Love is the vital essence that pervades and permeates, from the center to the circumference, the graduating circles of all thought and action. Love is the talisman of human weal and woe — the open sesame to every soul.— Elizabeth Cady StantonIf you have been a regular reader here in past years, you know that … Read more
Ladies fair, I bring to youLavender with spikes of blue;Sweeter plant was never foundGrowing on our English ground.— Caryl Battersby, 1896 The medicinal properties of lavender are well-known, tried and true for many centuries. But I also love it for its more subtle, equally powerful gifts. I know lavender to be an intimate friend, teacher … Read more
Summer Invocationby Trish Telesco Fireflies and summer sunin circles roundwe become as one.Singing songs at magick’s hourwe bring the windsand timeless powers.Turning inward, hand in handwe dance the hearthto heal the land. Standing silent, beneath the skywe catch the fire from out God’s eye.Swaying breathless, beside the seawe call the Goddessso mote it be!
As the sun spirals its longest dance,Cleanse us!As nature shows bounty and fertilityBless us!Let all things live with loving intentAnd to fulfill their truest destiny.— from a Wiccan Summer Blessing (as reported by the BBC) Happy Litha (Summer Solstice) to those of us in the northern hemisphere, and Happy Yule to our friends below the … Read more
(June 20 – July 22)Cancer is the sign of the Summer Solstice, the beginning of the warmest season of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also the birth sign of the United States of America. Cancer is the first water sign of the Zodiac, (making it a cardinal sign), and forms its identity … Read more
I must go seek some dewdrops hereAnd hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.Farewell, thou lob of spirits;I’ll be gone: Our queen and all our elves come here anon.— From A Midsummer Night’s Eve, by William Shakespeare Today is the last day of Spring. Today, go outside, taste the rich fruit that has come of … Read more
No price is set on the lavish summer;June may be had by the poorest comer. — James Russell Lowell, The Vision of Sir Launfall This week, we reach one of the major holidays of the year, when the Sun’s arcing path across our skies reaches its highest, or lowest point, depending on which hemisphere you … Read more
Lord Oberon – King of Wands,from The Fantastical Creatures Tarot,© D.J. Conway, Lisa HuntIt is by yonder thorn that I saw the fairy host(O low night wind, O wind of the west!)My love rode by, there was gold upon his brow,And since that day I can neither eat nor rest. — from The Fairy Lover, … Read more
Foxglove, Foxglove,What do you see? The cool green woodland, the fat velvet bee; Hey, Mr Bumble, I’ve honey here for thee! Foxglove, Foxglove,What see you now?” The soft summer moonlight On bracken, grass, and bough; And all the fairies dancing As only they know how. ~ The Song of the Foxglove Fairy, by Cecily M. … Read more
In some mysterious way, woods have never seemed to me to be static things. In physical terms, I move through them; yet in metaphysical ones, they seem to move through me.— John FowlesThe daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere slowly, almost imperceptibly, grow longer. But the Moon now fades, and we move towards Her dark … Read more