As the time of the winter solstice approached, I found myself with too much to do and barely enough time to do it all.  I wanted to clear up a backlog of papers to grade and get my holiday shopping done so that I could spend some of the two-plus weeks of Christmas vacation time re-focusing myself on my spirituality.  Things were looking pretty good . . . and then, with a little less than a week to go before solstice, our glorious and long-lasting autumn gave way suddenly and decisively to winter with days of snow and bitingly cold temperatures. 

Just in time for the solstice, Seattle ground to a virtual halt.  I had made plans to take part in a solstice celebration scheduled for last Sunday at the local Unitarian church (for now, Unitarianism is the public face of my Earth-centered spirituality), but as the snow continued to pile up over two days of non-stop precipitation, I could see how foolish it would be to try to be there for it.  (As it turned out, though, the service was cancelled anyway out of concern for the safety of those who would need to travel any distance in order to take part.)  I had also planned to do some power shopping for holiday gifts for family and friends, but that has had to be scaled back quite a bit due to dicey driving conditions. 

So right now, I’m sort of standing still.  I’ve been most grateful for the internet and the fact that we have not lost power due to our current weather situation, as it means that I have been able to continue getting input from all of you talented and generous Pagan bloggers out there as you have shared your knowledge of Yule, your understanding of customs and culture associated with it, and your ideas, plans, pictures, and reflections of your own solstice celebrations.  I have also prepared my family for a much simpler Yule celebration, warning that there may be some IOUs and “virtual gifts” under the tree this year!

With nothing pressing on the calendar and the promise of good weather for the weekend, I anticipated having a much needed wind-down from a hectic week . . . until I woke up in the wee hours of Saturday morning feeling quite ill.   I finally crawled back into bed around dawn, telling my husband that the outing we had planned for Saturday was off.  After sleeping for a few more hours, I woke up to a beautiful midday, which I was determined to enjoy, but my stomach had other ideas!  I was well enough to grade quite a few papers, but not much else.  After a supper of weak tea and toast I started feeling a bit more myself, and by this morning I was more or less back to normal.  Thankfully, the weather was just as beautiful today, so the outing that was deferred yesterday took place today instead, and we finished off with a light dinner alfresco at sunset.  Glorious!

Unusual spring weather has made everything around here sprout rather later than usual this year, but what my vegetables and flowers lacked in promptness they are making up for in lushness and beauty!  Here are some photos I took recently of what’s blooming in my garden:

scarlet runner bean blossoms

first dahlia

leek blossoms

 We are also enjoying lettuces, beets, and scrumptious raspberries–true blessings from My Lady’s bounty!

Amaterasu has returned to the Puget Sound skies.  Thank you, Uzume!

Recently, the Goddess has shown her face in the Puget Sound region by sending a string of absolutely glorious summer days; high temperatures anywhere between 22 and 28 degrees C, low to moderate humidity levels and consistent gentle breezes.  But today I believe I felt the presence of the Goddess wearing the face of Uzume.  At first I wasn’t sure of her name, but the 8 or 10 degree drop in temperature coupled with a definite feeling of dampness in the air as I awoke and started going about my day had me grumbling about unpleasant cosmic jokes, which then made me think about the various faces of the Goddess and that she must have a laughing face. . .  

Well, as a baby Pagan I haven’t studied many pantheons in depth yet, but after a short while at my computer, it became pretty clear to me that the Goddess in charge of today’s weather here was either Discordia/Eris of the Greek/Roman pantheon or Uzume of the Japanese (Shinto) tradition.  A few more minutes and I figured out that it was unlikely to be Discordia, as she takes things pretty seriously, according to the sources I consulted, but Uzume . . . a-ha! . . .she might be the one!  As she is considered by some to be a “lesser goddess” I didn’t find a lot about her, but sites I visited agreed that she brought her sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu, out of a deep depression with a crazy dance that made Amaterasu laugh and return to the sky.  Here is a goddess who is not afraid to be silly!

I’m kind of a fresh air fanatic, so the chill and moist air today was not enough to make me close down the entire house; I left the windows open but decided to dress in honor of both summer and the cooler seasons with shorts and sandals but also a long-sleeved polar fleece pull-over with a definite winter-y print.  I hope Uzume, the goddess of mirth, enjoyed it.  J