Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
The word pagan is not unlike the word witch. Both were pejorative labels for outsiders. Both would likely earn a body substantial abuse. And both have been reclaimed in late modern times, though it would be more accurate to say that these words have been redefined, almost completely. Witch means nothing of what it once… Continue reading The Daily: 29 October 2025
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 2025
the thorn queen she waxes full in fertile grace queen of quick and fay, she reigns in mantle green and seemly face quelling fear and mortal pains eternal mother, ever maid undying wisdom in her glance deathless weird is on her laid to spin th' unceasing wheel of chance again, she comes in crown of… Continue reading The Daily: 1 May 2025
Walpurgis Night The last day of April has been a fraught time for millennia. This is a night when pranks are pulled, when spells are cast and wishes are granted, when the Good Folk pass through the veils to walk the woodlands, and when witches dance. The Beltaine fires were lit at midnight on May… Continue reading The Daily: 30 April 2025
A Red-Letter Day April 25th is a complicated date. It is St Mark’s Day, which is honored with a wide variety of celebrations; and it is Robigalia, an ancient Roman festival intended to propitiate the god — or demon — of wheat rust and thus ensure a good harvest. These disparate themes may actually be… Continue reading The Daily: 25 April 2025
Earth Day Earth Day was created in 1970 as a direct political challenge. Wisconsin's Senator Gaylord Nelson wanted the US government to do what government is supposed to do — protect its people and lands from rapacious business. He created Earth Day and organized the first demonstrations across the country to force the hand of… Continue reading The Daily: 22 April 2025
National Dandelion Day When the dandelions bloom,time to plant potatoes. — Old Farmer's Almanac The Old Farmer’s Almanac claims that April 5th is Dandelion Day. I’m fairly certain this is not a thing, but it should be. Dandelions are pleasurable in so many ways. Just imagine an early summer lawn dotted with bee-covered smiling suns! And when… Continue reading The Daily: 5 April 2025
The Daily for 1 April 2024: a high probability of pranks
True stories don't end. They don't have a beginning, middle and end. No logical progression or growth or moral or even much of a plot. Stories about life are amorphous and constant quivering flux. People end. Characters end. People have a beginning, middle and end. So we tell peoples not stories. We narrate people. That's… Continue reading The Daily: 26 February 2025
Parentalia As February marked the last month in the ancient Roman calendar, the Romans spent this time of year setting themselves in accord with the world. The 9-day festival of Parentalia began on 13 February and culminated with the day of Feralia, which began at sundown on the 21st. Parentalia was a sacred time to… Continue reading The Daily: 13 February 2025
By My Solitary Hearth 