Ritual – Serendipities

Ritual for the Way Opening – My Experience

This past week, I did one of the rituals from Morgan Daimler's fairy faith Pleiades Cycle - and I did the whole thing outside for the first time. It wasn't intense (though some other people have had intense experiences with this same ritual), but it felt right in a way that's a little hard to explain.

In preparation, I baked two loaves of spiced honey apple bread (which is basically a gf muffin mix with honey and buttermilk in it, and then previously prepared-and-frozen apple slices dredged in those same spices and honey put on top to bake; simple, but tasty); one for offering and one for my family. I made silvered water for my compass casting, and picked up a candle a friend made that has been sitting unused on a shelf, poured the last of my homemade violet liqueur into a smaller bottle, and got out my last stick of poppy-scented incense.

I set up my ritual space at my fire pit, including such mundane necessities as a chair, a lighter, and a bucket of water (fire safety, y'all!). I used a round log slice as my altar for the first part of the ritual, and then burned it during the second. The first part pretty much followed what is in Daimler's book, though I used the song I wrote last year instead of those prayers as written:

Anti-sunwise compass casting, beginning and ending in the East (where the Pleiades were to rise)
Lighting the candle and inviting the Gentry to join me (singing the first two stanzas of the song)
Singing the next three stanzas, which narrate the mythology of the holiday
Uncovering/pouring offerings and lighting the incense, moving these to the eastern side of the fire pit
Singing the last two stanzas, which invite the Fairy Rade to take refreshment and bless us in return

And then I lit the log and meditated on the flame and smoke as dusk became full dark. I did not stay until I saw the Pleiades, because between the clouds, the close treeline, and the light pollution in that direction it would have needed to be close to midnight before I would have seen them. But I did pull a card from my personal oracle deck to ask if the ritual had accomplished what it needed to, a little after the Pleiades could have been seen over a clear horizon, and got "The Sun", which is a resounding "yes", so at that point I took my omen for the night, then undid my circle and went inside.

Like I said at the beginning, it wasn't an intense experience, though at one point when the smoke blew an anticlockwise spiral in my face and parted around me I could briefly feel the reverberation of thundering hoofbeats going by at a fast pace. (I'm not a horse girl so I don't know canter or gallop or what, just fast.) Mostly it just felt... right. I sat out there, in my suburban backyard, and watched the light fade, heard the birdsong die out, the songs of the crickets and katydids rise and then settle. I watched the flames turn into strange striped flags of red and orange and blue, I watched the smoke continually spiral anticlockwise, and I leaned back and looked up at the few stars I could see. And it was peaceful. And I felt aligned in both myself and my spirituality. And I'm definitely going to do the next one outside, too.

I do have a couple of thoughts for next time, though - I think I'll start a little later than I did, which was only a few minutes after sunset, when there was still a lot of traffic and human noise. I also think I'll write a compass casting and uncasting charm also to the tune of the ballad of Thomas the Rhymer, to match. And I think I may want a set water-silvering prayer, and not do it extemporaneously like I did. But mostly I just want to do it again in November!

Song for the Returning

June 23, 2023
by Alexandra

Last fall, I shared two poems/songs/prayers I called “Song for the Way Opening” and “Song for the Winter Rade” after getting a message from some of my allies that I should be celebrating the movements of the Pleiades more intentionally. Last month, I shared one more, the “Song for the Darkening”. And now, like the others, I’ve reworked Morgan Daimler’s prayer for the Returning of the Queens into a song to the tune of the ballad of Thomas the Rhymer.

The first two stanzas of the song are the same, and the last two stanzas are as well, except for the two seasonal words in the last line, and the end of the third line changed to rhyme properly.

Song for the Returning

I call to all you goodly wights,
My kin and friends whoe’er shall be.
All you who’d be my allies true,
And come and walk this path with me.

I call to all the Queens and Kings,
Monarchs and Sov’reigns, all gentry near —
If you would celebrate with me
’Tis time to come and join me here.

Today the Queens have their return,
Their constellation back in the sky,
As their stars move from day to night,
We look above us with raptured eye

The Seven Queens they rise up first,
And then behind them the Hunter’s light —
For he is their great Guardian,
And he’ll defend them with his might.

The bright blue fire of Seven Queens,
A blazing beacon ere morning dawn,
It shows us they are with us still,
And thus the cycle goes on and on.

As they ride past, may we be blessed,
With token or with smile or nod,
And may they take our offerings,
As their refreshment while they’re abroad.

A good word to the Fairy Rade,
And may you never do us harm!
Ride out along the fairy roads,
Bringing with you Summer’s warmth.

I’ve also pulled another omen to share: one rune and one ogham fid, to symbolize the two groups of fairy folk with whom I work most closely. I pulled Jera, and Quert. Jera is a rune of time and cycles, and sometimes a year completed. A fitting omen, I think, for the last song in the cycle; a reminder that the cycle goes on and ever on. Quert is an ogham fid traditionally associated with the apple tree, and my kenning for it is “Queer Wit”. This is the fid I most associate with the phrase “dead, mad, or a poet” — a calling to go deeper with our own practices in this next cycle, or perhaps a prediction that we will end up in deeper, whether we will it or no.

Song for the Darkening

May 14, 2023
by Alexandra

Last fall, I shared two poems/songs/prayers I called “Song for the Way Opening” and “Song for the Winter Rade” after getting a message from some of my allies that I should be celebrating the movements of the Pleiades more intentionally. So one thing led to another and the prayer Daimler gave for the Way Opening sort of spontaneously transposed itself into a ballad to the tune of Thomas the Rhymer, and then I reworked the prayer for the Winter Rade more intentionally, and now here’s the Song for the Darkening, which I’ll be celebrating during the day tomorrow.

The first two stanzas of the song are the same, and the last two stanzas are as well, except for the two seasonal words in the last line, and the end of the third line changed to rhyme properly.

Song for the Darkening

I call to all you goodly wights,
My kin and friends whoe’er shall be.
All you who’d be my allies true,
And come and walk this path with me.

I call to all the Queens and Kings,
Monarchs and Sov’reigns, all gentry near —
If you would celebrate with me
Tis time to come and join me here.

Today the Queens leave the night sky,
To trade the dark for the light of day;
Now Seven Queens their own paths tread
As each will travel her own way.

Their powers burn as bright as fire —
So bright together as apart —
But in our world, the sun’s hot rays
Outshine their stars and they depart.

The Queens ride out for weal and woe;
The gates are open, holding wide.
Each Queen has errands to complete
Before the stars again are spied.

As they ride past, may we be blessed,
With token or with smile or nod,
And may they take our offerings,
As their refreshment while they’re abroad.

A good word to the Fairy Rade,
And may you never do us harm!
Ride out along the fairy roads,
Bringing with you Summer’s warmth.

I’ve also pulled another omen to share: one rune and one ogham fid, to symbolize the two groups of fairy folk with whom I work most closely. I pulled Algiz, which is a rune of protection and defensive actions, and Straif, associated with the Blackthorn, and for which my kenning is “Strengthening Changes”. I also associate Straif with magical workings of an active defense type, such as banishing, cord cutting, and return-to-sender workings. Taken together, it’s a warning to be careful, and to stay vigilant – don’t hesitate to protect yourselves! It seems like we might be seeing an upswing in activity that continues rising, instead of ebbing as we round the corner on this Bealtaine season.

Song for the Winter Rade

In September, I shared a poem/song/prayer I called “Song for the Way Opening” after getting a message from some of my allies that I should be celebrating the movements of the Pleiades more intentionally. I’d followed the outline Morgan Daimler gave in their book Living Fairy, and made Daimler’s fairy cakes, and then the prayer in the book turned into a sung prayer to the tune of Thomas the Rhymer in my head, and, well. That was the subject of the blog.

This time, I intentionally worked out the poem/song/prayer, and I made an offering of nuts and whiskey, and I’ll be giving a little bit of the secular feast tomorrow as well, so I didn’t make fairy cakes this time.

The first two stanzas of the song are the same, and the last two stanzas are as well, except for the last line.

Song for the Winter Rade

I call to all you goodly wights,
My kin and friends whoe’er shall be.
All you who’d be my allies true,
And come and walk this path with me.

I call to all the Queens and Kings,
Monarchs and Sov’reigns, all gentry near —
If you would celebrate with me
Tis time to come and join me here.

Tonight the Queens will reach their height —
At mid-night they’ll be standing still,
Poised in the center of the sky
And shining down on all they will.

Their fair blue light, it brightly burns:
A torchlight for an open gate.
The Fairy Rade will then emerge
As seven Queen-Stars culminate.

Through the gate, and between worlds,
The Queens will ride across our land —
For our two worlds are intertwined,
Like fingers lacing hand in hand.

As they ride past, may we be blessed,
With token or with smile or nod,
And may they take our offerings,
As their refreshment while they’re abroad.

A good word to the Fairy Rade,
And may you never do us ill!
Ride out along the fairy roads,
Bringing with you Winter’s chill.

This time I’ve also pulled an omen to share: one rune and one ogham, to symbolize the two groups of fairy folk with whom I work most closely. I pulled Wunjo and Onn. Wunjo is a rune of joy and satisfaction, and my personal poem for it is “Joy in wealth is found when it is shared; joy in life is found in the happiness of those around you.” Onn is an ogham associated with the ash tree and gorse, and my personal kenning for it is “Onward Momentum”. So, as we move into the coming days, try to find joy, and reasons to keep going forward! I know this is a hard time of year for many people, as the light wanes (and complex family difficulties are exacerbated by the winter holidays), but there are still good things to be found and enjoyed.

I do have a Crow Calls post to make soon, too, but I wanted to do it separately, so that will probably be here in a couple days!

Healing the Morrigan’s Crows: A Recorded Ritual

October 12, 2022
by Alexandra

So, the other day, I did a healing ritual the Morrigna had me develop originally for the Morrigan’s Call Retreat 2020, which was going to be my first year heading up there… until Covid happened and it ended up being online instead. Still, nervous as I was, the ritual did work in an online format, and now I’ve done it twice more since then. I was asked by someone who couldn’t make this last one if I would record it, and while I opted not to record the entire Zoom session, I did do a stand alone recording of just the ritual and journey, and have now edited that and uploaded it as an unlisted Youtube video, which I’ve embedded below. The lighting isn’t great, and the quality isn’t great, and the titles are very basic, but it EXISTS, and if this works out well for folks, I’ll be doing more like it in the future.

This workshop has two main parts. In the first part, I normally discuss a few examples of battlefield healing from Irish mythology (including the use of the Well of Sláine in the Cath Maige Tuired, and the exchange of healing between Cuchulainn and the Morrigan in the Ulster Cycle), and talk about how that informs my own spiritual healing practice, as a healer called to serve the Morrigan and her community of Crows. I did not record that part; that information (as well as the entire ritual and journey script) is available in a shared PDF document I’ll put a download button for, below. In the video, I refer to this as the “packet”.

In the second part, which I did record. I lead a short healing ritual focused on cleansing away all wounds that prevent the Crows from doing their sacred work, so that we can return to the battlefield, renewed and ready. This includes invocations of deities of healing, a chant to help create focus, self-anointing or -asperging with blessed water, and then a journey to travel to the Well of Slaine. To follow along at home, you’ll need a few things on hand before you start:

Vessel to be the Well, full of water
Small dish to hold the salt
Small dish to hold the 9 pre-mixed healing herbs
Bottle to pour out offerings from
Vessel to pour offerings into
Stirring implement

For the herbs, I generally use nine that I have on hand and most of which I have grown myself, selected intuitively for the need I sense at the time, but the idea is mostly that whichever nine you pick will align themselves with the 365 that Dian Cecht and his children strew in the water, and allow for a resonance. Choose based on what your specific healing concern is, or based on whether you want to drink the water after rather than just anointing, or based on what you’ve got in your spice cabinet. It should work just fine!

Get the Packet

Song for the Way Opening

For a few years now, Morgan Daimler has been celebrating a liturgical cycle based on the movements of the Pleiades, and sharing their ritual formats (which are also collected in their book Living Fairy). I’ve sort of marked the dates casually, giving offerings but that’s about it, until this year. This year, one of my local allies, who I call the Autumn King, indicated that he would like it if I’d celebrate the entire cycle more intentionally, and so after the strong energy that came through last night (during which I perceived his Rade), I decided I really needed to do something tonight for the acronychal rising, or what Daimler calls The Way Opening.

So, this afternoon I made some fairy cakes (original recipe also by Daimler and available here), but I altered the recipe slightly, doing a full cup of oat flour, and half a cup each of applesauce and honey. (Don’t use steel utensils, though — I unthinkingly picked up a stainless steel measuring cup that I used twice in the previous 24 hours without incident, and this afternoon it cut me nearly bad enough to draw blood. Message heard, whoops!) I then used an unsalted butter to grease a glass dish, and baked a single round cake (approx 40 mins at 350F).

I offered this with a glass of beer, and sat down to read out the prayers from the book, altering them slightly to fit my practice a little better.

And then… and then.

For some reason, one of the prayers reminded me of a stanza from the ballad of True Thomas/Thomas the Rhymer, the one that describes the road to Fairy:

And see not ye that bonny road,
Which winds about the fernie brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland,
Whe[re] you and I this night maun gae.
(Traditional Scots)

And then I started hearing the music in my head, and I went to find the song and listen to it, and about ten minutes later, I had a full ritual hymn with seven stanzas, adapted from Daimler’s own prayers but with some of my own flourish… and probably Their own inspiration.

Song for the Way Opening

I call to all you goodly wights,
My kin and friends whoe’er shall be.
All you who’d be my allies true,
And come and walk this path with me.

I call to all the Queens and Kings,
Monarchs and Sov’reigns, all gentry near —
If you would celebrate with me
Tis time to come and join me here.

Tonight the Queens rise in the East —
The Seven Sister-Queens so bright.
They’ll cross above the horizon
As daylight’s falling into night.

Their Eldritch light, it brightly glows:
A signal fire, burning blue.
The Queens will dance at twilight’s edge
As their sky gates open anew.

Between worlds, and between time,
The gates will open fully wide,
And then upon that fair broad road,
The Queens and noble hosts will ride.

As they ride past, may we be blessed,
With token or with smile or nod,
And may they take our offerings,
As their refreshment while they’re abroad.

A good word to the Fairy Rade,
And may you never do us ill!
Ride out along the fairy roads,
Bringing with you Autumn’s chill.

I do have a small thing to share from Freyja as well, from my equinox celebration, but that’s going to have to wait another day or two for me to get it worked out and typed up!

Upcoming Online Ritual: Healing the Morrigan’s Crows

**Online Ritual:**

**Healing**

**the Morrigan’s Crows**

**February 5th, 2022 at 3:00pm EST**

**On Zoom:** **Tickets available here!**

I’d like to explain the ritual a bit, but to do that, let’s start at the beginning, before I ran this ritual the first time…

Two years ago, I sent an application to present a workshop and short ritual at what I then thought was going to be a multi-day retreat in Orange, Connecticut. My application was accepted… and then, well. The Pandemic Happened. After some back and forth, it was decided to proceed with the event, but online, and I was asked if I could adapt my ritual to be used online. I wasn’t sure, but I was willing to try, and I’m happy to say that it went really well! People had great experiences, and it was actually easier than I thought it would be to reach them, even through a screen. Now, two years later, with probably a dozen more online rituals in my rear view mirror, I think it’s time to bring this one back, on my own.

Part of my work for Na Morrigna is to offer healing to other followers and devotees (the “Crows”), and leaving it up to that follower or devotee if they’d like to reimburse me directly for my time, or if they’d prefer to get Na Morrigna involved in the exchange as well, with the Crow giving offerings to Them, and Them gifting me with the sort of assistance we previously agreed upon. A combination of the two is also fine, and really it’s up to each person’s individual situation, so this ritual has two ticket options: free, or pay-what-you-want. I’m not particular which you choose, so just choose what’s best for you! My agreement with Na Morrigna is a good gig, and I’m happy however it plays out.

However there is one requrement: in order to attend this ritual you should already have a relationship with the Morrigan, or with one of the other goddesses sometimes referred to as one of Na Morrigna, the plural (ie, Macha, Anu, Badb, Nemain). You do not need to be an oathed devotee, and you don’t need much experience, but the ritual format presupposes an existing relationship. This is not a good ritual for a first meeting with the Morrigan. Besides that, as long as you’re somewhat familiar with guided meditations and with basic spiritual hygiene for before and after rituals and other workings (grounding, centering, shielding yourself, warding a space, cleansing yourself/a space), you should be good!

At the beginning of the event, I’ll briefly discuss a few examples of battlefield healing from Irish mythology (including the use of the Well of Sláine in the Cath Maige Tuired, and the exchange of healing between Cuchulainn and the Morrigan in the Ulster Cycle), and talk about how that informs my own spiritual healing practice, as a healer called to serve the Morrigan and her community of Crows. This will give us a little time to settle in, and let stragglers show up a few minutes late. Don’t be too late, though — once I’ve given the instructions for the second part and everyone is ready with their supplies at hand, I won’t be letting anyone else in, because I’ll be starting the ritual.

The healing ritual is focused on cleansing away all wounds that prevent the Crows from doing the sacred work of Na Morrigna, so that they can return to their battlefields, renewed and ready. This includes invocations of four deities of healing (Dian Cecht and his children Miach, Airmed, and Ochtriullach), a parallel working with water and herbs which concludes with self-asperging or anointing with the blessed water, and a short guided meditation to see Na Morrigna at the Well of Sláine.

The confirmation email from the ticket page has these instructions as well, but you’ll need a few supplies on hand for the ritual:

A vessel to be the Well, at least half full of water (Filtered water or spring water is best, but basically any drinkable water will do.)
A small amount of salt, in its own container (I use Irish sea salt when I can find it, but again, basically any salt will do.*)
A small dish to hold the pre-mixed herbs (I’ll be using the following nine healing herbs: mugwort, lemon balm, rosemary, feverfew, yarrow, lavender, bay, hawthorn, and clary sage. If you have access to these or to any nine healing herbs you know well, wonderful! If not, any three kitchen herbs will do, as we’ll be using sympathetic magic to tie your bowls to mine and then to the Well of Slaine.)
A beverage of your choice to be offerings, in a container easy to pour out of
A vessel to pour offerings into
A stirring implement

* Note to US residents: Most of the sea salt labeled “Celtic” in stores is from France. Most of the direct salt companies in Ireland have prohibitively expensive shipping, but I ordered some from Salts of the 7 Seas. We’ll see if it shows up fast enough! If anyone has a better lead on Irish sea salt, please let me know!

Image above is of two hands and wrists in greenish water strewn with leaves, provided by Squarespace via unsplash.

I hope you’ll join me! Click here for Tickets!

A Mini-Rite for Justice

June 4, 2020
by Alexandra

This digital flyer is being passed around on various social media websites, and I plan to take part. When I checked in with my guides and allies, however, they had a specific suggested topic for ritual work, and asked me to share it with my audience.

My guides suggested I write a short working to my Ancestors.
Specifically, the white ones.
I’m a mixed-heritage light-skinned Indigenous person, but yeah, I have a lot of white ancestors. Quite a few of whom were probably problematic AF.

I remembered then, a discussion I’d attended that was led by a woman named Sangoma, who is both Black and Indigenous. During that, a white woman asked a question, and I recorded the exchange in my blog, but I’ll reproduce it here:

The attendee had recently learned that some of her ancestors had owned land near where we were in Georgia, and that in addition to that land they had also owned five slaves. She wanted to know what she could do with that knowledge, how she could make up for the trauma her ancestors perpetuated, how she could work with ancestors who had done something like that. Sangoma’s response was concise and actionable: Find out who they were, if you can. Find their descendants, if you can, and help them out. Find out where they were buried, if you can, and give them last rites so that they may go peacefully into the next world. And what about the black nannies who raised your family? Do you send them Christmas cards? Find them and their descendants, too. The only thing you can do is ask the dead for forgiveness, and help the living as best you can.
Sangoma: Crossing Lines, Healing our Racial Divide. Mystic South, 2019.

That’s still great advice, but it got me to wondering about ancestral debts, and how that’s a legacy that those with white ancestry have to deal with. How maybe the Dead could be enjoined to pay their debts, as well. If Ancestors can be called on to offer us aid, surely we can ask them to right their wrongs as well? To help the living descendants of those they wronged, to help us clean up their bloody legacy.

So, I wrote the following prayer/charge. I suggest you set up an altar ahead of time with a candle, matches or lighter, food and/or drink, a bell or chime, and a divination tool. Then read through the whole thing at least once, and think about what it means, before doing the ritual. Remember to follow up with mundane ways of supporting the work! Incorporate them into the ritual if you like. For example: at the end, present a confirmation of a donation to an aid fund, or give an oral account of actions you have taken. When you perform the rite, speak the words written below, and perform the actions indicated in brackets in italics.

Mini-Rite to the Ancestors

[Prepare your space in your usual way before you begin.]

I light this candle to call upon my Ancestors, whose debts are yet unpaid.
[light candle]

Those who caused harm to Black People, Indigenous People, People of Color.
Those who caused harm either by their words or their silence, by their actions or their inaction.
Those who owned slaves, those who profited from slavery, those who used products or services from business who profited from slavery, those who continued to oppress former slaves and their descendants, those who refused to acknowledge or remedy the injustice.
Those who stole land to colonize, those who kept lands by force, those who continued to oppress the original peoples of the stolen land on which they lived, those who refused to acknowledge or remedy the injustice.
Those who engaged in genocide, and those who allowed it to happen.

I will do my part to break the cycle.
To that end, I call on my Ancestors to pay their debts.

I call on you! Hear my Petitions!
[if you have a bell or chime, sound it now, four times.]

Protect the descendants of those you wronged.
Tear down the unjust systems you upheld.
Pave the way for better, more just systems to be built.
Reinforce the work of those who build better systems from the ashes of the old.

I have done this work, I am doing this work, and I will do this work,
With my hands, my voice, my talents, with this body that comes from your lineage.
Join me; work by my side.
Help me do this work to pay the debts you have burdened me with as your legacy and my inheritance, or be banished from the offerings on my altar, from my veneration, from my remembrance.
[blow out or douse candle]

Help me do this work and our legacy will become achievements of justice and integrity, worthy of remembrance by our descendants.
[re-light candle, and give offerings]

[Spend some time with your Ancestors, perhaps doing a little divination, and when you are through, thank them for their time, blow out or douse the candle, and dispose of the offerings.]

Notes:
1. Yes, I’m aware that the “those who…” section basically amounts to EVERYONE, but I think it’s worth spelling out.
2. Yes, I’m also aware that repeating this comes awfully close to oathing that you’ll do the work, but tbh that should really not bother anyone because we all need to be doing the work. It doesn’t say 24/7/365, you won’t be in violation if you slip up occasionally, but it may result in your Ancestors exerting some pressure if you try to shrug it off.
3. You may share wherever you want, but give credit. You may also adapt it slightly for your own, non-commerical, usages.

Additional Suggestions for Polytheists:

If you’re a practicing polytheist, I also suggest saying some prayers and/or doing a mini-rite to your favorite deities of Law, Justice, Truth, Right Rulership, etc, for this full moon working. If you don’t have a favorite, here is a (very brief and not at all exhaustive) list of suggestions:

Hellenic: Athena (esp Athena Columbia), Nike, Dike, Eleutheria, Themis, Aletheia, Apollo, Nomos
Irish/Gaelic: Nuada, Lugh, Brigid Ambue, Morrigan, Macha
Kemetic: any of the Eyes of Ra (Bast, Sekhmet, Wadjet, Tefnut, Mut, Hathor, etc), Ma’at
Norse/Germanic: Tyr, Freyr, Loki, Forseti

Imbolc 2018

Our Imbolc started on January 30th, with a small gathering of pagan friends on the night of the super blue full moon! It was beautiful, but alas I did not remember to charge and bring my good camera, so I have no photos. I shall endeavor not to make that mistake again.

We did a bit of moon gazing, and then did our usual around-in-a-circle sharing what we’d been up to, spiritually and otherwise, since last we all met in thunder, lightning, or in rain. It was too cold this time for us to be outside for long, so no fire to burn offerings in, but we offered Brigid and the Cailleach (our deities of the occasion for this holiday) a scone with some honey whiskey poured over it, on a rock near our host’s front door instead.

20180130_174028

I started with this box of blueberry scone mix (gluten free, of course), and added some lavender and lemon peel, and made them with buttermilk instead of whatever the box recommended. They were pretty tasty!

I do think I really ought to start planning food for the holidays ahead of time, though. I’d like to create something that the Acorn Sproutling can grow up with as a family tradition. Scones seem pretty good for Imbolc – but maybe lemon poppyseed instead, with a honey glaze? Made with buttermilk again, of course!

A few days later, we met another group of pagans at a restaurant for a meet and greet, sort of continuing the season. On Imbolc proper we did a little bit at home, but not much, because our ritual was last Sunday, with the pagan group at our local UU Church. That was organized by a woman who was just getting to know Brigid, and it was really heartwarming to see someone dive into the lore surrounding a goddess I’ve come to love. The ritual itself centered on the participants writing “seeds” of things they wished to manifest on pieces of paper, which were then tied on sticks (to be shared) or tied around one’s neck (to remain secret). It was quite creative, and the whole thing really brought together a few different strains of Imbolc traditions and lore about the goddess herself.

Now that Imbolc has passed, I expect I’ll begin to really feel the return of the light soon – Spring is almost here!

Grand Healing Ceremony

Earlier this month, Glasreo and I had the opportunity to work as healers at Monika Healing Coyote’s Grand Healing Ceremony. It was the first time we’d worked that sort of ritual, and the most clients we’d worked on in a single day (except for brief work at reiki shares) and though we were somewhat nervous about how much we’d be able to do before we got tapped out, we both managed to work on 3/4 of the attendees before we needed to stop.

For privacy reasons we obviously can’t tell what we all did, but we can give an overview and some general themes. Most of the attendees didn’t have specific things they wanted worked on, but I ended up doing deep healing work (and some soul retrieval) on just about everyone she worked on, even when the requests were vague. Glasreo found that his new lithomancy set was needed to work through blockages for some people, giving them answers that hadn’t been made clear by other forms of divination. Both of us found ourselves holding part of the warding for the space in which we worked, and my Waystation energies in particular seemed (to Monika, at least) to be helping the healers work longer more effectively!

It was a nice plunge back into healing work, and we will definitely be working the next one (schedules permitting) so watch for it some time in the winter months!

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Online Ritual:

Healing

the Morrigan’s Crows

February 5th, 2022 at 3:00pm EST

Mini-Rite to the Ancestors

Additional Suggestions for Polytheists:

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