Dowsing

While out and about tonight I had to procure a bottle of water. The choice was limited, but let's say the brand I grabbed inspired the title of this post as well as the post itself. The label had some promo stuff about water dowsing in ancient Egypt and Rome and implied that their company used such classic methods to source the water in the bottle I was holding. I don't really believe they had someone out there water dowsing, but it was nice to see ancient methods being portrayed in a positive way.


As I'm short on time tonight I'm going to punt and start off with a few interesting links then revisit this topic as soon as possible!

Wiki is a nifty springboard to other sources on this vast topic.

A history of dowsing (with many links of interest!)

Archaeological Dowsing

The US Department of the Interior has an article on water dowsing. This link takes you tot he download of the pdf!

 

 

 

"Some Sorcerers do boast they have a Rod,

Gather'd with Vowes and Sacrifice,

And (borne about) will strangely nod

To hidden Treasure where it lies;

Mankind is (sure) that Rod divine,

For to the Wealthiest (ever) they incline." -by Samuel Sheppard

 

Trust

Italian Witches are some of the most magically paranoid people I know. Everything is as secret as possible. Unless you're seeking help from your magical family, you keep you work to yourself. Having grown up in that environment, it's hard for me to trust others, especially about work I might be doing. When I'm doing a ritual with people I don't know very well, I shield myself. My energy goes out into the pool, gets mixed with the others and sent out towards the intention of the day. But I wouldn't take that in. Or charge my items with it.

Public rituals can be a tricky thing, energy-wise. You don't know who will be there or what energy they will bring to the proverbial table. At an event ritual, like a fair or Pagan Pride day, what you're really counting on, for a successful ritual, is common intent, plus many voices saying the same thing which equals repetition, which equals invocation.

I'm a firm believer that these kind of rituals should be quick, to the point, raise a lot of energy quickly, and have the leaders of the ritual direct it towards the goal. Otherwise the focus is lost quickly and the whole thing degenerates into a theatrical production with no power behind it. 

I know that I have been unfocused lately. In the past, it's typically been a joy to blog every day. This week, I'm just not feeling it. Others who work with Mercury in his various forms have told me that they also feel the same way: Two peas in a pod for the longest time, then all of a sudden... He's off and busy taking care of other things. Well, not to say there is nothing there, but it's something I have to actively call up as opposed to the usual being together an in sync. Like when someone you live with is off on a trip; You have to pick up the phone to call them instead of just talking to them across the room. I have been feeling the lack of His presence lately and it has been reflected in my blogging, so apologies for that. I know I need to give myself over to the joy of blogging daily and learning something new and exploring the things I love. I decided that last night and today I came across three different statues of Mercury. He's still around. Right now I just have to pick up the phone.


Speaking of phones... what do you think about technology in ritual? Skyping in? Magic over the phone? ipod as index card you can read in the dark? I'm pondering a post on that!

Sunflowers!

"The heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close;
As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets
The same look that she turned when he rose."

Sacred to Apollo, this flower turns its face to the sun on his daily journey through the sky. Sunflowers bloom all over Central Italy and can be found in Etruscan art. Tuscany is filled with blooming fields of sunflowers during the summer, so say my cousins.

There are two competing myths about Helianthus, one sadder than the next. In the simple version. Clytie loved Apollo, but he did not return her love. She stared up at him as he journeyed through the sky, pining away for Him. The Gods took pity on her and turned her into the sunflower, who still follows His path.

The second tale comes to us from Ovid with thanks to theoi.com:

"She [the Persian princess Leukothoe] was his [Helios the Sun's] one delight. Not Clymene, not Rhodos now had power to hold his hert, nor Circe's lovely mother, nor the girl, sad Clytie Clytie, who languished for his love, though scorned, and at that moment nursed her wound. All were forgotten for Leucothoe . . .

Clytie was jealous, for she loved Sol [Helios] beyond all measure. Spurred with anger against that paramour, she published wide the tale of shame and, as it spread, made sure her [Leukothoe's] father knew . . . [and through her tattling about the death of the girl.]
But Clytie, although her love might well excuse her grief and grief her tale-baring, the Lord of Light no longer visited; his dalliance was done. She pined and languished, as love and longing stole her wits away. Shunning the Nymphae, beneath the open sky, on the bare ground bare-headed day and night, she sat dishevelled, and for nine long days, with never taste of food or drink, she fed her hunger on her tears and on the dew. There on the ground she stayed; she only gazed upon her god's bright face as he rode by, and turned her head to watch him cross the sky. Her limbs, they say, stuck fast there in the soil; a greenish pallor spread, as part of her changed to a bloodless plant, another part was ruby red, and where her face had been a flower like a violet [i.e. the heliotrope] was seen. Though rooted fast, towards the sun she turns; her shape is changed, but still her passion burns."

I prefer the less depressing version of the story! Ovid liked his dramas. It's always interesting to investigate the politics of the day and compare it to what was being written in terms of mythology at the same time. I digress! What can a sunflower do for us?

On the magical front:
Seeing a sunflower gives us a psychological lift; It is bright and tall and is said to relieve depression and increase fertility if worn or if the petals are eaten
To ward off nightmares plant them in a window box outside your bedroom window
To attract happiness use the petals in a bath.



Just as magical, and wonderfully practical: In Japan sunflowers are being planted to help remove radiation from the soil. And it's working.

Sunflower is also the name of one of the best veg restaurants ever! If you happen to be in northern VA stop by there!

Grand Mercury

 

 

I drove by here while taking a trip to NYC. It's Grand Central Station. And there's Mercury overseeing it all: Commerce! Travel! Communication! All in the heart of New York City! Flanking him are Minerva and Hercules. Behind him is the eagle of Zeus. I love how commanding he is in this portrayal. In many cases you see him standing around, or preparing to take off. Often he is depicted as a youth- so young, in fact, that it's hard to take him seriously as cunning. He looks incredibly innocent, nothing reflecting the experience beneath the surface. Perhaps that's the best deception of all?

In this portrayal, he is commanding. His cape is in motion, He is in motion. Minerva is reading over her scrolls, Hercules is ready to wield his hammer, and the eagle has his back. Don't forget the cornucopias on either side of the clock and the sheaf of wheat! What especially moves me is his face. Apologies for gushing tonight. Total crush lol

There are so many places around the country where we can still find Our Gods, and our ways, that it's a happy surprise, like a gift you didn't expect. I didn't expect that crossroad yesterday and I didn't expect to see Mercury that day, even though I knew He was there. Magic is all around us, we just have to shift our own perspective to appreciate it. 

Practicality

I promised something practical the other night but then I was distracted by The Apollo. I'm still doing a touchdown dance over that and I'm planning a tour through Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. And come to think of it, there's some work I need to do there too. hrmmm!  What I really want to do tonight is go off on a tear about the Aeneid and how it's basically political propaganda BS and tries to fold everything into the Roman pantheon and tie it to Caesar. Argh! But I digress! Let's conjure the forces:

This is a quickie, but also a goodie. It's fun to use for scrying. We combine the fire scrying with a focus: A key. I've talked about each of these before, but not put together. Light a candle. It can be any kind of taper, you don't have to get fancy, but if you want to dress it for scrying purposes, why not? Take a key, preferable a skeleton key and preferably one that no longer goes to a specific door. It's best if this key is one of your tools and set aside for a magical purpose. Keys are so in fashion these days, that I honestly don't know if this would work with an ornamental key, or an actual key. I suppose it's something to experiment with and test the difference.

Ask the key to unlock the information you wish to know and to show it to you. Look through the key towards the candle flame. This literally focuses your scrying. You can also do this without the candle to see around you.

I see that it's time for me to go to bed. Tomorrow, a possible discussion on what JK Rowling got right.

Trance/Possession/Prophecy

Today was the Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone workshop on Trance-Prophecy. It was very interesting. I've used tarantella and pizzica as trance inductors and also Drawing Down the Moon, which is Italian, by the way. Etruscan, if you want to get specific about it. I was surprised that they've done work in Italy, but I guess I shouldn't be.

I volunteered to let Gavin take me down the path and let myself be possessed. I decided to trust him and let go of my ego and my own way of doing things. In a meditation earlier in the day, I saw Diana walking in front of me down the path, so when I volunteered, I suspected it would be Her. It was, and she didn't want to wait for Gavin to get through the entire pathworking. She started coming through me and he told me to pull back and wait, to have more control. She and I were confused, not understanding why we couldn't do this right away. Since I had put my trust in him as my guide, I said let's do it his way, and we did. I can see how it opened up more choice for me. I could have picked any of several who wanted to come through. Diana, however, was most present. She came through, and as he described, it was like relaxing into a warm bath. Everything sounded "underwater" to me. I didn't have a care. I was completely relaxed. When I came back up, it was like a dream that was floating away.  Funny, I had to let go of my hard-won control to gain some.

I do remember that she told the group to "Find the joy in the Work." It's not all dark n mysterious all the time. There is Joy here too. Otherwise, why bother?

There was a ritual for Dionysus afterward in the vineyard. One of my favorite cohorts got to bring Hecate through and rocked it like a Trance-Diva! Part of the ritual was ecstatic dance. I had my tamburello with me and played for both the ritual and the dance. I decided that i wanted to let go and trance MY way, just to feel the back to back comparison. I gave the tamburello to a friend and started dancing and rocking and I handed off my laurel wreath and then as I danced i threw my scarf around someone's neck (like pulling them towards me). Next thing I know I'm on the floor with Gavin's hands on my head telling me to close my chakras LOL

It was a great day. I got to meet some fabulous people learn new techniques, and had a wonderful time. If you get a chance to take this workshop, you should!

Keys to the Kingdom. And Queendom.

There are many different "keys" by which we access the different realms and planes and temples. If you don't have the keys, there are places you cannot go. If you find your way there you may knock, but you may be turned away.

There are lots of keys in Italian Witchcraft: Passwords and phrases, hand gestures, imagery/signs, markings on the body, rites through which you have passed, as well as literal keys. "They" say that a key that has no door leads to wisdom. That, I believe, comes from the practice of imbuing an actual key with the energetic one- the energy signal by which you might open the astral temple if you know how.

I wondered about posting this, but nothing is holding me back (and in the past, the phone has gone dead or the words havent come out or the computer has randomly restarted itself when I was about to reveal something that wasn't ready to be brought to light) so let's do this:

Names are also a way by which you are identified on the other planes. Sometimes you are endowed with a name by your teacher, sometimes by The Gods themselves, sometimes by your Ancestors. In turn, you will learn their true name. I know many practitioners who have more than one name, lest your true one be discovered and used against you. Two people on this plane know my magical name. I also consider my mundane given name to be magical so I am happy using that rather than turning on the fluff-bunny-name-generation-2000. My given name is Majestic. I only use my given name in rituals with others, especially when I'm communing with the Wiccans. They don't need to know that magical identity, especially since it's a different stream of magic. 

Markings: I was born with a birthmark (not telling you where :P), I have a tattoo that I dreamed in the weeks before I turned 19 and had it done on Hallows Eve. Within the tat, there are symbols which serve as keys. I've heard whisperings of another tattoo to come. I've seen the place on my body, I've seen what it's supposed to be, but it's not time yet. The timing is a whole other matter.

There are phrases and bits of songs, that were so mundane to me while growing up, that I didn't realize I had been given a key until I was in the middle of using it years later. However... I've never used the keys to test others. Well, maybe one or twice back in the day when I was about to start rebelling lol I wasn't giving them away, I was being holier than thou, feeling all puffed up because I had something that someone else didn't. What can I say, I was a kid. Today? I don't really think about it unless I'm using them to journey others who haven't been certain places before, which is rare. I haven't really thought much about it before, but I don't know how universal my keys are. Do I have the Strega skeleton key? A hex key? haha gotta love the magic puns... But seriously, I don't know from other Italian family trads, so I've never really cared to whip em out and compare. I don't have people around me who flash the same magical signs that I'm down with. I wonder if that will change soon... I hope so!