Rite of Pacific Storms

I have many friends on the West Coast of the United States who are talking of the draught in that region at the moment, both in the Pacific Northwest and in California, possibly up and down the coast of Mexico, Canada, and Alaska as well, I'm not certain.  The rest of the US is being hit hard, colder temperatures than most can remember, and a lot of snowfall and rainfall.  The snowpacks reached 110% in December, quite early.  There is unlikely to be drought conditions in the rest of the country this year, and similar in Europe, it seems.  But the West Coast is suffering, with a very mild winter and much less rain and snow than normal.  The storms are all hitting further east.

I said flippantly that I would try to do something, but I didn't mean it as flippantly as I said it.  I have called winds, and called and raised storms, usually with some success, most of my life, but it would do little good to call them from here in the Rockies, as I'm more likely to draw them away from the coast than to it.  As such, I'm sharing the following rite, for those that would like to try it and live in the area it is crafted for.

Feel free to adapt it.  It is crafted from my practice, and might need modification for you.  And the wording or details might need changing, as each of us are different.  The important part is the binding done when the shell is driven down, the rest can change as needed.  I've made it as simple as possible, both for ease of use, ease of adaptation, and to minimize the need to bring anything but what is needed with you.  It could also very easily be adapted and expanded to a group rite.

This rite would be best done this coming Dark Moon in March, on the first, though you can do it at a different time if you prefer or have a reason.  It is best done on the shore, preferably in a sandy area, or at least soft soil or mud, for practical reasons.  It is best done at the low tide closest to that Dark Moon, at night, near the water's edge, on land that is usually water.  But this, too, can be done otherwise if there is a reason.  But near the water's edge at low tide on the night of the Dark Moon on March 1 is best.  Preferably a shore facing out to sea, west or northwest being best.

Most important item you will need is a shell.  Preferably, find this on the shore sometime before the rite.  You want a shell you can easily stab into the sand, so one with a sharp tip or edge is best.

Some red thread, string, or yarn is a plus, but not necessary.

You don't need anything else but yourself.

Stand facing the water's edge, preferably facing west or northwest.  Hold the shell in one hand, whichever feels best (typically the hand you give or send with, but not always).  If you have string or yarn, hold it in the other hand.

Raise your hands over your head, closed palms outward toward the shore (you objects in your hands facing the sea, the backs of your hands away).  Close your eyes and feel the wind on you.  Where does it come from?  Which direction?  How strong is it?  How wet?  Keep your attention on the wind.

Speak the following (or an adaptation of it) to the wind:

Bringer of storms,
Bringer of moisture,
Bringer of wind,
I call you.
Come to me.

If you have string or thread, bring your hands down and tie it around the shell, saying:

What begins here,
I do bind with this thread,
What I have, I hold.

After tying it, return your hands to where they were.

Repeat the following:

Let the storms come!
Let the the moisture fall!
Let the wind blow!
I call the storms to these shores,
I bind and fix them here!

With the last line, bend down and bury in one action the shell as deep in the sand as you can.

Turn and leave the shore, not looking back, knowing the waves with cover the shell, the shell that binds the storms and moisture and wind to the earth and sea, the sand and waves.

And the storms will come.

FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss

Wildfire: Necessity and Power

I've talked several times about the importance of fire in the lodgepole pine / pine beetle cycle, of how fire must come to kill of the beetles, and to open the cones to bring new life.

Here's a summary of that cycle for those unfamiliar.  The cycle begins with the rebirth of the forest after a fire.  Out of the cones, new lodgepole seedlings sprout.  There are very few pine beetles alive.  As the years pass, the trees grew and slowly a new forest forms.  The trees reach up toward the sky, underbrush growing below.  The animals live beneath.  Each year, the lodgepole drpp two types of cones, a normal cone that opens as it dries, and a cone that only opens in fire.  Slowly, the pine beetle population grows.  Each year they lay their eggs beneath the bark.  The eggs hatch, the larva grow, then become pupa, become adults, all the while feeding on the tree.  The adult beetles emerge and look for a new tree.  A female finds a tree and starts burrowing into the bark and begins giving off pheromones that attract other females and males which mass attack the tree and trees near it.  The beetles have a special structure on thier heads that carry blue stain fungus. At the beginning of the boring, this structure infects the tree, and the fungus prevents the tree from producing resin, the tree's natural defense against the beetle.  The males fertilize the eggs and the females lay them, beginning the cycle anew.  Between thr lavae and pupae eating thd wood and the fungus blocking the tree's ability to get water and nutrients to the wood, the tree dies.  And tree by tree, the lodgepole die as the beetles increase in numbers.  Dead lodgepole are very flamible, and as the number of dead trees increase, so does the chance of fire.  When it reaches a point, and fire starts, it races through the forest, destroying the dead trees, but killing the beetles within them, and opening the cones, allowing the rebirth of the forest and the completion of the cycle.

We have been nearing the end of that cycle in much of the Western US and Canada for a long time.  In at least Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Eastern Wasington, Eastern Oregon, North Eastern California, and Alberta, maybe other states, at least 65% of the pine are dead from the beetle.  Near Laramie, here in South East Wyoming where 60 MPH winds are common, about 80% are dead.  It's been since the fires of 1909 that many beetles have been killed.

So we come to this year.  Typically in this part of the country, fire season is late July to late September when the snow starts to put them out.  The fires started in late May this year.  Last major snow in Laramie is usually late May.  It was late June last year, but early March this year.  Typically the Laramie River crests second week of July.  It was last week of July last year, but second week of May this year.  Typically, Spring rains are from May to
early July.  Last year they were late June to early August.  This year, March to May.  Typical late June, early July temperatures are in the high 70s, and if it breaks 90 at all, it's in the second week of August.  Last year, it didn't break 80 until around then.  This year, we've have 90+ temperatures for the last two weeks.  It's a very very dry year, much hotter than normal, normal strong winds, no rain to speak of for most of the last month.  Perfect conditions for fire.

Fire.  The classic elements place earth as heaviest, then water, then air, then fire as lightest.  Earth and air are passive, water and fire active.  The order of heaviness is mirrored in the Kabbalah worlds.  The highest world, the World of Emminations, is the World of Fire, and Shin, the Mother of Fire.  Below that is the World of Creation, the World of Air, and Aleph, the Mother of Air.  Next is the World of Forms, the World of Water, and Mem, the Mother of Water.  The lowest is Malkuth, which contains Fire, Air, and Water, but is the only world containing Earth.  The three upper worlds is the first Breath.  Breath is made of heat, air, and moisture, all combined together.  But heat rises, up the the World of Fire, and moisture condenses and sinks as the temperature drops, sinking to the World of Water, leaving Air between.  You see a similar thing in the symbol for Aquarius.  You see two sawtooth waves, one above, one below.  The space between is Air, for Aquarius has always been connected to Air.  Traditionally, below the lower wave is Water, the oceans and lakes and rivers and streams of the earth.  Above is traditionally the water above, the water that falls from the sky, rain.  It's the Firmament separating the two waters to the Hebrews, though this is Greek, not Jewish, relating to the Greek Flood Myths.  But the upper wave can also be seen as the boundary between Air and Fire, the starlight and fire above the Air.  Rotating the Kabbalic Three Worlds and Three Mothers, you get Three Pillars.  It rotates to the right.  Fire, Shin, Emminations, becomes the Right Hand Pillar, Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Chesed, Pillar of Mercy.  Water, Mem, Forms, becomes the Left Hand Pillar, Pillar of Water, Pillar of Geburah, Pillar of Severity.  And between them, Air, Aleph, Creation, becomes the Middle Pillar, the balance between the two.

Fire.  What does Fire do?  It consumes, and converts matter to heat, matter to energy.  It is inherently distructive, yet that destruction produces heat and energy, which are necessary for life.  The Sun is Fire in it's most powerful form, consuming, destroying, and creating, and life on earth is impossible without the heat and energy it produces.  In the Chinese classic elements, Fire creates Earth, as, when it burns wood, it produces ash, Earth.  Wood creates Fire, as Fire burns out of wood.  Fire controls Metal, as it melts it and allows it to be worked.  Water controls Fire, because it extinguishes it.

Fire.  There are two professions that depend on Fire more than any other, that intrinsically depend on it.  And both are some of the oldest professions, and necessary for human survival.  The first is cooking, for you can't cook without Fire, whether wood fire, gas fire, or electricity.  The other is smithing, the working with metal.  Without smithing, there are no tools to farm, no nails to build, no weapons to hunt.  Well, primitive ones of each, but smithing is what allowed expansion and progress, the ability to do more than just survive.  And without fire to melt or soften the metal, there is no smithing.  The Smithcraft is very closely tied to many Witchcraft traditions.  As makes sense.  Smithery is magic.  You take one thing and change it to another, and only initiates, only those knowing the secrets of the craft can do so.  The secrets were passed master to apprentice, father to son.  Many traditions are connected to Tubal Cain, the first worker of metal, the first Smith, in the Biblical record and in many parallel traditions.  Some are connected to Wayland, the legendary Smith in Northern tradition.  Some are connected to Hephaestus of the Greeks, Vulcan to the Romans, the Smith of the gods who crafted Zeus' lightning bolts and was kicked out of Olympus by his mother Hera for being weak.  Smiths are very much connected to the craft.

Fire is very real here in the Western United States at the moment.  The trees that have been awaiting fire are burning in many places.  There are two fires near to home, one about thirty miles to the west, very near my working site, making it off limits, and one to the north that is much larger but without as much potential for a bigger disaster.  The one the the west is just over 10,000 acres but borders many hundreds of thousands of dead trees.  As of the moment, it is 95% contained, which is good news.  The one to the north is almost 100,000 acres, and 65% contained.  The whole valley has been covered with smoke for a long time, first from the Colorado fires, and lately by the local fires to a much larger extent.  Fire is real, and Fire is dangerous.

Though the trees need to burn, to kill the beetles, to renew the forests, large fires burning the whole west are dangerous to the people living here, to the ranches and houses, to the people I know as my people.  It is necessary for the fires that are inevitable to burn for a bit and be put out, instead of burning and burning and burning.  Both Let-It-Burn policies and putting out every fire are bad options, but sometimes all the technology of man can't control a fire.  Only nature can put it out, can control it, can direct it.  So sometimes the approach isn't technology.


Wildfire

Note:  This is a Grimr spell with Feri and 1734 influence.  It is keyed to me and shouldn't be used as is by anyone else.  Please feel free, however, to draw from it or adapt it for your own purposes.  If you do so and would like to share your creation with me and/or the results, please email spellsandrituals at grimr.org.


IN A DARK ROOM, FACE THE DIRECTION OF THE FIRE.  LIGHT A CANDLE IN FRONT OF YOU.  CLOSE YOUR EYES AND TAKE BREATHES, PULLING IN POWER AND ENERGY FROM WHAT IS AROUND YOU.  WHEN YOU'RE READY, OPEN YOUR EYES AND STARE INTO THE FLAME.  LET YOUR EYES UNFOCUS.  THE CANDLE FLAME REPRESENTS THE WILDFIRE, IS THE WILDFIRE.  REACH OUT THROUGH THE FLAMES OF THE CANDLE INTO THE WILDFIRE.  VISUALIZE TWO DOORS DECORATED IN BURNING TREES.  THESE DOORS ARE THE GATE BETWEEN YOUR CANDLE FLAME AND THE FLAME OF THE WILDFIRE.  THIS IS MORE THAN VISUALIZATION, THE VISUALIZATION IS MERELY A TOOL TO HELP YOU SEE THE DOORS THAT ARE ALREADY THERE.  OPEN THE DOOR.  REACH THROUGH AND LET YOUR CONCENTRATION AND INTENT FOCUS ON THE FLAMES THROUGH THE FLAMES.  NOW BEGIN.

Beginnings, Creation, Ingress (REPEAT THREE TIMES):

By fire burning,
Both wild and free,
I call your names,
I call to thee,
Boreas and Notus,
Zephyrus and Eurus,
Tettens and Carenos,
Lucet and Node,
Nordi and Sudri,
Austri and Vestri,
Hapi and Imsety.
Duamutef and Qebehsenuef,
Black Mother and Shining Flame,
Star Finder and Water Maker.
Four bright stars,
That are as one,
Four winds blowing,
Come to me,
Four stones resting,
On the edge,
By water and soil,
All are one,
This valley is mine,
By right and deed,
In Nimue's bosom,
We start this thing,
As fire started,
By human hand,
We start the process,
To end again,
Bring the wind,
To turn about,
To move away,
From beetle blight,
Bring the rain,
To put it out,
Pour down moisture,
To cool the drought,
Soil from which,
The trees did spring,
Draw back the ashes,
Bring new life,
Fire, destroyer,
And bringer of life,
Pull back your hand,
In morning's light,
Four bight stars,
That are as one,
Four winds blowing,
Come to me,
By fire burning,
Both wild and free,
I call your names,
I call to thee,
Exitium in initio,
Ponebatur.

Centre, Sustaining, Congress (REPEAT SIX TIMES):

Cool breeze and rainfall,
The temperatures drop,
Moisture and rain clouds,
The wind brings relief,
We all know the fire,
Is destined to come,
Needful and necessary,
A bringer of life,
Beetle killed lodgepole,
For thousands of miles,
Only the burning,
Can bring an end,
But houses and ranches,
People and beasts,
I stand for protection,
I stand for their lives,
As this burning candle,
Is controlled and contained,
I declare limits and boundaries,
Control of the flame,
By Mari's sweet presence,
The boundaries stand,
This far and no further,
And turn it around,
Rain will fall gentle,
And limit the flame,
Wind will blow it back,
A binding hand came,
Earth will fall silent,
Asleep in the rain,
And fire will turn back,
Moving inward again,
Cool breeze and rainfall,
The temperatures drop,
Moisture and rain clouds,
The wind brings relief,
I stand for protection,
I stand for their lives,
Exitium in initio,
Ponebatur.

Endings, Destruction, Egress (REPEAT NINE TIMES):

All things that start,
Must come to an end,
The candle that's lit,
Must soon be put out,
A fire contained,
With no place to go,
Shall eat up its fuel,
And burn itself out,
By four names we bind,
By four names we loose,
The fire that started,
Must soon be no more,
Boreas and Notus,
Zephyrus and Eurus,
Tettens and Carenos,
Lucet and Node,
Nordi and Sudri,
Austri and Vestri,
Hapi and Imsety.
Duamutef and Qebehsenuef,
Black Mother and Shining Flame,
Star Finder and Water Maker.
Four stones the border,
Four stones the edge,
What's started and limited,
Must reach and end,
Lodgepole that's burned,
Is lost in the wind,
Fire that's extinguished,
Makes room for new life,
Cones that open,
In the destruction of death,
Grow to new life,
A snake eating its tail,
Beetles are gone,
And with them the trees,
Sacrificed on altars,
Under sweet Ana's knife,
New life comes slowly,
And sprout from the seed,
Beginnings from endings,
New life it brings,
By four names we bind,
By four names we loose,
The fire that started,
Must soon be no more,
All things that start,
Must come to an end,
The candle that's lit,
Must soon be put out,
A fire contained,
With no place to go,
Shall eat up its fuel,
And burn itself out,
Exitium in initio,
Ponebatur.

STILL FOCUSING ON THE FIRE THROUGH THE FLAME, EITHER BLOW OUT THE CANDLE OR SNUFF IT OUT BETWEEN WET FINGERS.  SIT IN SILENCE AND DARKNESS UNTIL YOU FEEL RELEASED BY THE SPIRITS.




FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss

Oil of Nimue

The Sky at Dawn

This morning, I awoke with the Dawn.  I awoke with a very specific purpose.  Right now, it is the Crescent Moon, a time holy to Nimue.  And the newness of the Dawn seemed an appropriate time to honour her.

Back in November, I bought a mask for Nimue, to represent her presence in my life and in my house.  It's a ceramic mask designed to hang on the wall, with balloons on the white face.  I looked for masks for a quite a while and settled on this one, because it felt like her, a mixture of power and fun.  I ordered it, and when it arrived, I hung it on the wall.  When I hung it, my dog was outside.  When she came in, she noticed it up there right away.  It really disturbed her for a bit.  She kept looking up at it and wooing, talking in a way only huskies can.  She did get used to it.

I wanted to dedicate the mask to Nimue, to invite her into it and into my home.  I decided to use oil to represent her presence, her lao, coming upon it, by anointing it with oil as I invited her.  To this end, I needed an oil appropriate to her, both to use with the mask and to use in later workings.  With some prayer, some thought, some feeling, some advise from others, and some research, I determined the ingredients I would use and wrote a ritual poem to be part of the dedication and infusing of the oil.

Part of my decisions on what to put in the oil was from talking to other people.  Part came from Catholic symbolism and worship of Saint Dymphna, who is a real good parallel to Nimue for me, similar to the saints associated with the lao in Voudou.  I chose lavender oil, angelica root, and violets.  The recipe I wrote down at the time was:

What I decided on is a base of olive oil (I couldn't buy a large enough bottle of lavender oil).
3 of my hairs (to tie it to me)
27 drops of lavender oil
3 pinches of angelica root
3 pinches of violets (the herb store actually had some)
Add olive oil.  Charge it.  Pray the prayer to Nimue I wrote three times to invite her into it.

Life got weird at that time, so I wasn't able to perform the ritual at that time.  A few things changed by the time I did it this morning.  I rose before the dawn and got everything together.  I dressed in a way that would make me feel closest to Nimue.  Mice had got into the bag and eaten the violets I had bought.  That was in November with snow on the ground, so there were no violets outside.  I went a head with it, hoping our violets had bloomed.

Violets in Bloom

Bringing everything outside, I found that sure enough, the violets were in bloom.  It seemed like doing this in spring while they were actually in bloom was more appropriate to Nimue than the heart of winter.  I set everything down and went to work.  The sky was bright and beautiful blue and the sun was just rising, though still behind the mountains.

I began by plucking hairs from my head.  I plucked one, tied a knot in it, and put it in the bottle.  The hair is for the purpose of uniting me and her in the oil.  The knot was to bind me to her and her to me.  I found tying knots in hairs takes a lot of fine motor skills and coordination, something I don't have.  But after a while of trying, the knots were in each hair and the hairs were in the bottle.

The Lovely, Innocent Violet

Next, I put three pinches of the angelica root in the bottle, then picked three violet blossoms and put them in.  I put three drops of lavender oil in after that.  I hadn't reread my recipe and three is such a powerful number, I forgot completely about three times three times three for the lavender oil, since a drop is so small.  Three will work just fine.  Robert Cochrane said in his third letter to Joe Wilson when describing calling the Goddess, "Before you do this however, it is necessary to offer your devotions and prayers by bowing three times to the Altar, with arms crossed upon your chest and then turn about the Altar (which for normal purposes should be round, hence King Arthur) the number of the Deity you are invoking or praying to. The Maid is usually three times three - the Mother six times three, the Hag (which is anything but the true title), nine times three. Upon the last turn stop with your back to the Altar, and there begin your great chant. With a group one works in absolute silence, but by yourself it is easier to utter your prayer and meditation aloud until you begin to speak as one possessed'."  As such, I associate Nimue with three, so used this heavily in this ritual.  The smell of the bottle at this point was very lovely, fresh, strong, and innocent, like Nimue.

Having put the "core" ingredients in the bottle, I said my prayer, my invocation, my ritual poem, my spell the first time, holding my hand over the bottle and focusing and channeling energy into it.

Oh sweet darling,
Girl full of power and might.
The pool of your blessing fills me,
The water pours out upon my head.
Your blessing, your loa, flows like water,
Covering me in your presence.
As I hold my hands over this oil, pour through me,
Fill this oil with your blessing, be present in it.
Oh sweet Nimue, so mote it be.

I then added olive oil, filling the bottle half way up.  I then repeated the poem again.

Oh sweet darling,
Girl full of power and might.
The pool of your blessing fills me,
The water pours out upon my head.
Your blessing, your loa, flows like water,
Covering me in your presence.
As I hold my hands over this oil, pour through me,
Fill this oil with your blessing, be present in it.
Oh sweet Nimue, so mote it be.

Filling the bottle the rest of the way, I aligned my souls and repeated the poem a third time.

Oh sweet darling,
Girl full of power and might.
The pool of your blessing fills me,
The water pours out upon my head.
Your blessing, your loa, flows like water,
Covering me in your presence.
As I hold my hands over this oil, pour through me,
Fill this oil with your blessing, be present in it.
Oh sweet Nimue, so mote it be.

Oil of Nimue

Closing the bottle, I shook it to mix it up, three times.  And it was done.  So mote it be.

From the time I awoke this morning until the time I put the bottle in a safe place to sit and let the scents and essences and her presence blend, Nimue was strong on me.  It wasn't being ridden like the Voudou lao, nor possession of any type.  It was her sweet presence being close to me, her dwelling with me.  I felt, as I sometimes do, as a young girl, maybe twelve.  There was purity and innocence in my emotions and my actions this morning.

Nimue's Mask

The next step is the mask.

FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss

The Seething Cauldron

I just finished reading the article "Seidr and Modern Paganism" by Jan Fries in The Cauldron No. 139 (February 2011).  It raised some good points, about our understanding of ancient Seidr, about modern neopagan/neoheathen Seidr, and about magic, ritual, tradition, and religion in general.  The article is an edited extract of his book, Seidways: Shaking, Swaying and Serpent Mysteries, from Mandrake Press of Oxford.  The article makes me want to read the book in its entirety.

I guess there's a lot of controversy from the neopagan/neoheathen community about his association of Seidr with the shaking of other shamanistic cultures in Europe.  It doesn't match what the modern community has come to associate with the name Seidr, based on their reading of the lore and their experiences.  The article is basically his response to their objections, in summary form.

Enough with reviewing the article.  I want to discuss one specific paragraph here.  I'll leave out the last two sentences as they aren't related to what I want to discuss, but relates the rest of the paragraph to the flow of his argument.  I recommend reading the article in its entirety to get the context.

But seething was also part of sacrifice.  The Vikings never offered raw or burned meat to their deities.  To prepare a proper sacrifice, you suspended a cauldron on a chain from the temple roof and seethed the flesh until it was tender,  The scent arising from the sacrifice were an essential part of the sacrifice.  In Gothic the participants of the sacrifice were suthnautar, the 'seething companions'.  So whatever else the word may have implied, there was something sacred to seething.

I want to address several things here.  These are the Cauldron, the tenderness of the meat, the aroma, and the "seething companions".