Happy Thanksgiving!
“Don’t it always seem to go that ya don’t know what ya got till it’s gone?” Joni Mitchell None of our lives are perfect, but they are precious. And so… “Say thank you till you mean it.” Melody Beattie
Category: Wheel of the Year
Samhain Greetings
The Season to Remember
Northwest Fall Equinox Festival 2012
We just returned from a healing weekend in the woods with about 100 of our friends. We returned recharged, rejuvenated, and refreshed. Part of the magic was the setting—an old growth forest and a trickling creek so full of clean, vibrant energy that it almost did the ritual for us. The place was so still that we could hear the creek softly burbling along about 50 feet from our cabin. And did I mention the stars? Ever so many and ever so bright in a clear black sky. Since I’m working on The Star tarot card for this blog, I was especially moved by their message of hope and inspiration. Another part of it was the people. We have attended NWFEF for the past twenty years and have made friends that we usually only get to see at the festival. There were also family members and other friends there. We moved from one hug to the next, caught up on everyone, and basked in the… Read More »
St. John’s Wort: the Gift of Summer Solstice
It’s Summer Solstice, the longest day. According to The Old Farmer’s 2012 Almanac, today the sun will rule the sky for 15 hours and 18 minutes. It’s time for our Summer Solstice trip to Marine Drive, where we will hunt the wild St. John’s wort, Hypericum perferatum. It’s flowers, glorious tiny sunbursts, are just coming into bloom. This is the traditional herb of Midsummer and, like the midsummer sun, it is full of good medicine. It grows best in freshly disturbed soil beside rivers, paths, and roads. Both my husband and I can spot it from the car at speeds often exceeding fifty miles per hour. This is no small feat, since there are many other yellow flowered plants in bloom at this time of year. St. John’s wort is considered an invasive weed in Oregon and it’s illegal to grow it, but no matter how hard they try to eradicate it, we are always able to find it. Once we’ve spotted a likely patch,… Read More »
Happy Beltane!
Spring is bursting out in Portland. The flowers are amazing this year. We have a huge, century-old Gravenstein apple tree in our back yard that usually puts out a few blossoms every year just to remind us that it really is an apple tree. This year it was covered in pinkish white froth and smelled divine. Flowers always remind me of Beltane 2007, which I spent in Glastonbury, England at Chalice Well Gardens. We stayed at the Chalice Well guesthouse, so I was in the gardens as much as possible, drinking the healing waters, meditating, and admiring the flowers. The Gardens have an immense presence and vitality composed of the combined spirits of its plants, insects, spiders, fungi, and bacteria. It’s almost palpable. One morning as I was meditating and playing in the powerful energy lines that pass through the Garden, I heard a faint hum. I opened my eyes and saw a bee, hovering so close to my face that my eyes almost crossed.… Read More »
“Hooray for February”
February is a most under-appreciated month. It’s bleak, bitter, and host to some of the worst weather of winter. It doesn’t even get its full monthly measure of days. This year is a leap year, so it has 29 days instead of its usual 28. Its name comes from the Latin, februa, which are purifications and expiatory rites. The February calendar is full of them. But Alison Skelton, a witch/shaman/artist/writer/friend from Victoria, BC, does have some nice things to say about February, and I thought I’d share them with you. “Hooray for February! I’m sure that is not a common sentiment, particularly for those who are still ensconced in snow and ice. As a Wiccan and a Shamanic practitioner I cannot help but be aware of how our human psyche is so very connected with what is experienced in nature. Nature is our teacher, our healer and our spiritual sustenance. So take heart, for the spirit of Februa is with us, and brings love, increasing… Read More »
Imbolc, Brigid, and Temperance
February 1st or 2nd , depending on who you talk to, is the Festival of Imbolc, or first light. This is the time of year when we begin to notice that yes, indeed, the days are getting longer. Bulbs are beginning to push up green spikes, and the snowdrops are in full bloom. It is a time of anticipation, new beginnings, and inspiration. Imbolc probably derives from the Old Irish i mbolg “in the belly”, which refers to the fact that this is the start of lambing time in Ireland and the rest of Europe. It is also a perfect metaphor for the season. The year is pregnant with the coming of the sun, which brings new growth. At this festival pagans honor Brigid: goddess of water and fire, wells and forges, healing and inspiration, smith craft and childbirth. I see the angel on the Temperance tarot card as a perfect representation of Brigid. He/she stands between two opposing forces and works to reconcile them… Read More »
Wishing You a Warm and Wonderful Winter Solstice
Out of the darkness and cold… Comes light and hope.
Happy Thanksgiving
“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” [Cicero]
What Happens When You Die?
Several years ago I was relaxing on a sunny hillside at the Northwest Fall Equinox Festival. The ground was still warm with summer’s heat and autumn’s soft, golden sunshine was baking my bones. As I drifted into sleep I thought how marvelous it was to be alive at this time of year. A hand pressed down on my shoulder. I jolted awake and looked up into the grinning, vaguely crazed face of my friend Blythe. “What happens when you die?” she said. I swallowed the obvious answer of “I haven’t a clue, but if you continue to wake people out of a sound sleep with that question you will soon find out,” and just stared at her. Blythe has a closer relationship with death than most of us. Over ten years ago she was diagnosed with a weird form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and decided against treating it with radiation and chemotherapy. Instead, she follows a spiritual path that includes a regular quigong practice. She’s doing… Read More »