Woodpecker

So, I've been building relationships with different animals but today I was reminded that I don't have relationships with all of them. I saw a woodpecker today, moved a bit closer to watch him and he wanted none of it. I do have a pretty good relationship with squirrels and so at least I was able to visit them. :)

Celtic Shamanism

I've just made some associations that really work nicely for me. I've been studying shamanism and animism for a while and I've always been interested in Celtic peoples and culture. Now I've remembered one authors connection of the two and made another similar connection. The authors idea was that Cernunos was sort of an archtype for a shaman. I can't remember how he laid out the details but it made sense to me. Of course this doesn't imply that Cernunos wasn't his own being as well, just that he also represented a possible role for humanity. He was an individual and also a symbol of a universal way of living. My connection came through the green man. He is my symbol for a plant spirit shaman. He is one with the plants, literally, and would be able to work with them. So now two paths of shamanry are laid out in a Celtic context: Cernunos and the green man. There is some deep meaning here for me. I now feel my Celtic inspired, but also local and bioregional, shamanism is developing nicely and that I am moving deeper into the great mysteries.

Tree

I was given a gift by a tree. Perhaps a walnut tree. That is what one person said it was, just want to be sure. It was the gift of its fruit/seed. I felt I was supposed to have it and that it will be the start of a good relationship with that tree. I must now return with something for it. I will bring some dried herbs that it can hopefully draw some nutrients from. Then I will just need to spend a lot of time with it so I can get to know it better. Most of its leaf clusters were in groups of five. Its bark was mostly light gray to tan. There were some brown and dark gray areas. The leaf edges were serrated.

New Tradition

I have discovered I have a tradition/ceremony/ritual I do whenever entering forests. I say something to the effect that I come in peace, seeking knowledge and communion and that I hope it is ok that I am there. Basically I am trying to set up relationships with those other than human persons who live there and who help to keep it going.