Blessings Darlings!
There's a freeze warning for my area tonight. This is VERY early for our area. We've not even had a frost yet - my basil is still very happily growing.
Since my UPG is that Samhain is 3 days after the first freeze ... it looks as if Samhain will be very early this year.
I'm now in a hot sweat over the last of the garden. All crops not harvested by Samhain are left for the Pooka, so getting them in is now or never. Harvest today - process like a fiend for the next 3 days. Then Samhain with the ancestors.
This is why I tend to start working with the ancestors Oct 1. All 'issues' between us get cleared up, they get offerings and I start to listen to them even more closely. This way, when ever Samhain shows up - the spiritual work is well under way.
How are your Samhain spiritual preps going? I see lots of folks posting in Pagan groups about how they are decorating for Halloween - but not many posts about them prepping for their ancestors dropping in.
Frondly, Fern
Showing posts with label ancestors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ancestors. Show all posts
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Thursday, July 5, 2018
That Which is Remembered, Lives.
Blessings Darlings!
Today (as I type) would have been my Mother's 102th birthday. Not coincidentally, it would also have been my uncle Sid's 102th birthday, since they were twins.
They have already been served their home-made birthday cake. And before I served THAT I cleaned up more so Mom wouldn't be upset. Not that she wants ME to clean - she wants me to hire someone to clean.
Mom and I still have some disagreements, to say the least. Sid and I probably do, too, but Mom is going to make sure that he keeps his mouth shut about them. This keeps him in the 'benevolent protector' mode he took towards me. Unlike the mode he was in towards his own kids.
Ancestors that you KNEW are ... so very human. You know their warts, their weaknesses, their fuck ups. It's so much easier to only honor the far more ancient ancestors. If you don't know their actual stories that is. Knowing them as they were would make them more problematic too, I'm sure.
Happy birthday, Mom and Uncle Sid. You are remembered. That which is remembered lives.
Frondly, Fern
Today (as I type) would have been my Mother's 102th birthday. Not coincidentally, it would also have been my uncle Sid's 102th birthday, since they were twins.
They have already been served their home-made birthday cake. And before I served THAT I cleaned up more so Mom wouldn't be upset. Not that she wants ME to clean - she wants me to hire someone to clean.
Mom and I still have some disagreements, to say the least. Sid and I probably do, too, but Mom is going to make sure that he keeps his mouth shut about them. This keeps him in the 'benevolent protector' mode he took towards me. Unlike the mode he was in towards his own kids.
Ancestors that you KNEW are ... so very human. You know their warts, their weaknesses, their fuck ups. It's so much easier to only honor the far more ancient ancestors. If you don't know their actual stories that is. Knowing them as they were would make them more problematic too, I'm sure.
Happy birthday, Mom and Uncle Sid. You are remembered. That which is remembered lives.
Frondly, Fern
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Tea for the Tillerman
Blessings, Darlings!
Samhain's coming, as most of all y'all know. So I've been upping my ancestral honoring game - spending more time a their altar, listening more to their voices. (See? My life isn't all Morrigan all the time!)
Which is not to say that the ancestors are any more love-and-light than the Morrigan is. Yes, the recent ancestors love us, and all of them want us to have success in life (and thus keep their line going) ... they now have that 'one step removed, looking it all over' view on life. And, MY ancestors are into capital T Tea. 100% Truth. They don't pull punches. They expect full disclosure from me - yeah, they already know what is going on in my life, but they want to be 100% sure that *I* am aware, awake, and handling my responsibilities.
Since I'm here being 100% with you - they aren't always happy with me.
But without that 100% pure Tea, that full-awareness/awake Truth, you can't navigate your life. You need those set points, those rock-solid landmarks, so you can travel the path you want and know when you're off course.
It doesn't mean that you don't have any UPG (unverified personal gnosis). It means that you acknowledge what is UPG and what is, well, canon or has verifiable history behind it. The former you don't tell others to steer by - they are not THEIR landmarks. The latter, others don't have to steer by, either, of course. But all you can do is point out known reefs/where the North star is/etc. What they do with those verifiable facts is up to them. They CAN throw them out.
Admittedly, I do tend to point and laugh when they do and end up with problems after I rather bluntly told them about the rocks ahead.
But what THEY tell THEIR Tillerman is up to them. What my ancestors call for me to do, what *I* call for myself and all y'all to do, is for us to give my/your Tillerman as close to 100% Pure Tea as you possibly can. Fact check. Check yourself. Check your assumptions. And 100% venture out there, keeping that T supply full.
Frondly, Fern
Samhain's coming, as most of all y'all know. So I've been upping my ancestral honoring game - spending more time a their altar, listening more to their voices. (See? My life isn't all Morrigan all the time!)
Which is not to say that the ancestors are any more love-and-light than the Morrigan is. Yes, the recent ancestors love us, and all of them want us to have success in life (and thus keep their line going) ... they now have that 'one step removed, looking it all over' view on life. And, MY ancestors are into capital T Tea. 100% Truth. They don't pull punches. They expect full disclosure from me - yeah, they already know what is going on in my life, but they want to be 100% sure that *I* am aware, awake, and handling my responsibilities.
Since I'm here being 100% with you - they aren't always happy with me.
But without that 100% pure Tea, that full-awareness/awake Truth, you can't navigate your life. You need those set points, those rock-solid landmarks, so you can travel the path you want and know when you're off course.
It doesn't mean that you don't have any UPG (unverified personal gnosis). It means that you acknowledge what is UPG and what is, well, canon or has verifiable history behind it. The former you don't tell others to steer by - they are not THEIR landmarks. The latter, others don't have to steer by, either, of course. But all you can do is point out known reefs/where the North star is/etc. What they do with those verifiable facts is up to them. They CAN throw them out.
Admittedly, I do tend to point and laugh when they do and end up with problems after I rather bluntly told them about the rocks ahead.
But what THEY tell THEIR Tillerman is up to them. What my ancestors call for me to do, what *I* call for myself and all y'all to do, is for us to give my/your Tillerman as close to 100% Pure Tea as you possibly can. Fact check. Check yourself. Check your assumptions. And 100% venture out there, keeping that T supply full.
Frondly, Fern
Monday, October 19, 2015
Them Ancestors
Blessings Darlings!
As many of y'all know, I don't use 'calendar dates' for the Celtic holy days. I use nature's signals. And given the recent unusual cold weather in the Northeastern US - we had our killing frost last night. So by my reckoning, Samhain is this Wednesday.
So one wonders, why are the Ancestors coming early this year? Is part of the message that we REALLY REALLY need their wisdom now, during what Byron Ballard calls 'tower time'? Well, yes, of course we do.
Step up your workings with the Ancestors, my loves. It is critical!
Frondly, Fern
As many of y'all know, I don't use 'calendar dates' for the Celtic holy days. I use nature's signals. And given the recent unusual cold weather in the Northeastern US - we had our killing frost last night. So by my reckoning, Samhain is this Wednesday.
So one wonders, why are the Ancestors coming early this year? Is part of the message that we REALLY REALLY need their wisdom now, during what Byron Ballard calls 'tower time'? Well, yes, of course we do.
Step up your workings with the Ancestors, my loves. It is critical!
Frondly, Fern
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
The Spirits Laughed.
Blessings Darlings!
Today is just a typical day at Chez Fern, with the Big Cooking Project making bone broth (don't worry, it wasn't anyone you knew). So I add the baked bones to the water, throw in a little vinegar, and add some peppercorns, and I notice that the pepper mill is kind of low on peppercorns.
No problem. I trot upstairs to the pantry to grab the big bottle of peppercorns. Ooops - knocked the basil plant, that I had clipped at the soil line and hung up to dry, off of it's support. Many, many dried basil leaves on the floor.
"Oh, gosh", says I, "What can I store those up?"
Every freaking spirit in the house laughs. Because that pantry is where about half of my canning jars are. Apparently the spirits found the rhetorical question amusing.
Insolent Spirits!
Frondly, Fern
Today is just a typical day at Chez Fern, with the Big Cooking Project making bone broth (don't worry, it wasn't anyone you knew). So I add the baked bones to the water, throw in a little vinegar, and add some peppercorns, and I notice that the pepper mill is kind of low on peppercorns.
No problem. I trot upstairs to the pantry to grab the big bottle of peppercorns. Ooops - knocked the basil plant, that I had clipped at the soil line and hung up to dry, off of it's support. Many, many dried basil leaves on the floor.
"Oh, gosh", says I, "What can I store those up?"
Every freaking spirit in the house laughs. Because that pantry is where about half of my canning jars are. Apparently the spirits found the rhetorical question amusing.
Insolent Spirits!
Frondly, Fern
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Visiting My Ancestors
Blessings Darlings!
I just read Byron's lovely article "Food For Thought ... and Spirits", to credit the inspiration for this post.
Byron has a great advantage over me on this one. The bulk of my ancestors are buried almost 900 miles from me, in two Jewish cemeteries in Chicago, while she lives close to hers. And she has a different heritage of working with them. Jews DO visit their cemeteries, and DO work with each ancestor on the anniversary of her/his death, but decorating graves or eating/drinking at the cemetary is right out. It was a VAST break in Jewish tradition when we planted flowers along with burying my uncle Maury - but everyone at the cemetery service knew Maury and knew that he LIVED in his garden, so knew why we chose to break tradition in this way.
So where do I go now to honor my Ancestors?
Celts had several options. Tir Na Gog is 'in the West', and the Ancestors are often seen as part of the Sea/waters. Or they are said to be in the North. When I lived close to, but west of, the Chesapeake Bay, that West association didn't work well. I winged it. But now the Potomac is north of me. I'll do my major working on that river. Part of that will be a boat of food pushed out on the water, as part of my Samhain celebration.
But, as you know, I start the preparation work for Samhain well in advance. As part of that, I'll be sharing food and drink much of the month with my Ancestors. I find that efforts put in to renew the ties well before Samhain, when I will be out communing with them officially, pays off.
And, I'm assuming that all y'all already have ancestor altars you work with regularly, right?
Frondly, Fern
I just read Byron's lovely article "Food For Thought ... and Spirits", to credit the inspiration for this post.
Byron has a great advantage over me on this one. The bulk of my ancestors are buried almost 900 miles from me, in two Jewish cemeteries in Chicago, while she lives close to hers. And she has a different heritage of working with them. Jews DO visit their cemeteries, and DO work with each ancestor on the anniversary of her/his death, but decorating graves or eating/drinking at the cemetary is right out. It was a VAST break in Jewish tradition when we planted flowers along with burying my uncle Maury - but everyone at the cemetery service knew Maury and knew that he LIVED in his garden, so knew why we chose to break tradition in this way.
So where do I go now to honor my Ancestors?
Celts had several options. Tir Na Gog is 'in the West', and the Ancestors are often seen as part of the Sea/waters. Or they are said to be in the North. When I lived close to, but west of, the Chesapeake Bay, that West association didn't work well. I winged it. But now the Potomac is north of me. I'll do my major working on that river. Part of that will be a boat of food pushed out on the water, as part of my Samhain celebration.
But, as you know, I start the preparation work for Samhain well in advance. As part of that, I'll be sharing food and drink much of the month with my Ancestors. I find that efforts put in to renew the ties well before Samhain, when I will be out communing with them officially, pays off.
And, I'm assuming that all y'all already have ancestor altars you work with regularly, right?
Frondly, Fern
Monday, October 1, 2012
Autumn
Blessings Darlings!
Fall is an insanely busy time around here. The Chubby Hubby has caught up on work after the summer conference he teaches at and is involved in new projects, for one thing. For another, the weather has finally cooled off so I'm doing more things. Meanwhile, the garden hasn't really slowed down yet.
The first thing I did with the cooler weather was do the sewing I'd put off all summer. In late spring I'd taken all the clothes that needed patches and other repairs and gotten them ready to be worked on. Mostly that meant that I'd ironed or fabric-glued patches in place, intending to sew the the patches on more securely. Since the clothes were all long-sleeved shirts and long pants, they didn't need to be done immediately. But I discovered that during the 100 degree days of summer I was .... disinclined .... to sit with material covering me, doing the sewing in my lap (knee and elbow patches have to be sewn by hand here, I don't have a sewing machine with an long narrow plate to slip them over). So suddenly it was 'patch or die!' or at least "patch or everyone will have to wear their GOOD STUFF around the house, leading to them wearing out into no longer being the good stuff".
It took a few weeks, but the winter stuff is now caught up on. Which means I'm identifying summer stuff that needs work. Why do the underarms get holes in them? I understand the holes in the front of the shirts - we have cats. Cats have claws. Cats poke holes in things. Those holes I'm going to do some embroidery over. I'm thinking of doing protective runes.
I've also started the fall round of carpet shampooing, and all the rest of the fall cleaning. It's a constant battle against cobwebs here!
And I'm working on harvesting every wild herb that I can. I'm sure that this is embarrassing the Spawn, who is often with me when I suddenly stop and grab, say, a nice mullein plant, or cut some grape vines, or dig up some chickory roots. And then I have to clean them, dry them, store them.
And, as I type this, tomorrow in October 1. Which means Samhain is coming. With my 9-day personal prep for that (see this post), and coven ritual, and maybe Audience with the Ancestors with the larger tradition .... busy.
What's on your plate for Autumn? Are you preparing for the Cold Times, for Samhain? Clearing the way for introspection or study?
Frondly, Fern
Fall is an insanely busy time around here. The Chubby Hubby has caught up on work after the summer conference he teaches at and is involved in new projects, for one thing. For another, the weather has finally cooled off so I'm doing more things. Meanwhile, the garden hasn't really slowed down yet.
The first thing I did with the cooler weather was do the sewing I'd put off all summer. In late spring I'd taken all the clothes that needed patches and other repairs and gotten them ready to be worked on. Mostly that meant that I'd ironed or fabric-glued patches in place, intending to sew the the patches on more securely. Since the clothes were all long-sleeved shirts and long pants, they didn't need to be done immediately. But I discovered that during the 100 degree days of summer I was .... disinclined .... to sit with material covering me, doing the sewing in my lap (knee and elbow patches have to be sewn by hand here, I don't have a sewing machine with an long narrow plate to slip them over). So suddenly it was 'patch or die!' or at least "patch or everyone will have to wear their GOOD STUFF around the house, leading to them wearing out into no longer being the good stuff".
It took a few weeks, but the winter stuff is now caught up on. Which means I'm identifying summer stuff that needs work. Why do the underarms get holes in them? I understand the holes in the front of the shirts - we have cats. Cats have claws. Cats poke holes in things. Those holes I'm going to do some embroidery over. I'm thinking of doing protective runes.
I've also started the fall round of carpet shampooing, and all the rest of the fall cleaning. It's a constant battle against cobwebs here!
And I'm working on harvesting every wild herb that I can. I'm sure that this is embarrassing the Spawn, who is often with me when I suddenly stop and grab, say, a nice mullein plant, or cut some grape vines, or dig up some chickory roots. And then I have to clean them, dry them, store them.
And, as I type this, tomorrow in October 1. Which means Samhain is coming. With my 9-day personal prep for that (see this post), and coven ritual, and maybe Audience with the Ancestors with the larger tradition .... busy.
What's on your plate for Autumn? Are you preparing for the Cold Times, for Samhain? Clearing the way for introspection or study?
Frondly, Fern
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Different Worlds
Blessings, Darlings!
As I pack, and we rent a truck (and I stop my husband from hitting the 'submit' key until I look for AND FIND a coupon for 20% off of the truck rental), my mother calls.
In every call, she tells me not to work too hard. Now, I'm not a type A person, folks. I'm laid back. I like playing online, I like reading, I love cooking and gardening and all sorts of leisure activities. And I totally ignore housework as much as I can. I TOTALLY do NOT 'work too hard'.
But in her eyes, I work way too hard. I don't hire folks to clean my house (at one time when I was young we had two women who helped clean our house) (and I was an only child, it wasn't like she had 8 kids like her Mother did) (and her mother didn't hire anyone to help with the house) (but I'm sure her older daughters were given PLENTY of chores).
Mom, altho' a Cancer and .... uh .... rather family obsessed and co-dependent, was the baby girl of the family. She and her twin brother were the youngest of the 8 kids. She didn't get taught to cook everything her older sisters learned to cook - by the time she was growing up my Grandmother wasn't making her own challah for Shabbos. She wasn't helping raise younger children (at least until her sister Anne was widowed and came home to live, and needed childcare while she worked).
But Mom did work outside the family for a while, for the Corps of Engineers. She even made it to supervisory level there. And I'm SURE she never told anyone she supervised to 'not work too hard'. In fact, she and a friend of hers from that time, who worked under her, tell a story about how Mom told the woman to get back to work (using some 'strong' Yiddish as part of her order).
Mom can't understand that we, like most of humanity, are doing the bulk of our moving ourselves. We'll hire folks to help us one day, to move the heaviest furniture, and that's it. The boxes, all 400 or more, we'll pack and handle. She can't understand that we have more than 20 books. I've not even tried to explain prepping to her, and the amount of stuff that involves having and moving. She'd lose it at 'grind your own grain', let alone STORE your own grain.
I often wonder how she ended up with me as a daughter. We are alike in some things - a few from nature (whole family with anxiety disorders!) and some nurture (some of the manifestations of the anxiety disorders!), but so often so totally different. She loves that I put my life on hold to homeschool. She loves that I dropped everything when my Mother In Law had a heart attack and made sure she got the right drugs, followed thru', changed doctors, etc. Co-dependence gets her full approval, possibly because I manifest that so VERY rarely!
My son and I have a far more natural relationship, at least in my view. We're quite alike, I understand his grunts, jokes, etc. Helps that we're both Sagittarian, I suppose.
Well, I must get back to packing.
Frondly, Fern
As I pack, and we rent a truck (and I stop my husband from hitting the 'submit' key until I look for AND FIND a coupon for 20% off of the truck rental), my mother calls.
In every call, she tells me not to work too hard. Now, I'm not a type A person, folks. I'm laid back. I like playing online, I like reading, I love cooking and gardening and all sorts of leisure activities. And I totally ignore housework as much as I can. I TOTALLY do NOT 'work too hard'.
But in her eyes, I work way too hard. I don't hire folks to clean my house (at one time when I was young we had two women who helped clean our house) (and I was an only child, it wasn't like she had 8 kids like her Mother did) (and her mother didn't hire anyone to help with the house) (but I'm sure her older daughters were given PLENTY of chores).
Mom, altho' a Cancer and .... uh .... rather family obsessed and co-dependent, was the baby girl of the family. She and her twin brother were the youngest of the 8 kids. She didn't get taught to cook everything her older sisters learned to cook - by the time she was growing up my Grandmother wasn't making her own challah for Shabbos. She wasn't helping raise younger children (at least until her sister Anne was widowed and came home to live, and needed childcare while she worked).
But Mom did work outside the family for a while, for the Corps of Engineers. She even made it to supervisory level there. And I'm SURE she never told anyone she supervised to 'not work too hard'. In fact, she and a friend of hers from that time, who worked under her, tell a story about how Mom told the woman to get back to work (using some 'strong' Yiddish as part of her order).
Mom can't understand that we, like most of humanity, are doing the bulk of our moving ourselves. We'll hire folks to help us one day, to move the heaviest furniture, and that's it. The boxes, all 400 or more, we'll pack and handle. She can't understand that we have more than 20 books. I've not even tried to explain prepping to her, and the amount of stuff that involves having and moving. She'd lose it at 'grind your own grain', let alone STORE your own grain.
I often wonder how she ended up with me as a daughter. We are alike in some things - a few from nature (whole family with anxiety disorders!) and some nurture (some of the manifestations of the anxiety disorders!), but so often so totally different. She loves that I put my life on hold to homeschool. She loves that I dropped everything when my Mother In Law had a heart attack and made sure she got the right drugs, followed thru', changed doctors, etc. Co-dependence gets her full approval, possibly because I manifest that so VERY rarely!
My son and I have a far more natural relationship, at least in my view. We're quite alike, I understand his grunts, jokes, etc. Helps that we're both Sagittarian, I suppose.
Well, I must get back to packing.
Frondly, Fern
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Prepping for Samhain
Samhain is coming to the northern hemisphere! Diminished and celebrated as Halloween by non-pagans, for many neopagans it’s one of the most important holy days of the year. Or not of the year, since technically it’s the day between the end of one year and the beginning of the next. At any rate, it’s the day when the veil between this world and the other worlds is known to be thin, and so we honor our dead ancestors.
Like all important events, getting the full spiritual experience of Samhain is easier if you do some preparation. And the more preparation you do, the better/fuller/more intense the experience.
So, Samhain being a Celtic based holy day, and the Celts being into triads, I posit that a great approach to Samhain is to take 9 days, a triad of triads, to prepare. What preparations to do on those 9 days? Take each day to open a dialog between yourself and one group of ancestors.
Day 1 – physical ancestors that you knew who have passed over. Those whose familial genes you carry. If adopted, add the family that made you one of their own.
Day 2 – physical/adoptive ancestors that you didn’t know who have passed over. They could well come forth at Samhain wit messages for you.
Day 3 – those who you knew that influenced you as you grew up who have passed over. Neighbors, pre-college school teachers, friends and their parents, clergy, etc.
Day 4 – Those who influenced your mind who have passed over. Authors, thinkers, statesmen, etc
Day 5 – those who influenced your spiritual path, who you knew and have passed over. Clergy, individuals, speakers, etc.
Day 6 – those who influenced your spiritual path but you did not know, and have passed over. Writers, tradition starters, those who you have learned about whose lives you try to emulate, etc.
Day 7 – Nature Spirits – because not only the ancestors might show up with messages at Samhain.
Day 8 – The Gods and Goddesses – again, because not only the ancestors might show up at your Samhain ritual.
Day 9 – Your Higher Self/Holy Guardian Angel/Spirit Guide/Patron Divinity – Well, you KNOW this one’s going to be there with you!
But, I hear someone asking, what do you DO on each of those days? Well, I’m not one for big Witchy set up. Make them a small offering – a tablespoon of barley maybe. Announce your intention – that you are because Samhain is coming, and you are there to open yourself to their inspiration. If it’s a day for folks you knew in life, maybe update them. Then listen. Take about 5 to 15 minutes. Then thank them, say you’re looking forward to anything they wish to tell you at Samhain. Leave the offering until the next day if you can. They will take whatever spiritual essence they want from it.
Now, don’t be surprised if one of the things you are told, either during one of these sessions or on Samhain, is that you should be honoring them more than once a year. But we’ll discuss Ancestor Altars some other day!
Frondly, Fern
Like all important events, getting the full spiritual experience of Samhain is easier if you do some preparation. And the more preparation you do, the better/fuller/more intense the experience.
So, Samhain being a Celtic based holy day, and the Celts being into triads, I posit that a great approach to Samhain is to take 9 days, a triad of triads, to prepare. What preparations to do on those 9 days? Take each day to open a dialog between yourself and one group of ancestors.
Day 1 – physical ancestors that you knew who have passed over. Those whose familial genes you carry. If adopted, add the family that made you one of their own.
Day 2 – physical/adoptive ancestors that you didn’t know who have passed over. They could well come forth at Samhain wit messages for you.
Day 3 – those who you knew that influenced you as you grew up who have passed over. Neighbors, pre-college school teachers, friends and their parents, clergy, etc.
Day 4 – Those who influenced your mind who have passed over. Authors, thinkers, statesmen, etc
Day 5 – those who influenced your spiritual path, who you knew and have passed over. Clergy, individuals, speakers, etc.
Day 6 – those who influenced your spiritual path but you did not know, and have passed over. Writers, tradition starters, those who you have learned about whose lives you try to emulate, etc.
Day 7 – Nature Spirits – because not only the ancestors might show up with messages at Samhain.
Day 8 – The Gods and Goddesses – again, because not only the ancestors might show up at your Samhain ritual.
Day 9 – Your Higher Self/Holy Guardian Angel/Spirit Guide/Patron Divinity – Well, you KNOW this one’s going to be there with you!
But, I hear someone asking, what do you DO on each of those days? Well, I’m not one for big Witchy set up. Make them a small offering – a tablespoon of barley maybe. Announce your intention – that you are because Samhain is coming, and you are there to open yourself to their inspiration. If it’s a day for folks you knew in life, maybe update them. Then listen. Take about 5 to 15 minutes. Then thank them, say you’re looking forward to anything they wish to tell you at Samhain. Leave the offering until the next day if you can. They will take whatever spiritual essence they want from it.
Now, don’t be surprised if one of the things you are told, either during one of these sessions or on Samhain, is that you should be honoring them more than once a year. But we’ll discuss Ancestor Altars some other day!
Frondly, Fern
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