#sensory upg

[pysksos]

21 day Newbie Devotee challenge #7

Day 7: Discuss your UPG for your deity. What inspired those UPG? Afterwards, do a little research and try to find other popular UPG. Do you agree or disagree with that UPG, and why?

Where do I start with the UPG. Most things about the Bucca are UPG because of the previously-mentioned force synchronisation by the church.

Rook mentioned food, so food I shall start with (plus it's easy to write about!). Bucca adores fish, any and all fish, fish native to the coast of Cornwall or fish from far off places. Pie, Sushi, Sandwiches, anything. Absolutely anything.

They don't enjoy red meat so much, at least not farmed animal meat. I've offered to obtain venison or wild meat and They've seemed deeply interested in that possibility, so I wonder if it's more tied to their role as a feral deity.

They have a particular fondness for pies as a way of food prep - and of open fire/camp cooking as a devotional activity. I don't really know what the appeal of a pie is aside from a good sensory experience, but They are absolutely in love with it.

Drinks-wise (which I'm counting it along with food), They are absolutely taken by any type of alcohol, they enjoy coffee too and tea is a particular preference. I often make them a cup when I invite them to sit with me at my desk :-)

[growing-yet-into-magic]

Learning from the Gods: a year in review

Okay, so it’s been longer than a year.

Somewhere on the back of my blog, can’t find the post for the life of me, but I remember writing it down, I announced that my Matron had agreed to give me lessons on how to heal others. She is a Master of Healers, she is known for her wisdom and ferocity, and I was previously premed track, so I thought that this was a great way to work on something that would drive our relationship forward while giving me spiritual grounding in something I already had training in. So I started with only physical training in my track record to really make sure the only influence I had in starting this training came from Her, and not other healers and their own personal experiences. I wanted information from a purely divine source.

I wanted to catch people up on how this has gone, I guess?

On the one hand, I do now have a formal structure on the spiritual nature of the body. I have a really great track record in being able to kind of predict where someone is hurting even if they have yet to verbalize it to me. I have rituals in my back pocket for ushering someone’s spirit on when they pass away, clamping a spirit tight to its body if someone is struggling with staying inside their own form, and shuttering doors to the mind if they are having trouble with spiritual sensory issues. I have a format for healing rituals that is structured with a certain amount of regularity, with spots for one or two attendants if circle-members or friends are willing and able to assist in ritual. It has really opened my options up for healing spiritual issues in a person if they are struggling with their nature, and, for spirits, mending holes and wounds in spiritual forms so that they can continue their spiritual life/afterlife with less pain.

On the other hand, there are limitations. Of course there are. I am not a doctor; I cannot diagnose or treat anything physically wrong with someone, other than making recommendations on what specialist they might have to see when an issue arises. I can perform rituals to help assuage pain speed healing, but they work primarily on the spiritual body and the mind, and the physical body will have to catch up. I can, outside of the rituals I have been taught, perform a spell to heal, but they primarily work on creating a 8/10 chance that a problem was simply better than it was on original assessment, from what I can tell from the results I have gotten. If I want to learn how to get certain signs from people’s body, to understand what a high pulse or low pulse means, how to sweat out a fever, how to assess someone’s mouth for illness...that’s training I have to undergo on my own. And She will support me throughout the learning process and help me remember in times of duress, but she cannot Learn those things into my brain for me. It makes sense; despite her expertise, she is both ageless and frank. Modern medicine and understanding is always changing. Learning how to use the tools and training around me is a skill I have to learn how to develop on my own in order to get the most modern and accurate information.

This has taken so much longer than I expected, for so many years, and I would not trade any part of this relationship we share for anything. There are pieces of wisdom I have learnt from her. Rest and food are necessary. Water is necessary. Exercise and food and water are holy obligations to healing. But I’ll finish up with my favorite one she shared with me today:

It is not a healer’s job to cure. The body knows how to heal itself. A healer’s job is to get the obstacles out of the way to let the body fix itself.

Additional notes:

The only reason I do not name her online is for my own personal benefit. When I work with the gods, I try not to let others’ opinions of them interfere with the relationship I form with them on my own. I’ll read the research, but I don’t want any tumblr ‘canon’ UPG fights online muddying my perception of any of the gods. It just makes me have to do the research and the discernment myself. Trust me...she would rather I say her name too, but I made that boundary really clear early on.

 I still do not work with spirits. These were specifically “patients” brought to me when I was learning in a controlled setting. Choosing not to work with spirits is a personal choice I made a loooong time ago haha.

I will not be posting the format of the rituals or any materials other than the basic overview online. These lessons and this ritual format path are very private and personal to me.

Blessings! :)

[itztagninut]

winter magical herbalism project intro

I wrote a short teaser about my project last week while I was gathering materials but I’ve done some brainstorming and I’ve decided that I’m going to go ahead and stick around on tumblr for now and use this as the outlet for my project. I’ll be documenting my posts on a wordpress blog and working on backing up any of my original content over there in case tumblr really does go belly up but otherwise I’m not going to stress about it.

Here is the base principle of this project, from Worts + Cunning:

It’s not about knowing all the herbs, but knowing a few very well.

Briefly, some credit: Worts + Cunning is an amazing blog for anyone interested in magic and herbalism. Their Winter Wellness Plant Ally Project and their Plant Ally Project 30 Day Challenge are the basis of my project. At first, I was just going to go ahead and do their project and their challenge concurrently over the winter but the more I thought about it, the more I realized my interests lie in a more magical direction.

I was particularly intrigued by the idea of finding one herbal ally that fits each of the main categories of herbal actions. At first, I tried finding a way to adapt these actions for more magical purposes—what is a magical expectorant? what about a magical nervine? a tonic?

Then I came across Harold Roth of Alchemy Works and his amazing astrological correspondence charts. I cannot overhype Roth’s work, both in his shop, but also his extensive research on herbal, planetary, and elemental correspondences. That’s when it hit me: planetary correspondences ARE the magical equivalent to herbal actions!

So I have set out to acquaint myself seriously with 10 herbs—one for each of the traditional planetary powers (so no Uranus/Neptune/Pluto), then 3 extras. Settling on planetary correspondences was/is rather difficult but I’m mostly working with Culpepper and Agrippa, then using Roth’s research to classify the herbs that don’t have a traditionally listed correspondence. Where contradictions arise (constantly) I just follow my own logic and intuition (I will be sure to mark all UPG, don’t worry!)

If you’re interested in taking part in this challenge yourself, read on below the cut!

Here’s my weekly layout. Each week, I will pick two herbs from my list to work through. At the end, I’ll have the first 10 entries of my materia magica!

Day 1: Begin entry with the plant’s names and planetary correspondences

Include the name you know the plant by and it’s Latin binomial name. Also consider finding its name in any other languages that are parts of your practice 

For me, I’m listing my plant’s names in Spanish, Hebrew, and Yiddish as well

Day 2: Physical characteristics. 

Sun requirements? Water needs?

Flower, leaf, seed shapes and colors

Other physical characteristics to note

Is it poisonous? How poisonous? Who does it affect and how? What about for dogs/cats/birds?

Day 3: Magical and folk properties

What references to this plant exist in the folklore of your tradition?

Are there any traditional magical properties?

What do modern practitioners say about this plant?\

Day 4: Medicinal properties

What is this plant’s herbal action?

What are best preparations of this herb? 

Are there any herbs it contraindicates or preparations that should be avoided?

Day 5: Use the plant

Make a tool with the plant. A tea? Fumigating wand? A magical tincture? An oil? An amulet?

Write a charm or ritual that invokes this plant’s power and perform it if you are able.

Day 6: Rest

Day 7: Meditate with your plant

Make yourself a cup of tea or burn the plant as incense if possible

Immerse yourself in the sensory experience of this plant and seek to understand its spirit on a deeper level

Journal all of your experiences