Praises be to they who answer Prayers!

“Praises to you O Lords and Ladies, blessings to you who answer prayers! Thank you for lifting me up high when I was low, for putting a smile on your child’s face once more!

If you remember yesterday’s post, I was in the middle of a Greek ritual. And for some reason I started spontaneously praying to the Gods for something other than my usual requests. In fact it was almost like my subconscious was coming out. Usually on Noumenia I ask for cleansing and purification with Apollon Noumenious. Or I ask Selene and Endymion for money since the moon and the Stars are associated with money.

And I work with Zeus Ktesios and Hestia on bringing prosperity to the Household. But I ended up asking for the original cold weather of my early childhood. Of waking up one morning and feeling the brisk chill. And seeing cirrus clouds in all of their feathery splendor. So I just went with it.

And this morning it was a beautiful grey day! When I was a child I loved days like this. When it would rain I used to pretend I was Captain Nemo. And I played with my maternal grandmother. Usually with a Nick Jr. cartoon or puppet show. My favorite was Eureka’s Castle.

The Tuatha de Dannan have recently been making their way back into my life. When I started out doing magic, like many I fell into Wicca. During this time, I was exposed to the many Gods and spirits of the people in the United Kingdom. And the Greek Gods. My Master even says the pantheon there is more like a “UK Pantheon”.

Because the cultures and peoples are so mixed in this area that no one culture can describe it. From the Welsh and the Irish, to the people of the Isle of Man and the West Country. I had worked as an eclectic witch for years. Then I decided that while I am very good at eclectic magic, I wanted to study and officially serve the Gods. In each of their cultures.

I had already initiated into Greek Polytheism/Paganism. But I still hadn’t reconnected to my Celtic roots. And I began to look around for a person to teach me. Properly. For a while that was a bust.

Until one day I found out that in my Greek Temple there was a Druid. And not just any Druid, but an elder in her tradition. I couldn’t believe my luck. Here she was. My Master.

Fast forward to the present. I have been studying them. And lately they have been very vocal. Besides the totem pole that I shared yesterday, I also have been giving them libations. And food.

And for some reason I thought of them when praying to Selene. The Tuatha are Faerie Gods. And many of the Fair Folk work with the moon. Maybe that’s why they entered my working. But I prayed with all my might.

Prayed for that chilly weather that makes me relive the happiest times of my early life. And the next day, they answered,

View from my balcony

Some shots from the Balcony

My Balcony Garden

The Sun partially came out near the end but that was okay

The Sun came out near the end

Now I’m sure some idiot somewhere is going to come on here and say, this proves nothing. Or it’s coincidence. Let me say this : normally I would agree that it isn’t enough to be evidence. But lately our “spring” in Miami is more like Summer. Even for Florida, we have had historically high temperatures.

Courtesy of Global Warming. Some of the heat we have experienced hasn’t been seen since past centuries.

In fact, whenever the meteorologists claim a cold front will come, we don’t bat an eye anymore. Almost all cold fronts before this one have failed miserably. And they were stronger and had more of a chance of becoming cold weather than this meek little front. But instead we all saw a grey and cool day. With heavy clouds.

A good cool wind, and a gigantic smile on my face.

Selene and Endymion from Animation Journey

Praise be to the Gods, for the Shining Ones have answered prayer

The Celtic Triskelion

– M

“Please O Shining Ones, bring to us the cold,” Reflections of a Noumenia in Miami

My current view

Cue all the disgruntled people in the more Northern states and countries. Coming here to tell me that I’m lucky that I live in a place that has the same temperature as Dante’s inferno. But I will say something of this place, the clouds tend to be beautiful.

Doesn’t he look like a Great White to you?

I was celebrating the second day of the Noumenia here. And as I went through the litany of prayers that I have been doing today, I suddenly looked up. And I began to think. Was it thinking? No, I think I was praying again without being aware of it.

The Tuatha de Dannan often appear as mist

I was partially thinking of another group of Gods I worship, the Tuatha de Dannan. Not only the Gods and Faeries of Ireland, but one of the most ancient pre-human races that lived there once. Maybe it was because of the clouds. Both they and the Theoi and Theaia are called “the Shining Ones”. And in my mind I prayed in my own way,

“Please bring back the cool, the gentle winds with their fresh air. Please bring back the cool weather. Bring back those beautiful clouds I used to get up and see in the mornings in Miami. That fresh cold air when we did have cold here. One of the only good things I remember from my childhood.

Please bring back the morning mists. The damp dew of the early mornings. Bring back those sweet cold mornings with the frost of the old winter, which still rides the new spring air, bring back that which brings light to my life,”

I stopped, realizing I had accidentally said this in the middle of my official prayers. Or maybe it isn’t a mistake. Nothing done during ritual is ever a mistake. That’s what one of the Priests at my Hellenic temple always tells me. Maybe the ritual brought out what was in my heart.

So I went back to saying the words with an open mind.

“Let me relive the wonderful feelings of joy I had in school when I woke up on a cold morning. One of the few joys I had as a child. Let me feel alive again with these wonderful clouds and allow my soul to soar. Grant me what I ask. Please I beg of you.

Please O Shining Ones, bring to us the cold,”

Selene
The Tuatha de Dannan
My Totem Pole of the Celtic Gods, not just the Tuatha de Dannan but also other Celtic Gods

For my Druid Master Nicole and my Hellenic Priest Tim, thanks for always being sources of knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration.

– M

Astrological Forecast : The Green Comet Tonight (Imbolc Comet)

From Jagran Josh Education

Besides being the time of Imbolc as well as the Roman purification rituals for February, we have a lot of astrological activity. We see the Green Comet at 9:45pm EST. There hasn’t been a Green Comet around here in 50,000 years. So make sure you perform your strongest rituals.

Green Comet Closest to the Earth on 1st February. Here’s All You Need to Know

Tips for seeing the Green Comet in the UK as it peaks Brighton News

What to expect during the green comet’s encounter with Earth

Everything you need to know about the Green Comet that will approach the planet soon!

Brigid: Celtic Goddess of the Sacred Flame By The Witch

The Full Snow Moon on Sunday February the 5th

Full Snow Moon

The Green Comet Passes Earth for the first time in 50,000 years

Imbolc Dreams of Black Hellebore

Enjoy the Imbolc/Candlemas Season

– M

The Origins of Both Halloween and Samhain (Sow-en) what are the differences?

Image taken from the video, courtesy of Crecganford

Watch this amazing 21 minute video on the differences and why people conflate the two of them. One of my favorite YouTubers.

Triple Goddess in the Land by Eline Kieft

A Modern Pilgrimage to the Isle of Lewis & Harris, Part 1 For a long time, I felt a soft but insistent tug to go to the Isle of Lewis & Harris, on …

Triple Goddess in the Land by Eline Kieft

Michaelmas : The Christianized Harvest Festival

Michael casting Satan out of Heaven, with a banner above that reads “Who is like El (God)?” in Latin. The battle cry of the loyal Angels during the War in Heaven.

Fun fact, Mikael (Me-Kah-yel) in Hebrew means “Who is like God?”. So the battle cry in Heaven was also the Archangel Michael’s name. It was meant as a double insult and a taunt to his fallen brother Samael (“The Poison of God”). This day is closely related to the Harvest Festivals. In fact it’s sort of a Christian Harvest Festival.

It’s a Christianized version of Alban Elfed. (1) The theory is that the medieval church, assigned the cross quarter days to the Archangels and to the four writers of the gospels. In an attempt to convert worshippers of the Old Gods i.e. Pagans. Or at least that was the belief.

Michaelmas is close to Alban Elfed. So people began assigning almost the same types of rituals or ways of celebration to Saint Michael. And out of that curious Amalgamation of religions, a fascinating new tradition was born. For instance, this is believed to be the day Satan was cast out of Heaven. And that he fell into a patch of blackberries and cursed, spat, and urinated on them (2).

So that they can only be eaten before the harvest and never after. This is also why blackberry pie is one of the traditional foods to eat on Michaelmas. The flower of Michaelmas became the Aster. (3) Which is believed to have some power of resurrection (at least in this tradition). It was renamed, the Michaelmas Daisy.

A Michaelmas Sylph among the Asters, the flower sacred to St. Michael, also called the Michaelmas Daisy

Faeries also came be to be identified with Michaelmas. Especially the butterfly winged Sylphs. Possibly because being an aerial spirit made it easy to identify them with Angels. But that’s just speculation at this point.

The visiting of holy wells and drinking holy water from those wells was also prominent. And that’s important to note, because this was done in a lot of traditions in the United Kingdom. (4) In Western Scotland, Struan which is a type of toast was made for St. Michael and blessed in a mass. Straun was also blessed in a special mass in memory of the dead and given to the poor (5).

Michaelmas, a great recipe for Christo Paganism

On the left we see St. Michael defeating Satan in the form of a Dragon. On the right we see him as a Heavenly Warrior Prince clothed in royal garbs

While I am aware that this is the Christianization of a Celtic Polytheist holiday, I do also worship Jesus. What I am is sort of hard to put into one single label. I suppose you would call me a Gnostic Pagan. Of course I don’t entirely agree with other Gnostic Christians. But this mystical sect of Christianity acknowledges all Gods.

And the Priests in their churches often worship many other Gods and practice magic from many traditions. They don’t call themselves Christo-Pagans because they believe all Gods are part of the same family. And that there is not one, but many Supreme Gods out there. That even the Christian God has parents. And so they are the closest to my theology that there is.

They believe all religions come from the same source. That in the beginning there was no religion, just occult knowledge or gnosis from the Gods. Later humans created religion and it all went to shit from there. That’s why they are called Gnostics. From Greek gnōstikós (“those who know”).

Those who remember the true origins of the Universe. Before humans divided ourselves into different factions. Before we forgot the sacred knowledge of our Gods. So I celebrate the traditional Alban Elfed as best as I can. I read up on some of the traditions and I try not to replicate them.

But to use the knowledge of how they were celebrated to sort of make a more modern version. I don’t eat the same foods. But I do make sure I have a nice dinner with family and give thanks. And then a few days later Michaelmas comes. And I honor St. Michael with harvest type foods.

Things that remind me of a harvest. I lay it on an altar outside for him and the spirits of the land to feast. I also pour libations for him. Burn candles and incense, and also do my own Gnostic Mass for him. The Altar is a stone that looks like a table.

It’s my outside version of a St. Joseph’s Table. I pay St. Joseph three pennies under his stone table for him to send my prayers to Michael. And then I continue until the next day. Michaelmas is celebrated first in the Eve (September 29th) then it continues until the next day. I also break curses for clients on this day.

And I spend the day making specialized holy waters. I also make and bless charms. And I meditate with the Angels and with the Saints. I ask for guidance, perform divinations, and a bunch of other things. I also spend a lot time doing blessings.

In the center of Heaven, we see Jesus with St. Michael in front of him commanding the Angels to enter battle with Satan. The loyal Angels rejoice having defeated Lucifer and the Fallen Angels

I also use this festival as a time to protect myself from the wild spirits that come out during winter. Many believe that Winter is the time of the dead and of darker or wilder spirits that are set free. That doesn’t always mean “evil”. But even spirits we see as friendly might not understand they are hurting you or causing some kind of harm. Rituals were done to placate the spirits and get them to calm down.

I use this holiday as a way to ward myself and my loved ones before the winter times come. And before anyone says anything yes I know. Samhain as a feast for the dead is a modern custom. But my intuition tells me that it’s still a time to be careful. That dark things still roam the cities at night during this time.

Much of the articles out there mention the same things I have here. I am just giving you a condensed version that’s easier to read here. The only thing I left out is that goose is traditionally eaten at Michaelmas. But that’s a tradition that is quickly dying out. Also, poor geese!

Sorry everyone, I’m trying to become a vegetarian. Not only for my own health but for the animal’s sake. All I can say is that it’s harder than it looks. Especially because I don’t have a coach to help me do this. But anyways, happy feast of Michael and the Guardian Angels!

Sources

(1)

September Lore by Shirley Two Feathers

(2)

St. Michael September 29

(3)

Michaelmas Explained

(4)

Struan for Michaelmas

(5)

Peter Reinhart’s Struan: The Harvest Bread of Michaelmas

Random Links of the day : Of the Full Moon & the ending of the year

The moon this morning in Miami

I am celebrating a bunch of different festivals and learning from a new teacher! Some good goals to begin while this year nears its end. I have some things to share with all of you. I thought this would peak your interest.

An early story of Merlin that was hidden for centuries

The Tiny Town of Easley

The New York Library’s Hidden Treasures Exhibit

Strange Mystery Booms are still happening (This is new and updated as of today)

Seeing Fairies by Morgan Daimler (thanks for recommending her Teacher)

Fairies and Elementals also from Morgan Daimler

The Weird Darkness Radio Show is up and Running

The Sukkot Song for all of my Jewish friends (you’re gonna love this)

A Whale Saved my life (YouTube video about her experience)

The History of Purgatory (YouTube video)

Esoterica (YouTube channel) filled with all sorts of amazing stuff on the occult this was recommended to me by a member of my temple.

The Ohio Grassman (Bigfoot) and how he followed a young boy to his home

Chihuahua teaches Baby to howl before walks (so cute, YouTube video)

The Modern Wiccan Festival of Mabon (named after the Welsh God, Mabon Ap Modron) & the history of Harvest Festivals

Origin of the name “Celt” who were the Celts? From Greek Keltoi

And finally, some articles on the full moon. Here we have an article from Cherokee Billie on the autumn equinox and Moon. The Paradise Lost newsletter “Autumn Addition”. A video on the Pisces Full Moon from Pandora Astrology.

Happy full moon and autumn everyone,