wyrdstones

I first learned of these in Aleric Albertson’s book “Wyrdworking: The Path of a Saxon Sorcerer” in which he speculates wyrdstones (also known as “Goddess Runes”) to be a 20th century creation based on Wiccan philosophy, but deserving of mention as a very good method of divination by sortilege. Regardless of their origins, I too have found wyrdstones to be a wonderful form of divination, easy to read, and down to earth. These qualities also make them a great divination tool for kids who are ready for the next step beyond the pendulum and serpent stones. There are only fourteen stone meanings to memorize (a blank stone is added to represent the querent), and so may be easier to learn than traditional runes (they were for me, anyway). Also, the symbols used in wyrdstones more readily bring to mind the stone’s meaning. This is probably due to their modern origin.

To make your own set of wyrdstones:
Paint the symbols on pebbles or etch onto little mounds of salt dough, leaving one blank for the querent stone. Keep them handy in a drawstring pouch. As with any divination tool, hallow and bless them in your own way.

To use:
Wyrdstones are cast all at once; toss them out onto the ground or a table. Turn over any stones that are face down. Stones that fell the closest to the querent stone have the greatest influence on the querent. Look for patterns and shapes in the way the stones landed, each one influencing the other, and use your intuition to form a reading.

Below I have listed basic meanings of the wyrdstones, along with visual associations (some commonly known, and some just my memorizing ideas) that may help with learning the meanings. You’ll notice that some of the wyrdstones use traditional rune symbols, but may not have the same meanings. See Aleric Altertson’s fore mentioned book for further explanation of wyrdstones and for a thorough discussion of Anglo-Saxon runes.

Meanings of the stones:

Man
This stone represents the influence or presence of a man.
visual association: stick figure of a man with arms reaching up.

Woman
This stone represents the influence or presence of a woman.
visual association: a stick figure of a woman wearing a skirt.

Balance
This stone represents balance and harmony.
visual association: this symbol is a combination of the man and woman symbols, representing a balance of male and female energy.

Family
This stone can represent children, family, or tribe.
visual association: this symbol is a combination of the balance symbol (male+female) with two circles representing children.

Conflict
This stone represents any kind of conflict.
visual association: two man symbols bent toward each other, fighting.

Home
This stone represents the importance of home and traditions.
visual association: a triangle represents a roofed shelter grounded over a line representing land.

Disorder
This stone represents disorder and confusion.
visual association: a triangle collapsing, like the walls of a home falling down.

Money
This stone represents money or career.
visual association: a circle representing a coin.

Challenges
This stone represents an interruption or challenge and serves as a warning.
visual association: a vertical line interrupted by two horizontal dashes.

Inspiration
This stone represents the fire of inspiration and the importance of any stone it falls next to in a reading.
visual association: a bent line represents a flame.

Joy
This stone represents happiness, comfort, and satisfaction.
visual association: a line with a banner or flag (or balloon) at the top.

Gift
This stone represents a gift or reward is on it’s way.
visual association: two lines cross like strings on a package.

Growth
This stone represents something the querent is making, growing, or building for her/him-self; a possession.
visual association: a small x shape grows larger to form a diamond at the top.

Change
This stone represents some kind of change, or even death.
visual association: a zig-zagging line resembles lightning.

A Last Minute ADF High Day Ritual

So, the ADF discussion group  started last August, Ozark Druids, is now a protogrove! As we are trying to grow from being just a discussion group to also doing rituals, we’ve hit a lot of snags. It often happens that we plan to have a ritual and there is either bad weather, a sick host, or scheduling problems. Inspired by the video “ADF Blessing Rite in a Woodland Setting“, I came up with the idea that when we are together for a regularly scheduled discussion meeting sometime, and if the weather was nice and it was close to a High Day, we could adjourn early and meet at the closest park and do a High Day Ritual right then. I remembered my portable ritual kit and decided I could use the same idea for a group ritual (only with a bigger drink vessel and more offerings, etc.). With my expanded kit packed in a backpack in the trunk of my car, we’d be all set!

I came up with this one page fill-in-the-blanks emergency High Days ritual mostly by adjusting a solitary ritual I had pieced together for my own use from my favorite bits of ADF and Heathen liturgy. I didn’t really write it with the idea that there could be a leader. So it may be an ideal ritual to use if the usual leader of the group can’t be there, or for an “emergency” ritual if other plans have gone awry and you’re without a script. It allows for a lot of spontaneity while giving a basic structure to fall back on. Patrons of the Occasion should be decided on before beginning, and all materials needed, at hand. Participants could mark which parts they want to do just before the ritual, or the paper could be passed around during the ritual, with the next person doing the next thing, so to speak.  I also thought it would be interesting in a ritual where there were just three or four people, if everyone participated in opening the Gates. I have a copy or two of this ritual packed into my expanded ritual kit.

ADF High Day Ritual
•    Purification: Saining & Hallowing (Ring bell or bell branch to mark the beginning of ritual.)

•    Opening Prayer: “O beloved mother of all, from whose starry womb the green earth springs,
You who are the bearer of all life, and to whom all life descends in death’s darkness,
We honor you this day and pray you bless and uphold this rite.
Mother of all, receive our offerings!” Kneel to kiss the earth, give offering.

•    Two Powers Meditation

•    Sacred Center & Opening the Gates: Make offerings to the triple hallows and Gatekeeper, while saying:
“We give ______ to the Fire. We give ______ to the Well. We give ______ to the Tree.
We make offerings to the Gatekeeper, _______, who wards them well.
By Land, Sky, and Sea, by Fire, Well, and Tree…_______, Let the Gates be opened!”
(All place hands over the Hallows and raise them together, and envision the Gates opening.)

•    Calling to the Three Kindreds & Patrons of Occasion (while offering to each):
“To the Ancestors, we give offering and welcome. To the Nature Spirits, we give offering and welcome.
Hail [patron(s) of occasion], [add descriptors/ words of praise],
Open our souls’ eyes that we may see you. Open our hearts to hear your wisdom.
Bring us your blessings bright.
Kindreds Three, join with us as we honor the turning of the seasons
at the time of _______. May you bless and uphold this rite.”

•    Seasonal Commemoration: This can be enacting customs, more prayers/offerings/songs/magic, etc.

•    Omen: “What have the Kindreds to teach us today?”
Divine, and then say: “We hear what the Kindreds have said, and are made wise by it.”

•    Blessing Cup: “Ancient Ones, the Children of the Earth call out for your blessing.
Hallow these waters, O Holy Powers. Grant us the blessing we seek.
May the Wisdom, Love, and Power of the Deities, Ancestors and Nature Spirits
flow into this cup of blessing.”
Hold cup out with both hands and feel the energy flow into the cup.
“This cup now holds the waters of life. We drink this in the name of the Kindred.” (All drink.)
“May these waters we have received flow through our bodies and through our spirits,
and may they pour out into the rest of our lives.”

•    Thanking Kindreds: “We offer our thanks to the Mother of All.
We offer our thanks to the Gods, Dead and Spirits, and to [patrons]. May the Three Sacred Kins
Bring joy to all beings, and renew the ancient wisdom. To the Fire, Well and Tree, we offer my thanks.
May Wisdom, Love and Power kindle in all beings, and renew the ancient wisdom.
To the Earth, Sea, and Sky; we offer our thanks. May the ancient wisdom be renewed,
and may all beings know peace, joy and happiness in all the worlds.”

•    Closing: “Now by the keeper of the gates and by our magic we end what we began.
Let the fire be flame. Let the well be water. Let all be as it was before.
Let the gates be closed! We go now, as children of the Earth, in peace and blessings.
The ritual is at a close.”

Norse Mythology for Kids

Whether you’re a Heathen, Ásatrúar, or ADF Druid with a Norse hearth culture, I hope you find this guide to teaching kids Norse mythology helpful in some way. My first exposure to Norse mythology was “Nordic Gods and Heroes” by Padraic Colum which I recommend highly. Yet here, I have only reviewed books with lots of illustrations, to really capture the interest of young children. One well illustrated mythology book can go a long way in teaching children the lore and providing a sense of wonder and understanding.

D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths (for ages 5 to 9)
After much thought and trepidation, I finally decided to suggest this book. The pluses outweigh the minuses, and so here it is. For the younger ages, this is the book of Norse mythology. The old fashioned colored pencil illustrations are enchanting, and there is a good balance of words to pictures to keep young children interested. At the youngest stage, kids mostly want to look at the colorful pages and repeat the names of what they see. At the beginning of this book, they will see all the characters of the myths lined up together with their names written above their heads. The endpapers display a  map of the Nine Worlds, a great aid in learning Norse cosmology.
I have heard of people being so enthralled with this book that they site it as the reason they grew up to be Ásatrúar. Having said that, I with tell you about the deep flaw; it contains anti-pagan biases that I find heart breaking. (Which is strange, since D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths doesn’t seem to have any such bias.) Just to give you some idea of what I’m talking about, here’s a quote from the introduction- “A thousand years ago, when Christianity conquered the north, the Aesir gods perished. They met their destiny on the day of Ragnarokk…” -which is mild compared to this quote from the final chapter- “Lif and Lifthrasir did not lift their heads and hands in prayer to the Aesir gods. The prayed to God Almighty, who stepped out from above to rule all the worlds in eternity.”
Other parts of the book are quite enjoyable, if you can ignore the way Ragnarok is mentioned as something that already happened, and the fact that the deities are always spoken of in the past tense. If you decide to look into this book despite the flaws, try to find it cheap at a used book store or from the public library and avoid reading the introduction and the final two chapters. (I wouldn’t blame you if you ripped those pages out of your own copy.)

Gods & Heroes from Viking Mythology by Brian Branston
If you can only buy one picture book of Norse mythology for your children, get this one. It is excellent. There is no anti-pagan bias. The stories are told with much eloquence, in a narrative prose; as “High One” speaks to king Gylfi of Sweden. The publisher gives no age recommendations, but since the stories have such rich descriptive language and detail, I suspect it was written with older children in mind.
However, even young children with short attention spans would be in awe of the pictures, which are detailed and beautiful. There are twenty four color pictures and fifty line drawings gracing the pages. The title page and facing page have drawings of the deities juxtaposed with twining branches of the Yggdrasill. This would be a great tool for teaching children the names of the deities, by pouring over this page (and others) and naming them one by one (like with D’Aulaires’ book). The contents page and facing page have panels illustrating scenes and symbols of many of the stories. This could be used as a “quiz” page once a child has become a bit familiar with the stories. A parent could ask “What story does this panel represent?”, then perhaps “Can you tell me the story from memory- or, how many details can you remember?” After several readings, you may want to ask “What does this story mean to you?” You may even later get into deep conversations about the symbolism and meanings behind the stories.
Remember that lack of anti-pagan bias I mentioned? Unlike in D’Aulaires’ Norse Myths, in this book, Ragnarok has not yet happened. Here, a much different conclusion of a post-Ragnarok world is foretold… “The Æsir will rise to a new Asgard and meet like old friends in their old former haunts in Idavale…”

So, those are the two books of mythology I recommend. I think that they are inspiring enough that no others are really needed. Read them, and use the pictures as flash cards- quiz cards- conversation starters. Its as simple as that. I didn’t give any teen recommendations because by the time your child is a teenager, he may be reading the Eddas, or picking out her own books. At any rate, by that time she or he will know the basic myths (probably by heart), which is the goal.

For further inspiration, print out Norse deity coloring pages from the internet, or get the Norse Gods and Goddesses Dover Coloring Book. Coloring pages give kids the chance to personalize their own deity images for their altar. Another great way to reinforce the lore is through music. The Heathen Songbook Online has a wonderful selection of children’s songs. Also, check out this Norse creation story at Mystic Journeys, and Odin and the Lords of Asgard on History.com.

Yggdrasill by Sól Hrafnsdóttir

serpent’s stone divination

The elegantly simple method of divination known as serpent’s stones (or awen stones) is probably not ancient, but is destined to be a classic. It is ideal as an early divination method to teach children, and as an easy method of augury for solitary or group ritual.

All that is needed are three stones and a pouch to keep them in. For the stones, select:

• one white/light colored stone to represent all things positive and the answer “yes”

• one red colored stone to represent yourself

• and one black/dark colored stone to represent anything “crossing” you and the answer “no”.

To use serpent’s stones for divination, simply roll them around in your hand, with your question in mind, until it feels right to toss them out onto the ground or other surface. The stone landing closest to the red stone indicates your answer. If they are an equal distance from the red stone, then the answer is unclear or unknown, or you should try again later.

The most obvious value of the serpent’s stones is its usefulness in getting a yes or no answer. However, more detailed readings are possible through observing how the stones landed, how they interacted in the air, etc. Read Druid Divination: The Serpent’s Stone by Mark Bailey for a thorough explanation and use of the serpent’s stones, and some insights on Druidic divination methods. As with any divination tool, I recommend preparing divination tools for use by cleansing, hallowing, etc.

Three Stones
“Three stones are drawn into the light,
…one at a time as is their right
 Red for the question that burns in your mind
…setting the balance we all hope to find
 Light for the forces that help you along
…people and places that won’t do you wrong
Dark for the forces that hinder your path
…people and places inspire your wrath
Framing the question while feeling the stones
…asking for Awen from deep in your bones
Three stones are thrown into the light
…the answers gleaming in your Second Sight.”
–Mark Bailey

Salt Dough Inspiration

As many of you well know, making deity images and the like with salt dough is one of my favorite past times. So I thought I’d create a blog post of some of my creations and links to past posts about the craft. Enjoy!

   

Articles:

• how to host a divine imagery salt dough workshop (includes recipes)

• Home Shrine

• Tailtiu Shrine

• Sun Medallions (for a Summer solstice treasure hunt)

• Dagda and Curnunnos Wall Plaques (includes a bit of how-to)

• Crafting with Salt Dough

High Days Pork Roast

I’ve posted holiday menus before; my ideas of ideal meals to serve on the High Days (Pagan holidays). Yet I often abridge my plans or need to make something simpler. One year at Ostara, I only had three people to feed, and one of them didn’t like ham. So I found a recipe for orange roast pork and we all loved it. It seemed to fit the holiday really well. It was so easy too, because it was made in the crockpot. It got me to thinking about how a roast might taste with other concentrated juices, and how those might fit the mood of other holidays. Such a crockpot meal could also be a one pot supper with the addition of a few vegetables. Add a seasonal bread and dessert and you’ve got a super easy High Day feast! You might not want to eat pork for every High Day, or then again, maybe you do. (Pork is sacred, you know.) You can try other kinds of meat, or substitute beans for the meat/ double up on the vegetables- for a meatless dish.

High Days Pork Roast

1 (3-1/2 lb.) pork shoulder roast
1 onion, chopped
*6-oz. cooking liquid
1 to 4 T. brown sugar or dark honey, to taste
1 tsp. salt & 1/4 tsp. pepper
other seasonings, to taste
*vegetable additions (to make it a one-dish meal)
Trim roast of visible fat. Place onions in bottom of 3-4 quart crockpot. Place roast in crockpot on top of onions. In small bowl, mix together cooking liquid, sweetener, and seasonings, and pour over roast. Cover crockpot and cook on high for 3 hours, then reduce heat to low and cook for another 3 hours. In the last 2 or 3 hours of cooking time, add vegetables, if desired. Add firmer vegetables earlier on, and more tender, or smaller vegetables, toward the end of cooking time.
(If desired, make a gravy with the cooking juices, by adding 2T. flour mixed with 2T. water, and stir over medium heat until thickened.)

High Day                                                 Cooking Liquid                                                                      Vegetable Additions
Samhain                                                frozen concentrated apple juice                                     apple halves, cabbage wedges
Yule                                                        tomato sauce                                                                        beets, carrots, cabbage
Imbolc                                                    coconut milk                                                                          parsnips, asparagus
Ostara                                                    frozen concentrated orange juice                                    carrots, new potatoes
Beltane                                                  mushroom gravy                                                                  mushrooms, green beans
Midsummer                                          frozen conc. lemonade + 3 T. BBQ sauce                       corn coblets, red bell peppers
Lughnasadh                                        ½ chili sauce + ½ grape jelly                                             broccoli, cauliflower
Harvest Home                                     frozen conc. grape juice +applesauce                             sweet potatoes or pumpkin

Countdown to Beltane – Holiday Planner

April 1st – 7th
~Decorate for the holiday / make crafts to decorate home and altar.
~Take seasonal (outdoor) pictures with family/friends.

April  8th – 14th
~Firm up ritual plans, if you haven’t already. Will you be attending a festival, local event, a family event, or doing something on your own? If you are planning the ritual, decide on location and script/liturgy.
~Obtain ribbons, pole, etc. and construct a may pole (unless you already have one you use every year).
~Scope out good places to forage various wild foods (especially nettles, and other greens).

April  15th – 21st
~Make menu plans and grocery list.
~Find place to pick/obtain flowers for ritual.
~Start a batch of mead for next year.

April  22nd – 30th
~Shop for menu items.
~Gather Sassafras leaves.
~Pack away winter clothes in Sassafras leaves.
~Prepare some menu items in advance (if applicable).

April 31st / May 1st
~Forage for wild greens, if part of feast.
~Pick wild flowers and make garlands, crowns, altar decorations, etc.
~Cook Feast.
~Observe ritual, or honor the Kindreds in one form or another.
~Feast and make merry.