The National Geographic posted a special article of photos of ordinary chemicals. It’s astonishing to see!
Here’s vanillin:
Photo Credit: Peter Woitschikowski
And liquid acetaminophen:
Photo credit: Peter Woitschikowski
Click through to the article to see them all!
“Archaeologists at the Museum of Archaeology at the University of Stavanger could hardly believe their eyes when dress accessories typical of a Viking Age woman was delivered to the museum.”
The Department received a package from an anonymous sender containing several pieces from a grave burial:
“The well-known Norwegian archaeologist Odmund Møllerop (1922-2006) was then in charge of the excavation of a Viking Age boat grave, containing the remains of a wooden funerary boat over 7 meters in length. The woman was buried with an axe, a heckle, a shield boss, scissors, and an iron weaving sword, but there was no jewellery. It is tempting to conclude that this is in fact the missing jewellery’, Kristine Orestad Sørgaard notes.”
Full story at https://www.medievalists.net/2022/07/viking-jewellery-norwegian-museum/
I’d be delighted to receive such a package!
In one of the meditations in Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach wrote: “I momentarily let go and allow the Universe to proceed without my assistance or supervision.”
This is difficult for me to do, and for most of the people I know. We feel as though we need to be “on” all the time, to be working on something productive, or, at the very least, to be doing something self-improving. The idea of doing something simply because it is pleasurable can be difficult to process.
As CEO of my own company, and the President of an education non-profit, I spend my work day making sure that things proceed in an orderly and business-like manner. It’s all about keeping the chaos flowing in a productive and constructive channel. The chaos can’t be eliminated, but it can be channeled (most of the time).
My time away from the office is especially precious. The only thing I have to manage is myself (which, some days, is honestly more effort than running two companies), and I can focus my time and energy on the activities that are important to me—writing, research, doing divination, and various creative arts and crafts. I do a variety of fiber arts, and bead work, and I love drawing and painting. I will never win a prize with my art, but the joy I experience in the act of creation, and the peace it brings to my soul, are prizes far beyond any worldly recognition.
Also, napping. The hour or two of rest I find in a Sunday nap often feel as restorative as a full night’s sleep.
Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who, as you might imagine, has just a few obligations and responsibilities, takes every Sunday off to work on her art. Her Majesty spends those hours painting, creating textiles, making découpage works, creating scenography designs, and doing embroidery. She has created scenery and costumes for theatre and dance companies in Denmark. I was fortunate to see an exhibit of her work on a business trip to Copenhagen. Her imagination is vivid, and her talent is notable.
I remind myself that, if the Queen of Denmark can take a day off every week, *I* can take a day off every week. Granted, Her Majesty does not have to cook, or do laundry, or clean, and I do. I plan around that (Saturday night’s leftovers are Sunday’s meal), so I can keep my Sunday time mostly free of domestic work. I know that I am fortunate in this regard, and that not everyone can do this (having children and/or dependent elders imposes obligations that cannot be ignored for an entire day). I am not going to blithely offer useless suggestions for those situations; I simply offer my hope that, for people who do have such obligations, they are able to find some time for their own pleasures and passions, without the worry that the universe will come to a screeching halt when they do so.
The Seidhjallr Team of Hrafnar Kindred presents a ritual of Oracular Seidh on Sunday, February 26, 2023.
Hrafnar is a Troth-associated Kindred.
Would you know more prior to attending? Check out “The Hrafnar Seidh Ritual” at
https://seidh.org/articles/seidh/
Disclosure: I am a member of the Seidhjallr Team, and will be the Cyber Warder for the event.
It will be a hybrid event:
*in person at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU) at 1924 Cedar Street, Berkeley, CA.
*via Zoom for those unable to attend in person.
Doors and the Zoom meeting will open at 5:00 PM PST for set up, and the pre-ritual information talk will begin at 5:15.
DM me for the Zoom link.
A donation of $5 is suggested, but is not required.
Bring your questions and our seeress will seek answers….
One of my favorite ways to spend offline time is making things, and that’s often via one of the fiber arts: weaving, embroidery, or sewing. I also spend a fair amount of time doing bead work, for my own delight and to make gifts to others.
Despite the lack of evidence for the Nornir as the spinner, weaver, and wielder of scissors we think of these days (see my review of Karen Bek-Pedersen’s The Nornir in Old Norse Mythology for further information), that imagining of them works quite well for me. Thus, in my personal practice, I continue to see Urd as the spinner, Verdandi as the Weaver, and Skuld as She Who Wields the Scissors, and correspond them to Past, Present, and Future.
The Norns by Ludwig Burger
Frigg is also revered as a Spinner and Weaver—some people believe she is the one who spins what the Nornir weave.
Thus, with my frame of reference, I call upon Frigg and the Nornir in my fiber work in a few different ways.
Once I have assembled my tools and supplies, I ask for their blessing on my work:
Hail, Urd, Spinner of That-Which-Has-Been!
Hail, Verdandi, Weaver of That-Which-Is-Becoming!
Hail, Skuld, You who wield The Scissors, Seer of That-Which-Is-Yet-to-Be!
Hail, Frigg, Allmother, Wise Woman, Spinner and Weaver Divine!
I ask your blessings on my work.
Guide my hands so that they move faithfully and true, for quality in my work.
Guide my eyes so that I see clearly and correctly, for accuracy in my work.
May my stitches/weaving/etc. be strong and durable,
So that my creation fulfills its purpose [add specifics if you like, e.g. “of keeping the wearer warm” or “helping me feel confident”]
And that my creation lasts as long as needed, and then some.
And then I set to work.
When it comes time to tie off a thread when I’m hand sewing, I make three triple knots. For the first two, I recite the following, each line being said as I make one loop of the knot:
With thanks to Frigg,
With thanks to Urd,
With thanks to Verdandi,
For your blessings on my work.
For the last knot, I recite one line per loop, and add the last sentence as I cut the thread:
With thanks to Frigg,
With thanks to Urd,
With thanks to Verdandi,
With thanks to Skuld <cut thread>
For your blessings on my work.
If I’m using my sewing machine, I recite the first piece as I do the overstitching, and the second piece when I cut the thread.
For bead work, I ask the blessing of Freya as well when I begin:
Hail, Freya, Vanadis!
Wearer of Brisingamen,
Divine Beauty,
Divine Love,
I ask your blessing on my work so that its beauty
Enhances the beauty of the one who wears it,
And brings beauty to all who behold it.
Each of these take just a few seconds to do, and add meaning to what would otherwise be just another activity. I find that they help me to focus on my work, so my work is better, and I am more able to take pride in the items I create—and more comfortable in doing so.
