Snow Moon The Wolf Moon went dark yesterday at 7:01am. Both Mardi Gras and Chinese New Year, with all their riotous color and spark, took place last night. Today, the Snow Moon, the fourth moon in my lunar year, is new. In my calendar, this is the season of Early Spring, the long wait of… Continue reading The Daily: 18 February 2026
Category: History & Anthropology
The Daily: 17 February 2026
The Wolf Moon goes dark today at 7:01am, so the crescent Snow Moon — or, this year, the Hunger Moon, since it is so late — might be visible tonight at sunset, though it would be faint and you'd need a very flat western horizon to see it. In traditional lunisolar calendars, the Moon is… Continue reading The Daily: 17 February 2026
The Daily: 16 February 2026
February First Fruits & Quirinalia To highlight just how different the seasonal cycle is depending on latitude, mid-February, the last ides of the ritual year in Rome, was a festival of the first-fruit offerings. While here in Vermont we are barely thinking about the growing season, never mind able to see actual earth, during the… Continue reading The Daily: 16 February 2026
The Daily: 14 February 2026
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 The Daily: 14 February 2026
The Daily: 13 February 2026
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 February 2026
The Daily: 11 February 2026
Last week we celebrated the Purification of the Virgin, otherwise known as Candlemas or Imbolg. Next week Mardi Gras ushers in the Lenten fast, a time of reconciliation and cleansing. This weekend we celebrate the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia which has been recast and shifted slightly to Valentine’s Day. This too is a… Continue reading The Daily: 11 February 2026
The Daily: 5 February 2026
5 February is St Agatha’s Day. Born in about 231 in Catania, Sicily, she is one of many virgin martyrs of early Christianity. Her story exemplifies why there are so many women among the ranks of martyrs for the faith. She was said to be a beautiful child born to wealthy nobility, but she turned… Continue reading The Daily: 5 February 2026
The Daily: 1 February 2026
If Brigid visited your house with a blessing last night, show her your gratitude by beginning your spring cleaning in her honor. If you have a woodstove, today is a good day to clean out the ashes and begin spreading them on your garden beds. (If you live where the soils are already saline, especially… Continue reading The Daily: 1 February 2026
The Daily: 31 January 2026
Tonight is St Brigid's Eve. Tomorrow is the feast day of St Brigid, arguably the central idea of deity for most of the ancient Celts and one of the most widely venerated Christian saints. St Brigid is patron of Ireland, alongside Patrick. She is also patron of babies, children whose parents are not married, dairy… Continue reading The Daily: 31 January 2026
The Daily: 30 January 2026
If you live in the US, then today is the day to stand up. Today, we strike back where it hurts them the most — on the balance books. Today is a general strike, a National Shutdown. No shopping. No entertainment. No travel. No spending money. If you are able to stay home from work… Continue reading The Daily: 30 January 2026
