And I myself will teach my rites, that hereafter you may reverently perform them and so win the favor of my heart.— Hymn to Demeter, attributed to Homer This week’s Full Moon was a powerful one in many, many cultures and traditions. In the ancient world, it is the Moon during which the Eleusinian Mysteries … Read more
Nature contains Nature,Nature rejoices in her own nature,Nature surmounts Nature;Nature cannot be amended but in her own nature. — Secret Teachings of All Ages, by Manly Palmer Hall (1901-1990) With Euphrosyne as our guide, plus a special visit this week from the Queen of Pentacles, we move deeper into the harvest and ancestor festival season. … Read more
Were we like the Fays That sweetly nestle in the foxglove bell. — H. Coleridge (1796-1849) From Beltane to Midsummer, the Faery Kingdom celebrates the intense, growing delight of Spring. With the guidance of Thalia, we are exploring the relationships between the Faery realms and flowers. Although I have warned you that the faeries are … Read more
I arise todayThrough the strength of HeavenLight of SunRadiance of MoonSplendor of FireSpeed of LightningSwiftness of WindDepth of SeaStability of EarthFirmness of Rock. — commonly known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate, but also believed to be the far older Druid Deer’s Cry Invocation As I’ve been discussing, the evidence is overwhelming that time spent in Nature … Read more
Spring’s Arrival © Willow Arlenea Psalm 66from Earth Psalmsby Angela Magara Shout, shout with joy.Shout for the honor that is Life. Shout the greatness of this world. And the pleasure and pain of it.Ring the Universe with gratitude.For bulbs do burst to flowers and Seeds spring to life without labor,Enfolded in Time’s cloak.As do we. … Read more
The great queen of heaven, Inanna, I will hail!The only one, come forth on high, I will hail!The pure torch that flares in the sky,The heavenly light shining bright like the day,The great queen of heaven, Inanna, I will hail!Of her standing in the sky like the sun and moon,Known by all lands from south … Read more
Crazed, lying in a zero circle, mute,We shall be saying, finally,With tremendous eloquence, Lead us.When we have totally surendered to that beauty,We shall be a mighty kindness.— Rumi Now we settle into the quiet, dark time out of time; the time between Solstice and the New Year, or else Twelfth Night. These are the Halcyon … Read more
This is the 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 dissect Time to the nanosecond. Instead, they had to figure by their keen observation, by dead reckoning, by the plants and animals, … Read more
Mother Kali, Mother Kali,Mother of the world-transformingand world-illuminingFiery Dance,O Mother, You are at once the destruction-floodOf Concern-Light and Compassion-OceanFor our heart’s aspiration-flame.— Sri Chinmoy We stand today on the threshold of the New Moon of Samhain, the doorway to the darkest time of our Northern Hemisphere year. From now until Yule, Winter Solstice, the days … Read more
To my dear children: Give praise for the beautySay the names of birds, of trees, sons and daughters, with highest honor. Extol the lands and the seas between. Give praise with your exhaled breath, Honor and magnify the sweetness of the next.It is our honor to live in this time.We know grace in the possibilities … Read more