Re-enchant your world.
Now that it's just about over If you remember my fall dispatches, we are confronted with a curiosity in the sense that I described at modest length the experience of driving in a winter wonderland of snow. In, I believe, October. Since then, there was like a month and a half of zero snow - … Continue reading Making My Peace With January
It was the winter of the morning star, Especially the second half. When she hovered with terrifying grace for months off the edge of the crescent moon - and some of you know what that means. It was the winter of the coyote, appearing and vanishing at will - none of it random, all of … Continue reading Ode to This Time
Alone by the banks of the half-frozen river Deep into the night Crouching down in the snow: Spirit of the slumbering winter forest - Slumbering, yes, but not dead. Never dead. Deep breath River flows cold, but there's a fire within - You can tell, can't you? Smile. Even winter gifts us with good weeks … Continue reading Meditation for a Decent Week
There's only twelve weeks - one season - between each major holiday. On February 1, which is known as "Imbolc," it seems like we just finished celebrating the winter solstice, Christmas, and New Year's. I love celebrating as much as the next guy, but until we find ourselves in a society that permits more time … Continue reading Winter is Our Gestation, and We’re About to be Born
Let's get this out of the way: like it or not, we are wholly defined by our relationship to the light of the world. It is accurate to state that the date of the birth of the Christ was (artificially) set in the wake of the winter solstice to coincide with both the Roman celebration … Continue reading The Sun is a Hero – and so was Jesus
Well, we've sure done our fair share of reflection in honor of the high holy week, and if you know our wizard, you know there will be more. Nevertheless, we'd best get to celebrating if we're to have any balance whatsoever in our holiday experience. With that end in mind, I enthusiastically present some abridged … Continue reading Memory Lane as Viewed From On High: Highlights from 2012 Solstice Coverage
The light of our full moon is bright as it sets this morning. We've watched it grow, and now that growth is complete. May we understand those aspects of our own lives that have grown with it. The light of our sun, our blessed life-giver, It is at its lowest this week, and we've long … Continue reading Tuesday Blessing: Bright Moon, Long Nights
Welcome to Advent. The most important thing about a year goes entirely unspoken because it is so intrinsically obvious: humans didn't make it. We do our math and choose cultural markers and use these tools to impose our calendars, but the year does not set the terms of our rotation about the benevolent sun. The year is … Continue reading Holidays Suck, and Why That’s a Good Thing
May good fortune attend you by fire or through snow, In security or lack thereof, May the ripe potential we hold today burst forth manifest in the year to come. Until that transition is complete, let us pause to the benefit of our soul's cardiac health. May smiling alpacas be waiting to greet you at … Continue reading Monday Blessing: Slap a Bow on it and Stick it Under the Tree
The Meaning of Imbolc Ever heard of the holiday “Imbolc”? Probably definitely not. For starters, it’s really boring. It’s almost certainly ill-timed, and it’s arguably unnecessary. Seriously, I think the even pagans, who ostensibly observe it, are bored to tears by it. Everybody knows about the “quarter days” of the solar calendar—the beginnings of winter … Continue reading Don’t let Spring Club you Over the Head