• Laguz •
Old English Rune Poem
Lagu (Sea) is by folk thought wide indeed,
If they should dare to go in a ship unsteady,
And the waves terribly frighten them,
And the sea-stallion heed not its bridle.
PaganSquare is a community blog space where Pagans can discuss topics relevant to the life and spiritual practice of all Pagans.
Each day I do a Tarot reading. The time of day varies--Sunday is really the only day I do a morning reading. Sometimes it's when I get home from work around 4:30 and I am sitting with a mug of tea. Other times it's after dinner at 7:30. Most usually it's just before I go to bed, and by that time it's late enough where I don't do a full reading and instead do a single-card draw.
For the last three months or so, the single card I regularly select is the Queen of Pentacles. I use Kris Waldherr's Goddess Tarot, and in that deck the Queen of Pentacles is depicted as a beautiful silk-draped Indian woman, regal and self-assured. (In Waldherr's deck the suit of Pentacles is associated with the goddess Lakshmi.)
...I have been long away from the SageWoman Blogs; having started a new job in January, I am still adjusting to the change in my rhythms and tasks. After four months I still find myself floundering, not quite sure how to fit everything into the twenty-four hours we have every day, and things I find pleasure and solace in, such as all of my writing projects, have been pushed aside so I might focus on work projects and caring for my family. I realize I am not alone in this situation: parents and caregivers all over the world face this same struggle every day, and we all of us end up feeling some sort of guilt over the choices we make.
I am not going to spend this post wondering how to balance everything, or how to avoid feeling the unwarranted yet unavoidable guilt that comes from being a working parent/caregiver. Instead, as today is Beltane eve, I am going to think about what Beltane brings to us, and the joy Beltane trails in its wake. For who doesn't love Beltane? Samhain, Beltane's sister holy day, is dark, mysterious, and magical, but Beltane is altogether different: flowery, glittery, all light and laughter. It is a sabbat of bonfires and music, dancing and faerie-lore. Today I have a rare day off (and I still will be going into work for a meeting later today) and on waking the day felt altogether different, just knowing that I (mostly) had a free day. Generally I wake up in a pleasant mood, as I truly enjoy the work I am now doing, but today I woke happy, not just in a good mood. I am still happy, despite a grumpy getting-sick five year old and the fact that twice now my computer has nearly lost the unsaved drafts of this post. (I am now saving it every two sentences, btw)
...There's been a lot of talk lately in the blogging world about the idea of 'Pagan Community'. I've written a little about it, from my point of view of course. But more ideas are coming as the year moves forward, and it's interesting to see how things are developing, based on both the evolution of the Pagan 'world' and the everyday one.
Generally speaking, Pagans are a social bunch. We like to get together and chat, whinge a bit, put the world to rights over a drink or two, and generally feel the comfort of like-minded folk. Nothing wrong with this at all.
But there are also those of us who prefer solitary practice, working alone, perhaps communicating over the Internet with specific friends, but more comfortable walking our own path in our own way, thank you.
If you don’t personally know me, then this post is going to seem a little odd, mostly because if you read this blog you may have been under the impression that I’ve always loved gardening, and the myriad other tasks related to homesteading, even at the level we’re doing it, but you’d be wrong. Despite my acknowledging that I view at least some of these tasks as activity of veneration for my gods, I view all of them as chores, necessary activities that come with the lifestyle we’ve chosen here. We all have tasks like that, whether it’s as mundane as taking our the trash or not so mundane as driving your chosen livestock to the slaughter-house and taking delivery of a bunch of processed meat products. We also all have priorities for all the things that can take up time in our day like our jobs, families, friends, television, and yes, those chores.
One of the activities that is rather high on my priority list is using my computer to maintain websites, write blogs, and design new graphics and embroideries to sell, and read the news. I've always equated "working" with sitting in front of my computer. My computer has been a close friend of mine for decades, ever since I first sat down in front of the blinking cursor of the family Commodore 64 all those years ago. I've not ever been without a computer since then, and since about 1991, I’ve never been without access to some form of “internet” or “email”, even if they were FIDO and bulletin boards at the start. I’ve seen the potential benefits of being able to earn a living with my computer almost from the start, it’s a very powerful tool. Today, however, I was faced with a brand new experience, one that I did not ever foresee being part of who I am. Today, I wanted to be outside, doing all the labor, sweating, lifting, moving. and all the rest of it. instead of being in front of the computer writing, designing or anything else. So I went outside.
Old English Rune Poem
Lagu (Sea) is by folk thought wide indeed,
If they should dare to go in a ship unsteady,
And the waves terribly frighten them,
And the sea-stallion heed not its bridle.
It's been a while, but I'm back again, lovely readers! I'm currently hard at work on my second book (amongst other projects, as you'll see below), but I will certainly continue to post here as and when I can. Comments and topic requests always welcome.
At this time of year, it's easy to understand why our ancestors (both actual and spiritual), those wise women and cunning men, were considered remote, unusual, untouchable, even fearsome.
As Autumn moves into Winter here in the UK, we feel our natural, animal pull to dig in, hibernate, take time within the darkness to assess the previous year and anticipate the time to come - but I doubt any busy society has ever really allowed that to happen, except when they have no choice. Stoke up the fire, head to the pub or communal house, light and laughter against the outside world.
(Photo - 'Autumn in the New Forest', from Glastonbury Goddess Temple)
A cross-post this week, if I may - between here at my first blog 'home', and the wonderfully eclectic 'Witches & Pagans' site (because if you can't 'moonlight' as a Pagan, then who can?).
I am very aware that I haven't written anything at either location for a couple of weeks. I could give excuses - ultimately, the days have flown past and life has been more important. I'm sure we all know how that goes. Instead, take a wander with me, if you will.
Regular readers know that one of my favourite places for inspiration is as I walk the dog across the hilltop where I live. This evening I wandered the streets, looking out at the fierce clouds parting after an intense rain and thunder-storm just a few hours ago, the remnants of a rainbow, and the slightly 'stunned' feeling of a normal, modern, country village after a violent and unavoidable incident of Nature. The grass is rich and green, the snails appear to have made a small bypass across the path outside one particular row of houses, and the occasional early bat is swooping overhead.