badstar

Departing

Moving on again, the stranger glances
back at the edge of town,
studies the sky,
then looks to the horizon.
Absently, he adjusts his cap
and ties his shoelace then rifles through his pack
until he finds what he needs
and tosses it on the ground.
Briefly, he studies this carefully-planned
appearance of carelessness.
Vaguely amused with himself, a ghost of smile
momentarily turns up the corners of his lips.

Movement catches his eye and at the roadside,
he notices a tortoise peeking out from its shell.
He nods, no need to bother this one:
the lyre has already been invented.
And besides, keeping the cattle would only have tied him
to a farm.

Satisfied, he pulls his coat a little tighter around him
and gives one last quick look at the discarded trinket-
an unremarkable key- to what lock, it doesn't much matter.
He hurries away down the road, wanting to be gone from sight-
the recipient of his little present will be along shortly to find it,
will not know yet what it means
or who it's from.
But his target will recognize it for a gift
and follow in search
of the traveler who left it.

(I am also going to post this over at http://almostseen.wordpress.com...time to start making use of that one.)

So...determined not to fall asleep again at eight o'clock, I decided to go in search of a grocery store- I wanted ice cream. found the grocery store, but by the time I got there, I changed my mind about the ice cream. It was a whole shopping center, so I wandered around a little into Petco and stuff, killing some time, then across the street, there was a Barnes and Noble, a Michael's and various other stores...nothing we don't have at home, but hey, it's time out of the hotel. After abouyt an hour of wandering through stores, I started making my way back to the hotel and was thirsty, so I stopped in the nearest convenience store and grabbed a drink. On a lark I asked the clerk for a $1 scratch off ticket...I won $6.
I took $5 plus one more ticket. I won $1 used that and bought another ticket, won $4
that one gave me a free ticket, which won me nothing so I quit there and left.

A little farther down the road, I felt pushed to another convenience store, I was like "Uh, no I'm not doing this" and I got a "Yes, you are." So I said fine, same as before, one $1 ticket, as soon as I don't win, I'm done. So I walked in, asked for a $1 ticket...won $4. Took $3 and another ticket...won $4. Took $3 and another ticket, won $2. Took $1 and another ticket, won a free ticket, the free ticket again won me nothing.

What's rather maddening though is that on each of the two losing tickets, I was one digit away from winning $21,000.

Ah well, can't complain, hail Hermes!

(It is worth noting, I've always at least gotten my money back each time I've bought a scratch-off ticket. So far I've won a few dollars in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Indiana, Texas and Colorado and I want to say Delaware, but I can't remember if I actually bought a ticket there once or just thought about it.)

surfing around a site that sells statuary...I came across this. Now, I have to ask...

Does this look like Hermes or a member of the von Trapp family out for a hike?

http://www.abaxion.com/stherm.htm

My vote is on the former. (For serious, can't you just see a walking stick in his right hand?)



I very much like this statue of Dionysus...

http://www.abaxion.com/dq020.htm

I just woke up about 40 minutes ago (I was up til after 6 this morning. I expected to be up late, but didn't expect to be up quite THAT late.)

So I did some ritual work last night. Started around midnight. I actually didn't do everything I wanted to do, but I think the part that I didn't get to should have been its own ritual in another time anyway, and will likely take up more than two hours in and of itself.

I worked in three parts, each essentially a self-contained ritual in and of itself for Hermes Dionysus and Apollo.

For each, I lit some incense, made some offerings, settled in for some mediation and afterwards, did some divination using tarot.

Hermes has still been around, but quiet. Off to the side, just see him in the corner of my eye, so to speak. My meditation turned into a bit of a berating "Dammit, you know exactly why I'm here now are you going to get on with it or not?" (Ya, I know what he's suggesting. What I don't know- not entirely anyway- is why it's coming from him and not someone else. Oh, I also don't for sure know what I'm going to do about it.)

I offered (and drank) some wine for Dionysus. I'm still getting used to the fact that I feel even just a single sip of wine in my system, the second I swallow it, when I drink it in this context. And it's not like a drunk or even tipsy feeling, but like a mild electrical jolt to my entire body and a sort of hyper-awareness of my surroundings. I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not that the card that turned up in reference to current happenings with Dionysus is the death card. Interesting enough, the moon turned up in all three instances in the same place in reference to the future. (I shuffled the cards well each time, I swear.)

Nothing out of the ordinary came up from Apollo (I wasn't expecting it either), much basking in the all-encompassing presence. More affirmation that I'm on the right track with the whole Apollo/Dionysus intertwining, whatever it is thing and that there's far more to come.

When I finally went to sleep, I only initially slept for maybe three hours in which I had a dream that I was doing the same ritual, had just finished the Dionysus bit, and was about to move onto Apollo when one of the roommates walked in and insisted on sitting in the room while I did this. I wanted to continue, I wanted it to not matter, but I couldn't. I woke up for a short time after that, and then fell back to sleep til after 2pm.

I'm going to make myself some food, and then clean up a few things around here. Gotta run to the store and pick up some cat litter and food so that Dominic can take care of the felines til Thursday. Going over to pagandenma's sometime this evening for a cookie-baking marathon and will go to the grove from there tomorrow.

I should probably go ahead and pack my stuff to go to PA awhile too.

I wrote this one as an offering for the upcoming ritual this weekend...

Begin my song, oh Muses, to three who traverse the boundaries,
walking always between the world of the gods on Olympus, man on Earth and the souls dwelling beyond the River Styx, sing of three who travel far and carry messages of gods and mortal man.

Sing first, sweet-voiced Muses of delicate Hekate, whom Asteria bore, bright-coiffed maiden, favored of Zeus who accompanies Persephone. Generous are you, torch-bearing goddess, when men offer rich sacrifices in your name!

And sing, oh Muse of Iris the storm-footed who treads along the rainbow, carrier of the waters of the Styx upon which the gods swear their oaths, mother of desire who fetched Eiliythia to Delos, Great-Winged wondrous one who replenishes the rain clouds from the waters of the sea, privileged are those in your presence to behold a vision of beauty!

And Muses, sing now of the son of Zeus who bears the golden staff, swift and boundless Hermes who hears and carries messages, clever one who stole away the Far-Shooter's cattle, luck-bringing god of chance who speeds between all realms. Keeper of herds, sweet is the song that sounds from the lyre, your invention and too, from the pipes which you play!

To you, Hekate, Iris and Hermes, hail! Heed our prayers and grant your blessings to this rite!