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This will be the first in an occasional series on spiritual practice techniques. It\u2019s flowing out of the spiritual practice workshop I led at this year\u2019s Druid Gorsedd and the Intermediate Pagan Practice class Cynthia and I led this past weekend. I\u2019ll be repeating the workshop at the DFW Pagan Pride Day on September 11.<\/p>\n
I used to be a runner. Injuries and weight gain (a chicken-or-egg thing) forced me to stop several years ago, but I\u2019ve maintained the practice of exercising early in the mornings before work. As a result, I\u2019m outside at about the same time several times a week. This makes it easy to follow the Sun and the Moon as they move through the seasons and through the year.<\/p>\n
As children we learn that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West. But not exactly \u2013 it only rises in due East (90\u00b0 on the horizon) and sets in due West (270\u00b0 on the horizon) at the Equinoxes. At the Summer Solstice it rises toward the North: 61\u00b0 where I live. In higher latitudes it\u2019s even further towards the North: 47\u00b0 in Dublin, Ireland. In the Winter the opposite is true \u2013 the Sun rises toward the South. And the Sun rises earlier in the Summer and later in the Winter. Here in Texas that\u2019s only noticeable for the weeks on either side of the Solstices, but again in higher latitudes the changes are far more pronounced.<\/p>\n
This is elementary-grade science, and I\u2019m sure I was taught this in school at one point or another. But until I started watching the Sun rise and set every day, I didn\u2019t connect with it. Once I did, I began to do a better job of connecting to the rest of Nature, and of understanding the significance of Stonehenge, Newgrange and other ancient sites oriented toward the skies.<\/p>\n
Following the Moon is even more dramatic. It rises about 50 minutes later every day and its face changes noticeably through the month. Plus the point at which it rises and sets moves from North to South and back again like the Sun, but instead of taking a year to complete the cycle, it does it during the month.<\/p>\n
The Full Moon is amazing but so are other phases: there\u2019s Diana\u2019s Bow, the sliver of a crescent that first appears just after sunset at the New Moon. There\u2019s the pregnant waxing gibbous, growing toward fullness. Yesterday as I drove West to church I had the waning gibbous Moon in my vision for most of the trip. And the waning crescents (just before Sunrise) around the Equinoxes produce the Horns of the Moon.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve heard it said that Pagans should never need an almanac (or a computer) to know when and where the Sun and Moon will be on any given day \u2013 we should feel it in our souls. That statement strikes me as just a little Earthier-than-thou, and it\u2019s certainly easier to keep up with them if you live in a place where the skies are usually clear, but following the Sun and Moon is one of the simplest and most effective ways to stay connected with Nature.<\/p>\n
To begin a Pagan spiritual practice, go outside and look up!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sunset over Chickamauga Lake in Tennessee This will be the first in an occasional series on spiritual practice techniques. It\u2019s flowing out of the spiritual practice workshop I led at this year\u2019s Druid Gorsedd and the Intermediate Pagan Practice class Cynthia and I led this past weekend. I\u2019ll be repeating the workshop at the DFW […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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