Like tarot cards, runes had a practical purpose in addition to being tools of portent. Runes are symbols of an alphabet, just as we use Roman letters.
Runes are often portrayed in a fantasy context as being used as a means of telling the future for stereotypical witches. Like many aspects of original paganism and magic, the historical details are fuzzy and sometimes up to interpretation.
A general interest in mysticism in the late 1800s/early 1900s sparked a cultural interest in the use of runes for divination. Some assign specific meanings to runes and use the original rune meanings/resemblances for the purpose of divination so that they can be used much like a tarot card.
I wanted to take a moment to highlight an excellent resource and some of its recent content. The Witches’ Voice is a powerful, user-driven, user-sponsored web site allowing users to learn about pagan paths, find pagan businesses, and connect with others in their area.
This site allows users to choose who contacts them (individuals, businesses) and divides content into sections, my favorite being essays. (more…)
I’ve had a few questions come in privately about finding good sources on paganism online. With our topic in particular, there seems to be a lot of crap out there. This is specifically why I haven’t researched and reported on specific pagan paths as much as I’d like to. However, I would like to present you with a short list of useful resources:
Topix Pagan Wiccan. This is completely user-based, so there is a lot of random stuff on here, but people also contribute excellent nuggets, like this resource page for pagan homeschooling.
Witchvox (Witches’ Voice): This community has more than a few snippy members who will tell you you’re doing something wrong. Sometimes they leave the constructive out of constructive criticism. However, if you’re looking for a collection of personal experiences and diverse paths, this is the way to go. You can also find resources by location here. I tend to browse but not participate here.
PaganSpace: It’s like MySpace for pagans! This Ning site is very open to new members. It’s more of a social networking site than anything else. (more…)
Palmistry (also known as chiromancy) is a fortune-telling method. It has been in practice for at least 5,000 years and is present in most cultures. A palm reader can supposedly determine a bit about a person’s life or future life by analyzing the lines and bumps on that person’s palms. Various elements are represented in different parts of the hand.
For those wishing to learn about palmistry, there are resources available online. Note: If you are looking for a general overview, or to dabble in chironmancy, you should not pay for lessons, especially not online. Those studying seriously may consider formal lessons in the future.
MorningStarPortal offers a general overview of palmistry, touching on the history of the art and where one should begin.
For those who learn by doing, FindYourFate offers a guided reading online.
I took FindYourFate’s test and here were my selected results. Italicized font indicates predicted results (via web site) and bold represents actual (so far). I am 28 years old, and therefore have not lived out my full life, of course. (more…)
Prayer beads are commonly used in various mainstream and non-mainstream religions and paths, most notably in Catholicism. Rosaries can be in the traditional shape of one of Catholic origin, but they do not have to be. People of various faiths can and do use them.
Most pagans make their own jewelry when used for rituals. One can also wear prayer beads or rosaries, often in the shape of necklaces or bracelets. By making prayer beads into jewelry ourselves, we hope to imbue our own energy, reflection, and meditation into the beads. It is also traditional to provide a blessing to the object after it has been created. (more…)
Many people find this blog because they are looking for information about how to cast spells, or they simply want to find text for spells. I don’t know much about the people searching for these terms, but I know it’s safe to assume that not all of them are responsible, educated practitioners of magic or energy. This is one reason I have not really posted specifically on this topic in the past.
Another reason is that this blog, unlike the other blog I maintain, is very personal and contains many introspective remarks; I post frequently about my feelings on here. Truth be told, my feelings on using spells are very wishy washy. While it’s totally fascinating for me to research and describe information about Voodoo and Vodun, for example, does it change my beliefs? No. The information simply broadens my perspective and offers me insight into how others view and use the spiritual world around us. (more…)
The Book of Shadows is one of the most frequently misinterpreted items in paganism (or neo-paganism) as it exists today. Part of the confusion comes from the fact that “book of shadows” has multiple meanings.
Pagans of various paths make such books for their personal use. Most books include rituals, spells, and information for present and future use. The act of copying down or creating one’s own ritual is very important to many people, as it personalizes the item being written down. Some pagans also journal a bit in their personal book of shadows.
The Book of Shadows itself derives from the Wiccan path. The concept of personalizing one’s own book is also strongly tied to Wiccan origins. Individuals and covens alike sometimes keep such a book.
Because of the title given to the Book of Shadows, many have assumed that it is Satanic or dark in nature. In fact, many neopagans keep such books full of poetry or nature-centric journaling. Furthermore, this is a great point to remind others that Wicca has a “do no harm” rule as its core tenet; therefore most of the spells contained in such individual and coven-created books are not meant for negative purposes, or to work with negative energy.
Admittedly, I definitely see a personal book of shadows being a source of spiritual power. However, this is tied less to its bad reputation and more to the fact that writing empowers me and that I have developed much of my identity through writing. To write on spirituality, therefore, allows me to grow as an individual and as a spiritual person. I suppose at this point in my life, Merry Meet (this very blog) is my own book of shadows, to which others are welcome to contribute.
I have received a blank book from a pagan friend in the past. The book was meant for journaling, recordkeeping, etc. For the longest time I kept it with my spiritual items and wrote down my innermost thoughts in it. I decorated the cover of it myself, making it more personal. If you are close enough to another pagan, she or he might find a blank journal a very worthy gift.
Do you keep a book of shadows? What are your thoughts?
In case you haven’t noticed the theme, I’ve been using the elements at the top of each of these posts on pagan altars. Today I have posted the feather, which represents air.
The elements are central to (or included in) most pagan altars. The elements are generally easy to physically obtain and/or represent; as always, it is important to choose an item or symbol that has particular meaning to yourself and your energy. The item should feel as though it inherently represents the element to which it is assigned to represent.
Here are some suggestions to get you started, but please do not be limited by this list.
Air: Feather, jar of air captured from a meaningful place, a fan, incense
Fire: Candles (please consider fire safety), sun totem, lava
Water: Dish of water, picture of the ocean, sea shell
Earth: Bowl of salt, dirt, rock, gemstone, fresh grass
Wiccan altars have specific elements and suggestions, and I am not a Wiccan nor an expert. If you are Wiccan, consult your coven and/or instructional materials for futher information.
Many pagans also wish to include other elements in their altars. Common elements include wands, pentacles (this can represent balance, center, Spirit, and protection), and male and female symbols, such as the athame (male) and the chalice (female).
What elements would you/do you include in your altar? What do they represent?
Many pagans spend a careful amount of time searching for specific and meaningful items for their altars. As stated previously, it is very important to find items that make you feel comfortable; you will want to have an altar that is reflective of your personal energy and tastes.
If your altar is displayed in your home in view of visitors, it should also display your personal style. Don’t be afraid to be bold if that is what you wish to do–even if your room is pink and puffy, there’s nothing wrong with having a Shinto-inspired tan and black altar. In this way, altars are also excellent means of self-expression; if you are financially limited or living in someone else’s home, you can create a center of spiritual comfort for yourself using an altar.
Where to Find Items
Nature is always the best source for finding natural items connected to the earth. You may also find some peace as you go out questing for these items. Many of them can be found in a park or backyard, such as a rock, for example.
To add more style and personality to your altar, you may want to make some of the items yourself or purchase them. Here are a few recommended links:
Introduction
Making an altar is one of the most reflective, meaningful things one can do with her or his spiritual energy. Altars do not have to be ornate, though most pagans opt to include specific elements in an altar arrangement. Most importantly, an altar should reflect your personal style of devotion and expression; you should feel comfortable before it and not intimidated, seeing it as a tool through which you can guide your energy and thoughts.
Rather than confining yourself to limits, think of possibilities. Pagan altars can be:
Located inside or outside
Hidden or displayed
Many colors or one
Private or public
Frequently functional or meant as an honorary display
Meaningful to the practitioner
On a rock, on the ground, a round table, a square table, etc.
Devoted to a deity, season, path, festival, holiday, or for general use
Before you begin or find yourself limited by others’ ideas, think about your own goals for your pagan altar. What are they?
Please feel free to leave your comments here, and check back in the coming days for detailed tips.
Tarot cards are tools used by many pagans (and non-pagans) and are widely recognized in mainstream society today. In America, there is a general acceptance of those who get their cards read “for fun,” but a stigma associated with anyone who might take card reading seriously. I find it interesting that most people are okay with playing cards (which derived from tarot), but the moment one attempts to find meaning in a simple object, it becomes immoral.
As an English major and a woman of Irish descent rather drawn to Celtic mythology, I can hardly avoid seeing symbols in the world around me. I take comfort in literature because I don’t feel so alone in interpreting the world in terms of symbols. I believe that symbols can help me to find a clearer path to such a point that I experienced great disappointment in the controversial nature of the Da Vinci Code. I found the book rather comforting.
Tarot card readers never imply that what is written on the cards is written in stone. There are also different card spreads, some of which go into more detail than others. Some of these spreads even examine different possible choices and courses of action.
I enjoy doing tarot card readings because they make me feel disciplined and helpful. If I do not feel helpful in my jobs and personal relationships, I tend to feel useless. I also feel as though there is a great responsibility in leading someone through the reading. I am not a tarot expert–I am just an extremely intuitive, interpretive, sensitive person. I believe that the tarot deck is a tool through which people can examine possibilities they might not have otherwise uncovered, see a situation from another perspective, and learn new things about themselves and each other.
I consider this approach to be particularly relevant to my path as a pagan (and as a human) because it involves a great deal of self-empowerment. When reading for someone else, I feel not only the responsibility of assisting them with interpretation, but also the importance in explaining how things can change.
If someone receives what they perceive to be a particularly negative spread, I tend to do a three card spread follow up concerning the specific situation. This allows us to interpret the situation very specifically in terms of past, present, future.
The Death card is an excellent example of a commonly misinterpreted card–and a card with which others often need assistance in interpreting. Death does not only (or even frequently) represent a literal loss of life. If death came about in a job outlook spread, for example, I might interpret it as shedding past responsibilities.
I have provided a nice overview of tarot card readings below.
What are your feelings on the tarot? How have they shaped your life?
The athame is a ritual knife used in some branches of paganism as well as many solitary practices. Usually representing one of the elements, the athame (pronounced a-tha-may) is described in the below video as a significantly male tool. YouTube user Natakamani displays different types of ritual knives that she hand made. She displays one particular athame of interest to me–one made from a hunting knife in her family and a deer antler from a significant hunting trip. This emphasizes the importance of a personal connection to your tools in ritual and imbuing an object with your family’s personal energy.
Taking this one step further, objects we use frequently can have more meaning if you make them. For example, I am a writer. I write for pay and also for fun. A meaningful tool for myself (or a gift from a friend) might include hand made paper or a quill pen. This reminds me of meaning during an important activity–writing–which is in itself a necessary ritual in my life.
