Solstice Thoughts

Happy Summer and Winter Solstice, y'all.

Of course, it's not really a happy day for me. I am tied to the Sun, and He's begun His journey to the Underworld in this hemisphere. His power will roast us for the next few months, but it wanes and draws away from the Earth, lover and consort to His glory. Even though He is turning His back on Her, He is being drawn within Her, to the dark sleep of a long Winter. By August I'll be feeling that underlying chill, smelling the grave dirt under the hot breezes. I try to remind myself that it's only six months, that like Persephone, the Sun will return.

It's always harder for me to hold back my inner darkness because just as fast as the days grow longer, the nights grow longer still. That ol' black dog will be sniffing me out soon. I always feel like I'm building my fortifications against it, but it seems to sneak in when I forget to close a gate behind me, or maybe it slips through a crack in the wall.

Ah well... The Sun is dying, long live the Sun!

Pagan Identification 101

If you don't know anything about Paganism, here's all you need to know.

1. Pagans worship the Earth as our spiritual and literal home, which we venerate through gods and goddesses who...oh bollocks, forget all that.

2. Paganism covers a wide variety of people with variety of outlooks and beliefs. It includes atheists, pantheists, monotheists, polytheists and hedging-their-bets agnostics. It is, in summary, disorganised religion.

3. Ask ten Pagans for a definition of what Paganism is, and you'll get ten different answers.

4. Ask them while they're all the same room, and you'll also get an argument.

5. Trying to organise a bunch of Pagans is like trying to herd cats.

6. Spend any time on the executive committee of a Pagan society, and you will truly gain a deep insight into the above saying.

7. The ones who look a bit fluffy, read books on aromatherapy and shop at Halcyon Daze are the Wiccans.

8. The ones who wear robes and unfeasibly large beards, and fling themselves in front of bulldozers are the Druids.

9. The ones who refer to near-lethal doses of mead and real ale as "breakfast" are the Norse Heathens.

10. The ones who hold long conversations with themselves in Classical Hebrew and disturb their housemates' early morning hangovers by screaming "HORUS" are the Ritual Magicians.

11. The ones who just say yes to drugs are the Shamans.

12. The ones who fit characters from Star Trek into the Kabbalah and worship HP Lovecraft as a prophet are the Chaos Magicians.

13. The ones who upset their neighbours by getting pissed on rum and drunkenly singing in Creole are the Voudou practitioners.

14. The ones with more imaginary friends than the average 5 year old are the Eclectic Pagans.

15. The ones who base their spiritual practice on Silver Ravenwolf books... well, they ride the short brooms...