Alignment
.jpg "Circe and her wild beasts")
My snake Plissken keeps slithering into my dreams of late. The shapeshifter would say it means my little snake is trying to align himself with me. My teacher taught me how to perform alignment with deity, but now as I’ve continued in my own practice I use it to help connect with animals, plants, and ancestors as well. What is alignment? It is a practice or ritual that helps one directly connect with a spirit, deity, plant, or animal. There is no one way to perform alignment, there are many ways. Alignment can aid in shapeshifting, communication with spirits and deities, developing relationships with specific animals and plants, and connecting yourself to the natural world and the web of wyrd as a whole.
Song of the Mountain
I will be as a stone
I will be as a flowing stream
I will be as a blooming flower
I will be as a tall tree
I will be as a crawling insect
I will be as a scaled serpent
I will be as a feathered bird
I will be as a leaping deer
I will be as a howling coyote
I will be as the mountain
and the mountain shall be as me
Here are some various methods to attain alignment:
- Observe it – in the wild if possible, in a sanctuary, preserve, or garden otherwise; for wights and deities go to places they are said to inhabit
- Get close to it – hang out with a tree or plant for an hour or more, go visit a graveyard to be close to spirits of the dead, wear an animal hide, spend time with your deity in sacred space with the gate to the upperworld open
- Ingest it – eat its meat, drink the leaf, eat the fruits of gods, drink the blood of gods (alcohol), hold communion with the dead… Can’t eat it? Anoint yourself with it or share a feast with it
- Carry a piece of it with you – talismans of tooth, claw, bone, root, seed, grave dirt, or images of gods
- Craft a fetiche – a reliquary, crane bag, medicine bundle, or spirit vessel to interact with when in/evoking
- Imitate it – costume yourself and behave like the creature or spirit for fun or in sacred ritual space for alignment and shapeshifting – fur headdresses, feathered cloaks, and leather masks… sometimes possession results – reverse shapeshifting
I am a vegetarian but something that I really, really want to try is snake. Daddy says it’s really good, haha!
Thank you for this insight, Sarah, it will be interesting to try and incorporate it with my practice.
Wow. Thanks for sharing. Your posts are always so helpful to the lone traveller.
Very interesting. It’s really attaining the alignment then holding on to the connection. Terrific post.
Your song of the mountain reminds me of Amergin’s song when he came to Ireland :
“”I am Wind on Sea,
I am Ocean-wave,
I am Roar of Sea,
I am Bull of Seven Fights,
I am Vulture on Cliff,
I am Dewdrop,
I am Fairest of Flowers,
I am Boar for Boldness,
I am Salmon in pool,
I am Lake on Plain,
I am a Word of Skill,
I am the Point of a Weapon (that poureth forth combat),
I am God who fashioneth Fire for a Head. [giver of inspiration]
Who smootheth the ruggedness of a mountain?
Who is He who announceth the ages of the Moon?
And who, the place where falleth the sunset?
Who calleth the cattle from the House of Tethra?
On whom do the cattle of Tethra smile?
Who is the troop, who the god fashioneth edges…?
Enchantments about a spear? Enchantments of Wind?”
Amergin and Taliesin were definitely inspirations along with a few verses from the Carmina Gadelica
That’s what I recognized! It was something out of The White Goddess that made it sound so familiar
I loved your alignment! beautiful & moving. Its perfect, thank you for sharing,
blessings,
Arianrhod