Cerh Deer Priestess and Keeper of the Drum - Day Workshop

Last year you may recall I went on the Elen of the Ways retreat. (you can read about it here)

During my time at the retreat, I sat next to a altar dedicated to a rather sinister looking image of a deer skull masked pregnant woman holding a shamanic drum. This was not Elen, the Goddess I had come to call my patron, but a much older figure and something about her resonated with me.

I asked Suzi, who had painted the picture, who she was and she told me that her name is Cerh. A deer priestess who demanded to be painted. At that point in time that is all I knew about Cerh but I wanted to know more!

Altar to Cerh at the 2013 Elen retreat.

Via Facebook I learnt about a day workshop focusing on Cerh, run by Samantha and Suzi and I booked my space eagerly.

I travelled to Esther's early last Sunday (27th July) and from there we would get a lift with Siân 

to the workshop venue.

We arrived on time to Suzi's house and was warmly welcomed by many familiar and new faces. All drawn to to learn about Cerh.

The Temple of Elen was set up in the back garden and a thrill ran through me as I recalled my dedication to Elen in the same space last year.

The altar was set up with two paintings of Cerh and I felt it was quite profound for me as I am pregnant, which is how Suzi depicts her.

Cerh painted by Suzi Edwards Goosec https://www.facebook.com/ArtworkOfSuziGoose

I won't go into too much detail here about the workshop. Sam and Suzi shared with us their thoughts about Cerh and slowly the deer skull mask was lifted to see that she is not a scary as she first appears. Yes, she is primal, reminding us of humanities true roots. Of blood, bone, feather and fur.

She is not a deity like Elen. She is Us. Our ancestor, our past. When the land is all we knew and we lived closely with the Earth, not against it.

During the workshop, we drummed and sang to Cerh. We were taken on a me dative path working to connect with her and we were blessed with a gift. mine was a fossil stone, like an ammonite. The spiral of life.

We broke for lunch and then journeyed on to Epping Forest to continue our own exploration of Cerh.

We stood in a large circle and we each painted ochre on our foreheads using our fingers before going off into the forest.

I went and sat by a tree which was surrounded by ferns. I felt like I was quite hidden from view, like a fawn hiding waiting for it's mother to return.

I sat and sung softly to myself, feeling my baby move inside my womb. I was content. This was much better then work.

After a while we were summoned back to circle by drum beat and as we gathered we all joined in on the drumming and chanting. We were even joined by some yapping dogs!

As we walked back to the car, Esther showed me the stone she had found during her quiet time and I was shocked to see it contained a fossil. Coincidence indeed!

The fossil Esther found in Epping forest. Photo used with permission.

I really enjoyed the workshop day. The other ladies (and gentleman) were all lovely and they all wished me well in my pregnancy. It was suggested that a pray tree was set up so that when I do go into labour, the participants of the workshop could send me love and healing.

photo of the Cerh workshop attendees by Lisa Hill

Cerh is still lingering in corner of my thoughts, next year a whole weekend retreat is planned to discover more but I have a feeling I will be too busy to attended.

To find out more then please join the Elen of the Ways page on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/278863855190/

Busy, happy, sad times.

Sorry for being so neglectful of my blog of late but October came and went in a whirlwind of excitement and sadness.

Firstly on the 10th October my Grandma passed away. She was a lovely woman who I will miss deeply. My grandma loved her family and when I was younger she used to babysit me and come on family holidays.

I even made a documentary about her for my uni course work and with my Mum we looked after her so she was still in her own home right until the end.

It seems funny that I used just two paragraphs to sum up how I feel but words have been difficult to put down which is why it has been such a long time since her passing before I could write anything.

Gone, but always in my heart. <3

Also in October I went to several events. The first one was the Samhain Pagan future festivals in Bedford.

This was quite a small event and the best part was. I got to drum along with the pentacle drummers!

Celtic Moon at the Samhain pagan future fest!

The second event was the Samhain Faery ball and fair in Glastonbury.

We went up on the Friday to see Linda Ravenscroft in her beautiful shop on Glastonbury hight street before booking into the Travelodge.

The next morning we had breakfast with Breaca and Vandrake from Cetlic moon before meeting up with other circle members to shop in the faerie faire.

This year, because of everything which had been going on, I decided to purchase a very special item. A Fayble by the very talented sculptor Armorel Hamilton. www.armorelhamilton.com

I have drooled over her little fluffy creations for years and have wanted my own for a long time and I just decided to go for it.

So meet Marshall Binx the Pine Sprig!

He is wonderful and I called him Marshall in remembrance of my Grandma, who loved Marshmallows.

He is a one of a kind Fayble, fully poseable  and has a little bell on his tail. I absolutely love him! <3 nbsp="">

I also brought an axe head necklace from Terry English for Leon and a Elen pendant from fellow artist Laura Daligan.

In the afternoon we headed back to the Travelodge to get changed for the ball. This year I decided to go as a tribal fae warrior, complete with roe deer skull head dress, war paint and spear.

Faery warrior troupe! 

The nights entertainment was provided by the Dolemen and a wonderful band called Rapaljie. I have never seen a man in a kilt playing a bagpipe with a Helmet on fire and fire coming out of the instrument. It has to be seen to be believed!

The next day we went back into Glastonbury town to mooch around and spend more money before heading off to the Camelot inn for a hearty meal with the other members of Celtic Moon and friends. It was a lovely evening but we had to head off early to get home before the impending storm which had been forecasted.

Rather than go on the A303 the Sat Nav suggested the M4 route home. Of course this then meant we were travelling through the center of London of a very wet Sunday night. Luckily we got home safely and the storm didn't effect us too much.

On the 1st of November it was my friends Halloween party in Essex, so after work I went home, got ghoulishly dressed as Morticia Addams and Leon as Gomez Addams for a fun night of chatting, laughing and dancing.

Phew! What a busy time it has been!

Until next time!

Immerse in Elen Retreat

Last weekend I went to the 'Immerse in Elen retreat' run by Samantha Marks. I have wanted to go on the retreat ever since I learnt who the elusive Goddess was and finally this year I managed to go.

You can find out more about the Goddess in this blog post:http://therockabillypagan.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/elen-of-ways.html

On the Saturday morning I made my way to Essex to the outdoor activity centre where this years retreat was being held.

The morning saw a wonderful gathering of like minded women of all ages, seated in a circle and listened to  the stories of our connections with Lady Elen. Some rang very true with my own path. We also partook in a powerful path working, thinking about it now gives me goosebumps in a good way.

At lunch time we all gathered in the dinning room for a shared lunch, (so much food!) And I got to talk to some of the other women and showed some of my Wylde Embers boxes I had brought along with me and had some wonderful feedback.

After lunch we got into groups and created incense and invocation oils in honour of Elen and Mala bracelets. We then went into the new 'Temple of Elen' sacred space to learn a chant with the Mala's.

Dinner was at 5:30 which was really tasty and then we all went for a walk in the wooded area of the park. The light was wonderful and we were all given a little clay token which was baked with seeds to leave as offerings.

2013 Elen clan.

After the walk we gathered some kindling for the fire and spent some time in the presence of a wonderful hollowed tree.

The sun set on a fantastic day and the evening saw the clan come together for (more) food, drink , drumming and singing by the light of the fire. 

The moon shone down on us as we made our way back to the cabins we were to call home for the weekend and to dream of running deer and antlers.

The next morning we gathered for a cooked breakfast before taking our drums down to the temple sacred space for another meditation. This one called  on the more primal aspects of the antlered Goddess and since learning more about shamanism this really appealed to me and is something I want to look into more.

We were given a few moments to ourselves and I had decided to take my drum down to the hollow tree and do some solo drumming. It was amazing and I decided to make a short film of it.

The hollow tree

Inside the tree.

After this we gathered back into the conference room to make deer leather journey pouches which I really enjoyed making .

In the conference room there was Elen artwork and altars set up. 

Also a table with wonderful Elen inspired goodies to buy. I placed some of my Wylde Embers boxes and I was very pleased that many have found new homes!

We had lunch before returning back to the Temple and we were invited if we so wanted, to dedicate to the path of Elen or as priestesses of the antlered road. I had been waiting a long time for this opportunity. Although I have recognised Elen as my Patron I had yet to dedicate myself as a priestess and this seemed the perfect opportunity, surrounded by my other clan sisters and in the presence of a beautiful altar. 

I went first. I sat in front of the altar, next to Pristess Sam and donned a beautiful antlered headress. I closed my eyes and sang a opening chant. I wasn't going to do this, it was not planned but it just seemed right. 

Several of the clan made their dedications that afternoon, some with voice, others with their heart and it was all so beautiful and very special.

The clan then moved outside for a ceremony which saw us all leave our red Ochre footprints on cloth. A wonderful lasting tangible memory of our time together on the trackway.

This retreat was everything I wanted and more. The connections I made with the other ladies of the retreat were all very special and I had some very profound conversations, especially with my cabin sisters at 1am! 

My heartfelt thanks goes to Sam for running the retreat and the tine sisters, Suzi and Julia who helped with making everything run smoothly.

In September there is a reunion where previous retreat attendees gather. I am very tempted! 

Thank to Sam for the photos. I didn't take many. You can read her blog entry about the retreat here:

http://antleredroad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/immerse-in-elen-retreat-2013.html

Celtic Moon anniversary!

I can not believe it has been a year since I joined this wonderful pagan community as a circle member.

I am still very pleased to be a member and I feel like I have grown so much in my path since sharing it with my Celtic Moon brothers and sisters.

Here is to more pagan adventures! 

Rochester! Sweeps! Morris! Faeries! Oh my!

What a blast of a bank holiday that was!

Another Beltane has come and gone and with it the Jack in the Green's have been on parade. Last year I went to the Hasting's Jack in the Green festival but this year we decided to go along for all three days of the Sweeps festival which is a wonderful gathering of Morris dancers and some great folk bands.

On Saturday we met up with Esther and Martin to check out the faerie event that I would be exhibiting at on the Monday. Here we got to catch up with the wonderful faerie artist Linda Ravenscroft and the beautiful Bryony and Bruce Whistlecraft with their Woodland Wild elf locks stall.

In the afternoon we meet up with Celtic Moon members, Breaca, Vandrake, Midnightstar and Feena who had come all the way from Norfolk for the event. It was lovely to finally meet!

         Celtic Moon sisters. Photo from Feena and used with permission.

On the Sunday we went back to Rochester and met up with some of the Morris dancers we befriended during last years folk week and enjoy the music on offer. In the evening I got my gothic faerie gear on for a Faery rock night with some great bands including Lightwish, a Nightwish tribute act. Suffice to say I knew all the words and sang along.

Monday was an early start to the Royal Function rooms and set up my Wylde Embers stall. I have done a few stalls in my time but this was the first time under the Wylde Embers banner and I was a bit nervous on how I would be received.

I had no worries. Everyone who came to look at my stall only had kind words to say about my work and when I told them I had only just started pyrography in February they were stunned.

I made a few sells which I was really pleased with.

In the afternoon was for me the highlight of the festival, the parade. 

I have done the parade before as part of Celtic Moon but this time I was part of the faerie entourage.

Sporting wings made by the talented Twinkle. 

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TwistedTwinkle

Faeries on parade!

The weather during the weekend was glorious and I had a great time but seemed over all too quickly.

Avalon moot

On Saturday was a Celtic Moon moot long anticipated. Ever since Priestess Breaca started walking the Avalonian path we have watched in wonder as this new spiritual direction took hold of her in a very creative and positive way and last night she gave a talk with a little more insight to what she has learned in the past few months.

Breaca's passion for Avalon has been infectious but that is not hard with such a mysterious and magical place that is Glastonbury, thought to be the physical reality of the Isle of Avalon.

Through Arthurian legends Avalon is known as a sacred place, where Arthur was taken to be healed so that he will one day return to lead the people of Britain once more.

Glastonbury is a melting pot of culture and religious belief. Here the Christians pilgrimage to see the sacred thorn and the pagans come to worship the Goddess in the landscape.

My own experiences of Glastonbury cemented my belief in my path.

I first went to Glastonbury in 2009 when I was not sure where my spirituality lay. Once surrounded by the wonder that is Glastonbury, sitting next to the Chalice well and reflecting on own my beliefs I decided that I couldn't be anything but pagan. It is part of me even if I found it hard to define. Since that first trip I have been a further 4 times for various reasons and I have loved each trip.

Back in 2009 in the Chalice Well garden

In Breaca's talk she gave an overview about Glastonbury and it's sacred landscape in relation to Avalon and how it has become this amazing spiritual centre for many many faiths.

She talked about the different traditions of the Avalon path and about the Goddess aspects and how they relate to Avalon. The Avalonian path is very female centred but that is not to say that the God is ignored.

After her presentation we moved into the altar space, which was decorated beautifully with images of the Lady of Avalon and the Nine Morgans which Breaca made from clay.

We sat in a circle and were all presented with a candle and our own Lady of Avalon sculpture.

My little Lady of Avalon on my Altar.

In the circle we then went on an Avalon Immrama Journeying Meditation, lead by Breaca and I found it very very moving.

The last few weeks have been full of turmoil, sadness and disappointment but at the same time overwhelming clarification. The meditation made me put these things in to perspective and I realised that I had to learn from them otherwise what was the point.

After the Immrama we each lit our little candles with a flame from Avalon and sent love, light and healing to those who need it most. Our candles are now part of a large network of Avalon candles that are used every month as a light for peace.

This moot was a long moot. I didn't get home until 2am but it was worth it for the knowledge I have gained and the strength I received from being with my Celtic Moon sisters.

The Avalon path is something I would like to look into further and many of the things Breaca talked about last night rang true with how I feel about things, especially when it comes to the Maiden, Mother, Crone aspect of the Goddess. Technically I am no longer a maiden (as much as I like to think I am) but I am yet a mother, so where do I fit?

Breaca wrote a blog post about the nine Morgans which you can read here: http://blackcatsandbroomsticks.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/the-nine-morgens-of-avalon/

Where do you fit? Are you Maiden, lover, mother or crones?

Lover here. ;)

I would highly recommend reading Breaca's blog to learn more about the Avalon path or wait to read her book which will be a fascinating read when it is published.

Links:
http://www.kathyjones.co.uk/- Main author of the Pristess of Avalon
http://www.goddesstemple.co.uk/- Goddess Temple in Glastonbury
http://www.awakeningavalon.com/

Celtic moon pagan project: Shamanism

In my last blog post I mentioned that Celtic Moon circle members have been asked to undertake a personal project and I have chosen Shamanism.


Why Shamanism?

I don't want to be a shaman, someone who heals others by retriving their lost souls from the otherworld (one definition) but I want to know about shamanic practices which have always fascinated me yet at the same time scared me too. I have never used drugs to induce spiritual visions or wish to but I can not help be curious about it.

So what am I hoping to achieve during this project?
Discovering what being a shaman means, in history and in modern day society.
Shamans in different cultures- Africa, Sami, Native America and other First Nation countries.
Celtic Shamanism- Druidry?
Riding the Shaman's horse - power of drumming.
Power animals
Shamanism in art

What shamanism means to me.
As a teenager I had an interest in Native American culture. At school I learnt about different tribes and their beliefs. This was a catalyst for me to look at Native American art and I fell in love with the animal carvings of the Coast Salish tribes.
Anyone who knew me at school knew I loved whales and dolphins and so the stylised killer whales of Salish art captured my imagination.

A project at secondary school where I made a totem pole.

After this time I began looking at paganism and witchcraft but the draw of the spiritual path of the Native Americans did not leave me.

Little coincidences started happening. When I met my boyfriend he was dressed as a 'Native American Indian'. I had a psychic reading in which I was told I had a spirit guide of a maiden Native American (doesn't everyone?) I liked listening to music inspired by the chants and drums of the tribes. However it was not until I birthed my own shamanic drum when I decided that I would look deeper into shamanism.
I started to attended open drum circles and on hearing the beats of the drums could go on journeys far better than any meditation I have tried (which frankly I am rubbish at as my mind is way too busy.)

When my priestess Breaca set us the pagan project to do from now until November I immediately knew what I wanted to study. Having studied the Bardic grade of Druidry and feeling that the next step of the course, the Ovate grade sound much more like what I wanted to learn to begin with; tree lore, sharp shifting, earth mysteries, etc, I concluded that Druidry is a Celtic Shamanism and my next step should be to look at Shamanism on a much wider scale.

My patron Goddess Elen to me is much more shamanistic in nature than most Goddess I have come across. The reindeer herders of the Sami people also have shamans and although Elen is not mentioned in their culture there are many aspects of their beliefs that ring true with how I feel about Elen.

There is something about shamanism, how it has been portrayed in film, books and games which does make me reluctant on how far I should go with my studying. Most of the practices I am interested in are very difficult to do as someone who house shares with other and already find my collection of antlers 'a bit weird'. How are they going to react when I tell them I am going to fast for three days, lick a mushroom and go on a vision quest?

This journey can't be all consuming as much as I would love it too be as I have commitments in the mundane that must be kept in order for me to survive and to keep a healthy relationship with friends, family and my partner.
So my studying will involve reading, taking part in drumming circles, performing ritual and other forms of exploration which won't see me jumping on a plane to find a mentor halfway across the world and call myself Orca Moon.... Mores the pity.

My beloved drum.

Moots, friendship, drumming and pyrography!

The weekend just gone was very busy for me.

One of our Celtic Moon sisters, Fawn, was back in the UK after being away since the Pagan Pilgrimage last year!

After work on Saturday I went to pick up Fawn from the train station and then we were off to Dartford to see the rest of the Celtic Moon clan for a social get together.

Also when I arrived at Breaca's home she told me she had a surprise for me which turned out to be a beautiful sculpture of my patron Goddess Elen playing a drum. I absolutely adore it!

Photo by Breaca.

Afterward the meet up I drove back home and Fawn stayed the night with me as she needed to go back to Canterbury and I was headed there the next day because of work. Plus she got to meet Keijo!

With the lovely Fawn

The Celtic moon circle all together 

The next day I dropped Fawn off in Canterbury although I couldn't say goodbye very well so I will say it here.

It was lovely to see you again Fawn. Good luck for the next stage of your journey and see you again later in the year. Xx

On Sunday night it was a trip over the Dartford bridge for the Celtic Moon Grove moot at Esther and Martin's abode. A lovely relaxing evening followed with chat, yummy soup and discussion about the future. Rather than drive home that night I decided to stay and enjoy E and M's company a little bit longer.

On Monday we went into town to trawl the charity shops and picked up some amazing bargains, including this little guy, who I just fell in love with and couldn't leave behind!

He is hand carved out of Meadswood from New Zealand and at a pound he was a steal! 

Then Esther took me to the QD store and to the aisle which contained lots and lots of plain wooden boxes, perfect for pyrography. I almost brought their whole stock!

That afternoon I showed Violetstar the joys of pyrography and being a talented artist she took to it straight away.

That evening I went along to the Southend Dolmen grove moot and Imbolc ritual.

This was a lovely gathering of souls which also included a talk on natural dentistry and a raffle. I didn't win anything from the raffle but I did put in one of my pyrography key rings as a prize which someone won and said they really liked it. 

At the end of the night we gathered in a circle to do some drumming which I really enjoyed and once the beat picked up and I felt it I began chanting. I wasn't expecting to do so but because I have been attending the Shamanic drumming circles over on the Isle of Sheppey where shamanic drumming includes chanting I just couldn't help it. 

When the drums quietened and came to a stop I was surprised that people actually thanked me for doing the chanting!

As it was quite late one I was invited stay over another night with the lovely Esther and Martin.

The next day saw us going back to QD's to get more wooden boxes and doing more pyrography.

A lesson in pyrography. Photo by Esther.

Day like these don't come around often but I love it when they do!

More fun with pyrography

Blessings of Imbolc to you all. Finally we are seeing the light lasting that little bit longer each day and the first stirrings of green shoots can been seen in the brown earth.

The past week has been quite hard for me as one of the members of my family is quite ill in hospital and we are unsure at the moment for their future.

I have been keeping myself busy of late with my pyrography. Since I last posted about it I have been bust practising the craft on paper, wood and leather.

here is a selection of what I have burnt so far:

Lady of Avalon and Badger keyring

keijo our dog

Dia De Los Muertos 

  

 Mountain Lion and cub with a work in progress showing sketch, outline, shading, shadows and finish.

Thor's hammer

Taking photos of pyrography is turning out to be quite difficult and they look better in the flesh.

I am loving this new craft and have many requests for designs which I look forward to starting on. I am currently waiting for some small plain wooden chests to arrive that I plan to decorate.

J D Mcpherson, Brighton and Wassail! Oh my!

The last couple of days have pretty much summed up what being a Rockabilly Pagan is all about.

Firstly it was Leon's birthday (21 again) and I got him tickets to see J D McPherson in Brighton. On Friday it began to snow and it was touch and go whether we would go or not but thankfully we did.

J.D played an amazing set to a very busy and enthusiastic sell out crowd. The band with him were also fantastic as well as the supporting act Sean Rowe.

I remember first hearing the song 'North side gal' and immediately brought the album July last year and when J.D played the song live I felt that same rush of excitement like hearing it for the first time again.

The turn out at the venue was great, considering it was so cold and had been snowing all day it hadn't deterred the bandana wearing chicks and the slick haired greasers. I realised that this was my first event where I had been surrounded by other rockabillies and I loved it!

After the gig we drove to our lodgings for the night in Newhaven and yes it was still snowing!

The next day the snow had eased off and we went back to Brighton to do some shopping. I love visiting the laines and the flea markets. I didn't find any vintage bargains but I did get a lovely green fleece jacket by Gekko Camden and a t-shirt from cyber dog.

In the afternoon we left for Eastbourne for the Pentacle Drummers first annual Wassail.

Don't know what a wassail is? Check out :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassailing

We meet up with fellow Celtic Mooners; Moonstream, Breaca and Vandrake and a fun night of dancing and drinking was had.

The Pentacle Drummers opened the event with a stirring drumming set, followed by Belly dancing and other music. The festivities moved outside for fire poi and then we gathered for a fire lit parade to the bonfire site.

A touching ritual then took place as the quarters were called and the apple tree was planted and blessed as the bonfire burned brightly.

The congregation then went back up to the marquee for a very well stocked raffle and more belly dancing and drumming.

The evening rounded off with music from a fantastic band called Wojtek Godzisz which we all enjoyed dancing to and it warmed us up immensely.

It's events like this that make me proud to be part of the pagan community and I will be going to next years Wassail for sure! 

Photos courtesy of Vandrake and Breaca.

Fashion and style changes- what does a rockabilly pagan wear?

Last night I went down memory lane and looked at all the photos I had been tagged in on Facebook and how different my style is now from when I was in my early twenties.

When I was at younger I was at art college and I dressed more Gothic than anything else. Black and red was my watch words and I loved the style. I even brought a PVC dress for my 21st birthday! 

This picture use to get me a lot of 'likes' on vampirefreaks!

Everything I wore was pretty much red and black!

As time went by and I got more involved with the faerie and fantasy art community I found my style became a bit more hippie with other colours like purple and brown creeping in, my ears even grew longer and pointy!

At chalice well gardens 2009

For a little while my fashion sense went out the window, no longer feeling I could carry off being gothic as I got older and was no longer a student.

Then this happened!

I won a beautiful dress on eBay from Hell Bunny and I decided to learn how do do my hair in a vintage style to go with it, well I had never received so many compliments from friends and complete strangers  and it made me feel good!

Now I don't dress like this everyday so now my fashion style is a fusion of rockabilly, 40s/50s style along with a more ethic/ pagan clothing. So I have evolved a rockabilly pagan fashion style!

But of course there is always the excuse to get dressed up as a faerie!

 A dread pirate!

or a Steampunk!

My clothing choice has changed over the years I think I feel at my most confident now with my style and really that is all that matters.