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An uphill climb is usually related to some kind of struggle in your waking life. This dream could involve a hill, a mountain, a ladder, etc. How steep the climb is and how much difficulty you have making it can be a reflection of similar circumstances in your waking life. If the climb is really difficult, it could be that the obstacle you are facing or the thing you hope to achieve is turning out to be more than you bargained for. You might be trying to grow your circle of friends, join a team or club, or reach some other new goal. If it feels like things are going too slowly, maybe you need to step back and evaluate the situation and come up with a better path to get you to where you want to be. Success is in your future if you approach it the right way.

The Poetic Edda is one of the basic texts of The Lore, the collectively decided cannon of Asatru and related Heathen sects. Thorstein Mayfield has made a new translation, with extensive footnotes. It was sent to Witches and Pagans Magazine for review.

This new translation of the Poetic Edda is subtitled A Heathen Study Edition: Mythological Poems. Author Thorstein Mayfield holds a Master’s in Literature from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. He is a founding member of Woden’s Folk Kindred in Texas, the organization that owns the publishing company which published this book.

I like science metaphors when talking about heathen concepts that differ from the ideas common in our current modern American culture. In the Fireverse, my fictional universe based on heathen mythology (see previous entries on that topic), the main human character is an author stand-in who gets a guided tour to the worlds and time, like the main human character in Dante's Bible fan fiction. Like me, she likes science and especially physics as spiritual and religious metaphors, so, the Hel-Boat looks like a Viking longship but behaves like a spaceship, landing and taking off from the Nine Worlds as if they were planet type worlds rather than the dimensions the main character knows them to be. Metaphors for the multipartite soul didn't come up in Some Say Fire because the main character is already in her afterlife after the opening scene, but I'm thinking about them now.

Reading Heathen Soul Lore Foundations to review it (review coming soon), I encountered a metaphor for the various parts of the human soul based on alchemy, especially the idea of refining salts to transform substances into other things. This metaphor just doesn't work for me because I'm not into alchemy. During my daily morning coffee ritual I had a conversation in my mind with Odin about metaphors for the soul.

Here is a soothing sip that can uplift your spirits anytime and serves to ward off chills. This combination of herbs helps to bring about letting go of sorrows, worries, and doubts and reignites feelings of self-love.

Stir the following together in a clean cauldron:

Another gay bar, another mass shooting.

Sickening. Predictable.

This time, though, we fought back.

When the gunman opened fire at Club Q in Colorado Springs on Saturday night, two warriors—military folk, I gather—took him down.

One, I hear, took his handgun off of him and clocked him with it. As of this writing, he's still in the hospital.

Good.

It's a hard world. Back in tribal days, absolutely everyone—men and women included—had at least some warrior training, growing up.

Really, they should be teaching (along with dance) self-defense in every phys ed class in every school in the country.

My first Hebrew teacher, Yehudit, was built like a bird—light, petite—but, like every Israeli, she'd been in the army, and been trained in krav mag'a, unarmed combat.

When the mugger pulled the gun on her and some friends in downtown Minneapolis one night, she single-handedly took him down, took the gun away from him, and said: Now: do you get out of here, or do I break your arm?

He ran, of course.

There are people out there that hate us and (thank you Donald Trump) believe that they have a right to do something about it. We know this.

There will be other shootings in other gay bars. We know this.

Some things to remember if you're there when the next shooter opens fire:

A Ritual for Thanksgiving:

Take a walk.
Find a pretty rock.
Don’t take it.
Go home.
Keep your promise.

This is an excerpt from my essay forthcoming this week at Feminism and Religion, reflections on colonization, war, and who invented jelly.

I will be taking a break from posting here for a couple of weeks to focus on finishing things up in the shop as we prepare for our winter holiday break. December's free practice update for #30DaysofGoddess will be ready for you this weekend--a new video + printable sampler pack of prayercards and resources.

May you know the warmth of connection and the hearth of community. May you breathe in great breaths of gratitude and breathe out great breaths of peace.

Gemstones are cherished for their incredible durability and eternal beauty. The variety of gems is quite wide, but the U.S. Trade Commission lists only emeralds, natural rubies, diamonds, and sapphires as precious gemstones. All others are considered semiprecious, which seems a bit limited to me but is nonetheless the rule of thumb, according to governmental authorities. Rubies, if unflawed and of a perfect, deep red, are the most valuable of all gems, being the least available. Emeralds are next, and diamonds, perhaps surprisingly, are the last in line of this precious trio. Interestingly, the ancient Egyptians actually valued semiprecious stones more. The Egyptians made a vast study of gems of all kinds, and the earliest writing of any kind about these sacred stones was found on papyrus dating back to 1500 B.C.

Gems have fascinated and played important roles in the lives of historical figures from alchemists to biblical scholars. The famous philosopher’s stone is, of course, purported to be a gem of enormous power and significance. Gem lore tells us that a stone can also have the power to throw a life into disarray. Marie Antoinette lost her head as a result of the public outcry over a purloined diamond necklace, and everyone who owned the Hope diamond either died before their time or was bankrupted until it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. Bearing these examples in mind, just know that stones carry energy, and if they are stolen or ill- gotten, the energy clinging to the stones can greatly impact the owners and wearers. Being honorable is essential when you are wielding stone power. Having said that, the pleasures of owning and working with gemstones can be enormous. Gems can adorn your hand and help make you wiser. A gem-power pendant can open your heart to love and give you greater happiness than you have ever known. Gem power can heal your body and clear your mind.