Demeter For, after all, put it as we may to ourselves, we are all of us from birth to death guests at a table which we did not spread. The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet…. Shall we think of this day as a chance to come nearer … 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
Sleeping In The Forest Mary Oliver I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly, arranging her dark skirts, her pockets full of lichens and seeds. I slept as never before, a stone on the riverbed, nothing between me and the white fire of the stars but my thoughts, and they floated … Read more
Our stories lie down in the orchard, their time is not now, but something is coming, something is going away. They rise to the stars, and wait to be told. There are listeners who know how little we know, how much we are feeling. We had to go our own way, a little off course, … Read more
This is the last day of the month, and so is sacred to the great Triple Goddess, Hecate. On this day, we honor the Her as Queen of the Night and the Goddess of Witches. Hecate is a protector of women, mighty advocate for the disenfranchised, and She who guards the crossroads. It is She … Read more
School Prayer by Diane Ackerman, from I Praise My Destroyer In the name of the daybreak and the eyelids of morning and the wayfaring moon and the night when it departs, I swear I will not dishonor my soul with hatred, but offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature, as a healer of misery, … Read more
Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that’s where I renew my springs that never dry up. — Pearl Buck I have noticed that more and more people seem to find it impossible to unplug, to allow silence, and to be alone with themselves. This is very sad, and is tied, … Read more
For Mark (1950-2002) Heron Rises From The Dark, Summer Pond by Mary Oliver So heavy is the long-necked, long-bodied heron, always it is a surprise when her smoke-colored wings open and she turns from the thick water, from the black sticks of the summer pond, and slowly rises into the air and is gone. Then, … Read more
Scraps of Moon by Denise Levertov (1923-1997) from This Great Unknowing Scraps of moon bobbing discarded on broken water but sky-moon complete, transcending all violation Here she seems to be talking to herself about the shape of a life: Only Once All which, because it was flame and song and granted us joy, we thought … Read more
Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action. — Mahatma Gandhi In case you have never used a rosary, mala, or other prayer bead tool (I certainly had not when I first made mine), the idea is to construct a circle or line … Read more