Greetings to all Full Circle friends and members,
In this March edition of our newsletter we have:
IT’S about time …
The season of balance is upon us again, and for some reason that’s made me think of time … Calendar time (both ancient and modern), Equinox time, Microsoft Outlook time (hey, Outlook is how I keep track of everything!), Festival time, Celtic Faire time, Springtime and Easter time.
Eostara time.
Time to clear out the closets,
Time to air out the house,
Time to dig in the garden,
Time to come out of the cold,
Time to cleanse and clean and clarify.
Time to turn your petals toward the sun.
Time to stand in the balance between the dark time and the light,
Between the inner times of winter and the outer times of summer,
Between the underworld and the land above.
Time to transition, and time to choose.
Time to blossom and time to dance.
It’s about time.
Arts and Crafts
The best cure for depression, boredom, or a long winter is to do something creative and constructive. If like me you’re managing the chilly, wet weather with handicrafts, here are a number of sources that may prove of interest:
Herstory: At America’s Quilting History, you can find a thorough history of the craft, as well as inspiration, patterns and tips for what is considered one of the only truly feminine American art forms. Among the many fascinating articles is a “Myth Busting” page that dispelled my long held belief that previous generations of women worked on their quilts during the winter.
Runaway Scissors: If your scissors disappear as mine do, you may want to consider investing in Debbie Tesoro’s lovely, beaded scissor fobs, which make them much easier to find.
A Purrfect Cause: A grassroots organization of crafty people created the Critter Knitters Coalition in response the dire need for warm, comfortable blankets for abandoned animals in New York animal shelters. These blankets help frightened cats and dogs feel calm, and this improves the quality of life for shelter animals while they await their forever homes.
Channel Your Inner Mrs. Weasley: Can’t wait until summer for the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince? Won’t make it until Thanksgiving for the movie version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? Calm your mind by keeping your hands busy knitting one of these Harry Potter inspired sweaters.
A Cautionary Tale: Those of you working on more permanent art will be well reminded by this story of a misspelled library mosaic to plan carefully—and proofread, proofread, proofread!
Home, Hearth, and Feathering Your Nest
Focus on Hestia: Maybe your New Year's resolution was to honor that domestic goddess within. If so, read up on Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth.
A Better Relationship with Food: The new year is well underway, and it is time to take stock: where are you on those New Year’s resolutions? Planned to lose weight and stay healthy? Easier said than done, if you don’t know what on earth you are eating. For helpful hints to keep you feeling better and looking your best here are some tips on how to eat for wellness.
An Actual Relationship with Fun: Maybe, like me, your New Year's resolution was to add some fun in your life and wish away the snow and ice of winter. What better way is there than throwing an indoor luau, complete with Hawaiian-themed cookies?
However you choose to keep the winter doldrums at bay, just remember that Spring is right around the corner.
Healthy Lifestyles: Looking for more information on keeping healthy? The Health and Wellness site is a clearinghouse of health links, and if your issue is cholesterol, Ask Dr. Sears!
Devil Weed: It really lives up to its name, as two unfortunate young men found out when they went looking for a high.
Olive Oil and Breast Cancer: It’s time to shift to Mediterranean food. Scientists have found out that women whose intake is more of a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, vegetables—and especially olive oil—have less chances of developing breast cancer. The oleic acid found in olive oil blocks the action of a cancer-causing oncogene called HER-2/neu which is present in about 30% of breast cancer patients, scientist said.
Sick Season: Sia writes … Ah, Spring. The sun is shining, the roses blooming and our thoughts naturally turn to … plague? Well, yes. Historically, the best time for disease to spread is when people come out of their houses and crowd together. That's why cities, armies, tsunami camps, and day care centers are such a boon to "bugs." Plague and other diseases have shaped human history since the beginning of time. Doctors are still trying to understand how diseases develop and why. For example:
Scientists at University College London have been examining a shrouded body recently discovered in a sealed chamber in Israel. The bones reveal the man was infected with both TB and leprosy (lucky guy!) There is a theory that having one of these diseases protects a person against contracting the other one, which is called cross immunity.
You can read more about those plague carriers, rats, and lice over at History House. (Fair warning, this website is not for the faint of heart.)
We've all heard about AIDS and SARS, and we witnessed a flu shot panic only last year. That incident begs three questions: 1) Could we have another worldwide flu pandemic, such as the one that killed millions of people in 1919? 2) What does the future hold in terms of disease? 3) How did civilizations react to disease in the past?
Barbara Tuchman explores the tragedy, political intrigue, and occasional dark comedy that surround the infestation of the Black Plague in medieval Europe in A Distant Mirror. The book is steeped with arresting details about the Black Death and Tuchman makes some interesting comparisons between medieval and latter-day behavior. (Some things never change.)
Connie Willis also visits the Plague Years in The Doomsday Book, a deftly written science-fiction novel that takes a hapless historian back in time and plants her in the wrong decade ... a very wrong decade.
Year of Wonders: a Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks takes a fictional look at Eyam, the “Plague Village,” which in 1666 sealed itself off from the rest of the world in an effort to keep an epidemic in it’s midst from spreading to nearby communities.
And Now, to Clear the Air: In the Plague Years, scented handkerchiefs and posies were used to clear the air, but we can do better! Sia found us this lovely Bath Oil Recipe:
Into a 100ml dark glass bottle, mix 50ml almond base oil, 5ml wheat germ base oil, 20ml avocado base oil, and 25ml pecan oil. To this blend, add the following essential oils: 20 drops of ylang ylang, 10 drops lavender, 5 drops frankincense, 5 drops geranium and 3 drops vetiver. Mix gently. Add 10ml of this blend to a warm bath along with 10ml full cream milk (to help the oils infuse through the water and further benefit your skin and body). Now, relax in the bath for 10 minutes before retiring. Wonderful! For more recipes like this, go to Be Well, Stay Well.
More information on Base Oils & Carrier Oils: Essential Oils are blended with a “carrier” oil (a plant base oil), such as almond. The carrier oil should be 100 percent pure with little or no smell, have an attractive texture for massage, and have some penetrative quality so it does not hinder the essential oil. Mineral oils are not used because they are “barrier” oils. As essential oils vaporize, their very fine molecules are thought to pass through the hair follicles or sweat glands where they mix with sebum, a sympathetic oily liquid. From there they are taken up to lymph fluid which continually bathes every cell and transports them along to other parts of the body. (Any skeptics need only rub the soles of their feet with a garlic glove and in an hour or two, the proof will issue forth on their breath!) The use of natural plant-based oils in body treatment and cosmetics dates to ancient times.
Time Travel: If you have always wanted to play upon the cobblestones of ancient Rome or sink your bare toes into the mud on the banks of the Nile, we have just the online community and “travel agency” for you. Now you can daytrip to Germania or Greece; find out if you’d join Sparta’s Peloponnesian League or stride the streets of Pericles’ Athens. All aboard!
Sundogs and Moondogs: Thanks to Mystic Hawk for making us ask, “What possible connection could there be between astronomy and cats?” (Other than felines climbing the walls during the full moon...) The SpaceWeather site has some pictures of atmospheric phenomenon you have to see to believe, including the “dogs” of the title. Fans of the singer Sting can also get a closer look at one of those “little black spots on the sun today.”
I Am Sparticus! Is all you know about ancient Thrace from the movie “Sparticus” and even then, limited to the supposed fact that the rebellious slave/gladiator who plagued Rome was born there? Remedy your Hollywood History lesson now! Doctors Kitov and Ovcharov may stand on a patch of land now labeled Bulgaria, but it is Thracian oracles, tombs, and sculptures they shine their modern light upon. Find out how Alexander the Great and Orpheus are both linked to this place.
If a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words, these nature photographers are speaking volumes with works focused upon dynamic statements rather than artistic content. Learn more about this new approach to journalism’s prettier sibling.
But Did They Find the Lighter Fluid? Maybe these 23,000 – 34,000 year old grill maestros had fire-starting down better than the average backyard chef, because they certainly seem to have created the first clay hearth. Half way to the kilns that would later produce artful containers, there’s no sign of shrimp on these ancient Greek “barbies,” but they had meats down pat!
Traveling Teddy Bears? New fossil evidence shows that bears trekked into Canada over 25,000 years ago, almost twice as long ago as once believed. Unexplained questions about modern grizzlies may finally find answers as a result of these discoveries. But we have to wonder … were they hunting for that elusive teddy bear picnic site?
Cats Rule and Dogs Drool, or so cat fanciers assure us. After reading about dear, departed Winkle the cat, whose headstone is worth 60,000 British pounds, I’m thinking they could be right. Find out why Winkle is probably going to get a new tombstone. If a beautiful old cemetery in your locality is falling into ruin or you need a calendar that looks a bit like Halloween all year long, the Association for Gravestone Studies may be able to help you. (Yes, Virginia, there is a club for everything, but we might not want to let these folks find out about that kitty Winkle’s headstone!)
“Get those shoes OFF the table!” If you have ever heard a command like that one and wondered what the big deal was, there just may be a place to find out, at last. Popular folklore and superstitions have kept us all curious for ages, as shown by this compendium of “old wives’ tales
Archaeology Seem too Dry and Dusty? Is it all sand, hot sun and mummies’ curses? You just haven’t gone “deep” enough into the subject. Graham Hancock invites you to literally dive right in and get your feet wet in a lost past completely underwater. This site tantalizes you with cool blue images of history lost to the waves and the connections to traditional land based digs will tease even more.
All about Spiritual Things
Russian/Slavic Path: TheSlavic Paganism and Witchcraft site is a wonderful introduction to this branch of Pagan practice. They have information about the Slavic holidays, including the different names they use for the Sabbats. It gives a good list of resources, recipes, spells, and Gods/Goddesses common to the tradition.
Talk about Thor: Thorshof offers basic information on Norse and Heathen practices. It has a number of articles and artwork based on the Northern European paths, and some interesting mythology tales.
Hola Goddess: We got a great tip from Harwe about 13 Lunas, a Spanish magazine dealing with Wicca and Paganism. The entire site is in Spanish (and is great for any Wiccan or Pagan who speaks—or is learning—the language). You’ll find editorials and monthly articles (and some nice cat photos!).
Hey, What Does That Symbol Mean? Magick Symbols has countless symbols associated with Paganism and Wicca: everything from colors, to deity statues, to ritual tools, a plethora of different symbols, their meanings, and their uses. This is a great site for those familiar with all of these items and just need a reference, as well as for newcomers who want to learn more. About.com provides a convenient gateway to different variations on the tripartite symbols also known as Triquetra, which are sacred to a large number of religions. There are also links to “related topics” including Wiccan symbols, Druid symbols, Neo-Paganism and much more.
Oregon Conference: While the WicCon conference has passed, the site has a number of links for the Pagan enthusiast, including articles about some of the past speakers.
What Animal Are You? Take a look at Isaac Bonewits’ article about Fauna Pagans—he has an animal chart that makes you think about Paganism and how we each react to other Pagans. This article will make you think about who you are, what you do, and how you share your path with others.
Out of the Broom Closet…Nationally! Wow, how far we have come … February’s issue of Seventeen Magazine published an article titled “My Religion is Not Evil.” Certainly a step in the right direction.
… And how far we have to go: Sia ran across Judi Mcleod’s disturbing screed on how Green Pagans are finding White House funding to promote environmental causes.
Goddess, and Turkey, and Italy, oh my! In July and October, the 2005 Goddess Conversations will take place in Turkey and Italy! This conference focuses on the Sacred Feminine in all Her manifestations, including ancient art and architecture.
Pagans on Public Television: Look for Full Circle folks to be staffing the phones at the KTEH pledge drive on Wednesday, March 9th from 6 – 10 pm. At 8:00, KTEH will broadcast their special titled “Celtic Women’s Music Night”. We’re doing this volunteer work as a Pagan group – how’s that for being “out of the closet”?
What’s better than free stuff? More free stuff: On this site you can register for freebies for babies, kids, pets; free clothes, household goods, paper products; free screensavers and find links, links, links to even more free stuff.
Bless the Beasts and the Children: Despite a two year old law banning the use of kids under 15, children from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sudan are still being smuggled to the United Arab Emirates to work as camel jockeys. Recently, there has been encouraging news that the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi has given his backing for a center to find and rehabilitate child camel jockeys.
Summer Vacation: If you’re planning to travel to the land of the Druids for an authentic summer solstice celebration, check out this travelogue for suggestions on sightseeing, accommodations, and getting around.
The Future of Lying: As the British government unveils plans to make lie detector tests mandatory for convicted pedophiles, some scientists in the US are working on more advanced technology which might be better equipped at detecting deception.
An Unfortunate Salute: Apparently, the Bush family’s attempt to honor the Texas Longhorns has a very different meaning in Norway …
We have hundreds of events listed on our California Community Calendar.
Here is just a handful:
· Jennifer Berezin’s “Ecstasy of Sound”
· The Snow Festival
· The Romeo and Juliet Ball
· Chaharshanbeh-Soori - A Persian Celebration
· The Daffodil Show
· The Santa Cruz Kayak Surf Festival
· A ritual for Xochiquetzal
· Classes and workshops on healing, masks, chakra work, and so much more!
New events are added every day. Click on the Full Circle California Community Calendar to access the list. If you want your event listed, please go to our calendar page and click on the link that says “Submit Event.” The on-line form is simple and very easy to use. Questions? Please contact our Networking Coordinator ScoutGhost at scoutghst@sbcglobal.net.
Outside my window, snowflakes fall straight down, heavy, wet, and melting upon impact. Although we are in the foothills of a mountain range, it is the first snow we have seen this year, so it is odd to look at Winter’s last gasp as I contemplate spring. On my front porch, a tray full of primroses awaits transplanting, but out in the flower beds, last year’s English Primroses are already bursting through the soil with buds furled. Miniature iris flowers dot the labyrinth like bits fallen from some emperor’s robes. The winter was long and dreary here, while elsewhere it was bitter cold with blizzards. I often think of winter as the time to study, contemplate, and take my bearings in the world, but Spring beckons, and like the burgeoning buds and bulbs, shouldn’t we all be poised to leap forward into life again with new vigor and fresh ambition?
Looking around me, it seems so many people, regardless of faith, stagger through day-to-day life in a dazed repetitive fashion. “This is where ritual comes in,” I tell myself as I look at those weary eyes around me. This is what ritual is FOR: to replenish the participants so each can go forward with renewed energy for living. Once the need for a “ritual fix” is decided, it is important to consider exactly what type of ritual satisfies the need. This is particularly true for a solitaire like myself. As a Pagan, I often find myself looking back at pre-Christian times for a clue, but this year I didn’t get that far. The first image to spring to mind was a black and white photo of Vaslav Nijinsky, a dancer from long before Baryshnikov charmed us. Nijinsky became simultaneously famous and infamous for his choreography of Stravinsky’s ballet, “The Rite of Spring” back when the 20th century was still new. Paris residents rioted in the streets due to the incredibly physical and vibrantly erotic performance. Whether the nascent 21st century is any more prepared for such visceral representations will be tested as the ballet is presented anew at theaters around the country. Short of the screams of tortured musical instruments and enthralled performers dancing to the death in this ballet, we must find meaningful rites in our own lives.
Ancient Rome had Lupercalia, but most of us would be hard-put to find goats to sacrifice. Not to mention, having young, lovely, nearly-nude men running the streets hitting schoolgirls and matrons with bloody strips of goat hide is just not very practical these days. Valentine’s cards and gifts seem a pale substitute. The vernal equinox, still a few weeks off with names like Alban Eilir and Ostara, might resonate with meaning for some of us, but again, so many of those stories are for the lucky ones who belong to a group, or for those with young children. Though I know celebrations are easier with others to plan for and include, the nagging need for something to trigger my mind and body out of winter’s grip encompasses my late night sleepless moments. Lying awake, listening to wind-tossed chimes, or looking at fugitive snowflakes, I examine my life to see what bits of it touch upon something sacramental enough to awaken the seeds of spring in myself.
They are there, even if in the rush and bustle I sometimes miss them. Even in the chill of February, I take action to hasten the spring. I keep beehives in my back yard, and it is on a windless, dry day after the chill Sabbat of Imbolc (no lambs’ birthings here, alas) that I open the hives for a quick glance within. Against the cold of winter, the bees have kept to the centers of the deep hive boxes, with insulating frames full of beeswax-capped honey between them and the cold outside. Already, on sunny days where the temperature climbs over 50 degrees, a few hardy Amazon-like workers are flying and bringing back pollen from the earliest blossoms. Pollen is needed to feed bee larvae, the soon-to-be spring crop of new workers. Bees, aside from the queen, usually have a lifetime of only a couple months in the spring and summer, but in winter when they fly less and rest more, they live longer.
The final duties of this winter crew of bees revolves around cleaning the beeswax cells emptied of honey so the queen can begin laying the eggs and replacing the depleted honey stores. To assist my bees in their own resurgent spring dance, I take a sticky mixture of honey and dried pollen smeared on thin paper for easy handling; I lay these atop the hive frames. This will provide protein for feeding the young bees as they develop. A mere three weeks after the queen lays the tiny white eggs, new golden bees will be ready to dry their wings and fly. Smiling at the disturbed hum rising from the hives as I lay the feed supplement in place, I recall the folk tradition of “telling the bees,” informing them of a recent death in the family, a tradition that is supposed to ensure that the bees remain in the hive and all good things come to fruition. One rite of spring down, am I ready to leap back into life now?
Not quite. The times are a bit of a trial: I still feel more like climbing back under the feather comforter to hide. Instead, I drive myself out into the chill gray weekend day and uncover the compost pile in the yard’s farthest corner. It has been neglected, and is barely warm, barely working. I look at the section of the yard that I have mentally designated as the vegetable garden which is presently the domain of clover and chickweed. My husband and I gather tools, the wheelbarrow, and the sifter. Shovels of compost go to the sifter, full barrows of newly made earth go to enrich thin-soiled flower beds in front of the house to rebury storm-exposed iris tubers, and fill low spots here and there. Unfinished compost is moved laboriously to a long axis along the fence. This will be the end of the to-be-tilled garden zone. The actual bins of compost are sorted; the endless supply of decomposing paper coffee filters remind me of what fueled me through winter. I remember that this is a rite of spring, sore muscles, and muddy shoes notwithstanding: I am building spring in my garden-to-be.
By the day of the vernal equinox, more finished compost will have been spread over the 60’ x 60’ square, the cover crop tilled under, and new clover sprouting there. Before our Northerly mountain microclimate zone sees my planting date—around Beltane—it will have been tilled under possibly four more times to become a loamy and nitrogen-enriched bed for seeds. I am feeling more spring-like as I immerse my achy limbs in a hot bath.
The wintry white tablecloth is taken off the formal dining table, revealing an embroidered felt carpet with a brilliantly colored tree of life design. There it will shimmer under its glass protection throughout the “growing” time of the year to remind me that the world does not live in black and white; instead it goes beyond into colors of joy and exuberant excess. It is still far too cold for the houseplants to take their warm season places out on the porches, but the orchids are in bloom in the kitchen window, under the electric stimulation of added plant lights. On each door, I hang a pussy-willow wreath, noting it is this very early pollen the bees will be seeking soon. In the pine-needle litter beneath the firs, in a warm patch of rare sun, the ladybugs are massing to soak up the solar warmth. A robin is examining the disturbed compost, rich with earthworms, and the crows are gathered in the trees North of me, raucously announcing their chosen nesting sites. Soon the wild violets in my front yard will bloom. I will pick and sugar them for decorating Equinox cakes.
The wind chimes are still dolefully declaring wintertime, but the sun has come through the clouds and a nuthatch is singing on the birdfeeder. Spring is beginning to riot all around me, I only had to tire myself out enough to be still and look for it.
Labrys
FCE Newsletter Staff:
SnakeMoon is the Editor-in-Chief of the Full Circle Newsletter. She can be reached for comment at snakemoon@comcast.net.
Sia is the Publisher of the Full Circle Newsletter and the Council Leader for Full Circle Events. She can be reached at info@fullcircleevents.org.
Arianna G. is our Copyeditor. Thank you, Arianna!
Once again we enjoyed the assistance of contributing writers Arianna G and Juliaki and welcome new writers Labrys and Nualilith. Thank you all!
ScoutGhost is the Networking Coordinator for Full Circle Events. She can be reached at scoutghst@sbcglobal.net.