Author Topic: Seasons, the Sun, and the Moon (Read 5270 times)

Mithril · « **on:** February 07, 2012, 08:39:54 pm »

Recently I've been having trouble justifying some of my beliefs to myself. I was beginning to have a vague interest in Lugh and Celtic Paganism was starting to get back into my witchcraft, now that I'm used to college. Then I started wondering why we (we being nature oriented Pagans) celebrate the change in seasons and feel them as such a spiritual thing. After all, seasons are just caused by our planet's tilt as we spin around the sun. Nothing particularly magical or spiritual in that. Is it the response of life to change that is really being celebrated, and not the seasons themselves? Not just superficially, but deep-down, why are the seasons important or not important to you?

I've also been wondering about Sun-gods and spirits. For those of you that worship/ work with them, do you feel that the entity is physically present in the sun's rays? Or that they live within the flaming ball of gas itself? Or is their association with the sun symbolic?

On a similar note, why is the moon so important? It's a cold ball of dust, rock, ice, and other similar things. Why is the moon so special to us as humans, other than being pretty? It just shines by reflecting sunlight! Do you feel that the moon has a spirit? Of course, I suppose the question all comes down to whether you're an animist or not. I'm hoping to hear some different perspectives.

spoOk · « **Reply #1 on:** February 07, 2012, 08:44:45 pm »

Quote from: Mithril;41891

Recently I've been having trouble justifying some of my beliefs to myself. I was beginning to have a vague interest in Lugh and Celtic Paganism was starting to get back into my witchcraft, now that I'm used to college. Then I started wondering why we (we being nature oriented Pagans) celebrate the change in seasons and feel them as such a spiritual thing. After all, seasons are just caused by our planet's tilt as we spin around the sun. Nothing particularly magical or spiritual in that. Is it the response of life to change that is really being celebrated, and not the seasons themselves? Not just superficially, but deep-down, why are the seasons important or not important to you?

I've also been wondering about Sun-gods and spirits. For those of you that worship/ work with them, do you feel that the entity is physically present in the sun's rays? Or that they live within the flaming ball of gas itself? Or is their association with the sun symbolic?

On a similar note, why is the moon so important? It's a cold ball of dust, rock, ice, and other similar things. Why is the moon so special to us as humans, other than being pretty? It just shines by reflecting sunlight! Do you feel that the moon has a spirit? Of course, I suppose the question all comes down to whether you're an animist or not. I'm hoping to hear some different perspectives.

the seasons were important in an agriculture sense and also in times when we weren't certain that the seasons would predictably process in their order,people prayed the gods would allow the winter to end and bring everything back to life etc. etc. blah blah.
the moon does more than just sit there.
the moon holds sway scientifically speaking over the tides and the waters of the whole planet and it's also been proven it also effects us in our water content too.
just a few bits to consider.

Jenett · « **Reply #2 on:** February 07, 2012, 10:27:28 pm »

Quote from: Mithril;41891

After all, seasons are just caused by our planet's tilt as we spin around the sun. Nothing particularly magical or spiritual in that. Is it the response of life to change that is really being celebrated, and not the seasons themselves? Not just superficially, but deep-down, why are the seasons important or not important to you?

The thing for me is that there's science-brain, and there's religion-brain, and they both live in my head - in other words, I embrace the power of 'and'.

I am happy with an explanation that's all sciency, about the tilt of the planet, and the relationship to the sun.

But there is also a part of me that deeply, fundamentally, is absolutely certain the world is a better place if people mark the seasons. If some people get up at dawn to watch the Morris dancing. If some people keep vigil through the solstice to see the sun return. That people dance and celebrate the longest day.

And beyond that, I turn out to be a happier person if I do those things: I am more aware of the changes of the seasons around me, if I have ways to mark and pay attention to them changing. (Here, I admit it helps that I've always lived places that more or less sync to the classic Sabbats - and hey, here in Maine, there's actual melting snow this week, which was not the case in Minnesota.)

If I had to put words to all that: I think the physical seasons would still happen without the people marking them. But I'm not as sure the ... spiritual? etheric? Whatever .... seasons would. And I think those are the ones that matter most.

Quote

On a similar note, why is the moon so important? It's a cold ball of dust, rock, ice, and other similar things. Why is the moon so special to us as humans, other than being pretty? It just shines by reflecting sunlight! Do you feel that the moon has a spirit? Of course, I suppose the question all comes down to whether you're an animist or not. I'm hoping to hear some different perspectives.

I'm generally in the "symbolic associations are about symbols, but that doesn't mean they're not powerful" camp.

I do Water Deities Are Us to a rather absurd degree sometimes: it's not that the mug of water currently three inches from my hand is M'Lady. It isn't. But I can see her in that, more clearly than I can in the arm of the chair, or the headphones, or my harp, or even most of my altar items. Same thing with the sun, and the moon: Neither is a deity in their own right, exactly - but those symbols carry the reminder of the deity, and rather powerfully in some cases.

Nyktelios · « **Reply #3 on:** February 07, 2012, 10:55:21 pm »

Quote from: Mithril;41891

Recently I've been having trouble justifying some of my beliefs to myself. I was beginning to have a vague interest in Lugh and Celtic Paganism was starting to get back into my witchcraft, now that I'm used to college. Then I started wondering why we (we being nature oriented Pagans) celebrate the change in seasons and feel them as such a spiritual thing. After all, seasons are just caused by our planet's tilt as we spin around the sun. Nothing particularly magical or spiritual in that. Is it the response of life to change that is really being celebrated, and not the seasons themselves? Not just superficially, but deep-down, why are the seasons important or not important to you?

I've also been wondering about Sun-gods and spirits. For those of you that worship/ work with them, do you feel that the entity is physically present in the sun's rays? Or that they live within the flaming ball of gas itself? Or is their association with the sun symbolic?

On a similar note, why is the moon so important? It's a cold ball of dust, rock, ice, and other similar things. Why is the moon so special to us as humans, other than being pretty? It just shines by reflecting sunlight! Do you feel that the moon has a spirit? Of course, I suppose the question all comes down to whether you're an animist or not. I'm hoping to hear some different perspectives.

One can't be so literal-minded when dealing with religion. It's about poetry, symbolism, and metaphor, as well as that many Pagan traditions have the concept of deity immanent in the physical universe.

Regarding the seasons, they represent the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. The sun appears to wax and wane over the course of the year, symbolically represented as the life cycle of a deity. The sun and vegetative life go through annual cycles of life, death and resurrection/rebirth, which we relate to the human life cycle.

The moon may be a ball of ice and rock that reflects the sun's light, but ancient people considered it a measurer, a way of keeping track of time. Many ancient cultures had lunar calendars, hence the concept of months as units within a year. Because of its 29-day cycle, it is also symbolically connected to female fertility and the human menstrual cycle. The moon controls the tides, and water is another feminine symbol in witchcraft and some other Pagan traditions, as the primordial womb of the earth and the lifeblood of the planet.

It's getting late, I don't know if what I'm saying makes sense. My point is that while there are scientific explanations for these phenomena, they still have symbolic significance.

Juniperberry · « **Reply #4 on:** February 07, 2012, 11:22:29 pm »

Quote from: Mithril;41891

Recently I've been having trouble justifying some of my beliefs to myself. I was beginning to have a vague interest in Lugh and Celtic Paganism was starting to get back into my witchcraft, now that I'm used to college. Then I started wondering why we (we being nature oriented Pagans) celebrate the change in seasons and feel them as such a spiritual thing. After all, seasons are just caused by our planet's tilt as we spin around the sun. Nothing particularly magical or spiritual in that. Is it the response of life to change that is really being celebrated, and not the seasons themselves? Not just superficially, but deep-down, why are the seasons important or not important to you?

I've also been wondering about Sun-gods and spirits. For those of you that worship/ work with them, do you feel that the entity is physically present in the sun's rays? Or that they live within the flaming ball of gas itself? Or is their association with the sun symbolic?

On a similar note, why is the moon so important? It's a cold ball of dust, rock, ice, and other similar things. Why is the moon so special to us as humans, other than being pretty? It just shines by reflecting sunlight! Do you feel that the moon has a spirit? Of course, I suppose the question all comes down to whether you're an animist or not. I'm hoping to hear some different perspectives.

Well, in Norse mythology the sun and the moon *are* just things that tell time, mark seasons, etc. They have no real spiritual purpose other than natural order unless you chose to give it some.

Seasons weren't celebrated specifically because they were spiritual, but because at Yule, for instance, you cant farm or do much in the winter so you.socialize and have parties. Spring was getting out of the rut, being back in warmer weather, etc. Again, it can have more meaning for you, but it isn't supposed to if it doesn't.

Its all rather practical which is part of what drew me to it.

HeartShadow · « **Reply #5 on:** February 08, 2012, 09:21:15 am »

Quote from: Mithril;41891

Recently I've been having trouble justifying some of my beliefs to myself. I was beginning to have a vague interest in Lugh and Celtic Paganism was starting to get back into my witchcraft, now that I'm used to college. Then I started wondering why we (we being nature oriented Pagans) celebrate the change in seasons and feel them as such a spiritual thing. After all, seasons are just caused by our planet's tilt as we spin around the sun. Nothing particularly magical or spiritual in that. Is it the response of life to change that is really being celebrated, and not the seasons themselves? Not just superficially, but deep-down, why are the seasons important or not important to you?

I've also been wondering about Sun-gods and spirits. For those of you that worship/ work with them, do you feel that the entity is physically present in the sun's rays? Or that they live within the flaming ball of gas itself? Or is their association with the sun symbolic?

On a similar note, why is the moon so important? It's a cold ball of dust, rock, ice, and other similar things. Why is the moon so special to us as humans, other than being pretty? It just shines by reflecting sunlight! Do you feel that the moon has a spirit? Of course, I suppose the question all comes down to whether you're an animist or not. I'm hoping to hear some different perspectives.

Deep down, the only seasons I really note are spring and harvest. When life bursts forth, and when it goes dormant. Summer and winter are spacers. (Summer's a WARMER spacer, mind you!)

The moon - the moon is important in how the world works. Without a moon to create the tides, there would likely be no life. Is the moon as the moon any more sacred than anything ELSE? no.

as far as the sun - I don't believe there's actually a god driving the sun across the sky, no. The sun is a massive fusion reaction. At the same time - EVERYTHING is powered by gravity and hydrogen. That's it. How is that NOT magical?

Kylara · « **Reply #6 on:** February 08, 2012, 09:50:29 am »

Quote from: Mithril;41891

Recently I've been having trouble justifying some of my beliefs to myself. I was beginning to have a vague interest in Lugh and Celtic Paganism was starting to get back into my witchcraft, now that I'm used to college. Then I started wondering why we (we being nature oriented Pagans) celebrate the change in seasons and feel them as such a spiritual thing. After all, seasons are just caused by our planet's tilt as we spin around the sun. Nothing particularly magical or spiritual in that. Is it the response of life to change that is really being celebrated, and not the seasons themselves? Not just superficially, but deep-down, why are the seasons important or not important to you?

I've also been wondering about Sun-gods and spirits. For those of you that worship/ work with them, do you feel that the entity is physically present in the sun's rays? Or that they live within the flaming ball of gas itself? Or is their association with the sun symbolic?

On a similar note, why is the moon so important? It's a cold ball of dust, rock, ice, and other similar things. Why is the moon so special to us as humans, other than being pretty? It just shines by reflecting sunlight! Do you feel that the moon has a spirit? Of course, I suppose the question all comes down to whether you're an animist or not. I'm hoping to hear some different perspectives.

I live in what I would consider a fairly urban area (sure there is a fair amount of farmland nearby, but in my day to day life, I just see the city). I definitely think that I don't have as deep a connection to the seasons as earlier generations, where more of daily life was directly influenced by the time of year. And I kind of miss that. For me, celebrating the seasons is a way to connect to the world around me and not just pass through it without experiencing it. It is something that I consider to be a huge work in progress...it is far to easy to become isolated in the fairly constant environment of our apartment and not really see what is going on outside the walls.

I don't take a purely literal approach to deity(s), but more of a mythological approach I guess. I don't think in terms of a being that inhibits the (physical) sun or it's rays, but more of a spiritual resonance that embodies 'sun-ness'. The value, to me, is in how the sun energy impacts me and the world around me. In this I can approach the light, the warmth and the changes these things cause as manifestations of the sun. I find that it works for me to think about energies like this in a more personified manner. I guess I like the poetry of seeing the sun as a being (or one of many beings that represents the sun).

I think that all of your questions (about the seasons, sun and moon) are rooted in practices that started before mankind was as knowledgeable and able to control and adapt the world around us. We didn't always know that seasons were the result of the tilt of the earth, but we did know that days became longer and shorter, temperatures changed, the plants and animals around us changed and these things impacted our lives.

I think there are a ton of reasons why humanity views the moon as important. A lot of people are less confident in the dark than they are in the light. Even today, many people will avoid walking down dark streets or alone at night. Night limits our ability to perceive the world around us, and all those unknowns can be intimidating. When the moon is out, especially when it is full, it provides a lot of light, which drastically changes how the night looks and feels. The moon changes in cycles, so it is both every changing and eternal. Before we knew that the moon was light by reflected sunlight and its shape was caused by the shadow of the earth, it must have seemed absolutely magical.

Personally, I do find the moon to be special, and something more than just a reflection of the sun. Sunlight can bounce off other reflective surfaces (glass, metal or water for example) and yet it still feels like sunlight to me. Light from the moon does not feel like sunlight to me. I do think it has it's own spirit, it's own energy. And when the light from the sun hits the moon, it is not only reflected but transmuted into something new.

Rhoanna · « **Reply #7 on:** February 08, 2012, 11:32:04 am »

Quote from: Mithril;41891

Recently I've been having trouble justifying some of my beliefs to myself. I was beginning to have a vague interest in Lugh and Celtic Paganism was starting to get back into my witchcraft, now that I'm used to college. Then I started wondering why we (we being nature oriented Pagans) celebrate the change in seasons and feel them as such a spiritual thing. After all, seasons are just caused by our planet's tilt as we spin around the sun. Nothing particularly magical or spiritual in that. Is it the response of life to change that is really being celebrated, and not the seasons themselves? Not just superficially, but deep-down, why are the seasons important or not important to you?

To me, the seasons are important because of the practical effect they have on my life. Different foods are available from local farms; I do different outdoor activities in the summer or winter; local plants green, bloom, and then lose their leaves; there's vastly changing amounts of daylight. These all impact how I live my life. And I find I'm better off when I'm aware of and consciously mark the passage of time, including seasons. I make better use of my time, and find time doesn't just fly by unnoticed as much. And it helps me make sure I do any activities I want that can only be done at certain times of year.

So while in some sense it's very pragmatic, there's also something profoundly spiritual to me about the passage of time, many natural (and other) cycles and their effect on life. While I don't think there's anything truly inherently spiritual about it (or anything else); that's how it feels to me.

Quote

On a similar note, why is the moon so important? It's a cold ball of dust, rock, ice, and other similar things. Why is the moon so special to us as humans, other than being pretty? It just shines by reflecting sunlight! Do you feel that the moon has a spirit? Of course, I suppose the question all comes down to whether you're an animist or not. I'm hoping to hear some different perspectives.

To me, the moon isn't important. I don't spend enough time outside in the evenings in situations where I might notice the phases of the moon, and while I live 5 minutes away from tidal waters (and slightly further from the ocean), I'm generally unaware of the tides. If those things had a larger role in my life, I'd probably consider the (phases of the) moon more important, both spiritually and practically. This doesn't stop me from admiring the beauty of a full moon, or a lunar eclipse, but that's about as far as it goes.

Mithril · « **Reply #8 on:** February 08, 2012, 04:35:47 pm »

Quote from: Jenett;41905

The thing for me is that there's science-brain, and there's religion-brain, and they both live in my head - in other words, I embrace the power of 'and'.

That's how I've been living until recently, when it just all seemed strange, all of a sudden. Maybe "science-brain" has just been taking over recently because I'm a science major and am being trained to think in that way only. I just can't bring myself to believe the universe is somehow divided into logical realms and non-logical realms.

And I *think* I know what you mean about symbols, but would you mind elaborating?

(btw, how do you do multiple quotes per reply? I can't seem to figure it out...)

"Neither is a deity in their own right, exactly - but those symbols carry the reminder of the deity, and rather powerfully in some cases." -so you don't see the water as part of Her, or that She inhabits in some small way the water, just a symbol of Her?

"The moon - the moon is important in how the world works. Without a moon to create the tides, there would likely be no life. Is the moon as the moon any more sacred than anything ELSE? no.
as far as the sun - I don't believe there's actually a god driving the sun across the sky, no. The sun is a massive fusion reaction. At the same time - EVERYTHING is powered by gravity and hydrogen. That's it. How is that NOT magical?"

I suppose. I guess for me to really celebrate something, I need to feel that an entity is somehow aware and receiving the celebration? Does that make sense?

Nachtigall · « **Reply #9 on:** February 08, 2012, 05:39:02 pm »

Quote from: Mithril;42021

That's how I've been living until recently, when it just all seemed strange, all of a sudden. Maybe "science-brain" has just been taking over recently because I'm a science major and am being trained to think in that way only. I just can't bring myself to believe the universe is somehow divided into logical realms and non-logical realms.

Define logical. Is poetry logical to you then? Or music, or visual arts?
It is possible to celebrate the sun and what it means to us (which is a lot, since without sun there would be no life on Earth) and what it symbolizes to us - many would associate the sun with the light of human consciousness, for example - without actually believing that a giant flaming gas ball is somehow aware of us.

Quote

I've also been wondering about Sun-gods and spirits. For those of you that worship/ work with them, do you feel that the entity is physically present in the sun's rays? Or that they live within the flaming ball of gas itself? Or is their association with the sun symbolic?

My deity is not exactly a Sun god, although He often associated with it. While I sometimes sense His presence in the light and warmth of sun rays, on a physical level I don't believe that he, or any other deity actually moves the Sun around the sky.

Jenett · « **Reply #10 on:** February 08, 2012, 08:01:41 pm »

Quote from: Mithril;42021

I just can't bring myself to believe the universe is somehow divided into logical realms and non-logical realms.

I tend to think of it as "stuff we can prove" and "stuff we can't prove" realms, if that helps. (And like I said, I'm entirely unsure if the ritual bits are about humans aligning themselves with the science, or what. I just know I feel better when they're part of my life.)

Quote

And I *think* I know what you mean about symbols, but would you mind elaborating

(btw, how do you do multiple quotes per reply? I can't seem to figure it out...)

I just type it in, but you can also paste what you want to quote, then highlight it and click the thing that looks like a text bubble (mine says "wrap

Quote

tags ..." when I mouse over it.)

Back to symbols. Ok. Take the symbol of a heart. (Red. Two lines, two curves.) There's no inherent meaning in that. It doesn't keep us alive, or feed us, or anything. But it's also a symbol that has meaning for us, culturally. And that's something we can use to connect with an idea (love, romance), as a quick reminder, as a way to anchor magical or personal work, and a whole lot more.

Likewise, take the moon. On a pure science level: ball rock orbiting us. But layer the symbols, and you've got the movement of the tides, the apparent changing from week to week, lunar month to lunar month. But you've also got the idea of a changing celestial object, as opposed to a much less obviously changing one (the sun changes all the time, but we don't see the details...) and from there, night against darkness, and so on.

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So you don't see the water as part of Her, or that She inhabits in some small way the water, just a symbol of Her?

Something like that. I have friends who can't walk by a library without thinking of me, or other librarians they know. Am I a library? No. Am I twined up with a symbol of librarianship for them? Yep. Is the library still a tool on its own, still useful without that symbol (as that mug of water is?) Yes.

But the symbol is the connection from the physical to the emotional, in a lot of ways. Some of those connections we take in from the culture around us. Some of them are highly personal. A lot of them are in the middle.

spoOk · « **Reply #11 on:** February 09, 2012, 01:40:57 am »

Quote from: Jenett;42037

I tend to think of it as "stuff we can prove" and "stuff we can't prove" realms, if that helps. (And like I said, I'm entirely unsure if the ritual bits are about humans aligning themselves with the science, or what. I just know I feel better when they're part of my life.)

I just type it in, but you can also paste what you want to quote, then highlight it and click the thing that looks like a text bubble (mine says "wrap
Quote
tags ..." when I mouse over it.)

Back to symbols. Ok. Take the symbol of a heart. (Red. Two lines, two curves.) There's no inherent meaning in that. It doesn't keep us alive, or feed us, or anything. But it's also a symbol that has meaning for us, culturally. And that's something we can use to connect with an idea (love, romance), as a quick reminder, as a way to anchor magical or personal work, and a whole lot more.

Likewise, take the moon. On a pure science level: ball rock orbiting us. But layer the symbols, and you've got the movement of the tides, the apparent changing from week to week, lunar month to lunar month. But you've also got the idea of a changing celestial object, as opposed to a much less obviously changing one (the sun changes all the time, but we don't see the details...) and from there, night against darkness, and so on.

Something like that. I have friends who can't walk by a library without thinking of me, or other librarians they know. Am I a library? No. Am I twined up with a symbol of librarianship for them? Yep. Is the library still a tool on its own, still useful without that symbol (as that mug of water is?) Yes.

But the symbol is the connection from the physical to the emotional, in a lot of ways. Some of those connections we take in from the culture around us. Some of them are highly personal. A lot of them are in the middle.

I would like to point out I had an anthropology and biology teacher in college both of whom were religious AND sciency. one was Christian and still managed to reconcile that with the primatology that she studied and taught.
the other would wish us happy new yr on Halloween.

the thing is,you could just consider science another word for things we used to call magic or acts of god. just because we have new words to label things and we now know HOW it works....doesn't make it any less amazing.

Darkhawk · « **Reply #12 on:** February 09, 2012, 12:22:24 pm »

Quote from: Mithril;42021

That's how I've been living until recently, when it just all seemed strange, all of a sudden. Maybe "science-brain" has just been taking over recently because I'm a science major and am being trained to think in that way only. I just can't bring myself to believe the universe is somehow divided into logical realms and non-logical realms.

So don't divide it.

Meaning is something that thinking brains ascribe to other stuff. It's not intrinsic.

You can know all about red as a wavelength of around 650 nm, the scattering properties of light that make long wavelengths dominate around sunrise and sunset, how to mix red pigments in various media, and all of that science stuff.

You can also know about how red has associations with warmth in part because of its proximity to wavelengths of heat and its obvious association with stuff that is on fire. Or associations with things that are attached to the concept of blood because, well, iron-based blood is red. You can know that in standard color theory it is the "opposite" of green.

But that won't tell you what a sanguine temperament means in the four humors or why it's associated with the spring. It won't tell you why red is lucky in China and dangerous elsewhere. It won't tell you why the South Korean flag pairs it with blue, or why Egyptian theology opposed it with black. Those are all things that exist in the realm of meaning.

Science doesn't care about meaning. Science invests only in facts.

People care about both facts and meaning.

Annie Roonie · « **Reply #13 on:** February 16, 2012, 10:53:51 pm »

Quote from: Mithril;41891

Recently I've been having trouble justifying some of my beliefs to myself. I was beginning to have a vague interest in Lugh and Celtic Paganism was starting to get back into my witchcraft, now that I'm used to college. Then I started wondering why we (we being nature oriented Pagans) celebrate the change in seasons and feel them as such a spiritual thing. After all, seasons are just caused by our planet's tilt as we spin around the sun. Nothing particularly magical or spiritual in that. Is it the response of life to change that is really being celebrated, and not the seasons themselves? Not just superficially, but deep-down, why are the seasons important or not important to you?

I've also been wondering about Sun-gods and spirits. For those of you that worship/ work with them, do you feel that the entity is physically present in the sun's rays? Or that they live within the flaming ball of gas itself? Or is their association with the sun symbolic?

On a similar note, why is the moon so important? It's a cold ball of dust, rock, ice, and other similar things. Why is the moon so special to us as humans, other than being pretty? It just shines by reflecting sunlight! Do you feel that the moon has a spirit? Of course, I suppose the question all comes down to whether you're an animist or not. I'm hoping to hear some different perspectives.

I enjoy science very much and went through an atheist phase for quite a bit and even tried on my militant boots for a short time, but the poetry kept popping up its head asking in whimsical tones to every new article: "So What?" Like a two year old asking why until the respondent eventually has to say "because I said so" or "because it just is" or "because those are the laws of physics." And my inner imp still asked "why" like a syncopated metronome just waiting for a pause.

Being a bit addicted to Futurama, I watched them all. When I came across the episode where an entire world/society develops on Bender's body floating through space, oddly enough it reflected some of the answers I had come to on my own for why I see the poetry as the hand that holds the hand of science. It's the dance. The journey, however pointless to anyone else and however small a blip in time and space, is an opportunity for the dance and the dance is all there is for us on this ride IMO. The societies on Bender's belly and bum died but it was something. It was a full on dance.

So these planets (I am a bit enamored with every scale sized or exploratory image of our solar system and beyond - and harbor crushes on astro-physicists - Neil deGrasee Tyson I am ogling you, sir) to me, they are, like myself, the party goers. Intensely fun it is to see how small I am! To see our own sun the size of a pea next to Antares fills me with equal parts relief and glee. How can that spilled milk matter whatsoever with this in mind? And knowing I am part of it all is so exciting that my legs don't stop moving thinking of it. Ooh and to reverse it and go micro! So much fun!

So, I've come to this mild resolution: we have what we have here that we can use to join in the wild rumpus either voluntarily and aware of it choosing our steps carefully, or we will do it anyway without acknowledging the beauty and poetry of the spinning and seeming pointlessness. I am no longer an atheist but a giant gooey soft polytheist (or whatever the word is for it) as I want to revere every kind of step, jig and cycle etc. They all are me and I am all of them and how lucky I feel to be aware of that. I can embrace anything I choose. How truly awesome and empowering that feels.

The seasons, the earth, her nature and my own are what I have (and they are the same thing at some level of course). The moon, that is one very close do-si-do and woo buddy does she lead sometimes or what?! She cannot be denied, and neither can her dance. It is her and she is marvelous.

I do soft shoe a bit around those who require a bit more specific stepping, empirical or liturgical, because while I do believe their beliefs are real and valid, I have tremendous respect for the work they put in to their dances. I honor what, who, why, when and how they revere. I do not want to offend with my clobbering feet, only to see them and appreciate them. I may or may never be given admittance to some inner circle shin digs religious or scientific, and for certain there are elements of both who've cast sideways glances at my fringe participation. But so what? I will honor their wishes and shuffle on or learn the steps, new or ancient or what have you.

I apologize for this bout of what most assuredly can be construed as fluff on all counts. I answered with my perspective, and hope it was okay! Ooh, I might be an animist. I am not sure exactly.

Good luck to you. I remember college days. Treat yourself sometimes, okay?

HeartShadow · « **Reply #14 on:** February 17, 2012, 07:38:43 am »

Quote from: Annie Roonie;43110

Actually, a lot of that looks like FlameKeeping. You might not be as *out there* as you thought.

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Author Topic: Seasons, the Sun, and the Moon (Read 5270 times)

Mithril

Seasons, the Sun, and the Moon

spoOk

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