Joyous Beltaine
Gale
through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild cottontails
get. The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
A moment's mourning: John Kenneth Galbraith, the last bastion of
optimism in the 'dismal science' died at age 97 a couple days ago.
--
Blessed Be,
Gale
original fiction, poetry, reviews http://www.capjewels.com
"I would extirpate heresy. and all learning and knowledge as inevitably
tending thereunto. ... I would observe an austere propriety of conduct,
and be especially careful not to loosen one rivet in the tremendous yoke
I was forging for the minds and consciences of mankind." -- Lucifer in
Richard Garnett's "The Demon Pope"
De Roberts
"Gale" <gal...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:4455E88C...@bellsouth.net...
It is wet and chilly here but it is green, very green. : ) I took my
vacation this week to pay tribute to TPTB with an herb garden. Hopefully
the skies will clear for at least a couple of days. But if they don't it
doesn't matter. I realized Saturday as I walked the dog in a downpour that
possibly it was a message from those above that picking a week of rain and
clouds wasn't so bad. I need to stop looking for the perfect weather, the
perfect moment and just enjoy each minute including the rain. So I took the
past couple days and did only the most basic of housework and gave myself
some time off to do those things I enjoy and that relax me. : ) And the dog
got a nice long walk in the rain. Have a beautiful Beltaine.
De
'Thenie
> Mississippi is quite green this time of year. Saw a big
rabbit hopping
> through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild
cottontails
> get. The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
>
> A moment's mourning: John Kenneth Galbraith, the last
bastion of
> optimism in the 'dismal science' died at age 97 a couple
days ago.
The world here is beautiful for calendar Beltaine (I observe
my Beltaine astrologically, the morning of this coming 13th
May). The daffodils are done for the year, the tulips still
showing, the lilacs have all bloomed every bud and are
winding down. The dandelions have all gone to seedheads,
the azaleas approaching their peak, and the peonies are
preparing to burst forth in frothy petals.
Last week, a housemate told me of the den of fox kits she
and her cat had come upon behind our yard; the cat seems to
sit sentry over them while mom's away (and shows no interest
in disturbing them, surprisingly). Last week I also watched
a fox nonchalantly cross the road not 20 feet ahead of me
and 20 feet from the oncoming car approaching me, this in
the bright daylight! And not a month ago, I captured a
blurry photo of a very red fox (not this last one, who was
younger, smaller, and very dark) hunting the grounds around
a manse, presumably for mice.
The whole world here has burst forth exhaling green and
yellow, white and pink, with bits of scarlet and lavender.
The rain has favored us, encouraging the blossoms and
leaves. Birds pass by with bits of things in their beaks,
to build or repair their cradles. And I have to say the
breezes, as they begin to warm in the embrace of sunlight,
take on a definite seductive quality, luxurious in how they
lay that warmth on available skin.
My best to all here and wishes that all new projects bless
them and their growth. Merry and Happy Beltaine to all.
-'Thenie
Nechesh
Gale wrote:
> Mississippi is quite green this time of year. Saw a big rabbit hopping
> through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild cottontails
> get. The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
>
Sounds wonderful Gale. May Day in England has started off windy, rainy
and cold! So much for 'A-conjuring Summer in! '
Beltane Blessings to you all :)
In Light, Life and Love
Nechesh
Baird Stafford
> Mississippi is quite green this time of year. Saw a big rabbit hopping
> through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild cottontails
> get. The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
Ah. The pair I saw yesterday would have been very, very interested.
They've buily their aerie in the county park a couple of blocks away....
Plump, juicy rabbit sounds like just the thing to feed a family of
growing eaglets. As far as I could tell, though, they were just out to
ride the updrafts, yesterday.
<snip>
Blessed be,
Baird
--
Modkin of soc.religion.paganism
Modstaff of alt.religion.wicca.moderated
Newstaff, Inc. at newstaff.com
Jackdaw
> through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild cottontails get.
> The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
>
> A moment's mourning: John Kenneth Galbraith, the last bastion of optimism
> in the 'dismal science' died at age 97 a couple days ago.
I never heard the name before. I Googled it and read up a bit about him.
Talk about "A Voice Crying in the Wilderness". America needs more voices
like his.
--
Jackdaw collector of junk, trivia and bright twinkly things.
Jackdaw
> through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild cottontails get.
> The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
>
> A moment's mourning: John Kenneth Galbraith, the last bastion of optimism
> in the 'dismal science' died at age 97 a couple days ago.
>
>
> --
> Blessed Be,
> Gale
because of the rain/sun weather. The daffodils are almost over ( we are 800
feet above sea level ) and our new veggie garden is promising to be more
than just "Country Living " magazine style. Plants don't mind cool, they
need rain and sun, and that's what we have. We had a late start with low
temperature, but that was only for humans.... plants think differently. In
the Conwy Valley, the Blackthorn is a mass of frothing bloom and the meadows
are full of frolicking lambs.
Mmm............lamb!
Happy May Day.
< Does Happy Morris Dance >
-A.
> Mississippi is quite green this time of year. Saw a big rabbit hopping
> through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild cottontails
> get. The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
>
> A moment's mourning: John Kenneth Galbraith, the last bastion of
> optimism in the 'dismal science' died at age 97 a couple days ago.
>
>
Long Island is in full bloom (or nearing it - certain flowers and trees
are being quite stubborn about it). It's beautiful. Outside, it's a
glorious 70-degrees F, a few cottony clouds in the sky, a 5 mph breeze
wandering through. It's t-shirt, shorts and sandals weather.
A good soaking rain would be welcome, in my opinion, as we've had
precious few this April. Personally, I love rain. I love the smell of
rain. I love the feel of rain on my skin. But, no rain to speak of.
Oh well.
There's been a little bunny that's been making its way around the campus
(which is quite a task for a 12-ounce rabbit - the campus is hundreds of
acres in size, and the diameter is a couple miles lengthwise). Thus far
I've seen the same exact bunny by my apartment building, the geosciences
building (over a half-mile away), by the administration building (3/4
miles away), behind the student union (4/5 miles away), by the lecture
hall building (yes, we have one building that is just lecture halls, no
offices or smaller classrooms. It looks like a giant Nuclear Apocalypse
bunker. It's about 3/4 mile away as the crow flies). This bunny has
been *everywhere*. The poor thing must be exhausted! And, yes, I am
100% certain it's the exact same bunny.
They've done a lot to pretty up this campus over the past 2 years, and
it has started to pay off. Everything has at least a bit of green
around it, with trees and flowers here and there. The academic mall has
several dozen trees lining it, all in bloom, with oodles of flowers.
Joanna is an art minor, and her final assignment of the semester is a
watercolor painting of something green on-campus; I believe it's called
a "nature study". I've been spending time with her as she paints her
view of a tree. She's amazingly good, but what is a bonus for me is
that I'm seeing the greens and yellows and reds and blues of the campus
a whole new way. Plus, she pulled a bit of a Lewis Carroll a few days
ago and, on a whim, painted a flower blue. It used to be red. Now,
when I say painted a flower, I don't mean on canvas. I mean she applied
paint to the actual flower - Alice and Wonderland-style. She is now
wearing a blue flower that used to be red in her fedora (yes, she wears
a fedora. How cool is *that*!).
Everything around here, everywhere you look, you see sign after sign of
spring. It's beautiful!
The weather, the trees, the flowers, the breeze, the sky. Wow.
Plus, the adorable little bunny.
Blessed Be,
-A.
--
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GCS d-- s-:+ a-- C++ UL++$ P+ L++ E-
W+++ N++ o K w$ O- M V- PS++ PE- Y+
PGP t+ 5 X+ R+ tv b+++ DI++++ D--- G
e>e++ h !r !y+
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
Jessica Rasku
I still am ritualless. I just enjoy things as they come. And today
we have a lovely grey cool day with lots of rain. I think I may have
even heard some thunder, but it wasn't clear enough to know it was
thunder, and I was trying to sleep.
Somehow I feel these calendar cross-quarter days doesn't quite make
sense for me. Yet it also seems like a very easy way to keep track of
these things. I don't currently have any kind of astrological calendar.
The close I have is this nifty moon icon applet on my bottom panel.
I'm wanting (yet again) to find some time to actually start building a
book of shadows. Personal practices for the cycle of the year, and
practices having to do with life events.
Jessica
Don Hilliker
>Mississippi is quite green this time of year. Saw a big rabbit hopping
>through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild cottontails
>get. The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
>
>A moment's mourning: John Kenneth Galbraith, the last bastion of
>optimism in the 'dismal science' died at age 97 a couple days ago.
It was a wonderful day mostly here in northern mi. The Morrel
Mushrooms have been going for about a week now, and the trees are
starting to let go, saw the 1st tamarac leafing out ( an odd
diciduious needle leaf) today. The apples are starting to bud, and
the tulips are going well now, had to cut grass for the first time
over the weekend. All of the birds are back for the season, and the
Turkey are starting gobble, so All in All, it was a VERY good day.
Only could be made better by the rain that she has seen fit to bless
us with this coming evening.
Blessed Be
Don
Sergeant Tibbs
Thumb-ward MI here...
A rather uneventful day, except at the end. I went against better
judgment to go get food at Burger King (which I'll probably feel
tomorrow) but which gave me a most memorable moment of time-- like the
last slice of pie that sits, glistening on the tray, too pretty to look
at but which will eventually be eaten.
While in the restaurant a dull thump resonated the large window and a
rather spooked bird (a young mourning dove, which had flown headlong
into the glass) sat on the sill and stared at me the whole time I ate.
I went outside to enjoy the night (and the funny sound of a constant low
whine from very far off) under a waxing crescent and sat outside the
restaurant, which was set to close up in five more days. I enjoyed the
rest of my Dr. Pepper with the bird staring at me close by. The entire
affair felt like an "Oh, hi there" from the world around me, but it was
the funny sort, where a person looks up from something distracting, say
a book or a shiny object on the ground, and his or her companion
welcomes him back to his surroundings. I think I'd forgotten about the
world for a moment, maybe a while, and the bird looked at me as if to
say, "Hello again." It makes me wonder how much time I've lost while
not paying attention, how much time I have yet to lose, and how much
regret there will be at the end of it.
Sergeant Tibbs
--
Š Typographical errors contained in this document are the sole copyright
of Typo Demons, Inc., or its subsidiary, Error Monkeys LLC. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the
prior written permission of the Typo Demons, Inc., or its subsidiary,
Error Monkeys LLC.
Synn
>Mississippi is quite green this time of year. Saw a big rabbit hopping
>through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild cottontails
>get. The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
>
>A moment's mourning: John Kenneth Galbraith, the last bastion of
>optimism in the 'dismal science' died at age 97 a couple days ago.
I worked out in the garden today. Took a long walk and then laid out
in the sun.
Tommorrow The Kilt and I celebrate our 8th anniversary. Barbecue for
dinner since he has to work tomorrow night..But for me that is
great..I love summer weather..ahhhhhh
.
Synn
.
Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise
brings healing.
De Roberts
"Synn" <synnovea...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:81fd52ltbi5pstveb...@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 1 May 2006 05:53:20 -0500, Gale <gal...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>>Mississippi is quite green this time of year. Saw a big rabbit hopping
>>through the neighborhood yesterday, about as big as wild cottontails
>>get. The dogs and I will greet the May in a few minutes.
>>
>>A moment's mourning: John Kenneth Galbraith, the last bastion of
>>optimism in the 'dismal science' died at age 97 a couple days ago.
>
>
> I worked out in the garden today. Took a long walk and then laid out
> in the sun.
> Tommorrow The Kilt and I celebrate our 8th anniversary. Barbecue for
> dinner since he has to work tomorrow night..But for me that is
> great..I love summer weather..ahhhhhh
>
> .
> Synn
> .
We had our summer weather last week. It's been grey for 4 days now and we
are expecting thunderstorms tonight. Still the yard's been full of birds
and they air full of perfume.
De
Daniel Cohen
> So much for 'A-conjuring Summer in! '
But that was "All on a Midsummer morn", so not Beltane.
--
http://www.decohen.com
Send e-mail to the Reply-To address;
mail to the From address is never read
Yowie
news:4456739D...@armispiansystems.ca...
Its Samhain here, and for once I actually felt the energy, although didn't
clue into what it was until another witch friend wished me Happy New Year
(and even then, i went 'huh?' for a few seconds till I worked out what he
meant).
About this time last year, i started my 'Book of Stuff' which isnt quite a
Book of Shadows, but more like a diary / calendar / notebook / scribblepad.
Beside snoting appointments and various important dates, I'm also noting
down the signs of the wheel turning, the latest entry being:
Sun still on chimney stack when I leave work, but set by time reached
traffic lights on way home
Stryzlitzia in bloom
No leaves left on tree next door
Madarins nearly finished
Fluffy [ my dog] winter coat fully in, shedding finished
Cary (my son) now gives kisses!
Daniel's birthday on 10th - ideas: watch, footy tickets, iTune voucher
Electricity due on 12th. usage up $120 from last year. A/C costs aprox $2
per day to run. OK
Fertile: 8-15th Due: 22nd
Recycle more!
Walk at lunch
Finish web page
Pluots
<doodle>
Etc etc
part appointment diary, part journal, part calendar, part 'to do' list, part
library list etc etc
But I'm looking forward to next year to see how close my natural calenday
is.
Yowie
Marsh Daisy
I got up before dawn and meditated in front of my Beltane altar, before
lighting a lantern to take with me to the green. The village has morris
dancing at sunrise and a permanent May pole - with groups dancing at a
festival held later in the day. First thing in the morning it was windy and
rain - but that didn't put of too many. I left the green with my nose
painted green by "Jack-in-the-Green". We retired to the pub to dry out and
warm up with a good breakfast. Later in the day, after lunch, I went back to
the green to watch and join in the parade, maypole dancing and the crowning
of the Queen of the May. By then the weather had decided to warm up and
there was some sunnier moments. As the sun was setting I held my rites and
made my offerings. In evening I cooked a meal for friends which seemed to
end up with either goat's cheese or honey in each dish, and ate it watching
the Wicker Man.
BB
Marsh Daisy
/|\
'Thenie
hours ago has ALSO seemed to evaporate...please delete this
if responded to>
"Yowie" wrote
>
> Its Samhain here, and for once I actually felt the energy,
although didn't
> clue into what it was until another witch friend wished me
Happy New Year
> (and even then, i went 'huh?' for a few seconds till I
worked out what he
> meant).
This entry made me think, and connect another couple of dots
in my awareness...
I follow a very 'organic' way of looking at cycles, very
'closed system' in many ways. I believe that Truth is
recoverable, even if the knowledge of Truth is lost. One
can reconstruct if one applies oneself well enough, the seed
of What Is being at the heart of every thing. My spiritual
practice I have recovered much as a detective reconstructs
an event, taking in everything with a grain of salt and
giving each iota its opportunity to reveal its separate
truth. If it has recognizable truth in its 'voice', if it
fits with what I have so far, I set it in its place (and it
usually says more then, once in context); if it says nothing
I can understand, I set it aside, to await the time its
place becomes more obvious. Like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle,
I throw nothing away, because all pieces have their place (I
just don't see it yet).
I go by the theory that all that exists originated in/of the
Great Goddess, including the eventual division into gender
polarities of Deity; hence, all things are sacred, nothing
profane (and all the pieces >do< have their place). Also, I
see things as cyclic, with each rise followed by a dip,
balanced along a mean line that stands directly between; so
the Full Moon I observe as the time to impress my will upon
the universe and the Dark (New) Moon I observe as the time
to submit myself for receiving impression (instruction,
education, revelation, enlightenment, experience) from the
universe; the public merriment of Beltaine is balanced
against the private somberness of Samhain; the asking of
boon requires the offer of sacrifice or gift (or if not
offered, it will be exacted). Balance is foremost, much as
Yoga asanas are paired with bending one way and then equally
the opposite, to achieve health and wholeness.
You have helped me put another piece in my awareness of
balance. While half the globe experiences Beltaine, the
other is experiencing Samhain; Yule one place is MidSummer
in another. Together, they make wholeness and balance.
This is so >right<.
I realise this may be a 'so what' idea for many, but it is
an epiphany for me, something that further expresses
something along the idea of 'As above, so below', because it
continues (for me; YMMV) the echoing of a Truth. This
integrates my experience and my practice into a global
scale. Thank you for this.
A wonderful thing, very basic and very down-to-earth. It
integrates you into your environment and helps you to set
roots into the power of your world. I do similarly,
comparing it to the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, to integrate
my beliefs and practice with my own environment.
I see the petals that gather like snow from April tree
flowers and can't help but think of the Sacred Marriage at
Beltaine and associate it with wedding confetti, the flower
impregnated, the God Consort seduced and enthralled by the
Beloved Goddess, the promise of fertility...
I see the long days that straddle MidSummer Solstice and
can't help but think of the first signs of Goddess pregnant
with God's potency, those masculine sunrays striking the
earth and inciting growth, quickening fruit, creating
bounty, being so dynamic and dramatic in the beauty of
summer...
I see roadside stands pop up around Lughnasadh and I cannot
help but think of the Grandmother, the Ancestress, the
Crone, who harvests by cutting down the God, by delivering
the baby, by harvesting the fruits of labor; She wields the
blade that separates wheat from chaff, that separates 'used'
from 'potential', that separates obstacle and hindrance from
health and power; She elevates what is good for the
individual and the group without flinching about sympathies
that no longer serve...
I see the rains of autumn and cannot help but think of the
tears of loss, the failing light leading to Nature's sleep,
the feeding of the final fruits storing up for the journey
through Death's passage, the dropping leaves making beds and
blankets and breaking down to feed vegetation, the coming
together of couples to winter over and the resurrection of
the 'herding instinct' that points to survival being found
in numbers and social interdependence...
I see the bony branches of trees clutching at early night
skies at Samhain and cannot help but think of the Goddess's
descent into the underworld of the God (now Death) to submit
to His experience and pleasure; that Life submits to Death
to connect the chain and allow for renewal, that the
non-corporeal intersects with the corporeal world/universe
as a matter of function, that the Goddess's power and
attraction at Beltaine is balanced with the God's power and
attraction at Samhain, that what could be a break in the
chain of life to new life is the same threat of the world
ceasing in that sacred and holy hour between one year and
another...
I see the gloom and darkness and the vivid snow blanket plus
the Gifting and Charity Season at Yule and I cannot help but
think of hope in the face of seemingly opposite reality,
plenty found in bareness, cash found in empty pockets, love
found in solitude; in short, trust and faith. The season
speaks to me of the seed in the soil, the infant in the
womb, the idea in inception, that has no reason to expect
success but is coming anyway, that has hope so long as there
is faith, and we in the dark of the Solstice share that
experience as the Wheel turns ever forward...
I see the momentary balminess and first bloom of snowdrops
at Imbolc and cannot help but think of promise, of the sign
that things will work out, that Good Times are coming; I see
the first birds returning or passing through and buds
plumping, showing courage to strive at every opportunity,
though harsh weather rears soon after and some die of the
cold. The feathered bodies that I pass in the streets, by
the roadside, I say a prayer for and honor their courage, to
the ice-covered greenery that showed too soon I send a hope
that resurrection will be theirs; death in pursuit of life
is a culling that adds to the earth's fertility and proves
furthering to those whose luck is with them. Imbolc speaks
to me of birth, of death suffered in seeking [re]birth, of
the favoring of luck...
There is a click (which I can sense) and I see a mad rush of
flowers bursting their skins and leaves bursting through the
soil and I cannot help but think of balance returned to the
earth (as the daylight evidences) and rebirth in full swing
and promise met...
These are only a few signs off the top of my head, a few
thoughts that occupy me while walking through the seasons
and Sabbats, but all evidence of my faith inarguable and
present. I know your examination of your environment as the
Wheel turns and through the eyes of your faith will net you
a firm grounding in your physical surrounds and personal
power; I know you will see the spiritual Truth that lies
behind the physical as you watch the various manifestations
process through. Many that are new to W/wicca or P/paganism
come seeking what I term 'pyrotechnics', the spells and
power and (essentially) posing. I find the real Mystery,
the real gift, is found in gaining awareness of the sacred
pageant playing out in Nature every moment, whether we are
looking or not. Forest and trees, and I am glad to see
both.
-'Thenie
Tiliqua
and now constructing the World's Most Complex KittenGym
I write,
>You have helped me put another piece in my awareness of
>balance. While half the globe experiences Beltaine, the
>other is experiencing Samhain; Yule one place is MidSummer
>in another. Together, they make wholeness and balance.
>This is so >right<.
Living in the Southern Hemisphere (like Yowie) this was forcibly
brought to my awareness when I started down my pagan path.
All the references were wrong!! All the seasons were out of whack!!
Eventually I had to get my graphics program out and draw up my own
Wheel of the Year to reconcile Southern Hemisphere reality with
Northern Hemisphere theory and the mundane calendar.
It certainly provided focus.
As an aside, and possibly something Yowie and other Australasians may
care to comment upon, it occurred to me on last 25th April that this
date in our local collective consciousness is far more significant as
our Day of the Dead, when our thoughts turn to the spirits gone
before, than the equivalent thinning of the wall "between" which takes
place at Hallowe'en. This may also be because my family history (such
as it is) is a fairly military one.
I'm considering whether the collective consciousness is more powerful
in the drawing towards than is the astrological/psychic event in the
Northern Hemisphere.
Because ANZAC day is so locally specific, Northern hemispherians may
like to speculate on the similarity to the November 11th memorial,
which appears to be far more significant up there than down here. Of
course, the relative proximity of the October and November dates and
events may have a boosting effect rather than a counteractive one.
Any thoughts?
..
..
May the Lord and the Lady prosper your ventures.
francis cameron
<full...@ozeMALEcom.au> writes
> I write,
>>You have helped me put another piece in my awareness of
>>balance. While half the globe experiences Beltaine, the
>>other is experiencing Samhain; Yule one place is MidSummer
>>in another. Together, they make wholeness and balance.
>>This is so >right<.
>
>Living in the Southern Hemisphere (like Yowie) this was forcibly
>brought to my awareness when I started down my pagan path.
>
>All the references were wrong!! All the seasons were out of whack!!
>
>Eventually I had to get my graphics program out and draw up my own
>Wheel of the Year to reconcile Southern Hemisphere reality with
>Northern Hemisphere theory an
d the mundane calendar.
You are so right in your observations.
I was introduced to Traditional (but inclined to Alexandrian) Witchcraft
in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle in the early 1970s.
I felt it necessary to circle deosil (anticlockwise) to go with the
track of the sun as it moved to the North at midday. It felt out of sync
to celebrate Yule at the time of the Summer Solstice (even though my
friends in church were singing "See amid the winter's snow .. "). And to
celebrate Spring at either of the Equinoxes required a great exercise of
the imagination. (Spring, in New South Wales, began on the 1st of
September - because the State Government decreed it so!) Even the
Quarters had to be different. In the East, the Pacific Ocean : Water. In
the West, the Blue Mountains : Earth. In the North, the sun at noon :
Fire. And in the South, the Southerly Buster : Air.
Now that I have been back in England even longer than I was in
Australia, I am aware that we need to adjust the words of the old books
to the actual circumstances of our local surroundings. That, for me, is
one of the essential Pagan elements of our Wicca.
Blessings ..
--
francis
Yowie
news:rb8i52t8t0eaas64m...@4ax.com...
No thoughts except that I got the sort of shiver that I get when i stumble
upon something profoundly *true*. Its incredibly obvious now, the fact that
ANZAC day is the most sacred day to Aussies (and probably Kiwis), the energy
it produces, the mood it creates, the memories that it dredges up, heck,
even the pilgrimage many Aussies take themselves on at leas tonce in their
lives to the 'sacred sites'. I hadn't thought about it until you mentioned
it, but yup, ANZAC day is our 'day of the dead', quite obviously, and I
probably shouldn't be surprised that it is so close to the calendar
reckoning 'day of the dead'.
Thanks for pointing that out, Tiliqua.
Yowie
Wood Avens
wrote:
>As an aside, and possibly something Yowie and other Australasians may
>care to comment upon, it occurred to me on last 25th April that this
>date in our local collective consciousness is far more significant as
>our Day of the Dead, when our thoughts turn to the spirits gone
>before, than the equivalent thinning of the wall "between" which takes
>place at Hallowe'en. This may also be because my family history (such
>as it is) is a fairly military one.
>
>I'm considering whether the collective consciousness is more powerful
>in the drawing towards than is the astrological/psychic event in the
>Northern Hemisphere.
>
>Because ANZAC day is so locally specific, Northern hemispherians may
>like to speculate on the similarity to the November 11th memorial,
>which appears to be far more significant up there than down here. Of
>course, the relative proximity of the October and November dates and
>events may have a boosting effect rather than a counteractive one.
>
>Any thoughts?
Interesting one.
For me (in England) Samhain/Halloween is also bracketed with Guy
Fawkes Day, 5 November, which replicates the Fire Festival aspect of
Samhain, and may, arguably, have taken over from survivals of an
earlier seasonal fire festival.
Certainly 11 November, Armistice Day, was very important in my
childhood as the day for remembering and honouring the sacrifice of
the war dead. But I've become increasingly uncomfortable with its
more recent incarnations as "Remembrance Day", when what we seem to be
encouraged to do is not so much to remember the soldiers' deaths but
to celebrate the British victories. That seems to me to be moving
towards making a mockery of the whole event, and it certainly shifts
the focus away from our connection with Death and the Otherworld.
--
Wood Avens
spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @
Tiliqua
and now constructing the World's Most Complex KittenGym
I write,
That's certainly NOT the focus of ANZAC Day.
Gallipoli wasn't a victory in any way and whatever other conflicts or
peace-making or peace-keeping actions we will EVER be involved in, it
will always come back to ANZAC Cove.
This week there was video published (on SBS's Nightline (with George
Negus) for anybody who wants to follow it up) of the ANZAC Day
observances by the troops on active service in Iraq.
The memorial at which the wreaths were laid was a rifle, bayonet
fixed, stuck upright in the sand with a slouch hat perched on top and
a catafalque party posted to guard it.
I cried to see it and I'm crying now as I recount it. There was a
sandstorm blowing as the troops stood in hollow square for the
service. The Chief of Army was present.
That's probably as honestly pagan as any other commemoration for the
dead you'll ever see.
Tiliqua
and now constructing the World's Most Complex KittenGym
I write,
><full...@ozeMALEcom.au> writes
>> I write,
>>>You have helped me put another piece in my awareness of
>>>balance. While half the globe experiences Beltaine, the
>>>other is experiencing Samhain; Yule one place is MidSummer
>>>in another. Together, they make wholeness and balance.
>>>This is so >right<.
>>
>>Living in the Southern Hemisphere (like Yowie) this was forcibly
>>brought to my awareness when I started down my pagan path.
>>
>>All the references were wrong!! All the seasons were out of whack!!
>>
>>Eventually I had to get my graphics program out and draw up my own
>>Wheel of the Year to reconcile Southern Hemisphere reality with
>>Northern Hemisphere theory an
>d the mundane calendar.
>===========================================
>
>You are so right in your observations.
>
>I was introduced to Traditional (but inclined to Alexandrian) Witchcraft
>in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle in the early 1970s.
>
>I felt it necessary to circle deosil (anticlockwise)
Yet others I have encountered (even here) insist that deosil is
clockwise, not having reconciled the conflict between the real path of
the sun with the Northern teachings that "deosil is clockwise" as the
Sun passes to their South. That betokens an unawareness and a rigidity
of adherence to received wisdom that is one of the reasons I have
never tried to find a coven and seek Trad initiation.
>to go with the
>track of the sun as it moved to the North at midday. It felt out of sync
>to celebrate Yule at the time of the Summer Solstice (even though my
>friends in church were singing "See amid the winter's snow .. "). And to
>celebrate Spring at either of the Equinoxes required a great exercise of
>the imagination. (Spring, in New South Wales, began on the 1st of
>September - because the State Government decreed it so!)
The history of that is that because the settlement was initially a
military colony and the difference between the seasons is so minimal,
a decree had to be issued as to the date when the troops changed from
winter dress to summer dress. The Governor chose the First of the
Month and so it has remained. (But that's only the government calendar
- it's an incentive for us to recognise the Solstices AT the date of
the Solstice no the "official" date.) It's an Aussie thing and one of
the quirks that makes us so lovable (Ahem! - brash cheeky grin waving
a Vegemite jar)
>Even the
>Quarters had to be different. In the East, the Pacific Ocean : Water. In
>the West, the Blue Mountains : Earth. In the North, the sun at noon :
>Fire. And in the South, the Southerly Buster : Air.
That's exactly the system I worked out for myself from first
principles, although I was looking further afield - in the West - the
whole continent = Earth. In the South, the generator of all wind and
weather - Antartica=Air. They're VERY strong presences and need to be
in order to balance the strengths of North and East.
>
>Now that I have been back in England even longer than I was in
>Australia, I am aware that we need to adjust the words of the old books
>to the actual circumstances of our local surroundings. That, for me, is
>one of the essential Pagan elements of our Wicca.
And it's one of the reasons (the local invariance of seasons) that
some of the Traditional Northern practices aren't so importantly
observed.
The changes between seasons are either not so strong or the seasons
aren't the same - I mean REALLY not the same.
In Darwin there are TWO seasons - the Wet and The Dry. In Northern
Queensland, the murree people recognise six seasons. Here in Sydney we
really have only three seasons, the hot one, the warm wet one (I wish
it were wetter) and the cool dry one
>
>Blessings ..
Don Hilliker
Glad to hear you had some chance to enjoy. I was gifted with a view
of a Snowy Owl sitting on a CE pole while working on Tuesday, showing
that we are rewarded for watching. I live close to the tip o the mit,
and acutally have tickets 3 or 4 times a week in Mac City. I remeber
the drone & din from my time downstate, and fully enjoy the piece that
we mostly have in a township that has not seen a change in population
in about 60 years.
Blessed Be
Don
(still hoping she will give us the rain, looks promising tonight, but
we need it to stop the rampant forrest & grass fires)
Yowie
Would have to concur - the only way I can identify spring using my 'Book of
Stuff' Calendar is noticing when the non-native plants flower. The native
plants bloom whenever they damn well want to :-). Especially the Wattles,
the most glorious, efferfescent and prolific of all our flowerers - in
Winter (August)!
I have noted, though, the day I first wore a light cardigan during hte day.
It was only 2 weeks ago.
Yowie
Yowie
The dawn service, facing east, the playing of "The Last Post" (always gives
me forlorn goosebumps), silence, the sun rises, then playing "Reville"....
also pagan, also exceptionally moving. it always moves me to tears when I
can attend the service (especailly so when I get to a dawn service), heck,
even thinking about it moves me to tears. Even the small poem "At the going
down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them" is pagan.
Darn it if I'm not in tears again.
Its an exceedingly strong part of the Aussie psyche, and getting stronger.
Yowie
Yowie
I couldn't wrap my head around the traditional quarters simply because I
live inthe Illawarra - "The mountains by the sea". Almost everywhere you go
in the Illawarra, you can see the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the
parellel escarpment range in the West (The escarpment being the reason why
Wollongong has different weather to Sydney, and why we'll be he first area
in Australia that gets 'built out' - there isn't much room left for
expansion). The air and fire were only slightly more difficult to work out,
but yes, its the cold southerly buster for Air, and the North for fire. I
know that they aren't in 'opposition' in a traditional sense, but the
blessing of a Southerly Buster after a ridiculously hot day, and the large
pounding surf at our beaches seems to make the earth-water and air-fire
opposition smake a natural kind of sense.
And since I didn't start out doing circles or calling quarters, I have no
preference for direction. I except one day I'll be hit over the head by a
magical clue-by-four about how it ought to be done, but until that happens,
I call the quarters in a cross: water-earth, air-fire (makes sense to me,
I'm Christo-Pagan!)
Yowie
Romauld
: The dawn service, facing east, the playing of "The Last Post" (always gives
: me forlorn goosebumps), silence, the sun rises, then playing "Reville"....
: also pagan,
Exceptionally moving, no question but I do have to query 'also pagan':
are you referring to the Reveille, or the veneration of sunrise? If
the former, I'd be interested to know what's pagan about it. If the
latter, I'd have to say that solar orientation and reverence is not
exclusive to pagan belief systems.
~R
--
Romauld - romauld at necrotheque dot dcu
"It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses
or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not
change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people."
- Giordano Bruno
Jackdaw
"Romauld" <tr...@necrotheque.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:slrne5m3e...@necrotheque.demon.co.uk...
> Recently, a script from Yowie arrived, in which they said:
>
> : The dawn service, facing east, the playing of "The Last Post" (always
> gives
> : me forlorn goosebumps), silence, the sun rises, then playing
> "Reville"....
> : also pagan,
>
> Exceptionally moving, no question but I do have to query 'also pagan':
> are you referring to the Reveille, or the veneration of sunrise? If
> the former, I'd be interested to know what's pagan about it. If the
> latter, I'd have to say that solar orientation and reverence is not
> exclusive to pagan belief systems.
I think it was the reference to the gun and slouch hat that represents the
soldiers who died. The image is very powerful and moving.
YMMV.
Tiliqua
and now constructing the World's Most Complex KittenGym
I write,
>down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them" is pagan.
I think you'll find the whole poem as "For the Fallen" by Russell
Binyon. Now that's completely from memory and not verified so there
might be some variation.
Again - from memory only:
They went with songs to the battle.
They were young, clear of eye, steady and aglow.
They fought to the end against odds uncounted.
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old as we who are left grow old.
Age will not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Romauld
:> : The dawn service, facing east, the playing of "The Last Post" (always
:> gives
:> : me forlorn goosebumps), silence, the sun rises, then playing
:> "Reville"....
:> : also pagan,
:>
:> Exceptionally moving, no question but I do have to query 'also pagan':
:> are you referring to the Reveille, or the veneration of sunrise? If
:> the former, I'd be interested to know what's pagan about it. If the
:> latter, I'd have to say that solar orientation and reverence is not
:> exclusive to pagan belief systems.
:
: I think it was the reference to the gun and slouch hat that represents the
: soldiers who died. The image is very powerful and moving.
: YMMV.
I apprecaite that, and as I said I agreed about how moving it was. However,
I'm querying the last clause: "silence, the sun rises, then playing Reville,
also pagan".
I don't understand what, in that sentence is explicitly pagan.
Yowie
> Recently, a script from Jackdaw arrived, in which they said:
>
> :> : The dawn service, facing east, the playing of "The Last Post" (always
> :> gives
> :> : me forlorn goosebumps), silence, the sun rises, then playing
> :> "Reville"....
> :> : also pagan,
> :>
> :> Exceptionally moving, no question but I do have to query 'also pagan':
> :> are you referring to the Reveille, or the veneration of sunrise? If
> :> the former, I'd be interested to know what's pagan about it. If the
> :> latter, I'd have to say that solar orientation and reverence is not
> :> exclusive to pagan belief systems.
> :
> : I think it was the reference to the gun and slouch hat that represents
> the
> : soldiers who died. The image is very powerful and moving.
> : YMMV.
>
> I apprecaite that, and as I said I agreed about how moving it was.
> However,
> I'm querying the last clause: "silence, the sun rises, then playing
> Reville,
> also pagan".
>
> I don't understand what, in that sentence is explicitly pagan.
Um.... the idea in my head at the time is the idea of death and rebirth...
coinciding with the rising of the sun. The 'call' from the bugle for the
dead to rise again. It seems rather pagan to me, YMMV.
Yowie
Tiliqua
and now constructing the World's Most Complex KittenGym
I write,
>> However,
>> I'm querying the last clause: "silence, the sun rises, then playing
>> Reville,
>> also pagan".
>>
>> I don't understand what, in that sentence is explicitly pagan.
>
>Um.... the idea in my head at the time is the idea of death and rebirth...
>coinciding with the rising of the sun. The 'call' from the bugle for the
>dead to rise again. It seems rather pagan to me, YMMV.
The bugle calls, Last Post and Reveille were originally military
signals, from the days before telecommunications allowed simultaneous
broadcast of orders in any other way.
The practice, not the specific calls, go back about 7000 years.
Rameses II controlled troops with bugle/trumpet calls.
The Romans had their buccinators, who blew buccae, (or buccinae)
(sp?). The Celts (especially the Germanic ones), used lurhorns and
other wind instruments. The northern and Western Celts used bagpipes.
All were used to transmit orders over distance.
With the advent of electric and electronic communications from 1916
onwards, the original meanings and significance of the two signals
have been diminished and a patina of spiritual significance has been
overlaid, (again especially in Australasia) because most civilians
have only ever heard them in the ANZAC Day remembrance ceremonies.
They're not widely used in the military context any more, either,
except at the mid- and large- sized base depots (and often only by
playing a taped/recorded version - waiting for an iPod broadcast next,
I s'pose (g)).
Anyway, that's all to say that I can see both PsoV (Points of View -
the abbreviation doesn't look right), firstly that the signals are
purely functional AND secondly, that they have acquired a spiritual
significance in Australasia.
Let's not get heated about this, OK?
Yowie
There was heat? My apologies if any of my posts came across that way - it
was not intended and *definately* not felt.
Now I think its interesting how something that had a perfectly mundane
origin can take on a spiritual significance throughthe strength of emotion a
large number of people feel towards it.
I've never gone to a large sporting event, so don't know how they feel, but
I do recall the 'feel' I got from U2's 'Love Comes ot Town' concert in 1989
and the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The opened with "Where the Streets Have
No Name", and darn didn't I get goosebumps everywhere tot he points even my
hackles rose. Its a spiritual song inthe first place (anything they did
before 'Actung Baby' usually was), but playing to the Arena, which was still
in darkness as the song started, was purely magical (even if I didn't know
anything about magic back then). That song *still* brings shivers to me.
Is that how magical days are made? That if enough people raise enough energy
(conciously or subconciously) that the fabric of space & time gets 'marked'?
And it can be built on year on year, so that the previous energy adds to the
current energy to make it even more intense? It just sort of sits in the
collective psyche (group memory?) of the people?
Anyway, food for thought.
Yowie
Tiliqua
Not at the time I commented. I dived in with the intention of
pre-empting any failure to reconcile the two viewpoints.
>Now I think its interesting how something that had a perfectly mundane
>origin can take on a spiritual significance throughthe strength of emotion a
>large number of people feel towards it.
>
>I've never gone to a large sporting event, so don't know how they feel, but
>I do recall the 'feel' I got from U2's 'Love Comes ot Town' concert in 1989
>and the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The opened with "Where the Streets Have
>No Name", and darn didn't I get goosebumps everywhere tot he points even my
>hackles rose. Its a spiritual song inthe first place (anything they did
>before 'Actung Baby' usually was), but playing to the Arena, which was still
>in darkness as the song started, was purely magical (even if I didn't know
>anything about magic back then). That song *still* brings shivers to me.
>
>Is that how magical days are made? That if enough people raise enough energy
>(conciously or subconciously) that the fabric of space & time gets 'marked'?
>And it can be built on year on year, so that the previous energy adds to the
>current energy to make it even more intense? It just sort of sits in the
>collective psyche (group memory?) of the people?
>
I believe so.
My experience with music concerts is very limited, but there was a
similar unconscious raising of energy every year at the Bathurst
motorcycle races. I went to every one from 1968 to 1986 (when they
shut us down permanently) except for one year. (My excuse is that I
was overseas. )
Of course, since the event was held over the Easter long weekend it
was subsumed by the energies the much larger number of Christian
worshippers would have been putting out at the same time, so the
effects were very localised.
>Anyway, food for thought.
>
>Yowie