I was six. We lived on the West Coast, so we had to get up early to see it. Grainy, on a small-screen, huge-bodied black and white television full of vacuum tubes, the mighty rocket standing, and the countdown… “…4…3…2R…
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This is Not My Beautiful House
A guest post by JD Stillwater: ©JD Stillwater 2022 | jdstillwater.earth My spouse and I have a beautiful house here in central Pennsylvania. Our names are on the deed, but it is not our house. No, this is not a post in which I confess to forgery or identity theft. Our legal system asserts that …
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A Pagan in a Christianized Society
We discussed many of the ideas in this post in this week’s episode of THE WONDER podcast–check it out! Being a Pagan often isn’t easy–and especially being a naturalistic Pagan, in a world dominated by an Overculture that flies in the face of one’s values. I live in the United States: a country deeply steeped …
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A Reminder
These are hard times. We have a global climate crisis, a global health crisis, rising authoritarianism and cruelty. Simply reading the daily news can be a real challenge to our mental health and well being. All of this is true. You struggle with it. I struggle with it. And yet: look out the window. Above, …
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Wisdom
It’s a word that makes some of us cringe a little: wisdom. Because pretty much anyone who claims to have it is automatically suspicious, right? It’s those who don’t claim to have it who very often do. My contention is this: if you are living in a manner open to growth and change, the trade-off …
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Reintegration
Coming down from the mountainI have seen the lofty gloryI will go again some dayBut for now, I’m coming down. –Meat Puppets There is an ache in my heart right now, a longing for the people and experiences of Suntree Retreat. It isn’t that I’m not glad to be home. I like my life, by …
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My Top Ten from 2021
The year is drawing down, and it’s time to take a look back at what we’ve published and pick some favorites! Here, in no particular order, are my favorite ten blog posts of 2021. If you have a favorite that isn’t on the list, please comment below! You Have Permission to be Witchy When Life …
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Approaching Sixty
A month from today, I will reach 60 years of age. I can’t believe it, honestly. I still feel 35. Where has all that time gone? Now, I’m aware that I can’t look at this dispassionately. A combination of the American cult of youth and the very real fact of impending mortality makes this a …
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Into the Season of Harvest
We picked our tomatoes this week. They were all ripe and ready to go, so Nemea cut them off the plants and we have them in our kitchen now. Other than a basil plant we keep indoors, this is our harvest: grown in half wine-barrels, the tomatoes are fine varieties, rich and filled with flavor. …
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When Life is Hard
It’s been a tough few months. Within the space of three days at the beginning of May, we received a 60-day notice to move (illegally, as it turns out), and had to euthanize Miri, the Very Soft Cat. The housing market around here is a nightmare and it took more than 60 days to find …
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