The white rose in tarot is shown on 2 cards of the major arcanum: the Fool and Death. The Fool follows his bliss, with the white rose of purity and innocence in his outstretched left hand. Death carries a banner emblazoned with the symbol of the white rose, signifying purification through transformation (also in his…
Beltane: The Festival of Fire
Beltane, known as Lá Bealtaine in Ireland and Lá Bealltainn in Scotland, is a Celtic holiday celebrated on the first day of May, the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Known as a festival of purification by fire, Beltane was the time when the ancient Gaels welcomed in the warm half…
A Reminder: You’re a Human Thing
:: HUMAN :: Hello, Human! Hello. You are flesh and sinew and blood and bone! You are morning glory cells and serotonin and all that is ephemeral and all that is tangible in sweat and love. You are everything in life and beyond death and back around. Oh, Human! You do what you can. And…
Entry, after a long while: In the empty
Not another sad poem I don’t want to write another Lost-in-the-night-of-my-soul, Moonlight to guide me, But the heavy’s getting old, Down by the river, Numbing my feet in the water Waiting for “you’ll get used to it” to come That, or hiding In the sun of my memory Kind of poem. But it’s all I…
Entry 1.14.17: Returning
I’ve been returning to myself, lately. I recognized some time ago that I had gone very far away from who I once knew myself to be, and the lethargy, illness, and stress of being lost inside caused me to rattle the cage until I was out. I wouldn’t say “free”, because freedom is a state…
New Year Reflection: A tidy list for messy circumstances
I like a quiet new year’s eve. Looking in is always preferable to going out. I’ll write in my journal, make lists like this one, read cards, and send out messages of good will to dear ones when I hear the horns and singing ring out at midnight. Sometimes, I’ll bundle up and take a walk,…
Entry 12.20.16 – The trickster effect and a new year
The past meets me at my doorstep, in the mirror, in a crowd of faces, in the playlist on shuffle- yesterday sings to me. I’ve searched for new sounds, but I’m not immune to the siren call I knew so well- this disturbs me, ever slightly. This interruption means the trickster Mercury is at the…
Rosamond, 1956
On the day of the church potluck, Rosamond woke up before the sun. To say she woke up is slightly misleading, as she barely slept at all. Her back ached and her feet hurt. A dull pain that had started and continued as she grew heavier in the middle pulsed from heel to the bunions…
Rosamond, 1978 (Excerpt)
My grandmother, Rosamond, moved to Manhattan in the late 70s, some time after her divorce was finalized. She was in her early 50s and practiced at independence since she’d been primarily on her own throughout her marriage. It was time to secure a future, so she did just that. She worked as a receptionist at…
Entry 112016 – He’s so tired and I stand by
My love, he’s so tired and I stand by, face facing the wet pavement, I know what the sky looks like. But the weight made my head heavy, my neck aches All I have is my heart in my pocket, out of sight, to not be a bother, a burden because he will care. He…
