Cheap Religion: Salt Dough Deities

If you are a parent or someone trying to be a more thrifty Pagan, and you haven't tried salt dough, something is wrong here and we have to fix it quick.  Here's a recipe for the simplest clay anyone's ever used - you probably won't even have to go to the store, because there's literally three ingredients and they're in almost everyone's kitchens.  Salt, flour, and water.. did I mention cheap?  You can make just about anything out of it, it's super cheap, dries pretty quickly, and if you give it a coat of paint or a sealant it'll last at least a few years.

I've been wanting to do a series for awhile about doing Paganism less expensively, because let's face it: Paganism, especially in the beginner 101 books so many start with, tends to be pretty commercialized.  You don't need much but a bible to start out as a Christian, but pick up a beginner Pagan book and there's all kinds of lists of things you might need - wands, different colored candles, divination tools, deity representations, and on and on.  A lot of that stuff is actually really helpful to your practice, especially a person like me who is both very tactile and visual.  But Pagan and New Age stores tend to be expensive, sometimes prohibitively so if you're a Pagan on a small budget, or a Pagan with children who aren't the best at looking but not touching.  Trust me, it is hellish trying to do a ritual with small children when you're terrified at every second that someone is going to break an expensive something.  This is also helpful for those Pagans who honor obscure enough deities that finding a decent representation is next to impossible.

Try not to leave your receipt on the counter when taking pics!

Salt dough deity representations are super easy to make, even if you're like me and terrible at sculpture.  Your first step is to pick a picture of the deity you're crafting a representation for - it can be something you draw, or a picture you like from the Internet (copyright law doesn't cover a few pictures printed at home that aren't for sale - though if the artist is selling their pictures, it's courteous to actually buy it).  For my representation of Ogma, I chose a carving on the US Library of Congress's doors, which you should totally check out because there's representations of writing or scholarly gods or people from many cultures and it looks awesome.  It's usually a good idea to print your picture the day you make the salt dough, giving both the dough and the picture a chance to dry so the ink doesn't run.

But if you do, just add a cute heart - no one will notice.

Then you gather up your supplies, and get to work!  First roll out the dough like you would at the beginning of a pizza or sugar cookie recipe - careful not to make the dough too thin (it will rip!) or too thick (it might never dry).  This takes a bit of experience, but if you have ever done pizza or cookie-cutter cookies before, you'll be able to feel the tension of the dough and the thickness it needs. Pick it up and lay it flat as you can on a flat plate.  Using a knife, cut out a rough square (it helps if the corners are rounded rather than sharp) and peel off the extra dough you won't be using.  Use the extra dough to fashion a "stand" of sorts to stick to the back of your square, making sure the two pieces are connected well and the bottom is flat.  The salt dough recipe I use then recommends microwaving it for about 3 minutes, and afterwards I usually let it dry overnight.  You may need more or less depending on the size and thickness of your square - the smaller one for Ogma took just 3 minutes, while the bigger one pictured on the plate took about 9 and then I let it sit for three days.  Be warned - you may get some air pockets that form bubbles, and the bigger the surface area of your project, the bigger they will get.  It's my theory that adding another flat object on top of the dough would help with that, but I don't have anything the right size that's also microwavable.

After everything is dry, you can use a paint brush and some Mod Podge or other glue/sealant combo to stick your picture to the flat surface of the salt dough. You can get creative and paint different colors around the picture to create a more colorful look, or just leave the color plain.  Again, print your picture the day you cut out the salt dough, because the colors may run when using the sealant otherwise.  I ran into this problem on my first attempt, and the results were more like modern art than the pretty pictures I had envisioned.

So there you have it!  It's probably not the best representation of Ogma that ever sat on an altar, but the fact that I made it for less than $1 makes me love it a lot more.  Even if you're a broke Pagan or worshiping Slavic deities for whom no statues have been made, you can have an altar that works for your spirituality.

Crafting the Runes: Os

The mouth is the source of all language,

a pillar of wisdom and a comfort to wise men,

a blessing and a joy to every knight.

The Anglo-Saxon rune Os (according to a Wikipedia article which steadfastly refuses to cite its sources!) is one of three Anglo-Saxon runes that split from the Ansuz rune of the Elder Futhark.  Because of the development of vowels in England at the time, the 'a' rune was split into an 'o' sound, an 'æ' sound and an 'a' sound.  If I'm remembering my diction class correctly (which is debatable), the 'o' sounds like the o in 'moat', 'æ' sounds like 'cat' and, and 'a' sounds like the a in 'caller'.  Os is our 'o' rune.

There is also a bit of controversy over the translation of the name of this rune.  I discovered, by googling some of the information in the before-mentioned Wikipedia article with no sources, a lovely volume titled The Anglo-Saxon Minor Poems, Volume 6 by Elliot Van Kirk Dobbie.  One of the poems he analyzes is the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, and his commentary has a great deal of information on the runes, as well as what seems like a wealth of sources - which I am, unfortunately, unable to see with the brief Google Books preview; I'll be ordering it through inter-library loan and will hopefully be able to update with more direct sources soon.

 "The name os, given for this rune by Hickes, is perhaps the Anglo-Saxon word os, "(heathen) god"."  He goes on to say: "In the Iclandic rune poem the rune (in a somewhat different form) stands for óss (or áss), "god," but in the Norwegian rune poem it stands for óss, "river-mouth, estuary."  An alternative translation of the Anglo-Saxon rune name, by Kemble, Archaeologia XXVIII, 340, favored by Dickens and accepted by Keller, Anglia LX, 142, takes os as the Latin noun, "mouth."  This meaning fits better with the [stanza of the Anglo-Saxon rune poem], "source of every language," but no other foreign words are found in the poem as the names of runes."

Given this evidence, I think it is reasonable to discount the Latin translation 'mouth' as a Heathen interpretation of the runes.  I believe that Van Kirk Dobbie is quite correct in his supposition that the name for this rune translates to 'god', especially since the Icelandic rune poem, as noted in the quote, quite specifically mentions it (God // aged Gautr // and prince of Ásgarðr // and lord of Valhalla).  Given the connections we know Woden has to the runes, language, and poetry; I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that the line "the source of all language" may be referring to Him.  Again considering the Icelandic rune poem, who would be the "lord of Valhalla" but Odin?

Now that we've analyzed the possible translations of Os, it's time to discuss the meaning of this rune and its possible implications in divination.  My take on this is obviously going to be informed by my association of the Anglo-Saxon rune poem's stanza with Woden, so bear with my potentially over-reaching conclusions!  I see this as Woden's rune, much like Tyr is associated with Tiw.  We don't know much about how the Anglo-Saxons viewed Woden, and how those views may have been similar or different to the view of the Norse; and this rune poem was written a few generations off from un-Christianized Heathens.  Nevertheless, I feel this rune's strongest associations are with Woden as a god of language and poetry; a poet's rune.  To me, it would represent creativity, and the struggle that must so often be engaged in to let the creation come to light.

Crafting the Runes: A Beginning

Since I began my work with an Anglo-Saxon hearth, I've been wanting to acquire a set of Anglo-Saxon runes to work with.  I've looked around (a bit half-heartedly, I must admit) and nothing struck my fancy.  Then about a week ago, I was getting ready to mow my lawn.  It's a multi-step process for me, the procrastinator that I am, and the first is to clear up all the tree branches lying in the grass that have been knocked loose by these crazy prairie winds.  This particular day, I found a nice branch, about three feet long, that was almost exactly the same thickness all along its length.  "How perfect that would be for making runes," I thought as I threw it on the stick pile.  I spent the next few days thinking about that branch - I couldn't get it out of my head.  It really was perfect for this project.  So I went outside and rescued it, and now am beginning my adventures in rune-crafting!

First, I performed a fairly simple ritual for Woden, asking Him to bless the branch I was going to work on.  Now, when I say "fairly simple", I mean very simple.  It was very impromptu as well, but I'll try to recreate it as a bit of a guide.

"Woden, you who drank the mead of poetry, and hung from the Tree for nine nights and nine days, and who drank from the Well of Mimir.  Mighty Woden who sees all Runecraft, bless this branch from which my runes are made.  I offer you this gift (libation of mead) so that I may see with wisdom, speak with wisdom, live with wisdom."

After the ritual, I sawed off some circles for the first Aett and sanded them down until they were smooth.  With all the bark gone, they are a bit smaller than I anticipated, but I think my already over-laden altar will be happier for it.  I plan to make one rune each day, spending the day meditating on its meaning, and hopefully doing a summarizing blog post at the end of each day.  (And hopefully also helping me out with the meditation requirement for the Dedicant's Path - I have a much easier time meditating when I have something to think about!)

The fantastic thing about the Anglo-Saxon runes is that there is a fully intact Rune poem that describes what the runes meant to the people of the land.  Being post-Christian, there's definitely some questionable stuff in there, but it's nothing that can't be figured out with some good old UPG!  I'll be quoting the relevant portion each day as I continue to study the runes.  Hopefully this will be a helpful resource for future students to come!

Q is for Quartz (and Thor)

Q is for Quartz - and since discussing it and all of its properties is a bit much to bite off, I'd like to talk about its relation to Thunder and the Germanic deities associated with it.

Recently I was reading Alaric Albertsson's Travels Through Middle Earth, which details a possible Anglo-Saxon Pagan path.  He mentions that quartz crystals,  in the England of the Anglo-Saxons, were called Thunderstones and were considered sacred to the god Thunor (who is roughly equivalent to the Norse god Thor), because they were placed in the ground by Him when lightning struck.

I've been honoring Thunor for a while, trying to build a friendlier relationship with Him and a few other Anglo-Saxon deities.  He was very much a deity of the people, honored by many commoners and farmers, and has a reputation for being approachable.  This has been my experience as well.  But it was difficult for me to connect His status as a thunder god with one of His other roles, that of protection.  Reading about His connection with quartz crystals really solidified it for me.  I've carried a small quartz marble in my pocket for a few years now, because of its ability to absorb negativity and output a positive energy; this is almost the definition of 'protection' for me.  Taking away the bad, bringing in some good - that is the role of a protector.  Since I had never found a good image of Thunor (or Thor) that I really liked, I now use a quartz sphere to represent Him on my altar, and both He and I appreciate the connection.

I'll be writing my review of the book I mentioned, Travels Through Middle Earth, soon; but for now I'd like to mention that it's a great read for anyone interested in a Germanic path.  It's pretty 101, so easy to understand, but there's little tidbits like this one about quartz hidden within it that make it a valuable read for just about anyone!

Quiet now, as we gather to conjure the rain down..

Autumn has come to the prairie, and with it we're finally getting a bit of rain!  There was a beautiful storm last night that hung over the area through the evening, and gave us more than 1 1/2 inches.  I must admit that autumn has never been my favorite season, and I have a difficult time appreciating it.  I don't like the cold, and I love to be outside, so the end of summer is always sad for me.

And so my spirituality now naturally turns away from the wild gods of tree and stream, and focuses more on hearth and home; just as my family's outside activities are also driven indoors.  I've been re-exploring my love for tarot cards this past month or so, and thankfully it has given me a creative outlet to stave off the seasonal mood dip that's so common this time of year.

ADF Prayer Beads

I found myself with a bit of time alone this afternoon, and felt in the mood to do something for the Gods.  I haven't been struck in that way for awhile (not to mention that I have precious little time to myself lately!), and so I came up empty when searching for a ritual I knew well and could perform easily.  Of course, my musings got away with me as they usually do, and I found myself thinking about making a set of prayer beads.  I'd seen some neat ones around, and I recently found a post by Ozark Pagan Mama describing how she made her beads compatible with ADF ritual.

And so I attempted to put my own spin on this recently-popular concept.  I put a 'visual-aid' sort of key at the bottom of this post in case anyone has trouble envisioning which prayers go where.I wanted my beads to be not only a prayer and devotion set, but also a helpful aid to remembering ADF's Core Order of Ritual.  Much of the ritual is borrowed and modified from one found in the Dedicant's Manual of ADF Druidry; some poetry comes from the Celtic Prayer Book.

Altar Tools: Making the Bell Branch

 I love crafting!  Honestly, I'm not the most artistic person in the world, and I'll probably never make something as nice-looking as what you'd find in a store; but I find that I love the homemade touch and the connection with a tool that crafting it gives.  Celtic myth tells of a silver apple branch hung with bells that was the tool of a Druid.  This isn't necessarily historically accurate information, and as such it's not a commonly used tool in ADF Druidry, but its history and symbolism is so rich within revival Druidry (Yeats even wrote a poem about it) that I really wanted to have one myself.


This project was easy and straightforward, exactly the kind I like!  I used nine bells bought from the local metaphysical supplier, three colors of embroidery thread (I had it lying around) and a beautiful strong branch of unknown wood that I picked up in the park last year and has been drying in my garage ever since, just waiting for a project like this.

First, I had to prepare the branch.  As I said, it had been drying in my garage for nearly a year, and so it was relatively easy to strip it of its bark with my pocket knife.  After it was as clean as I wanted it to be, I took a piece of very high grit sandpaper and sanded it for a good half-hour.  With that kind of sanding, it was mostly a beautiful pale white color, and extremely silky - the kind of feel wood takes on after a nice polishing.

I then strung three bells on each of the three lengths of thread, tying them in place.  I placed a bunch of three near the top of the branch, and the other six I tried to space evenly along the rest.  I then wound the threads around the wand, tying it carefully at each end.  For extra insurance to make sure the strings didn't slip, I placed a dab of wood glue at each knot.

And that was it!  All together, including the carving and sanding of the branch, it took about two hours - hardly a major time investment!  The bells are beautiful; but unfortunately don't give much of a sound except where the three are bunched together at the top.  If I ever make another, I think I'll choose the more traditional kind of round jingle bells; they would probably give a better sound.  Still, I really love this branch, and I hope it will make a great and atmospheric addition to my future Druid rituals.