Wandering Woman Wondering

Blood Moon Communion with Hekate

Tamilia — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:07:39 +0000

On October 11th, I observed the Blood Moon with a small Full Moon rite in honor of Hekate. Before the rite, I purified the space and myself with candlelight and cedar. As I set the smoldering cedar tips to rest in my censor, a small albino spider ascended the wall behind my altar. I took his presence to be a good omen and continued with the work. I called out to Hekate as night wanderer, torch bearer, and moon goddess. With offerings of organic barley, homemade mugwort tincture, Hekate oil, Hecate the Saffron Clad incense from Otherworld Apothocary, and Hecate incense from Forest Grove Botanica.

After the call and the making of offerings, I stood for a time basking in her presence. Tingling sensations surged through me. She delivered much needed counsel and then departed. After her visit, I felt that I had greater insight into a few nagging questions. I also felt less fearful about my ability to hear her voice and pick her words out of a cacophony of divine utterances. I felt good about our connection and where I am headed under her guidance. Hail Hekate!

Hecate by Hrefngast (on DeviantArt)

For even now, when a mortal propitiates the gods and, following custom, sacrifices well-chosen victims, he invokes Hekate, and if she receives his prayers with favor, then honor goes to him with great ease, and he is given blessings, because she has power and a share in all the rights once granted to the offspring born to Ouranos and Gaia.

~Excerpt from the “Hymn to Hekate” in Hesiod’s Theogony, translated by Apostolos N. Athanassakis

It’s been a while

Tamilia — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:07:54 +0000

I have not posted in quite a while – about four weeks, I think. Life has been incredibly hectic. Instead of things slowing down as the darkening year would demand, they actually seem to be speeding up for me…but that’s not uncommon for graduate students like myself who are managing more than a few commitments within the academy. Ugh!

Anyway, there is one small pause on the horizon – i.e. Fall Break – before I have to rally again for the final push before Winter Break. With Fall Break coming up, I have a little time to breathe and get back on the blogging horse . Yay! Over the course of the next week or so I will post about spiritual happenings from the last month. Double yay! After that, I may not post again until around mid-December i.e. the start of Winter Break.

Here we go…

On Night Owl’s Beak: Sayings of the Fylgja

Tamilia — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 05:07:23 +0000

In the Poetic Edda – verses 15 through 17 of Sigrdrífumál – we are told of many places where runes of power are inscribed. Rune, loosely defined, means mystery and the “night owl’s beak” is one place where these magical symbols can be found. So, to my thinking the owl, with its rune-inscribed beak, is a potent entity with mighty insight and wisdom to offer those who seek his counsel. With that in mind, I applied some Aves Salve to my third eye chakra, throat chakra, the back of my neck, the back of my knees, and the insides of my elbows. I also lit some candles and incense, then I sat on my couch for 20 minutes breathing deeply and releasing my waking consciousness. As the salve took hold I could feel my energy attuning to that of the Barn Owl, my energy bodies changing form, shapeshifting, and in a little while I was grooming my feathers. Shortly thereafter, my awareness shifted again and I sensed my fylgja (which happens to take the form of a Barn Owl more often than not) in the room “standing” in front of me, actually on top of my coffee table.

He spoke clearly and answered my questions freely which was wonderful! Some spirits enjoy being cryptic, but that was not the case with him that night. When he spoke, his voice was raspy, his words slow and measured. To my great benefit, he chose to answer questions about the nature of the fylgja, which was incredibly helpful since I had been wrestling with that for a while. He also gave me a spell to use in dealing with a persistent and super frustrating problem I have been having (damned neighbors!). His spell recommendation blended European-derived witchcraft practices with African-American hoodoo/folk magic. What surprised me most was the simplicity of the working! He commented that I tend to overcomplicate things and ignore my intuition (i.e., him).

His guidance was practical and meaningful. I look forward to using this method again to connect with him and gain additional insight. Hail Barn Owl and the Sayings of the Fylgja!

Reaching Deep Roots: Reflections on My Ancestor Altar

Tamilia — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:47:02 +0000

On March 30th, I posted an image of my Ancestor altar in its infancy. My altar at that time reflected my young relationship with my Ancestors. Fortunately, my ancestral connections and thus my altar have grown quite a bit since March.

Not only is my altar space occupied by images of my Beloved Dead but it also contains waters (pure water, Florida Water, and an Ancestral Scrying Water), offerings (candy, copal resin, candles, and alcohol), and symbols (cowry shells, rattles, skull images, pennies, beads, charms, dried flowers, veves, etc.) that speak not only to the Ancestral Dead but also to the two Orishas with whom I work, the two Lwa with whom I am building a connection, and a few Saints who have offered me some quite unexpected assistance in the last several months or more. My awareness of my roots has deepened and my altar has become more integral to my spiritual practice. I conduct my rites of offering at the altar as well as divination rites and other informal rituals of reverence and connection. Thus far my Ancestor altar has been a wonderful gateway to the realm of the Ancestral Dead and to making connections with the Orishas, Lwa, and Saints. When I started the altar, I really did not expect my roots to reach so deep. I did not expect to begin profound relationships with the Spirits (i.e., Orisha, Lwa, and Saints) that many of my ancestors honored.

At the moment, I still consider myself to be deeply engaged in the early building phase of my relationships with these very different but connected entities so I try not to light candles and make offerings for the purpose of making requests and having them satisfied. Instead I make offerings in recognition, to give honor/reverance, and out of appreciation. Does this mean that I will never ask for anything? Well, no, I believe in reciprocity – a gift for a gift, but I also believe in having a strong and respectful connection, a meaningful relationship. That is the foundation on which exchange and reciprocity are laid. Out of respectful reverence, I try to acknowledge and show appreciation for the myriad gifts that have already been given. I feel I am still in that phase. I am sure the time will come when I feel called to ask for something but right now, I am enjoying the process of appreciative gift giving. Overall, I am super energized around these budding relationships and I look forward to strengthening connections, and reaching more of my roots.

For the Spirits of the Road and Crossroads

Tamilia — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:28:24 +0000

I made a multimedia offering to the Spirits of the Road and Crossroads over at Wandering Woman Wondering II (my Tumblr companion site). My offerings feature a few selections from Robert Johnson, including a contemporary remake of “Me and the Devil” performed by Gil Scott Heron.

The multimedia offering is in four parts. Two have been published over at WWWII thus far, the first containing a brief acknowledgement of the particular spirits that I had in mind when putting the offering together. The other two parts of the offering will be posted at Tumblr within the next several days. Maybe these songs will speak to you of roads and crossroads as they do for me.