Money is, in some respects, life’s fire: it is a very excellent servant, but a terrible master.— P.T. Barnum As we move this week to the threshold that brings the dark time of the year to the Northern Hemisphere, and the great harvest celebrations, we naturally consider the meaning of abundance in our lives. For … Read more
The problem of money dogs our steps throughout the whole of our lives, exerting a pressure that, in its way, is as powerful and insistent as any other problem of human existence. And it haunts the spiritual search as well. Jacob Needleman, Money and the Meaning of Life This weekend, we will be celebrating the … Read more
©J.J. Joyce – Serenity God(dess) grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,courage to change the things we can,and wisdom to know the difference.— attributed to Dr. Rheinhold Niebuhr How do we begin to understand the difference? The idea of surrender and acceptance is difficult for most people in our culture. This … Read more
If you’re an asker, you’ll be a knower:Poetry’s knotty and wily –The riddles you hear are windows,And the door is enquiry…– Gofraidh Fionn O Dalaigh There is certainly a fair bit of hoopla going on in the mundane world about today’s lucky numbers. So I thought I would suspend our exploration of the Ruby Realms, … Read more
Summer set lip to earth’s bosom bare,And left the flushed print in a poppy there.— Francis Thompson (1859-1907)Like those moments when other riders are climbing on and off of a Ferris wheel, we have slowly come to the very top of our ride and pause here for a few moments more. We know the descent … Read more
The young maid stole through the cottage door,And blushed as she sought the Plant of pow’r; —“Thou silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light,I must gather the mystic St. John’s wort tonight,The wonderful herb, whose leaf will decideIf the coming year shall make me a bride.”— Old German St. John’s Eve divination spell Today is … Read more
White coral bells Upon a slender stalk, Lilies of the Valley Deck my garden walk. Oh, don’t you wish That you could hear them ring? That will happen only when the faeries sing.— For my brothers, sisters, and the Dragons of MMT –- Did you stay up last night to dance and sing with the … Read more
Amazing Grace, how sweet the EarthThat birthed a Witch like me.I once was burned, now I surviveWas hanged, but now I’m free. T’was grace that drew down the MoonAnd grace that raised the sea,The magic of our people’s willWill set our Mother free. Rejoice! Rejoice! Blessings of Litha! May the children of Earth awaken, rise … Read more
Over hill, over dale, Thorough bush, thorough brier, Over park, over pale, Thorough flood, thorough fire, I do wander everywhere, Swifter than the moon’s sphere; And I serve the fairy queen, To dew her orbs upon the green. The cowslips tall her pensioners be: In their gold coats spots you see; Those be rubies, fairy … Read more
Up the airy mountain,Down the rushy glen,We daren’t go a-huntingFor fear of little men;Wee folk, good folk,Trooping all together;Green jacket, red cap,And grey cock’s feather!— William Allingham (1824–1889) In every culture throughout human history, there are legends of beings who resemble us, but who are not precisely human. Besides the familiar European faery races, as … Read more