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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Devotion 101

In response to this post here: http://thehouseofvines.com/2013/08/08/polytheism-without-borders/, and as a result of several recent conversations that I've been having with various folks, I've decided that once a week (provided I get enough questions), I"ll be posting a 'Devotion 101' series. What does this mean? 

Well, I will answer questions, no matter how simple they may be, on devotion: how to do it, why we do it, how to get started. Readers can ask me "am i doing X right?" or "how can I honor Deity X better' and I'll do my best to answer. So long as I get questions from people, I'll keep this series running, maybe not every week (my academic term is starting soon after all) but as close to it as possible. 

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  • Galina Krasskova
    Galina Krasskova says #
    Why would i dillydally? A question --particularly one on devotion--deserves a clear, concise answer. I've always equated dillydall
  • gary c. e.
    gary c. e. says #
    thanks for acknowledging my comment/question - i appreciate the simplicity and straightforward reply. there is no dillydallying wi
  • Galina Krasskova
    Galina Krasskova says #
    I will answer this and all questions in forthcoming blogs here. I'll admit though, I find your question rather confusing. I tru
  • gary c. e.
    gary c. e. says #
    Greetings Galina Thank you for your post on devotion here. I am from the Taoist Way both philosophically and with it's religious

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
All About Mani: the Norse Moon God

I love the Norse Moon God. There isn't very much information on Him in the surviving lore, and yet slowly but surely over the past decade His cultus has been restoring and rebuilding itself. This is a joy to see and it's an equal joy to be a part of such growing devotion. I've found He is a very hard God not to love. His Presence evokes longing and brings with it aching beauty twinned with the hint of ancient power. He touches the heart like no other Deity, and it often seems He moves with an exquisitely calculated sensuality throughout our world. Mani is mystery and in like fashion evokes the hunger for mystery. 

We don't actually have very much concrete information on Him. He's the God of the moon and guides the moon across the night sky, always chased by the wolf Hati. His sisters are Sunna and Sinthgunt and He is of the House of Mundilfari, the Time Turner. He is sometimes said to travel with two children, a boy Hjuki and and girl Bil whom He rescued from neglectful parents. He is the nephew of Nott, or Night. That's what we know from lore. From direct experience of Him, not just by me, but by many of His devotees, we know that He is fascinated by humanity and the process of embodiment. He watches over abused children and notes every tear, every wound, every scar. He is a special protector of those affected by emotional pain and mental illness, and once, He was very fierce. 

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  • Denise Fenimore
    Denise Fenimore says #
    I have been snagged by Mani's light. He's so approachable, and he has such an ancient wisdom. One thing that is kind of odd. Since
  • Theresa Wymer
    Theresa Wymer says #
    Hail Máni! Thank you for this series. I'm really looking forward to it.

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Warrior Medicine

 

There is a desperation in how I fight the Filter now. I am aware of that. There didn't used to be. There was grit, determination, focus, but not vicious desperation. Over the past few months it changed, something in me changed and quite recently someone asked me what that was. It's simple really. My ancestors threw me into the direct experience of the sundering of our traditions. I stood in the flow of it and shared their experience and emotions. Then at the same time that was happening, the blogosphere erupted into a volcanic debate between polytheists and non-theistic pagans. why was this so significant to me personally? Why did it impact the place from which I fight the Filter? Because it showed me how bad off we truly are. It showed me the lay of the land and how deeply the damage went. It showed me how far we were from any coherent foundational roots. Until this past May and June, I had truly thought that more people were in ongoing devotional relationship with their Gods and dead, that more people were doing the work. My eyes have been opened.  I see well now why the Havamal warns that no man is happy who is over-wise. 

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  • Betty Prat
    Betty Prat says #
    Loved this article and I honor and appreciate the work you do, Ashe!
  • gary c. e.
    gary c. e. says #
    Hi Galina just want to say i really and deeply appreciate your posts - i may not be where your at personally but nevertheless i'm
  • Christine L Berger
    Christine L Berger says #
    Good to see you back. I had a small lesson today to cause me to realize the small daily devotions I make in the morning are more
  • Liza
    Liza says #
    I think it is important to build relationships, connects, and supports here, as well as Elsewhere. Not all humans are warriors, an
  • Byron Ballard
    Byron Ballard says #
    Welcome back. There's much to do.

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
See you Aug. 1

As I've already noted in a previous post, I will be taking July off as part of the polytheistic month of silence. I've got a number of good articles already planned for Aug 1, starting with one about the beloved Norse moon God Mani. I hadn't quite decided what to post as my final June article though. I wanted something a bit more useful than a class advertisement! In the end, since I plan on making strides in compiling my next Odin devotional during my internet sabbatical, I decided to leave with a prayer sequence to Odin, the God of my heart, Whom I adore above all Others. Enjoy and may my American readers have a wonderful (and safe) fourth of July. 

 

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  • Tess Dawson
    Tess Dawson says #
    This is beautiful, Galina. May Odin bring you wholeness during your respite.
  • Elaine Blakely
    Elaine Blakely says #
    Hail to the Master Gardener of Valhalla! You, Who Harvest the Best of Mankind at their peak of Might and Meghn, Thank You - For se
Online Course: Getting Started in Ancestor Work

I thought some of you might be interested in this: 

Online Course - Ancestor Work 101: Getting Started

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  • Christine L Berger
    Christine L Berger says #
    sounds great. Hopefully you will offer it again when I can afford it.

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
In Praise of My Land

I sleep in the belly of the mountain: mount Beacon, whom the Native tribes here once called Mattewan. His eyes are old and wise, this great dragon of the mountain, and he has seen eons of human folly tumble past. Once he was the glory of this valley, he and his brothers and sisters; now he is crawled upon by tourists and hikers who don't even bother to learn his true name. he doesn't seem to mind though. I think he likes people. He's friendly and being of mountain etin stock, I can tell you that's not always the case with mountain spirits. I've met mountains, these ancient memory keepers, whose power, ferocity, and grim anger at man has driven me to my knees. They're right to be angry. 

Mount Beacon, for all his age, is kind to those who seek him out. He honestly seems to like people. I carry his bundle and when chance arises, as it often does with spiritworkers, I introduce him to other mountain spirits. I give other spiritworkers a token from his bundle to take to their mountains, to facilitate the connection, and they do the same for me in return. We tell our mountains about their kin in far away places. We facilitate the connection. This is what our ancestors did and its time that communication between powers was fostered again. 

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  • Daniel FitzGerald
    Daniel FitzGerald says #
    This article made me smile so much, expecially because I've got close ties to the Hudson Valley. My wife lived in Fishkill for ye
  • Elaine Blakely
    Elaine Blakely says #
    I am a Cliff Dweller by the Sea Ripped from the Woodlands by Wyrd; Cocooned that I may Heal from that ungentle surgery - Rootless
  • anita edmonds
    anita edmonds says #
    I am just outside Asheville, in the Blue Ridge mountains—an old, old land, filled with spirits and the most beautiful place I’ve e
  • Tim Schneider
    Tim Schneider says #
    The land I live on is in the middle of everything but nestled near to farmland. Behind us is a great expanse of land, and we have
  • Brandie Flowers
    Brandie Flowers says #
    This is something I am currently working on. I am not really rooted as of yet anywhere. So I am doing my best by things. Learning

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Another Ancestor Q&A

...When honoring the dead makes your skin crawl

 

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  • Virginia Carper
    Virginia Carper says #
    I agree. There are Ancestors who are willing to help you with the toxic ones. I had to go back a few generations to find Them. Onc

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