40 years ago

There are quite a few posts today about the Stonewall Riots. I am not going to add to them...here are some that I came across:

She Who Seeks

Owl's Wings

Out at the Center

a warning......(really a very small rant)

In the last few weeks I have received emails from a half dozen people who are looking for information about Paganism. I have answered their questions, referred them to different sources and tried to steer them in the right direction for their first few steps. I do not take people by the hand and try to lead them anywhere, that violates my own sense of what the gods and goddesses want from us.
Other than the lists of questions and sometimes requests that take on the tone of demands, I never hear from them again and not one single thank you from any of them.
On the off chance that any of them ever come back here again....I offer one last bit of information....

Do not go chasing after gods and goddesses with your gimme gimme attitude....you may be shocked and unhappy about what you get.

Happy Solstice

The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5° tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the summer solstice -- the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. It typically occurs on, or within a day or two of, JUN-21 -- the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice -- the first day of winter, when the night time hours reach their maximum.

this info found here

I would think that the solstice is one of the very oldest recurring celebrations in the history of mankind. The coming and going of the sun is life itself. Reason to celebrate, time to mark the day. If we let ourselves let go of the trappings of modern culture, our core being responds to the seasons, the movement of the planets, the changing of the seasons.
Religions and dogma come and go, but our connection to this planet, to this universe, to the energy of the divine never changes.

Online reports say that record crowds celebrated the solstice at Stonehenge this year.
Scholars have theories, lots of them are interesting, but the truth is that we still don't know exactly who built Stonehenge, or exactly when. But we do know why....it is a source of energy, it draws people to celebrate the solstices, it connects us to this planet and its energy.

Mystical and wonderful as it is you don't need Stonehenge to feel the solstice. Go outside, feel the earth with your bare feet, take a deep breath and offer a greeting to Goddess. Celebrate.

Countdown to Solstice! 4

Summer Solstice celebrations have been historically, much different than the Winter Solstice gatherings. Winter Solstice was a time of desperation and hope and rituals and festivities reflect both of these emotions.

Summer Solstice is a time of celebrating life, watching the crops that are coming to maturity, the animals that are strong and healthy, the long days outdoors and the good times to come in the near future.


image found here

Countdown to Solstice! 5

Mainstream,like it or not

I listen to several very good motivational podcasts. Mostly life coaches giving good, concrete suggestions for getting unstuck in your day and moving forward.
positive thinking
the law of attraction
replacing your negative thoughts

They can call this stuff anything they want...it's magick. I think it would work even better than it does for most people if they recognized that it is magick and learned more about grounding and drawing and casting energy to go along with the positive thinking....but it is still magick. It is changing your world with your thoughts instead of your hands.

Today one of these podcasters said that when you are thinking negative thoughts all the time you are drawing those negative energies to you in a very real metaphysical sense.

very..... real..... metaphysical

There are three words I bet you never thought to hear together except in the company of other pagans. The fact is, when people open their minds to possibilities, they come into this stuff through the backdoor.

Somewhere along the line it is going to be our responsibility to show people the next step....the energy part, which I would bet most people who work on positive thinking might reject in the early days....but they will be more open to it later.

Non-denominational magick....separating magick from the spiritual. Many magicians have done it. It's not for me, but I would be willing to help someone along who wants to keep the two separate.

Any thoughts along these lines?