Dedicant Path: Week 36 – “Sixth High Day Recap”

High Day: November cross-quarter

Date of ritual: November 4th, 2013

I performed the November cross-quarter ritual (Winternights) by myself using the ADF COoR. I honored Nerthus as the Earth Mother and Heimdall as the gatekeeper, with the cosmos being establish with Fire, Well, and Tree, as well as Land, Sea, and Sky. Odin, Freyja, and Hel were the deities of the occasion for their role as psychopomps, with all three given ale as offerings. This was my first ritual in which I made praise offerings to specific deities and I honored both Odin and Nehalennia respectively. These two deities have grown increasingly close to me recently, so I thought it was only appropriate to honor these growing relationships in this way. Because the focus of this particular High Day is on the ancestors, I also performed a working after affirming the blessing. This working consisted of me reading the names of my ancestors of blood, heart, and mentor. I also used the workings portion of my ritual to officially place an ancestor box on my altar. Within it will contains pictures of the ancestors I honor and although I didn’t have all the pictures I needed, I did place a few within the box to get it started. My hope in adding praise offerings and a working to my ritual in order to fill it out was a success. Although I had some pacing issues in the beginning of the ritual, things evened out towards the Three Kindreds invitations and the rest flowed smoothly from there. This ritual felt incredibly fulfilling and helped me cement the relationship to my ancestors.

The runes I drew for the omen were Ansuz for the Ancestors, Jera for the Land Wights, and Perthro for the Deities. This was a very good omen and the positive nature of the runes let me know that my offerings were accepted. My interpretation of the omen was that I am blessed with wisdom (Ansuz) and good returns for my hard work (Jera) with some good fortune to help me on my way (Perthro). I also got another impression from the Perthro rune that told me to not be afraid to take some risks. On an interesting note, Ansuz is often considered the rune of Odin. As my relationship to the Allfather grows, he is making himself more known to me in many ways and his presence in this omen is no exception.

Nature awareness (continued):

I did not make a trip to Silver Lake this week. In fact, due to daylight savings time, it is fully dark by the time I could get out to Silver Lake after work during the week. As such, I’m considering ending my nature awareness trips. Since the final essay is coming up soon, this works out well. Still, I would like to make one last trip to give my offerings to the land wights of Silver Lake and to give them thanks for befriending me during my visits over the course of the year. Although I will return to Silver Lake again at some point in the future, I won’t be able to do so on a regular basis. I will use what I’ve learned out there in a physical and spiritual capacity to better know the land more local to me, and to forge a relationship with the land wights that are closer to where I live.

Dedicant Path: Week 35 – “The Sixth High Holy Day: An Explanation”

High Day: November cross-quarter (November 1st)

The November cross-quarter High Day marks the beginning of the dark half of the year, where the fields lay empty, with the harvest bounty stored in the barns, and the cattle are prepared for slaughter in order to feed the community over the long winter. In addition to the physical preparation for the cold winter months, this day also ushers in a time of reflection and coming to terms with the one thing all living beings must face: death (Cunningham 71). As the sunlight wanes and the darkness of winter falls over the land, it is a time to honor those spirits that dwell within the shadow of this life, like the underworld deities and the ancestors. Some Neo-Pagans believe that on this day the veil between the worlds is thin, which could make interaction with the dead possible (Cunningham 71). Among the Indo-European hearth cultures and the Neo-Pagan traditions there is a wealth of lore concerning the dead on this High Day, with rituals centered around the ancestors and the deities who call death their domain. Within the Norse hearth culture, this High Day is called Winternights and is focused not only on the ancestors, but on giving thanks for the abundance of the harvest (Our Own Druidry 67). In addition to honoring the ancestors in ritual, Odin and Freyja are appropriate deities for this High Day in their role as psychopomps when they claim their share of the dead. Hel is another deity that could be honored because she presides over the underworld realm of Helheim, and Freyr could be given thanks for providing an abundant harvest.

This is a special time of year for me because it was this particular High Day that brought me to Paganism. It happened on a Halloween night when I was in high school and I was driving home from a friend’s house. I remember gazing up at the dark clouds over me and feeling something in the air that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps I was sensing the thinness of the veil or the strong energies that this High Day tends to bring. It wasn’t until college where I read an article in the student paper about Samhain that caused everything to fall into place. I’ve learned a lot since that time, but I will never forget that initial spark that started my journey on this path.

Works cited:

Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship.  Our Own Druidry: an introduction to Ár nDraíocht Féin and the Druid Path.  Tucson: ADF Publishing, 2009.  Print

Cunningham, Scott.  Wicca: A Guide For the Solitary Practitioner.  Woodbury: Llewellyn, 1988.  Print.

Nature awareness (continued):

The trip out to Silver Lake this week was a beautiful display of fall colors. As I was driving in, I could see trees that were orange, yellow, red, and even purple! The colors were even more beautiful as I walked under the trees towards my spot. I noticed that some trees were bare already, probably as a result of the rainy weather we’ve been having lately.

The air had a tinge of chimney smoke and a cool breeze moved through the trees as I made my way to the thicket. The air also felt lively, a herald of the coming High Day.I gave my offerings to Nerthus and the land wights accompanied by a prayer to both of them. I was very happy with my spontaneous prayer this time, as it seemed to flow from me naturally. Some birds responded in kind and I could feel the spirits around me in the thicket. When I emerged, my arms and legs buzzed with the energy.

Light was fading fast, so I walked the trails. I found a leaf from the sweet gum tree in perfect condition along the path, so I took it as a gift for my home shrine. I then communed with the sweet gum trees, thanking them for the gift. My hands touched their bark, feeling their strength and patience. The wind blew, the whispers of the trees were heard, and a chill moved through my body. It was a fairly emotional moment as the presence of the land and spirits felt strong around me.

Walking back to my car, darkness enveloped me. I attempted to embrace it as a symbol of the coming portion of the year. I thanked the land wights and Nerthus for the experience, threw away some trash I had found, and departed.