Water • September Pagan Challenge # 26
In OBOD Druidry, Autumn Equinox is called Alban Elfed, the Light of the Water. So here are some photos of water and light. I think Alban Elfed is a wonderful name — light and water are a natural pairing and the reflective nature of water does amazing things with light. Water is sacred in most Earth-based traditions, including ancient and modern Pagan traditions, and Indigenous traditions of Turtle Island (North America).
Druidry
How to make an ancestor altar
Notable and quotable: coronavirus (4)
Reflections on lockdown, the necessity of seeing trees, mending the cosmic egg, seeing the Earth from space, the ancient British mythology of plague, soul values, a poem that made me cry, and making meaning from the pandemic.
Follow Friday
Just been having a conversation with someone I’m following about how to find good blogs to follow on WordPress.
I don’t use the search function very often. I have found the occasional good stuff via search, but it is rare.
Instead, I follow the blogs of people who write good comments on blogs I’m already following. Or people I find on Twitter or Instagram who share an interesting article. Or people I know from other contexts.
I have also followed a lot of people whose posts are featured in The River Crow’s excellent series, Friday Foraging.
In this post, I am going to share a list of the people whose blogs I am following on WordPress. (The title is from #FollowFriday on Twitter)
What we have in common
I dreamed that I was in an Anglican or Episcopalian Church in North America and had been invited by the vicar to introduce a hymn. She handed me the order of service which already had a hymn picked out, and it had been annotated to change “him” to “her”, so I introduced it and encouraged people to sing “her” where appropriate if they wanted to. One of the congregation said they didn’t really know the tune for that hymn. So then I suggested we sang Morning has broken and changed “him” to “her” in the second verse, and “God’s” to “Her” in the third verse. Then I woke up.
Notable and quotable: coronavirus (1)
- There have been some great posts on the coronavirus in the Pagan community.
- Nimue Brown has written on the political implications;
- Laura Tempest Zakroff has created an immunity sigil. (Patheos *)
- I’ve offered a modified version of the cakes and wine ritual.
- Dana offers spiritual self care practices to ease the stress.
- Video from Lora O’Brien on community and coronavirus protocols.
- Article from The Wild Hunt Pagan news outlet on cancelling or rescheduling Pagan events, and rethinking communal practices.
- Excellent comments and advice from John Beckett (Patheos *)
- Wonderful post from The River Crow on Indoor Druidry.
- Mark Green on community and spirituality during quarantine (and good news, he’s working on another book).
- Further updates from the Wild Hunt Pagan news site on event cancellations due to coronavirus.
- Reflections from Julian Vayne on the occult significance of this, and being community-minded.
- My post What we have in common, reminding us of shared values of community and compassion across different faith groups including Pagan traditions.
- How to hug whilst standing two metres apart.
- Notable and quotable: coronavirus: part 2
Tips for ritual writing
So you’re writing a ritual. Staring at a blank screen or sheet of paper can be daunting. Here’s a few tips to get started.
Notable and quotable 20
Posts I enjoyed this week.
How to call a quarter
There are many ways to call a quarter, but all of them have a common aim: to make a connection with the element.
Notable and quotable 19
As the Solstice and the return of the light approaches, it’s good to be reminded that the Solstice is a turning point (which is the probable meaning of the name “Yule”).
Dowsing for Divinity 