Tarot in the Mithraic and Hermetic Traditions by Stephen Flowers, PhD. In this book, Flowers attempts to tie the history of the Tarot cards that we know today to the divination symbology found in ancient Indo-European cultures. While the cards themselves did not come into existence until the 15th century, Flowers believes that the messages and imagery can be related to other symbol sets, such as the Greek Alphabet Oracle.
This book begins with a deep dive into Iranian mythology, exploring the creation myth and how it ties into the mystery initiation cult of Mithras, known as Mithraism. This cult was based on the warrior traditions of the Persian people and involved an in-depth initiation process, involving astrology, mythology, and much internal work. The explanation of this mystery cult is fascinating and well detailed. This initiation system began in what is now modern Iran, but made its way to both the Roman and Greek empires. He explains the different "Grades" or levels of initiation, as well as the deities that were involved in Iranian, Greek, and Roman cultures. As someone who truly enjoys watching the progression of mythology both through history and across cultures, I found this section of the book to be quite enjoyable. The myths and descriptions were detailed but easy to read and understand. I appreciate the knowledge and it gave me the desire to want to learn more about the cultures and practices described. After exploring Mithraism, Flowers then moves onto the Greek Alphabet Oracle, and the ties that he made between those symbols and the Mithras initiation process. He breaks down each individual letter and describes the tie to the Persian mythology, often tying it back to the interpretation in the Olympian oracle use. He then walks through the Major Arcana and ties each of the cards to the Greek Alphabet Oracle. This was a fascinating connection that I had never seen before. I enjoyed this different look at the Oracle, and seeing a different option for interpretation was fascinating. The Greek Alphabet Oracle is the symbol set that I use most often in my personal practice, so additional resources for how to use this symbol set is always appreciated, even if it isn't something that I personally choose to use. At the end of the discussion on the Tarot symbology itself, Flowers ties the Major Arcana and its symbols back to the initiation cycle of Mithraism. Each card represents a specific step in the journey that an initiate would take within the cult. The symbols are shrouded in mystery, so it does not explain the exact steps, but I found this correlation extremely interesting. I plan to do some more research into this initiation process and the practices involved in it. Ultimately, the point of this book is not to say that the cards themselves existed, but that "an archaic system of symbols keyed to sequences of Iranian sirozahs, Greek letters, Roman letters" form the background of icons that came to be the images of the Tarot. While some of the correlations feel like a bit of a stretch, I found Flowers writing style to be easy to read and his opinions well thought out and thoroughly researched. I would recommend anyone read this book if they're interested in mystery cults, initiatory practices, or divination correlation. Welcome to our weekly divination! This week, I am using Alice: the Wonderland Oracle by Lucy Cavendish and artwork by Jasmine Becket-Griffith. This oracle is a lot of fun because each card description begins with a quote from Alice in Wonderland, and then the quote is explained, before the divination explanation is given. As someone who has always loved Wonderland and all things associated with it, this deck brings me a lot of joy.
As always, I have done a simple 3 card pull to see what our omen is for this week. Let's dive right in: Uncertainty: Choose Who You Will Become - this card describes the moment where Alice meets the Catepillar and he asks her "Who are you?" and Alice was unsure how to answer because she has changed so much. This card represents receiving good advice from somewhere unexpected. However, while there may be mistakes, you can reach the end of your goal if you're willing to try. We're All Mad Here: Everyone is a little 'different' - this card describes an interaction between Alice and the Cheshire Cat, where she explains that she doesn't want to be with mad people, but he tells here that everyone here is mad, including her. This card represents an understanding that everyone is unique, including yourself, and it's ok to be who you are. Embrace your weird and just be you. Clock Time: Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting! - this card describes the White Rabbit and his obsession with time and deadlines. He seems to be always rushing from one place to another to fulfill all of his responsibilities. This card represents a time of increased work and responsibilities. With this increased load, you may feel the desire to rush but try not to do so. Take charge of the situation and find success along the way. I think this week's message shows that we may be in a time of transition, where we are moving forward but unsure of where we currently stand. Embrace who you are, and push forward. It may take more responsibility or effort, but ultimately we can be successful if we are willing to try. Earlier this week I received notice that my final course of the Clergy Training Program has been approved. I've submitted my portfolio and application to become an ADF Senior Priest. This is the final step on my journey of ADF Clergy specific training. Standing in this moment, I can't believe how far this journey has taken me, or how far I have come since the beginning.
I took my very first step into the Clery Training in May 2014 when I first started working on the Preliminary Clergy Training courses. I powered through each of those courses, excited to dive into a whole new world of learning and responsibility. In September of that year, I submitted my Letter of Intent to officially begin my journey toward ordination. I was approved to begin training a few days later, and my life has never been the same. I fell in love with the learning and experiences built into the study program, and worked as quickly as I possibly could to finish the first circle. I finished the 1st Circle of the CTP in February 2015, just 7 months after I was approved to begin the work. Yet, when I was Ordained a couple months later in April 2015, I was terrified that I wasn't good enough to be successful as a priest. But I jumped in, I did the work, and I learned more about myself and the world around me than I ever thought possible. When I was Consecrated in May 2017, I was 32 weeks pregnant with my second child and I knew my world was about to change once more. However, I also knew that this felt like the next step in my journey, and it was important for me to continue this work. Where I live, Pagans can be a challenge to find, and Pagan clergy, nearly impossible. Those who are ordained regularly have little to no training to go with their title, so continuing to build my skills and my knowledge set is an important part of my personal journey. Becoming a priest allowed me to serve a need in my community that continues to be greatly unfulfilled. Becoming an ADF Consecrated Priest helped me build a set of tools to serve the community in more ways. In each of my clergy portfolios I have said that becoming a member of clergy is not the end of the journey for me, but is instead a very important crossroad along the very long path. I continue to feel that way as I evolve and grow in this work. Each step along this path has allowed me to better learn who I am in the world, and what role I hope to play in the lives of those around me. As I write this post, I know that this work will be a part of the rest of my life. Completing the work for the third circle was a natural progression in my personal practice, but it definitely will not be the end of my studies. Standing here today, it's hard to believe that I have been a priest for nearly 5 years, working, learning, and building my tools. When I first started this journey, even becoming ordained seemed nearly impossible, so to be here, on this end of the training looking back....I don't even have the words to adequately express how I am feeling. I'm so proud of the work I have done, and know there is still so much more for me to learn. It's a little bittersweet for me to know that I've completed the program and there is not more training of this type in the future. However, I also know that doesn't mean there isn't more work to do. Once I am approved, I will be Senior Priest. I don't know exactly what the next step on my journey will be. I've still got a lot that I want to do, and I look forward to figuring out "What's Next." |
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