Pagan Holly

I celebrated the summer solstice by getting up at sunrise and going to a park overlooking the city to watch the sunrise. I know I said I wasn't going to focus so much on photos going forward but my photos of the solstice sunrise over the city are so magical that they might actually be worth 1,000 words.

I made a concerted effort to have a decent Beltane celebration this year. I wanted to make absolutely sure it was more than just décor and food.

I told myself I wasn't going to make myself finish the 2020 sabbat posts before I started posting again but I'm too much of a perfectionist to let it go. So here's Yule!

I took and edited photos for Samhain 2020 but didn't write up a blog post at the time, so this is back-dated. I apparently did a decent job taking photos but I definitely wasn't feeling very celebratory.

I did something new for Mabon this year: went apple picking. It was fun and I’d definitely like to make it a tradition. I couldn’t help but feel anxious the whole time, though, because there were a lot of people around, many of them not wearing masks. I managed to avoid the people, but worrying about staying away from them diminished my enjoyment of apple picking. I hope I’ll be able to try this activity again in a not-too-distant, pandemic-free future.

At Lughnasadh, the Rudbeckia fulgida in my garden reaches peak bloom, putting on an impressive display of bright yellow flowers. The Aesclepius incarnata is going strong, and the Echinacea pallida still has a few flowers. It’s a lovely time of year in the garden, and a lovely time to sit outdoors and enjoy it (especially because the mosquitoes aren’t so bad this late in the summer).

Midsummer is a time of abundance in the natural world, even where I live in the (at times unseasonably snowy) south of the North. It was a time of abundance at the grocery store again, too, which was a relief after a couple months of shortages and making do. I planned a celebratory dinner for the night before the solstice.

Where has the time gone?! I started a new job the day before Beltane and I’ve been struggling to focus on things that aren’t work. I’m awfully pleased about the new job—both the opportunity and the work I’m doing—but it’s taking some time to adjust. I’m starting to feel more mentally settled now, so here at last is my Beltane post. Beltane is when spring really gets going around here. The snowdrops and crocuses have been replaced by daffodils, tulips, and flowering trees. It’s still pretty cold—May 1 is our earliest possible last frost date and it was snowing as recently as the last week of April!—but warm weather is on its way. My garden is starting to come to life. The small handful of daffodils and tulips that were here when I moved in are in bloom; the daffodils actually opened on Beltane! I’d love to plant many more spring bulbs this fall. All the plants I planted last year are native perennials. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s grown and spread this year. The...

It’s hard to know what to say about how completely everything has changed—for everyone—since I last posted. A lot of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic struck my community shortly before Ostara. But my observation of the spring equinox wasn’t significantly affected: as a solitary Pagan, I was going to decorate and eat and pray and make offerings alone at home no matter what. Here are a few photographic impressions of my Ostara celebration. If you’re interested in the history and science of the holiday, check out last year’s Ostara post ; for an explanation of how I’m blogging about the sabbats this year, see my post from Imbolc 2020 . As I mentioned at Imbolc, I’m in the process of making a decorative bunting for every sabbat. The one at the top of this post was the first one I created; it predates my formal adoption of Paganism and was originally intended to be general spring décor. Right before Ostara, institutions in my city, including the university where...

Last year I made apple pie for my partner’s birthday, which we happened to celebrate around Mabon (his actual birthday is a bit earlier in September but we were busy). Since I was already thinking of apple pie as Mabon pie, it occurred to me that there’s probably a perfect pie for every sabbat: one that aligns well with what’s in season where I live, what we’re celebrating, and what flavors our secular culture associates with that time of year. Without further ado, here’s the Wheel of the Year expressed in pie. Imbolc: This is a holiday we traditionally celebrate with dairy foods to acknowledge the first milk as animals become pregnant and give birth to their young. A simple, dairy-based pie is appropriate, so custard is a solid choice. Banana cream and coconut cream pie work well too, since tropical fruits are in season even when my corner of the northern hemisphere is in the grip of winter. Ostara: Where I live, Ostara can be a pretty snowy holiday. There isn’t really any...

It’s been one full turn of the Wheel of the Year for me and this blog. I plan to discuss all the sabbats again in 2020, but rather than repeat last year’s format, I’m trying something new. If you’re interested to know the history, science, and common modern approaches to Imbolc, as well as how I fumbled my way through my first-ever Pagan holiday, check out last year’s Imbolc post . This year, I’m sharing my experiences of the sabbats in pictures. I decorated for Imbolc with handmade fabric bunting. I’m actually in the process of making one of these buntings for every sabbat. I chose white and gold for Imbolc; the internet suggests white, gold, yellow, orange, and red as appropriate Imbolc colors, but I feel like that’s a bit much for this snowy and sedate holiday. I chose white for snow and yellow/gold as a reminder of the returning light. I also put up some decorative lights. I think it’s silly that HOAs and nosy neighbors insist that people take down their “Christmas” lig...

Merry Yule! Here in the northern hemisphere, the snow is falling, houses are decorated with evergreen and candles, and I’m anticipating exchanging gifts with loved ones. Although our mainstream culture associates this festive atmosphere with Christmas, it all makes sense in a Pagan context too: we’re brightening up the darkness as we remind ourselves that even though it’s still the middle of winter, the days are getting longer. Can you believe it’s happening already? Yule is the winter solstice, which happens around December 21 in the northern hemisphere. (For an explanation of how solstices work, see my post on Litha .) The winter solstice has been and continues to be an important day in many cultures around the world. Many traditional celebrations focus on the sun: the winter solstice marks the turning point when the sun’s power grows as the days once again begin to lengthen. Yule as we know it originates with Germanic peoples, and like the summer solstice, it might have or...

Samhain is the highlight of one of my favorite times of year, and I’m hardly the first Pagan to feel that way. The air is colder, the changing leaves are a riot of color, and there’s a smell of woodsmoke in the air that makes my heart beat a little faster. The wind blowing ragged clouds past the moon on crisp, sparkling nights evokes feelings of freedom and exhilaration and of reveling in the possibility of mysterious and transformative communion with Gods and spirits. It’s a magical time of year. Historically, Samhain was a Gaelic seasonal festival, the first of four (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughasadh). It was when cattle were brought back from their summer pastures and livestock was slaughtered for winter. What we know of its historical celebration comes from Irish literature (including the Tochmarc Emire ) and mythology, but a similar festival might have been held in Celtic lands. We know that bonfires were lit and rituals were probably enacted, but we don’t know what tho...

I have mixed feelings about this time of year. On one hand, it betokens the increased obligations and sometimes-draining social interaction of the school year. On the other hand, fall is my favorite season: the leaves are changing color, the weather is getting cooler, and all that social interaction is actually pretty good for my mental health. It seems appropriate to celebrate the autumn equinox and usher in a time of changes both challenging and refreshing. Mabon is the autumn equinox, which is when the sun appears to rise due east and set due west when observed from the equator. On the equinox, the equator is the closest part of Earth to the sun. After the autumn equinox in September, the northern hemisphere starts to tip away from the sun, which results in shorter days and cooler temperatures. The autumn equinox marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Although the term “equinox” means “equal night,” we don’t actually have exactly twelve hours of day and twelve hours...

This is probably my least favorite time of year. It’s too hot and sticky outside, but summer is drawing to a close and everyone is obsessing over “back to school.” It’s apparently time to get serious about dismal autumn workloads, but delightful autumn weather is still months away. I get the August blues, and this year they struck extra hard: on July 23, I broke my foot and sprained my ankle, drastically reducing my mobility and locking me into a recovery process that won’t be complete until at least the end of October. I was prepared to challenge my August antipathy this year, but it turns out that’s extra hard to do on crutches. Here are the Lughnasadh facts. It’s the first of three Neopagan harvest festivals; the other two are Mabon on September 23 and Samhain on October 31. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and many modern Pagans, it’s the feast or harvest of first fruits. It’s held around August 1 in the northern hemisphere, although it’s sometimes celebrated closer to...

My summer solstice started with tears. On the evening of June 20, just before the sun set, I went out to our garden and noticed that something—probably a deer—had chomped the newly-emerging blooms off many plants. This is my first garden and my first garden loss, so I was pretty sad. My partner and I planted the garden on Victoria Day weekend, the same weekend I celebrated Beltane. We don’t have a yard—only a back patio and front walkway with tiny patches of land adjacent to each—but when we moved in, our landlord said we were welcome to garden. We took her at her word and pulled out a big shrub that’s invasive in our area, some other shrubs, and a collection of hostas (which I stealthily relocated to common land, where they’re thriving). We spruced up the borders with cedar edging and planted perennials native to our local area. We also expanded last year’s container vegetable garden: we’re growing three varieties of tomatoes, two varieties of peppers, eggplant, and a bunch of he...

Beltane! I’ve known about this holiday since I was ten years old. In 1999, I received a CD as a gift: The Golden Land by Ceredwen, a Welsh-language New Age band. The fourth track on the album is called “Beltain.” The CD’s detailed liner notes explain: “Each year on the eve of summer, the Beltane fires are lit to welcome back the sun god Bel. After the dancing and merry-making, the bannock bread is passed amongst the tribes. Whoever takes the burnt piece becomes the ‘chosen one’—to be sacrificed to the gods to ensure a bountiful harvest.” Beltane also features prominently in the fantasy novel The Mists of Avalon , which I read for the first time when I was fourteen or so. The novel tells of a different version of Beltane: it is a night of sexual revelry that honors the divine relationship between Goddess and God. Clearly, this is a holiday that sparks creativity and gives birth to artistic expression. But what is its true story? Beltane is an ancient Gaelic festival that was trad...

I must admit that Ostara snuck up on me. I wanted to go all out for the holiday that marks the important transition from winter to spring, but I just didn’t realize it was coming until it was upon me. This is partly because there’s no Google Calendar option for Pagan holidays, which tripped me up as a person who relies on Google Calendar but which actually makes sense for a few reasons: not all Pagans celebrate the eight sabbats, not everyone who does celebrates them on the exact same days, and not all astronomically significant events fall on the same dates each year. I’ve since created a personalized calendar of Pagan holidays that extends for the next five years or so. (But hey, Google, if you happen to be reading my blog: a solstice and equinox calendar would definitely be helpful!) Because the beginning of spring feels like a big deal to me and I didn’t want it to pass unremarked, I hastily hung my handmade Ostara banner, put out a bowl of colorful eggs, and got to researching. ...

Imbolc! Could there be a better time to start a new project like this blog? Imbolc is a time of renewal, awakening, and potential. It’s a good time to set intentions and create space for new beginnings. So here I am, getting started. I’m Holly, and I’ve recently—as in, within the last month—decided to start living my life as Pagan. I’m not new to Paganism; in fact, it’s something that’s been nudging the edges of my consciousness since I was ten years old. But this Imbolc, I’m setting an intention to call myself Pagan and practice my spirituality on a daily basis. I don’t know what the future holds, but for the next full cycle of the Wheel of the Year at least, I’m Pagan. I figure I’ll sort out the details—and document them here—as the Wheel turns. Here’s what I know about Imbolc. Scientifically speaking, it’s one of the cross-quarter days: a day that falls halfway between a solstice and an equinox. Here in the northern hemisphere, Imbolc is halfway between the winter solstice, c...