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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in daily practice

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

Being in the world to see it,
is the best way to learn
its secrets and stories.
Walking with a poet’s eyes,
a dreamer’s mind,
and a witch’s heart,
is the best way to
fully inhabit
the story of your own life
as it is being written
right now.
Choosing to see
the magic
that is at work,
right now
exactly where you are,
is a radical and revolutionary act
of re-enchanting the world.

b2ap3_thumbnail_purple-and-teal-muse-on-mossy-stones.jpg

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

Today, I sought the pines
and stones
once more.
Descending into the steep gully
to look for sweet water
easing its way
from the depths to trickle
across ancient stones.
I found both comfort and delight
in sitting by a tiny pool,
looking into the water,
allowing myself to be held
and restored.
I anointed my forehead,
face,
and shoulders with cool drops
from this smallest
of possible waterways,
both unnamed and essential,
and then opened my palms
to the sky
to invite the rain.
I sat with swaying
sycamore, elm, and ash trees
listening to the music they made
with leaf and wind.
I found a turkey feather
in the leaves
beside the water,
soft and fluffy and tipped
with an iridescent greenish shine
I listened to my heart.
I offered up both hope
and dreams
upon this altar of stone and sky.

b2ap3_thumbnail_ooak-orange-muse-with-turkey-feather.jpg

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Sometimes we sink back
and root deep,b2ap3_thumbnail_IMG_6160.PNG
drawing up nourishment
from cool, dark places
and eternal mysteries.
Sometimes we send out
tender shoots
of possibility
tasting the air cautiously,
checking to see
if it is safe to grow.
Sometimes we crack open
with abandon,
casting off our limits
and our caution
and pushing forward with intention,
determined and strong.
Sometimes we rise up
riotous and wild
aching with the fullness to bloom.
Always we are held
on solid ground,
even when we feel lost
and uncertain,
or ferocious and powerful.
Always we are cradled
on a rich and whirling Earth,
the sky above our
bright and bounteous forms.

 

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Posted by on in Studies Blogs
Fire Focus

 

The primary source of heat in our home is our wood stove, and is an important part of my spiritual practice during the cold months of the year. This winter about half of the wood that we are using comes from our land and the rest has been purchased from someone in our county. The fuel we use is local and from the soil of our bioregion. I have a good sense of how long it took for the trees to grow, and the weather and water that fed their growth.  Relying upon the wood stove focuses my awareness, gratitude, and mindfulness in many ways. We do have a modern heating system as a backup plan, but its biggest purpose is to keep the house warm when we are all away on a trip.

...
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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
One Minute at the Altar

Last week I realized that yet again I'd set my standards for my daily practice too high. I couldn't sit at my altar without lighting the candles; I couldn't light the candles if the candles were burned out; I couldn't buy paraffin candles, I had to make my own out of beeswax; I couldn't make my own candles because the kitchen was a mess. This is what happens when you have high hopes and two small children. You sit around wishing you were doing spiritual work while they empty every drawer in the house for the fun of it.

I'm proud to say that I did end up making my own candles, but the compromise was that I did it in the filthy kitchen. If I'd taken the time to clean the kitchen beforehand, you see, then that would have taken up all my candlemaking time, and the next time I went to make candles, it would be filthy again. When I took my new candles to the altar, I thought, "But I can't light them without cleaning the altar off first. And cleansing the space! And refreshing the offerings! And performing invocations!" No, I told myself. I found that I had to give myself permission to do things imperfectly. I let myself cleanse the space. Then I lit the candles and annointed my Cernunnos statue. And that was it.

...
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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Dragon Dancer
    Dragon Dancer says #
    I get email notifications for W&P blog posts, and been holding onto this one until I "had a minute" to really read and not just sk
  • Molly
    Molly says #
    Thanks for this! I appreciated it today, while feeling overwhelmed by a chain of to-dos.

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
You, Your God, and a Stick of Incense

You, your god, and a stick of incense.

That's all that you need to get a daily observance in place.

And—believe me—if you don't have a daily observance going, you need to start one stat. Every good garden requires regular cultivation. What would you think of a friend who only comes to you when she needs something?

Stand before an image of your heart-god.

(I'm using the word “god” inclusively here.) This can be a statue, a picture, or an aniconic symbol.

Stand, don't sit. (Sitting is passive, and this needs to be an act of active engagement.) Think of it as standing to attention. Think of it as rising when someone important enters the room.

Light the incense.

"The offering," they say, "bears the prayer." Actually, coals and a grain or two of quality natural incense would be best, but you can't beat the ease of stick incense. Here, as always in pagan ritual, the offering is the go-between, the mediator.

Be in the presence of your god.

What you do next is up to you. If you pray, pray. If you know a hymn, sing it. If you'd rather stand silently in rapt contemplation, do that. If a state of no-mind better suits you, that's fine. (Silent time with a friend is sometimes the most intimate time of all.) Always, you should be listening for the voice of the god.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
What Pagans Do

Do you know the punishment for cutting down a sacred tree?

Did you know that, at a sacrifice, it's proper at the moment of the killing for women present to cry out?

Do you know why one should always end a funeral with a ring-dance around the grave?

Neither did I.

But now I do, and you will too, once you've read Ken Dowden's European Paganism: The Realities of Cult from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.

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