My Friend Got Stuck in the Winter

July 16, 2012 By
Ice on Fire, by Eugenijus Radlinskas

We're searching for new beginnings, my friend and I. Yesterday, we took to driving along open roads, through fields turned yellow from the heat, with music playing loud enough to drown out all else, and we let the sound paint a picture of how much we'd changed. A year ago, my friend and I let go of summer. For me, the transition to autumn was swift and certain, and I gave myself no time to mourn the loss of light. For him, it was different. The slow draining of color from the maple … [Read more...]

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Where is the Source of Your Inspiration?

April 27, 2012 By
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This morning I woke, picked up the pen and paper on the hotel nightstand, and wrote down these words: What is it to write from sleeping? To write without ceasing. To hold back the need to edit, the impulse to correct. The penmanship is awful, but that does not matter. The only impulse is to write. The chance to create from a place of great stillness; the greatest stillness next to eternal sleep. Write because there is a fire of great color burning in your heart. The heat is your cousin, … [Read more...]

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The Action of Worship

February 24, 2012 By
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My religion is experienced in the doing. This became clear to me as I entered the sacred space of our ADF ritual at Pantheacon, lifted my voice to invoke the spirit of Inspiration, and, for a moment, left my mind behind. When I stepped in front of the altar and began to sing, I was performing a religious and magickal act. It was spontaneous and improvisational, and it originated from within my heart. It was the purest offering I could make. In that moment, I was not thinking about what … [Read more...]

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I Keep Vigil to the Fire: Imbolc Poetry for a Goddess

February 1, 2012 By
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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...]

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The Fire Of A Solitary Druid

July 20, 2011 By

We are all solitary. Even those of us who practice with a group, or who gather at festivals to dance around fires, or stand in circles under full moons. We are all solitary, still. There are politics in Groves and Covens, just as in Churches and Temples. There are people who seek to shape things in their image, and to bend the will of the universe to their liking. And, there are people who just long to be loved, and respected, and made to feel important, regardless of the size of their … [Read more...]

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