Returning to my roots

Three weeks ago, I spent the non-student work days setting up my workspace and the beginnings of my instructional materials. 

This year, after a two-year hiatus, I am returning to my roots and going back to what I know best. 

I’m going back to the classroom. 

A few weeks ago, at the CotE Urban Paganism workshop, I hit on an idea I hadn’t thought of before: setting up sacred space at my place of work. 

I had mini Mason jars filled and set for rituals without candles, but they are now present at work. 

Additionally, I collected the two crow feathers I have gathered from work the last few years and places them within the frames of my kids’ pictures. 

Perhaps one for Hunnin and one for Munnin?

When I find something unobtrusive that would make a good Frigg totem, that will be added as well. Perhaps also something for Thor, Sif, and Idunn. 

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Reconciling the whole thing

Not directly Swedish. No significant amount of Scandinavian. Not a strong heritage tie to my gods as I thought there was. But every area report included a section about the Vikings. 

Thursday night, as I was initially processing the  whole thing, I was reminded by a dear friend: 

We are who we choose to be. You’ve made your choice, and I think whether you’re kith or kin to the Vikings of old, you’re still invited into the hall. 

Friday morning, I meditated with Frigg, Thor, Odin, Heimdall, Loki, Braggi, Idunn… and thanked them for calling to me, knowing I was kith and not kin. It felt right. It felt whole. 

It also had really good timing, as I’ve been trying to balance my Witch practice with the Pantheon of my deities. Now I fully see they called to me for me, and I will continue to incorporate them into my Magick, rather than change my Magick to match them. 

Skal and Blessed Be. 

Revised purpose

I started the #30daysmagicalroots challenge to get back to basic Magick and build up a practice which incorporated my heathenness. 

To some extent, with the challenge itself, that was successful. 

When it came to some of the specific challnges, plants and stones, spellwriting…it felt forced for my purpose. 

My daily practice started to slip away as the summer break wound down. Daily libations began to feel rote and routine which made them lose their meaning. 

My libations aren’t what are connecting me to the gods. My thoughts and actions done with meaningful integrity in my daily life. Who I am to my children is the best honor I can give to Frigg. Who I am to my husband is another honor to Frigg. How I interact with those around me: am I hospitable and generous? Do I take a stand and follow what I believe in? 

I realized something while I was spending a quiet, tech-free weekend at a lake house with family: my crocheting has increased exponentially since I started again…and it’s been 4+ years. I could almost make a straight edge rectangle years ago. Now, I can make intricate designs without following a pattern. 

This crocheting, this wool work, is a libation to Frigg. Every time I look at the sky and see wispy clouds and am reminded of her weaving is a libation to her. 

Every time there is a storm, and I recognize Thor at it’s center is a libation to him. 

Every night at beg time when I share and Asgard story with my daughter is a gift to them. 

This week, I will be bringing a large crow feather, which I found on campus many years ago, into my classroom and inviting Odin to join me as I return to my instructional position. 

Intentions of this challenge have been met. Keep on going with my practice and my gnosis. It may not always be a clean fit, but if done with integrity, it will be done right for myself and for my honoring of the gods. 

Magical Roots Day 9: Daily Practice

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My daily practice is two-fold: libations to Frigg and a yoga flow and/or meditation. 

In the last few weeks, I have been making [almost] daily libations to Frigg. I have a lovely blue and white ceramic bowl in which I make powdered milk in the morning. As I go about the day, I pause to look at the milk and think about my connection with Frigg. In the evening, the Littles help me pour out the milk into the front garden, not far from Witchlette’s Fae house. Witchling specifically enjoys helping me with “bations”, always beginning with “Blessed Frigg”.

Daily offerings to Frigg are designed for her so they align with her. Yoga, however, is a bit less clear. 

Yoga is an Eastern tradition, which I have been doing with some regularity, on and off between kiddos, since I was first discovering my path 10 years ago. While yoga is not something Frigg would have known and would have practiced, but I am able to reconcile each of these practices with the other. I use yoga to align my spiritual, mental, and physical health. I use yoga to help me get into a meditative mind frame to allow Magick to flow. As a seider, a seeress, this is something Frigg would have done herself. Different methodologies perhaps, but the same result. 

Perhaps Frigg manifested today would be a Yogi. 
After day 7, I noted that I was going to let go of all my excuses and do daily morning yoga again. That evening, I charged both my iPod and my speaker. But I left them plugged in downstairs over night and didn’t have them to do yoga yesterday morning. I almost forgot them downstairs again last night, but got out of bed to go downstairs and retrieve them. I set them up at my altar to be ready for yoga this morning. 

Best laid plans… At about midnight, I gave up on Witchling spending the night in his own bed. Between the spill he took yesterday which left him with a knot on his forehead and the cold he is beginning, he needed to be held and unless he was in bed with us, I wasn’t going to get any sleep. Some sleep while being pummeled by a toddler is better than no sleep at all in my book. Yet, with him with me, there would be no yoga this morning either. 

Tomorrow will be another try. 

Between the libation to honor Frigg, which has included grounding and centering, and the impending return of morning yoga, I believe I’m in a good place for my spiritual health. 

…not sure what’s going to come of the daily libations when the school year starts again… We shall see!

Magical Roots day 4: Intention

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Intention is one of my biggest points. 

I have taught classes on intention when doing spells at Pagan Pride as well as a class for CotE. 

According to the dictionary, a spell is “a word, phrase, or form of words supposed to have magic power”. If we look at the definition, we learn something interesting about spells: they really are not all that complex. They are actually quite simple. “A word or phrase…supposed to have magic power”. Any word or phrase which you give power to becomes a spell: a wish before taking a test, a hope that the meeting with your boss is positive, a curse to someone who just cut you off on the highway. They are all spells because when you say them, you give power to them. Anything, everything, you do can be considered magickal. So, if life is magick, daily living is the spells that make the magick happen.
The definition of intent- and all variations of the word: intend, intention, etc- are “state of mind when something is done, purpose, the end or object; goal”. Our intent is the most important thing we have when we go into spellwork. It not only is the most important, but the most basic; the most primal.

My intention for this experience is to go with Magickal practices which I have developed over my ten years of practicing and intertwine Frigg into my established practices. 

Magical Roots Day 3: Centering

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This one is the toughest for me. The challenge itself is to take 5 minutes and focus on breathwork. 

The issue I have is making 5 minutes. Yesterday morning, I was happily awoken to Witchling asking to go potty. Happily, because he is new to full-day potty success and was waking dry but would empty his bladder in bed unless he was immidiately brought to potty upon his very  first waking stirs. During’ rest time yesterday, I chose to nap. After need time last night, I chose to cuddle Hubby and watch murdering people shows (Dateline/48 hours). I grounded as I typically do while laying in bed before sleeping, but I never got to Centering as sleep took me over. 

Each evening, as I pour out my daily Frigg libations to the garden, I center then, but it’s not minutes as I have the Littles with me and need to be aware of where they are…and they don’t have spans of 5 minutes to center with me. 

Magical Roots Day 1: Divination

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My first divination practice was tarot. 

I was given money to Barnes and Noble for a holiday and bought a tarot book and cards box set. I’m pretty sure I got this set before I consciously knew I was Pagan…

They eventually made it to my altar, which is by the window, and some of them got sunbleached, so I decided to spring for another set. This one was the Moon Garden cards. I liked the first book better, so I used the explaination book from yhe first set with the second card set. Eventually I changed over to the second book. 

Then Witchlette came along, and I did not toddler-proof my altar so while she was enjoying a morning of doing Blessed Be, she got into my cards and spread them all over the house. 

All the while, I was only using the Major Arcana to do readings because much as I tried to spread my focus to a whole deck, I just couldn’t do it. Then, as I got to know more Tarot readers, I began to feel that I was doing it wrong. (Note- no one ever told me this; this is a conclusion I made). And so, I put the cards aside partly because some are still being found three years later and partly because I didn’t feel comfortable with it any longer. 

On an impulse purchase at Pagan Pride 2014, I got a set of Runes made by my local “Rune Guy” after getting a really positive reading from him about having more children after Witchlette. (Witchling was born the following PPD weekend!) I had them, and I had books to go with them, but I was afraid to use them. Granted, at this point, I was afraid of the Aesir in general… I “knew” I had to master the Runes before I could use them for Magick and divination. 

This past Yule, I asked for and received Witch’s Tarot. I started using the whole deck and while doing a reading takes me a bit as I have to go through the whole book, I like the way the whole deck feels. 

In the past few months, I started my Rune study again but felt again as I wasn’t getting anywhere. I decided, given my now open and growing relationship with the Aesir and Vanir, I could use practice to learn. Learn while doing, especially since I retain a lot more that way. I now have most of the Elder Futhark memorized and I am able to complete divination for myself and others with confidence. I like using the language of Frigg to complete divination, it makes me feel closer to her. I also didn’t trade out something I was already using for the Runes. I still do Tarot, but I’m more comfortable and confident with the Runes. And I am able to feel like I’m gaining mastery of them since there is an alphabet of Runes versus a five-suit deck of cards (counting Major as another deck). 

The first challenge for Magical Roots is to complete divination in a preferred form, which is Runes, to find what my focus for the month is. I think I cheated because I jumped onto my viewpoint as soon as I read about the challenge. 

(I paused writing to complete the challenge)

Isa, side, stagnation

Nauthiz, side, need

Ansuz, up, enlightenment

Ingwaz, up, internal growth

Mannaz, up, the self

Eihwaz, merkstave, confusion

I have a need for enlightenment and I am stagnating myself from my personal growth because of my confusion. 

My confusion is about incorperating Frigg into my pre-established practice and incorperating her practice into mine. 

I’ve just been godsmacked. 

Glad to know I’m on the right track…