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

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1. ADMIN NOTICE: Major Updates!!
2. Updates

If there are any features you’d like to see for the site (better profile or PM-ing), now is the time to make suggestions. I can’t make any promises though.

The forum program has switched from freeware to $80 US a year! So we may be switching to a new forum platform, but don’t worry, we won’t lose any content.

Related posts:

1. Updates
2. Update on the Updates

Related posts:

1. ADMIN NOTICE: Major Updates!!
2. Updates

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1. ADMIN NOTICE: Major Updates!!
2. Update on the Updates
3. Updating has Begun

Here we go.

I was concerned that there was nothing in the South. This turned out to be rather true. This past year really wasn’t about passion and fire. It was more practical, getting things done. Not much for adventures. I didn’t get any more worked up about anything than I normally do. I finished some projects, took on a few new things (like the tambourine) … but nothing really, REALLY, lit a fire under me. It was a “put your nose to the grind stone and try to be an adult” kind of year. Boy, I hope next year is a little more interesting.

Acorn and Clear Quartz rolled well away from the cloth and left me wondering why is masculine virility and clarity trying to run away from me? I can’t tell you why, but they have been. The bastards.

Jingle Bell and Tiger Eye indicated that creativity and education are leaving intellect and passion behind and heading out the door. This wasn’t the most creative year for me, not by a long shot. Much of my arts and craft supplies spent the year crammed in boxes in my sunroom, which leaks, isn’t heated and I have to brave passing through Bren’s study to enter.I barely wrote any poetry. However I did contribute to other writing projects and I have been learning the tambourine.

Education wise, I have started to go back to school, working towards earning a few certifications before I take the plunge and try my hand at University. BUT … the first certification I have earned, a course recently completed, was a totally no-brainer. A lot of this stuff is getting the credentials to go with the years of experience I already have. I felt like I could have completed the Pet First Aid course without even reading the material or viewing the videos, just challenged the exam. So education has begun but it did not challenge me creatively or intellectually. Right now that’s kind of what I need anyways, as I ease into the reality of working and going to school after being out of school for many years.

Turtle and Herbivore Tooth told me to stop and think before I speak and step outside of my emotions and the look upon things with dispassion. Slow down my passionate and emotional speech. Yeah, I’m still working on that. I imagine I always will. It also doesn’t help that I still haven’t figured out why people read more force and anger into my words than is there to begin with. I might muse and ponder on something and others read a rant. *shrug* I don’t get people and they don’t get me. I keep trying though, to my unending frustration. One of the reasons I joined No Unsacred Place was to help me improve my ability to write in a more balanced and less personal manner, we’ll see how it goes.

Ivy and Bloodstone fell in such a way that they looked like a Horned God symbol, sitting above the casting and watching the proceedings. Well, He has certainly been around this year, but somewhat more removed than usual, watching rather than interacting. I also contributed the Horned God Devotional this year, which was pretty major for me.

The Goddess charm was reversed and alone in the West … the story of my life. A deep emotional need to connect with other women and with female spirits and deities, yet feeling like I am just chasing carrots. Going nowhere fast. I have made some strong steps forward, working more and more with certain female entities, who aren’t completely ignoring me (one gave quite the answer to a call I made last fall, but I think it was more because the friend I was with had such a great need of Her at the time). I have also become more involved in female-centric activities in the local Pagan community, and they don’t hate me (yet). I have made some girlfriends out here too.

Sea Shell told me to pay more attention to the bodies of water here in and around Ottawa. This has proved to be good advice. I now lack a real mountain to connect with, but I have rivers, streams and a canal.

The two Coins in the set spoke of the lack of funds which shall be in my emotional future (big surprise there), but there should be enough to get by (and maybe a little more than that). This was bang-on.

Antique Ring and Black Stone with Silver Stripe were paired at the edge of south and west. Somehow I took this to mean this old city (Ottawa) and how I will grow to love it. I do love Ottawa, for many reasons. The people are amazing, the history is wonderful, the architecture, the landscape, the parks. I adore my neighbourhood. I still miss the West though.

Petrified Wood, Deer Fur and the Matches warned that working with animals has some emotional and real risk. This confused me at the time but has become more and more clear. I have finally realised and accepted my calling and started on the road to achieve it (see education). And damn, it’s scary and it’s hard. I might blog more about this another time.

The two groupings in the North had me thinking of not just my own usual practice of hedge and hearth witcheries but also of friends I am making and groups I am coming into contact with or am now a part of. This has been two steps forward, one step back kind of progress this year.

I have had some wonderful experiences and rituals with my Hedge group; I wish we could see more of each other! I try not to chafe at the whole “we are still getting to know each other” thing as I tend to be the dive-right-in sort of person, heart on sleeve, you know.

I have also bee adjusting to working in a city and small apartment. Some things have grown and others have been placed on the back burner.

Looking at the two groupings in the east, Brendan said to me that I will finish my book this year. Well, that didn’t happen. In fact I decided I might never write a book (one of these days I’ll blog about that). I did find other writing projects, or they found me, and the podcast continues.

So over all, the reading was pretty damned accurate. Not too shabby. Yay me for doing a good reading and yay for my spirits and collection set for being accurate in their predictions.

Related posts:

1. New Years Reading
2. Collection Casting: Birthday
3. New Addition 2