The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/tag/wheel-of-the-year)
As the year darkens, Yule invites something deeper than celebration. The solstice season calls for honesty, rest, and reckoning—listening to what the long nights reveal, releasing what no longer belongs to us, and preparing, quietly, for the light’s return.
As we begin October, we too are lucky. Bart Everson reminds us that each of us exists because an unbroken chain of ancestors survived long enough to pass life forward. Through luck, resilience, and countless generations, their breath becomes ours. Honoring them is both remembrance and gratitude for being here.
After experiencing the challenges of the five months following Helene, I eagerly moved through the kaleidoscopic seasons, observing the early signs of change. I danced in the garden when I found purple dead nettle blooming, and I crowed with delight when the daffodils returned from the underworld.
As we gather and rejoice with our beloved ancestors and ancients during these uncertain times, may the lessons of Samhain grace our table with plenty, our chosen group of family and friends with blessings, and our hearts with much needed wisdom. As our ancients might remind us: are we living or are we being lived?
“Pagan nonsense, celebrating the feast of Lughnasadh. This is the month of August. The feast of our lady’s assumption into heaven.” Meg Elison returns with a review of the 1998 Irish-American film “Dancing at Lughnasa,” which juxtaposes Catholic misery and Pagan joy.