Samhain weekend
All right, this post is quite a bit late, but that's okay! :-)
Last Saturday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, I spend Samhain weekend with some friends in New Hampshire. They're both spirit-workers, and the guy of the relationship is a shaman; though they're only a few years older than me, they're considerably knowledgeable about magic and the spirit world, and they've been together for over a decade. Thus, I knew it was going to be an exciting weekend, one way or another.
I headed north on the commuter rail to meet up with them. It was a nice ride, and I got to chat with them and enjoy the site of New England autumn foliage. Both very enjoyable in their own way. When we got to their place in NH, another friend of theirs had already shown up, too. We all went inside and were greeted by their very, VERY energetic puppies who wanted to jump on us, play with us, and lick our faces. I came to greatly enjoy those wild furballs before the weekend was over. The first night, we all hung around in the kitchen and living room chatting, cooking, and eventually eating. (Chicken parm over noodles with garlic bread...Yum!)
After dinner, me and the guy went upstairs to chat a while, and we talked about various things, such as magic and spirituality and our various kinks and fetishes. He told about some of the magical and spiritual things that he and fellow spirit-workers do, and I asked a few questions of my own. We also seem to share a few kinks, as well as having some that we didn't necessarily share. Eventually, his wife and their other house guest joined us, and we continued to chat. It turned out to be a very interesting and enjoyable night, on multiple levels. :-)
The next day, we all got up and traveled to the farm for the Samhain observance. Along the way, he and I chatted about various things, and I expressed my interest in studying magic more with them, which he seemed quite agreeable to. So, I look forward to that in the future. We also listened to a couple of really
amusing podcasts.
Once we got to the farm, I killed time between then and the ritual by wandering around, chatting idly with some other folk, and then helping to collect firewood. The ritual itself began near the house, where we all congregated at the start of the path to the back field. It was basically a re-enactment of some parts of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The start of the path represented the moment of death, and we all went down the path meeting the various deities of the Tibetan underworld (played by human actors, of course). It was rather interactive, too. My only regret was that I'd put all my junk, including the wool blanket I'd brought along, in the back field, so I had to go down the path without it. Fortunately, when we got to the field, I was able to get my blanket and wrap it around myself.
The next part of the ritual was to see the process of reincarnation, in which we saw people reincarnated as hell beings, animals, humans, gods, etc. -- all depending upon their earlier choices. I got reincarnated as an animal, and I decided to be a puppy (naturally).
Once that was over, we all went back to the house and ate, and then the four of us went back to NH. Later that night, my hosts did divination for both me and their other house guest. In my session, I asked about my prospects for spirit-work, and in short, what I found was that it's a very real possibility for me, and the Norse god Loki would be willing to help me with it. But, if I receive his help, then I have to commit to the path, no turning back. If I go on the spirit-work path, I'll basically take on the roles of "death-bringer" (metaphorical death, not literal) and "sacred fool". I will become a conduit for the gods to get their messages into this world, and it will be my job to do so, regardless of how others will react to that message. "Spontaneity" and "upheaval" are the key words here. At this stage, of course, I still have a choice. I can decide not to follow this path at all and just learn magic without any kind of divine assistance. Go to pagan events and honor deities, but have no actual dealings with them.
It's definitely a lot to think about, and I've been going around soliciting others advice...about the whole "Loki" thing, in particular. Later on, I'll make a more detailed post about spirit-work, for those readers of mine who do that or are familiar with it.
Last Saturday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, I spend Samhain weekend with some friends in New Hampshire. They're both spirit-workers, and the guy of the relationship is a shaman; though they're only a few years older than me, they're considerably knowledgeable about magic and the spirit world, and they've been together for over a decade. Thus, I knew it was going to be an exciting weekend, one way or another.
I headed north on the commuter rail to meet up with them. It was a nice ride, and I got to chat with them and enjoy the site of New England autumn foliage. Both very enjoyable in their own way. When we got to their place in NH, another friend of theirs had already shown up, too. We all went inside and were greeted by their very, VERY energetic puppies who wanted to jump on us, play with us, and lick our faces. I came to greatly enjoy those wild furballs before the weekend was over. The first night, we all hung around in the kitchen and living room chatting, cooking, and eventually eating. (Chicken parm over noodles with garlic bread...Yum!)
After dinner, me and the guy went upstairs to chat a while, and we talked about various things, such as magic and spirituality and our various kinks and fetishes. He told about some of the magical and spiritual things that he and fellow spirit-workers do, and I asked a few questions of my own. We also seem to share a few kinks, as well as having some that we didn't necessarily share. Eventually, his wife and their other house guest joined us, and we continued to chat. It turned out to be a very interesting and enjoyable night, on multiple levels. :-)
The next day, we all got up and traveled to the farm for the Samhain observance. Along the way, he and I chatted about various things, and I expressed my interest in studying magic more with them, which he seemed quite agreeable to. So, I look forward to that in the future. We also listened to a couple of really
amusing podcasts.
Once we got to the farm, I killed time between then and the ritual by wandering around, chatting idly with some other folk, and then helping to collect firewood. The ritual itself began near the house, where we all congregated at the start of the path to the back field. It was basically a re-enactment of some parts of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The start of the path represented the moment of death, and we all went down the path meeting the various deities of the Tibetan underworld (played by human actors, of course). It was rather interactive, too. My only regret was that I'd put all my junk, including the wool blanket I'd brought along, in the back field, so I had to go down the path without it. Fortunately, when we got to the field, I was able to get my blanket and wrap it around myself.
The next part of the ritual was to see the process of reincarnation, in which we saw people reincarnated as hell beings, animals, humans, gods, etc. -- all depending upon their earlier choices. I got reincarnated as an animal, and I decided to be a puppy (naturally).
Once that was over, we all went back to the house and ate, and then the four of us went back to NH. Later that night, my hosts did divination for both me and their other house guest. In my session, I asked about my prospects for spirit-work, and in short, what I found was that it's a very real possibility for me, and the Norse god Loki would be willing to help me with it. But, if I receive his help, then I have to commit to the path, no turning back. If I go on the spirit-work path, I'll basically take on the roles of "death-bringer" (metaphorical death, not literal) and "sacred fool". I will become a conduit for the gods to get their messages into this world, and it will be my job to do so, regardless of how others will react to that message. "Spontaneity" and "upheaval" are the key words here. At this stage, of course, I still have a choice. I can decide not to follow this path at all and just learn magic without any kind of divine assistance. Go to pagan events and honor deities, but have no actual dealings with them.
It's definitely a lot to think about, and I've been going around soliciting others advice...about the whole "Loki" thing, in particular. Later on, I'll make a more detailed post about spirit-work, for those readers of mine who do that or are familiar with it.