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Wep Ronpet: In Review

Well, it turned out that I mostly ended up doing a very short meditation on the deity in question on the day-of, after queuing most of the shrine images and the “about this deity” posts on my kemetic tumblr in advance.  Then I pulled a single card from my Lo Scarabeo Egyptian Tarot deck, as a message from the deity.  If you want to see those posts, check out this link.  The messages were overwhelmingly about hospitality and working together, so I think I’m going to be working a bit more with the Kemetic pantheon in the coming year.

I didn’t manage to see the star rise, unfortunately, because it was cloudy, but I was awake and I did my brief meditation at that time or a little after.  I did the execration on Wep Ronpet itself, because rain made our other plans for the afternoon and evening somewhat delayed, and by the time we had eaten and everyone had written on the pot, I was much too tired.  So the next morning I donned my whites (my casual whites – I decided a nice white tank top was a better idea for camping than my new white dress), took the pot, declared it to be isfet, and offered its destruction to Bast and Sekhmet, Eyes of Ra!  Then I handed it to a friend who has some serious things she needed gone, to smash because I was still not quite energized enough to really slam it.  But she slammed it.  Gods did she ever.  And then a bunch of us picked up the pieces and tossed them in the trash where it belongs.  Good fucking riddance, isfet.

Then Glasreo and I headed home from our lil druidy camping trip, and the next day I had a New Year’s bath in honor of Bast and Sekhmet.  I used a “yoga” Bath bomb from Lush – that’s in the posts from the link above, too.  I realized that my original oath of service to Bast has expired… I am due to re-oath myself, this time to both of them, and I did, briefly, but I need to write out a more formal contract sometime soon, to honor my role as an oracle-priestess-in-training.  And I may need to figure out an Egyptian phrase for that.

All in all, it was a very excellent first holiday, and you can expect more Kemetic holiday celebrations getting written up here in the future.

Wep Ronpet – Kemetic New Year

I’m attempting a Kemetic New Year celebration for the first time this year!  I’ve been a devotee of Bast and Sekhmet for a while now, and I decided it’s finally time to really start doing holidays.  Previously I had not done much by way of Kemetic holiday celebrations in large part because the calendar is pretty complicated – the new year is calculated starting from the first day the star Sirius can be seen in the pre-dawn twilight, ahead of the sunrise.  That requires staring at a lot of star charts and comparing dates to find the first day… and then calculating how many days between Wep Ronpet and any given holiday in the calendar, and adding that many days to your calculated Wep Ronpet date… and honestly, it was bit overwhelming.  But this year, I bit the bullet, and I’m doing Wep Ronpet.  I’m using the date for DC even though I live a bit into Virginia – and that date is August 7th, at 5:42 am.  That means that the five Epagomenal Days start on August 2nd, with the Birthday of Wesir (Osiris), followed by Heru-Wer (Horus the Elder), Set, Aset (Isis), and Nebhet (Nepthys) being the final birthday on August 6th.  That evening I’m also planning on doing a red pot execration, similar to the one I described in a previous post.  With any luck I will also rise early enough to see the star herself rise, ushering in the new year.

Although I will be camping with druidy friends for Lughnasadh for most of that week, I am setting up a follow-along for the Epagomenal Days and Wep Ronpet on my Kemetic tumblog, so check that out if you’re interested.  I’ll also post a reflection once it’s all over.

I am very excited and I hope this will be the beginning of a year with many new holidays for me!  (Especially if the Egyptian Daybook is actually released soon.)  I have stuck a few into my calendar already: the Festival of Bast and Sekhmet (Nov 19), the Sailing of Bast, Sekhmet, and Anubis (Jan 3-5), and the Festival of Chewing Onions for Bast (Apr 16).  I don’t know what I’ll be doing for all of them, yet, but I think Bast and Sekhmet have big plans for me this coming year.

Our First Reiki Class!

This past Saturday, I (with help and support from Glasreo) led my first reiki class!  It was a mixed class, I’s and II’s, with a few other Reiki Masters sitting in and helping explain concepts through their own experiences.  Everyone there was a friend of mine – most were also students of my own teacher, but for various reasons no longer wished to attend her classes.  It was good to have a group of friends, because I felt more secure in my ability to teach a class, knowing that I had a safety net!

I started off at the very, very beginning for the Reiki I student (there was just one!) with “What is reiki?”, and gradually moved forward into the history of reiki, reiki concepts, and reiki techniques.  I gave everyone an outline so they could follow along, and the Reiki I student also has William Lee Rand’s manual for further study.

Then I did the attunements!  The Reiki I student’s attunement is the first full reiki attunement I’ve ever done.  I’ve done healing attunements, and I’ve attuned objects, but that student is my first full attunement – and it went very well.  I’ve been in contact with the student for the past few days, and it sounds like the detox process hit but isn’t too bad – and I’m sure the student will manage it pretty well, with lots of fluids and rest and self-care.

I also did the Reiki II attunements at that time, on the other two students, and it was interesting for me to see how different their pre-existing connections to the reiki energies made the attunement process!  It seemed to go well, however, and I’ve been in contact with both students.  They got sent home with homework to try distance reiki on someone they knew, and I haven’t heard back yet, but I can’t imagine they’ll have any problems.

After the attunements we started in on the Reiki II class session, starting with the symbols, and then discussing more advanced reiki techniques.  Afterwards, one of the other reiki masters set up a traveling table (since Glasreo and I have not yet purchased one), and we did a few short reiki sessions on willing participants, before finishing up and having dinner.

It was a very long, productive day, but I am very glad it happened, and I’m looking forward to teaching more reiki again soon!

Trying to Uphold Justice in an Injust World

Today, as part of a group of pagans of color, I did some divination on how I can uphold justice in an injust world.  I decided to use Lenormand, seeking mundane answers to my question.  As I shuffled, I called upon my patronesses: Bast and Sekhmet, Eyes of Ra and Protectors of Ma’at.

I used the “Under the Roses” Lenormand Deck (images copyrighted by the publisher, US Games Systems, Inc) and pulled the following cards:

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I use the title card in this deck to mean the querent: in this reading, me. The rest of the cards (left to right, in descending rows) are: The Bouquet, The Clouds, The Gentleman (the darker skinned of two possible options in this deck), The Letter, The Lady (again, the darker skinned option), The Child (the lighter-skinned option, this time), The Tree, and The Grave (traditionally The Coffin).  I’ll go through the meanings of the cards in order, and then comment on the overall themes.

1: The Querent.  Well, this is me, located in the “Past” column and the “In My Control” row.  I am interpreting this to be validation that injustice has already been on my radar for some time, and also a reminder that (white-passing as I am) racially motivated injustices are not about me – I am a supporter and an ally, not a victim (potential or by proxy).  Also, the fact that my significator is in the “In My Control” row means that I can control my own actions and reactions moving forward, which is important to remember.

[[This perhaps reflects my own ambiguity about my racial identity… I feel that – for at least me, personally – while I am native, that is more of an ethnicity or a culture than a race, similar to how “hispanic” is often divorced from race on surveys, and is a separate category.  I feel like it is probably easier to be “hispanic AND white” or “native AND white” or possibly even “native AND black” than it is to be “black AND white”, when it comes to being racially “read” by others.  That is to say, I think more strangers would acknowledge the first three identities as valid and/or notice that the person was mixed, but dismiss “black AND white” as just black.  I personally identify as both native and white, and I acknowledge the privilege that passing as only white affords me.  I feel like the term “multiethnic” describes me better than “multiracial”.  But I know that others have different opinions, and I am not trying to say that mine are better – I’m just explaining where I’m coming from, in order to better contextualize this reading.]]

2: The Bouquet. This card is located in the “Present” column and the “In My Control” row. The meanings that jump out at me are: Good Fortune, Generosity, Gifts.  I am called to share what I can with those in need, and to use my comparative privilege to help others.  Based on the location: this I already know, and am beginning to do.

3: The Clouds.  This card is located in the “Future” column and the “In My Control” row.  The meanings that jump out at me are: Setbacks, Delays, Uncertainty.  It seems I will need to face my own doubts and fears, moving forward, and this is also a warning that there is no clear path, but I will have to continually find my way forward.

4: The Gentleman.  This card is located in the “Past” column and the “Progression” row. The meanings that jump out at me are: Male Significator, and Outward Focus.  I believe this stands in for the black men who have died at the hands of police, whose deaths gave rise to #BlackLivesMatter, and as “outward focus” it perhaps refers to the BLM movement at large.

5: The Letter.  This card is located in the “Present” column, and in the “Progression” row.  It is also located in the absolute center, and is the heart of the message.  The meanings that jump out at me are: Correspondence, Communication, Information.  This means talking about what is happening, shedding light on it, sharing information.  Listening and reading as well as speaking and writing.

6: The Lady.  This card is located in the “Future” column and in the “Progression” row.  The meanings that jump out at me are: Empathy, Inward Focus, Subconscious, Friendship.  I do not think this car signifies an actual person.  I think it is a call to become more aware of my own biases and internalized biogtry, and to move forward in empathy, holding space for my fellow travelers.

7: The Child.  This card is located in the “Past” column and in the “Out of My Control” row.  The meanings that jump out at me are: Childhood, Innocence, Learning.  I believe this card is meant to indicate my own childhood, and the messages I unconsciously picked up from society as a child – many of which I now know to be wrong and hurtful.  Most of us have internalized racism, misogyny, and other kinds of bigotry simply because we were steeped in it, and it takes a lot of effort to change those nasty little voices in our heads telling us that we’re “too X” or “not Y enough”.

8: The Tree. This card is located in the “Present” column and in the “Out of  My Control” row.  The meanings that jump out at me are: Spiritual Beliefs, Groundedness, Growth, Legacy.  I believe the Spiritual Beliefs meaning is a reference to my work with Bast and Sekhmet as Eyes of Ra, guardians of Ma’at – I began the work in a different lifetime, and continue it in this one, though I did not seek it out, did not “choose” it, though I have fully embraced it.  The Groundedness is a reminder that things may be triggering – I may become ungrounded at times, and I will need to seek my stillness again.  The Growth is both my own personal growth, and that of society at large, I think, which I must contribute to: because I am intending on having children, I must learn how to pass on the respect I feel for all peoples – so that it will become my legacy.

9: The Grave. This card is located in the “Future” column and in the “Out of My Control” row.  The meanings that jump out at me are: Transformation, Death.  I believe this means that while we will see some positive transformations in our society, all the changes I wish to see will not occur within my lifetime.  That is why leaving a legacy of people who will push for change is so important.

The Past Column: I’m reading these cards from out of my control, rising into my control. My childhood innocence and lack of discernment has been shaped by my awareness of injustice, making me into the person I am today, and shaping who I become as I move forward.

The Present Column: I’m reading these cards from out of my control, rising into my control. I must build my legacy by contributing to the spread of information, and supporting others as best I can.

The Future Column: I’m reading these cards from out of my control, rising into my control.  Transformation of society will come through empathy and friendship, but the path forward will not be linear.  There will be pushbacks, setbacks, and delays.

Overall: It seems that my role is primarily one of support, but that fits well with my life-path generally.  I need to improve myself, and hold space for fellow travelers.  The change we seek will come if we keep striving, keep helping each other and communicating and spreading information – but it may not be achievable in our lifetimes.  We need to focus on our legacy, on building a good foundation for the generations to come.

Prayer for the 4th

Originally, Glasreo and I had hoped to be part of a small group doing a working in DC today, but that did not pan out for us.  While we hope those colleagues of ours manage to pull off their grand endeavor with the help of the Theoi and other gods, we are home, and adding our power to the tide in our own small way.

A Prayer for the 4th of July

Today, I pray to the gods of War – that peace may be sought and maintained.

Today, I pray to the gods of Truth – that lies may have no power and be silenced.

Today, I pray to the gods of Justice – that the disenfranchised may be heard and provisioned.

Today, I pray to the Mighty Dead of this nation.  I call out to them, and I pour them libation, that they may maintain their legacy, and that the founding principles of this country – the ideals of the Enlightenment – may prevail.

Our Mighty Dead dreamed of a country where all could be free to be who they truly were, without fear.  While we now think many more aspects of individual identity should be protected, and we acknowledge that society does not give us all equal power, we continue to strive in the same ways that they did: increasing liberty and justice for all.  May those ideals unite us, where others would divide us.

I honor also this land – from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, to our northern border with Canada and past that to the Alaskan arctic, to our southern border with Mexico and the Gulf as well as the south Pacific islands.  The land contains many different biomes, innumerable ecosystems, and a great diversity of life beyond humanity.  Land, Sea, and Sky: these, too, are citizens, and they, too, must be protected and cherished.

So Hail to the Gods, Hail to the Mighty Dead, and Hail to the Natural World!

Tonight, my prayers will be lit in sparklers, not incense.

Sharing Reiki

For about a year, Glasreo and I went to two different reiki shares as often as we could.  They were both held monthly, and unless we were sick or had family obligations that couldn’t be rescheduled, we were there!  But at some point the scheduling got harder.  One of them relocated further away.  And we might have mourned it, but other opportunities arose, instead.

Instead, we did more bartered reiki for friends, exchanging reiki for divination and other things. These were longer sessions than those at the reiki shares, which tended to have 4+ people working on a single person for 5-15 minutes.  Doing long sessions is important, and it’s equally important to learn how to pace yourself, to decide when to stop and talk for a moment, and when to continue on and discuss what you’re seeing later.  We had done a few long sessions before, but they had been a bit nerve wracking for us.  Now, we are more confident in our ability to continue to give reiki for 45 minutes or longer.

Instead, we had our first paying reiki client.  Up until then, we had only done reiki in shares or in barter, which is fine and good, but does not pay the bills, as they say.  But our client wished to pay, and she has come back for several sessions at this point.  It has been good for us and for her to help her and to figure out our pricing as we continue down this road.  She may become our first student – she has expressed an interest in learning.

Instead, we began to host our own, tiny, healer’s reiki share with a good friend who is going through a tough transition.  Two of us work on the third, rotating spaces, sharing messages, talking about spirits, and learning together, healing together.  It is nice to be sharing this gift with someone who has a similar background to us.  The other reiki shares we attended were nice enough, but while they were pagan-tolerant, we mostly learned to hold our tongues.

Instead, I am reading more about reiki in an attempt to create a curriculum that I will find more full and more satisfying than the one I was taught. To that end, I am re-reading the manual from my own instruction: William Lee Rand’s First and Second Degree Manual.  I am also reading Christopher Penczak’s The Magic of Reiki, and The Essence of Reiki by Dawn Mellowship and Andy Chrysostomou.  I expect that once I’ve finished taking notes for my curriculum, I’ll be reviewing the books for my readers here, as well, so stay tuned.

Instead, I am learning my own “attunement style” as I give healing attunements to objects, many of which are available in our Etsy Shop.  I designed a sort of sigil that contains within it all the reiki symbols and kanji I use, which I mentioned in a previous post.  I think it may become part of my tool set as I learn to attune people, as well.  And the more I read about the attunement process, the less it seems that there is One True Way and the more inclined I am to play to my specific strengths and to account for my specific weaknesses, and to tailor the experience to the specific student, in order for the whole process to be as smooth as possible.

I don’t know that we even saw the door to those other reiki shares closing when it began to close, but I am glad that another door opened in its place.  We are moving forward.

Tarot Deck Review: Lord of the Rings

Deck: The Lord of the Rings Tarot Deck & Card Game

Publisher: US Games Systems, Inc.

Developer: Terry Donaldson

Artist: Peter Pracownik

Overall Rating: 7/10

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Cardstock:  Easy enough to shuffle.  Seems to stand up okay to heavy use – I have a couple of cards that are separating a little and most of the cards have nicked borders, but I’ve been using this deck for years, so that’s understandable.

Artwork:  Back allows for reversals.  Black borders.  Card names on stonework border to the left.  Short phrase or sentence on wood plank beneath the image (For example, the Fool depicts Gollum seated with a fish by a pool of water, with a waterfall in the background, and the sentence beneath him says “Gollum, by a pool of water, considers the many possibilities open to him”).  Most artwork depicts scenes or figures from the Lord of the Rings, sometimes with pips superimposed.  Artwork is detailed, like miniaturized paintings.  Facial expressions are somewhat ambiguous, owing to the small size relative to the card.  The two borders take up a lot of room.  Some of the artwork is a little strangely proportioned, and Eowyn is oddly sexualized in a moment where she ought to be wearing battle armor.  Some of the artwork, especially when it relates to Sauron or the One Ring, is more stylized and less of a “scene”, which interrupts the continuity of the artwork a little.

LWB: Pretty helpful.  Gives a decent amount of information on both Majors and Minors.  Some information on reversals for Majors (but not Minors).  Meanings pretty consistent with traditional themes.  Gives one spread example: Celtic Cross.  Does not give much information on how to read tarot.  Half the book is the weird card game you can also play.  There is apparently also a companion book which does the work of bridging the little phrases on the cards with the meanings in the LWB, but I’ve only ever seen one, and that was in a second-hand shop (I bought it, of course!).

Likes: I’m a huge LOTR nerd, so I loved the theme.  I don’t know if this is exactly how I would have done it if I were going to make a fan-art LOTR tarot deck, but I’m pretty happy with it.  The fandom angle did help me get a better understanding of the meanings for the most part.  I also really like the detail in the artwork, though I could see why those who dislike borders or have vision impairments would find it difficult.  I’m ambivalent on the sentences at the bottom – I liked the idea when I bought this deck (it was my first one) but they don’t line up quite as well as I would like and sometimes they’re more unhelpful than helpful.

Dislikes: I wish the facial expressions were readable.  I also kind of wish the deck included characters from the Hobbit and the Silmarillion, because the cards are all just the Fellowshippers over and over again, really.  Too much border, not enough art.  The awkwardness of the card game, which means there are little extra graphics on the cards.  Not much information on tarot in general.  I’m not crazy about the artwork style, even though I appreciate the detail – I would prefer more continuity and more realistic proportions in the figures.

 

Overall Recommendation: This would be a good deck for anyone who doesn’t mind borders and likes LOTR.  Probably not a good idea for a beginner deck, though it worked out okay for me.  The theme and art would probably make it a good choice for in-person readings somewhere like a fantasy fair, and it holds up well to repeated use.  At $15 on Amazon it’s pretty inexpensive, and might make a good deck for someone on a budget.  In general I like it (it’s one of my go-to’s in my admittedly small collection) but it’s certainly not for everyone.

 

Readings with this deck are available in my Etsy Shop.

Reiki Adventures

Glasreo and I have been doing a bit more reiki recently, both for clients and bartering with friends.  I’ve noticed that I’m getting better at paying attention to the client’s gods and guides, now, even when they don’t have a specific message, which is good.  Previously I mostly noticed them when they were trying to get my attention!  I’ve been practicing shifting focuses in and out a bit and it does help with my awareness and visualization.  I’ve also been improving my work on physical ailments – helped in no small part by a new anatomy book we picked up, which is refreshing my memory of high school Anatomy/Physiology!

On Glasreo’s part, he’s finding it a bit easier to work with client’s energy centers, and that is helping him find less obvious blockages.  He’s solidified a few new relationships with spirit helpers, including a lava elemental that has been very helpfully eating things we pull out of people.  The crystal spirits are taking a more active role, as well – Glasreo is now making crystal grids intuitively based on each client’s needs, instead of more general grids to help with reiki flow and broad healing.

We’ve been pretty in tune as we work together on clients as well, seeing a lot of the same issues and problems, but being guided to work on different aspects so that our work complements each other.  So far we’re still using the chair-in-the-living-room method, but as our sessions have been 45 minutes or shorter that’s working out fine.  Hopefully before too long we’ll be able to save up for a traveling massage table.

[[If you feel like helping that cause, please contact us to set up an appointment, or visit our etsy shop!]]

Brief Updates…

Everything is now listed in the shop!  I repeat, everything is now listed in the shop!  😀

Also, I’ve figured out a better way to ship physical items, so shipping is now down to $6 instead of $8 (mostly, I’ve figured out how to use Etsy’s postage thing).

Glasreo and I have been doing a lot of in-person reiki recently, so if you are in the DC/MD/VA area and would like that thing, send us an email, please!  We can travel nights and weekends traffic permitting, but there’s no travel charge if you come to us (obviously).

 

Things in the works:

  • Probably more blogs on reiki adventures.  There are so many I could type up!
  • More tarot spreads in the shop for specific themes, like Spirit Communication, Deity Identification, etc (if you have a suggestion, please leave a comment below!)
  • Probably a Celtic Cross Spread because people seem to expect it
  • I’m getting pretty damn good with runes and as soon as I finish my current course of study, rune pulls will probably be up in the shop…
  • I’m starting to learn Ogham and Lenormand, because one can never learn too many forms of divination, right?  (Right!)
  • Glasreo is working on a lithomancy system of His Very Own, which is exciting, but may take a while…
  • Other stuff!  Probably!  Maybe we’ll vend a Pagan Pride Day in the fall!
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Etsy Shop Update

I’ve been sick unfortunately (it’s all this rain), so not everything is up in the shop yet following Baltimore Faerie Faire, but we do have two new listings!

I made two more devotional bracelets especially for the Faeries, one for each of the two Goddesses I’ve been working with as Queens of the Fae: Morrigan and Aine.  Morrigan’s is made with lapis lazuli, brecciated jasper, dark amethyst, and smoky quartz.  Aine’s has green aventurine, rose quartz, light amethyst, and opalite.

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Right now I have them both featured in our etsy shop, along with the Faery Oracle Card Readings!

Hopefully I’ll be done photographing and listing everything else soon – stay tuned!

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