The whole landscape was a riddle, I thought bemusedly. A puzzle. A trick. Hiding something, maybe, or trying to reveal something. I hadn’t a clue which. What could a weedy field or a dying rose tree say? Or a great house with all the life in it forced into two mean rooms? What had happened to all its grace and loveliness, all its tales and memories?
This is an old favourite I return to again and again. Urban fantasy at its finest.
In the veils between the worlds, I remember the fairy folk who guard the ancient places. May we walk lightly and with courtesy upon the earth, may no being stay their progress or block their path, so that the hidden household of the earth may be peaceful.
A prayer written by Caitlin Matthews, author, shaman, and Celtic folklorist. This is reprinted in her forward to The Real World of Fairies: A First Person Account by Dora Van Gelder, 1999
Originally from Caitlin Matthews, Celtic Devotional (New York: Crown, 1996).
Winter is here. We, in the northern hemisphere, feel her enfold us. She is the Ice Queen. Cloaked in black frost, exhaling snowflakes in a great rush of crystal, she ushers us inside and bids us remember who we are. We, humans, are vulnerable to her whims; cannot control her, though, in our technological frenzy we arrogantly believe we can–right up until she pulls the plug.
Today we begin winter here on the Pacific coast. This is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. This morning, the sun did not rise until 8:05 am, and too soon will set at 4:16pm, leaving us with a mere 8 hours and 11 minutes of daylight.
But like the yin and yang, this darkling queen brings more to us than inclement weather. She brings the promise of lighter days. For solstice is a turning point. The climactic dark night ends with the birth of a new dawn, and from this time forward, days grow longer.
Winter Solstice is a Festival of Light, which many of us celebrate by decking our halls with lights and greenery, connecting with our spiritual selves through meditation, or gathering outside at sacred sites.
In the Valley of the Kings at Brú na Bóinne in Ancient Ireland, our Neolithic ancestors also celebrated the new dawn of Winter Solstice.
newgrange.com
standing between the entrance stone and roof box
Witches in Scotland? Methinks I’ve heard that somewhere before…
What are these,
So wither’d and so wild in their attire,
That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ earth,
And yet are on’t? Live you? or are you aught
That man may question? . . .
Macbeth (1.3.39-41).
First, religion was interwoven with the land and the people. Winter Solstice was a time to celebrate a return to light from the frosty dark of winter.
Then, there were killings prompted by greed and a surge of Christianity.
Now, we see a resurgence of pagans in Scotland.
via How Scotland’s witches will be celebrating their own version of Christmas this Wednesday night (From HeraldScotland)
How do you celebrate this festival of light?
A few words from one of my favourite urban fantasy authors:
When he came to a second-hand bookshop and cafe, he hesitated outside. Human meeting places made him uneasy. It was an old building, of worn red brick, with high arched windows that overlooked the river. Inside was the scent of books. The musty solitude was reminiscent of a quiet forest glade. Winding wooden stairs brought him to the third floor and there she was, as he knew she would be, seated at a table by the window. She was reading a letter. Lit up by sunlight, the golden-brown hair fell over her face like a veil. A young girl, almost a woman, she was dressed in the fashion of urban youth: black sweater, black skirt, black stockings and shoes. Her slender shoulders shook with laughter as she read.
“The Hunter’s Moon” by O.R. Melling (1993)
Faerie stories are ageless and timeless.
The Chronicles of Faerie is a collection of three of OR Melling’s faerie tales: The Hunter’s Moon, The Summer King, and The Light-Bearer’s Daughter. YA+
From the back cover: “Caught between Ireland and Canada, this world and another, three heroines search for life and love in an incredible and enchanting saga that dares to pose one of the great questions of life: Are we mortal or immortal?”
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” GK Chesterton