Abbie Hoffman Moment

Halloween Sabbat

Happy Halloween, everyone! This is also called Samhain, and on the Pagan calendar, it is the end of the year. This is the third harvest, at which time,our ancestors' tradition held that all agricultural harvesting should be complete. Some Pagan traditions celebrate this day on October 31; others celebrate it on the first full moon of Scorpio. This day is set aside as a day to honor deceased Ancestors. It is a bit like Memorial Day, and gifts of flowers, whiskey, chocolate, food, and tobacco were often left at graves, as gifts for the Dead.  Gourds and turnips were carved into scary candle holders called "jack-o-lanterns" to scare away any malevolent spirits, and the custom of dressing up in costumes, as fairies or spirits, was seen as a means of protection, as well.

Halloween is also reminiscent of the Greek legend of Hades and his capture of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, Goddess of agriculture, plants, and harvest. When Persephone disappeared, Demeter let the earth become barren. When Zeus intervened, and determined that Persephone should be in the Underworld with her new consort for six months, then with Demeter for six months, the seasons as we know them began, so the story goes. This is how Persephone became Queen of the Dead, and when she rushes out of the Underworld in the Spring, life begins anew.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Feast Of Lugh

Lughnasadh is generally celebrated on August 1, or during the first full moon of Leo, depending upon the Pagan tradition involved. In prehistoric times, it was a Gaelic festival that marked the beginning of harvest season. Lammas is another name for it, and it is also referred to as the "first harvest", the second harvest is the autumnal equinox and the third is Halloween. Our ancestors had festivals and carnivals back in the day, to celebrate a great harvest and to trade. The practice of holding fairs and carnivals late in the summer came from Lammas festivals. The celebrated God is Lugh, whose name literally means "light", and friendly competitions and mock battles symbolized Lugh, or light, triumphing over barrenness and darkness.

Hope you had a very happy Feast of Lugh!

Celebration Of Beltane

Beltane is celebrated either on the first of May, or on the first full moon of Taurus. It is the Pagan celebration of fertility, the time of blessing fields, herds, and of announcing engagements and marriages. The Goddess is celebrated by sensuality
and beauty, and in some ancient Northern European villages, all fires were extinguished, in order to be ceremoniously re-lit from the ritual balefire. It was a festival that involved everyone.

This is the celebration of Persephone's return from the realm of the underworld. On Halloween, she has become the consort of Hades, Lord of the underworld, and in this capacity, Persephone is the Queen of the Dead. During the six months between Halloween and Beltane, the earth is at rest, and growing season is dormant. It begins again, full swing, at her return.

Happy Winter Solstice

A Happy Winter Solstice to everyone!

Sunset Tonight

Season's Greetings

Sol In Winter Solstice

The Cauldron At Lammas

On Lammas, yours truly spent most of the day in the kitchen, stirring the cauldron and baking bread. The cauldron bubbled over with homemade salsa, diced tomatoes with oregano and basil, and blueberry jam. One of her little Witches in Training baked some yummy zucchini bread and peanut butter brownies. Hopefully, everyone had an abundant Lammas.

Beltane Fire

Dancing flames in Beltane fires

Passion, strength, and Love's desires!

National Government Shutdown Day

There is a group of Kansas citizens who have been protesting sporadically outside of Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins's Pittsburg Kansas office since the Government Shutdown began on October 1. They have decided to make the most of the situation, and use it as an opportunity to remind Jenkins that even though the rivers tend to flow Republican in Kansas, (no pun intended, there actually IS a Republican River in Kansas) there are still many voters affiliated with the Democrat Party and the Republican Party who are not happy with Jenkins's tendency to bow to the Tea Party, and sell out to the Koch Brothers whenever the pressure is on. So they have put together signs and banners with various messages; "Tea Time Is Over" has been a popular one, and peacefully protested this past week.

This is a great idea, and it is heartwarming to see that Kansans care enough about the misdeeds of those in authority to speak up about it. It could be taken to a higher level, though. Instead of being afraid when the media puppetry suggests doom and gloom, and makes the recommendation of being afraid, we could make a celebration out of it. Now that operations that have been shut down are slowly but surely getting re-opened, one by one, as the need and public outcry dictates, we can all see that a lot of this "shutdown" business is really an outlet for congressional and senatorial drama. It's a shame our representatives apparently never excelled in drama or forensics when they were in high school, and are acting out now, using the rest of us as a "forced audience" of sorts, but it seems this is the sad result of failing to learn cooperation and communication skills and failing to grow up. Boehner, we are all looking at you, here. When we want  drama queens, we will look to the Kardashians, not to Congress.

Suppose, every year, the government shut down on October 1 in order to remember and celebrate October 1, 2013? It could be a day that we close everything except "essential" services and gather outside of city halls and government buildings everywhere in the nation. We could barbecue, sell hotdogs, and create a carnival atmosphere, encouraging the drama espoused by Congress right now. Anyone with a gripe about a flaw within local or national politics would have the opportunity to picket, and draw attention to his chosen cause. We could also stage Revolutionary War reenactments. Schools, of course, would be closed on National Government Shutdown Day. Instead of furloughing government employees, we could give anyone who wanted to work on that day an option of taking the day off, or participating in a drive to register potential voters. Not only would National Government Shutdown Day be a celebration and an outlet for repressed angst, it could be educational and constructive.

The only guideline that should be strictly enforced is possibly that there should be no violence, just constructive fun, as the Fourth of July is celebrated. No one can be hanged in effigy, and no destruction of property can be tolerated. Instead, we can write petitions requesting that officials go back to school, switch to more suitable careers, or resign. In more serious cases, National Government Shutdown Day can be a day when we write petitions and complaints to initiate recalls and investigations of those officials and elected servants whose performance is truly unacceptable. Violence, however; is never a constructive direction for change.

As an added bonus, the weather is usually very nice in the beginning of October, and conducive to nonviolent gatherings. Mild weather is great for picnics. When school re-opens the following day, classroom discussions could take place nationwide for the purpose of teaching children how their government works, and about what happens when it does not work.

 

Lughnasadh

Lammas, or the Festival of Lugh, the God of Light. It's usually observed in the northern hemisphere around August 1, or on the first full moon of Leo, and today happens to be both. Our present day traditions of carnivals hark back to this festival, and traditional foods, besides meats, were grains, any fruit that is ripe by this time during the summer, and of course, anything else from the garden with which one cooked. Lugh, as the God of Light, had started to recede just a little bit, and re-enactments of battles between light and darkness were usually done. Sometimes couples were handfasted for a year and a day, at this festival. If the union lasted, they could make it permanant at a later date. Lughnasadh is more about fun. Brightest Blessings, all!

Another Siri Search

Among some of the Siri searches lately was someone looking for Pagan Festivals. Oh.....why didn't you say so? Witchvox has information from almost everywhere in the United States. Here's another link, Beyond Dead, from the Northeast.

Maypole, after dance on Beltane

Winter Solstice, The Sun King, And Christmas Trees

Happy Winter Solstice, everyone! This year, Winter Solstice in on December 21. That is the ancient celebration of the new birth of Light, or the Sun King. Odin and Frigga and the newborn God and Isis, Osiris, and newborn Horus are the legends with which most modern Americans would be likely to find some familiarity. Almost every culture in the Northern Hemisphere has a festival involving candles, fire or light during this time of year. It has been speculated, probably correctly, that this is because we need and crave light, and it is healthy during the days of the least sunlight, to surround ourselves with as much light as we can.

Since it's healthy to be surrounded by cheery light displays this time of year, why would residents of Hudsonville, Michigan get an ANONYMOUS letter explaining that their holiday lights are Pagan, and therefore unacceptable to....to....whoever wrote the letter? In my world, only people can be Pagan, not household items, such as lights! And, as a person who was actually brought up in a Pagan path before the days of Goth and New Age "coolness", I can attest that "Christian" displays, with all of the hollow hypocrisy of those who erect them, are just as offensive to anyone forced to think of the crusades, the inquisition, slavery in America, the KKK, and Westboro Baptist Church every time we see a visual reference to the religion. At least, it is possible to take some comfort in the fact that the Newborn God is really the occulted celebrant here, and not the icon of those who would kill and uproot, leaving heartache and destruction in their wake. Why would the writer of the Hudsonville letter assume that all of the recipients are Christian? Why would the writer insist upon remaining anonymous?

Isis, Thoth, and in the tree, Osiris. The genuine article, as Christmas trees go. Soon, Isis will bring Horus into the world, to begin the cycle anew.