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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in wheel of the year

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Celebrating the first frosts

Here in the UK, the first frosts can turn up any time in the autumn, but represent a significant shift towards the winter. In terms of being something to celebrate, I admit to mixed feelings. The coming of the frost is an important part of the wheel of the year, but it means moving into cold and hardship.

 Frost is of course beautiful. It sparkles on grasses, leaves and spiderwebs, creating delicate beauty and catching the first light of the day. Today, with the first frost in my little corner of the world, the fields were iced at first light, giving them a sheen of mystery and otherworldliness.

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  • Sue
    Sue says #
    What a refreshing change to see another viewpoint! I sympathise very much with your thoughts on the first frost. I have an elderly

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
A Love Letter

I love October.

I mean, I really, really love it.  Do you know that fluttery, warm, sparkling feeling you get when you hold hands with your beloved, when you catch the eyes of your crush, when you see a message or note with that special name on it?

Well, my calendar is showing that special name.  October’s eyes are bright.  October’s hands are cool.  October’s name is like sweet honey on my tongue.

Ah, October.

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  • Lizann Bassham
    Lizann Bassham says #
    beautiful! thank you!
  • Trivia at the Crossroads
    Trivia at the Crossroads says #
    Thank you for taking the time to comment, Lizann. It really means a lot! And I hope October has been fabulous to you this year!

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Samhain in September

My gods. It just gets earlier every year.

Oh, not the stores. I gave up on those years ago. Samhain stuff going up? Must be September.

What's next? Jack o' lanterns at Lunasa?

Oh, well. In its own way, commerce helps turn the Wheel.

But at home? Folks, we're not even out of the Harvest thirtnight yet. Isn't it a little early for orange lights and skeletons?

Don't get me wrong; I love Samhain as much as the next guy.

But then—let's remember—comes Winter.

And for that, quite frankly, I can wait.

A while back the youth of Zuñi pueblo put together a traveling show of traditional dances. Before they hit the road, they danced for the elders, to get their blessing.

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Spider Season

One of the joys of autumn is the finding of webs, dew decked and glinting in the early morning light.

Spider webs are amazing constructions, and the whole spidering business is fascinating – all spiders produce 8 or more kinds of thread, and they only don’t get caught in their own webs because they remember where to stand.

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Holidays, Holy Days and Harvests

Right now it’s the summer holidays, and in many places, the young people are home from school, and families are off doing the holiday thing. Or trying not to kill each other. It’s worth noting however that the origin of the summer holidays has nothing to do with having a good time, and everything to do with needing the young people to help get the harvests in. The norms of our school systems pre-date the combine harvester and other such devices.

You don’t have to be much of an etymologist to spot that ‘holiday’ comes from ‘holy day’ and for many of our Christian ancestors, the holy days were the only days off, if you were lucky. Servants tended to have to work on Sundays and over Christmas etc, but religious celebration has provided our ancestors with much needed opportunities to down tools and socialise. The pilgrimage is the ancestor of the tourist industry, and holy journeys and holidays have a great deal to do with holidays.

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Coming of Age, in Fur and Feather

This is the time of year when many of the young things born in the UK’s spring will become independent. Inevitably it means this is also a time when a lot of them will die, through accident and inexperience.

The transition from dependant to independent varies from species to species, and part of why it varies is the complexity involved in being an adult. You can spot newly fledged birds, because they’re often waiting around making a racket, with parents coming back to feed them regularly even though they’re now out of the nest. They look like teenagers.

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  • Nimue Brown
    Nimue Brown says #
    What a brilliant way of doing things! And a good way of reinforcing the responsibilities we have to our communities in taking part
  • Ann Edwards
    Ann Edwards says #
    When I was young we had a number of family celebrations or events which recognised various stages of coming of age. The first one

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
The People of the Wheel

The Witch's Wheel isn't just a calendar.

It's a Great Rite.

Most would think of the Wheel, with its quarters and cross-quarters, as an image of the year.

In this sense, it is an icon of Time, sacred Time.

But of course the Wheel is also an icon of Space, sacred Space: the compass rose, with its eight directions, not to mention the magic circle.

So together it's an icon of Time-Space.

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