The Coming Of The Dark

Made by my dearest friend Jess, over at https://jessicaannebreisnes.wordpress.com/

There are many kinds of darkness.
Some must be respected, avoided, acknowledged. Others are meant to heal us. Help us rest. Hibernate. Grow on the inside.

All seeds start in Darkness. Even ours.
We strive to be the creatures of light while being born of Darkness and Blood. We need not be ashamed of it. It is simply where we came from. Not who we are.

As the skies darken we must let go. Let go of all the things you don’t need anymore. Just like the leafy trees. Let go that which cannot be renewed. Pull your resources inward to survive The Long Dark. The Death of who we were. The germination of who we are. Dreams of who we will be.

It is also a time of Ghosts. Old and new ones. Ghosts you didn’t realize were following you. That you didn’t realize you cared so much about. Some you are desperate to be rid of, others you cling to.

My photo, my art.

This is the time of year I feel most myself. Most in tune with who and what I am. I wonder if Persephone has similar feelings? Does she relish the dark? The return of her Lovers caress? His all encompassing Darkness, and the comfort she finds there?

Hades is not my Lover but my God is similar. He is comfortable in Darkness. Was born into it. Comitted his first Tricks and Crimes in it. He travels through it. Becomes it. Bends it to his will with his masterful hands. I can feel him there the most.

Chthonic Hermes is who comes to me, his touch in the cooling winds, following in the footsteps of Death. The Aftermath of The Wild Hunt. The Wreckage. He walks among it, gathering souls to take Over.

Hail Hermes, my Beloved. Welcome Home.

Orphic Hymn 57 to Chthonian Hermes :
“To Hermes Khthonios (Chthonian, of the Underworld), Fumigation from Storax. Hermes, I call, whom fate decrees to dwell near to Kokytos, the famed stream of Haides, and in necessity’s (Ananke’s) dread path, whose bourn to none that reach it ever permits return. O Bakkheios (Bacchian) Hermes, progeny divine of Dionysos, parent of the vine, and of celestial Aphrodite, Paphian queen, dark-eyelashed Goddess, of a lovely mien: who constant wanderest through the sacred seats where Haides’ dread empress, Persephone, retreats; to wretched souls the leader of the way, when fate decrees, to regions void of day. Thine is the wand which causes sleep to fly, or lulls to slumberous rest the weary eye; for Persephone, through Tartaros dark and wide, gave thee for ever flowing souls to guide. Come, blessed power, the sacrifice attend, and grant thy mystics’ works a happy end.”

http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html

My photo and art.

Signs

Sometimes you don’t really understand the signs, until they hit you in the face. Or the ground liquefies between your feet.

Again.

And you can’t believe you’ve been so blind.

Again.

All will be well.

Eventually.

I’ve learnt to swim.

Christian Cochlin, 1977-2017

Prayers for my Beloved Dead and those left behind.
Hail the traveler, Christian.
May his sudden passing not hinder his movement through the Veil.
May his Ancestors greet him happily in their Halls.
That which is remembered, never dies.

The Final Harvest

Hail to the Dead
Who we honour at The Final Harvest
That which is remembered never truly dies.

Hail to the Beloved Dead
Those we kept close during life
Those who filled our hearts with love.

Hail to the Lost Dead
Those we never knew
Those we will never know due to the distance of Time and Place.

Hail to the Forgotten Dead
Those who have been lost and forgotten
Those whose names we do not know due to treachery and loss.

Hail to the Glorious Dead
Those who fell in combat
Those who survived and lived with the scars to pass later.

Hail to the Innocent Dead
Lost children and babes
Those who did not take a breath, or very few.

Hail to all those who have gone before us
The Veil is all but gone this night
We hear you and remember you.

-Angela Kurkiewicz, Samhain 2016

Pathways

I asked for clarification on my path/studies the day before yesterday. I have since dreamed of literally going down into darkness for the third time. Last night I dreamt of being a “death talker” and the dream involved “taking in” the Spirits of the Dead so they could speak. There were also dogs again in the dream about going down into the Earth, into Darkness. Last night while poking around Pinterest when I couldn’t sleep I had suggestions for Nantosuelta and Sucelles. On Facebook this morning I came across a photograph of mushrooms growing from a deer skeleton. Will need to ponder a bit before I take any actions in regards to the Dead. Will be poking into Gaulish things and say hello again to The Mother of Rot.

Comments from the page Magic Mushrooms that posted it:

Interesting… It looks like whatever this deer was eating, most likely plant matter of sorts, had mushroom spores on it, ended up germenating inside the deers stomach, then fruited after the deer had died and decayed.
Photo courtesy of Lain Haigh.

This might also be of note, a couole weeks ago I first noticed that White Wings was back in the area. She(could be a he for all I know) was born or appeared about three years ago. I’m not sure if I don’t see her during the warmer months because she actually goes somewhere or if I’m just too busy to actually see her. She is a crow with white flight feathers and a mostly white tail. I managed to get some pictures, not the best quality but not too bad in regards to cell phone pictures. 

The Sharp Knife of a Short Life…

Lo do I see my Beloved on this anniversary of her passing.
I feel her peace and contentment and know that she is at rest.
My heart still aches but it isn’t quite as sharp.
May we meet in the Hereafter and say and do all those things we meant to.

“If I Die Young”

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in a river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh, uh oh

Lord make me a rainbow, I’ll shine down on my mother
She’ll know I’m safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh,
And life ain’t always what you think it ought to be, no
Ain’t even grey, but she buries her baby

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I’ve had just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I’ve had just enough time

And I’ll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom
I’m as green as the ring on my little cold finger,
I’ve never known the lovin’ of a man
But it sure felt nice when he was holdin’ my hand,
There’s a boy here in town, says he’ll love me forever,
Who would have thought forever could be severed by…

…the sharp knife of a short life, oh well?
I’ve had just enough time

So put on your best, boys, and I’ll wear my pearls
What I never did is done

A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I’ll sell ’em for a dollar
They’re worth so much more after I’m a goner
And maybe then you’ll hear the words I been singin’
Funny when you’re dead how people start listenin’

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh (uh, oh)
The ballad of a dove (uh, oh)
Go with peace and love
Gather up your tears, keep ’em in your pocket
Save ’em for a time when you’re really gonna need ’em, oh

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I’ve had just enough time

So put on your best, boys, and I’ll wear my pearls.

https://youtu.be/7NJqUN9TClM

Another Fraser Cemetery Trip, June/July 2016

*Reblog* Seer

This hit REALLY close to home. I’ve never actually had anyone tell me they wished they could See, but I’ve seen the longing in their eyes. I’ve also seen the fear. The distrust. I remember wishing for a gift like this as a child, not realizing at the time that all the figurative windows and doors were already open. Even now, at 33, I still get into discussions with people and I just share my basic experiences with the Gods, and I get the confused squint from people. It just never occurred to me that people can’t Hear and See Them like I can. I’ll be writing my own blog post about it. This one though, is almost perfect.
People tell me sometimes, “I want what you have. Teach me how to See.” They think that Seeing brings to them fame, sanity, and surety. They think that it will solve all of their problems – prove their connection to the Great Divine – give them the illusion that clarity is only a Sight away. They […]

https://thesinkingroots.wordpress.com/2015/12/17/seer/

Mormon Bits

So April 30th of last year I was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Better known as Mormons. I know this is confusing because of all my Pagan stuff and I haven’t really explained ANY of my Mormon bits. It’s really confusing for me which makes it almost impossible to explain. IT’S SYNCRETISM PEOPLE!! Hermes=Jesus. Heavenly Father=Odin. Heavenly Mother=???. Why LDS Christianity and not some other form? Like the United Church of Canada that I grew up with? Apparently it has something to do with how the LDS folks treat their Dead. I have Work to do with Odin, Hermes and Poseidon with the Dead. So I don’t even know yet, I don’t get FULLY immersed in the rituals until my one year anniversary. Anyways. This song is my “Mormon” song because they teach how we are all Brothers and Sisters and how the end is coming but we just need to endure to the end. I dunno, maybe it’s only funny to me but Hermes and I both get the giggles from this song.

“Fallen” by Imagine Dragons

Run for cover

My sense of fear is running thin
Undercover
Just like a candle in the wind

Tell everybody, tell everybody
Brothers, sisters, the ending is coming

Ohhhhh
We are fallen, we are fallen
Ohhhhh
We are fallen, we are fallen
Now we’re just gonna ride it out

Every morning
I’m staring shadows in the eye
Oh, good morning
Will you just wait until I die?

Tell everybody, tell everybody
Brothers, sisters, the ending is coming

Ohhhhh
We are fallen, we are fallen
Ohhhhh
We are fallen, we are fallen
Now we’re just gonna ride it out

Tell everybody, tell everybody
Tell everybody, we are fallen
Ohhhhh
We are fallen, we are fallen
Ohhhhh
We are fallen, we are fallen
Now we’re just gonna ride it out

I just want to take it in
Even when your fire runs out
Will you start it up again?
We are fallen

My Lady

I was feeling very heartbroken the other day. I’d realized after posting on a group that I was a devotee of An Morrigan that She is no longer with me in that sense. If I call Her she still answers but She has told me that “the war is over” and I am no longer in need of Her “services”. She was most kind about it and I still care for Her deeply. It feels like a Mother and chick scenario, I’m being booted out of the nest after 15 years. While I was wallowing…well I suppose I was more pondering…this warm sense of love came over me and I realized the Lady had come to call. Freyja.

She’s not exactly what I expected. I had read so much about Her being a love Goddess and akin to Aphrodite. Physical beauty has never been something I’ve focused on overly much. She’s since said to me “Why can’t you be beautiful and strong?” and has chided me gently on practicing what I preach when it comes to beauty, the physical is not the only component.

So I must say goodbye to yet another entrenched part of my life and welcome a new part. She has been gentle with me and kind. I am very fond of Her already.

Hail to Our Lady.