Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the spring fast, Lent. The name lent derives from an Old English word meaning “spring season”. Other languages name this 40-day period before Easter with words that derive from “fasting”. We can see from these names that Lent is not merely a season of preparation for the Christian Easter.… Continue reading Lessons in Living in Season
Ash Wednesday is a day of reckoning and atonement. Time for purification in preparation for the coming season of growth. We dip our souls in the cleansing fire of spring renewal and rise phoenix-like from the ashes. Daubing ash on the forehead is a reminder of our earthiness, our deep connection to this planet we… Continue reading Ashes, Ashes, We All Rise Up
I briefly considered writing about Mardi Gras today, but I just don’t like it enough. I am not a Carnival person. I don’t like the noise, the crowds, the mess, the stink. I hate feeling inebriated and I simply can’t tolerate drunk people. I have no use for plastic beads. And King Cake looks revolting.… Continue reading Pancakes for Fat Tuesday
The old river god gently laid the sleeping twin boys on the bank. She watched as he sadly backed away from the shore and melted into his domain. Just before he vanished he looked up and met her eyes, charging her with this task in that one glance. He knew her well. She would never… Continue reading Romulus and Remus
Like many people, I find the American version of Valentine’s Day and the saccharine and monochromatic view of love it promotes to be repulsive. In my younger days I assumed the whole farce was invented by the greeting card and gifting industry, along with the rise of all manner of fake holidays intended to get… Continue reading Of Hearts and Wolves
Snow Moon The fourth moon in the lunar year is the Snow Moon, though I sometimes think it should be called the Hunger Moon. There is not always snow, but there is hunger — in both belly and mind. At this time of year, many of us become restless, wanting to be more, do more.… Continue reading New Year by Snow Moon
There were no shadows in the winds that day… Mom had diabetes. Turns out intermittent refrigeration wasn’t the only hazard awaiting the insulin-dependent. No, in the end it was a few years of consecutive losses for Eli Lily. Granted, this was largely because of the increased cost of refrigerated shipping, but still. The problem wasn’t… Continue reading Candlemas Augury
And he saw his shadow… The barn door knocks against its frame, sending staccato signals into the night. Nobody out there to interpret the message. All these ghost ranchitos. Only me in here, and I know the message: that barn door needs to be rehung. If I can find the hardware. I watch as the… Continue reading Sunny Day Forecast
If Candlemas be bright and clear there'll be two winters in the year. — traditional adage from Scotland There are many weather marking days throughout the year. Candlemas, falling on 2 February, was the day that our ancestors began to get nervous about the spring. A fine Candlemas portends a bad harvest and winter dearth;… Continue reading Of Candles and Divinatory Beasts
So what is the true meaning of this holiday? Is it all about the sheep? Is it a more general quickening of life in a more generalized belly? Do sheep have anything to do with it? Or is it maybe all about cleaning?
By My Solitary Hearth 