Mother Ocean Chant

During the blue moon in April I wrote a chant for Mama Cocha, Incan/Quechua goddess of the sea and one of my four beloved patrons.  Her name translates to "Mother Ocean."  I hope that singing it brings you as much joy as it has brought me!



Lyrics:

Mother Ocean - you bring the rain
Mother Ocean - you bring the storm
Mother Ocean - you bring the sun
Mother Ocean - you sail us home

I hear your voice laughing through the gulls
I feel your tears falling in the rain
I hear your song cresting with the waves
I feel your love in the rhythm of the tides

Mother Ocean - drown me in your arms
Mother Ocean - turn me into sand
Mother Ocean - wash my soul anew
Mother Ocean - sail me back to home


(c) Colleen Beaty.  You are free to share my post and SoundCloud widget, and to use my chants in ritual - and I would love to know that you do!  But please do not record or otherwise reproduce my chants in any other way without permission.

Remembering my Ancestors by Sharing Their Stories

When I first accepted Gwynn ap Nudd as my patron deity and took his mark, he had one condition for me: "You must work with the dead."

Illustration by Yuri Leitch

This made sense to me, as he is the Welsh god of the Underworld and leader of the Wild Hunt at Samhain.  He has also made it clear to me that he is titled Lord of the Dead, though I don't believe that title is found in what little written mythology there is.  He didn't provide me with any explanation or further details on what working with the dead meant for me, though.

That was a number of years ago.  He had largely remained silent on the matter - I assumed I wasn't ready to take on the responsibilities of the task, particularly in the time after I was forced from my coven and needed a significant amount of fallow time with my spirituality.

This autumn, I felt a growing pull to start collecting the stories and photos of my family, namely those who had passed.  As I approached Samhain I came to understand that this is the beginning of my obligation to Gwynn - my work with the dead starts with my family, telling their stories to keep their memory alive.

Because what is remembered, lives.

I started with a request in a private Facebook group for my father's side of the family, and have begun saving digital copies of the stories and photos I've collected so far.  While I was at my parents' for Thanksgiving, I also scanned a number of documents they had, including a family tree that goes back to my 3-times great-grandparents!

This is probably going to be a multi-year project, and I'm kind of excited about that.  I'm looking forward to seeing what other interesting stories and revelations about my family I discover along the way.  Maybe I'll even take a trip to research my family's lineage!  (Or maybe I've been watching too much Who Do You Think You Are? and am overconfident in my ability to afford such a trip!)

I'm not sure what I'll do with the findings - perhaps an ebook to give to my family, or maybe even a fancy website?  So many possibilities!

Have you done any research into your family's lineage or stories?  What revelatory discoveries did you make?

Plugging in to Deity

I've been thinking a lot this week about how we as humans connect to the gods.  It started at dinner with Jack the other night, when he got me talking about agnostic paganism and how it isn't necessary to believe a deity is a Divine Being in order to work with them.

I know for many agnostic pagans, they can still connect with the gods on a psychological level, as a construct within the psyche.  The Four Queens has several fascinating videos* on her YouTube channel where she talks about how as a pantheist she connects to her gods, who she sees not as discrete Divine Beings, but more as psychological archetypes.

"Moon Witch" by MotleyMitch on Deviant Art:
motleymitch.deviantart.com/art/Moon-Witch-153505544

I think that's a really powerful concept.  I feel like as a hard polytheist who does recognize my gods as discrete Divine Beings, as greater and wiser and "bigger" than me, I can still learn from that concept.  I feel like I can use it to better understand how I connect with them now and strengthen my connection in the future.

See, I've always recognized something of myself in my gods when I meet with them on the astral plane.  I always know when it's truly them, though, by a strong feeling of ...well, divinity (not sure how else to say it!  It's a feeling I don't really have a word for.)  How strongly I see myself in them is depends a lot on things like how open or "plugged in" I am at that moment and how strongly they have decided to (or are able to) come through.

I think that the "me" I recognize in them really is a part of me.  Like, a facet of my psyche or spirit that serves as an internal concept or archetype of that deity, and that piece of me connects with my god, and that combined/connected sort of being is who I perceive.  I suspect that internal archetype also allows the gods to come through better for possession, like something they can more easily fit in to and use to their Will.

I can't know if this way of experiencing deity is permanent, or maybe it's just in place until I am better prepared or able to experience them more fully without the more relatable filter of "me"-ness.

I'm curious how other people experience their gods.  Do you see them as Divine Beings?  Do you feel like you connect to them in a similar way?



*That's 3 separate links - I highly recommend watching all 3 videos when you have time!

Asking the Wrong Questions?

In case you missed it circulating around social media earlier this week, Jason Thomas Pitzl wrote an excellent manifesto for the modern Neopagan community called Witchcraft Today - Witchcraft Tomorrow.  He wrote it for PantheaCon and then shared it on his website afterwards.  This work is truly glorious and resonates with Power.  I highly recommend all Witches read it!

As I read it, and in the days since, things in my head have started to click into place.  For years now - ever since I was forced to leave my former coven, and possibly even since before then - I've felt lost and stuck and unsure of my spiritual path, of my place in the world as a Witch and what I'm "meant" to do.  I've kept asking, "What is my true path?" but finding no real answers.

And I've been hiding in my uncertainty.

I think I've been asking the wrong questions.  And I've been seeking the wrong answers.

I need to find the right questions.  I'm going to start with questions like "How can I best serve my gods?" and "How can I best feed my spirit?"  And also, "What should I actually do with my magick?"  I will ask these questions of my gods and guardians, and of myself, and perhaps to others. I wonder what answers I will find - and what other questions, too.

Time for a New Book of Shadows

Now that I've been solitary for a while, I've been feeling a pull to start a new Book of Shadows.  My old one is in a binder, and contained a large amount of material that is no longer relevant to my path, like outlines for coven rituals and the Wiccan rede.  More importantly, the binder is falling apart big time.

Enter Etsy!  I debated getting a scrapbook from a craft retailer, but after poking around on Etsy I found this lovely sketchbook/journal.  I adore the color of the leather, the stamping, the rivets... :)  Blessedly the paper is unlined, unlike almost every other lovely leather-bound journal I looked at.  (I don't want lined paper so I can write in any size I want, draw, paste images, etc. without it breaking up the page.)  The paper is recycled too, which suits the sustainability ethic of my path. 

The only downside (which I did not know when I purchased it) is that the cover is not entirely leather but is cardboard covered by a thin layer of leather.  So, it's a bit flimsier and prone to damage than I realized, but I think it should be fine for a good many years if I take care of it.

I haven't added anything to it yet, but it's starting to take shape in my head.  I'm thinking I want to put in there the things like my personal prayers and invocations, the few spells I actually use, and the successful pathworkings I've used to start.  I may also add my knowledge about things like my gods and guardians and listening to Spirit.


But I feel like before I can add anything it needs a name.  "Book of Shadows" is a Wiccan name that just doesn't resonate with me, primarily because I don't believe my faith or work has to remain in the shadows.  So what the heck do I call it??

I have a few ideas, like Book of Magick, Book of Magickal Knowledge, Book of Lore, Book of the Craft, Book of Craft & Lore, and Book of the Work.  Right now I'm leaning towards Book of Craft & Lore.

Do you have a Book or journal where you write down things like your beliefs, or magickal/religious knowledge, or spells?  What do you call your Book?

Rhiannon, Burden-Bearer

I have a new chant to share with you all!  It's a chant for Rhiannon, who has been my patron goddess since I was a wee baby pagan in college.  She showed up at the Conjure Dance at this year's Sacred Space when Cat sang Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon.  My goddess loves that song, and a whole bunch of us joyfully danced for her while Cat sang.  But after it ended, she let me know quite strongly that she wanted me to write her a chant.

This seems to be a theme in my life - gods requesting I write a chant during the Conjure Dance.  At Sacred Space 2013, the Morrigan told me she wanted me to write her a chant that could be used to call her down - so I wrote one.  And this year Rhiannon asked for her own chant.  Which leaves me wondering, who will show up next time?




Rhiannon, Burden-Bearer

Rhiannon,
burden-bearer,
you'll rise once again.

You walked the path
for seven years,
each step a silent plea.

Til babe was found,
your innocence
known to none but you.

But now you reign,
Queen once more.
Reign high upon your throne!


(c) Colleen Beaty.  You are free to share my post and SoundCloud widget, and to use my chants in ritual - and I would love to know that you do!  But please do not record or otherwise reproduce my chants in any other way without permission.

Heeding the Call

Last night I felt a strong call from my patron, Gwynn ap Nudd, to journey to him and have a chat.  He likes to do that sometimes, especially when I need talking to.

Source: http://legends.alisonwrenn.co.uk/2013/03/iv-gwyn-ap-nudd.html

Before I journeyed, I prayed about what's been troubling me, to help center me and guide my journey.  In essence, I have been floundering in my practice for the last couple of years. Now that I am engaged and building a home and a life with my sweetheart, I feel like it's time to get back on the (magickal) horse.  I've been going to shamanic journey classes led by a good friend of mine, and while that's a good start it's not enough.


When I was in a coven, I practiced regularly, but mostly only with the group.  And unfortunately, I gave so much that the group - unwittingly, I'm sure - sucked me dry and left me unable to practice much at home. 

Now that I'm solitary again, I have much more energy for journeying, magick, etc.  Except that without that structure of regular coven rituals and meetings and such, I find myself getting lax about practicing.

So I asked Gwynn for guidance.  He told me that my home, my every day life needs to be more magickal - basically I need that everyday foundation to get me into the right head space for regular practice.  For starters, he reminded me that I need stronger, more stable wards.  Then he showed me the cover of a book I've had for years but never read - The Magical Household: Spells & Rituals for the Home by Scott Cunningham & David Harrington. 

So I guess I have some reading to do!  And some magicking to do around our home, too.  ("Magicking" is a word, right?  Well if it's not, I'm making it a word right now.)

As I write this, I'm also reminded that for a while there, I was saying a daily prayer of gratitude.  I should really get back to doing that, starting right now: 

Thank you for my existence.  

Thank you for what health I retain.  

Thank you for clarity of mind.  

Thank you for my love.

The Morrigan Sings

Ever since the Conjure Dance at last year's Sacred Space, the Morrigan has been bugging me to write a chant for her for future Conjure Dances and such-like.  So as you can imagine, I've been feeling this chant building in the background for awhile.

Then all at once once night a couple of months ago, she had me light a candle for her, sit down, and then worked through me in the space of about 20 minutes to write it.  It was intense!  I finally remembered to record a cleaner, stronger version of it 2 weeks ago.  Those of you who follow my Facebook page probably already saw this when I linked up to my SoundCloud that same day.

This chant was written specifically with possession/drawing down/aspecting in mind, but it would also be a great chant to request her aid for things like self-empowerment or dealing with anger.



The Morrigan Sings
Calling through the dusk on the wings of black birds,
The Morrigan knows!
The Morrigan sings!

She cries out her fury and her fury is mine,
The Morrigan cries!
The Morrigan screams!

She grabs at my hands and her strength becomes mine,
The Morrigan laughs,
and then we both sing! 


What do you think?  Does this speak of The Morrigan that you know and work with?  Is this the kind of chant you'd use in ritual?
 
(c) Colleen Beaty.  You are free to share my post and SoundCloud widget, and to use my chants in ritual - and I would love to know that you do!  But please do not record or otherwise reproduce my chants in any other way without permission.

Daughter of the Dagda

Oooo, look, I am on Soundcloud now!  I was growing increasingly frustrated with the difficulty of sharing my chants from my Google Drive.  On the other hand, Soundcloud makes it so easy to share original recordings of music, podcasts, etc., so I am never going back.

Today I was struck with the sudden urge to start writing and making music, but I am still feeling a great deal of "musician's block" when it comes to chant writing.  So instead of starting on something fresh, I decided to (FINALLY) go back and re-record my old Brighid chant, which I wrote several years ago.  It's a 2-voice chant, and while I had recordings of each part on separate files, I had just never gotten around to recording both parts onto one file.  While recording the parts I also made a few much-needed tweaks.

This chant calls and praises the goddess Brighid for all of her accomplishments, and sings of some of her familial relationships.  I remember struggling quite a bit with the melody and structure on this one, and it finally came to me while I was spacing out in the shower.

Normally I would post this around Imbolc, but that is many, many months away!  It seems almost ridiculous to schedule a post that far ahead.  So here you go - I guess, think of it as an early Imbolc present :)


I also wanted to share the 1st voice / bottom part of the chant as a solo recording.  I wanted you all to be able to hear it a bit more clearly, and I also think it would make a fine chant by itself.


Daughter of the Dagda

1st voice / Bottom part:

Daughter of the Dagda
Sister of Aengus
Wife of Bres the Beautiful
Mother of Ruadan
(repeat x1)


2nd voice / Top part:
You gave us keening
You smith the gold
You inspire poetry
You heal our souls

You are the flame
That burns from within
Now  we call to you
As the wheel spins

Please let me know what you think! © Colleen Beaty.  You are free to share my post and use my chants in ritual - and I would love to know that you do!  But please do not record or otherwise reproduce my chants in any other way without permission. 

Make a Song Out of Your Affirmations

Source: sunstone-holistic-health-and-healing.com via Heartache Into Beauty on Pinterest

I mentioned on my Facebook page recently that I can feel a new chant percolating in the background.  I'm not sure what it will be about yet.  I've embraced several affirmations for 2013 and they've been really helpful to me.  Maybe I should try to use one or more of my affirmations as inspiration/lyrics for a chant, like the graphic says. 

The Morrigan has also been poking at me to write a chant for her specifically for use at the Conjure Dance.  I've never written a chant specifically designed to facilitate trance, but I am up to the challenge :)

So I know I haven't been posting much on here lately.  I've been living life!  Real life > the internet ;)  I've been doing things like dating, seeing my high school friend and her sweetheart get married, live tweeting American Idol, getting new glasses, and hanging out with my amazing, genuine friends at Piratz Tavern.  Work has also been keeping me pretty busy.  Trying to keep a work-life-health balance has been a bit more challenging than it was over the winter.

Monday Music Break: Innocent Wind (Wind God Girl)

I am back from the Sacred Space Conference!  Whee!  What a wonderful weekend.  I met so many amazing, inspiring people over the weekend, and even got to meet fellow bloggers Lonely Coyote and EmKat for the first time. 

This year at Sacred Space I spent a lot of time working on the process of moving on from the numerous instances of loss I've experienced (friendships breaking down, an intense and difficult break-up, my Grandmother's death).  I felt a powerful need to call upon the energies of the Morrigan - somewhat for her fury in the beginning, but mostly as a source of strength and self-empowerment.  I wore my raven earrings for much of the conference to help me in this.  It gave me a great deal of self-confidence in talking to people I didn't know and building upon new friendships that had just begun.

Image from http://www.paganspace.net/forum/topics/gods-and-goddesses-2

I found this song "Innocent Wind (Wind God Girl)" by a group called Morrigan.  It's not a pagan band - in fact I'm pretty sure it's from the soundtrack to a video game - but I listened to it and it speaks to me of the Morrigan and her birds.

I am still a bit burnt out from the intensity of the weekend, so I will be writing one or two posts with my thoughts on the conference later this week when I have more of my brain back.  In the meantime, enjoy the music and have a lovely week!

Sing of the Light

Blessed Yule!  If you're reading this then that means the world hasn't ended ;)

I wanted to share my Winter Solstice chant with you all.  I wrote this chant several years ago as part of a Sabbat series.  While I wrote this chant, I was strongly channeling the Goddess of Reflections, who I also sometimes call the Veiled Goddess.  I had worked with her for my then-coven's Yule ritual, and ended up drawing her down unintentionally during the ritual, so by the time I wrote this chant a week or so later we were on quite familiar terms.

My altar candle for the Veiled Goddess.  It smells like honeysuckle :)

I still don't know her name, and she hasn't been showing up much lately.  Perhaps it was just one of those things where a god or goddess shows up for a while to help fill a void or give you a prod in the right direction.




Sing of the Light

In the darkness hold out your hand
Receive the light, and fan the flame 
Pass it on to your brothers and sisters 
Open your heart and listen to it sing!

It sings of the light in all of it forms 
It sings of the sun, and the moon, and stars 
It sings of their light reflecting 
And it sings with joy of love - the most beautiful light of them all.

Please let me know what you think!

You are free to share my post and use my chants in ritual - and I would love to know that you do!  But please do not record or otherwise reproduce my chants in any other way without permission. 

Delving into the Morrigan's realm

Today is day 3 of the Sacred Space Conference!  I missed all of day 1 due to a severe migraine mythe Assembly and my job is clearly going nowhere.  He said some things I needed to hear, including reminders that it's useless to beat myself up for not being able to juggle so many things in my life.  Some of the advice was not so helpful, but gave me ideas.  He told me I should make a list of all of the good things about me, which... I am not so comfortable doing, but will think about.

Yesterday was day 2 of the conference.  I arrived for the afternoon classes, and took an interesting class on occult themes in pop culture, and participated in a ritual for the Morrigan.  The latter left me a bit torn apart, as we had to journey to the underworld, dig deep and face our inner demons, and speak their names aloud.  The Morrigan has been whispering to me these last few weeks to help me process my anger, so I knew I needed to go to this before I even arrived at the conference, and even wore my new raven earrings.  I suppose I was rewarded for my bravery because in a vision at her altar, the Morrigan gave me a tool for dealing with my anger - she told me to give it to her ravens, and they would take it where it needed to be.

Afterward I had a tarot reading with my friend Eri.  We looked at the question of "where do I go from here/how do I get unstuck?" now that my spiritual path is diverging from the Assembly and my job is clearly going nowhere.  He said some things I needed to hear, including reminders that it's useless to beat myself up for not being able to juggle so many things in my life.  Some of the advice was not so helpful, but gave me ideas.  He told me I should make a list of all of the good things about me, which... I am not so comfortable doing, but will think about. 

Also, there was lots of imagery of portals in the cards.  So many portals!  Obviously, I have choices to make - which portals do I enter?  When do I enter them?  Who will I enter them with?

The evening consisted of the New Orleans Voodoo Conjure Dance, which I need to mull over a bit more before posting about it.  Suffice to say, it was one of the most fulfilling spiritual experiences I've ever had.  Oh ecstatic dance, where have you been all my life?

Monday Music Break - Inaugural Edition

I'm introducing a new weekly feature - the Monday music break!

Music is almost certainly the biggest part of my magickal repertoire.  Music speaks to my soul, and often I feel that a song can say what I cannot with simple words.  I am inspired by all types of music, from classical to pagan folk artists to metal.  I also write chants for ritual as part of my Great Work.

Admittedly this isn't an entirely original idea, as I've seen other blogs with similar features, like The Hathor Legacy's Thursday Interruption feature.  I haven't seen any blogs doing this with pagan music, though.  So in keeping with the pagany theme of my blog I'll probably be sharing music by pagan artists most of the time, but really I just want to share music that is currently moving and inspiring me.


The first is a chant by T. Thorn Coyle and Sharon Knight, that has been running in and out of my head all winter.  I wonder if Hecate has something to say to me?


And since it's the inaugural Monday music break, you get bonus music!  In fact you get 4 songs by the Alabama Shakes.  I heard the Alabama Shakes on WXPN's most recent World Cafe podcast and was absolutely taken by their powerful, soulful music.  Oh blues music, it's like you're speaking my heart.

Magickal birdy jewelry

I just snatched up a couple of really beautiful pieces of jewelry from my friend Jenn's Etsy shop!  I saw these two pieces and got a very strong push from my patroness, Rhiannon, to buy her birdy jewelry.

Although Rhiannon is often associated with horses (especially white horses), she is also associated with birds - more specifically, her 3 birds (the Adar Rhiannon).  It is said that their song can wake the dead and lull the living to sleep.  In the Mabinogian, the Adar Rhiannon sing to the 7 Welsh warriors who survived the war with the Irish (and Bran's head, who is still able to talk to the warriors) while they feast for 7 years at Harlech.

"The Birds of Rhiannon" by Johanna Pieterman.  Used in accordance with the principles of fair use.

Given my long-time affinity for birding, I tend to connect more with the bird imagery than with horses.  When I visualize Rhiannon's birds, I often picture 3 songbirds in red, blue, and yellow circling around her head, or flying about nearby in a somewhat triangular formation.  Rhiannon also has a very "silvery" vibe for me, much like the image above.

"Lovebirds" necklaces from www.etsy.com/justatouchofmagick

Isn't this darling?  I can't wait to wear it in ritual.  I'm even kind of getting a push to dedicate this necklace to Rhiannon... we'll see once I have it in hand.

"Nevermore" earrings from www.etsy.com/justatouchofmagick

Raven earrings with crystals and stars - they're cute and dark all at once..  I don't work with the Morrigan, but these definitely have her vibe, too.  I think there's also some blendy-ness of Rhiannon's darker aspects and the Morrigan, as seen in the alternate spelling MorRhiogan.  If I get them in the mail in time for our Imbolc ritual, I can wear them to honor the passing of the torch, as it were, from the Morrigan to Brighid for the warmer half of the year.  The Secret Life of the American Working Witch talks more about this balance between Brighid and the Morrigan in her latest blog entry.

Do you have any sacred jewelry dedicated to a god or goddess?

Follow Friday #4: Pop culture imagery in spiritual work

The Domestic Pagan is having another "Follow my blog Friday!"  I'm a bit late jumping on the bandwagon, seeing as it's now Saturday, but this topic interested me enough to participate anyway.

FF#4 Question: Have you ever used a fictional character as a archetype or patron goddess?

The short answer is no, I haven't used a fictional character in my spiritual work.  I would find it hard to work with them on the astral, since I would always *know* the character isn't real - even if the image is just used to represent a god/dess.  

I have used pop culture imagery in my spiritual work, though.  Or in some cases, a god/dess has used some of the imagery from tv/movies/music that is stored away in my brain, and used it to show me something important.  It's often sci-fi/fantasy imagery, since that tends to have more overlap with my astral work than, say, America's Next Top Model.  I figure it's their way of using imagery I'm familiar with and will easily understand the meaning of, despite where it came from.


Take for instance last night.  I was meditating with Gwynn Ap Nudd, and suddenly in front of us a stargate appeared, complete with an event horizon.  We traveled through the stargate (I even heard the sound they use on TV for that) and emerged in another place, so that I could meet a particular goddess face-to-face.  When I saw the stargate I thought to myself, "Ah, I see what he's doing here by using this stargate imagery.  I'll just go with it and see what happens."  

And it turned out rather well, I must say - I finally met the Lady of Reflections face-to-face.  She showed me her appearance to help me figure out who she is.  She was wearing a veil over her head and across her face, and had a string of jewels running down the center of her face.  The primary colors were white, red, and gold.  She was also carrying a large flute.  To me she is the goddess of light reflecting (like the light of the moon reflecting on the surface of water), and comes across as somewhat of a love goddess.  Has anyone ever worked with a goddess like this?

This image by Domino Visual Art (whose work is absolutely gorgeous) reminds me a lot of how she appeared to me last night:

The Lion's Mane by dominovisualart.wordpress.com.  Used according to the principles of fair use.

I'm wondering if she is an aspect of Kali / the Cailleach:  According to various interpretations,“caillech” meant either an old woman, or a hag, or a nun, or a “veiled one”. This last apparently referred to the Goddess’s most mysterious manifestation as the future, Fate, and Death--ever veiled from the sight of men, since no man could know the manner of his own death.   

Perhaps she is Parvati, the maiden aspect of Kali: She lifts Her veil to reveal Her beauty, shining like the Sun rising over the mountain of Anapurna.

I've been trying to figure out who she is for 2 years.  I have been looking online all day, but I am still left pondering for now.