Little Summer Poem Touching the Subject of Faithby Mary Oliver Every summerI listen and lookunder the sun’s brass and eveninto the moonlight, but I can’t hear anything, I can’t see anything —not the pale roots digging down, nor the green stalks muscling up,nor the leavesdeepening their damp pleats, nor the tassels making,nor the shucks, nor … Read more
Our hands will work for peace and justiceOur hands will work to heal the landGather ’round the harvest tableLet us feast and bless the land. Lughnassadh (often pronounced “LOO-nahs-ah”) or the Anglo-Saxon “Lammas,” is one of the Greater Sabbats and honors the First Harvest. In agricultural traditions throughout the Northern Hemisphere, this marks the start … Read more
Shiva-Shakti © Goddess GiftThis is the night to join the Dance,Partake in all-renewing trance;Where worlds within and out are One,Our sacred journey now begun. from Samhain Round © Mark Hirschhorn Today is astronomical Samhain. That’s because at 8:04 last night (Eastern Standard Time), we reached the exact mid-point between Equinox and Solstice, which is why … Read more
The Mexican, in contrast, is familiar with death. (He) jokes about it, caresses it,sleeps with it, celebrates it. It is one of his favorite toys and his most steadfast love. — Octavio Paz (1914 – 1998) Nobel Laureate for Literature, 1990 In many parts of Mexico, the Day of the Dead is observed on more … Read more
In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.— William Blake Euphrosyne is our guide as we celebrate the harvest season and prepare for Winter’s barren time. Now, on the waxing young Moon, is a great time to start batches of magical potpourri to sweeten the closed-in Winter home in the days ahead. The … Read more
The Harvest – Vincent Van GoghThe true harvest of my life is intangible –a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched. — Henry David Thoreau Euphrosyne is our guide as we celebrate the harvest season and prepare for Winter’s barren time. In light of the way events are moving in … Read more
These three ways lead to the heavens:asserting the truth,not yielding to anger,and giving…— Dhammapada, verse 224 Right now, if I get one more email that’s fairly vibrating with fear and anger regarding the economy, Sarah Palin, John McCain, and on and on, I think I might have a case of the vapors. Yes, I am … Read more
The Harvest MoonTed Hughes(1930 – 1998)The flame-red moon, the harvest moon,Rolls along the hills, gently bouncing,A vast balloon,Till it takes off, and sinks upwardTo lie on the bottom of the sky, like a gold doubloon.The harvest moon has come,Booming softly through heaven, like a bassoon.And the earth replies all night, like a deep drum. So … Read more
Autumn Equinox Ritual21 September 1997Indiana Pagan Resource Network Lamplight glimmers in darkened roomsAnd you fold your hands across a swelling bellyCradling the fruits of your labor.The rich scent of new-mown hay, the dark Earth beneath itWhere seeds that fall soon deeply sleepHere as we move towards the darkness of SamhainThe shadow that brings the light … Read more
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. — Douglas Jerrold (1803-1857) Over this weekend, I suggest that you to prepare for the brilliant, loving energy of the coming Harvest Moon. These are the last few days of the increasing Moonlight, a time of expansion … Read more