It’s been a while since I have added to the blog. Mostly because I’ve been busy with writing projects and finishing an oracle deck.
It’s hard
reading the news or watching it in my feeds. There are wars, political arguments,
animal shelters and rescues are overwhelmed, there is ever growing inflation,
the downward spiral of the economy and just cruelty all around wherever you
look. To top all of that the news about DEP’s plan to basically bulldoze a
good chuck of state park land in Florida to build hotels, golf courses, and
pickleball courts ( I mean seriously who goes to a state park to play pickle ball?!).
All of this in state parks where there is already a lot of built up areas surrounding
them. Trust me, we don’t need more hotels or golf courses… especially not in state
parks. Florida has an overabundance of both. Florida to me isn’t the theme
parks or resorts, it’s the wild places. I’ve watched too many of those wild
places be destroyed for the sake of building housing for the flood of people
who have moved to this state since covid. This morning my husband and I went to
a wildlife preserve and were lamenting as we drove up to the entrance that
there is a construction wasteland putting up high density housing where there
used to be a beautiful orange grove.
As a Pagan,
the natural world is sacred to me. I have been part of rituals hosted in some of these state parks and their campgrounds. Ironically the department that should be
protecting wild places (DEP stands for Dept. of Environmental Protection) is
the one proposing the destruction of wildlife habitats, including ones that are
homes to endangered species. This is an obvious cash grab. Someone sees
undeveloped land and is gleefully looking forward to lining their pockets,
while selling it to the public as an improvement to the state parks. I have included
links below where you can see the plans for yourself, and also to the podcast
and Instagram of Ryan Worthington, a Florida Naturalist & eco-activist who
has spread the word about this issue.
The good news is there has been enough of a public outcry that DEP has pushed back their public meeting about the proposal to next week, instead of giving the public a mere two days as they had originally planned. In either case, it’s not a lot of time.
So, why am I writing about it? Because as a Witch and Priestess I’m not just going to fill out the survey on the state's site, or sign petitions. I’m going to attack it magically too. And you can help, if you feel so moved.
Draíocht Ogham to Protection of the Land
The below combination of ogham is what I refer to as a Draíocht Ogham. Think of it like a bind rune, taking the qualities of multiple symbols and fusing the energies together for a magical purpose. If ogham aren’t your thing, feel free to create something that align to the same intent in a magical alphabet you use. The Draíocht Ogham can be easily carved into a candle or drawn on a copy of the proposal as a part of a spellcasting.
This is an extremely quick rundown of some of the
associations of the ogham feda (letters) I chose to use. Each letter has many
associations and correspondences, but I highlighted the specific energies from each that I wanted to concentrate on for the working.
Dair means Oak, a tree that is a hard wood and commonly
used to make doors. Afterall, you want something strong to protect your home. Dair
represent many things, but here its intent is boundaries. Close the door on the
idea of developing the land and be a boundary for any further movement on
developing the parks.
Úr literally
means soil and represents the land itself.
Fearn means
‘alder’ a tree commonly used to make shields and represent protection. It is
described as the ‘vanguard of warriors’ and has an association with protecting
what you hold dear.
For
deities to call upon I offer an invocation to the Morrigan as well as one to Andraste.
Of course, call upon whatever deity you feel moved to call upon.
Invocation
of Morrigan
The Morrigan is a clear choice for battles of any kind, and I specifically include the aspect as Anu who I see and the most closely connected to the land itself.
Cath Badb
Battle
Crow, Bringer of victory!
Nemain, Fierce
venomous one!
Anu, Lady
of Sovereignty and the land!
I call to
you to bring victory
To be the
destruction of evil men
To bring
low corruption born out of greed
To bring
an end to those who would harm the land.
Cath Badb,
Nemain, Anu!
Be a
shield of protection to the land and sacred places!
Be a
whirlwind, a mighty battle cry that none can stand against!
Invocation
of Andraste
Andraste is well known for the being the Goddess Boudica called upon in her rebellion against Roman. While little is left to us about her, we do know that she was worshiped in sacred groves, and she is associated with victory. She is an ideal Goddess to petition both for victory and matter concerning the sacred land.
Andraste!
Lady of
Sacred Groves!
Unconquerable
One!
Bringer of
victory!
Bring your
rage and wrath
to those
who would desecrate the sacred land
to those
whose greed reaches too far.
Cast your
protection around the wild place
restore
the sanctity of the land among the people.
Bring
courage to those who would protect the sacred groves!
Bring misery
and defeat to those who would destroy it!
LINKS:
DEP Survey
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7983173/Great-Outdoors-Initiative
Florida Naturalist
& eco-activist Instagram and podcast.
Ryan Worthington
(@the_fl_excursionist) • Instagram photos and videos
https://thefloridamadcaps.buzzsprout.com/
podcast
If you
can’t attend one of the public meetings, sign this petition!
https://act.audubon.org/a/floridastateparks
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