Tend Your Tools

This doesn't look like much, but it's a gift from a friend.  There's actually a couple of gifts in this picture, but the weirdest one is the Philip's head screw I found as I got out of my car tonight.

It's a reminder from Ogun.

Pic snapped on mini working altar. 

Pictured, holy water, anointing oil, candle for the Dead, and The Found Screw resting on the candle holder.

I don't talk much about Orisha/LWA in public facing venues.  I'm not a dedicated practitioner or initiate of any IFA, Santeria, or Vodou lineages. I thought I was in the clear, but I'm of the Black Diaspora.  They came for me.  I didn't know a damn thing about Anyone when Ellegua showed up in dreams.  Next came Ogun.  Then a recurring childhood dream showed back up and I realized "mi Tío" I used to "go see when I felt lost" was Ochosi.  (That clever guy encouraged me to take aim using the arc of the young waxing moon.)  To make things more complicated Damballah, Freda, Obatala, and Oshun kept pulling front and center to teach me things.

I dunno.  I just work here.

Anyway, I don't have full conversations with Ogun.  He shows up to check my work if I'm getting sloppy or lazy.  Random metals show up, appearing on sidewalks, on streets, nails, broken tools, bolts, and yes, screws.  When they are rusty or broken it's pretty serious.  I’ve always been taught that tools untended or misused are dangerous.  I'm sure you've heard that a dull kitchen knife is more dangerous than a sharp one.  When I have my eyes open to see, I know it's time to check my Tools, the foundational pieces of my practice and skill set.

I'd been pondering a piece of meta writing that would lead me down a particular rabbit hole.  It would unify all sorts of things, provide the framework I had been looking for, and I was feeling excited about it.  But I also doubted myself.  I am in a place of clearing away and rebuilding my daily practice to support what I need right now.  I wondered if I should wait until I knew what shape it would take.

I arrived at my destination to pick up my son, put on my face mask, and stepped out of the car.  The screw was not 6 inches from my foot.  I had it in my hand, noted the immediate circumstances for later consideration, smiled for my Friend Ogun, and kept it moving.

A screw pulls and holds things together.  Multiple solid things can form a sturdy and more complex form with the help of a screw.  This one was clean, new, undamaged.  The only hint of wear is a small line of the beginnings of rust halfway down the threading.

Tidy it up a bit and it would do just fine.

So, I have little tidying to do and then I'll be back.