1. How do you affirm that we are a community of Druids walking personal paths, and your desire to be one of us?
The Druid Order of the Three Realms embraces concepts like integrity, respect, community, service and interdependence - all values that have been deeply embedded in my own spiritual path even before I learned to call it by the name of Druidry. The encouragement and support I've received from DOTR members, and from my mentor B— in particular, during my year as a DOTR Aspirant have been invaluable to me as I've worked to refine and expand my Druid practice beyond what I've learned as a member of OBOD and AODA in the past.
The Druid Order of the Three Realms also embodies a balance of community engagement and personal exploration in a nonhierarchical way that moves beyond the usual organizational models of modern Revival Druidry based on the old social fraternities, and I find myself very much in tune with this new approach that remains open to the changing reality for religious institutions in a (post-)postmodern world. I would be honored and proud to count myself a member of the Order, and I look forward to be an active and contributing member in the future!
2. How do you affirm a vital relationship with the Earth, our mother?
In my daily life I adopt a handful of "green"/eco-friendly practices, including a vegetarian diet of largely organic, locally-grown foods (recently promoted by the UN as the most effective lifestyle change a person can make to help reduce their impact on the planet). I also strive whenever possible to avoid using plastics and to reduce my energy consumption; my husband and I also started a composting program for our old apartment building (and happily, the apartment complex we're moving into in Seattle has a composting program already in place!).
I'm the founder, project manager and a contributing writer for the Pagan Newswire Collective blog project, No Unsacred Place: Earth and Nature in Pagan Traditions, where I coordinate essays, articles and news pieces promoting ecological awareness and environmentalism among Pagans and exploring the many ways that Druids, Witches and Pagans embrace nature spirituality in their diverse traditions. I also contribute to Aontacht Magazine as their new Wild Earth feature editor, and as a writer and blogger I share my experiences and contemplations about our sacred relationship with the Earth on my blog through poems, stories and personal reflections.
In my personal spiritual practice, relationship with the Earth and the natural local landscape holds a place of primary importance. While living in Pittsburgh, I made hillwalking in the nearby wooded nature preserve a regular part of my practice and often held personal rituals and meditations out doors (in all kinds of weather!). My altar and household shrines reflected the changing seasons of the local landscape and honored the plants, animals and other inhabitants sharing the land with me.
Now, moving to Seattle, I hope to continue making time outside connecting with the natural world a central part of my spiritual life. I've applied to volunteer with the local parks service as an amateur naturalist, for which I'll receive seasonal training about the ecology of the local bioregion(s) and then be able to pass on that learning to others through public and student-oriented educational programs and guided explorations of the many urban green spaces in the city. I might also have the chance to adopt a few acres of a nearby park as part of the forest restoration effort.
3. How do you celebrate the Sun and its sacred days both alone and together in the grove?
My husband, Jeff, and I have been celebrating each of the eight holy days (the four solar festivals and four Celtic fire festivals) together for the past few years, and we're often able to include Jeff's kids in the celebrations as well. Our celebrations are usually very simple, and include making offerings to the three realms of land, sea and sky, as well as singing songs and telling stories that resonate with the spiritual significance of the time of year. Usually for the summer and winter solstices, we rise before dawn and make our way to the local park where we climb the highest hill and greet the sun as it rises above the horizon (the kids' favorite song to sing on these occasions is They Might Be Giants' "Why Does the Sun Shine?"). This past year, Jeff and I planned our wedding to coincide with the autumnal equinox, in celebration of our relationship of balance between masculine and feminine, light and dark, day and night, activity and receptivity and the many other sacred dualities that go into forming a sacred marriage. (We were also very lucky to be able to include our families and friends in our Druid ceremony on the beach, on the threshold of the three realms, for which we feel especially blessed.)
On certain occasions, I will also hold personal observances of the holidays in a more formal ritual fashion (Jeff is not as keen on ritual). For these rituals, I usually build off of the DOTR outline and incorporate my own chants, prayers and meditative trance-work. This is the closest I'm able to come to participating in DOTR grove rituals as a long-distance member, but I hope that someday down the road I might be able to find others in the local area who want to work within the DOTR ritual model and hold in-person rituals together, too.
4. How do you hear the call to the inner life, and how are you weaving a wisdom that is both personal and communal?
It is mostly through my writing and my poetry that I engage with my inner life and explore the work of soul and spirit in their many different forms, but I also use meditation, trance-work and dreams to connect to this inner realm. Besides the DOTR Three Realms Working, I've developed a daily meditation of my own (Peace of the Three Realms) based on the Druid Prayer for Peace, that helps me to align with the energies of land, sea and sky as well as with the Druidic elements of nwyfre, gwyar and calas, and I've also begun to explore (although only a little) working with the Three Cauldrons from Celtic tradition. Through trance-work, I explore my inner landscapes with the guidance of Badger, my primary spirit/animal guide; and in dream, I seem practically unable to avoid bumping into Manannan every once in a while!
I also use divination to connect with my gods as well as my intuition/soul/subconscious (whatever you want to call it!). Mostly this is through tarot cards and occasionally other oracle card decks, but I plan to embark on a more serious study of the ogham as soon as I'm settled in Seattle!
I've also been studying astrology, and particularly the psychological approach to astrology best exemplified in the work of astrologers like Liz Greene and Stephen Arroyo, for the past year, complimented by a deeper exploration of Jungian archetypes and mythological patterns found in the works of Joseph Campbell and Mircea Eliade. This work has afforded me a great deal of insight into my own psyche and the patterns that underlie some of my approaches to life, the world and other people. I'm looking forward to exploring ways that I can utilize this insight and the framework established by astrological study to serve my community by understanding better what unique gifts I have to offer and maybe even by providing astrological counseling for others at some point. (I've started offering to do free natal chart readings online and have already had about two dozen clients!)
5. What special work have you taken on, for yourself, for others, for our community?
As I mentioned above, I've been exploring the possibility of providing astrological counseling as a service to the community in the near future. I've also worked as a writer and editor to help create opportunities for discussion and exploration in the Pagan community through articles, essays and blog posts focusing on our relationship with the Earth. On a few occasions, I've helped draft rituals or liturgies as a part of an online group celebrating together (these have mostly been through my work as a Flamekeeper with a Brighidine Cill, exploring Brighid's role as a solar and stellar goddess).
To be honest, since most of this work has been online in one way or another, I've sometimes struggled over the past year to remember to make any special spiritual/religious work a priority for myself as well as for others. It's been a challenge to take time to devote to my personal spiritual life and seek out work that benefits me even if it doesn't seem to have any greater benefits for the communities I belong to. I want to strive to do better at this in the future, to nurture the wellspring of my own personal spirituality as well as continue to be committed to my community/public work.
6. How do you find balance in the three: the sky, the earth and the sea? How are the Three Realms becoming a way of life for you?
The dynamic balance and relationship of the Three Realms informs my spirituality at the deepest level, and provides a flexible, adaptive context for all of my spiritual work. I begin every ritual or meditation session by attuning to the energies of the Three Realms and honoring the deities, the ancestors and the spirits of the land.
At times, my view of the Three Realms is of them as overlapping spheres: below, above and sacred center (or axis mundi), or the immanent, transcendent and the manifest worlds - which roughly correspond to sea, sky and land. At other times, particularly when I'm outside in natural landscapes performing rituals or sitting in meditation, I connect with the Three Realms much more immediately as the very real spaces that make up the local landscape - the winds, weather, sun and stars of the physical sky, the rolling hills and dense forests of the physical land, and the murmuring waves and rocking tides of the physical sea and the waters that run through the earth in rivers and streams. I try to hold these two understandings of the Three Realms - the literal and the theological - together as a kind of sacred paradox, instead of reducing one to the other. So I see in the sky the transcendent theological realm of the gods, and in the sea the immanent sacred waters of life of which all things are made... but I also see the physical sky and sea, too, in all their complexity and overlapping, interconnected relationship.
The expression of the Three Realms through the three Druidic elements of nwyfre, gwyar and calas has also given me a way of understanding the different processes and energies in the world and how they balance, interact with and give rise to each other. I understand nwyfre as force, energy and source; gwyar as flow, change and relationship; and calas as form, manifestation and natural limitation or boundaries. I see these as different from the traditional/classic four elements of earth, air, fire and water. While these four are more like "building blocks," the stuff that all things are made up of, the three Druidic elements of nwyfre, gwyar and calas are more like aspects or principles describing the basic, essentials ways that the four elements express and interact. The metaphor I've used before (and the best I've been able to come up with so far) is that the four classic elements of earth, air, fire and water are like the notes of a scale, and the elements of nwyfre, gwyar and calas describe the shape, progression and process of joining these individual notes into a melody.
7. Can you say that this path of the Druid is your path and that you wish to take it up as your practice for your life in this world?
Yes! Most definitely, whole-heartedly, a thousand times yes!
Showing posts with label mentor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mentor. Show all posts
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Letter to Mentor
Bob,
It's been just over two months since my last letter to you. As I mentioned in my letter at the beginning of August, I'd decided to put DOTR work aside until after our wedding and honeymoon, but of course my Druidry work more generally never really ceases! Now that it's October, I'm easing back into a somewhat stable routine of spiritual practice, and I'm thinking of using Samhain as an ideal time to renew my work on the DOTR lessons (primarily those focused on the four elements). This will give me time to get that Stephen Arroyo book I mentioned before, about the role of the four elements in astrology, which I hope will be a good resource to accompany (and deepen) my review.
I find that the more I study astrology, the more fascinated I am with it - especially with the "depth psychology" approach that Arroyo and a few others use in modern times, in contrast to what he calls "mundane astrology," which is more traditional and focuses more on predicting external events. Instead, the psychological approach treats astrology as a tool for gaining insights into the inner energetic fields and patterns of the individual. In some ways, it seems simpler, or at least easier for a novice to jump quickly into relevant and meaningful readings based on a few simple interpretive guidelines. On the other hand, those simple interpretive guidelines often seem to lay bare patterns at the heart of the inner psyche that, by the time they filter up into more obvious, conscious behaviors and beliefs, can be incredibly varied and diverse in how they express themselves. When I first began working on an interpretation of my own natal chart, it was constantly surprising how certain aspects of my chart seemed to describe accurately patterns of inner energetic relationships that have expressed themselves in so many different ways in my life over the years, but that once brought to light seemed obviously connected. And just as surprising was how other patterns were so clearly not expressive in my life and did not describe me at all, and how they always corresponded to aspects or patterns definitely not in my natal chart - so that it seems impossible to agree with the argument that skeptics often use, that astrological readings are so vague as to apply to anyone. Though broad or somewhat abstract, the interpretations Arroyo offers are rarely vague, and I can tell almost immediately when I'm reading about an aspect or correspondence whether or not it is likely to appear in my own chart, even before I check it against the chart itself. I have no idea by what mechanism the stars in the sky at the time and place of our birth can so deeply affect, or reflect or speak to, aspects of our inner psyches.... but there's definitely something significant going on. (It reminds me of the physicist I saw recently talking about the latest challenges in modern physics, such as exploring exactly how and why gravity works - the theory being that there are other dimensions curled up within our own three spatial dimensions that somehow give gravity and mass to subatomic particles. Perhaps in the same way, somehow the stars give shape and design to our inner lives - or maybe the other way around - as though there are deeper things at work, webs of connection curled up and embedded within our mundane material reality.)
So I've continued to study astrology over the past two months, and I'm about to launch into Arroyo's book on the elements to go along with my DOTR lessons. In addition, I'll be reading two different books on the influence of Saturn and especially the Saturn Return, as my own is coming up soon and (depending on how tight an orb you use) could be starting as soon as the end of this month. The first exact conjunction of transiting Saturn with my natal Saturn will be on Christmas, December 25 itself, and it will come into exact aspect twice more (because Saturn will go retrograde and then direct again) over the next year, with the final conjunction in next September (on our first year wedding anniversary, in fact). Because of a few other aspects in my chart (Saturn being conjunct Pluto right on my Ascendant, for instance), this coming year promises to be particularly intense, so much of my meditative work in the coming months is going to be focused on working with Saturnine energies in one way or another.
Other than this astrological work, I've been doing some work with archetypes and Jungian psychology thanks to my brother and his career as a "consumer psychology analyst." During a visit with him in August (when we were introducing our cats to each other so he could cat-sit for us while we were away on honeymoon), he just happened to lend me a book on archetypes and "the marketing of meaning" in modern advertising. That book had some fascinating but also some deeply troubling things to say about the use of psychological and spiritual symbols in modern consumer capitalism, but it did help me to clarify my own attitudes towards my writing as a potential career. When we saw him again in September, he lent me another book by the same author, this time much more of a "self-help" type of book that went into more depth and detail about the various archetypes. I'm intrigued by how these might match up with the kinds of archetypes and energies used in astrology, though I want to do a bit more research and experimentation before I can really draw any conclusions.
Also in August, I spent some time working through the "30 Days of Druidry" meme I'd written up and shared on the DOTR blog in July. I'm only part way through the thirty writing prompts, so I'll be continuing that in October and possibly in November as well. Those are published on my blog over on my website, if you wanted to check them out.
During September, it was pretty much non-stop wedding stuff for the first two weeks, and then honeymooning for the second two. One thing I am rather proud of (if you don't mind me getting personal and female for a second): a spell I cast during the August full moon to ensure that the wedding week and honeymoon wouldn't be interrupted by my rather painful and exhausting "that time of the month" turned out to be an astounding success. Though I was on a rhythm that put the worst of it right smack on our wedding day itself, I was able to move things forward more than a week, leaving me feeling rested and well for the week leading up to the wedding and for the two weeks after while Jeff and I were out west camping. I rarely do any kind of spellwork with such mundane, physical ends in mind. Most of my spellwork (which honestly I don't do much of in any case) is focused on inner emotional or psychological work, magic as "a willed change in consciousness." But this was one of those rare times when I had no real recourse to mundane, non-occult means of bringing about the desired outcome, which is the only time I feel like magic directed towards mundane goals is really called for. So I was particularly pleased at how well the spell worked - accurate to the very day. Not bad for someone rather out of practice!
Unfortunately, Jeff and I hadn't bothered to do any spellwork regarding weather for the wedding day (another use of magic that I feel less than enthusiastic about, especially since Jeff's ex-wife had a reputation for brazenly trying to manipulate the weather on a regular basis). We had a gorgeous week at the beach - sunny and warm and perfect beach weather - but the day of the wedding itself was gray and blustery, with winds so strong that almost the entire beach was covered by water (though usually even at high tide there was at least fifty yards of flat sand above the water's edge). Honestly, it was breathtakingly beautiful, though a bit chillier than we'd expected. Still, the rain held off the entire day (finally starting not thirty seconds after Jeff and I left together at the end of the reception), so we did have our ceremony down on the beach as we'd expected, on the threshold of the three realms. We had spent time during a visit the year before petitioning the spirits of the local land for their blessing on our wedding, and we had done similar work the day right before the wedding. Our guests joked that, well, we'd asked the elements and the three realms to show up, and they showed up in force! There may be some truth to that. (Jeff's oldest daughter, Savanah, said that during our invocations to the three realms in the ceremony itself, sand crabs and sea gulls both seemed to draw in closer to the small gathering of us on the beach.) All in all, it was an intense experience, and in some ways I think the weather forced everyone to really ground in their bodies and experience the power and beauty of the natural world in a deeply visceral way... which is exactly what we wanted. (My hair is probably going to be an absolute mess in all of our wedding photos, though!)
During our honeymoon the following two weeks - which we spent out in Utah and New Mexico camping and hiking in various national parks - I spent a lot of time working through some inner blocks or issues involving my career and in particular with my writing. I plan to write up something on this experience sometime soon and share it to my Working the Three Realms blog, so if you're interested in that, you can check it out there.
Since this letter has become way too long already, though, I'll end it here for now. Looking forward to hearing from you. Hoping your autumn has been well and blessed so far! I'd love to hear how you work with Erynn's book and the Three Cauldrons has been going!
--Ali
It's been just over two months since my last letter to you. As I mentioned in my letter at the beginning of August, I'd decided to put DOTR work aside until after our wedding and honeymoon, but of course my Druidry work more generally never really ceases! Now that it's October, I'm easing back into a somewhat stable routine of spiritual practice, and I'm thinking of using Samhain as an ideal time to renew my work on the DOTR lessons (primarily those focused on the four elements). This will give me time to get that Stephen Arroyo book I mentioned before, about the role of the four elements in astrology, which I hope will be a good resource to accompany (and deepen) my review.
I find that the more I study astrology, the more fascinated I am with it - especially with the "depth psychology" approach that Arroyo and a few others use in modern times, in contrast to what he calls "mundane astrology," which is more traditional and focuses more on predicting external events. Instead, the psychological approach treats astrology as a tool for gaining insights into the inner energetic fields and patterns of the individual. In some ways, it seems simpler, or at least easier for a novice to jump quickly into relevant and meaningful readings based on a few simple interpretive guidelines. On the other hand, those simple interpretive guidelines often seem to lay bare patterns at the heart of the inner psyche that, by the time they filter up into more obvious, conscious behaviors and beliefs, can be incredibly varied and diverse in how they express themselves. When I first began working on an interpretation of my own natal chart, it was constantly surprising how certain aspects of my chart seemed to describe accurately patterns of inner energetic relationships that have expressed themselves in so many different ways in my life over the years, but that once brought to light seemed obviously connected. And just as surprising was how other patterns were so clearly not expressive in my life and did not describe me at all, and how they always corresponded to aspects or patterns definitely not in my natal chart - so that it seems impossible to agree with the argument that skeptics often use, that astrological readings are so vague as to apply to anyone. Though broad or somewhat abstract, the interpretations Arroyo offers are rarely vague, and I can tell almost immediately when I'm reading about an aspect or correspondence whether or not it is likely to appear in my own chart, even before I check it against the chart itself. I have no idea by what mechanism the stars in the sky at the time and place of our birth can so deeply affect, or reflect or speak to, aspects of our inner psyches.... but there's definitely something significant going on. (It reminds me of the physicist I saw recently talking about the latest challenges in modern physics, such as exploring exactly how and why gravity works - the theory being that there are other dimensions curled up within our own three spatial dimensions that somehow give gravity and mass to subatomic particles. Perhaps in the same way, somehow the stars give shape and design to our inner lives - or maybe the other way around - as though there are deeper things at work, webs of connection curled up and embedded within our mundane material reality.)
So I've continued to study astrology over the past two months, and I'm about to launch into Arroyo's book on the elements to go along with my DOTR lessons. In addition, I'll be reading two different books on the influence of Saturn and especially the Saturn Return, as my own is coming up soon and (depending on how tight an orb you use) could be starting as soon as the end of this month. The first exact conjunction of transiting Saturn with my natal Saturn will be on Christmas, December 25 itself, and it will come into exact aspect twice more (because Saturn will go retrograde and then direct again) over the next year, with the final conjunction in next September (on our first year wedding anniversary, in fact). Because of a few other aspects in my chart (Saturn being conjunct Pluto right on my Ascendant, for instance), this coming year promises to be particularly intense, so much of my meditative work in the coming months is going to be focused on working with Saturnine energies in one way or another.
Other than this astrological work, I've been doing some work with archetypes and Jungian psychology thanks to my brother and his career as a "consumer psychology analyst." During a visit with him in August (when we were introducing our cats to each other so he could cat-sit for us while we were away on honeymoon), he just happened to lend me a book on archetypes and "the marketing of meaning" in modern advertising. That book had some fascinating but also some deeply troubling things to say about the use of psychological and spiritual symbols in modern consumer capitalism, but it did help me to clarify my own attitudes towards my writing as a potential career. When we saw him again in September, he lent me another book by the same author, this time much more of a "self-help" type of book that went into more depth and detail about the various archetypes. I'm intrigued by how these might match up with the kinds of archetypes and energies used in astrology, though I want to do a bit more research and experimentation before I can really draw any conclusions.
Also in August, I spent some time working through the "30 Days of Druidry" meme I'd written up and shared on the DOTR blog in July. I'm only part way through the thirty writing prompts, so I'll be continuing that in October and possibly in November as well. Those are published on my blog over on my website, if you wanted to check them out.
During September, it was pretty much non-stop wedding stuff for the first two weeks, and then honeymooning for the second two. One thing I am rather proud of (if you don't mind me getting personal and female for a second): a spell I cast during the August full moon to ensure that the wedding week and honeymoon wouldn't be interrupted by my rather painful and exhausting "that time of the month" turned out to be an astounding success. Though I was on a rhythm that put the worst of it right smack on our wedding day itself, I was able to move things forward more than a week, leaving me feeling rested and well for the week leading up to the wedding and for the two weeks after while Jeff and I were out west camping. I rarely do any kind of spellwork with such mundane, physical ends in mind. Most of my spellwork (which honestly I don't do much of in any case) is focused on inner emotional or psychological work, magic as "a willed change in consciousness." But this was one of those rare times when I had no real recourse to mundane, non-occult means of bringing about the desired outcome, which is the only time I feel like magic directed towards mundane goals is really called for. So I was particularly pleased at how well the spell worked - accurate to the very day. Not bad for someone rather out of practice!
Unfortunately, Jeff and I hadn't bothered to do any spellwork regarding weather for the wedding day (another use of magic that I feel less than enthusiastic about, especially since Jeff's ex-wife had a reputation for brazenly trying to manipulate the weather on a regular basis). We had a gorgeous week at the beach - sunny and warm and perfect beach weather - but the day of the wedding itself was gray and blustery, with winds so strong that almost the entire beach was covered by water (though usually even at high tide there was at least fifty yards of flat sand above the water's edge). Honestly, it was breathtakingly beautiful, though a bit chillier than we'd expected. Still, the rain held off the entire day (finally starting not thirty seconds after Jeff and I left together at the end of the reception), so we did have our ceremony down on the beach as we'd expected, on the threshold of the three realms. We had spent time during a visit the year before petitioning the spirits of the local land for their blessing on our wedding, and we had done similar work the day right before the wedding. Our guests joked that, well, we'd asked the elements and the three realms to show up, and they showed up in force! There may be some truth to that. (Jeff's oldest daughter, Savanah, said that during our invocations to the three realms in the ceremony itself, sand crabs and sea gulls both seemed to draw in closer to the small gathering of us on the beach.) All in all, it was an intense experience, and in some ways I think the weather forced everyone to really ground in their bodies and experience the power and beauty of the natural world in a deeply visceral way... which is exactly what we wanted. (My hair is probably going to be an absolute mess in all of our wedding photos, though!)
During our honeymoon the following two weeks - which we spent out in Utah and New Mexico camping and hiking in various national parks - I spent a lot of time working through some inner blocks or issues involving my career and in particular with my writing. I plan to write up something on this experience sometime soon and share it to my Working the Three Realms blog, so if you're interested in that, you can check it out there.
Since this letter has become way too long already, though, I'll end it here for now. Looking forward to hearing from you. Hoping your autumn has been well and blessed so far! I'd love to hear how you work with Erynn's book and the Three Cauldrons has been going!
--Ali
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Sunday, August 7, 2011
End of Month Letter to Mentor
Hi, B--,
Another end-of-the-month letter for you, though this one's a bit late. Much of this month was taken up with work concerns, as Jeff and I have received news that there may be some major changes to our job situation coming up in the next several weeks. It looks like it will mostly be good stuff, but the uncertainty and secrecy surrounding the situation has us feeling rather frazzled and stressed, all things considered.
That said, I did still continue my Druidic work (though sadly, little of it was related to the DOTR lessons - which I've decided to basically set aside until after our wedding and honeymoon).
I spent the early part of July reflecting on a lot of interfaith issues after attending the progressive Christian-focused Wild Goose Festival at the end of June. This led to some really good discussion with Jeff, and it seems to be a theme for the month since a bit later in the month there was the whole issue with the fundamentalist Christian prayer campaign that prompted some rather intolerant responses among Pagans and some controversy around a post that I wrote.
An online Pagan forum I frequent, The Cauldron, upgraded its forum software and so I spent a good amount of time participating in some "re-introduction" threads where we talked a lot about going back to some of our most basic ideas about our paths and practices (those are included in my diary). As a result of this "back to basics" writing, I renewed my commitment to my Flamekeeping. Though I'd been keeping Brighid's flame regularly already, I often didn't do much beyond a simple lighting and smooring ceremony to open and close my shifts. This past month, I made sure to set aside some extended time for meditation and creative work during my shifts in addition to the opening and closing rituals, which worked really well.
I've continued my shamanic/trance work that I began last month, exploring more deeply and cultivating my relationship with my spirit animal, Badger. I've purchased a small rim drum that I've been practicing with as an aid to my trance work (though learning to play has been slow going) and in the meantime I downloaded a few different mp3 recordings of trance drumming that I can use (including one especially for Badger). During my last Flamekeeping shift, I dedicated my shift to finding and dedicating a "Badger Stone" to be a "home" and idol on my altar for Badger. During dusk just as my Flamekeeping shift was beginning, I went hillwalking in slight trance with the intention of finding an appropriate stone; then the following day, I cleansed and blessed the stone and painted on it an image of Badger. After completing the work, I left offerings of chocolate and beer outside. That work seemed to go very well and the stone came out better than I expected.
Jeff and I also started a podcast during this month, Dining with Druids (http://diningdruids.wordpress.com/), in which we talk about the news and politics of the day and how it relates to our spiritual lives. We have a lot of fun recording it, and it seems to be pretty well liked by listeners. Getting a handle on the sound equipment and post-production tech stuff was a bit of a challenge, but I think we've got it fairly well worked out now.
At the last minute, we were called away on a business trip at the end of July, so that we ended up being up in Massachusetts right around Lughnasadh. We were able to stop by and visit our friends Cat and Peter (who are Quaker Pagans) for a couple days, and we had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate Lammas with the two of them, along with Penny and Michael Novak, on that Saturday evening (July 30). It was a simple, somewhat improvised ritual in their backyard next to their garden, where we made propitiatory offerings of locks of hair (which we tossed into the fire), as well as beer and a plate of food (which we brought out into the woods behind their house) before settling down to a meal of fresh, local corn and homemade bread and other delicious produce grown right in their own garden. Afterwards, we wove symbols out of the corn husks to offer to the fire, that the smoke would carry our requests for blessings to the gods. It was very beautiful and touching to be able to celebrate with them. Plus, it was fantastic to be able to engage in conversation with people who have been so deeply involved in the evolving Pagan community for so many decades!
Today Jeff and I have the opportunity to attend the ADF Lughnasadh rite and festival later this afternoon.... but it's still up in the air if we will or not. We're both pretty worn out and exhausted and this is our first kids-free, travel-free weekend we've had to ourselves in months. So we're inclined to just spend some quiet time at home. I would like to attend a Druidic-flavored Lughnasadh ritual, of course, but most years I'm on vacation with my family during this week, and so I usually don't have a chance to celebrate Lughnasadh and it doesn't have as much personal meaning for me as some of the others do. This time of year, especially when we're in the middle of some long, hot, muggy days, I think it's more helpful for my sanity to focus on relaxation and respite!
So that's what I've been up to over the past month. August is already turning out to be pretty busy, and September is going to be wedding and honeymoon stuff mostly (so I may not have a chance to write a summary letter for the next two months). We're honeymooning out west in Zion National Park, where we'll be camping in the desert (which has a lot of spiritual significance for both Jeff and me), so maybe I'll be able to write something up about that once we get home!
Blessings,
Ali
P.S. I forgot, I've also started that "30 Days of Druidry" creative writing project that I mentioned on the DOTR forum a little while back. I'm posting those to my website, if you're interested in reading them.
Another end-of-the-month letter for you, though this one's a bit late. Much of this month was taken up with work concerns, as Jeff and I have received news that there may be some major changes to our job situation coming up in the next several weeks. It looks like it will mostly be good stuff, but the uncertainty and secrecy surrounding the situation has us feeling rather frazzled and stressed, all things considered.
That said, I did still continue my Druidic work (though sadly, little of it was related to the DOTR lessons - which I've decided to basically set aside until after our wedding and honeymoon).
I spent the early part of July reflecting on a lot of interfaith issues after attending the progressive Christian-focused Wild Goose Festival at the end of June. This led to some really good discussion with Jeff, and it seems to be a theme for the month since a bit later in the month there was the whole issue with the fundamentalist Christian prayer campaign that prompted some rather intolerant responses among Pagans and some controversy around a post that I wrote.
An online Pagan forum I frequent, The Cauldron, upgraded its forum software and so I spent a good amount of time participating in some "re-introduction" threads where we talked a lot about going back to some of our most basic ideas about our paths and practices (those are included in my diary). As a result of this "back to basics" writing, I renewed my commitment to my Flamekeeping. Though I'd been keeping Brighid's flame regularly already, I often didn't do much beyond a simple lighting and smooring ceremony to open and close my shifts. This past month, I made sure to set aside some extended time for meditation and creative work during my shifts in addition to the opening and closing rituals, which worked really well.
I've continued my shamanic/trance work that I began last month, exploring more deeply and cultivating my relationship with my spirit animal, Badger. I've purchased a small rim drum that I've been practicing with as an aid to my trance work (though learning to play has been slow going) and in the meantime I downloaded a few different mp3 recordings of trance drumming that I can use (including one especially for Badger). During my last Flamekeeping shift, I dedicated my shift to finding and dedicating a "Badger Stone" to be a "home" and idol on my altar for Badger. During dusk just as my Flamekeeping shift was beginning, I went hillwalking in slight trance with the intention of finding an appropriate stone; then the following day, I cleansed and blessed the stone and painted on it an image of Badger. After completing the work, I left offerings of chocolate and beer outside. That work seemed to go very well and the stone came out better than I expected.
Jeff and I also started a podcast during this month, Dining with Druids (http://diningdruids.wordpress.com/), in which we talk about the news and politics of the day and how it relates to our spiritual lives. We have a lot of fun recording it, and it seems to be pretty well liked by listeners. Getting a handle on the sound equipment and post-production tech stuff was a bit of a challenge, but I think we've got it fairly well worked out now.
At the last minute, we were called away on a business trip at the end of July, so that we ended up being up in Massachusetts right around Lughnasadh. We were able to stop by and visit our friends Cat and Peter (who are Quaker Pagans) for a couple days, and we had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate Lammas with the two of them, along with Penny and Michael Novak, on that Saturday evening (July 30). It was a simple, somewhat improvised ritual in their backyard next to their garden, where we made propitiatory offerings of locks of hair (which we tossed into the fire), as well as beer and a plate of food (which we brought out into the woods behind their house) before settling down to a meal of fresh, local corn and homemade bread and other delicious produce grown right in their own garden. Afterwards, we wove symbols out of the corn husks to offer to the fire, that the smoke would carry our requests for blessings to the gods. It was very beautiful and touching to be able to celebrate with them. Plus, it was fantastic to be able to engage in conversation with people who have been so deeply involved in the evolving Pagan community for so many decades!
Today Jeff and I have the opportunity to attend the ADF Lughnasadh rite and festival later this afternoon.... but it's still up in the air if we will or not. We're both pretty worn out and exhausted and this is our first kids-free, travel-free weekend we've had to ourselves in months. So we're inclined to just spend some quiet time at home. I would like to attend a Druidic-flavored Lughnasadh ritual, of course, but most years I'm on vacation with my family during this week, and so I usually don't have a chance to celebrate Lughnasadh and it doesn't have as much personal meaning for me as some of the others do. This time of year, especially when we're in the middle of some long, hot, muggy days, I think it's more helpful for my sanity to focus on relaxation and respite!
So that's what I've been up to over the past month. August is already turning out to be pretty busy, and September is going to be wedding and honeymoon stuff mostly (so I may not have a chance to write a summary letter for the next two months). We're honeymooning out west in Zion National Park, where we'll be camping in the desert (which has a lot of spiritual significance for both Jeff and me), so maybe I'll be able to write something up about that once we get home!
Blessings,
Ali
P.S. I forgot, I've also started that "30 Days of Druidry" creative writing project that I mentioned on the DOTR forum a little while back. I'm posting those to my website, if you're interested in reading them.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Reflections on Ritual and Offerings
A response to Bob's post on the DOTR Network about the role of offerings and other aspects of ritual.
I have to admit that I'd already seen that article, and it annoyed me. My honors thesis work was in ritual theory, so I have an academic background in the subject that focused not only on the religious/spiritual significance of ritual in various world traditions, but also on the socio-political and aesthetic aspects of ritual practice. Coming from that perspective, that article sounded to me an awful lot like someone who attended a ritual, felt uncomfortable with the social atmosphere or the particular aesthetics used, and so projected her discomfort onto the gods by claiming or warning that they would be displeased.
This is not the first time that a Heathen blogger on Patheos has made complaints about others "doing it wrong" when it comes to ritual. I'm not sure if this is a common theme among Heathens more than other Pagan traditions, or just a coincidence, but I know I have also talked with Heathens who see the purpose of offerings to the gods as a kind of appeasement to get the gods to leave them alone. One Heathen actually compared worshipping the gods to living in your parents' house - it's nice that they pay the bills and take care of most of the responsibilities, but that doesn't mean you want them hanging around getting into your business and it's better when they're content to leave you alone. This sounds like a pretty adolescent approach to me, honestly.
I think this is one of the big issues with ritual in Paganism, especially because the Pagan umbrella is so diverse and it sometimes doesn't share a theological perspective even among members of the same group. Without a foundation in theology of some kind, ritual can quickly devolve into superstition. There are many reasons why rituals can feel powerful or feel like failures, and they don't all have to do with whether or not you've authentically connected with Spirit or the gods. The emotional, psychological, aesthetic, social and even physiological aspects all play a role in addition to the spiritual. And discerning when authentic spiritual work has been done is something I think best left up to the group who has done the work to develop and engage with the ritual practice, rather than an outsider sitting in and making judgements.
That said, I think Blaidd brings up some really good questions in his post - the practical question of what is done with the offerings perhaps being one of the more important ones. It seems to me that if ritual and offerings is to avoid becoming mere superstition, then it must be all about relationship at its core. But that means it also can't be something as simple as "our ancestors were scared of the Sidhe, so they must be appeased so they don't cause trouble" - this seems about as disrespectful to me as it would be disrespectful and prejudiced to say, "Don't walk through that neighborhood; a lot of black people live there and my parents have always said black people are dangerous." I think in general, gods and other beings, and animals for that matter, are similar to human beings: when you approach with respect and kindness in the interest of being as open and attentive as you can to the needs and desires of the Other, whoever that other is, then you are far more likely to elicit respect and kindness in turn, and this eventually builds into a mutually loving relationship. It is in presuming a relationship or taking it for granted that the disrespect (and thus the danger) lies... but again, we can't always be the judge of how others' relationship with the gods expresses itself, either in ritual or in daily life.
Jeff and I already do offerings to our gods on a regular basis - pouring libations and burning incense are parts of my regular prayer/meditation routine, and we both wear certain symbolic pieces of jewelry and clothing that represent promises we have made to our deities or simply as a reminder to think of them and offer a prayer now and then. As part of my Flamekeeping shift with the Brigidine Cill I belong to, I tend a flame once every twenty days as part of my service to Brighid. And on major holy days, especially when we have the kids with us, we make ritual offerings of bird seed and such to the local woods (and wildlife) - and we also toss "silver in the water," coins into a small blue bowl of water on the altar, which Jeff and I then save up until we have enough to change in for money that we donate to a charity. Since we do much of this on our own, it's not a big deal to us if DOTR doesn't incorporate offerings into its group/public rituals. We have an established relationship with our gods, and if other gods are involved in a given ritual, we see it somewhat like going to a party at a friend's house and meeting their relatives - we're polite and respectful, but don't presume either any special relationship or any special attention as a result. (Of course, this can be a problem if the ritual involves gods that no one performing/attending the ritual actually does have a relationship with - because that's more like crashing someone else's party and expecting special treatment from the hosts.)
So those are my thoughts on the situation. Different situations will call for different types of ritual and offerings, and I see no reason why we can't continue to have public rituals open to anyone, as long as we don't treat the gods as "plug and play" components. Public rituals that involve offerings and prayers focused on the earth or the land can still be very effective without requiring a common agreed upon theology for the most part. But perhaps it would also benefit DOTR as a whole for regular members to help each other cultivate authentic relationships with the gods or beings that each members works with in their own practice as well as in group work?
Friday, July 1, 2011
End of Month Letter to Mentor
B--,
Another letter about my DOTR aspirant work. This month I basically made no progress on the actual lessons for DOTR, but I thought I'd share a bit about what I was doing.
Early in June was a lot of wedding stuff, including a trip with Jeff and the kids to see my parents for the weekend and attend a birthday/wedding shower/engagement party. We had some time with Savanah to do her "Teen Druidry" lessons, which this month included learning how to sense and work with energies through visualization. We gave her some simple visualization exercises to do for a couple weeks, and had a chance the weekend before last to take her to the local conservancy where we practiced sensing the "nemeton" (or aura/energy) around different plants.
My birthday was this month, which meant I had a general obligation to hang out with people instead of keeping to myself (oh well!), and I didn't have a chance to do any kind of birthday rite or divination like I like to do - it's just been too busy this year.
Jeff and I did have a chance to attend an Alban Heruin/Summer Solstice ritual this year with the local ADF grove, though. On the morning of the solstice itself, we were up at 3:30 AM to drive out to a park outside the city where we met up with a handful of others for a ritual to greet the rising sun. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily for most of the time, so our ritual took place under a pavilion instead of on top of the hill where it would normally have been held. Still, it was very moving and enjoyable - and we had a chance to have breakfast with a couple members of the grove afterwards. We're hoping to attend more of their open gatherings and get to know the local Druid community better (especially when we have more time after the wedding).
Last weekend, we attended the Wild Goose Festival down in Shakori Hills, NC - it's a progressive/emergent Christian festival focused on Celtic spirituality, justice, music and art. A friend of ours, Carl McColman, was one of the speakers and the festival was run by Gareth Higgins, who was the coordinator of the Northern Ireland Celtic spirituality and peacemaking retreat I went on last August. We had a chance to see a number of really important, influential leaders of the progressive/emergent movement, and made some good friends (as well as having a chance to catch up with old ones). It gave us a lot of food for thought. I'm in the process of typing up my notes from the festival (along with annotations) and posting them to my spiritual diary, and I'll eventually have some reflections to post in essay-form on my website. I think Pagans and Christians have a great deal to learn from one another, and being around such thoughtful, sincere spiritual folks, regardless of religion, always leaves me feeling inspired and energized.
I've also begun to explore shamanic work as part of my self-designed Ovatic training. Not sure if I ever laid this out for you before, but basically, I spent about eight or so years studying poetry and music in high school and college (to the point where I won several awards and had been published quite a bit), plus my Candidate year with AODA studying the Bardic arts. After completing the first degree with AODA, I decided that my second degree work would be "flavored" with an Ovatic focus - studying the subtle energies and interconnections of the world through work with deep ecology, divination, magic, dreams, meditation and trance work. My study of astrology falls into this type of work (both as a kind of divination in some respects, and also a study of the patterns and energy play of the stars), and I've been studying ecology and ecosophy as well, from a more mundane/scientific perspective (plus learning more about our local bioregion). The divination work has been largely tarot, though like I mentioned to you already I've also started to work with ogham based on Erynn Rowan Laurie's work (and also Mountfort's book, too, which I think you mentioned in your last letter - yes, I definitely agree that his approach to the tree ogham is very helpful!). I've been doing my usual meditation and hillwalking, and now that Jeff and I are running and doing yoga again, that's become an aspect of my meditative work, too. One aspect of my Ovatic work that I'd always intended to include but hadn't been brave enough to plunge into until recently was actual shamanic work, though I have occasionally done some Active Imagination meditation/visualization during some rituals. But for my birthday, Jeff got me a book on shamanism by Caitlin Matthews, and so last week I finally jumped in and began with the first few exercises. On a whim two days ago, we were walking back from dinner to a friend's house when we saw a store selling fair trade items from Morocco (a store we'd thought had closed about a year ago, but that had just moved locations and transferred ownership)... so we stopped in - turns out, there was a lovely little frame drum on sale, so Jeff insisted on getting it for me. So now I have a drum to work with for my shamanic work, too. (The shop also had a few bodhran drums, which I'd really like to get someday, but they were quite a bit more expensive and I don't know the first thing about playing them, so they'll have to wait a little bit longer...)
And finally, just yesterday, Jeff and I got some tattoos done (which is why this email is pecked out on the keyboard, since I can't rest my wrist on the laptop). We each got matching wrist tattoos of a calla lily yin yang symbol as "wedding tattoos" (representing the blending of opposites, male and female and so on, incorporating the calla lily as the Druidic "third thing" borne out of that relationship, also a symbol of beauty and peace and in itself incorporating female (the chalice shape of the petals) and male (the stamen). I also got a large back tattoo done (which was... wow, quite painful!) of a design that I worked on in a semi-trance state on the morning of the summer solstice after returning from the ADF sunrise rite. It matches and compliments my "Ninth Wave" armband (which I also designed) - this tattoo is a stylized "Celtic"-looking sun design which also incorporates a few meaningful symbols that connect it to my relationship with Brigid as Lady of Star Fire. I posted the design to my spiritual diary on the summer solstice, and after the tattoo heals more I'll post a picture of the final piece as well.
So that's what I've been up to! I do apologize for not going step by step through the DOTR lessons! Life just always seems to interfere and demand my attention in many different directions. It strikes me sometimes as a bit funny that so much of my life is focused on my Druidry and my spirituality, and yet even still I'm so bad at working through prescribed lesson plans. But I will get through them eventually, and in the meantime, I try to approach all this work as a slow, organic accretion of many different skills which, even if they're only gained slowly and seemingly haphazardly, are better integrated and interconnected as part of my spiritual journey because of it.
Blessings,
Ali
Another letter about my DOTR aspirant work. This month I basically made no progress on the actual lessons for DOTR, but I thought I'd share a bit about what I was doing.
Early in June was a lot of wedding stuff, including a trip with Jeff and the kids to see my parents for the weekend and attend a birthday/wedding shower/engagement party. We had some time with Savanah to do her "Teen Druidry" lessons, which this month included learning how to sense and work with energies through visualization. We gave her some simple visualization exercises to do for a couple weeks, and had a chance the weekend before last to take her to the local conservancy where we practiced sensing the "nemeton" (or aura/energy) around different plants.
My birthday was this month, which meant I had a general obligation to hang out with people instead of keeping to myself (oh well!), and I didn't have a chance to do any kind of birthday rite or divination like I like to do - it's just been too busy this year.
Jeff and I did have a chance to attend an Alban Heruin/Summer Solstice ritual this year with the local ADF grove, though. On the morning of the solstice itself, we were up at 3:30 AM to drive out to a park outside the city where we met up with a handful of others for a ritual to greet the rising sun. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily for most of the time, so our ritual took place under a pavilion instead of on top of the hill where it would normally have been held. Still, it was very moving and enjoyable - and we had a chance to have breakfast with a couple members of the grove afterwards. We're hoping to attend more of their open gatherings and get to know the local Druid community better (especially when we have more time after the wedding).
Last weekend, we attended the Wild Goose Festival down in Shakori Hills, NC - it's a progressive/emergent Christian festival focused on Celtic spirituality, justice, music and art. A friend of ours, Carl McColman, was one of the speakers and the festival was run by Gareth Higgins, who was the coordinator of the Northern Ireland Celtic spirituality and peacemaking retreat I went on last August. We had a chance to see a number of really important, influential leaders of the progressive/emergent movement, and made some good friends (as well as having a chance to catch up with old ones). It gave us a lot of food for thought. I'm in the process of typing up my notes from the festival (along with annotations) and posting them to my spiritual diary, and I'll eventually have some reflections to post in essay-form on my website. I think Pagans and Christians have a great deal to learn from one another, and being around such thoughtful, sincere spiritual folks, regardless of religion, always leaves me feeling inspired and energized.
I've also begun to explore shamanic work as part of my self-designed Ovatic training. Not sure if I ever laid this out for you before, but basically, I spent about eight or so years studying poetry and music in high school and college (to the point where I won several awards and had been published quite a bit), plus my Candidate year with AODA studying the Bardic arts. After completing the first degree with AODA, I decided that my second degree work would be "flavored" with an Ovatic focus - studying the subtle energies and interconnections of the world through work with deep ecology, divination, magic, dreams, meditation and trance work. My study of astrology falls into this type of work (both as a kind of divination in some respects, and also a study of the patterns and energy play of the stars), and I've been studying ecology and ecosophy as well, from a more mundane/scientific perspective (plus learning more about our local bioregion). The divination work has been largely tarot, though like I mentioned to you already I've also started to work with ogham based on Erynn Rowan Laurie's work (and also Mountfort's book, too, which I think you mentioned in your last letter - yes, I definitely agree that his approach to the tree ogham is very helpful!). I've been doing my usual meditation and hillwalking, and now that Jeff and I are running and doing yoga again, that's become an aspect of my meditative work, too. One aspect of my Ovatic work that I'd always intended to include but hadn't been brave enough to plunge into until recently was actual shamanic work, though I have occasionally done some Active Imagination meditation/visualization during some rituals. But for my birthday, Jeff got me a book on shamanism by Caitlin Matthews, and so last week I finally jumped in and began with the first few exercises. On a whim two days ago, we were walking back from dinner to a friend's house when we saw a store selling fair trade items from Morocco (a store we'd thought had closed about a year ago, but that had just moved locations and transferred ownership)... so we stopped in - turns out, there was a lovely little frame drum on sale, so Jeff insisted on getting it for me. So now I have a drum to work with for my shamanic work, too. (The shop also had a few bodhran drums, which I'd really like to get someday, but they were quite a bit more expensive and I don't know the first thing about playing them, so they'll have to wait a little bit longer...)
And finally, just yesterday, Jeff and I got some tattoos done (which is why this email is pecked out on the keyboard, since I can't rest my wrist on the laptop). We each got matching wrist tattoos of a calla lily yin yang symbol as "wedding tattoos" (representing the blending of opposites, male and female and so on, incorporating the calla lily as the Druidic "third thing" borne out of that relationship, also a symbol of beauty and peace and in itself incorporating female (the chalice shape of the petals) and male (the stamen). I also got a large back tattoo done (which was... wow, quite painful!) of a design that I worked on in a semi-trance state on the morning of the summer solstice after returning from the ADF sunrise rite. It matches and compliments my "Ninth Wave" armband (which I also designed) - this tattoo is a stylized "Celtic"-looking sun design which also incorporates a few meaningful symbols that connect it to my relationship with Brigid as Lady of Star Fire. I posted the design to my spiritual diary on the summer solstice, and after the tattoo heals more I'll post a picture of the final piece as well.
So that's what I've been up to! I do apologize for not going step by step through the DOTR lessons! Life just always seems to interfere and demand my attention in many different directions. It strikes me sometimes as a bit funny that so much of my life is focused on my Druidry and my spirituality, and yet even still I'm so bad at working through prescribed lesson plans. But I will get through them eventually, and in the meantime, I try to approach all this work as a slow, organic accretion of many different skills which, even if they're only gained slowly and seemingly haphazardly, are better integrated and interconnected as part of my spiritual journey because of it.
Blessings,
Ali
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Follow-Up Letter to Mentor
B--,
Thanks so much for your response - and so quickly! I know you've been busy with your own work. :)
It's very reassuring to know that my variation/approach to the Three Realms Working practice is not only acceptable but welcome, and your description of how it fits in with the overall DOTR philosophy is refreshing. As you probably know, I've been stung before by banging heads a bit about "how things are done" within a certain Ancient Order That Will Not Be Named… One of the things I appreciate most about DOTR is the openness and flexibility - but not just in a wishy-washy kind of way that says, "We're accepting of everyone as long as you stay at 'newbie' level." That's something I have run into in other Druid groups, and it's made me a bit gun-shy about sharing some of my more in-depth thoughts. I know I can get very intense about my work, and sometimes that intensity can come off as over-bearing! So it really is a relief to be reassured on that matter and not feel pressure from DOTR to keep my enthusiasm in check lest I wander off the Approved Path. ;)
The points you brought up in your letter have given me a lot to think about. Your first point, about each of the Three Realms being connectors or bridges, is definitely something that resonates with my experience/understanding of them. To me, the Three are incredibly dynamic, though each in its own way, and they also all lead outward to each other even as you follow them more deeply inward… if that makes sense. So I think you're right that this is a key to my understanding, and keeping that in mind when trying to work with them in a "linear" meditative practice will definitely be helpful.
I think it's interesting that you said my description of Sea is almost completely metaphor compared to the other two Realms. I went back and reread what I wrote to see what you meant, and it seemed to me like they were all pretty evenly balanced (though maybe all of them tending a bit more towards the metaphorical). I remember when I was trying to articulate what I meant in the original letter that it actually helped a lot to go back and forth between my descriptions of each of the Realms looking for patterns of meaning as I wrote them out. I think your point about keeping the material realities of the Realms in mind is really important (and even though I'm, sadly, landlocked where I'm living right now, my dreams very often involve landscapes dominated by the ocean and the shoreline!)… But I wonder if the drought you're experiencing in GA means you're even more sensitive to the material reality of Sea in particular! :)
Your question about the gestures for the Three Realms practice is actually something I've been playing around with for a while, and still trying to work out. The way I do it right now (and it's been a while since I read the DOTR version, so I forget if this is basically the same or modified a little bit) is this:
- Begin with my hands resting lightly, palms down, on my knees (I almost always do this practice sitting cross-legged so that I can physically touch the ground/floor wherever I am).
- After centering through breath meditation, I lower my left hand to touch the ground to my left (palm down and flat), drawing up "blue" energy of the Sea to circulate through my body.
- When ready, with my left hand still touching the ground, I raise my right hand up above my head to my right (palm up and open, fingers extended upwards), drawing down "yellow" energy of the Sky to circulate through my body.
- When ready, I bring both hands together into namaste/prayer position just in front of my solar plexus (blending blue and yellow energy into the "green" energy of the Land).
After the Three Realms working, I sometimes move into another prayer honoring what ADF calls (I think) the "three hallows" of Tree, Fire and Well, using a prayer I adapted (though I forget from what source) and gestures I made to go with it. Either way, I end up in the namaste/prayer position at the end, and afterwards, I lower my hands again to rest, this time palms facing upwards, on my knees for any trance or energy work I'm doing for the session. If I don't do the Three Hallows prayer with gestures, then the energy from the Three Realms working I can either kind of "expand" into a surrounding, misty sphere (and then release/dissipate after my meditation) or I can direct it to a particular purpose/object for blessing/consecration or such.
I hope that gives you some idea of how it goes. :) If I remember right, the version in the Aspirant Lessons calls for turning in a circle at one point, but I've found that in our tiny apartment doing ritual work standing up and turning different ways just isn't practical (though if I'm directing the energy into an object, I will sometimes use the circular motion around it). I've also noticed that using the gestures with the left and right hands during the Three Realms working, the result of holding the position for any length of time is that my left arm (drawing up Sea energy) starts to feel loose and cool from resting relaxed, while my right arm (drawing down Sky energy) begins to feel tense and warm from the effort of holding my hand aloft. When I bring them together, my left hand feels warm to my right hand, and my right hand feels cool to my left hand (because blood has been leaving the right, raised up, and pooling in the left), so it's like a visceral, palpable experience of the energies mixing and exchanging.
And once again, it seems I've written a lengthy letter without meaning to! I hope this has been helpful for you - I know it has for me. :)
A few last things: Jeff's and my wedding will be in North Carolina, on the Outer Banks, on September 16, which is a Friday. It would be lovely if folks in the Order wanted to do a working to bless our marriage, and we would be very grateful! :)
Also, congratulations on the position at Cherry Hill Seminary! I definitely know about CHS (my friend, Cat, was heavily involved in its founding and early years). Every once in a while, I dream about applying to attend - especially once they get accreditation - but I always seem to have too much to do and not enough money. ;) If they're bringing you on and trying to incorporate Druidry a bit more into the curriculum, that sounds like something I'll definitely have to keep my eye on. I saw that you posted on the DOTR network about the course you're developing, so I'll go check that out - sometimes I think "intro" courses are the hardest ones to do, so I'm really interested in seeing what you do with it. :)
All right, that's all I have for now. Hope this letter wasn't too long!
Blessings,
Ali
Thanks so much for your response - and so quickly! I know you've been busy with your own work. :)
It's very reassuring to know that my variation/approach to the Three Realms Working practice is not only acceptable but welcome, and your description of how it fits in with the overall DOTR philosophy is refreshing. As you probably know, I've been stung before by banging heads a bit about "how things are done" within a certain Ancient Order That Will Not Be Named… One of the things I appreciate most about DOTR is the openness and flexibility - but not just in a wishy-washy kind of way that says, "We're accepting of everyone as long as you stay at 'newbie' level." That's something I have run into in other Druid groups, and it's made me a bit gun-shy about sharing some of my more in-depth thoughts. I know I can get very intense about my work, and sometimes that intensity can come off as over-bearing! So it really is a relief to be reassured on that matter and not feel pressure from DOTR to keep my enthusiasm in check lest I wander off the Approved Path. ;)
The points you brought up in your letter have given me a lot to think about. Your first point, about each of the Three Realms being connectors or bridges, is definitely something that resonates with my experience/understanding of them. To me, the Three are incredibly dynamic, though each in its own way, and they also all lead outward to each other even as you follow them more deeply inward… if that makes sense. So I think you're right that this is a key to my understanding, and keeping that in mind when trying to work with them in a "linear" meditative practice will definitely be helpful.
I think it's interesting that you said my description of Sea is almost completely metaphor compared to the other two Realms. I went back and reread what I wrote to see what you meant, and it seemed to me like they were all pretty evenly balanced (though maybe all of them tending a bit more towards the metaphorical). I remember when I was trying to articulate what I meant in the original letter that it actually helped a lot to go back and forth between my descriptions of each of the Realms looking for patterns of meaning as I wrote them out. I think your point about keeping the material realities of the Realms in mind is really important (and even though I'm, sadly, landlocked where I'm living right now, my dreams very often involve landscapes dominated by the ocean and the shoreline!)… But I wonder if the drought you're experiencing in GA means you're even more sensitive to the material reality of Sea in particular! :)
Your question about the gestures for the Three Realms practice is actually something I've been playing around with for a while, and still trying to work out. The way I do it right now (and it's been a while since I read the DOTR version, so I forget if this is basically the same or modified a little bit) is this:
- Begin with my hands resting lightly, palms down, on my knees (I almost always do this practice sitting cross-legged so that I can physically touch the ground/floor wherever I am).
- After centering through breath meditation, I lower my left hand to touch the ground to my left (palm down and flat), drawing up "blue" energy of the Sea to circulate through my body.
- When ready, with my left hand still touching the ground, I raise my right hand up above my head to my right (palm up and open, fingers extended upwards), drawing down "yellow" energy of the Sky to circulate through my body.
- When ready, I bring both hands together into namaste/prayer position just in front of my solar plexus (blending blue and yellow energy into the "green" energy of the Land).
After the Three Realms working, I sometimes move into another prayer honoring what ADF calls (I think) the "three hallows" of Tree, Fire and Well, using a prayer I adapted (though I forget from what source) and gestures I made to go with it. Either way, I end up in the namaste/prayer position at the end, and afterwards, I lower my hands again to rest, this time palms facing upwards, on my knees for any trance or energy work I'm doing for the session. If I don't do the Three Hallows prayer with gestures, then the energy from the Three Realms working I can either kind of "expand" into a surrounding, misty sphere (and then release/dissipate after my meditation) or I can direct it to a particular purpose/object for blessing/consecration or such.
I hope that gives you some idea of how it goes. :) If I remember right, the version in the Aspirant Lessons calls for turning in a circle at one point, but I've found that in our tiny apartment doing ritual work standing up and turning different ways just isn't practical (though if I'm directing the energy into an object, I will sometimes use the circular motion around it). I've also noticed that using the gestures with the left and right hands during the Three Realms working, the result of holding the position for any length of time is that my left arm (drawing up Sea energy) starts to feel loose and cool from resting relaxed, while my right arm (drawing down Sky energy) begins to feel tense and warm from the effort of holding my hand aloft. When I bring them together, my left hand feels warm to my right hand, and my right hand feels cool to my left hand (because blood has been leaving the right, raised up, and pooling in the left), so it's like a visceral, palpable experience of the energies mixing and exchanging.
And once again, it seems I've written a lengthy letter without meaning to! I hope this has been helpful for you - I know it has for me. :)
A few last things: Jeff's and my wedding will be in North Carolina, on the Outer Banks, on September 16, which is a Friday. It would be lovely if folks in the Order wanted to do a working to bless our marriage, and we would be very grateful! :)
Also, congratulations on the position at Cherry Hill Seminary! I definitely know about CHS (my friend, Cat, was heavily involved in its founding and early years). Every once in a while, I dream about applying to attend - especially once they get accreditation - but I always seem to have too much to do and not enough money. ;) If they're bringing you on and trying to incorporate Druidry a bit more into the curriculum, that sounds like something I'll definitely have to keep my eye on. I saw that you posted on the DOTR network about the course you're developing, so I'll go check that out - sometimes I think "intro" courses are the hardest ones to do, so I'm really interested in seeing what you do with it. :)
All right, that's all I have for now. Hope this letter wasn't too long!
Blessings,
Ali
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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
End of Month Letter to Mentor
B--,
So I figured I should be a bit of a better Aspirant and actually send my mentor updates every once in a while, so I thought end-of-the-month wrap-ups might be good.
I'm currently working through Lesson 4: Air, and nearing the end. My approach to the next four lessons (for the four elements) is likely to be haphazard and jumbled because of my various personal studies and also scheduling. For instance, this month for Jeff's birthday we made a trip down to South Carolina to visit the Angel Oak and spend an afternoon at the beach — so I had an opportunity to do some fairly intense meditative work with the elements of Earth and Water (and, thanks to the sun, the heat and my Flamekeeping shift with the Brigidine Cill I belong to, Fire as well) in addition to my Air work. I'm also still working through my understanding of the Three Realms and the three Druidic elements/principles on my own and developing a more in-depth regular meditative practice around them.
That's something I actually wanted to ask you about. I'm finding, the more I work with the Three Realms meditation, the more I'm feeling a need to diverge from the current way it's laid out by DOTR. Connecting to the Land below and the Sky above, with Sea in the middle, isn't jiving for me. Though I understand the reasoning behind it, I find that I am much more drawn to placing the Sea below, with the Sky above, and the Land as the "bridge" connecting the two, symbolized especially by the Tree, the bilé or axis mundi, which reaches its roots down seeking water and reaches its branches up seeking air and light.
This layout resonates for me on a lot of levels. Mystically or mytho-poetically, the Sky and Sea are both realms of vastness, interconnection and blurred boundaries, realms in which the self can be "swept up" into an experience of union with something beyond and bigger — while the Land is the realm of matter and form and individuality, where the two realms of Sea and Sky, which are in many ways opposites, are brought into relationship which each other and made manifest in a concrete way unique to each being and place. While the Sea has symbolic associations with depths, memory, the past and the Underworld/Otherworld of the ancestors, the Sky has associations with heights, aspiration, the future and the celestial Heaven/Otherworld of the gods — while the Land is the concrete, experiential world of the present, with all the particular spirits of the land that dwell between Sea and Sky. There's even some echoes in psychology — the Sea of emotions and the Sky of the intellect both expressed through the physical body (Land), or the Sea as the unconscious or id and the Sky as the "higher" consciousness or superego being navigated and kept in balance by the mundane consciousness of the ego (Land). All of these examples are not exactly done justice by trying to fit them into a linear model of below, above and center... but generally, if that's roughly what you're going for, the Sea below and Sky above is making more sense to me.
In addition, the two gods I work with most closely and who I feel have "claimed" me to some extent are Brigid, particularly in her solar/stellar aspect, and Manannan, son of the sea, so that the Three Realms working with the Sea below and the Sky above also feels like a rightful way of acknowledging and inviting the blessings of my gods into my life (the Land or bridge that connects them, and through which I express their influence and energies in a concrete way for those around me).
So I was hoping for your feedback on this issue of changing the DOTR practice. I'm worried it'll put me out of sync with others in the Order, so I wanted to seek some clarification from you about just how central or essential it is to work with the Three Realms in the way specified in the Aspirant Lessons. I also would like to write up my version of the Three Realms working along with an explanation (in a more coherent form than this letter!) to share on the DOTR group blog eventually.
Other than that, here's a brief run-down of what else I've been doing over the last month:
- Astrology : I've been working through some texts on astrology and have started a process of in-depth, holistic analysis of my own natal chart (you can read the results so far here, here and here). I plan to continue that work in months to come, including picking up Arroyo's book on astrology and the four elements, as I think I mentioned to you already.
- Ogam : I read through Erynn Rowan Laurie's book on the ogam and plan to start working through the aicme again using flash cards to reacquaint myself with them (since it's been years since I tried working with them, and my experience with Tarot in the meantime has given me a lot more practice and grounding in the basics of divination). Erynn's writing about the three "currents" of ogam gave me a lot to think about in relation to the issue of the Three Realms.
- Work with Manannan : I've been doing some meditation and dream-work to cultivate my relationship with Manannan, which I talk about a little bit in my DOTR Aspirant blog. I've also been discussing ideas with a few others on a Pagan forum I visit who work with both Brigid and Manannan on developing some spiritual practices to understand the relationship between them.
- "Sapling" Work with Savanah : Jeff and I have continued to work with Savanah, Jeff's oldest daughter, on her year-long "Druidry for Teens" study course that we developed for her. This month, we were focusing on poetry, story and mythology as ways of connecting to our ancestors and the past (as well as preserving memory for the future), and exploring dreams and divination as ways of connecting to the gods and to our own subconscious mind through the use of symbolism and imagination.
- Justice, Nature and Identity : I've written about issues of justice and peacemaking on my personal website as well as over on Pagan+Politics, and I've been tangentially involved in the on-going debate about Pagan identity through my post on Pagan Coming Out Day and my essay on Religious Branding. I also wrote a piece on the importance of connecting to the natural world and the sacred land in this "Digital Age," and shared some of my nature photography on my website.
Wow! I'm kind of impressed at how much I got done this month! Needless to say, my wedding is coming up soon, so it's unlikely I'll have as much to report at the end of June. :)
I'd love to hear your feedback on this letter or any of the posts on my DOTR Aspirant blog.
Many blessings,
Ali
So I figured I should be a bit of a better Aspirant and actually send my mentor updates every once in a while, so I thought end-of-the-month wrap-ups might be good.
I'm currently working through Lesson 4: Air, and nearing the end. My approach to the next four lessons (for the four elements) is likely to be haphazard and jumbled because of my various personal studies and also scheduling. For instance, this month for Jeff's birthday we made a trip down to South Carolina to visit the Angel Oak and spend an afternoon at the beach — so I had an opportunity to do some fairly intense meditative work with the elements of Earth and Water (and, thanks to the sun, the heat and my Flamekeeping shift with the Brigidine Cill I belong to, Fire as well) in addition to my Air work. I'm also still working through my understanding of the Three Realms and the three Druidic elements/principles on my own and developing a more in-depth regular meditative practice around them.
That's something I actually wanted to ask you about. I'm finding, the more I work with the Three Realms meditation, the more I'm feeling a need to diverge from the current way it's laid out by DOTR. Connecting to the Land below and the Sky above, with Sea in the middle, isn't jiving for me. Though I understand the reasoning behind it, I find that I am much more drawn to placing the Sea below, with the Sky above, and the Land as the "bridge" connecting the two, symbolized especially by the Tree, the bilé or axis mundi, which reaches its roots down seeking water and reaches its branches up seeking air and light.
This layout resonates for me on a lot of levels. Mystically or mytho-poetically, the Sky and Sea are both realms of vastness, interconnection and blurred boundaries, realms in which the self can be "swept up" into an experience of union with something beyond and bigger — while the Land is the realm of matter and form and individuality, where the two realms of Sea and Sky, which are in many ways opposites, are brought into relationship which each other and made manifest in a concrete way unique to each being and place. While the Sea has symbolic associations with depths, memory, the past and the Underworld/Otherworld of the ancestors, the Sky has associations with heights, aspiration, the future and the celestial Heaven/Otherworld of the gods — while the Land is the concrete, experiential world of the present, with all the particular spirits of the land that dwell between Sea and Sky. There's even some echoes in psychology — the Sea of emotions and the Sky of the intellect both expressed through the physical body (Land), or the Sea as the unconscious or id and the Sky as the "higher" consciousness or superego being navigated and kept in balance by the mundane consciousness of the ego (Land). All of these examples are not exactly done justice by trying to fit them into a linear model of below, above and center... but generally, if that's roughly what you're going for, the Sea below and Sky above is making more sense to me.
In addition, the two gods I work with most closely and who I feel have "claimed" me to some extent are Brigid, particularly in her solar/stellar aspect, and Manannan, son of the sea, so that the Three Realms working with the Sea below and the Sky above also feels like a rightful way of acknowledging and inviting the blessings of my gods into my life (the Land or bridge that connects them, and through which I express their influence and energies in a concrete way for those around me).
So I was hoping for your feedback on this issue of changing the DOTR practice. I'm worried it'll put me out of sync with others in the Order, so I wanted to seek some clarification from you about just how central or essential it is to work with the Three Realms in the way specified in the Aspirant Lessons. I also would like to write up my version of the Three Realms working along with an explanation (in a more coherent form than this letter!) to share on the DOTR group blog eventually.
Other than that, here's a brief run-down of what else I've been doing over the last month:
- Astrology : I've been working through some texts on astrology and have started a process of in-depth, holistic analysis of my own natal chart (you can read the results so far here, here and here). I plan to continue that work in months to come, including picking up Arroyo's book on astrology and the four elements, as I think I mentioned to you already.
- Ogam : I read through Erynn Rowan Laurie's book on the ogam and plan to start working through the aicme again using flash cards to reacquaint myself with them (since it's been years since I tried working with them, and my experience with Tarot in the meantime has given me a lot more practice and grounding in the basics of divination). Erynn's writing about the three "currents" of ogam gave me a lot to think about in relation to the issue of the Three Realms.
- Work with Manannan : I've been doing some meditation and dream-work to cultivate my relationship with Manannan, which I talk about a little bit in my DOTR Aspirant blog. I've also been discussing ideas with a few others on a Pagan forum I visit who work with both Brigid and Manannan on developing some spiritual practices to understand the relationship between them.
- "Sapling" Work with Savanah : Jeff and I have continued to work with Savanah, Jeff's oldest daughter, on her year-long "Druidry for Teens" study course that we developed for her. This month, we were focusing on poetry, story and mythology as ways of connecting to our ancestors and the past (as well as preserving memory for the future), and exploring dreams and divination as ways of connecting to the gods and to our own subconscious mind through the use of symbolism and imagination.
- Justice, Nature and Identity : I've written about issues of justice and peacemaking on my personal website as well as over on Pagan+Politics, and I've been tangentially involved in the on-going debate about Pagan identity through my post on Pagan Coming Out Day and my essay on Religious Branding. I also wrote a piece on the importance of connecting to the natural world and the sacred land in this "Digital Age," and shared some of my nature photography on my website.
Wow! I'm kind of impressed at how much I got done this month! Needless to say, my wedding is coming up soon, so it's unlikely I'll have as much to report at the end of June. :)
I'd love to hear your feedback on this letter or any of the posts on my DOTR Aspirant blog.
Many blessings,
Ali
Friday, May 6, 2011
Hasty Letter to Mentor
Wow, B--! That sounds like an amazing moment! :)
I'm wondering if I'm experiencing a little energy boost as a result of my ties to the grove, because after a month or two of feeling "blocked" spiritually (or, more accurately, feeling so intensely engaged with practical life stuff, I haven't had time to do much more than meditate), the last day or two I've had a renewal of energy and focus. My flamekeeping shift for Brigid was just yesterday, and I actually spent part of that time going back over the DOTR lessons and looking at where I am and what's coming up next. So your message is well timed! ;)
Right now, I'm just about to start in on the lessons for the four elements, starting with Air. I'm in the process of studying, on my own time, the basics of astrology, as well as Erynn Rowan Laurie's take on the ogham. So I'm thinking of tying the four element work in to that exploration (since I have more than a passing familiarity with the four elements already, and this would provide a refresher as well as a more in-depth exploration). I'm beginning my study of astrology with Stephen Arroyo's handbook, but plan to move on to his well-known work "Astrology, Psychology and the Four Elements" where he explores the energies of the four elements and how they express themselves in the planets, houses and aspects in great depth. I'll probably read that over the course of the next few months, even if it doesn't precisely match up with the lessons as they're outlined.
My other concern right now is finding a grove to practice with in-person here in Pittsburgh. On Imbolc, I attended a rite hosted by the local ADF grove, which was a very good experience for me. Since then, I've been meaning to make it to some of their discussion groups and smaller blessing rites that they hold throughout the month, but my schedule has been full-to-bursting (and last Sunday's Beltaine ritual was rained out - so Jeff and I did a simple garden blessing ritual with the kids in the backyard instead.) Also, part of me feels like if I'm going to be regularly involved in their work, perhaps it makes sense for me to "officially" join ADF. But I'm hesitant to do that in part because I definitely part ways with them on some key theological issues, and in part because I'm not so inclined to go through yet another year-and-a-day introductory course!
Jeff and I continue to talk about forming a grove of our own more in keeping with DOTR's style, and eventually he will decide to commit to joining DOTR as well. He's just not a very big group joiner in general, and not very keen on ritual - a bit too much Zen in him - he likes to just chase whatever interests him at the moment. I definitely feel that some in-person, real-life commitment and ritual work would be beneficial for me at this point, though, so maybe I can work on him. ;)
So that pretty much sums it up. Sorry this response is a bit rushed. Hopefully I'll have time a bit later today to sit down and go over things a bit more carefully. For now, have to run!
--Ali
I'm wondering if I'm experiencing a little energy boost as a result of my ties to the grove, because after a month or two of feeling "blocked" spiritually (or, more accurately, feeling so intensely engaged with practical life stuff, I haven't had time to do much more than meditate), the last day or two I've had a renewal of energy and focus. My flamekeeping shift for Brigid was just yesterday, and I actually spent part of that time going back over the DOTR lessons and looking at where I am and what's coming up next. So your message is well timed! ;)
Right now, I'm just about to start in on the lessons for the four elements, starting with Air. I'm in the process of studying, on my own time, the basics of astrology, as well as Erynn Rowan Laurie's take on the ogham. So I'm thinking of tying the four element work in to that exploration (since I have more than a passing familiarity with the four elements already, and this would provide a refresher as well as a more in-depth exploration). I'm beginning my study of astrology with Stephen Arroyo's handbook, but plan to move on to his well-known work "Astrology, Psychology and the Four Elements" where he explores the energies of the four elements and how they express themselves in the planets, houses and aspects in great depth. I'll probably read that over the course of the next few months, even if it doesn't precisely match up with the lessons as they're outlined.
My other concern right now is finding a grove to practice with in-person here in Pittsburgh. On Imbolc, I attended a rite hosted by the local ADF grove, which was a very good experience for me. Since then, I've been meaning to make it to some of their discussion groups and smaller blessing rites that they hold throughout the month, but my schedule has been full-to-bursting (and last Sunday's Beltaine ritual was rained out - so Jeff and I did a simple garden blessing ritual with the kids in the backyard instead.) Also, part of me feels like if I'm going to be regularly involved in their work, perhaps it makes sense for me to "officially" join ADF. But I'm hesitant to do that in part because I definitely part ways with them on some key theological issues, and in part because I'm not so inclined to go through yet another year-and-a-day introductory course!
Jeff and I continue to talk about forming a grove of our own more in keeping with DOTR's style, and eventually he will decide to commit to joining DOTR as well. He's just not a very big group joiner in general, and not very keen on ritual - a bit too much Zen in him - he likes to just chase whatever interests him at the moment. I definitely feel that some in-person, real-life commitment and ritual work would be beneficial for me at this point, though, so maybe I can work on him. ;)
So that pretty much sums it up. Sorry this response is a bit rushed. Hopefully I'll have time a bit later today to sit down and go over things a bit more carefully. For now, have to run!
--Ali
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