Bardic Circle

Repost: The Struggle

How can finding the right thing to say

Be so simple?

Words drip from their lips

Like flawless pearls

My mouth is full of marbles

*

The right thing to do

Seems as bright and clear as day

As they move gracefully

And with an inborn ease

While I stammer and stumble with each step

*

The right thing to wear and the perfect hair

Adorn their elegant bodies

Complimenting style and finesse

Eyebrows delicately raised in response

To my failed attempts at dignity

*

Did they have mothers

Who were just as refined?

Who taught them manners and propriety

Until it became as natural as breathing?

I cannot help but wonder

If only I had a mother capable of tact

Would I socialize with such

Utter nimbleness?

*

Intelligent conversation

Sails past my ears

Their words never take a wrong turn

As I struggle not to misspeak

To not interrupt or repeat

*

Mindless pleasantries surround me

I struggle to maintain a smile

Grateful that they deign

To tolerate my ineptness

At least for a little while

*

Then I take that inevitable misstep

Exposing my clumsiness

I cringe and shudder

As they cluck their tongues

Gossip behind my… Continue reading

An Excerpt: On the History of the Frame Drum

LINK: Layne Redmond

Sassy the Tambourine

So this is my tambourine. Her name is “Sassy”.

Isn’t she pretty? Let me tell you about her!

I bought her at a music store downtown for about $12. Yep, only $12. I know a lot of people spend good money on their drums but since I have never owned one before I thought it would be wise to start cheap. This way if I decide this was a bad idea, or if I break the thing (I’m clumsy) then I won’t be out of much money.

So this is my “starter drum” and that’s just fine with me.

She has about the circumference of a dinner plate, making her roughly medium sized as far as tambourines go. That seemed like a good size to start with, not too big, not too small. Sassy fits in my hand pretty well though I am finding that my hands get a little sore after a while, partly due to not being accustomed to holding something like a tambourine and partly because I tend to tense up and hold her too tightly.

She has 8 double zils or clackers. I was hoping for 9 because I like that number better but it seems… Continue reading

I Believe

I believe in you, people

Like a great wave

I am proud of you, people

Like an oak tree

Drawing up the ancestors

Like a well spring

Singing softly to old gods

Like smoke on the breeze

Bringing change upon the world

Like a great wave

Arms reaching to the rising sun

Like an oak tree

Quenching a mighty thirst

Like a well spring

Dancing to the drumming

Like smoke on the breeze

I believe in you, people

Like a great wave

I believe

Like a great wave

To Fly By Night

The book is out!

This is the anthology that I wrote and essay for; in fact it is the “What is a Hedgewitch” essay that helps to open the book! It is published by Pendraig in California, a small (but growing) Witchcraft Publisher. It is edited and compiled by Veronica Cummer and has such contributors as …

Raven Grimassi

Robin Artisson

Eric de Vries

Papa Toad Bone

… to name only a few.

Here is the little blurb:

Hedgewitch Craft takes its name from the practice of travelling beyond the boundaries, of going past the “hedgerows” that divide what is known from what is unknown. Hedgewitches utilize diverse techniques to undertake the night-flight into strange and sometimes dangerous places in order to gain spirit-allies, magickal abilities and knowledge, to heal and to commune with the Gods and the ancestors.”

From the ancient to the modern, from the philosophical and historical to the practical and mystical, these essays span a wide variety of paths and approaches.

My own copies are still on their way, that’s how new this book is, and I can’t wait!

Where can you buy this book? Check out Amazon; check out the Pendraig webpage for a… Continue reading

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To Fly By Night

To Fly By Night

Craft of the Hedgewitch

Hoofprints in the Wildwood

Hoofprints in the Wildwood

A Devotional for the Horned Lord