Walking the Hedge » Arts & Crafts

Checklist

Juniper — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:17:54 +0000

And so, it was the day before Solstice and all through the house, not a creature was stirring. Except for the cat, he was crying to be let in before the ice rain hit. Time to check in, lovelies! Things that I have done for Yuletide thus far:

The obligatory staff Xmas party, which involved pizza and virtual golf.

I have watched the sunset every night for the last week or more (helps that I work outdoors in the evenings)

Attended a couple of holiday parties.

Drank beer and whiskey.

Made and drank mulled wine.

Went on a walk in the woods at night with my room mate.

Attended the Yule ritual for my ritual group/coven/hedge, which was awesome and cozy and full of wonderful stories.

Ate half a sugar cookie (I am cutting down on sugar, especially the refined kind)

Worked a little on the prayer shawl, I am out of wool.

Bought the ingredients for homemade Irish cream.

The ancestors got a cigarette at the start of the holidays.

Introducing new & replacement pieces to the casting collection.

Bought the ingredients for “fixings” or “trimmings” (gravy, stuffing, you know)

Bought or made gifts.

Found a really neat lantern that casts the shadow of a stag, which will come in handy for longest night.

Decorated a tree.

Gave two toys to charity (teddy bears).

Sorted my BoS a little bit.

Wrote a beautiful article for NUP and then lost about 1/3 of it due to stupidity on my part. Currently re-writing.

Ordered some herbs and goodies to play with this winter (more on that later)

Decked the halls.

Made bread pudding.

Ate potluck.

Kicked over a half melted snow man in the park because I am evil and it’s fun.

Mailed a parcel.

Got a card in the mail.

To Answer Some Questions

Juniper — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:08:11 +0000

What are you up to?

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.

Camping

Juniper — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:05:01 +0000

Went to Whispering Pines with the girls.

Stayed in the big cabin.

Swam naked in the lake in October.

Played with clay.

Celebrated Autumn and the harvest and gave thanks.

Built a nice fire.

Played games.

Ate lots of food.

Said bon voyage to a friend. Crash was there too.

Now I have to … Zzzzzzzzz …

To Catch a Cat

Juniper — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 21:08:55 +0000

This is the afgan that I have been working on for ever. All it really needs is to be bordered, fringed and blocked. Blarney goes underneath it and “hides”

Dyeing for Midsummer

Juniper — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:50:58 +0000

I don’t have a lot of experience with spinning or dyeing yarn and such. But every now and then I get the chance to spend time with a friend who does. My stitching group headed out to a member’s homestead this weekend and we got to play with both natural and not-so natural dyes.

I brought some yarn I spun myself, one was organic merino wool and the other angora and lambs wool (which was terribly over spun out of fear of sucking at spinning).

I also brought the skein of the very first yarn I spun with my drop spindle, which is made of organic bamboo. I have been using the bamboo mostly for offerings, first of fruits and all that. I intended to dye it, packed it and brought it along and everything, but somehow it didn’t come out of the bag.

I also brought some roving (un-spun fibres) and a piece of cloth. The cloth is linen and it was cut into strips and then woven together, it’s very cool. I had originally bought it years ago for the purpose of building a Horned God effigy in my grove. It was going to be His shirt. But that was when I had a whole mountainside for such things. I don’t anymore! I was throwing around the idea of making a skirt out of it when Lis pointed out that I ought to make an altar cloth with it. She’s right of course, I bought it for ritual purposes and I should keep it as such.

I stuck with the natural dyes this time around and it was pretty awesome. We wildcrafted some of the herbs (Queen Anne’s Lace) ourselves and everything.

The linen looks like it was dragged through a field of daffodils … awesome. The roving didn’t felt and the homespun turned out pretty cool. Yay!

Other gals dyed all kinds of things, from scarves to a hat. Then we ate BBQ.

Bren isn’t crazy about me having projects about the house, taking up space and messing with his need for an ordered environment to write in. The soup cans used to help block my yarn fall out and hit the floor (loudly) now and then. He is not amused, but he hasn’t complained yet. I keep calling the hanging soup cans my death trap. *snicker*

The Consecration of the Cloth

Well can I say my rune,
Descending with the glen;
One rune,
Two runes,
Three runes,
Four runes,
Five runes,
Six runes.
Seven runes,
Seven and a half runes,
Seven and a half runes.

May the wearer of this clothing never be wounded,
May torn she never be;
What time she goes into battle or combat,
May the sanctuary shield of the gods be hers.
What time she goes in ritual or hedgecrossing,
May the sanctuary shield of the ancestors be hers.

(Repeat last stanza 7.5 times)

Adapted from the Carmina Gadelica

***

Juniper’s Drop Spindle Blessing

Bless, O Lady of Arts & Crafts

The drop spindle I bought for three dollars

And the angora roving that I have in hand

That came from the bunny that lives in the store

Bless the little hook

And the little piece of doweling

And the little weight that makes it spin

And the pointy tip at the bottom

Bless my clumsy hands and uncoordinated fingers

That I may learn to spin with out failing

And dropping the bloody thing all the time

Then wind up with a tangled mess

Bless my patience and perseverance

So that this does not become just another hobby

Picked up for a tine and forgotten

When something new and shiny comes along

Bless, O Lady of Arts & Crafts

My poorly spun and plied yarn

This tiny little skein of wool

That took fucking forever to make

So Mote it Be

To Answer a Question

Juniper — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:34:02 +0000

Perform bird-y funeral as best as you can. Blessings, smoke, offerings etc.

Receive permission from the animal’s spirit before you cut.

Cut at the joint. I used a combo of quality wire cutters and good scissors.

You will want to purchase mite/flea spray and use it.

Once dry from the mite spray, you will want to cut open the fleshy parts at the joint. Turn it onto it’s back and make a slit from behind. This makes the flesh dry quicker and better. You might have to do a little trimming

Make sure there is no rot or maggots!

Place in a tupperware in the position you want the wing to stay in.

Gently bury in a mixture of one part sea salt, one part baking soda and two parts borax (just straight cornmeal is also traditional but it takes longer). Have a bit of the mixture at the bottom as well. And place in a safe, dry not too bright or warm place.

Make appropriate offerings to the spirit of the bird while you wait. I like to pop open the container now and then so the air in there doesn’t get stagnate but that might just be my neurosis.

Check the flesh after a month, it must be totally dry and leathery. Might take two months!

Shake off powder and preen feathers.

Make more offerings. Meditate and discuss with bird spirit how to decorate or dress the wing fan.

Vola!

Check out Ms. Graveyard Dirt, she’s a motherfucking inspiration to us all! *grin*