Margot Velvet

Category: Rituals

  • When you don’t know how to pray, hum

    When you don’t know how to pray, hum

    I went to the Winfield Mounds today. It was my second trip. On my first trek, I couldn’t find the mounds but I did come across a lovely hidden grove where some other woodsy witch hung dried orange slices in a tree.

    This time I found the mounds. It was more emotional than I was expecting. Actually, I had no idea what to expect, but I didn’t think I would cry. I wrote some stream of consciousness stuff as soon as I got back to the car, which I will clean up for the sake of preserving the moment in a way that will make more sense:

    The messages are in the wind. The wind speaks in body language, forcing the plants into action. It’s a feeling. It’s purposeful. It’s important: The universe is naked, right here exposed before us. Learn to see it.
    The Great Spirit is here. The Universe is ready for us to breathe it in. To come home. Awaken.

    My muscles twitch. I can smell my sweat. I can smell something else, something delicious. I stop in the path and take several long sniffs, turning from side to side, snuffling like the mother wolf. I don’t know what the scent is, but I suspect a fragrant tender bud of tree leaves is opening somewhere close by. My goodness. It’s so good.

    I reach the mounds. I… I don’t know what to do. I am overwhelmed. My eyes water. The wind is fierce and powerful.
    I don’t know how to pray so I hum. I would sing something, but words are failing me. I feel sorrow. White guilt. I hum quietly, treading softly.
    I say thanks. So many thanks.
    I leave an offering: a pair of waxed pinecones and an intention on parchment sealed in wax. Where there was death, let there always be life. For the Fool, The Empress, and the spirit that connects us even now: the Magician.
    I hear a loud caw from a tree just before me and I am startled, I actually jump back, but I can’t see what made the noise.

    “I can hear you; what are you?” Three times I asked (once on the path, once in the mound grove, and once in the mowed prairie).

    I trace my steps back in a blissful daze. I wish I could talk to the trees. They know what happened here. They witnessed it, they nourished the ancestors then and are still here now.. Can they tell the tale? Share the old wisdom? How can I speak to the trees?

    More delicious smells. All my senses engage. I listen with my soul. I minimize my vibrations. I descend softly, closer to the Spirit.

    I reach the end of the pathway and emerge from soft earth to manmade gravel, exiting the covered trees in what feels very much like a portal: a whipping, swirling wind. It SHOULD feel like I am snapping back into reality, but it’s more of the opposite. I am shoved back into humanity (an un-reality), rushing cars go past, oblivious to the sacred site just beyond the wall of trees.

  • On Ancestors

    On Ancestors

    Hello, internet! It has been a LONG time since I have written here. I think this is because I was making so much progress and doing so much learning and it was all clicking that I didn’t feel the need to pause. To stop. To digest by writing it out.

    Now I am thinking about ancestry work. This is not unfamiliar to me. Growing up Mormon (blech), there was a strong focus on genealogical work. We were taught to trace our heritage and honor our ancestors and to do “work” for them on this earth – performing baptisms and marriage rituals through the church on their behalf, so they had an to opportunity to join the religion posthumously. Absurd. It always seemed wrong to me. Intrusive. Arrogant. Disrespectful. I stayed away from it and tried not to participate.

    Now, on the coming days before Samhain, a lot of focus in the community is on ancestry work. It has a different meaning here: honor them by learning their lessons, breaking generational cycles, asking them for guidance and support, or sending messages beyond the veil. This makes sense. This is done with love, not out fear or judgement, like how it was in Mormonism.

    Today, I will be going to get some dirt for my first Ancestor Bottle.

    We take all of these things, with reverence, to utilize their magical properties; like for like.

    Graveyard Dirt // Earth (…it’s dirt.)
    Sea Salt // Air (evaporation)
    Rice // Water (grows within it)
    Glass Jar // Fire (created by heat)

    Rosemary // Ruled by the Sun (solary)
    Rose Petals // Ruled by Venus – Air and Water – love
    Tobacco // protection – divination – omitting because it is not culturally appropriate
    Lavender // Ruled by Jupiter – Air – calm
    Bay Leaf // catalyst for other magical objects
    Corn or Corn Husk // Ruled by Jupiter – Air
    Sweetgrass // cleansing – omitting because it is not culturally appropriate
    Chili pepper // protection – regeneration – omitting because it is not culturally appropriate
    Moss // Ruled by the Sun (solary) – life after death – co-existence
    Chrysanthemums // devotion – thriving in difficult times
    Personal trinkets (photos, msgs, jewelry)

    I am looking forward to posting more about this later.

    ///// e d i t /////

    Here it is:

  • Tarot Practice – Celtic Cross

    Tarot Practice – Celtic Cross

    My best friend, whom I have mentioned earlier, did a fantastic reading for me tonight. I recreated the spread at home with my own cards so I could touch and see them and glean some additional insight. Her distance reading pictures are below:

    1. The Present – Death
    2. The Challenge – 2 of Swords
    3. The Past – Queen of Wands
    4. The Future – The Empress
    5. Above – Knight of Cups
    6. Below – The Lovers
    7. Action/Advice – 4 of Swords
    8. External Forces – 3 of Wands
    9. Internal Forces/Hopes and Fears – 2 of Wands
    10. Outcome – 10 of Cups

  • Tarot Practice

    Tarot Practice

    (This page contains columns which I know do not display well on mobile. For ease of reading, switch to desktop view or read on a computer.)

    My best friend is learning tarot and I jumped on the opportunity to get a simple three card spread from her. While I was waiting for my reading, my husband and I decided to pull cards for each other. Our results are as follows:

    My Spread: Three of Cups, Four of Swords, Knight of Pentacles

    My Past was bright, with fun relationships, celebration, partying and joyousness. I interpret this as a reference to living with my previously mentioned bestie – my soulmate.

    My Present is all about resting and taking a breath. Meditation. Rejuvenation. I am centrally focused on becoming balanced. This needs no interpretation: it is straight truth.

    My Future indicates progress. A strong work ethic and drive to push ahead will reap reward. I must keep doing the work, put my shoulder to the wheel. Keep on keeping on.

    His Spread: Three of Pentacles Reversed, Page of Cups Reversed with Ace of Cups Crossed, King of Wands Reversed

    I should specify that his Present card was actually crossed with a secondary card, as he felt the need to pull the top one and overlay it. I drew his three cards and he drew the top cross.

    His Past was rife with disharmony. He was alone, shouldering the burden and feeling woefully unsupported. This is evident without needing interpretation.

    His Present is at a standstill. He is stuck, avoiding responsibility. He deflects with immature responses. He is doubting his inner nature. The cross card tells us the solution lies in paying attention to those who love him most and taking their advice. He must lean on his spouse and practice self-love. The way forward is by deepening his relationships.

    His Future reads of a stark warning: don’t be hasty. He must not lose his temper. He must let people love him and he must shed his ego.

    I think, in particular, our Presents are most interesting. Both sets of cards play off of each other wonderfully. My head has been deep in the clouds of learning, reflection and practicing intuition. A few weeks ago he asked me if I would start helping him learn to do the same. (We call this “working on his Purple Light” as we both agree he is an Indigo Star Seed.) He has been learning about his higher self, his intuitive gifts and his connection to the Universe along with me.

    Shortly after this, I received this spread from my best friend:

    My Bestie’s Spread: Two of Cups, Temperance, Eight of Cups

    Cups, cups, cups and more cups!

    My Past, once again, references a happy and peaceful relationship. This time in particular, with just one person. A soulmate (*ahem* enter bestie, again!). This aligns perfectly with my previous reading. There is an emphasis on spiritual love, mutual support and intimacy.

    My Present is, again, centered on finding peace and balance. It’s about crafting better situations. “You’re finding ways to renew yourself, filling your own cup.” This card was initially reversed, but righted itself as it hit the table, indicating that I have been struggling to find that balance and, for the most part, overcoming those issues.

    My Future suggests a need to walk away from difficult or painful situations. At first I am tempted to draw interpretation from my husband’s scary Future card, but deep down I feel this one is about my blood family. This card makes me nervous. Do I have the strength to stand up for myself and move away from the familiar?