Thunder Magick

Ah, Hawaii.

Rarely does Oahu get a good thunder-boomer going - but when we do get them, they come in from the North Pacific Ocean and generally dump torrential amounts of rain on us.  They are also not the typical Hawaiian rains, in that they stick around and pour for hours (usually, if you don't like the rain here, wait five minutes.)

But this is important rain - this is what keeps the island green, and keeps this land healthy.  And thunderstorms... well, a Hawaiian thunderstorm is no Great Plains boomer, carried across the land on the mighty wings of Thunderbird, but they have their place in magick, as well.

Magickal waters

Sun: 03'Cancer
Moon: 26'Capricorn
Just Past Full

All right.  I admit, a big part of my practice is astrology.  But I also like the hands-on witchy work as well, and I am a biiiiig fan of charging water by the Sun, Moon, element or astrological aspect in effect for practical work.  (By "water" I mean actual dihydrogen monoxide, not oils or tinctures, those are for another topic.)

You see, while it's nice to be able to set your tools, talismans, crystals, self, etc. out under the Full Moon overnight for cleansing and recharging, that's not always possible or practical.  (People do steal, and not everyone has the privacy necessary for a skyclad Esbat - the neighbors probably mind, even if you don't!)  Charging waters, or the herbs to go into them, provides a standalone tool, a storage battery already tuned to the frequency you want that can be pulled out at any time.  You can make it as elaborate or as simple as you want: what you put into the water will catch the energies to which it is closest and radiate it into the water to hold.  It can be as easy as setting out a jar and a funnel during thunder snow (and use that water cautiously!), or as complicated as charting out the entire heavens at the specific planetary day and hour you want to capture.

Summer Solstice 2013: Prometheus and Hellenic Reconstructionism

The BBC came out with an article yesterday that I thought was an interesting, and too-brief, look at the Greek phenomenon known as Hellenic Reconstructionism and the challenges it faces.


These folks see Greece as a pagan nation under occupation by the Orthodox Church and are, quite literally, attempting to reconstruct the ancient religion of Greece.

A discussion on Fire

Sun: 24'Gemini
Moon: 29'Leo

A burst of colorful flowers in the sky, fading away in smoke trails just before another illuminates the night.  A campfire crackling merrily away, toasting your marshmallows, before it escapes the confines of its coals and transforms into a raging wildfire.  A volcano spewing embers into the storm it generates to wreathe its own summit in rainless lightning a la Etna, or fountaining smooth streams of heavy basalt into the sea as Kilauea so iconically does  A candle, steady or flickering in the wind.  The scent of bread baking in the oven and meat roasting on the barbecue.  The light by which you read these words.  The fury of the nuclear fusion at the heart of the warm sunlight on your skin (and the painful red burn it may leave after)...

These are some of the physical manifestations of Fire.

Earth may give us form and Water life, Air is breath (or death).  But no element has brought people together again and again the way that Fire does.  It is as beautiful as it is dangerous, tough to contain but impossible to live without.

Elemental shrines

Sun: 14' Gemini
Moon: 08'Taurus
Dark of the Moon

A short post tonight.  Now that our home's central altar is up and running, my husband and I are in the process of putting up several small elemental shrines around the house.  So far, one is in progress, the other three are in conceptual form.

Where we live in Hawaii is urbanized, but when you close your eyes and strip out the city from your awareness and focus on what is behind it, the elements are screaming to be heard.  This land, this solid earth, is born of fire from water's embrace, kissing the sky as the winds play over the mighty pali (cliffs) under the heat of the tropical sun.  You can't miss it, if you quiet down half a second to listen.  It's easy to overlook the origins of your land on the continents: when the volcanoes that gave rise to your island are still watching over you (and are still active or potentially so!), you don't forget.