Talking with roots,

Having buttered up an orris root I've been working with (she has her own wooden box, sleeps under my pillow, regular sprinklings with homemade Florida water, etc.), I asked her when she'd like to be consecrated to pendulum work... I wait for an answer.

A chipper, "Tuesday the 13th!"

I'm thinking, oh gods, it could be AGES before I find a Tuesday that lands on the 13th *pulls up December calendar*

HAH!

Thin times,

Yes, yes, the veil is thin! I know. But what I didn't know is that I would be encountering things (often!), or spirits rather. I think that some of this has to do with the personal oath that I made last month - so many doors have opened since then.

Last night, I ran down stairs to grab something from my working, ritual, scared(?) room. The second I walked in, I could see, although not physically but with my third eye a ghastly looking creature. It was so tall, it's head was touching the ceiling, elevated by these extremely long legs. It was surprised by my presence and just watched me. I very carefully walked into the room, grabbed what I needed and carefully walked out - it followed me to the door and went no further. I was really trying to shrug it off, but seriously. I walk in the room and it's like, SHABLAOW. It scared the shit out of me at first, but it wasn't threatening, mostly curious. I went back upstairs, trying to deny what I felt and saw... but couldn't!

I am having a hard time knowing how to react to these encounters. I keep remembering that first real journey I went on and how I was being told to listen. I am rereading Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits, because it has different meaning to me now that I have personal confirmed visionary experiences. There is a lot more to be gained from that book, now that I understand it better!

I did acquire a helping spirit during the workshop with Christina Pratt, so I am pretty sure I should be looking towards him for help with these matters. I am still working out how to work with him, I mean, I'm trying to take all of this in stride. It's just a bit unnerving when it's being thrown at you, vigorously!

I also realize... I need to lay down some home protection.

Anyhow. There is food that needs to be cooked and an ancestor altar that needs to be set up. I am doing everything by the seat of my pants this year, it really bothers me - but I have just been so damn busy between my job and my work. My plan is to get so caught up with my job that it requires only maintenance, that way I have more time and enegry for my spiritual practices.

OH! I got accepted into the Hoodoo Rootwork Correspondence Course with cat yronwode! It was an honor to have the chance to talk to her over the phone. She's awesome and funny! Really looking forward to getting my supplies and book and getting my hands nice and dirty.

Off to the kitchen I go!

For really real jouneying,

My body aches, it aches. I cant decide if it was getting out of bed last night to use the bathroom that effed my back, or the amount of journeying I did yesterday. My whole left body is all out of wack.

I went to a class yesterday hosted by Christina Pratt, it was on the basics of shamanic journeying. I have been wanting a basic primer into going into the otherworld. I mostly wanted to know if I was even able to do it. I also wanted to do it under the experience of someone, experienced in doing it! It was also a response to a prayer that was answered in less than 24 hours. There was a sacrifice involved. I had to give up buying (yes, I am a gamer nerd I will admit it) SWTOR and canceled my pre-order to pay for the class. Honestly, I could have afforded both, but MMO's are something I really have to check myself on, they can consume me. As much as I don't want to admit it, I have been told to give up hardcore gaming up. So I have.

She covered the world tree, moving up and down it; a concept that I was already familiar with. Intention, how to craft questions, spirit etiquette, etc. Our goal was to find our helping spirits.

I was really nervous, and really shy. Hah! I am a pretty serious hermit, so getting out like this was a little awkward for me.

She started drumming. I already knew of which tree would be my door, and I asked it (an Alder I know of) to allow me to go to the lower world. And I sank, I swam through dirt and rubble and was plopped out into a tunnel, the very back end of a dirt tunnel. There were roots, water on the floor and it smelled like deep rich earth, I was naked and covered in muck. I had been there before! I just never went outside of the tunnel. The doorway to the "outside" was surrounded by brambles and weeds. I stepped out of it, it was twilight and the sky had a sort of green cast to it.

It would take me ages to explain all that happened. We did several journeys that day. There was a snake, a horse, an arrogant bird, another animal that I feel a lot of pressure not to talk about or even mention his name. There was also, One Eye.

Personally, when I watched Valhalla Rising I saw One Eye as very Odin-esque. I was really curious about this, because I didn't know if this was me putting him in the journey, or if it was some sort of spirit using this image and archetype I have in my head to represent something. He was quite ambivalent to my presence. He drew me a sigil in the fire ash that we were near. Like in the movie, he was mute and did not speak. No one spoke to me in the lower world, they all communicated to me via emotions and feeling. Throughout my entire visit I was being told to LISTEN.

Each time we journeyed I found getting to the otherworld easy. It almost made me a bit skeptical, because it came so naturally. But I had the distinct feeling that I was in fact, in two places at once. After we would get back I would be groggy and a bit blurry eyed. I think I may have built up a bit of a stigma around it, or my own personal ideas of what it would actually be like or what it should be like made it harder for me in the past. Or, had I been doing it this whole time and didn't even know it!? I'm still processing the whole thing.

The upperworld was nutty, but I got there. We actually paired up with other people in our group and did a journey on behalf of our partner. That was so fucking cool! My partner and I exchanged our questions and went off. He came back to tell me why I always have the ocean in my dreams, and I told him why he hasn't had the motivation to paint. We had a good laugh because while I was traveling I kept hearing this rich southern mans voice saying, "that boy got cobwebs!" So when I came back, I had to put on my southern draw and tell him, "boy you got cobwebs!" It was good fun. It was also good to talk to people about the crazy shit I experience without them thinking I'm insane.

Now, I'm off to hobble around the house and get some work done. There is a lot to process still, but I am very glad that I am doing now, and not just thinking about it.

As the darkness increases (and notes),

By that I mean the dark moon.

I know many people who associate the full moon with lunacy, strange happenings and general spookiness (most of them aren't witches. I don't consider myself witch either, but, that's a post for another day!). I find that it is the dark moon that opens the doors to this lunacy and strangeness. The full and light moon to me, is just that, light, bright, allowing me to see in the darkness. It's safe.

I digress.

The dreams get wild around the dark moon, they increase with intensity, vividness. Around 4-6AM is when I'm most lucid. I flutter in and out of dreamscapes. Occasionally I'll sleep in to see how much further I can go, usually around 7am it's time to call it quits.

Last night I was by the ocean, as always. I've still really yet to figure out what it is with the ocean and I. Many times I've experienced earthquakes by the ocean and I took it as a sign of the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon. I did a tarot reading to see if it was indeed him and all I got was a, "kindly fuck off somewhere else." Maybe it's memories of my childhood. I grew up in and around the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

Anyhow. My parents were with me. We were in a house right on the beach. There was a few heavy waves that brought the surge up to the house, but did not damage it at all. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, it was clear and beautiful. My husband and I went up into the hills where the town was and I could look down on the beach and house. Then, as if I was flying I was beach side and watched as two massive tsunami waves rolled into the coast line. I called to my parents to leave the house as soon as possible, I was too late. They were dead. I was half awake knowing my parents were both dead. So fucking disturbing. It took me a minute to gather my wits when I fully woke. I was covered in dread. I realized though, my parents weren't dead. They're alive, they're ok.

I haven't tried to interpret the dream, not yet anyway.

Oh, and I totally forgot to mention. It was in the middle of the night I'm pretty sure, but I saw a man or a figure of a man standing in my hallway. It was like a rough outline (I wasn't dreaming). The moment I recognized what it was it was gone. I don't have the sight (but I can sense the presence of other beings, I think anyway!). But I do see things out of the corners of my eyes, or occasional flashes of things. I don't know what to make of it just yet.

It sort of reminded me of this presence I felt in my old house, there was something very aggressive and very male living in our space. It was more taunting than anything, I never got the feeling that it would have done us harm. I felt nothing from this sighting though. Just a figure.

I finally bought a moleskine to start writing dreams/experiences/fleeting thoughts down. I'm not very good at keeping up with physical journals. I hope I keep up with this one.

On my walk yesterday I heard croaking... distant croaking. RAVENS! And indeed it was, two of them with their wedge shaped tails. They were being chased out of the neighboring woods by some naughty ol' crows. Second time I've seen them out here. Every time I hear their call I get goosebumps.

Notes over the past few days:

I write a LOT of entries that I never publish. Not that it really matters I guess, but I tend to keep an open tab with blogger open to jot down shit throughout the week/day/etc. Seeing as how I've pretty much abandon my Tumblr, I'm dumping everything here.

(a few days ago)
In my dream last night, I was walking by an old cemetery. I wasn't in it, but walking along the thick moss covered stone wall outside of it. Inside of the cemetery were deer, tons of them. One stood out of course, tall and broad and his antlers weren't really antlers but ancient aged wood wrapping around his head like a crown or gnarled old tree branches. I can only remember thinking quite joyfully that it was old Hornie! Old Hornie! Old Hornie! I kept saying over and over again in my head.

(a day ago?)
Spirit vessel?

(today)
Now comes one of the supreme tests that most every Aries must periodically face: Will you live up to your promises? Will you follow through on your rousing start? Will you continue to stay passionately committed once the fiery infatuation stage evolves into the earthy foundation-building stage? Here's a secret to succeeding at this test: You can't just try to force yourself to "be good" and do the right thing. Nor does it work to use shame or guilt to motivate yourself. Somehow you've got to marshal pure, raw excitement for the gritty detail work to come. You've got to fall in love with the task of actually fleshing out your dreams. - Free Will Astrology

Note to self: BOOYAH. You have been served, ball in is your court.

I should not be doing this right now, very random:

I really need to be working, not blogging. The urge is taking me over.

Many of my quick posts have been on tumblr. Its more less a good quick dumping ground for dreams, and quick photos.

I've been busy as shit and worn, but good.

I was in a bit of an empty space for a little while. I wasn't feeling anything good. Drained, tired, headachy (for a week or two) and then I realized just about 20 minutes ago why I had been feeling that way: I made an offering to my surrounding forest recently (just moved out here, beginning to make acquaintances). It was well received I believe, cautious acceptance I think. A few days after the offering, I had been out to collect blackberries and yarrow I found, arranged almost too perfectly in a tunnel of grass right by my feet, a dead hare. Probably a few days dead. It was a gift and I didn't take it. I offended. I KNEW it. I knew it the moment I walked away from the little thing. I feel like a prick. Never again. Lesson learned.

I have lots of projects planned out. It is a matter of waiting for the right moon phase! I've been keeping TeuxDeux open in my browser at all times to keep notes on when I'd like to get projects done or started. I need organization, or I'll just forget everything, heh. Stoner memory here.

Dandelion root harvesting is the nearest project that I've got going on. Going to try it as part of a dream tea. Lots of the little buggers growing in the yard of course. I'll be weeding (they're in the future garden area) and making something useful at the same time, two birds, one stone!

Adorable little egg eh? It was a dud left in a nest that I happened to find sitting low in the raspberry bush. I had never noticed it before, the nest kind of seemed to come from nowhere, literally. I wasn't quite sure the nest was abandon, because I would often see a female bird hopping around in that general area. I left it for a few weeks and kept an eye on it, no mother bird. She would have been out there giving me a firm lecture if I had gotten close at all, and I never happened to see her. The egg was hollow, a small opening on the bottom, I assume from insects.

Also! I had a GREAT mail day a little while ago:

Goodies from Forest Grove and books I probably shouldn't have ordered because I have stacks I need to read my way though. Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits has jumped to the top of my list though!