Dear Pagans,
Happy Beltaine (all of them), and Floralia, and May Day, and Anthesteria (for some of our more Northern Hellenist’s anyways it was traditionally much earlier, but then too so is Spring in that part of Greece…)
Jason at the Wild Hunt posted some wonderful Beltaine info on Beltaine Eve day, and I already shared some thoughts on Beltaine and related festivals… (here and here)
Today, after visiting The Big Guy in the hospital (he’s ok, and will be home soon. Just a skin infection the doctors thought might be a more serious skin infection so a hospital stay and iv antibiotics were the order of his day for a few days.), I went to a few places and filled out some applications in the hopes of finding one full-time job, rather than the two part times jobs I work now. Then I came home and poured a simple soup kettle of water libation to The Mother, and The Horned God, and to the Powers of Earth and Fertility and Plenty in our little garden today.
Myself and the Roommates and a friend visited The Big Guy at the hospital and we played cards and went for a walk now that he’s out of isolation.
Tonight I poured a Libation to Dionysus in honor of a late blooming Anthesteria. I had to improvise with some rum and fruit punch, as I had no clear cut rights to the one bottle of wine in the house and no money with which to buy a bottle. I was tempted, as many of the Hellenics are celebrating festivals to Hermes, to ‘borrow’ a bit of the wine; but I really wasn’t sure how the Big Guy or the roommates would feel about that.
Re: Anthesteria
I am still figuring out my Hellenic Polytheism’s relationship with Festivals… slowly moving beyond my altar and the occasional outdoor libations, lacking a clear cut -Spring- in Florida, I decided to go with the Holiday I, as a former Alaskan, most equate with Spring, never mind that Beltane as celebrated by many of us Neo-Pagans has some of the same themes of life and fertility and sex and death as Anthesteria…)
I had though to write something lyrical and thought out on the themes of fertility and plenty and growth and sewing seeds for the future; yet instead of being moved to wrie of these things, I find that there are a couple of things I want to share with you all on these themes.
First is a site my friend AkHeathen/Danielle shared with a couple of the Alaska lists that I am still on. She had encountered it through a heathen list she’s on…
“By watching and recording the bees at sunflowers in your garden, you can help us understand the challenges that bees are facing.” They even send you the sunflower seeds! This is a very important and easy project and if you haven’t heard of Colony Collapse Disorder then you really need to research it, because it is already part of the complicated web of causes behind our increasing grocery bills!
~~~
Second up to bat today is this mornings post by Jason at the Wild Hunt requesting folks donate money to Cherry Hill Seminary.
As Jason said…
I think that I was more surprised than anyone when I was invited to participate in envisioning and shaping the future of the preeminent Pagan distance education institution as a member of their board of directors. While there are many online schools, colleges, and seminaries that claim to provide higher education and advanced training to the Pagan community, only Cherry Hill Seminary backs up those claims with a robust and serious-minded curriculum. Their faculty are not only experienced practitioners and clergy, but the majority hold advanced academic degrees in the fields they teach. The school is now engaged in a multi-year plan that will not only see the school start to provide Master’s degrees in Divinity, Counseling, Ministry, and Pagan Studies, but achieve accreditation through the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Their achievements and goals paint a portrait of a school that is avoiding easy shortcuts, or becoming a money-making degree/diploma mill, and is instead heavily invested in making sure our future is filled with well-trained and accomplished leaders.
Naturally, an endeavor like this doesn’t come cheap. We have staff and faculty to pay, infrastructure to build and maintain, and certain benchmarks to meet if we are to achieve our goals. Tuition from students only covers a portion of these costs, and like all higher learning institutions we rely on donors to meet the ever-rising costs of running a learning institution of this type. When I joined the board at Cherry Hill, it was expected that I would take part in fund-raising efforts to show my personal commitment towards making the school as success. While I have no secret contact list of wealthy donors or rich relatives, I do have something of a bully pulpit here at The Wild Hunt. So in this one instance I’m going to briefly stray from news-gathering and editorial pontificating, and ask the thousands of people who read my blog and are invested in institutions like Cherry Hill Seminary succeeding and growing to consider giving a donation during our annual appeal. I understand that times are hard, and that many of you can’t spare much, but if you do have some disposable income, and are interested in making a tax-deductible contribution to help us succeed now is the time.
Like many of you, I’m always deeply skeptical of online endeavours that claim to advance our community. I have aligned myself with Cherry Hill because I trust the people running it, and I respect the people teaching for it. If my goals in life were a bit different, I would not hesitate to pick Cherry Hill as a place to receive advanced skills that would prepare me for a future in aiding and guiding my coreligionists towards a better future. If you agree with my assessment, please choose this time to make a donation, small or large, towards our future. If and when you do, please let them know that The Wild Hunt sent you. You may also, if you want to support this mission but have nothing to give at this time, re-post my message on your own blog or journal. We always ask where the advanced material is, and when we are going to advance beyond “101″ lessons, well here is where that need is answered and fulfilled. I hope you’ll join me in helping Cherry Hill shape our collective future.” ~ Jason Pitzl Waters (c) 2009
Please consider giving some money to this eminently worthy cause!
Peace,
Pax
Chrysalis 