Ogham Readings on Mondays

[kimberlysteele]

Submit your question or request for a general "what's up this week" reading and I will be happy to oblige!


I am happy to read your Ogham free of charge -- that's how I hone my divination skills -- but if you want to donate for it, I'll happily buy myself a book, a snack, or a cup of tea while on the town. Please only donate if you can absolutely afford it. I've been there. Your prayers for my continued success are welcome whether you donate or not!

 

Comments

[lp9]

So I've had some unusual meditations and rune readings recently that seem to indicate I should incorporate prayers to Jesus into my devotional practices (I've been focused on other deities for several years now). This is a bit unexpected and I'm still mulling it over. My question is: what will be the result of praying to Jesus in addition to the deities to whom I'm currently praying?

Thanks,
lp

[kimberlysteele]

Hi Ip,

Interesting. They give me Beith well-dignified, which means it will bring in something new to your life or result in a kind of rebirth. I think this clearly means "go for it".

Jesus isn't one of my patron deities but I have prayed to him (mostly to apologize for sacrilegious things I said as an atheist in my past) and he was very gracious about it. I suppose that was to be expected from him but it was reassuring nonetheless. I find myself studying and revering Jesus more and more. It's unfortunate so many Christians warp him into what they think he should be without bothering to ask if he approves!

Once you get going, I'd be interested in your observations about him if you're willing to share them.

[lp9]

Thanks, I will definitely share as I proceed. There is a vow here that I need to honor, I believe. I was never baptized as a child, due to a specific request from my Jehovah's Witness great-grandmother, but I chose to be baptized in my early 20s into a mainstream Protestant denomination. The pastor of that church was the most amazing woman--I am absolutely certain that she had tapped into the loving Jesus (as opposed to the many other Jesuii) and was a vehicle for his presence. Even atheist members of my family could feel *something* when she performed my wedding ceremony and commented on it. But I don't live near that church anymore and I never been able to find that connection in another church or on my own. In fact, most churches I've attended since then were quite repellent.

Then a few years ago, I had some major synchronicities, including some quite scary ones, that brought me to the deities with whom I currently work. The synchronicities were such that I would actually be afraid to drop those devotions (not that I want to). I'm getting the message, though, that I need to expand my circle, as it were, to honor past vows.

The runes have been giving me a bit of a run-around on this question (as they tend to do sometimes) and I haven't been able to come to much clarity through them. Prayer says one thing, divination afterward is conflicted. It may be that I am struggling to untangle my emotions and guilt from the situation. It's definitely helpful to have an outside perspective.

[kimberlysteele]

I'm delighted I could help. The pastor of your old church sounds wonderful -- there are so few like that nowadays. I can see why you were baptized into that church. I have been to many churches and my experiences within them made it easy to be an atheist. For instance, the church I belonged to growing up wasn't demonic by any stretch, but it did have the permeating air of stuffy uptightness. There was something brittle and dry about it. As for the teachings of the loving Jesus, there was always the feeling it was mere lip service. We were instructed to skim a little off the top to give to the poor, but the idea of actually being poor and giving up the big suburban house, the cars, the vacations, the television to become a wandering vagrant like Jesus? Nah, that was too horrifying to imagine, let alone do. That's where rich suburban churchgoers find themselves I think -- the Stoic visualization of extreme poverty happening to oneself is too scary to entertain, so they spend their time in the more pleasant imaginary realms where belief in an abstract Jesus grants them "prosperity", otherwise known as unearned riches.

[lp9]

Yes, I know exactly the kind of churches you are talking about. I have encountered many like that as an adult, and frequently the pastor exuded a sort of slick, used car salesman sort of vibe (speaking stereotypically; there's nothing wrong with actual used car salesmen).

What's most interesting is that the pastor I mentioned was an extremely shy and slightly awkward person one-on-one. She said once that she was terrified before each and every sermon and just had to trust she would get through it; and her sermons were consistently strong, compelling, and meaningful. Membership in that church exploded and from surprising quarters. Lots of academics joining, some homeless people, in addition to the longstanding members from well-off families. The church even started a free health clinic during that time that continues to operate today: https://www.lukeshouseclinic.org/mission

Now, I won't claim that people started entering voluntary poverty by any means. But it was like a little taste of what could or should be.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Kimberly,

My question is this: Should I learn French?

Thank you for your time. I really enjoy your performances of the Orphic Hymns. It's very peaceful!

[kimberlysteele]

Weird, my Ogham say no, at least not right now. They give me Uilleand ill-dignified.

Maybe ask about another language?

Thanks for listening to my renditions of the hymns!

Anonymous's Question From Last Week

[kimberlysteele]

Last week, Anonymous asked:

I don't know how this works but I am working for years towards moving and changing my job. I wonder if I should jump on it (move faster) or continue my slow preparations (or is that just my fear of change?)

Hi, I did a three card reading for this.

My Ogham say yes, you should move faster. The You signifier is Ngetal, which is the symbol for Broom. It means cleaning and it is well-dignified. It means that you do need to get over your baggage and push harder towards changing your job.

The Situation card is Luis. It's the symbol for Rowan (in my Midwestern Ogham, I have changed it to the maple tree because rowan trees do not grow around here) and it means your spirit guide. It's ill-dignified, which means it is all too easy to listen to advice from well-meaning people who don't understand the situation and may be unwittingly giving you bad advice. Instead, it says you should learn to listen to your higher self. Ideally you should be praying to a god or gods about it.

The final card is Eadha, which means Limits. It is well dignified, and it indicates the lesson you are to learn from this whole situation. I think it's clear that the lesson you must learn is about knowing your own limits -- it means you must choose your direction and throw yourself at it hard to have success...being wishy washy in this case will not get you what you want.

The

Re: Anonymous's Question From Last Week

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks. A lot to digest here.
As a functional atheist (basically lost when it comes to believing in anything), I need to figure out how to find something to pray to...
How do I know if someone/something is listening? Or do I just start praying as a form of meditation?

Also, you are absolutely correct about my limits (see above) and the well-meaning people that are like me, afraid of change.

Re: Anonymous's Question From Last Week

[kimberlysteele]

You're welcome. I was an atheist only five years ago. My suggestion would be to study some of the myths about the gods of various cultures. Do any of them speak to you or evoke strong positive emotions? Once you find a god or gods you seem to resonate with, start a gentle form of prayer where you set aside a small amount of time per day and burn candles, light incense, or otherwise make a general appeal to the deity you're interested in. Frankincense is a good general-purpose incense and you can't go wrong with a white candle. Then remain skeptical but open-minded about signs and synchronicities you encounter in life -- and definitely record your observations in a journal as that will be valuable later.

Location

[(Anonymous)]

Years ago, when performing tarot reading regarding where to move, my current location's ultimate outcome was The Sun. This is more or less exactly how it turned out. These days I don't feel so confident that the location will remain so sunny for me in another 15 years... but when I did a reading about the situation it still came up The Sun.

Its difficult to understand how that is still true from here. Is this legit? How does this remain true? Is there a better place even than this one?

Re: Location

[kimberlysteele]

The tarot can be very iffy and vague for a question like that -- I have had similar issues where I'm trying to make a yes or no decision and the tarot will give me an inscrutable answer in the form of a court card or a trump. Tarot is great for discursive meditation and divination not so much, in my opinion.

If you know the time of day you were born, maybe try obtaining a free astrological chart from one of many sources online, but when it asks for place of birth, fill in the place where you want to move instead of the actual place where you were born and read the resulting star chart for its general vibe.