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It's right up there in the pantheon of the good things that life gives us, along with good food, good sex, and good ritual.

Good conversation.

Singer-songwriter Sparky T. Rabbit (1954-2014) was one of the most brilliant conversationalists that I've ever met.

He strictly adhered to what I'll call the Five-Minute Rule.

If you've been talking for five minutes, it's time to shut up and listen.

One of the things that made Sparky such a supple and engaging conversationalist is that he was an active listener. While you were talking, he gave you his full attention, and he was thinking about what you said.

I try to be a good listener. Gods help me, I try.

That's how I've come to realize that much of what passes for conversation isn't actually conversation at all.

We're past Midsummer and into the heat of summer.  A friend of mine mentioned we're on the dark side of the year now because each day we have a little less light.  The phrase stuck with me as I worked through my days.

Every day we shift to a minute or two less of light.  The clock is ticking, ticking, ticking to remind us to finish whatever our goals are for this year.  How many times have you heard someone say - where did the year go or where did the month go?  

Energy of the day

There are some time points during the day that lend themselves to magic, you don’t have to work in tune with them but I encourage you to give it a try and see what you get from it.

Have you ever noticed that none of us perceive time in a consistent way? An hour at the dentist seems to take forever, while an hour-long massage seems to slip by in an instant.

 For me, the past few months have flown by. Since my last post I was excited to be a headliner at Florida Pagan Gathering Samhain 2016, and to be named “Tarosophist of the Year” for 2016 by the Tarosophy Tarot Association.

     Yule this year passed in a blur of work and school. We sent the little boys off to school Tuesday, giving ourselves one final day to finish holiday preparations: breads and cookies baked, packages wrapped and decorated, the sunfire collected by my husband and the Hestia candle on the stove top lit, ready for the rush of children and the Mystery of the longest night.

     As each year passes faster and faster, it seems, I am continually caught unaware, needlessly so, I feel. I know in January when the Solstice will occur: all I need to do is flip to the back of the calendar and look. In fact, I already know that next Yule will be December 21, 2017, and that the solstice will occur at 11:28 in the morning. This knowledge should prepare me, but the reality is that I will be so caught up in the day to day details of secular living that spiritual observances are often pushed aside until the last minute. I often feel I am shortchanging myself.

In a world meted out by clock time, it's easy to forget body time.

When the initiate stands on the threshold, you could tell her: “Come in five minutes.”

And she will spend her time watching the glass.

Or you could tell her: “After a thousand heartbeats, come.”

And she will spend her time listening.

Listening, and drawing in.