Festivals
Archived Posts from this Category
Archived Posts from this Category
Posted by maebius on 04 May 2010 | Tagged as: Faerie, Festivals, Silly
Twas beltaine, and the fairie grove
Did shine and sparkle like the waves:
All mimsy were the kiddie troves,
And the mom sats in shade.
“Beware the JohnsonAnne, my friends!
The smile thats bright, the hugs that catch!
Beware the Jubjub Spare, not shun
The wonderous Mountain Clan[ch]!”
We took our crystal shard in hand:
Long time the manxome Tribe we sought –
So rested we by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought we stood,
The JohnsonAnne, with eyes aflame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as she came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The Tribes all chanted snicker-snack!
We joined in song, after not long
and Galumphing echoed back.
“And, has thou enjoyed the Faerie Fest?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’
We chortled in our joy.
Twas beltaine, and the fairie grove
Did shine and sparkle like the waves:
All mimsy were the kiddie troves,
And the mom sats in shade.
Posted by maebius on 16 Apr 2010 | Tagged as: Esoteric, Faerie, Festivals, Healing
** Note, Pīti is a very specific joy associated with a state of deep tranquility. I used that word because it was cool, and different, and the Buddhist context seemed apt for the subject matter.
This past weekend, I went firewalking with Andrew Steed with a wonderful friend of ours. It was Awesome. It was Joyful. It was a hug-incarnate. It was all sorts of good happy things that words seem pretty cheesy for when typed out, but still don’t come quite close to the actual Experience of.
Our young son attended, as well, and appears to have had some of the wisdom and Healing that happened there sink in much deeper than it did to curmudgeony old Maebius. He still talks about building the fire with Intent, and growing your personal energy and Love, and SHAA!
One thing that resonated to me though, was surprisingly NOT the actual walking on coals. For as much as I love fire, and as awesomely energizing that act was, I was most moved by events before the gathering around the embers.
Prior to the walking, Andrew led an empowering ritual where people broke wooden arrows with their bare throats! While I’m sure our friend would have loved to see me participate, I was not called to, and was basking in the Witnessing of the whole thing. After the arrows, they bend a 6ft rod of steel rebar!!
Now, let me tell you, I can repeat the mantras of Witnessing others, and can psychologically try explaining how it’s likewise empowering to support people doing such powerful spiritual acts, but I also admit it’s a heck of a lot of fun to do them yourself too.
This time, I surprised myself by being so caught up it the moment, so viscerally Present, that when each arrow broke, I clapped and smiled like a kid in a candy store. There was just So. Much. Love! in the room I couldn’t help myself. When the rebar bent, I don’t think I could even really see it due to misty-eyed, tingling-spined, AWE that was radiating in that room. I had some profound Piloerection events (mind out of the gutter!).
Even today, almost a week later, and having felt a bit of that Joy slip away over the work-week, the mental thought of that room, with those people, just shines in my heart and makes my feel 10lbs lighter. I’m reminding myself to carry that feeling all the time, even while at work, because “I’m doing my job Anyway”, and am very grateful for the experience.
Still, the musing of this post is a new, deep-rooted realization that Witnessing, in the sacred context, is absolutely Empowering. It is impersonal, non-ego driven, and Participatory. It’s potent stuff indeed.
I have a much better appreciation of that Avatar Movie, too, so to all my readers….
I see you. <3
Posted by maebius on 21 Dec 2009 | Tagged as: Church, Druidic, Esoteric, Festivals, Music
As the sun is reborn, I hope the light of your lives shines brightly and strong, wherever and whatever that Light shines with for you.
As a musical interlude here’s three awesome songs. First, one that was performed by a wonderful brother&Sister act in church this past Sunday:
The Christians and the Pagans”
Next, two songs by the band Gaia Consort (whom I love), with the first being more Christmas-y and festive, one I listened to while standing outside under the stars and invoking Awesomeness.
Enjoy!
Posted by maebius on 11 Dec 2009 | Tagged as: Church, Esoteric, Festivals, Healing, Stories
I was typing up a short musing on the holiday spirit, and how to re-find it in hte midst of crazy work schedules and crass commercialized holiday culture-spam.
Then in the course of cleaning out my feed reader, I stumbled upon this bit of wisdom.
I’ll admit it stuck a nerve and I just sat in my desk here at home, closed my Warcraft game, and almost wept for …um.. joy? remorse? inspiration? Not sure what emotion it drew out of me but it was such a profoundly cathartic thing, I had to share.
http://domesticwitch.blogspot.com/2008/12/santas-wisdom-to-pagans-author-unknown.html
Strange, isn’t it? There’s no one phrase I can pick out of this posting that set me off, but after I read it, things just sloooowly clicked and rushed aside, like some sort of “Kundalini rising” energy movement.
Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!
Posted by maebius on 04 Dec 2009 | Tagged as: Druidic, Festivals, Random, Silly, Uncategorized
Been busy with sleep, work and seasonal decorating. More better blog postings soon. ( bad grammer[sic] intended)
While I recover and re-focus, here’s some holiday song lyrics to put you in the mood. Not sure if it’s the mood youwant, after trying to say them out loud, but take it for what it’s worth.
Oer yw’r gwr sy’n methu caru,
Ffa la la la la, la la la la.
Hen fynyddoedd annwyl Cymru,
Ffa la la la la, la la la la.
Iddo ef a’u câr gynhesaf
Ffa la la la la la la,
Gwyia llawen flwyddyn nesaf,
Ffa la la la la, la la la la.
2. I’r helbulus oer yw’r biliau,
Ffa la la la la, la la la la.
Sydd yn dyfod yn y gwyliau,
Ffa la la la la, la la la la.
Gwrando bregeth mewn un pennill,
Ffa la la la la la la.
Byth na waria fwy na’th ennill,
Ffa la la la la, la la la la.
3. Oer yw’r eira ar Eryri,
Ffa la la la la, la la la la.
Er fod gwrthban gwlanen arni,
Ffa la la la la, la la la la.
Oer yw’r bobol na ofalan’,
Ffa la la la la la la.
Gwrdd â’i gilydd ar Nos Galan,
Ffa la la la la, la la la la.
Posted by maebius on 30 Nov 2009 | Tagged as: BlogMemes, Festivals, Foodage, Random
I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving holiday, and for those outside the US of A, I hope the last few days have been likewise Thankful and Blessed as well.
I’m recovering from the turkey-day feasts (we ate at our house, with Chef Maebius presiding over the bird and associated sides.) and the back to a normal day-shift schedule of work, so it’s nice to enter December with a fresh outlook on things.
In place of a real muse-worthy post, I’ll redirect you to this one from around this time in years past.
http://everthorn.net/musings/2008/12/monday-muse-countdown-to-christmasolstiyule/?p=312
We hung the ‘Advent’ tree and started filling it with treats for the kid starting tomorrow. This tree needed soem serious repairs as mice or other furry critters found their way into the plastic storage bin it was kept in (chewed a hole through the side?!) and thus some parts of it were eaten up. Soem deft green felt patches later, and its’ at least suitable for this year. Sadly, this probably means I’ll be re-designing another big crafty one for next Yule. Any suggestions, or should I keep the general festive-tree theme?
Enjoy, and I’ll see you all again shortly once I get back in the swing of things.
Posted by maebius on 23 Nov 2009 | Tagged as: Church, Druidic, Festivals, Foodage
At church yesterday, the theme was of the coming Harvest Holiday, we here in the USA call Thanksgiving. As part of this, our UU Minister read a few words from Rev. Max Coots, relating to friendship, community, and gardens. I’d like to share that here, since it really was awesome.
Garden Meditations
by Rev. Max Coots
Let us give thanks for a bounty of people.
For children who are our second planting, and though they
grow like weeds and the wind too soon blows them away, may
they forgive us our cultivation and fondly remember where
their roots are.Let us give thanks;
For generous friends…with hearts…and smiles as bright
as their blossoms;For feisty friends, as tart as apples;
For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers,
keep reminding us that we’ve had them;For crotchety friends, sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;
For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants and
as elegant as a row of corn, and the others, as plain as
potatoes and so good for you;For funny friends, who are as silly as Brussels sprouts and
as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes;And serious friends as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle
as summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful as
dill, as endless as zucchini and who, like parsnips, can be
counted on to see you through the winter;For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening-time,
and young friends coming on as fast as radishes;For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils and hold
us, despite our blights, wilts and witherings;And finally, for those friends now gone, like gardens past
that have been harvested, but who fed us in their times that
we might have life thereafter.For all these we give thanks.
So, for all of you reading this, be ye garlic or rhubarb, or corn or zucchini. Thank you, and may your Thanksgiving season be as blessed and bountiful as possible.
Posted by maebius on 06 Nov 2009 | Tagged as: BlogMemes, Festivals, Music
I agree with the thought to living each day as if it were a celebration. I also like the winter holiday season, with cheery music, decorated trees and all sorts of commercially viable gluttony.
What I do not like is radio stations that switch over to Christmas music 24×7 starting on November 1st.
Case in point? Mix 102.5, the local radio station that played something other than country or hard rock in my area.
At least I still have NPR for news and such, but I’ll have to start downloading more music for my MP3 player to listen too if I want actual eclectic music this month.
*sigh*
Posted by maebius on 30 Oct 2009 | Tagged as: Druidic, Esoteric, Festivals, Moon Muse, Uncategorized
I sometimes am astounded that I have been at this blog for about 3 years now, and it all started with a Story of the Birds.
As much time has passed, I still remember.
Our decorations are up, our costumes are completed, and this weekend we prepare for the annual feast of Candy! (I am a robot and the kid’s a vampire, not sure which of 3 ideas the wife is planning)
Beside that celebration of gluttony and glee however, I also prepare for a nice quiet meditation out on our porch, under the silvery light of the moon, thinking about my relatives beyond the Veil.
Have you celebrated their lives lately, even though they are no longer living? Say hello again, this weekend if you get a chance. Reconnect, even if their spiritual beliefs are different from yours. Remember them, if even for this one day.
After all, you’ll be meeting them eventually, and might as well have them remember you too.
Posted by maebius on 27 Oct 2009 | Tagged as: Faerie, Festivals, Outdoors, Sprogling
UPDATE: The images are not showing on my work PC, but can be viewed from outside the network. Here are the links to the images directly, if they are not displaying for you.
This weekend (after church) we did a lot of work outside, raking, decorating with corn stalks all around the mailbox, porch, and house, and all the various “post-harvest” type of things. Still have a few potatoes to dig up that will get done tonight probably, but the rest of the garden is gone, and frost has taken the majority of the weeds down to root. And in further signs of the season, we carved our annual pumpkins for next weekend’s Halloween/Samhain celebration.
First, my rather spartan and simplistic “Boo to you!” ghost.
It turned out pretty good, but seems rather lacklustre for some reason, especially compared to the kid’s Awesome spooky-face!
Here is the Spooky Face. He drew on the pumpkin with a pen, then helped Mom use the sharp knife to carve out the face he drew. Turned out Awesome, if I do say so myself, and is seriously spooky! 

Last but not least, we found the somewhat more kid-safe pumpkin saw and let him carve whatever he wanted, entirely without assistance (except for helping scoop out the innards). This also turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

The goblins should be properly frightened from our doorstep this year!