busy bee

Sorry I haven't had time to post recently. I have been busy with the holidays and now I have finales starting this Thursday. I am doing my daily meditations, and life goes as it does.
Gwynt-Siarad

The Solar powered druid

Last Friday, I followed up the energetic exercises of calling up the Telluric current by calling down the Solar current. Again the experience was, well pretty amazing. There is a definite difference in how the two energies feel. The solar current felt "lighter" and almost tingly as it ran through my body. More like wind. The Telluric current was "heavy" and sluggish in comparison. It felt more like water as it worked its way up through me. They both felt very powerful or rather made me feel full of power, but in different ways. It's not something that's easy to describe. Thinking on it, the best way to describe them would probably be with poetry. Let me put it this way, when I was full of the Telluric current I felt as if I could heal any wound, or sickness of the body. I felt healthy and physically strong. With the Solar current I felt happy and joyful, and peaceful and calm. I felt as if I could heal any spiritual sickness, give hope and love to all things. I am sure in time I'll come to discover more about these two currents of power. In JMG's book he says that invoking these energies will quickly catalyze changes. I already feel some subtle differences.

Last night was a new and interesting experience for me as well magically speaking. I did a spirit-walk and grounding to help deal with yet another one of my Ex-wife's surprise attacks. After the spirit-walk was over and I was simply sitting and feeling one with the earth, I felt an attack and had the image of a very threatening elemental. It was dealt with. I don't know if it was some sort of manifestation of my Ex-wife's hostility, or perhaps an elemental guardian of some sort. What I do know is that I didn't cast my Circle of Protection before hand like I usually do. I have dealt with hostile spirits in the past, but always in the spirit world, this was very much in this plane. I have read other peoples accounts of such things, and there is a part of me that was always a bit skeptical. Now having had it happen to me, I find that I am still skeptical. Was it real? was it just "in my head" does it matter?

Gwynt-Siarad

Picking up snakes

Once in an old village, there lived a beautiful young woman. As she did every morning she went to the river to gather water for the day's use. When she approached the rivers edge she came across a rattle snake. She was fearful at first, and rightly so. The rattle snake spoke to her, and it said "do not be afraid, I am here only because I can not cross the river. But your so beautiful and you must be kind, would you take me across the river?" The young woman shook her head, and said "no, I would never pick you up, for if I do, you'll bite me." To this the snake replied "I'd never bite one so beautiful as you! Even I do not wish to destroy such beauty." The flattery worked and the young woman picked up the snake and began to wade across the river. When she was half way across the snake bit her hard on the arm! The young woman cried out and was filled with the snakes poison. She said "but you promised not to bite me! now we will both surely die." The snake looked on impassively and said "I couldn't help it, its what I do. Don't blame me, you know what I was when you picked me up."
This story holds much meaning to me this day. I am being put into a social situation with a woman who I know to be a rattle snake. If it were entirely up to me, I'd have nothing more to do with this person, but its not. For some reason the love of my life feels compelled to have dinner with this woman. I did an Ogham about the situation and it was not a favorable reading. I got the impression the woman will reveal secrets (funny how a secret is something you tell another person.) that will try and force me or us, to choose between two options though I don't know what they are. I thought about refusing to go, and letting my b'loved do this on her own, but then I thought it how could I let her face this woman alone? We have always been stronger together as a team. So to dinner I go...invoking spirit of golden eagle.

Spirit above, spirit below, spirit all around

It seems interesting to me that in the last few days many of my friends have become in need of healing. Bad backs, turned ankles, internal organ funky-ness, or just plain old sore from exercise. So I thought it was time for some spell work to help them out as best I can. I grabbed up my new insence bowl, (the last one was yet another victome of the spirit of the dancing bear.) my staff of myrtal, and my favorite mix of herbs for genral magick work, a sage/cedar/lemongrass mixture. I stepped into the circle and performed the Circle of Protection, then invoked the elements and my spirit guides. I then, with the aid of the elemental spirits, banished all blockages to the successful healing energies I'd send. I then burned my herbal mixture as an offering to my spirit guides in thanks for all that they do and have done, and in the hopes they will aid me this day. I invoked the Telluric currents, that is the current of energy that rises from the center of mother earth. Bringing that energy into me I focused it into the end of my staff and created a thought forms. The thought forms were to go to my friends, deliver the healing energy and then dissapate. I have not done a lot of work like this before. Usually when doing healings I have the client right there with me. I felt pretty good about how things went and so far people are reporting feeling better.
In meditation I pondered the Ogham few Saille. It's associated tree is willow and according to JMG its a few of flexability and response. Its about going with the flow. I came to the conclusion that for the most part its a great way to navigate life, but there are times when we must be strong and firm and immovable like the might oaks. Wisdom is knowing when those times are. In preperation for my ritual in which I will summon forth the Solar currents I was to contemplate spirit above. It was asked, why is spirit up? why is it above, why is heaven in the sky. This confused me for some time as I never thought that spirit was only up/above/or higher than. I have always seen spirit all around. To me spirit, though often depicted as up or above, is in fact all around and in everything. The source of spirit, like all things, is Anwn.
Gwynt-Siarad

Pepper update

So far still no Pepper. I did another journy today, and again I got the house image. I see it pretty clearly, however I can't tell where it's at. I can't see a street or an address. I thought I would then try something different. I "found" pepper astraly and "invoked" myself inside her head to see what she was seeing. I got the distinct impression she was happy. Still I could only see around the yard. I did see the back of the house for the first time, but again I didn't see anything that indicated where the house might be. Divination is by far my weakest skill magicaly speaking. Directing energies for healing or spell work is much more where my talents lie. I think the biggest reason why skrying and divination are so difficult for me is a subtle but still there disbelief in it. I WANT to believe, but there is this little voice in the back of my brain that says when I am spirit-walking and trying to see things in this world, it's all just my imagination. Funny I don't seem to have this problem when dealing with spirits or soul retreavals, or casting spells or doing healings. I don't know if Pepper will ever turn up or not, I don't know if the house I keep seeing is real or just in my head, but I'd sure like to find out one way or another.
Another thing I have been considering is the nature of the dogs dissapearence...or leaving rather. The dog simply ran out the door when it was opened and never looked back. It would seem to me that the dog didn't want to be there any longer for some reason. As a druid, I do believe animals don't truly belong to a person. Maybe Pepper wasn't happy there. I don't know, but I do have to wonder if Pepper even WANTS to go home.
Gwynt-Siarad

Where o' where has pepper gone?

This is Pepper. She is the good friend of a member of the pagan community in which I live. Pepper ran out the door last Thursday and hasn't been back. I heard about it just this morning (Monday) and I decided I'd try something I have often read about shamans doing, that being, finding lost things. I made the hard choice to do the work inside the house. I much prefer to do my work under the sky, but I wanted also to be sure that I was NOT going to be interrupted. Knowing that my neighbor isn't working right now and puts around his house, I wanted to be sure that I would not be interrupted. I called to the elementals spirits and to my personal animal spirit guides for their aid. I asked the elements to show me where pepper was, and to keep pepper safe, warm, and free from hunger and thirst. I asked spirit of fox to go and find pepper and guide her home. In my spirit-walk, I saw a an older white house with a chain link fence around the front yard. I got the impression the street started with an "E" and had a double letter in it. I then took that info, and combined it with the info that the dog was last seen in the N.E. section of town, and possibly near the college. I looked on map quest and what do I find but a street that is in the NE section of town not to distant from the college campus. I have relaid this info to the dog's person. Will it help? I don't know. I have never done anything like this before with my skils..I have come to trust the things I see in spirit-walks, and the things I saw this time didn't feel like MY imagination. In the end, time will tell for all answers are told in time.
I have been trying to learn the Ogham Fews these past months and really struggling. I am not sure why. I suspect its because I am also in college now and cramming my head each day full of information, so this may be interfering with the learning process of the Ogham. Is there a limit to how much a 35 year old man can learn in a day? I tend to think not, but the headaches are telling me otherwise. ;-) Anyway, I got the thought that I need to also recognize their animal meanings and that I should call them not by the welsh names but by the English. That thought led to the realization that by using an ogham few in magic your are invoking/evoking (depending on it's use) the spirit of that tree/plant/mineral. It may seem like a no brainer to some, but for me it was the light bulb switching on! Suddenly the Ogham fews have come alive!

Last night I "leveled up". I am currently working the Druidic magic system created by John Michael Greer. I have had great results with it thus far. I have memorized and am well practiced at what is called the circle of protection, and elemental cross. Last night I took my magic to the next level be learning to summon the Telluric currents. These are the currents that come up from the center of mother earth. There is also a Solar current. This of course comes from the sun and stars. I am to summon that current next weekend. They are done a week apart. Though I have often worked with these energies in the past as Yin and Yang, I have never felt it so strongly as I did last night. The Telluric current truly flowed through me from my feet through every cell and out of me like a fountain. It was exhilarating to say the least! The work was done at midnight as that is when the Telluric current is at the height of its natural daily cycle. When I was done I had trouble getting to sleep as I felt so alive! This morning when I was doing my daily circle of protection and meditation, I felt more "powerful" and felt the elements respond with much more vigor then before. My meditation was on the Ogham few of Nuin. It s a few of connection, communication and magic. I can't say that I had any major break throughs with that today. Later though, I got to help a good friend with a spirit walk into the spirit world. He was coming to me to for help with an issue of staying calm when dealing with people at work who aren't doing things as instructed. I have never worked with any one for this sort of issue. In the past it has been helping with an illness, or needing a soul retrieval or power animal totem. Because I know this friend is very magically adept I was certain it wasn't going to be a thought form coming home to roost, or a spiritual entity. This was an issue he has worked with for some time. I set up for the spirit walk and my friend laid his head in my lap. I took up the rattle and began the process of going to the spirit world. I walked along the forest path that leads to the cave. I then walked through the cave. I walk toward the light on the other end. Once there I step out into the middle world. I go to my grove and call to my spirit guides. Stag comes as is so often the case. He's my main totem. I told him why I had come. He took me on a path up a wooded hill side. After a time there was a shift as my shadow self took the deer form and the woods went from lush green to a charred black forest devastated by fire. After walking for some time, we came to a tall cage. Locked inside was my friends shadow self. I was then given directions what he needed to do. In essence, he needs to come to terms with his shadow self. He tries hard to keep parts of it locked away, but doing thus is like keeping a dog in a kennel all the time. when it gets out it runs amok. When certain situation happens it frees his shadow self that has been locked away and it then runs amok with him and expresses as anger, though I suspect it is more about fear and resentment. I was also told to give him my obsidian. I did. I gave him an exercise where in a month or two he will be ready to summon up his shadow self, and hopeful sit and talk with it. If they can come to terms, reach an agreement where the shadow self will let the light self run things, the light self won't keep the shadow locked in a cage. The cage had two locks on it. I found a key resting in my hand, and I unlocked one of them. I was told that he had to do the other himself. So there it is. Time will tell the rest of the story.
After the spirit-walk, I did two hours of massage. Yes, it's been a busy, but very fulfilling day.
Gwynt-Siadad

Who I am, what this is all about.

Hail and welcome!

I am going by the name of Gwynt-Siarad, it's Welsh for wind-talker. I am a Druid. This blog will by my journal in the many adventures I have in Druidry. You can expect to see all sorts of magickal work dealing with journeying, what I like to call spirit-walks, spells, meditations, and anything else I feel is pertinent. So a little about me and my magickal back ground. I grew up in the woods. My best playmates were my two golden retrievers Regal and Shadow. While most of my peers would get home and watch TV, I just walked through my house long enough to drop my books and head out the back door to the woods. While kids talked about sport teams or TV sitcoms, I learned how to I.D. ducks by the sound of thier wing beats. I could track deer, talk to turkeys, elk, and foxes. I knew where the bats slept, and which trees the turkey vulture liked to roost in. The earth, wind, and river talked to me. I often pretended to be the deer, bear, or puma. I argued with Ravens and raced the deer. I grew up, as we all do, and by the time I was in High school, I had a 2nd degree black belt in Tang soo do, was deep into Taoism and Cha'n Buddhism and had a 2nd degree in Reiki and was doing shamanic journies that I had learned from Christina Pratt from "the last mask". Oh and I spoke Portuguese and Japanese as well as English. In college I met the wrong woman for me, and married her. I allowed her to destroy all that I had gained spiritualy. That was a tough 7 years, but that is behind me now. My current Fiance' introduced me to Wicca. I studied that for some time, but it wasn't a perfect fit. I studied Asatru for a few months, but that too wasn't the right fit, then I found Druidry and I felt home. I have been studying druidry officially for about six months now, but in reality I have been studying druidry all my life. Just didn't know it. These have been some of the best days of my life. I hope to share my adventures with you all in the hopes that the wisdom I learn along this path helps you, the reader, in some small or great way.

So enough of that, let the story begin.....

yours under the oaks,

Gwynt-Siarad.