Imbolc Blessings

As the serpent stirs, as the sap rises, as the land awakes, may you feel Brigid's quickening flame in your hearts, in your minds, and in your spirits.

Beannachtaí na Féile Bríde agus Imbolc oraibh/ Brigid's Day & Imbolc blessings to you all!

Recently Hoarded Gael Pol Pretties {more artwork by Sean Fitzgerald & Tales of the Taibhsear}

From a series done on Irish witch trials, Alice Kyteler & Petronilla de Meath}

Not too long ago I had gotten some more artwork by Sean Fitzgerald {you can see previous ones that I had gotten here}. If you are into the history, folklore and myths of Ireland, or love really great Celtic knotwork, go check out his online store. He is easily one of my favourite artists, and the photos I took of the prints sent to me do them no justice.

{Another from the Irish witch trials series Florence Goody Newton}

{portrait of a scene of from Irish myth, of Medb}

Currently Sean is working with Amanda Healy on an Irish mythology tarot deck and is also working on a Celtic knotwork book. Go check out his Instagram account to stay up to date on those projects and see what else he is working on. 

Something else that recently came to me in the post was Tales of the Taibhsear, a fantastic chapbook written by Scott Richardson-Read and an equally amazing c.d. accompanying it. A collection of Scottish folk magic, music and tales, this was a must have for me. I also got a lovely print of the cover art too {by Julia Jeffrey}, which hangs on my wall now beside the two witch trial prints from Sean Fitzgerald. 

Scott Richardson-Read is the one behind one of my favourite blogs Cailleach's Herbarium, Amanda Edmiston is a wonderful storyteller, and Debbie Armour who has such a beautiful voice. 

Daily Purification {and some updates/happy 2019!}

It has been quite a while since I have added a proper post here. I've found myself in a place where I'm feeling more private with all areas of my life the last couple of years, more so than I have in the past, including my spiritual practice. This hasn't really changed all whole lot, but I am hoping the periods of silences this year will become smaller here. Thanks for those who have stuck around to take a peek at what I do post. Hope 2019 will treat you all well!

This year I am taking a pilgrimage to Ireland, which is being hosted by Land Sea Sky Travel and the Coru Cathubodua Priesthood. No surprise, I am really looking forward to going, not only to take a pilgrimage to the land of my own heart, but also to be able to meet fellow polytheists as we take this journey together. Being a pilgrimage, there has been, and will be a lot of preparation, both of the mundane kind and the spiritual. For most Gaelic polytheists, I think that line is blurred anyways. As I make these preparations, I am hoping to share some of my thoughts, practices, and so on. First up is the idea of daily purification. 

Recently the Coru Cathubodua Priesthood hosted an online talk covering base practices within Celtic polytheism, and one of the topics covered was spiritual hygiene{cleansing and purification of self and space}. Daily purification was talked about, which inspired me to become less lax in this department. I wanted to create a special saining water that I could use at least once a day when doing my kindling prayers in the morning, and ideally at night as well when doing my smooring prayers.

Botanical Infused Alcohol for Saining Water

Given that plants and trees play a central role in my practice, it only made sense to incorporate them into making this water. To keep things from going rancid, I decided to start off with making an alcoholic base, with nine botanicals associated with blessing, protection, and of course purification. 

To 80 proof vodka I added the following {all previously dried}:

Rowan
Juniper
Yarrow
Rose
Meadowsweet
Thyme
Birch
Oak
Heather

Stored in a mason jar with a tight-fitting lid, I let everything steep for nine days, under a thick red fabric to keep the light out {red is associated with protection}, wrapped in a rowan berry and hagstone charm {again for protection}. Shaking once each day, while saying a little prayer for its intended purpose. After the steeping period, I strained the botanicals from the liquid. Now I have a base to work with, which I think should keep alright for at least a year, should I not use it all beforehand. Probably something nice to make again for each Imbolc.

Making Saining Water

I thought that the perfect time to make the saining water would be during a water blessing ritual that we do on the 20th shift of every cycle in a polytheist Brighidine flamekeeping sisterhood that I belong to. I made one bottle, with a back up mason jar just in case I needed more, before it is replenished, which would be every 20 days.

To the blessed water I added 20 drops of the alcoholic base, one for each day, and nine drops of rose essential oil and 18 drops of lavender essential oil. It smells very nice. Stored in an old whiskey bottle, it sits on the hearth shrine, ready for use every day.

Daily Saining Prayer

When doing my daily purification I pour some water into a little vessel, before saying the following prayer. While dipping fingers in water each time...

"May the Three bless my hands {rub water over hands}

May the Three bless my mind {touching brow}

May the Three bless my sight {touching *around* eyes}

May the Three bless my words {touching *around* mouth}

May the Three bless my voice {touching throat}

May the Three bless my heart {touching left side of chest}

May the Three bless my center {touching navel area}

May the Three bless my whole being {sprinkling water over self three times}

May the Three bless this space and any place I may be {sprinkling around shrine}"

***Please feel free to use this prayer, adapt it as needed. This is very much inspired by various prayers that one would find in Carmina Gadelica.***

Afterwards I like to leave the remaining poured water in the vessel on the shrine until the following day, to use as needed throughout the day. Plus it makes the room smell nice. :)