Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
It is Epiphany, 6 January, the close of the Christmas season and the beginning of mundane time, a shift to Imbolg and the hope of spring — after we, hopefully, survive the worst of the winter weather. This is the date the Catholic Church assigned to the arrival of the Magi and also, later, the… Continue reading The Daily: 6 January 2025
Today is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Christ-child, the savior deity of the Christian faith. Today is also the birthday of Mithras the cult deity of the Roman legions, who began his existence as a sun god, the Unconquered Sun, Sol Invictus, of which the emperor was the earthly avatar. Today… Continue reading The Daily: 25 December 2024
There are many ways to divide up the year. We all use several different calendars — one based on months, one based on seasons, perhaps a school calendar or a business calendar. Some cultures emphasize the moon, with varying degrees of correspondence to the solar year. Some cultures don't bother with a framework and base… Continue reading The Daily: 24 December 24
When I was a young adult, I found November difficult, a month of endurance, of feeling increasingly irritable and often ill, incapable of concentration and yet unable to relax, hungry but never an appetite for anything. November brought darkness and cold, but not the snow and peace of winter, lethargy and apathy, but no time… Continue reading The Daily: 12 November 2024
Odds are few of you are as involved in the pagan community as I am. Though this is the fastest growing spiritual path, both in the world and in my own country, it is still a very small community. Moreover, I am in the minority in thinking that it might be good for the planet… Continue reading The Daily: 29 October 2024
St Giles and the Hind by the Master of St Giles (National Gallery, London) Today is the feast day of St Giles, who comes from the legendary days of Medieval Christianity. He was supposedly a 7th century prince of Athens who moved to the Rhone Valley and became a monk. He left a trail of… Continue reading The Daily: 1 September 2024
It has cooled down substantially. There have been morning fogs and evening breezes. It's still very humid and the smoke is still hazing the hills, making mountains insubstantial, mere ideas of solidity squatting across the river valley. It is also raining most days, but lightly, not torrents (except for the storm cell that dropped more… Continue reading The Daily: 20 August 2024
Things to look forward to... a full moon I did my graduate work amid people who studied bits of foreign places like comets, exploded planets, asteroids, and moons. I have held pieces of our satellite moon in my hand and looked at the structure of its minerals through powerful lenses. My own work was focused… Continue reading The Daily: 14 August 2024
The Old Farmer's Almanac says that it's time to start paying attention to the potatoes. In my garden you can hardly not pay attention to them. The potatoes are reaching out and grabbing attention. Passers-by are rubber-necking the veg. The potatoes are so prolific this year, I'm afraid there might be accidents. It's starting to… Continue reading The Daily: 22 July 2024
It's the age old question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Or maybe, why do bad things happen at all? Though we would like for more of the people we consider bad to suffer the bad things... schadenfreude is a bitch... Most of the world's religions are attempts to grapple with the apparent… Continue reading The Daily: 16 July 2024
By My Solitary Hearth 