YouTube Pagan Challenge – Week 8

The one where I talk about my Gods, and yes, there’s a bit of waffling here because I was kind of all over the place this morning, thinking about other things too 😛

YouTube Pagan Challenge – Week 7

Am I caught up? I think I’m caught up… I hope! 😛

Queen of Love

I always forget I have freckles till I see a picture of myself!

Guys…. GUYS…. !!!!!

I received this delicious piece of jewellery by Beth Wodandis last week… I can’t even describe how beautiful… how, just, so full of wonderful energy it is!!

I am still in awe of this piece, and I don’t think that is going away any time soon.

I bought this piece for myself not only because I had eyed it since Beth listed it a while ago, but because of some special Yule happenings that gave me a push to have a physical manifestation of said happenings. Something that needed to be very special. And that’s precisely what Beth makes, very special, powerful pieces.

I definitely feel very stately and radiant wearing it, so the Queen part of this piece is very much fulfilled!!!!

I just can’t tell you guys how much I love it! If you were contemplating making a purchase from Beth, you can rest assured that her pieces are of the highest quality, absolutely stunning, and well worth the price!!!! (I even bought this while our Canadian dollar is really terrible right now, thankfully I utilized one of her coupons she had running for the Wild Hunt!).

❤ ❤ ❤

EEEEE!!! The Wait Is Over!!!! (Mostly Because I’m Impatient)

I want to introduce you to my new products I’m offering in my shop now!! As of now, there are only the two up; I was going to wait until I could get up a goodly amount… but I’m just too damn impatient to wait!! I just want to share them with you!

I’m making tea inspired by and for our Gods, as well as whatever tickles my fancy (seasonal/holidays/pop culture paganism/stories).

The Deity teas are meant to be shared with your Gods, simply offered to them, or just to enjoy as you think on Their many adventures and lessons.

This Baldr tea is a delicious chamomile base, with orange, lavender and allspice. It’s like walking in a summer meadow.

And an Odinn tea! Minty, spicy, and earthy. It’s like a cool walk on blustery cliffs as you sip on a thermos full of hot tea. A blend of peppermint, spearmint, juniper berries and white pepper.

I was meant to have a Frigg tea up as well, but I ran out of dehydrated apples, so am waiting on them to be finished drying at the moment.
My plans are to flesh out the Norse side of things, as well as some for holidays (and by that, I do mean Yule right now, but there will be teas for the other Sabbats), witchier teas for divining or journeying to Otherworlds, and teas inspired by fantastical worlds from books and movies. There will be some pop culture pagan themed teas to be had as well as our historical Gods/myths.

I’m so excited! I hope you are too, and keep an eye out on my shop for more tea!!!

❤

How I Talk With Gods – Pt. 4

How To Begin
Honestly, this is incredibly personal. Also, some people are not wired to journey, to see/hear/feel things at all. Some people will only hear things. Some people may only be able to hear and not actually have conversations. Some may only be able to sense presences, or emotions. Some may see flashes of images. Some, again, may not sense anything at all. There is no better situation than another. I can only speculate on the why of being able to experience the Gods and Otherworlds, and why some can experience these things, and some cannot.

With that said, the how of it really depends on you. If you like things elaborate, create a specific ritual that will get you in that headspace to be open to the Gods and being with Them. If you like to keep it simple, like me, try it in a very simple setting.

It’s good to have a foundation in being able to visualize easily if you want to journey. I think it’s about letting your brain be able to interpret what you experience over there, to have practice in seeing entire landscapes or minute details with your mind’s eye. Try remembering scents, sounds, how it feels to run your fingers through grass, the smell of your favourite flower. Here where memory works again for you, if you can pull up those memories easily, it becomes easier for your brain to pull upon your memory to flesh out your journeying experiences.

I think the only important thing I can say is ensure you are warded if you feel you need to, and to just try, just let it happen. Be open to it happening, be open to it being real. Be open to second guessing yourself, to thinking you’re crazy.
Be open to it being real.

What about brain-weasles?
Yes, the “am I crazy?!”, “did that actually happen?!” “Is that what my God/s want/s?”. Talking and journeying with non-corporeal beings may make you qestion your sanity, I know I did in the first year or so. Many times. When past that, it becomes a matter of wondering if I’m just making it all up. Here’s where discernment and divination comes into play.

At first, you will not know the “flavour” of your Gods yet, of the way in which your brain picks up on things. Even if divination is the only way in which you find you can communicate with your Gods, there is a “flavour” to the answers depending on Who you’re talking to.  Baldr doesn’t want me to be using my cards to talk to Him unless it is important, so I’ll get very contradictory answers to my questions, or a blunt “no” when asking if He can answer me through a deck. He wants me to listen for Him, or go to Him. Odinn usually gives straightforward answers, albeit, I often feel there is more to the answer than I am getting through the cards, and often, I’ve had Him refuse to elaborate. Frija doesn’t mind elaborating, Her answers so far have been at the same time gentle and firm when needed. She’s fairly straightforward as well, but with less edge. And this is what Their personalities are like with me, simply through divination.

When I think-talk to Them, I often get sensations, or an image of touch as Their different flavour. Baldr is usually a soft caress on my cheek. Odinn’s conversations usually come with the image and feeling of standing side by side and looking out over the land, the wind whipping around u/Us. When I talk with Frija, I feel warm, I feel like I’m in a close space filled with the smoky incense of resins.

When you begin to know Who you are dealing with with more sureity, picking up on Their patterns, it becomes easier to pick up on when one of Them wants to talk to you, or that They actually are answering back when you talk with Them.

I think it’s quite interesting the ways in which the experience of Them happens in a way that the sensations are all tied together, that I can know Who I’m talking to by how I feel, and the images that may not even include Them I see flashing in my mind as words are exchanged.

That all aside, you can see that there are ways in which They let us know Who They are, Who we are talking to. It takes time to get to know these things, and I find they get a little more elaborate the longer I’ve known Them and talked with Them over the years. It’s just like getting to know anyone in the physical world, we learn the sound of voices, easily recognizing them from others’ in time, the scent of their favourite perfume or cologne, even their favourite laundry soap, the feel of their hand on our arm as they’re talking to us.

Even with being able to recognize Them further along in your practices and communications, doubt will always find a way to seep in every once in a while. On those days, I just put it all down. I will focus on other things. I will also divine to see that what happened, or what was said, was what really happened or was really said. I may still feel as though I can’t trust the divination, and when that happens, sometimes I will ask someone else to divine for me. I usually get bigger check-up readings from someone other than me a few times a year to make sure that I am on the right track. Sometimes I have someone else read for me because I just need a little confirmation.

I don’t think the doubt ever goes away. We are dealing with People who many humans have been taught, for far too long, to simply think of as myths, Who don’t exist in any real way. We live in a time where empirical knowledge and fact is held high above all else. When you get involved with the currently inexplicable mystical, you’re thought of as bananas. We simply cannot explain what is happening between us and Gods with facts and data at this point. That doesn’t mean our experiences are invalid. That doesn’t mean it is not real. It’s hard when you move against the grain of cultural/societal beliefs.

Final Thoughts
JUST DO EET.
Write down your experiences so you can remember more easily, and you can look over it all and begin to pick up on patterns. Don’t be disheartened if it’s fuzzy at first. If you can only travel for a few minutes. It takes time, and like everything else, some people are more naturally able to do it than others. It doesn’t make anyone better than anyone else. The Gods want to work with us, to be friends with us and love us (not every single one of us, because who has time to love everyone, or even like everyone?!). If we just put in some effort to regain what abilities to communicate and be with the Gods that we’ve likely lost as indigenous religions were replaced, we can build up a base of knowledge, a base of acceptance, a strong foundation for future polytheists to continue our hard work. To bring our Gods more fully into our world once more.

How I Talk With Gods – Pt. 1

I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while, though it always seems strange talking about things that are quite personal. But really, I’ve given up on caring what the nay-sayers will say. I’d rather talk about these things and discuss them with those who want to, and perhaps put out there some things that others may be wondering about, letting us all feel a little less lonely, that we’re not as crazy as we like to think we are sometimes. Though I will grant you, talking to Gods and spirits can definitely make it seem like you are going crazy.

I will put the caveat out there that this is only my experience. This is not the only way you can communicate with Gods or spirits, in fact there are likely thousands of different ways through which we can experience Them and communicate with Them.

My Journey

The Beginning
Now, it’s only been nearly four years since I began truly interacting and communicating with any God or spirit. Odinn came in a flash to me one night as I walked from my kitchen to the living room. It was just an image in my head of Him, in armour, hair blowing in the stormy winds, looking right into me. I knew immediately it was Him, though He had two eyes, one embellished by a scar on the lids.

What I kind of marvel at, looking back on it now, was that I immediately knew it was Odinn. I have mentioned before on the blog that preceding this Odinn moment, I had not had much inclination towards the Northern Gods, and I suppose Skyrim likely opened that door for me. Yes, a video game, gotta love pop culture paganism! The Gods use ALL THE TOOLS at Their disposal. The game really allowed me to love the strength in the Northern culture, especially the stories of strong-willed women. Skyrim definitely has its share of strong-willed Nord women, that’s for sure!

At the time, I was dealing with the not so nice thing that was happening which led me into a pretty terrible depression for the next year and a half, perhaps more. It’s a little hazy. This was also the time I had decided I was no longer interested or had enough energy to continue pursuing a degree in music. It was a pretty difficult time because a lot of things were dying for me. And through that whole situation, a very big personal transformation was under way from that point onwards in terms of who I am, and what is important to me. It’s strange-looking back before this point and realizing how different I was.

I think He came to usher it all in, the change in me, and even the way my brain worked (I became very forgetful, which necessitated me doing things RIGHT THIS MINUTE, lest I end up doing nothing ever again). It has actually gotten quite a bit better over this summer (I began writing this post in early June, and there has been a marked improvement since then) which I am very thankful for!

Since then, I had been visiting with Odinn, working through depression and my issues with death, getting to see the connection to my ancestors, and the cultures they were part of. I am so grateful to Him for helping me through this time, as it was definitely a particularly shitty time in my life.  As I believe I’ve mentioned earlier this year, He has taken a step back as Baldr has become number one, so o/Our visits have become less frequent.

With Frija, the communications and experiences have been fewer, but much-needed when I was working through the reality of being female in our current, very misogynistic, culture. This came shortly after depression hit, by a few months or so.  There wasn’t so much adventuring with Her as it was more of a tutelage, discovering the great strength of being a woman, that it is no less than that of any man. I admit that I never really had much reason to either fear death, or feel so helpless or weak as a woman. My mother is the pants-wearer in my immediate family. I never heard from anyone in my life that I couldn’t do what I set my mind to because of being female. Before I realized I was a good singer, I wanted to be a doctor or marine biologist, and that was encouraged. It’s strange the things that put us in a tailspin with no true cause.  It has all definitely made me much more aware of the fact we have a long way to go when it comes to women’s equality and rights in society, not just in law, but in the daily, small, seemingly inconsequential misogyny that happens, that is inherently taught without thought as to its effects.

But that is a topic for another time.  Frija pops in when I need Her, or when there’s something pertinent She wants me to know. I can always look to Her to help me see my worth.

Baldr came when I had already been communicating with His Parents for a while, so it didn’t seem much different. Though somehow I cut myself off for a few months in the spring, thinking I was not ready for some reason, that I had to wait. Interesting that… and strange in retrospect. Baldr has  been the easiest of my relationships with the Gods. Things have been so very comfortable, there doesn’t seem to be anything in particular w/We need to do, as Odinn helped me connect with my Ancestors, as Frija helped me connect with my own power. We just hang out, w/We enjoy each other’s company, laugh at silly things, and generally just have a very relaxed time together.

The Initial Communications

Ok, so what about the communication part of this?

When I finally got around to accepting that I could communicate with Odinn on my own (more because I wasn’t exactly sure what the Hel to do or that I would be fumbling terribly), it took a while to figure out what was going to work for me, and how I would experience it.

First was honing my meditation skills once more, creating a ritual around it in order to get in that proper head space conducive to being open to Them, well, Him. If I hadn’t meditated in a while, it usually took up to a week to get into the meditation groove of being able to focus on emptying everything out that isn’t helpful, and connect with Them.

When I connected with Odinn, it just happened that I end up journeying to Him. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you why this happened fairly quickly for me, but it just did. Perhaps within the first few times of trying to be open to hear Him, I ended up on some interesting adventures with Odinn.

I happen to have a very vivid imagination, very vivid dreams as well, so I suppose that helped. I was also already doing my own inner journey work before Odinn came along, which is where w/We adventured a bit. He was working with the landscape I had already created, creating openings and doorways to what He wanted to show me. I still had the safety of being somewhere, or close to somewhere, that I was already familiar with.

It seems now, I don’t often travel to that first landscape much anymore. I remember quite vividly what has happened there, and I do think of it once in a while, enjoying the views behind my eyelids. I made it, so of course it is somewhere I think is beautiful! Now, my journeys seem to be in a lot of sunlit, starlit, or lantern-lit boreal forests. I don’t think these new places are my own invention any more.

The bulk of my communicating and interacting takes place when I have the solitude to journey, whether it’s before sleep, or while I’m making something (as of writing this, it is my Yule gifts which are coming along quite well!), or out biking or walking. Often I slip into the Otherworld, where I can see Them, and straddle both worlds.

Other times, if too much of my focus is in my mundane world, I will hear Them and feel Their presence. Words seem to come more when I can’t be in the Otherworld, which also happens to be the times I need to talk to Them anyway, to hear words and get more difinitive answers.

In the next post, I will be talking about how I talk to and visit the Gods.

A Month (or two) for Baldr – XXX – Suggestions

So, what would I suggest to you, who may be interested in getting to know Baldr, and haven’t previously done so?

If you’re like me, you can do your reading, as I’ve said time and again, there isn’t much lore about Him, but it does give you a glimpse into His character, what has made Him Who He is.

But really… just talk to Him. Offer Him some incense, or tea (He enjoys sharing a cup with me of chamomile with milk and honey, but see if He wants His own cup 😉 ), He also appreciates some beer, I haven’t met many Norse Gods Who don’t appreciate a good beer! In fact… I haven’t met any at all Who have refused a beer… 😀

Tell Him why you’re interested in Him. Or that you just want to say hello, and offer something to Him.

I’m all about the simplicity and organic nature of relationships. You see someone that piques your interest, you observe them, say hi, take them for a coffee, and get to know them. If it’s mutual, you can have a pretty awesome relationship (in whatever capacity) ahead of you. Honestly, He’s pretty easy going and laid back (at least with me), so give it a whirl if you’re interested, it couldn’t hurt. At least I hope not 😉

So that concludes the two months and almost a half, I guess, of the written devotion to Baldr! I really enjoyed this blogging project, and I’ll likely continue writing about u/Us in the future, because, well, what is this blog for if not to share the awesomeness that is Baldr (as well as Frija and Odinn, and Whoever else decides to show up… I’m looking at you, Thor 😉 )?

A Month (or two) for Baldr – XXIX – Interesting Personal UPG

Hmm, I can’t say that I have anything weird or out of the ordinary. Though really, I don’t often hear of many people who work with Him anyway (though it seems like a few more people have popped up on the interwebs the past few months).

I have mentioned before that w/We seem to have a pretty mellow thing going on, but there are definitely times when He gets incredibly intense. Sounds kinda like Someone else I know… actually, it seems most of the Powers I am involved with are like that… huh.

So yes, He’s been mostly pretty chill, easy to laugh and joke around, but also just hang out quietly… and then there are times I feel so infinitely small when all there is around me is Him, being massive and overwrought with the intensity of what He’s talking about to me, or what emotions are happening.

Doesn’t surprise me one bit, to be honest.

I know it’s not super interesting, and I don’t have a story to share about it, as those moments tend to be very personal, but there it is. 🙂

A Month (or two) for Baldr – XXVIII – Worst Misconceptions

Hmm, this feels like the same question as the IXth post in this series, “Common Mistakes“, which I’m just going to link to in place of repeating myself in this second post. If I were not tired, I’d write about something else… but I am. So I’ll leave you here with this:

Baldr by Lynn Perkins

❤

A Month (or two) for Baldr – XXVII – Something I Wish I knew About Him

Well, there’s always a million things you wish you knew about people you are close to in one capacity or another.

I have said before that it would be nice if there was more lore, then again, I appreciate that I can forge my own path with Him without people calling on all the writings of Him instead of what people experience. However, my own experiences are the most pertinent thing here, not His stories. It’s the same as when you meet someone new, then find out some things about their past. That has nothing to do with the person standing in front of you right NOW. We all, as individuals, are always changing, we are always different people from one moment to the next, we are always making choices to be who we want to be. It’s the same with any of the Gods.

But beyond that… while yes, there are things I wish I knew, at the same time, I am not one to pry about things, especially sensitive things. Some people don’t like sharing, and I’m cool with that. Even though I tend to be an open book… usually.

He seems to be pretty open with me. I’ve had the pleasure of having some stories recounted to me, of His adventures, of His relationship with Thor and His Father. It’s been really awesome to see some of that. It seems He doesn’t want to focus on His death, on what everyone seems to only see about Him. And that’s fine with me. Do I want to know what happened? Of course. Will I bug Him about it? Not really. If that’s something He eventually wants me to know about, then fine, no problem, I’ll bear witness to that as I have to the other stories He’s told. But that’s up to Him.

I’m just happy to hear whatever He wants to tell me 🙂