Well, Samhain (pronounced sow en), or Halloween is tomorrow. After much debate over the matter, I’ve decided to publish here the article currently circulating in the Ave News, since it’s not available online. If you’ve read the printed version, you may notice a couple of slight changes, but those were for space and left the article essentially unchanged. Without further adieu, here is the article.
For anyone who doesn’t know, yesterday was Mabon, a Wiccan holiday that most people in the northern hemisphere know as the autumnal equinox. Mabon is a harvest holiday, a celebration of the bounty of the fields. It’s a time to acknowledge the things we’re harvesting in our lives for the year. Except this year was a little different for me.
I didn’t realize it’s been so long since my last post - too long by a measure. I suppose that’s the price of a busy life. Anyway, I was at the gardens Thursday evening for the first of 5 Rhythm & Blooms events. Being in the gardens at night is always a treat for me, and I made the most of it.
I’ve been working on my Riverbanks project for three and a half months now, and one of the common threads during my visits have been the presence of geese on the river. I know now that geese are year round residents here, but I wanted to examine their metaphysical symbolism for a few minutes.
What a crazy week it’s been! Regardless, I have finally managed to finish transcribing this year’s Imbolc ritual into electronic format, which I present here for you.
Imbolc, also referred to as Candlemas, came and went saturday, though it was only yesterday when I was able to do my ritual. I can’t post it online just yet, I only have it in handwritten form and haven’t typed it into the computer yet. As soon as I do that I will post it, though the holiday is past.
A couple nights back I went to the lights at the zoo at Riverbanks Zoo. I went last year too, but this year wasn’t the same. I got there later, there was a bigger crowd, and it was nowhere near as cold as last year, being a balmy mid-50s compared to last year’s low 30s.
someone or something you trusted beyond question or you just knew, that today was the last day of your life? Would you live differently than you are right now? What if it were a month from now? A year? What if somehow you knew exactly when and how you die, and you couldn’t change it? Would you still live the way you are now?
I thought I’d posted at least once since last Sunday, but I guess not. Exhaustion will do that to you. Samhain is only a three short days away… the Veil between the worlds continues to thin. Although Samhain is my favorite holiday, it is not without a bittersweet taste, having lost people and pets close to me. I know they’re close to me, thoughts of them come into my mind unbidden.
I can’t believe how insanely busy I’ve been the last week or so. Last week I started moving stuff out of my cube, bringing it home in preparation for starting my new job this past Monday, and I also started back to jujitsu class. With the fall clinic coming up at the beginning of next month, I have to get back into shape for it. So not only did I have new job prep going on, I had lots of soreness going on too.