Making Light: Thar-jellybean

April 23, 2013 By 2 Comments
2yy1axf

I have spring fever something bad this year. This is my first spring with the new house and the new baby, and I can't stay inside. I'm planting all the things in the garden. There's a raised garden in the shadier side yard for lettuce, broccoli, and other edible shoots and roots and sun-loving plants in containers for now. I can't not plant things in the ground, and living in an apartment is hugely stifling when you want to get your hands in the dirt on a regular basis. It's getting close to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arts, Crafts & Cooking, Columns, Family & Household Practice, Holidays, Making Light, Recipes, Ritual and Practice Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Gateway Goddess: Interfaith Family Ties Blossom from Ostara to Easter

March 27, 2013 By 8 Comments
Easter Dress

I have an Easter dress. This is the first time since high school I've chosen one. I've visited Christian churches for special occasions. But I'm a visitor only. I get restless as a toddler sitting through the long sermons on uncomfortable pews. The hymns don't speak to me any more than does the idea that I need a sacrificial deity to save me from eternal damnation Thanks for the invitation to come again, but really, I just need to dance in the woods. So why the Easter dress? Why, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Columns, Editor's Picks, Family & Household Practice, Gateway Goddess, Holidays, Interfaith, Love, Sex & Relationships, Ritual and Practice Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 8 Comments

The Busy Witch: Balance Within and Without?

March 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Flowers

Listen. Hear that? The birds have started singing again, at least outside my window.  I’ve never been much of a bird lover before, but for some reason this season, birdsong has become one of my favorite sounds.  It’s soul-soothing, and charged with the magic and energy of the coming spring. The darker months have always been a challenge for me, even after moving to the south and discovering a winter where the sun still shines.  There’s just something about the season that slows … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Columns, Holidays, Nature, Ritual and Practice, The Busy Witch Tagged With: , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

Making Light: A Dionysia Yet to Be Named

February 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Wine

Holidays lasting three days or longer are not uncommon in the Athenian calendar, and it sometimes seems to me like it's the rule rather than the exception. I've never done a statistical analysis of it, so I couldn't say for a certainty, but there are a heck of a lot of these multi-day celebrations. The whole calendar is a daunting thing, and it seems like there's a holiday or observance every other week. There's no way anyone could celebrate everything and also have a life or a job, so you've … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Columns, Holidays, Literature, Media, Film, Music, Making Light, Ritual and Practice Tagged With: , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

Gateway Goddess: Imbolc – Feeding the Hunger of New Lives with Milk and Fire

January 25, 2013 By 6 Comments
Brigid_at_Imbolc_by_Kittenpants

Gateway Goddess is a column by Kathy Nance. Look for it on alternate Fridays or follow it via RSS or e-mail! Lambing season always began in the cold and the dark. My grandparents would rise early. Grandma filled sterilized glass Pepsi bottles with warm milk, fitted them with black rubber nipples. I pulled my boots on over two or three pairs of socks, zipped my fleecy winter coat. Together, Grandpa Hill and I walked across the road to the barn. Hungry lambs greeted us loudly, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Columns, Gateway Goddess, Holidays, Ritual and Practice Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 6 Comments