From Darkness to Light
The ancient Celts believed the new day began at sunset, as do modern pagans, Jews, and some Christians. Similarly, the ancients celebrated the new year on Samhain, October 31. I love this idea. I love the idea that there is a period of dark gestation prior to the actual birth. The ancient new year celebration…
Read MoreCassandra and #MeToo
It’s all over the news. Men behaving badly. As though that was news. It isn’t, of course. Has never been news. Not since the Old Goddess was replaced by a male God and women were pushed aside to occupy secondary roles — mother, daughter, wife — valued perhaps, but never equal. Disposable. Usable. Commodities and…
Read MoreA Return to the Beginning
T.S. Eliot’s Little Gidding. These lines: We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. Circles. Wheels. In Indigenous spirituality, in Pagan spirituality worldwide, as well as in mystical forms of all major religions, this form has…
Read MoreAccidental Magic/Holiness
I popped into my husband’s office today to bring him something and found that he’d created a stone circle on the top of a small cupboard. I could just picture him talking on the phone to one of his colleagues in New York or Zurich or somewhere, letting his hands make something beautiful and sacred, almost as…
Read MoreWisdom for a Hunger Moon
Here in North America, Indigenous people tell us the name for the full moon in February is the Snow Moon, or the Hunger moon. Yesterday we had what New Jersey folk call a snow storm, and while it was a bit blustery, for this Canadian, 4 inches of snow is hardly a storm. Still, it…
Read MoreResistance Right Where You Are
It’s a tough time in the world and I’ve been pondering what, if anything, to say, wondering if the world needed yet another voice yapping on about justice and mercy. And what would I say, anyway…that I’m for it? Seems obvious, doesn’t it? What I do believe is that each of us is given a…
Read MoreTrump, Death, Resurrection and Safety (Pins)
As dear friend of mine — a Catholic nun I will not name to protect her anonymity — said to me: last night’s election feels like death; but I believe in resurrection. I do, as well. But sometimes the holy one needs a hand up out of the tomb. So, let me share with you…
Read MoreShould Trump Start Drinking?
It dawned on me today, while watching a movie about an alcoholic, that perhaps Donald Trump should start drinking. If he did, perhaps he could get the help it appears he so desperately needs. As most people know, Trump doesn’t drink, and although some photos have surfaced on social media of him with glasses of…
Read MoreFantastic Book! "I AM NO ONE" by Patrick Flanery
I’ve been absent for a while because, as many of you now know, I’ve been on the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize jury and reading A LOT OF BOOKS. However, that’s mostly done now and I’ve been able to start reading other things. First one up is a book called I AM NOT ONE, by…
Read MoreA Feather for Orlando
This morning, while at prayer in my garden, I found a feather. It’s tiny, surely from either one of the breast feathers of a bird, or perhaps from one of the babies starting to appear. It’s a bluish grey and white. Fragile as a dandelion wisp. I have a long history with feathers turning up…
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