#boline

Swordtember 2024: Moon

Late, but better late than never!

I was inspired by these checkered bone handles I've seen on looking glasses; they're so satisfying to hold and touch, and I thought it would work perfectly to spruce up this admittedly very basic and predictable boline/sickle design.

Decorated a boline I have had since forever (20 years???) to make it more a moon-style knife. She now lives on my Moonmother altar <3

I hope you will figure out how to read, in general, initially I wanted to post only it, but I remembered that my OCs is interesting to only one person so far, so I also decided to post this, well, I even like that I decided so... thank you all for reading the comic

Reformed Druidism — What Altar Tools Do You NEED?

Short answer: NONE!

The Reformed Druid movement wasn’t overtly intended to be anti-consumerist, but by default it is very compatible with ecological non-materialism. That’s great if you’re on a budget; even the founders of the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA) were on a college student budget, and they were resourceful and used what they had on-hand for the most part. Ritual robes were literal bedsheets, liturgical stoles were satin ribbons (they still are). They bought all their trappings at the local Ben Franklin Five & Dime store. You can be a Reformed Druid without needing any of that though.

Longer answer: You can opt-in to using whatever tools you might want, but here are the basic tools that help...

Chalice: If you plan on practicing Reformed Druidism, particularly any of the extant written rituals thereof, you might want to have a chalice. Most of the rituals incorporate a chalice that traditionally contains diluted whiskey from Beltane up to Samhain. Then from Samhain up to Beltane it contains spring water or something non-alcoholic. Alternatives to alcohol are always fine for any reason, but something strong should be used in the summer half of the year. The type, material, or shape of the chalice truly does not matter. You can use a plastic travel mug if that’s what’s keeping it out of a landfill. Antique stores usually have something nice, but get a lead (Pb) testing kit from a hardware store to make sure the antiques are safe for use if it’s made of metal or cut crystal. Wine glasses are fine though not very durable. Pottery is a fair choice.

If you are just an attendee of an RDNA ritual, in a post-pandemic world it’s a good idea to bring your own chalice and beverage. Until 2020 it was customary for everyone to share one chalice in the ritual. Yay germs? Not anymore. Plus we now know that the alcohol in the whiskey is not strong enough to sterilize the rim of the goblet between sips.

Altar: Altars are a suggestion to the extent that they give your chalice a place to sit rather than on the ground. There’s no sacred geometry to worry about in terms of layout, height, or other dimensions. You could use a block of limestone, a granite countertop remnant, marble cheese cutting board, clay flooring tile, etc. Heck, the first altar the Reformed Druids used was a portable record player covered in a white cloth. Oakdale Grove’s travel altar consists of two stacked crates - the top one being reversible - with a linen napkin as an altar cloth held down by a granite chinchilla cooling slab from the pet store (the Kaytee “Chin Chiller” for those wondering). It stands 22 inches high, which is a bit low, but still keeps everything within arms reach.

Sickle: In the greater pagan community and particularly Wiccan circles, the sickle is also called a boline, or knife with a bow-lined (curved) edge. Sickles actually aren’t mentioned in the original RDNA writings, but back then it was customary for the priest presiding over the ritual to cut a sacrifice of an oak branch and tuck it under the belt until it is offered to the altar or fire. For this purpose, any good sharp knife will do. If you want it to be sickle-like as an homage to the writings of Pliny the Elder about the druids gathering mistletoe, that’s also befitting of a modern druid. You can use an actual sickle, or bill hook, grape hook, pruning knife, hawkbill knife, plain pocket knife, gardening shears, etc. Disclaimer: you are responsible for your own safety when handling knives.

Plant Sacrifice: It’s always good form for a Reformed Druid ritualist to have a plant-based (and only plant-based) sacrifice or offering. We mentioned above that customarily the sacrifice is an oak branch tucked under the priest’s belt, but it doesn’t have to be oak anything. You can have a bouquet of arranged flowers, a selection of pristine acorns, leaves, vegetables, or anything from a myriad different plants taken with mindfulness, humility, and respect, acknowledging our own mortality in the process. We sacrifice the plants that are valuable and special to us, symbolically setting them aside so that we cannot benefit from their use, and instead we offer it back to the Earth-Mother, dedicated to her beauty. You can offer it directly into a ritual fire if you have one, or onto the altar.