Sunday, May 28, 2017

Season of the May- Part 1

Maypole crown

Everything is beyond lush now. Bugs are plentiful. Days are eternal.
And there is no time at all.

We are on a constant roll of the next thing and the next
and at the same time
seeing each new flower and hearing every birdsong.

Maypole

A moon-cycle of days the Maypole stood
and today we took it down.
The eggshell still underneath in the hole
now re-covered with the rocks that held the base
so firm and solid and vertical.
well secured

It often seems free-fall, but I think that is an illusion, like clouds in the distance.
It is about letting go with intent.
It is directional.

Do the trees wonder at their leaves?
egg in the hole





Saturday, April 1, 2017

April Fools



This extended slow Spring calming the chain reaction of bursting has been a blessing.
Extra time to ease into the longer days, the daylight saving.

It is every day still hard to maintain balance.

Its what we do every day- brushing our teeth and drinking coffee,
cleaning the house and making food, gathering and blinking at the sun.


Today again the ground looks more white than greenish brown, 
but the earth is warmed and comes through.



It was good to have had the blizzard before Equinox, 
Winter's last stronghold, seeming to bury the sprouted bulb flowers,
but they persist and survive.


The focus of shoveling as balance.
The force of the wind bending and breaking trees.

Huddling by the fire or under blankets to pass the time and allay fears, 
to sink into the silence of letting go.


What is in our control or under control or out of control.
That which we cannot control.
Vernal Equinox with no balanced egg but a stick snapped at the dawn moment.

Our Ritual was on a beautiful Sunday afternoon that allowed snow mountains to melt enough to carve out more parking spots(though Bryan was still concerned about space) and to carve out our well and let the ball of ice inside to be our foundation for our fire in our kitchen cauldron brought outside because there really was too much snow. No way to encircle the fire, but its smoke encircled us.

Our discussion about grove and worship groups and ritual and art reminds me of how long we have come together and hosted. So grateful to be here even if it is sometimes hard. That balancing act.
Going for the easy is not the point, but allowing natural flow is, re-balancing as needed.

We were 4 plus the kid:

our dear original grove member and a young friend of a dear friend and our small family.
Simple, quiet, balanced.

There was a bit of overwhelmed from days of snow moving, from slow melt and re-icing, from putting on and taking off scarves, but also new energy.

It is a hard time but it is a good time. To be alive. 



 
fire well and tree
 


sacrifice

East West
shining light, smokey fire, sinking in the snow, praying for the water, asking for clarity and support in these troubled times.
grateful for the not-so-terrible winter past,
hopeful for the seeds of the future.

 




 
 







our omens
from the Ancestors: Fehu or fee that mobile property or wealth, value and worth, in terms of Ancestors and the dead- work and cost and this economic relationship that we have.
from the Spirits of Nature and Place: Elwaz or the Elksedge, be on guard or pay attention. Be alert, the world needs more lerts.
from the Gods & Goddesses: the Perthro or the Lottery Cup or Chance. Luck.
for the Season: Daguz or Day, it represents often a profound full vision of what was before partially concealed.





 balance



 into the light



 with more melt and rain and more snow and sleet the springtime comes 
 


do it now

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Cold Light of Imbolc


This light rushes toward equal time with a blinding yet calming strength.
Bridget as muse and guidance supports us with love and wisdom.

It's been a frozen then oddly warm then bitterly cold season.
A real Winter is good and the longer until late Spring weather the better.
 This holiday is always special and joyful .
Birds sing, the stream flows through ice and the sun rises higher.
We indulge in gratitude for this life and its renewal.
Gathering in the warmth of the kitchen,
we open champagne and toast each other, Our Whole Grove and our blessed Grove Goddess, Bridget
2 Bridgets in the center as the table fills with food
a yummy and mostly gluten free brunch for Bridget!
 

us 4 adults go outside to begin,
teenager stays inside working on a paper for school,
inspiration calls in many ways.


Sharing ritual tasks is powerful.
Planning ahead spontaneous honoring as a dance of us with spirit.
Our dear long-time grove mate invokes the directions,
 I sit by the center and listen.
Our Whole (proto)Grove.

A good and easy fire burning in the snow.
 Right at the end of the meditation, they appear, all in black and smiling broadly.
"I felt like I was laying flat on the earth."
Young adults grown so much since back then,
she has a small heart drawn under her eye.

  Heartfelt sacrifice for our dear dear Bridget.
burning away Yuletide greens
 


 bacon and salami and smoked trout,
rose petals and tea and spirits and sweet grass and garlic,
last year's calendar and more


 it felt lighthearted and we welcomed an optimism
our Omens:
from the Ancestors: Fehu or fee or Cattle- our mobile wealth and property, whether debt or cost or inheritance.
I reach in my pocket and there is an old worn Bridget's cloth from 
Imbolc years ago .

from the Spirits of Nature & Place: Ingwaz- the seed growing, expanding, connecting.
Ing- like a verb, like doing or being, like Yngvi, like "Harmony & Unity"

from the Gods & Goddesses: Berkanu or birth, birch, beginnings.
Blessed Bridget, with your midwifery and healing skills, with your keening cry for our dead,
with your kindness and vision and inspiration and craft, lead us forward. 

for the Season: Algiz- posture of attention and caution and alertness and listening and being on guard. Stay alert, the world needs more lerts.


He took a homework break and came down for the waters, 
shuffling on the snow with old friends,
doing the magick work
of passing thru Bridget's girdle thrice.
Bringing Bridget to our Hearth

More food. So much food. Enough food.

 transdimensional resting