On a druid path...

Since I felt I didn’t have enough time tonight for ritual, instead I lit some candles and incense, and talked to Frigg. It wasn’t the adf style ritual I had considered doing tonight, no. It was simple, and wonderful.

I now have all three of my ADF-DP books in my possession. Of course, I have yet to start reading any of them. They are - 

For Indo-European Studies:

• A History of Pagan Europe by Nigel Pennick and Prudence Jones

For Hearth Culture (Anglo-Saxon):

• Travels Through Middle Earth by Alaric Albertsson

For Modern Paganism:

• The Idiot’s Guide to Paganism by Carl McColman (which I found for 50 cents at a local thrift shop!)

Even though I should probably read them in that order, I probably start with the hearth culture book, because well, it seems the most interesting, and I think I’ll end up reading it just as quick as the Asatru book I recently read. 

I’m kind of excited to at least have all the books I’m ‘required’ to read (more will be read!) now. I even decided to open up the ADF-DP workbook “Through The Wheel of the Year” and finally bookmark the pdf. I may not always have much time to do things, but now that my husband is finally working again, I should have at least an hour to myself during the day (the babies’ naptime; though of course, us living with my mother… she’d want me cleaning or doing yardwork instead of taking time to myself *sigh*) to do something, and I generally do some sort of religious/spiritual something in the evening, whether it’s browsing pagan-themed forums, or reading books. So I am looking forward to being able to start getting back into the swing of things. 

And now I think I’m going to start reading my Anglo-Saxon hearth book! 

wooo-hoo!

Thank you goat-willow for pointing me to an Anglo-Saxon book recommended by ADF <3 Because of that, I went to the ADF site, which I hadn’t in probably a month, which made me look around again, which encouraged me to take up my DP studies again :D 

They added the Anglo-Saxon hearth culture to the recommended reading list since I was last on there, which makes me pretty happy. I was going to go Norse hearth culture, but I think I would rather go Anglo-Saxon. So, might have to look into the book they’ve got on the ADF list. Good thing I haven’t already got a hearth culture book, eh :P

Would like to write more on it, but little boy is taking his clean diapers and throwing them everywhere, lol.

• should be doing ADF DP studies, but I haven’t done any of that in like a month. Yup. I’m slack as shit. I’ll get on it soon enough. when I have time.
• lurking on the cauldron’s forums.
• researching Anglo-Saxon heathenism (anyone have any good resources for that?)
• started doing magical workings for the first time in years, using a simple method (cord/knot magic) I have never used before, and it seems to be working.
• and now I’m about to go eat a brownie. 

So, most things I read, it seems the most common offering to the Norse gods is some form of alcohol. 

Well, I’m still breastfeeding our son, so I don’t really drink at the moment. My husband only drinks a beer or two like once a week, and really we can’t financially afford for me to use beer or liquor as offerings. I was able to tonight because my husband had a beer and I asked him to save me a little to use as an offering. 

But what about nights he doesn’t drink? Would the Norse gods look down upon offerings of water, or apple juice, or bread instead of drink? Anyone care to share their thoughts, or make suggestions?

myowndruidry:

sanctaidd-llwynog:

As I stumble through my ADF-DP work, I ponder at times on how and what I’ll teach my son as he gets older. I know I have plenty of time to figure this out, since he’s only just 11 months (1 week til his first birthday though! :D). For my own personal spiritual practices, I feel drawn to the Norse hearth culture. I’ve felt that pull since first becoming pregnant, and it’s only increased since, hence why I’ve decided to go with the Norse hearth now that I’m doing my DP studies. However… my husband is from England, and so is the rest of his family, as far back as they can trace. Therefore, my son is at least 50% English, with his paternal grandfather’s family from the Cornwall area (which from my understandings, has always been rich in pagan lore, even to this day) and grandmother’s family from around the middle of England. 

Now, my husband is Christian (as he says “Church of England”), but is not religious or spiritual in the slightest. So, our son will be raised knowing about Christianity, because it would not be fair to his father (and majority of mine and his family who are Christians) for his child to not know of his religion. Of course, I want to teach him about paganism as well, because I’ve been on a pagan path since my early teens, and it’s become a big part of me in whole. The only hesitation my husband has about this is he’s worried that our son will be picked on/discriminated against in school if he is pagan. I understand that, but as the spiritual and religious one of us, I feel it would be unfair to me to not share my religious beliefs with him. So… on that note…

While I plan on continuing with a Norse hearth for my personal spiritual practices, I feel I should also know about the mythology and magical practices associated with the Cornwall area and/or the middle of England since half of my son’s ancestry comes from there. I also don’t know if I should even teach him the Norse pantheon til he’s old enough to decide for himself what path he wants to take. I figure, if the ADF path is for me, considering his English heritage, I could teach him about druidry but with a Celtic hearth for him. Again, I have lots of time to figure this all out. 

Any thoughts?

I have LOTS of thoughts on family traditions, since my fiance and I are also hoping to raise any potential future children we have in a dual-religious household.

(We happened to solve the issue at least in part by getting involved in a unitarian universalist church in our area to compliment both of our religious journeys and help expose them to EVEN MORE religion, but we still have to approach the issue of a home tradition with one another, but I think ultimately that kind of thing will mostly be up to me because that just kind of seems to be our religious dynamic right now.  My fiance has asked me to tell you to check out UU because of how awesome it is for us, but I could see why it wouldn’t work in every situation and communities probably vary wildly.)

ANYWAY. 

I bought the book “Kindling the Celtic Spirit” by Mara Freeman earlier in the summer and I’ve really enjoyed it.  It’s pretty fluffy - a lot of the things that she states as if they are fact are a bit dodgy and she sort of ignores the variety among the celts (instead discussing them as a monolithic culture at worst and a handful of cultures at best) BUT it has a lot of really great suggestions for building a home practice, and activities that you can do all year long to keep the “spirit” of your paganism flowing.  Again, it’s not about the Norse tradition specifically, so you’d have to input your own myths, but I have found it extremely useful, mostly for the purpose of brainstorming ideas.

Now, as far as teaching myths go…I would say whenever you deem your son old enough to learn about christian myths (which, in our culture, it pretty much immediately) he’s old enough to learn about pagan ones.  A myth is a myth is a myth.  From an ADF standpoint, you can just teach him Indo-European myths until he’s old enough to show interest in a hearth culture (which might be sooner than you think!  I was probably eight or so when I began to show interest in mythology).  

Bullying/discrimination/getting picked on are things your son will have to deal with regardless of what religion you raise him with because kids are awful.  If it becomes severe, take it up with parents or administrators.  You can’t stop your son from being who he is, and he’ll pick up cues from you whether you explicitly teach him about paganism or not. 

Ultimately, let your son and his interests guide the way.  He’ll let you know what he wants and what he’s ready for.  

I’ve thought about looking into the UU churches before actually, just never got around to it. So, I had a look. There is one semi-close to us, though I can’t see us going. I’d probably have to nag my husband to go, and currently we live in Indiana, but may be going back down south sometime next year (possibly sooner if one of us can’t find a job in the next month or so), so no point really in getting involved in anything like that yet. 

I may have to look into that book. I have a book on building your own tradition, but it is extremely Wicca-flavored - though I knew that when I bought it, and honestly, it has some good bits, but not as good as I thought it may be (can’t remember the name of it at the moment). There are a couple of family oriented pagan books I’ve considered getting, mostly for reference on activities involving children - such as Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions (the reviews are kinda mixed though) and Celebrating the Great Mother: A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Parents and Children (will probably get this one eventually). 

I know I can’t stop my son from being who is going to be; I have no intentions of that. I do, however, hate the idea of him being bullied, but I’m sure that is a common fear/worry of all/most parents. As someone who has been bullied, and experienced various forms of abuse in the past, it’s something I worry about for my son, and hope he never experiences any of the pain I have. But yea, I know I can’t prevent him from being bullied, for whatever reasons it may happen. One can always hope it won’t happen, and we’ll be prepared, as a family, to deal with it when/if it happens. :)

Yea, I plan on teaching him various myths early on. I keep telling myself to read to him, but I’ve been slack on it, mostly due to how grabby he is. Every time I try reading to him, I get a few pages in and he starts grabbing for the book (which I generally don’t give him books unless they’re bath time ones, because he still puts most things in his mouth) or trying his hardest to crawl away and play. But something I didn’t think of til just a few minutes ago (he woke up for a feed while I was writing this, so thought of it then), I could try reading to him while he’s on the boob! I don’t know why I haven’t tried that yet. He’s generally really calm then; it’s our quiet bonding time, so I may be able to read to him then without him trying to play. But yea, there’s all sorts of mythology books geared towards small children, and even though I want to focus on a Norse hearth, and teach him about the Celtic hearth(es), I plan on reading to him myths from as many cultures as I can as to not limit him. 

I kinda feel like I rambled a bit here and there :P But I highly appreciate the feedback on this subject :D *hugs* Thanks for the input and giving me more things to ponder in regards to this. ^^

Hooray, I did it! Yesterday, I said I would today, after putting it off a few times already. So, yay me! :D Okay, now on to how it went.

So, as I don’t normally do ritual; well, I haven’t in a long time, I pretty much used the pre-written First Oath from the workbook. Before I started, I wrote down my oath, and put a dab of rosemary oil on my wrists (my favorite scent; it’s earthy-ness helps keep me feeling centered), then lit my candles.

I whispered the words; may sound silly, but I didn’t want my voice to be too loud, as I kinda feel awkward about my husband listening (he was on the computer on the other side of the room), and mainly because my son’s crib was nearby and I didn’t want to wake him. I knew They would hear me regardless of the volume of my voice.

I gave praise and honoured my ancestors; mainly my great-grandparents. I feel lucky that I knew my Memaw and Papaw. They didn’t pass from this life til I was in my early 20’s, so I pictured them, together, smiling, and remembered moments shared between us when I was younger, and told them they will always be in our hearts. 

I gave praise and honoured the spirits of the lands. I gave praise and honoured the Elder Gods; I told the Norse deities of my interest in them, and thought of Frigg especially, as I felt her presence early in my pregnancy, and that is what started my interest in the Norse pantheon. I praised the Gods for giving me guidance during times I’ve requested it, and especially for the times I didn’t know I needed it. 

I drew my omens. I have to admit I was a little anxious as to what they would be. I used tarot cards, not so much because they’re my preferred method, but it’s the only divination tools I own at this time. To be honest, I would like to learn the runes, and use those for omens in the future, if I feel comfortable doing so. The omens were wonderful. I drew The Chariot, the Four of Pentacles, and the Nine of Wands. All three combined, with our current situation, it seemed to be just what I needed to hear. I actually teared up a little after interpreting them.  

I then gave my first oath, then thanked all those present. 

I’m so glad I did it; I feel like it was just what I needed. I’ve been having so many feelings of anxiety lately, and it helped calm me. I really need to get in front of the altar more often :)