Cauldron Born Ritual
I began working with Kristoffer Hughes’s Cauldron Born Ritual on Samhain of 2013. I’ve found it to be incredibly moving and inspiring, helping to deepen my practice and drawn my focus back to the very physical aspects of my Druidry.
November 2013 (sorry, no pictures)
December 2013: Divine Intoxication
January 2014: The Cauldron
February: Morfran Afagddu
March: Creirfwy
April: Tegid Foel
May: Morda
June: Cerridwen
July: Gwion Bach
August: Taliesin
September: Cycles
October: Community
November: The Final Rite
The Planets
Inspired by Sarah Fuhro’s astrology classes and by Jason Miller’s (oath-bound) planetary sigils for the Strategic Sorcery course, I decided to do a series of paintings/personal sigils for all ten planets used in modern astrology: The Sun, The Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. While I’ve planned the sigils in advance, the actual crafting of the each piece happens both during the corresponding planetary hour and on the day of the week ruled by that planet. Each painting also has Henry Cornelius Agrippa’s sigils and magic squares on the back, as well as Miller’s SS sigil. The write up of the ritual I used to enliven and link the sigils together can be found here.
30 Days of Adoration: Wayland the Smith
1. A basic introduction of the deity
2. How did you become first aware of this deity?
3. Symbols and icons of this deity
4. A favorite myth or myths of this deity
5. Members of the family – genealogical connections
6. Other related deities and entities associated with this deity
7. Names and epithets
8. Variations on this deity (aspects, regional forms, etc.)
9. Common mistakes about this deity
10. Offerings – historical and UPG
11. Festivals, days, and times sacred to this deity
12. Places associated with this deity and their worship
13. What modern cultural issues are closest to this deity’s heart?
14. Has worship of this deity changed in modern times?
15. Any mundane practices that are associated with this deity?
16. How do you think this deity represents the values of their pantheon and cultural origins?
17. How does this deity relate to other gods and other pantheons?
18. How does this deity stand in terms of gender and sexuality? (historical and/or UPG)
19. What quality or qualities of this god do you most admire? What quality or qualities of them do you find the most troubling?
20. Art that reminds you of this deity
21. Music that makes you think of this deity
22. A quote, a poem, or piece of writing that you think this deity resonates strongly with
23. Your own composition – a piece of writing about or for this deity
24. A time when this deity has helped you
25. A time when this deity has refused to help
26. How has your relationship with this deity changed over time?
27. Worst misconception about this deity that you have encountered
28. Something you wish you knew about this deity but don’t currently
29. Any interesting or unusual UPG to share?
30. Any suggestions for others just starting to learn about this deity?
This was attempted to be effort to be a bit more consistent about blogging in 2013. The idea is to have a weekly prompt to get you writing about your spirituality. In a nice little piece of coincidence, there are 26 letters in the English alphabet, and 52 weeks in a year, which give two weeks with each letter as a seed idea.
Sadly due to life circumstances, I wasn’t able to do as good a job with the last half of the year as I would have liked. Many of the final posts are just pictures, but still hopefully something that will inspire further research into the many plants that can be vital parts of a New England practice.
The list:
A. agrimony, artemesia vulgaris (mugwort)
B. birch, beech
C. cattail, celandine (greater)
D. dandelion, datura
E. Englishman’s foot (plantain), euonymus (spindle tree)
F. forsythia, filipendula ulmaria (meadowsweet)
G. garlic mustard, geranium (cranesbill)
H. hemlock, honeysuckle
I. ilex (holly), ipomoea acuminata (morning glory)
J. juniper, joe-pye weed
K. kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel), kobold gayfeather (liatris/loosestrife)
L. lilac, lavender
M. maple, monarda didyma (bee balm)
N. nepeta (catmint), nettle
O. oregano, ocymum basilium (basil)
P. pine, poke weed
Q. qwert (apple), quercus (oak)
R. raspberry, rose
S. sycamore, skunk cabbage
T. toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy), thyme
U. ulmus (elm), úr (heather)
V. verbena, vaccinium (blueberry)
W. wisteria, weeping cherry
X. x (what this means in scientific botanical names), xenophilia (monocultures are bad!)
Y. yew, yarrow
Z. zebra mallow (Malva sylvestris ‘Zebrina’), Zinfandel grape
Here is a brief bibliography for some of the more esoteric volumes referenced during this series:
Beyerl, P. 1984. The Master Book of Herbalism. Blaine, WA: Phoenix.
Blamires, S. 2005. Celtic Tree Mysteries: Secrets of the Ogham. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn.
Carr-Gomm, P. and S. Carr-Gomm. 2007. The Druid Plant Oracle: Working with the Magical Flora of the Druid Tradition. Illustrated by W. Worthington. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Cunninham, S. 2003. Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn.
Hopman, E.E. 1995. A Druid’s Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.
———. 2008. A Druid’s Herbal of Sacred Tree Medicine. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.
Matthews, J. and W. Worthington. 2003. The Green Man Tree Oracle: Ancient Wisdom from the Greenwood. New York: Barnes and Noble Books.
Murray, L. and C. 1988. The Celtic Tree Oracle: A System of Divination. New York: St. Martin’s.
Strategic Sorcery Homework
If you haven’t heard about Jason Miller’s Strategic Sorcery Course, definitely check it out! It’s absolutely fantastic and I can’t recommend it highly enough. While I completed the practicals for this in 2013, I just haven’t been able to get them written up. It’s time to make one last push to get things finished.
Homework #1
Homework #2
Homework #3
Homework #4
Homework #5
Homework #6
Homework #7
Homework #8
Homework #9
Homework #10
The Druid's Well 
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