Blog o’ Gnosis

Well, all our vigiling worked! The sun is now rising earlier and setting later, with no end in sight until next Summer Solstice. My only regret about life continuing for another year is having to live through the insanity of a national election, not to mention the insanity of more 2012 predictions. Haven’t we had enough of the End of the World by now? I’ve still got pinto beans stockpiled from Y2K! In 2008 I think we should declare a moratorium on all wacky doomsday/super-evolution scenarios, especially those fueled by anything Daniel Pinchbeck says.

Anyway, that is not at all what I wanted to write about tonight. Instead, I would like to highlight a great new blog post by my friend Gus DiZerega. Bravely attending public Solstice rituals so you don’t have to, Gus managed to turn what could have been an occasion for heavy drinking into a really thoughtful essay on Pagan ritual and theology.

May Day always takes me by surprise. It is one of the holidays we do up big every year, a glorious day with good friends, live music, lots of food, and a spirited maypole dance. We’ve been doing it for so many years now that even if we didn’t plan it, people would still come to our house to celebrate. And perhaps most importantly to me, our May Day party has become a real fixture in the lives of many children in our community. I love all of it, and the joy that is generated from that gathering keeps me going for weeks afterward.

Still, there is this feeling of whiplash that I associate with the ramp-up to a major holiday. I start by making room in my day for the tasks that prepare for the event: sweeping the porch, doing the big Costco shop, cleaning chairs and tables, ordering the beer, gathering ribbons—it all dices down to discreet tasks. So I start crossing off To Do items as I work my way down the list, and then the whiplash hits me: This isn’t just another chore, not just another errand. I am cleansing and purifying this ritual space, I am stocking up for a great feast of gratitude and shared blessings. Oh right, I have to move into Dreamtime.