the season of Spring

Things progress more slowly on this mountain and the subtlety of  the season has unfurled daily.

Now we are ready for Beltaine.

There had been early heat that brought the valley to bloom just to freeze in a late snow.

and then we started all over again

rebalanced
into Spring. 

But before all this strong sunshine and dry earth

it was grey.
Marvelously grey, like our spirits,
uncertain and disturbed.

We had gotten it together to go see family, almost mid-way across the country,

and were to leave just after our Vernal Equinox ritual.
It was a tight schedule and a lot of effort but it was the time.
The challenges of travel, family and health colored the holiday for everyone
and fortuitously we ended up just us 3 for ritual.

A family ritual of balance. 

 I remember the lush green moss in the woods as we processed to the Nemeton.
Now the moss is dry with strong sun only slightly filtered
by just budding trees
and little water.

There were few flowers but even without snow, we thrilled at the awakening of the earth.

Bryan and I did a lot of the ritual sacrifice together, maybe not hand-in-hand but 

heart to heart

or side by side.

Our teenage son, silent in the West, but wholly present,
taking photos until the camera battery died.

Strawberries to our directions, a spot of color on the silence of the landscape,

breathing in and out to the water flowing,
the last of his Bailey's to the Earth Mother.

we burned our sweet grass and grain sheaves and poured seeds down the well.

our contained fire was small but alive.

 

 Just giving thanks from deep in the recessed corners of our pockets from the lost winter and for the season to come.

A large smudge for final sacrifice,
throwing the rune sticks in the North,

Our Omens
from the Honored Dead: Ansuz or the Voice-LISTEN you are being spoken to.
from the Spirits of Nature and Place: Wunjo or JOY-camaraderie, fellowship, getting along.
from the Gods and Goddesses: Nathuz or NEED-what you need.
for the Season: Perthro or LUCK- the chance cup.

and one extra just to make sure: Algiz or Protection-, the Elksedge, BE ALERT,
the world needs more lerts.

  balance and flow

Summer Storms

We held our MidSummer Solstice on Friday June 19th,
our wedding anniversary, rather than on the solstice proper, because we run an art program at the Clearwater Revival on the weekend and we try to always make the timing of our gatherings accessible to most. We probably were breaking sticks at the exact time of solstice.
 
Summer is as always non-stop.
Endless flowers bloom, lots of fruit, rainstorms for days, events ongoing, lists long, daydreaming paramount.
 
Ritual day was nice and simple,
even with overbooked time,
right on schedule,
cooking, cleaning,
setting up & gathering.  

It is a given that folks won’t show up,
and really all we truly care about is that we are present,
that we properly invite and honor and sacrifice.

A perfect balance of 4 adults and one teenager.
The one sunny gentle summer day of the week.
Lots of cherries, lots of flowers, lots of love.

 

the fire artfully crafted as always went up quickly, brilliantly, fully, and with great gusto. Made up of branches from our sacred trees that we have planted, stems and seed heads from last year’s harvest, and a bit of hidden chicken fat.    
                             

beer and flowers and birch branches and fruit.
and also three kinds of sage-ours, hers and white incense
as particular sacrifice and prayers
for healing, renewal and peace.

  
final sacrifice of our wormwood and scraps of science project

 

          

our omens
from our Ancestors: Odul/Othala-sacred enclosure, what we keep & protect. Also referred to as ancestral wealth or immobile property
from the Spirits of Nature & Place: Wunjo -Joy
from the Gods & Goddesses: Ingwaz-an expansive fertility growth, action, the God Ing, doing, thinking, being, the seminal or the catalyst, the seed
for the Season:Fehu-fee, mobile wealth
 

so grateful for all the love, all the goodies, all the flowers,
all the gifts that we get to live each day, friends, family, blessings to all.