On Being a Lore-Path

“You ask where it has all come from; that I have contributed so much. But you need to understand that I am simply a path along which lore travels. It has been my honor to be thus. It is the privilege of all Shar to be such a lore-path and you too will discover this in yourself. The lore comes to us because we have been chosen to bring it into the world. Each of us will add to this sacred circle as we serve the balance. Each of us will also understand the true nature of the sacred as we walk in this way.”

~Thornish Master Raven

Wolf-Age

"The great Heathen sage Tom Joy once said that we are entering the Wolf-Age; a time of conflict and despair which has been brought upon our world through generations of black deeds and crimes against the very essence of the Earth.

Yet in answer to this, in keeping with the sacred Balance, a Re-Awakening has begun: A Re-Awakening in which multitudes of people are jolting awake to the understanding of what is truly going on and are refuting the theological lies that have been poisoning our existence. They are returning home to the Elder Kin of their hearts and spirits: they are returning to the defense of our home against the minions of the criminally insane who are trying to kill Her."

~Jack Wolf

"In books and in the movies you hear about the hero who comes to town, does his thing, and then leaves, never looking back. I never really believed in that dramatic kind of thing and thought I might peek back in just to see if anything had changed…or just to be a rebel.

I certainly didn’t think of myself as a hero and I certainly had had no great adventure in the place I was leaving. All I really saw drifting in my wake were the ghosts of my parents and the dreams they once had for me. But ghosts can go anywhere as long as you keep them in your heart with a good helping of loving memory.

As for the rest…I didn’t look back."

 - Shaara Corva
A Voice from the Thornwood by Cassandra & Jack Wolf

The Hollowing

In Thornish tradition there is an exercise performed by those new to the ideas of our form of pagan beliefs. For years this has been referred to as a Hollowing, or as going into the hollows. What this entails is that a person goes out into a natural setting where they are unlikely to be disturbed or distracted and once there they spend a period of time in meditation upon their place in the world and on the true nature of the state which our world is in. This may sound like a simple thing but to those who have performed this act of deep introspection the results can be quite profound.

Folk Magic to Attract Money

Photo Credit: Biosynthesis 24 on flickr

Simple folk magic for attracting money to you: Stand on a bridge over a swiftly-running creek or river, facing upstream so the water is rushing towards you. Toss a coin in the water (the higher denomination the better) and ask the spirits of the water and the land to send more money your way. Picture the abundance flowing over you and into you as you absorb the energy of the rushing water headed towards you. 

Don't forget to leave an offering for the spirits of the place in thanks! This will work better if it is an area where you have already cultivated relationship with the land spirits by regularly leaving offerings and being a steward of the land.

Time to Follow the Path of Change

This is not a time to follow the path of fear. This is not a time to  become mired in denial. It's not a time to look back at the way things used to be. It's not a time for anger because you didn't deserve this. It's not a time for moaning about how things shouldn't be this way.

It's time for change.

And change--real, world-altering change--is never easy. It's hard. It may be the hardest thing you've ever done in your life. It may encompass everything you are and everything you believe and everything you think you know. Because that is how it works.

Yes, it's a time for anger--anger channeled into strength. Anger channeled into figuring out ways to create change.

It's a time to look forward. To visualize the world the way it needs to be, not the way it is or the way it used to be.

It's a time to work on ourselves, to begin the change within ourselves. And then, like lighting one candle from another, to spread the change. One by one.

They are few and we are many. Hundreds. Thousands. Millions...of individuals.And if each one creates change, even a tiny bit of change, then those changes add up.

It's a time to rebuild tribe and community. Time to find those you can trust, who will have your back, who will help you when you need help...because the power of the tribe is stronger than the power of an individual.

It's time.

It's time to walk the path of change.

Rebellious Act # 3: Support Artists & the Arts

 In an ideal world, this would not be considered a Rebellious Act. But under the current Powers That Be, who seem determined to strip away anything that does not make a $Profit$, supporting the arts is a wonderful way to support the Rebellion and show your Rebel Streak.

Life without art would be a neverending dull gray sea of mundanity. When you support the arts, and independent artists, you enrich the existence of the artist as well as your own, and the existence of those around you who get to share your unique art-full existence.

Stop consuming the mass-produced "art" that is marketed in department stores and chain stores. Lose the middleman and seek out local artists or any of the weird freaky people hawking their wares on the internet. Discover new music, new books, and new ways to dress yourself and your space. You might even discover that you are an artist too.

“The arts are essen­tial to any com­plete national life. The State owes it to itself to sus­tain and encour­age them….Ill fares the race which fails to salute the arts with the rev­er­ence and delight which are their due.” ~ Winston Churchill