In my last blog I talked about when the Gods speak to us with signs and omens, today I’d like to talk about some other methods, namely dreams, intermediaries, and directly. All of these methods have historical basis to varying degrees and also occur in modern times, but like signs and omens require a level of awareness on our part. No message gets through if we aren’t listening.
Category Archives: By Land Sea and Sky
When The Gods Speak
Something I see all the time is people saying that they don’t understand people who say that the Gods talk to them, or that people who say it are looking for attention or delusional. Well, certainly that is sometimes the case and I’m not denying that, but I also think that the Gods do speak to us all the time and we just don’t listen. Maybe its the fact that one of my main focuses is Seership but I think it is important to learn to hear the Gods. We’ve been taught not to listen, not to pay attention to the signs and omens around us that can be their voice. They speak and we ignore.
Popular fiction and Modern Paganism
I’ve been pagan for a couple decades now and I’ve observed a couple trends over that time. One of the most perplexing to me is the way that popular fiction – by which I mean novels, television, and movies – shapes and influences paganism. The reason it perplexes me is because the things that get picked up and absorbed into the pagan paradigm are often based in plot points and rarely fit well or make sense (to me) in actual practice. I’ve had friends argue, however, that this reflects a normal growth and evolution within the wider community, creating the dynamic which is modern paganism.
Danu
Danu is an obscure figure who appears only a handful of times in Irish mythology, and always under the genetive form of the name: “Danann” or “Danand”. This has led many to suggest that the name of the Goddess is a reconstruction based off of the name Tuatha Dé Danann, which is often translated as “people of the goddess Danu”. Tuatha Dé Danann itself may be a term added later by the Irish monks to differentiate the native Irish Gods from the biblical characters referred to as “Tuatha Dé” (People of God) in the writings, making the subject slightly more complicated.
Interfaith and Workshop plans
Today’s blog will be a brief one, as my daughter has a same day surgery procedure tomorrow and I have a lot to do today, but I read an interesting blog by Jason Mankey discussing his views on interfaith work which he ended by saying that he prefers to focus on building within the pagan community rather than working on interfaith outside it.
One Druid’s Magic
I often hear modern Druids saying that Druids today do not do magic, or that if we do it is not truly magic but a kind of positive thinking or aligning with nature. I find the pervasiveness of this thought interesting, especially as the ancient Druids in myth and legend were well known to wield magic of all sorts. Why have we, as modern Druids, chosen to disassociate from that aspect of our practice?
Goibhniu
“Goibniu who was not impotent in smelting,” – Lebor Gabala Erenn
Goibniu, or Goibhniu is the Irish God of smithcraft equated to the Welsh Gafannon. His name is derived from the word for smith; Old Irish gobha, Modern Irish gabha (O hOgain, 2006). It is said that…
Invocations, part 2
Continuing with invocations…
Invocation to an Dagda
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Continue reading…
Invocations part 1
I’ll be honest with you all; when I invoke* deities in ritual or devotional offerings I almost always use extemporaneous invocations. However I’ve been told that invocations are challenging for many people, so I thought I’d offer a selection of different ones here for a variety of the deities I honor. You’ll see pretty quickly the basic pattern I tend to use, and my approach to invocations. I’ll include a half dozen here and more next time. Feel free to leave a request for a specific deity in the comments if you’d like to see an invocation for one.
Spiritual Devotion and Small Children
I remember the days, 20 years ago, 15 years ago, when spiritual devotion was an easy, flowing thing. If I wanted to stop and pray, or make an offering, or meditate on something I had the flexibility to do so. If I wanted to spontaneously drive out to a state park or to the ocean, I got in my car and went. If I was invited to attend an event or a group celebration I went. the only limitation I had was my work schedule. My focus when I prayed or conducted a ritual was to make it as perfect as possible. I had scripts to follow and high expectations.