Turtles have no sense of Gratitude...
Current mood: amused
Category: Life

Locally, I have a bit of a reputation as a person who knows all about wierd animals. I can identify them, have a storehouse of information on them, know their temperments and how they react to human interference. I was not surprised when I got a call last Thursday to come check out something that crawled underneath a friends car. They didn't want to back out and squish it. They had called me before for snakes, salamanders, spiders, wierd bugs, a shrew...
All of these I would capture and relocate to a place that would be safer for the animal. The area I am in has a huge migrant population and these folks are from areas where it seems that everything is poisonous. They see a snake, lizard or wierd bug, they are very likely to kill it without any hesitation. It took me years to get them to stop and at least call me first so I can get the critter, do a little education and save the beasties life. When they call, I get there quick!
This was the first time they had ever called me about a turtle.
I arrive on the scene and look into the dark under the car just as it was starting to rain. There it was. A massive brute of a turtle. I could see the outline of the shell (At least 18" long and 9" high) and the face. It seemed to be standing up more on its legs than most turtles. It's shell was completely off the ground and the legs were more like hooves then the webbed claws I was used to seeing on turtles of that size. From the size of it, I first thought it must be a snapping turtle of some sort, but from the hooflike feet and the fact that it was holding itself up off of the ground, I changed my thoughts a little...Perhaps it was some sort of tortise. It was warm enough that it could have been a gopher tortise that someone had released into the wild. I grabbed a stick and waved it in front of the face to see if it would react at all. It ignored it completely.
Ok...Not a snapper.
I was just reaching under the car when one of the many gathered to watch said "I wouldn't have called you for a turtle, but it had such a wierd tail."
"Wierd tail?" I asked, pausing for a moment.
"Yeah...it has these wierd spikes..."
I yanked my hand back just in time.
It was an alligator snapping turtle. I had messed with these fellows before. They stay very docile until they are sure they can get you and then WHAM! You are missing fingers. I just didn't expect to find one in the middle of a parking lot, in the dark, under a car.
There was about 2" of clearance between the top of the shell and the bottom of the car. I told the owner that she could back up very slowly and the turtle would be ok.
She pulled back and the monster was revealed. His four inch wide beaked mouth was gaping at me as he stood his ground. I looked at him carefully, checking the carcapace for cracks or wounds. There was a leech attached to it that I removed from behind while distracting it with a stick. This was a beautiful tough old turtle. The feet had looked like hooves because most of its toes had been bitten of and so it stood funny.
It was about a half mile from the nearest body of water, and there were roads between it and safety. I was going to have to transport a very surly animal quite a bit of distance.
I had someone fetch me a box. It was fairly tall with an open top. I figured I could set it down in the box, throw it in the back of my car and drive it the short distance to the lake.
I set the box on my back seat and started to pull out. I turned around to look behind me, and that is when I noticed the giant turtle head peeking out between my seats and looking at my elbow in a non friendly fashion.
Have you ever seen someone jump out of a car in a state of panic because there was a bee inside?
Yeah. It was kind of like that except that a turtle that size could bit off my elbow.
It had overturned the box and was now set on defending its new territory. The back seat of my car.
I managed to wrestle the snapping flailing turtle from my back seat and held by the sides at arms reach. It was stretching out its neck over its shoulder trying to grab my fingers and missing by centimeters. There was no other way to do this but walk to the pond, holding the turtle so tightly my knuckles were turning white. Each time it snapped at me, its whole body jerked violently and it was slowly wearing me out. The rain picked up at the point into a downpour.
I walked the 1/2 mile to the lake in the rain with a berserk snapper flailing in my hands. I got to the steep, grassy, leaf covered bank to the lake, my flat soled Vans type sneakers squishing with water.
Flat soled Sneakers on a wet grassy leaf covered bank.
Yep.
I landed on my back with a "Woomph!" sound, throwing the 20 lb turtle high into the air. I had just half a second to think "Ooh...That hurt!" before the gigantic 20 pound turtle landed on his back in the center of my stomach with a second "Woomph!"
This apparantly was the turtles cue to begin break dancing as it tried to right itself. It's rear feet flailing, its neck stretching out jaws snapping frantically for purchase...something, ANYTHING to grab on to.
I pushed the turtle one way and rolled the other. I landed in a low crouch backing away as the turtle, now having righted itself was literally charging at me, mouth agape.
I screamed and dove to the side, a gentle kick sending it spinning down the bank into the lake.


He looked up at me once, and then swam off like nothing had happened.

Ungrateful little twit.

Gwyd, hater of turtles

11:38 AM - 9 Comments - 14 Kudos - Add Comment

Mirror Scrying and Wax Divination...
Current mood: relaxed

These are the notes from a workshop I gave at Grand Rapids Pagan Pride Day 2006. A couple of people have inquired about them in the past, and another one just today, so I thought I'd post them up for anyone interested.

Here they are, my notes for Mirror Scrying and Wax Divination. Let me know if you have any questions.

Mirror Scrying (Or Water Bowl Scrying) and Wax Divination

Presented by Gwydion Sidhe

The Scrying

The mirror or bowl selected must be kept in complete darkness for at least 7 days before use as a scrying device. Covering with a silk cloth is recommended.

Preparation: In a clear glass Jar or bottle, collect a small amount of stream, rain or other natural source of water. Add to that a stick of cinnamon (Increases psychic awareness), a clove (For protection and heightened senses), and if you have it, a small piece of Amethyst (Also increases psychic awareness, and can be used to hold certain energies).  Set it out at night before, during and after the full moon. DO NOT LEAVE IT OUT DURING THE DAY! This will allow the water to cleanse itself, and collect the energy needed to scry. This is the same water that I use for wax divination, something I do after almost all mirror or bowl scrying .

Method: This is something that can only be performed at night, OUTDOORS, preferably one with no moon or much ambient unnatural light. Whether the sky is cloudy, there are trees overhead, or if the sky is completely clear and starry should not matter, but different people get different results. (Personally, I would love to try sometime when the northern lights are out…) Find what works best for you.

Cleanse your space through whatever method works best for you, be it casting a circle, projecting while light, etc… Incense is always a nice touch. Find one that will help you focus. Also light a candle (Prep for the candle described below in the Wax Divination section) to keep burning throughout the scrying.

Sit cross-legged on the ground, the mirror set in front of you lying flat. Breathe in and out slowly three times, and you are ready to begin.

Drip three drops of the water into the center of the mirror focusing on the powers that surround you, asking that they open a window showing that which you need to see (If using a bowl for the scrying, fill nearly to the lip, other than that bowl scrying is nearly identical to that done with any mirror). When starting out, it is best not to be too demanding as to what you want to see, once you become more accustomed to the tool, then you can get more specific. Wait a moment in silence to give the window time to open. Touch the drops of water at the center of the mirror with your power hand just enough to wet your fingertip. Touch that drop of water to your "third eye" (The space up just a bit between your eyebrows). This should waken your "third eye" (Your psychic eye) and connect it to the mirror.

Now look at the center of the mirror.

Just look.

Don't think.

Don't wonder "Is this going to work?"

Just LOOK.

It is a focused meditation that will bring you what you need to see. You need to lose yourself in that tiny center part of the mirror. If you need to blink, blink…But with most people that urge fades pretty quickly, at least decreasing in frequency.

Just look and relax.

Look at the shapes the water has made on the mirror, look at how the sky is reflecting through those drops.

At some point, you should start to see something. At first amorphous black shapes, and when you learn to keep focusing through that, images will start to appear.

If you try this for a looooong time and are getting no results at all, take a break and stare at the candle for a minute, then go back to looking into the mirror. This is kind of like a little jump start, giving your regular eyes something to start out from, some amorphous blobs that can be guided into the shapes and images that will show you what you need to know.

Some people see clear images of things to come or will see the path they should take, others will see symbols or symbolic images.

Once the images fade out, tap your "third eye" three times with your off hand to disconnect from the mirror. Release your circle and end your ritual as you normally would. Make sure to do this whether or not you experienced a vision. It is important to disconnect from the tool. Leaving yourself open to any part of an ethereal plane is not a good idea, and can cause bizarre hallucinations.

Write down what you saw immediately. These images tend to fade like dreams, and can be hard to recapture without prompts.

If you are one of the lucky ones who simply sees events, meditate on these to figure out what exactly they mean. For symbolic visionaries, you may need to consult a symbolic imagery book or dream interpretation book (Not a Freudian one though…That guy had issues!) Personally, I prefer personal interpretations of images. More on that later.

For now, on to the paired Divination…

A side note- If you experience a vision that seems hostile or extremely disturbing, tap out your "third eye" immediately to disconnect from the tool. End your ritual. Cleanse the mirror, and do not attempt further scrying for one full lunar cycle. Put it somewhere where you will not even see it for that period of time. If you have repeated visions of an unpleasant nature on subsequent readings, get a consult from a trusted reader. You may need to get some additional help.

Divination  with Melted Wax

Right now, you are probably wondering why I combine the two of these together…You just did a mirror scry, so what is the point? You know what you need to know now, right?

Perhaps you do. In fact, I hope you do! However, there are two good reasons to always be ready to do a wax divination after a scrying.

1-       If you did not see anything in the mirror due to distractions, tension, something was blocking you or simply because you are not able to reach the level of focus at this point, you have a backup. You will already have the energy raised, it takes only a minute or two to do, and it is a great way to release energy at the end of your personal ritual. Wax divinations, while not as in depth as mirror scrying, have almost guaranteed results.

2-       The results from a wax div are physical. There is something left from the process that you can actually hold in your hands. This has some distinct advantages. The images from a scry are ephemeral…They dissipate quickly like a dream. Even if you wrote something down, it can only capture the simplest essence of what you saw , and a lot of what would be learned can be lost. With the wax you can have a constant reminder of what needed to be learned and you can revisit the results daily. Another advantage of the fact that the results are physical, is you can get a second opinion. If you are really stumped, you can take it to someone else and have them take a look and tell you what they see.

Wax divinations can be done on their own without the scry as a quick and dirty Q&A. I do a lot of them by themselves. But whenever I do a scry, I do wax divination at the end.

Preparation: First, a candle must be selected. Personally, I find it easier to go generic and use white. It is neutral, and won't be influenced by your thoughts on the subject. A lot of people would say that you should go with a color that matches your question. I tend to disagree. I'll explain why in a bit*…For now use the white.

The type of candle is a little more open for debate. Pretty much anything but a taper. You need something that can pool wax in it. Tea lights are ok, but the metal can get hot. I like to use a votive in a glass votive holder. Holds the wax in, looks pretty and if you are doing this with the scrying above, it will help to shelter the flame from the outdoor winds. You don't want to break focus to fumble with a lighter.

For the preparation of the candle itself…Like your ritual space, cleanse it in a method that you are familiar and comfortable with then dedicate it to it's purpose.

Method: Take the remainder of the water you have left and pour it into a chalice or goblet (If you are doing a water bowl divination, use your bowl), asking that the water will pull out the images you need to see in a way that you can understand.

CAREFULLY lift up the candle that has been burning throughout the scry, being careful not to spill the pooled wax. Hold it in front of your eyes focusing all of your remaining energy into the wax.

Don't rush. Hold it until you are sure it is time.

Pour the pool of wax quickly into the center of the goblet.

Fish the cooled piece (Or pieces) of wax out of the goblet and set aside to dry off.

Pour the water out onto the ground and end your ritual.

Take a break…Get a drink of water, take a short stroll, whatever…The key is to get a little bit of distance from the ritual and clear your head.

When you are back to a more "Normal" state of mind, go back and gently pick up your piece of wax.. tuen it over, turn it upside down, look at it from all sides. Write down any shapes you see. Don't interpret yet, just find the recognizable shapes. You will probably find that the overall piece has a certain shape, and that there are other shapes inside of it, and even shapes inside of that.

Image Interpretation

Now, how does one interpret what they see?

I am of the belief that there is no single way to read an image. Each thing means something different to an individual. To one person an image of a snake embodies evil, fear and loathing. Their brother used to torture them with snakes in their bed, so now, a snake could not mean anything but. For me, a snake embodies patience, longevity, wisdom and comfort. I have a beautiful old pet python that is the sweetest most perfect animal companion on the planet .She waits patiently for the right moment to grab her food, she is aged, but still healthy, she wisely only bites things that she can eat, and her weight on my shoulders as she coils around my neck for warmth is incredibly relaxing.

Same critter, but she would send a lot of you screaming for help where it just makes me want to cuddle.

So…How do we apply this?

For each image that you saw while scrying or coiled inside the wax, write down what it means to you.

Do not think of your question, just the presented images.

What do you see when you think of a duck? A hammer? A duck with a hammer? A frog? A human hand?

Once you have written these all down (In the order you found them in) then start applying them to your question. You will find that the images seen first are the surface of the problem, or the perceived problem. As you go down through the list, you will get closer and closer to what you need to know until finally, you will have a clue.

Revisit the wax shape several times over the next few days to see if it has more to reveal to you.

If you are still stumped, then talk to someone else about what you saw (Preferably someone who has a clue about intuitive divination). Alternately, show the piece of wax to a child. See what they see in it.

You might be surprised.

They have amazingly unclouded eyes.

Gwydion

*Colored candles chosen for specific purposes can add an unintentional slant to a reading. Example-

Anna has a question about love. "Why is her boyfriend so distant?"

She does a divination with a red candle for love.

In the shapes, she finds a heart, a beautiful red heart with legs. She determines that this must mean that he has taken his heart elsewhere, has found someone else. She decides that she needs to break it off before she gets hurt.

If she had done the reading with white wax, the red heart with legs would have not looked as much like a heart, but a white frog. To her frogs meant money because as a child she used to catch frogs and sell them to a French Restaurant to make frog legs.

Her boyfriend was distant because he was worrying about money.

Colors force images, so I don't recommend using them.

Gwydion is a 37 year old poet, writer, sculptor and performer who has embraced pagan paths since the age of 15. He started his journey as a Forrestall- Forest guardian, spending weeks at a time out in the woods with little more than a knife, a bit of string and a pack of matches. He dedicated himself to protecting animals and forests, believing them all to be sacred.

His path never strayed far from his original roots. Still a forestall (Though far from his home woods), he works mainly with the fey and elementals. He concentrates most of his energies in healing, shielding, readings, physical discipline (pain control, deep meditation) and acts as a sensitive/ spirit communicator. In the past, he also practiced a lot of offensive magic. A practice he has all but abandoned.

Almost all of these he learned as an intuitive practitioner even though he has read and studied extensively.

In his spare time, he likes to watch scary zombie movies, play the dumbek, sculpt, etch glass, wander aimlessly out in the woods, play with his kids and spend time with his handfasted partner Sylver.

For any questions, if you need assistance with anything (Or if you want to get some really neat chalices or mirrors!!), please feel free to contact me through knottythings@hotmail.com, or here on myspace!

Gwydion Sidhe

Currently listening : How It Ends By DeVotchKa Release date: 05 October, 2004

11:38 AM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Reviews needed for the Knotty Bits Show.Have you seen it?

If you have...I wouldn't mind a little help.
We are currently putting together our promotional packages for this summer faires, and I'd like to thicken em up a bit.
If you have seen our show (And can remember it well enough) would you remind writing a review, a blurb or just a couple of sentances about how you enjoyed it, what you liked (Or didn't like)...Anything!
Please include your real name, where you saw us and where you are from.
You can send it the here, at myspace, or to the Knotty Bits Show e-mail addy knottybits@hotmail.com.
Anything sent may be used for our promotional material (Not out to the general public)
Remember...The better you make us look, the more shows you will be able to see us at throughout the summer!!
Hope to hear from you soon, and thanks in advance!!
Gwyd

12:35 AM - 6 Comments - 12 Kudos - Add Comment

Knotty Bits Sideshow Goes Legit in Kalamazoo!

After dozens of outdoor shows over the summer, Sylver and I get to come inside!

Check this out!!

Tickets are selling fast for what is going to be an amazing night of magic and comedy by some of the best in Michigan! We have already had to change venues once because the show was pretty much sold out, so get tickets while you can!

Contact me if you need more info!

We'll see you there!

Gwyd

11:37 AM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Mayfaire Ren Fest- Sylver and I will be Performing! Come see us!
Current mood: excited

Sylver and I have some upcoming shows that we would like to let you in on! The last two weekends of May, the two of us will be performing at Mayfaire Reniassance Faire in the middle of the state of Michigan! We will be doing both our Duo show, KNOTTY BITS with FIRE, GLASSWALKING, BED OF NAILS, SWORD SWALLOWING, MAGIC and a lot of humor! Along with that, we will be selling Hand Etched Glassware at our stand Knotty Things!
You have never seen us quite like this before! Mayfaire is a great place to hang out, have fun, catch some unique shows and generally enjoy yourself! You have got to go to this!!!!

For more informationGo to

http://www.mayfaireren.com/  We'll see you there!!

10:31 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment