A Southern Girl’s Guide to Hospitality

This is a lovely guide to Hospitality that explains simultaneously how it works for both humans and Holy Ones. A word about semantics: the author uses the word “Kindreds” to mean “Gods, Spirits, Etc”, whereas some Northern Trad folks would ordinarily think it meant “the Norse version of a coven”. But definitely worth a read, as Hospitality is something very important to Loki, both that He offers it and expects it, and also expects many of His followers to offer it to those who need it.

MystikNomad

Let’s face it: a lot of the information out there about interacting with the Kindreds and establishing a devotional practice is damned intimidating for a beginner.

Most of us in the West don’t have a devotional tradition to draw on, and when we try to find others who can maybe show us the way we drown in technical terms and ideas we can’t understand yet. Add in the arguments about the info that is available and it can be more confusing than helpful.

I’m not an expert by any means, but I have been doing this for awhile. I figured I’d provide my perspective for any beginners out there simply looking for a place to start.

Maybe you’re new to the whole idea of hard polytheism, and just don’t know how to interact with entities who are real individuals and not theoretical constructs. Or maybe you’ve had an experience you…

View original post 2,457 more words

A Very Social and Socially Conscious Yule!

I apologize for the brevity of this post, but I’ve got some personal stuff going on that I’ll likely blog about when the tsunami recedes. I very much wanted to get this information out as soon as I could in hopes that people will still have room on their holiday calendars to come join us for a fun ritual in honor of the Winter Solstice.

On Sunday, December 22nd, we of the Apartment at the End of the Universe are hosting a Yule get-together and ritual. It will be very “low church”, and focus more on creating and sustaining bonds of friendship and fellowship for those who don’t have a spiritual home or are solitary practitioners by choice. You don’t have to know anyone, including me, to come; just let us know you found us via this blog and a little about who you are.

Our plans include:

-a low-stress potluck lupper (lunch and supper)

-Swap Meet With a Purpose: The Holiday Season’s commercialization focuses people on acquiring more than what they need, and our ritual intent is to combat that by creating a space for people to give away what they don’t need. So if you have more food in your pantry than you could possibly eat in a year, or a closet full of clothes you haven’t worn since Jncos were in style, or an altar piece that you no longer use, or even some free time you could spend helping a friend clean their house or watch their kids – this is a great place to send those things to a new home. You can bring as much as you like, and you can take as much as you need. We will have a simple structure to ensure that less aggressive or socially expressive people have a chance of getting what they need, too. And whatever is not taken home by a ritual participant, will be donated to either a local homeless shelter, a local domestic violence shelter, or listed on Freecycle/Craigslist. And if you have a particular need, let us know and we’ll see what we can find for you!

-A Short Participatory Yule Ritual: For those of you who like the smells and bells of the season, I’ll be leading a loosely-outlined ritual intended to help recognize how strong our support systems can be, and ways you can let others know about the support you offer them.

-Holiday Toast: It’s not a AEU ritual without a little alcohol. We intend to have eggnog, hot toddies, and other winter-y themed drinks. (If there’s one you particularly like, feel free to bring some to share!)

That’s it! Feedback from our Samhain ritual strongly indicated that people wanted more time to just socialize and share fellowship, and Yule is a great holiday to focus on such things. Again, people of all faiths, including “none at all”, are welcome to join us. Just please RSVP to delandrave at gmail dot com by December 19th. We’ll give you our address in Hagerstown, MD when you RSVP. You should plan to arrive by 3pm, and we’ll likely be done with the “official” part by 7pm.

Whether you plan to join us or not, have a warm holiday season. If you wish, you can join our intent by making donations to local charities as part of your personal celebration of Yule.

 

Cyber Monday – Support Your Local Shaman This Season

I have been offering a range of services over the Internet for the last year, and I figured that some of them might make interesting gifts for whatever holiday you celebrate (or just because).

The following listings all come with the option of a paper certificate (mailed to you) or a digital image of a certificate (emailed to you).

$5 – Three Card Peek
This gift certificate covers a short, three card reading looking at the past, present and future of a given question or situation. This can be done with Tarot or Lenormand cards, which can be chosen at purchase or left up to the recipient to choose. The results will be emailed to the querant.

$10 – Nine Card Lenormand Reading
This covers a 3×3 square reading of Lenormand cards. This deck is much more suited to everyday, practical questions rather than things pertaining to spirituality or relationships with Gods. This reading will reveal situations and potential problems/opportunities in a specific realm of the querant’s choosing, such as “my love life” or “my career” or “my partner’s new job”. The results will be sent as an mp3.

$20 – Celtic Cross Tarot Reading
This certificate covers what is probably the most traditional kind of Tarot divination. It looks into the background of the specified situation, revealing the past, present, and future influences. It can make plain what will happen if nothing changes, as well as options that can route the flow in different directions now that you know what to look for. These are better for in-depth questions, especially those related to esoteric or spiritual situation. This reading can be conducted via Skype or Google Hangout, or emailed as an mp3 (and the recipient can choose which one they prefer.)

$50 – Lenormand Grand Tableux Reading
This reading utilizes all 36 cards in a Lenormand deck, and gives a plethora of insights and possibilities regarding a chosen area (again, like romance or career) or even just of life in general. These readings take about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete, and are delivered via mp3.

All of the above are also available to be done in person, if the recipient is willing to travel to my home in Maryland. I rarely travel to do readings, but it is negotiable.

In addition to the readings, in 2014 I will be starting a subscription service for a series of Spirit Work 101 essays. These will look and feel like some of the essays you’ve loved here, like “God Sex” or “Work”, but will only be available to subscribers. Theses essays will come to your inbox once a month (at least), and will be collected at the end of the year and made available as a booklet. It also includes a Google Hangout at least twice a year (but likely more) where people can ask questions and discuss things related to spirituality, shamanism, spirit work, and ordeal mastery.

Read more about the Spirit Work 101 Subscription Bundle here!

Subscriptions to the Spirit Work 101 service cost $45, and can be purchased for yourself or given as a gift. I am closing this offer Jan 31st, so if you’re interested, now is the best time to sign up.

If you would do me the honor of purchasing one of these items, please email delandrave@gmail.com (not my personal email) and Rave will walk you through the process.

Have a wonderful and blessed Yule, and remember that we are meant to share with others what we already have, not what we feel pressured to acquire. Gifts do not prove love or commitment, nor should they be used in place of spending time and focus on the relationships in your life. Give freely of your heart, but do not force that flow by going into debt, financially or emotionally. This is the time we share what we have so all of us survive the cold nights and the barren days. The lesson of death’s gift is to celebrate the life you’ve been given and the people you have chosen to share that life with – nothing more.