The Eighth Sermon to the Dead

I've been reading The Year of the Warrior , which discusses the fallibility of humanity, the evil powers at work in the world, and the difficulty an Irish semi-priest has converting the heathen Norse to the White Christ. The main character is a priest with no ordination. He's taken in by a Christian Lord, and pretends he has the ordination. In the course, he has a leman (concubine), fights a walker-again (a revenant), a priest of the Old Gods, and comes to understand the intrinsic difference between the Christian God (whom he hates) and the heathen gods (whom he fears). "What I can't understand", said someone, "is, if our God is so much more powerful than the old gods, why do all wonders seem to come from their side?" A voice said, "Because a marvel is like a sword." Strangely, the voice was my own. "Or like torture. There is no answer to it. The Beloved prefers to woo."  Later, the priest has a vision of his old abbot. They t...

So, as far as routine practice goes, I've been slacking. My prayer schedule is shot. My magical practice is in the doldrums. Even my weekly practice has been curtailed, cut short, and generally moribund. Obviously, I haven't been writing either. I remember the heady days of Lent, when I posted every day. Not sure I want to do that again, but I could. So, to invigorate my practice again, I've started what I call the 40 days of LBRP (Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram). I'm just going to practice one simple thing, every day. I'll take notes on it, but mostly I just want to do it. I'm on day four, and it's already having some effects. I am finding myself less tied to an 'altar' area, and more willing to just stand up and throw the pentagrams wherever I happen to be. That's a good thing, from my POV. Taking the magic out of the temple. Of course, I will do it IN the temple, too. Going back to basics is good.