Lady Day

March 25th is Lady Day. This is another Marian holiday which coopted older pagan traditions — in this case the New Year celebrations which fell on 25 March before Julius Caesar shifted the Roman observance to the beginning of January. Lady Day is nine months before December 25th, so you can probably figure out what… Continue reading Lady Day

A Meditation on The Overstory

The Overstory Richard Powers 2018, W. W. Norton & Company What makes some people so utterly convinced that the only living being with awareness and will is humanity? I understand that many of these people have spent millennia believing in deities that placed humans above the rest of creation, but this seems to me to… Continue reading A Meditation on The Overstory

A Way Off?

Sometimes I get the feeling that the human world might actually be running in some form of the Matrix. However, instead of random aliens directing the program, it’s a rogue corporate AI demon hell-bent on profit maximization at any cost for ‘Choose-Your-Evil-Megacorp’. Probably a cabal of several. Likely on the military-industrial end of things. I… Continue reading A Way Off?

World Water Day: Groundwater

World Water Day is 22 March 2022. This annual observance was organized by the UN in 1993 to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and to promote sustainable freshwater management. Each year a different theme is chosen, centered on topics relevant to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. The theme for 2022 is Groundwater —… Continue reading World Water Day: Groundwater

Time for the Full Sap Moon!

The fifth moon of my solar year is the Sap Moon. It is new between 24 February and 24 March, full between 10 March and 7 April. This is a period of rapid change. The Sap Moon rarely sees the same weather from year to year. When it’s early in the solar calendar, this month… Continue reading Time for the Full Sap Moon!

Today is… the equinox?

Vernal Equinox Quiz True or False: The vernal equinox is when spring begins. Not exactly. The beginning of spring depends on where you live, and it is more a cultural phenomenon than a meteorological one. Tradition in Ireland has spring beginning with St Brigid’s Day on 1 February. Spring weather may not happen for months… Continue reading Today is… the equinox?

The Wages of Wages

For many years now, I’ve been talking with folks about universal basic income and the need to divorce health care from employment and other ideas to assure that everyone can meet the basic needs of their bodies. Our current system is, shall we say, not working. Most people agree that we need to change things.… Continue reading The Wages of Wages

The Season of Renewal

This year, the Vernal Equinox happens on 20 March at 11:33am. This is, I think, the most nebulous of the solar festivals. Yes, it does mark an actual solar event, but it’s not the one we typically hear about. It’s not much of an event at all. This festival is less about the event than… Continue reading The Season of Renewal