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Having fasted for a few days, I'm in a very spiritual frame of being. This is the best fast I've ever had with the least reactions. So on my weekly hike, I go into the woods to commune with the Earth Mother and am blessed by such glory along the way that I am in perfect sacred bliss and harmony.

So at first things were hairy what with bad parking, but after meeting with a beautiful beech tree with the most amazing branches, to whom we made a very nice friendship as I stroked her bark, I finally get on my way. It's late, like near sunset late. I had a late start, clearly. Regardless, the sun is lighting up the land in a mystical yellow and the bugs are dancing in the light in this bizarre pattern that made me giggle out loud. The Lord's Light cast across the trees, many still with rusts and oranges in their leaves (the forest I go to has many beech trees which are the last to lose their leaves in these woods, sometimes they keep them all winter.) The last hint of sun goes behind the mountain and I bid farewell. I stare at the sky, Lord Sky in his glory, faint dustings of silvery white against a pure, childlike blue.

I turn down the path and am met with the beeches still holding their golden and copper leaves. I stop and look in awe. They are magnificent. I continue and go down the path to the sacred center, a valley of rock where water seeps from little holes in the stone. As I get there, I'm a bit annoyed by a bunch of yip yap on a nearby trail and too many dogs, but it's not enough to ruin my moment.

I know it's been a while since new articles have been posted. I've had a minor health issue over the past few months that I'm starting to get under control and will be featured in one of the upcoming articles! Please be patient and stay tuned. There is a lot coming up!

Materials:

Red glass candleholders
Tea lights
Hay or other vegetarian animal food
If snow is not available, then a white cloth or surface that will hold the candleholders
Meat, eggs, or if vegetarian, some other significant protein source
The winter tale of gratitude

 

It had been weeks since the hunters returned with meat for the families. The winter had been a long, cold one, and now, without fresh meat, it was becoming a desperate one. The food stores were growing low, and the community was growing concerned.

Finally, they came to the shamans to ask them to find out what was going on. After all, the hunters were very capable and never let their families grow hungry. Something far bigger had to be at hand.

It was a typical evening. I had just brought the toddler in from outside, and we were getting ready to prepare dinner. Then the light of the almost-full moon caught my eye. The little guy had just learned to say “moon,” and so I brought him into the temple (aka the enclosed back porch) to look at it.

I turned off the lights and sat with him facing the silver disk as she rose from behind the hill of the small valley that makes up my backyard (sounds impressive, but we’re really just in the middle of a busy suburb and happened to get a hold of some really neat property!) He looked outside and said, “Moon!” I said, “Yes, that’s the moon. Pretty moon!” Then he repeated over and over, “Peedee moon.” The still golden-laced silver light poured through the window and lit up his face. Those round cheeks were aglow, and it was as if I were looking at the human embodiment of a young moon. I looked out to see the light was dancing off of tiny puddles that collected in individual leaves in the woodsy space. Hundreds of silver reflections danced back at us.

 

 A woman’s sacred, monthly, moon time is a wonderful opportunity to return the gift of life given by Mother Earth back to Her.

 

 

Music is an amazing creation. Even if there are no words, or you don’t understand the words, you can feel the intent of the song within your very being—that is if the tune is a powerful piece of art rather than a manufactured, mind-numbing blabfest with a catchy back-beat.

At the same time, one person’s art is another’s garbage. Therefore, the point is not to tell you what to listen to but to guide you in finding pieces that work for you, ones that lift your spiritual practices to a higher level.

 

 

For a while I had been losing my connection to the Gods and Goddesses. In my efforts to fully understand my path, my place, and how it all fits together, my views of spirituality was becoming more and more secular. What was once a prayer to a higher being was now considered a psychological boost for what was going on internally. I also have to admit that a part of me wanted to make it more palatable to those that didn’t understand my ways, including close family members who would either label my spiritual practice as Satanism or call it a crutch for the weak. If I could present everything scientifically, I could both appease and oppose those who wanted to slap those labels on me.

That’s one thing about living a spiritual life. You will often find yourself falling off the wagon, but it’s a necessary thing to strengthen your path and your connection to Spirit. I’ve fallen off the wagon many times. Often it was to appease others as this is a learned flaw of mine that I’m always trying to work on. Sometimes it was because something new came about that made me question my path. This is a good thing because this is how we refine our practices. And sometimes life just got too busy, painful, tiresome, and chaotic to dedicate the time and energy toward my spiritual practice. After all, that’s the whole point of the word “practice.” You have to work at it in order to do well with it and in it.

I found myself at that bitter, empty crossroad where I wondered what on earth I was doing. Was I praying to an actual spiritual being or was I just convincing myself and making myself do what I wanted subconsciously? Did the Gods and Goddesses really exist or were they a strong figment of my wishes and imagination? And if they did exist, what form did they take? Seriously, I didn’t know anymore. I got swept up in a lot of clutter and lost what I believed in.

 

 

As individuals, we take on roles throughout our lives. We have roles in relation to ourselves, family, and our community. With each role is a persona, a part that we play in relation to the role at hand.

In our spiritual practices, it helps to have roles clearly defined so that we bring the proper persona to the task. It also helps to have structure for interacting in these roles. The purpose of community structure is most relevant when practicing in groups. However, it also helps to differentiate between the roles we take on in our practice and why it’s important to separate oneself from one role when taking on another.

For instance, just as you probably wouldn’t go jogging in your pajamas, you wouldn’t carry the warrior (Kagara) persona role into the priest/priestess (Kiminia) persona role. You leave one behind to engage another if you want to partake in it fully, reap the rewards, and bring your best to the experience.