Before you enjoy a friendly repast together, hold hands and recite:
Sister, brother, tribe of the soul, ones who care.Breaking bread and quaffing mead
We draw closer in word and deed.
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A lot will no doubt have already been said about the festival of Imbolc, and the goddess Brigit, but what is often overlooked is how many prayers, blessings and charms there are in our traditional lore to honour and work with her.
At this time, a ritual 'saining' or blessing of yourself and your home is especially important and can bring a fresh, clearer energy into your psyche and your space.
...Minoan culture centered on the island of Crete, which lies in the Mediterranean Sea just south of Greece. The Minoans were a seagoing people: they fished, they traded, and they traveled in boats and ships. So it makes sense that they would have incorporated these major facets of their lives into their spiritual practice.
We don't know for certain what the Minoans did to bless ships before a voyage. But tidbits that made it through the Bronze Age collapse and ended up in the works of later writers, combined with archaeoastronomy research, suggest that the Minoan sailing season had a definite beginning and ending: the heliacal rising of the Pleiades in May and the heliacal setting of that constellation in late October.* This makes sense, given that the winds during the wintertime would have made sailing in that era quite hazardous (not that it's a whole lot easier today, but at least we have modern gadgetry and gas-powered engines to help).
...Home blessing spell
Before you start the blessing for your home it is advisable to clean your house. Sorry…I know housework is boring but it makes sense to clean your home from top to bottom first. Once you are done if you have a besom (broom) it also adds a bit of magic cleansing to sweep the house symbolically. Sweep from the back of the house to the front, sweeping all the negative energy out of the door.
...A large part of the work at Druid College is teaching our apprentices how to re-weave the connection to the land each and every day. We cover a wide-range of topics in doing so, from conscious consumerism, political and environmental activism, daily and seasonal ritual celebrations and more. Our focus from our last weekend was on daily connection, how we can bring everyday actions into our practice, to make the mundane sacred; indeed, to highlight the fact that there is no such thing as the mundane. It's only in our perception.
Part of the homework given was to write an essay on how the apprentice can re-weave the connection every day. I thought I would share what I do with them, and you, in the hopes that it may inspire you on your path.
Bonnie Blackwell (Fort Bragg, CA) I channel art and poetry. I live two lives: one, at my home by the sea in northern Calif, and the other, in Zurich, Switzerland. Anyone interested in my work can contact me at artbblackwell@gmail.com
Autumn Skye Morrison (Powell River, BC) In creating art I find my stillness and rhythm, my teacher and passion. Each painting offers a reflection of the light and shadow of our humanity, our sublime geometry, and our timeless divinity. May we celebrate this fantastic adventure, inspire, and be inspired. autumnskyemorrison.com