Beauteous flowers why do we spreadUpon the monuments of the dead?Nothing they but dust can show,Or bones that hasten to be so.Crown me with roses whilst I live —Now your wines and ointments give;After death I nothing crave,Let me alive my pleasures have!All are Stoics in the grave. — Anacreaon (554 – 469 B.C.E.) Roses … Read more
Artist unknown Fairy Songby Sir Walter Scott What I am I must not show What I am thou couldst now know Something betwixt heaven and hell Something that neither stood nor fell Something that through thy wit or willMay work thee goodMay work thee ill. Neither substance quite, nor shadow,Haunting lonely moor and meadow,Dancing by … Read more
A green tendril weaves through the fabric of time. When animal life first pushed up from the mud of chaos, simple plants were already there to welcome us into the web of life. — from Mugworts in May, by Linda Ours Rago From Beltane to Midsummer, the Faery Kingdom celebrates the intense, growing delight of … Read more
So sweet a changeling – Arthur Rackham The Changelingby Charlotte Mew Toll no bell for me, dear Father dear Mother,Waste no sighs;There are my sisters, there is my little brotherWho plays in the place called Paradise, Your children all, your children for ever;But I, so wild,Your disgrace, with the queer brown face, was never,Never, I … Read more
For the May Day is the great day,Sung along the old straight track.And those who ancient lines did leyWill heed this song that calls them back. Pass the word and pass the lady,Pass the plate to all who hunger.Pass the wit of ancient wisdom,Pass the cup of crimson wonder. — Cup of Wonder, from Songs … Read more
Trumpets and violins, I can hear in the distanceI think they’re callin’ our name.Maybe now you can’t hear them,But you will, if you justTake hold of my hand.Oh, but are you experienced?Have you ever been experienced?Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful.— Jimi Hendrix, dead at age 28 of prescription drug overdose We are considering one of … Read more
This is the Wolf Moon, Quiet Moon, Snow Moon,Cold Moon, and also called the Chaste MoonLet the waters settleyou will see stars and moonmirrored in your Being.— Rumi We are considering one of the gifts bestowed upon us by the youngest of the Graces, Aglaia. The Grace of splendor and beauty, She awakens the Serpent … Read more
ITHAKAby Constantine P. Cavafy (1911) When you set out on your journey to Ithaka,pray that the road is long,full of adventure, full of knowledge.The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,the angry Poseidon — do not fear them:You will never find such as these on your path,if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fineemotion touches your spirit and … Read more
Creativity comes from awakening and directing men’s higher natures, which originate in the primal depths of the universe and are appointed by Heaven.— I Ching Yesterday, I wrote that in some Hermetic magickal traditions, Aglaia is the Grace who calls forth the Serpent-fire, or the Secret Fire that is the kundalini energy of fully aroused … Read more
InspirationMove me brightly,Light the song with sense and colorHold away despair. — Robert Hunter The Graces, also called the Charites (sometimes spelled Kharites), are three beautiful daughters of Zeus, the supreme ruler of Olympus. Their mother was the sea-nymph Eurynome, daughter of the Titan Oceanus. The Graces, then, would be related to Zeus’ other children, … Read more