Still a Witch

Sometimes I have to remind myself that even when I don't do anything overtly witchy during a day, I'm still a witch. I still get up in the morning, ground, center and shield; I still meditate before bed; I still talk to the gods and spend a moment at my altar before leaving my room; I'm still magick.

Today was one of those days. I spent most of it working on my book and singing Broadway tunes. I almost felt, Goddess forbid, like a normal person! (No offense to you normal people out there; it's just not for me). But one of the things I'm working on is incorporating my spirituality into my every day life. Whether that means feeling a tree, or dancing with a god, or casting a spell, or simply taking a moment to feel the amazing energy of the God and Goddess that flow through this world. So, who's with me? Anyone else trying to mingle their spiritual and mundane lives? You don't have to be Wiccan or Pagan to do this, and I think it's a very good goal. It's a balance we all, as human beings, need to strive for. I challenge anyone who stumbles across this blog to try it, at least for a little while.

To Be a Tree

Though summer has officially been here since Beltane, today was the first day that really felt like summer for me. It was hot enough that sitting in the sun for more than a few minutes felt a little like frying, the grass was damp with dew, and I pulled the hammock out of storage for the first time this year. After a bit of reading (a fantasy book, if anyone's interested), I took a moment to just be. The clouds had begun to roll in and it was getting chillier, so I lay back in the hammock, closed my eyes and just breathed. I focused on feeling my own energy and the wind on my skin, and when I opened my eyes again, everything seemed so much more vibrant. The leaves were greener, the wind fresher, and I was calmer. So I took my meditation a step further and tried to connect with one of the trees that supported the hammock. Did you know that trees have heartbeats? They are very, very slow and very, very deep, but also, quite possibly, the most amazing thing I have ever felt.

So, today, I challenge you single reader to be a tree. Take a moment, or three or four if you can, close your eyes and simply let yourself be. It doesn't have to be a formal meditation, but if you want to make it one, be my guest. Focus on your breathing for a bit, count it out if you like, and try to feel your energy flowing through your veins. If you can or want to, let that energy branch out into the objects nearest you (this works best outside, I've found), and feel the energy in those things. Feel the life around you: the heartbeat of the trees, the joy of the grass, the determination of the weeds. Let that life flow through you, energizing, ground and centering you. When you're ready, very slowly and carefully pull your energy back into your heart, and come back to yourself. If you're out there reading this and decide to try this meditation, please let me know how it worked for you! I'm curious, because it was just what I needed today.

Adventures with Ai

Sometimes, I feel like Christine from The Phantom of the Opera: I have my own private voice tutor in my head. The good news is that he's a personable, friendly giant of a god with no psychopathic tendencies and no desire to marry me (that I'm aware of, of course). But the point is that being a singer and working with a bardic god can only help my voice. It's always amusing to be singing along with something at the top of my lungs and look around, only to see this big, bearded man grimacing in the corner because I'm super flat. Makes me much more aware of my key and my annunciation, at the least. And, since basically no one else interacts with him,  Ai's always around when I need music advice. Absolutely fantastic.

So, for all you other musical witches out there, I suggest looking him up. Or finding your own abandoned music god to work with, since I'm selfish and like having him around too much. If you decide to try working with Ai, remember that he's fond of honeysuckle, lavender, cinnamon, cloves, apricots, quartz, silver and your own creativity. Don't be afraid to blurt out a poem off the top of your head when he's around. He may be a bardic god, but that doesn't mean he'll judge you on your work. Only offer help.

*Wanders away singing "Angel of Music"*

Don't Forget

One of the things I've neglected recently is communing with nature. Of course, it's a little difficult during wintertime when there's snow on the ground up to my knees, but it's still something I've been missing. Until today, when I finally got up into the mountains. Went up to a friend's cabin for a few hours and just watched the birds fly around for a while and soaked up the sunlight. And, man, did it feel good!

So, short post today, but a reminder to myself and whoever winds up reading this: don't forget what your path is all about, whatever it may be. Don't forget to take the time to care for yourself, however selfish you feel. Seek out the things that connect you to the divine and hold them close to your heart. And always remember who and what you are.

I Am the Kick of a Salmon's Tail

Today, I have a song to share. It's been stuck in my head on and off for weeks now, and I find it appropriate to post it here: "Mother Earth's Revenge" by Karan Casey. I've included a mediocre recording (because it was the only one I could find), and the lyrics, because it's rather hard to hear them in the video.

I am a hawk on a mountain side
A crashing wave on a winter's tide
The breeze that blows on a tall ship's sail
I am the kick of a salmon's tail

I'm up above and I'm down below
I'm black and white, I'm sand and I'm snow
I'm all around and I live within
I'm mother earth, the spirit in all living things

I'm winter white, oh I'm autumn gold
I'm summer's bloom, I'm spring's new soul
I'm every season with the birds that sing
I'm mother earth, the spirit in all living things

But you cut down the trees
Your fumes, they choke the breeze
You burn the world for oil
And you poison the soil

So I'll flood the plains
I'll drown you in acid rain
I'll pour forth a curse
And return you back to dust

When lightning strikes, well, you'll know I'm near
You knew the beauty, now feel the fear
Your storm rolls in, well, you better hide
I'll make you wish that you weren't alive

I am a hawk on a mountain side
A crashing wave on a winter's tide
The breeze that blows on a tall ship's sail
I am the kick of a salmon's tail


So why do I find it appropriate for this blog? A few reasons, actually. Let's start with the format of the song. In one of the creative writing classes I took, we were asked to write an "I am" poem--a piece with no rhythmic patterns necessarily, and no rhyme, but the repetition of "I am" at the beginning of every line. It was a surprisingly powerful experience, and I've become rather fond of "I am" poems. If done right, it really connects the reader and the writer with the things at the ends of the lines. In addition, this song includes all sorts of natural imagery, which ties in directly to the spiritual practice of most Witches (if it doesn't, you may consider rethinking your spiritual views).

And, I think, the reason it's been sticking with me so much lately is that the God and Goddess are also all these things: the hawk, the salmon's tail, the wind, the sea. So, whether Casey meant it or not, she is tying the singer of the song (and the listener) with the divine--and a rather non-subtle jab at what humanity is doing to the environment, but that's not really the part that interests me. I just find it fascinating that such a simple structure, when really studied, can be so profound. This song is a reminder of something I try repeat to myself every day: "I am part of the Divine; I am a child of the God and the Goddess, and I am a goddess in my own right."

I suppose I ought to add "and I am the kick of a salmon's tail" to the end of that. 

Odd Timing

I had something wonderfully Witchy to say today and by the time I sat down to write this post, it seems to have completely slipped my mind. So, I suppose, I'll just write and see if I can remember what it was.

The Pantheon and I have decided that my gut likes to lead me in new directions at the most inconvenient times. I seriously restarted my studies mere weeks before my college graduation; now I'm starting this blog in the middle of a family visit, my sister's high school graduation, and trying to figure out what, exactly, my new job requires of me. Yet, I know better than to ignore the guidance of the stuff inside me. So here I am. Spewing randomness into the internet and probably getting more metaphorical "you're crazy" looks than you can shake a stick at. But I'm here. And that's what matters.

Today was a day for regaining calm for me. Brid and Artemis are absolutely wonderful for this, in case you were wondering. Lots of love and comfort from them (they're also both good for protection work, by the way, especially Brid, since she has a warrior aspect). I also realized today that I'm awfully fond of informal magick: things like anointing myself with bath water and asking the spirits of Earth, Air, Fire and Water to bless and aid me, without formally casting a circle or really using any special tools, excluding the bath salts, battery-operated candle and music I was playing for simple relaxation. I suppose it could also be considered spontaneous magick. Regardless, it seems to be my method of operation, for the most part. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly capable and rather enjoy formal spellcasting, I just seem to do a lot more of the on-the-fly, make-it-up-as-you-go sort of thing. And The Pantheon assures me that that is just fine.

And now I've been staring at this screen for what feels like ages, trying to figure out what else to say today. I haven't remembered what I set out to write, and it's rather a lot later than I thought it was. So I suppose we'll bid you single reader (if we're lucky) good night and we hope to see you tomorrow.

Introducing the Pantheon

Since I'll likely be talking about them a lot, I suppose it's only fair that I devote an entire post to introducing what I'll be calling "The Pantheon," the deities and other magickal creatures that tend to hang around me and my house. In no particular order:

Loki: If there's one thing you ought to know about Loki (besides the fact that he's the Norse trickster god and not as evil as he seems in the myths), it's that he strongly dislikes cats. Coming from a culture that reveres wolves and other canines, it's rather logical, but it does make it rather interesting, since I currently have three felines. The good news is that the cats don't seem to mind him at all, so the hatred is only one-sided.

Brid: An Irish triple-goddess of the forge, hearth, and inspirational fires, she's the big sister figure to The Pantheon. She's always around with a smile and a nudge to my creative work, and has a habit of standing around looking vaguely and mysteriously pleased with herself.

Mabon: As a god of youth and the sun, Mabon enjoys carousing and drinking. Surprisingly, he's likely the most raucous of the bunch, and undoubtedly the most annoying. He's very adept at pestering me until I do something, and has mastered the art of bribery. He also makes a fabulous scapegoat. Warning: when Mabon and Loki lean their heads together and mumble, trouble's afoot.

Artemis: The mother figure of The Pantheon, Artemis is the one trying to keep the rest of us crazy folks in line. Generally, she sits in the corner and shakes her head ruefully as we make various plans. She tends to disappear around the new moon (not such a big surprise, as she's a moon goddess), and is very fond of reminding me of all the positive things in the world, which I need quite a lot.

And, last but not least,

Ai: The generally forgotten-about Irish god of poetry and bard to the Tuatha dé Danaan (seriously, I've found exactly one myth about him, and no information on correspondences or anything), Ai is also the newest addition to The Pantheon. He's a big, cheerful fellow, who enjoys listening when I sing along at the top of my lungs to whatever's on the radio, and is always carrying an instrument of some kind. I have a feeling he and Mabon will get along rather well, when Mabon stops being disgruntled that I like Ai more than him.

Now, The Pantheon is not fixed, and is rather likely to expand as I continue my studies, but these are the key players at the moment. Not including a collection of minor elementals, faeries, a dragon or two, and various other magickal creatures. Overall, my life is rather more exciting than the rest of my household would dare to believe. That's what happens when you dance with the gods, I suppose.

Merry Meet!

Dia Duit and Merry Meet, my wandering friends.

For the last few days, I've had this urge to start a blog devoted to Witchy Things, even though I, honestly, have no idea what I'm going to talk about here. I've simply learned enough recently to know that I really ought to follow my instinct. Especially when I have several gods leaning over me and egging me on. You see, I have a rather...interesting relationship with the gods. In other words, at any given time, I have at least two or three deities crashing in my house. Which makes it rather strange living with my parents (this is totally what I got a college education to do!), who a) don't believe in gods in generally, really and b) don't exactly approve of my being a witch. They don't exactly not approve, either; it's kind of an awkward, implicit "as long as you're not an idiot, I guess we can deal with it" sort of thing. Trust me, though, I do not regret coming out of the broom closet to them. Just think how much more awkward it would be if I hadn't! All that trying to hide my witchy books under my bed (where there is already a rather wide collection of books), and no openly going to the metaphysical store on the weekends. Seems like much too much hassle to me.

So, that's me. Emer ní Brid, back from college and living with my family again, trying to practice my craft without making anyone else uncomfortable, and dealing daily with a plethora of pantheons. Oh, in case you were wondering, the gods that tend to hang around the most are Loki, Brid (obviously, since I'm calling myself "ní Brid," which means "daughter of Brid;" also known as Brigit or Brigid), Mabon, Artemis and, now, Ai (the Irish god of poetry whom no one has ever heard of before). It's like a party around here. A trickster, two warrior women, a sun god and a bard. And me, of course, stuck in the middle.

I suppose this blog will be a place for me to chronicle my learning and my interactions with the various gods. Some posts will be more serious than others, I'm sure. At this point, I've learned my lesson with planning things out too far in advance. So, here goes nothing. The Pantheon and I welcome you to Dancing with the Gods and hope you enjoy your time here!

Blessed be.
Emer ní Brid