The #DoMagick Challenge Day 15

Algiz (Wikimedia Commons)

Today I did galdr with Algiz.

As yesterday, I cleansed with the Eldest Ancestor, Fire.   Today’s galdr was held before my altar to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir.  When I lit the candle, a white seven day candle, I made the Fire Prayer and thanked the Eldest Ancestor for cleansing me, purifying me for the work ahead.  I then sat the candle on the ground in front of me throughout the galdr.

In my first round of galdr, I felt a hooking into the Earth similar to when I do tree meditation.  The knitting together of roots with my ‘root’, and a connection to Midgard came and hooked roots into my spine.  I felt relaxed as I breathed, and a kind of balance came.  It is worth noting I do not usually do lotus position for meditation work, and here I felt quite comfortable with it.

For the first and some of the second part of the first round of galdr, this is all I experienced.  As I was finishing the second part of the first round and into and through the last part, I experienced being before a great tree.  It was both immensely vast and yet I could still see all its parts, from roots going into the soil to its tower height.

For the second round of galdr  I sat with this great tree.  It was Yggdrasil and it was every sacred tree in connection with It.  It was incredible, it was vast, and Worlds were growing in Its various branches and roots, and yet it was climbable. I could feel the waters taken up in Its roots and I could walk among them.  It felt both like home and uncanny.

For the third round of galdr I had an experience of a rite before a tree.  I felt the blood of sacrifice drip down my upward, outstretched arms, and felt the place become holy.  Then the scene changed and I was standing in a grove and kneeling in prayer, again, arms outstretched.  It felt like arms were reaching down in kind, in answer.  I felt I needed to raise my arms in imitation of the Rune’s form and as I galdred it was a moment of union between the Tree and I, that feeling for a few moments of truly being Ask and Embla’s son.

When I was finished I cleansed with the candle as before, thanking it for cleansing me.  I then did my usual prayers to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir, asking the Eldest Ancestor to help me come back to normal space as I snuffed the candle, thanking the Eldest Ancestor.  I felt relaxation and peace as the smoke curled up around me.

Link to the Daily Ritual for the Challenge.

#DoMagick

 

The #DoMagick Challenge Day 14

Perðro (Wikimedia Commons)

Today I did galdr with Perðro.

As yesterday, I cleansed with the Eldest Ancestor, Fire.   Today’s galdr was held before my altar to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir.  When I lit the candle, a white seven day candle, I made the Fire Prayer and thanked the Eldest Ancestor for cleansing me, purifying me for the work ahead.  I then sat the candle on the ground in front of me throughout the galdr.

In the first round of galdr I saw Perðro in its Rune form white on a field of black, then it reversed in color.  Then, it became a wooden cup out of which dice were rolled.  Then, it became a bag out of which chips were dropped.  Then, I saw a door into pitch darkness open, yawning.

In the second round of galdr I saw the cup again, being shook vigorously.  A few moments of breathing, of bated breath and then, the crash of the wooden cup on a wooden table.  I saw a great swirling darker than darkness yawning like a mouth, and it swirled round and round.  I saw a mouth open and words came, on what I do not know, but the mouth was open and speaking about what lay before it.

In the third round of galdr I saw the dice being interpreted.  The chips were being read.  There were strands coming off the cup, off the bag, off the hands that went into them, the mouth that spoke.  I saw threads come undone and attach, saw as things took shape in the doorway shape of the Rune.  I saw the disgorging of a spell after a long wait, the rumination on things until it was time to make a final choice.  I saw the door opened to some possibilities and shut to others.  I saw choice and consequence come to bear.  I saw the Ginnungagap and Mystery interplay but how I cannot say.

The #DoMagick Challenge Day 13

Eihwaz (Wikimedia Commons)

Today I did galdr with Eihwaz.

Today I cleansed with the Eldest Ancestor, Fire.   Today’s galdr was held before my altar to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir.  When I lit the candle, a white seven day candle, I made the Fire Prayer and thanked the Eldest Ancestor for cleansing me, purifying me for the work ahead.  I then sat the candle on the ground in front of me throughout the galdr.

In the first round of galdr I was shown the Rune, red on a screen of black.  It morphed from the Rune into a figure, and that figure bore a pack and walked on a road in woolen and leather clothes fit for the cold.  At varying points I became that figure.  His pack was full of foods, all preserved or long-lasting, whether salted and smoked meats or nuts or oats of some kind.  He knew how to use the food to keep himself going, how not to eat too little or gorge.  The figure walked with weapons easily accessible, a knife or seax on his hip, spear in his hand, axe on his other hip.  He brought with him water and ways to make simple traps.

In the second round of galdr I was the man in the wool and leather again.  I was enduring biting, bitter cold.  I was walking long, long days, only stopping to rest when I needed.  I was not stopping till the place was safe.  I drifted in this part of the meditation, my body moving back and forth on the ground with the steps I made in spirit.  It was to tire and to keep on going until you had to stop, to face the elements with preparedness, grit.

In the third round of galdr I experienced a battle.  An ambush, perhaps, as arrows rained down all I could do was thank the Gods the shield held, turning into a heavy weighted thing.  I stood with my spear and fought for I do not know how long, only that after a long fight all were dead and I was alive.  I saw here another aspect of Eihwas-as-trap: the ambush, but also the ability to push through them, to disengage and destroy the trap.  To rend it, to render it useless.  The will and resolve to live despite all odds and come out triumphant.

Perhaps it is that I am tired, and I find as I write this, hungry, that I found each part of the galdr experience tonight both long, despite running under my usual time, and also quite vivid.

When I was finished I cleansed with the candle as before, thanking it for cleansing me.  I then did my usual prayers to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir, asking the Eldest Ancestor to help me come back to normal space as I blew out the candle, thanking the Eldest Ancestor.  This time I snuffed the candle, and felt peace as the smoke curled up around me.

Link to the Daily Ritual for the Challenge.

#DoMagick

 

The #DoMagick Challenge Day 12

Jera (Wikimedia Commons)

Today I did galdr with Jera.

I was absolutely exhausted yesterday and ended up sleeping right through my usual time to do my Runework straight on through to the next day.

Today I cleansed with the Eldest Ancestor, Fire.   Today’s galdr was held before my altar to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir.  When I lit the candle, a white seven day candle, I made the Fire Prayer and thanked the Eldest Ancestor for cleansing me, purifying me for the work ahead.  I then sat the candle on the ground in front of me throughout the galdr.

In the first round of galdr I was shown land going through four seasons.  Different spots of land, or different lands around the area entirely, but it definitely had the look and feel of Michigan.  At least one of the lands was the backyard of the home where I live.  The cold of Winter melting into Spring growing into Summer and fading into Fall.  I saw how the waters flowed in the different lands, how rains swelled certain parts and fed into other areas of the land.  I saw different animals, from small insects to deer and coyote.  I saw how the land was throughout the year and all lived with and within it.  I saw the large garden of our house go through the melt, then sprout, grow, harvest, and die.  I find it interesting I was not shown it being planted or interacted with by humans at this point.  The other lands were clearly not tilled at all, and I saw how a forest, a plain, and swamp went through their seasons.

In the second round of galdr the experience of the first galdr rolled into this one.  I was walking the various lands and experiencing them, putting my hands to Earth, walking along grasses I had not seen, and walking through a forest.  I felt connection deep down with the land, kinship or something like it.

In the third round of galdr I experienced the lands as working with me and I the lands.  Growing a grove of trees to coppice, raising animals to work with the plants and insects to feed the animals, fertilize the area, and keep down harmful plants and insects.  It was putting my hands in the Earth to till in some sections, spread seeds there, to overturn the soil and lay down compost and hay.  It was the caring of animals, milking some and raising others to slaughter.  It was slaughter and butchering, it was planting, harvesting, cultivating.  It was sacred festivals celebrating these things.  Harvest tides.

When I was finished I cleansed with the candle as before, thanking it for cleansing me.  I then did my usual prayers to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir, asking the Eldest Ancestor to help me come back to normal space as I blew out the candle, thanking the Eldest Ancestor.  This time I snuffed the candle, and felt peace as the smoke curled up around me.

Link to the Daily Ritual for the Challenge.

#DoMagick

The #DoMagick Challenge Day 11

Isa (Wikimedia Commons)

Today I did galdr with Isa.

Today’s galdr was done entirely outside, cleansing with Großmutter Una in my sacred pipe.  I then did my prayers in preparation, and my usual breathing into the right headspace.

Today I was surrounded by snow under my feet, and the sky was full of snow.  Isa was all around me.  The breathing in of that cold snow brought with it a sharp cleansing.  There is something beautiful and powerfully spiritual about sitting in all of that stillness, all the lights off, the only light being in my pipe and some far off neighbors.  When I did my first round of galdr that is all I experienced: that stillness, the meditative silence.

The second round of galdr was more active.  My voice echoed in the quiet, and then I heard something I was not expecting at all: an answer.  It was a cow lowing, and I saw and felt the sensation of being licked out of ice by a cow.  When I opened my eyes to begin the galdr in the second round I was again answered by a cow lowing.  There is life in ice.  There is nourishment in it.  There is holiness in it.  I made the last galdr of the round and there was a feeling of containment, of expansion, of the melting away for things to be revealed.

The third galdr was croaking, loud.  It rebounded around me, and I saw a glacier, great, carving the land.  Then that glacier melting.  I saw the Arctic and the melting floes, the land of the coasts being consumed by sea.  I saw the rivers swelling and the Great Lakes filling again.  Ice is part of the cycles of water, and we need it deeply.  I felt hibernation and untapped waters, I felt the freezing blasts of blizzards, and I felt the gentle snow around me.  Despite seeing and experiencing the violence that Isa can bring, I felt vast calmness in it.

When I finished I made prayers of thanks to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir.  As the last time I smoked, I cleansed with smoke from Großmutter Una, and then cleaned my pipe to come back to normal headspace.

Link to the Daily Ritual for the Challenge.

#DoMagick

The #DoMagick Challenge Day 10

Nauðiz (Wikimedia Commons)

Today I did galdr with Nauðiz.

Today I cleansed with the Eldest Ancestor, Fire.   Today’s galdr was held before my altar to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir.  When I lit the candle, a white seven day candle, I made the Fire Prayer and thanked the Eldest Ancestor for cleansing me, purifying me for the work ahead.  I then sat the candle on the ground in front of me throughout the galdr.

In the first galdr in the round I was shown flint and steel coming together, sparks showering over collected tinder.  My voice was croaking and throaty.  I was in a snowy forest, and had dried tinder, and then larger pieces in the small circle of stones I had collected.  I had larger pieces waiting beside the fireplace.  The next galdr I was shown a firebow, the bow spinning in the board and a little coal smoking, being set to tinder, and fire coming up to eat the tinder, lapping against small sticks.  The last galdr of the first round I was shown a small hand lighter lighting a cooking fire, a grill from the looks of it.

I passed the candle around myself and thanked Fire for cleansing me, and breathed deeply to prepare for the next round of galdr.  The first galdr of this round my voice was warm.  I saw fire in an ancient style tent, in a longhouse, and in a fireplace.  The second galdr of the second round, I saw food cooking in different places: a campfire, a hearthfire, and a modern grill.  The third galdr of this round I saw various things being preserved in smoke such as meat and vegetables and fish, and then it moved into a good-sized pipe, not too long but certainly not small, being smoked.

Again, I passed the candle around myself and thanked Fire for cleansing me.  I breathed in and prepared for the last round of galdr.  This time my voice was croaking and low, almost hissing.  I could feel that this was the ways to deprive someone of what they needed, and each part of this round I saw different things denied to people.  The fire in the hearth was cold and would not light.  The fire was dead in the campfire and the food could not cook.  The people gathered around a fire and another person was left in the cold, backs turned to him.  Another vision and a door was shut and bolted against someone.  The sparks would not light, the tinder would not catch.  Hunger and cold, and freezing water.  Disease in water.  Then, as I finished the last part of the final galdr, I felt warmth again, and the candle before me seemed to glow a bit brighter.  It was Nauðiz was reassuring me.

I cleansed with the candle as before, thanking it for cleansing me.  I then did my usual prayers to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir, asking the Eldest Ancestor to help me come back to normal space as I blew out the candle, thanking the Eldest Ancestor.  Next time I will snuff the candle; it is more respectful.

Link to the Daily Ritual for the Challenge.

#DoMagick

The #DoMagick Challenge Day 9

Hagalaz (Wikimedia Commons)

Today I did galdr with Hagalaz.

As before, I smoked Großmutter Una to cleanse and prepare myself.  As before, I did the prayers to prepare and flowed into a good, clean whole self when I did.  Today’s galdr work was done entirely outside.

Today’s galdr was very straightforward.  The images came immediately to me, the sensations.  They were crisp, clear, and while there was detail, I sat with the sensations and images for quite awhile as they were.  Unlike previous galdr work where I would be shown different things, each galdr round went one particular way.

The first round of galdr I was shown a field, and it was being absolutely pummeled by hail.  That was it.  I got to see crops beaten and shredded by hailstones.

The next round of galdr was snow falling.  Quiet, serene, snow fall.  Now, for us in Michigan this means that our waters will rise, so this is a good thing.  Yes, it sucks to drive through, but we absolutely need it for our waters to do well.  This was just me being in the middle of a good, steady snowstorm.  No howling wind or anything like that.  Just sitting the middle of a beautiful, slow snowfall.  It is worth pointing out that when I went outside to do galdr work it was not snowing at all, and the sensations and imagery I got were towards darkening of the day, as opposed to the dead of night when I did this work tonight.

The final round of galdr I was pushed to chant in a croaking manner, rhythmic.  This was Hagalaz the cursing Rune, the Rune of ruination, the one that brings your enemies to their knees.  This is the one that crashes down a person or crushes their hopes.  It is a wrathful Rune, not unlike Thurisaz.  Where Thurisaz is “hot”, Hagalaz is “cold”.  Not that cold cannot move swift, but the feel of it was ice, of methodical shredding or unwinding or cutting.  The Runes carved on a scorning pole came to mind when I came out of the galdr.

As before, I made prayers of thanks to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir.  As before, I cleansed and then cleaned my pipe to come back to normal headspace.

Link to the Daily Ritual for the Challenge.

#DoMagick

The #DoMagick Challenge Day 8

Wunjo (Wikimedia Commons)

Today I did galdr with Wunjo.

As before, I smoked Großmutter Una to cleanse and prepare myself.  As before, I did the prayers to prepare and flowed into a good, clean whole self when I did.  However, today was spent entirely in the garage doing the work.

Breathing during the first round of galdr was different.  There’s a different scent to the air inside the garage versus outside of it.  Not bad, but inside there’s definitely more of a homely feel to the air and less of a wilder scent.  All the various pieces of metal on the shelves, the tractor and the rototiller give off their own little scents too, so the whole feel of the garage is more home, more human.

The first round of galdr brought with it different images.  The first round my voice was very bass, and the garage seemed to echo out like I was on a plain.  The first galdr of the first round brought with it an image of the Rune in white against a black background.  The image then began to flutter, taking on shape, like a flag or pennant.  Like the mast of a ship.  The second galdr of the first round saw that flag in someone’s hand across a battlefield, yells.  A cacophony of noise.  The third galdr of the first round saw it run up over a fort on a long stick, then a flag run over a castle, and raised over a battlefield.

The second round of galdr my voice was far lighter than the first.  As I galdred the first thing I experienced was a family in their home, a warm fire lit, and sitting around a table talking, drinking, enjoying themselves.  There was laughter, I remember that very clearly.  The next galdr and the family was sitting around the fire and sharing something, I think dessert of some kind, and there was a person talking.  There were guests, and they were smiling, listening to the speaker.  The third galdr, and it was quite high and I had the sensation of the Gods being there, the images shifting to a person before an altar with their family, and thanks being given.  I had the sensation of the Gods being happy, that happiness radiating all around.  It was like…wrapped in warmth and joy.

The third round of galdr my voice came rough, croaking.  In the first galdr, Wunjo swung before me, an axe or a mace in the field of white on black.  It was wielded by a hand covered in blood.  The next galdr Wunjo was a hammer and it was nailing in a nail to the wall, repairing it.  The last galdr was a chant, alternating between long and short galdr of Wunjo.  I felt happiness, I felt surety of purpose.  That idea of measure twice and cut once, of the family being united and good, of the Gods being pleased.  That striving, and the fierce joy of having done well by it.

As before, I made prayers of thanks to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir.  As before, I cleansed and then cleaned my pipe to come back to normal headspace.

Link to the Daily Ritual for the Challenge.

#DoMagick

The #DoMagick Challenge Day 7

Gebo (Wikimedia Commons)

Today I did galdr with Gebo.

As before, I smoked Großmutter Una to cleanse and prepare myself.  As before, I did the prayers to prepare and flowed into a good, clean whole self when I did.  Given it had snowed I had some concern I would not be able to handle the cold with the wind for very long, but I felt urged to go outside.

Breathing before the first round of galdr was sharp, but the wind had a kind of cleansing feeling to it as cold as it was.  The cold bit the tips of my fingers and my ears.  For a few moments all I could feel was that cold.  As I breathed through, long and slow, I concentrated on Gebo, and galdred It in a long, warm tone.  I felt like I was put before a hearth fire, someone welcoming me in.  The exchange of greetings, a handshake, a seat offered.  I spoke with the host, about what escapes me.  The point, I think, was the exchange of hospitality for news and companionship.  The proper respect between guest and host.

It was then I felt I had to go inside.  My fingers were aching, and so were my ears.  The wind was picking up.  I went into the garage, my right hand tight around my pipe, taking long, slow, cleansing drags as I entered.  I breathed and I was already warmer despite the garage not being heated.  Thankfulness for shelter washed over me.

The next round of galdr was more deep, animal almost.  The things we needed gained through trade, work, sacrifice.  The warmth of my trenchcoat an animal’s skin, the pipe a tree’s body.  The give and take of predator and prey, of farmer and field, of animal and slaughterer.  Right relationship.  That affirmation of right relationship sang to me throughout the galdr.

After I took several moments to cleanse and breathe, the third round of galdr began.  The first of the three galdr was high in pitch, singing to the top of the Tree and the Gods, Ancestors, and vaettir, the Holy Powers, there.  The next was milder, singing to the middle of the Tree and the Holy Powers there.  The third was deep, bass, singing to the bottom of the tree and the Holy Powers there.  Each world brought with it a flood of images, many I am still trying to sort out.  What I do remember is a cup of mead, the blood of a blót, a bottle of beer poured on a field, water on a tree.  Standing, kneeling, prostrating before different Holy Powers.  Offering a blood sacrifice, a blót, to the Runes was the last thing I was left with as I finished the last galdr of Gebo.

As before, I made prayers of thanks to Rúnatýr and the Runevaettir.  As before, I cleansed and then cleaned my pipe to come back to normal headspace.  I am grateful for the cup of coffee my wife made me.  Gebo between us.

Link to the Daily Ritual for the Challenge.

#DoMagick

The #DoMagick Challenge Day 6

Kenaz (Wikimedia Commons)

Today, I did galdr with Kenaz.

As before, I smoked Großmutter Una to cleanse and prepare myself.  As before, I did the prayers to prepare and flowed into a good, clean whole self when I did.  I went outside to to the galdr and got the distinct feeling that if I tried to tough it out, I would be more concentrating on that then the work with Kenaz.  So, I came back into the garage.

As I breathed in to prepare, I did not feel much.  It was not until I galdred Kenaz twice during my first round that I began to experience things.  Perhaps it was my hands warming back up to start with in the two earlier rounds.  The third galdr brought with it the small fires that our Ancestors sat around.  The small fires that cooked the meals, brought the peoples together.  Not like the need-fire of Nauðiz, no.  This was the warm fire, the welcoming fire.  This was the fire lit to bring people together and unite them.  A shared meal, a moot, a Thing.

I smoked three times to cleanse, and breathed three times before the next round of galdr.  Even my breathing sharpened; this was the ferocious, harsh, and blatantly painful.  As I galdred I experienced it: This was the fire that burned you, that ate your flesh, that cauterized.  It is the fire of pain letting you know something was wrong, inflammation, pain in your guts, heartburn, all the fiery sensations our body gives us.  It is ulcer and open wounds, it is the making of all these things on someone else.  It is the brand of illness and the brand of iron.

I smoked again to cleanse, breathed three times before the last round of galdr.  My breathing eased.  This was the fire of healing, of cleansing teas and ease of aching muscles.  This was the fire of soothing, of meditation and devotion.  It was the Fire of Muspelheim, and the Fire in my Sacred Pipe.  It was the consuming of the plants and trees so new ones could spread, and it was the dance of cleansing poi and Sacred Fires that work with us to cleanse, heal, protect, and all the incredible things Fire Itself has worked with us to do so we can be healthy, whole, prosper.  It was here I was told enough; boundaries, too.  It was the torch that set boundaries or could set them alight.  That could warm the home, or consume it.  So I did my prayers of thanks.

I did prayers and I cleaned the pipe, and thought of how Fire came first, and how each light I make, whether by matches, flint and steel, or by turning on a light-bulb, Fire presence in our lives is always there.

Link to the Daily Ritual for the Challenge.

#DoMagick