First Stirrings of Spring — Welcome Imbolc With Imbolc (im – blk), or Candlemas, on February 2, we reach the mid-point between the December solstice and the March equinox. Life begins its slow, quivering rise north flowering in swathes of blue bonnets in the hills of Texas and shyly appearing in snow drops in Massachusetts. […]
Welcome Solstice Light At the December solstice, the sun is directly above the farthest point south of the equator it ever reaches, giving those of us in the northern hemisphere short days and those of us in the southern hemisphere long ones. The earth’s slow tilt from north to south and back again pauses at […]
Welcome to the intersection of time and eternity! Blessed Samhain (sow-en). Thankfully, in Gaelic this word is the name for the month of November since for me Halloween slipped by in an after-senior-flu-shot malaise. October 31 is a day out of time, the extra day in the ancient Celtic calendar, which is the source of […]
On the first day of fall, a white butterfly hovers over the wildflowers in the abandoned lot behind my house as I heat a cup of tea in the microwave. END the light flashes on the digital display as the buzzer sounds. Shaken out of my summer reverie, I’m jolted into recognition that the sun […]
Summer is well underway. A profusion of daylilies, sunflowers, gladiolas and sweet peas, brighten city sidewalks and gardens as they bake under the blazing fury of the sun with its enervating heat. For many contemporary people in Europe and America, August 1, marks the beginning of summer vacation, not a reckoning that we have come […]
Peonies, roses, and a full June moon trill the senses with triple delight. The sun has pushed us to its boundary in the northern hemisphere. Summer solstice has come. There is a bird outside my window that warns me of the sun’s advent around 3 AM every morning—way too much of an early bird for […]
In Memory of Dorothy Emerson On the Saturday before Mother’s Day, my phone rang. It was Dorothy. I was about to fix dinner, and almost didn’t pick up intending to call back later, but instead I pressed the green button and Dorothy’s familiar voice greeted me on the other end of the line. We chatted […]
Bring in the May with joy! The ancient Celtic name for May 1, the mid-point between the spring equinox and summer solstice, is Beltane in honor of the sun god Bel. As the sun quickens the earth to life, human passions run high. All-night festivities and hill top bonfires are traditional in northern Europe on […]
With the advent of spring, we emerge from deep-in-the belly womb-time into the light of day. In New England the drum roll of March pushing against the dark and reclaiming a beachhead for light has come with snow and frigid temperatures awakening the beast of winter rather than maiden crocuses. The wheel of the year […]
In the bleak midwinter, Brigit comes Reflections Gradually light is returning to the northern hemisphere. On February 2, we celebrate Brigit, the Celtic goddess of healing, fire, and poetry, and also Candlemas, the Christian holiday which marks the official end to the Christmas season. Down comes the wreath from the door, and up goes the […]
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