We take a slice of honey cakeand a pottery cup of grape juiceand leave it by the rose bushas an offering,arrayed on a bed of petalsand topped with a single daisyand a ring of wild raspberries.We make some wishesin the… Read More ›
Seasons
Deluge by Sara Wright
It’s time to submit another post to FAR, the only blog site I follow, and a place where I have found genuine support and even a sense of community, which for me is a great gift. Mostly, I experience myself… Read More ›
The Little Mother by Sara Wright
This morning I met her by the barn sitting on a cedar fence regarding me with one shimmering marbled eye, a little spiked crown on her head. A moment later two tiny balls of feathers exploded out of a tangled… Read More ›
Natural Ceremony, by Molly Remer
This morning,I walked around the fieldand discoveredthree soft white breast feathersof an unknown bird,two earthstar mushrooms,sinking quietly back into the soil,one tiny snail shell,curled in spiral perfection,and the fire of my own spiritburning in my belly,rekindled by elemental magicof the… Read More ›
Rescuing Purity from Patriarchy — With Candlemas Vagina Candles by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
I was invited to give a Dharma Talk at a Buddhist temple service in Hawai’i recently. Last time these folks invited me to speak, I explained my Christian feminist theory of Christ the Cosmic Vagina, so I was glad they… Read More ›
Clean Tent Ceremony for Imbolc by Deanne Quarrie
The Clean Tent ritual[1] is done among the Samoyed peoples of northern Siberia. It is a group ritual invoking blessing and protection for each of the participants, traditionally all the inhabitants of a camp or village. You may choose for… Read More ›
Navajo Night Chant – Part 1 by Sara Wright
With the Winter Moon waxing on nights when stars are falling from the sky and the winter solstice passage, I am much aware of the healing and dwelling place that I inhabit that also characterizes these dark months of the… Read More ›
Winter Solstice: Can We Celebrate the Restful, Welcoming Darkness?
The days are slowly winding down toward Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere, the longest night of the year. Today the sun rose at 7:20 and will set at 5:08 in Crete. In Sweden, the sun will rise at 9:25… Read More ›
Restoration by Molly Remer
In 2014, I sat on a low wooden bench nursing my 6 week old baby boy while wet plaster strips were laid across my face to create a mask. The final activity of the Rise Up and Call Her Name… Read More ›
October Magic, by Molly Remer
In was in October that my last grandmother died, my last living grandparent. As the leaves turn to red and gold once more, I wake thinking of her each morning. I wake thinking of my maternal grandmother too, who died… Read More ›
Bare Bones by Sara Wright
In the pure white sun dream I wore a necklace – bearstone and bone. For months meaning eluded me, but feeling erupted from within- a volcano was burning somewhere beyond me – destructive fires, my body knew. And beyond that… Read More ›
To Light a Flaming Pumpkin: The Inexact Art of Family Ritual, by Molly Remer
Our bounty is in creativity friendship community the myriad small adventures of everyday. We tell of magic and moonrise and listening to the pulse of the earth beneath our feet. Ah, October. Fall has settled into the trees and air…. Read More ›
Equinox Reflection by Sara Wright
I gaze out my bedroom window and hear yet another golden apple hit the ground. The vines that hug the cabin and climb up the screens are heavy with unripe grapes and the light that is filtered through the trees… Read More ›
Birds, Their Song Stills My Heart by Deanne Quarrie
Bluejay I see you perched on the tree checking the perimeter for cats lurking. The feeder below, inviting you down but you, ever cautious, make sure that none are about. Suddenly the sparrows swarm in, eagerly eating the seed offered…. Read More ›
Stopping to Smell the Flowers by Marie Cartier
There is a saying, “Take time to smell the flowers.” Attributed to many different sources, it means among other things– take time and be grateful. Take time and relax. Take time. In that spirit I am sending along pictures… Read More ›
What’s Your Choice? by Karen Leslie Hernandez
Choices. Many times choices are difficult. Some of the time choices are easy. I have had a rough year. Probably one of the most difficult yet in my adult life. I began this year with an offer of a job,… Read More ›
Honoring the Completion of the Year, by Molly Remer
“Beginnings and endings are so very sacred, to give honor to all that has transpired, every experience, every joy, every pain, is a doorway to the magical. Hold your entire year between your hands, every day, every thought, every breath…. Read More ›
Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Barbara Ardinger
Even though Jesus was born during the reign of Augustus, first Roman emperor, the empire didn’t celebrate that birth until three centuries later when his birth date was moved to mid-winter to match the birth date of the sun god… Read More ›
Letting Go by Joyce Zonana
How many objects have I clung to, how many pasts have I tried to preserve–beginning, of course, with the first loss, of Egypt where I’d been born and where my family had flourished? How many habits, feelings, fears, and beliefs continue to constrain me? The new year approaches, and my resolution today is simple: to let go. Again and again and again. As often as it takes.
Putting “Winter Solstice” in your “Happy Holidays!” Greeting by Marie Cartier
When you read this dear FAR family, it will be December 22, the day after the winter Solstice. Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, and marks the beginning of winter. I am Catholic, a board member of… Read More ›
Another Season of Reflection and Review by Elise M. Edwards
I turn inward and become reflective at this time of year. It’s the Advent season in the Christian liturgical year, which encourages practices of piety focused on preparation, examination, and hopeful longing. It’s the end of a semester and a… Read More ›
A Winter Woman by Molly Remer
“When winter comes to a woman’s soul, she withdraws into her inner self, her deepest spaces. She refuses all connection, refutes all arguments that she should engage in the world. She may say she is resting, but she is more… Read More ›
Thanksgiving, Pies and Remaking Tradition by Marie Cartier
Dear FAR readers—you will be reading this blog the day after Thanksgiving, which is one of my favorite holidays. It didn’t used to be—but it is now. Over twenty years ago, I remade this holiday for myself. At that time… Read More ›
Holy Women Icons Bearing the Light of Advent by Angela Yarber
There’s nothing like the holiday season to bring out everyone’s least feminist self. In one of the courses that I teach—Gender, Food, and the Body in Popular Culture—students are assigned to examine gender roles throughout the holiday season through the… Read More ›
Reclaiming My Time: A Meditation about Mindfulness and Faithfulness to One’s Purpose by Elise M. Edwards
You may have seen the viral video of Congressional Representative Maxine Waters’ demands for “Reclaiming my time!” Video was taken during a proceeding in which Representative Waters is questioning Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who responds with long-winded answers and indirect… Read More ›
A New Story for the Summer Solstice by Barbara Ardinger
This year the summer solstice occurs on Tuesday, June 20 in the Northern Hemisphere. (In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the winter solstice and it occurs on June 21.) For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice is the longest… Read More ›
Moonlight Reflections by Elise M. Edwards
As I post this, May 10, a full moon, known as the “Bright Moon” or “Flower Moon” is in the sky. This full moon occurs during a season of transition when living thing things renew and bloom. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s spring, but another transition is already underway. For many of us, spring is nearing close to summer in temperatures; in plant, animal, and insect life; and in our schedules. I am concluding a long, demanding spring semester and yearning for summer. Even though I welcome the transition, I know that like all change, it holds both opportunity and challenge. The full moon prompts me to look at the upcoming summer with clear, examining eyes
The Coming of Spring: Reflections on Pesach and Judaism by Ivy Helman
It is, I think, quite common knowledge that most Jewish holidays relate to the seasonal cycles of the Earth. Sukkot celebrates the fall harvest. Chanukah sheds light on the winter darkness. Tu B’Shevat marks the end of the dry season… Read More ›
Moving Forward and into a New Season by Elise M. Edwards
It’s only been a month and I am still reeling from the US presidential election. I feel like I’m just beginning to emerge from the sense of loss and futility that has cloaked me. But I am beginning to move… Read More ›
To Every Season by Deanne Quarrie
We are closing in on the last of the season of abundance. Wherever we look we see Her harvest around us. Purple grapes hang from their vines. Branches hang heavy from the weight of fruit and sweet nuts. All the… Read More ›
