Our group is back to doing Greek-focused rites for spring equinox, which is great fun, because it means I get to honor Dionysos, the happy god of wine, fertility, and general frivolity. And sure, that stuff is fun, but I've always thought there was more of a point to it, namely that your personal truth, the things you really really want and believe, can be found only after you've stripped away a lot of social graces, habits, and nicities that you've learned over your lifetime to hide yourself for the sake of convenience or livelihood.
We're now in the time that passes for winter in this time of warming climate, so it seems appropriate to focus on what can be experienced huddled indoors. In the wider human situation, there are people who very justifiably believe themselves to be in danger, and in times like those deities that might not be normally prayed to as warriors or protectors start falling into that role.
It's the season of Yuletide once again, a time of darkness and dreary weather, but also a time of partying inside every home. The harvest is gathered in, and the folk are mostly lounging around eating and staying warm and doing indoor tasks until it's time to get ready to head to the fields again. This song is intended to be purely about joy and comfort inside during the harsh weather, and also about welcoming everyone into the hall whether or not they are known friends, because when the weather is dangerous it is important to be a refuge to anybody.
The late fall season is upon us. The last bit of crops have been brought in, I've been busily winterizing my house in preparation for the deep cold of winter, and there is a sense of the world dying as it turns towards darkness. As is typical for modern pagan types, this leads to a focus in this season on our beloved dead and our ancient forebearers. This presents the results of some brief trancework on my part to get to know some of those of the deceased who I did not know in life, and some of their stories and lessons.
Fall equinox is upon us, and this enters my favorite season of the year. It's not too hot, it's not too cold, it's just right for humans to live. And unlike spring, which certainly has its charms, there's food aplenty thanks to bringing in the big crop of the year. Prior to easy long-distance goods transportation allowing people to eat stuff out of season by growing it a continent or two away, now into the winter would be when most people could eat really well and fatten themselves up a bit to make it through the winter.