Thursday, September 02, 2010

The Gods Speak

Mockingbird skull and limb bone, Squirrel Jaw and limb bones


How do your deities call to you? For me it's a gnawing I get on the fringes of my brain. A buzzing of my mind. A need to travel deep within nature. A sudden idea for a creation, I always will sketch the idea to return to it later. They come to me in dreams, subtly or strongly. I will be drawn to their aspects and satisfy them with an offering or a gift. It isn't always a deity that speaks. It can be local spirits of nature, the thunder, the rain. Sometimes I receive an influx of gifts, mostly in the form of animals that have passed on, sometimes in a local wild crafting find.

I live near the Rappahannock River in Virginia. I enjoy watching her ebbs and flows, droughts and floods, and every year she claims more lives. At least 5 people die every summer while swimming in her cool waters. As an animist I believe everything contains a soul; rivers, trees, mountains, even the tiniest of seeds and the strongest of storms. Why is my river angry? Or is she? I wish I knew.

This weekend I will be spending time in a cabin right on the Shenandoah River. Maybe I will paint, maybe I wont, I'll let the river dictate my activities. The relaxation will be welcome and I'll come back with stories and some wild harvested goodies.

Before I go, a couple of new specialty candles and prints arrived in the shop this week. I'd love to do another deity painting. Any suggestions?

Cernunnos Spell Candle

Graveyard Dirt Spell Candle

Rainbow Eye Print

Hecate Print

2 comments:

TheBlakkDuchess said...

Hestia or Vesta, or perhaps Kali or Morrigan?

Have a wonderful & safe trip to the river.

Perhaps she is not angry. Perhaps she is simply reminding us that life too has an ebb & flow. That she is Nature & no matter what we may do, she will never be truly tamed. Or perhaps people are just foolish & do not take proper precautions. Or perhaps, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is difficult to know for sure. Tragic that lives were lost, perhaps before their time. Horrible for the families left here to wonder, with no concrete answers to be given them.

Ask her, though. Mayhap she will tell you.

I hope your trip is relaxing & I hope you find lots of goodies to harvest! ^-^

Danni said...

Yet another thing we seem to have in common. It's a shame NC is right in the middle of us causing extra space, we'd probably make great hiking companions. ;)

When the gods speak to me, they typically do not use words. We communicate through emotions, urges and nature. The will send signals, Lugh often sends a raven or two to get my attention. I will have an urge to create something very particular creep into my head at random moments and will feel the forest or the sea tugging on my very heart strings.

I hope your time in the cabin is relaxing and rejuvenating and that you find many a natural wonder to gather up and share.

As for deities I'd love to see you render: Kali, Cerridwen, Pan, Iris, Isis, Hades and Persephone all spring to mind.