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Primal Heart: Summer heat is rising...wherein I ramble a little madly →
The Morrighan is not good. The Morrighan is not evil. She is older than either of these constructs. She is. As the Earth is. This planet that has spawned humanity and all living things is a planet of hard and dangerous life. It is terrible and beautiful, and simply exists. Why do bad things…
Post reblogged from Primal Heart with 14 notes
Dagda’s Glory
Mighty Dagda, true and bold
For you I sing of Glory O’God of Life and of Death
Teach us to cherish every breathFiery Lord, Strength Divine
You who host heroes fineSave me a place in your Hall
Chieftain my heart, cries your battle callDagda, O’ Dagda, hear my prayer
The skies open wide and you are thereMighty Dagda, from whom sustenance pours
In your glory I adore.
-by Branwen Faolain
Post reblogged from Primal Heart with 270 notes
Shit They Never Tell You
Did you know that Palo Santo is an endangered species? That the collection of the wood is a regulated business, where ONLY deadfall is permitted to be collected for the trade?
This is why Palo Santo is expensive, and why it’s a really bad idea (and morally questionable as fuck) to buy the “cheap stuff”. Because either 1: It’s not Palo Santo, or 2: It’s poached.
Did you know that White Sage is becoming scarce in the wild due to over-harvesting for the Newage market? It’s not the only one, either. Aloeswood, Sandalwood, Dragon’s Blood, Frankincense and several others are under serious, dangerous, levels of pressure.
If you have to call on these “allies” - you need to be responsible with your use of them. This is not an issue of “feel-good” ecology, this is an issue of essential conservation - so that there is not an age where Dragon’s Blood is as mythical as it’s namesake.
The great thing is that there are analogues, and there is horticulture. With enough effort you can find decent substitutes or begin growing your own plants (try Alchemy Works for seeds). Combining this with respectful, carefully-sourced, purchases will go a long way toward ensuring these species don’t go extinct because of the newage market.
Additionally? This is also a spot where it’s a really great idea to evaluate whether these things have any actual place or purpose in YOUR practice. Are these things, which are often from disparate cultures, of particular value to your specific culture and practice? Because consumption of the limited resource may prevent a person native to that culture from obtaining it - and uh… that’s something that bears a lot of intense thinking-on and probably some backing-the-hell-off-at-a-high-rate-of-speed.
Thought provoking info people.
I tell people this when they come in and are shocked by the sage and palo santo prices, which are reasonable really. We JUST got in some more palo santo in after having to find another ethical source for it. You don’t actually need that much. A stick of palo santo will last a long time. Don’t throw out the little nibs, it’s still good, promise.
Also there are a LOT of other options as far as cleansing and blessing methods go. Around here I point out Rosemary most often (not just because it happens to be my favorite, along with Juniper, because Sage just does not resonate and makes me cough) because it actually is EVERYWHERE. Most people have a bush of it growing in their yards, or a neighbors, or walk past it on the way to work. Great for cleansing, protection, blessing all of the above. You can burn it, you can use it with salt and holy water to asperge, You can hang it from the doorways.
Possibilities they are out there.
Source: rootandrock
Post reblogged from eDevotionals with 14 notes
Prayer to Fortuna
Fortuna Fortuna,
grand mistress of fate.
Fortuna Fortuna
holder of luck so great.
One that guides our destinies,
yet acknowledges we decide.
Wearing a blind fold for centuries,
luck does not always go to the best side.
You know those who deserve it
will not always get your helping hand.
Your will however shall never fall or split
the ones who prosper are the grand.
You are the mystical lady of luck,
and the guide and protector of oracles.
Ship rudder in one hand to lead through muck,
Horn of plenty in the other prospering through cycles.
I pray to thee watch over my fate carefully
protect me from life’s many hardships,
allow my life to be happy so I can smile cheerfully
even in the end during my life’s eclipse.
I pray to thee.
Post reblogged from Primal Heart with 36 notes
Dance In The Flames: I bought “Celtic Myth and Magik” by Edain McCoy. Thus far, it’s…
I bought “Celtic Myth and Magik” by Edain McCoy.
Thus far, it’s fascinating. I also found out something incredibly cool that just makes me think I really am on the right path: one of the minor deities associated with the Morrigan is called Carman. Carmen is the name of the woman who essentially…
Thanks for sharing; I will have to check that book out. Funny the little synchronicities one discovers sometimes, eh?
And yeah, I have had that experience with A LOT of mediocre or crappy Celtic paganish books. The entry on Morrigan is basically the word equivalent of a giant skull and crossbones, hahaha.
I hate to be the one to point this out, but the words Carman and Carmen are really, really, really unlikely to be etymologically related at all. I’m also very hesitant of the tendency to lump together Celtic deities willy-nilly, especially the goddesses. From what I am reading, she sounds like she could be part of a triad of deities, but that those would be separate from the Morrigan.
…Wait, is this the book that mentions the “ancient Irish potato goddess” or am I thinking of another one.
I have a pretty distinct memory of this book and this author being disreputable, but I have unfortunately not read the book (probably because of it’s disrepute) and don’t know any details.
This woman.
I have a personal vendetta against her scholarship. In fact I am solely responsible for us not carrying any of her books in our store.
The book of hers that I read made up an Irish Goddess. No literally made her up out of thin out with a combinations of letters that are not possible in Irish Gaelic (Ancient or otherwise). Similarly her book Witta, she makes claims that Witta is the name of an ancient Wiccan tradition in Ireland.
She demotes gods in their mythologies. Such as in the myth of Arianrhod, while she’ll refer to Arianrhod as a Goddess, Gwydion is merely a “magician” and Don a “King”. Seriously.
She fabricated an “ancient Irish potato goddess” (that gem is in her Witta book)
So…yay. I have a copy of her Celtic Women’s Spirituality book that was given to me and it’s highlighted with all kinds of notes and wtf?! for the first couple of chapters and then my anger was just too great and I had to put it away.
Just no.
Reblogging for information.
Source: cryofthemorrigan
Photo reblogged from Primal Heart with 88 notes
The Stanwick horse mask shows the fine artistic work of Celtic metalworkers in about 50 CE. The simple lines and lack of detail have a very powerful visual effect. The term mask is somewhat misleading, as it is more likely this piece would have been attached to a highly decorated wooden bucket, now rotted away. Such buckets would have been used to hold ale or mead at celebrations.
Decorated buckets of mead. Decorated BUCKETS of Mead!
Ok so I actually already knew this, but it is one of those facts that kinda gets forgotten in the big long dry academic book that your reading because you’re trying to focus on extrapolating world view and things like that. But:
A Horse Bucket of Mead!
Makes me so freakin’ happy.
Look at that design too. That is stylistic beauty. The symmetry.Saving this image for future use.
Epona and Macha are all over this.
This is gorgeous.
*wants buckets of mead*
Source: britishmuseum.org
Post reblogged from Primal Heart with 23 notes
if you worship/honor the dagda, how do you do so? i’m interested in seeing other people’s ways of honoring him :)
This is a seemingly simple question that is just so complex lol.
So first of all The Dagda has a space on my main altar, I have dedicated a cauldron to him in honor of his own Undry. It sits on my altar with his candle in it usually, and I give tokens (nuts,dry goods, various other things) to the cauldron as offering. If anyone in my coven has a need/request/prayer to the Dagda specifically or someone who is asking for help that I think he may be of use to I add a petition and offering on their behalf to the cauldron.
I have carved an altar sized club out of a Redwood root as an effigy to the Dagda’s club that I anointed with my blend of Good God Blessing oil annually, or in times when I particular wish to feel his influence.
He is given offerings of oatmeal, beer, cider, fruits, meats, nuts, and any good tasty thing I can think of regularly.He has another altar in the kitchen, which pretty much insures that he gets offerings, prayers, and songs daily.
My Lumberjack made me an AMAZING boar statue that is dedicated the Dagda. He tends to switch back and forth from the main altar to the kitchen altar as he sees fit.
Generally speaking whenever I drink cider (or whiskey), I raise a toast in his name.
I have created several songs to the Good God’s honor, and he is a central figure in my daily prayers.
I am recognized as a Public Priestess of the Dagda within my community and as such there have been several rituals dedicated to him, and he is spoken of with honor and love.
I still owe him a good and proper Feast, where we will have roast boar and various other delights.
Being the Owner of Uaithne, the Harp that turns the season, I leave an offering to him at the turning of the seasons (a little bit trickery here where I seasons are Wet and Not-Wet)
Being a Keeper of the Lore, I spend time dedicated in study to the gaelic Pre-christian ways and to familiarize myself with his myths and lessons.
Being one of the Great Chieftains, I have dedicated myself to self-analysis and honorable leadership amoungst my family and life.
And being a general enjoyer of humour, food, and sex, I make sure to take time and honor the sanctity and power of all of those things. And to keep them in good abundance in my life.
Beautiful.
Source: witchhead
Photo reblogged from Primal Heart with 26 notes
Votive Bowl Dedicated to the Goddess Hathor by Lady Nefrether
Bronze or copper alloy votive bowl from 18th Dynasty Egypt.
Beautiful. Posting for some ladies that I know.
Oh my… holy… fucking… cow… beautiful.
That’s it. I want one… Let it be made for my hands alone. It will sit in my bath - for I will one day have fancy bathing rooms - and it will be frequently poured full of scented oils…
Source: metmuseum.org
Post reblogged from Primal Heart with 46 notes
Pet Peeve: Random association lists
It’s a thing. It’s a small thing, but a thing. It’s a thing that I judge books, websites, and lots of things off of. That is random association lists. Not sure what I’m talking about? Sure you are! You’ve seen them, they are in every Pagan/Witchcraft 101 book every published by the metaphysics folks apparently ever. The Tumblr and Internet are made of them. It’s either a long list of what deities are paired with an herb/crystal/animal or it’s a by line in an encyclopedia type description of a deity/herb/rock/animal/thing.
Example that I just randomly pulled from off the interweb (these were swiped from a Hecate symbols page):
Plants:
Willows, dark yew, blackthorn, groves of trees, saffron, raisins and currants, andgourds (especially pumpkins)Perfumes/Scents:
Queen of the Night (a light flowery fragrance), cinnamon, myrrh, mugwort, honey, lime, and lemon verbenaGems and Metals:
Sapphire, silver, gold, moonstone, black tourmaline, black onyx, hematite, smoky quartz and any stone that is dark or luminousThis is just a random sprawl of list to me, and I see it all the time. Let’s say I got tapped by Hecate and actually wanted to do something about that, this does not help me.
Here is why this does not help me. Besides the fact that I would automatically write this list off because of the addition of “(especially pumpkins)” for a goddess who’s native region did not have that particular gourd and probably still doesn’t really with no annotation that this is a modern association thru personal or shared group experience. It doesn’t actually tell me anything.
I as a curious minded person who might be on a path, would want to know the why’s and how of these associations. Even if it is just something like “I had a dream and Hecate was surrounded by pumpkins.” Or in most of the iconography we see her wearing bangles, they were probably made of gold or silver. Or this dead dude from ancient where ever wrote a poem about her smelling of cinnamon.
Then it’s not just a random sprawl of items that somehow magically got grouped together. Then it’s informative. Then it’s more exciting to read.
Not that I don’t find these list entertaining. It’s just frustrating when I stumble on something for one of my own deities and go “Why is that on there?” and can find NOTHING. Because if I were into Hecate I’d probably like to know why limes are a scent for her. Just seems weird and an interesting thing that I would like to know.Ya know?
Entertaining is one word for them. A cursory glance at any Cunningham book will tell you these random association lists can sometimes be downright deadly(literally). They’re also often based solely on one random writer’s raging UPG, as if they’d never EVER opened a book or read a piece of lore in their life.
That is true. I have heard some scary things in regards to herbs and plants. That’s just downright reckless and makes me shake my head at the publishing companies. You’d think they would be worried about the legal ramifications of putting out stuff that could endanger people.
Mind boggling.
This. All of this.
Post reblogged from Graveyard Dirt with 49 notes
Midwinter Magic (Holy Supper Challenge 2012)
In 19 days Italics and I will be celebrating the loudest motherfucking dumb supper your hellbound ears will ever hear: Sviata Vechera. And, this year, your effin’ ass is joining in on the ancestral Yuletide revelry.
Sviata Vechera (literally “Holy Supper”) is a time of intense merrymaking, rocking it hardcore with your dearest (both living and dead), giving thanks for all of your blessings and celebrating the return of the sun. The roots of the ritualized Ukrainian feast is hella ancient, but it got a weak facelift when Christianity rolled through Eastern Europe. The reborn sun was eventually personified as Jesus Christ, and the once pagan celebration evolved into a still pagan celebration with a laughably thin Christian veneer.
(That’s right! You take what you fucking get, Eastern Orthodox Church!)(<- That includes venerating our ancestors through wheat, engaging in idolatry relationships with our icons and, most importantly, choking down our Easter cock bread.)
Unsurprisingly, the Midwinter observance got jostled around when Catholicism took over and the supper eventually settled on December 24 (the eve of Christ’s birth). Ukraine isn’t alone in making Christmas Eve a big effin’ deal (way bigger than Christmas Day, which is a much more low-key affair), though. The majority of Europe blow their wad on the 24th, and each country and ethnicity seems to have very specific traditions, rituals and foods that are made, executed and enjoyed on the special day. (See: Christmas worldwide at Wikipedia.)
When Italics and I became masters of our own holiday observances we bumped Sviata Vechera to the winter solstice (known as Yule and Midwinter) to reclaim the original feast. We still celebrate the 24th and 25th, but in recent years our Holy Supper partying has totally eclipsed the more mainstream Christmas holidays to the point that we normally don’t open our presents until New Year’s Day. (It’s an amphetamine and lingerie fueled Yuletide-themed Black Mass! <- Talk about getting the new year started on the right motherfucking foot!)
2010’s Sviata Vechera was our first attempt to be as traditional as fuck, and it was one of the most incredible Yuletide seasons we ever experienced. It was so effin’ great that I swore on our kolach that I’d emotionally blackmail friends, readers and on-line acquaintances to join in on the loudest motherfucking dumb supper they’ll ever hold. I want to read/hear/see unapologetic, balls-fucking-out hedonism filling up the longest night of your year, and I want it to be truly effin’ special. So this year, my impish Pampusky, I’m once again formally extending an invitation out to you to join us in performing your own loud-mouthed, rockin’-till-dawn dumb supper.
It’s that time of year again folks… *rubs hands together in excitement*
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