Back when we were first together, J. and I struggled during the holidays. Thanksgiving was often with my family, but then we went back and forth between celebrating the Solstice, “my” holiday, and Christmas (his). It was a complicated decision based on the calendar, gift-giving, and odd emotional callbacks and family-of-origin dynamics.
Tonight, in the light of the moon peering through the towering pines behind my house, I will offer myself up to Deity in a ritual I have done every year since 1980. I pledged myself then, and renew that vow in recognition of Their regard of, and for, me.
In my spiritual tradition, this is a day (and night) to honor our beloved ancestors. We take time to pause and look at all those who came before us, paving the way and providing the skills and assistance we used to get to where we are.
Autumn is a liminal time for me, a place where we move from one state of being into another. Most of my life, its been a time of massive energy, a shifting from the languid days of summer into the purpose full days of the harvest. For years the pattern was set by the return to school, with its formalized schedule and targeted knowledge absorption. Then it was office work, where clients themselves would come back from vacations, ready to face their duties again, and bringing me in to assist.
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Every year I do a tarot reading for myself to get an idea of what the coming year might bring. Here it is, presented (as usual) without comment.
What a difference a year makes.
Remember that Big Shift I wrote a bit about (teasingly) in April?
At the end of November my husband and I are going to San Francisco to share Thanksgiving with our family there. The next day, we’re boarding a plane to Portugal.
We have one-way tickets.
It’s been a big year for me, not just with a pandemic; too much going on to stop and write.
detail from Acropolis Wall; copyright Lisa Mc Sherry
I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be speaking at Puget Sound Pagan Pride 2021!
A few years ago I published my Bucket List. 2020 changed my priorities a lot and I ended up reassessing the things I truly want to try and accomplish before I die.
About 10 years ago John and I were having dinner and I told him that I’d like to get married. (For those who don’t know, its a long story. Buy me a glass of wine and I’ll tell you.) That was a big shift for us.
BIG.
It was a voyage into the unknown.
