For a brief moment twice a year at the spring and fall equinox the sun shines equally over the northern and southern hemispheres. In March we in the north embrace the return of spring as the earth thaws and planting begins, yet our supermarket produce bins sport apples, squashes, and other delights of the fall […]
As the days grow longer, hibernating nature begins to stir. Indoors, long green stalks grow from narcissus bulbs and unfold into delicate white stars bursting with heady perfume. In the gray world outside, sparrows flit from bird feeder to hedge where a red cardinal, nature’s valentine, hunkers. Soon the ground hog will emerge and give […]
Here in Boston, Massachusetts, the December sun, on its low path across the sky, slips past in a mere nine hours leaving us with fifteen hours of darkness. I am greedy for the light. I long for it to fill me and lift me into the brighter world of joy that the holiday carols promise. […]
The equinox is a “still point of the turning world” (Cynthia Bourgeault, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening 67). It is a pause between the effulgent explosion of growth fueled by the long days of summer and the empty fields and long nights of autumn. It is a time to gather in the harvest, all that […]
by Melody Lee, co-creator August 1, the ancient Celtic festival of Lughnasa is the cross quarter day between the summer solstice and fall equinox. It is a celebration of the first fruits of the harvest, a time to eat the first meal of the new crop year. Máire MacNeill in The Festival of Lughnasa notes […]
Welcome long-awaited Spring! We hope you found a way to celebrate her arrival on May Day. Even if you were unable to attend a celebratory bonfire this year, there is still plenty of time to embrace the season’s inherent opportunities for growth, and to use your spiritual fire to light yourself from within and shine […]
After what has seemed at times to be an interminable winter, we welcome the coming of spring and the vernal equinox. Everything in the natural world is revived after a long winter of hibernation. Vernal Equinox translates literally from Latin as Spring Equal Night. As light and dark come into in balance, we recognize this […]
Ancient people lived in close relationship with nature. In their seasonal rituals, they aligned their energy with natural forces and together turned the Wheel of the Seasons, moving it from one to another. To turn the Wheel – to go on to the next season, we must first let go of where we are. But […]
In Irish and Scots Gaelic, Samhain is the name for the month of November. It is a Celtic tradition to honor one’s ancestors during this time. A few years ago I began placing pictures of deceased family members on my altar around Halloween. Now I leave their pictures up until I am ready to decorate […]
The 2014 September equinox is upon us, occurring on the 22nd or 23rd, depending on where you are located on the globe. The Universal Coordinated Time comes on September 23, at 2:29 p.m. EDT. We experience a day and night of equal duration; a unique moment of balance in nature. In the Northern Hemisphere, it […]
