The Daily Work

I am still challenged by the mental discipline requirement of the Dedicant Program. I've tried to cultivate a regular meditation practice but it's not easy for me. I've learned -- and this realization will be part of my essay when I finally write it -- that I really need a point of focus to keep my attention, and most forms of the 'clear your mind' sort of meditation don't really work for me.

A couple of months ago, we began holding a nightly devotional to Frigga, divided into three phases -- opening the hearth when we begin preparing dinner, an offering made when we serve it, and closing the hearth at the end of the night. I've been counting that plus weekly or so sessions with Ian Corrigan's Two Powers narration, but just this week I've adopted a new practice.

Using this text by Teo Bishop, I'm performing a solitary devotional each morning, followed by a three-rune daily divination. It guides me to focus on the trinities -- fire, well and tree and ancestors, nature spirits and deities, and then on the runes of the day. It takes only a few minutes and it's right at the start of the day. I'd like to get 2-3 months of consistency with that, and then I may be ready to write that one.

Nearing Completion

I've gone through my Dedicant writings, revised them and assembled most of the final submission. I still need to redo the section on the Kindreds, I'm not yet ready to finalize the mental discipline section, and I need to write and take the Dedicant Oath, with appropriate documentation. Apart from those things, it's all ready to go.

This has been a very rewarding endeavor and I've learned a lot. But probably the most important product of it is I have developed a real religious identity out of what began as an area of inquiry, something to explore. I can't say it was unexpected -- it was the goal, after all -- but it's gratifying all the same.

How much of that is credit to the DP and how much just to my own interest and inquiry -- that is, would I have gotten here on my own without the DP requirements driving me forward -- I can't say. But it has been very helpful to have the requirements, the range of assignments and the mandatory documentation along the way.

Developing a Daily Practice

My religious and spiritual ideas tend much more to orthopraxy (practice) than orthodoxy (belief), and it's been that way no matter what religious path I've been on. 

This doesn't mean that I'm great with Daily Practice - just the opposite. I find it very challenging to sustain an act until it becomes habit.  I don't see that challenge to be a bad thing - in my experience, making a conscious choice to engage in some sort of daily practice and pushing through the inclination to let it slide has all sorts of spiritual and mundane benefits to it, whether that practice involves a prayer of some kind, a ritual of some sort, a pause to meditate, a daily walk, a daily divinatory reading, or whatever habit one might come up with that allows one to ground, center and focus contemplatively on where they are in connection with the universe, their gods, or the sacred in whatever form it takes for them.

Since Yule, I've begun a daily practice of centered around my "hearth" - a small shrine in the kitchen that holds a statue depicting Frige (an Anglo-Saxon goddess who is the deity of my hearth), a bell (it's a sleigh bell on a the end of a wand), an oil lamp that acts as the hearth flame, an incense holder, and a leaf shaped dish  that holds offerings.  Sometimes, there are additional offerings, such as flowers, a libation, chocolates...

Everyday, before the evening meal preparation begins, I chime  the bell, then I light a stick of incense, use it to light the oil lamp, while saying a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to Frige. 

A bit later, when I am dishing up our meal, the first portion goes into the offering dish and set on the altar with another prayer, asking that she accept her portion as a 'gift for a gift'.

Lastly, after dinner, I pray a third time, this time requesting her aid in protecting our home, and blessing it with love, and kindness to one another, and that she stay with us throughout the night - and then put out the lamp for the evening.  The offering is left on the shrine until bedtime, and then set outside.

It took a good while not to feel self-conscious, or to wonder if this was a good practice or something 'silly', but that's gone away - it's my daily practice, it has become habit, and it is meaningful to me. As I contemplate Frige's qualities - organizational skills, domestic arts, managerial horsesense, being  the "Keeper of the Keys" - and of the peace, I am reminded daily to take my domestic tasks seriously, reminded that I, too, can choose to act in a way that leads to peace and harmony in the home rather than sowing discord.  It reminds me that the act of putting together a meal isn't jus a task to be got through, but something deeply important that is at the heart of our home.

My commitment is to do this until next Yule - but I suspect that by then the very idea of not doing it will be unthinkable to me.

Shared with Pagan Blog Project and cross-posted from The Auld Grey Mare.

Our Altar at Imbolc

Our altar has suffered lately from clutter, and attempting to do too much all at  the same time. So we decided to move the altar proper (the Well, the Fire, the Tree) to its own space, and purchased the lovely red cabinet in this picture for that purpose.  Beneath it, we will have space for storage of consumables (incense, candles, etc) and practical use items (lighters, a small pitcher to pour water, etc) as well as a shelf to house the current spiritual books we have on rotation, so they don't stack up waist high and trip us as we walk by (not that much of an exaggeration).

The green cloth covered cabinet (a repurposed entertainment center) is now our shrine - a place for the seasonal tree, which is decked out for each holiday, as well as a place to hold other ritual items.  This portion will change for each ritual we perform at home.  Right now, it's set for Imbolc.

On  the wall above the shrine are a pair of carved wooden symbols - the UU Chalice, and a triskele with two crescent moons.  Between the altar and the shrine is a tall table that holds what we think of as our chalice.  All of this together is a pretty adequate reflection of the eclectic nature (and history) of our religious journey.

A closer look at the altar, from left to right:  a bell - this was a gift several years ago from a friend who traveled through Asia.  There is a dragon on it, and a connected clapper that swings and hits the bell; our World Tree representation - this is actually a carved wooden "hot chocolate whisk" from Mexico, a gift from my daughter; a stone oil lamp (our Fire) Michael found during a trip to his hometown; a carved drinking horn (carved with a raven), sitting in a carved horn holder - a gift from me to Michael for Yule; a stoneware blue and brown bowl (bought at a yardsale) that serves as our Well, and in front of that a silver bracelet we use to silver the well.  Lastly, a candle snuffer.

 

Look how pretty the oil lamp is when lit!

The seasonal tree is something I've been doing for about three years now.  This is its 'look' for the season following Yule - blue and silver and white balls and sparkly snowflakes to reflect Winter after Yule has passed.  Amongst the frosty ornaments, there are also a few sun symbols, as the light returns, and for Imbolc, there is a Brigid's cross, as well as a Celtic harp.


For Imbolc, I have surrounded the tree with a ring of dried white roses, saved from a bouquet Michael gifted me a while ago, and next to the tree, a corn husk dolly (our "Bride") lies in her Bride Bed.

 Her bed is actually a stoneware bread tray - at the top is a Claddagh that was a gift from a friend who brought it back from Ireland - it's actually carved out of dried peat.

The Brigid dolly is made from cornhusks - one I made a couple years ago, and filling the bed are a bunch of dried red rose petals from a friend's garden, saved since last summer.

It hadn't actually occurred to me until now how very much of what we use are gifts that connect us with other aspects of our life.


 The remainder of the shrine is a simple arrangement of 8 white tea-lights surrounding 3 red votives - these are being lit for a part of our Imbolc ritual this year.   The trio of red votives reminds me of a red heart.

It seemed wise to make sure nothing cluttered or flammable was anywhere near the candles.

What Happens Next

I am nearing the end of the Dedicant work. I finished reading "Drawing Down the Moon" and drafted my review of it a few days ago. I am still working toward meeting the mental discipline requirement, and I still have to write and take the dedicant oath, but everything else is close to done. I have a couple more essays to write, although I know what I'm going to say, and I want to revisit and update those I wrote a while back. I'm targeting March to submit.

This has seemed like a long road, although I know others have taken much longer. I credit ADF for making the program available, but I realize that, as challenging as it is, it's very much the foundation of study, not the end.

It may be premature -- I still have to finish it, submit it and have it accepted -- but I'm mulling where I will go from here. (Or, there once I get there.) I'm not sure. And I think it would be wise to pause for a while and continue to cultivate the new habits that the DP encourages one to develop.

And Home

This is a follow-up to the previous post. You should read that one first.

So we made our offering, acknowledging our oversight to Wotan (whom I suppose has become my patron over the past year or so) and offering a portion of Irish whiskey to him in apology and another portion asking for his protection on our way home.

The omen was positive, and indeed, the three-day return trip went smoothly, and all was well at the house.

This plus the experience with Thor/Thunor during Sandy has gone a long way toward shaping my personal practice.

Road Weary

We set off on a three-day road trip to visit family for the holiday. We briefly considered making an offering before we left, but we didn't.

Our first travel day was uneventful, but on day two, a small rock hit our windshield, leading to a crack that has so far spread about two feet. On the morning of day three, I slammed my finger into the car door and had to ice it for a while. The motel where we stayed was abysmal with a hard-as-brick bed and a heater than emitted a foul odor. And then, on arrival at our destination, I tripped and took a fall, hurting my knee, wrists, hip and ribs (though not seriously, I don't think.)

Before we leave on our return journey, we will offer some whiskey to Woden.

Why did the misfortunes come and how can we avoid them? The Druidcraft tarot, three-card PPF reading:

Past: Knight of wands reversed

First impression: Heading off on a journey without adequate preparation.
The official interpretation speaks of discord, separation, a misunderstanding, progress interrupted.

I think this fits with what we suspected ... the discord is between us and the gods; the progress interrupted is the progress in making polytheism our living religion, not a subject of academic study. We did well to ask Thor/Thunor to ward our home against hurricane damage, then we went off and left on a long trip with no offering, no asking for safety and protection, no acknowledgement of the kindred. While this is not something we would have done in the past, now that we know, we should.

Present: Three of wands.

This is a fellow looking hopefully down a road, much as we're hoping our return trip will be smooth. A phrase in the official keywords, most of which speak of success in businesses, stands out for me: "grasp of future and things needed for growth." Taken to mean, they see that we've figured it out and that we plan an offering before we leave on the return leg. This is acknowledging that we have the right understanding of the reason.

Future: High priestess, Reversed

The only major arcana card to show. I know the HP as a keeper of mysteries. Reversed, it seems to speak of poor intuition, lack of sense. Given that the three of wands suggests we've gotten this one right, belatedly, this one may say that it won't be the last time we forget -- or that it's a tendency to guard against.