Monthly Archives: September 2019
Weekly Linkage
In the past year I’ve been working on an alternate ritual structure based on my experience in Wicca, Druidry, and Heathenry. In particular I have been studying modern psychological research and attempting to incorporate some best practices to improve the flow and meaningfulness of ritual.
Melissa Hill, ‘A New ritual Structure for Neo-Pagans and Earth Spiritualists‘ on Patheos
Though a bit different than how I approach meditation, this post by Astrea gives some ideas on how to get started with meditating.
Phoenix LeFae has a short post on community and why we continue returning to it.
Mat Auryn has a great post on using (simple) oracle cards in combination with Tarot to help clarify readings.
…I can tell you why I consider [the month] holy.
Molly Khan, ‘The Holy Month is Coming‘ on Patheos
This is the time in which the earth gives to us. We receive such great bounty, such immeasurable gifts; it seems impossible that anything I give back will be suitable. At the same time as we are receiving these amazing gifts of life, the life around me is either dying or preparing to go dormant as the cold winds and drifting snows loom. This is sacrifice – so much death so that I might continue to live.
Here’s a post on ideas for cheap/no-cost offerings.
The Wild Hunt has an opinion piece on community, Pagan Pride, and the pressures of being Pagan.
Lastly, two posts by Kaye on KALLISTI, one of my favorite blogs (likely obvious from how much I link to it): a prayer to Mnemosyne and a post on re-usable tea light containers.
Reblog: Haunted by Emptiness on Opalfish
When discussions of the Eighth God came around, I was living on the grounds of a defunct state hospital in my hometown. Most of the buildings on the massive campus — numerous and spanning an extensive range of eras in construction and architecture — sat empty and in disrepair, some having been that way for decades and others only boarded up for a matter of years or months.
Time + Place #1: Haunted by Emptiness | Adventures of Opalfish
Songs of the Week
Weekly Linkage
Whether we can say with certainty that they were intrinsic to Anglo-Saxon religion, modern practitioners of Fyrnsidu seem to have gravitated toward certain things that our Norse counterparts are usually less enthusiastic about. The aforementioned interest in herbalism, leechcraft and plantlore has certainly found a prominent place among 21st century Anglo-Saxon Heathens and it’s something that I think should be included in any curriculum designed for the budding Fyrnsidere. If we’re going to continue to distinguish ourselves as a standalone entity, then we need to celebrate and expand on those small things that modern practitioners have gravitated towards.
Wodgar Inguing, ‘ A Retrospective in Anglo-Saxon Heathendom‘ on Sundorwic
Priestess of Aphrodite has a useful elemental cleansing ritual. I’ve begun taking better notes for rituals as I’ve found myself doing more public (and private) ritualizing, and keeping track of where I got what ideas is important.
But, most importantly, it’s also left me with questions about where my witchcraft lives. I mean, we’re always saying it’s-not-about-tools and the-gods-are-within-us and nature-is-my-church and whatever, but just look at all the stuff we produce and consume. We call it art and we talk about things being imbued with spirits and we find ways to justify having, but it ends up being weight on the moving truck just like everything else.
Thorn Mooney, ‘Moving, Materialism, and Finding My Feet Again‘ on Patheos
Keen has a post on miasma and fallow times that reminds me of some other pieces I’ve read about miasma recently. Treating miasma with less moral implications radically reframes how we approach it, I think. I especially liked the point about the creative process is ‘inherently polluting’, as I’ve found that potent art-making often has a distinct flavor to it.
Results from 1.5 Canonization Poll
In order to establish a solid canon for the Otherfaith myths, I’ve begun a series of polls to allow the community to decide what will be considered canonical going forth. It’s important to note that the options that do not become enshrined as canon will not be considered ‘bad’, ‘wrong’, or ‘off-limits’. The main goal of establish a clearer canon is so that we can include the stories in printed materials and begin delineating between canon and headcanon.
These are the results from the follow-up poll to the first poll, largely focused on clarification questions like names to use and deification order. I did vote in this poll, but I will not be voting in any of the main storyline polls.
Follow-Up Questions
I’m glad that the result for this question was so solidly in the ‘vague’ direction, as assigning a specific town that none of the Other People have been to – essentially picking a place out of a hat – would feel a bit icky, in my opinion.
Pallis has never been correlated with a specific star in any previous Otherfaith stories, and his nature as a fallen star meant that assigning an actual star or constellation would prove interesting.
We don’t have any origin story for the Ophelia; she just shows up in the Clarene’s path and becomes a god shortly after. I did have an origin story back in 2011-2012 for the Ophelia, but I don’t believe I posted it anywhere publicly. An origin story for the Ophelia is going to likely take a while to come together and be canonized, but I look forward to it.
As much as I do like the name Misia, meaning ‘hate’, for the main antagonist for the First Season myths, Mircea is the name that has been associated longest with the rival star that falls along with Pallis. Mircea itself has meanings of ‘peace’ and ‘world’, adding an irony that I enjoy. (Two of Mircea’s attendant spirits are Charity and Chastity, names chosen for their irony as well.)
For the fairy princess the Clarene originally falls in love with a variety of names were provided. The majority of the names were connected to ‘peace’ with a few being tied to ‘rainbow’, both associations the princess has. We ended up with a tie between Eirene and Irene, with two other votes going toward Irida and Iria. We’ll be following up this question in the next poll.
I’m bundling these two together as they are essentially tied to the same overarching question: should a Laetha and Dierne exist before Arabella and Pallis take up the mantle? As the yes votes won out, we find new questions coming up. Are the roles of Laetha and Dierne somehow inherent to the Westernlands? Does the Laethic Firebird exist from the beginning of the West? What does it mean, exactly, to be the Dierne?
The next poll, moving into the ‘Stars in the Westernlands’ section of the myths, will start up on Saturday.
Songs of the Week
Weekly Linkage
First off, Tanisha la Rosa on The Lure of Beauty has a post on ways to keep yourself from falling into despair in tough times.
We are not so very special that we are going to experience something that no one has never felt before.
Silence Maestas, ‘Private sorrows, future perceptions‘
Priestess of Aphrodite wrote on bringing magical practices into your daily life.
I quite enjoyed this post by John Beckett. One thing that stood out to me was the idea of not assuming someone is mentally ill because they are experiencing something you have not or do not believe is possible. Often within our various communities (Pagan and polytheist) I have found a dismissiveness, if not outright hostility, toward those who have ‘odd’ experiences. I believe such a hostile approach does no one any good. I also liked Beckett’s post on removing curses we place on ourselves.
This post on genius loci serves as a great introduction to working with them. I first remember learning about these spirits in a dusty little text on Roman religion back in high school. The concept of the genius loci impacted my growing spiritual practices heavily.
Cyndi Brennan’s post on assumed familiarity reminded me of some reading I’ve done recently regarding cults and cult identity.
Scarlet Magdalene reviewed John Beckett’s latest book, Paganism In Depth.
Finally, I loved this post on house magic by Camelia Elias.
Results from First Canonization Poll
In order to establish a solid canon for the Otherfaith myths, I’ve begun a series of polls to allow the community to decide what will be considered canonical going forth. It’s important to note that the options that do not become enshrined as canon will not be considered ‘bad’, ‘wrong’, or ‘off-limits’. The main goal of establish a clearer canon is so that we can include the stories in printed materials and begin delineating between canon and headcanon.
These are the results from the first poll, focusing on the creation of the Westernlands and beginning of the mythic storyline.
(As a note, I did not vote in this poll. I was able to see the results as they came in and felt it would be unfair to submit my own votes when the purposes was to gauge the community’s perspectives.)
Origins of the Clarene & Ophelia
The Clarene’s fairy mother has not been named previously, so the results of this question were not surprising. Going forward there will not be a canonical name for the Clarene’s fairy mother. This will likely not be an issue, as her mother is not included in any devotional or religious practices in the ‘faith.
I had written in older posts on the Clarene that her mythic origins were in Germany or France. Having now lived in Western Germany that impression has only increased. This question was a bit more split but ended with a preference for the Clarene’s birthplace being on the border of the two countries. What impact this will have upon devotional practice remains to be seen.
Originally the fairy princess in the Clarene’s origin story was not named, but in the community she is commonly called Irene. We will be polling regarding what name to use going forward as well. Having a name allows us to include her more easily in prayers and rituals.
Within official documents and writing for the Otherfaith, the Clarene and Ophelia’s meeting will not be assigned a specific location. Individual worshipers can assign a specific location in their own private practice, however. As an example, I might live near or visit a river that splits two very different environments (maybe one side is more developed by humans and the other more wild); I might perform a prayer or ritual and refer to the meeting of the two first gods as I pray. Keeping it unspecified in canon allows for more variance in our own practices, as we won’t feel the need to refer to a specific place or visit a specific locale.
Similar to the above question, though an official real-world river will not be assigned to the Ophelia, Other People should definitely use their own local landscape to connect with the gods. The Ophelia seems to resonate with the majority of rivers, but most especially those around which major cities have been built.
The Fall of Pallis
The first question were I differed from the majority vote! We will go into Pallis’ story in future polls. I’ll have to adjust some prayers I’ve written, but apart from that I’m not sure what else will change with this canon.
Pallis is trapped by the other stars, eventually breaking out of his prison to fall to the Westernlands. His prison has never been assigned in past stories, and going forward the prison will remain vague.
For these multiple choice questions, answers that got the most votes would become canon. Mortality being gained when stars fall will become canon; the two others are, again, perfectly fine for headcanon but won’t be included in official texts.
This question does impact the myths quite severely; the way the stories play out and the themes change a lot without Mircea involved. We’ve largely treated Mircea as a given in the mythology for years now; I was pleasantly surprised to see a dissenting vote honestly!
The Mortal Falls into the West
Arabella and Asier are essentially the same core personality, just with a different gender, so either one could have worked as the first mortal to fall into the West. With Arabella being the origin mortal, Asier will be the mortal who returns with Pallis to restore the West after its destruction.
Again, the multiple choice questions, answers with the most responses become canon. Changes will occur to mortals that fall into the West, mythically, but it will be dependent on the individual and not a universal/static change.
Finally, we get to the question that resulted in a tie. We will be discussing which option will become canon in our community areas, in order to break the tie. (This will take place on the Discord but discussion is also welcome in our FB group, Reddit, and the forums on this website.)
Songs of the Week
looking nothing like it.”
For the Laetha, and the Verszou Triad.