Dark shepherdess of many a golden star, Dost see me, Mother Night? ~ From The Electra of Euripides Hail and Merry Meet on this Eve of the Winter Solstice. This is the great celebration of Mother Night. As far as we know, our ancestors did not have atomic clocks or satellites to help them … Read more
As we approach the longest Solstice Night, the Mother Night, we give thanks and bless all that is dark. We heal with our intention “darkness” from its racial wounds and fear spells, and we give honor and praise to the Dark Mother, the Mother of us all. ~ B. A Prayer for Endarkenment by Dr. … Read more
Sonnets to Orpheus, Part Two, XXIX Rainer Maria Rilke (from In Praise of Mortality, translated and edited by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy) Quiet friend who has come so far, feel how your breathing makes more space around you. Let this darkness be a bell tower and you the bell. As you ring, what batters … Read more
O Lady Of Mourning we call to Thee By the Cauldron of Hidden Sight O Lady of Keening we call to Thee By the Wings of Endless Flight O Lady of Wisdom we call to Thee By the Cave as dark as Night Cailleach, Crone, Beloved Guardian of the Ford Night Mother, Lover and Wise … Read more
As you may know, on the last day of each month, I give honor to the Goddess Hecate. For once, this last day of our solar calendar month syncs up with the last night of the lunar month, and the dark of the Moon. What could be a better, more authentic time to give honor … Read more
The walls between the worlds are thinned; The Gods’ might is at its peak, The wights and the dead walk freely among the living. Let us remember them on this Mother Night. — from a Heathen rite posted on the Internet some years ago, original source unknown. This is the Eve of the Winter Solstice. … Read more
For Light by John O’Donohue (1956-2008) from To Bless the Space Between Us Light cannot see inside things. That is what the dark is for: Minding the interior, Nurturing the draw of growth Through places where death In its own way turns into life. In the glare of neon times, Let our eyes not be … Read more
Blessed is your gift of the Winter, The icy winds that sweep clean the world; The bare trees that reveal the glittering stars; Silent roots growing deep within the land; Sleeping, resting, going within; The surrender to the dreaming dark. For much of my life, I dreaded Winter. My anticipation of its awful dark and … Read more
I am reprinting renowned astrologer Lynn Hayes’ post regarding today’s momentous astrological event. I love Lynn’s evaluations, because they are geeky enough to satisfy the “real” astrologers amongst us, and yet they make sense for those of us not schooled in the esoteric arts. Best of all, though, she is always able to point to … Read more
What shakes the eye, but the invisible? – Theodore Roethke In this final chapter of The Artist’s Way, as her bon voyage gift to us, Julia offers a bouquet of ideas. When we begin to understand our creativity in terms of it being a sacred conversation between our Divinity and our human selves, she emphasizes … Read more