5th Annual Brigid Poetry Festival

This meme has been circulating the Blogosphere for five years now - way before I even had a blog! However, I've decided I want in. Here is my offering to Brigid; although I don't work with the Goddess regularly, I know this time of year belongs to Her. Thanks to Reya and Anne Hill for this. Enjoy!

A Simple Rhyme for Brigid

The candles flicker, brightly round

Her head of lights, so gaily crowned,

To greet the year, we sing the sound,

As hand to hand we tread the ground.

As fire warms the heart and mind,

The growing year shall now unwind,

Good health and happiness we'll find,

Beneath every poem, Her name is signed.

So make the pledge, a bell to chime,

That seals the promise for all of time,

We seek connection, pure, sublime;

And honour Her, whose gift is Rhyme.

(Throw coin into the wishing well,

Whisper softly, speak the spell,

Give some milk and ring a bell.

Who knows what Fey around here dwell?)

This, too, is Goddess

Recently, T Thorn Coyle has been discussing the role of immanent Divinity in our world view. If we truly see God Herself as being immanent and transcendent, then all Things are part of Her. This includes inanimate (I use the term loosely, here, of course...) objects as well as living beings, and part of Thorn's discussion is how we are strongly influenced by the dominant monotheistic world-view that sees matter as unimportant at best, fallen at worst. We need to realise the sacredness inherent in every Thing. Part of my practice over the past few weeks has been to try and catch myself when I am doing something routine, such as cooking dinner or brushing my teeth, and saying to myself "This, too, is Goddess". This challenges me, and forces me out of habitual thinking.

Just today I was peeling potatoes for a scrummy gratin and I realised I was in autopilot (or was it trancing?) so I said to myself "this, too, is Goddess". Immediately, I realised my relationship to the potato in my hand had changed - it was transformed from an inanimate vegetable into a sacred Being that was born in the Earth, nourished by wind and rain, harvested by people. I felt the divinity of this small vegetable.

I have been researching I and Thou by Martin Buber, a Jewish philosopher that posited two forms of relationship: the relationship which we see existing between I and Object - distant, cold, unemotional, and the relationship between I and Thou - a sacred relationship that exists between I and God, which is ultimately All. If we can extend our concept of All to actually include all people and objects, we eventually see them as God and ourselves. Maybe this is what Victor was alluding to when he said "God is Self and Self is God and God is a person like myself".

A Feri Wheel of the Year

A few months ago I decided to write my own version of the Wheel of the Year based on the mythology (as I understand it) of the Feri deities. It is my intention to write a complete Feri ritual for each of the Sabbats and post them on here if anyone wants to use them or comment on them. Below is a brief summary of how I view the Wheel. I'll post my Candlemas rite on here soon.

Yule:

The Star Goddess has taken all within Herself, all the Gods have returned to Her womb, which is the Cauldron of Cerridwen, where She perfects Them and allows them to be reborn. She gives birth to two bright spirits, the Twins. The lemniscate Gods are reborn this night. Melek Taus is reborn from the Love of his Mother.

Candlemas:

The Twins have grown into youths, Dian y Glas and Nimue. They are playful and youthful – they represent the hope of the coming year. They set forth the intention for the year to walk the path of Mystery. Nimue brings her blessings from the well, and Dian Y Glas fills our Godsoul for the coming year.

Spring Equinox:

The Twins revel in the beauty of the Mother – Dian Y Glas and Nimue dance delight, which causes the flowers and bounty of nature to flourish. The Twins begin their courtship and they merge and flow. Their genders shift during the rite, they are male and male, female and female, male and female.

Beltane:

The Twins have matured into full adults. Krom and Mari are sexually mature and the Twins marry. The two candle flames become one and their light brings forth life. The Twins enact the sacred marriage, the Hieros Gamos and we reaffirm our intention to marry the Gods, or renew our marriage vows. The Fey are particularly afoot this night.

Midsummer:

At the height of their strength, the Twins begin to wane. Krom and his twin Twr, the Red Man and the Green One become lovers and make love to luxuriate in their beauty and strength. White Mari, the mother, stirs the magic well from which life can be reborn. The Gods take three drops to transform. The Holy Orgasm that created the Universe from God Herself is also remembered here, just as at Yule.

Lammas:

The Lord has waned, Krom has given himself as a willing sacrifice by the hand of Mari, who becomes Red Mari as she is stained with his blood. The Red Man becomes Black Krom as he is burned in effigy, transformed by fire, to renew the land. All feast to celebrate the life that is given to feed life.

Autumn equinox:

The Twins age further. They become wise ones. The Arddhu now begins his reign. He is the dread God of Death, He to whom all lost things go. He begins his journey to the Underworld, with a last celebration of life, to which we must bade farewell until Yule. Black Ana initiates the Arddhu and prepares him for the journey.

Samhain:

The Arddhu and Ana reign here. They know Death and the Mystery. They are wise. The Arddhu is tested by Ana in the Kingdom of Death and they teach us love and peace in the beyond. But they are also playful, and one must be wary of their tricks. They allow our Ancestors to commune with us easily on this night. They begin their journey back to the womb of the Star Goddess.

Romantic Intentions

What is an acceptable intention? If I have an intention for my life and/or my magic, I have to go through a series of checks to make sure it is a true Intention (capital I). I have to be sure that it is authentic and that all my parts are in agreement – I need to be clear that all of my souls and my body are on board for this Intention. My general process is using divination to explore the elemental implications of my intention. The five cards that I use explore how I feel about my intention through the five classical elements, which is very helpful.

I have been thinking about clarification of intention recently because I am conflicted about my romantic life. I am currently single but my intention is to find a kind, warm, intelligent and sexy partner to spend (at least part of) my life with. However, what are the motivations for this? Is it loneliness? Sexual frustration? Maybe even envy? I don’t know how to solve the paradox of wanting to be independent yet part of a couple. Society tells us that we must be part of a monogamous couple to find true happiness, yet people generally assert that to be independent is equally important. How do people do it?

In Feri, one of the core tenets is that we are not to submit our life force to anyone or any thing. This is true of a relationship too – I must make sure that I am coming from a place of stillness, of readiness and independence in my erotic and romantic encounters. This is difficult, but daily practice helps, especially sitting practice. When I sit, it comes from place of self-compassion and self-exploration. Sitting helps me to find out who I am and where I am going, to paraphrase Cora Anderson.

Another part of this situation is trying to purify myself from Disney-fied expectations (I could dedicate an entire series of Kala rites to this intention alone…). As Witches, we have the power to bring things into our lives, including love. However, the accepted wisdom says that the right person will simply ‘turn up’. Do we then not to magic for fear of conjuring up the wrong person into our lives? How about using a list of qualities that are essential in a mate? Or asking the Multiverse to provide the correct person, whoever that may be? Questions, questions…

…is there an answer?