Serendipities

A Lunar Eclipse, The Midnight Culmination of The Pleiades, And Otherworldly Tides

It’s been a while (and a whole change of blogging platform) since I last made a “Faery Weather” post,¹ but it seems to be That Time again. For those who haven’t seen the old posts, this basically started when the Morrigan and some of my Fair Folk contacts started giving me messages to pass along about how activity in the Otherworlds was going to spill over into my local environment (which was defined somewhat broadly by Them as the Chesapeake Bay watershed region, though it is probably less applicable the farther one gets from the Bay itself). The first few blogs turned into a semi-regular series, but when Na Morrigna had me start writing out Their messages on the Dark Moon, some of the information was getting passed along that way instead. I haven’t really been sharing much of my personal involvements in various Otherworldly shenanigans recently for a couple of reasons: some of it is sort difficult to describe, some of it I can’t really talk about, and it’s all very deep in the UPG well of woo.²

But this “weather report”, though still UPG, is more general in application, and the gist of it is this: over the next few days we’ve got the waning of the Leonid meteor shower, a full moon, a lunar eclipse, and the midnight culmination of the Pleiades cluster.³ Any of those by themselves might mean a “high tide” of Otherworldly activity spilling over into our realm, but with all of them together and taking onto consideration just how much activity there’s been on “quiet” days lately,⁴ I think we need to be prepared for a higher-than-normal high tide.

The usual warnings apply: ground, center and shield. Ward your spaces. Check in with your spirit allies. Be prepared for extra wackiness even in your mundane life!

However, if you know how to ride a wave, this is an excellent time to go witchy-surfing (if you’ll excuse the mixed metaphor, haha). There’s extra liminality going on — the sun is transitioning from Scorpio to Sagittarius as well — and there’s a profusion of swirling energies, perfect to harness if you have a working well-suited to these conditions. I’m supposed to recommend caution, but I understand that sometimes experimentation is the best way to learn, so use your own best judgement.

If you are planning to make overtures to Otherworldly beings, just remember that even the Fair Folk most friendly to humanity are not always kind, and though the Fair Folk do not lie, they often mislead. I usually recommend starting with those closest to you if you intend to work with the Fair Folk — your own Good Neighbors — but others will be riding the winds and traveling the fairy roads as well: some neutral, some baleful, some hostile or even predatory. You don’t want to grab the attention of the Slua Sí! Being able to discern between neighbors and interlopers is very important in spiritwork in general but it’s especially important right now.

There have been conflicts these past couple of years that took place mostly in the Otherworlds but have spilled over into our realm,⁵ and I’ve been experiencing more conflicts taking place unseen in parts of our world as well, lately. It’s tense out there — though like with mundane wars, some places have been hit more heavily than others. There isn’t really a major physical dividing line that I’m aware of, but the idea of “front lines” (as humans experienced them in the trenches of the World Wars) makes a pretty good analogy to distinguish between harder hit areas and places that have been more sheltered from the conflicts. If you live in an area that’s been more like the front lines, it will be even more important to shield and ward these next few days.

Hopefully this message finds its way to those who need to hear it, but if it isn’t relevant to your path please scroll on by. I’m happy to discuss things over email if anyone has more specific concerns, and I’ll respond to any comments posted here as best I can, but I think it’s important to stress again that this is UPG, and not everyone experiences Otherworldly flows in the same manner. This message will be most helpful to those whose UPG best aligns with my own!

Notes:

Those are available here on wordpress, if you’re interested.
UPG, for those unfamiliar with the term, stands for “Unverified Personal Gnosis”, which is knowledge I have gained from my own personal experiences interacting with the Otherworlds and Otherworldly beings.
For that last one, I recommend reading Morgan Daimler’s recent book “Living Fairy”, on their experiences with Otherworldly celebrations following the cycle of the Pleiades cluster.
A lot of pagan writers have commented on this phenomenon, but John Beckett had a pretty good introductory pair of blogs in 2016 and has some more recent thoughts about it, too. Those can be found here on Patheos.
And these have been even worse, in my experience, than what Beckett mentions in the blogs linked above, and I’ve heard similar from a few of my fellow “fairy-involved” witches.

The thumbnail image on this post is a stock photo of the Pleiades cluster provided by SquareSpace.

Ribbons as Ritual Adornments

November 15, 2021
by Alexandra

Most of the Pagans I know are fond of ritual adornments: robes, jewelry, makeup, even the occasional veil. I have my share of devotional and enchanted jewelry, to be sure, and I own couple of items of clothing that pretty much only get worn to Pagan gatherings, SCA events, and the Renaissance Faire. But I don’t see many other people wearing ribbons, which is a shame because they’re such a versatile item! Since my hair is long enough to put up or put half up, which is my usual preferred style, I usually wear my ribbons in my hair. I have, however, worn them both around my neck and around my wrist in the past, and I find they work just as well in that manner. I usually buy silk ribbons with edging, about a yard long. They are easy to find on Etsy dyed in almost every color and color combination you could possibly want! I own about a dozen, most of which have a ritual or devotional purpose, and the picture below shows three of the ones I use most often.

Three ribbons, folded loosely, laid out on top of a woven cloth. One is dyed in shades of blue/green/magenta. One is ombre beige-brown-black. One is dyed shades of grey. — A selection of my personal ribbons.

The top one, in shades of blue, green, and magenta, is the hair ribbon I usually use for divinatory work. It is a key part of my personal ritual to align my headspace with the practice of intuitive divination, and when I’m rushing that’s sometimes the only thing I do. I find that the act of tying it in my hair or around my wrist has become an effective mental trigger for changing my focus and sliding into trance. Even in my hair, the slight weight and movement of the strands as I move my head is noticeable, and helps me maintain focus. On my wrist its presence is even more palpable as I shuffle and draw cards or cast objects. I don’t always use the ribbon every time I do divination, though. If I’m away from home and am just pulling a few cards on the fly I don’t usually have it with me, but if I’m doing a reading for a client I always take the moment to pull it out and tie it in. It’s as important a piece of my personal preparation as grounding and centering, and when I’m feeling a little under the weather or preoccupied, it helps me to set those aside, and open instead to the work that needs to be done.

The other two ribbons, one in shades of beige, brown, and black and the other in shades of grey, are both devotional adornments. The tricolor one in the middle of the photo above is one I use for rituals to Hela, and to work with the Dead. For me, the colors evoke bones and the dark earth of graves and caves. Like the one I use for divination, this one helps shift my focus, and helps me align myself with the chthonic energies. I use it to help me shift into the oracular headspace associated with the spae tradition I’ve been trained in. While I also place a veil over myself when I am acting as seer, that act moves me through the gates of Helheim. The ribbon primarily helps me begin the journey down, and clarifies messages when the Dead come to me, though it likely helps with clarity in Helheim as well.

The ribbon in shades of grey is a devotional piece for Na Morrigna, and I use it each dark moon in my oracular rituals, but also whenever I am doing Their Work, or attending rituals in Their Honor. It helps me connect with the trio of Goddesses who came to me and named themselves in the plural: Na Morrigna as a collective, not An Morrigan in the singular. I’ve identified them elsewhere as the three daughters of Ernmas — Morrigan/Anu, Babd, and Macha — and so I wear the ribbon as well when doing work for them or attending rituals to them individually, as well.

Others have discussed Pagan veiling practices much better than I could hope to summarize, but I do want to mention ribbons in connection with that, briefly. For those who cannot veil completely, I’ve seen the idea of hair jewelry or other accessories used in place of a scarf, and I think a devotional hair ribbon (for those who can tie it into their hair) would be a great alternative. They’re very easy to style into hair, and they don’t have a religious connotation in US mainstream culture, thus allowing their usage by people whose practices and/or beliefs are sub-rosa*, without posing the threat of being found out.

I have other ribbons I use for healing work, for certain types of spellcasting, and to wear when I honor other entities, and I keep them all in a little accessory bag with my ritual jewelry. In the past I have just taken the whole bag with when I’ve gone to pagan events. Most of the ribbons are multicolored, like the ones in the picture above, and I’ve gotten them from several places but my favorite source is probably Jamn G lass o n Etsy, because of the sheer range of hand dyed colors they offer. Or you could buy white ones and dye them yourself!

*Note: I tend to prefer using “sub-rosa” to “broom closet” terminology for a couple of reasons, one of which being that it’s such a lovely phrase! For me, “under the roses” evokes images of lush gardens protecting hushed conversation and midnight meetings from prying eyes, which has a similar aura of mystery and secrecy to my own experiences being a teen with a covert polytheistic magical practice in a staunchly Catholic household.

Crow Folks: Samhain Reflections

There are a number of different timing methods for Samhain in the pagan sphere, but most neopagans agree that it’s somewhere around the turn of October/November in the Northern hemisphere, and it’s inarguably the whole month of November in the modern Irish language (and November-Eve is then Oíche Shamhna). For me, Samhain Season, the time when the Otherworlds are closer to our world, feels like a tide. The tide reaches its peak between October 31st and November 7th, but builds up for most of October and lingers for most of November, with twin small peaks on the dark moons of those two months. I also associate Samhain Season with the first frost, which in my immediate area is usually that same period, from October 30th to November 7th. This year my child was unfortunately ill for most of that time, so our Halloween and Samhain plans were adjusted and made smaller. Still, the night I felt most drawn to do my usual Ancestors divination after my child went to sleep ended up being the night of the first hard frost, which I took as a good omen and a blessing. And tonight, the 7th, is the first time my mind has been clear enough to commune with Na Morigna since the dark moon a few days ago, which also feels like a small affirmation, an acknowledgement of my human frailty, of the difficulty of being a disabled parent caring for a sick child.

I was not sure what to expect from Na Morrigna, for both Samhain and the Dark Moon, but when I approached them I saw the sky reflected in their large cauldron, and I came back from there with three questions:

Which resources are you abundant in, and which do you need more of, to continue our work together?

Where is your magic not working, and what mundane actions can you take to supplement it?

What illusions are holding you back, and what secret fears need to be laid bare and conquered?

They are questions meant for deep reflection, and I can hardly think of a better way to begin this dark half of the year. I’ll be journaling my answers, and if the questions speak to you, I suggest you do the same.

Post image is a stock photo provided by squarespace, in black and white, of black birds in the uppermost branches of trees, with a grey sky above.

Ancestor Work: My thoughts

Last Sunday, John Beckett wrote a blog titled “We Owe Toxic Ancestors Nothing”, and it spurred a lot of reactions, and thoughts, and commentary (as all his best blogs do). After Sara Amis responded with a blog of their own, “A Theological Argument for Ancestor Reverence”, Beckett wrote a follow-up, “A Pagan Theology of the Dead”. It’s mostly that last one that sparked the blog I’ve written below, but if you haven’t read all three, go do that first. I’ll wait!

While I agree with the broad strokes of Beckett’s first blog, where he and Amis disagree, my own experiences have given me opinions closer to Amis’s. Most of the Ancestors and Beloved Dead I’ve encountered — my own, and those of others I’ve assisted in my healing work and my spae-craft tradition(1) — do seem to have a tangible shift in perception after they pass over, especially if they were skeptical of a life after death, or if illnesses (physical but also mental) contributed heavily to their outlook and attitudes. Who are they, when they are free of their pain?

I don’t think there’s an easy answer that covers every situation and every ancestor — they’re not all suddenly sunshiney helpful loving people, but they might not be as toxic as they were when they were alive, either. I think it’s best to figure out your own boundaries with each individual. Some of them might be truly sorry for the pain and suffering they caused and may have both the willingness and the ability to help you now. Some may not even answer when you call. That isn’t to say that you need to reach out to everyone — I agree with Beckett that you probably shouldn’t try that with anyone you’re likely to find triggering — but not everything is such a hard line, and you may want to meet with someone in your grey areas before you decide if they’re going to be welcome at your altar.

For example: one of my mother’s uncles was a bit of a hellion in life, and died by suicide. I did not expect to meet him in my journeys, as he died before I was born, but nonetheless he showed up and revealed to me that he’d found his peace and had become something of a family psychopomp. I suddenly remembered my maternal grandmother telling me that her mother (my great-grandmother and the mother of that great-uncle), had told her about a strange dream she’d had a week before her death, where she saw her son and he held her hand as they walked up to a door. Pieces fell into place, and I had a new understanding of what kind of Ancestor my great-uncle had become.

You probably should try to include anyone who was supporting and loving to you in life, even if you weren’t open about your practice before they passed. See what kind of set up will make them most at ease, but it may surprise you: people who were very religiously orthodox in life may have slightly broader opinions about what kind of truths are possible, now that they’ve passed on. Just the fact that you’ve managed to contact them might help shift their perspective. Additionally, I often find that ancestors who are uncomfortable with the idea of tarot are more willing to use simple oracle cards(2), and many who balk at talk of “offerings” will nonetheless accept a cup of coffee.

It’s also important to reiterate that we all have so many more ancestors than we think about, so even if you can’t or won’t talk to the last two or three generations of your blood ancestors, you can call upon any of ancestors who have done the work of integration and healing necessary to become “Big A” Ancestors: spirits who can and will help and support you in both your magical and your mundane life. These are the ones you should turn to for help, and to keep your other ancestors in line, as you and they work to clear generational trauma, either by conscious effort, or just by you living the best life you can.

When you’re beginning to work with the Dead, you need to come to the table with an open mind, rather than preconceived notions, which may limit your ability to reach the Ancestors who may be the best fit for you. I often hear people say “none of my ancestors were queer” but I find it almost impossible to believe that none of our ancestors were queer, even in the modern period. No one was bisexual? No one was asexual? No one was gay or trans but closeted? And that same line of reasoning works for “they would all tell me I’m going to burn in hell for doing witchcraft”. Really? None of your ancestors ever practiced folk magic of any type? Don’t judge your entire lineage by the living members of your family! You may be surprised who you find when you reach out.

For example, I was in a ritual (led by others) a few years ago that called on a number of different Goddesses that are associated with Crones or Death, and during it we were told to reach out to our ancestors, and I had a sudden wish to meet someone, anyone, who “would recognize their craft in my own.” As much as I try not to have expectations, I did sort of expect someone from my Irish or Scottish family lines, considering how much of my craft involves the Fair Folk, but instead Baba Yaga showed up in her chicken-legged hut, and beckoned me inside where I met an Ancestor I now call “Babcia L”(3), a cunning woman and herbwife from the Slavic side of my family instead. While I have a vague idea of the geographic location and century she lived in, I have no idea what her days of birth or death are, so while I honor most of my Beloved Dead (those whom I knew in life) on their birth and death days, I decided to honor my Babcia L on her name day instead, which is a customary day of celebration in a lot of Eastern European countries.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Ancestors you honor don’t even have to be blood relatives. They could be pioneers in your field, trailblazers who began the activism you’re continuing, artists whose art inspires your own. A lot of deceased celebrities become folk heroes, and I think that’s how it has always worked, in ancient Greece and also today. One of my friends, Ron Padrón of White Rose Witching, has a great blog that does regular Queer Ancestor spotlights, and it’s been super inspiring for people who normally shy away from ancestor work due to bad experiences in their family of origin. Honoring your ancestors shouldn’t have to be painful or triggering; you can have boundaries with the Dead just the same as we have boundaries with the living.

I agree with the assertion in Beckett’s second blog, that the Dead have things to be doing: the work of integration and healing and sorting themselves out, and whatever else is necessary. That they are “busy” would make a certain amount of sense for why they are sometimes hard to reach. I also believe in reincarnation, and that some of us will reincarnate repeatedly in the same family line; that makes sense to me, and fits somewhat with what I’ve experienced. However, when we have these discussions about who the Dead are, and whether they’re a Higher-Self/Soul wearing a mask or if the personality itself is somehow surviving, while I see lots of discussion of a multiplicity of souls (which is my general impression given my experiences, but I’m agnostic as to how many souls and what sort of system), I don’t normally see much discussion of one thing I think is absolutely crucial to our understanding of the Dead and how they may or may not change: mythic time.

I do not believe the Dead and the lands of the Dead flow in time the same way that we do in our mundane world. I think it’s entirely possible that when we are contacting one of our Beloved Dead, known to us well in life but passed on, the whole time they are watching us and interacting with us and coming to our altars which for us is decades, may be but a few moments to them. And the reverse could be true as well: they may spend what seems to them an eon learning to integrate and heal in order to help their descendants, and then when they finally emerge from that work to speak with us and guide us, we perceive it as only a few months since their passing. And those two examples are only of two timelines in parallel relationship: we may also have to consider that time is not linear in the Otherworlds, that there many not be what we’d recognize as a clear progression of time.

I see more discussion about mythic time when we speak about the Gods: most of us have probably heard the questions about how someone can honor two Gods at the same altar when we have lore about a quarrel between Them, and perhaps seen someone answer that the two also have stories where They are allies, and that their UPG leads them to believe that despite the stories, the two Gods are contented to receive offerings together. Time does not constrain the Gods — they move through it or outside of it as they please — and I believe the same can be said for both the Fair Folk and the Dead.

It can be difficult to think of time as something flexible and maybe even optional, instead of something abstract but concrete and unyielding, but I think when working with spirits generally and the Dead in particular, we need to release our grip on the “timeline”. As I’ve been known to quip: time is fake, ya’ll! Just do the work that needs doing.

Image for this post is of part of my home Ancestor shrine, featuring a resin skull shaped candle holder with glass insert, a black glass with a skull image on it, a few pieces of jewelry, a funeral card, and a roll of necco wafers.

Notes:

1. Spae is a verb in Middle English and Scots meaning “to see, predict, or foretell” and by spae-craft here I am referring to the practice of rituals done to receive wisdom from the Dead, derived from the Hrafnar tradition as outlined in Diana Paxson’s “The Way of the Oracle”, and modified slightly by my teachers when they founded the Potomac Seidr Guild Ondvegisulur.

2. I’ve used the Vintage Wisdom Oracle with good results, but I’m also developing a deck of my own: simple cards with words like “Compassion”,
”Regret”, and “Legacy”.

3. “L” here is an initial to stand in for the name I call her, but I did not want to share her whole name this publicly.

Kemetic Bright Moon 10/20

This full moon, as I have done on most full moons since I began my service to Bast and Sekhmet, I performed my usual ritual, and asked them for an omen to convey to my community. Here is what I received:

Many of you have had a difficult start to the season. But time flows on; do not dwell too much on the past. Look to the future when you will burn more brightly: firm and resolute in your bearing, sure of your path, and of what work you do.

Sekhmet and Bast then each spoke separately.

Sekhmet said:

I will lend you my strength and fierceness!

Bast said:

I will lend you my charm and my guile!

They then continued together, in unison, as is their usual manner when I ask for the omen:

Even when you flicker with doubts, you are a pillar of light for your community. Even when unsteady, a candle flame lights the way through the darkness.

The next full moon is November 19th. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for November, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Image in the thumbnail is a stock photo (provided through Squarespace) of the sky seen through the pillars of a ruin of an Ancient Egyptian temple.

Crow Folks: Samhain Approaches

October 8, 2021
by Alexandra

This time for the Dark Moon, when I journeyed to see Na Morrigna, I was sent to do a little bit of personal work first, and then when I returned I poured a flagon of brandy into their cauldron, and they stirred it in with wands and used those to convey the themes for their message – which I was then instructed to turn into a free form poem. So with Their help and inspiration, I wrote the following:

Lughnasadh passed; Samhain approaches.
A new moon, a new-coming year,
and an end to waiting.

A few weeks to prepare;
Plans to revisit,
Goals to reassess.

Your choice of paths to take.
What role will you fill?
What path draws you toward it?

Flame burned around you;
Now you stand fire-hardened,
Ready for new work.

A time for you to renew
Both your convictions and your dedications
As the year turns from light to dark.

A turbulent seasons begins:
Wind tearing at trees,
Palisades mended with new earthen supports.

Paths diverge: deep or shallow?
Deep and deeper still,
Into the heart of the Work.

This is the calling:
An end to superficial engagement,
And into the bone-fire of transformation.

The old to be burnt away,
Clearing way for new growth,
Growth from your own shadowy depths.

As my personal Samhain observation and celebrations continue through the first week of November, the next Dark Moon (November 4th) will likely be a Samhain message. If you don’t have plans I recommend at least doing a small solitary ritual, perhaps just to learn more about what they wish you to do in this coming year (Samhain to Samhain) by doing a journey, or a bit of candlelight divination.

If you aren’t sure what to do, I always welcome emails, and if you’re on Facebook I highly recommend the group “The Morrigan’s Cave”, run by the Irish Pagan School. It’s a spectacular resource, and is full of very knowledgeable practitioners!

Kemetic Bright Moon 9/20

This time, when I did my Bright Moon ritual, I was also granted a vision of a temple, within which I performed my ceremony as I also performed it here. There was a chair for me, in front of two huge statues of Bast and Sekhmet, seated on thrones, and perhaps twenty feet high. I do not know if it was a temple that used to exist, or an astral one, or just a very vivid image, but in any case it was awe-inspiring. This is the message they told me to share.

If you have been struggling, take a moment to commune with Bast and Sekhmet. Let them ground you; rest against them for a while. If you have been attempting to create lasting change and have recently finally begun to see progress, do not be disheartened that it is not as much change as you had hoped for. It is coming still, you must keep working to see the full results of your labors. If you have been resisting change, stop resisting – it will bring you positive benefits. Follow the wind, and seek your fortune. Discernment will be important, however, to tell the worthwhile risks from those that will end poorly. Sharpen your intuition, and cut away the illusions. In this time of transitions, some upheaval will be required to purge the pollution from the soil so that you may sow new crops. Release what is holding you back, build something that will help you move forward.

The next full moon is October 20th. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for October, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Crow Calls: an Ogham Divination

September 9, 2021
by Alexandra

This moon’s message comes a bit late thanks to Hurricane Ida and the migraine she caused, and I was instructed to do a less intense version of my ritual, and to draw ogham instead of channeling poetry. The message itself does somewhat explain why I was given lighter duty: rest is important for all healing.

I pulled three ogham feda*: Tinne, Beithe, and Nin. In the personal lists I’ve been developing, the kennings for these three are Tested Resolve, Beginning Healing, and Knotted Weaving.

Three birch discs, pyrographed with ogham (Tinne, Beithe, and Nin, from left to right), sitting on a brown knit bag, on top of a silver tablecloth.

Tinne is here to represent the near-past, and in that context I understand it to be the completion of a trial by fire. We’ve been dealing with things we weren’t sure we could handle – and yet we did handle them, if perhaps not as well as we might have liked. Still, that cycle is now behind us, and we need to focus on our current and future cycles.

Beithe is here to represent the developing present, the thing we should be working on right now. This is the fid* that really explains my instruction to rest: we should be focusing on healing. Having completed one cycle, we need to rest and rejuvenate to face whatever comes next. Beithe is a fid of healing, but also of beginnings, in my understanding. We need to start the next cycle as favorably as we can, to aim for positive outcomes.

Nin is here to represent the near-future, and in this context I understand it as a fid of communal goals, and of working together as a community. A symbol I associate with this fid is the hand-tied fishnet. It takes more than one pair of hands to make one in any reasonable length of time, and more than one pair of hands to both cast it into the water, and to pull it back in. Nin speaks to me of weaving, both literal fibercraft and metaphorical joinings. As we look to the future and our own healing, we need to both support and be supported by those in our communities. We are a community of Crows, but we belong to other communities, too: spiritual, and geographical, familial and professional. All and any strong community ties matter, and those webs will look different for each of us. As you work on self care, make sure to also put aside some time for community care, as well. Learn how to be a shelter for others, and learn where you can go to find sanctuary of your own.

Hopefully that gives you insight into your current situations, and with any luck I’ll be back with more poetry next month. The next Dark Moon is October 6th.

*: Fid and Feda are the singular and plural, respectively, of the Irish word for each individual ogham letter, meaning also tree, wood (or something wooden, like a walking stick or wand). See it here in the eDIL.

Wep Ronpet: the Kemetic New Year

I usually do a follow-along cycle on the tumblr e-shrine, but I thought this year I might aggregate all my prayers and images into one large recap post. I meant to do it earlier this month, but it kind of got away from me, and then I was at a funeral last weekend, so I skipped this past Bright Moon, and I’m finally posting this, instead.

Birth of Wesir

(Osiris)

Blessing from Wesir

Birth of Heru-Wer

(Horus the Elder)

Blessing from Heru-Wer

Birth of Set

Blessing from Set

Birth of Aset

(Isis)

Blessing from Aset

Birth of Nebthet

(Nephthys)

Blessing from Nebthet

Rising of Sopdet

(The Star Sirius)

Omen for the New Year

For each of the five Epagomenal Days, the intercalary period of the Ancient Egyptian calendar, I queued an image that served as a votive offering, and captioned it with an original prayer. I have also written an original prayer to Sopdet, a prayer for a Wep Ronpet execration rite, and a prayer to all the Netjeru for the Wep Ronpet celebration.

The morning prayers all follow the same format, and I’ve copied them below. I’ve also added this year’s blessing omens, which were drawn from the tarot cards included in the slideshow to the left.

Feel free to use these prayers in your own practice, or use them for inspiration to write your own. Please refrain from using them commercially, however, and contact me to ask before using them in a group ritual. I’ll probably give permission if you’re willing to credit me!

Morning Prayer to Wesir (Osiris):

DUA WESIR!
First born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Eldest-Born, we salute you!
Brilliant One, we rejoice in you!
Lord of Eternity, we honor you!
You Whose Places are Mysterious, we extol you!
Wesir, Bless us.

Blessing from Wesir:

He offers guidance in the ways of emotional balance and maturity, and he offers his superlative assistance, that our harvests may be abundant.

Morning Prayer to Heru-Wer (Horus the Elder):

DUA HERU-WER!
Second born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Great One of Speckled Plumage, we salute you!
Wings of Protection, we rejoice in you!
Lord of Terror, we honor you!
Mighty Falcon, we extol you!
Heru-Wer, Bless us.

Blessing from Heru-Wer:

He offers his help in all our struggles, that we may find respite from them.

Morning Prayer to Set:

DUA SET!
Third born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Overthrower of A/p/e/p, we salute you!
Red Haired One, we rejoice in you!
Lord of the Storm, we honor you!
You Who Are in the Heart of the Northern Sky, we extol you!
Set, Bless us.

Blessing from Set:

He blesses us with the ability to turn chaos and competition into a powerful force for positive change.

Morning Prayer to Aset (Isis):

DUA ASET!
Fourth born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Giver of Life, we salute you!
Great Lady of Magic, we rejoice in you!
Mistress of the Stars, we honor you!
Fiercely Bright One, we extol you!
Aset, Bless us.

Blessing from Aset:

She offers a portion of divine inspiration, and her guidance along the path of wisdom and magic, for those who seek understanding of the sacred mysteries.

Morning Prayer to Nebthet (Nephthys):

DUA NEBTHET!
Fifth born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Lady of Dawn and Dusk, we salute you!
Mistress of Renewal, we rejoice in you!
Averter of Evil, we honor you!
Friend of the Dead, we extol you!
Nebthet, Bless us.

Blessing from Nebthet:

She offers advice encouraging us to be strategic in how we engage with our obstacles, and she offers to help make luck be on our side.

Execration Inscription:

(to be inscribed on something red along with a drawing of A/p/e/p and ritually destroyed)
Obstructing, Obnoxious, Objectionable, Obfuscating, Obscuring, Obscene, Obtrusive, Obligating, Obstinate OBSTACLES!

Prayer for the Heliacal Rising of Sopdet (The Star Sirius):

DUA SOPDET!
Today you rise before the sun, ushering in the new year!
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Harbinger of the Nile Flood, we salute you!
Bringer of the New Year, we rejoice in you!

Wep Ronpet Prayer to All the Netjeru:

Great Ones, we salute you!
Bright Shining Ones, we rejoice in you!
Mightiest Ones, we honor you!
Most Powerful Ones, we extol you!

Lords and Ladies of the Heavens,
Netjeru of all Places and Delights,
Today is your feast day,
Today we give you praise,
for a new year is dawning!

You who protect us from isfet,
You who perpetuate ma’at,
We offer you the best of our feast,
And we revel in your names!
As we share our gifts,
We ask you to gift us your blessings!

Omen for the New Year:

Things may seem obscured and uncertain now, but they are coming to a resolution faster than it appears. All cycles end; all things change in their time. Turn your attention to new opportunities. The natural order of ma’at will return.

Crow Calls: Another Year of Messages

I renew my work for Na Morrigna each Lughnasadh, an auspicious time for making contracts. This year I asked what my work would be in the coming season, and if I should still bring messages back for my fellow devotees.

I stood at the cauldron with them, our hands clasped in a circle of four: myself, Anu, Badb, and Macha. As I felt our magic rise, I watched the cauldron, and what had been still clear water became a bubbling black fluid, like melted tar, but without that foul smell. The bubbles got larger and the roiling more vigorous, and then a large black crow burst from the cauldron, looking for a moment like it was made of tar, but then dripping the last of the fluid from its wings, it soared away with glistening feathers. More came bursting out, and as I locked eyes with Badb, I understood these to be new devotees, new warriors, new recruits to our cause, growing their wings and learning to fly with the rest of the flock.

One came out clutching a leg close to its chest, and I dropped Anu and Macha’s hands, instinctively putting my arm towards the wounded creature. It landed, and I splinted and healed the leg, and then gently unfolded one of its wings to heal the torn muscles there, as well. Magically healed, the bird launched into the sky, gouging me with its claws in the process, but the same magic healing I’d used on the bird I now used on my own arm, and watched the skin knit back together, leaving no blemish. I returned to my place in the circle, holding hands, and I understood that healing my fellow crows was again my calling, though that may not be a smooth and easy road, and I may need to heal myself as much as I heal others.

As I looked into the cauldron once more, I saw powerful magic, battle sorcery, wielded by the Crows, and Na Morrigna, flashing through the air. And below I saw myself, once again holding a banner, to help those in the air orient themselves to the ground beneath. A waymarker, a grounding rod, a light in the dark: this is my role, as messenger.

I asked if there was a specific message they had for me to bring back this time, and I was told that we must all do the work of learning to balance and regulate our emotions, and must not rely on our relationships to provide that balance; we need to find it in ourselves.

After a year and a half of a very changed world, I find myself struggling more with stressors than I used to. Shadow work is needful during difficult times, and a return to the basics of grounding, centering, and shielding, can create a bubble within which we can catch our breath.

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