Because I had to be awake early for work, on January 31, I saw the partial eclipse of the moon as she set just before dawn in Massachusetts. Wispy black clouds, tangible as lace, ethereal as smoke, like a widow’s veil, coursed across the glowing orange disc that grew larger and brighter as she sank […]
Reflections What lies dormant in the frozen ground? What lives beneath the thick ice of ponds? What hibernates in caves? In the northern hemisphere, the energy of life has left the surface of the world and gone underground. Winter solstice or Yule is the longest night that marks the boundary of the dark and the […]
Come for a walk between the worlds this Halloween, or Celtic Samhain (sow-en). Reflections Halloween, the Wiccan sabbat known as Samhain, marks the end of harvest and limits possibility. The growing world is dying. Withered leaves scratch a death knell as the wind drives them over rough pavement. This is the season of the crone, […]
Abundant Fall Blessings Happy homecoming! At fall equinox, we celebrate the return to school, work, church, and community connections, as earth comes into balance in its journey around the sun. The harvest is well underway and farmers’ markets are overflowing. However, this year at summer’s end, we humans in North America are roiling in the […]
Reflections Heat! The fully stoked engines of the sun are charging full steam ahead into harvest. We are at summer’s midpoint, and while the heat is at its most intense, the hours of daylight begin to visibly decline. Vegetables, grains, and fruits ripen in the fields and orchards. For those of us who live in […]
Musings from a Beach House Halloo to summer! Wild roses and daisies festoon sandy paths that meander near the ocean’s edge and carry me down from my cottage to the beach. I want to explode in joy as I play tag with the incoming tide and watch tiny translucent beach hoppers jump about the sand […]
Welcome Merry May! Juicy, open-wombed May beckons to Jack-in-the-Green, “Come hither my love.” May Eve invites us to stay awake all night to witness the first bird calls of dawn. The world is created anew, year after year, as if for the first time. When last I wrote, the lawn beneath my window was dotted […]
Reflections Happy spring! When I look at the windswept landscape outside my window with its hillocks of dirty snow slowly melting into patches of green dotted with egg shaped pelts of ice, I see the butt end of winter. To aid my faltering imagination, I head to Trader Joe’s to buy daffodils flown over from […]
Reflections At midwinter in the northern hemisphere, hints of life appear as the frozen dark gives way to returning light. February 2 has many names. Ground Hog’s Day, Candlemas, St. Bridget’s Day, and Imbolc (IM-bulk) the ancient Celtic holiday that marked the birthing of lambs and the return of the goddess Bridget. The flower of […]
Reflections The winter solstice marks the boundary of darkness. This far it may go, but no farther. This time of short days and long nights draws us indoors to be cozy and warm in our own houses, but also reminds us to lend a helping hand to those who lack the basics of food and […]
