I'm reading Morgan Daimler's post: Being in Service to the Other and having some thoughts about my own clergy path.  So far I've only read Part 1, but in it she talks about the difference between Serving the Community and Serving the Other.   In January 2022, I was ordained by my Gods to serve Them and the Other.  From there I launched my search for ethical, legit pagan clergy courses and programs, because I wanted to learn how to be an efficient, legal, and ethical pagan clergy member for my communities.  For the most part, I had the sacerdotal stuff done, but I needed more education and training for my human communities. My Gods said that wasn't necessary to serve the Other.  I already had the knowledge, skill, and training to serve Them.  They didn't care about the pastoral work. I was Their Priestess, Their Oracle, Their Seidkona. Yes, but to deliver Their message more effectively, I felt that I needed to learn how to work with people bet...

Happy Belated Mothers Day to those who observe.  My weekend was pretty nice.  On Saturday, we had finally had a nice, dry--but windy--weekend day.  So I tried out an pop up tent that I got for visiting the lake beach.  It's big!  It'll totally fits our cooler, stuff, and the 4-5 of us.  It's short, so I can't stand in it, but that's fine.  I got it to keep our stuff somewhat secured and to give us a break from the sun to rest, eat, and hydrate.  Our cooler will be heavy enough to keep it from blowing away--I have long tent pegs, I just don't know if they'll work in sand.  I'll try those out, too.  My midkid also has big rocks that we can try, too.  Now to have more warm days so the lake gets to comfortable swimming temps. I also thought I had trouble getting up from the ground, turns out that I can get up from the earth just fine.  It's hard man-made surfaces that I struggle with.  Hurts my knees.  No give.  Wher...

 Sometime this morning, I woke up from an intense dream--second one this week and with the same theme!  Except this time, I woke up in a panic--heart pounding, quick breathing.  But the dream wasn't nightmarish--not really.   I went to one of my favorite local spiritual shops called The Magical Druid to see my local grove--Three Cranes.  Then suddenly I wasn't feeling well.  It was like I was being possessed without my consent and I couldn't remove the entity.  I couldn't because it wasn't a stranger coming into me from the outside, but an entity within me, emerging .  Maybe I've been watching too many Alien movies lately?   Prometheus and Covenant are good, though!  An entity not laid inside of me by a devious synth, an airborne virus, or a face-r*ping alien.  Something part of me.  Something that IS me. At one point, one of the cranes--a warm, plus sized woman with shoulder length brown hair (not Arch Druid Rev. ...

Intense dream this morning: Hubs and I went to a ritual by Byron Ballard. She was dressed like a whimsical dancer. She moved and instructed and many of us in the audience started to dance with her. Hubs stayed in the back, but I joined, entranced. Then Byron would single people out and give them a command, which involved doing something friendly to another dancer. When people did, we celebrated. Reminded me of Jester's and mischievous Fae. Joyful. Soon a whimsical costume would appear on that person. When it came to me, Byron told me to kiss a handsome guy with a round face and short brown hair. He was cute, but I said no because I didn't know him (it had nothing to do with my husband). Byron responded silently, disappointed. The rest were disappointed, too.  As was he.  It made sense what I said, but he felt left out--why didn't I want to?  What was wrong with him?   Nothing.  He was just a stranger.   Then my dance was different fro...

Round midnight, sitting here trying to keep my stupid vampires alive in Sims 4 , I kept hearing my cat jumping up and down from the island--a forbidden zone for cats. As I was about to get up to yell at her (too late to feed her), I saw that she was sound asleep on my bed.  Back in July, when we brought her inside, another cat came with her. Another black cat with yellow eyes, only this one is a spirit. This one I can usually see clear as day, often thinking its her, until it disappears into the fridge (which I'm sure my cat wishes she could do, too) or wherever. This cat spirit isn't shy--acts just like a corporeal cat, but I think it knows its a spirit, too. Whenever I see it, I acknowledge it, just as I do any spirit...or thing really. At midnight, it got my attention. One of my House Spirits told me this one was connected to Jimmy Ventress--either as an offspring, sibling, cousin, friend (no parent vibes--feels younger than Ventress--looks younger [not kitten] and feels ma...

(My apologies, I feel like I'm making less sense than usual because I have a head cold and have medicine coursing through my veins.) After many pokings and proddings from my Kindred, I finally combined my Healing Altar with our Family Altar to make space for the ADF Altar: Family & Healing Altar Ár nDraíocht Féin Altar The Family & Healing Altar has great energy now--feels like a big hug or someone coming to give you a big warm loving hug. I'm glad to have the ADF Altar up again, too.   Last night I was working on that hearth blanket and suddenly it felt like I was falling or being sucked out of this realm, but I stopped it.  Up until a few years ago, I didn't have control over my ability to astral travel.  Apparently last night, I unintentionally tranced while crocheting, and didn't have control either.  I grounded and regained meself.  Then I heard Mama Hekate in my head telling me to stop and go to bed...and to also meet Her in the Starry Cave....

Happy Halloween / Samhain / Beltane! -------------------- Another time I dealt with troublesome entities--it wasn't just the entity, in fact, the entity was more of a weapon. I was contacted by an pagan family having problems with an entity that they couldn't remove.  This energy was affecting the son more than the rest of the family--the son was more sensitive to spirits than the rest.  He was having bad thoughts.  The family also informed me that the grown son was also seeing a mental health professional and they were aware of his negative thoughts, but not the possible spiritual side of it, too.   I and my student went to the home.  At first, I headed for a downstairs unit, because I felt strange energy from it.  But I was redirected to a unit upstairs.   Again, I introduced myself and student to the House Spirits, explaining who we were and why we were there.  I asked for permission to do what I needed to do.  Once given, I set...

Here's a story about the first time I went to someone's home to banish an "Astral Nasty". Before I was a priestess (and before Covid), I was contacted by a student, whose relative had a spirit problem.  Everything this spiritual relative was trying wasn't working.  They even brought in another relative who is a witch--it helped a little bit, but the entity was still in the home, still causing problems.   I did meet with the relative in a public location so we could talk about their problems, things they've tried, and so on.  They told me their family deity was Selene.  I did some divination with Selene to see what our next steps should be in dealing with this entity AND protecting the family. The morning of the banishment, said entity paid me a visit and tried to force entry into my home, but it wasn't able to get through my wards.  I wasn't scared--I was protected by my Kindred and my magiks.  Growing up in abuse, I'm used to tactics like this fr...

First, Happy National Hermit Crab Day!   Jack, our vibrantly colored, one-eyed male Purple Pincher Charlie, our larger lavender colored, outgoing undetermined Purple Pincher ---------------------------------------------------------------- Onto today's True Ghost Story... I have a few true ghost stories in the works right now, but none are finished.  You know, I'm actually not a fan of the word "ghost"--I prefer the word "spirit" for the incorporeal.  I usually only use "ghost" for fake tales.  I guess this week, I'm not feeling that picky, so "ghost" for my true stories it is! Going on again... Last night,  Manannán mac Lir said, "Psychopomp" to me after a Virtual Fire ritual, featuring Samhain and all of our Ancestors--Blood and Spirit. I took it as Him calling to me. So as I sat in front of my computer, struggling to finish a post, I grabbed my ogham bag and asked Him what I should blog about for my next spirit story. I...

 The most haunted house that I've ever lived in, so far, was my Grandmother Hester's house, in 2014-2015. This house was originally built by my grandmother's second husband, Feister, for his second wife, Margaret.  My mom and her siblings all grew up here, in a very not-so-happy home.  A home filled with mean spirits and abusive parents. But growing up for me, this was the house was different.  This was the house that our side of the family spent many holidays in, and had many "Hester Fests" in the backyard during the summer. Although I personally didn't like to be alone in any of the rooms.  Didn't help that grandma had a room of creepy fuckin dolls and mirrors, but there was something else that my kid self didn't understand.  I always felt like I was being watched and judged harshly.  Someone hated me, and it wasn't just Little Girl !  Although I liked going to grandma's house, I didn't like spending the night or being inside the house al...

 A week or so ago, a Druid asked if I ever experienced truly terrifying entities, such as demons.  Now, in all of my years of spirit work, I have yet to meet any real demons or devils.  Not to say those types don't exist, but I haven't met them yet--from those who I know who have, they say that the demons ain't how the Christians paint them to be.   That tracks. I personally believe in all entities, because they're real to someone, and it's not my job to decide what's real and what's not.  There's still a lot that I don't know about the worlds and all the beings in it.  So I try to not make assumptions.   I've met spirits who made the claim of demon, but they thought that I was a regular person who was afraid of those words.  Weren't they in for a rude surprise!  Turns out they were just a human spirit in a  cheap Walmart devil costume.   Remember, spirits can lie.  Sometimes they lie about what they are to scare...

For the last few weeks, I've been studying and practicing a bit of ecstatic posture--which is holding a posture, often related to a Deity, Spirit, or Energy, and trancing/journeying often to the beat of a rattle and/or drum.  I have experience with this work already, but since the group that I was practicing with online no longer has Facebook Lives (I'm also not on FB anymore), I haven't done it in a while.   Until the end of summer.  I was first looking at postures in the book that I'm reading, as well as practising with my statues and figurines, and looking at Norse depictions and statues of the Gods and Spirits.   Some successes and fails.   This past week, with cooler evening temperatures, I've been going outside.  On Apple Music, I've found some shamanic rattling and drumming that I like for this work.  I just put in my earbuds, take a sitting posture, and press play.   In years past, my most intense journeys have been wit...

To Be a Tree or Not To Be a Tree? Until I heard about tree burials, I just wanted to have my body tossed in some deep woods to be consumed by the carrion eaters OR since that’s NOT an option, to donate my body to science after this soul has left this meat suit. Then I met my husband and we both decided that we wanted to fertilize a tree. He wants to be a cherry tree and have a sign that says, “EAT ME!” Because of course he does. I’m partial to birches and oaks myself. I don’t know that we’d have tree options, though. Nor do I know how much a tree burial would be. One would think that its more affordable than putting a large hunk of garbage in the ground. But then the “green” alternatives tend to be more expensive than the fancy over-priced caskets. On Midspring, I was sitting outside with my Spirit Stick communing with Nature and enjoying the weather. Doing the 2 Powers Meditation and breathing deep. Lately I’ve been focusing on my seiðr and runework studies and practices. I was thinki...