Over the next wee while, I’m going to be posting articles on a few ‘series’…

The first series I wanted to talk about was a set of articles for:

This series will firstly look into my concept of deity. Then go on to look at Cernunnos’ lore & myth and how I work with him. I will be talking about the correspondences I attribute to him, what areas I feel his presence stronger, and how he found me, how our relationship works and how I worship & honour him. I’ll be sharing the ‘bones’ of ritual (as a lot of my work with Cernunnos is kept secret),original poetry, chants and the like. This series will also feature an outstanding article from a guest blogger – Mr Rick Derks of Two Torches & Seven Tines, a fellow Cernunnos devotee, and Witch! And I’ll be talking a little about his Cernunnos Devotional that is in the works as we speak (type & read)

The second series I am working on right now is:

Basically ‘what is says on the can’! This is going to be a series of articles on how a Witch traverses to other worlds, communes with the Gods, spirits, their Ancestors, etc. This series will go into detail about Trance and how to induce it in a number of ways, Gatekeepers, Chthonic deities & Psychopomps, Necromancy & Ancestor worship/veneration in Witchcraft. I’ll be writing articles on times of the year when the veil between these worlds are at their thinnest, and how a Witch can best utilize these times. I’ll also be looking into places where access to the other worlds are easier, and places that I personally use and have experience with; Crossroads, The power of the Wetlands – Fen, Bog & Marsh, Wells, Burial Mounds, Cemeteries. How certain trees like the Hawthorn can act as gates to places unseen. And of course we’ll be discussing the use of the Witches Flying Salves and other entheogens. And other tricks and treats…

And the third and final series I’ll be working on is:

I’ll be writing about the differences in my personal practice since moving from England to the States. How I adapt my ‘land based’ working to a entirely different land altogether. A set of deeply personal articles on how I sometimes feel like I’m starting from scratch, forging new relationships with the spirits, and powers of a land I am not native to. My trials and tribulations with finding new locations to work my Witchery, finding new areas to Wildcraft, and how it feels to not work your personal witchery in places you have been used to for years. This section will also have snippets from my personal Grimoires and I’ll be sharing wee charms, workings, etc with you all…

I hope you’ll all find these articles insightful…

Bealtuinn has always an extremely hectic time for me… Every year no matter how calm April seems, there is as storm brewing, and as soon as May hits – KABOOM!

Bealtuinn is a time of change… Most of my major moves (apart from moving from the UK to the States which was in Feb) have been within the season of Bealtuinn. I moved to Glasgow from London in Bealtuinn, then the following year I moved back to London, and then back to Glasgow once again for the last time, before Bealtuinn was up. We moved into our first proper family home this year within Bealtuinn. The first time I saw Connor was during Bealtuinn, I cried when that big head of his came into view on the monitor. The first time Cernunnos made himself known to me was within Bealtuinn, which was very unexpected, especially since Bealtuinn was never celebrated in Gaul….

For the rest of this post - Traverse the Crooked & Hidden Ways...

 

Bealtuinn is the mirror of Samhuinn… Where Samhuinn marks the end of Summer and the ‘Black Months’, Bealtuinn and the Feast of Bright Fires heralds it’s coming – the beginning of the ‘Bright Months’ of the year..

A time of light, gaiety and new life… Of revelry, carousing and sexual activity, when the veil between the worlds is thin, and the Underworld and Otherworld denizens come to cavort… The dead and Faerie are unusually active, and the future may be as easily read by the taking of omens, as it can be at Samhuinn…

Feast of Bright Fires indeed...

I’ve always had an issue with the 8-fold festival schedule now actively celebrated, I feel much more at home with a 4-festival-year, with observances on the Solstices… I don’t get much out of the equinoxes at all, as I’m not at all hyped about the whole ‘duality’ thing; I guess I’ll get a few scowls and huffs when I say that I’ve never brought into the duality of the God and Goddess…

But Samhuinn and Bealtuinn on the other hand, I celebrate both for a whole 14 days each, so you could say I’m into them quite a bit… I feel the veil is thin for a week or so either side of the ‘actual’ feast, which I hold on the 7th of the month, a mini ‘season’ if you will…

I must say I really miss celebrating the cross-quarter days with the Beltane Fire Society… Much sadness!

So on Thursday evening I’ll be meeting with a bunch of Pagans in the park, for a potluck picnic for my moot’s gathering! We haven’t met for a while, and the weather is meant to be lovely!

Then on Friday, I’ll be setting the alarm and leaving The Sprogling in bed with The Wolf, and running out to perform my Bealtuinn ritual, I’ve found a lovely wee spot on the banks of the Scioto river…

Then just before Bealtuinn is over, we’ll be moving into our new home…

We have booked the movers for Thursday the 13th, so on Wednesday evening after we’ve collected the keys I’ll be armed, and ready to get cleansing and blessing… There’s an old tradition of baking bread in a old home and taking it to the new, to be eaten with the first meal (I’ll be using it in my first housle in my new home)… I’d love to find the time to bake some bread before then, but lets face it, I think I might end up running to the bakery!

Or I might just bake a Bealtuinn Cake… Very fitting don’t you think?

Over the course of a lifetime a person will probably build relationships with a more than one Patron, as a patronage doesn’t have to be for life. Relationships ebb & flow, and change over the years as circumstances change, you grow, delve deeper and travel further along your personal path…

Bacchus and Mount Vesuvius

Your patron, which could be a deity, a spirit or an ancestor, can lead and guide you through various initiations, support you over hurdles, then step back in order for you to move on… Another patron may at this point make themselves known…

Not everyone will build a relationship with specific deities, and that is their personal preference…

I on the other hand prefer to build a relationship with the deities I worship. I mean, would you go to a family member you haven’t spoken to in years, or haven’t actually met, and ask a favour of them? Or would you rather go to your best friend who you eat and drink with regularly, and hang out with daily (or at least weekly) and have been exchanging gifts back and forth for some time?

The question I get asked all the time is – “Why would a deity want to be someone’s Patron?”…

There are many reason and each very personal… But one of the reasons I believe is that offerings to the Gods are like food… It gives Them power… Of course they don’t need our offerings to exist, but They benefit from them, and in return we benefit! You see, if I need something, it is best to go to my patron… “A gift for a gift”… It’s that kind of relationship we have going down…

And then people ask me how you go about finding your Patron deity or deities… And well, it’s not an easy answer, but in brief – You don’t! They chose you… How you can build up the relationship with your patron is a story for another day…

Having a patron deity relationship is a very beautiful thing & extremely rewarding; but I tell you, it can be very complicated… And at times frustrating… And possibly upsetting… Especially when you have to sever relationships with deities you’ve built strong, loving relationships with…

Caravaggio's Bacchus

Someone asked me this week why I had ‘Bacchus’ tattooed on my chest, if I am oathed and dedicated to Cernunnos… My first response to this was to tell them to mind their own business, but it’s a valid question! A very personal, but valid question…

Basically – I had a 5 year fling with Bacchus, filled with drunken debauchery, rock ‘n’ roll and smokey jazz lounges… He was there for me through a stage of my life that not only broke me, but made me who I am today… He was never my patron, he never had any interest in being my patron, or I for his patronage… But he offered me a ride, and I jumped on to see how weird and wild it could get…

Somewhere along the way I fell off, I lost my way and Cernunnos found me… I got inked early on in my relationship with Bacchus and it’s my constant reminder to open myself to opportunity and find the joy in everything I do… And everything does indeed happen for a reason, no matter how weird, wild and wonderful it can get in the process!

…of packing craziness, not everything has been packed away! My Cernunnos altar has been relocated to an empty bookshelf until we move on the 13th May...

 

Yes, it’s a little minimalist at the moment, but it serves it’s purpose…