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Crow Folk: Be Daring

The Dark Moon was a few days ago, and once again I spoke to Na Morrigna.  The sense of urgency is building as we get closer to Samhain, and I must once again remind you that if you are planning a celebration for the holiday, do not forget Them.  Do something small if you must, but do SOMETHING.  For those of you who requested I do the 9 card Morrigan Spread I shared here, or those who did it for themselves, make sure you are following through and completing the tasks in those last three cards.  After Samhain I will be following up with six more cards, three to cover the time period to Yule on Dec 21st, and three for the period from then to Imbolc on Feb 2nd.

The message this Dark Moon is as follows:

The way forward will take both strength and courage: you must rise to the occasion and do what you think you cannot.  Draw on your convictions, and use them to act with resolve.  The race will be long, but you will persevere – and perseverance brings triumph.  The Morrigna are the High Queens of your striving.  They guide your every move, and if you trust in Them you will achieve more than you dream is possible.  The way will not be easy, but the result will be worth the battle.  You must re-balance this world, re-balance the connection between the Mundane World and the Otherworlds.  There is a plan larger than you can individually conceive, larger than you can individually affect, but change starts within each of you.  Find your role and play your part.  Change yourself to change the world.

I personally like to celebrate the Fire Festivals as three-day affairs, and my dates for Samhain this year are sundown on Oct 31 through sundown on Nov 3, though the ritual we are planning will be just after sundown on the 3rd.  Any time in there would be appropriate to add your magic or ritual to the Work of the Morrigna.  The moon will be waning, the New Year beginning, and it’s a perfect time to do magic that sweeps out the old and brings in the new.

And please – if you are in the US, don’t forget to vote the following week.  It’s on the 6th, the day before the Dark Moon.  I think that bodes well for the turning of the political tide.

 

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New Bracelet Style!

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We’ve been selling the top style, with toggle clasps and pearl knotting, for a while now, but just this past weekend at NoVA Pagan Pride Day, we unveiled a new version, on stretchy cord!  They seemed pretty popular, probably due to the ease of wear, and maybe because of the slightly lower price point!

They won’t all be in the Etsy shop just yet, because we’ve only made a few so far, but if you’ve had your eye on a bracelet you think you’d prefer on stretchy cord, drop us a line!  We can either stick a custom listing in the shop or send you an invoice with Paypal.  We’re always happy to do custom orders, especially when we’re going to be rolling out the product later on anyway!

What do you think?  Which style do you prefer?  And what other types of devotional jewelry do you want to see in the future?  Necklaces?  Earrings?  Drop a comment below or send us an email; we’d love to hear from you!

 

Kemetic Bright Moon Omen 9/24

This Bright Moon I once again performed my solitary ritual, answered questions that were presented to me, and received the following omen from Bast and Sekhmet, whom I serve as an oracular priestess-initiate:

Disaster looms on the horizon, invited by those who crave the poison of isfet.  It is not yet a certainty, however – only one possibility out of many.  You can free yourself from the poisonous allure by sticking to truth, knowledge, and using your own intuition.  This uncertain time is part of a cycle of growth and change, and the Eyes of Ra fight beside you as you use whatever means are at your disposal to fight back.  You must protect yourself, but you must also fight, because the outcome will be our legacy, for good or ill.  Those who prevail will grow in power, and if they are not righteous it will be all the harder to resist them later.

This seems to echo themes I’ve been hearing from the Morrigna, and messages others are getting about this turbulent time.  Some believe that this turbulence is due to the turning of an Age, and that holds resonance for me, but my personal beliefs have always centered on the Here and Now, doing what work we can in our immediate communities, as soon as we can.

Blessings from Bast and Sekhmet, and I’ll see you all next Bright Moon.

Crow Folk: Stand Your Ground

The dark moon was a few days ago, and I have another update to pass along from Na Morrigna, to my little patch of pagan blogosphere.  This time the message itself is very short and very specific:

The Wild Hunt is riding; stand your ground.  That which runs away is prey.

Although in previous years I haven’t noticed the Hunt riding in this area until about mid-September,* this year I first noticed them on the days surrounding Lughnasadh, and though the intensity was fairly light and the activity wasn’t consistent.  In the past few days, however, especially with the storms rolling through and the rain we’ve been having, I’ve felt the power of the Hunt much more strongly, similar to the strength I normally feel around the equinox.  So yes, they are riding.  They are here.  So take your usual precautions, whatever those may be: ward your homes, shield yourselves, leave out appeasements that you may be passed by.  But if you encounter them directly, do not stare and Do Not Run.  You do not want the Wild Hunt to consider you prey.  Morgan Daimler has a good blog about the Slua Sí, which includes a few suggested charms to keep yourself safe.  This is all included in the top level of the message and warning.

Beneath that, there’s another level of meaning, where the Hunt becomes a metaphor for the destructive change in our lives.  Such destruction can be cleansing, but we need to know where to make our stand so that we can build up again from the ashes, stronger than we were before.  We need to decide where our boundaries lie, and then we need to defend them.  What is acceptable, and what can not be tolerated?  How far can you bend before you lose yourself?  If you have something worth keeping, “you better hang on, tooth and nail,” as the song goes, for “the wolf is always at the door.”**

Keep hanging on, Crow Folk.  And brace yourselves.  Things will get harder before they get easier.

 

 

*Having only lived here since 2012 I can’t comment on when they “normally” ride, as “normal” seems to have gone out the window around then.

** “New York Minute”, by The Eagles.

Kemetic Bright Moon 8/26

This moon’s message from Bast and Sekhmet:

“Things are in flux right now, turning, shifting, and you need to take rest where you can find it. You can manage your mundane life and household well if you stay organized, though, and don’t let things slide. There is time and energy enough. Time comes in fast cycles now, dark and light, night and day. Shadows grow long and frightening at night, but you can address them more shrewdly in the sunlight. Things are not as bad as they seem – you have them better in hand than you think.”

That’s encouraging! Happy Bright Moon, everyone!

Crow Folk: Are You Doing the Work?

Hello again, my fellow Crows: warriors, clerics, healers, and witches, we are many things but we have all been called by Na Morrigna to join their legions.  You have heard the call.  You have answered it.  Are you doing the work?

Many of us have self-work to do in preparation for the coming months, and that is good and right.  What skills are you honing? What personal revelations unfolding?  Do you feel your wings grow as you live a life truer to yourself?  You need to be sure of your foundations, because each of us is a stone, supporting the others in our mutual work.  Find and embrace your role in the greater scheme, and embody it as fully as you can. For most of you, the training period is almost over.  By the equinox, you need to be at a transition point: finishing your internal work, and ready to plan external workings.

The equinox is likely to be a more gentle shift, an ombré blending the colors of the early harvest with the late.  We’ll be shifting from interior worlds to the exterior, making plans for Samhain.  Some rituals and workings go well when they are done off the cuff, but this one is too big, too broad, and has too many moving parts to be done that way.  To the furthest extent possible, we need to be working in concert.  Trust Na Morrigna to guide you: ask what you should be doing for Samhain, be it ritual, witchcraft, mundane, or something other.  They know.  They will guide you.  They see the whole pattern, the entire map of the battlefield, too vast and too complex for our consciousness.  Trust, trust, and plan to Do.

For my part, I’ll be gathering with a few friends to have a small ritual at one of their houses.  We are asking Na Morrigna for guidance every step of the way, and we are crafting a ritual that will allow us to serve the best ways we can.  It is not an easy thing to craft a ritual that truly harnesses all the energy raised and sends it towards its target straight and true.  Planning is needed. Rehearsal is needed.  Some things will happen spontaneously during the ritual itself, yes, but the structure must already exist, so that we know, the group knows, what is expected and what our target is.

Find your target.  Figure out what is expected of you.  Make sure that the work you are doing now will lead you to where you need to be.  The autumn winds are stirring, ready to pare back anything extraneous, anything we can do without.  The Wild Hunt is awakening, and change is in the air.  There will be a powerful shift at Samhain, and as of now the outcome is still uncertain.  We can push it.  We must push it.  We will do the work.

 

[[As a note – I am still offering these readings to anyone who wishes for a little help elucidating their role in all this.]]

Wep Ronpet 2018

The Epagomenal Days started right after Lughnasadh again this year, on August 2nd, with Wesir (Osiris).  I gave offerings to each “birthday” god on their day, and took an omen from them by tarot card, using my Egyptian Tarot deck by Lo Scarabeo.  Here were their messages for us:

  1. Wesir (Osiris) gave me The Chariot: go forward, fighting your obstacles, and you will be victorious!
  2. Heru-Wer (Horus the Elder) gave me the 5 of Wands: work together, let constructive conflict and competition raise you to greater heights!
  3. Set gave me the Knight of Swords: take courage, and rage against the darkness of isfet!
  4. Aset (Isis) gave me The Hermit: be prudent, take your time, and use the wisdom you have gained.
  5. Nebthet (Nepthys) gave me the Ace of Pentacles: we are winning! We will have the success and glory we crave.

All in all those were pretty uplifting omens!

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On Wep Ronpet (Aug 7) I did my execration, using red paper this year instead of smashing a terracotta pot, removing the negativity of the old year and preparing for the new! I drew a/p/e/p on the paper, added some words about other things I wished to execrate, and then cut it up, and burned it.  It was very satisfying!

Afterwards I took a magical cleansing bath, with a scented bathbomb, the perfume oils I bought for Bast and Sekhmet, and some natron salts.  While I soaked, I meditated, talking to my Patronesses about the coming year.  I’ll be renewing my oath as an Oracular Priestess-Initiate, bound to honor them weekly and to serve my community through oracular work and heka during the Bright Moon.  This year I’m also going to work out a more set holiday calendar, finding appropriate holidays that I can celebrate spaced out throughout the year, instead of just Wep Ronpet and the Sailing Holiday, which are both very close to other holidays in my personal calendar.

My shrine item this year for Wep Ronpet is the travel shrine box – I’m finally painting it, and I’ll dedicate it and renew my shrine set up and welcome my Patronesses home on the next Bright Moon, which is also when I’ll be formally renewing my oath.  Look for that post after August 26th!

Lughnasadh 2018

This year for Lughnasadh, instead of continuing our theme of having a family meal, we were involved in a lay-led worship service at our local UU Church, focusing on Lugh and the bounty of the first harvest.  I was part of a team that called the quarters (using the traditional elements this time, instead of my local cultus river goddesses) and presented representations of the harvest on a central table, around which we’d put the chairs for seating in two half circles.

I didn’t have a large role in part because I’d missed the second-to-last planning session, when we went to Wisconsin to visit my family and present the Acorn at the tribal picnic for enrollment.  That was nice – seeing everyone, including my brothers, whom I haven’t seen since last August, and before then not for almost two years.  With all the talk of community and coming together at the harvest, it’s hard not to think about how much of my community doesn’t live close by.  Still, this pagan group and the rest of local UU Church is slowly becoming the community I want and need, somewhere I can raise a child, somewhere I can find help when I need it.

I usually find myself more reflective as we move into autumn, but it seems to be starting early this year.  It makes sense, though – with Wep Ronpet following closely afterwards, Lughnasadh is the beginning of the end of my year, with a number of new year’s days of different traditions occurring between now and the secular new year on Jan 1st.

Kemetic Bright Moon 7/27

Here is the message from Bast and Sekhmet, on the last full moon of the year (Wep Ronpet, by the local rising of Sirius in Washington, DC, is August 7th):

“Execrate, execrate, execrate! Destroy the dying year, and prepare the way for the coming of the new. Commit to change, commit to fighting your battles, commit to burning brightly and fiercely! Be, yourself, a tiny blazing Sun! You are needed, you are needed, your role may be small but it is necessary. Victory depends on many small parts joining together to accomplish something much larger than any could do alone. Do not despair. Find solace in our hot breath at the side of your neck, urging you forward. We fight beside you! You are never alone. Honor the five Netjeru on their Epagomenal days, and honor all Netjeru on Wep Ronpet. We will see you again in the New Year.”

You can follow along on my tumblr e-shrine as I celebrate the Epagomenal Days and Wep Ronpet, or wait for my recap blog here.

Morrigan Tarot Spread

I’ve been reading John Beckett’s posts on Patheos about the Coming Storm for a while, now, and a lot of what he’s hearing from the Morrigan lines up with my own UPG from Na Morrigna and that of other people in my network (including this piece on humanity’s initiatory challenge by Gwendolyn Reece), though for a while I was personally more focused on the Faery Weather.  There has been a shift, however, and this year as the wheel turned at Beltane and again at Midsummer I have really been feeling a need to reach out to my networks and acquaintances, especially those who work closely with Na Morrigna, and check in.  That, it has become apparent, is part of my role in all this.  Check ins, and helping others figure out what part they are to play, when they hear the call but can’t quite put their finger on the details.  Later on, I’ll be providing other kinds of support – healing, holding space, providing magical back-up.  As part of my work with assisting others right now, I’ve developed the tarot spread, below, to help flesh out details when someone’s path seems unclear.

morrigan 9card

The first three cards (1-3) are the querent’s role, in a nutshell.  That top card ought to be an archetype of some sort: a court card or one of the major arcana.  The second and third give it more depth and potentially a focus, or something for the querent to work on in order to embody that role.

The next three cards (4-6) are tasks that should be the querent’s current focus.  These often repeat themes from cards 2 and 3.

The last three cards (7-9) are tasks for the future, around Samhain, when I believe there will be another large shift.  I’m seeing a lot of cards in these positions that call for a change in focus or roles around this time.

I stop the spread at Samhain partly because 9 is a good number for Morrigan reading, but also because I’ve found that I’m running up against blockages when I try to divine things that happen after Samhain.  The future seems very uncertain, and thus shrouded from my view in a way it often hasn’t been before.  The future is never absolutely certain of course, but previously my readings have given me a number of possibilities that outline the most likely events.  However, when I ask about the Storm and the Morrigan and the world events I believe are part of the pattern, after Samhain I run into a stone wall.  I’ve stopped asking, for now.  I will wait and see, and hopefully it will become clearer.  But the wall is reason enough to focus on the here and now, and one of the things I can do now is this: reach out to my networks and contacts.

I’m offering this spread for free to Morrigan/na devotees who have heard the call, and are willing to owe Her/Them for it.  If you want me to lay the cards, email me, but I recommend asking Morrigan/na in advance what She/They expect/s in return.  For the most part I think the expected payment is an oath to do what the cards advise, but as in all things, it’s best to read the fine print.  If you do not wish to owe Her/Them, I am offering this spread for money or barter – again, email me.  If you do cartomancy, yourself, feel free to use this spread for yourself or a friend.  I just ask that if you offer it for money, you also allow for the Morrigan/na to pay you and the client to owe Her/Them, as I am doing.  I also encourage people to use this as a prompt to speak with Na Morrigna in their usual way, whatever that may be.

For my part, I’ll be trying to blog about things as they come up, and I’ll be pulling general advice cards around the New Moon.  I have a new tag for all of this for those who want to follow along: “Crow Calls”.  Don’t worry too much if you feel unprepared.  Many of us are already prepared, and you’ll get there.  We’re coming to this in waves, and it won’t be over quickly.

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