Litha… Nope, not a fan…

Photo from Wikipedia.org. Silver Nightshade. Don’t let the pretty purple flowers fool you, this plant is pure evil.

Litha or the Summer Solstice is probably the hardest Sabbat for me to get excited about. In fact, I’m so unenthusiastic about this holiday that I often forget to celebrate it. In some parts of the country Litha is means reasonable weather, comfortably sunny days, and a green landscape full of life. Well it’s never really green in the desert. Kinda greenish is a better description for the landscape during late winter through early autumn here. And by June 21 the weather has most likely been hot for at least a month already.

We in Central New Mexico have been blessed with a really wet year. This Spring instead of lots of wind and lots of sand being blown around, we got lots of wind and lots of rain. Which kept both the sand and temperatures down. For the first time in years I actually got to experience a stereotypical spring. Which was pretty great. But then June came, and the whole raining every other day thing stopped and the weather went back to it’s regularly scheduled programming. Which means lots of heat.

I really probably shouldn’t complain. It really could be worse. The high altitude does keep the heat in check, and most days during the dry part of the summer have temperatures hanging around the 80’s and 90’s. Which really isn’t much worse than some other southern parts of the country. And unlike other parts of the southern US (like Texas) we don’t have to worry about 80-100+ degrees with 100% humidity. On those few days we do hit a 100 it’s a news worthy event. And that usually happens mid to late June, right around Litha.

Litha to me means oppressive heat, overwhelming dryness, and a searing sun. And brush fires, lets not forget brush fires and fire bans. Litha means that the wild grasses that sprang to life in my backyard during the late winter and early spring have long since died and have been replace by plants that can handle a full blown desert summer. Which are mostly silver nightshade and other plants with lots of thorns or that produce lots of stickers. My garden is able to survive the dry part of summer, but require a lot of attention. If I neglect my garden during this time of the year even for a couple days, it spells certain death for most of my plants. June in New Mexico is just something I can’t have much love for.

I still feel like I should do something to mark the Summer Solstice though. I might take some inspiration from Natib Qadish’s Ashuru Zabi and banish the negative aspects of the summer by creating and burning an effigy of Mot, the Canaanite god of death, drought and sterility.

Note:  Okay, I realize this is probably my third post complaining about a Sabbat.  Which will lead some people to think “why is this woman even bothering with the Wheel of the Year?”  Believe me as much a I complain, I actually have a lot of love for the Wiccan/Neopagan Sabbats, and consider the Wheel to be a very important part of my path.  I will have to write more about this in a future post.

My Lastest Creation: An Asherah Statue, part 2

She is done….

As pretty as She was straight out of the oven, She is even prettier painted.  I love Her so much.  I think I’ll be taking Her to the mountains with my husband and I this weekend, where we will be celebrating both Beltane and our anniversary at a local festival.  (It is how it sounds, me and my husband’s relationship started at a Beltane Festival.)

My Lastest Creation: An Asherah Statue

The other day I was watching this video.  During the video, the YouTube user TheLovelyLittleWitch explains why she has two Matrons and goes over how she made her Goddess statues. After watching I thought to myself, “so that’s how it’s done.  I could probably do this.” So I attempted to make my own Asherah statue.

When it comes to Canaanite deities, Asherah is probably the most popular today.  Images of her aren’t too hard to find, but most are plaques or based off of the Goddess statues found in the ruined house of the ancient Israelites.  I wanted something modern and stylized, but didn’t feel confident trying to make a large figurine myself, until I came across the video.

Some modern Canaanite pagans discourage the idea of Asherah as an Earth Mama, and instead prefer to portray Asherah as the Queen of Heaven, Celestial Goddess.  But, I went full on Earth Mama here anyway.  In ancient Israel she was often represented by a stylized tree, and one of her titles is the Tree of Life, so I think my take on this Goddess is legit.  I also can’t sculpt hands, so by making Asherah a tree/human hybrid I avoided having to do so.  (I also can’t really sculpt faces.  I’ll paint more detail into her face later.)

I know this kinda looks like a vulva, and I’m alright with that.

Being that Canaanites were neighbors, at one point the conquerors, and at another point the vassals of the Egyptians, Egyptian culture influenced Canaan.  Images of Asherah often had Her wearing a Hathor Wig (think the 1960’s “Flip” hairstyle).  Her curly crown is my take on that.  I cheated, and the large floral motifs on her dress were made using a chocolate mold.  But the little leaves, and every thing else were all me.  Asherah is often shown topless, so I made my statue that way too.   As I was making this, my daughter insisted that she needed a flower, so I added a small flower over her breast.

This is the largest figure I’ve sculpted.  She’s about around a foot tall, and made out of polymer clay, wire, masking tape and paper.  I’m rather pleased about how she turned out.

DIY Lamassu Plaque

A Lamassu is a protective spirit hailing from Mesopotamia, and is one of the images recently destroyed by ISIL/Daesh. (Click link in first sentence to learn more about the Lamassu.) Religious extremists commit such acts in hopes of erasing pre-Abrahamic religion and culture from mankind’s history. While the lost of these artifacts is a tragedy the world will never recover from, one way we can fight back is by refusing to forget our collective history. We can do this by creating art. And it is for this reason I created this tutorial.

Let it be that for every image they destroy several will replace it.

I am not much of a sculptor, nor am I much of a painter, so I kept this project simple and easy. If you can trace and paint within lines, then you should be able to make this plaque. Please forgive my shadow in these pictures.

You Need:

• at least 4 oz of polymer clay (I used one package of gray granite and one package of white granite premo for the faux stone look).
• paint brushes
• acrylic paint
• a ball point pen
• a tooth pick
• a rolling pin, large smooth cup or jar
• access to a Printer
• a straw (optional)

Step One Print this image.  It should be about 4 x 4 inches.

Step two. Roll polymer clay into a ball. (If you are using multiple colors, then mix the colors together by rolling and re-rolling clay into a “snake” several times, until colors are mixed to your liking. Then roll it into a ball) Then roll it flat with a rolling pin.  If you don’t have a rolling pin, then a large smooth cup or large smooth jar will work as a substitute.  Don’t worry if you can’t roll the clay into a perfect circle.  I find that imperfections add character to this project.  Roll the clay until it’s about a 1/8-1/4 of a inch thick and the image that you printed earlier can fit on it.

Step Three Place image on top of the polymer clay and trace it with a ball point pen.  Press hard enough so that a light outline will be made on the clay, but not so hard that you poke through the paper.  Don’t worry if details in the face don’t transfer too well.  In my case they didn’t, but the plaque still came out okay.

Step Four Take a tooth pick and re-trace the outline to make it more visible.  (All I had around the house was one of those sword picks you use for appetizers.)  If you would like to be able to hang this plaque on your wall, punch a hole at the top with a drinking straw.

You can also add texture at this point. I did this by pressing the tip of a pen and a mechanical pencil into the clay repeatedly in certain sections of the image.  Below is the image I traced.  I used this as a guide on how I should texture my plaque.

Step Five Following the directions on the polymer clay packaging, bake the polymer clay.

Step Six After the plaque has cooled down, paint your Lamassu any way you wish.  Go wild.

Step Seven For protection, hang your Lamassu by your front door. (optional)

Step Eight Admire your work.  The End.

Candlemas: When You’re Just Not that into Bridget

I don’t have any problems with Bridget.  She seems like a perfectly lovely goddess, but it was made clear to me long ago that she’s not mine. While I can appreciate the beauty of Celtic culture, I’ve never clicked with its mythology or its gods. Because I don’t work with Celtic gods my Candlemases (plural form of Candlemas?) are pretty much void of Bridget dolls, Bridget crosses and ewes. Recently I learned that Candlemas isn’t just a Christianized version of Imbolc, but a holiday with it’s own pre-Christian history.  So I no longer have to feel guilty or weird about not being able to get into the Bridget spirit on Feb 2nd.

I know I can’t be the only one who goes, “Bridget?” (shrugs) when everyone else is cheering “It’s Imbolc, Yay Bridget!” If you’re on the same boat and are looking for ideas on celebrating Candlemas/Imbolc that don’t have much to do with Celtic deities or ewes, here are my suggestions. Note: When I was a newbie pagan an acquaintance of mine mentioned that she focused on family and the hearth on Imbolc. This stuck with me. To me this sabbat is about Family, the Domestic realm and Purification, so my list reflects this.

• Cook an Imbolc/Candlemas inspired menu.

• Skip the public rituals and instead spend the holiday with family and close friends at home.

• Deep clean, de-clutter, cleanse, bless and ward your house.

• If you have the skill, make household repairs.

• Celebrate deities and/or spirits of the domestic realm, and ask that they bless your home.

• Celebrate fire goddesses.

• If you have brought something into the new year that no longer serves you, dump it on Candlemas while the year is still young.

• If you have already dropped your new year resolution use this Sabbat as a chance to give it another go.

• Take a cleansing bath.

• Make candles, perfumed oils and magical/ritual waters.

• Plan this year’s garden (if you have one).

B is for Ba’al

Last week’s topic at the Pagan Experience was on deity/the Divine and our experiences with Them/It. I was planning on writing a post about Ba’al, but every time I tried, only a jumbled mess came out. So I thought, maybe Ba’al didn’t want me writing anything about him after all. But then this week’s prompt is any topic that starts with the letter A or B. So, I’ll take that as a hint, and try this again.

I want to take a moment to make it clear that I am not an expert on Canaanite religion or culture. I am only a follower of the Iluma, and a new follower at that.

Ba’al is the Hebrew word for lord. There were many gods in the ancient middle east called Ba’al so it isn’t wise to assume all Ba’al’s are the same god. But more often than not, when people are talking about Ba’al they are referring to one god in particular, Ba’al Hadad. Hadad translates to Thunderer, so his name literally means Lord Thunderer. And as his name suggests Ba’al is a storm god. In addition to being a storm god, Ba’al is also a warrior and a dying and rising god.

According to this website, Hadad originated from the Sumerian/Akkadian god Ishkur/Adad. In this form he was associated with both the benevolent and destructive aspects of storms. When he became the Ugaritic Hadad he took on a more benevolent nature, and became the protector and champion of humanity. He also moved up in rank and became one of the more important, if not the most important god in the pantheon.

Ba’al is the son of Dagon, the grain god, although sometimes he’s referred as the son of the chief god El. There’s a lot of confusion over this matter because mythology contradicts itself. Another point of confusion is whether Ba’al is married, and if so, to whom. Some have made the mistake of stating that Anat (the goddess of war) is his wife. Mythology mentions that Anat is a virgin. This doesn’t necessarily mean that she isn’t sexual (although there is no evidence that she is), but it does mean she’s not married. Sometimes sources will say that Astarte is Ba’al’s wife. Astarte plays a minor roll in Ugaritic mythology, and no where does it say that she is married to Ba’al. According the the Bible, Asherah and Hadad are an item. And the Assyrian Adad is married to Shala, a goddess of the grain, emotion and compassion. Confusing right? Sometimes a pagan just has to accept that pagan mythology isn’t like the scripture of book religions. Depending on the location the same god can have different myths, different family members and sometimes even a different personality.

In Ugarit Ba’al Hadad has three women, Tallay (dewy), Pidray (light), and Arsay (earthy). They are often seen as his daughters, and sometimes as his wives. I go with the daughter explanation because in the myth of the marriage of Yarihu (moon god) and Nikkal (orchard goddess), Nikkal’s father suggests that Yarihu marry one of Ba’al’s women. This suggestion wouldn’t make sense if these women were his wives. Ba’al also has two servants Gapnu (vine) and Ugar (field). Thunder is said to be Ba’al’s voice and I imagine that his two weapons Yagarish (Driver), and Ayamari (driver) represent lightening. One of Ba’al titles is the “Rider on the clouds.” I tend to see Ba’al as traveling with his daughters and servants in rock-star-esque type entourage when he brings rain to the earth. (My UPG, but it just seems right.)

When I first started exploring the Canaanite pantheon and had little interest in Ba’al Hadad. I think my Southern Baptist upbringing had a little to do with it. Conservative Christians tend to see the name Ba’al as either as one of Satan’s many names, or at least the name of a very powerful demon. Even after I learned more about Ba’al, I still wasn’t very interested. I’m not a warrior type person, and I’m generally not attracted to the warrior archetype.

So what am I doing with this god? I felt like he chose me. One cloudy monsoon day Ba’al just showed up, and from that moment on I’ve understood why the ancient Israelites had such a hard time not worshiping him. And the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. I love rain. When I was a child, my sister and I use to run outside and play in the rain. I’ve also spent a decent portion of my life living in arid or semi arid climates, where it’s not too uncommon to go weeks without any sort of precipitation. Living in the desert really makes you appreciate, adore, and respect rain.

‘Ashuru Shamni

Modern Canaanites have two holidays that occur during or near the traditional Western holiday season. The first is ‘Ashuru ‘Ari which occurs on the Winter Solstice and is either a celebration centered around Asherah, or Shapsu (the Canaanite Sun goddess) depending on the individual practitioner. The second holiday is ‘Ashuru Shamni which occurs 7 days after the New Moon following the Winter Solstice. This winter ‘Ashuru Shamni occurs on December 28^th. From where I view things, ‘Ashuru Shamni is a similar holiday to Imbolc/Candlemas. On this day the ritual oil for the year is created and Ba’al Hadad is asked for His protection over the household. Offerings of scented oils and food are made, as well as gifts to the community such as donations to local food banks.

This will be the first Canaanite holiday I have celebrated. I’m not a Re-constructionists so I don’t follow Natib Qadish’s (Canaanite Polytheism) calendar, but I feel driven to celebrate this holiday. During the last year or so olive oil has become a big part of my spiritual practices. I use it as an anointing oil, as fuel for my oil lamp and occasionally as a libation.  Olive oil has been my go to cooking oil for most of my adult life (canola and corn oil are abominations to nature really bad for you). Between mundane life and my spiritual practices I go through at least two of those huge jugs/tin canisters a year. Olive oil has a huge presence in this household, so celebrating this holiday just seems right. Also Ba’al is one of my main gods and I haven’t done a formal ritual dedicated to Him yet.

I plan on making a special meal (probably something Mediterranean/middle eastern inspired) and baking a loaf of bread for dipping, yum. I’ll make an oil offering, and the best way I know how to do this is by burning an oil lamp. I will also be making small batches of ritual oils, as I have found that olive based perfume oils don’t make it a full year before they start getting a little funky. (Maybe it’s because I live in a warm climate, I dunno.) I haven’t made a food donation yet this Holiday season, so I’ll make sure to drop off some non-perishables in Ba’al honor soon.

The Queen’s Domestic Chores

The Queen attends to Her domestic chores
to keep Her heavenly home in order
As She spins yarn from her spindle
galaxies are set in motion
As She binds the threads
celestial bodies are given form
As She washes her robes
chaos is brought into balance
As She stirs the dye pot
She releases vibrancy into the world

And when She is done with the day’s work
She dances on the waves
and births life into being.

A Pantheistic Winter Solstice Ritual to Honor the Sun

I have been doing this ritual in one form or another for years now. I’m never 100% please with it and am forever tweaking it. Honestly, I’ll probably be tweaking it again this year. This ritual is Wiccanesque without being overly Wiccan. There is no circle casting, calling the quarters or raising of energy. And this ritual is focused on honoring the Sun instead of the Goddess and the Child of Promise. If you desire, you could probably insert a solar deity into this ritual with some modification. This ritual can be done either indoors or outside. Feel free to personalize this ritual anyway you like.

You need:
5 candles. (Or 4 candles and a place to light a fire.)  Preferably in theses colors, green, yellow, red, blue and gold.

Prelude.
Poem-The Sun Never Says by Hafiz

Even after all this time
The sun never says to the earth
“You owe Me.”
Look what happens with
A love like that,
It lights up the Whole Sky.

Ritual Intro.
Tonight we come together to honor the returning Sun. In ancient times people came together at this time of the year as they knew December was their last opportunity to feast and enjoy the products of their labor. The beginning of winter marked the hardship they would soon endure as days become colder and food would become scarce. Even though the Winter Solstice meant that hard times were just around the corner, the ancients took hope as the Solstice also promised that the hardship would not be eternal. Although tonight is the longest night of the year, it also marks the rebirth and return of the Sun. After tonight the days will become longer and with that the Earth will once more become fertile.

Ritual Action.
Earth Candle: We ask for the Suns return. On this the longest night the creatures that roam the earth slumber in blankets of snow and ice. The lengthening of days will bring life anew to the animal kingdom. The creatures of the Earth ask for the Sun’s return.

Light Earth Candle.

Air Candle: We ask for the Sun’s return. On this the longest night leafless trees dance in the crisp winter air. The lengthening of days will bring blooms to the trees and the song of the birds to the breeze. The creatures of Air ask for the Sun’s return.

Light Air Candle.

Fire Candle: We ask for the Sun’s return. On this the longest night the people light their fires to illuminate the darkness. The lengthening days will bring warmth filled sunny days giving the hearth fires their rest. The creatures of Fire ask for the Sun’s return.

Light Fire Candle.

Water Candle: We ask for the Sun’s return. On this the longest time rivers and streams stand still under the spell of winter. The lengthening days will bring the tides of beauty and inspiration of the Spring. The creatures of Water ask for the Sun’s return.

Light Water Candle.

Bonfire or Sun Candle:
The wheel of the year has turned once more, and the nights have grown longer and colder. Tonight we ask the Sun to bring the light once again, and force darkness to retreat. As the wheel continues to spin, we ask for the Sun to return to us once more.

Even in the darkest hours,
Even in the longest nights,
The spark of life lingers on.
Laying dormant, waiting, ready to return when the time is right.
We ask the Sun to begin it’s journey home,
So that the darkness will leave us now.

Light bonfire or sun candle. Yay!

Praise to the Sun.
Adapted from “Prayer to the Sun at Litha”, About.com

Great and powerful sun,
we honor you this night
and thank you for your gifts.
You are the light over the crops,
the heat that warms the earth,
the hope that springs eternal,
the bringer of life.
We welcome you, and we honor you this night,
celebrating your light.

Hopi Sun Prayer.
You who are the source of all power,
Your rays illuminate the whole world,
Illuminate our hearts also,
So we too may do your work.

Sing Yule carols, feast or some other joyous activity while the candles continue to burn.

Intro: My Pagan Testimony, Part 3. Where I am now.

During the last decade I have familiarized myself with many pantheons. I like many pagans started by researching the pantheons of my ancestors. I am a Black/White biracial, and using my heritage as a guide I made sure to do some basic research on the Voodoo Iwas, the Orishas of Yoruba, and the Norse and Celtic Gods. I enjoyed learning about learning about the spirits, gods and beliefs of my ancestors but other than a deity here or there I never felt called to follow any of these paths. I also ventured out to research gods and goddess not of my heritage. I became antiquated with the Egyptian, Shinto, Buddhist, and Hindu pantheons, but it was more of the same. (I skipped over the gods of Rome and Greece for the most part, while I can respect that these gods are very popular within NeoPaganism, I’ve never been drawn to them.) For most of my time as a NeoPagan, I though I would always follow an eclectic pantheon, but eventually being so eclectic started to feel lacking to me. So I took a break from the gods, and decided to embrace Pantheism.

Then one day, I came across a YouTube video about the Asherah/Yahweh controversy. The host/archeologist was discussing her beliefs on the origins of Yahweh, when she pointed to a statue of the Chief Canaanite god El and declared, “This is God.” At that moment, I felt the same sensation I felt when I first came across Wicca as a teenager. I knew what that feeling meant, it meant that I needed to look into the Canaanite Pantheon. A year before all of this, I came across a thread mentioning Canaanite Reconstructionists, so I knew that their were pagans and polytheists dedicated to this pantheon. I googled “Canaanite Reconstructionism,” and I came across Tess Dawson’s work. So I started my research there.

I was not in the market for a pantheon, but as I research, I fell in love with the Canaanite Pantheon, and felt like the Canaanite culture was something I could relate to. I like the fact that the Canaanites didn’t obtain their wealth from empire building but by trade (note: make no mistake they were no pacifists either). Both the Canaanites and the Phoenicians were known for their purple dye and craftsmanship. As an artist/craftier and all around creative person, I can relate to that. Being that major trading routes were located in Canaan, the culture was influenced heavily by their neighbors. The Canaan culture was an eclectic culture, and being who I am I dig that a whole lot. The Iluma (Canaanite Gods) also come off to me as earthier, more primordial than other pantheons (other followers may disagree, but that’s been my experience.) With my pantheistic tenancies it’s easy for me to imagine Asherah and El being the creative forces of the Universe, while their children are the forces that impact earthy human life. While I don’t have a blood ancestral connection to the Canaanites being that I was born into a devote Christian family, I feel like the Canaanites are a part of the religious heritage I was raised in. I finally feel like I arrived at my destination.