Wheel of Wonder September 30, 2012

Back at it again, after having spent the Autumn Equinox witnessing the seeding of a new Bardic Gorsedd in the stone circle up at the Redmond Longhouse!  This "Gathering of Bards" intends to be an annual event and they called it, appropriately enough; Caer Mabon in honor of the Holiday.  This event was one of the many workshops and/or rituals that made up the OLOTEAS(Our Lady of the Earth and Sky) concentric circles gathering, there were Wicca/Witchcraft and Druid rituals in abundance there.  There were also vendors , Tarot readers, and workshops present too.  I had occasion to meet the some folks from Eleusyve Productions; a Seattle based theater troupe who take Alistair Crowley's rites of Eleusis and changes them into Rock Musicals.  I' m looking forward to inviting them onto Wheel of Wonder soon!

All in all it was a good way to spend the Autumn Equinox.  There's nothing quite so dramatic on a Mabon eve as to stand in a stone circle after dark on the Equinox, seeing the torches lit at every stone, and a brazier of burning fire in the center of the circle while a half waxing moon glows orange (yes, orange!) in the sky above.

This week on Wheel of Wonder we'll speak about the legend of the Mabon, Journeys to the Underworld in pursuit of Wisdom, The image of the Cauldron, and the Harvest Moon.  While your at it, check out the new links talking about OLOTEAS, and Eleusyve productions!

I didn't get a good picture of the Stone Circle in Redmond.  The one above is in Ireland:  a great picture taken by a fellow named Ojibwa for the internet news magazine Daily Kos.

Wheel of Wonder September 16, 2012

The Autumn is coming around again, and Wheel of Wonder, broadcasting as it does from the radio station of a Liberal Arts College, will soon be reaching the ears of a whole new set of curious learners, questors, seekers and spiritualists.  It is around this time of year, fast approaching Alban Elfed (Mabon) and Samhain (Halloween), that I take the listeners back to the original inspiration for the radio show, and a good portion of my lifestyle:  The Celtic Wheel of the Year.  We'll be discussing the wheel of the year this week, so any who are interested please tune in, learn a bit more about one earth spirit observance, or pass it on to someone new, who's curious.  Wheel of Wonder streams on line 8am-10am Pacific Standard time on kaosradio.org, and comcast cable channel 982.  Its only live, no podcasts of this show.  As a host, I love how that feel so real! Check out the independent music and info as we circumambulate the Celt Pagan Wheel of the Year!

This beautiful wheel of the year was found on the Wiccan site lovedriven.com Neat links in the margin too!

Wheel of Wonder September 9, 2012

Hello again.  As I sat in a park yesterday evening,  feeling showered by a very light mist of Fir Tree pollen, watching the sun sink down beyond the ridge earlier than it had been for a while, a cool wind blew through the trees foreshadowing the coming of Autumn.  There have been many Harvest festivals in this area lately, and more to come in the next couple of weeks, the weather has been perfect for outdoor activities, it still seems like summer, but the trees, the trees always know what time it is.  I've been seeing the yellow plum leaves begin to carpet my garden, and I'll be planting my over winter crops soon (the leaves will mulch it for me).  All these images and experiences remind me of the Oak king and his winter transformation, dying to assure good soil in the spring.  So this week on Wheel of Wonder, I'll be putting a little bit of focus on Cernunnos.

  The Pagan Book of Days, I checked out from my local library, has inspired me again; listing September 9th as Cernunnus(or "Horned God") day, and also the traditional day of the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance in Staffordshire, UK. We'll speak a bit on that with some help from John Matthews and his insightful book "The Quest for the Green Man" (2001 godsfield press). Of course, we will also have music.  A bit of "Old Horney" to balance, slightly, last week's focus on the teachings of Gaia. This week on Wheel of Wonder!
(Remember my cartoon-y Cernunnos picture above?)