I was at a public Yule ritual last night which was a lot of fun. One of my contributions was an incense blend desinged for cleansing, based on traditional ideas related to this time of year. It worked out pretty well so I decided to share the recipe here.
In a mortar(…)
Category Archives: Random pagan and recon. ramblings
The Lebor Feasa Runda Should Go Through a Woodchipper: a book review
Too often we simply avoid bad books without ever knowing why they are bad and to be avoided, but relying on friend’s opinions or word of mouth reviews. I have read other reviews of this book, Akins’ Lebor Feasa Runda, which took a highly scholastic approach and were very valuable, but I think that by arguing semantics of language and nuances of source material many readers may get lost in the details. So here I offer my simplified book review, an Idiot’s Guide to Why This Book is Awful, if you will.
My Gaelic Heathen Yule
So Yule is fast approaching, and this Yule will represent my first attempt at incorporating some Celtic elements and traditions into what has so far been a Germanic and Norse festival period for me. Prior to becoming heathen in 2006 I didn’t celebrate the winter(…)
Faerie Lore – Brownies
Brownies, also called Bwcas <pronounced “Boo-kuhs”>, Bodachs, or Fendorees, and, in specific cases malicious Bogarts. Brownies are native to the British Isles and most stories of them will be found in Ireland, Wales, England, and Scotland. They(…)
Nine Virtues
In heathenry you will hear people talk about the 9 noble virtues (often abbreviated to NNV), a modern list of positive character traits devised by the Odinic Rite in the 70’s based on ideas from Norse mythology. Some of these 9 are more historically accurate than others,(…)
A modern Celtic House Blessing
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(…)
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 …