Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Friday the 13th Today is judged unlucky by many. It is the weekday named for the goddess, Frigg, mother and matron of the Norse. She is wife to Odin, the wanderer and all-father in the Nordic pantheon. She is mother to Baldur, the golden summer lord who dies from a dart of mistletoe wielded by… Continue reading The Daily: 13 October 2023
St Francis of the Birdbath 4 October is the feast day of St Francis of Assisi. You might know him as the irreverent but apt moniker, St Francis of the Birdbath, because that is where many of us encounter him. Bare-headed with the monk's tonsure, dressed in rough robes and coarse rope belting, he stands… Continue reading The Daily: 4 October 2023
The ancient world of the Mediterranean and Near East has a great number of interesting mythological beings. Some are related to old gods and tutelary spirits. Some are fairly accurate illustrations of the anxieties of humankind — or maybe mankind, since women didn't have much of a voice. Some are just ludicrous. One of my… Continue reading The Daily: 29 September 2023
The moonrise tonight is the closest to the Full Harvest Moon which happens at 5:58 tomorrow morning. In my part of the world, moonrise tonight is at 6:30pm, a few minutes before the sun sets. This ought to be one moonrise that most of New England can see, though thin clouds might dim the Full… Continue reading The Daily: 28 September 2023
Happy Mabon? Is it possible to unselfconsciously use the Wiccan-derived names for the quarter days? Because I can’t seem to get there. For the third quarter day of the year, they chose a rather obscure deity as their name for the holiday. I couldn’t say what the Welsh Mabon, or Maponos, the perpetually young Son… Continue reading The Daily: 23 September 2023
The sun passes the ecliptic tomorrow at 2:50am (EDT). This is the autumnal equinox. By now, those of you who tolerate my blathering know that this is not the true equinox since that day of equal length for night and day is dependent on latitude. Here where I live, day length is closest to 12… Continue reading The Daily: 22 September 2023
Today is the Feast Day of Hildegard of Bingen, one of the greatest influencers in medieval Europe. Her works were read and promulgated by bishops, kings, and popes. She led the western world in matters ranging from medicine to music, and her unique philosophy of life is still fresh and inspirational. I wrote this essay… Continue reading The Daily: 17 September 2023
Labor Day Today is Labor Day in the US. This first Monday in September is the day that our country dedicated to honoring the working class after the powers that be decided that May Day, the original Labor Day, was too closely tied to the actual labor movement. A parade of organized laborers was held… Continue reading The Daily: 4 September 2023
Today is King's Cross Day. Time to board a train and head back to Hogwarts. The kids in my town started school on Wednesday. My niece in Indiana has been in class for weeks. New Mexico started in early August as well, though when my kids were in school and when I was teaching geology… Continue reading The Daily: 1 September 2023
Full Blue Blueberry Supermoon The Blueberry Moon is full tonight at 9:36pm. This is the second full moon in August, so this is a blue moon. This is also the time of year that the moon is closest to earth, so it is a supermoon, also the second one in August. As I said earlier… Continue reading The Daily: 30 August 2023
By My Solitary Hearth 