Alexandra

Tarot Deck Review: Mystic Faerie

Cardstock: It's Llewellyn's standard card stock, which is to say it's a little on the thin side compared to some other decks, but shuffles well. The borders are semi-metallic, probably meant to be gold, but they come off a little more olive green. Some people may prefer to remove the borders, as they are pretty thick.

Artwork: The artwork is watercolor, with each suit having a theme and a specific color pop against the mostly green/yellow backgrounds: red mushrooms and leaves for wands, blue merfolk and waterlilies for cups, roses and pink for swords, and berries and oak leaves along with deep purple for pentacles. Generally the artwork is emotive, illustrating the meanings of the cards, which follow the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition.

Book: The booklet has a decent-sized paragraph of meanings for each card, both Majors and Minors, though it doesn't address reversals at all. At the back, there is a little bit of information on reading the cards, and a handful of example spreads, some of which are very simple (one card, three cards) and some that seem to have been developed specifically for this deck. Honestly pretty good for a LWB, though.

Likes: Unlike some other decks with simple illustrations of people, the facial expressions in this deck are pretty easy to read, and they tend to evoke what I would expect, in alignment with the card meanings.

Dislikes: I am not a huge fan of the color palette, overall, but that's extremely subjective I realize!

Overall Recommendation

If you like art nouveau illustrations, or fairy aesthetic (of the small winged variety), you'll probably like this artwork. I'm sort of neutral on it, personally. But this is a pretty solid deck choice for readers who use memorized traditional meanings, as well as intuitive readers working off the artwork itself. There's enough detail to be evocative, but not so much that it feels cluttered. I think this would also make a pretty decent beginner's deck. I went back and forth between 6 and 7, but decided just to settle on 6.5, because it's not a bad deck by any means, but it doesn't really stand out much, either.

Freyja’s Falcon Flight: New Shapes

April 20, 2024
by Alexandra

Well, I meant to do twice a month but at least I'm back with this on time again. Spring weather changes and some mundane life stuff have left me still a little overloaded, but I'm working on getting back into the swing of things, and the abundance of sunlight is definitely helping!

I recommend lighting a devotional candle and/or making a small offering to Freyja (perhaps a libation) before you begin, and then prepare yourself however you normally would, to do work at an altar. For my part, that usually means wearing one of my devotional hair ribbons and perhaps donning magical jewelry, and acquiring something to go over my head while I journey. As usual, feel free to try this one or skip it if it doesn't appeal to you. I've been called to share these with my community, but it is ultimately up to each of you to choose to join in or not. I'm not so self-centered as to think my own personal practice, even if She asked me to share it, is relevant to every devotee!

Falcon Flight: New Shapes

Begin in stillness, and quiet, and darkness. Find your center, and align yourself with earth and sky. As you stare at the darkness behind your eyes, feel and see as mist swirls up from the ground, obscuring everything around you. After a moment, it begins to part, leaving you standing in a flowery meadow.

When you arrive in the meadow, take a moment to observe around you, turning until you see a path. At the entrance to the path are two shrubs, and as you move on that direction, you see trees as well. Shrubs give way to trees and undergrowth on either side of the path, getting taller and denser as you move onward, until they join overhead into an arch, forming a tunnel of trees that slopes downward, getting denser and darker.

Eventually, you notice that the path has become flat, and then it begins to rise. Now the trees are thinning again, branches giving way to brightness, and as the trees again give way to shrubs, you see a gate in front of a wide plain and beyond it, the great world tree. If you have any guides or guardians you wish to accompany you, ones who can join you in flight, call to them now, before you step through the gate and make your way towards the tree.

As you approach the World Tree, circle around it clockwise, until you see an opening beneath one of the great roots. Duck under this root and enter the tunnel beneath. There is hard dirt packed beneath your feet, and the entire tunnel seems to have been hewn from that same clay-rich dirt and sandstone. Not as many feet come this way — the floor is still rough in places, so watch your step as you continue forward. There are torches set into sconces in the rough hewn walls, and their light looks like fire but you feel no heat as we continue past, and you smell no smoke or pitch.

The tunnel curves gently and then begins to rise in a gradual incline, ending in a doorway, two huge stones on either side and capped with a third. Touch one gently as you step out into the fresh air — these are worn by the elements and smooth to the touch. If you look back to the entrance, you will notice that on this side, the tunnel leads into what looks like a large burial mound, standing alone in a large clearing, though the forest is slowly encroaching from all sides.

Smell the air — the pine sap scent is strong, and your nose can tell there is moving water somewhere nearby, even if your ears cannot yet hear it. Now you should continue, following a clear trail deeper into the forest. Your footfalls are muffled by pine needles, and the air seems still. Then, ahead of you you see a bridge over a nearly-empty gorge, just a trickle of a stream at the bottom, the same as last full moon.

This time, cross the bridge and continue up the usual trail, towards the field and the great hall, and fter a short time, you arrive at a fork, with three paths to choose from. One path curves to the left, and you can just make out a bridge over a creek in the distance. The one to the right seems to vanish into the trees. Continue down the middle path, which leads straight ahead. After a while, the trees seem to thin a bit, and the underbrush grows less tangled.

As the path reaches the edge of the forest, and the pine needles give way to a large open field, your eyes are drawn to the great hall. It is large, and you know at once to whom it belongs. This is Freyja’s Hall, Sessrumnir, and you are in Folkvangr. Approach the door, and go inside.

When you enter the hall and stop for a moment to let your eyes adjust, you notice revelers gathered and dancing, all wearing dark cloaks and animal masks. You have worn your own dark cloak for this gathering, but the animal masks confuse you for a moment, and you stand still and stare.

Then, suddenly, Freyja is before you, and she reaches out to touch you, and the entire scene disappears...

You open your eyes in another body, outside, at dusk. Do you have paws now? Wings? Fins? Some sort of tail? Move experimentally and try to get a feel for this new shape, and a good look at yourself. When you recognize what you have become, take a moment to test the limits of this new form, and to move for the sheer joy of movement!

[interlude #1]

At long last, you begin to tire, and begin the search for a place to rest. You relax, and your eyes close...

Only to open again, inside the hall once more, with Freyja smiling at you and holding out a mask. Was it a dream? Did you share a few hours of the life of another being, or was your spirit transformed? You may have questions, but they fade as you put on the mask, and join the other revelers in their wild dance, expressing what this transformative experience has taught you about yourselves.

[interlude #2]

When you feel settled and ready to leave, go out the door of the hall on the side opposite to where you came in, down the usual the forest path, through the forest, across the bridge again, to the mound, through the mound-tunnel and out from under the root, across the plain, and back to the gate, through the tunnel of trees, and back to the meadow. Then the mist will swirl up again, and take you back to your body.

Freyja’s Falcon Flight: Purifying Waters

March 29, 2024
by Alexandra

Spring is back, and so are these Falcon Flights - on the full moon now, to help me keep my plan to blog every other week. As before, this journey is based on my experience, and I’m offering it to the community in case it’s helpful or resonates with some of you. If you’re used to doing journeys from a script, great! Otherwise feel free to have some one read it to you, or record yourself reading it. Edit the intro and expand the outro if you need to, but please leave the middle intact, and don’t share the recording without telling them where to find my original post!

I recommend lighting a devotional candle and/or making a small offering to Freyja (perhaps a libation) before you begin. Please note: if you have a phobia of caves or drowning, this may not be a good meditation for you. Otherwise, prepare yourself however you normally would, to do work at an altar. For my part, that usually means wearing one of my devotional hair ribbons and perhaps donning magical jewelry, and acquiring something to go over my head while I journey.

Falcon Flight: Purifying Waters

Begin in stillness, and quiet, and darkness. Find your center, and align yourself with earth and sky. As you stare at the darkness behind your eyes, feel and see as mist swirls up from the ground, obscuring everything around you. After a moment, it begins to part, leaving you standing in a flowery meadow.

When you arrive in the meadow, take a moment to observe around you, turning until you see a path. At the entrance to the path are two shrubs, and as you move on that direction, you see trees as well. Shrubs give way to trees and undergrowth on either side of the path, getting taller and denser as you move onward, until they join overhead into an arch, forming a tunnel of trees that slopes downward, getting denser and darker.

Eventually, you notice that the path has become flat, and then it begins to rise. Now the trees are thinning again, branches giving way to brightness, and as the trees again give way to shrubs, you see a gate in front of a wide plain and beyond it, the great world tree. If you have any guides or guardians you wish to accompany you, ones who can join you in flight, call to them now, before you step through the gate and make your way towards the tree.

As you approach the World Tree, circle around it clockwise, until you see an opening beneath one of the great roots. Duck under this root and enter the tunnel beneath. There is hard dirt packed beneath your feet, and the entire tunnel seems to have been hewn from that same clay-rich dirt and sandstone. Not as many feet come this way — the floor is still rough in places, so watch your step as you continue forward. There are torches set into sconces in the rough hewn walls, and their light looks like fire but you feel no heat as we continue past, and you smell no smoke or pitch.

The tunnel curves gently and then begins to rise in a gradual incline, ending in a doorway, two huge stones on either side and capped with a third. Touch one gently as you step out into the fresh air — these are worn by the elements and smooth to the touch. If you look back to the entrance, you will notice that on this side, the tunnel leads into what looks like a large burial mound, standing alone in a large clearing, though the forest is slowly encroaching from all sides.

Smell the air — the pine sap scent is strong, and your nose can tell there is moving water somewhere nearby, even if your ears cannot yet hear it. Now you should continue, following a clear trail deeper into the forest. Your footfalls are muffled by pine needles, and the air seems still. Then, suddenly, ahead of you there is a bridge over a nearly-empty gorge, just a trickle of a stream at the bottom, and one you have never seen before, though you have traveled this way many times before.

As you cross the bridge, look to your right, and there in the cliff wall on the other side, you will see crudely cut stairs. Cross the bridge and walk to them, and carefully descend. They seem more inviting from this side, though, and your feet are sure in their steps. As you come to the bottom, follow the trickle of water downstream. It gets a bit wider as you continue, until ahead of you there is a wide, deep, pool.

Wade in to the pool, and when it is chest-deep, take a deep breath and plunge in, submerging yourself fully... and letting the water drag you under. Let it pull you through the underground passageway, and then when you think you can't hold your breath any longer, you'll feel yourself bob to the surface, inside another deep pool - this one in a cave. The ceiling is full of shimmering stalactites, and there is a dry portion, where a small fire is lit. There is a hole in the roof above the fire, letting the smoke out, but you see no other way out of this chamber.

Climb up the bank and move closer to the fire. Here is some more wood piled up, though it is unclear how it got here, and hanging over it is a large ragged towel or blanket. Next to it, folded, is some kind of garment. Remove your wet clothes and dry off on the towel, and then unfold the garment - it is a feathered cloak.

Toss the cloak around your shoulders, and feel yourself transform into a falcon. You know this form, and you can easily launch yourself into the air, and fly out through the hole in the roof.

You'll emerge on the far side of Folkvangr. Land and transform back, and you'll see a veiled priestess at the door. Take new clothing from her, and hand her the cloak - once you are dressed, your purification is complete, and you may enter.

Once inside, you will find Freyja seated on the dais. Ask her the question that weighs heaviest on your heart.

[interlude]

When you are finished speaking with Freyja, go out the door of the hall on the side opposite to where you came in, down the usual the forest path, through the forest, across the bridge again, to the mound, through the mound-tunnel and out from under the root, across the plain, and back to the gate, through the tunnel of trees, and back to the meadow. Then the mist will swirl up again, and take you back to your body.

Aquarius Witch: I have an article getting published in July!

March 15, 2024
by Alexandra

I wrote an article about a year ago (haha, publishing is a super fast industry), and it's being published in an upcoming book from Llewellyn: Aquarius Witch, which is being released on July 8th! It's a biography of Pamela "Pixie" Colman Smith, the artist behind the ubiquitous Rider-Waite-Smith tarot. She was herself an Aquarian Sun, a queer woman, and a very talented artist but she died penniless, her belongings being auctioned off after her death to pay her debts. My article isn't very long, but if you want to read a longer biography (and look at pages and pages and pages of her artwork), check out Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story from US Games, Inc. It was probably my favorite and the most exhaustive of the sources I used to write my article. (Finally had a chance to use that history degree of mine, lol.)

I don't get royalties (because they already paid me, and it's suuuuper short), but the best way to support the main authors on this one is to go stick it on a wishlist on amazon... and then preorder it from your local bookstore! If Aquarius is one of your Big Three, there will be plenty of useful witchy insight in this book for you.

Also...

I know I said I was BACK and then posted two weeks in a row and promptly disappeared again. Sorry. Consider this a restart Take Two. I am going to attempt to blog every other week from here on out, because I'm still having a little trouble keeping my head above water. Next weekend I'll be teaching a couple of classes at an online conference called Shining Hearth, so after that I might do a little recap, but also the following Monday is the first of the new schedule for Freyja's Falcon Flights. I'll be doing those on/around full moons this year, so I might get that out next weekend if I can manage it, otherwise it'll be posted later in the week.

Thanks for all your patience. I appreciate all my readers.

Ogham Transpositions: Trees

First, before I say anything else:

THE OGHAM IS NOT A TREE CALENDAR OR A TREE ALPHABET

Right? Okay, got that? I'm here to talk about a tree list, which is one of many many types of ogham lists (including lists for things like hunting dogs and sows and other livestock). It's just a list. Some of the letter names are trees yes but they aren't all trees. And on the tree list they are a few things we might not we'd normally consider trees - there are shrubs and vines and things too, okay. But since part of what I'm doing in my work with ogham is integrating it into my larger practice, which is very tied to the land in which I live (the Chesapeake Bay Watershed), I would be remiss if I didn't explain my own list of trees (and shrubs and vines) that are native to my own region. But pleasepleaseplease pay more attention to the Bríatharogaim (the "word oghams", or kennings, which you can find translated elsewhere online, promise) instead of just going off of "tree vibes", yeah? These are supplemental.

Okay, now that you've all read my disclaimer and agreed (haha), a little backstory. Some of the ogham feda have more than one tree in the surviving sources, so I'll list out both where I'm aware of that, and I'll indicate which one I "picked" or was guided to by my interactions with the spirit of that fid, by underlining it below. But as I built my list it became obvious to me early on that I wasn't building out a single tree list but rather a list of tree triads. In some cases, one of the trees will be native to only the Great Lakes region (where I was born) and one will be native to the Chesapeake Bay region (where I now reside) and one will be native to both. Where possible, all three are native to my current region. But this is an ongoing process, and this blog will be a sort of time capsule: this is a snapshot of my relationship with trees and with land and with the ogham Today. But rivers keep flowing and slowly changing the landscape. Also, I'm going to give the latin names (as best as I can manage) of the trees for clarity, and I'll add in my personal kennings again just for reference (mostly my own reference, but maybe it will help explain why I picked some of the trees I picked, since I'm otherwise not really getting into the very personal Whys).

Beith - Beginning Healing

Traditional: birch (silver birch, Betula pendula)

My Triad: paper birch (B. papyrifera), sweet birch (B. lenta), sugar maple (Acer saccharum)

Luis - Lush Vibrancy

Traditional: rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), or elm

My Triad: mountain ash (S. americana), silky dogwood (Cornus amomum), flowering dogwood (C. florida)

Fearn - Fierce Protection

Traditional: alder (Alnus glutinosa)

My Triad: speckled alder (A. incana), smooth alder (A. serrulata), american elm (Ulmus americana)

Saille - Cyclical Currents

Traditional: willow (white wilow, Salix alba)

My Triad: black willow (S. nigra), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides)

Nin - Knotted Weaving

Traditional: ash, or nettle
[Note: after guidance from the spirit I settled on a nontraditional: spindle tree, Euonymus europaeus; see Onn. I retained nettle in my herb list, however.]

My Triad: strawberry bush (E. americanus), eastern wahoo (E. atropurpureus), blue ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata)

hÚath - Humanity's Hedge

Traditional: hawthorn/whitethorn (Crataegus monogyna)

My Triad: mayhaw (C. aestivalis or possibly an indigenous form of C. monogyna... they hybridize easily and how many species there are is in fact hotly contested as far as I can tell!), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), common prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum americanum)

Dair - Dignified Steadyness

Traditional: oak (common european oak, Quercus robur)

My Triad: white oak (Q. alba), red oak, (Q. rubra), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)

Tinne - Tested Resolve

Traditional: holly (common holly, Ilex aquifolium), or elder

My Triad: american holly (Ilex opaca), mountain holly (I. mucronata), american barberry (Berberis canadensis)

Coll - Canny Guidance

Traditional: hazel (Corylus avellana)

My Triad: american hazel (C. americana), american black walnut (Juglans nigra), pecan (Carya illinoinensis)

Ceirt - Queer Wit

Traditional: apple (Malus sylvestris, the wild european apple); also sometimes holly, rowan, aspen

My Triad: american crabapple (M. coronaria), common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), american pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

Muin - Madly Intoxicated

Traditional: grapevine, or bramble (Rubus fruticosus)

My Triad: northern dewberry (R. flagellaris), american red raspberry (R. strigosus), american wild grape (Vitis riparia)

Gort - Growing Continually

Traditional: ivy (Hedera hibernica)

My Triad: woodvamp (Decumaria barbara), cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata), virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

nGétal - Yesterday's Wounds

Traditional: broom (Cytisus scoparius); also reed or fern

My Triad: cattail (Typha latifolia), broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus), pointed broomsedge (Carex scoparia)

Straif - Strengthening Changes

Traditional: blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), or willowbrake

My Triad: canadian plum (P. nigra), osage orange (Maclura pomifera), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Ruis - Raging Fires

Traditional: elderberry (Sambucus nigra), or bogberry, fern

My Triad: american black elderberry (S. canadensis), red mulberry (Morus rubra), wild raisin (Viburnum cassinoides)

Ailm - All Timeliness

Traditional: pine (scots pine, Pinus sylvestris) or fir

My Triad: longleaf pine (P. palustris), red pine (P. resinosa), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

Onn - Onward Momentum

Traditional: gorse, furze, or ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
[Note: since this spirit was very clear they should be ash, and I didn't want ash twice, I went back after to talk to Nin and we settled on spindle]

My Triad: white ash (F. americana), green ash (F. pennsylvanica), american basswood (Tilia americana)

Uir - Unending Cycles

Traditional: heather (Culluna vulgaris) or whitethorn

My Triad: wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium), virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum), wintergreen teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens)

Édad - Ending Mundanity

Traditional: aspen (Populus tremula), yew, or "test tree"

My Triad: quaking aspen (P. tremuloides), largetooth aspen (P. grandidentata), tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Idad - Indelible Memories

Traditional: yew (Taxus baccu), or service tree, juniper

My Triad: juniper (Juniperus communis), eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), black spruce (Picea mariana)

Coming Back from An Accidental Hiatus!

Hello all and happy Chocolate Discount Sale Days to all those who celebrate (lol)!

I seem to have taken an accidental hiatus from blogging due to some Life Nonsense that happened, including but not limited to: getting somewhat stranded in airports, dealing with health issues, and the unexpected illness and sudden death of one of my rabbits. Also I almost always get "eaten" by December and January; I often joke that I am somewhat powered by photosynthesis because the lack of light makes my normal chronic fatigue much worse.

But. I'm going to try to go back to blogging weekly now that we're past Imbolc and the light and warmth are returning!

And I have a sale going on in my webshop that I had the foresight to let run through the end of the month: up to 25% off all love and relationship divination spreads! And yes that includes my spread for three or four people, if you have a triad or polycule you would like to get a reading for, and it also includes any custom requests for multi-person spreads. (And if you select via deck and number of cards instead, but the question is related to love or a relationship, I'm more than happy to refund you the percentage!)

That's my update for now - hopefully I'll be back to normal blogging next week! Thanks for all your patience and support.

Another Kind of Update for my Crow Folks

December 15, 2023
by Alexandra

This month I have been sick and overwhelmed and battling severe fatigue, and when I went to see Na Morrigna, I asked - what would you have me to this month? Can I just rest?

No, not only rest. They wanted me to finally start a piece of devotional fiber craft, and to share a small, happy update. One of my workshop proposals was accepted to the Morrigan's Call Retreat 2024! So it looks like I'll be going back to Connecticut this coming June! Perhaps I'll have finished the shawl by then and will be able to dedicate it - or pass it along to the person it's meant for. I'm not entirely sure I'm meant to be making it for myself.

But I hope to see some of ya'll at the retreat this summer! Tickets should be live on their website soon.

My workshop is titled "Sovereignty and Otherness", and here's my abstract:

This workshop begins with a discussion of what sovereignty means, and a few examples from lore of how the Morrigan, Macha, and Badb wield their own sovereignty, and how we can strive to follow the examples they set. We’ll talk about the importance of self-sovereignty, and the ways in which our modern society attempts to undermine it, and then I’ll open up into a brief discussion of the ways in which we are othered – as pagans, as witches, as queer folx or people of color or neurodivergent or disabled people or as any other demonized minority group – and how we can use the insight those experiences give us, and turn it into power.

The second half of the workshop is then a guided journey, based on the same themes as the first half, where I will lead the attendees on a path through the woods to a clearing where we will meet Na Tri Morrigna around a fulacht fiadh, an outdoor cooking pit associated with Na Morrigna and the fianna, the warrior-bands. Each person will add one item representing their personal Otherness to the cauldron of stew, to add sustenance to the pot, and then after speaking with Na Morrigna, will be instructed to ladle out a bowl to eat, returning their Otherness to themselves as the power and strength of personal sovereignty supported by a diverse community.

Ogham Impressions: Fourth Aicme

December 9, 2023
by Alexandra

If you haven't read the introduction to the first aicme, maybe go read that first and return, because today I'm just launching straight into the fourth aicme.

I associate Ailm with the winter, and from that, with Samhain, and then the rest of the aicme with winter and with the north, though again as far as I know there is no direct historical support for that. I'm also adding in some keywords that come from my personal understanding of each fid that I've developed in my studies, but again, these are to be taken as one person's opinion, not fact.

Ailm – All Timeliness

Spirit: a bearded, hunched over old man, but with trickster vibes. Long white beard, robes a dingy greyish white and faded dark green, bald, light colored eyes (possibly green-grey), walking with a staff. Reminiscent of Old Man Winter illustrations.

Keywords: a cry, a groan, a shout; branches creaking in wind and popping in ice; tip of your tongue, the moment before insight, brink of discovery; epiphany, eureka moment; clearing clutter out of the way to make room for insight, removing the extraneous so the pattern can be recognized; metacognition and self-improvement work; sovereignty and its importance; beginning of a legacy, head of a family, an important or exalted ancestor, a progenitor; ploughing metaphors, clearing away what will impede crops, readying the soil for planting, planning for the far future; looks to the far future but also the far past and recognizes the repeating patterns therein; certainty, integrity, clarity of purpose, a strong sense of self; applying knowledge and wisdom won through long experience and good judgement.

Onn – Onward Momentum

Spirit: androgynous, ash tree dryad

Keywords: movement, travel; going where you feel called, seeking your fortune, following your heart; heading towards one’s heart’s desire, toward self-actualization, self-realization, success; seeker, pilgrimage; take the good with the bad, the honey with the thorns; the continual work of study, or of relationships; buckling down for the long haul, perseverance, sustainability; building for the future; don’t take the path of least resistance, take the path that’s necessary and overcome obstacles as they appear, the only way out is through; moving with a clear goal/purpose even if the entire path is not yet clear; a need for action and movement instead of more strategizing, any way forward is better than stagnancy;

Uir – Unending Cycles

Spirit: grandmotherly, but a bit like the grandmother from the Halloweentown movies*, grey hair, light skin, brown eyes, seems almost human, but that “almost” is very key – no longer human but not distinctly one of the Dead, either. Crone Energy, but back still very straight and limbs very strong.

Keywords: half-wild places, useful “weeds”; living in harmony with your local ecosystem; land spirits and nature spirits; gardening and foraging; practicality, pragmatism, thrift, waste not want not, frugality, poverty; bodily death, graves, decay; ancestors, grief; untilled soil, a field left to lie fallow to renew the soil, crop rotation; our own fallow times, and rotation in our own lives to avoid burnout; slow earth cycles, the “longue durée”; nostalgia, honeyed memories, rose colored glasses; preparatory work, getting organized so you can do things later, getting ready to get ready; the inevitability of change and death, but also the inevitability of new life to take its place; reincarnation.

* Not kidding, unfortunately! Sometimes spirits just like a face we’ve already got in our heads, for aesthetic and associations. Which is why everyone sees the gods a little differently!

Edad – Ending Mundanity

Spirit: shifting between and blending two forms. First, a washer woman, a bit chubby but with dense muscles beneath, in wet clothes, with light brown hair and hazel eyes, her light complexion reddened by exertion. Second, a skeletal-thin feminine spectre with corpse-grey skin wearing wispy rags. Neither time was there blood, but she wasn’t actively washing. Very Washer at the Ford vibes.

Keywords: death, ghosts, ancestors, deathwork, hauntings; wisdom from those who have passed on, mediumship, spiritwork; entheogens and similar spiritual tools and practices; mystical or occult initiation, especially when sudden or unexpected; moving out of the realm of “normal” experiences and being forever marked as changed by this; nothing will ever be the same again; near death experiences and the epiphanies they bring; piercing the veil, the second sight; destruction of the old self to make way for the new, dismemberment healings, a need to leave your old ways behind; initiatory crisis; an unavoidable turning point or pivot point; important personal gnosis; the beginning of the path of a mystic or a witch.

Idad – Indelible Memories

Spirit: elderly looking feminine yew dryad, with berries in her long hair

Keywords: Old age, the process of growing old, and elders in your communities; infirmity, deathbed, the process of dying; ancestors and ancestor work; long-lived, long life, survival, endurance, permanence; death bringing only a new beginning; cemeteries and graveyards; sagely advice, wisdom and culture being passed down to younger generations, enduring folkways, the fragility of oral tradition; generational and family line talents, blessings, curses; genetic inheritance and epigenetics; inheritance of all types; maturity, guarding the future, looking to the past to plan for the future; look at the big picture; wait for the correct time to act; slow change and transitions; gateway to the lands of the dead; the truth of the past and of a life, as seen in retrospect, hindsight; reflection on one’s past to trace the patterns revealed; things coming to a final end, families that have died out, folkways that have been lost.

And that's the last one! Though I might do one on the forfeda, and I might share a few more lists later, if there's interest.

Ogham Impressions: Third Aicme

December 5, 2023
by Alexandra

If you haven't read the introduction to the first aicme, maybe go read that first and return, because today I'm just launching straight into the third aicme.

I associate Muin with Lughnasadh and the early autumn, when grapes and blackberries both ripen, and thus the rest of the aicme with that season as well and with the west, though again as far as I know there is no direct historical support for that. I'm also adding in some keywords that come from my personal understanding of each fid that I've developed in my studies, but again, these are to be taken as one person's opinion, not fact.

Muin – Madly Intoxicated

Spirit: fat (kinda Venus of Willendorf but more androgynous?), naked, reddish brown skin, either intersex or a sex-fluid shapeshifter (unclear if my focus not good or actually shifting form), short and close-cropped brown curly/coily hair, brown eyes with a twinkle of mischief.

Keywords: wine, mead, alcohol and drunkenness, in vino veritas, intoxication; release, loose tongue, uninhibited; ecstasy, passion, the heat of the moment; voice, communication, gossip, chatter, but also deep conversations; communication breakthrough or breakdown, misunderstanding; deception, flattery, manipulation, ruse, half truths, insincerity, skilled deception; heart on one’s sleeve; emotional knowledge, communication about or from emotional states, emotional literacy or lack thereof; a need for discernment.

Gort – Growing Continually

Spirit: masculine, the strongman build (dense muscles with a layer of fat over it, not bodybuilder type), light skin reddened/tanned by the sun, farmer or rancher vibes, wearing an open vest, brown leather, with no shirt beneath, and cloth pants, and a black-brown duster jacket (leather or cloth unclear), small bone colored bull horns peeking out of chestnut colored short wavy hair, brown eyes, seemed to have a tail.

Keywords: cultivation, farmstead, gardening; planting and minding things now for a later harvest; tenacity, determination, reaching upwards and getting there by any means necessary; domestic, hospitality; feasting, abundance, nourishment, food; the delights of friends and family (not the obligations), siblings especially; evergreen, fecundity, fertility; creation of sanctuary, cultivation of one’s home place; short term plans.

nGétal – Yesterday’s Wounds

Spirit: male, almost androgynized by extreme old age: crinkled, wrinkled, wizened, papery skin, age spots, but still surprising strength to his grip. Short and hunched, wearing a worn cloak – not quite threadbare but clearly long-used. Long pointed fingernails like claws. “Ugly” he insisted.

Keywords: healing, especially with water, folk healing ways, home remedies, folk herbalism; smoke healing, smoke cleansing; healing as removal, removing that which doesn’t serve, surgery; healing as a process, taking care not to let a wound fester; accidental wounds or those gained in conflict; physical cleansing and mundane cleaning; physicians and healers; letting an illness run its course; practical measures; doing mundane work alongside the magical and otherworldly; elf shot and related illnesses, and the curing thereof; removing stagnancy, improving circulation; ruminations and overcoming them.

Straif – Strengthening Changes

Spirit: slim, feminine, hair almost white with pale purple tones, long and straight. Skin moonlight white also with purple grey undertones, eyes dark purple. Wearing a sleeveless floor length dress that was so dark a shade of purple it looked black at first. How I might picture a luantishee.

Keywords: thorn, reminds me of thurisaz; protection as offensive action, holding your boundaries by any means (including violence); aggressive, combative, intense; a need to take stock of your defenses and strategize, increasing your defenses after they are breached; rising to a challenge, learning a hard lesson, what you learn and become after facing adversity; turning the tables partway through a conflict and thus coming out on top; banework, occult, “left hand path”, secrecy; transformation as a process: pressure and heat creating a new material; expectations are different from reality, expect the unexpected; a period of intense work and growth, referring to problems you’re currently going through, or a warning that there are some on the horizon.

Ruis – Raging Fires

Spirit: A bit like a satyr but bovine. Male, naked, with a broad chest and a round belly. Russet chest hair, slightly darker head hair, small brown eyes, round face with small bull horns on top of his head. Lower half sort of furred, like a red highland cow; hooves, tail. Big smile.

Keywords: blushing, shame, guilt, embarrassment; past mistakes, learning from the past; transforming trauma, overcoming insecurities; wisdom coming from experience and age; heat, fever from emotion or illness, hot bloodedness; a hot temper, rage, frenzy, flaring into anger; lust, passion, arousal; primal energies, extreme emotional states, intense emotions whether positive or negative; struggle for dominance, struggle against authority or oppression; dysregulation, mental illnesses that affect emotional regulation, coming back into proper regulation; may intensify nearby feda.

Sorry this one was late – look for the fourth aicme at the end of the week!

Ogham Impressions: Second Aicme

November 26, 2023
by Alexandra

If you haven't read the introduction to the first aicme, maybe go read that first and return, because today I'm just launching straight into the second aicme.

I associate hÚath with Bealtaine personally, from the association with hawthorn which blooms around then, and from that I associate the entire aicme with the Summer and the South, though again as far as I know there is no direct historical support for that. I'm also adding in some keywords that come from my personal understanding of each fid that I've developed in my studies, but again, these are to be taken as one person's opinion, not fact.

hÚath – Humanity’s Hedge

Spirit: Feminine, so bright and beautiful she hurt to look at (this is how I experience a lot of the Gentry among the Aos Sidhe), with a sort of crystalline quality that’s hard to describe, and almost colorless, with white-bordering-on-gold skin and hair (crayon white, not human “white”), hints of ruby in eyes, lips.

Keywords: transitions, liminality; the fair folk, the unseen, the otherworlds and otherworldly beings; beauty hiding danger, horror hiding help, things not being what they seem, illusions; thorns preventing forward progress, hedges keeping things out as much as keeping you in; risk, chaos, anxiety, heart-pounding fear, nightmares; predators, and protection against them; fertility with the shadow of death; everything has a cost; a difficult and narrow path forward.

Dair – Dignified Steadyness

Spirit: Looked like an ent from Lord of the Rings, maybe 9ft tall? And vaguely masculine. Not bearded and not thin, unlike Treebeard in the movies – stout and strong and solid instead, like an oak with an enormous trunk.

Keywords: strength, especially for protection; the protection of solid walls and bolted doors; steadfastness, stability, unshakeable; rock solid foundations, legacy, longevity, building for the future; unyielding, enduring; patience, maturity; kingship and sacred kings; justice, law, righteousness; wisdom, deep truths and truth revealed; grounding, anchor; aging well, slow growth, the march of time; the strength of a community joined together.

Tinne – Tested Resolve

Spirit: vaguely humanoid but very androgynous; a bit like a dryad/satyr chimera. Holly leaves and goat hooves and horns on their head that might be goat horn or might be thorns, very red lips and eyes.

Keywords: fire-hardened, forged, transformed by heat and pressure, steel tested in fire; transformation and transmutation; defensive, protective, guarding; prickly, holding at arm’s length; adversity and overcoming it, trials, meeting challenges; a phoenix rising from ashes, new growth after a forest fire but also the destructive catalyst; stripping away inessentials, back to the basics; training hard, mastery through dedication; martial arts, weaponry, warcraft; self-control, self-discipline, self-denial; a trial by fire, running a gauntlet; a likeliness you’ll emerge from this stronger, not broken.

Coll – Canny Guidance

Spirit: another dryad, but this one is femme and much more plump than usual depictions (more like Sergle’s art), with a round wide face and broad shoulders, hazelnut brown skin, green-brown eyes, wearing green maybe-leather clothing cut like a sleeveless crop top and skort but clearly not od human make. Had a sort of warm and happy vibe, though it’s clear there’s more serious depth behind the smile.

Keywords: Deep wells of wisdom, knowledge, scholarly learning; enlightenment, insight; mysteries understood, the sweetness of a puzzle solved; integration of lessons learned; inspiration, communion, vision, revelation, imbas; initiatory paths; prophecy through unraveling patterns, seeing and reading the flow of fate/wyrd; going where life takes you, following the flow, trusting your path; stillness, silence, contemplation, the monastic, the hermit, the blind sage archetype; magic made through application of secret knowledge, the occult, esoteric; guidance from one’s spirit guides and allies, wise counsel sought and received.

Ceirt – Queer Wit

Spirit: corpse-pale greyish skinned woman dressed in rags that were once a white gown but are now dirty grey, like an illustration of a banshee, face that was not young and not old, sort of ageless, dark hair and eyes, wearing a veil, faded flowers in her hair (possibly a bridal outfit like the movie Corpse Bride?), wailing and shrieking and shaking when she first showed up.

Keywords: dead, mad, or a poet; crossing into the Otherworlds or land of the Dead; no guarantee you’ll come through your current trials unscathed; apples of life, apple branches of healing, both sweet domesticated and wild sour thorny apples; the possibility of renewal, transformation, or becoming broken by the process; possible deception, confusion, or obfuscation; falling off the bandwagon, relapse, and the lower half of a cycle, both the descent and turning the corner; anxiety, fear, burnout, as well as being overwhelmed by and struggling with these; mental illness, nervous breakdowns, madness; a need to balance both traditional and alternative approaches to medicine and healing.

Look for the third aicme in about a week!

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Author: Alexandra