Stovetop Hearth Rites

October 2, 2011 at 6:59 am (Arts & Crafts, Food, spirituality)
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Quite a few years ago I came across the idea of having a hearth goddess shrine in the kitchen. I think it was in a book about house magic. The shrine it described was to the Greek hearth goddess Hestia. I liked the idea but didn’t see at the time how I would implement it and I didn’t feel a strong connection to Hestia. I saw a variation on the theme in an article I’ve mentioned before; “Takin’ It All Home” by Kami Landy. I suppose the idea incubated in the back of my mind for a bit, but then it finally occurred to me what form my kitchen shrine would take and the ritual actions that would form around it.

Though I think of her as much more than a hearth goddess, Bríd, as goddess of fire, is my obvious choice of deity to honor at a kitchen shrine. I would decide on a symbol or image to use for her and where to put it. It would need to be small, and something I could place away from splattering oil and steam, but still be right in front of me when I went to cook. I decided against having a lamp or candle to light every time I set out to cook. It would be an extra step that I know I wouldn’t keep doing. I felt that just the imagery should be enough and some simple brief actions surrounding it.

It would be one small object (home-made, of course) to focus on and remind me of Bríd. I’ve collected Pagan and Celtic coloring pages for years, so I searched through my collection to find something I could color in and decoupage. I found a Bríd’s cross superimposed over a sun. I really like the imagery though in the future when this one is worn out, I might go with a depiction of the goddess instead.

So this is how I made it… I cut out three circles from a pizza box lid and glued them together to create a strong disk. I taped the cut edges with small tears of masking tape then painted the entire disk black with craft paint. After this dried, I glued on the picture with a thin layer of white glue and let it dry, then put on a couple layers of Modge Podge. Then I painted the image with craft paints. Originally I was going to put this on the wall above the stove, squeezed in between my spices and cooking utensils. But then it occurred to me that I could stick a magnet strip on the back and place it on the stove’s hood. So that is what I did. It keeps it safer from steam and splatters and easier to reach. I slide it further up onto the stove hood when not being used for my cooking blessing, so it won’t get knocked down.

And this is how I use it in ritual… when I’m about to start cooking, I say a short blessing and rub a pinch of the dry ingredients I’m using in my cooking  (usually salt, spices) around the edge of the image as offering. That’s all there is to it. Not hard to keep up a ritual such as that. The brief words of my cooking blessing was inspired from a couple of Bríd prayers I learned years ago:

~~~
“Gentle red-cheeked Bríd
Of flame and honeycomb,
Bless this cooking, bless this home.”
~~~

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Celtic Pagan Daily Spirituality – when there’s no time for ritual

September 4, 2011 at 6:10 am (Day in the Life, spirituality)
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As part of my Dedicant Program studies for ADF, I’m supposed to keep a journal documenting things like my daily ritual and meditative practices. As time wears on, I find that not only can it be difficult to keep up the practice of journaling, it is especially difficult at times to maintain the routine of a daily ritual. This got me to thinking about an article I read years ago on the Imbas website; “Takin’ It All Home: Translating Our Ritual Structure to Personal Space” by Kami Landy. So I went back and read the article again to remind myself of how Celtic spirituality can be woven into my daily life, even when it seems I don’t have time. Infused with thankfulness, connection, and meditative awareness, the mundane activities of daily life take on new meaning. Life is the ritual.

Here are some of my ideas for daily Celtic spirituality inspired by Landy’s article:

Water
Just as so many modern Hindu worshipers do today, so too did the ancient druids start their day with ritual bathing. For Hindus, the sacred river is the Ganges. For the druids, there were many sacred rivers. The founding goddess of the Celts is Danu, Ancestral Mother and river goddess. Not all of us can bathe in a river every morning, but most of us shower daily. Why not consider the water coming from the shower as sacred? All the water that is on the planet has always been here, it just keeps circulating around the globe. That water was once a part of the sacred Danube river (and the Ganges, for that matter). The daily shower is the perfect time to connect to and worship Danu (and/or other water-related deities).  I begin by cupping my hands under the stream of water and saying something like this: “Danu, mo bandia, Ancient Mother, Ancient River, Waters of Life… may your flowing waters cleanse my body and soul for the ritual of life…”
Another way of viewing sacred water in a Celtic context is the concept of the Sacred Well. (Put in a drain strainer so that you can occasionally place a piece of silver in the drain as offering without it getting lost or causing a clog.)

Tree: the Sacred Center
For Celtic Pagans, the Bilé, or world tree, is symbolic of our connection between the upper and lower realms; the center of sacred space. Symbolically, it holds our worlds together. (I also consider the imagery of the tree as representative of a Curnunnos-type deity, but your mileage may vary.) Landy recommends touching a representation of the Bilé (a chimney or center wall of the house) as a meditative reconnection. I would also add that a tree figurine or other representation on your personal shrine would also work, and on the go, a tree pendant necklace. In your daily rounds, do you walk by a tree? Simply reaching out and briefly touching a tree can be very grounding; a physical trigger as well as an acknowledgement of the sacredness of the tree itself. You could also rub a pinch of red ochre or ground grains on the tree as offering, when you have time.

Fire
Landy speaks of the pilot light of the water heater, stove burner, etc. being representative of the home’s sacred flame. But what if you live in a home that is all-electric, and no fireplace to smoor? I like her idea of lighting a small candle while cooking, and putting some kind of symbol like a sun-face or Brigit’s cross above it. This gave me the idea of considering the stove-top itself an altar to Brigit and putting a symbol of her on the wall above it. But I don’t light a candle when I cook; I consider electricity her Divine Spark in modern form. When beginning cooking, I touch her image in reverence and smudge on a little ground grain or red ochre.

Earth Mother
Landy’s paragraph about the Earth Mother is spot on. Everywhere is Her altar and our worship of Her is in our actions; our sustainable lifestyles of recycling, conserving resources, non-consumerism. To this I would add that simply bending down to touch the Earth in reverence can be one of your most powerful spiritual acts of the day.

The Three Kindreds
The Three Kindreds are: Deities, Nature Spirits, and Ancestors. Worship of certain deities is included in the above water (well), tree, and fire reverence ideas. I also like Landy’s idea of using pictures to remind one of the Kindreds. These could be anointed with red ochre or some other sacred substance in a way similar to Hindu worship.
For honoring the Nature Spirits, I think that her idea of using a bird feeder as offering receptacle for them is pure genius. In many cases, even an apartment dweller could do this. To what she has suggested on this, I have nothing more to add. Her ideas on Ancestor reverence is well put also. My Ancestor shrine is in the dining area where I eat everyday, so it is easy to remember to honor them, but Landy’s article gives me ideas on how to enhance that shrine through use of scent and items held dear to the Beloved Dead. Little things like this serve to help one remember and revere the Ancestors.

Many of these ideas can even be adapted to use when traveling. I especially like the idea of using pictures (not neccesarily as part of a shrine) to worship the Kindreds; this idea too, could be portable in the form of homemade picture prayer cards kept in a wallet or purse, or one could use charms on a bracelet. A lot of what Landy’s article is about is setting up a home environment in which spiritual practice becomes second nature. We do have time for “ritual” when it’s many little things woven into our lives.

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My Portable Ritual Kit

May 6, 2011 at 6:42 am (spirituality)
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What’s in it, clockwise from the top:

~Fire-pot (I used a ‘decorative’ copper cauldron from a thrift store.)
~a piece of egg carton fire starter (I have replaced this with commercial firestarter, see below.)
~matches
~small cauldron (Yes, that’s a “salsa cauldron”.)
~silver ring (You can also use a piece of silver or a silver coin .)
~divination method (like ogham or runes)
~drinking cup (Yes, that’s a pudding cup.)
~offerings (I have here; oats and cornmeal each in ‘snack-size’ ziplock bags, and a small bottle of oil, all in one drawstring pouch.)

So I put all the items in the fire-pot, small cauldron last, turned upside down, and tie it all up in a drawstring bag and add it to my backpack along with a bottle of water and a small towel or rag for cleanup. You don’t want too big of a fire for a short solitary ritual, but you might want enough of a fire to burn small grain offerings. The first time I used this, I packed a piece of egg carton firestarter and it created a lot of smoke. So you might want to use a small broken off chunk of commercial firestarter instead; its smokeless and environmentally friendly. If you’re not going to be burning offerings, you could even go with a tealight candle. The tall sides of the firepot will shield the flame from wind. If you were to create a bigger fire in your firepot, you would also need to let the fire burn itself out and the pot cool down before packing up and moving on, and a small fire will burn out faster, or can just be puffed out or snuffed out with a rock. When choosing a good place for the ritual, I look to the trees and find one that I particularly resonate with. It’s nice to find a flat rock to use as an altar, but it’s not absolutely necessary.

If you are not familiar with ADF-style Druid rituals, you may be wondering what some of this stuff is for. The central focus of ADF rituals is the Triple Center of Fire, Well, and Tree. The first three items on the list are for constructing the sacred Fire. The cauldron, in which I pour water from the water bottle when setting up the altar, represents the Well. The silver is the offering to the well. Divination is used in most Druid rituals. The drinking cup is for the “return blessing” portion of the ritual (for this I use more of the water from the water bottle- I bring a full bottle, for I also use some of this water for pre-ritual purification.). And offerings are an essential part of Druid ritual as well. It’s nice to have a variety of offerings; something different to offer each power. Dry offerings like oats and cornmeal are lightweight and portable. You might want to make the offerings an item that you put in the kit at the last minute, rather than storing with the kit, to avoid items going rancid in storage. Another alternative is using incense. In fact, I plan on adding juniper incense to my kit for pre-ritual purification and for offering to the Tree.

To learn how to make an even smaller kit see fiacharrey’s pocket ritual kit  youtube video.

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Three Kindreds Shrine/Altar Dedication

December 3, 2010 at 2:52 pm (spirituality, Uncategorized)
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This is a short rite I came up with to hallow/bless/consecrate a home altar space.  I think it’s a good one to use whether setting up an altar/shrine for the first time or re-establishing one after a move.  Or perhaps your altar /shrine has been dishoveled or disturbed- that would be another reason to do a new altar dedication.
(Note: I usually consider the “shrine” to be the part where the Spirits (Three Kindreds) are depicted in art or statuary and adorned.  I consider the altar to be the part of the shrine, the flat surface area, where offerings and other ritual items are placed.)
Set up: Clean the surfaces where the shrine & altar will be set up.  Dust and clean all shrine figures and altar pieces and set up in the designated location.  Make sure candles are placed where the flames will not catch anything on fire.  Have ready incense for offerings.

Purification: Smudge altar with Juniper smoke, encircling with the smoke three to nine times.

Three Realms Blessing
“As it was, as it is, as it evermore shall be — I stand at the Center of Earth, Sky and Sea.”

Purpose
“I establish this shrine and altar to keep the old ways and honor the Kindreds Three;
the Ancestors, Nature Spirits, and Deities.”

Fire Lighting
“I kindle the sacred flames of my hearth and home in honor of the Kindred Three.” 
(light the 3 altar candles) 

Offering & Request for Blessing
“May this shrine be recognized by the Three Kindreds.
Nature Spirits, I offer you incense, peace, and welcome.”  (light incense)
“May these rites and this shrine honor you, and may you bless me and mine.
Ancestors, I offer you incense, rememberence, and welcome.”  (light incense)
“May these rites and this shrine honor you, and may you bless me and mine.
I call to my Deities; (speak the names of your deities)–
Shining Ones All, hear my prayer to you- I offer you incense and worship.”  (light incense)
“May this shrine and the rites of this household honor you.  I ask that you guide my path and bless me and mine.”

At this time, add more prayers, praise songs, or just meditate and be in the presence of the Spirits.
When ready, extinguish candles and say:

“As it was, as it is, as it evermore shall be.”

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Altars and Shrines

August 14, 2009 at 10:45 am (spirituality)
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A shrine is a sacred place dedicated to a specific entity, at which s/he is venerated or worshipped.  The area of a shrine in which votive offerings are placed is considered an altar.  This may be quite different from how many Neopagans define ’altar’- a sacred area where symbolic objects and ’working tools’ are kept during ritual.  (Not a place for offerings- making offerings isn’t a Wiccan thing to do.)  I never got much into using magical tools (athame, chalice, wand, pentacle) when I was Wiccan.  I had fun collecting them, but ended up not using them much.  For magic, I’ve always used just whatever items are needed.  So I guess I have always thought of an altar along the lines of it’s ‘official’ definition- as part of a shrine.  I’ve seen many Wiccan altars that I didn’t recognize as such- they seemed random, without the central focus that a shrine would have.  Once I went to a ritual where there was a potlatch (stuff swap) afterward, and it seemed that a couple of people almost mistook the altar for the potlatch table!  I guess my point is, I have a specific idea of what an altar/shrine should look like- and I don’t see the likes of one very often.  I don’t think an altar should be a blanket on the ground with a bunch of mismatched stuff on it (including matches/aim & flame!).  I don’t think shrines are always necessary nor practical for all rituals- Nature is often my only ‘shrine’.  And in my opinion, altars are only necessary in ritual if there is going to be some kind of offering made.  
A few years ago I went to a ritual at the Orpheum, where there was a shrine put together by all the people there.  Oh yes, you could tell that was a shrine- all the various deity images lit by only candlelight- it was inspiring.  Inspiring- that is the word.  That is what we should aim for in creating shrines.  In Hinduism, ‘darshan‘ means to see a sacred image of deity and receive the deity’s blessing.  Have you ever seen a shrine or image of a deity that moved you to the point that you felt you received blessing just by the sight of it?

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