This one got shelved for a while for various reasons including stupid ones like “What would the cute boy think?” and “I don’t feel like dealing with ignorant blog comments right now” … but you know what? Whatever, fuck. People can accept me or piss off. Then I saw a fellow blogger whom I respect catching hell for posting things along these lines and I felt the need to stand in solidarity.

If you don’t know about my casting collection, you might want to read about it a bit first.

Also, squeamish idiots should not be reading this. If you are easily offended, don’t like pain or bodily fluids, or don’t want to picture me messy and naked, go fuck off now.

*

Back at harvest time I brought a bottle of English bitter (along with a few other things) to a small potluck feast of the Pagan variety (I am Pagan for the potlucks). I wound up giving that bottle as an offering and pocketed the bottle cap. When I looked at it later I saw that it has a crow (or a raven) with a key in a doorway on it.

This was on a weekend that I spent with some wonderful ladies roughing it *wink* in a run-down cabin. It was a bottle I had brought as an offering and it wasn’t cheap beer. I put the bottle cap in the bag of bits. Offerings, sacrifice, acts/terms of service, the actual work.

Then the little mortar and pestle disappeared from the bag. It was accounted for while I was putting the set away and the next time I opened to bag it was gone. I’m 99.99% sure of this. I’m not crazy, really. I was sad because this was a newer piece, one that I picked out of some of my favourite charms. But it was a piece that I picked out of a bunch of stuff that I already had, rather than a piece that found me or that I really searched for.

While unpacking a box of kitchen items and knick knacks I came across a small, red, glass marble. The second I pulled it out of the box and saw it I thought of a brilliant and perfect sphere of blood. This thought came with a kind of physical reaction (somewhat like shivers down the spine but not quite) that I’ve learned to pay attention to.

The marble comes from one a little fairy-witch figurine, it’s supposed to be her blood-red crystal ball, or some such. Or possibly the diminutive little witch-fairy collects drops of blood, like a sugar plum fairy gone mad? It has wound up replacing the mortar and pestle charm for symbolizing health and healing … and now also blood apparently.

To keep the marble from rolling away the way marbles do, I dripped some beeswax from a candle on one side. It’s pale and looks like, well it adds to the gore factor. Makes me think of a scab that been partially washed away or white blood cells or something.

So, as a commenter pointed out on another post, the new healing piece is more about the actual body itself, rather than treatment. We will see how that goes.

The black stone with the silver stripe was lost to tall grass during Lughnasadh. I intended to replace it with a small silver nugget bead. Mmmmmm, real silver. When I opened the packaging it came in, a piece was dropped (I’m clumsy) and that one went into the set. Gifts, treasure, the silver lining, and the things we wish/hope for.

I got a few in the order and one came out wonky. It had to go in, my roommate Grey called it: unexpected gifts/treasures, things you didn’t know you needed/wanted, the diamond in the rough, that sort of thing.

The Silver Twins. Being a Gemini, I am tickled pink.

So the old pieces found their way out and the new pieces found their way in. I still continued to work with the set as this happened. It’s a natural process. Pieces come and go, often around the same time. Once we were closing in on the solstice season, I decided it was time for a break. Starting after Samhain I gradually worked the set less and less, whilst gradually increasing goodies. It’s hard to call the gifts/goodies I give the set offerings. It’s more like giving your pet hedgehog an extra meal worm. That probably sounds terrible.

For the last little bit, it enjoyed being spread out in the craft room, on the old metal TV tray, a nice silk scarf for an “altar cloth”. The collection got incense and mulled wine and sugar cookies and all kind of goodies. Including some diviner’s smoke, which I do intent to write a good review of.

As the solstice came and the moon waned, it was time to get the set back in action. I decided that I wasn’t going to be prissy about it. I waited until my moontime had started.

So, in the depth of the winter night time, I set to work. My roommate Grey cuddled up and sleeping in her room down the hall. Crash-the-dog choose not to join me, but laid out in the hallway instead.

I lit candles and got the incense coal burning. A towel was laid out on the floor for me to sit on, the collection in its bag, the casting cloth beside it. Also there was a bowl of warm water with sea salt and a soft cloth beside it. I placed offerings upon my shrines and called to my spirits to bear witness. I stripped down and sat naked upon the dark brown towel.

With great care I filled by little stone pipe with diviner’s smoke, which I had purchased from Sarah’s botanica with money earned by doing a reading with my collection. (When I told my roommate Grey that I had ordered some diviner’s smoke from Stang and Cauldron she gleefully accused me of trying to reverse engineer Sarah’s secret sauce, which isn’t entirely true.) I slowly filled my lungs and gave up smoke and energy to my spirits, each in turn.

I blessed the casting cloth with smoke, incense and a nice mulled wine. Then I gave smoke to the collection itself, filling my lungs and then gently blowing smoke into the bag. I watched the smoke rise up out of the collection’s bag and knocked on the floor three times.

Quietly and with great care, I stated my purpose and then knelt upon the towel. From the bag I pulled out, at random, the first piece. I greeted it with a kiss and spoke its story. How I found it, how it came to be in the set, what lessons I had learned from it. What it speaks of, what its meaning is when I perform readings or use it for spellwork. Gently I reached into my body and then marked the piece with my womb’s blood. I named the piece and held it, and celebrated its renewal. I feed it some of the stout to bring it strength. Then using the sea water and the soft cloth, I bathed it. Like the new born puppies and other animals whom I have helped bring into this world. Then I laid it out on the casting cloth.

I did this with each piece in turn.

I was about a third of the way through when I realized what I was doing. I might have said something along the lines of “Aw, shit”

That’s when the cramps hit like a taloned fist. I nearly doubled over from the pain. My moons blood no longer a sluggish brown smear, but suddenly coming in great dark clots.

Hullo, my name is Juniper and I am an idiot who doesn’t always fully think things through to their final conclusion, even when they are glaringly obvious.

With a resigned sigh, I continued to give (re)birth to a small collection of random objects and the spirit/thought-form/instrument that resides within. Which includes such glorious and impressive pieces as a bottle cap and three matches tied together with string.

In front of silent and unseen witnesses.

By candlelight.

My dog lying out in the hallway, her nose at the crack between door and floor.

Sorry for the visuals, guys. If it makes it any easier, I look good naked.

Sometimes, I find myself thinking just how crazy this all is. How absolutely nuts practising witchcraft can be. How ridiculous I must seem to outsiders. When this feeling comes to me, all I can do is shrug, grin like a lunatic, and carry on.

It felt like it took forever. There are more than 30 pieces in the set and each took at least ten minutes to be cared for properly. No rushing allowed. No shortcuts. Sweat poured down my shaking and aching body as I laboured over a bizarre collection of random objects that act as a universal translator between myself and my spirit (among other things).

Finally it was done. The room was filled with smoke and stench and the thick, weighty feel of the unseen. I thanked the spirits and put away my implements, leaving the set out on the cloth to soak up some moonlight and sunrise. A long shower later and I crawled into bed shortly before the sun rose.

The next morning, I lifted my little “babies” and tucked them back into their bag.

Stay tuned for updates of how damned well the set has been working for me since Yule. There is one reading posted on the blog from since then, if you are interested.

Related posts:

1. Dem Bones and Bits and Sticks and Stones
2. New Addition 2
3. Path Reading for a Client

Related posts:

1. Wordless Wednesday: Catching Up
2. Wordless Wednesday: Boxes (and Bren reads Tolkien to the cat)
3. Wordless Wednesday

Related posts:

1. My Life in Photos Part One
2. The Mandatory Altar Photos
3. Musings About Life and the Land

Poor image quality is due to poor camera quality

The Question:

What path do I take and where to from here? I have a fear that I am only paying attention and seeing what I want to see, not the message that is truly there.

Off the Cloth:
* Acorn (male, men, god) took off running and skittered away and into me.
* Amethyst (spirituality, religion), Tiger eye (intellect, air), Blood Drop (It’s a red marble with wax on one side to replace the min mortar and pestle that was lost, it’s for health and healing) and Sea Shell (emotions, water) all formed a line off the cloth.
* Petrified Wood (foundations, solid, old) and Clear Quartz (clarity, understanding) hovered just off and above the cloth.

First Impressions:
* Rabbit Bone (clergy, teacher, leadership) in isolated from the group at the edge of the cloth, facing away.
* Red Stone (fire, passion) sits at the edge as well, being blocked by the pairing of Juniper Block (blockage, obstacles, protection) and Strawberry Quartz (love, romance, sex).
* The centre is taken up by Juniper Stick (what is at the heart/centre), Misshapen Silver Nugget (unexpected treasures, the diamond in the rough), Turtle (pace, speed) and Blackthorn (witchcraft, magick)
* Antique Ring (tradition, heritage) is wrapped around Ivy (that which surrounds)
* Many pieces are interacting with Sharp Tooth (a predator’s tooth, attack, hunting, harm, negative communication) and Grinding Tooth (a prey animal’s tooth, positive or constructive communication, learning, sharing)
* The Key (unlocking, opening doors) is interacting with Rowan (World Tree, hedgecrossing) and Foot Bone (journey, path)
* Bottle Cap (which has a raven holding a key in a doorway on it, acts of service, sacrifice, practice) is covering (the very green) Bloodstone (the Land, earth)
* Vintage Jack (an old school toy; childhood, kids, the inner child) is at the edge of the group, heading away.

The Reading:
There is no need to commit to one Path or Tradition right now. You don’t have to dedicate yourself to anything or anyone. That day will come, but it is not coming soon. Take your time. Explore, find treasures and shiny things.

If you must DO something then you should serve the Land. Work on your connection with the energies and spirits of Nature and the Earth and rocks and trees and wild things. Learn about the landscape around you and build a relationship with it.

If you must study something, then study hedgecrossing, shamanism, the many worlds, cosmology, and the World Tree (etc). This will be key to your future success. Become knowledgeable now, before you delve too deep into practice.

That which surrounds the matter is tradition, heritage and history. Areas for you to study and practice: Traditional Witchcraft, Paganism within your heritage, Reconstructionist stuff. Look to the old ways. Become passionate about history, folk traditions and anything old time-y.

Inspiration and Mystery comes when positive (and new) communication (and thinking) surpasses or bypasses negative talk (and anxiety, doubt) and winds up where the hearth fire is. Take a look at home-based Crafting and crafting. Homemade things, arts and crafts, fixing up the house. Create stuff!

Whatever your living conditions are, try to make them a little more magickal, a little more spiritual. It might be an idea to take a class or find someone who you can share (and talk) about these subjects with. A cooking buddy, paint the house with your Mom, plant a garden with a friend? While you are being advised to not Circle with anyone, you still can talk, share and do other more domestic and practical things with others. You might even get inspired!

The spirits are also tied into your need to communicate, create and share in more positive ways. Perhaps you need to hand make more goodies for local land spirits. If you ever feel you can’t talk to anyone, you can always try a tree, or a river or the unseen spirits in a field.

That all being said, there is a danger in putting too much of your resources into guilty pleasures. Music, dancing, socializing, entertainment. It’s easy to get distracted, to wind up watching TV or listening to music or hanging out instead of practising. All good things in moderation. Keep a balance between life and the Craft.

Beware of becoming blinded by love, lust or romance; a pretty face or a charming personality. This could wind up cutting you off from your spiritual journey and your practice of the Craft. You need to be solitary right now, at least for the most part. Keep some distance between your relationships and your practice. Now is the time for inner work and introspection, not for Circling with groups or an overwhelming personality.

There may be a fear of what other people think of you and say about you. Someone may be a gossip or verbally abusive to you. This may especially relate to your relationship with a woman or women close to you, such as your mother or your female friends. Allowing other women’s opinions and words to hurt you is detrimental not only for your self esteem but for any relationship you may wish to build with the feminine divine.

You need to make serious changes in how you communicate with others and with yourself. If you tend to beat yourself up, it HAS to stop. Learn new scripts. You don’t need anyone’s approval but your own. Seek to validation from within. Own any problems you may have with communicating, do you come on too strong or are you afraid to speak up, are you critical of others? Whatever it may be, you need to examine this.

You are NOT on a healing Path right now. The only person you need to work on is yourself. Learn Thyself, Heal Thyself, Know Thyself.

You are being discouraged from working with male deity and being told to “keep away from boys”  lol  sorry!

It is unlikely that you will be getting a teacher any time soon, if you are looking for one. Also, there is no need to enter into teaching, clergy and leaderships roles just yet.

Childhood and childish things have packed up and are leaving. Things will get sorted out, keep plugging away.

Practice your grounding. Ground and centre!

Find solace and strength in your connection with the land and the things that you build/make/create.

Serving the Land will be good for you emotionally and physically. MOAR exercise, go outside and play! This will also be an important factor in the building of that spiritual foundation and in leaving childhood behind in a healthy way.

At the Very Heart of the Matter:
Unexpected treasures can come through the practice of Witchcraft. The spirits caution you to keep a slow but steady pace. Neither rush into things, nor procrastinate. The treasures or prizes that you seek may not be the ones you find. Though you will find Witchcraft rewarding, it may not be in a way that you expect. Keep an eye open for small prizes and hidden treasures along the way. Smell the roses, pocket a few pebbles, and then move on.

Your Path is marked by a “bread crumb trail” but the pieces are very small, quiet, and subtle. Do not expect anything big, shocking, or life changing to occur in the next little while. The big mysteries may come, but not yet.

Your Focus and Goals:
* Serve the Land.
* Rid yourself of negative people, bullies and gossips. If they say horrible things to you or about you, they are not your friends.
* Learn to be kinder to yourself.
* Use more positive and encouraging thinking and communication styles.
* Embrace your own passions, not other people’s interests.
* You are in no position to heal or fix or save anyone but yourself.
* Don’t be distracted by other people or by hedonistic pursuits.
* Traditions and history surround everything, mind your ancestors.
* Incorporate your practice into everyday things, the hearth, the home, little projects, and hobbies.
* Study shamanic and spirit working practices. Learn your theory before you leap.
* Focus on your self; don’t practice with others for a little while.

Over all Message:
The start of any journey if fraught with doubt and distractions, concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Watch the ground beneath your feet; don’t worry too much about what might be down the road and around the bend. You don’t need to name the Path you are on yet, get to know it and yourself better first.
Right now you are still laying the foundation of your spirituality and your practice. Take your time, build it strong. Build it well.

Client Feedback:
Not only was my question answered but also it has given me the direction I so desparately needed.  Accuracy is certainly an understatement.
It answered so many questions I didn’t even know I needed to ask.
When I first read the reading, I sat and cried for a bit. Just not only the overwhelming sense of, not relief, but that kind of almost elated feeling that it wasn’t all in my head. That I am starting to walk the right path.
It stirred a feeling something akin to a comforting hug given when it is needed most and a slap in the back of the head, wrenching me from a lovely daydream.
I had to laugh at the of the masculine element, it certainly almost mirrors what men are doing right now. It was very funny.

Related posts:

1. New Years Reading
2. Review: Last Year’s Birthday Reading
3. The Phony Reading

I have a back log of writing due to computer issues, but I hope to get all caught up over the next week.

Any how, this one is supposed to be quick which is why I am boring you with it now.

Last night I tried something a little different. I sat on a High Seat and did a casting. Holy Shit!

This is a public service announcement!

My question: I asked my spirits what they wished for my blog readers (and friends and podcast listeners and etc) to know?

The answer:

Poor self esteem, self doubt and lack of self worth is like walking around on a broken leg.

The approval and acceptance of others does not heal a broken leg. It only acts as a crutch. Yes, it’s easier to get around on a broken leg with a crutch, but the leg is still broken.

Tearing down other people may stop the pain of the broken leg, but it will never heal the fracture.

Comparing yourself to others, and finding yourself lacking, only breaks the leg further, slowing or stopping the healing process. Comparing yourself to others, and finding them to be lacking, is like taking a baseball bat to their legs. Get your nose out of other people’s Crafting.

Only your own accomplishments and self satisfaction can heal the broken leg. Remove doubt, make a commitment and achieve something.

Stop waiting for other people to approve your desires and goals. Do it anyways.

This year find ways to say “I did that!”, “This is my choice for myself” and “I made this!” as often as possible. Care naught if others give you the kudos that you think you deserve; learn to walk on your own legs. Walk for yourself. Go places, new places, hard places, scary places. Be brave for yourself. Earn something the hard way.

Heal the leg.

Happy New Year gang!

Related posts:

1. To Fly By Night
2. Horned God Devotional
3. Look! A Press Release!

Getting ready for Yuletide; I found tree ornaments that look like fly amanita mushrooms! Writing, working, unpacking, playing Skyrim.

Is the podcast going to keep going?

Yes. Bren put up an episode recently and we hope to get back into the swing of things with the new year.

I am interested in casting objects and divination as spirit communication. Can you recommend some books?

I recommend that you look for books on the divination and spirit communication systems that appeal to you.

My main sources of inspiration were the FUTHARK and the Ogham. There are people who cast personal sets. I come across them from time to time, usually online. Not always though. I lead a workshop on it for Fest one year and a lady showed up with her casting cloth based on Hoodoo concepts.

I’m really rusty in some areas, tarot seems so long ago. I moved on from tarot (because it just wasn’t a good fit) in my early twenties, so about 7 or 8 years ago? I am amazed at what I have forgotten. It’s weird. Or not, since I never really clicked with it. It’s silly but somehow all the imagery, connections and correspondences didn’t make sense coming from a beautifully painted card.

I look at a sea shell and I see much more *shrug* Maybe it because the sea shell is much more tactile?

Any how, here a couple of books:

Wyrdwalkers: Techniques of Northern-Tradition Shamanism by Raven Kaldera

Taking Up the Runes: A Complete Guide to Using Runes In Spells, Rituals, Divination, And Magic by Diana L. Paxson

The Way of the Oracle: Recovering the Practices of the Past to Find Answers for Today by Diana L Paxson

Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic: Ecstasy and Neo-Shamanism in North European Paganism by Jenny Blain

Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic Edred Thorsson

I would also suggest you get a book or two on the Ogham and possibly other divination methods that interest you. You might want to have a look at some of the books listed in the answer below as well.

What books should I read?

As well as the books listed to answer the previous question? Mostly it would depend on what you have read before. Plus some books on whatever particular subjects are interest to you. And probably a bunch of stuff that I forgot to mention.

In no particular order:

Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations from the Gaelic by Alexander Carmichael

The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W. Y. Evans Wentz

Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy by Mircea Eliade, Willard R. Trask and Wendy Doniger

Galdrabok: An Icelandic Grimoire by Stephen E. Flowers

Understanding the Galdrabok by Greg Crowfoot

The White Goddess by Robert Graves

The Sea Priestess & The Goat Foot God by Dion Fortune

Trance-Portation: Learning to Navigate the Inner World by Diana L Paxson

Shamanism: A Reader by Graham Harvey

The Book of English Magic by Philip Carr-Gomm and Richard Heygate

Plant Spirit Shamanism: Traditional Techniques for Healing the Soul by Ross Heaven, Howard G. Charing and Pablo Amaringo

Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic by Emma Wilby

The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy by Ronald Hutton

Shamans: Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination by Ronald Hutton

Herbs of the Northern Shaman: A Guide to Mind-Altering Plants of the Northern Hemisphere by Steve Andrews

Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants by Claudia Müller-Ebeling, Christian Rätsch and Wolf-Dieter Storl Ph.D.

The Way of Wyrd by Brian Bates

To Fly By Night: Craft of the Hedgewitch edited by Veronica Cummer

The Roebuck in the Thicket: An Anthology of the Robert Cochrane Witchcraft Tradition by Evan John Jones, Robert Cochrane and Michael Howard

The Myth of Eternal Return by Mircea Eliade

Hoodoo, Herb and Root Magic by Cat Yronwode

The Well And The Tree World And Time In Early Germanic Culture By Paul C Bauschatz

Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath by Carlo Ginzburg

Singing With Blackbirds: The Survival of Primal Celtic Shamanism in Later Folk-Traditions by Stuart A. Harris Logan

Do you own a lot of books? I mean a lot? How do you read all of them?

Yes and no. I have a large portion of my books in storage out west still, as books are heavy and hard to move. If everything was together (especially me fiction, which at this point I think Mom has absorbed into her own collection, sigh) my book collection would be large-ish but by no means massive.

No, I have not read every book from cover to cover. Many to most of my books are reference books, like encyclopaedias. You might skim and browse to know where to find what, but you don’t generally read the whole thing in one sitting.

I’m sure there would be some that I read only partway and put down. This is why you own books, so that you can take you time. I own that book; I can take as long to read it as I please.

Having or reading a lot of books doesn’t mean much. Maybe I barely understand what I’m reading. Maybe I’m human and can’t possibly know everything in a book with one reading *grin*

What’s going on with the prayer shawl, we haven’t heard about it in a while?

It keeps growing. I want it to be fairly large and long and deep hooded. So, it’s going to take a while to crochet. I try not to work on it just randomly but primarily during meditation or prayer etc.

A major part of my spirituality is devotional practice and a major part of my craft is spirit work. A big part of both is ecstasy. Therefore, I spend a lot of time holding vigil. Crochet is something I can do with my hand whilst I hold vigil.

Related posts:

1. The Course of My Studies Part Two
2. The Course of My Studies Part One
3. To Answer a Question