I’m still in a Witchy doodling mood so I’m working on various elements I can add to different scenes.
Although I’m loathe to recommend a certain company, their tablet and ‘pencil’ have been a game changer for me in terms of making digital art more accessible. Since I can’t use a computer much for now, being able to create while sitting in/on my bed has meant a lot and has helped me feel more creative generally. Chronic illness, especially when it leaves you mostly bed-based, is difficult at the best of times but finding little ways to keep going and stay as positive as possible is a major part of my self-care practice.
Creativity can help with mental and emotional wellbeing, and for some it can even become a form of therapy. It can become a way of channelling emotions and mental energy in a positive way. For some of us creativity is our lifeblood, and any way we can bring more of it into our lives helps us to keep going even in the most difficult or challenging times.
Creativity doesn’t have to be restricted to art, though. There are many ways to be creative. If art isn’t your thing then you can incorporate something else that makes you feel creative as an outlet to help with your own self-care practice.
I’ve been in a Witchy mood today and started a project I’ve had on my arty to-do list for a while. I sketched out some pictures a while ago and now I’m starting the digital versions. These are very simplified at the moment, but when I’ve finished all the ones I’ve sketched I’ll be adding more colours and details. For now though, I’m just happy to make a tiny bit of progress as my health and brain fog haven’t allowed for much digital art lately.
I thought I’d write about a book I bought recently called Sekhmet’s Servant: Kemetic Daily Devotional, by Megan Zane. I’ve been following Megan’s blog Iryt-Ra for some time and when I saw she was releasing this book – and seeing previews of the artwork – I knew it was one I wanted to add to my collection.
Sekhmet’s Servant: Kemetic Daily Devotional is a 200 page paperback self-published through Lulu (also available on Amazon). It’s packed full of beautiful colour illustrations, informative text, writing prompts and Devotional pages dedicated to different Ancient Egyptian Deities. Megan starts by explaining a bit about the book, with tips and ideas for how to make use of it, including as a literal daily Devotional or by picking a page at random (which is what I’ve been doing and have found it very effective). The names of the Deities are Their Ancient Egyptian ones rather than the more widely used Greek versions, so Isis is Aset, Osiris is Wesir, etc.
The Decan Gods are explored and explained, with lovely illustrations of Them in the barque ready for Their journey across the sky. There’s also a bit about creating a shrine and the concept of prayers. A number of prayers for different purposes like healing, prosperity and protection are given, as well as ones for different Moon phases. Offering practices and appropriate Blessings are explored next, followed by a section on different components of Rituals.
The following chapter will be great for beginners and those unfamiliar with the religious and symbolic concepts associated with Ancient Egyptian religion. It’s called ‘Themes in Mythology’ and explains in a simple but informative way concepts like Ma’at, Heka, Ritual purity, the Duat, the journey of the Sun and the journey through the Afterlife, as well as Apep ‘the unnamed one.’
The back of the book is dedicated to resources pages, with lists of Deities that are connected with certain animals, a list of functions and associated Deities, common symbols, and a recommended reading list.
The main body of the book is divided into chapters for the different Ancient Egyptian seasons, with a list of festivals associated with that period, prayers for the festivals, writing prompts for journaling, and daily Devotional pages dedicated to a specific Deity. What’s nice is having morning and evening pages for each day, too. Each page has a little picture of the Deity, prayers and mini invocations, and a brief description of Them. Morning Devotions have red details, evening ones are in lilac. The Epagomenal Days have their own section, with illustrations of the relevant Deities – Osiris, Horus the Elder, Set, Isis and Nephtyhys. Interspersed with the writing prompts are beautiful full-page full-colour illustrations of various Deities.
I wanted to find a way to reconnect with the Ancient Egyptian Deities after a long period of difficulty in my Spiritual Practice, and this book came at the perfect time. The daily Devotion format helped me to open up little ways for Them to enter, and for me to call the Deities into my daily life again. I don’t generally resonate with a lot of others’ Devotional prayers, etc, as I usually prefer to create my own, but I really like the ones Megan has written for this book. I was also drawn to the artwork, and the combination of the beautiful pictures with the daily Devotion aspect is what makes this book really stand out for me. I haven’t bought many books or ebooks on Spiritual or ‘Pagan’ topics the last few years, but this one really speaks to me and I’ve found it a joy not only to work with but to look at and dip into at random.
The Kemetic Daily Devotional is also an inspiration piece for me. I’ve wanted to create my own illustrated books for years. Seeing a quality self-published book filled with so many full-colour illustrations and the author’s own unique style of writing gives me encouragement for my own creative dreams.
I haven’t been able to do much artwork lately, but thought I’d share a pic I made of Mari Lwyd as a Kelpie. Mari continues to inspire me, coming back in and out of my life at various times. In this form I’ve given her seaweed hair with pearls in. When the muse pays a visit how can I say no? 🙂
A regular part of my self-care and wellbeing routine involves Oracle Cards. Sometimes they offer a different perspective, sometimes they give insight, and sometimes they’re a cheerleader telling me to keep going. However, I realised recently I hadn’t worked with many of my Decks for a while. In the midst of another health relapse I can’t easily (and regularly) access the box containing most of my Cards.
Luckily I had a brainwave and made some changes. I already had two Decks out on my altar shelves, along with The Herbal Healing Deck, which I use for weekly readings. Looking at them with fresh eyes I realised that while there’s not room to have all of my Decks out I did have room for a few more if I rearranged a bit. So I pulled out the box I needed, rested, then got out my most-used Oracle Decks. I separated them from the ones I use less often and those used for more specific purposes, and put them to one side.
Today is World Penguin Day, and our Penguin friends remind us to keep going no matter what we come up against.
Penguins will undergo many trials in their lifetime but they persevere, keeping their end goal in mind. They teach us to hold what we’re aiming for in our minds, and to keep striving for it no matter what life may throw at us. Penguins are masters of mindfulness, teaching us to remain focused on the journey and the steps we’re taking along the way.
Penguins are resilient, plucky, tenacious birds. Although they can seem gawky and unsteady on land they keep going despite all the obstacles they face on their journey to the nesting grounds. The road you’re on may be difficult or bumpy at the moment, but keep going. Penguins use their ingenuity to find ways to overcome obstacles all the time. Take inspiration from our Pengy friends and try to see if there’s a different approach you can take to help you through any difficulties or situations you find yourself in at the moment.
Keep putting one foot in front of the other, take one step at a time and, like Penguin, hopefully you will make it to your desired goal or destination eventually.
Welcome to the first Friday Finds of 2022. Snowdrops are some of the quintessential flowers that represent the turning of the seasons as Winter begins to give way to Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. Their emergence brings fresh energy and hope for the future. Below you’ll find a few of my favourite items I came across on Etsy.
Energetically Imbolc can be seen as the time to plant seeds of inspiration as well as being a time of transmutation and letting go.
As Winter is waning we make way for Spring’s renewal, so use this time to let go of the things that no longer serve you. Imbolc is a good time to draw a line under anything you need to release and let go of. Use the energies to move on from the past so you don’t carry it forward into the future you want to begin creating.
If your focus is on health and wellbeing then ask Winter to help you leave behind all the things that no longer support you or the life you want to be living. Use this time as an opportunity to refocus and use the incoming energies of Spring to create a new Intention for your wellbeing. Work on building up the supportive energies, mindsets and connections that will help sustain you.
In terms of work, career and creativity, see what’s working for you and what isn’t. Think also of the projects you took a break from and see if you feel inspired to take any of them up again. Let Winter’s final energies lay to rest those you don’t want to continue with, inviting the energies of Spring to help you grow into ones you previously put on hold.
Think about what you want to be growing into this year and use the energy of Imbolc to help you work on those first steps of Intention towards what you want to manifest. What are you wanting to create, build, grow or work on this year? Use the energy to weave your Intention to create the pathway for it.
Enchant The Ordinary 
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