Clearing the air

I have been in a major funk this past week! I think it's due to the time change, the "daylight" savings" business. I don't like changing it in November- October was late enough. At least then the shift to darkness was more gradual; We'd have a few weeks of darkness starting in the vicinity of 5:30 pm instead of the sun being gone at 4:45 all of a sudden! I slacked on my offerings, felt worse, slacked on the housework, felt worse....

Once I realized that I hadn't been doing my offerings at the hearth I grabbed my magic water and stated sprinkling the place. Followed it with sage, then followed it again with a special home blessing incense.
Then I did a quick ceremony where I took fire from the hearth and lit candles.

Inside of 15 minutes the entire place felt better and my energy changed dramatically. I'm usually good about keeping up with my offerings but somehow this got away from me and They let it be known quickly!

Tomorrow I'm going to take out all of the garbage and recycling and vacuum and then clean the floor with a little combo of herbs that Grandma would use. One of the ingredients: Lemon! Nothing like citrus to perk you up.

Now that I am sufficiently perked, I am off to tackle my ever growing book list, which I plan to update some time soon!

Beach Day

(NY Driver, you should skip this blog post, you might be allergic to it!)

This morning I packed the folks into the car and we drove to the beach. Chairs, umbrella, towels and all. And enough sand castle building toys to put Castel dell'ovo to shame! What's that? Egg castle? Yeah. It's in Naples. It was allegedly built on the ruins of a Roman fort.

It was named egg castle because, as legend has it, Virgil buried an egg somewhere in the foundation of the original building and as long as the egg remained unbroken, Naples would be safe.

When we got there, the tide was... hmmm I couldn't tell if it was going out or coming in. The waves were very rough, coming one after another a few times. We originally decided to go because my mom hurt her leg and wanted to take a dip in the ocean to heal it. That's something I was always told, from when I was young: Anything that hurts or is ailing you, go into the ocean, if at all possible. Ask Her to take away. I did the very spell I mentioned here before, only this time it was an offering, not a request. Tho the tide looked like it was going out when I was making it, the offering was taken instantly. I was removing my finger from the last sigil when a wave came up unexpectedly and took it out to sea. Then I saw a crab walking around under the wave. I'll take that as confirmation of message received!

I like to use ocean water in my rituals. Why bother adding salt to water when it's already there? Silly Wiccans ;) Why do you think the salt water is such a big deal? Why is salt water sacred? Rhetorical questions. It's all about the ocean. Then again, My People were from coastal cities, with strong attachments to the ocean.

I've barely been to the beach this year and I can feel the difference in my energy. Love the smell of the sand and being in between the worlds where water, earth air and fire all meet in the natural world. Who's up for a beach trip? I'll bring the beach toys!

A Gift

There are red tailed hawks who live near my home. They circle around hither and thither and they are mesmerizing! I've seen over a dozen traveling together. I've asked them to leave a feather for me, if they happen to be done with one. Hubby spotted one today near the labyrinth and I got to hold it today and identify it using some of the wonderful resources on the internets. I've been given lots of advice on how to clean it, both physically and metaphysically. I'm going to steam it and then let it sit in the sun before I take it inside.

I've read about the legalities of possessing feathers, eggs, nests, etc.

Migratory birds may seek respite within trees or on buildings considered private property. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 prohibits the removal of all listed species or their parts (feathers, eggs, nests, etc.) from such property.

As long as I don't remove it from my property, I'm not violating any laws. Since I never plan to remove it or sell it, we're fine :) I'm enjoying learning more about this creature and how to work with them. I need to find an appropriate thank you as well!

Take two of these and call me in the morning...

Gods are not pills you take for different ailments. Jupiter is not Excedrin and Flora is not Allegra.

This has been my facebook status for most of the day. Why? Someone posted to an email group asking which deity they should petition for help on a test. The above was my response. Stomach ache? Take ginger. Need to look good for your date? Take Venus. Bad breath? Peppermint. Traveling? Mercury.

Seriously, how did this perception arise where you go to a specific deity for a specific thing, even if you have no prior relationship? I think Jason Miller said it best when he used the following analogy which I will paraphrase badly:

If you need to borrow $50 and ask a virtual stranger, they'll probably tell you to go take a hike. If you ask someone you know, you're more likely to get it, there's a chance. If you ask your best friend, they'll give it to you no questions asked. The difference in each case here is the relationship you've built. Your best friend knows you're good for it or doesn't care because you have a history and affection for each other. The stranger? Not so much. They'll probably want some proof they'll get it back...

Anyway, the point is that when you build relationships, you have a better chance of getting something you ask for. To add to the original analogy... Your friends have contacts they can leverage on your behalf. If your patron is Athena and you need some help with travel, would it not be easier to ask her to petition Mercury for you? Even the Catholics do this: It's called Intercession. It's how they can get away with praying to a full pantheon of major and minor and local deities: It's because they're asking, for example, Saint Michael to intercede on their behalf with God.


Take the time to develop a relationship with deities and ancestors and the Lare and the Lasa. Develop these relationships as you would any other: Time, attention, dedication, following through, keeping your word, etc.  Offerings of energy and prayer and material things like lighting a candle or incense. All of this goes a long way towards reaching out. You can't be entirely goal oriented here, it's not necessarily a tit-for-tat situation, and no one likes to be used. Show your appreciation and gratitude and they will do the same in tangible ways.

Wow. I was just going to post about the solstice today! Looks like there was something else in store. I hope everyone had a wonderful solstice!

Why?

Why do I post something daily (or nightly, as the case has been)? It is an offering in response to a request. It is my offering to Mercury. He wanted words and, I have to say, the tiny amounts I post here barely scratch the surface of what bubbles up when I take the time to sit and think. One thought will float to the surface which will lead me to a book, which leads me to the author's other work, which leads me to a whole new post idea, but wait, there's another book I want to peek in first!

So thank you, Mercury, for leading me deeper into my practice by having to stop and think every night. Even my seemingly random Sappho post from last night was done only after an hour of research. There are things I would love to post about, but I can't give it the treatment it deserves, so I hold onto my notes and wait.

I feel incredibly inspired and incredibly happy to be of service and in service.

So for fun (because what is entertaining if not a service), here's Alessandra Belloni and the Pizzica Tarantata: