ravensweald

Mild rant
09Aug26 | 21.00 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260809.2100
I recently had a lengthy discussion with someone who wanted to share with me their amazing mind-expanding experiences with psilocybin. This person had “an awakening” after the experience and wanted me to hear their version of “the good word”.
I won’t go into the details of their belief system, as it is really unimportant. People believe what they will believe and I try not to judge what they believe, although his awakening is based quite heavily on the use of hallucinogens and convoluted conspiracy theories treated as science by merely applying the word “science” to the material.
Anyway, I think he was trying to get me to join his psilocybin community. Most people would jump at the chance, honestly. Not interested, personally.
(more…)
tagged:
animism, rant, spirit, spiritual matters
filed under:
thinking
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Mild rant
casting runes — 09aug26
09Aug26 | 19.44 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260809.1944
pertho
```
my bones all shadowcast—

i need not your shaman
i need not your drugs
i need not your third eye
i dream worlds without drum
```
A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is pertho, which has a disputed meaning and there is some indication that any proposed meanings might be based on a corrupted interpretation. The general consensus is that there is likely some relationship to ørlǫg (fate/destiny), luck/gambling or perhaps hidden knowledge.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
tagged:
pertho, poetry, rewilding, rune
filed under:
poetry
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casting runes — 09aug26
wearing masks
09Aug26 | 13.57 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260809.1357
```
must hide these scars and
not give my crimson ley away
so i can pick at each until
they can bleed again tonight.
```
tagged:
melancholia, poetry
filed under:
poetry
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wearing masks
Going back
08Aug26 | 20.58 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260808.2058
An old roommate, bandmate and friend came to town today. I’m still not sure what prompted him flying up here from Phoenix, Arizona, but he wanted to spend some time together before meeting up with some other former bandmates and friends at a local pub/open restaurant market.
We went out for breakfast and caught up after 20 or so years of not talking much at all. When someone ups and moves without telling you his plans, it can be hard to keep a friendship up. There was also a matter of religion, or so I think, as he had found his way and I was not interested in walking his way.
(more…)
tagged:
old friends, old photos of me, old school goth, twilight zone
filed under:
junk drawer
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Going back
Hei, Skogkatter — 07aug26
07Aug26 | 14.36 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260807.1436
Grendel (left) and Grímnir (right), around 15 weeks.
Oof, what a week. But first: kittens
Grendel and Grímnir are growing fast. About every 5 days, Grendel is putting on about 1/4 lb., while Grímnir has started moving at a more modest rate of about 1/8 lb. every five or so days. That make Grendel nearly 5.75 lbs. and Grímnir at 5.20 lbs. Already, these are getting to be big kitties. My smallish ragdoll cat, Pixel, has always hovered around 9.5-10 lbs. (he’s lost weight due to an illness), is quickly going to have larger brothers from another mother at this rate. I wouldn’t put it past Grendel topping 10 lbs. by Halloween and Grímnir not far behind. The way that Grendel likes to eat, it might be sooner.
(more…)
tagged:
grendel, grímnir, healthy kittens, hei skogkatter, norsk skogkatt, playing with water, sick cats, skogkatt
filed under:
Grendel and Grímnir
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Hei, Skogkatter — 07aug26
casting runes — 07aug26
07Aug26 | 09.44 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260807.0944
wunjo
```
you can find me
under ash & dream
áldu antlers all around
sleeping stone spoken—
dream harder, dream
```
A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.
Today’s rune is wunjo, which is translated as “joy” and has been interpreted in both the earthly sense as well as in spiritual ecstasy. It has been associated with healing (emotional, mental and interpersonal) and some sources connect the rune to luck, the act of making a wish, or applied will. Wunjo can also be the inspiration for creativity.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
tagged:
poetry, rewilding, rune, wunjo
filed under:
poetry
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casting runes — 07aug26
shards, v
07Aug26 | 08.20 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260807.0820
My undiscovered country no one seeks:
```
that rat scramble for relevance ⸺
what madness!

follow scarlet & stacked stones,
where mountain wind holds more

❧

or delve into her dark eyes
```
※ FIN ※
tagged:
poetry, shards
filed under:
poetry
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shards, v

c: 260806.1321

these steel cut shores
carved in black sand
whisper hush of tides
and heavy of storms.

'black rain comes.'
more slight than whisper,
more ragged than thorn.

hand grasps of hand,
lingers as wraiths
for which are known.

tagged:

melancholia, poetry, rewilding, shards

filed under:

poetry

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shards, iv

Dead Letter Office [fragment]
06Aug26 | 08.11 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260806.0811
I started this a while back for Jolene Rice’s story prompts and never got around to finishing it. This particular list included: a key that nobody else has, a bumper sticker offers excellent advice, a slow poke, and an oddities collector.
This time, I was going to eschew my normal fantasy/noir/horror inclinations and lean fairly straight, non-genre storytelling. I do that on occasion. When I do, chances are there are still hints of some kinds of odd in the tale, but the world’s chocked full of odd kinds of tales.
Anyway, it seemed a shame to let a not-terrible beginning to a story molder in a draft folder, so I decided to share it in the story’s unfinished state.
All apologies offered in advance.
Bonus points if you can figure out the inspiration which informs the tone of the planned story.
There was a traffic jam on the kudzu-lined gravel road leading into Gideon. There were already at least three cars lined up behind whatever was obstructing the road around the canopy of vines hanging down from telephone wires and what-all the greenery could find for support to cling to.
(more…)
tagged:
fiction, fragments, non-genre, unfinished
filed under:
fiction
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Dead Letter Office [fragment]
casting runes — 05aug26
05Aug26 | 21.15 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260805.2115
ehwaz
```
sitting statue still
with sunken hollows
after crows came for eyes—
unmoving even still

stepping over cooling ashes
following night songs
leaving the worn behind
```
A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is ehwaz, which has a core meaning of “horse”. A horse is often associated with journeys, travel and movement. By extension, it also implies symbiosis with another living creature or fylgja (guardian spirit), and the rune is associated with loyalty or trust. Any undertaken journey may be spatial, emotional or spiritual.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
tagged:
ehwaz, poetry, rewilding, rune
filed under:
poetry
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casting runes — 05aug26