Tag: ritual

Posted on by — Leave a comment

the morning ritual

Human beings tend toward ritual, even if it is in an informal manner. Take for instance the morning coffee. There is a precise manner and order for arriving at a delicious, hot cup of coffee. For me, that ritual begins after my morning ablution.

And, because I’m owned by two cats, it includes their morning treat time too. For me, this looks something like:

  1. Put down a handful of treats for the kitties
  2. Fill the kettle
  3. Put the kettle on the burner and turn it on high.
  4. Rinse out the French Press and fill it with hot water
  5. **go do other morning ritual stuff while the water heats**
  6. Measure out beans into the grinder
  7. Grind
  8. Dump water out of French Press and add grounds
  9. Fill with water
  10. Let it brew
  11. Press
  12. Pour
  13. Savor

Most of this I do most mornings without really thinking about it. That’s part of the purpose of ritual, I suppose, to make things easy to do through repetition. But there is something very rewarding that comes when you narrow your focus, when you keep your mind and attention on what your hands are doing, rather than letting your mind wander off into the day ahead.

We all have little rituals, whether it’s making the coffee or the order in which we get dressed/undressed, or the way we get ready to leave the house or go to bed. Today, pick one of your daily rituals and be present in the motions, in the steps you take. Keep your thoughts centered on what you are doing and why. Make it purposeful and deliberate.

Either way, I hope your coffee is tasty, your day filled with kindness and your ritual fulfilling. I love you, Readers!

Photo by Rachel Brenner on Unsplash

Posted on by — Leave a comment

kill it with fire

I don’t know about you, but this entire year has been ten years long and filled with awfulness, from people proving that we’ve become a selfish, greedy nation that doesn’t care about the less fortunate to the government abdicating its duty to take care of its people to the actual pandemic that has killed nearly 350,000 of us, and I am ready to put it behind me.

That isn’t to say that some good stuff hasn’t happened this year. It has and with luck it will produce some good news for me to share soon. However, being a Pagan who does on occasion still pull out the big box o’ritual, and who really, really wants to make sure that the bad of 2020 stays IN 2020 and doesn’t follow us onward, I plan to kill it with fire before midnight on December 31st. How, you ask?

Well, I’ve put together two rituals for folks who might also like to kill it with fire or maybe bind it, stick it and stone it to death. I’ve written them in a way that almost anyone can participate and adapt it to their beliefs/practices.

While I tend to do my new year ritual at Samhain, this year calls for some special handling, I think. I’ve even saved some firewood for this. I’m gonna get the fire pit going and I’m going to see this thing through to the end.

Here’s to a better year to come, Readers. May it bring with it kindness, compassion and a little cleansing fire.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

the sanctity of samhain

This time of year, as the air begins to cool enough for mornings to need socks and the darkness seems to deepen so that the nights are black and still, a sense of peace starts to settle over me. As I shuffle tarot cards for folks who seek guidance and wisdom or light candles on my Beloved Dead altar, it seems fitting to ask them to visit with me.

I’ve never really been one who wants to share Samhain in a large group. It’s always felt like a solitary holy day, and I find the best way to honor it is alone. For me, Samhain is a time of reflection, a day to look at who I have been in the year since last Samhain, to not only celebrate the positive but to address the things I want to change.

Like planting a tulip bulb so spring will bring a beautiful flower, it is a time to plant the bulbs of intention for my future. I have employed a number of methods to do this in the past, but I think this year may involve actual bulbs in actual dirt.

Much of my Samhain rituals are private, intimate. I hold my time on Samhain as sacred. It is a time to commune with my gods and my ancestors. In these next ten days I draw into myself, disengage from the outside world (as much as is possible in this time of chaos) and prepare myself.

I am also holding space for a family member who will be crossing the veil very soon. May her transition be peaceful and her soul find rest.

On that somber note, Readers, I need to get headed to the day job. The commute gets tough right around the corner of hallway and living room, especially if there is a kitty pile up.

Cover Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

Posted on by — 2 Comments

I am one with the coffee, and the coffee is with me…

There is a certain ritual to the mornings, even now in the middle of this pandemic that has altered the way we live our lives. For me, that ritual includes an alarm at 6am, though I’m often awake well before that, a quick check of email on my phone (so I can be prepared for any emerging issues…half my team is on the other side of the world), then the requisite bathroom trip before I find my way to the kitchen.

There we have several mini-rituals that include giving my kitties treats, and the prep for coffee…fill the kettle, put it on the stove, rinse out the french press, fill it with hot water…then I move to the personal computer to finish going through the email, both personal and professional, check facebook, maybe post, take the morning meds, and by then it’s time to go back to the kitchen to finish the coffee.

All of this is something I do daily, not just during the week (well, except the alarm part, that’s only weekdays). The coffee part of the day is one of my favorite things. The ritual of measuring out the beans, grinding them, dumping the prep water, putting the grounds in the press, adding water…it provides me a chance to center. I like to make it a mindful practice and not let my thoughts wander into to much of what the day has in store.

I am one with the coffee, and the coffee is with me.

But, once the coffee is made, it’s anyone’s guess where the day will go. Somedays I get some writing time. Some days I play mindless games to wake myself up. Somedays I dive right into work.

Today I have a line up of work projects to jump into, so I best get on that (as I pour myself a cup of Valhalla Java from Death Wish Coffee). I hope your Tuesday is amazing, Readers!