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Last year on Lughnasad I was all worked up over food. Riffling through some old files yesterday I discovered this entry: I’m not sure there’s a way to talk about the “First Harvest” without paying mind to the fact that there is a severe drought across the land, or that in other parts of the country there is great flooding.... Is it possible that Neopagans (using the Bonewits definition of the term) are enacting the rituals of an earth tradition without being fully engaged as … [Read more...]
I drove an hour to Malibu for my Spring Equinox ritual. The location was a secluded, public beach called "El Matador." The site opened at 8, and I arrived just a few minutes after the top of the hour. I followed the dirt trail down the edge of the cliff side, wearing jeans and work boots and too many layers. I’d overdressed, fearing that the ocean would bring a chill to my skin, but the sun was already up and it was plenty warm. Once at the bottom, I started searching out a … [Read more...]
I find that the best way to get my house clean is to throw a party. My desk may be covered with books and papers, my laundry bin filled, and my various interests -- knitting and sewing being those that come with the most accessories -- all sprawled out across the dining room table, but as soon as I decide to invite people over? POOF!! I'm a bearded Mary Poppins, snapping my fingers at the furniture. Before the song is over, my house looks marvelous. All it took was a spoon full of sugar … [Read more...]
Today, pious Pagans around the globe are posting poetry online in honor of the Goddess, Brighid (otherwise known as Brigid, Brigit, or simply, "exalted one"). I join them here on Bishop In The Grove. Imbolc, as I wrote about yesterday, may have milky origins, but the day and the season speak to something much deeper than a single agricultural marker can convey. On Imbolc, we recognize the primal fire within us, and when we speak from that place with a clear, honest voice, beautiful … [Read more...]
I don't know much about cows. Or sheep. I know that cows tip (not from personal experience, though). I know that sheep are cute, and I love their hair. I was just working with some last night. I also, on occasion, like to eat a bit of both. I'm a city boy, born and bred. I don't really pattern my day-to-day life around the ways of farm animals. A few of my more hipster friends are keeping bees and chickens. They have a different relationship to animals than I do, because … [Read more...]
Earlier this week the air took a turn toward December, becoming wet and visible, and the moisture that fell in cold, slow-motion stuck quickly to the cars, the streets, and the sidewalks. On the morning after the storm a massacre of tree branches covered the earth around my house, proving both the strength of water and the fragility of wood. What I like about the snow, and the timing of this particular storm being so close to Samhain, is the way in which it provides tactile evidence that the … [Read more...]
The weather in this town is a betrayal of my religious sensibilities. It’s all bright and warm and sunny without ceasing. This is the Land of Perpetual Summer. This town resists death at all costs; be that the death of youth, the death of popularity, the death of green. Death is frowned upon in Los Angeles. This town is in denial of Autumn. Autumn is my favorite season. It's just cold enough for two shirts, but not so cold that you can't enjoy an evening walk through the neighborhood, … [Read more...]
I'm a stickler for details. As a kid, I was an acolyte. I had a wide range of responsibilities each Sunday. I lit the candles on either side of the altar, establishing the sacred space before service began. I stood beside the priest, assisting him in making preparations for the breaking of the bread. I chimed the bell at the appropriate moment in the liturgy, indicating a call to recognize an event of special importance within the narrative. And, I closed out the service by extinguishing the … [Read more...]
A question for all my fellow ADF'ers: What if I prepared my Dedicant Path submissions on the High Days as poems instead of the traditional prose/academic model? I could still site references (which could be kinda cool, actually - my poems would have footnotes!), and it would allow me to engage with the assigned writing in a way that is familiar to me. The idea occurred to me after writing my Imbolc post. While personally relevant and totally valid as a journal entry, I'm not sure it served as … [Read more...]
My heart is your hearth. - A prayer offered to Brighid during my morning devotional I began preparing for Imbolc long before the first snow. I knew Winter would be a season of great creative work for me, and I decided that the way I would make it through that work successfully was to consider all of it one big offering to Brighid. I would lift the work up in her honor, and remember her fire as I made my way through the ups and downs of the creative process. My music would be my offering at … [Read more...]
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