Tag Archives: paradox

Masquerading Together

Winter Eve, Samhain, the Pagan New Year, Sabbat of Sabbats—when the natural world enters a season of relative dormancy, we remember the past and those who have gone before us as we celebrate the dark, the mysterious, the ominous, the frightening, the macabre, even death itself. For many, this sabbat is a favorite; for others, it is difficult or painful. Whatever our opinion of this time when “the veil between the worlds thins”, Winter Eve has lessons to teach us. Continue reading Masquerading Together

Celebrating the Harvest through Sacrifice

At Mid Autumn, when day and night pass through a moment of balance amidst the ongoing harvest season, we have an opportunity to celebrate sacrifice, reconciliation, and balance. This year, in particular, we call our attention to the balance that Reform Paganism strikes through the sacrifice of certainty and the reconciliation of ostensibly contradictory opposites through a hieros gamos (“sacred marriage”) that rejects “either–or” in favor of “both–and”. Continue reading Celebrating the Harvest through Sacrifice