Sharon's profileJust Ginger And MePhotosBlogListsMore  |  Tools Help |
|
|
December 21 Blessed Yule to one and all!It's hard to believe that the year has once more turned and Yule is now upon us. For those of us of the pagan persuasion, Yule is the begining of the the new year and occasion for carolling, burning of the Yule log, drinking of wassail and other assorted merrymaking. In keeping with the spirit of the feast, I have added a 15th century Christmas carol for your listening pleasure and here's a recipe for traditional wassail that will serve 20 and assure a good time will be had by all:
Shropshire style Wassail
10 very small apples Core the apples and fill each with a teaspoon of brown sugar. Place in a baking pan and cover the bottom with 1/8-inch of water. Insert cloves into the orange about 1/2" apart. Combine the sherry or Madeira, cider, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice berries, cinnamon, sugar, apple and orange juice and water in a large, heavy saucepan and heat slowly without letting the mixture come to a boil.
Pour into a metal punch bowl, float the apples and orange on top and ladle hot into punch cups. Makes enough for 15-20 people
Woo-hoo! If that doesn't warm you up, then you probably need to check into the nearsest morgue post haste. I'm making a much smaller batch to have after my Yule ritual at sundown this evening while I toast my toes before the fire and count my many blessings. And I wish you all an equally jolly Yule filled with family and love. Blessed be! June 21 Summer SolsticeIt seems hard to believe that the solstice, and with it the celebration of Litha, has rolled around yet again. It seems like just a week or two ago I was ready to whoop it up and do a naked Beltane Boogie around the maypole. Yet here it is the longest day of the year. That, on the other hand, is not at all difficult to believe. It was the hottest day of the year so far at 114 F and here it is almost midnight and it's still 93 degrees. I thought the damn sun would NEVER go down. But still, I mark the changing of the seasons and try to give thanks to the Goddess for Her blessings. Traditionally, this was the time of the year when the Goddess is associated with Her aspect as the Mother, as symbolized by the ripening fruit that this time of year brings, as well as with the full moon, which this year coincided fairly closely with the solstice. It is a time to give thought to motherhood and the bearing of children, whether they be literal offspring or the children of our minds, such as art and other begettings of the innate creativity that lies within us all. For my part, I have been working on a digital photo album of family pictures and get-togethers and snaps of cool things around my neighborhood, which I have been editing, arranging and adding neat-o effects. I'm going to burn them onto CDs and mail them to my Mum and sister in Kansas as well as a couple of aunts back East. So far, it's been time consuming, but fun. I think my small project is a fine little "child" to offer up in honor of my Goddess. Anyway, I hope the summer is a warm and fertile time for everyone out the there in Blog Land. Blessed be one and all. May 01 Hooray! Hooray! The first of MayAnd a blessed Beltane to one and all! And we all know the rest of that little rhyme, do we not? "Hooray! Hooray! The first of May, outdoor f*****g begins today!" Well hey, a bit of joyous pagan celebration seems in order I think. Let's face it, all that dancing around the May Pole was and is nothing more than pure fertility rite, as is sending May baskets to your sweetie and the fact that May begins the "marriage season". I think May is second only to June for weddings. Anyway, what we neo-pagans celebrate at Beltane is the season of ripening desire, when all things seek a mate in order to continue the cycle of life. So lets, by all means, have FUN out there. (Just don't take that outdoor passion too seriously......not only will you have some 'splainin' to do to some not very amused officer of the law, but your kids will never get over it. In my experience most kids have a very difficult time believing their parents actually "did it", even when thier very existence proves they did. At least once anyway.) Oh, and to help with that fun thing, I've added an interesting musical selection to the media player; a neat little piece that turned up as a bonus track on an CD I just aquired: Gods of the Earth by a metal group called The Sword. Actually, this unnamed cut is NOT typical of their work, which is pure thrash that's rather reminicent of early Black Sabbath, and has pagan/Norse inspired lyrics. I happen to catch a video of theirs on Headbanger's Ball on MTV2 last Saturday night. The cut was called "Maiden, Mother, and Crone", so I was intrigued of course. Anyway, I listened to some samples and decided to buy the whole thing. I chose this piece because it reminds me of a Celtic dance, so it seemed relevant to the subject. Hope you all enjoy it....
OK, moving onto the realm of of "this, that, and another thing"...... Did anyone else out there notice how the Hollwood writers' strike seemed to underline what a tedious toxic waste dump primetime TV has become? Or maybe it's been that way for a while and I just didn't have it pounded into my cerebral cortex so absolutely until now. I do admit I have my guilty pleasures: oh yes, we ALL know what a LOST nut I am, and of course there's "Boston Legal" which I think is a delightfully quirky hoot, and of course "American Idol" which can be amusing, if only to watch Paula Abdul and her idiotic so-called critiques, as opposed to Simon and his completely brutal but usually correct assesments. (Although, with Paula commenting on a song she hadn't even heard yet, you have to ask if the whole bloody show isn't completely rigged and the winners pre-determined), I have been known to sneak a peek at "Hell's Kitchen" to watch chef Ramsey verbally rake his poor cooking minions over the coals......but all in all, other than an occasional PBS drama or a show on the History Channel ( "The Universe" series is excellent!), TV has been a miserable slog through repeats, CSI and Law and Order clones, unfunny sitcoms and other such dreck. And don't even get me started on the commercials! The current top of my most hated list is the stupid and tasteless Gas-X blurb that manages to mention what seems like 83 three different terms for uh, "passing gas". YUCK! It's enough to put me off my kibble and get my blood pressure boiling as well. The upshot is that I think I'm going to ditch all but the bare-bones-basic cable TV services, and that only because I have crappy reception here and my TVs are both old and won't make the change to digital broadcast in 2009 without cable or a converter box. I will rent movies and TV programs via Netflix, which is a pretty good service, tape the one or three shows I like and watch when I bloody well feel like it and bypass the dumb-ass commercials altogether. And that concludes today's rant.....and oh yes, there will be more!
Oh, and stay tuned.....I'm planning another of my marathon posts about LOST.....yeah, I know, I'm a sucker for that bit of fantasy. December 22 Merry Yule to one and all!I would like to take a brief moment to wish all of you out there in Blog Land a very merry Yule. Today is the Winter Solstice and the longest night of the year. In times gone by, this was the most important of the pagan holy days because at this point the days would start to become longer and thus was the start of the New Year. Many of our favorite Christmas customs originated from this pagan festival, such as kissing under the mistletoe, burning the Yule log, decorating in red and green, and the good old Christmas tree. As a Wiccan, I keep Yule in my own special way. My Yule log may be made by Duraflame and my Yule tree only three feet high and pre-lit, the pine boughs over the mantle may be fake and my wassail bowl Meyers rum in coffee, but still! I give thanks to my Goddess for this New Year She has given to unfold, and for the joy this lovely time of season brings and for the warmth I feel in my family and friends. I shall sit by my fire tonight and hug my dearest Ginger and bask in the blessings She has granted me. May the wonderful spirit of Yule fill you with promise and new beginings. Blessed Be one and all!
November 01 A blessed, if somewhat belated, Samhain to you!As usual, I was running a bit late with my annual Samhain post for this year. Still, the thought was there. Really, it was. Also as usual, it was a pretty quiet one around here, which is not surprising since my condo complex consists of very small 2 bedroom 2 bath units and everyone here is either single or retired, so no kids (Oh, CLEVER Sharon!) ergo, no trick-or-treaters. Hmmmmm, perhaps the pentagram wreath on the door had something to do with it as well? Naw.....couldn't be.
But of course Samhain AKA Halloween has everything to do with Celtic pagan customs, pentagram included. And NO, NO, NO, the inverted pentagram does not symbolize Satan! That was a construct of Anton LeVey and his Church of Satan in the 1960's and was taken up by heavy metal types a la Black Sabbath later. A pentagram is just a pentagram. A symbol to Wiccans and other neo-pagans of the four elements plus humans; a symbol of us living in harmony with nature. Oh, there are more than four elements you say? OK, smarty-pants, yes the periodic table has more than 100, but the traditional four elements correspond nicely with four states of matter: liquid (water), gas (air), solid (earth) and plasma (fire)....so there!
But I digress. Samhain is the last of the harvest festivals (Lughnasadh and Mabon are the others) and with it comes the end of the pagan year. It is considered a "dark" time, a time of endings and letting go, a time of waiting for the birth of the New Year at Yule. In the days before technology and industrialization, people were getting ready to hunker on down for the winter. The crops were all in, and men would be hunting to lay in a store of meat for the long chilly season. A perfect time for reflection and contemplation; for telling stories around the fire to while away the long nights.
It seems that most of the Halloween customs we have now grew out of Celtic rituals of honoring and remembering the dead. And placating and removing mischievous spirits, too, it seems. That's what giving out all that candy is about: by offering "treats" to the kiddies dressed up as goblins, etc, they were hoping not to be "tricked" and pestered by annoying spirits. Spooky stories also grew out of remembering the dead and dealing with phenomena they did not understand, such as swamp gas looking like ghosts flitting about.
I personally like to observe Samhain by calling to mind my loved ones who have passed into the next life and by letting go any crap I have accumulated over the year, old slights and hurt feelings, my miserable job in the Dungeon, my peculiar obsession with You Tube videos....whatever. The thing is, I gather them all up and scribble them on slips of paper and burn them to both realistically and symbolically let them go. Up in smoke, Baby. Poof! Goodbye! The principle here is the very important one of discard. In order to make room and prepare to accept the new, one must lose the death-grip on the past. And I choose my words carefully here. Because what it all really gets down to is the eternal cycle of death and rebirth. Death is not the end unless we decide to MAKE it the end. We let allow parts of us die, the parts that are no longer useful or healthy, and move on to new possibilities. So my Samhain blessing to you all is: May you have a wonderful and prosperous rebirth this season. Blessed be one and all. March 20 First Day of SpringWell, what do you know? The Spring Equinox has come once again, and with it the celebration of Ostara. The seed that germinated to life at Yule and grew roots at Imbolg has now popped up from the ground to meet the world. "Hello World!" is a good way to see Ostara. To me, it's always been about getting outside after the winter and enjoying the freshness and new flowers and the gentle warmth. Rebirth is the big theme here. That which died and lay dormant, has now "sprung" (Pun alert!) into new life. It is no surprise that Christians celebrate their most holy of celebrations, Easter, at this time of year. In the dead and reborn Christ, we have the essence this season of blessed renewal. The name "Easter" comes from Ostara, who was a Germanic pagan goddess of fertility.
The wheel of life is offering up one of its most lovely seasons: won't you go out and enjoy it? I certainly intend to make the most of Spring before we get into total heat lock-down. Spring is the shortest of the seasons here in the desert, and that makes it all the more precious. So a merry Ostara/Easter to one and all and Blessed Be. February 02 Merry ImbolgHow the time doth fly! It seems but a week or two ago Yule was upon us, and here it is Imbolg-tide again. Imbolg (for you of the non-pagan persuasion) is one of the cross-quarter days of the Wiccan calendar, lying at the midway point between Yule and Ostara (Spring equinox). It is associated with the waxing crescent moon; a time of recommitment to one's goals. If Yule is the gremination of the seed, then Imbolg is that seed taking root. It's time to carry out all those resolutions you started the year with, in other words.
Imbolg literally means "in the belly" in Gaelic, and refers to the ewes preparing to give birth to the spring lambs. It is a time of hope, for the promise of spring is begining to be seen in the arrival of the early flowers, the primroses and daffodils. Mother Earth is stirring from Her winter slumber, the days becoming visibly longer and the snow turning to rain. As the seed takes root, so must we lay our foundations for the year's work.
Have you decided to lose weight? Good! Stick with it. Decided to change jobs? Good, brush up that resume and do some research into a new job. Decide to strengthen a relationship or tend and prepare your garden; now is not so much a time for begining, it is a time of continuing.
So blessed be one and all, and may the roots for all your plans grow deep and strong, and in the fullness of time bear you sweet fruit. December 21 Merry Yule!Once again the Winter Solstice has come round and brought with it the celebration of Yule, the pagan New Year festival. Actually, many traditional Christmas customs come straight from Yule. The Christmas tree was a tradition among the Germanic pagans. Burning the Yule log and kissing under the mistletoe were borrowed from the Celtic people of of Britain and Ireland. I wrote a fairly good historical post last year if you want know more backstory, but this year I wanted to just wish one and all a merry Yule and a prosperous New Year. It's rather a nice coinsidence that this year's Yule and the new moon happen to fall on the same day since they are associated in pagan tradition. It's all about new beginings, folks. Here we have a fresh new cycle starting so let's see what we can do with it. Of course most New Year's resolutions end up being forgotten before February, but still. I think the answer is to start on small things, and just work on them a day or a week at a time. Pick one small project that can be done in a few hours or a day and DO IT! Don't worry about all the stuff that isn't completed yet. Keep plodding along that way and at the end of the year you will be surprised at how much has been accomplished. And that is more or less my New Year's resolution: to just nibble around the edges of all the house cleaning and organizing and the like I want to do until after while I see what a difference has been made.
So enjoy your New year everyone, and may whatever goals you have set for yourself be accomplished. Eventually. Blessed be to everyone, especially all my blog buddies. November 01 Merry SamhainActually, Samhain (as we of the Wicca persuasion refer to Halloween) was last night, but you know how it is: you mean to get around to a thing and then whoops! there goes the time. I was rather busy yestertady, not only did I have a few appointments and errands of the humdrum nature, but I had to get my little space ready for my Samhain (which is pronounced "sow-in" BTW) celebration.
I think that Samhain is my favorite holiday, perhaps even more than Yule. It has its roots in the religion of the pagan Celts of northern Europe, particularly Ireland. For them it was a time of honoring the dead who had passed that year, and since it was felt that on this night the veil between the physical world and the spirit world were exceptionally thin, they believed that the spirits needed to be placated with offerings from the last harvest, like apples, nuts and gourd fruits such as pumpkins. If not thus remembered, the spirits would come and play tricks or otherwise be an unpleasant nuisance. The whole community would gather at bonfires after sunset to pray and make their offerings, and later to sing and dance in merry celebration. You can see the basic framework of modern day Halloween traditions taking shape. Later, harvest festival traditions from other cultures were blended, like the children begging treats ( probably from the English Guy Fawkes Day celebrations) and wearing costumes to frighten evil spirits away.
Unfortunately, by the fourteenth century Samhain had also became associated in the minds of the Christian church with witchcraft and paganism, which they found evil and abhorrant. In order to stamp out these last vestiges of pagan belief, Samhain celebrations were completely outlawed and anyone suspected of withcraft was harshly punished, frequently by hanging or burning to death. This horror lasted for 300 years. By the eighteenth century, religion had taken a backseat to science and "reason", and lo and behold, out popped the old Samhain practices reborn as Halloween, from the Catholic All Hallows Eve. By this time, it was pretty much as we know it now, a fun night of ghost stories and costumes and parties, and of course the trick-or-treating kids.
Well, I feel fortunate because it get to have it all: I get a kick out of the little kids and their princess or Superman outfits, I love the all night spooky movies on the telly, and every year I try to steer clear of all that yummy candy I shouldn't be within 10 miles of. But I also have not forgotten the old ways, and the very spiritual side of Smahain. I have my blessed departed ones for whom I pray, and since Samhain is associated with the dark time before the new moon, the Balsamic phase, it is also a tme of endings and letting go of the old in order to make room for the new. It can be as gentle as the snake shedding its skin, or violent as the volcano erupting the lava that destroys all in its path but leaves behind the fertile soil for new growth. So I stood before my indoor bonfire (the fireplace) and symbolicaly burned things I wished to shed by writing them on scraps of paper and commiting them to the flames. And then a peaceful evening with my thoughts of the past.........Blessed be to one and all. September 23 Merry Mabon, evryone!Well here it is Mabon already. How the year flies by! Today's fall equinox marks the traditional harvest festival called Mabon by we of the Wiccan persuasion. It corresponds to the waning crescent moon phase and carries notes of both joy in sharing the fruits of the Goddess's bounty, but also a sort of wistfulness for the passing of the year. The trees are clothed in brilliant holiday reds and golds, but only for such a little while, giving way all too soon to bare branches and the coming winter.
This time of year tends to find me in a pensive mood. On one hand the brutal Arizona summer heat is pretty much over, the mornings are cool and the afternoons warm and pleasant. I feel released and rejuvinated. But on the other hand, another year has passed so very quickly, reminding me of my own life flowing ever faster like a leaf on a stream. I tend to look backwards more in autumn, remembering old friends and songs that marked my life way back when. I find myself getting all misty-eyed hearing "Crimson and Clover", remembering getting asked to dance by a high school crush. My first concert was Deep Purple in 1974. Making out to Cat Stevens. All sorts of long-ago petty triumphs and minor tragedies.
My life is very non-dramatic now and I like that very much. But I still think of past passions and lost loves and such, especially on these afternoons filled with long golden sunlight and ever-earlier sunsets. I am grateful for my contented little life, for my wonderful family, for my sweet little Ginger at my side. Ah, but now and again I long to wear those passionate reds and golds once more and dance as do the leaves, until carried by the stream to the final sea. Blessed be, one and all. I pray your harvest is ever abundant, and your memories ever golden.
and May 01 BeltaneFrom somewhere in the dark and murky depths of my memory comes this cheery little jingle ( please forgive the vulgarism!) : " Hooray! Hooray! The first of May: outdoor fucking begins today!"
And what, you may ask, does this have to do with the Wiccan feast of Beltane? Well, everything actually. In the dim and distant past, Beltane was celebrated with singing and dancing around bonfires followed by a literal orgy of sexual abandon. Any chidren born of this night's merry making were considered to be children of the God/dess, and specially blessed. The theme was fertility, plain and simple. To a people living on the edge of subsistance, fertility was a very important thing, be it animal, crop or human. A failure of any could doom the community. This feast, convieniently set in late spring midway between Spring equinox and Summer solstice is both a celebration and a prayer for that all-important fertility.
Many of our Mayday traditions still hint at its pagan past. Think about the Maypole and you don't have to be Sigmund Freud to see the obvious phallic worship implied. The sending of May baskets was originally an invitation to sex and/or marriage. In fact, among the Irish Celts Beltane was the day on which any people wishing to marry during that year held the ceremony. Imagine: everybody with the same anniversary. No excuses for hubby to forget, har har!
Anyway, continuing the plant analagy I used before, Beltane is the plant flowering to attract a mate. The young plant's struggles have all been solitary up to this point: to germinate, to root, to break the surface of the earth and sprout. It is now time for our little plant to become part of the plant community and become a mated pair. Ok, I'm not going to go all botanical on you and lecture on plant sex or turn all pompous and blather about all the sexual symbology implied in flowers. Hey, we're all big kids here, right? I will assume your imaginations can connect the dots.
Beltane is also associated with the waxing gibbous moon, which represents imminant change. Don't be surprised if feelings of love or a desire to be out of a relationship surface. Sometimes change can manifest in a desire to change jobs or move to a new location. Perhaps it may be as small as a real yen to redecorate the bedroom or plant new border flowers. But change is inevitable; go with it.
So I hope everyone enjoyed his/her weekend. And if any of you are tempted to a bit of nooky al fresco, please do it on a blanket. Ant bites on the bum are a real buzz kill. Blessed be one and all. March 21 OstaraToday is the vernal equinox, the first day of Spring and the Wicca celebration of Ostara. It is named for a Germanic spring/fertility goddess and where the term Easter comes from. Odd the the most sacred Christian holiday owes its name to a pagan goddess, but there it is. Anyway, Ostara is a very straight forward celebration of Spring and the associated ideas of renewal and flowering and the coming of warmth after the long winter. It is associated with the waxing quarter moon and is the begining of the astrological year with the sign of Aries the ram.
If you think in terms of a plant, Yule is the germination of the planted seed, Imbolg is the seed taking root, and Ostara is the seed's first shoot breaking the ground and into the upper world of the sun.
Actually, there is also included the concept of a crisis, or perhaps a better term might be crossroads. That plant has to take that first big step to venture out from the warm safe womb of the earth into the big scarey upper world and learn to stand on its own. For a person, Ostara represents a first step on any sort of journey. The idea (Yule) and planning stages (Imbolg) are done; time to DO something! Begin excercising, do that spring cleaning, start that new job, whatever. Like Nike says: Just Do It.
Anyway, Ostara is about a lot of fun stuff too. Springtime youthfulness (either actual or symbolic), and of course good old fertility. In most animals it is mating season, and even humans tend to feel a bit more randy than usual at this time of year. Enjoy! It is all part of the Goddess's gift of life. So whatever your faith, rejoice in the Spring's beauty and bounty. Take time to smell the flowers. Blessed be one and all.
December 21 Merry Yule!Glorious Yuletide greetings to all my friends in blog land. Today is the winter solstice, which marks the pagan festival of Yule, or New Year. It is represented by the new moon and has all the associations of new beginings, rebirth and renewal. Many of our common Christmas customs have roots in old pagan Yule traditions. The Christmas tree, for example, was a custom of the Germanic people of northern Europe. Queen Victoria's German husband Albert imported and popularized the Christmas tree of his homeland in mid 19th century England. The custom crossed over to America and the rest is history.
The feasting, burning of the Yule log, and holly and mistletoe all have their roots in pagan Yule celebrations. In fact the early Christian church seems to have moved it's celebration of the birth of Christ to displace and then replace pagan beliefs and practices with proper Christain ones.
The actual historical birth of Jesus was probably in the late spring. The shepherds who saw the star of Bethleham would not have been out with their flocks in the fields in midwinter. One Biblical scholar and scientist used calculations based on the planet Jupiter ( which he believed was the star of Bethleham) to arrive at a date of 17 April of the year 6 BC. (which, weirdly enough, is my birthday. Uh... the 17 April part, NOT the 6 BC!)
No matter. The underlying theme of both faiths is that of the miracle of birth and the joy of youth and renewal.
I think on that we can all agree. So today no matter waht your belief, I wish one and all a merry and generous Yule and a New Year full of oppertunities and prosperity. Blessed be.
October 31 SamhainTonight is the Wiccan festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in) which is at the same time the most popular and misunderstood of all the pagan Sabbats. Samhain is the final harvest, the last hurrah of the fertile season and a time of preparation for the long nights/short days of winter. It is a time of letting go of the past, a sort of spiritual cleansing necessary to be ready for the year's rebirth at Yule (winter solstice). Samhain is associated with the dark or Balsamic moon phase which has similar connotations of symbolic "death" preceding the the lunar rebirth at the new moon. Interesting that this year Samhain actually takes place during the Balsamic phase this month. By the way, Yours Truly was born during Balsamic phase, which may explain my fondness for reflection and (perhaps too much) backward-looking. Traditionally this was a night where the the veils between the land of the living and the dead were thin, and the spirits of those who had passed could contact their loved ones and visa-versa.
Unfortunately the mdieval Christian Church was not pleased with the pagan partying and the talking to the dead, so it was declared to be evil and sinful. Now is not the time to discuss the horrors perpetrated by the church on those they labeled witches; suffice it to say that even to this day many devout Christians consider Samhain (Halloween) somehow Satanic.
I think most of this comes from misunderstanding and perhaps a little fear. When we fear something we tend to either demonize it ("Halloween is about worshiping Satan") or trivialize it ("Halloween is about trick-or-treat and little kids dressing up"). I believe this is where the cartoon witch figure, the old hag with pointy hat and warts astride the broomstick comes from. When you can laugh at something, it is no longer a thing to be feared.
To me, Samhain is my favorite festival, better even than Yule. I love the crisp nights, the fall fruits like apples and pears, the smell of woodsmoke as people begin the use their fireplaces again. Also, the issue of "letting go" is very important to me since for so much of life that has been so difficult to do. So tonight I will write down all my little things that I need to release onto a slip of paper, and after a few prayers to the Lady and the Lord, I will burn them and so put them to "death". It is a symbolic act that allows me to put the past behind me and move on.
And since this is a time to remember and pray for those who have passed, I will remember with special prayers my angel doggy Beatrice, my beloved uncle Rob, my friend Chris, and my Grandma among others. Also remembered are of course some loved ones my friends have lost: Doc's lovely wife Annie, and Lamont's sweet daughter Angela of course, and Denise's Mum. So if you will, offer up in your own way a prayer or two for these lovely souls and any of your own beloved souls. All prayers are good, and God/dess hears them all.
So on the this dark and special evening, this old witch and her animal familiar Ginger wish you one and all a Good Night. Blessed be. )O( September 22 MabonMerry meet, all. Tonight is the fall equinox and the Wiccan feast of Mabon, the second harvest. It is associated with grains and fall fruits like apples and is a festival of thanksgiving. We Wiccans have three harvest-type festivals ( Lughnasa, Mabon, and Samhain) and are very big on giving thanks. And yes, there is a lesson there. I can always find so much for which to give thanks and it keeps me from getting too poor-little-me about what I don't have. Counting one's blessings is good practice, no matter what faith you follow.
Mabon is also associated with the last quarter moon, which represents the incorporation of new lessons into one's life. This can be a bit of a conflict, to open your mind to new things, especially since it tends to displace ideas that you have held long unquestioned, but that is the whole point of the excercise. Growth is never easy, but it is always necesssary.
So take a moment to give thanks for all the gifts you have of family and friends and love, and also for those tough lessons that make us better people. Blessed be, one all. August 05 LughnasaZounds! I can't believe I forgot to post a Lughnasa greeting! I better watch out or I'll be drummed out of the coven! Just kidding, I don't belong to a coven, I'm just one of those weird solo witches. Anyway, August 1st is the traditional celebration of Lughnasa, or Lammas, as the Christian church renamed it. It lies at the midway point between the Summer solstice and the Fall equinox and represents the first harvest. The traditional offerings are bread and grains, and it is a time for sharing your particular "harvest" with others. Whatever it is you have gained, learned, achieved, etc, it is certain you did not do it alone. So-- share your wealth! Give back to those who shared with you. Listen to a freind, volenteer at an animal shelter, open your home to friends and family for a "just because" get-together.
Lughnasa is associated with the waning gibbous moon phase, the "disseminating" phase. We see the summer passing into fall, the days becoming ever so slightly shorter, and by celebrating with others, we celebrate ourselves, and the turning cycles of season, which mirrors our lives. May your personal harvest be rich and plentiful, and may you always have loved ones to share in it with you! Blessed be one and all.
 June 21 Summer SolsticeMerry Meet, one and all. Today is the Wiccan celebration of Litha, or summer solstice to all you non-pagans out there. You know who are. |
It corresponds to full moon phase (Kinda neat how there is actually a full moon this year. Well, almost. It's really tomorrow, but hey, close enough) and like the sun's light completely reflected, Litha brings ideas, actions and enterprises to their fullest awareness or fruition. It has special meaning to me this year. When I first started this blog, I had no idea whwere I was going with it. Didn't even know if I would take the effort to keep it up. Well sports fans, I here to tell you I am so very glad I did. After much shy self-conciousness, I finally decided to reach out and lo and behold, I am connected. I have met some very cool blog friends, and I'm buying a wonderful original oil painting from one of them. Yep, I would say the seeds of my writing have blossomed into something that has enriched my life greatly. I think reaching out my fellow beings here on Planet Weird is what makes all the nuttiness all worthwhile. I will remember this lesson when I thank the Goddess tonight for all the blessings she has granted me. May you all be blessed in such a joyous fashion. Blessed be. 
|
|
