The Pagan Heart Activities and Rituals

February 2005 Issue

Isidis Navigatum     Activities     Cascarones eggs egg carton for storing cascarones herbs of choice (for herbal charms or spell work) any other small objects needed for the spell (charms, small crystal chips) Decorate your eggs in any manner that you choose - magickal symbols or colors that are significant to you. Next, hollow out your eggs, leaving a hole that is just large enough to fill them with your dried herbs and other ingredients for your spell/s of choice. Only fill your eggs 3/4 of the way full or they become too hard and will hurt the recipient. When your cascarones are complete use them at your equinox or spring celebration. You break the eggs over the recipient's head and they receive the spell. ~ submitted by: Rhiannon NosTylluan Egg Hunt This activity is great when combined with the Eggshell Seed Starters. seeds plastic eggs Adults place 5 seeds in one half of the plastic egg then close with the other half. Hide the eggs in various locations (easy ones for the youngest children and harder for the older ones). Now set the children loose! After all the eggs have been found take the seeds and conclude your egg hunt with the eggshell seed starter activity or plant them in your garden. ~ submitted by Tierramama Eggshell Seed Starters eggshells, with tops cut off and small drainage hole in bottom empty egg carton potting soil seeds of choice (beans and fenugreek are nice as they sprout quickly - good for impatient children) Fill eggshell with potting soil then add seed giving about 1/4 inch of soil above seed to surface. Keep soil moist until seedlings are ready to transplant. When transplanting gently remove plant and crumble eggshell into the hole where the plant will be placed. This encourages proper drainage around the roots and allows the eggshell to decompose, returning to the earth. ~ submitted by: Asva Gujeswari A Spring Activity for Children We make "spring garden boxes" when the first flowers appear. It's very simple, although it can be made more complex for older children. We use ours as a part of the girls' sacred space, and talk about how the earth is warming up and waking as the sun grows stronger. Decide how many garden boxes you want to make and get a box for each one - tissue boxes are a good size. Cover the top in brown paper - you can decorate the sides as well. From coloured construction paper cut out a variety of flower shapes and also some green leaves. Thread green pipecleaners through 1 or 2 leaves and a flower, twisting it to secure it in place. Wind the bottom 1/2 of the pipeclener around a craft stick a few times to make it "stiff". Poke two holes in the box-top, thread the pipecleaner and craft stick through the first and then thread the pipecleaner back up through the second. Twist it about itself a few times to secure it. You now have a flower. Repeat until your garden is full. Using extra pipecleaners, make some bugs. To make a caterpillar or worm, fold in half and twist together. To make a butterfly, cut out the wings, fold a pipecleaner in half and twist a small portion. Slide the centre of the wings in between the two lengths and then twist a few times to secure the pipecleaner about the wings. Curl the ends up into antenna. To make it more complex, make a larger garden box, and make "real flowers". Get a book with pictures of tulips, violets, daisies and other simple flowers and cut out flowers of the right colour and shape. Do the same with the leaves and when fixing into the garden bed, try and arrange them so they are the "right heights" - the violets low to the ground and the daisies high. ~ submitted by: Catherine M. Springtime Walks Remember the joys of splashing through spring puddles? The freedom of being outside, despite the chill and the sudden misty showers - or full on thunderstorms? Spring is a great time to reconnect with your inner child and regain some youthfulness. I often take my children out to explore the awakening world, despite the frequent rain. There is something unique about the spring - the earth is almost asleep, the animals beginning to stir and the air fresh and alive. ~ submitted by Catherine M.         Rituals     The Isidis Navigatum for Children In February/March there are a number of Great Mother feasts - Brigit, Isis, Aset, Asherah, Rhiannon, and Gaia - just to name a few. Each has their own particular set of rites and activities. In my home we incorporate aspects from a variety of different paths in honour and acknowledgement of the differences between us all. In light of that, I would like to share a ritual we engage in. The Feast of Isidis Navigatum, or the Vessel of Isis, is when the Great Mother is honoured in her capacity as she who guides the seafarer. This is a moveable feast, usually celebrated around the 5th of March these days. The connection of the sea with the water of life is an obvious one. To honour the Great Mother we make boats of some of the dried autumn leaves we collected in Autumn. The larger ones work best. You will need a water source - if not the ocean, then a stream or river, or even a free-flowing gutter after a rainstorm. If there is no live water near you, fill a tub with some water instead. Take a small twig and a fresh new leaf - make sure you ask the permission of the tree before taking the leaf). Thread the green leaf onto the top of the twig, and then poke the base through the dried leaf. You may need to use 3 or 4 dried leaves to create a layered boat - experiment to see what works best for you. Once your boat is made, place the crumbs of some cake or biscuit in the boat as an offering. Write on some small strips of paper words representing wishes and needs you and your family have for the year. Finally, you need to decorate it - look about you for early spring flowers - as with the green leaf, ask before taking. Place a few in each leaf boat and then release them into the water with an invocation to Isis, asking blessings for you and your family. ~ submitted by: Anne S. Parentalia February 13th is the start of the Parentalia - for those on a Roman path, this period of eight days is a time to honour the ancestors who've passed. We take photocopies of our ancestors and cut them out to stick on craft sticks. After colouring the pictures in, we stick them up on the wall and set out an altar beneath them. On this altar we lay out milk, honey and roses - and a bowl of dried beans. We make sweet seed cakes and decorate each one with a bean. Later, when we eat the cake, we set aside the bean so one of the ancestors may share it with us. Taking it to bed and placing it beneath the pillow will encourage the spirit of the ancestor to share one's dream that night. ~ submitted by: Iphegenia Setsubun Setsubun means "season-boundary". It is an ancient Japanese Festival that marks the old end of winter and start of spring. To banish demons and bring in good luck, the male head of the household collects a bowl of roasted soya beans - one for each year of life of each family member - and walks about the home throwing them about. His family race around calling "Fuku wa uchi, oni wa soto" (in with the good luck, out with the demons). Here, in our home, although we do not follow a traditional Japanese religious path, we have incorporated the tradition in our own way, blending it with the ancient Roman belief that spirits like to eat beans. We toast soyabeans, split peas, lentils and other varieties, collect one bean for each year of life of each member of the family, and set out small bowls by the back door. As we fill them with the beans, we call out "In with the good luck, out with the bad." Then we ask the spirits of those lingering to enjoy the meal, and ask that they might bless our home before continuing on with their own journies. ~ submitted by: Iphegenia

Return to the Index of Archived Activities and Rituals from 2005   

Return to the Index of Archived Activities and Rituals from 2006   

Main Index of Archived Articles   

Magazine Issues Archive Page