personal practice – Serendipities

My Imbolc: musings in support of week-long celebrations, and the value of “good enough”

February 11, 2022
by Alexandra

I saw a lot of posts this year wondering which day was “really” Imbolc, using which calendar or astronomical system and while it’s important to have a good grounding in what was done historically (especially if your personal path is more inclined towards reconstructionism), I think it’s equally important to remember than in a lot of these historical contexts, Imbolc (like other festivals) was celebrated by nearly the whole community, which meant that they had a pause that we in the contemporary US just don’t have. It can be stressful to decide which day to take off work if you’re going to, and then figure out how to do all the traditions you love on that day without running out of steam (especially for those who are chronically ill), and I’m here to suggest that you just… don’t.

Don’t try to do it all on the One Approved Day. Our Christian-dominated secular society doesn’t do that for Christmas! Sure, they tend to do the presents on Christmas Day but some people open one on Christmas Eve, too. Some people have the big meal midday on Christmas Day, but a lot of people do the big evening meal on Christmas Eve, or they do regular meals on both days and have a big family gathering and potluck on the closest weekend.

So, sure, leave out your cloth to be blessed by Brigid/Brig/Bride (or even Brigantia) on the night that best suits your practice (I’ve heard both Jan 31 and Feb 1, and it seems to depend on where one is in Ireland and Scotland), but if you also want to weave rushes into Brigid’s crosses, and make a big meal, and churn butter, and bake, and cleanse and bless your home… there’s no harm in spreading it out some! Butter keeps well if you want to churn it in advance; so do a number of baked goods. Weaving the crosses is easy enough to do beforehand, but is also simple enough that you could do it any day you have the energy and time. Make the big meal on whichever day works best for you and your family!

As a spoonie witch, I often find that I just don’t have the energy to do everything on one day, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. So I plan out the things I want to do, and stretch out the celebration over the course of a week or so. With Imbolc, my birthday also gets rolled into it, and I sometimes do magic or divination about my next year as part of my Imbolc celebration, as one more kind of new beginning. I also did a bit of intentional garden work this year, as the week following Imbolc coincided with a spell of warmer weather. I tidied up a few beds and started a few tomato seeds; if that works out well, I’ll probably add that into my rotation, instead of or in addition to seed-blessing. I usually bake scones and everyone in the family helps shake a jar of cream into butter, but this year that hasn’t happened – yet. If you look at everyone else’s picture-perfect Imbolc on Instagram and feel like yours wasn’t that good, stop looking. People don’t like to talk about their failures, but then, who’s to say what is and isn’t failure when we’re talking about our own personal spiritualities? I didn’t manage to do one of the traditions I’ve been trying to establish in my household this year. But, I did make an absolutely scrumptious lamb stew with parsnips, rutabagas, leeks, and cabbage floating among the staple carrots and potatoes, and we got the lamb meat from a local farm. I think that might become a new tradition for us! It’s certainly more of a Holiday Meal than just scones.

As a Mom, I feel a lot of pressure to create meaningful traditions for my child, to pass along the stories and the joys and the values of my spiritual path, while leaving enough room for him to choose another path if he wishes. It’s important for me to remember that I don’t need to get it exactly right every time, and I don’t need to have schedule that I follow exactly the same way every single year so that he only remembers the one way. Kids (and people, generally) remember the threads of holiday tradition, and if it’s a bit fluid that allows for flexibility. My parents certainly didn’t have set-in-stone traditions for the Catholic holidays of my childhood, but I have fond memories of certain repeated traditions, even if we didn’t do them every year. When I was old enough to have input I usually asked to do my favorite activities, and in that way I really felt like I was involved. While I’m not keen to pass on the Catholicism I’ve left behind, I do want that feeling for my child, the warm fuzzy feeling of getting to color eggs (and similar activities) “like we usually do.”

I’m not aiming for an instagrammable holiday scene at the moment of sunset on The Only Correct Day. For me, that’s untenable. I don’t need that kind of stress, because in my experience that stress only serves to quash the actual feeling of celebration. And for me, that feeling is really my main goal. I’m trying to develop a rising and ebbing tide of celebratory activities centering on Feb 1-2, that my family will come to think of as “How We Usually Celebrate Imbolc”. Each individual piece adds to the whole, but missing a piece doesn’t doom the whole endeavour to failure! I’ve found I’m happier when I turn away from perfectionism to embrace “good enough”, and allow myself to feel satisfied with what I managed to do. My Imbolc was good enough — good enough to feel reconnected to my spiritual path, and good enough to feel inspired by the season. I hope yours was good enough, too!

Review of Pagan Portals Brigid

February 6, 2022
by Alexandra

A book standing on a shrine shelf, surrounded by jar candles and an offering cup. The book is a paperback volume of "Pagan Portals - Brigid" by Morgan Daimler, with an photo on the cover of a woman with red hair working in a forge. — The book, resting on my shrine to the Tuatha Dé, next to the pink candle dedicated to Brigid, which sits atop my blessed cloth.

Pagan Portals — Brigid: Meeting the Celtic Goddess of Poetry, Forge, and Healing Well

by Morgan Daimler, published in 2016 by Moon Books

ISBN: 978-1-78535-320-8

I’ve owned this book basically since it came out, but so far had only used it as a sort of reference, so with my new intention this year of reading and reviewing one book for each of the 8 holidays in the neopagan wheel of the year, I decided to start by reading this one all the way through.

I own quite a few Pagan Portals books at this point, and most of them are by Morgan Daimler — I really find value both in the format and in the general quality of Daimler’s research and writings. I have a certain fondness for Brigid, as she was the first Pagan Deity I really had contact with, before I even realized who she was. When I was a child I used to try to pray to the Saints the way my Irish-American Catholic father expected me to, and although oddly I didn’t hear much about St. Brigid until later, I often found comfort in a presence that I first thought was Mary but came to understand was someone else, without knowing who exactly she was. I came to associate her with a rose quartz necklace I owned, and when I later began to explore Paganism, though I stopped trying to reach out to who I thought was a Saint, I still used the piece of jewelry for protection and healing because it had become imbued with her power. One more fast forward to my second ever big public ritual as an adult, on Imbolc, and while lightly trancing I saw a Goddess I assumed was Brigid, and when she came over she identified herself as the same entity I’d been praying to all those years ago. It was a big shift for me, seeing those threads all come together. Brigid the Saint, Brigid the Goddess — or a trio of Goddesses? I think it depends a little on your viewpoint, but for me they all seem to come from the same well — or perhaps the same forge.

Daimler’s first chapter, “Meeting Brigid”, introduces us not only to the trio of Sister-Goddesses, daughters of the Dagda, but also to the three Brigids from the Ulster Cycle, with whom I was much less familiar. The three sisters, Brigid of the Healing Well, Brigid of the Forge, and Brigid of the Poets, are probably the best known trio to modern Pagans, and Daimler stresses the importance of these being sisters, not the Triple Goddess of Graves’s imagination in the form of maiden, mother, and crone. The other trio, however, are all related to a semi-historical figure from the Ulster cycle, Senchan, a judge and poet of Ulster during the kingship of Conchobar Mac Nessa: Brig Brigiu (Brigid the Hospitaller) is his mother, Brig Brethach (Brigid of the Judgements) is his wife, and Brig Ambue (Brigid of the Cowless) is his daughter. I found the section on Brig Brigiu especially interesting, as there are several similarities to the Fairy Queen I serve, whom I call Starflower: her realm is an independent place of healing and respite, and I may need to do more research about the term “brigiu” and the general context of these hostels! Daimler also notes that Brigid “does have an unusually broad range of abilities and expertise which at least indicates that she held a significant and prominent place historically.” The second chapter discusses a few more Brigids: other Celtic Goddesses in the UK and on the continent, and, yes, the Saint!

Daimler’s third chapter was the sort of excellent summary mixed with direct quotations and some original translations that I have come to expect in their work, and it’s really worth buying the book for this section alone, in my opinion. It provides a really good foundation for understanding the general appearances of Brigid in the lore, and combined with the bibliography in the back, is an excellent road map for getting started doing your own research! (Since this is one of Daimler’s earlier books, however, some of their own more recent translation volumes aren’t mentioned in the back of this one, and I really do encourage people to check those out, too.)

The fourth chapter provides some really good ideas for celebrating Imbolc, Brigid’s main holiday (which is basically concurrent with the Feast Day of St. Bride), and this is one of the sections I’d referenced frequently before. The first half of the fifth chapter discusses modern myths and practices, what we might call Shared Gnosis (as opposed to Unverified Personal Gnosis, or UPG). Reading it all the way through, though, I was struck by how much of Brigid’s lore really does revolve around livestock healing and protection as well, though, and I think I know who to petition the next time one of my rabbits has a health issue!* The second half of the chapter has a guided meditation script, and a personal anecdote from Morgan Daimler. I did the journey the other day for the first time, and I thought I’d share a little bit of my experience, below. Chapter six I also referenced a fair amount before: it contains a lot of useful prayers and spoken charms. Some are original, some are translated, others are reworkings of Christian prayers to the Saint.

In general I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in getting to know Brigid. The series of books are meant to be short introductions to a topic, so it would also be useful to anyone interested in Irish or Celtic Paganism generally, or as part of a reference library for a Pagan group of some sort.

* This isn’t really relevant to the book review, but because I just know someone is going to ask: yes, I have two bunnies. One is small and white, one is large and orangey-brown, and the small one has periodic issues with GI stasis, likely due to dwarfism genetics.

The second journey I ever did to Brigid (as far as I can remember) was a guided meditation to a farm where I met not one Brigid, and not three Brigids, but four. The Healer at the Well, the Smith in the Forge, and the Poet in the House. This time, on this meditation, I met seven.

Upon entering the farmhouse this time, I found myself in the presence of a woman who seemed younger than myself, standing and sway-bopping slightly as she nursed an infant. Brigid Ambue, she said to call her, Brigid the Cowless, and explained that the child was an orphan, and that no one in the world had less than an orphan less than a moon cycle old. She sent me into the kitchen, where I met a woman old enough to be my grandmother. The older woman was standing by a stove that was a bit old fashioned but still clearly a modern gas range, stirring a pot of porridge. Brigid Brethach, she called herself: Brigid the Judge. We spoke for a while, and then a woman almost as old as my mother entered, and introduced herself as Brigid Brigiu, Brigid the Hospitaller. She then took me out the back door, and we went around to visit the three I had expected. Brigid the Healer was at the well, and looked much the same as I remembered. So did Brigid the Smith, at the forge. Instead of in the house, this time Brigid the Poet was in a small shack, like a shepherd’s hut, past a field and towards the treeline, and she emerged to greet us as we came near. Satisfied, Brigid the Hospitaller then left me, and I began to make my own way back towards the house. On my way I met the one I first called Brigid the Tiny, who later revealed to me that she was the Saint, much younger than the others here and therefore in the guise of a girl of about nine. As in that earlier journey, she had me do a few farm chores before I left, and then saw me out the gate in the fence she closed behind me as I went. With each meeting I had given the Brigid a small vial of something pertaining to her craft, except the little Saint – she wished for nothing but a bit of companionship and help with her chores.

A Personal Lesson from Na Morrigna

January 17, 2022
by Alexandra

I had a difficult December and most of January so far. Not as an excuse, just as context for this post. I struggled a lot with everything that I needed and wanted to get done, and I did not accomplish everything on my list.

At the beginning of this month, at the Dark Moon, I tried to rally myself, tried to steal time and still my inner turmoil enough to put it aside and do the journey and ritual I try to do every month at the Dark Moon. But instead, I heard: Stop. Rest.

Was it my own desires talking, or my intuition, or Na Morrigna? I couldn’t say for sure, but I did rest. I let days pass, I tried to get other things done. But it tugged at the back of my mind. The anxiety remained until today, on the Full Moon, I finally did a journey. I lit Their candle, and laid on the floor in my ritual room, a shawl covering my face and head, and I went to see Them in my usual way.

When I entered the clearing, They stood around the cauldron, and reached out to take my hands and bring me into their circle. I tried to make an apology, but they just smiled at me kindly. They knew how hard I had struggled, and we all knew there was room in my contract for times like this. I had failed, yes, but I had not violated anything. Mistakes and failure, They told me, are important parts of the human experience, places to plant the seeds of new growth.

I had not been expecting such gentle compassion. I knew I was not in violation, but I had expected disapproval, impatience for getting to work. But instead, as I began to cry, They encouraged me to weep into the cauldron, and to shriek my rage and overwhelm into the waters within. That was my offering today — an emotional outpouring I’d been trying to keep in check.

I asked for words to share with others, the message I had failed to come to retrieve two weeks ago, but They told me not to worry. They gently laughed and said there were no messages only I could bring, nothing that They could not get to Their followers in other ways. My work is useful to Them, but I am not the only one doing this work. They have many pathways for the same omens, and the best thing for me to do now would be to share this experience with others. Although I had known that before — had glimpsed in the cauldron the extensive connected lines of their network of messages and omens — it still felt in that moment like illumination. Space had been left to mitigate failures. As someone who lives in a society where lean staffing and 60 hour work weeks and barely any paid vacation is the norm, I felt profound relief. I had not before realized how much of that attitude of near-constant productivity I had been bringing to my work with Na Morrigna, though in retrospect it seems much more obvious. I was reminded, also, that although my writings benefit the community, I am essentially a Deity-Facing cleric, not a pastoral one who tends a human community. Others do that and do it well and I don’t need to feel pushed to give more in service than what has been asked of me.

What was asked of me was this:

On the Dark Moon, when I am able, I am to share a message or other writing that comes from Them
If any of the followers of any of Na Morrigna come to me for healing or divination, subject to my availability, I am to offer my services free of charge, the balance of exchange shifting to include Them, such that I am compensated by Them, and They are compensated by the follower directly. (Although if the followers wish, they may still compensate me directly instead, by money or barter.)

Hopefully this has been enlightening to someone besides me; the lesson I thought I knew has sunk in a little deeper for me, now, and I’m grateful for the reminder. See you next Dark Moon.

Kemetic Holiday: The Eyes Return

I performed the first part of this holiday just before the Solstice, and if you didn’t see the other post you may want to look at it now. This is the second part of the holiday, which was timed to the new crescent after the solstice (which would have been January 3rd or so, but once again weather and health and life things I couldn’t avoid it reschedule have pushed this blog back a little: my apologies.

As I said before, this two-part holiday references a myth where the Eye of Ra (often Sekhmet, but potentially any of the Goddesses known as Eyes), in feline or leonine form, leaves Him to go wander in the desert, and eventually Ra sends another Deity (often Djehuty) to persuade Her to return to Him, and She is then joyfully welcomed back. Although there is some debate amongst scholars, in my personal practice this cycle is linked to the winter solstice, and it includes both Bast and Sekhmet leaving at the same time.

Image description: The welcoming back feast at my shrine! Read more below.

In the image of the shrine above, there is cool filtered water in Their red cup which I will drink after I post this, a lit red votive candle and the two still foil-wrapped chocolates on Their red platter (which I will offered when they left), plus one additional chocolate for the return, the two statues on Their red and black box, the unlit oil lamp (since I’ll be using the votive tonight and the feast nights after they get back), the red origami boat, and assorted other shrine decorations. For those who are unaware, it is common practice in modern Kemetic Polytheism to “revert”, or consume (usually food and drink) after it has been offered to the Netjeru, in order to receive Their blessings!

Exultation for the Return of The Eye Goddesses

The sun is dawning over the horizon.

And the longest night has already passed.

I look to the horizon for the return of the Eye Goddesses

And as the sun blazes, they are visible!

The Eye Goddess are visible on the horizon!

They have returned from the desert!

They have been led back to their shrines.

I throw flowers at the feet of the returning Eye Goddesses,

I present bread to the thrones of the seated Eye Goddesses,

I pour wine in the cups of the Eye Goddesses,

I give them the best parts of my meal.

I weep with joy, for I am no longer bereft!

I weep with joy, for they have returned to me!

The shrine is no longer empty: it is filled with delights.

The shrine is no longer empty: my Goddesses have returned!

I am reunited with my Goddesses, and my heart overflows with joy!

The above is an original prayer I wrote in 2020, to use for this holiday cycle of The Eye Wanders/She Is Led Back. Since my shrine is to two Eyes, it’s plural. Feel free to use this in your own rituals and celebrations (with proper attribution), and use the singular if that makes more sense for you. Please do not use this for any commercial purpose, however. And if you appreciate my work, consider supporting the shrine with a donation.

Kemetic Holiday: The Eyes Wander

I was originally supposed to begin this holiday on the first quarter moon, December 12th, but life obstacles and my health made that untenable, and so here I am, beginning the holiday just barely before the solstice instead, with a send-off feast, and the Lamentation prayer. This two-part holiday references a myth where the Eye of Ra (often Sekhmet, but potentially any of the Goddesses known as Eyes), in feline or leonine form, leaves Him to go wander in the desert, and eventually Ra sends another Deity (often Djehuty) to persuade Her to return to Him, and She is then joyfully welcomed back. Although there is some debate amongst scholars, in my personal practice this cycle is linked to the winter solstice, and it includes both Bast and Sekhmet leaving at the same time.

Image description: The send-off feast at my shrine! Read more below.

In the image of the shrine above, there is eggnog in Their red cup which I will drink after I post this, a lit red votive candle and two still-wrapped chocolates on Their red platter (which I will eat after They come back), the two statues on Their red and black box, the unlit oil lamp (since I’ll be using the votive tonight and the feast nights after they get back), the red origami boat, and assorted other shrine decorations. For those who are unaware, it is common practice in modern Kemetic Polytheism to “revert”, or consume (usually food and drink) after it has been offered to the Netjeru, in order to receive Their blessings!

Image description: The same shrine, now with a white cloth covering the statues, the cup removed, and the votive candle doused.

Lamentation for the Wandering of The Eye Goddesses

The sun has set below the horizon,

And the night will be long.

The Eye Goddesses, too, are beyond the horizon;

They have left for the desert.

Where in the desert they wander,

I do not know.

Where in the desert they wander,

None can tell me.

I weep and weep at the shrine,

For the shrine is empty.

I weep at the shrine,

Because I am bereft.

When will the Eye Goddesses return

From the desert?

When will my Goddesses

Come over the horizon?

Who will go and find them?

Who will persuade them to return?

While they are gone, I weep,

For the shrine sits empty.

While they are gone, I weep,

For I am bereft.

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.

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.

Wep Ronpet 2017

This year for Wep Ronpet I was (once again) out of town – this time, at my brother’s wedding. Same as last year, I blogged pictures of offerings (votive offerings for the modern age) for the Birthday Kids during the Epagomenal days, and offered them a shot glass of cool water in front of my travel shrine. On Wep Ronpet, I did a red paper execration (no throwing a pot this year, drat), took my ritual meditative bath, dedicated my new statues of Bast and Sekhmet, and came away with the following pledges as my oath for the new year:

I will light my shrine candle(s) weekly, attempting to do so each Sunday.
I will answer one of the new prompts in my list of 45 Kemetic Prompts every Sunday, though I may skip some weeks and catch up on others as long as I am finished before next year’s Epagomenal Days.
I will make a larger offering on the Bright Moon, because as the moon is a reflection of the light of the sun, so too am I a reflection of their power. I have a three-day window, and if I am sick or there are extenuating circumstances it may be as small as a single stick of incense.
I will channel an oracular message (for myself but also the wider world) on the Bright Moon (again with a three-day window), and it can be tarot-assisted but I should pull the cards after, not before.
I will answer at least two oracular requests, if I have received any, again on the three-day Bright Moon, unless I am sick or otherwise out of spoons.
I will perform at least two heka requests, if I have received any, again on the three-day Bright Moon, unless I am sick or otherwise out of spoons.
I will complete one major research project a year, to include such projects as: read and review a book on Ancient Egyptian religion, do in-depth research on one topic, etc.
I will celebrate both Wep Ronpet and the Sailing Holiday.
On Wep Ronpet, I will purchase one shrine upgrade or magical tool and dedicate it, and I will renew my oath for the new year.

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My new statues are from ShadowOfTheSphinx on Etsy!