Devotion As An Expression Of Love
Greetings, Bees, and a happy and blessed Imbolc to you!
a three legged Brighid's cross that I made last Imbolc out of leaves from my dragon trees
I believe that spirituality is a huge component of our health and well-being, and I think most NMers would agree. No matter what your traditions or beliefs are, practicing our sacred rituals can bring us some peace and purpose in our hectic world, and ground us in the sacred.
One of the main ways I practice my devotions to my Gods is through creation. Sometimes that's writing, making charms, statues and wall plaques, the Gods' House (that's the roof of it that the Brighid's cross is hanging on, covered in cloth leaves), or, my God Dolls.
Morrigan and Nuada
I've always been a naturally creative/crafty person, but also being Pagan in a predominantly Christian culture, there isn't a whole lot of pre-made anything for us. You can get some supplies for your altar, some cool statuary, etc., don't get me wrong. But it is few and far between in general. So oftentimes, if you want to do a thing for your devotions, it's DIY time! :)
I like this, however, because I feel like the patience and time taken to make things is a form of prayer.
Some Catholic nuns make rosaries; some Buddhist nuns make prayer flags. This isn't an idea that I've pulled out of the ether: making the tools for your traditions is sacred work. And so, I'm happy to make my small devotions, however humble they may be, as a way to love my Gods, and demonstrate that love to them.
Currently, I am working on a doll of Lugh.
The way I picture Lugh (and his son, CuChulainn) is with flame-colored hair: brown at the roots, red in the middle, and blond at the ends. Good luck finding yarn dyed just that way in the right length to make doll hair out of, so I'm painting it, using oil pastels and turpentine substitute.
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my first test strands; please ignore the pile of mess on the table behind it, lol
I started with cotton yarn that was already yellow for the blond part, and am painting on the red and brown. Then it hangs from a clip as in the above photo to dry.
Painting each individual strand, front and back, for an entire head of hair, as you might imagine, is going to take some time. And I'm going to end up doing it twice, because I plan on making a CuChulainn doll, too. :)
the first complete bundle of hair, airing out in my open window
But I'm happy to take the time to do it this way. Each strand of hair is a little show of love. Like saying a prayer or a mantra on a string of beads. :)
It's not about rushing to the end point, it's about the journey. It's about the process. It's about the devotion.
We often think of "love" as a pretty narrow concept: romantic, familial - but I think love is pretty central to spiritual life, too. <3
(if you want to see what my Lugh doll looks like when I'm finished, I'll be posting in the #needleworkmonday community when I'm done!)
Amazing art made for me that I got from a trade on Simbi! Simbi is a bartering website that I love. If you'd like to try it out, please use my referral link: https://simbi.com/wren-paasch/welcome
I am always amazed at your wonderful spiritual projects... and I think this is so, because I sometimes feel like I lost a huge chunk of my own spirituality. And I lost it to this unattractive and boring reason of getting older, of loosing family members of loosing abilities because of ageing/illness, losing hope that there will come more wonder and magic in the future. And I hate this. Honestly and deeply. Sometimes while being outside under trees and sky or while reading a good novel, I can find glimpses again.
So, I am whining about this, because I love to read about your inspiration, about the contact you make through crafting and doing art. I am looking so forward to the finished doll with flaming hair <3
Aww, thank you for your thoughtful comment. I'm sorry that you feel that you've lost that connection so much for yourself. Are there any traditions you might try, or books you could read, or just spending some more time in nature, to reignite the spark? It sounds like you long for it like I long for a sense of place.
!BEER
If I only knew... I would do it. Maybe I in general lost direction in my life (no longer dancing or teaching because of migraines and arthritis)
I fear my English is not good enough, I am unsure what you mean by “sense of place” and I would love to understand it.
I mean like, I feel like I have no roots, and no connection to where I live. No ancestors from any part of the family are from here, I wasn't born here, I am not a fan of high desert, wide open spaces, prairie, dry environment - basically, I feel wholly out of place. I've lived here for 30 years but it doesn't feel like where I belong.
I envy people who can visit a graveyard and see the graves of their ancestors, live in a house their grandparents lived in, know that important things in the history of their people happened where they live - and like the environment, lol. I want trees and rain. I have almost none of either of them here.
Ahhh ok, thank you for clarifying. And I totally understand the environment part: I am the classic tree, river, meadow, hill type:-DDD And I am very happy to have nature which looks like this around me. Its only that the nature part is so small which is sad (Ruhr area is very densely populated). But I sooooo feel you, I can imagine that the prairie is also a wonderful and fascinating place, but it would not be mine. Is there any possibility to relocate for you (I fear not, or you would have done it...)?
And with the ancestors... for me this is a double bladed sword (no idea this proverb exist in ENglish?) Half part of my family were Nazis the other part prosecuted. Both led to a lot of trauma. Many things are never spoken of, there is a lot of hurt and some of my ancestors would today be diagnosed with intense psychological problems (I am politely saying this... I am speaking of non-empathic, manipulative hard people who learned to survive a war time) and I am not too proud and cannot say I have a real connection to some of them (and most of them are dead and died young). But as with nature I also understand your desire... but I am unsure if knowing ones roots is always healthy/happy.
But sometimes coincidence is fascinating: my mother had birthday yesterday and we talked about her youth (she was born at the end of WWII) and her grandparents and her very difficult mother who never was able to live a happy life...
Where does your family come from? Do you know something about them. Could you build yourself a kind of ancestor map to get a “feel” for your roots? Or could it even be possible to find new roots through friendship and skills and knowledge (which you give and receive - I find these are strong relations)?
Sorry if I rambled ....
Re: relocation; it's a matter of money. I have none. LOL. And honestly, I have no root connection anywhere in the US, really. So moving abroad would make it even more complicated.
Yeah, in English we say "double edged sword." And I understand. Half of my family is German. My grandfather came here from Frankfurt in the 30s, and my grandmother's parents moved here I am not sure when. When my grandfather's family tried to follow him, all except one great-uncle of mine, they got on a plane that was shot down by Nazis and died. We're not Jewish, I assume that 9 people from my family and all the other passengers weren't all gay or disabled, I assume my grandfather wasn't a socialist since he became a cop in Brooklyn which isn't a very leftist job - so the family wasn't any of the targeted groups, but still that branch of the family tree is just a stump now. That whole part of history is a lot of hell in people's families. My grandparents spoke German to each other but didn't teach their kids because "WE'RE AMERICAN NOW, DAMMIT" so my dad knows zero German except for cuss words because he got yelled at in German (lol). Plus he was born in '44 himself so it was still very much "Germans = bad guys" in the US at the time.
The other half of my family, the family I know - because I never met anyone on my dad's side except when I was around 3 or 4 years old - is Irish/Scottish/English/Mi'kmaq. Mi'kmaq are from the Canadian maritimes, which is where my other grandparents are from. They moved to the US after the war, so I'm really only second generation American and honestly? I kinda hate it here. XD It just isn't me at all, culturally.
Even if I moved to Canada, except for the Mi'kmaq parts of the family, even that side of the family was only here since the 1880s or so. I think the furthest back white ancestor on this side of the pond is going to be a great-great grandparent? I'd have to double check. I only know the family tree as far back as "who got off the boat from where."
I resonate most with the Irish/Scottish parts of the family, and that's a big pull of my spirituality for me - Celtic Paganism. It's like, the one connection I have with what I feel like "fits" me.
Ramble away! I just did. :)
!BEER
Yeah, the money.... Not sure why we are still no cryptocurrency millionaires :-DDD This would solve some issues :-D
And thank you for sharing so much about your history, that is amazing and fascinating to read how many ties to different cultures and “histories” you have. My family is a tad more boring and sadly my knowledge only reaches back to my grandparents (on my fathers side) and to the great-greatparents on my mothers side.
In a way the area I live in is a bit like the USA, it is a region which is full of immigrants and most people (me included - my familiy has roots in the Netherlands and Poland) live no longer than two or three generations here.
ANd I really feel you on the longing for Ireland or Scotland. I only was there once and I found it amazing... but for me it is not only the nature, but also the buildings. I have a kind of “old-house” fetish :-DDDD Everything older than 100 years gets my love. I have no idea why old houses affect me so much emotionally.
Who knows perhaps you will get the opportunity to visit or even move to GB. If ever, you have to make a stop in Germany :-)
PS: do you have the possibility to get in contact to your family in Canada? Would they like to get to know you better? I imagine the nature there would be much more to your liking, much nearer to you.
PPS: By the way, I asked my mother and it seems part of her family lives in Canada, but she only met them when she was very young and had no more contact. Her father left her mother when she was very young and not in good terms.
I am with you on the old house love! Modern houses tend to be all the same.
I could reach out to family in Canada, but I haven't seen any of them since I was 8 years old, so it wouldn't be anything more than "hello". I used to write letters to one great-aunt and emails to a great-uncle with whom I was practicing my French (he was Québécois), but that was years ago.
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ENGAGEtokens.I believe that everything that is done from love connects us with that sacred atmosphere and with the creator. It is a form of meditation and at the same time a form of communication.
I think it's beautiful that you take the time to make the things you need for your traditions, that gives it more value than if you buy prefabricated things.
Blessings ✨
Gorgeous work! I love making my own tools for the practices I've chosen. I etched my own Runes and I've recently started carving stones for all kinds of purposes, artistic and spiritual. Keep it up, I'm sure your Gods are pleased with these wonderful offerings! Blessings be unto thee!
You've been curated by @drrune for Natural Medicine's curation project aimed at supporting a spiritual life, including gratitude and kindness practices, yoga & all kinds of meditation, shadow work and living a life of meaning.
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Ooh, I'd love to see your stone work, that sounds awesome! Blessings to you, too! :)
Of course yes, friend @phoenixwren, devotion is also a way of expressing love. Everything one does with affection and devotion expresses love. Greetings.
Hi Isabel, yes, I agree! Thank you for stopping by! :)
I love this, we made some goddess eyes for Imbolc and we do love to make suns for Solstice. It is so important for me that my girls see the magic that exists within our celebration of the seasons. We have never made any dolls, not yet anyhow, thank you for the inspiration xxx
I have been working on Lugh's doll today! :)