The Mountains of Faerie
Happy July, everyone.
We had a decent turnout for the solstice sunrise on June 20. The sky was clear, but across the eastern horizon lay a bank of gray cloud. As we watched, accompanied by hares and the ever-present crows, a rosy glow spread across the cloudscape, as it the Sun was preparing to rise in front of them (could that even be possible?). The glow faded to a point, and a golden-silver lining appeared at the tops of the clouds, until the Sun finally made its appearance.
Watching this brought back memories from my childhood. On my first airplane flight just before my second birthday, I’m told that I pointed at the cloud tops, wanting to walk on them. In my youth in Regina, I often sat on the porch of our west-facing house, noticing what appeared to be mountains on the horizon, fancying them to be shadows cast all the way from western Alberta.
Watching the sunrise that morning brought to mind Tolkien’s vision of the lost West, sundered from the Earth and only accessible by the “straight path”… and of the veil that, according to Celtic myth, separates our world from the land of Faerie. And I think of the musical “Brigadoon”, calling on similar mythology, with a town lost in the mists. I think, then, that these are the "Mountains of Faerie", a landscape that is sometimes part of our spiritual world, if only we have the wherewithal to look for and appreciate it.
July's Birthdays: Tash L., Leanne C., Sean, Caroline, Jen T., and probably some of my Facebook friends. And happy anniversary to Christine and Michael!
July Events:
Note these events are listed for information purposes only; no endorsement is necessarily implied. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me.
Jul. 1: Canada Day.
Jul. 2, 8:19 p.m.: New Moon. Duir (Oak) lunar month begins.
Jul. 3: The Eclectic Circle, led by SpiritnSoul, Info: http://witches.meetup.com/1558/
Jul. 4-12: Big Drunken Calgary Party, a.k.a. the Stampede.
Jul. 15, 7:00 p.m.: Calgary Witches Meetup, hosted by moi, in north Calgary. Info: http://witches.meetup.com/1322/
Jul. 18, 1:59 a.m.: Full (Buck) Moon.
Jul. 19: COGCOA Lammas Ritual.
Jul. 24-27: Calgary Folk Music Festival. Info: http://www.calgaryfolkfest.com
Jul. 24, 6:00 p.m.: Calgary Druid Meetup, hosted by Athelia. http://druid.meetup.com/93
Aug. 1-4: PanFest in central Alberta. Info: http://www.panfest.net/
Aug. 23-29: BC Witchcamp at Evans Lake, B.C. Info: http://www.bcwitchcamp.ca
Blessings,
Hergest
We had a decent turnout for the solstice sunrise on June 20. The sky was clear, but across the eastern horizon lay a bank of gray cloud. As we watched, accompanied by hares and the ever-present crows, a rosy glow spread across the cloudscape, as it the Sun was preparing to rise in front of them (could that even be possible?). The glow faded to a point, and a golden-silver lining appeared at the tops of the clouds, until the Sun finally made its appearance.
Watching this brought back memories from my childhood. On my first airplane flight just before my second birthday, I’m told that I pointed at the cloud tops, wanting to walk on them. In my youth in Regina, I often sat on the porch of our west-facing house, noticing what appeared to be mountains on the horizon, fancying them to be shadows cast all the way from western Alberta.
Watching the sunrise that morning brought to mind Tolkien’s vision of the lost West, sundered from the Earth and only accessible by the “straight path”… and of the veil that, according to Celtic myth, separates our world from the land of Faerie. And I think of the musical “Brigadoon”, calling on similar mythology, with a town lost in the mists. I think, then, that these are the "Mountains of Faerie", a landscape that is sometimes part of our spiritual world, if only we have the wherewithal to look for and appreciate it.
July's Birthdays: Tash L., Leanne C., Sean, Caroline, Jen T., and probably some of my Facebook friends. And happy anniversary to Christine and Michael!
July Events:
Note these events are listed for information purposes only; no endorsement is necessarily implied. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me.
Jul. 1: Canada Day.
Jul. 2, 8:19 p.m.: New Moon. Duir (Oak) lunar month begins.
Jul. 3: The Eclectic Circle, led by SpiritnSoul, Info: http://witches.meetup.com/1558/
Jul. 4-12: Big Drunken Calgary Party, a.k.a. the Stampede.
Jul. 15, 7:00 p.m.: Calgary Witches Meetup, hosted by moi, in north Calgary. Info: http://witches.meetup.com/1322/
Jul. 18, 1:59 a.m.: Full (Buck) Moon.
Jul. 19: COGCOA Lammas Ritual.
Jul. 24-27: Calgary Folk Music Festival. Info: http://www.calgaryfolkfest.com
Jul. 24, 6:00 p.m.: Calgary Druid Meetup, hosted by Athelia. http://druid.meetup.com/93
Aug. 1-4: PanFest in central Alberta. Info: http://www.panfest.net/
Aug. 23-29: BC Witchcamp at Evans Lake, B.C. Info: http://www.bcwitchcamp.ca
Blessings,
Hergest
posted by Stephen Hergest at 12:43 pm
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