So yesterday I went out to a friend’s new house (at their request) to cleanse and bless the space. It occurs to me that this sort of simple thing would be good to post here for anyone to do themselves. This method is entirely my own, as far as I know, and thoroughly modern, but(…)
Author Archives: Lairbhan
Celtic Rites of Passage for Children/Young Adults
I’m a big believer in the importance of rites of passage to help anchor us in our spirituality and our sense of self. It’s a very tribal way to do things, I think, to commemorate life changes with ritual. I know not everyone agrees or sees the need but for those who(…)
the 12 Days of Yule – a holiday song parody
The Twelve Days of Yule-tide – sung to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas
On the twelfth day of yule-tide, my kindred gave to me
twelve happy heathens
eleven rounds of sumble
ten bottles of mead
nine sets of runes(…)
Facing Fear – or why I don’t blog about heathenry often
This is a blog I’ve needed to write probably since the beginning, but I have been putting off because it’s personal, it’s painful and it’s messy. It’s also unresolved, but it still needs to be said, and maybe saying it will help me push myself into blogging more about heathenry and related topics…
Celtic Healing Magic – part 2
Celtic healing magic, like all Celtic folk magic, relies on some basic principles: use of objects, both natural and man made, transferring the spirit of one thing – in this case the illness – into nature, and the power inherant in certain items. By understanding these principles and how to apply them in different situations a person may effectively use folk magic healing in a Celtic style whenever there is a need for it.
Many types of Celtic folk healing relies on the use of objects …
Celtic Healing Magic – part 1
(this is the handout for my class from Changing Times, Changing Worlds 2011 on healing magic in the Celtic tradition, with the emphasis on folk magic. In the next blog I will post the outline and shortened version of the class itself – and I feel that I should add that all classes from CTCW 2011 will be available in the next few weeks on CD, you can check the website for details)
From Irish Cures and Superstitions by Lady Wilde: …
Celtic Healing Deities
(this is the hand out from my class on Celtic healing deities from Changing Times, Changing Worlds 2011. The beginning of the class we talked about how, IMO, instead of the common modern “cafateria” approach it is better to nurture a relationship with one or two specific deities associated with healing if a person is interested in being a healer or in having a healing-specific deity to call on. We talked about ways to do this including a client-type relationship, devotional work, offerings, setting …
Preperations
Tomorrow I head out to the changing times changing worlds conference up at Amherst in Massachusetts, which runs from Friday through Sunday. This is the conference’s second year and I am excited to see how it has grown since last year. The main theme of this year is healing/wholing/holistic and the workshops cover a variety of topics under that theme. My own contribution is four workshops: healing magic and chronic illness, the …
Faerie Lore – Pixsies
Pixies, also called Pisgies, Piskies, or Pigseys, are native to the British Isles although they followed people emigrating out of the country and can now be found almost anywhere. Because of this all the old tales and stories about them are from England, Scotland and Ireland and most modern stories are from British settled countries like the U.S.. To this day they remain the type of faery that you are most likely to encounter since they are quite fond of playing jokes on people …
Samhain
A Celtic View of Samhain (published last month on witchvox http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usct&c=holidays&id=14797 ) One of the most widely known pagan holidays is Samhain, a day that is celebrated by Wiccans, pagans, and Druids alike. The modern Samhain has its roots in the ancient Celtic fire …