So here we are. The last post of 2009 by common reckoning. Well, perhaps not the last since there are yet several hours to go and I might decide to post again at some point. It has happened before.
It doesn't seem like two years since I started this blog. Then again one of the widely accepted functions of aging is that time seems to flow past faster. Possibly because somewhere inside us we know the count is winding down and no matter how we want to feel, we have less time ahead than behind. All part of the cycle.
In one of our Grove meetings we came across this desire not to be old during discussions of Rites of Passage. Or at least, not to be old just yet. ;) Oddly, I personally find it something of a turn-on, growing older. No, I don't like the loss of strength or range of motion since I'm an active individual, but I don't resent it either; it just is. Part of how things work and I am an integral part of that cycle. Unlike some of my peers I don't wish I were younger, not in any really feeling sort of way. Even if anagathic drugs were developed I'm entirely uncertain I'd indulge in their use (if I could afford it); I have enough experience with having outlived friends and family to want to live longer, thereby gaining even more experience with it. Besides, my mind & spirit will need the rest they get when my time comes, that's certain. *Grins slyly* Of course, being reborn does make one young again, after a fashion. ;)
In any event, my generation, the Baby Boomers, is notorious for not wanting to grow old. Somewhere the notion of growing old got mixed up with the notion of not being able to do things...I'm really not sure why, but the two are not tied at the hip. Yes, you can be unable to do things when you get old...for some people it isn't an option...but you can also age and still be active barring something like an accident, hard disease, or some genetic problem. Active doesn't mean young just as inactive doesn't mean old. Look at some of our children these days.
I can still do things, plenty of them. Some of them not as well as I once could. Some better. Its all part of the cycle of life. :)
For me today is just another day, nothing special. My New Years eve is October 31st and my New Years Day November 1st, Samhain and the First Day of Winter respectively. I do my celebrating of the passing of a year then. Why? Because it's the calendar I have chosen to work with and which resonates best with me. Nope, not going to give some historical reason or other..there isn't one. For me the Solstices and Equinoxes mark the midpoints of their respective seasons, not the beginnings. That makes Midsummer's actually mark the middle of Summer.
My first carving project will be a Wood Spirit; mainly because I have a good booklet on carving them into staves. Taliesin and I will work on that one and then I'm going to work with a Dryad and Green Man carving. They are meant to bring luck into a home, among other things. I have a good example of one of these Wood Spirits on the handle of my besom in fact.
As I get more adept with it I'll move into adding relief carvings to my chests and other items, then later to carving three dimensional figures; bear, cat, wolf, dragon, eagle, lynx, etc.
I plan to do all of this with hand tools; coping saws, keyhole saws, chisels, gouges, and knives. I may use my Dremel on occasion but I don't plan on it at this point. Like most of my other crafts, I want to be able to do this entirely without power.
I used to have a partially completed carving of my grandfather...it disappeared when I went homeless unfortunately. *sigh* I'd like to carve a likeness of Jannat, Taliesin and Tristan if I can at some point. Small ones mind, similar to Lares figurines.
Beyond wood carving is leather working of course; I already have the tools to work on leather and working with this can be very addictive.
I have found working with my hands, be it in metal, wood, or leather, is not only excellent for the mind, but also for the hands and body. A variety of skills will hopefully assist us in the future. It certainly can't hurt.
Brightest of Blessings.
Namarië
Findesilmë /|\
Nandaromar, Rácinôrë Anduinna
A Journey of Illumination and Discovery
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Pleasant
I'm standing by a cottage door using a boot-scraper. With some amusement I realize it is one I made myself. Glancing around I consider the heavy wetness of the grass and earth around me, and in the grove from which I've just returned. I've done my morning rites and I'm about to break my fast. I look at the thatching, the ends of which still support droplets of rain and I smile. The scent in the air is very pleasant.
Entering the cottage I find the scents of herbs, of apple logs from a fallen tree across the dogs in the hearth, and of porridge and sausage cooking. Jen is in the kitchen area humming to herself and I can hear the thudding sound of axe on wood as Taliesin increases the firewood supply out back. It is a very pleasant morning altogether.
It is a small place; the main room with a tiny foyer for cloaks and shoes, the kitchen area with its drying herbs, pots and dishes, ovens and cooking paraphernalia, a door I know leads to my library/study, and some stairs that go up to the two bedrooms. In this main area reside Jen's loom, a spinning wheel, a pair of rocking chairs and a standard chair along with benches and a table. It is a clean place and has a wood floor. A narrow door nearly hidden by bookshelves goes to the wash closet, really a room with stone floor and large wooden tub for bathing and laundry. Just off that is the toilet proper, a composting affair. There are lamps and candles in sconces and holders and I know there are solar powered lights as well although when I think on it I realize we nearly never use them. There hasn't been any real need for a very long time.
My small forge is outside although Taliesin works in it for the most part these days. I tend to my rites, my herb garden, and life in general. There is also archery practice and staff work that gets done; I'm old but not invalid so keeping up as best I can is a wise thing.
We have a small barn along with some goats, a few alpaca, and some other critters. Taliesin sees to those for the most part. Tristan travels a lot so is often not in the vicinity although his family sometimes comes by.
It is a pleasant life. We are blessed, I think.
*****
There's a peaceful one. :)
Working on my Ranger-Druid kit, yes. That includes the Bard stuff for sure. There are other projects being worked on to be sure but the most important sort take priority of course.
More Crane Bag stuff today. Arrow cresting. That'll do to be getting on with.
May the days bring many blessings to ease the burdens you must carry.
Namarië
Findesilmë /|\
Nandaromar, Rácinôrë Anduinna
(That's 'Silverhair, Harper's Hall, Sundered Lands upon Anduin')
Entering the cottage I find the scents of herbs, of apple logs from a fallen tree across the dogs in the hearth, and of porridge and sausage cooking. Jen is in the kitchen area humming to herself and I can hear the thudding sound of axe on wood as Taliesin increases the firewood supply out back. It is a very pleasant morning altogether.
It is a small place; the main room with a tiny foyer for cloaks and shoes, the kitchen area with its drying herbs, pots and dishes, ovens and cooking paraphernalia, a door I know leads to my library/study, and some stairs that go up to the two bedrooms. In this main area reside Jen's loom, a spinning wheel, a pair of rocking chairs and a standard chair along with benches and a table. It is a clean place and has a wood floor. A narrow door nearly hidden by bookshelves goes to the wash closet, really a room with stone floor and large wooden tub for bathing and laundry. Just off that is the toilet proper, a composting affair. There are lamps and candles in sconces and holders and I know there are solar powered lights as well although when I think on it I realize we nearly never use them. There hasn't been any real need for a very long time.
My small forge is outside although Taliesin works in it for the most part these days. I tend to my rites, my herb garden, and life in general. There is also archery practice and staff work that gets done; I'm old but not invalid so keeping up as best I can is a wise thing.
We have a small barn along with some goats, a few alpaca, and some other critters. Taliesin sees to those for the most part. Tristan travels a lot so is often not in the vicinity although his family sometimes comes by.
It is a pleasant life. We are blessed, I think.
*****
There's a peaceful one. :)
Working on my Ranger-Druid kit, yes. That includes the Bard stuff for sure. There are other projects being worked on to be sure but the most important sort take priority of course.
More Crane Bag stuff today. Arrow cresting. That'll do to be getting on with.
May the days bring many blessings to ease the burdens you must carry.
Namarië
Findesilmë /|\
Nandaromar, Rácinôrë Anduinna
(That's 'Silverhair, Harper's Hall, Sundered Lands upon Anduin')
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
More hand work.
Hmm. I found some glue-on broadheads of good quality, according to reports, that will fit the 5/16ths shafts so I'll probably bring some of those in too. :)
A Flemish stringing jig takes care of the longbow , which uses Flemish strings.
It looks like Taliesin will have a go at using my Scythian composite this year; he's grown a lot stronger now he's eating sufficiently and taking kung fu. That will give us all horse bows to use.
I got a couple of books on wood carving...pretty basic stuff on the whole, but comprehensive in that regard anyway. Since the same tools one carves wood with will also carve soapstone..and one of the books deals with home made tools for those too poor or frugal to purchase any...this aspect is looking up. All hand tools so reliance on power isn't a binder and doesn't add to our electric bill. Minor perhaps, but useful anyway.
In any case, not only can we carve reliefs on our gear chests but also tops for staves or canes and so on. There are even instructions for carving duck decoys although mastering those is an art in and of itself.
It also means the carving of my harp is likely to be higher quality. I'm practicing on the stool Cathfel gave me, the other two as well, and my feast gear chest.
I've been working on harmonics for my harp..making the strings ring like a bell with a clear tone. It isn't too hard to get such a sound, but to get it cleanly, loudly, and consistently is another matter. I have gotten rusty it seems. They aren't used in the things I usually play. A good reminder to practice outside the rut.
Someone overfilled a washing machine downstairs and the thing wound up smoking with that nasty smell of smoldering rubber/latex. The belt of course. It didn't catch fire but it did fill the hall with the smell. And people wonder why I don't trust folks in general; that's just simple obliviousness and self-absorption. There are multiple signs with large easily readable lettering telling people not to overload and how to avoid it. This particular person claims to not have noticed them, something I can believe but also something that tells me they're unsafe. The incident gave me something of an adrenaline rush.
Jannat is off at dance rehearsal. I've been oiling the bows and painting crests on arrow shafts.
I notice the incident with the attempted bombing of that plane has been expanded to a fare-thee-well. I am not in the least surprised. Nothing they have 'revealed' has been any revelation to me; I rather expected all of this was likely. They won't ever give up trying to hit us. They won't ever give up making us restrict our liberties more and more. In that regard they're winning; so much for not letting them change our lives. I'm with the Founding Fathers on this one; giving up any liberty for supposed security is simply wrong. They understood that doing so is the foundation for the government having far too much sway. Rather like President Jefferson and his attitude towards banks. Bet we wished we'd listened now.
No dreams I will record here for the moment. Just life going about its business.
Brightest of Blessings.
Namarië
Findesilmë /|\
A Flemish stringing jig takes care of the longbow , which uses Flemish strings.
It looks like Taliesin will have a go at using my Scythian composite this year; he's grown a lot stronger now he's eating sufficiently and taking kung fu. That will give us all horse bows to use.
I got a couple of books on wood carving...pretty basic stuff on the whole, but comprehensive in that regard anyway. Since the same tools one carves wood with will also carve soapstone..and one of the books deals with home made tools for those too poor or frugal to purchase any...this aspect is looking up. All hand tools so reliance on power isn't a binder and doesn't add to our electric bill. Minor perhaps, but useful anyway.
In any case, not only can we carve reliefs on our gear chests but also tops for staves or canes and so on. There are even instructions for carving duck decoys although mastering those is an art in and of itself.
It also means the carving of my harp is likely to be higher quality. I'm practicing on the stool Cathfel gave me, the other two as well, and my feast gear chest.
I've been working on harmonics for my harp..making the strings ring like a bell with a clear tone. It isn't too hard to get such a sound, but to get it cleanly, loudly, and consistently is another matter. I have gotten rusty it seems. They aren't used in the things I usually play. A good reminder to practice outside the rut.
Someone overfilled a washing machine downstairs and the thing wound up smoking with that nasty smell of smoldering rubber/latex. The belt of course. It didn't catch fire but it did fill the hall with the smell. And people wonder why I don't trust folks in general; that's just simple obliviousness and self-absorption. There are multiple signs with large easily readable lettering telling people not to overload and how to avoid it. This particular person claims to not have noticed them, something I can believe but also something that tells me they're unsafe. The incident gave me something of an adrenaline rush.
Jannat is off at dance rehearsal. I've been oiling the bows and painting crests on arrow shafts.
I notice the incident with the attempted bombing of that plane has been expanded to a fare-thee-well. I am not in the least surprised. Nothing they have 'revealed' has been any revelation to me; I rather expected all of this was likely. They won't ever give up trying to hit us. They won't ever give up making us restrict our liberties more and more. In that regard they're winning; so much for not letting them change our lives. I'm with the Founding Fathers on this one; giving up any liberty for supposed security is simply wrong. They understood that doing so is the foundation for the government having far too much sway. Rather like President Jefferson and his attitude towards banks. Bet we wished we'd listened now.
No dreams I will record here for the moment. Just life going about its business.
Brightest of Blessings.
Namarië
Findesilmë /|\
Monday, December 28, 2009
A young Ranger
Taliesin asked to read the first book in the Ranger's Apprentice series. I'm delighted actually; he's finally begun reading for fun. :)
However, he also said he'd like to be a Ranger too and so will start assisting me with making his kit...and once my foot is fixed he'll be getting all sorts of instruction on tracking, survival, and the myriad other aspects of Rangering that I can teach him.
Watching 'Born of Hope' and 'The Hunt for Gollum' was inspiring to him apparently; he wants to emulate a Dunedain as best he can. Works for me; there is much to emulate there.
I noted he has set up a small altar in his room, on his own hook. :)
He's not like every other kid, and that makes things hard on him at times, but he's unique and himself and that is worth a very great deal of trouble. :)
It is a good thing.
Namarië
Findesilmë /|\
Nandaromar
However, he also said he'd like to be a Ranger too and so will start assisting me with making his kit...and once my foot is fixed he'll be getting all sorts of instruction on tracking, survival, and the myriad other aspects of Rangering that I can teach him.
Watching 'Born of Hope' and 'The Hunt for Gollum' was inspiring to him apparently; he wants to emulate a Dunedain as best he can. Works for me; there is much to emulate there.
I noted he has set up a small altar in his room, on his own hook. :)
He's not like every other kid, and that makes things hard on him at times, but he's unique and himself and that is worth a very great deal of trouble. :)
It is a good thing.
Namarië
Findesilmë /|\
Nandaromar
Work of the Hands
Interesting thing; the older arrows I have are 11/32 shafts, not 5/16 as I had thought (for some reason). They are all field tips. There used to be 24 of them but I am down to 12 and three of those lost their points in the foam targets used at last Sommer Draw.
Perusing broadheads I found the ones I like all took a minimum shaft of 11/32nds and come in packs of six. Hmm. With three arrows that size needing points...I got a package of them. 125 grain two edge broadheads, among the best available.
This sets up an interesting situation. All of my current shafts are 5/16ths as are the the field tips and knocks I have. So I am finishing all of those as field points; one can still hunt with them, at need, but they are not efficient for this sort of thing being puncturing arrows and not cutting sorts. They are good for much target shooting though and if mounted with bodkins, good for other things too. They are correctly spined for my bows. I may also mount whistlers and make some flu-flu arrows from them too; some small game blunts.
The end result is that I will now bring in a batch of 11/32nds shafts specifically for hunting arrows. They will all be broadheads or similar. Some might be bodkins even, although I'm not planning on it at this point.
Ismay loved my quiver and Jannat has admired it as well although she has a few things she'd change. So I'm making hers a bit differently than mine is. Both of us get bow quivers since both are recurves although hers being Turkish is more extreme than mine, which is Magyar. Taliesin may wind up with my Scythian for his use.
All of this stuff is to be highly decorated and in fact, consecrated to its appropriate use. We may wind up relying on them at some point so they'd best be well cared for and empowered to facilitate that possibility.
Small items to go with them; pouches that can strap around the quiver, some that hang at the belt for sharpening stones, extra strings, and so on.
I've got my glovers' instructions so I'm after making some very nice shooting gloves for both hands that do not have elastic or Velcro. Also some vambraces for Taliesin and Jannat.
All in addition to Crane Bags, moccs & muks, packs and haversacks, harp cases, sheaths & scabbards, and so on. Winter is so very good for working on things. :) I'm trying to get most of the leather stuff out of the way before tackling the fabric stuff heavily. Almost all of this stuff does multiple duty in any case.
In other work realms I'm after my Master to let me make some specific braziers and candelabra at his shop. We'll see how that turns out. I could buy some but at this point I'd rather make them. I might be able to fabricate some broadheads or bodkins there too but that remains to be seen. If I can make it, I won't buy it.
I have not lost my energy and drive to make stuff which is an awesome good thing. :) I'm in good spirits, I'm motivated, and in fact very happy at this point. I don't look to explain it, I just go with it.
It is possible my heel will be brought into line next month and I'll be back tramping, doing forms, LINE drills, sword forms and so on. Things look good at the moment. I'll take what I can get.
May the Gods make smooth the paths before you.
Arianmwng /|\
Perusing broadheads I found the ones I like all took a minimum shaft of 11/32nds and come in packs of six. Hmm. With three arrows that size needing points...I got a package of them. 125 grain two edge broadheads, among the best available.
This sets up an interesting situation. All of my current shafts are 5/16ths as are the the field tips and knocks I have. So I am finishing all of those as field points; one can still hunt with them, at need, but they are not efficient for this sort of thing being puncturing arrows and not cutting sorts. They are good for much target shooting though and if mounted with bodkins, good for other things too. They are correctly spined for my bows. I may also mount whistlers and make some flu-flu arrows from them too; some small game blunts.
The end result is that I will now bring in a batch of 11/32nds shafts specifically for hunting arrows. They will all be broadheads or similar. Some might be bodkins even, although I'm not planning on it at this point.
Ismay loved my quiver and Jannat has admired it as well although she has a few things she'd change. So I'm making hers a bit differently than mine is. Both of us get bow quivers since both are recurves although hers being Turkish is more extreme than mine, which is Magyar. Taliesin may wind up with my Scythian for his use.
All of this stuff is to be highly decorated and in fact, consecrated to its appropriate use. We may wind up relying on them at some point so they'd best be well cared for and empowered to facilitate that possibility.
Small items to go with them; pouches that can strap around the quiver, some that hang at the belt for sharpening stones, extra strings, and so on.
I've got my glovers' instructions so I'm after making some very nice shooting gloves for both hands that do not have elastic or Velcro. Also some vambraces for Taliesin and Jannat.
All in addition to Crane Bags, moccs & muks, packs and haversacks, harp cases, sheaths & scabbards, and so on. Winter is so very good for working on things. :) I'm trying to get most of the leather stuff out of the way before tackling the fabric stuff heavily. Almost all of this stuff does multiple duty in any case.
In other work realms I'm after my Master to let me make some specific braziers and candelabra at his shop. We'll see how that turns out. I could buy some but at this point I'd rather make them. I might be able to fabricate some broadheads or bodkins there too but that remains to be seen. If I can make it, I won't buy it.
I have not lost my energy and drive to make stuff which is an awesome good thing. :) I'm in good spirits, I'm motivated, and in fact very happy at this point. I don't look to explain it, I just go with it.
It is possible my heel will be brought into line next month and I'll be back tramping, doing forms, LINE drills, sword forms and so on. Things look good at the moment. I'll take what I can get.
May the Gods make smooth the paths before you.
Arianmwng /|\
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Change in the Wind
Okay, that was unsettling. Had that dream about a desperate escape from the complex again...fortunately not identical to the first, thank the Gods for that! Still an unpleasant dream.
I'm busily fighting off a cold...so naturally what I'm doing mostly is rearranging, reorganizing, and cleaning...which of course amplifies the runny nose bit. *sigh* But I need the flow of energy here to be far more efficient than it is. I've had a couple of probing intrusions of the energy sort and while nothing came of them; the place is *very* well defended after all, it takes a lot of unnecessary effort to effect those defenses when the flow is not optimized.
A new stage of activity is approaching, I can feel it in my bones, so I'm taking steps to make that easier.
I received a telephone call from a gentleman in Lowell asking if I would say a prayer for his alcoholic father in Cameroon. If you think this came as something of a surprise you're right; entirely unexpected. He got my number, name, and address from a listing I am on as clergy; the number is now removed from said listing. In any case, I did say a prayer, I did light a candle, but I also told him I did not do magic and any readings I do are for fun. Why? Well, the gentleman comes from a place where the word 'magic' has hugely different connotations than it does here. Also, fortune telling, card readings and so on are are only legal in Massachusetts if they are for entertainment purposes only. If you don't specify that you are leaving yourself open for some meddlesome and malicious cheeseweasle to cause grief. Much as I hate that aspect, as well as some other very peculiar and unsavory rules concerning registration of clergy in the state, there's nothing I can do beyond what I have done; written letters to legislative critters.
In any case, that's the first time I've gotten a phone call asking for prayers. O-o This might not be a big thing to some folk, but it isn't something I'm accustomed to. Oh sure, I get accosted by locals wanting me to do something now and then, but this sort of thing was just....unexpected. A little creepy. Enough to trigger the nasty suspicious sort within me. However, I do not now believe he posed any threat and was quite harmless. It was, however, something of an alert.
What with harping becoming something I do beyond here at home this coming year, a somewhat more 'visible' presence in general, and all the deck-clearing between now and warm weather, Change is in the wind...and not just the stuff I'm doing.
Even the readings have been interesting. I do cards in addition to ogham and those have been rather consistent and interesting of late too. All of them imply a movement of residence in the near future. The fact I can't see that happening doesn't mean it won't...since moving residence can also mean going homeless and one good crisis could do that. Yes, I know, it disappoints people that I tend to notice the darker interpretations...but that's part and parcel of doing the work in the first place.
In any case, we will be spending only on necessary things....anything else gets looked at hard and by how much bang we get for the buck. Since I wish to attend Harper's Retreat it is likely only one other event will be attended this year. So I must look hard at Sommer Draw, Yule, Novice Schola and so on. The SCA is only one example of things that aren't necessary. Kung fu is likely to be maintained for Tali anyway, as long as we can manage it. Jeni too on a month to month basis IF possible. No way we can afford myself and since I don't really need it, there it is. We may go to one vehicle and we will be getting rid of the cell phones before long. We don't really use them all that often and we have the most inexpensive service we can get for them. They are mostly for emergency use.
What is necessary is my Work, my harping, my family, and getting through the next couple of years as intact as possible. I'm making ritual tools and gear that perhaps I can barter or sell some of...while continually trying to nab a job despite the screaming unlikely chance that I will. I was never very good at giving up. Anyway, on my gallivanting about I pick up branches and things that might make for nifty items. I don't have to buy them. I've my eye out for shed antlers too. I don't reckon the makings will amount to much if anything but hey, can't hurt.
Shrinking the storage size is also on the agenda for the Spring.
Change is in the wind...of what sort I do not know yet. I will prepare for it as best I may, for good or ill. Life goes on. For the moment it is interesting and not at all bad. It would not do to forget that it can change in either direction in the twinkling of an eye.
Under the shadowy firs.
Arianmwng /|\
I'm busily fighting off a cold...so naturally what I'm doing mostly is rearranging, reorganizing, and cleaning...which of course amplifies the runny nose bit. *sigh* But I need the flow of energy here to be far more efficient than it is. I've had a couple of probing intrusions of the energy sort and while nothing came of them; the place is *very* well defended after all, it takes a lot of unnecessary effort to effect those defenses when the flow is not optimized.
A new stage of activity is approaching, I can feel it in my bones, so I'm taking steps to make that easier.
I received a telephone call from a gentleman in Lowell asking if I would say a prayer for his alcoholic father in Cameroon. If you think this came as something of a surprise you're right; entirely unexpected. He got my number, name, and address from a listing I am on as clergy; the number is now removed from said listing. In any case, I did say a prayer, I did light a candle, but I also told him I did not do magic and any readings I do are for fun. Why? Well, the gentleman comes from a place where the word 'magic' has hugely different connotations than it does here. Also, fortune telling, card readings and so on are are only legal in Massachusetts if they are for entertainment purposes only. If you don't specify that you are leaving yourself open for some meddlesome and malicious cheeseweasle to cause grief. Much as I hate that aspect, as well as some other very peculiar and unsavory rules concerning registration of clergy in the state, there's nothing I can do beyond what I have done; written letters to legislative critters.
In any case, that's the first time I've gotten a phone call asking for prayers. O-o This might not be a big thing to some folk, but it isn't something I'm accustomed to. Oh sure, I get accosted by locals wanting me to do something now and then, but this sort of thing was just....unexpected. A little creepy. Enough to trigger the nasty suspicious sort within me. However, I do not now believe he posed any threat and was quite harmless. It was, however, something of an alert.
What with harping becoming something I do beyond here at home this coming year, a somewhat more 'visible' presence in general, and all the deck-clearing between now and warm weather, Change is in the wind...and not just the stuff I'm doing.
Even the readings have been interesting. I do cards in addition to ogham and those have been rather consistent and interesting of late too. All of them imply a movement of residence in the near future. The fact I can't see that happening doesn't mean it won't...since moving residence can also mean going homeless and one good crisis could do that. Yes, I know, it disappoints people that I tend to notice the darker interpretations...but that's part and parcel of doing the work in the first place.
In any case, we will be spending only on necessary things....anything else gets looked at hard and by how much bang we get for the buck. Since I wish to attend Harper's Retreat it is likely only one other event will be attended this year. So I must look hard at Sommer Draw, Yule, Novice Schola and so on. The SCA is only one example of things that aren't necessary. Kung fu is likely to be maintained for Tali anyway, as long as we can manage it. Jeni too on a month to month basis IF possible. No way we can afford myself and since I don't really need it, there it is. We may go to one vehicle and we will be getting rid of the cell phones before long. We don't really use them all that often and we have the most inexpensive service we can get for them. They are mostly for emergency use.
What is necessary is my Work, my harping, my family, and getting through the next couple of years as intact as possible. I'm making ritual tools and gear that perhaps I can barter or sell some of...while continually trying to nab a job despite the screaming unlikely chance that I will. I was never very good at giving up. Anyway, on my gallivanting about I pick up branches and things that might make for nifty items. I don't have to buy them. I've my eye out for shed antlers too. I don't reckon the makings will amount to much if anything but hey, can't hurt.
Shrinking the storage size is also on the agenda for the Spring.
Change is in the wind...of what sort I do not know yet. I will prepare for it as best I may, for good or ill. Life goes on. For the moment it is interesting and not at all bad. It would not do to forget that it can change in either direction in the twinkling of an eye.
Under the shadowy firs.
Arianmwng /|\
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tools and learning
I probably ought to get some new photos of myself in 'togs'. That'll be coming along soon when I finish the new bits and bobs for certain. I'm after some shots with the harp too, for possible future use.
I'm after using buckles on my bag but I must admit to being still uncertain as some nice carved buttons would be nice as well. Of bone or antler in fact. Question is, more utilitarian in appearance or artistic? A blend of the two is the obvious choice but we'll see; I'm resorting to sketches to get an idea, something I've been doing a great deal of lately. One limiting factor is buckles; I haven't got any matching ones that aren't tiny! LOL I may, but I think they're used on armor and such; I'll have to see. Ooooo...just in...rings and buttons!
The Celts had belts that would pass through a ring of bronze, double back and then loop or slot over a button on the same belt. Sometimes laces were used in lieu of buttons or to tie around the buttons, making it more adjustable. This could in fact work nicely, bringing metal rings in with bone/antler buttons. I think I like this. Sketches to be certain. I can always make square 'rings' if necessary. Now there's an idea.
I have fur I'd like to use in some things, but I'm not sure what as of yet. Rabbit fur at the moment but also an arctic fox tail. I may well trim at least one of my hoods with fur, we'll see. Feathers and beads and so on, all being tested out in sketches.
I'm probably adding a bell to my bag, perhaps my staff too. 'Bear bells' they are called..more to warn wildlife. They come with magnetic silencers so they don't drive you nuts. Bears aren't such a problem here but it is still nice to warn off occasional critters in some places. Especially during hunting season. ;)
The staff selection continues. I'm pretty set on the designs to go into it once I settle on it.
While working on Roman things for other endeavors I am also putting a lot of effort into my working tools, which really have priority on the whole.
Mostly what I've begun doing is composing verse for my harping. It was said that at one time a Bard's training happened only in the Winter months; they were not allowed to compose during the rest of the year and in fact assisted with the usual work the villages had to do. In their free time they wandered the land and learned it....and returned to study in the Winter. An interesting way of working things. Effective I should think. Certainly I tend to be more creative in this way during the Winter.
I suspect the reason for the ban outside of Winter was to allow what had been learned to 'set', so to speak, such that when one returned to it in the following Winter things came forth rather less 'raw', if that makes sense. I've had this experience when playing the harp. I get caught on something and I can make no headway at all....and then I'll simply stop for a while. When I go back it is often as if I had never had any trouble at all. The mind and body had assimilated things while I was 'resting'. I have long since learned to use that to my advantage.
Life has become full and interesting, here in the darkest portion of the year. Rebirth is coming.
Brightest of Blessings
Arianmwng /|\
I'm after using buckles on my bag but I must admit to being still uncertain as some nice carved buttons would be nice as well. Of bone or antler in fact. Question is, more utilitarian in appearance or artistic? A blend of the two is the obvious choice but we'll see; I'm resorting to sketches to get an idea, something I've been doing a great deal of lately. One limiting factor is buckles; I haven't got any matching ones that aren't tiny! LOL I may, but I think they're used on armor and such; I'll have to see. Ooooo...just in...rings and buttons!
The Celts had belts that would pass through a ring of bronze, double back and then loop or slot over a button on the same belt. Sometimes laces were used in lieu of buttons or to tie around the buttons, making it more adjustable. This could in fact work nicely, bringing metal rings in with bone/antler buttons. I think I like this. Sketches to be certain. I can always make square 'rings' if necessary. Now there's an idea.
I have fur I'd like to use in some things, but I'm not sure what as of yet. Rabbit fur at the moment but also an arctic fox tail. I may well trim at least one of my hoods with fur, we'll see. Feathers and beads and so on, all being tested out in sketches.
I'm probably adding a bell to my bag, perhaps my staff too. 'Bear bells' they are called..more to warn wildlife. They come with magnetic silencers so they don't drive you nuts. Bears aren't such a problem here but it is still nice to warn off occasional critters in some places. Especially during hunting season. ;)
The staff selection continues. I'm pretty set on the designs to go into it once I settle on it.
While working on Roman things for other endeavors I am also putting a lot of effort into my working tools, which really have priority on the whole.
Mostly what I've begun doing is composing verse for my harping. It was said that at one time a Bard's training happened only in the Winter months; they were not allowed to compose during the rest of the year and in fact assisted with the usual work the villages had to do. In their free time they wandered the land and learned it....and returned to study in the Winter. An interesting way of working things. Effective I should think. Certainly I tend to be more creative in this way during the Winter.
I suspect the reason for the ban outside of Winter was to allow what had been learned to 'set', so to speak, such that when one returned to it in the following Winter things came forth rather less 'raw', if that makes sense. I've had this experience when playing the harp. I get caught on something and I can make no headway at all....and then I'll simply stop for a while. When I go back it is often as if I had never had any trouble at all. The mind and body had assimilated things while I was 'resting'. I have long since learned to use that to my advantage.
Life has become full and interesting, here in the darkest portion of the year. Rebirth is coming.
Brightest of Blessings
Arianmwng /|\
Friday, December 25, 2009
The Hunt
I've read several books on ley lines. They range from the belief that they are power lines to opinions they are simply imaginary lines arbitrarily placed by superstitious people.
What I haven't come across are books on song lines or song ways. I've seen them mentioned briefly here and there, but I've never yet come across a really serious treatise on them.
They are similar to ley lines. They are, however, the pathways of songs used to awaken the land, it's spirits. It's something I've come across in the Bard's Keep as well, something I've been after exploring for myself by bringing one of my instruments when I go to various places. To listen with my spirit instead of, or rather in addition to, my ears...to offer up what I have, which might someday yield up the song for a given place or spirit.
Similar to the hunt for the local spirits of places really. Like that search, akin to it, the hunt is difficult in part because the ancient pathways run mostly through private property, and unlike other places with such paths, owners here aren't friendly to people wandering along the paths. It makes delving into the ancient nature of the land and its spirits far, far more difficult than it ordinarily would be. I believe it is still worth pursuing.
Many of the ancient ways are paved highways. In some places one can find them; the Mohawk Trail is one such that still has parts of it extant in walkable places. The Metacomet covers another. Some sacred places are still accessible although most are not. The soapstone harvesting areas near Chicopee are effectively out of reach, for example.
Some places, like Mount Toby not far from my home, are still accessible. Mt. Toby was never logged off as most of Massachusetts was so it still has some primary growth on it; a delightful state of affairs. It has springs and at its summit a natural ring of Oak trees...a natural grove. It is one of the few places reachable although doing things is limited there; one isn't to be there after dark for one thing.
It is, however, my starting point. I'm fairly sure, from what I have, that the Pocumtuck Trail is also built along much older tracks in places and may in fact harbor a song line; I'll be hiking that this coming year to be sure.
Our habit here of bulldozing everything and building on it with no regard for what may have gone before is a highly irritating one. Our habit of draining or filling swamps, building artificial hills and cuts makes it ever so difficult to find the pathways that will allow us to perhaps awaken the land itself, and its spirits, to do more and better work.
No worthy task is easy, so it is said. This one is worthy, and it is anything but easy.
Namarië
Arianmwng /|\
What I haven't come across are books on song lines or song ways. I've seen them mentioned briefly here and there, but I've never yet come across a really serious treatise on them.
They are similar to ley lines. They are, however, the pathways of songs used to awaken the land, it's spirits. It's something I've come across in the Bard's Keep as well, something I've been after exploring for myself by bringing one of my instruments when I go to various places. To listen with my spirit instead of, or rather in addition to, my ears...to offer up what I have, which might someday yield up the song for a given place or spirit.
Similar to the hunt for the local spirits of places really. Like that search, akin to it, the hunt is difficult in part because the ancient pathways run mostly through private property, and unlike other places with such paths, owners here aren't friendly to people wandering along the paths. It makes delving into the ancient nature of the land and its spirits far, far more difficult than it ordinarily would be. I believe it is still worth pursuing.
Many of the ancient ways are paved highways. In some places one can find them; the Mohawk Trail is one such that still has parts of it extant in walkable places. The Metacomet covers another. Some sacred places are still accessible although most are not. The soapstone harvesting areas near Chicopee are effectively out of reach, for example.
Some places, like Mount Toby not far from my home, are still accessible. Mt. Toby was never logged off as most of Massachusetts was so it still has some primary growth on it; a delightful state of affairs. It has springs and at its summit a natural ring of Oak trees...a natural grove. It is one of the few places reachable although doing things is limited there; one isn't to be there after dark for one thing.
It is, however, my starting point. I'm fairly sure, from what I have, that the Pocumtuck Trail is also built along much older tracks in places and may in fact harbor a song line; I'll be hiking that this coming year to be sure.
Our habit here of bulldozing everything and building on it with no regard for what may have gone before is a highly irritating one. Our habit of draining or filling swamps, building artificial hills and cuts makes it ever so difficult to find the pathways that will allow us to perhaps awaken the land itself, and its spirits, to do more and better work.
No worthy task is easy, so it is said. This one is worthy, and it is anything but easy.
Namarië
Arianmwng /|\
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Think.
Everything a Druid needs to know is, or was, ready to hand.
Everything we need to learn from is literally in, under, above and around the land that supports us.
It is, unfortunately, disappearing at a great rate. Once something is gone it can no longer teach us its part of the whole. You cannot teach the taste of a blackberry or the prickle of a nettle...or the habits of the species that have vanished. Once they are gone, their part of the whole is gone too.
It is the natural order of things that species go extinct...generally replaced by some other species that takes over the empty niche and carries on the story that goes with that bit.
But we as a species are killing off others before any chance of replacement, of passage, happens. We are destroying elements of the greater knowledge Nature keeps for us.
Everything necessary has been recorded and kept by nature. And we are burning the pages of that book for the sake of comfort, money, and power.
This is what comes of holding ourselves apart from and above the rest of our surroundings. Somehow chosen and privileged such that the usual rules do not apply to us. We are filled with pride in the things we make and the things we do...and we are so unhappy the rocks echo it for any with ears to hear.
Our hubris is killing us. And everything else along with it.
Think about it. I mean really, deeply, think about it. With a mind that is really open, not just assumed to be.
Pagans are among the very worst at this sort of thing. Think of why that might be.
Under the vanishing trees
Arianmwng /|\
Everything we need to learn from is literally in, under, above and around the land that supports us.
It is, unfortunately, disappearing at a great rate. Once something is gone it can no longer teach us its part of the whole. You cannot teach the taste of a blackberry or the prickle of a nettle...or the habits of the species that have vanished. Once they are gone, their part of the whole is gone too.
It is the natural order of things that species go extinct...generally replaced by some other species that takes over the empty niche and carries on the story that goes with that bit.
But we as a species are killing off others before any chance of replacement, of passage, happens. We are destroying elements of the greater knowledge Nature keeps for us.
Everything necessary has been recorded and kept by nature. And we are burning the pages of that book for the sake of comfort, money, and power.
This is what comes of holding ourselves apart from and above the rest of our surroundings. Somehow chosen and privileged such that the usual rules do not apply to us. We are filled with pride in the things we make and the things we do...and we are so unhappy the rocks echo it for any with ears to hear.
Our hubris is killing us. And everything else along with it.
Think about it. I mean really, deeply, think about it. With a mind that is really open, not just assumed to be.
Pagans are among the very worst at this sort of thing. Think of why that might be.
Under the vanishing trees
Arianmwng /|\
Names & More Work
I washed my hair the night before last. One thing that stands out fiercely when my hair is freshly washed and drying is the silver; it literally has a luster to it and is in fact silver and not grey or white.
It is also far and away the dominant color of my hair. The color that remains is mostly old dye and I have not redyed my hair in some time. I'm not inclined to do so anytime soon. Perhaps this is why I've taken a liking to darker colors; deep crimsons, blues, greens and even black. The silver is very noticeable against them. It does not depress me, I might say. I rather like it.
Cyfnos Gwynt is a good name for a harper. In translation it sounds a bit 'airy' neopagan; Duskwind. A lot of magical/druidic/shamanic names are like that. I'm more inclined these days to go with a more descriptive name in some ways; descriptive of a position of trait.
I've been called 'Silverhair' but as I have pointed out before that's the name of a character Diana Paxson created in the Westria 'verse. 'Silvermane' is also descriptive and perhaps rather better suited to me at this point. In Welsh it comes out as Arian Mwng/Arianmwng. In Breton it comes across as Arc'hant Blev/Arc'hantblev. I don't know what the Irish would be. Welsh is traditional, but then it doesn't really matter. I find the name attractive in English too.
Change is the only constant. I once enjoyed a number of the more 'airy' sort of nicknames. Now, while I find them quite suitable for other folk, for myself I find them a touch out of whack. A function of age? I don't know. Growth and change are ever present. Some of us need to take on new images and descriptions as we go from stage to stage. Some don't.
I'm probably going to change over to Arianmwng/Silvermane at some point, but who knows? Perhaps I won't. Still, it is more descriptive of me as I am...and will be, unless I lose my hair entirely...then it would be what, Silverpate? ;) Twitterpate more likely.
I've been an Archdruid for a year and a half and I'm finally beginning to feel more comfortable in that role. There's still a lot of wriggling to do for a final fit, but on the whole I'm beginning to get a better picture of it all. I do take it seriously. The responsibility that is.
My Grove is a teaching Grove for the moment. Some element of that will always be present like as not. There are no elections and I have no set in stone 'chain of command'; I'm the sort who assigns according to what I feel works. At this point there's no reason to assign anything to anyone in any permanent way. That being said there is an administrative chart by degree; if for some reason that sort of thing is ever needed we have it to hand. At the moment there are no dues, there is no real correspondence or scheduling to deal with and everyone is learning the rites so having people permanently assigned to various positions isn't necessary or desirable although that could change.
I'm still turning over ideas on preserving the Order in the event of a really ugly scenario or two. It is a complicated thing requiring a very great deal of thought. I'm inclined to think at this point it will need to be a redundant system to give the best chance of surviving.
I have some things to start going over in meetings in a more detailed way now. Everyone in the Grove has been through a year plus of ritual observances. Wow, that's one of the requirements for 1st Degree I think. Hmmm. Must be a coincidence. Gardening and plant learning/caring, meditation rites...funny how they all seem to be part of the whole. What an amazing thing. I would not be surprised in the slightest if some people moved up the spiral in the coming year, if they choose to do so. Still, there are other things to go over in more detail than these. Yes, I spend most time with Candidate and Apprentice type matters; Companions aiming for Adept have to set up their own course of study, have it approved, and wow the Grand Grove in the process. That generally takes three years although the Grand Archdude can shorten that at his discretion.
The Work in the coming year will demand a very great deal of my attention. Another reason for prepping the apartment during this dark portion of the year.
Occupied and pleased with it.
May the Gods stand between you and harm in all the Empty places you must walk.
Arianmwng /|\
It is also far and away the dominant color of my hair. The color that remains is mostly old dye and I have not redyed my hair in some time. I'm not inclined to do so anytime soon. Perhaps this is why I've taken a liking to darker colors; deep crimsons, blues, greens and even black. The silver is very noticeable against them. It does not depress me, I might say. I rather like it.
Cyfnos Gwynt is a good name for a harper. In translation it sounds a bit 'airy' neopagan; Duskwind. A lot of magical/druidic/shamanic names are like that. I'm more inclined these days to go with a more descriptive name in some ways; descriptive of a position of trait.
I've been called 'Silverhair' but as I have pointed out before that's the name of a character Diana Paxson created in the Westria 'verse. 'Silvermane' is also descriptive and perhaps rather better suited to me at this point. In Welsh it comes out as Arian Mwng/Arianmwng. In Breton it comes across as Arc'hant Blev/Arc'hantblev. I don't know what the Irish would be. Welsh is traditional, but then it doesn't really matter. I find the name attractive in English too.
Change is the only constant. I once enjoyed a number of the more 'airy' sort of nicknames. Now, while I find them quite suitable for other folk, for myself I find them a touch out of whack. A function of age? I don't know. Growth and change are ever present. Some of us need to take on new images and descriptions as we go from stage to stage. Some don't.
I'm probably going to change over to Arianmwng/Silvermane at some point, but who knows? Perhaps I won't. Still, it is more descriptive of me as I am...and will be, unless I lose my hair entirely...then it would be what, Silverpate? ;) Twitterpate more likely.
I've been an Archdruid for a year and a half and I'm finally beginning to feel more comfortable in that role. There's still a lot of wriggling to do for a final fit, but on the whole I'm beginning to get a better picture of it all. I do take it seriously. The responsibility that is.
My Grove is a teaching Grove for the moment. Some element of that will always be present like as not. There are no elections and I have no set in stone 'chain of command'; I'm the sort who assigns according to what I feel works. At this point there's no reason to assign anything to anyone in any permanent way. That being said there is an administrative chart by degree; if for some reason that sort of thing is ever needed we have it to hand. At the moment there are no dues, there is no real correspondence or scheduling to deal with and everyone is learning the rites so having people permanently assigned to various positions isn't necessary or desirable although that could change.
I'm still turning over ideas on preserving the Order in the event of a really ugly scenario or two. It is a complicated thing requiring a very great deal of thought. I'm inclined to think at this point it will need to be a redundant system to give the best chance of surviving.
I have some things to start going over in meetings in a more detailed way now. Everyone in the Grove has been through a year plus of ritual observances. Wow, that's one of the requirements for 1st Degree I think. Hmmm. Must be a coincidence. Gardening and plant learning/caring, meditation rites...funny how they all seem to be part of the whole. What an amazing thing. I would not be surprised in the slightest if some people moved up the spiral in the coming year, if they choose to do so. Still, there are other things to go over in more detail than these. Yes, I spend most time with Candidate and Apprentice type matters; Companions aiming for Adept have to set up their own course of study, have it approved, and wow the Grand Grove in the process. That generally takes three years although the Grand Archdude can shorten that at his discretion.
The Work in the coming year will demand a very great deal of my attention. Another reason for prepping the apartment during this dark portion of the year.
Occupied and pleased with it.
May the Gods stand between you and harm in all the Empty places you must walk.
Arianmwng /|\
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Work
One of the things I was tasked with doing after the '08 Summer Solstice was the acquisition or fabrication of a staff. Material, size, decoration...all of these are entirely up to the individual. I've been using my old 20+ year old knock about staff with the names of Celtic deities written in Norse runes on it as an interim. It could be bought, gifted or made.
When does 'interim' become 'way beyond time'? When someone raps you on the noggin and says so, that's when.
I prefer, strongly, to make my own tools of this sort. Why? Because I imbue it with energy from myself and it more readily accepts energy I wish to impart into it as a result of having been crafted by myself. Do I absolutely need tools to do work? No, I can do it completely free of them. They do, however, make it easier and they do provide a sort of sign for certain others. There is a good reason to have the tools associated with the work one does.
So I got a polite rap on the noggin last eventide. No pain, no fear of the Gods, none of that. Just a polite nudge that I had left something undone. Something that would soon be important and play a role in my work and life. I have long since learned not to disregard these things; that is the path I avoid like the plague. So I am examining my stock of wood staves and deciding what to make this particular staff, which will replace my everyday use one for most things I do, from and what form it will take.
I'd like to make it of Rowan wood if I can. I do believe I have a length somewhere from one of these trees that was taken down due to illness. If I cannot make it from Rowan wood then Oak or Ash will do well enough; Rowan wood is not mandated in any way, I just happen to find that wood resonates well with my energy.
It will be rather understated...at least compared to the ah..somewhat ostentatious Staff of Life the Grove has. It will be carved, it will have at least some inset stones and/or metals, and if it does have a crystal at the top it will be a small one in fact, probably deeply inset into the wood such that it would resemble panes of glass in a tower more than a stone on a stick. It needs to be ready by Midsummer's so it is a project of relative priority.
I have all of the other tools I am meant to have, it is only this one I have not yet moved on. It is appropriate at this time as I am also bringing forth the new Crane Bag soon, the sickle and its sheath, a pouch for the Stone and even a new belt to allow more flexibility than the cord does. With the newer ritual clothing it all amounts to an evolving set of tools and presence. I'm very much at the point where I need embroidery or applique with some of my clothing. Why? I don't know for sure, I just feel the need. I'd say it has more to do with bringing the items more into line with my own energy as the things I wish to embroider are harps, crescents, the Wadjet Eye and other things. The clothing itself, being remade in the form of ancient and accurate garments continues this blend and adaptation.
It all underlines the fact that I am still changing, still growing in my Order and in my own duties and Service. The growth won't stop in some ways, but the changing or augmentation of physical items to be more in harmony with my energies and sense of self will eventually mature. I'm close to that now.
I've even been considering making a case for keeping my necessary tools in; something I can simply pick up and go with whenever duty calls. I suppose a briefcase would work but in this, like in all of the others of my magical tools, making it myself is better. Nothing I have has to be the best available piece of its kind; it only has to be in harmony with me and work as intended and be the best I am capable of as a crafter.
I still write rituals. A lot of them. This is, I think, a never ending task for the dedicated Priest/ess. Chants, prayers, songs, full scale ritual evolutions, spells...all of it.
To go with all of this is the slowly evolving nature of the apartment; curtain rods and curtains to go with them, banners that do multiple duties and some that are specific to one thing. Sconces, candelabra, thuribles, braziers, pictures & paintings, and a host of other things to make the energies of the space we live in more conducive to the flow of power as I work. I'm even working up carving for my spinning wheel, not to mention the harp I have to build. Slowly, ever so slowly, the living space becomes a very real Sanctuary. It becomes Harper's Hall.
I have cases to make for my cards and pouches to make for my runes and fews.
All of this stuff has a priority and probably explains why I am so slow on purely fun projects..since all of this is interspersed with family life, the Work, study, harp and dance practice and other such things. There's planning the expanded gardening area for the complex here, keeping the idea of a clothesline area sharp before the management. There's the seeds and planning on how to make the garden more capable of surviving Monsoon season.
I'm a very busy Archpriestess. In a whole lot of ways.
With all of that are my Grove duties; teaching. Lately I've begun to give out more work for folk to study. Soon now I'm going to start going over necessary elements of the train of progression; the Spirals and Paths. A more organized teaching pattern which will help those who wish to proceed but also give some illumination to others regardless. That includes the reading and discussion of some books I might add. It will be of more benefit to beginners than to those already well on the way I suspect.
It is a busy time. I have much to do.
Brightest of Blessings.
Arianmwng /|\
(Silvermane; whose natural hair really is a true silver now)
When does 'interim' become 'way beyond time'? When someone raps you on the noggin and says so, that's when.
I prefer, strongly, to make my own tools of this sort. Why? Because I imbue it with energy from myself and it more readily accepts energy I wish to impart into it as a result of having been crafted by myself. Do I absolutely need tools to do work? No, I can do it completely free of them. They do, however, make it easier and they do provide a sort of sign for certain others. There is a good reason to have the tools associated with the work one does.
So I got a polite rap on the noggin last eventide. No pain, no fear of the Gods, none of that. Just a polite nudge that I had left something undone. Something that would soon be important and play a role in my work and life. I have long since learned not to disregard these things; that is the path I avoid like the plague. So I am examining my stock of wood staves and deciding what to make this particular staff, which will replace my everyday use one for most things I do, from and what form it will take.
I'd like to make it of Rowan wood if I can. I do believe I have a length somewhere from one of these trees that was taken down due to illness. If I cannot make it from Rowan wood then Oak or Ash will do well enough; Rowan wood is not mandated in any way, I just happen to find that wood resonates well with my energy.
It will be rather understated...at least compared to the ah..somewhat ostentatious Staff of Life the Grove has. It will be carved, it will have at least some inset stones and/or metals, and if it does have a crystal at the top it will be a small one in fact, probably deeply inset into the wood such that it would resemble panes of glass in a tower more than a stone on a stick. It needs to be ready by Midsummer's so it is a project of relative priority.
I have all of the other tools I am meant to have, it is only this one I have not yet moved on. It is appropriate at this time as I am also bringing forth the new Crane Bag soon, the sickle and its sheath, a pouch for the Stone and even a new belt to allow more flexibility than the cord does. With the newer ritual clothing it all amounts to an evolving set of tools and presence. I'm very much at the point where I need embroidery or applique with some of my clothing. Why? I don't know for sure, I just feel the need. I'd say it has more to do with bringing the items more into line with my own energy as the things I wish to embroider are harps, crescents, the Wadjet Eye and other things. The clothing itself, being remade in the form of ancient and accurate garments continues this blend and adaptation.
It all underlines the fact that I am still changing, still growing in my Order and in my own duties and Service. The growth won't stop in some ways, but the changing or augmentation of physical items to be more in harmony with my energies and sense of self will eventually mature. I'm close to that now.
I've even been considering making a case for keeping my necessary tools in; something I can simply pick up and go with whenever duty calls. I suppose a briefcase would work but in this, like in all of the others of my magical tools, making it myself is better. Nothing I have has to be the best available piece of its kind; it only has to be in harmony with me and work as intended and be the best I am capable of as a crafter.
I still write rituals. A lot of them. This is, I think, a never ending task for the dedicated Priest/ess. Chants, prayers, songs, full scale ritual evolutions, spells...all of it.
To go with all of this is the slowly evolving nature of the apartment; curtain rods and curtains to go with them, banners that do multiple duties and some that are specific to one thing. Sconces, candelabra, thuribles, braziers, pictures & paintings, and a host of other things to make the energies of the space we live in more conducive to the flow of power as I work. I'm even working up carving for my spinning wheel, not to mention the harp I have to build. Slowly, ever so slowly, the living space becomes a very real Sanctuary. It becomes Harper's Hall.
I have cases to make for my cards and pouches to make for my runes and fews.
All of this stuff has a priority and probably explains why I am so slow on purely fun projects..since all of this is interspersed with family life, the Work, study, harp and dance practice and other such things. There's planning the expanded gardening area for the complex here, keeping the idea of a clothesline area sharp before the management. There's the seeds and planning on how to make the garden more capable of surviving Monsoon season.
I'm a very busy Archpriestess. In a whole lot of ways.
With all of that are my Grove duties; teaching. Lately I've begun to give out more work for folk to study. Soon now I'm going to start going over necessary elements of the train of progression; the Spirals and Paths. A more organized teaching pattern which will help those who wish to proceed but also give some illumination to others regardless. That includes the reading and discussion of some books I might add. It will be of more benefit to beginners than to those already well on the way I suspect.
It is a busy time. I have much to do.
Brightest of Blessings.
Arianmwng /|\
(Silvermane; whose natural hair really is a true silver now)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Copenhagen & The Shadow
So Copenhagen has come and gone and there is much moaning and pissing over what did not get done. Personally I'm left in some bafflement as to what, exactly, people thought was going to happen. I'm not disappointed because I expected nothing to happen; to do anything would have meant the voluntary curtailment of good portions of business as usual; restraints, inspections, and trust on the part of participants. That was never going to happen. For one thing the anti-climate types have been in full voice and have managed to convince most people in this country, never the most willing to give anything up, that its all a hoax.
Sorry, but it did exactly what I figured it would do. My 'faith' in humanity remains unchanged; as a group we will do nothing until it is far too late and even then we will do so little as to make it entirely meaningless even if we had done it far earlier.
People, especially in this country, are NOT willing to give up anything. They want, as all true Imperial Citizens do, others to give things up for them. Remember, the American Way of Life is still non-negotiable. Someone forgot to tell Mother that.
People are, to a goodly extent, afraid to change anything for fear the neighbors won't or that things will turn around and they'll be left looking stupid or out of pocket. Selfishness has been instilled in this nation to a fare-thee-well and it isn't going away. We addicted everyone to this silliness and now the chips are called in.
So you know, bitch and moan if you must but please don't be surprised. There was never any reason to think that anything would get done at this summit. Especially when the 'biggest' leaders didn't even show up until the last minute; they expected the 'lesser' people to have hammered things out for them to sign off on. That arrogance all by itself ensured nothing would get done from the start. The fact that U.S. Congress has to ratify anything we may have agreed to assured its defeat anyway, and therefore the collapse of anything that might have occurred.
Like it or not folks, we are going to do absolutely nothing as a whole. Individuals and small groups, sure. Not nearly enough to matter. Deal with it.
This is one of the reasons I always expect the worst. I am very rarely surprised.
Now watch this farce that is Health Care Reform. Rather hard to reform something when the problem children are part of the cure. *snorts* It will be another excuse to make people pay more money to those very same providers so they can get even richer. It will not work as billed, it is not wanted by the majority of the public, but some sick version of it will get through eventually...although we won't be able to fund it and it will never really kick in....we'll be paying for it from the start. Well, those who still have money. I wonder how many have realized just how large the number of people who will need the subsidies is going to be by next year. Oh that's right, I'm sorry, we're in 'recovery'. It would be funny if it weren't so terribly sad. I note a family of four making less than 80 some thousand a year gets subsidized; vouchers. That means my family would too. That's being on the government dole, by the way. And if you don't have or register for some health care, you get fined. So how does one pay that when they haven't the money to get insurance anyway?
Insurance companies are the main part of the problem with so very much that is screwy here. But of course we're all about free enterprise. That's a load of horse puckey.
The Shadow has been cunning this time around. It has not manifested in a single individual or country. No, it has become a way of life, infiltrating everything and weaving itself into the fabric of living. It may, eventually, take shape as a nation and then a person, but for now it leaves those who would oppose it entirely hamstrung and essentially helpless. Oh yes, it returns after every defeat...and it has been growing.
Think about it. The Illusions are soon to be stripped away. If you need a happy bubble to cope then find some other way; that bubble won't be there. In the end, there will be one choice; deal or pass.
Eledhwen /|\
Sorry, but it did exactly what I figured it would do. My 'faith' in humanity remains unchanged; as a group we will do nothing until it is far too late and even then we will do so little as to make it entirely meaningless even if we had done it far earlier.
People, especially in this country, are NOT willing to give up anything. They want, as all true Imperial Citizens do, others to give things up for them. Remember, the American Way of Life is still non-negotiable. Someone forgot to tell Mother that.
People are, to a goodly extent, afraid to change anything for fear the neighbors won't or that things will turn around and they'll be left looking stupid or out of pocket. Selfishness has been instilled in this nation to a fare-thee-well and it isn't going away. We addicted everyone to this silliness and now the chips are called in.
So you know, bitch and moan if you must but please don't be surprised. There was never any reason to think that anything would get done at this summit. Especially when the 'biggest' leaders didn't even show up until the last minute; they expected the 'lesser' people to have hammered things out for them to sign off on. That arrogance all by itself ensured nothing would get done from the start. The fact that U.S. Congress has to ratify anything we may have agreed to assured its defeat anyway, and therefore the collapse of anything that might have occurred.
Like it or not folks, we are going to do absolutely nothing as a whole. Individuals and small groups, sure. Not nearly enough to matter. Deal with it.
This is one of the reasons I always expect the worst. I am very rarely surprised.
Now watch this farce that is Health Care Reform. Rather hard to reform something when the problem children are part of the cure. *snorts* It will be another excuse to make people pay more money to those very same providers so they can get even richer. It will not work as billed, it is not wanted by the majority of the public, but some sick version of it will get through eventually...although we won't be able to fund it and it will never really kick in....we'll be paying for it from the start. Well, those who still have money. I wonder how many have realized just how large the number of people who will need the subsidies is going to be by next year. Oh that's right, I'm sorry, we're in 'recovery'. It would be funny if it weren't so terribly sad. I note a family of four making less than 80 some thousand a year gets subsidized; vouchers. That means my family would too. That's being on the government dole, by the way. And if you don't have or register for some health care, you get fined. So how does one pay that when they haven't the money to get insurance anyway?
Insurance companies are the main part of the problem with so very much that is screwy here. But of course we're all about free enterprise. That's a load of horse puckey.
The Shadow has been cunning this time around. It has not manifested in a single individual or country. No, it has become a way of life, infiltrating everything and weaving itself into the fabric of living. It may, eventually, take shape as a nation and then a person, but for now it leaves those who would oppose it entirely hamstrung and essentially helpless. Oh yes, it returns after every defeat...and it has been growing.
Think about it. The Illusions are soon to be stripped away. If you need a happy bubble to cope then find some other way; that bubble won't be there. In the end, there will be one choice; deal or pass.
Eledhwen /|\
Monday, December 21, 2009
Peace
Here I sit on a promontory that looks out over a lake. I don't know what lake this is or precisely where it is, although if I delved into my dream self I could likely find out. I'm feeling too mellow to do that however. It is early night and the stars are scattered across the sky in mind-boggling profusion; the clearing of the smog from the skies has led to nights that literally frighten some people, sometimes terribly so. On a night when stars and moon both are in the sky, such as now, one can read by the light; it is a lovely change.
I look down across the lake; here and there are points of light, most of it the warm yellow of lamp or candle, the rare bit is electric in nature. There is still electricity being used in some places but it tends to be rare these days; there's little enough fuel to go around anyway and what there is tends to get used for things with a higher return on the investment. Most folk are to bed soon after sunset and up around sunrise now. A far cry from the days of alarm clocks and sleeping in.
It is not a particularly cold night and it is still Spring; mist has risen from the water and drifts about the lake. Loons cry periodically and there's a mighty old Great Horned Owl nearby who makes his presence known from time to time. I am wrapped in my cloak of dark grey nonetheless, my back to a small banked fire. I have good well-worn boots that I made myself on my feet, a leather jerkin of green over a tunic of grey and brown pants. Nearby lies my Magyar bow and a quiver of arrows and in my lap sits my harp; I have been playing in praise of the Star Kindler and the Moon. My bedroll is laid out neatly and the remains of a frugal but good dinner sit in the pot; I will use it to break my fast in the morning.
My hair is braided on either side of my head, feathers and pearls woven into them. The rest is pulled back into a pony tail to keep my face clear. I bear a circlet with the Awen sign on it center front with moonstones spaced 'round the rest of it. On my breast lies a pendant bearing a book surrounded by an orle of oak leaves. On the backs of the gloves lying across my thigh are harps surrounded by four six pointed stars. Bronze oak leaves are the catch on my cloak. An odd if interesting combination of symbols. I have dolphin earrings, a number of finger rings, bracelets of glass, and a torc of bronze. I note the belt at my waist is Roman in design; bronze plates cover most of it but instead of a Pugio my longknife depends from the frogs.
It is an interestingly blended outfit; rather different and unexpected although my dream self is perfectly comfortable with it all. I'm in good shape; while my hair is silver I am slender and in good health. My eyes are clear, my skin still smooth for the most part, and my figure decent, which is a nice change from the now; I chuckle to myself as I think this but it is true. I have a pronounced waist, a full bust, and reasonable hips, visible even as I am in this dream.
I'm listening to the sounds of night; the animals moving about on their business, the creaking voice of trees and the whispering lap of water. The moon is a rippled reflection on the lake, the stars winking points and a river of fire across the sky. I'm growing sleepy so I case my harp and burrow into my bedroll; I have no fear of sleeping out here alone. None at all..
****
Mae govannen mellonamin
Amazingly peaceful that one. *sigh* Wish I had more like it. :) Just being me and peaceful, very nice. Very invigorating to me...if boring to others most likely. I suppose it is rather selfish..narcissistic maybe. Me as I'd like to be, a true dream. I do find the circlet and pendant interesting; I have neither of those, but I may decide to make them.
Nothing soothes me like harping. It is and will remain my favorite of all instruments and if I am given the time I will master it, rather than just play well. I'm due to play at Harper's Retreat next year; I'm of a mind to use 'The Spoils of Annwn' as the period piece and perhaps 'The Rescue of Mirihendiel' as the Player's Choice piece, assuming I get it done well enough in time. I could toss a wrench and do 'Over the Misty Mountains Cold' for which Erik Blackburn made a tune long ago. 'Weathertop' is another possibility. Or, more sensibly, 'The January Man' or 'The Woodcutter's Song'. There are sufficient to choose from. I will learn them all, if I haven't already, and given the nature of the event might wind up doing them all too, who knows?
My duties and my harping are my primary thrusts with other things not far behind. I'm in a pretty good mood considering the state of things. Horribly inconsiderate of me I know but what can I say? It is what it is.
Brightest of Blessings. May the Lady of the Stars bless and keep you and yours.
Namarië
Eledhwen /|\
I look down across the lake; here and there are points of light, most of it the warm yellow of lamp or candle, the rare bit is electric in nature. There is still electricity being used in some places but it tends to be rare these days; there's little enough fuel to go around anyway and what there is tends to get used for things with a higher return on the investment. Most folk are to bed soon after sunset and up around sunrise now. A far cry from the days of alarm clocks and sleeping in.
It is not a particularly cold night and it is still Spring; mist has risen from the water and drifts about the lake. Loons cry periodically and there's a mighty old Great Horned Owl nearby who makes his presence known from time to time. I am wrapped in my cloak of dark grey nonetheless, my back to a small banked fire. I have good well-worn boots that I made myself on my feet, a leather jerkin of green over a tunic of grey and brown pants. Nearby lies my Magyar bow and a quiver of arrows and in my lap sits my harp; I have been playing in praise of the Star Kindler and the Moon. My bedroll is laid out neatly and the remains of a frugal but good dinner sit in the pot; I will use it to break my fast in the morning.
My hair is braided on either side of my head, feathers and pearls woven into them. The rest is pulled back into a pony tail to keep my face clear. I bear a circlet with the Awen sign on it center front with moonstones spaced 'round the rest of it. On my breast lies a pendant bearing a book surrounded by an orle of oak leaves. On the backs of the gloves lying across my thigh are harps surrounded by four six pointed stars. Bronze oak leaves are the catch on my cloak. An odd if interesting combination of symbols. I have dolphin earrings, a number of finger rings, bracelets of glass, and a torc of bronze. I note the belt at my waist is Roman in design; bronze plates cover most of it but instead of a Pugio my longknife depends from the frogs.
It is an interestingly blended outfit; rather different and unexpected although my dream self is perfectly comfortable with it all. I'm in good shape; while my hair is silver I am slender and in good health. My eyes are clear, my skin still smooth for the most part, and my figure decent, which is a nice change from the now; I chuckle to myself as I think this but it is true. I have a pronounced waist, a full bust, and reasonable hips, visible even as I am in this dream.
I'm listening to the sounds of night; the animals moving about on their business, the creaking voice of trees and the whispering lap of water. The moon is a rippled reflection on the lake, the stars winking points and a river of fire across the sky. I'm growing sleepy so I case my harp and burrow into my bedroll; I have no fear of sleeping out here alone. None at all..
****
Mae govannen mellonamin
Amazingly peaceful that one. *sigh* Wish I had more like it. :) Just being me and peaceful, very nice. Very invigorating to me...if boring to others most likely. I suppose it is rather selfish..narcissistic maybe. Me as I'd like to be, a true dream. I do find the circlet and pendant interesting; I have neither of those, but I may decide to make them.
Nothing soothes me like harping. It is and will remain my favorite of all instruments and if I am given the time I will master it, rather than just play well. I'm due to play at Harper's Retreat next year; I'm of a mind to use 'The Spoils of Annwn' as the period piece and perhaps 'The Rescue of Mirihendiel' as the Player's Choice piece, assuming I get it done well enough in time. I could toss a wrench and do 'Over the Misty Mountains Cold' for which Erik Blackburn made a tune long ago. 'Weathertop' is another possibility. Or, more sensibly, 'The January Man' or 'The Woodcutter's Song'. There are sufficient to choose from. I will learn them all, if I haven't already, and given the nature of the event might wind up doing them all too, who knows?
My duties and my harping are my primary thrusts with other things not far behind. I'm in a pretty good mood considering the state of things. Horribly inconsiderate of me I know but what can I say? It is what it is.
Brightest of Blessings. May the Lady of the Stars bless and keep you and yours.
Namarië
Eledhwen /|\
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Illusion & Risk
Odd dreaming last eventide; it was mostly to do with me personally, that bit is pretty obvious, but it naturally had larger contexts. No, I was not slapped; I've been doing my job as I ought. But I was nudged a little towards an aspect of things that I tend to set aside for the greater duties; a reminder to be whole rather than sectional...general over specialized if you like. This aspect has to do with caring for myself properly. I have a marked tendency to let myself idle while I look to other things and other people; I put other things before myself, in other words. Probably more than I should..well, after last evening, definitely more than I should. It is unsurprising to anyone who knows me and yet I appreciate the gentle reminder that my devotion is outstanding but I need to see to myself now and then too.
That little reminder came from the Star Kindler; She is gentle but that very gentle nature hides serious steel, as I know all too well. I am in no risk of incurring that sort of thing, no; I tend to learn my lessons well and usually the first time out.
It doesn't hurt that agreement from Others came along with it.
Here is hoping the heel problem is sorted and I can get back to being not-crippled. There is much to do and I am hampered by my injury.
No ship last night although there was water; a lake I think, or a very wide river. No urgent fight for survival or any of that. There were dancing bears, stars, song, and a bright bit of fire. It was a peaceful enough backdrop for certain.
I've been keeping the mind control device off except for movies using the dvd player. I'm tired of the same old lies and illusions and the desperate way people lap it all up. I have enough to do without getting sidetracked by that stuff; I'll leave it to others who apparently 'have a better grip on reality' or something like that. While I don't know the precise nature of what is coming, I do know the general nature and regardless of particulars it will be unpleasant at best. Since when does the best actually happen?
I do find it rather interesting that our culture, so desirable to so many and using up so much time and energy to maintain, tends to instill a need for escapism in so many. Yet no one really wonders at that little fact. If our culture is so great and desirable why would we want to escape from it with such regularity? Yes, I can hear all the canned answers, pyschopoop (that's intentional) and 'explanations' that are really just rationalizations and justifications. Sorry, not listening any longer.
I'll take a simpler, yet harder life thanks. The miracles of modern society don't impress me much. The glitter has long since worn away and the paint has faded leaving a very sorry structure of fables meant to harness most folk in service of a few. *shrugs* I am no longer a part of it in many ways and I pay for that dearly; the structure knows when someone isn't playing along and those folk are isolated in a dizzying number of ways. A small price to pay really, although it can be a heavy burden at times. Trouble is, once you see it as it is, there is never any going back. It reminds me a bit of The Matrix, which reflects much of this situation. They've used machines but the ideas are the same.
I've grown terribly weary of this lemming-like (sorry for the insult, lemmings) drive to keep what is unsustainable functioning, this drive to ignore what is real in favor of the illusion. Yes, I know Fear is involved; that doesn't matter. It is simply another sign of the enslavement of people to the way things are; they can't even conquer their own fear. Hell, many if not most don't even try. The good many of those who think they are simply wind up sitting on the fence, and that's not really trying anything.
Risk is part and parcel of life. In the world that was and is, taking risks was a business thing, a money based idea, wealth in terms of money. Still thinking that sort of risk people sit astride two ideas, trying to keep a foot in both so they can sway whichever way 'wins'. In the end that sort of attitude loses far, far more than it ever wins. But to each their own.
So now I harp, make things, study, observe, and Serve. Regardless of what is in store for me, be it a reversed transition, homelessness, violent death, or whatever, I am ready for it. Whatever comes my way I will face straight up and full on. That's living.
May the Gods protect you from harm in all the Empty places you must walk.
Eledhwen /|\
That little reminder came from the Star Kindler; She is gentle but that very gentle nature hides serious steel, as I know all too well. I am in no risk of incurring that sort of thing, no; I tend to learn my lessons well and usually the first time out.
It doesn't hurt that agreement from Others came along with it.
Here is hoping the heel problem is sorted and I can get back to being not-crippled. There is much to do and I am hampered by my injury.
No ship last night although there was water; a lake I think, or a very wide river. No urgent fight for survival or any of that. There were dancing bears, stars, song, and a bright bit of fire. It was a peaceful enough backdrop for certain.
I've been keeping the mind control device off except for movies using the dvd player. I'm tired of the same old lies and illusions and the desperate way people lap it all up. I have enough to do without getting sidetracked by that stuff; I'll leave it to others who apparently 'have a better grip on reality' or something like that. While I don't know the precise nature of what is coming, I do know the general nature and regardless of particulars it will be unpleasant at best. Since when does the best actually happen?
I do find it rather interesting that our culture, so desirable to so many and using up so much time and energy to maintain, tends to instill a need for escapism in so many. Yet no one really wonders at that little fact. If our culture is so great and desirable why would we want to escape from it with such regularity? Yes, I can hear all the canned answers, pyschopoop (that's intentional) and 'explanations' that are really just rationalizations and justifications. Sorry, not listening any longer.
I'll take a simpler, yet harder life thanks. The miracles of modern society don't impress me much. The glitter has long since worn away and the paint has faded leaving a very sorry structure of fables meant to harness most folk in service of a few. *shrugs* I am no longer a part of it in many ways and I pay for that dearly; the structure knows when someone isn't playing along and those folk are isolated in a dizzying number of ways. A small price to pay really, although it can be a heavy burden at times. Trouble is, once you see it as it is, there is never any going back. It reminds me a bit of The Matrix, which reflects much of this situation. They've used machines but the ideas are the same.
I've grown terribly weary of this lemming-like (sorry for the insult, lemmings) drive to keep what is unsustainable functioning, this drive to ignore what is real in favor of the illusion. Yes, I know Fear is involved; that doesn't matter. It is simply another sign of the enslavement of people to the way things are; they can't even conquer their own fear. Hell, many if not most don't even try. The good many of those who think they are simply wind up sitting on the fence, and that's not really trying anything.
Risk is part and parcel of life. In the world that was and is, taking risks was a business thing, a money based idea, wealth in terms of money. Still thinking that sort of risk people sit astride two ideas, trying to keep a foot in both so they can sway whichever way 'wins'. In the end that sort of attitude loses far, far more than it ever wins. But to each their own.
So now I harp, make things, study, observe, and Serve. Regardless of what is in store for me, be it a reversed transition, homelessness, violent death, or whatever, I am ready for it. Whatever comes my way I will face straight up and full on. That's living.
May the Gods protect you from harm in all the Empty places you must walk.
Eledhwen /|\
Friday, December 18, 2009
Word & Song
Here's one for people who need to feel superior.
Last night, at 0330 I awoke with the certain knowledge someone was in the apartment. I was not angry, was not frightened; I knew who was here. I arose and went into the living area and greeted my guests. I really wish I knew how they get inside without a sound like they do. Or maybe I don't.
They were elves, the Elder Folk. I come across them from time to time but visits of this sort are rather rare. For an hour we sat and spoke of a number of things; the land, peoples, darkness, hope, and the Otherworld. I learned a number of things last night, had some others confirmed and a few dispelled. I was thanked for the prayer to Elbereth, which I do every evening. I must admit to enjoying these very rare visits immensely.
*****
I dreamed last night also. I was aboard ship, that same odd combination ship I've been on of late. Still dressed and trimmed as a Priestess. I was sitting on the quarterdeck playing my harp. It was evening and we were anchored a little ways up and in the middle of a river. Her voice rippled out across the river and into the trees on either side, the great Moon herself rising above the treeline as I played. Stars flickered and shimmered and the lynxes lay about me purring softly with eyes nearly closed. It was deep in the night and the crew slept; I alone sat on the deck and let my fingers run as they would across the strings.
It was faint at first, as on the edges of awareness...but in time a throbbing drum sounded from the trees in rhythm with my own playing, and before long a flute joined the song from the others side of the river. For an hour we played thus..unseen by one another but blending the sounds of the three oldest instruments into a prayer of peace and contentment.
The strings of my harp glimmered as my mind turned to a task and I knew the magic was forming, flowing into a concentration from which things could be made. Would be made. In a dream within a dream I played, shaping and forming, melding idea and thought into shape. Sweat pearled over my forehead and arms and fatigue began to make itself known as I neared the end of my work.
When I opened my eyes, breathing a little hard and feeling tired and drained, around me sat the Lord of the Bard's Keep and some of the Elder Kindred. It seems I have reached another state in my studies...I am to move on to the next level. Tears tracked down my face, the residue of my work.
I must have dozed; of a sudden I looked up and the night was nearly gone, Sun was preparing to bring daylight. I was stiff and a little sore; the crew was stirring and the night watch was passing to bed. The lad from the lookout thanked me for the music and the 'silver light' on deck.
I had done something, but I didn't know what. That knowledge was yet to come.
*****
Then I awakened. So, confirmation I'm a nutjob for those who want it. Enjoy it, if you are so minded.
The more chaotic things are becoming, the more at peace I become. I could explain it, but I won't; it is for others to find their own way.
May the Gods grant many blessings to lighten the burdens you must carry.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Last night, at 0330 I awoke with the certain knowledge someone was in the apartment. I was not angry, was not frightened; I knew who was here. I arose and went into the living area and greeted my guests. I really wish I knew how they get inside without a sound like they do. Or maybe I don't.
They were elves, the Elder Folk. I come across them from time to time but visits of this sort are rather rare. For an hour we sat and spoke of a number of things; the land, peoples, darkness, hope, and the Otherworld. I learned a number of things last night, had some others confirmed and a few dispelled. I was thanked for the prayer to Elbereth, which I do every evening. I must admit to enjoying these very rare visits immensely.
*****
I dreamed last night also. I was aboard ship, that same odd combination ship I've been on of late. Still dressed and trimmed as a Priestess. I was sitting on the quarterdeck playing my harp. It was evening and we were anchored a little ways up and in the middle of a river. Her voice rippled out across the river and into the trees on either side, the great Moon herself rising above the treeline as I played. Stars flickered and shimmered and the lynxes lay about me purring softly with eyes nearly closed. It was deep in the night and the crew slept; I alone sat on the deck and let my fingers run as they would across the strings.
It was faint at first, as on the edges of awareness...but in time a throbbing drum sounded from the trees in rhythm with my own playing, and before long a flute joined the song from the others side of the river. For an hour we played thus..unseen by one another but blending the sounds of the three oldest instruments into a prayer of peace and contentment.
The strings of my harp glimmered as my mind turned to a task and I knew the magic was forming, flowing into a concentration from which things could be made. Would be made. In a dream within a dream I played, shaping and forming, melding idea and thought into shape. Sweat pearled over my forehead and arms and fatigue began to make itself known as I neared the end of my work.
When I opened my eyes, breathing a little hard and feeling tired and drained, around me sat the Lord of the Bard's Keep and some of the Elder Kindred. It seems I have reached another state in my studies...I am to move on to the next level. Tears tracked down my face, the residue of my work.
I must have dozed; of a sudden I looked up and the night was nearly gone, Sun was preparing to bring daylight. I was stiff and a little sore; the crew was stirring and the night watch was passing to bed. The lad from the lookout thanked me for the music and the 'silver light' on deck.
I had done something, but I didn't know what. That knowledge was yet to come.
*****
Then I awakened. So, confirmation I'm a nutjob for those who want it. Enjoy it, if you are so minded.
The more chaotic things are becoming, the more at peace I become. I could explain it, but I won't; it is for others to find their own way.
May the Gods grant many blessings to lighten the burdens you must carry.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Eminent Domain
I dunno what the Supreme Court was thinking when it green lighted eminent domain seizures for purposes of increasing property taxes. In essence, if someone owns land and someone else who will pay higher property taxes wants it, the local government can seize the land from the landowner and then give it to the other party.
One reason people came here from other places was to have land and to have land that was theirs. So of course our courts just up and decide that the almighty dollar and business can displace people. I think this is one truly nasty violation of people's rights. Yet, as with so many of the others, there is no outrage, no protest beyond the people whose land is being taken. These business sorts know that people are individuals and so can be dealt with peremptorily; its a variation on divide and conquer really, this extreme individualism we have going here.
I expect to see this sort of thing increase in fact. Annexing areas for whatever use a locality wants to make of it is quite possibly going to become very common as forced re-localization comes into play. I could see some areas deciding the farms are no longer privately owned but instead are owned by a given town or city eventually. Cities aren't so hot at producing enough food so exerting control on surrounding farms is a time tested answer. And farms are notoriously hard to defend and with people still feeling seriously individual/independent, unlikely to band together until it is too late to make much of a difference.
Downtown areas could be seized too, making room for trades that a town feels it needs or wants. How to resist such a thing? The courts have been unsympathetic in many cases, especially since the SC decided it was okay for this to happen.
It is to be hoped things like this can be avoided in the main...but that only works if people get their hotels out of their alphas and start paying attention to what's going on around them.
It is a curious thing for me; I'd like my own place of course, but by the same token I have no desire to be in debt just now, most certainly not now. Debt could certainly give leverage to those with an interest in controlling things and makes one beholden in various ways. It is too soon yet to think that a financial collapse will erase debt...rather, someone local is likely to assume it and that can set the stage for a kind of serfdom. Eminent Domain can set that stage too. So while I'd like my own place and land, I'm not inclined to go into debt to get them at this particular stage of things; it is, in this instance, helpful to some extent that circumstance makes obtaining such impossible. I don't like it mind, not at all, but that's how it is right now.
On the flip side, though we are debt free, we are also not propertied people and with a swing back into that direction of things, we still become disposable commodities if certain conditions arise. Not owing money to someone or something is no guarantee of freedom and it can in fact wind up being a trap of sorts; no property, no voice, no rights, nothing. In extreme conditions.
I could say I'll squat somewhere, but that only works once most cohesiveness on the larger scale has collapsed; in the interim there will still be enough structure to discourage or outright stop such things...a period in which you must stay in place or become homeless. Collapse is an untidy thing.
This is why a trade is a good thing to have; if you are stuck in the landless situation a trade may be the only thing that saves you from complete destitution and effective if not formal slavery. One might be itinerant in their trade, supposing they have the wherewithal to get about in some fashion with their tools. One might get space in a place by virtue of being the only one of a said skill in reach and therefore valuable to a place. But even that has to wait until the larger cohesive structure of things loosens and frays. Currently we are still in the desperately-hanging-on-to-what-has-always-been stage of things. We'll stay in this stage for a while yet even though we've already stayed here too long.
Property is going to matter for a while, perhaps in some very odd and distasteful ways, but it will matter. Until the population correction is over or something else changes our 'standards' for us. It will happen. It is only a matter of time.
Eminent Domain has been around as long as governments have been around. It still stinks. What stinks worse is the malaise and acceptance surrounding these behaviors. Then again, what does one expect of an intentionally 'drugged', 'spoon fed', and overall poorly educated citizenry? Oh yes, the citizens allowed that to happen too. Too busy being 'independent' and self-oriented. Pity.
May the Gods stand between you and harm in all the Empty places you must walk.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
One reason people came here from other places was to have land and to have land that was theirs. So of course our courts just up and decide that the almighty dollar and business can displace people. I think this is one truly nasty violation of people's rights. Yet, as with so many of the others, there is no outrage, no protest beyond the people whose land is being taken. These business sorts know that people are individuals and so can be dealt with peremptorily; its a variation on divide and conquer really, this extreme individualism we have going here.
I expect to see this sort of thing increase in fact. Annexing areas for whatever use a locality wants to make of it is quite possibly going to become very common as forced re-localization comes into play. I could see some areas deciding the farms are no longer privately owned but instead are owned by a given town or city eventually. Cities aren't so hot at producing enough food so exerting control on surrounding farms is a time tested answer. And farms are notoriously hard to defend and with people still feeling seriously individual/independent, unlikely to band together until it is too late to make much of a difference.
Downtown areas could be seized too, making room for trades that a town feels it needs or wants. How to resist such a thing? The courts have been unsympathetic in many cases, especially since the SC decided it was okay for this to happen.
It is to be hoped things like this can be avoided in the main...but that only works if people get their hotels out of their alphas and start paying attention to what's going on around them.
It is a curious thing for me; I'd like my own place of course, but by the same token I have no desire to be in debt just now, most certainly not now. Debt could certainly give leverage to those with an interest in controlling things and makes one beholden in various ways. It is too soon yet to think that a financial collapse will erase debt...rather, someone local is likely to assume it and that can set the stage for a kind of serfdom. Eminent Domain can set that stage too. So while I'd like my own place and land, I'm not inclined to go into debt to get them at this particular stage of things; it is, in this instance, helpful to some extent that circumstance makes obtaining such impossible. I don't like it mind, not at all, but that's how it is right now.
On the flip side, though we are debt free, we are also not propertied people and with a swing back into that direction of things, we still become disposable commodities if certain conditions arise. Not owing money to someone or something is no guarantee of freedom and it can in fact wind up being a trap of sorts; no property, no voice, no rights, nothing. In extreme conditions.
I could say I'll squat somewhere, but that only works once most cohesiveness on the larger scale has collapsed; in the interim there will still be enough structure to discourage or outright stop such things...a period in which you must stay in place or become homeless. Collapse is an untidy thing.
This is why a trade is a good thing to have; if you are stuck in the landless situation a trade may be the only thing that saves you from complete destitution and effective if not formal slavery. One might be itinerant in their trade, supposing they have the wherewithal to get about in some fashion with their tools. One might get space in a place by virtue of being the only one of a said skill in reach and therefore valuable to a place. But even that has to wait until the larger cohesive structure of things loosens and frays. Currently we are still in the desperately-hanging-on-to-what-has-always-been stage of things. We'll stay in this stage for a while yet even though we've already stayed here too long.
Property is going to matter for a while, perhaps in some very odd and distasteful ways, but it will matter. Until the population correction is over or something else changes our 'standards' for us. It will happen. It is only a matter of time.
Eminent Domain has been around as long as governments have been around. It still stinks. What stinks worse is the malaise and acceptance surrounding these behaviors. Then again, what does one expect of an intentionally 'drugged', 'spoon fed', and overall poorly educated citizenry? Oh yes, the citizens allowed that to happen too. Too busy being 'independent' and self-oriented. Pity.
May the Gods stand between you and harm in all the Empty places you must walk.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Ruminations
Here we are, rowing along a coast. There is not a breath of wind else we'd have the sails set. We're not for speed just now so the rowing is an even rhythm for long use; there's a Hortator keeping the beat. The vessel is that same one I've been aboard of late; the Captain seems to have a secret addiction to mad excursions into less than welcoming waters.
We have begun carrying a compliment of warriors with us; hard troops in maille armed with a variety of weaponry from spears & swords to bows and slings; firearms are kept in the armory and issued only when absolutely necessary. Ammunition in all its parts is getting harder and harder to come by so preserved for real need. In some places it has become the medium of exchange for barter and purchase.
I'm amused as my detached self watches my dream self; the influences of things becomes rather clear when I'm in this state. I'm clothed in a belted gap-sleeved blue-green linen dress with a sheer pleated robe of creamy silk wrapped about it and ritually knotted at the breasts. It is High Summer and the weather is very warm. I am wearing a menat and my face is painted in Egyptian fashion. Dolphin earrings, rings and finger rings, and several glass bracelets complete the gaudier aspect of things. On my head is a simple straw hat held in place with a silk scarf. A chatelaine of simple items is hooked to the belt and a shoulder bag holds my other necessary items.
From the masthead flutters the white banner with the golden dragon...but the shields along the bulwarks sport the dolphin & trident insignia of the troops aboard.
While the influences of my waking pursuits are clear in the clothing and insignia, it stops beyond that for what is around us is no desire of mine. We are beyond the surf line of a coast; ruins are scattered about and it is obvious they extend under the water. Indeed, I can see them through the clear water below us; jumbled and broken and well covered with sea life already. Our ship draws a shallow draft but we keep a wary eye out anyway. We no longer cruise closer to shore; the debased ones have made everyone very cautious.
Other changes include my not being allowed ashore until a landing party has first determined it is safe enough for me to do so. It is an irritant but I haven't any choice in the matter; as a Priestess they've decided I need protecting. In truth my appearance shows at least some acceptance of this state although my detached self bridles a bit. I see the lynxes are all present, as is the hawk; the crew doesn't pay them the slightest mind any longer. I see my kinswoman in her armor and feel a flash of envy. The entire crew has become familiar to me beyond just the friends that are part of it.
Exploration of the coasts continue and each ship that goes out to look around carries a compliment of troops, a cartographer, and a scribe or priest/ess of some sort with them. Sometimes all four. Sometimes there are passengers but not usually on exploratory excursions. Since we are dependent on wind and manpower to make things go these days exploration takes a lot of time, energy and people. It is however, necessary.
I look aft and see the cartographer eying up the shore and sketching madly; the speed with which he can create maps and drawings is astounding but I know that's part of what is expected of them. He has compass and a surveyor's glass nearby. From the masthead and the quarterdeck binoculars scan the shore for any sign of life of any kind. Nothing at all stirs to my eyes, and if that is the same in the eyes of the glasses then it is not a good sign; animals shy from places for a reason.
I gaze at the catapulta in wry amusement. Back to these torsion-powered throwers of large spears in essence, although ballista too can be mounted and they can toss pots of sticky fire. In an earlier time this would have been a powered vessel with automatic weapons in the service of some navy or other. So different now.
The decision is made not to land here and the rowing beat is increased as we angle out for a bit more distance. A fearsome scream of hatred and hunger echoes from the ruins as we do so. The decision was a sound one. On we go...
*****
The willful delusion that makes up current attitudes just leaves me wrung out. As a result I've begun to accelerate the process of separating myself from all of this. I suppose all the stuff I'm doing for reenactment is a kind of escapism but it is also preparedness. I'm more than bothered by assumptions that we'll simply start living at an early 20th century level, or 19th century. We aren't accustomed to anything like those levels of living, not in any real sense. The entire culture surrounding the technology of the time was different...more so the further back one goes. I think 'industrialism' will wind up being a scattered, pocket like thing very localized. Most places won't even have it, more because they don't know how to work with something that isn't electrically or fuel powered. Certainly not on a daily basis.
In earlier times when things went down the tubes our species could move about. Sure there were wars but the populations were smaller and there was a lot of land empty of people. These days we're rather locked up in many ways; any migrations taking place will be ugly affairs as there is no longer a lot of empty land.
This aspect is one reason I like immersion style reenactment; actually living the life as best I can, using the tech and tools available at that time only. That is also a reason I insisted my forge be 18th-19th century at most; no electricity, entirely hand or foot operated tools. Granted I could, if I had the right place, use water, but I can't count on that. I also adapted to using charcoal for a variety of reasons, not least the pollution aspect of coal, but also the renewable aspect of charcoal.
That latter thing is a worry however; the biomass power plants here are being resisted and now there are concerns that there is enough biomatter to fuel them in the first place. There are very valid worries about the complete deforestation of the state as the government/people attempt to preserve things. It nearly was complete at one time in the 19th century. Desperate people do crazy things.
Hold onto your hats.
Bright blessings.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
We have begun carrying a compliment of warriors with us; hard troops in maille armed with a variety of weaponry from spears & swords to bows and slings; firearms are kept in the armory and issued only when absolutely necessary. Ammunition in all its parts is getting harder and harder to come by so preserved for real need. In some places it has become the medium of exchange for barter and purchase.
I'm amused as my detached self watches my dream self; the influences of things becomes rather clear when I'm in this state. I'm clothed in a belted gap-sleeved blue-green linen dress with a sheer pleated robe of creamy silk wrapped about it and ritually knotted at the breasts. It is High Summer and the weather is very warm. I am wearing a menat and my face is painted in Egyptian fashion. Dolphin earrings, rings and finger rings, and several glass bracelets complete the gaudier aspect of things. On my head is a simple straw hat held in place with a silk scarf. A chatelaine of simple items is hooked to the belt and a shoulder bag holds my other necessary items.
From the masthead flutters the white banner with the golden dragon...but the shields along the bulwarks sport the dolphin & trident insignia of the troops aboard.
While the influences of my waking pursuits are clear in the clothing and insignia, it stops beyond that for what is around us is no desire of mine. We are beyond the surf line of a coast; ruins are scattered about and it is obvious they extend under the water. Indeed, I can see them through the clear water below us; jumbled and broken and well covered with sea life already. Our ship draws a shallow draft but we keep a wary eye out anyway. We no longer cruise closer to shore; the debased ones have made everyone very cautious.
Other changes include my not being allowed ashore until a landing party has first determined it is safe enough for me to do so. It is an irritant but I haven't any choice in the matter; as a Priestess they've decided I need protecting. In truth my appearance shows at least some acceptance of this state although my detached self bridles a bit. I see the lynxes are all present, as is the hawk; the crew doesn't pay them the slightest mind any longer. I see my kinswoman in her armor and feel a flash of envy. The entire crew has become familiar to me beyond just the friends that are part of it.
Exploration of the coasts continue and each ship that goes out to look around carries a compliment of troops, a cartographer, and a scribe or priest/ess of some sort with them. Sometimes all four. Sometimes there are passengers but not usually on exploratory excursions. Since we are dependent on wind and manpower to make things go these days exploration takes a lot of time, energy and people. It is however, necessary.
I look aft and see the cartographer eying up the shore and sketching madly; the speed with which he can create maps and drawings is astounding but I know that's part of what is expected of them. He has compass and a surveyor's glass nearby. From the masthead and the quarterdeck binoculars scan the shore for any sign of life of any kind. Nothing at all stirs to my eyes, and if that is the same in the eyes of the glasses then it is not a good sign; animals shy from places for a reason.
I gaze at the catapulta in wry amusement. Back to these torsion-powered throwers of large spears in essence, although ballista too can be mounted and they can toss pots of sticky fire. In an earlier time this would have been a powered vessel with automatic weapons in the service of some navy or other. So different now.
The decision is made not to land here and the rowing beat is increased as we angle out for a bit more distance. A fearsome scream of hatred and hunger echoes from the ruins as we do so. The decision was a sound one. On we go...
*****
The willful delusion that makes up current attitudes just leaves me wrung out. As a result I've begun to accelerate the process of separating myself from all of this. I suppose all the stuff I'm doing for reenactment is a kind of escapism but it is also preparedness. I'm more than bothered by assumptions that we'll simply start living at an early 20th century level, or 19th century. We aren't accustomed to anything like those levels of living, not in any real sense. The entire culture surrounding the technology of the time was different...more so the further back one goes. I think 'industrialism' will wind up being a scattered, pocket like thing very localized. Most places won't even have it, more because they don't know how to work with something that isn't electrically or fuel powered. Certainly not on a daily basis.
In earlier times when things went down the tubes our species could move about. Sure there were wars but the populations were smaller and there was a lot of land empty of people. These days we're rather locked up in many ways; any migrations taking place will be ugly affairs as there is no longer a lot of empty land.
This aspect is one reason I like immersion style reenactment; actually living the life as best I can, using the tech and tools available at that time only. That is also a reason I insisted my forge be 18th-19th century at most; no electricity, entirely hand or foot operated tools. Granted I could, if I had the right place, use water, but I can't count on that. I also adapted to using charcoal for a variety of reasons, not least the pollution aspect of coal, but also the renewable aspect of charcoal.
That latter thing is a worry however; the biomass power plants here are being resisted and now there are concerns that there is enough biomatter to fuel them in the first place. There are very valid worries about the complete deforestation of the state as the government/people attempt to preserve things. It nearly was complete at one time in the 19th century. Desperate people do crazy things.
Hold onto your hats.
Bright blessings.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Thoughts
Nothing is going to fix our situation.
There is absolutely nothing we can do to stop what is coming. Not one damned thing.
If anything we'll behave in our usual truly selfish, stupid, greedy way and in fact *help* what is coming.
With nukes, or bugs, or chemicals or all three. Something or other.
I don't buy any of the ideas for fixing it. None of them. We tossed any chance at that out 30 years and more ago. So I don't really listen to any of that stuff any longer. I know what's coming and I say 'Fuck it, don't mean nothing.'. It is out of our hands, certainly out of mine. So all I can do is grin and bear it and try to get through it all as best I can.
We have our little systems of coping breakdowns with things like denial, negotiation etc. And everyone says its normal, sure and give it time things will come around. There is no more time. Not for any of this nonsense. Deal or not, that's all there is.
Time and Creation move in great cycles; anything that has happened will happen again in some form or other. And there is no mandate that humanity is specially chosen to defy the natural rhythms. Who says we're the pinnacle of development? We do of course. Naturally. I don't buy that either.
I don't particularly worry about it now. Doesn't really matter much; things will come apart in my lifetime or they won't, but it will happen. I'll deal with whatever comes as best as I can as things appear. I just can't be bothered to worry any longer.
I still do my thing to reduce my impact and live in harmony with the natural rhythms of Creation; I find it a better way of living overall anyway. I'm still reeling in my larger involvement in the 'global' world and I'll keep on doing that. I've prepared myself for emergencies as best I can.
Now I simply wait and delve into things that interest me. I read a lot. I learn a lot. And I do a lot; I create things, learning skills with my hands. That could be considered a preparation of sorts naturally, but I do it for pleasure too.
I don't see any point to making grand plans. Why? Because I don't for one instant believe that I can anticipate the severity of what is coming. No matter how bad I think it might be, I'm human so I'll still try to avoid certain considerations and it will invariably wind up being worse. I don't believe there will be safe spots in the Northeast. There may be spots that are safer than others, but there isn't anywhere here that will be left intact and/or untouched. If people have to believe there will be to do their thing, more power to them. I don't need that belief personally and I know better.
For all that people I know assume their images of what is coming include people behaving badly, invariably the images don't go nearly far enough. Most of them assume a certain innate goodness in people. Assume. That word gets one killed in tense situations.
Interestingly, I'm calm and at peace now I've reached this point. She told me they couldn't all be saved and that even if I had the power She would not allow it. So be it. I'll do my thing, do the Work, and plod on along as I may.
But if makes folks happy to worry, to plan, to assume for the better, by all means, be happy.
May the Gods protect you from harm in all the Empty places you must walk.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
There is absolutely nothing we can do to stop what is coming. Not one damned thing.
If anything we'll behave in our usual truly selfish, stupid, greedy way and in fact *help* what is coming.
With nukes, or bugs, or chemicals or all three. Something or other.
I don't buy any of the ideas for fixing it. None of them. We tossed any chance at that out 30 years and more ago. So I don't really listen to any of that stuff any longer. I know what's coming and I say 'Fuck it, don't mean nothing.'. It is out of our hands, certainly out of mine. So all I can do is grin and bear it and try to get through it all as best I can.
We have our little systems of coping breakdowns with things like denial, negotiation etc. And everyone says its normal, sure and give it time things will come around. There is no more time. Not for any of this nonsense. Deal or not, that's all there is.
Time and Creation move in great cycles; anything that has happened will happen again in some form or other. And there is no mandate that humanity is specially chosen to defy the natural rhythms. Who says we're the pinnacle of development? We do of course. Naturally. I don't buy that either.
I don't particularly worry about it now. Doesn't really matter much; things will come apart in my lifetime or they won't, but it will happen. I'll deal with whatever comes as best as I can as things appear. I just can't be bothered to worry any longer.
I still do my thing to reduce my impact and live in harmony with the natural rhythms of Creation; I find it a better way of living overall anyway. I'm still reeling in my larger involvement in the 'global' world and I'll keep on doing that. I've prepared myself for emergencies as best I can.
Now I simply wait and delve into things that interest me. I read a lot. I learn a lot. And I do a lot; I create things, learning skills with my hands. That could be considered a preparation of sorts naturally, but I do it for pleasure too.
I don't see any point to making grand plans. Why? Because I don't for one instant believe that I can anticipate the severity of what is coming. No matter how bad I think it might be, I'm human so I'll still try to avoid certain considerations and it will invariably wind up being worse. I don't believe there will be safe spots in the Northeast. There may be spots that are safer than others, but there isn't anywhere here that will be left intact and/or untouched. If people have to believe there will be to do their thing, more power to them. I don't need that belief personally and I know better.
For all that people I know assume their images of what is coming include people behaving badly, invariably the images don't go nearly far enough. Most of them assume a certain innate goodness in people. Assume. That word gets one killed in tense situations.
Interestingly, I'm calm and at peace now I've reached this point. She told me they couldn't all be saved and that even if I had the power She would not allow it. So be it. I'll do my thing, do the Work, and plod on along as I may.
But if makes folks happy to worry, to plan, to assume for the better, by all means, be happy.
May the Gods protect you from harm in all the Empty places you must walk.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Adjustment
The Archdruid Report this week was quite interesting and rather on target. I've known and been saying this sort of thing for some time.
It's why I stopped trying to spread the word. That and the reinforcement that nothing I could do would make any difference. She was rather pointed about that and I can *still* hear Her tell me that and it *still* gives me a fearsome shiver.
It will be messy. No ifs, ands, or buts. There is simply no way out of that. The only question is how fast we get to the messiest portion...and given people and the things they do it is hardly any surprise I expect it to go faster rather than slower. As has been said, we always seem to select the catastrophic route.
I've been homeless. Utterly so, to the extent I had a hooch on Mt Toby and was trapping rabbits and squirrels. I have been where we are going, most of us. It isn't a pleasant place but it is survivable and it doesn't even have to be utterly miserable. IF, IF you know what you're about. So yep, I think I'm fairly well prepared to deal with it should it arrive while I'm still around.
I'm not living that way now, no. When it comes, and it will come, it won't be a shock to me and I will be able to better support my own since I won't have to be busy supporting myself. Emotionally speaking of course. If it comes when I'm too elderly to deal with it well, then I guess I'll go out either fighting to the last or simply lying down and letting go, depending. But I have lived by the sword all my life and I don't really think a quiet lying down exit is mine.
I reenact. What a luxury. But you know, I have learned so many useful skills to augment what the military and a life wandering the world has taught me. I can do an awful lot of things. They may account for nothing in the modern world with its values, but should things come to grief with me still here and I get through the wave...they'll be damned well valuable and valued then. Practical things. Practical knowledge.
So no, I don't live the subsistence life just now....I do, however, spend time learning things that will benefit me when I do have to go there again.
It's going to be a helluva ride, for certain. When the disillusionment sets in and a lot of very rickety people start going haywire it could even be spectacular in a dark sort of way. Fully a quarter of the U.S. population is on mood altering drugs. Boy howdy will THAT be fun. So many of our people are in prison as criminals. Some good hearted soul will let them out, never fear. And we'll ask 'Are we having fun yet?'.
I'll keep on keeping on, reenacting and using that as a venue for mastering new and improving old skills. And hunting, and exercising, and reading. All those things the modern life allows me to do because we're living beyond our means as a people. I'll damned well do my best to give me and mine an edge. Survival of the fittest as it were..and the passing on of the genes...we ARE animals, part and parcel of the world and its systems, whether we like it or not and despite any kind of dogma of any flavor we care to put out there.
There will be a population adjustment. Period. It's natural, it's the way things work. I'll do what I can to give my sons a fighting chance...but after that its up to them and Fortune. All part of the Great Cycle.
An awesome thing to think on.
Bright blessings.
Avete!
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
It's why I stopped trying to spread the word. That and the reinforcement that nothing I could do would make any difference. She was rather pointed about that and I can *still* hear Her tell me that and it *still* gives me a fearsome shiver.
It will be messy. No ifs, ands, or buts. There is simply no way out of that. The only question is how fast we get to the messiest portion...and given people and the things they do it is hardly any surprise I expect it to go faster rather than slower. As has been said, we always seem to select the catastrophic route.
I've been homeless. Utterly so, to the extent I had a hooch on Mt Toby and was trapping rabbits and squirrels. I have been where we are going, most of us. It isn't a pleasant place but it is survivable and it doesn't even have to be utterly miserable. IF, IF you know what you're about. So yep, I think I'm fairly well prepared to deal with it should it arrive while I'm still around.
I'm not living that way now, no. When it comes, and it will come, it won't be a shock to me and I will be able to better support my own since I won't have to be busy supporting myself. Emotionally speaking of course. If it comes when I'm too elderly to deal with it well, then I guess I'll go out either fighting to the last or simply lying down and letting go, depending. But I have lived by the sword all my life and I don't really think a quiet lying down exit is mine.
I reenact. What a luxury. But you know, I have learned so many useful skills to augment what the military and a life wandering the world has taught me. I can do an awful lot of things. They may account for nothing in the modern world with its values, but should things come to grief with me still here and I get through the wave...they'll be damned well valuable and valued then. Practical things. Practical knowledge.
So no, I don't live the subsistence life just now....I do, however, spend time learning things that will benefit me when I do have to go there again.
It's going to be a helluva ride, for certain. When the disillusionment sets in and a lot of very rickety people start going haywire it could even be spectacular in a dark sort of way. Fully a quarter of the U.S. population is on mood altering drugs. Boy howdy will THAT be fun. So many of our people are in prison as criminals. Some good hearted soul will let them out, never fear. And we'll ask 'Are we having fun yet?'.
I'll keep on keeping on, reenacting and using that as a venue for mastering new and improving old skills. And hunting, and exercising, and reading. All those things the modern life allows me to do because we're living beyond our means as a people. I'll damned well do my best to give me and mine an edge. Survival of the fittest as it were..and the passing on of the genes...we ARE animals, part and parcel of the world and its systems, whether we like it or not and despite any kind of dogma of any flavor we care to put out there.
There will be a population adjustment. Period. It's natural, it's the way things work. I'll do what I can to give my sons a fighting chance...but after that its up to them and Fortune. All part of the Great Cycle.
An awesome thing to think on.
Bright blessings.
Avete!
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
An old friend..Fear
A simple, brightly painted altar, a statue of Aset, the scent of Frankincense, the sound of a sistrum, an offering of bread and salt, a Priestess garbed in a Roman tunica interior and over that an Egyptian pleated wrap. Braided metal bracelets and a menat with delicate dolphin earrings combine with a headress with shimmering panels. All within a rectangular temple with red tile roof and round arched windows.
What a temple of Aset would be like in Britain in the 1st Century CE...or even now if one were so inclined. A very nice and harmonious blending of at least three cultures.
I do not yet have that kind of altar, but I will have. I have frankincense, myrrh, and kyphi...sistrums and a statue of Aset.. not to mention Lares of the House. I have the tunica interior of sky blue and the pleated wrap of cream silk. I do not have yet, but will soon, solea to go with it. I do not have a temple building but then I don't need a dedicated temple building, as nice as having one would be. I have Celtic bracelets and torques. 'Purity' is not something I chase after in these matters, at least not in the sense of cultural purity.
Yet I would be crucified for 'stealing' from cultures not my own by a good many people. I submit that *adoption* of things from other cultures to mix with one's own not only has a very clear history but is in fact quite the normal approach to things for humans. Despite the strident calls of theft and impurity.
Such things don't work for everyone, no. But they do work for some people in a wondrous variety of ways. In this particular case it works for me. There is no one way to express worship, there is no one path to Wisdom. If something does not work for you, either walk away from it or keep your peace until you can. Unfortunately there are a large number of both rude and crude people, generally loud, who for some reason can't feel secure unless everyone is doing the same thing they are..whatever that may be.
That is what causes it really; insecurity, our old friend Fear in another guise. But you couldn't convince people of that. It is something a given person has to discover for themselves. Unfortunately a lot of people never do.
So I do what I do and I not only allow but encourage others to do what they do and go on about my business. Why does it seem so hard for people to do that? I don't know really. I do know Fear is the culprit...but I don't know the why. Since I am not affected by it in this way I don't really understand the processes that produce it. What is so frightening about people being different?
It isn't just religion that provokes this reaction of course, but religion is notorious for causing rather extreme cases of it and very rapidly too. So much so that one is generally advised not to discuss/debate religion..one of the 'taboo' subjects to genteel conversation. And it's entirely fueled by Fear. Fear of those who are different from ourselves.
Why?
I don't know. Perhaps we will never know. But I'll keep trying to understand.
Brightest of Blessings
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
What a temple of Aset would be like in Britain in the 1st Century CE...or even now if one were so inclined. A very nice and harmonious blending of at least three cultures.
I do not yet have that kind of altar, but I will have. I have frankincense, myrrh, and kyphi...sistrums and a statue of Aset.. not to mention Lares of the House. I have the tunica interior of sky blue and the pleated wrap of cream silk. I do not have yet, but will soon, solea to go with it. I do not have a temple building but then I don't need a dedicated temple building, as nice as having one would be. I have Celtic bracelets and torques. 'Purity' is not something I chase after in these matters, at least not in the sense of cultural purity.
Yet I would be crucified for 'stealing' from cultures not my own by a good many people. I submit that *adoption* of things from other cultures to mix with one's own not only has a very clear history but is in fact quite the normal approach to things for humans. Despite the strident calls of theft and impurity.
Such things don't work for everyone, no. But they do work for some people in a wondrous variety of ways. In this particular case it works for me. There is no one way to express worship, there is no one path to Wisdom. If something does not work for you, either walk away from it or keep your peace until you can. Unfortunately there are a large number of both rude and crude people, generally loud, who for some reason can't feel secure unless everyone is doing the same thing they are..whatever that may be.
That is what causes it really; insecurity, our old friend Fear in another guise. But you couldn't convince people of that. It is something a given person has to discover for themselves. Unfortunately a lot of people never do.
So I do what I do and I not only allow but encourage others to do what they do and go on about my business. Why does it seem so hard for people to do that? I don't know really. I do know Fear is the culprit...but I don't know the why. Since I am not affected by it in this way I don't really understand the processes that produce it. What is so frightening about people being different?
It isn't just religion that provokes this reaction of course, but religion is notorious for causing rather extreme cases of it and very rapidly too. So much so that one is generally advised not to discuss/debate religion..one of the 'taboo' subjects to genteel conversation. And it's entirely fueled by Fear. Fear of those who are different from ourselves.
Why?
I don't know. Perhaps we will never know. But I'll keep trying to understand.
Brightest of Blessings
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Attitude and Infusion
The so-called 'Climategate' just boggles the mind. The data hasn't changed a bit, just some mindless twit of a scientist being a twinky has become public...yet that was all that was necessary to completely stall anything to do with climate destabilization. There are days when people drive me crazy with their idiocy...especially these days.
The same sort of thing happens with Peak Oil of course. And the word that the numbers are padded/faked/doctored from that angle got very small amounts of attention, naturally, since the ones that would normally howl benefit from downplaying that. Its all a solid recipe for serious trouble and that's just what we're going to get.
And then there are the 'Quiverfulls'. If ever we needed an example of utter mindless behavior, that's it. It is a growing movement, first gaining ground in '04 if memory serves. It is a Christian group that is all about procreation and lots of it. Like we need more mouths. Religion of any sort has always had a tendency to cause groups of people to illustrate their ability to be mindless automatons, but this is simply ridiculous.
With these sorts of attitudes on the increase, is it any wonder I hold so little expectation that anything concrete will be done to deal with the very real and harsh changes coming?
That said, I'm not surprised they are on the increase. I kind of expect it, and for it to get worse. We talk of climate tipping points and points of no return in energy, but I think we passed a population toleration limit already; it wouldn't surprise me at any rate. Self-destructive behavior would seem to me to increase with greater population pressures but then I'm no expert by any means.
I don't give a damn that people in the media are just 'doing their jobs' or 'need a paycheck'. There comes a point when such behavior becomes criminal because it prevents people from taking steps that might mitigate hard situations..and that sort of thing directly contributes to destitution and death. Doesn't matter that there must be a die-off, the point remains that what they do is criminal..and that's the media and the government. And there's not a damned thing to be done about it either.
So it will be worse than it otherwise might be I suspect. It would be bad anyway of course.
I find solace in the past fairly frequently these days. Not in the sense that it was somehow better in the past, but more in the sense that people made do with less and were more capable of being self-sufficient and communally oriented at one and the same time. More to do with not being dependent on this...thing...we've created. Jobs that produce nothing and give no skills to cope outside of its very artificial and energy intensive existence.
I like being able to make things myself, to repair things I have, to adapt things to other uses...to feed myself if I must, care for myself and mine when needful. I don't like to be dependent...and in the past people were largely less dependent on civilized constructs, although they were more dependent on Nature, which can be fickle enough for sure. They had a chance anyway, most folk. So many of our modern people haven't a clue how to do much of anything outside of their job definitions it is sad.
I'm not stupid; I know full well the harshness of life in the past...there is no such thing as they idyllic time or life. But I prefer the less centralized and globalized self-sufficiency even if life is harder; a simple life is NOT an easy life. Its full of hard work, something many folks don't get. I remember previous lifetimes so I damned well know how hard it could be to live then. And I know how hard it can be to live now. I prefer then.
*****
When I made the Vexillum for Legio Secunda Adiutrix Pia Fidelis I received a serious frisson of energy; spirit infused it and it wasn't me doing it. It just happened. Last eventide when I completed the last bits of it, the 'dangliums' as it were, it slammed home full force. As I sat and regarded it last evening I could feel the spirit, the power resident within it. It has become a sacred object after a fashion. It is a symbol...and symbols have power. Some would say only because you believe in them..but they can have power regardless of whether one wants to believe or not. Power doesn't exist just because we decide to believe in it.
To look at it now brings to mind trumpets, the sounds of marching feet, a feeling of pride and devotion...it stirs the blood markedly. I marvel at this unintended result. When I set to making it the point was to have a banner for the reenactment Legio I portray...it has become, on its own, so much more than that. Entirely unexpected. Looking at it triggers the memory of scent; leather, sweat, woodsmoke, steel, oil...similar things. My hands feel the wood of the pilum shaft..and I haven't got any of those at the moment...I can literally feel the sweat trickling down the side of my face from under my helmet, smell the brass and lapping compound. It is so very, very powerful.
What have I done in the making of this symbol? I don't know for sure. The results of making it have left me more than a little bemused by it all. Surprised. Have I somehow tapped into the spirit of the actual Legio from ages past? I have no idea. Whatever it is, it is powerful...and was completely unintentional.
So what happens when I make the Signum? Or more to the point, what happens when I get an Eagle and dedicate that? O_O Perhaps nothing at all. Perhaps....my mind kind of shies away from that line of thought. I wonder if I'm the only who has felt this sort of thing...no one I know of in reenactment has commented openly on such a thing but certain comments, after a bit of thought, could imply something similar. And certain behaviors could too. It is something to think about.
I now have the desire to get silver thread, not mylar mind, but silver thread..and embroider the lettering with it. A powerful impulse indeed...almost a need. Very odd.
So strange, all of it. But wonderful in its way, the latter case.
Brightest of blessings.
Avete!
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
The same sort of thing happens with Peak Oil of course. And the word that the numbers are padded/faked/doctored from that angle got very small amounts of attention, naturally, since the ones that would normally howl benefit from downplaying that. Its all a solid recipe for serious trouble and that's just what we're going to get.
And then there are the 'Quiverfulls'. If ever we needed an example of utter mindless behavior, that's it. It is a growing movement, first gaining ground in '04 if memory serves. It is a Christian group that is all about procreation and lots of it. Like we need more mouths. Religion of any sort has always had a tendency to cause groups of people to illustrate their ability to be mindless automatons, but this is simply ridiculous.
With these sorts of attitudes on the increase, is it any wonder I hold so little expectation that anything concrete will be done to deal with the very real and harsh changes coming?
That said, I'm not surprised they are on the increase. I kind of expect it, and for it to get worse. We talk of climate tipping points and points of no return in energy, but I think we passed a population toleration limit already; it wouldn't surprise me at any rate. Self-destructive behavior would seem to me to increase with greater population pressures but then I'm no expert by any means.
I don't give a damn that people in the media are just 'doing their jobs' or 'need a paycheck'. There comes a point when such behavior becomes criminal because it prevents people from taking steps that might mitigate hard situations..and that sort of thing directly contributes to destitution and death. Doesn't matter that there must be a die-off, the point remains that what they do is criminal..and that's the media and the government. And there's not a damned thing to be done about it either.
So it will be worse than it otherwise might be I suspect. It would be bad anyway of course.
I find solace in the past fairly frequently these days. Not in the sense that it was somehow better in the past, but more in the sense that people made do with less and were more capable of being self-sufficient and communally oriented at one and the same time. More to do with not being dependent on this...thing...we've created. Jobs that produce nothing and give no skills to cope outside of its very artificial and energy intensive existence.
I like being able to make things myself, to repair things I have, to adapt things to other uses...to feed myself if I must, care for myself and mine when needful. I don't like to be dependent...and in the past people were largely less dependent on civilized constructs, although they were more dependent on Nature, which can be fickle enough for sure. They had a chance anyway, most folk. So many of our modern people haven't a clue how to do much of anything outside of their job definitions it is sad.
I'm not stupid; I know full well the harshness of life in the past...there is no such thing as they idyllic time or life. But I prefer the less centralized and globalized self-sufficiency even if life is harder; a simple life is NOT an easy life. Its full of hard work, something many folks don't get. I remember previous lifetimes so I damned well know how hard it could be to live then. And I know how hard it can be to live now. I prefer then.
*****
When I made the Vexillum for Legio Secunda Adiutrix Pia Fidelis I received a serious frisson of energy; spirit infused it and it wasn't me doing it. It just happened. Last eventide when I completed the last bits of it, the 'dangliums' as it were, it slammed home full force. As I sat and regarded it last evening I could feel the spirit, the power resident within it. It has become a sacred object after a fashion. It is a symbol...and symbols have power. Some would say only because you believe in them..but they can have power regardless of whether one wants to believe or not. Power doesn't exist just because we decide to believe in it.
To look at it now brings to mind trumpets, the sounds of marching feet, a feeling of pride and devotion...it stirs the blood markedly. I marvel at this unintended result. When I set to making it the point was to have a banner for the reenactment Legio I portray...it has become, on its own, so much more than that. Entirely unexpected. Looking at it triggers the memory of scent; leather, sweat, woodsmoke, steel, oil...similar things. My hands feel the wood of the pilum shaft..and I haven't got any of those at the moment...I can literally feel the sweat trickling down the side of my face from under my helmet, smell the brass and lapping compound. It is so very, very powerful.
What have I done in the making of this symbol? I don't know for sure. The results of making it have left me more than a little bemused by it all. Surprised. Have I somehow tapped into the spirit of the actual Legio from ages past? I have no idea. Whatever it is, it is powerful...and was completely unintentional.
So what happens when I make the Signum? Or more to the point, what happens when I get an Eagle and dedicate that? O_O Perhaps nothing at all. Perhaps....my mind kind of shies away from that line of thought. I wonder if I'm the only who has felt this sort of thing...no one I know of in reenactment has commented openly on such a thing but certain comments, after a bit of thought, could imply something similar. And certain behaviors could too. It is something to think about.
I now have the desire to get silver thread, not mylar mind, but silver thread..and embroider the lettering with it. A powerful impulse indeed...almost a need. Very odd.
So strange, all of it. But wonderful in its way, the latter case.
Brightest of blessings.
Avete!
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Temple
I am playing my harp, a gentle melody that whispers back in echoes barely heard. I'm sitting in the portico of the temple, idly watching people move along the streets just beyond the low walls surrounding the grounds. The temple is square, or almost square, with a porch running completely around it. It has three stories, the uppermost being in essence a smaller square on top. The roof of the temple and the porch are tiled and the walls are seriously plastered and limed, the columns supporting the porch roof painted a deep crimson.
A little ways out in front of the temple is an altar stone brightly colored in red, white, and yellow and beyond that lies the wall that surrounds the temple grounds. Well tended paths of gravel and stone allow egress and ingress to the compound. There are four of these paths as there are four gates, each one aligned with a cardinal point, each one leading to a set of doors opening into the temple itself, the main ones being the largest set.
The windows of this temple are rounded arches with shutters. each window opens outboard from the center and each half consists of multiple square panes. The windows on the top story are larger allowing as much light as is possible from the sun and moon.
The temple has seats in it, but not like a church so much and they are arranged in a circular pattern divided into quarters. There are no sermons given here although I am often here to speak with people who wish an objective listener. The seats are more for individuals and priest(esses) to use than anything else. Public rites are generally held around the altar in front of the main entrance, but people use it for personal observances as well. The temple is a kind of 'non-aligned' place for most people, welcoming to all. Niches in the interior walls holds statues of a wide variety of deities, saints, and spirits. The center of the temple is given over to the flame; no one calls it eternal even though it is kept burning constantly. The flame is located in the center of a basin full of water which is on top of a pedestal carved to allow the slightest breeze to ring chimes upon it and it is in turn surrounded by a ring of earth in which are various plants. It is not a tall or imposing affair but it is devoted to the elements.
If one were to look up at the temple roof one would see a cluster of glass drops set to take the rays of sun or moon and shiver them about the place.
The chairs are of solid wood construction and made in the sturdy Roman fashion of old. Embroidered curtains bracket the windows and banners and tapestries decorate beam and wall. The place is full of peace for me and I enjoy spending time here.
The day is warm and I am at peace on the porch, playing my harp and listening to the replies...
Avete
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
A little ways out in front of the temple is an altar stone brightly colored in red, white, and yellow and beyond that lies the wall that surrounds the temple grounds. Well tended paths of gravel and stone allow egress and ingress to the compound. There are four of these paths as there are four gates, each one aligned with a cardinal point, each one leading to a set of doors opening into the temple itself, the main ones being the largest set.
The windows of this temple are rounded arches with shutters. each window opens outboard from the center and each half consists of multiple square panes. The windows on the top story are larger allowing as much light as is possible from the sun and moon.
The temple has seats in it, but not like a church so much and they are arranged in a circular pattern divided into quarters. There are no sermons given here although I am often here to speak with people who wish an objective listener. The seats are more for individuals and priest(esses) to use than anything else. Public rites are generally held around the altar in front of the main entrance, but people use it for personal observances as well. The temple is a kind of 'non-aligned' place for most people, welcoming to all. Niches in the interior walls holds statues of a wide variety of deities, saints, and spirits. The center of the temple is given over to the flame; no one calls it eternal even though it is kept burning constantly. The flame is located in the center of a basin full of water which is on top of a pedestal carved to allow the slightest breeze to ring chimes upon it and it is in turn surrounded by a ring of earth in which are various plants. It is not a tall or imposing affair but it is devoted to the elements.
If one were to look up at the temple roof one would see a cluster of glass drops set to take the rays of sun or moon and shiver them about the place.
The chairs are of solid wood construction and made in the sturdy Roman fashion of old. Embroidered curtains bracket the windows and banners and tapestries decorate beam and wall. The place is full of peace for me and I enjoy spending time here.
The day is warm and I am at peace on the porch, playing my harp and listening to the replies...
Avete
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Morning
I'm watching the sun rise. I'm walking the ramparts above the gate of the castra as the sun is nearing the edge of the horizon. I suppose officially it has already risen but it is still unseen from here for the moment. The sky is a blaze of rose, orange, and pink with the shadows of cirrus clouds smudged across the sky here and there. This hour is always fascinating; in the East the riotous colors of the coming dawn. In the West, the deep blue-black of night speeding away, stars still visible in a clear sky. I have always been a morning person.
I pull my paenula more closely about me; it is chill in this hour before the dawn. Frost sparkles on every surface even in the dim lamp-lights that are still lit. I am very thankful for the warm wool that makes up my dalmatica and the tightly woven linen that makes up the tunica beneath. Even so I wear feminalia beneath and I have thick wool socks inside my calcei. The paenula itself is heavy wool lined with heavy linen; the deep, warm hood drawn up over my head as I prowl along the wall.
The sentries pacing their stations nod greetings to me but say nothing; they are accustomed to my desire for silence in the early morning. Looking out across the frozen landscape I see the sleeping trees, the shadowy firs slowly taking firmer shape from shadow. Nothing moves out there this morning, not even birds are to be seen about though one hears a call now and then. At this time of year with the Winter fast approaching there are no people waiting outside for the gates to open. People won't begin to appear until after the sun is up and the gates are opened for the day.
Inside the walls there is enough activity to make up for the lack of it outside. The garrison is up and preparing for the changing of the Watch. The smells of wood smoke and bread baking are everywhere and my tummy rumbles slightly in anticipation of breaking my fast later in the morning. There is to be a patrol this morning and I can hear the jingling of harness, the snorting and stamping of horses as the troops prepare; the scent of the stables is also heavy in the air. The rest of the town still sleeps for the most part; few people are devotees to the sunrise as I am.
I turn and climb up to the gate tower's top, strolling over to look out along the road on which nothing is moving before turning to face the sunrise. It will rise soon and I begin my prayers of greeting, the Rites of Awakening warm and easy to me after all this time. Here on top of the gate tower the sun touches first in the morning. As its rays illumine my face I sing forth my prayers as I have done for so very long. I feel the feathery warmth of the light upon my skin, see the ruddy color painting the stones of the wall, the thatch and tiles of the buildings...the sharp contrast where shadows of night still linger for a few more moments. As always I am delighted, filled with energy and rejoice so strongly in the world.
As ever, the guards on duty smile and murmur thanks. I am for speech now, after the prayers of the morning are done. In good time I will climb down from this tower and make my way to the temple for some hours.
The day shows all the signs of being beautiful and serene...peaceful in profound ways. We always hope it remains thus. Later in the day when it is warmer I will go to some of the outlying farms along with a small squadron of cavalry. Making my rounds has become a warm and pleasant habit.
I watch my breath condense in the still-cold air and smile. It is a good morning.
M. Rutilia Severa
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
I pull my paenula more closely about me; it is chill in this hour before the dawn. Frost sparkles on every surface even in the dim lamp-lights that are still lit. I am very thankful for the warm wool that makes up my dalmatica and the tightly woven linen that makes up the tunica beneath. Even so I wear feminalia beneath and I have thick wool socks inside my calcei. The paenula itself is heavy wool lined with heavy linen; the deep, warm hood drawn up over my head as I prowl along the wall.
The sentries pacing their stations nod greetings to me but say nothing; they are accustomed to my desire for silence in the early morning. Looking out across the frozen landscape I see the sleeping trees, the shadowy firs slowly taking firmer shape from shadow. Nothing moves out there this morning, not even birds are to be seen about though one hears a call now and then. At this time of year with the Winter fast approaching there are no people waiting outside for the gates to open. People won't begin to appear until after the sun is up and the gates are opened for the day.
Inside the walls there is enough activity to make up for the lack of it outside. The garrison is up and preparing for the changing of the Watch. The smells of wood smoke and bread baking are everywhere and my tummy rumbles slightly in anticipation of breaking my fast later in the morning. There is to be a patrol this morning and I can hear the jingling of harness, the snorting and stamping of horses as the troops prepare; the scent of the stables is also heavy in the air. The rest of the town still sleeps for the most part; few people are devotees to the sunrise as I am.
I turn and climb up to the gate tower's top, strolling over to look out along the road on which nothing is moving before turning to face the sunrise. It will rise soon and I begin my prayers of greeting, the Rites of Awakening warm and easy to me after all this time. Here on top of the gate tower the sun touches first in the morning. As its rays illumine my face I sing forth my prayers as I have done for so very long. I feel the feathery warmth of the light upon my skin, see the ruddy color painting the stones of the wall, the thatch and tiles of the buildings...the sharp contrast where shadows of night still linger for a few more moments. As always I am delighted, filled with energy and rejoice so strongly in the world.
As ever, the guards on duty smile and murmur thanks. I am for speech now, after the prayers of the morning are done. In good time I will climb down from this tower and make my way to the temple for some hours.
The day shows all the signs of being beautiful and serene...peaceful in profound ways. We always hope it remains thus. Later in the day when it is warmer I will go to some of the outlying farms along with a small squadron of cavalry. Making my rounds has become a warm and pleasant habit.
I watch my breath condense in the still-cold air and smile. It is a good morning.
M. Rutilia Severa
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Monday, November 30, 2009
Vicus
It is a rather pretty day, as days in the Spring of a year can sometimes be. The cool air with the warm sun and scent of thawed earth and awakening life is a very heady one. The sounds of myriad birds, the wind in the flowering and budding trees, and the measured tramp of marching feet are all the sounds that break the stillness.
Looking down on the road, such as it is, I watch the column of infantry march northward screened by cavalry. It is not a large force but a seriously hard one nonetheless. Armored in maile mostly, with here and there some segmented plate and scale, they are armed with vicious short swords in general, with here and there a slung firearm and carry larger round shields. They have rucks and helmets of various sort. More uniform than not these days...as time has passed they have become more uniform in appearance rather than less so. They were blue...various shades to be sure, but not terribly far along the spectrum. They have simple boots which are nailed as both trackway and sound attest. The road is no longer a well paved surface but it provides enough of the old pavement with packed gravel as new pavement to produce that distinctive sound.
The patrol, for that is what it is, continues on up the road and I watch for a long while before finally urging my own mount into a canter and moving parallel to the road. The Winter was a tough one, if not so tough as the year before, yet still it proved too much for a number of folk. Fortunately fewer this year than the one before. This is the usual Spring foray among the various towns that make up the Vicus. I chuckle a bit at the thought for a Vicus was once a town that grew up outside of a Roman fortress. Here and now it refers to the group of communities that together have managed to get through some seriously harsh times together. The leader of this group, an elected sort of person, is referred to as a Vicar...another amusing term in that before it was a religious rank as well as a temporal placeholder rank. Now it is the term for the actual leader of this...state, if such it can be called.
The men and women marching below are part of a comitatus...of which there are a few that in turn make up the 'army'. It works with the Vicus but is also in part autonomous in a rather complicated way. Humans have a need to complicate things. It has been a good patrol thus far; people have been most welcoming and aid has been rendered in the building or repair of necessary structures and with the capsari and staff seeing to ill or injured people. Rather reminds me of a kind of combined action team in some ways.
I'm a counselor of sorts, and advisor...a scout...a Druid and a Harper. I'm both part of and outside of the Vicus and the Comitatenses. It is, to appearances, a pretty free and easy existence...to anyone who doesn't think beyond appearances anyway. It is a good thing to my mind, a very good thing.
I note the column has proceeded fairly far ahead as I've been lost in thought and I urge my mount into a faster pace. The next town is where we stop for the day.
*****
Ah, peaceful. I like it. :) I think I'll keep it. ;)
I'm hoping for a pretty quiet week. :)
Bright blessings.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Looking down on the road, such as it is, I watch the column of infantry march northward screened by cavalry. It is not a large force but a seriously hard one nonetheless. Armored in maile mostly, with here and there some segmented plate and scale, they are armed with vicious short swords in general, with here and there a slung firearm and carry larger round shields. They have rucks and helmets of various sort. More uniform than not these days...as time has passed they have become more uniform in appearance rather than less so. They were blue...various shades to be sure, but not terribly far along the spectrum. They have simple boots which are nailed as both trackway and sound attest. The road is no longer a well paved surface but it provides enough of the old pavement with packed gravel as new pavement to produce that distinctive sound.
The patrol, for that is what it is, continues on up the road and I watch for a long while before finally urging my own mount into a canter and moving parallel to the road. The Winter was a tough one, if not so tough as the year before, yet still it proved too much for a number of folk. Fortunately fewer this year than the one before. This is the usual Spring foray among the various towns that make up the Vicus. I chuckle a bit at the thought for a Vicus was once a town that grew up outside of a Roman fortress. Here and now it refers to the group of communities that together have managed to get through some seriously harsh times together. The leader of this group, an elected sort of person, is referred to as a Vicar...another amusing term in that before it was a religious rank as well as a temporal placeholder rank. Now it is the term for the actual leader of this...state, if such it can be called.
The men and women marching below are part of a comitatus...of which there are a few that in turn make up the 'army'. It works with the Vicus but is also in part autonomous in a rather complicated way. Humans have a need to complicate things. It has been a good patrol thus far; people have been most welcoming and aid has been rendered in the building or repair of necessary structures and with the capsari and staff seeing to ill or injured people. Rather reminds me of a kind of combined action team in some ways.
I'm a counselor of sorts, and advisor...a scout...a Druid and a Harper. I'm both part of and outside of the Vicus and the Comitatenses. It is, to appearances, a pretty free and easy existence...to anyone who doesn't think beyond appearances anyway. It is a good thing to my mind, a very good thing.
I note the column has proceeded fairly far ahead as I've been lost in thought and I urge my mount into a faster pace. The next town is where we stop for the day.
*****
Ah, peaceful. I like it. :) I think I'll keep it. ;)
I'm hoping for a pretty quiet week. :)
Bright blessings.
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Various Thoughts
Things that enthrall me; Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Arthur, Druidry, Harps, Bards, etc.
They can all be mixed of course and I do so frequently. Delightfully, I will periodically find a bit of information that makes the mixing much easier. For instance; there was an enclave of Egyptian Monks in Britain near Hadrian's Wall in the 4th century and onward. There were Sarmatian auxilliaries in Britain during this time as well. Trade never ceased with the Mediterranean basin and Bardic schools still existed in Scotland and Ireland....Caledonia and Hibernia. Mithraism was still in existence as was the worship of Aset, alongside Pelagian Christianity. The place makes for a fascinating meeting point.
My Druidry blends with my Polytheism and my attachment to the past to create something I find wholly satisfying in some very interesting ways. I can wear 6th Century clothing, worship Aset and Brigantia, be a Bard and a Druid, study and strive to hold to 'Arthurian' ideals...all of it while retaining links to Roman culture and military elements. And it doesn't jar at all, interestingly enough. I touched on this earlier but I might say it is delightful after all...and getting the message that They are in all places and there is no longer any 'pure' if ever there was such a thing, simply makes it that much better.
I do this best in a solitary format...mainly because I have always been solitary but also because there isn't anyone else with interests similar enough to my own to make it feel cohesive. There are overlaps with others to be sure, but they vary enough to make it difficult for me to fully integrate.
Generally I'm not a terribly social person. Contrary-wise I don't mind teaching things I know to others..in small groups at most. I do know, from past involvement, that if I ever found people with sufficiently overlapping interests I could in fact be a part of and function in a small yet tightly knit group...much as our old Legion was so many years ago. That is highly unlikely to happen again though; things have changed far too much for that. So it remains a pleasant memory and I am mostly a solitary servant to Themselves and to Druidry. With exceptions. :)
One of the things that makes me different in many ways is the aversion to exotic pets. A lot of modern Druid types like exotic pets...going to some lengths on occasion to obtain them. It has always made me uncomfortable. Domesticated animals, sure. Wild animals to my mind need to be wild. Yes, I know, originally the domestic breeds were wild. I do not find this a valid argument. But it is a personal thing and so I do not say anything when the subject arises. I'm in no position to dictate anything although if asked I will give my opinion; one reason I tell people to be careful what they ask me and to be certain they really want an answer.
Especially here, no one wants anyone to be 'the boss of me'. A most ridiculous and childish term but used by adults as often as kids. It has very real implications and I think will prove to have very real consequences when things go South, but that's as may be. I think folk will find that regardless of fashionable thinking, not everyone is as gifted or capable of everyone else at everything else. Like it or not, people are different.
My 'image' is maturing now, being looked at as 'proper' by an increasing number of people I deal with. It is funny how these things work. It provides a very real glimpse into the complexities of social interaction at a scaled down and manageable level. Thank goodness I'm not heading for anything big time. :)
I've been thinking a lot of late about how to preserve the practices of the Orders I belong to. Ancient Druidry simply vanished and I'd rather not see that happen again in the modern period with its approaching upheavals. I've had a number of ideas, most of them unworkable. Naturally there is no way to guarantee the survival and transmission of something through difficult times but one tries to search for the method(s) most likely to give a reasonable chance at it.
One method is writing. The trouble with that is the material; etching on inert metal is a good way to preserve it, but with the way languages change and cultures shift in difficult times...along with the decline in literacy that accompanies such things..it is advisable to make such a thing in several languages so someone might be able to read it. But it has drawbacks; inert metals are expensive and they get heavy fast. Etching allows for very thin, even flexible paging, but they would still be very heavy.
Oral of course tends to come apart over time. Combining it with writing is better. You could carve in stone..but of course if it is exposed weathering will do you in. Caches work, multiples of them, but that necessitates multiple copies of whichever method is used. In the end this is the most likely route to be taken but it requires much more thought. Such are the things I spend time pondering over.
I spend a deal of time meditating on a wide variety of things. I've always done this. I doubt I will ever change.
Brightest of Blessings
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
They can all be mixed of course and I do so frequently. Delightfully, I will periodically find a bit of information that makes the mixing much easier. For instance; there was an enclave of Egyptian Monks in Britain near Hadrian's Wall in the 4th century and onward. There were Sarmatian auxilliaries in Britain during this time as well. Trade never ceased with the Mediterranean basin and Bardic schools still existed in Scotland and Ireland....Caledonia and Hibernia. Mithraism was still in existence as was the worship of Aset, alongside Pelagian Christianity. The place makes for a fascinating meeting point.
My Druidry blends with my Polytheism and my attachment to the past to create something I find wholly satisfying in some very interesting ways. I can wear 6th Century clothing, worship Aset and Brigantia, be a Bard and a Druid, study and strive to hold to 'Arthurian' ideals...all of it while retaining links to Roman culture and military elements. And it doesn't jar at all, interestingly enough. I touched on this earlier but I might say it is delightful after all...and getting the message that They are in all places and there is no longer any 'pure' if ever there was such a thing, simply makes it that much better.
I do this best in a solitary format...mainly because I have always been solitary but also because there isn't anyone else with interests similar enough to my own to make it feel cohesive. There are overlaps with others to be sure, but they vary enough to make it difficult for me to fully integrate.
Generally I'm not a terribly social person. Contrary-wise I don't mind teaching things I know to others..in small groups at most. I do know, from past involvement, that if I ever found people with sufficiently overlapping interests I could in fact be a part of and function in a small yet tightly knit group...much as our old Legion was so many years ago. That is highly unlikely to happen again though; things have changed far too much for that. So it remains a pleasant memory and I am mostly a solitary servant to Themselves and to Druidry. With exceptions. :)
One of the things that makes me different in many ways is the aversion to exotic pets. A lot of modern Druid types like exotic pets...going to some lengths on occasion to obtain them. It has always made me uncomfortable. Domesticated animals, sure. Wild animals to my mind need to be wild. Yes, I know, originally the domestic breeds were wild. I do not find this a valid argument. But it is a personal thing and so I do not say anything when the subject arises. I'm in no position to dictate anything although if asked I will give my opinion; one reason I tell people to be careful what they ask me and to be certain they really want an answer.
Especially here, no one wants anyone to be 'the boss of me'. A most ridiculous and childish term but used by adults as often as kids. It has very real implications and I think will prove to have very real consequences when things go South, but that's as may be. I think folk will find that regardless of fashionable thinking, not everyone is as gifted or capable of everyone else at everything else. Like it or not, people are different.
My 'image' is maturing now, being looked at as 'proper' by an increasing number of people I deal with. It is funny how these things work. It provides a very real glimpse into the complexities of social interaction at a scaled down and manageable level. Thank goodness I'm not heading for anything big time. :)
I've been thinking a lot of late about how to preserve the practices of the Orders I belong to. Ancient Druidry simply vanished and I'd rather not see that happen again in the modern period with its approaching upheavals. I've had a number of ideas, most of them unworkable. Naturally there is no way to guarantee the survival and transmission of something through difficult times but one tries to search for the method(s) most likely to give a reasonable chance at it.
One method is writing. The trouble with that is the material; etching on inert metal is a good way to preserve it, but with the way languages change and cultures shift in difficult times...along with the decline in literacy that accompanies such things..it is advisable to make such a thing in several languages so someone might be able to read it. But it has drawbacks; inert metals are expensive and they get heavy fast. Etching allows for very thin, even flexible paging, but they would still be very heavy.
Oral of course tends to come apart over time. Combining it with writing is better. You could carve in stone..but of course if it is exposed weathering will do you in. Caches work, multiples of them, but that necessitates multiple copies of whichever method is used. In the end this is the most likely route to be taken but it requires much more thought. Such are the things I spend time pondering over.
I spend a deal of time meditating on a wide variety of things. I've always done this. I doubt I will ever change.
Brightest of Blessings
Cyfnos Gwynt /|\
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