About Me

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I am a seeker of meaning, truth, and the Divine. I have been a practicing polytheist since 1997 and a lover of philosophy and theology since even before then. Most of this time I have been a Germanic Heathen, but I have also slowly taken to the practice of Gaelic Reconstructionist Polytheism. I am happily married, a hobbyist musician, a poet, pyrographer, sports fan, and pretty darn good cook. This blog will contain poems, rants, and musings relevant to my ever winding spiritual journey.

Friday, March 23, 2012

A bede for Ing

Fire's garment paves a path true
Flowing out from within
Holy visage

Wayfarer's stead on harbor's shore
Your illumination shows the way
From whale's road to emerald pastures

Shadow's mirth fails its worth
In the dawning sway
... Of Gearde's wooer

Night's might loses the battle
Neorth's seed takes hold
A mighty oak with leaves of gold

Prosperity and a good year
Holy procession on lighted path
The worthing tests to take

A void of wonders strive to make
A stag of elven might
Lord Ing's vibrant maegen

Fire's garment paves a path true
Flowing out from within
Holy visage
 
By: Shawn Rowland

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Dreaming the Dead...

I haven't written on this blog since last year, but I've been thinking about a few things lately that I want to write down. Early last year I had a dream about my mother, and in this dream she told me point blank how to find my father. When she was alive she told me his name and his daughter's name but nothing else. I found a few leads since I decided to study my ancestry back in 2004, but nothing concrete.
After my grandfather died in 2007 and I took over on the research he was doing for the Rowland-Horne side, and then my grandmother died the next year, I felt like trying to complete my ancestral picture wouldn't be an offense to them(though I know it wouldn't have anyways, but still). I found a bit, but very very little. Then I had the dream. Then I did what my mom told me to do, and voila! I found my half-sister, and through those records found my father, and grandparents, and great-grandparents. With Ancestry.com I have been able to trace back about half of my father's lineage. So while this is all very cool, the point in my writing this is the dream.
There are alot of people who believe dreams have meaning or that spirits, ancestors, etc. will speak to you through them. My religion sees this as nothing odd at all. While not everyone will have or even need experiences like this, dream omens and ancestral spirits are still "common" both today and in the tales from long ago. This experience for me is like picking up a phone calling a friend, no biggie. It should be like this for everyone else who shares that belief, but it isn't.
The vast majority of them are disconnected from the reality of these experiences and how normal they really are if you can understand them and heed them. I understand, even though it is a part of my religion, growing up in secular middle-class America places me somewhat in the position of "whoa! it happened...it's real...and it's mundane!" and not entirely in the "oh, it's no biggie" category, but it still makes me feel sad. Sad for the people who are in the "this is what I believe, but I don't really think it's real" category. It is a good feeling to know that the departed will help us out as they always did if we ever need them, and I just wished others could have that "good feeling".