(Image description: A photo of a beach on an overcast day with the clouds reflecting on the water. A large, dark rock is seen in the distance as the waves come in.) Credit: Photo by Jon Del Rivero on Unsplash
I held a small ritual to observe the last new moon and make it a time to honor Nodens. I wanted to do more during that night, but there’s always room for more during the next one. I lit a storm-scented candle for him and wrote this prayer, then saying it aloud to Him. I’m glad I was able to add something new to my practice and look forward to incorporating the lunar phases more often.
New Moon Prayer
Lull of Mist
Shifting
Noble Cloud King
You walk proud
yet humble
Silver Hand of Healing,
a kind strength,
able to defeat chaos,
yet wise in the healing of the deepest ailments.
Many-faceted, like the water near which You reside,
(Image description: A photo of a kneeling woman in front of a fireplace. She wears her hair up and wears a light-colored, striped shirt. A string of lights hangs near the fireplace.) Credit: Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash
For one reason or another, the world feels like a dark place right now. It’s difficult to see where humanity is headed, but hope is still like a flame that must be keep alight. As such, I wrote this prayer to reflect that need. This prayer is loosely based off of the Smooring the Fire prayer from the Carmina Gadelica.
A prayer based off the seasonal ogam divination from Bealtaine/Lá Bealltainn.
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Prayer for Discernment
Brighid,
Aid me in seeing clearly,
to know which path is the right one to take.
May I have the understanding
to realize the necessary foundations.
May my mind, body, and spirit be well-prepared.
May I embrace transformation,
so I gain new insights from that which is hidden.
May the work better me in all aspects.
May my voice ring strong and true,
to pierce the obstacles holding me back.
May I sense the deepest emotions of my soul
in order to convey my intent and ability.
May my ears hear kindness, rather than harshness from my lips.
(Image description: A photo of a full moon surrounded by clouds in the night sky. The moonlight reflects off the clouds in different colors.) Credit: Photo by Swapnil Potdar on Unsplash
As of this week, it’s been approximately three years since this blog was started! That’s a small achievement in and of itself, and as a marker of that, I would like to include the realm of Sky into my path more.
I’ve always had difficulty including the observation of the lunar phases, as I wasn’t sure how to do this. With my interest in Gallo-Brythonic Polytheism, I’ve learned about the concept of atenoux, a time of marking the light and dark in the month. More emphasis seems to be placed on the full moon, rather than the new moon. However, I’d like to emphasize a balance of both.
For now, I’m learning as I go. I want to focus on Brigantia with the upcoming full moon on the 21st. The next phase occurs close enough to the summer solstice, and I feel like celebrating the atenoux is a good way to honor this time of the year.
The focus for it will be on Her role as a hearth goddess and the light She provided when hillforts were being built. The builders of hillforts would have needed fire from the hearth for light, cooking, and warmth (depending on the time of the year and the weather).
As moonlight is a reflection of sunlight on the moon’s surface, a symbolic connection with the lunar phases can be connected with Brigantia’s epithet, Caelestis (“heavenly, celestial”). It’s more of an indication of how important Her status was, but I think linking the title with sky-related events emphasizes the animistic qualities found within nature and the deities.
Additionally, while my practice is focused on Brighid and Brigantia, I also wanted to have a time where I can focus on Nodens. I asked a member on the Albion and Beyond Discord server about when an appropriate time would be to honor Him. He told me that the new moon could be a good time for doing so.
I still feel very new to this branch of Celtic Polytheism, and I’m finding what works for me and what doesn’t. However, balance between the realms, as well as light and dark, is of particular significance for me. We aren’t just one aspect or another, and understanding ways to see nature and the deities within ourselves just shows how deeply everything is interconnected as a whole.
This post is more of an update on the evolution of my progress, and I hope to possibly delve into this more in the next or other future entries. However, it’s been a fairly busy time, and I’m taking things slowly. After all, my path is a journey and not a destination.
Until next time, have a blessed summer or winter solstice, wherever you might be reading this from!
(Image description: A photo of orange and brown autumn leaves swirling in the air. The out of focus background is a wooded area on a sunny day.) Credit: Photo by Oliver Hihn on Unsplash
Thoughts on how neurodiversity weaves together within my Polytheistic Monastic practice.
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Recently, I listened to a podcast episode from the BBC titled,Beyond Belief: Embracing Neurodiversity, at the suggestion of a friend. Within the context of the episode, the guests each belong to a monotheistic faith. They discuss how their respective communities adapt things like religious services or theological concepts for neurodivergent people, especially children. Topics like these will vary widely in polytheistic and animistic settings and perspectives.
I could summarize each of the guests’ experiences and viewpoints, but this isn’t like a book review. I’d rather go over my experiences and how it could relate to the theme. However, I did like a point that the host, Giles Fraser, makes when he comments that everyone is neurodiverse. I feel that he is more or less correct. No two people think or perceive the world exactly alike, regardless of a formal diagnosis or not. I also enjoyed how each of the guests explained how worship was adapted to suit each individual’s needs or understood that they were still able to connect with the Divine in their own way.
With my own experiences, I’ve always had an intense interest in religions and world mythology in general. They’re deeply entwined with cultures, so I always thought that learning about different beliefs could offer an understanding into how they worked.
Due to this, I knew I was something of an oddball among my Christian peers of that time period in my life. Later on, I felt like my deeply ingrained desire to research relevant topics stands in contrast to other practitioners who don’t find spiritual fulfillment within books and articles. While I understand the importance of actively carrying out more mystical practices, delving into a topic that grabs my attention feels like discovering a Mystery of sorts, which is sacred in its own way. Nothing is wrong with either aspect, but one feels more innate to me than the other. As a side note, I am actively working on branching out into spiritual practices to balance out the studying.
Another aspect that relates to neurodivergence and Polytheistic Monasticism are the concepts of repetition and silence, which are also discussed in the podcast. I’ve always had difficulty adapting to the overarching tendency toward group ritual. I like simplicity, with its slower pace, the quiet atmosphere, and the ability to be flexible in a religious context. The prayer routine has become a foundation in my daily life, and I feel a bit lost when I occasionally forget to say a prayer.
Now, I’m sure that these personal perspectives aren’t without their issues, and I fully accept that. On the other hand, my path is my own, and what I do most likely won’t work for others. I never intended for it to be that way.
There may be other aspects of neurodiversity within my path, but these couple parts are the most notable ones. I don’t find them to be a hindrance, but they are boons in how I connect with my deities and learn more about Them.
Overall, discussion about neurodiversity in Pagan and Polytheist spaces is greatly lacking. To be more inclusive, people have to be willing to think outside the box and not make neurodivergent devotees feel like they’re not connecting to the Divine in the “right” way. It’s similar to how humans are able to adapt to new technologies, so why not apply this to spiritual concepts or meditation techniques (as examples)? There is no set method on how to be a Polytheist or a Pagan, and I really think it’s time we all acknowledged that and embraced a broader viewpoint that welcomes different ways of understanding the deities, ancestors, and other spirits in our traditions.
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A book that fills a niche with poetry, prayer, and rituals from diverse perspectives.
(Image description: A photo of the book. A dark-red cover features a stylized depiction of stars and plants in golden-yellow. A dark-colored pair of upward-facing hands have eyes on the tops of them. Between two curved plants, there is a sacred heart with an eye in the middle. The golden-yellow text reads, Poetry as Spellcasting. Black text above it reads, Poems, Essays, and Prompts For Manifesting Liberation And Reclaiming Power. Three contributors’ names are listed in the middle, Tamiko Beyer, Destiny Hemphill, & Lisbeth White. The book is placed on a cloth with knotwork in two shades of blue.) Credit: My own work.
Poetry as Spellcasting functions as both a poetry anthology and a magical workbook, not neatly fitting into either category as poetic spirit weaves throughout its pages. The book, with contributions from Tamiko Beyer, Destiny Hemphill, Lisbeth White, and many other poets, was published in 2023 through North Atlantic Books.
As mentioned, this work blurs the line between magical prompts and deeply personal poems. In a way, you can learn as much from the poems and essays as you can from the writing prompts. While the authors range in religious practices, cultures, and ethnicities, the format is written intuitively and methodically so that anyone of any background can find something useful and meaningful within it.
The book’s authors are experimental in their respective contributions. Alexis Pauline Gumbs uses Audre Lorde’s biomythography Zami as reflective points and works it into an essay that transcends time between a personal perspective and that of Audre Lorde and her first love, Genevieve.
An interesting concept is conveyed in Laurin DeChae’s essay I Am, with parts of it written in a text collage predominantly with summaries from a Lovecraft Country episode and excerpts from Alexis Pauline Gumbs’s book Spill: Black Feminist Scenes of Fugitivity. It reminded me of how pop culture can be both relatable and magical with regard to identity and personal power.
Kenji C. Liu’s Text of Bliss: Heaping Disruption at the Level of Language features wordplay influenced by Buddhist literature and personal experience as a challenge to Western and English-focused expectations. His etymological breakdown of Japanese words reminded me of Celtic Polytheism’s practices of animism, poetry, and their intermingling and dependence upon another. To quote from Liu’s essay, “To write poetry is to cast a spell.” The animistic perspective continues by relating plants found in the Manyōshū into the poetry of the work, which brings to mind the kennings found within the ogam and its mnemonic trees and plants. That cross-cultural bond made my little polytheist heart very happy.
That theme continues with Hyejung Kook’s Poetry as Prayer though her exploration of her Korean-Catholic background, delving into Anglo-Saxon charms, and Buddhist chants. I really love the contributor’s ability to get to English’s roots and find the magic at its heart. It reminds me some of the healing charms found within Irish and Gaelic folk practices. Also, the connections she finds with her late grandfather shows how poetry can reunite us with our ancestors.
Even with all the rich and magical poems and essays throughout the book, I would be remiss to not discuss some of my favorite writing prompts. It has an introductory ritual of setting up an altar to which you can return to throughout your time working on the prompts, being based around personal symbols to drawn upon your own power. A portion covers a method of writing a letter to yourself, as a way to grief whatever lost part of you there is. I especially loved a ritual for re-enchanting yourself and forming temporary bonds with past memories and the environment around you. All of the writing prompts can be used as a means to contemplate, as they build upon one another.
What stands out most about the book is the variety of contributors. As a monastic, it can be easy to simply focus on your own contemplation. However, every monastic is still tied to the community of the world. You’re more or less still linked with them, even if it’s only briefly. I share some qualities with the contributors, but my ancestors came from Europe and my upbringing is that of an American, White-centered background. There will obviously be situations and feelings I will never live through because of those facts.
However, I can learn from them and reflect upon the ties to the ancestors, my life, and how I can help to improve the world for the better. I feel that Polytheistic Monasticism isn’t just about connecting with nature, the ancestors, spirits, and deities, but also the people and communties around you as a means to deconstruct the issues that plague our world.
Regardless of tradition or background, this book has something you can learn from and incorporate into your practice. It also takes you out of your monastic cell and out into the world, to learn, to listen, and to contemplate from others outside of your personal background through the poetry and essays. The writing prompts allow you to explore aspects that you might not think about otherwise. I give the Poetry as Spellcasting five out five stars.
