jprussell | (Reply)

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My pleasure! And agreed on the value of beautiful objects, with the caveat you mention. I have a vague idea for a multi-part project looking into "the good, the beautiful, and the true" to delve more into this, but I've got to wrap up getting the Tally somewhere I can share it first.

Your beads turned out lovely! And I love that you found some wood from your own property, I definitely would have if I had something fitting. As for oak and ash, those are also excellent choices - we know that oaks were holy to the elder heathens, most likely most of all to Thunor/Thor due to their tendency to get hit by lightning. I also respect the position that Yggdrasil is better thought of as an Ash, and I tend to best like the idea that It transcends earthly species and partakes of something of the essence of both ash and yew (and maybe every other tree), and so which mundane wood we choose to symbolize it is more about calling out certain aspects, rather than getting it "right."

Also, agreed that Etsy is woefully under-supplied in temperate wood beads/other craft items!

I'm glad to hear that you found my thinking on the "Tree Deeming" useful for coming up with your own "creed." I've given some thought to using the rules of affirmations for crafting prayers, and I think I even asked about that in a Magic Monday sometime back. If I remember right, JMG's response was that prayers shouldn't necessarily follow the rules of affirmations, because they are a form of communication with a fully sentient other being, rather than a way of hammering something into your own subconscious. That said, to the degree a prayer is also a communication with your own subconscious, making them more affirmation-like strikes me as reasonable, especially for something meant more as a statement of belief/intention rather than speaking directly to a particular God or set of Gods. I also really like the three-fold structure you chose.

Again, glad you're off to a good start, and I hope you keep on finding stuff that works for you!

Cheers,
Jeff