carrotcaik

[carrotcaik]

How do people integrate chaos into their lives? I want to embrace chaos to feel better connected with Loki, but I'm naturally a really rigid person and I don't have many ideas.

[carrotcaik]

I was lying around in a tree and y'know how animals get drowsy when it's hot? There was a squirrel NAPPING on the branch next to me and it was the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I didn't leave to get my phone cause I thought it'd wake up, and so I spent like half an hour napping next to a squirrel and my life is complete. A good reminder that summer drowsiness is nature's way to beat the heat.

It moved up to a different branch after I came back with my phone. Can you spot the squirrel?

[carrotcaik]

Today I held a large and tired bee in my hand. She was wandering across the patio, wings fluttering with that beautiful buzzing sound I love.

I held her gently and she settled, crawling across my hand and arms, reaching higher ground.

Her wing was broken, she could not fly (though she certainly tried, with great strength), and she was slow, tired. She will die soon, I know that, and I know there is nothing I can do to slow or prevent it.

I let her rest with me in the shade. I set her on a flower and watched her as she dug around and explored, and then she sat with me some more.

I could hear other bees flying nearby - some the same species, perhaps even her sisters, but most a different kind, with different colours and patterns than her. I hope she took comfort in their harmony, as I did.

I set her in the shade, with flowers and height - away from the ants that have made their home in one corner of the garden. She disappeared from sight, into the bushes and shadows.

I wonder if my goddess views me in much the same way.

She knows that I am mortal, that I will die, and there is nothing she can do to slow or stop it.

But perhaps she, too, cradles me in her hands and watches as I explore. Perhaps she lifts me somewhere strange, but beautiful.

Perhaps she knows, as I did about that bee, that while I may not survive, she can help me to live, for a while.

I may not understand her completely, but as I held that bee in my hands and poured all my love into it's small body, I saw her pouring all her love into me.

[carrotcaik]

Low-Energy Ways to Work with Nature and her Spirits:

Look outside. That's it - just open the curtains and see the sunlight, find the trees outside your window and watch the birds.

Put on a documentary or youtube video about a cool animal, ecology, the natural world etc

Talk to nature - whisper, talk out loud, say it in your head - just talk. Compliment pretty flowers, chat about how creepy but cool you think spiders are, picture light dancing off morning dew.

Trace the shapes of leaves/flowers/animals etc on your bed sheets or skin - try to see how many different shapes make up the natural world, find the patterns and fractals within them

Learn the name of one new local plant a week! Just one a week! If you have the energy, research a little about their ecology, history or medicinal uses

Make a flower crown/daisy chain/leaf crown

Take up nature photography - you don't need a fancy camera, jsut your phone!

Collect some shells/rocks/bones etc!

Just sit outside! can be just outside your front door, next to an open window, or in the woods (whatever you can manage)

Take your daily activities outside!! Read in the garden, eat your breakfast under the sun etc

Create art from nature - paint rocks, press flowers, create patterns using feathers or leaves as paintbrushes/stamps

Cloud watching!

More High Energy Activities:

Go for a walk or hike outside and take some offerings. Introduce yourself to the trees and plants and streams and leave them a gift.

If there's one nearby, visit a local farmer's market and buy some local produce; honey, meat, vegetables, fruit, etc! Chat to the sellers and talk about their practices and produce

Do a small spell outside! Find a secluded, comfortable spot and invite the spirits to observe your spellwork - let them get used to your energy and way of working

Make a small diary of your time outside! Don't worry about filling it in regularly, just whenever you have the energy! Write down when the bees start coming out or leaves return after winter. What plants stay during the cold season?

Research local plants and come up with your own correspondences based on their ecology/medicinal use/folklore etc

Go on a walk to see what plants and animals exist in your area! Research them - are they native? Invasive? What is their ecology? Medicinal uses? Even the most urban areas tend to have some wildlife!

Join a local facebook group for birdwatching!

Research your area and figure out what plants or animals would be native, or used to live there - create artwork or something to honour and remember them

Research gardening groups nearby - some cities will have volunteer gardening projects or local groups that help maintain natural spaces! See if any would be feasible for you to join and get out there

Join a local allotment or community garden if you have the means - do some weeding, plant some tomatoes, say hello to the coal tits nesting in the old shed!

If you have the means - invest in a hardy houseplant! Name it, research its care and talk to it! Make a ritual out of watering and talking to it.

Take an online ecology course! Free courses exist and can be super interesting!

Watch youtube videos on a favourite taxa and make notes - build your own knowledge at a pace you're comfortable with on the things you're interested in!

Invite some nature spirits in for a meal - cook something you enjoy and set the table (if you can) for the spirits. Enjoy a meal with them.

Please add any suggestions you have below and I can add them! Everyone has unique energy levels and capabilities, but I hope that I've given people a quick idea of things they can do, if they want!

[carrotcaik]

The sun, the sister of the moon, from the south Her right hand cast over heaven's rim; No knowledge she had where her home should be, The moon knew not what might was his, The stars knew not where their stations were.

[carrotcaik]

One of my favorite forms of worship is making jewelry I associate with the gods and wearing it as an offering. Unfortunately, I'm starting to see a pattern that I wear Odin's necklace every test day lol.

I should probablyyyy find better times to pray for Odin's wisdom than math exams

[carrotcaik]

I just love adding new things that I associate with the gods. I recently came to the conclusion that Loki is a pineapple lover with, perhaps questionable logic, tbh.

[carrotcaik]

Pagan Fishing 🎣

So, I know a lot of pagans are very into fishing/hunting, but I take a very strong stance against killing or hurting things in my personal practice. I’m not judging those who do, it’s just not my cup of tea. I’ve begun to view catch and release fishing as if a hamburger lowered from the sky, so I obviously take a bite from it, but then it pierces the side of my mouth and yanks me into space where I can’t breathe, where some heavy handed giants take forever to get the hook out of my mouth before throwing me back to Earth. So it’s not a fun time is what I’m basically trying to say.

But I grew up with fishing and missed it very much, so on Saturday I hooked a heavy washer on the line instead of a hook and headed out to the lake, and let me tell you; that was some of the most enjoyable fishing I’ve ever done. The impossibility of catching a fish really just took the stress of it away for me, and it still sometimes felt like my rod was being tugged around and everything. Just a chill afternoon by the lake. And it also let me connect with nature a little more, I watched the birds and insects and other folks. I found a duck feather which was perfectly intact, I washed it and put it on my altar. There was duckweed and algae which I wrapped in a dead lily pad to take home and dry for firestarter.

Anywho, I’m just saying, if you’re morally against fishing for some reason, it’s pretty easy to do almost the same thing without hurting the fish. :) Have a nice day!