Tattoos

I know plenty of people with tattoos. Some have personal meanings, some spiritual, some are just for fun. Mine are not about fun.

My tattoos are large and hard to cover unless I wear what Muslims and Amish call "modest dress" (which is not something I normally wear!). This is intentional. While it may restrict me from certain types of work and lifestyles, that is exactly the point. My tattoos are devotional, offerings to gods that I call beloveds. The type of folks who would take issue with the art on my body are usually also the same folks who would take issue with my being a polytheist and/or a Witch, too. I live my life as I am, with no pretense. I can never go backwards.

My first tattoo was on the left upper arm. It is an image of a god that came to me and changed my life. On top of that image is a sigil of the name/title he gave me in a dream, topped by a ball of blue fire. every single detail of that tattoo was given to me, I merely collected the information and sketched it out for the artist.

My second tattoo was a large black snake coiled around my right leg. In my dream, the snake had words and glyphs rising and appearing on its skin and then fading back into its scales. I had a hard time reading it in my dream, which was frustrating. Before I woke, I heard the words (which are from the Oracle at Delphi): "Know Thyself and You Shall Know the Gods." So that writing appears on the snake, which has firmly wrapped itself onto me and not about to be shaken off.

My third tattoo was another snake- a green one this time, with a fiery belly. It is biting me on the ankle. The whole tattoo is not finished, as I hope to one day have the whole lower leg covered with an owl leg- feathers under my knee, talons over my foot, etc, etc. It is to be a union of bird and snake.

My latest tattoo is not yet finished. It is a "collar piece" that centers over my breast bone and extends out over my shoulders. It is what many call a "tudor rose"- which is an artistic, precise rendering of a five petaled rose, with another inside that one, each in opposite directions. On my version, between each outer petal is a bee, not a leaf. The outside petals will be red, the inner white, and the center will be filled with craters and glowing ink to create a full moon, complete with the rabbit. Vining rose brambles extend out to each shoulder. On the left is a lunar moth, on the right is a blue rose bud. It is gorgeous and I look forward to completing it.

This piece was especially devotional, to a goddess that has commanded me to heal in her name. She is not normally known as a goddess of compassion or healing, but She is also very misunderstood. She has directed me to remove suffering from people's bodies, and offer it up to her. She devours it as an offering.

When I was getting this especially painful tattoo, there was no respite. On past tattoos on extremities, I was able to tap a hand as a distraction, or breathe deeply. While my tattoo artist was working on my chest, I had to be perfectly still. The only thing I could manage was chanting, "This is for You, Lady- this is for You" over and over. It felt like burning hot scalpels mangling my flesh for three hours. I never finished this one, as I got pregnant and then breastfed, and they advise against tattooing during those times. I am now half a continent away from the artist who needs to finish my work, but it will be finished one day!

What We Create; How We Worship

As a Witch, I am mindful of the life, expectations, and situations that I create. We are ultimately responsible for all we say and do, and the passive world view of "things just happen to me" is anathema to a Witch. Witches make things happen, regardless of the circumstances they are dealt.

While I did not choose my patroness, I accepted her (she does not give much choice, ha!) but her affect on my personality and choices are profound and far reaching. She is so much a part of my life that her altar is in my living room, on the mantle. Anyone who visits will see her and know her presence. She is a hard mistress- one that does not suffer fools nor the weak. She will tear you down in order to build you back up, better and stronger than before. The road has been grueling and one tinged with loss.

I feel a shift coming- not one that would leave Her behind completely, mind you. But one that is coming, nonetheless. The last five years of my life has been leading up to... this. The chaos of training and shaping myself into a Witch (and divorce and having a child and starting grad school, and, and and...) until you hit that ultimate beginning... initiation. Now, after my initiation and moving across the country  I am starting a new life in earnest.

A new life? I have a son that I am educating about life and Witchery. I have started a business that is small but steady. I am in the position at a UU church that I did not expect to be in until after graduation. (I still have work in grad school, but most of it is independent study that coincides with my new position.) My homestead had a decent start this year and will get an infusion of time, money, and energy in the fall and spring with the addition of bees, raised beds, a greenhouse, and a relaxation area in the backyard. I hope to build a brick oven and grill, even.

All this sudden abundance and ease was not easily won- but Lilith made me as strong as I am (by ripping everything that came before to shreds, mind you) to get me to this place. But sometimes I find it hard to enjoy. Witches revel in earthly delights- the body, the senses, the world around us in its beauty. But I have been struggling for so long that I am in the mindset of "nose-to-the-grindstone" all the time. It's time to switch gears and enjoy what I have accomplished.

It is time to dance, make music, have raucous sex, and eat amazing food. It's time for abundance and happiness; parties and games. And I need someone to show me the way. There is someone calling me (who I have avoided cultivating a relationship with up until now): Ganesha.

This chubby, gentle, and wise deity is pretty popular in Hinduism and even among other non-Hindus- for good reason. He is kind and wise (and teaches in ways completely unlike Lilith).

He is a patron of letters and of learning; he is the legendary scribe who, using his broken tusk, which he often holds, wrote down parts of the Mahabharata epic. As I am learning a new Welsh Traditional Witchcraft tradition this year, continuing with grad school and herb learning, and training in visual art this year- he seems appropriate for this time of my life.

His appetite for sweets is legendary and offerings of them are often left at his shrines. His altar in my home has been erected on a third of the living room mantle (Lilith gets most of it, of course.) and he currently has offerings of flowers (Zinnias that I grew myself), dark chocolate, and incense. I also keep my drying paintbrushes there, my sketch pad, and my current journal for my coven training. We have the most lovely vintage statue of Ganesh- large and delicately carved from sandalwood in India. It used to belong to my partner's beloved Witchcraft teacher, now dead. It is there on the mantle, with offering plate, incense burner and small vase for his flowers.

He likes to revel and have a good time: dancing, eating, and mind and mood altering substances are all his domain. He celebrates life and beauty. I need his influence as a reminder to what is important.

As the remover of obstacles, it is he whom worshippers acknowledge first when they visit a temple. Pray to him and have the way cleared for you to accomplish your Will.  My main obstacle at this point is me and my old patterns that do not serve as well as they have in the past. Ganesh, I pray to you to help me remove these obstacles so that I may experience joy.





I am still working out what it means to have deities that are so unlike one another wearing different cultural clothes in my life. I tend to be of the mindset that gods are larger than what we assign to them and that each culture tends to see, like the room of blind men, only a part of the elephant. The gods of Faery are different from those of the Welsh trad I am currently studying, which are different from a few others that I work with: Lilith, Ganesh, Samovila. It's all confusing and glorious and a constant discovery.

Do you work with Ganesh? How do you offer devotion (or do you)? I see devotion as a way of getting the positive attention of a beloved. Wooing, if you will. How do you see it?

Tangible Witchcraft: Devotional Mask Making (Part Two)

Ishtar is coming together.

If you are just joining us, this is part two of this blog post. In part one, I go through most of the beginning steps on how to make a devotional mask and the hows and whys of my particular mask (of Lilith). I learned this craft so that I could then help others make theirs at the F(a)eri(e) Magic(k) Gathering, which I helped to organize this Labor Day weekend. (see related posts about that!)

Jared is making a jawless mask.

So after creating the outside of the mask and the wings, what was left? Well, for starters, I needed to attach the heavy wings somehow, and be sure that they created a veil that went all the way around my head (I wanted to be completely enclosed by Her energy in the mask). I also wanted to do some work on the inside of the mask- for the benefit of the wearer.

California Mugwort

So I started by taking some wildcrafted mugwort and steeping a strong infusion of it to paint on the inside of the mask. Mugwort is a strong plant ally in trance and dreaming work. Mugwort, also known as Motherwort, is sacred to moon goddesses (it is an emmenagogue, after all), and what is the moon but Lilith's Lantern?

Melisseus is painting his.

After that tea dried, I could embellish the inside of the mask as well. I blackened the inside so that I removed all distractions keeping me from engaging in the mask's purpose. Then I added the sigil that She gave me (it is on her sacred objects that I have made for Her before) to the forehead of the mask, on the inside, so that it covers my "third eye" when I wear the mask.

Three mask makers start the
embellishment process

Then I attached the wings with leather cord (I created 4 holes with an exacto knife in each wing, then laced them so make the stress point of attachment more diffuse, then attached each wing at two parts of the mask, tying the leather lace inside. I then reinforced the knot with some hot glue.

Then I needed to attach a cord to make the mask stay on, hands-free. I used a jacket cord (you know, the kind with a plastic slider on it?) instead of an elastic band. This is so my mask can get years of use without having to replace stretched out cord.

My mask is not yet complete in the pictures below, as the veil has not been attached and the wing edges were not covered - but this gives you an idea of the effect. Finally, after trying out the mask, Lilith told me that she wanted eye holes, as she wanted to move while talking and be able to approach people of her choosing. So I created some.

Just the right amount of fright

A profile look.

We used the masks in ritual that night, invoking who we worked with into the circle. I plan on using my mask in a more quiet way, as an aid in oracular work and to sit with Her in quiet moments, mainly.

Tangible Witchcraft: Devotional Mask Making (Part One)

My lovely friend elfin (who edits and writes for this blog) came over the other day to make devotional masks with us. What is a devotional mask, you ask? It is a mask that is made of and with a specific deity for the purpose of communing with them, gaining information from them, and working with them further. It can be used in a ritual context, an oracular context, or even in a trance when you are alone (with the deity). My mask is for oracular and communal work mainly, so no eye holes are needed, just nose and mouth.

The way that the process works is deceptively simple (although the materials are specific and you need assistance- you cannot do this work alone!):

1. You create a plaster mask base using quick drying plaster strips (the brand we used is called Rigid Wrap) on your own face. The book that we used to help with the nuts and bolts process was this one (to the left!). The book simplifies the process and materials needed so that you can concentrate on the trance work and embellishment part of the mask making process. I liked that a whole lot (as this is a craft project with a sacred purpose)!

You need to pick a specific deity with which you want to work and of which you want to make a mask. Often, they come to you, so you will probably not have a hard time deciding!

2. Then as your helper applies the plaster to your face, you enter a trance state (if desired, your helper can assist with that part, too) where you meet and interact with that God/dess. You have their energy and essence fill you for some time as the mask hardens on your face. The whole process for this step takes 20-30 minutes per mask.

3. When it is time for the mask to be removed, you sit up and blow the energy of the God/dess out of your body and into the mask, enlivening it and creating a link to that God/dess in the seemingly inanimate object. This will help you use the mask in devotional and ritual work with this particular God/dess. This mask is of my patroness, Lilith (as she is commonly called).

Cast of Lily's face

Be warned- this is a messy project. Wear clothes you don't mind getting messy and know that a shower afterwards is a good idea, as you are using lotions and petroleum jelly and such to keep the plaster from sticking to your skin and ripping out your eyebrows. My partner has a full beard, so you can imagine how goopy his face was for this project!

4. Once the mask is set but not completely dry, trim the edges (it's easier while it is still slightly damp).

Rowan finds a witchlet "hat"
at the craft store!

5. After you let it dry completely, the embellishment begins! Remember what information was given to you in trace, visually and energetically, and try and make that come across in how you decorate the mask. 6. A shopping trip may be in order, as the items that you assembled beforehand may not seem as appropriate after the trance. I know that I saw things that I wanted to incorporate into my mask that I did not have on hand- so off we went, looking for items!

I picked up some things at an ordinary craft store (hot glue gun and sticks, lichens and moss, colored tissue paper, Outdoor Mod Podge adhesive), some things I already had (what can I say? I am crafty!), and some things at specialty stores (shark teeth, beetle wings). I have a huge vase filled with feathers that I have been collecting from all my bird friends over the years, so that helped with this project as well.

Candle lit for God Herself

7. After the mask dried, I created sacred space for the embellishment process (which took and is taking several sessions- I am creating this mask for a camp that I am attending Labor Day weekend and it will be used both as an example for others to make their masks, and in ritual at camp.). I do all my sacred crafts in sacred space. It helps me enter trance so much easier. Often I just run with what I am getting in the moment and when I am done I am surprised at the results!

A beak added.

First thing I did to my mask was to create a beak instead of a nose. I did this with clay that air dries, although you could use more plaster strips to do the same thing if you have an armature for support. Then I  cut up some old jeans and created wing shapes to that I could embellish them with the feathers. Notice that I also taped the edges of the mask. This will be covered over in the final product.

First feather layer

Then as the clay beak dried, I worked on the wings, which will be a back to the mask- like flaps that enclose my head completely.

I used regular Elmer's glue (thickly applied) on the first set of feathers, which were more downy and meant to be a general cover.

The yellow of the beak is
also tissue paper

After the beak was dry, it was time to cover the mask. Rather than paint, I opted for colored tissue paper and Outdoor formula Modge Podge (which has the advantage for collage artists of being both a glue and a finish!). I wanted all my mask materials to be natural (as Gods are forces of nature!)- so rather than acrylic paint, I used paper. The colors I picked were symbolic- my patroness calls herself "the Lady of Blood and Moonlight" - so I picked a red the color of exposed blood. For moonlight, I chose a special silver glitter made in Germany- which is not plastic but glass. It reflects and refracts light so much more intensely than plastic and is better for the environment. After this step was done, I found that the wings were dry and I could start again on the wings, adding the heavier feathers.

I used parrot feathers of all colors for this project as well as lichen and beetle wings on the forehead. For these steps, I used the hot glue gun and LOTS of glue. Then I was able to wire the shark's teeth into a mouth shape and attach them to the mask. Final pictures (for now) of the wings and mask:

multi-color wings

almost finished!

really bad orthodontia.

Next steps (in a future blog post): finish the edges of the wings, attach them to the back of the mask, create an elastic strap to hold the mask in place, and wearing the mask! I'll talk about helping others make theirs and using mine in a ritual context.

Hope you had as much fun reading as I did making! Stay tuned for part two!