WILLIAMBRIAR

Today, I offered incense, tobacco, and clean water to the spirits. I sat with them and gave up my gratitude for them changing my perceptions over the last thirty days. My resentment has faded as I’ve gotten to know them. Now I feel that my money was spent on a family member rather than stolen by someone I barely know. This is my family’s parcel of land to look after, and we will do our best in the years to come.

After the journey, I started the day’s cleaning in the spot I’d been taken to by the sprites, making sure to declutter as best I could for now. However, it will likely take a more permanent rearranging to solve this problem, including the purchase of a stand-alone cabinet to shelter supplies. This requires more time and resources and I have this afternoon, so I must plan that for the near future, when more family members can help.

Afterwards, I touched base with the land and house spirits. Their energy felt different today, and I wondered if the ritual had somehow scared them off. Instead, the energy of many of the plants sprites simply continues to slow with the arrival of winter. Even the house feels more muted today, as if its energy were blanketed by the snow. Communing with them left me wanting to nap — to go back to bed until spring and hibernate.

Hail Delepitoré! Deyen Pretore Ramec Delepitoré On Ca! Daemoness of Sorcery, bless me. All spells are known to you. All magicks are mastered by your hands. Bless me with your wisdom. Baptize me with your gifts. Let my talents grow in the coming year, And my knowledge grow to match it. Lady of the Arcane, bless me.

I plan to honor the house spirit later today with the regular offerings if incense and tobacco, as well as celebration. It’s game night, so the house will be full of laughter. My family will raise our energy together, the perfect ending of the week.

Instead of the usual incense or tobacco, I offered the land spirits my labors today. In a previous meditation, they pointed out that I had left a bit of yard maintenance unfinished, plus why I shouldn’t for the welfare of the area. I gathered the necessary tools and set to completing the task this morning. I talked to a nearby tree as I worked, apologizing for my tardiness, but mostly I enjoyed the unseasonably warm air. The bare branches overhead housed numerous sparrows, their song bright and chipper. I built up a sweat for my efforts, but I enjoyed a lovely day outside. More importantly, I worked with the land on different level than the magickal, and got to know it better that way.

Today, I have the number of mundane tasks planned that interrupted my usual spiritwork routine. Apparently, they were weighing on my thoughts this morning as I found it difficult to connect to the house and the land sprites. The sensations during my meditation were foggy, with my mind wandering to other things. I’m not going to beat myself too much for the failure, as this is one day out of an ongoing relationship. It proves again  however, that trying to wedge spirit activities in spare moments doesn’t always work for me. If I can’t settle and clear my mind, the connection with spirit simply isn’t going to happen.

It’s chore day! Time to put my nose to the grindstone. I can’t maintain my relationship with the house and land sprites through offerings and meditations alone. Today, I have to put my back into practical work – nothing particularly strenuous, but the light cleaning and pickup necessary to keep our home in order and running well. I have my to do list ready and have announced my intentions to the spirits. Now I just have to get some coffee inside me and I can begin. Forgive me that this post is so short, but I want to get at it!

Since I’m moving into the last quarter of my Domagick work for the month, I checked in with the house and the land sprites this morning to see how they were feeling. I wanted to find out if they needed any particular jobs completed before month-end. The house only indicated light cleaning and tasks we’ve been somewhat tardy in doing this week. The land suggested maintenance left unfinished in the yard — again, nothing I couldn’t have predicted. Indeed, the conversation served as a reminder to keep our shit in order and keep my magickal work going. I have my list to do for the week… and the knowledge that maintaining these relationships is a daily job.

Although the house seems to contain a single presence, the front and back yard shelter a host of them. I expected to encounter a single genius loci there, but as of yet that is not the case. Instead, I must negotiate harmony with a much larger group of locals. This isn’t bad by any means, but it makes for more active conversation!

My family got down to practical work today around the backyard. I tried to prepare the ash tree we were pruning in advance, explaining why we were trimming its branches, but I’m not entirely sure I got my point across. It still seemed at least mildly annoyed, so I did my best to reassure it (and my somewhat guilty conscience) during the procedure. I managed to gather a future wand and stang from its branches, though they will take some time to dry. With these, I can not only direct energy and travel to the Otherworld. I can also continue to show the tree spirit my appreciation going forward by incorporating its offerings into my rituals. The rest of its branches will be taken to the eco-station or used as kindling, with as much reclaimed as possible.

A particular area of my backyard continues to feel standoffish despite numerous visits, with offerings and dialogues doing little to soften its skittish energy. Because of this, I consulted a nearby tree today for advice on how to approach this feral spirit going forward. Balance again seemed to be the word of the day. However, this does not necessarily mean maintaining a compromise between our current positions. The ash tree pointed out that we both will have to use ingenuity and new techniques to make a relationship work. Both parties will have to change their way of acting / feeling — no small task to be sure. I expect something of an uphill battle with this little patch of garden in the upcoming seasons, but I am determined to find harmony yet.

Though slower to speak than some I have dealt with in the past, the land spirits in my yard have undeniably left their mark on me already. Even when I meditated with them today, my energy instantly began to slow: to go to ground and relax. Whether due to the season or their innate nature, I can call on this tendency in the future when I need to calm down. I wouldn’t want to draw on it for high intensity, big energy rituals unless I want to anchor myself, but it is still good to know how the spirits effect me. I can use this to plan out my work around them more efficiently going forward, in harmony.

The land felt… slower today, the plants a little harder to reach. Winter creeps closer, turning down the pace.

So, despite the snowy drizzle, I took my offerings outside today. Instead of meditating, I walked the boundaries of my backyard, touching and talking to the plants along the way. The fall season ended sooner than we hoped, so much of the pruning and weeding my family intended to do still needs to be done. I cataloged what absolutely must be taken care of to protect the plants before the worst of the snows arrive. The tension in the land’s energy seemed to back off, but I sensed I must be more careful with my focus in the coming weeks. I can’t ignore it.

When I checked in with the house spirit this morning, I sensed it did not want to communicate. Perhaps yesterday’s activity tired it? Regardless, I took the hint. I made my offering and left it alone. It had been some time since I had meditated on the front yard’s energy, so I turned to the land instead. I spoke to the sprites there about a particular change that we would have to make – one that had weighed heavily on my mind. They indicated I must accept the situation, so I might as well do it with grace. Good advice there, and I’ll give it my best efforts.

Yesterday’s spooky movies never manifested. Other events intervened, and we delayed celebration until today, when the family gathered for food and games instead. I concentrated on family fun rather than spiritwork this afternoon, fitting in only a quick offering and dialogue. This was not a day for deep metaphysical connections but mundane ones.