Prayer, and how it’s difficult

I realized today — I don’t know how to pray. I do pray, quite often, but it’s always clumsy, and sort of haphazard, like I’m picking my way through a cluttered cabin full of spiritual knick-knacks and doodads, trying to find just the right one for my purposes. Quickly uttered “Dear Brighid, please wrap so-and-so …

Messages from the Muses

I mentioned yesterday that I had a tarot reading on Saturday night. I went into the first half of the reading in that post, and what it told me; as that post was 1000 words already I decided to talk about the second half of the reading in a separate post. Also, this has an …

Nature Journalling

I ordered a copy of Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth a while ago, and it arrived this week. I’m only about 31 pages into it, but skimming through the rest of it to see what it contains …

Blood Sacrifice

Finally doing that B post that I was missing! Trigger warning for discussion of cutting. Warning for discussion of blood and blood sacrifice. On June 23rd, at sunset, I had a Landbinding shift. This is one of the once-every-20-days shift that I’ve come up with to complement my Flamekeeping shifts with Brighid — Landbinding is …

Holiday Reorganization (PBP catch-up)

Holidays are something I’ve not quite got a handle on yet. I’ve got ideas and thoughts about most of them, but actually getting down to celebrating them…eghh. That doesn’t happen as often as it should. And now that I’m back to making a real, solid attempt at the Dedicant’s Path for ADF, I really should …

Flagellation (and Beltane elucidation)

This is a post I wanted to do back when the F first came up. However, I had very little time or energy and no practical experience in using flagellation for religious purposes. (Fun, on the other hand…well. That’s another story.) This post deals with Sacred BDSM and Godslavery; if this squicks you or you …

Beltane 2012

I have Plans for tomorrow (er, today; whatever I haven’t slept yet so it’s still tomorrow). In my constantly evolving personal practice, I worship a Sacred Triad of deities: Brighid, Manannan, and the Morrigan. Each has a holiday: Imbolc, Samhain, and Beltane, respectively. (Each also has a shift of some sort — flamekeeping for Brighid …

Spring Mysteries Fest 2012

Quite obviously I can’t talk about everything that happened at Spring Mysteries — they are called Mysteries for a reason, and furthermore parts of the experience are oathbound. I can tell you that SMF is an attempted recreation of the Eleusinian mysteries of ancient Greece, which focused on the myths of Demeter and Her daughter. …

A Day with Erin in San Francisco and Berkeley

Wednesday evening I spent at my brother’s house, playing an amazing video game called Journey. The next day Mom and her friend Chris picked me up and I went to go meet Erinnightwalker (and her bf) for the first time in real life. She gave me awesome gifts, because she’s an awesome person (though this should …

Faith in Fallow Times

I’m a week late on this PBP post. I could give you a rousing round of excuses, but it’s kind of pointless. Life happens, and I’m sure y’all don’t begrudge me the week of silence. I’m in a fallow time currently. It’s a fallow time of my own making; the mundane world is overshadowing the …