At the start of 2020, I sat down and created a set of 6 simple resolutions for myself that I hoped would gently guide my practice for the year and set a few simple goals along the way. I had no idea what 2020 would bring, obviously, but despite the challenges and obstacles, I feel like I've been fairly successful and that's a nice place to be at the end of the year. I want to take a little bit of time to look at each of my resolutions and see how I feel about them today. Then, sometime in the next week I will sit down and come up with a whole new set of resolutions for 2021. Goal #1: Complete the Clergy Training Program 3rd CircleSuccess! I completed all of the courses, and on February 16th I had the honor of being elevated to Senior Priest. This ritual took place at a conference in San Jose, California, called Pantheacon. It was a wonderful weekend of rituals, workshops, and building a community. It was 6 years of study, research, writing, and work and I am so proud of myself for completing it. Goal #2: Read More! Goal of 30 booksGoal #3: Write More! Blogs & PoemsSuccess! While I don't necessarily have photos to show my success in this area, I definitely feel like this was something that I did fairly well. I definitely had lull's in my blog that I didn't feel productive or motivated, but I wrote more on this site this year than I ever have in the past. feel like I'm getting a good rhythm in place and hope to continue creating content. I also was able to get some of my poems published in other works, which feels amazing for me. Ultimately, I want to keep creating content and continue sharing my journey in the upcoming year. Goal #4: Re-Establish a Personal PracticeKinda? Realistically I think I have a better "regular" practice now than I have had in a very long time, but it certainly isn't as regular as I had hoped to be at the beginning of the year. I am doing divination each Monday, and spending a day each week focused on writing and stuff. I try to remember to do my devotionals with coffee in the morning, but I'm not always successful. I'm trying. That's a step in the right direction I suppose. This one could definitely use some work. Goal #5: Progress in Other Study ProgramsKinda? This resolution most certainly didn't take the form that I anticipated that it would at the beginning of 2020. I had hoped to complete another ADF study program at some point during the year, but that did not happen. I completed individual courses in 2 separate programs, but no completed work. I did also begin working through the OBOD Bardic Grade, which has been an interesting dive into Druidry from a completely different perspective. It's not the progress I expected, but I'm happy I at least made some progress. Goal #6: More Self CareNope! Again, I can blame 2020, but it's probably more accurate to blame anxiety and depression. I started 2020 strong with a whole new fitness routine and healthier eating habits...and then we hit quarantine and it felt like just surviving was about as much as I could handle. I did allow myself time to read and write, which are both methods of self care for me, but it wasn't as effective as I wanted it to be. It wasn't a total failure, but I also wouldn't call it a total success. Final ThoughtsWhile I didn't fully accomplish all of the things that I had hoped to at the beginning of 2020, I'm proud of the things that I was able to accomplish through the year. It was an extremely challenging year, and the fact that I had more successes than not is something that I am very happy about.
Now to take the time to genuinely think about what I want to accomplish in 2021. Hmmmm....
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Welcome back to my Learning Ogham series. I've really enjoyed getting together each week and diving into each additional Ogham, but we have reached the end of our journey. This week we end our exploration of the Greater Ogham symbols with Mor. Greater Ogham don't represent letters, but instead represent a specific idea or topic.
Mor is the symbol of the the sea. It connects us to our maternal heritage, and speaks of travel and journeys. Water is the source of all life, and vital for us to keep growing. The sea is vast, deep, and mysterious. There is so much left unknown, and so much potential for hidden knowledge and wonders there. Below are a few attributes of this symbol:
We have officially reached the very last week week of 2020. While I know that changing the calendar doesn't provide immediate fixes, I feel like jumping into 2021 gives us a chance for a new start and some opportunities for hope once again. Let's jump into our final omen for 2021. This week's omen comes from the Alice: The Wonderland Oracle by Lucy Cavendish and Jasmine Becket-Griffith. Below is our message for this week:
Clock Time is a message of stress and increased responsibility. We may feel pushed to complete too many tasks and feel like we don't have enough support to get it all completed. Take charge of your workload and do what needs to be done to push through. You can do it! Follow Your Own Good Advice is a card that tells us that there are times where we may become overwhelmed, or may have made mistakes. Give yourself the opportunity to find clarity and look inside yourself to find the right way to move forward. We're All Mad Here is a reminder that we're all interesting and unique. Don't hide who you are because you'll rob the world of your wonderful self. Embrace your eccentricities and those peculiar things that make you who you are. To summarize, we're all stressed this time of year, and the clock to 2021 is ticking by quickly. You can be successful, just look inside yourself to find what the best answer is for you right now. You are unique and wonderful, so embrace it! If this message speaks to you, or if you have some other interpretation, I would love to hear from you! I hope you all have a wonderful week. Episode 12 of the Triskele Podcast is now available. In today's episode, we discuss our hobbies and the role they play in our devotional practices! We each share what our current hobbies are and how they connect to our devotionals. Drum discusses his running practice, and gardening. Amber talks about being a hobby hopper and her practices with home-brewing, gardening, and study. Victoria shares her experiences with home-brewing and yarn crafting. We discuss creating offerings from our hobbies and we share examples of our experiences with those activities. We also share our thoughts on having hobbies that are purely devotional as well. This week's omen comes from the Colin Murray system of Ogham:
We hope you enjoyed this week's episode. We look forward to seeing you again soon. A Prayer of Gratitude
Nature Spirits, soaring on the winds high above, with wings strong and sure. Swimming in the waters below, from the shallows to depths, standing upon the soil, from our land and in our homes. We call to you. We honor you. Spirits of the land, Mighty Dryads, living among the trees, strong and sure, And the Epimelides protecting flocks upon pastures, Oreiades who dwell high in the mountains And the Anthousai who dance with the flowers. We honor you and the land we walk upon. Thank you for walking our path beside us. Spirits of the water, Eleionomai hidden in the marshes, And Haliai who play in the sand and upon the rocky shores Krinaiai who dwell in the depths of the wells and fountains And the Nereides swimming in the seas. We honor you and the waters that cleanse us. Thank you or purifying our minds, hearts, and bodies. Spirits of the sky, Aurai, who ride upon the cool breezes, And Nephelai who float among the clouds, Hesperides who glow in the setting sun, And the Asteriai, who sit among the stars. We honor you and the air that surrounds us. Thank you for blessing us with each and every breath. Spirits of Inspiration, we call to you, May your blessings of the arts Bring grace and beauty to our words. May your gifts of creation Grant us expressiveness in our ritual. May the flames of inspiration Burn away our inhibitions, Let your inspiration shine through us, As we walk through this rite. Spirits of Inspiration, we call to you. ------------- The Core Order of Ritual is something that I utilize regularly in my practice, so I feel like it's important to dive into that ritual structure a little bit and share my understanding of each part, as well as giving an example of what that part of the ritual might look like. Today we continue our discussion by talking about Calling to Inspiration. ADF rituals are an act of performance art, often including speaking, singing, and gesturing by those involved. One of the optional steps in our COoR addresses this directly, as we make an appeal to the spirits of inspiration and ask for their aid in our ritual performance. We call to divine beings and ask them to inspire us to be poised, articulate, and well-spoken. Calling to Inspiration is an optional step in our Core Order of Ritual, but it often can be performed as a prayer, poem, or song dedicated to the a spirit of inspiration such as Brigit for Irish rites, Bragi for the Norse hearth, or the Muses for Hellenic rituals. These are not the only options, but simple examples of beings that we may call upon for aid. If you have questions about this step, or any of the other parts of this series, please don't hesitate to ask. Have a wonderful weekend! Welcome back to my Learning Ogham series. This week we continue our exploration of the Greater Ogham symbols with Phagos. Greater Ogham don't represent letters, but instead represent a specific idea or topic.
Phagos is the symbol of the beech tree. It represents ancient knowledge, memories, and reflecting on the past. It speaks of wisdom of the past and the impact it can have on journey ahead of us. Pulling this ogham shows the seer that they should look to the past to see how it influences them, and to reflect on how they got to where they are. They can use this wisdom to guide them as they move forward as well. Below are a few attributes of this symbol:
Welcome to December. I'm so glad we're in the final month of this year and ready to push through these last couple of weeks to start anew in 2020. Let's jump right into this week's message.
This week's omen comes from the Collin Murray's Ogham set. Below is our message for this week:
Phagos is a symbol that represents ancient wisdom and the wisdom of our ancestors or elders. It tells us that there are many gifts that we can receive by consulting this old knowledge. It can be a valuable resource in our current environment. Luis is the symbol of protection against any sort of danger, whether it is spiritual, magical, or physical. It represents finding sanctuary and taking protections, but shows that you are protected in this moment. Beith is a symbol of new beginnings. It's a start of a new cycle and a time to move forward. This may include a need for purification or cleansing of some sort in order to have a fresh start. To summarize, listen to the words from the past, the ancient knowledge held by our ancestors, to figure out where our path may lead us. There is wisdom in those words. We are protected now as we move forward into a new cycle. The year is ending, and a new one begins bringing us all a chance for new beginnings and blessings upon ourselves. Maybe take a moment to purify or cleanse yourself in some way and we can all move into this new beginning together. If this message speaks to you, or if you have some other interpretation, I would love to hear from you! I hope you all have a wonderful week. Midwinter, Winter Solstice, Alban Arthan, Brumalia, Saturnalia....No matter what name you use, today we're talking about Yule! Yule is the time of year the shortest day and the longest night. The world has reached peak darkness, and from here the sun begins to return once again. However, Yule also marks the first day of winter, so while the days get longer, where I live the weather begins to get colder, bringing with it snowstorms and lots of ice. Just as with Samhain, it is impossible to walk through any store and not know this High Day is approaching. Holiday decorations, trees, and music seem to take over every aisle, and twinkling lights begin to pop up on the front of many, many houses.
In Neopagan traditions, Yule is celebrated as the time when the sun is returning to power. It is often viewed as the return of the Sun God(dess) and the return to fertility after the darkest part of the year. It's the time of decorating trees, exchanging gifts, and Yule logs. For me, it’s a time to spend quality time with my family and to be grateful for the many gifts in our lives. It’s when I try to remember the that even in the darkness there is potential for warmth and brightness. Yule is probably the high day that I struggle with the most. The commercialism that often becomes the focus of this time of year makes me really sad and I know there are more important things to focus on. I try to instill other focuses in my own children, but it does mean that Yule isn't always my favorite high day. This year, that isn't really helped because this year once again looks very different, and we don't have the opportunity to spend time with loved ones like I normally would. However, there are still a lot of ways that we can celebrate Yule, even during times of social distancing that are not focused on gifts and spending money. Below are just a few examples:
If you'd like to celebrate along with me, you can check out my High Day Rituals for a couple ritual suggestions. I hope you all have a wonderful Yule and a happy holiday season! |
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