“As to you O Moon” by Edward Carpenter • September Pagan Challenge # 17 (New Moon)
Today’s moon phase is actually waxing gibbous.
Edward Carpenter (1844-1929) was a gay Pagan vegetarian socialist and one of the founders of the Pagan revival. This poem appears on page 141-142 of his book “Towards Democracy”.
Thanks to James Butler for introducing me to this poem.
Cosy or hyggelig?
Cosy • September Pagan Challenge # 16
The word cosy evokes blankets and cocoa, thick velvet curtains, woolly knitted jumpers, and squishy sofas. It’s slightly chintzier than hyggelig.
The word hyggelig evokes hugs, firelight, candles, warm food, cocoa, mulled wine, rambling conversations, simple rustic pleasures and interiors, and curling up in an inglenook or window seat with a book.
Continue readingCandles
The candle. September Pagan Challenge # 15.
Candles must be the most versatile magical thing there is.
Autumn’s fiery face
Autumn’s fiery face
shifts and ripples across the woods,
catching and snagging
the lips of Summer
in a blushing kiss.
A tiny patch of red leaves among the green,
scorching and kindling
A rhodochromatic fire.
It starts softly,
Then rages across the land,
Not destroying but creating.
Dropping the leaves quietly on the ground,
Nests for beetles and fungi,
Worms and larvae,
Breaking them down for compost
To feed new life.
© 2021, Yvonne Aburrow
Autumn birds
Birds • September Pagan Challenge # 14
Autumn is when many birds start to migrate southwards. In Canada, skeins of geese are seen flying overhead; in England, birds start lining up on telegraph wires, ready for their long journey south.
Continue readingAutumn food
September Pagan Challenge # 13 • Autumn foods.
There’s definitely something about this time of year — I start craving apple and blackberry crumble, and homemade pies.
Continue readingMy brain hurts
Mindfulness • September Pagan Challenge # 12.
I don’t do mindfulness because it makes me ill. There’s a large body of evidence that people with a predisposition to anxiety and depression shouldn’t engage in mindfulness practices because they exacerbate these issues.
Continue readingWaxing and waning Moon
September Pagan Challenge # 11 is about the waning Moon, but it’s actually waxing Moon right now, so let’s talk about both.
Continue readingDivination with runes
Divination. September Pagan Challenge # 10. The runes are my go-to for divination.
Continue readingBack to school
Back to school 🏫 September Pagan Challenge # 9.
You can always learn new stuff: new values, new ideas, new ways of looking at the world.
Continue reading