Ethics of Divination

  In most modern pagan paths divination plays an important role. This is true in modern witchcraft and in Druidism, where divination might be used in ritual to predict a group's immediate future or to tell if offerings were accepted. Divination in witchcraft might be used before or after spellwork or more broadly to help a person find guidance or communicate with the Gods and spirits. In Heathenry we see divination used sometimes at baby blessings or namings, where a rune might be drawn to predict the child's luck, or as part of some rituals by adult participants for a similar reason. Besides ritual applications divination is also used more broadly by people seeking answers and looking for insight.

   Although not every Druid, witch, or Heathen uses divination, for many it can be a central tool for the practice of their faith. Divination then is an important thing to consider within a spiritual context and looking at it in this context raises important ethical questions. As a diviner what responsibility do we have to relay the messages we receive in an ethical manner, knowing that divination is an often imprecise and vague art?
   The first way that this can come up is when we are taking omens in ritual and the omen appears as a negative one. If it applies to a person care must be taken in how the omen is relayed so that it doesn't seem overwhelmingly bad, but at the same time we don't want to soft pedal the message so much that the meaning is lost. I've seen both extremes happen, once where a negative omen was given very bluntly in a way that frightened some people, and another time where a negative omen was actually rejected and a second omen taken so that the message would be better. Neither of these is constructive; rather I think we have an obligation to say what we see in a neutral way that shares the content but without passing on a sense of judgment of good or bad. This can of course be challenging if the omen itself is very negative, but even in that case the response can include further divination to find out if anything can be done to mitigate the situation. This is where interpreting the omen comes in and the interpretation should rely on both intuition and an ability to craft the message in a constructive way. Even a bad omen serves a purpose and should be interpreted and considered, rather than ignored or rejected.
    The second way I think that ethics can come into play is when we are doing more general divination and the reading is showing information that is important but will also certainly negatively impact the person hearing it. I have read tarot semi-professionally for over 10 years, and runes for more than 5 and I have had an amazing array of things come up in readings. I've had people ask about infidelity, parentage of children, pregnancy, and serious illnesses - and I've had all of these things come up for people who were not asking about them and had no idea there might be any such problems. What is the ethical thing to do? Do we tell a person a what we see when it might motivate a divorce or initiate an affair? My own approach to this, as with omens, is a middle road. I emphasize the uncertain, shifting nature of any divination tool and the need to really think about and process any information. I talk about possibilities and potentials rather than certainties, but I don't change the actual message of the divination tool, be it cards or runes.
   In the same way we should be cautious about over-emphasizing the positive in a reading. Making a moderately good reading into an extremely great one is not only unfair because it distorts the message but may also mislead the person into choosing an option they mistakenly believe is much better than it really is. Just as with negative messages, positive messages should be relayed in a straightforward manner that emphasizes the changeable nature of all divination.
   In my experience people will ultimately only listen to what they want to hear, no matter what you say or how you say it. But to be an ethical Seer or diviner is important and we should strive to be honorable in how we read for others. Being honorable means being honest and presenting the message without distortion, but also being clear that no message is written in stone. We should be sensitive to the feelings of the person or people we are reading for without letting ourselves be influenced to tell them what they want to hear. In the end we should approach reading for others as we would want someone else to read for us.

Wellspring 2014

 I returned home yesterday from my first national festival, Wellspring, an event put on by ADF.  This is ADF's 30th year, and although I've been a member since 2001 I've never attended an ADF gathering before. This year though I was asked if I'd be interested in doing a few workshops at Wellspring and after discussing the logistics with my Kindred sister, decided that it would be fun to go and bring the kids. I put in proposals for a selection of workshops and was set to do three: honoring the Other Crowd as a modern pagan, living Celtic Reconstructionism, and the Hidden Folk in Norse and Irish culture.

Thor shrine in the Runestead

   There was some point then were putting 5 children ages 10 through 1 in a car together for close to 9 hours was a good idea. In retrospect I don't know when that point was, but we did it, and after an epic drive through the night to avoid holiday traffic we arrived at Brushwood. We chose a campsite located strategically close to the bathrooms (5 small children, remember?) and also on the fringe where crying baby at 6 am was less likely to bother people.
  There were a couple downsides to the weekend. We had been warned to be prepared for cold weather; we failed to anticipate it getting down to the mid-40's (Fahrenheit) at night and so did not have enough blankets. The kids were okay, of course, but the adults did not sleep well - and teaching workshops on little sleep makes for interesting times. I may have done an impression of Fonzie from Happy Days in one workshop. We also forgot to pack our bottled water so its safe to say dehydration was an issue.
  That aside I can honestly say Wellspring was an amazing experience. Brushwood itself is a wonderful place with a permanent nemeton and runestead where people can go to worship. I attended a moving Morrigu devotional at the nemeton the first day; during a portion of the ceremony where personal omens were being taken the temperature suddenly plunged so that our breath was a visible plume in the air and then just as suddenly warmed again. Every morning we would walk to these sacred places with the children to do our devotional prayers, which was powerful not only for my friend and I but also for the children.

Nemeton

My oldest daughter especially found the experience to be profound, as there was a small shrine to Brighid she went and prayed at every morning. She feels a strong connection to Brighid, which was made stronger by this devotional practice. I suspect she's trying to think of how to make something like this at home now.

Brighid's shrine

 Speaking of children - Wellspring had a great kids program with lots of fun activities. We'd been a little worried about keeping the kids occupied and happy, but they all enjoyed themselves - enough that they are asking to go back.
   There was a potluck dinner the second night we were there and I have to say I have never had so much fun at a potluck before, even if I was wrestling tired kids most of the time. The food was great, the company was great - Stone Creed Grove kindly invited our rolling circus to sit with them - and the atmosphere overall was convivial. And after dinner the Dragon Ritual Drummers performed, which was amazing to listen to - even from a quarter mile away, in a tent, with a sleeping infant.
  I saw an old friend and was able to spend a little bit of time with her, met several people in real life that I had previously only known online, and made several new friends over the course of the weekend. I think my workshops went well, and I enjoyed the ritual I was able to attend. I certainly wish I'd had more time to spend talking with people but overall I think Wellspring was a successful experience for us, and I came home feeling physically tired but spiritually revived.

Creating a German Heathen Cycle of Holidays

  One of my first steps in approaching Germanic Heathenry has been to look at what holidays to celebrate. Up until now I've divided my holidays between the Norse and Irish, with the solar holidays - the equinoxes and solstices - being Norse, so this represents an entirely new approach. I believe though that its important to have a solid idea of what is being celebrated, when, and why because it not only connects us to the cycle of the year but also creates a pattern of offerings and reciprocity with the gods and spirits. 
   If the year is divided into two halves, as Grimm describes, and May begins Summer then we may surmise that November begins winter; this lines up perfectly with my own regional environment so I am comfortable going with it. For my purposes then I have Summer Finding in May and Winter Finding in November, representing the shift between the two seasons; in each case the season that is ending would symbolically be defeated by the one that is beginning. Both also have different associations with the Wild Hunt. So we have just celebrated Summer Finding, Sommer Entdeckung, representing the beginning of summer and defeat of winter. 
   After summer begins we have the summer solstice, Mittesommer or Midsummer, when we honor Frau Sonne at the height of her power. Much like May Day this holiday was traditionally associated with Maypole dancing and revelry.
   We know from Grimm that the elves - alfar in Old Norse or German alpen or elben - were given offerings ceremonially in what he equates to the historic Norse alfablots. We just don't know if this was done at specific times of year, or when there was a need, or regularly. I decided to place this celebration at the beginning of the harvest season because the elves were associated with luck, health, and prosperity - all things that also go well with the symbolism of the harvest. I'll call it Elben Segen, or Elf Blessing. 
    I also wanted to include a celebration that focused just on remembering and honoring the ancestors; autumn seemed like the best time for that, but there was other symbolism already associated with the November 1st holiday, Winter Finding as I call it, that I felt detracted from the focus I was looking for. So on the fall equinox I'll celebrate Erntedankfest - Harvest Festival, Thanksgiving - which like the secular American Thanksgiving will emphasize family and harvest foods, but also include a ritual to honor the ancestors.
  Winter Entdeckung, Winter Finding, on November 1st will celebrate the passage of summer and return of winter. Wodan and Frau Holda will be honored, symbolizing the return of the Wild Hunt. 
  Julfest is a 12 day celebration running from approximately December 20th through January 1st. I've blogged about my yule celebrations before here. This year I will of course be looking at how to shift to a more Germanic approach, like including Holle Nacht, but I think many of the traditions will probably be fairly similar. 
   After Julfest, at the beginning of February, I want to keep the modern Heathen celebration of disirblot, but call it Idisi Segen, or Idisi Blessing. The Idisi are protective ancestral spirits, women who have died but continue to watch over the family line. Its important to properly honor the Idisi and I think its very appropriate to have a holiday just for them. 
   In March, at the spring equinox, I celebrate Ostara in honor of the German goddess of spring. She's an obscure one, but there is enough evidence of her to convince me and I think its important to honor her as the initial force of growth and renewal in the land. I have also previously honored Artio, a Germano-Gaulish goddess at this time. 
   And that brings us back to May Day - Sommer Entdeckung, Walpurgisnacht - which I just wrote about in depth and celebrated. 
    So from what I've gleaned from Grimm and incorporated from modern Heathenry I'm looking at:
Sommer Entdeckung - Summer Finding - May 1st - Frau Holda
Mittesommer - Midusmmer, June - Frau Sonne
Elben Segen - Elf-blessing, aka Alfarblot, august 1st - the Elben
Erntedankfest - Harvest Festival - September - honoring the ancestors
Winter Entdeckung - Winter Finding - November 1st - Wodan and Frau Holda
Julfest - aka yule, the night of December 20th through morning of January 1st - many different Gods and spirits
Idisi Segen - Idisi blessing, aka Disirblot, February 1st - the Idisi
Ostara - March, welcoming spring - Ostara

Sommer Entdeckung - My Family's First Walburgisnacht

   The evening of this past April 30th my family celebrated our first German-oriented May Day. It has been an interesting experience so far shifting focus with the children; their questions are pushing me to clarify and have an understanding of what I am doing that I probably wouldn't worry about otherwise. 
    We dedicated our celebration to Frau Holda and to welcoming back the summer. We invited in our ancestors, the friendly Huldufolk, and Frau Holda. We sang "Winter out, summer in" and I told the children about how we were at a turning point in the year, shifting from winter to summer. The children were curious about the ideas of summer and winter fighting each other and expressed hope that now our weather would finally turn. I pointed out that our local signs of spring/summer finally arriving included the forsythia and azaleas blooming.  We also talked about some of the history of the holiday and its association with witches. We made offerings of cedar to the landspirits, burning them on our altar, and offered bread to our ancestors. For Holda we offered flax seed, because its said that she brought flax to people. Finally we prepared a slice of oatmeal bread with butter and honey as an offering for the Windhund* and left it outside. 
    I had planned to include two things that we ended up not doing because of a cold steady rain: making a May Bush and ritually "drowning" winter. The first is actually a tradition shared by the Irish and one that the children and I have done before - it's always fun. We take a branch from a tree and set it up by the door and then decorate it with yellow ribbons and flowers. The second I read about in Grimm and I loved the symbolism; an effigy of Death, representing winter, is created and then ceremonially drowned in a lake or other body of water. My oldest daughter made a paper figure representing winter and we planned to drowned it in the swamp behind our house. After death/winter is banished we would have sung:
"Wir haben den Tod hinausgetrieben,
den lieben Sommer bringen wir wieder,
den Summer und den Meien
mit blümlein mancherleien"
 (We have driven out Death
  brought back the dear summer
  the summer and the May
  with little flowers of many kinds)
   All of this had to be saved for another day, probably next weekend, which will put it close to the end of the 12 day Wonnetdanz of Urgalaawe. I suppose that's fitting enough.  
  After the children went to bed I did a small personal rite to Holda on my own, committing to one year of honoring her and studying German Heathenry. It seemed fitting to do from one May Day to another. 

Duncan Royale Frau Holda statue

*the Windhund is a hound of the Wild Hunt left behind during the summer who may bring luck, prosperity, and protect from bad weather

Walburgisnacht by Any Other Name....

   Like the Irish the pagan Germans originally seem to have acknowledged only two seasons: summer and winter. In Teutonic Mythology Grimm discusses at length the way that these two halves, personified as "Herr Summer" and "Herr Winter" battle against each other with each one winning dominance over half the year (Grimm, 1888). Grimm emphasizes May Day as the beginning of summer, "Again, as summer begins with May, we have that month acting as its representative, and just as full of life and personality." (Grimm, 1888). And also discusses its importance as a holiday, "Everything goes to prove, that the approach of summer was to our forefathers a holy tide, welcomed by sacrifices, feast and dance, and largely governing and brightening the people's life." (Grimm, 1888). 
  In modern parlance the German pagan holiday is usually called Walburgisnacht or Walpurgisnacht. This name is certainly related to a saint and her saint's day* and possibly to an older pagan Goddess. The holiday is usually dated beginning on April 30th and going into May 1st, and this date is the one most widely used. In Teutonic Mythology however we see that the celebration was based on the blooming of certain flowers or the return of certain birds. This may show that originally the celebration's timing was based on environmental signs that would have varied by region, explaining why Grimm mentions May 1st but also gives no specific date and talks about some of the associated traditions being seen as early as March in southern areas. As Grimm says, "But the coming in of Summer did not happen on any fixed day of the year, it was determined by accidental signs, the opening of flowers, the arrival of birds. This was called finding Summer: 'ich hân den Sumer vunden,'" (Grimm, 1888). 
    I have never been comfortable using the name Walpurgisnacht because of the strong Christian connotations. (For the record I have the same reservations about the use of names like "hlafmas" and "candlemas" in a pagan context). Grimm tells us that "Now the arrival of Summer, of May...was kept as a holiday from of old. In the Middle Ages this was called die zît empfâhen, welcoming the season; den Sumer empfâhen [literally the summer receiving]" (Grimm, 1888). An alternative might be to call it Sommer Empfangen, or Summer Receiving, although the more eloquent English might be Summer Welcoming. As I quoted above Grimm also refers to "finding Summer"; I like this name and find it very pagan in tone so I am choosing to call this holiday Sommer Entdeckung (Summer Finding), although I'm aware that some Asatru groups use this name for the spring equinox holiday. 
    The focus of May Day is on welcoming back summer and celebrating the return of warm weather and its life affirming qualities. At this time some believe that the Wild Hunt leaves until the next winter, leaving behind a single hound called the Windhund who brings good weather, fertility and luck (Hodge, n.d.) This hound may be associated with several different goddesses including Frau Gode, Berchta, and Frikke and is offered a slice of bread with butter and honey on May Day to ensure its blessing on the home (Hodge, n.d). The night of April 30th is particularly associated with witches, who were said to gather to celebrate and in a modern context is considered a time of magic and enchantment. These witches were seen as honoring or belonging  to Holda (Grimm, 1888). Any or all of these goddesses might be honored by modern Germanic Heathens at this time. 
    There are many traditions associated with this holiday, too many for me to discuss here. We can however break the traditions down into roughly two types: those that banish winter and welcome summer, and those designed to bless or protect in the new season. Some of the first type are mentioned by Grimm and include wagon processions welcoming summer, the ritual drowning of winter personified as "death", a mock fight between two people dressed as Winter and Summer where summer prevails, and the singing of songs (Grimm, 1888). These songs may be short chants, such as "'Sommer' rein, Winter' naus!'" - summer come in, winter go out! - or may be longer (Grimm, 1888). The second type of tradition includes offerings to the spirit hound left by the Wild Hunt, burning old worn out tools, blessing bonfires which may be jumped over, the creation of May bushes - that is a small bush or decorated branch covered in yellow ribbons, flowers, and eggshells - and the gathering of flowers brought in to bless the house (Grimm, 1888; Hodge, n.d.) 
    There is a possibility that like Yule, Walburgisnacht was originally a 12 day holiday. This would be in keeping with  the amount of material that Grimm includes in his section on Summer, traditions which would be hard if not impossible to celebrate in a single day. Grimm also specifically mentions, in his section on witches: "The Witches' Excursion takes place on the first night in May... They ride up Blocksberg on the first of May, and in 12 days must dance the snow away; then Spring begins." (Grimm, 1888). This may indicate a belief that the welcoming of summer was a process of banishing winter, and only after rituals being done over the right amount of time - 12 days - would winter actually retreat and summer begin. In the German-American practice of Urglaawe the holiday includes the 12 nights of Wonnetdanz where certain frost giants fight against the thawing of the land and are repelled each night (Schreiwer, 2013). Looking at the wider scope of German practices from March to May, beginning with the holiday of Ostara and ending with Walburgisnacht (Sommer Entdeckung) we might also conclude that finding and welcoming summer is a process which begins with symbolic fertility and renewal and ends with the triumph of summer over winter.

  Its clear that this holiday was an extremely important one based on the amount of folklore associated with it. For modern Heathens there is an abundance of material to work with in creating rituals and building a set of traditions to follow. We should celebrate the return of summer with joy just as our ancestors did.
   In my next blog I will share my family's experiences celebrating this year.

References:

Grimm, J., (1888). Teutonic Mythology
Schreiwer, R., (2013) The 12 Nights of Wonnetdanz. Retrieved from  http://urglaawe.blogspot.com/2013/04/twelve-nights-of-wonnetdanz.html

Hodge, W., (n.d.) Waelburga and the Rites of May. Retrieved from http://www.friggasweb.org/walburga.html

* editing to clarify: May 1st isn't Saint Walburga's saint's day but rather the day she was canonized in the Catholic church (http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=209) which is where it is theorized the name Walburgasnacht for that date comes from. According to Hodge's 'Waelburga and the Rites of May' it is also a day associated with healing miracles of saint Walburga. Several sources theorize that Walburga may be the name of an older pagan Goddess, particularly one named Walburga Frouwa, but it is difficult to prove.

Winter Entdeckung - Winter Finding

Winter endeckung -The "Vergōdendēl‟
ritual centres around the harvest and the felling of the final sheaf of rye, which isdecorated. When the rest of the work is done, the workers all gather around the final, decorated sheaf,take hold of the ears of rye and shout the following three times:
"Friggöu, Friggöu, Friggöu! Dütt Jahr up'r Kare‚t andre up'n Wagen!"
(Friggöu, Friggöu, Friggöu! This year on the wheelbarrow, the other up on the wagon!"

References:

 Grimm, J () Teutonic Mythology

 Heath, C., (2013) From Fairytale to Goddess

Shifting Focus

 I've talked before about the fact that I follow a spiritual path that incorporates both Irish and Norse practices, but I tend to blog mostly about the Irish. Part of the reason for that is a struggle with talking about the personal aspects of my Heathenry; the other part is that my real connection is with Germanic Heathenry not Norse, but I defaulted to Norse early on because of the difficulty finding accessible modern Germanic Heathen material. I never felt quite at home in Asatru but hesitated to try to shift to the Germanic because I knew on some level that I'd end up having to do my own reconstruction of it, similar to what I do with the Irish.
   In the last year I've been drawn more and more to exploring that end of things though, and particularly to the goddess Frau Holle/Holda, but I always managed to talk myself out of it. Now, though I've finally decided to take the plunge and I committed myself to a year focused on Germanic Heathenry, officially starting on May 1st. What this means for my spirituality is that I will still honor the Irish Gods and celebrations, but that my main focus will be on the Germanic end of things. I want to really push myself to fully connect with this and experience it, even if the process means piecing things together as I go.
  I don't want to change the style or tone of my blog and I will still include Irish and Druidic material, but I want to use the blog to share my discoveries and experiences with Germanic Heathenry as I go along. This means that where before the content was something like 90% Irish and 10% Heathen that will likely reverse for at least the next year. I'm hoping those of you who follow my blog will enjoy going along with me as I learn about the Germanic Gods, spirits, holidays, cosmology, and magic. I'll share my experiences reconstructing the path as I'm doing it, and we'll see where it takes me.