Saturday, July 04, 2009

Weeks to Months

Happy July, everyone.

Well, almost no sooner had I returned alone from the necessary three-week trip to Toronto in May, than I learned that my father is now terminally ill with inoperable lung cancer. For all practical purposes, I’m the only family he has here. We’ve never been particularly close; he’s typical of the "absent father" so often mentioned by the Men’s Movement, emotionally reserved and independent to the point of being distant. Still, his condition has caused us to reconnect somewhat, even though he holds his emotions close to his chest. He’s been in hospital for over two weeks as I write this, and the palliative care team have been focusing on pain management with the goal of getting him into a hospice soon. Both of us have been on our own emotional roller coasters, and I can’t be sure that he isn’t still in some form of denial. The doctors have given him a prognosis of "weeks to months", and are trying to bump him up the waitlist for cataract surgery, in order to improve his quality of life for the time he has left.

Brendan Myers’ A Pagan Testament is a collection of stories, poems, texts, and teachings gathered through his own research, and from an extensive folklore survey conducted among pagans in 2006-7. For a movement that often prides itself on being "not a religion of the book", there are nevertheless texts and sayings which subsets within the pagan movement value, and attitudes that many pagans hold in common. They vary from aboriginal teachings to tales of Innana, to Demeter and Persephone, to the Morrigan, to the Norns of Norse mythology. They cover witch-lore from the Malleus Malificarum and Leland’s Aradia, to the poetry of Burns, Kipling, Keats, and Wordsworth, to British Traditional Books of Shadows. They include quotes from Heinlein and Tolkien, and even from a 1999 movie. Myers’ book covers all these and more, notably a collection of 170 pagan chants (without music, alas), some of which have undergone folk process before reaching their contributors (in other words, not the way I’d edit or contribute them). Of particular interest is Myers’ commentary on these selections, and what they indicate about their underlying pagan concepts. The book is not the ultimate collection of pagan texts, but it’s certainly a good start, and belongs on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the literary heritage of the Craft. It may even be useful to educate those belonging to "religions of the book" about what pagans believe.

July's Birthdays: Tash L., Leanne, Maracena, Sean, Caroline, Kerri, Jen T., and probably some of my other Facebook friends. Sorry if I’ve missed yours.

Thanks to those of you who came out for the solstice sunrise on the 20th. And congratulations (again) to Rikki and Gavin on their handfasting on June 21!

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: The Eclectic Circle, led by SpiritnSoul, Info: http://witches.meetup.com/1558/
Jul. 3-12: Local agricultural fair, athletic competition, and pre-harvest festival.
Jul. 4: COGCOA Coffee Cauldron. Info: info (at) cogcoa (dot) ab (dot) ca
Jul. 7, 3:21 a.m.: Full (Buck) Moon.
Jul. 18: COGCOA Lammas Ritual.
Jul. 21, 7:00 p.m.: Calgary Witches Meetup, hosted by moi, at Votier’s Flats. Info: http://witches.meetup.com/1322/
Jul. 21, 8:35 a.m.: New Moon. Tinne (Holly) lunar month begins.
Jul. 23-26: Calgary Folk Festival on Prince’s Island. Info: http://www.calgaryfolkfest.com
Jul. 31 – Aug. 3: PanFest in central Alberta. Info: http://www.panfest.ca/
Aug. 3: Civic Holiday (Heritage Day).
Aug. 3-9: Calgary International Blues Festival. Info: http://www.calgarybluesfest.com/

Blessings,
Hergest