#grimoire62794

[oakenroots]

  Next week is Saint Patrick's feast day in the Catholic church, which is probably an odd thing for me to blog about, but the past couple y

This is a lovely, well written summation of the *actual* history of St. Patrick. Spoiler Alert: He didn't drive out the druids by force and if he had tried he would have been killed.

[oakenroots]

Hi!! I love your page. Do you have any recommendations on how to do grounding work when you have chronic pain? It's very hard for me to go outside and hard for me to get on the floor and sit cross legged. Thank you so much for your insight!! ♥️💕

Hi! I actually do because I ground myself before I go to sleep and periodically throughout the day as a way to cope with pain from stomach spasms. I recommend laying down flat or on a reclining surface like a comfortable armchair or your bed. I select a music, without vocals as a personal preference. I use Marconi Union's Weightless playlist to sleep, or viking folk music for meditation, while my roommate prefers celtic music.

For ease of understanding, let me tell you about how I meditate before doing readings, essentially the visualization I go through while grounding myself.

Laying still, music playing, feet seperated, and hands resting my side or folded on my stomach, I begin my grounding at my feet. I use a basic color visualization, beginning with a deep red for my feet that becomes lighter and merges into orange as it passes through my pelvis, yellow as it coils through my stomach, green as it pulls through my lungs, blue as it presses through my arms, back, and through my shoulders, before shifting into indigo as it pools in my throat, and becoming the darkest purple as it meets behind my eyes and culminates at the crown of my head, before flowing back down through my body. I visualize circulating the energy in my body up and down, relaxing all the muscles in my body as the energy passes through them.

Though my body doesn't perform the way it should, every part of my body represents an aspect of myself. My feet and legs represent my desire to move forward, there is the power to carry my burdens in my hips, my stomach represents my hunger for a better life, my breath connects me to the air that gives me life, my hands reach out and grasp the future I choose, my voice gives form to my ambitions, my mind is a tool that I use to carve my willpower into the universe.

Now here's where "grounding" becomes "releasing" for purposes of magic, or spirituality, where I then shift my visualization into tree roots that extend from my body or extend my mind outward into the sky like the branches of a tree to grasp the power of the universe through the gods I worship.

Breathing is critical throughout meditation, so be sure to expand your diaphragm fully as you relax the muscles in your body, generally for the equivalent of 8 seconds in, 8 seconds out. If you encounter thoughts, sounds, pain or other distractions while meditating acknowledge them while they endure and mentally redirect yourself through visualization, back to the body part and color you were on. If you find your concentration fully broken, begin again from red in your feet. If visualization is hard for you, it may help to mentally repeat "red, red, red, red" rhythmically to refocus while thinking about a red object that you can visualize easily.

[oakenroots]

I want to work with a Pagan deity, now what?

Special post today dedicated to @aethyrsecretary that I think could be helpful for a lot of people. If you're interested in learning MY process for searching for and connecting with a deity, read more!

Step 1: Do you feel a particular attraction to any specific pantheon due to religious/ethnic/pop culture reasons?

 If so, START your search in that pantheon, BUT don't be afraid to look through others as you work, or work with different pantheons! Bear in mind some religious practices are part of a closed faith, and to claim their religion as your own is unwelcome to those cultures. You can find a list here

Step 2: What do you want to accomplish in your life that you feel you would be more able to deal with if you had a deity watching over you?

 I sought Odin to help me learn to make wise decisions, and Frigga for the power to change my OWN fate through will power. I strive to achieve these things and though I may not always succeed, I feel I am guided to better paths through my worship. 

Want a happier home? Seek a deity of the hearth, relationships, and hospitality. Travel often? Seek a deity that provides protection for travelers. Find a deity that may be able to help you reach your goals, but understand that part of the relationship with a deity is trying to behave in a way that will honor them. This may include keeping the house cleaner, going to couples therapy, whatever. There is a deity out there for everyone if you're willing to work with them.

3. Read up! Once you've pinned down a few deities you MAY like to work with, do some digging.

 Look up historical art of that deity if any exists, and dig into the culture the deity stems from. Norse, Egyptian & Celtic pantheons, for example, all have rules and ceremonies associated with them that are worth looking into, at least for the first impression kind of deal. I generally recommend connecting with deities one at a time deal unless you are trying to accomplish major magic, or you are calling traditionally paired deities like Zeus & Hera, Freyr & Freya, etc. Figure out what you can offer to them that you think will make them happy, and what kind of space you can make in your home for them. Find out whether traditional offerings were eaten by priests or burned and stick to that tradition when possible.

I have a some details on historical worship and hospitality customs for you, though bear in mind that I approach religion from a reconstructionist viewpoint. This means that, at a base level, I think you should know your deities origin story and that through these origins we can find ways to communicate with them more easily.

Egyptian: here and here

Celtic: here and here

Greek: here and here

Norse: here and here

PM me if you're looking for something from another pantheon/path and I'll do my best to guide you or point you to someone more qualified than me to tell you about that pantheon.

Step 4: Say Hi!

This is the step that I many people are nervous about, or feel silly taking. For me, the first time I seriously reached out to a non-christian deity was as a rebellious teen and I offered Odin like literally a bottle of juice from marching band and a McDonald's apple pie to help me climb the mountain of college applications/SAT prep/graduation and getting my shit together. Who better to ask then a God of Wisdom right?

My point is, it doesn’t matter what you offer, as long as you offer something that would be of value to YOU and you communicate with them genuinely and with an honest heart. I like to do small ceremonies for Odin & Frigga to specifically ask for things, and I invoke them both for big holidays where I sit down and talk about the future with them (which is really me sitting on the porch in front of two small plates of meat, berries, alcohol and bread and talking out-loud while reaching out to them in my heart).

TIP: If at first you don't succeed, lay it on thick and flatter them. When I invoke Odin at the big holidays, Its "Odin, All-father, Wanderer and Wiseman, Father of Language and Magic and..." etc. Lay it on thick. They're gods and until you have built a relationship with them, it is good to be polite. You may earn brownie points for making stuff yourself, like homemade bread, which is super tasty and easy to make.

5: Give and Take!

 If you make promises to your deity, keep them. Care for whatever space, no matter how big or small, that you honor them with. Try and figure out what they like and if you don’t know, guess or ask around. I light my liquor offerings to Odin and Frigga, and try to judge by the strength of the flame as I speak to them how they feel about things. Fire goes out in a still room, with no breeze? They're unhappy. Fire strong and crackling? Good mood, good food.

Pay attention to things that are out of the ordinary.

Right before things went downhill in my health and career, a young Cardinal killed itself on the front door, which was especially striking since my hair was colored that shade of red at the time.

When my relationship was facing turmoil, two beautiful butterflies died, perfectly preserved on the back porch, and just before another relationship ended I found a perfectly preserved dead monarch butterfly in the middle of the path while walking with my partner.

I find a disproportionate number of 4 leaf clovers all the time, particularly in the roots of the old oak in the back that I have designated as Odin's tree. Sure, there are probably mundane explanations for these things, but Odin always warns me by bird and Frigga always warns me with butterflies, and that is the truth that I choose to accept.

6. Get to Know your Deity. 

There are ways you may be able to perceive your god's personality, and often it is shown through how they choose to execute your requests. Odin is a bit of a prankster I have found, in that he likes finding creative solutions for my problems that often teach me a lesson or put the spotlight on me to make advances in my own life.

While I was in basic training, I lay in my bunk one night, asking Odin for Guidance. I had messed up so much, I felt, in just 6 days, and there was no getting out of the situation. My MTI knew my name because my hair was out of regulation, and I had a spotlight on me already for being slightly overweight when I shipped out. The next day I got two slices of french toast, dedicated one to him and loaded it with blueberry sauce. He got right to work.

Odin's idea of "granting" me wisdom was to have me spend an extra 9 weeks at basic training. 9, of course, being the number of days he spent hanging beneath Yggdrasil in his own quest for knowledge. I tore a ligament in my ankle, (not as bad as losing an eye!) And had to recover through physical therapy. But I got to spend my Sundays in pagan ceremonies (The Air Force has a wiccan-pagan chapel service at basic training, who da thunk?) and I spent a LOT of time practicing how to do my laundry. It thankfully let my hair grow in before I returned to training. He solved the problem, taught me a lesson, claimed a sacrifice (time and body) and helped me get my shit right before I returned to basic training.

If you ask for motivation don’t be surprised if the gods offer you a challenge you have no choice but to face in return. If you seek beauty, or money, or success, most often you will see those wishes "granted" by the gods presenting you with opportunities. I expressed a desire to get into working with my hands, and Odin was even so kind as to pull down this beautiful black walnut tree in my backyard to give me stock wood for my crafts (executed while a hurricane was hitting my town, after I asked him on Yule to aid my creativity) and since we get along, he was kind enough to pull down the one that wouldn’t destroy half of my yard on the way down.

Cutely enough Odin's oak in my backyard drops branches all the time but it never damages the garden down below that is dedicated to his wife Frigga, so keep in mind how deities may feel about one another if you decide you want to work with multiple deities.

From there it's just a matter of maintenance. Offer when life is bountiful to thank them for what they have given you, and offer when life is hard and you need help. Don't be afraid to ask, watch for things that seem out of the ordinary and build a good relationship with your deity! Show your dedication through actions, and behaving a way that would please your god, not just through words.

[oakenroots]

My gods are not dead (pt1)

Odin is here.

Where?

Everywhere.

He's the older kid at the skate park teaching a little boy how to do tricks without biting the dust.

He guides the hands of every tutor, sips coffee at 3am with philosophy professors, falls asleep in the library reading.

He leans on the shoulder of every good samaritan who stops to give you directions, or fix a flat tire.

He marches down city streets with the marginalized crying out "This is not how we should be treated!"

He comes dressed in tattered clothes to Starbucks, and sips his water in the corner while they eye him nervously, he smiles gently at the young woman who presses a dollar bill into his hand.

He has no home in the hearts of bigots, my god whose priests dressed in feminine garb, my god who so loved his foolish narrow minded mortals that he gave us the written word, so that we could learn from our past and become wise.

He sits in movie theaters crunching popcorn, the corner of his eyes crinkling with mirth as he watches a mortal portray him on the screen.

He volunteers at animal shelters, and feeds birds from a bench in the park. He sits in the sunlight and enjoys the whistling of the wind through the branches of the trees, drinking in the laughter of children and content chatter of parents.

And when I cry from loss, or failure, or frustration, when my soul cries out for escape, when I berate myself for my failings, I find him standing on my back porch. When I offer him a drink and try to hide my puffy red eyes, he only smiles, and asks, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

[oakenroots]

Super Nasty Curse Jar

A modification of a lovely Halloween jar that me and @ravenlunasky put together for some nasty people in our lives. Holidays make for potent curses but the New Moon would make a good time for casting as well.

Ingredients:

1 huge mason Jar

Enough storm water to fill the jar (we had hurricane water, score!)

A nasty smushy onion

An article of clothing, a signature, or a photo of the target

Mistletoe (killed Baldur in Norse Myths and grows rampant in the southern US) (can substitute in any thorny vine)

Cayenne Pepper

A tea light

A lighter

Flammable liquid (alcohol if you are an adult)

Flameproof shot glasses

Process:

Take the nasty onion and think about all the gross and horrible things that the people have done for you, and use your rage to smash the onion on the ground or concrete until it weeps. Drop the nasty thing in the jar.

Pour in the storm water and the cayenne.

Light your shots and invoke your gods (as applicable)

"Gods above I ask that you lend me your strength to exact my revenge against those that have harmed me, abused me, enraged me, mistreated me, and caused me to weep. With the burning juice of onion, may they weep a thousand tears for every one I've shed. With the burning power of cayenne pepper, may they feel the lash of my bottled rage. With the water from a storm, may the fury of the heavens rain down upon them. With the thorns of mistletoe may they be cut a thousand times for every wound they inflicted upon me, and with this image/signature/clothing of (Name of curse target) may their fate be sealed, into this jar until I so will it. As I speak, my words become energy, to pull threads in the tapestry of fate and reshape it to my will. (This is my "as I will it so mote it be" phrase)

Seal the jar with wax.

Thank your gods (as applicable) and blow out their shots.

[oakenroots]

A word on Runes v. Sigils

I've been running into this a lot lately (and I'm sorry to point this out but it seems to be coming from Wiccans and neo-wiccans primarily). I'm hoping to clarify any confusion on this topic, and spread some knowledge. Runes, and bindrunes, are not the same as sigils.

A sigil, as commonly used by the modern pagan, is the letters of a word broken down into shapes and repeated and made into a pattern, with the intent that the shapes lend power to the intent. For instance, a common way of making sigils is to remove the vowels from a word and use the consonants to make a shape. So Power would be PWR and those letters would be made into a design to lend power to the user. There are lots of ways to make sigils.

Runes refer to the use of an ancient writing type, usually Eldar Futhark runes or Anglo Saxon runes, specifically "any of the characters of an ancient Germanic alphabet, derived from the Roman alphabet, in use, esp in Scandinavia, from the 3rd century ad  to the end of the Middle Ages. Each character was believed to have a  magical significance"  Each and every rune in these alphabets has a sound, a name and a meaning. For instance, this rune: 

 is AlgiR. 

AlgiR makes a Z or S sound, as in cousin. It is representative of the pine tree, or the sedge grass. It is thus representative of swift growth, and inpentrable barriers and is known as the rune of Defense. 

That has a lot more significance than just a letter. You have to take the meaning of a rune into consideration, and that is why a translation in Eldar Futhark would not necessarily work as a sigil. For instance, I could translate "Happy" into runes:

(H) (A) (P) (I)

But the meanings translate to

Natures wrath, Knowledge and Wisdom, Mystery, Ice.

and why would you take the time to make a weird conflicting bindrune like that, when Wunjo, the rune of Joy, would alone suffice?

In addition, rather than the simple invocation of a sigil, where you say the word, runes use Galdr, a sort of singsongy repetition of sounds that invokes that rune. 

I understand that there are many ways to use these runes, and not all uses require total understanding of the rune system, but I know that in some cases a fuller understanding is required. It would sadden me to see someone claiming runes "don't work" because they skipped some aspect of the system, or created a contradictory bindrune. 

I really hope this clarifies some information, and is useful for someone. Please check your source material and do some cross referencing before making statements about how "simple" something is, or falsely equating two things. Just as not everything written on the web is true, not everything written in a book is true either. Runes are frequently used by Heathens, and so a fair number of us can offer you guidance on them if you want to use them or incorporate them into your practice. 

:) 

And here, have some sources.

http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.html

http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/galdr.html

http://www.runemaker.com/history.shtml

http://www.runemaker.com/futhark/reading.shtml

http://www.therunesite.com/elder-futhark-rune-meanings/

http://www.ancientscripts.com/futhark.html

[oakenroots]

A few words on my practice

I mainly worship Odin and Freyja, but lately I feel as if I'm being told, "Cool offering bro, but do you really feel it?" and I feel like music might solve some of the problem. Since music is such a big part of my life and I've been doing my offerings without any, the answer is honestly no. 

I mean, I am still getting a reaction. While writing my final paper I made an offering of desperation to Odin and lit a shot of whiskey on fire for him, and while I stood by the makeshift altar I had made the flames seemed to leap toward me. I also explicitly felt his blessing as I returned to work, and managed to pass that course with a B. Similarly the other day, as I stepped outside in the rain, I heard a loud croaking bird call and sitting in the tree by my door, weathering the storm, was a black bird, though I wasn't close enough to count its pinions and tell you if it was a raven. It called a few more times, and flew away but I went in to work and I got the job, so I feel this was a sign from Odin. 

Freyja is similarly subtle. I pray to her as I tend my plants, offer every blossom I pluck up to her before I smell it and dry it, and in return my plants, which in all honestly should probably be dead, thrive. I also do not think it is a coincidence that they remain safe while I sleep despite my trouble making cat. 

So any suggestions? What kinds of music do you think these two would like? I think I'm going to start with violin and maybe continue through to power metal. Ideas?

[oakenroots]

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present you with the most ironic bindrune I have ever made.... My motivation/antiprocrastination rune. Why is that ironic? Because I have a paper due at 12 tomorrow and I did this instead. Oh well. 

Runes I used:

Algir: Usually used in the "protection" sense, Algir is here used in its most basic form, as that of the fast growing pine tree/sharp edges sedge. Here it represents Alertness, Awareness, and Clarity of Mind.

Ehwaz: The rune of momentum, symbol of the horse, and beast of burden. Here representative of forward thought and dedication to a purpose. 

Fehu: The rune of wealth. Here used in a deeper meaning, representative of the hard work that leads to success, and when taken in the sense of fertility, here used to represent a fertile mind. 

Jera: The rune of harvest/success. Jera invokes the inventiveness of the human mind, and the promise of efforts paying off. 

Sowilo: The rune of the Sun and energy. Hard work requires energy and Sowilo propels you forward with good health and energy at your disposal. 

Uruz: The rune of the Ox. Representative of determination, clear mind, and mental strength. 

"But Inga, that's more individual runes than you usually use" Yes, yes it is, because this is a huge struggle, and so it needs some extra fortification. 

"But Inga, couldn't you change the shape or direction of a rune to make your bindrunes prettier?" No. No I can't. If you reverse a rune, you often reverse its meaning, therefore jacking everything up. If I reverse Uruz for instance, to make the bindrune prettier, I just drew in a rune for poor health and a weak mind. Kind of counter productive isn't it? My bindrunes are designed for function, not their good looks. 

Galdr:

Algir Algir Algir (Al- geese)

A mind as resilient as pine

Ehwaz Ehwaz Ehwaz (eye- wahz)

Thoughts swift and strong as equine

Fehu Fehu Fehu (fay who)

A bountiful fertile mind

Jera Jera Jera (yar-ah)

Prosperity unconfined

Sowilo Sowilo Sowilo (so-wee-low)

Energy with which to strive

Uruz Uruz Uruz (ooh-rooz) 

Like the Oxen, give me drive. 

(seal with blood whatever) Tape to your laptop, draw on the back of your hand, etc once activated to induce motivation. 

*PLEASE NOTE* When need to be motivated has passed, you should remove this rune. It serves its purpose well, but being motivated with no goal results in restlessness.