A Midsummer's Night

A blessed Midsummer to you, Friends!

Litha is the day on which the Sun God is closest to the earth, giving us the longest day of the year. In the Pagan calendar called the Wheel of the Year, Litha lies directly across from Yule, the shortest day on December 21st (in the Northern Hemisphere – here’s wishing a blessed Yule to our friends in the South!)

Litha and Yule are lesser sabbats, but they are celebrated with gusto and much revelry. Today we sing and dance for the Goddess in the fullness of her pregnancy, and feast as the earth bursts with all its riches. The air is as heavy with magic as the Goddess is heavy with her progeny. The veil between the worlds is thin and it is an exceptional time for rites of divination. Fairies frolic about; it is common to leave offerings of fruit and flowers for them. It is considered a blessed time for handfasting, the Pagan ritual of marriage, which has lead to the longstanding tradition of a June wedding.

Midsummer is a time to be joyous in our work and in our leisure. The labor of sowing is finished and the harvest is not yet underway. We are assured of many long days to prepare for the starkness of winter. It is a day of pause, of merriment, and of indulgence. So party hearty, witches and wags! See you on the other side!

A New Home, A New Life, A New Outlook

Our lives are very different since I started Sacred Tasks in 2008. Six years ago, we were full of plans and ambition, searching for our homestead that would provide for us, off-grid, into old age. Since then, The Tall Guy and I have negotiated a number of roadblocks to our original dreams. But that's the thing about dreams - they're flexible. If one can't be realized, another one can easily take its place. 

While we miss our visions of an old farmhouse with acres of garden, and maybe a goat or three, we are learning that there is much we can do in our scaled-down life to lead a healthy, sustainable and fulfilling existence. Come to think of it, our dreams haven't really changed that much. Only their parameters.

Revisiting this blog feels like one of the few continuous threads in our lives. Here we talk about a lot of different topics - from crafts and hardcore homemaking, to thrifting, canning, cooking, small-scale gardening & farming, responsible use of resources, fun with beads and sewing machines, fiber arts, general observations on life, and bacon, and wine. I feel certain there will be much bacon and wine. 

So thanks for stopping by. Welcome, and hope to see you again real soon!