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!

Are you worth your salt? (some Adult content alert!)

This phrase comes from the Romans, who paid their soldiers, at least partially, in Salt. The word salary comes from the Latin world salarium, which translates to "payment in salt." The ancient world over, salt was a highly valued commodity, traded on par with gold. The Romans built roads specifically for making the transportation of salt more convenient. One such road, the Via Salaria, led from Rome to the Adriatic sea, where salt was produced by evaporating sea water.

I came across several interesting bits in the book The Etruscans outside Etruria by Paolo Bernardini and Giovannangelo Camporeale. There is speculation in this book that the Etruscans contributed salt to the trade economy for wine in particular.

Salt was another of Etruria's great resources. It was either mined, as in Volterra, or extracted from seawater in evaporation ponds that were set up along the Tyrrhenian coast. Between Ostia and Pisa the location name Saline is often found, a name testifying to an activity that had extremely ancient roots in the area. Indeed, wars between Rome and Veii that date back to the time of Romulus were fought over the possession of saltworks, which were quite productive near the mouth of the Tiber.

The role of salt in the greater economy must not be overlooked, though its traces are mostly hypothetical. Salt would explain the arrival of a substantial quantity of Euboean (Greek) pottery in Veii and Rome during the eighth century; sources date the wars between these two cities over the possession of the saltworks at the mouth of the Tiber to this same period.

Pythagoras was pretty keen on salt too: "Salt is born of the purest parents: the sun and the sea." He also said that "salt was the emblem of justice; for as it preserves all things and prevents corruption, so justice preserves whatever it animates, and without it all is corrupted."

Hippocrates lauded the use of sea water and salt baths for healing, as did texts from ancient China. Ghandi began the non violent revolution against Great Brittain with the Salt March. In short: The Brits controlled salt production and made it illegal for anyone else to produce it, even for themselves. You can read more about this on the holy wiki.

From The folklore of common salt: http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/mhs/mhs32.htm
In Sicily, too, it is sometimes customary for the priest to place a little salt in the child's mouth at baptism, thereby imparting wisdom. Hence the popular local saying in regard to a person who is dull of understanding, that the priest put but little salt in his mouth. A similar usage is in vogue in the district of Campine in Belgium. The use of salt at baptism in the Christian Church dates from the fourth century. It was an early practice to place salt, which had been previously blessed, in the infant's mouth, to symbolize the counteraction of the sinfulness of its nature.

Here's a Roman folk tale called The Value of Salt

Enough with the history lesson! Let's get to business!

Salt protects. It was used in mummification and in meat production to preserve. So wouldn't it protect metaphysically too? One of the things we look to when we commune with The Horned God is protection. We wear a horn. We flash the mano fico. This highly valued, magical protection powder we are talking about now is white and salty. Have I drawn enough of a picture? No? It's divine spunk. There, I said it. The preserver and protector in mineral form. A man's ejaculate is a reflection of the divine male spark. Salt is the stuff of life. Marry it with the waters of our mother's womb and there we have the primordial ocean from which Love herself, and life sprang forth. Too much?* After my Priapus post you know we don't shy away from these topics here :)

Many magical traditions use salted water representing the union between male and female, the ultimate means of cleansing and preserving all in one. Salt in the corners of the room repels negativity. Salt before your door will negate anyone or thing trying to bring evil into your home.

Aside from constantly tending the fire, the other main job of the Vestal Virgins was to make the Mola Salsa, the salted cake. It was used to purify sacrifices and alternately burned as an offering. I find it interesting that this tradition was introduced by Pompilius, the second King of Rome, who happened to be Sabine. The cakes were less like KFC biscuits and more like, say wafers. Also interesting is the fact that many nunneries used to produce the communion wafers.

The salt and grain was, and is, used to purify a space. In modern times, when moving into a new home, bread and salt are brought in to ensure protection and prosperity.

Don't want someone to return to your home? Put dash of salt in their shoes. Can't get their shoes off surreptitiously? Throw the salt on their tracks as they leave.

Salt can be used to delineate sacred space aka cast a circle.

You can trace sigils in salted water to root protection wards on your body or property or windowsills. Keep some in a small pouch in your car, tied with a red ribbon.

We haven't even gotten into the uses of black salt yet! I'll direct you to  Lucky Mojo who has a whole page on the uses of salt. http://www.luckymojo.com/salt.html

And don't forget: *Take these blog posts with a grain of salt ;)

A Devotional Spell

Dusio and I have once again been conspiring. He's trying to inspire me to post more "low" magic. The blog takes me where it takes me. Tonight tho, I'm starting to get into that groove. So thanks, Dusio. This dovetails nicely with his latest post on devotion and why, I think, I was moved to post it.

While I am not at liberty to post the entire ritual here, I have been given the go ahead to post this part of it; a devotional prayer, invoking Diana as Queen of Witches. It can be used as a novena, it can be used to invoke Her presence and aid in spellwork, to bring Her power in the heavens down into the materials, and to carry the intention of the materials into all realms where they can take effect. You can use this for most work, including healing, revealing, and appealing.*

If it fits your fancy, you can change the first line to Ave Madonna (My Lady). It's important to keep the rhyme, otherwise I'd say use whichever title or name you're most comfortable with. I've posted it in Italian because that's how it was given. If you want a pronunciation guide I suggest translate.google.com. You'll be able to click an icon and have a listen.

Ave Diana!
Angeli si corona.
I tuoi figli ti adoro.
Dammi quello che chiedo.
(your request goes here)
Ti offro fiori,
rose e gigli,
Sotto la luna
le stelle ei pianeti.
Con la mia volontà e il tuo
Questo sarà il mio!


Hail Diana!
Angels crown you,
Your children adore you.
Give me what I ask.
(insert request here)
I offer you flowers,
roses and lilies,
Under the moon,
the stars and the planets.
By my will and thine
This will be mine!


*(revealing = divination, appealing = love or glamor)

Worship of Deity.

So I'm wondering if anyone extends unconditional love to your Patron or Patroness. Do you realize that the emotion of love is something our deities feed off just as you and I would. Do you know when you haven't seen someone for a while and they come up to you and give you that hug with the pat pat pat on the back and tell you how much they miss you and all the while you just can feel the amount of bullshit in that hug? Well it is exactly the same with the Gods. They smell ego right away and really are just not interested.

There is something to us calling out someone's name. They will always come to us if they are in range of hearing us. This is also true of the celestial realm. The difference being, they are so used to us only calling when we need help of some kind. It is very similar to the story of the boy calling wolf. At some point we listen no longer. It is exactly the same with our deity. We need to nurture them with unconditional love. It is truly the nectar of the Gods. Without love and devotion they will be lost and forgotten.

By the Old Ways,
Dusio

Sounds Good

From bells to white noise to sirens to speech, sound directly effects our brain and body. Sound can move you both literally and metaphorically. It comes in waves, like the ocean. It stirs the emotions almost instantly. It can transport you back in time. So how do you ignore it? How do you get it quiet enough to selectively tune in? How do you quiet the cacophony long enough to hear the whispers of your Ancestors?

Start with the breath. Regulate that and you will have natural white noise, a focal point of your own making, under your own control. Breath work, I think, is completely underestimated as a magical foundation. We're told by so many different magical groups to work on meditation, but not so much with controlling and using the breath.

When I say "tune into your blood" I mean that literally. I use it interchangeably with Ancestors. I've posted on dna and ancestors and blood connections several times over the course of this blog adventure. From the breath, you can easily shift your awareness to your heartbeat. Your pulse is the beat of the blood moving through your body.  It might not happen the first time, it might not happen the tenth time. Everyone works at a different pace, but once you can feel your body pulsing, you are ready. You are practically there. Recall the sound of a family occasion- the chatter, the laughter, the glasses and plates clinking, drinks pouring, water running, food cooking... The more you can call up the sounds of these physical things the easier it becomes to root the experience in your present physical reality.

Choose a specific occasion as the focus- one where you enjoyed yourself, not the one where your crazy aunt aired the family's dirty laundry and had a fight with your cousin! Use the same occasion for practice. The people who were present should be ones you were close with and who loved you and were loyal to you.

When you're practiced enough that you can recall this occasion with clarity, you let the edges go soft, like gazing at a picture where you stare so long you lose focus. Instead of recalling what was said, feel for the energy of the person whose voice you want to hear. It wouldn't hurt to light candles for them, have their picture on hand, leave an offering of something they enjoyed. Have a few questions ready. I suggest a question that you don't know the answer to but could easily find out along with a questions whose answer only you two know. Both serve as tests that it is the one you intended to speak with and that you're not just making this up in your own head. Some people need that kind of test to feel certain, some don't.

The more you practice tuning in, the easier it gets and the further you can go, including tuning in to those relatives you didn't know, and contacting family Patrons in a way that you can't access otherwise. I've posted recently about my theory that devotees of a deity share certain characteristics the way members of a family do. Patronage runs through the blood as well. It is part of the covenant we have with the Gods. We pass the ways to our children and the Patrons protect the family line.

We are connected to our family through blood, but we are also connected to the Gods through our blood. When your ancestor made a covenant with their Patrons, that changed hir, which in turn set up your future dna. Studies have shown that traumatic incidents literally change DNA. Funny, no one has looked at the opposite: Incredible and joyous experiences, communion with the gods, henosis, changes our dna too, presumably for the better. It's one of the reasons why it's said we are reborn into our family over and over again, to work with the family patrons. I'm not sure I believe that 100% but it came through tonight and I have no reason to doubt it.

I didn't know what to post tonight so I tuned in and this is what came through. Apologies if the above instructions aren't terribly clear or read like a stereo manual from the 1980s. It's something that's best taught in person, and in a way that it doesn't feel like teaching/learning/work at all. This should be a joyous process. I didn't say easy, I said joyous ;)

Signing off to listen in private.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

I've mentioned here, once o twice, that I was Hindu in a very recent, perhaps immediate, past life. It has definitely carried over. I don't celebrate all of the holidays, but I do observe Diwalli, usually in October, and Ganesh's birthday specifically- Especially this year. Part of working with Mercury, aside from the daily blogging, has been to get to know him in his many forms. I have gotten to know Hermes and Priapus and Papa Legba and Thoth and Ganesh a bit better.

Ganesh is the Lord of obstacles, the one to hail at the beginning of endeavors, who gives knowledge and wisdom, and who protects (averter of evil!).

For the celebration itself, we turn to the holy wiki:

Ganesh Chaturthi starts with the installation of these Ganesh statues in colorfully decorated homes and specially erected temporary structures mandapas (pandals) in every locality. The pandals are erected by the people or a specific society or locality or group by collecting monetary contributions. The pandals are decorated specially for the festival, either by using decorative items like flower garlands, lights, etc. or are theme based decorations, which depict religious themes or current events.

The priest, usually clad in red silk dhoti and shawl, then symbolically invokes life into the statue by chanting mantras. This ritual is the Pranapratishhtha. After this the ritual called as Shhodashopachara (16 ways of paying tribute) follows. Coconut, jaggery, 21 modakas, 21 durva (trefoil) blades of grass and red flowers are offered. The statue is anointed with red unguent, typically made of Kumkum & Sandalwood paste . Throughout the ceremony, Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda, the Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, and the Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted.

Speaking of chants, here are a few favorites:

"Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakotee Sama Prabha Nirvighnam kuru mey Deva, Sarva kaaryeshu Sarvadaa"

O Lord Ganesha of Large body, curved trunk, with the brilliance of a million suns, please make all my work free of obstacles, always.

"Aum gam ganapataye namah"

Om Salutations and Prostrations to Lord Ganesha


Here's a nifty web page with more chants, their meaning and how to use them, along with advice on ritual cleanliness, repetitions, etc.

I really like this video. It reminds me of the video I posted for the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel! (the sound on the video isn't good, I suggest watching it on mute)


Ganesh Chaturthi by WildFilmsIndia

Ganapati Bappa Moryaa!

Automatic Writing

Grab a pen. Hold it over a piece of paper. Trance out. Wake up to find the page filled with writing.

Ehh... Yes and no. Automatic writing isn't just meditation, or getting lost in your own thoughts, or trancing out or chatting with your patrons through pen; It's a form of possession. I've heard some teachers say, in reference to trance and possession or assuming the god-form, or whatever you wish to call it, that possession isn't possible unless there is another person there to receive the information. I think it's wise to have someone in the room with you to help you come out or to watch over you in general, especially when starting out or when unfamiliar with what or who will be coming through. I do think it's possible to engage in possession of this sort on your own. To be in control of your faculties, while giving your arm over to someone else for writing isn't beginner's sport, but it is entirely doable with some practice. I also think it's wise to have a firm foundation of communication with your patrons before letting them take over your hand.  Books have been channeled, letters, even a few blogs too. Some call it "The Muse" or will say the Muse is "riding" them. Funny how that's the same language used when talking about trance dancing with/for the Orishas.



I've been reading about the debate surrounding what exactly is coming through, or, who is doing the writing. I saw something about Jung calling it the higher self. I can't find that source. I have found a lot about the works he channeled personally as well as his experiences with entities bothering him until he started writing. Here's an interesting article on his experiences and the resulting works.

I've had interesting experiences with automatic writing. It's not just writing, it can be drawings as well. I guess "automatic doodling" sounds too silly. I've drawn chakras, mandalas, maps, temples, and all manner of interesting things. I've come across some of the things I've drawn, others are waiting to be found and others no longer exist. Speaking of....

There's another addition to the reemerging deities file.

A Bulgarian archaeologist has presented new finds from the Ancient Thracian and medieval fortress of Perperikon proving the existence of an Antiquity period sanctuary that he believes could be the ancient Temple of Dionysus. 

Yeah!

It's exciting to see the old temples and deities being found once again!