Start Simple~ A Morning Devotional- Backpost 04/12/12

Borrowed from Pandora from the ADF site... http://www.adf.org/rituals/general/morndev.html

Solid as the tree, roots deep within the mother. Ancient as the land, strong as the sea. Always reaching for the sky, the moon, the stars, and the heavens. May all your powers flow through me.

Before me , the light of life

Behind me, the shadow of strife

To my left, the shield of love

To my right, the runes of power

Above me, the star of wisdom

Below me, the path of knowledge

Within me, the everlasting magic by which all things are possible.

I greet you this morning and ask for your aid. Lend me your eloquence that I may speak these words and work this rite in a manner that pleases you. I arise from sleep and come before my altar to renew my commitment to the path I have chosen with all my heart. I am here to honor my Gods, my Kindreds, and to give thanks for the many blessings they bestow upon me. 

All you who do not choose to aid me along my path, I recognize your function and respect your purpose. I ask only that you honor mine as well and leave me in peace this day.

With this water, I cleanse myself of all that is unproductive in me, that which holds no joy or happiness, and anything that would do me harm. I charge my spirit and body with the wonder of life, the compassion of love and the protection of truth. 

May the well flow; the fire flame; and the tree grow in me. My sight beholds the beauty of the Gods, my blood is alive with the wisdom of the ancestors, and the voices of the nature spirits resound in my soul. To all of you who are my allies, I give my love, my honor and my devotion. Accept my offerings and be near me this day. Grant me you guidance that I may walk the path before me with wisdom. Speak to me and I will listen.

I thank you for the multitude of gifts you have given me, as well as the joy of your presence in my life. May we walk in peace and love today and always.

My Pantheon Part 2- Backpost 04/06/12

The excitement of all the possible directions within ADF studies has me trembling, but I cant overdo myself. I must pace and put 100% effort to one thing at a time. Trying to work, be a good partner, doggie mom, photographer and general lover of life is tiring! The studies for my path will just give me strength and inspire me to be better each day.

Today my excitement is from the special interest group I joined for Ancient Iberian cultures. I hoped this will lead me to more information and resources on the Celts in Portugal. I found one amazing set of articles that discuss just this along with a list the deities and their descriptions.

http://www4.uwm.edu/celtic/ekeltoi/volumes/vol6/index.html

This will no doubt be an excellent source to base building my Pantheon on. I do hope I can gain permission to develop this as my hearth culture over traditional Celtic deities. My attention is drawn to one of the appendices in the back of the Dedicant's manual. C; Adapting the DP to Specific Ethnic Paths...double huzzah! But it will require the proper research and devotion to show that this adaption is genuine and right for my spirit not just a whim. I will definitely seek guidance from the Goddess for this.

 

With this tool I have been about to narrow down the specific deities that speak to me. It's incredible to be able to put names and structure to the energy and spirits that dance on the wind to me.  I am hoping to find more about rituals, ceremonies, herbal mixes and celebrations. Anything, my soul hungers to piece together the language of my ancestors in their spiritual beliefs. I will start with Portuguese history, since most of what I found about Celtic history just has a paragraph or page about the Iberian peninsula. In general, the sources are scarce. But that drives me more. It opens up the freedom to be inspired and write my own rituals to truly make this practice modern, personal... mine.

My Pantheon Part 1- Backpost 04/02/12

*stumbles around with a blindfold looking to pin the tail on the donkey*

That's how I feel. Out of pure genius I know what a Pantheon is. But after a lifetime of a mix of Christianity, Mother Earth and a secret love for the Water Goddess; having a structured set of cultural deities is foreign to me. Yet so exciting! As I read more of the Pantheon's recommended by ADF though I find it more important to personalize my worship. I may respect all deities but the personal connection to specific ones is what Druidry and ADF is all about to me. So now what I ask?

I am torn between deities of my local Southwest, where I grew up. With many Native American friends and influences; these spirits call to me daily and truly make me feel at home. But not only does ADF look to Pan-Indo European cultures as hearth Pantheons but I know that to properly pay homage to the Native American spirits, I must truly learn the practices of my ancestors. Being of Portuguese decent I am draw to the ancient cultures of the Iberian peninsula. Knowing some but little of these cultures, I knew they were a traveling people for sometime, but where did they travel from and what practices did they pick up along the way. I also know that there were Celtic settlements in Iberia. Does this make my hearth Celtic? It doesn't seem quite the same to have a hearth Pantheon that is based out of Irish or Western European culture versus one that was that my my ancestry. Hmmm...

Well there is a special interest group within ADF for Ancient Iberian culture....huzzah!

Reading the Path of Leaves- Backpost 03/29/12

As I await my membership information and manual from ADF, I continue my reading on modern Neo-Paganism and Druidry. The more I read the more my spirit comes alive with the passion of life. To know that a belief system exists that is closer to my heart then I ever imagined has me quite invigorated. Hungry infact, hungry for more information, for more fellowship with others and more daily life in the Druid way. In hindsight, I have lived most of my life with Druid practices but didn't know they could be classified as such. I thought I was being a kind Christian, who loved the earth, animals, and had heightened senses toward certain elements. The true picture becomes clearer each day.

I knew in my early twenties that my gifts were much more then being overly sensitive. I knew that my sensitivity to emotions, the wind and water were much more. That was just a piece of the complex puzzle of my spirit. Today as I impatiently look forward to my new path, I find more pieces with every ritual, divination and gained knowledge. The gained knowledge as of late has been within books. When my dreams led me to research druidism it started with the usual internet search; after some simple poor taste badly made websites, I stumbled upon, Awen's Light Grove; A Grove of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.Specifically their page on Druid Beliefs and Values. 

http://algnc.org/druid-beliefs-and-values/

I was like, YES, this is it! It rung true in my soul. Long story short, this lead to reading the Orders beliefs and teachings, something was missing, the connection wasn't complete; which lead to reading about the Ancient Order of Druids in America; which caused an even bigger gap. I turned to books, The Druidy Handbook by John Micheal Greer, completed 3/12/12. It seemed slightly too flowery for me. Within that book was more resources, which lead me to Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism, which I completed this morning. BINGO! I guess that is obvious sine I joined ADF two days ago. The connection was complete.

My need for more research has led me to the Henge of Keltria and their Druidism Introduction. Even though ADF feels right, I must make this decision wisely not just purely on emotion, no matter how joyous that emotion may be. I should pour through this booklet in a few days and hopefully have a more educated guess to behind the emotions and the strength of the pull from the spirits. I do know this is just the beginning of my reading frenzy.

My Goddess

Handmade by the soul I love...

Grant O Goddess Your Protection

- in Protection grant me strength

- in Strength grant me understanding

- in Understanding grant me knowledge

- in Knowledge grant me peace

May your protection cover me completely.

May I feel the Peace of your Love.

Thank you Goddess for All things good;

Peace, Protection, Love.

My First Alban Eilir- Back Post 03/21/2012

Many springs have come and gone; and change happens. I've not always paid attention to what that has meant in my life. Not this spring, each day is reason to take notice; each season is time to celebrate. I do not have all the tools to do proper rites, but I do have the heart and love for the spirits to celebrate the season.

I wasn't feeling well so I had stayed home from work a couple of days this week. Most of my days were spent in tears laying in bed. The pain in my body was such a contrast to the joy in my heart. I got up from my bed and slowly made my way toward the back door to let my dog out yesterday. I felt the sun's warmth instantly and knew I could sit outside briefly. As I soaked in the sun I felt it was time to do my simple, not ready, unorthodox equinox blessing.

After ten minutes of mulling to bring out a few items, I lit three candles on the tree stump I normally use as a foot stool. I stood a bit unbalanced a moment before the three flames, hands up held to the breeze and thanked the Gods and Goddesses for the breath of life, the urge to dance and my long time need for joy. I was thankful for the freedom to finally walk my own path. I went on to thank my Kindreds, the nature spirits that surrounded me and gave a small offering of a chocolate chip cookie. It brings me so much joy how could it not my Kindreds. Simple and sweet that cookie; as simple as my first true ritual in my new path of old beliefs. The sun's rays warmed my body as I felt cleansed and even for just those moments, stood without pain. I smelled the newly blooming flowers and listened to the breeze through the many trees. I heard the Goddesses' voice accepting my simple offering.

One of the greatest parts of such beliefs is that celebrations encompass a season, not just one day. The joy and blessings flow continuously not just a moment or two. Spring is such an amazing season; explosions of life, color, scents and textures. This spring is so much more meaningful to me, it is a true beginning, a true window into a new found life. My life as a Druid. Even though I did not follow the official order of ritual for this day, it was still a personal, touching, and beautiful moment for me and the spirits in which I communicate. For me it was a magnificent way to show the Gods how I appreciated the joys of life, even amongst pain. 

I sat a bit longer listening to the leaves dance on the wind. It was truly my blessing of spring.

The Strong Moon...

I have been remiss in my postings. I have been writing in my physical journal almost daily but lack of sleep and being happily busy with my girlfriend has cause for very little PC time. I will be posting in blocks the next week to get caught up on my entries.

That said...this moon cycle is playing with my mind. I've been an emotional wreck for the last two weeks. Sensitive to all others moods and words, questioning all my decisions, crying because I simply don't have any thing else to do, and the nightmares...oh yes there's nightmares. I'm overwhelmed by emotions. Sadly not just my own; my gifts of awareness and reading of others emotional energy has simply exhausted me over the years at times like this. I am not sure if this time is do to all those around me or the veil of the Otherworld being so dim this time of year. Whatever the case, I promise I am not going crazy with the voices in my head!

I am however weak. Weak in spirit and mind. My Beltane ritual was focused on asking for strength and protection. I gave thanks and made my offerings of fruit and fresh cut flowers and cried...really cried. I felt it was a cleansing. It felt wonderful to feel bathed by the spirits. However, I cant honestly say it is enough. My worry encompasses every action or leads to a thought of how I can be better at just about anything. I need booster blessings! *smirk*

So please be patient with me my Patrons, my Goddesses, and my partner. I am rebuilding my strength each day with rituals, devotionals, nature's beauty and those hugs that make me feel whole. I promise to be back to my usual self, a stronger, better, more focused woman as soon as I get through the Strong Moon.