I found a nifty article the other day: http://www.adf.org/articles/cosmology/norsewy.html
I am impressed by this on so many levels. Firstly, I think it gives a lovely workable model for exploring the worlds of Norse cosmology through the wheel of the year. I find these types of models fascinating. There are so many levels on which we approach our practice, and finding connections between them are always valuable.
I also appreciate the fact that they explain their thought process. I love seeing how people's minds work, and reading about how they worked out what went where and why they felt it worked not only makes the end product more understandable, but it helps show how you could apply the same method to other things. My practice is very much a fusion of different aspects I have found appealing, and finding ways to weave different practices together into a working whole is always valuable to me.
I think it is interesting to note that this was written, not by a Heathen group, but Druid. Granted, one of the goals of their group is to find ways to connect the different Indo-European practices so that they can communicate with each other and work together, which I find a very admirable goal.
But it is something I have noticed before, often inspiration comes from outside the circle it influences. It is as if people on the inside are afraid to mess with their own practices. Perhaps that is just my eclectic mind speaking, but innovation of my own practices is pretty high up on my priority list. It seems like a lot of groups tend to work with whatever method they were taught and never question if that is the best way to do things.
I don't think there is any single best way for everyone, but I do think that questioning how and why we do things, even if it doesn't lead to change at all, strengthens our practice. Seeing the meaning behind the actions and looking for ways that we can deepen that meaning makes our practice a living, breathing thing that grows with us.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
self-forgiveness
I was at a lovely gathering the other day for Day of the Dead, and had a minor part. As I had gotten the lines a day in advance, and there were only six (and they rhymed, so even better) I decided to memorize. And of course, I flubbed a little bit. It's funny, I can recite things flawlessly on my own when it's not important, but in front of a group sometimes I still freeze.
I work very hard to not be shy, but ultimately, when in a social situation, I am very aware of myself. I dunno if it stems from being on the fringes as a kid, and it just carries over, but especially amongst people I just met or don't know very well, I am pretty self-conscious.
But back to the Day of the Dead. If it had been someone else, who had stumbled on their part, I wouldn't have thought any less of them at all. It occurred to me, looking back (which I do...endlessly if I don't stop myself) that I judge myself way more harshly than I judge anyone else. I will beat myself up over really inconsequential things...stuff I would never consider giving someone else grief over.
There is a fine line between striving to be the best you can be and really being down on yourself for trivial mistakes. Obviously, we all want to succeed at everything we set out to do. Ultimately, there will be little trip ups (and sometimes big failures) along the way. Don't let it get you down! Pick yourself up, and move on. Take a moment to recognize what happened if you like. But make sure you look at the bigger picture.
At the end of the night, we had an absolutely lovely ritual, and any hiccups in the execution didn't diminish in any way from the beauty of the gathering and the purpose it fulfilled. I am quite sure that in a month or so, I will probably be the only one who remembers that I stumbled in my part (okay maybe a few others will now that I've rambled about it here *grin). A year from now, it won't make a difference if I had said it perfectly, forgotten it entirely or said the wrong word (for some reason I kept trying to say winter's end when I would practice, not sure why).
After looking at the big picture, step outside yourself for a moment. I can't remember where I read it but someone once said that most people are concerned more about themselves than other people. And I mean that in a good way, not that they don't care about other people, but that five minutes after you embarrass yourself most everyone else will have forgotten (if they were even aware of it in the first place).
Just a quick aside: there are idiots and bastages out there who live to make other people feel bad. These people will go out of their way to loudly and publicly mock you for anything they can possibly make up. They aren't worth the time to respond to, and your real friends won't listen to them anyways, so don't give them the satisfaction of bothering with.
Bottom line is this. Treat yourself with the love and forgiveness you would treat another. Let your stumbles, mistakes and down right failures go with a laugh and a smile. Know that each step you take is a step forward, even if it involves falling flat on your face. It's never as bad as we think it is.
I work very hard to not be shy, but ultimately, when in a social situation, I am very aware of myself. I dunno if it stems from being on the fringes as a kid, and it just carries over, but especially amongst people I just met or don't know very well, I am pretty self-conscious.
But back to the Day of the Dead. If it had been someone else, who had stumbled on their part, I wouldn't have thought any less of them at all. It occurred to me, looking back (which I do...endlessly if I don't stop myself) that I judge myself way more harshly than I judge anyone else. I will beat myself up over really inconsequential things...stuff I would never consider giving someone else grief over.
There is a fine line between striving to be the best you can be and really being down on yourself for trivial mistakes. Obviously, we all want to succeed at everything we set out to do. Ultimately, there will be little trip ups (and sometimes big failures) along the way. Don't let it get you down! Pick yourself up, and move on. Take a moment to recognize what happened if you like. But make sure you look at the bigger picture.
At the end of the night, we had an absolutely lovely ritual, and any hiccups in the execution didn't diminish in any way from the beauty of the gathering and the purpose it fulfilled. I am quite sure that in a month or so, I will probably be the only one who remembers that I stumbled in my part (okay maybe a few others will now that I've rambled about it here *grin). A year from now, it won't make a difference if I had said it perfectly, forgotten it entirely or said the wrong word (for some reason I kept trying to say winter's end when I would practice, not sure why).
After looking at the big picture, step outside yourself for a moment. I can't remember where I read it but someone once said that most people are concerned more about themselves than other people. And I mean that in a good way, not that they don't care about other people, but that five minutes after you embarrass yourself most everyone else will have forgotten (if they were even aware of it in the first place).
Just a quick aside: there are idiots and bastages out there who live to make other people feel bad. These people will go out of their way to loudly and publicly mock you for anything they can possibly make up. They aren't worth the time to respond to, and your real friends won't listen to them anyways, so don't give them the satisfaction of bothering with.
Bottom line is this. Treat yourself with the love and forgiveness you would treat another. Let your stumbles, mistakes and down right failures go with a laugh and a smile. Know that each step you take is a step forward, even if it involves falling flat on your face. It's never as bad as we think it is.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Inactivity
Today begins my month of madness. I have been doing National Novel Writing Month for years now (I want to say five, but not certain). I am crazy enough to have finished every year. I won't lie, it is hard, and there are definitely days that I don't want to write. I set my daily goal higher than the minimum...high enough that I can finish 5 days early, or have 5 days to slack off if I end up getting busy with other things. 2000 words a day doesn't sound like that much, or look like that much, but when you are trying to write with a goal in mind, sometimes it seems endless.
What really surprised me the first time I did it, and to a lesser extent every time since, is how having that 2k word goal a day not only pushes me to write, but pushes me to do other things too. As I have mentioned before, I am a stay at home mom. There are quite a few days where I really don't have anything specific I have to do. And this can be problematic for me. I kind of like having stuff to do, not just stuff I can be busy with, but a focused goal. Even goals I set for myself can be kind of set aside. It is easy to make excuses to one's self (though those are the worst excuses to make, trying to pull the wool over your own eyes is an exercise in futility).
I go through periods where nothing seems to appeal. I will find myself sitting and staring off at nothing, just trying to sort out what I want to do. I will turn to things that will distract the mind but that don't require much effort, such as TV or reading (what I call easy reading, things that don't require or encourage thought). Sometimes I can't even get myself motivated enough to do those.
When I have a project to work on, everything else seems to fade away. I can become consumed, and for me that is a good thing. It snowballs. One good project gets my mind fired up, and I seem to run in all directions at once. It brings it's own struggles, trying to stay focused enough on one thing to get something done can be a challenge.
NaNo (the short way of referring to National Novel Writing Month) was intimidating the first time I thought about it. Writing 50,000 words in one month. Even broken down, 2000 words today, it is big. Part of that scope is what makes it exhilarating. At the end of my words for the day I feel like I have done something. If I know I am going to have a busy day, and I push and get my words done, I feel even better.
And I find that the writing process sparks interest in many other things. I sometimes have to work to keep at the keyboard and finish my words because I'll get drawn into doing something else. I leave myself notes (I absolutely love having sticky notes as an application on my computer, there are little notes all over it somedays). Notes are a tiny extension of lists, of which I am also a huge fan. Lists help me get things done, and help me remember what I need to do when memory fails me. Lists help me organize. And much like breaking NaNo down into bite sized 2k word a day chunks, lists give a sense of accomplishment as each item is checked off and the list finally gets done.
This year I am really challenging myself. Every other year for NaNo, I have written fiction. I have written things that let me be crazy and go in whatever direction my mind leads. I don't judge my NaNo writing. I have written a novel that was more or less one long dream sequence. I wrote one that started out to be a vent against people who annoy me and ended up being a kind of random food description. My vampire novel spent pages exploring crazy technology I dreamed up. But this year, I am going non-fiction. I am going to write about my form of modern Paganism, which should prove challenging. I am always second guessing myself, when I write non-fiction, wanting to include more information, all the why's and how's and all those other questions that swarm around in my brain. I want things to be perfect, and I never feel like I am explaining myself well.
So here goes, my foray into non-fiction in a crazy month of writing. Wish me luck!
What really surprised me the first time I did it, and to a lesser extent every time since, is how having that 2k word goal a day not only pushes me to write, but pushes me to do other things too. As I have mentioned before, I am a stay at home mom. There are quite a few days where I really don't have anything specific I have to do. And this can be problematic for me. I kind of like having stuff to do, not just stuff I can be busy with, but a focused goal. Even goals I set for myself can be kind of set aside. It is easy to make excuses to one's self (though those are the worst excuses to make, trying to pull the wool over your own eyes is an exercise in futility).
I go through periods where nothing seems to appeal. I will find myself sitting and staring off at nothing, just trying to sort out what I want to do. I will turn to things that will distract the mind but that don't require much effort, such as TV or reading (what I call easy reading, things that don't require or encourage thought). Sometimes I can't even get myself motivated enough to do those.
When I have a project to work on, everything else seems to fade away. I can become consumed, and for me that is a good thing. It snowballs. One good project gets my mind fired up, and I seem to run in all directions at once. It brings it's own struggles, trying to stay focused enough on one thing to get something done can be a challenge.
NaNo (the short way of referring to National Novel Writing Month) was intimidating the first time I thought about it. Writing 50,000 words in one month. Even broken down, 2000 words today, it is big. Part of that scope is what makes it exhilarating. At the end of my words for the day I feel like I have done something. If I know I am going to have a busy day, and I push and get my words done, I feel even better.
And I find that the writing process sparks interest in many other things. I sometimes have to work to keep at the keyboard and finish my words because I'll get drawn into doing something else. I leave myself notes (I absolutely love having sticky notes as an application on my computer, there are little notes all over it somedays). Notes are a tiny extension of lists, of which I am also a huge fan. Lists help me get things done, and help me remember what I need to do when memory fails me. Lists help me organize. And much like breaking NaNo down into bite sized 2k word a day chunks, lists give a sense of accomplishment as each item is checked off and the list finally gets done.
This year I am really challenging myself. Every other year for NaNo, I have written fiction. I have written things that let me be crazy and go in whatever direction my mind leads. I don't judge my NaNo writing. I have written a novel that was more or less one long dream sequence. I wrote one that started out to be a vent against people who annoy me and ended up being a kind of random food description. My vampire novel spent pages exploring crazy technology I dreamed up. But this year, I am going non-fiction. I am going to write about my form of modern Paganism, which should prove challenging. I am always second guessing myself, when I write non-fiction, wanting to include more information, all the why's and how's and all those other questions that swarm around in my brain. I want things to be perfect, and I never feel like I am explaining myself well.
So here goes, my foray into non-fiction in a crazy month of writing. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Tools of Earth
This was the last of the four base element tools that I found. I have seen some beautiful carved and burnt wooden pentacles that would make lovely earth tools. Mine is a simple silver-tone coaster. It doesn't have a pentacle on it at all, but it is flat and round. I use it mainly as a blessing spot, sort of a small energy nexus on my altar. If I am making offerings or putting energy into something, it goes on my pentacle. I guess maybe I should call it a shield.
The first time I read about using a shield for an earth tool I thought it was a bit fantasy roleplaying....not that I have a problem with that, it just seemed a bit contrived to me. But the more I thought about it, the pentacle is a shield, just not the kind that stops swords (unless they are magic swords!). The pentacle symbol and tool are often used interchangeably (though most of my pentacle jewelry is blessed towards five elemental balance not just earth). It is very commonly used as a symbol of protection or warding, much like the magic circle actually.
I was going to talk about the pentacle symbol and my thoughts on it's meaning in another post, but it kind of fits here, so here we go. If you think about the pentacle shape, you have the pentagon in the middle, surrounded by the 5 triangles pointing out and finally enclosed in a circle. I see energy as moving through the pentacle in mainly two ways, in or out. The star becomes a focus for either sending energy out along the points from the middle or drawing energy in to the center. Either can be used for shielding or charging, depending on how you want to work things. If you envision the pentacle as a shield, a 'hit' could be drawn inward and absorbed (neutralized) or spread outward and dissipated. For blessing or spellwork, you can draw energy in through the points to charge the item in the center or draw energy in through the center (and the item) and then send it out along the pentacle points to do it's work.
When I was writing about water tools, I almost included my mortar and pestle, because a lot of times they are associated with water. I know people who use them as they would a cauldron. I don't really. Mine is an earth tool. The process of grinding something down to me is a very earth process. But also, I rarely use it for liquid processes, normally it is dry grinding and mixing only.
I know a lot of people use crystals as earth symbols, and I do sometimes. I have a small collection I inherited from another witch as well as rocks I have collected over the years (some from as long ago as grade school). Some I use as symbols of other elements. I have favorites I use to cast circles with (not just as quarter markers, I actually normally use 12 to mark a circle). I'm not sure I would consider my stones tools of earth though, because I do use them for such a variety of things.
The first time I read about using a shield for an earth tool I thought it was a bit fantasy roleplaying....not that I have a problem with that, it just seemed a bit contrived to me. But the more I thought about it, the pentacle is a shield, just not the kind that stops swords (unless they are magic swords!). The pentacle symbol and tool are often used interchangeably (though most of my pentacle jewelry is blessed towards five elemental balance not just earth). It is very commonly used as a symbol of protection or warding, much like the magic circle actually.
I was going to talk about the pentacle symbol and my thoughts on it's meaning in another post, but it kind of fits here, so here we go. If you think about the pentacle shape, you have the pentagon in the middle, surrounded by the 5 triangles pointing out and finally enclosed in a circle. I see energy as moving through the pentacle in mainly two ways, in or out. The star becomes a focus for either sending energy out along the points from the middle or drawing energy in to the center. Either can be used for shielding or charging, depending on how you want to work things. If you envision the pentacle as a shield, a 'hit' could be drawn inward and absorbed (neutralized) or spread outward and dissipated. For blessing or spellwork, you can draw energy in through the points to charge the item in the center or draw energy in through the center (and the item) and then send it out along the pentacle points to do it's work.
When I was writing about water tools, I almost included my mortar and pestle, because a lot of times they are associated with water. I know people who use them as they would a cauldron. I don't really. Mine is an earth tool. The process of grinding something down to me is a very earth process. But also, I rarely use it for liquid processes, normally it is dry grinding and mixing only.
I know a lot of people use crystals as earth symbols, and I do sometimes. I have a small collection I inherited from another witch as well as rocks I have collected over the years (some from as long ago as grade school). Some I use as symbols of other elements. I have favorites I use to cast circles with (not just as quarter markers, I actually normally use 12 to mark a circle). I'm not sure I would consider my stones tools of earth though, because I do use them for such a variety of things.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
I am a Bokononist!
As the sentence of the Books of Bokonon states: "All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies." Recently I was reminded of Bokononism, which I first experienced in high school. Bokononism is a religion that was created by a character in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s book Cat's Cradle. In the book, a man named Johnson was shipwrecked on a fictional Caribbean island. In the island's local language, Johnson was pronounced Bokonon. Seeing the state of the people, Bokonon and his fellow shipwreckee decided to take over and make everyone's better, and to do so they created Bokononism. The basis of which is the premise that Bokononism (and it's texts) are formed entirely of lies, but if you through belief and adherence to these lies, you can be happy.
One of my longstanding statements is that Truth (with a capital T) is absolutely unknowable, and not only is it unknowable, but it is absolutely useless. My truth, what is real to me, could be very different from what is real to you. If there is an absolute reality, knowing it is impossible, and can not benefit my life in any way. It is through seeking my own truth that I find my path. I think this could very easily be translated into Bokononism's concept of foma- harmless untruths.
"Live by the foma that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy." One of the reasons Bokonon based his religion on lies was that the truth that was apparent on the island when he landed was horrible. The people were starving and poor, and all they could see around them was misery. By building up this religion of lies, he gave them hope. Picking and choosing your lies is a very tricky thing. Looking back at the concept of foma, it's not just about lies.
Harmless untruths could be considered white lies. We live in a society where many people prefer to be told little white lies than be told the truth. People don't want to be told they are overweight, that they don't have model looks or that they aren't wealthy. Deep inside they know the reality of these things, and yet with a few foma, things aren't quite the same.
I think that one of the key attributes people forget when thinking of foma is 'healthy'. Live by the foma that make you healthy. I am not a slender model. By the scale (which I don't even own), I need to drop quite a few pounds to be in the healthy range. But when I think of myself I don't think obese. My foma is not that I think I am skinny, but that I live like I am skinny. Think of it a bit like 'fake it until you make it'. I might not be a dancer anymore, but I still dance.
Bokononism has quite a cache of unique terms. Zah-mah-ki-bo is inevitable destiny. I think that a lot of Bokononism revolves around this concept. Not in the sense of having no control of your life, but rather that there are currents in your life that lead you places. You might have the choice of how you get to those places, but sometimes you will notice that you seem to be drifting in a particular way. Maybe you wanted to be an artist all your life, but every time you work to pursue your goal, you get nudged in another direction. Now, of course, this doesn't mean you can't be an artist, but it is very worth while to see where the winds of your life are leading you. Maybe there are things you need to do first that will make your artistic life even better.
Human beings want to understand. We want to quantify things. We want to be able to point a finger and say, "there! that is the reason for all this stuff that is going on." We don't like feeling helpless. We want to feel like we are advanced and that we have evolved to a point where we can control the world around us. We want to feel superior.
And so we fight our zah-mah-ki-bo. We stubbornly beat ourselves against the same dead end, trying the same failing strategies to get through the brick wall. We are blinded by what we see as truth and can't use our foma to create a door through to the other side. It's not a matter of thinking outside the box but one of realizing that the box is just walls we made up to protect ourselves from the chaos that is life.
The best and most powerful thing about foma is they are mutable. I can change my foma as needed. I create the world I want to live in by believing in it, not by trying to find a way to live with the cards that are dealt to me. A Bokononist who is about to commit suicide says, "Now I will destroy the whole world." And in a very real sense they are. When I die, the whole world will die with me....or at least that will be my perspective, and ultimately that is the only reality there is.
One of my longstanding statements is that Truth (with a capital T) is absolutely unknowable, and not only is it unknowable, but it is absolutely useless. My truth, what is real to me, could be very different from what is real to you. If there is an absolute reality, knowing it is impossible, and can not benefit my life in any way. It is through seeking my own truth that I find my path. I think this could very easily be translated into Bokononism's concept of foma- harmless untruths.
"Live by the foma that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy." One of the reasons Bokonon based his religion on lies was that the truth that was apparent on the island when he landed was horrible. The people were starving and poor, and all they could see around them was misery. By building up this religion of lies, he gave them hope. Picking and choosing your lies is a very tricky thing. Looking back at the concept of foma, it's not just about lies.
Harmless untruths could be considered white lies. We live in a society where many people prefer to be told little white lies than be told the truth. People don't want to be told they are overweight, that they don't have model looks or that they aren't wealthy. Deep inside they know the reality of these things, and yet with a few foma, things aren't quite the same.
I think that one of the key attributes people forget when thinking of foma is 'healthy'. Live by the foma that make you healthy. I am not a slender model. By the scale (which I don't even own), I need to drop quite a few pounds to be in the healthy range. But when I think of myself I don't think obese. My foma is not that I think I am skinny, but that I live like I am skinny. Think of it a bit like 'fake it until you make it'. I might not be a dancer anymore, but I still dance.
Bokononism has quite a cache of unique terms. Zah-mah-ki-bo is inevitable destiny. I think that a lot of Bokononism revolves around this concept. Not in the sense of having no control of your life, but rather that there are currents in your life that lead you places. You might have the choice of how you get to those places, but sometimes you will notice that you seem to be drifting in a particular way. Maybe you wanted to be an artist all your life, but every time you work to pursue your goal, you get nudged in another direction. Now, of course, this doesn't mean you can't be an artist, but it is very worth while to see where the winds of your life are leading you. Maybe there are things you need to do first that will make your artistic life even better.
Human beings want to understand. We want to quantify things. We want to be able to point a finger and say, "there! that is the reason for all this stuff that is going on." We don't like feeling helpless. We want to feel like we are advanced and that we have evolved to a point where we can control the world around us. We want to feel superior.
And so we fight our zah-mah-ki-bo. We stubbornly beat ourselves against the same dead end, trying the same failing strategies to get through the brick wall. We are blinded by what we see as truth and can't use our foma to create a door through to the other side. It's not a matter of thinking outside the box but one of realizing that the box is just walls we made up to protect ourselves from the chaos that is life.
The best and most powerful thing about foma is they are mutable. I can change my foma as needed. I create the world I want to live in by believing in it, not by trying to find a way to live with the cards that are dealt to me. A Bokononist who is about to commit suicide says, "Now I will destroy the whole world." And in a very real sense they are. When I die, the whole world will die with me....or at least that will be my perspective, and ultimately that is the only reality there is.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Water tools
I've always wanted a cast iron cauldron, and someday I'll get one. Though it is the most iconic water tool in some ways, I don't really associate the cauldron with water, probably because I would burn things in it more than I would use it to hold liquids. I do have a small ceramic cauldron, only an inch or so in diameter. I forget where I got it from, but when I want to offer water or other liquid in a ritual, I often use it. It's a good size for solitary practice.
I also have two chalices. Both I got from kitchen goods stores. The first is a dark red crystal wine glass, so dark it looks black unless you hold it directly up to a light. The second I probably wouldn't have gotten if I didn't have the first. It's a very pale pink at the top, a champagne flute, and the stem is a pale green and they fade into each other in the middle. It's not my typical style, but when I saw it I thought it would make a nice contrast to the other, so I would have one for darker aspects and one for lighter.
I don't always make offerings for solitary rituals (excepting Sabbats) so I don't always use a chalice in workings. I used to use them more, but I used to use more elaborate circle castings all the time. The kind where you use the Athame to mix salt into blessed water and consecrate the circle. I think when I was starting out, I needed more ritual all the time, and now I break out the fancy ritual for special occasions, but it isn't necessary for every circle. Perhaps it is a confidence thing, but I don't feel I need the salt and water to purify space, I am more than capable of doing it all on my own. Of course, if I am working something big, or just want that extra zing, I'll go that extra mile.
I have a couple of things I consider tools of water that don't typically get mentioned. The first is a bottle that I store blessed water in. It is one of those green glass beer bottles, the ones with the fancy ceramic stopper hinged to the top with metal. I fill it with water and then bless it myself. Normally it lives on my altar, and is my representation of water.
I also do a lot of water work in the bathtub. Though I haven't consecrated the tub itself, I typically bless the water and sprinkle it with salt. I have also used herbs in the tub as needed (if you don't want bits of herbs floating about, use a teabag of appropriate tea or make your own with a coffee filter tied together). The tub is absolutely my go-to when I am emotionally out of wack and can't seem to pull myself back together.
I also have two chalices. Both I got from kitchen goods stores. The first is a dark red crystal wine glass, so dark it looks black unless you hold it directly up to a light. The second I probably wouldn't have gotten if I didn't have the first. It's a very pale pink at the top, a champagne flute, and the stem is a pale green and they fade into each other in the middle. It's not my typical style, but when I saw it I thought it would make a nice contrast to the other, so I would have one for darker aspects and one for lighter.
I don't always make offerings for solitary rituals (excepting Sabbats) so I don't always use a chalice in workings. I used to use them more, but I used to use more elaborate circle castings all the time. The kind where you use the Athame to mix salt into blessed water and consecrate the circle. I think when I was starting out, I needed more ritual all the time, and now I break out the fancy ritual for special occasions, but it isn't necessary for every circle. Perhaps it is a confidence thing, but I don't feel I need the salt and water to purify space, I am more than capable of doing it all on my own. Of course, if I am working something big, or just want that extra zing, I'll go that extra mile.
I have a couple of things I consider tools of water that don't typically get mentioned. The first is a bottle that I store blessed water in. It is one of those green glass beer bottles, the ones with the fancy ceramic stopper hinged to the top with metal. I fill it with water and then bless it myself. Normally it lives on my altar, and is my representation of water.
I also do a lot of water work in the bathtub. Though I haven't consecrated the tub itself, I typically bless the water and sprinkle it with salt. I have also used herbs in the tub as needed (if you don't want bits of herbs floating about, use a teabag of appropriate tea or make your own with a coffee filter tied together). The tub is absolutely my go-to when I am emotionally out of wack and can't seem to pull myself back together.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Memorization
I was watching the Paralympic closing Ceremony, and it was absolutely lovely (for those who haven't seen it, go see! It's druidy). The main speaker reads from a book and I was thinking about that. There is a big push in a lot of circles to memorize everything said in ritual (or speak from the heart...but either way it's sans book). There is a lot of reasoning for this, but I think that a proper speaker can make a read passage wonderful.
I'm a memorizer. Have been since gradeschool when I had to memorize poems (which I can still recite: Jaberwocky and Stopping by Woods). Once something is locked in my brain it becomes a part of me. I like the fact I don't have to run and find the book I saw something in to reference it. When it comes to lyrical or poetic pieces, I love being able to just ramble them off without a lot of thought.
I recently got into chanting, and that is so much fun. I think that chanting really illustrates the power of memorization. You don't want to have to think about what comes next in a chant. To really get into it and feel the chant, it has to become a part of you, something you just are and can do. The words flow out of you and you don't have to pay attention to them, they just are.
My memorization process is essentially two-fold. There is an initial period of learning. In terms of a spoken thing, I say/chant/sing it while looking at the lyrics. I do this typically as many times in a row as I have time for. I don't try to remember what comes next, I just read the words as they come and try to keep the flow going. Sometimes I'll put songs on repeat on my computer so I listen to a grouping over and over for several days. Step two is a bit counter-intuative, but has been part of my learning process since high school (or at least that is when I figured out it was part of my learning process). I walk away. I go on and do something else and don't try to think about it for a while. Almost always, after a couple of days, I can recite whatever it is just fine and a lot more naturally than I could before that resting period.
It's a little different for information, though the immersion-rest cycle is similar. When I start trying to learn something new, something that I know I'll want to remember without having to go look it up, I go through an intensely obsessive period where I read everything I can get my hands on. I'll have multiple tabs open on my computer so I can compare different pieces to each other or look up stuff that one resource references. Writing is an important part of my learning process too. I find I learn and remember better if I work on making my own copy of the information, putting it into my own words or combining different ideas into a cohesive whole. The more involved I can get my brain, the better.
What I struggle with is seeing a project through to the end. My attention span is quite spastic, so sometimes in the middle of working on something, I'll get drawn in an entirely new direction. I'll end up on a whole other project before I realize I've left the first one, and it can be years before I get back to what I started. What I find though is that I often retain a lot more than I thought I would, sometimes I'll get asked something or try to explain something and realize that I have a broader understanding than I would have said I had.
But back to memorization. One of my favorite quotes is from Indiana Jones: "I wrote them down (in my diary) so I wouldn't HAVE to remember them." There are some parts of my practice that I feel are key. Concepts that are so integral to the workings of everything else that if I didn't have them memorized I wouldn't be practicing anything, just doing random motions that had no meaning. The elements and their correspondences (in general) are one of these things. I never have to look in my books to remember what colors go with which quarter, or what the elements represent. If I go obscure enough, then yes I do have to look stuff up (I doubt I could tell you what choir of angel is associated with east of the top of my head). But that is why I write down stuff that interests me...so that when I want to find it again, I have it.
When I first started practicing, I had some pretty hefty Wiccan (in the mass published sense) influences. The charge of the Goddess, the story of the decent of the Goddess, the great rite...these all have wonderful spoken bits, but weren't things I used often enough to memorize. The Wiccan book of Law is waaaay too long to bother with (though I did hand copy all ten pages of it). I have copies of various Sabbat rituals with full spoken texts that I think are pretty, and if I were ever to perform those particular rituals, I might memorize the bits I was supposed to say.
The one drawback I find to memorization is that things that become rote...become rote. It is really easy to slip into automatic drive and say the words and go through the motions without engaging the deeper mind. I did some work with the LBRP (lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram), and I don't know if it was the daily repetition, the resonating of the letters, the angelic imagery or what, but I found it hard to really commit to it. I would catch myself, saying the words and doing the gestures and whole sections would have passed and I didn't really remember more than that I had done them.
So, to memorize or not to memorize....I guess for me it depends on what I'm doing. Some things I am definitely drawn to memorize and not have to look up. I am always looking for new sources of information and impressions on runes because divination is definitely in the "don't want to have to look up" category. It just kinda blocks me if I have to go looking through a book to find out what something means. Chants are definitely in the memorization category (as are songs). Most of everything else falls into the "whatever my whim leads me to do", sometimes I'll feel the need to memorize stuff, sometimes I'll feel the need to just copy it down and not really internalize it....and sometimes I'll think I'm just copying it and will find it cropping up enough that one day I realize I remember it without having to go look it up.
I'm a memorizer. Have been since gradeschool when I had to memorize poems (which I can still recite: Jaberwocky and Stopping by Woods). Once something is locked in my brain it becomes a part of me. I like the fact I don't have to run and find the book I saw something in to reference it. When it comes to lyrical or poetic pieces, I love being able to just ramble them off without a lot of thought.
I recently got into chanting, and that is so much fun. I think that chanting really illustrates the power of memorization. You don't want to have to think about what comes next in a chant. To really get into it and feel the chant, it has to become a part of you, something you just are and can do. The words flow out of you and you don't have to pay attention to them, they just are.
My memorization process is essentially two-fold. There is an initial period of learning. In terms of a spoken thing, I say/chant/sing it while looking at the lyrics. I do this typically as many times in a row as I have time for. I don't try to remember what comes next, I just read the words as they come and try to keep the flow going. Sometimes I'll put songs on repeat on my computer so I listen to a grouping over and over for several days. Step two is a bit counter-intuative, but has been part of my learning process since high school (or at least that is when I figured out it was part of my learning process). I walk away. I go on and do something else and don't try to think about it for a while. Almost always, after a couple of days, I can recite whatever it is just fine and a lot more naturally than I could before that resting period.
It's a little different for information, though the immersion-rest cycle is similar. When I start trying to learn something new, something that I know I'll want to remember without having to go look it up, I go through an intensely obsessive period where I read everything I can get my hands on. I'll have multiple tabs open on my computer so I can compare different pieces to each other or look up stuff that one resource references. Writing is an important part of my learning process too. I find I learn and remember better if I work on making my own copy of the information, putting it into my own words or combining different ideas into a cohesive whole. The more involved I can get my brain, the better.
What I struggle with is seeing a project through to the end. My attention span is quite spastic, so sometimes in the middle of working on something, I'll get drawn in an entirely new direction. I'll end up on a whole other project before I realize I've left the first one, and it can be years before I get back to what I started. What I find though is that I often retain a lot more than I thought I would, sometimes I'll get asked something or try to explain something and realize that I have a broader understanding than I would have said I had.
But back to memorization. One of my favorite quotes is from Indiana Jones: "I wrote them down (in my diary) so I wouldn't HAVE to remember them." There are some parts of my practice that I feel are key. Concepts that are so integral to the workings of everything else that if I didn't have them memorized I wouldn't be practicing anything, just doing random motions that had no meaning. The elements and their correspondences (in general) are one of these things. I never have to look in my books to remember what colors go with which quarter, or what the elements represent. If I go obscure enough, then yes I do have to look stuff up (I doubt I could tell you what choir of angel is associated with east of the top of my head). But that is why I write down stuff that interests me...so that when I want to find it again, I have it.
When I first started practicing, I had some pretty hefty Wiccan (in the mass published sense) influences. The charge of the Goddess, the story of the decent of the Goddess, the great rite...these all have wonderful spoken bits, but weren't things I used often enough to memorize. The Wiccan book of Law is waaaay too long to bother with (though I did hand copy all ten pages of it). I have copies of various Sabbat rituals with full spoken texts that I think are pretty, and if I were ever to perform those particular rituals, I might memorize the bits I was supposed to say.
The one drawback I find to memorization is that things that become rote...become rote. It is really easy to slip into automatic drive and say the words and go through the motions without engaging the deeper mind. I did some work with the LBRP (lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram), and I don't know if it was the daily repetition, the resonating of the letters, the angelic imagery or what, but I found it hard to really commit to it. I would catch myself, saying the words and doing the gestures and whole sections would have passed and I didn't really remember more than that I had done them.
So, to memorize or not to memorize....I guess for me it depends on what I'm doing. Some things I am definitely drawn to memorize and not have to look up. I am always looking for new sources of information and impressions on runes because divination is definitely in the "don't want to have to look up" category. It just kinda blocks me if I have to go looking through a book to find out what something means. Chants are definitely in the memorization category (as are songs). Most of everything else falls into the "whatever my whim leads me to do", sometimes I'll feel the need to memorize stuff, sometimes I'll feel the need to just copy it down and not really internalize it....and sometimes I'll think I'm just copying it and will find it cropping up enough that one day I realize I remember it without having to go look it up.
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