Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for April/May 2022

Bright Blessings

This is our first Spring in our apartment, and as I was deciding what to plant for this year, I pined for the ground and built-in planters I had at our old place. I used to buy so many seeds, and there were years I planted tons of cucumbers and tomatoes as well as pumpkins, roses, herbs, and a whole lot of annual flowers. This year, I am relegated to a limited number of pots, and the truth is, it may be this way for a while, if not permanently.

We made it out of the condo successfully and established ourselves in this apartment. There isn’t the violent crime or drugs here we dealt with at our last place- but unfortunately, the move meant we had to give up our beautiful cat who we had for nearly five years. She used to have free run of the outdoors at our last place- before the resident meth head threatened us, and attacked our other cat…the cat who was attacked is safe and sound at a friend’s house and is very happy there, by the way.

 

 

Our cat. Vashti hated it here. She was unable to go outdoors and did not allow us to train her to walk on a leash. We bought a pet stroller and took her for walks, but she hated that too. We found a place for her and she is thriving, but there is an empty place in my heart. Plus, our car was stolen, and although we got it back, it sits in the repair center, awaiting parts which may or may not make it to us at any time soon. With the triumph of escaping a dangerous living situation came the tragedies of heartbreak due to loss of a fur child, and a theft which may prove to break us financially.

What has come to pass certainly isn’t all that we dreamed of, and the dream of home ownership has slipped farther away than ever before with no end in sight of climbing home values. An ex-neighbor joked that we should have stayed in the condo and our car would not have been stolen, but what harm would have come to us at the hands of our dangerous neighbors, and although the one cat survived, would the other one have?

If I sat and felt sorry for myself, I could say I can’t win for losing, but the truth is, it hasn’t been all bad. Our cat is absolutely thriving in her new home, and we are now renting a garage to put our car in at the apartments. Right now, I am not mourning the fact we cannot buy a house, I am just trying to focus on what I can grow in pots. I did pretty well last fall planting things in the pots when we moved, so I am confident I will figure something out for this year as well.

 

A Dream Deferred

If you live long enough, and try enough different things, there will be something or another you had your heart set on that you just can’t have. Maybe you flunked out of a course of study, or your marriage ended in divorce. You may have worked your backside off for a promotion only to watch it go to a co-worker whose skill-set isn’t half the size as yours. Maybe you had planned to retire by a certain age, but unexpected bills are forcing you to stay in the workforce, and your retirement plans are on hold. Whatever it is you dreamed and worked for that seems to have been stolen from you by cruel fate, I am sorry.

At nearly a half a century old, I have achieved multiple dreams, only to watch others be taken from me. It’s unfortunately something that happens to all of us. The goal is not to spend life chasing things we can’t have, but to regroup, and decide a different course of action when things don’t go as planned. What is it you CAN do as opposed to what you WANTED to but can’t? More than planting things in pots instead of unlimited spaces in the ground, what are the things you are able to do instead of what you prefer to but cannot?

 

In the Spring

The Spring Equinox occurs around the third week of March and in 2022 it was on March 20^th. The day and night is of equal duration, and the days grow even longer. For those who love daylight, it’s a welcome change, and for those who love the outdoors and warmer weather, it means more time outside without worrying about being cold! It is also an excellent time to use the energy of the growing light for new beginnings. The word equinox comes from Latin and means “equal night” and all over the world, sunlight and nighttime are almost exactly equal.

Ancient Germanics are said to have celebrated Ostara at this time, as a festival to a goddess of the same name, who was goddess of dawn. Jacob Grimm wrote there were bonfires, and that water drawn on Ostara was considered healing. There were sword dances, maidens wore lovely white dresses, and yummy baked goods were specially made for the holiday. Many believe the pre-Christian celebrations were absorbed into Christian Easter observances, and while we have no proof a goddess Ostara existed, she probably did.

We don’t know exactly all they did on Ostara centuries ago, but we do know the energy is of new life, new beginnings, and hope for a bright tomorrow after long, dark wintertime. They may have done as modern people do and had amazing sweets, wore beautiful clothes, gave one another flowers and gifts, and had family get-togethers and fancy dinners. Just thinking about it makes me want ham, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, and hummingbird cake.

Traditionally, people do Spring Equinox workings to chase away winter or focus on willing things to grow in the earth. Your Spring working can focus on making good things happen even if you can’t do exactly what you’d like to. For my working, I am going to follow the example of our cat, Vashti. She can’t do what she dreams of, and roam the outdoors, so she is making the most out of her new home with good people.

 

What Vashti Did

She was taken home with the Gallant family, and after only a few days, had already established herself as a well-loved member of the household. She was sleeping in the parent’s bed, and had chosen her favorite person, the father, whose name is Joe. While Vashti enjoys treats with the other cats, and the run of almost 4,500 square feet indoors, she has unlimited climbing options on three floors of living space, and six humans of three different generations to play with. She is even grooming the other cats, and was in front of an open door, and didn’t even try to escape.

She can’t go back to the place where she was in the neighborhood where she climbed trees, made multiple friends who loved to pet her, and she hunted birds and mice to her hearts content. But she can climb everything in her new house, has six humans and multiple animal friends, and she sleeps in the bed with her favorite human, Joe.

Vashti would choose her old neighborhood if she could, because she doesn’t know it isn’t safe for her anymore. For the first five years of her life, it was her backyard and paradise, and she doesn’t understand that place has changed for the worse and she can never go back there or else she will be hurt. So, she is making the best of her new home, and she is absolutely loving it.

 

Spring Working

Like Vashti, sometimes, we come to a place in our lives where things don’t go the way our hearts want them to, and it crushes us. Sometimes, we can change things or work towards making things happen the way we prefer, but when we can’t, we have to accept we cannot do as our hearts yearn for us to.

We then have a choice.

We can either wallow in despair- and indeed- doing that temporarily can be very healing- but at some point we either choose to move on or stay stuck in the past, wishing for things that will never be.

For the Spring Working this time, no fancy ritual will be involved. Simply identify what you cannot have and do something else instead. Like Vashti wants her freedom to be an indoor-outdoor cat, and she can’t have that, but she can have a much larger home with more people to play with, we have similar dilemmas. I want a garden but have to settle for three pots on the patio. Think of what you want to do but can’t, and simply do something else instead.

We cannot control everything, even when we walk a magical path. There are limits, despite what we wish for. Sometimes, the most magical thing to do is to adapt and make the most of things in the best way we can. Being adaptable can help us to thrive in the worst of times while we hang in there, waiting for better times. There may come a day when your dreams can come true, but in the meantime, do what you can to be as happy as possible.

Your outdoor adventure or dream garden may be in your future, but while you wait for it, have what you can in the meantime. Spring is a great time to start something new, using the energy of new life and the energy of hope to help make your new endeavor successful.

Blessed Spring.

Blessed Be.

**

About the Author:

Saoirse is a practicing witch, and initiated Wiccan of an Eclectic Tradition.

A recovered Catholic, she was raised to believe in heaven and hell, that there is only one god, and only one way to believe. As she approached her late 20’s, little things started to show her this was all wrong. She was most inspired by the saying “God is too big to fit into one religion” and after a heated exchange with the then associate pastor of the last Xtian church she attended, she finally realized she was in no way Xtian, and decided to move on to see where she could find her spiritual home.

Her homecoming to her Path was after many years of being called to The Old Ways and the Goddess, and happened in Phoenix, Arizona. She really did rise from her own ashes!

Upon returning to Ohio, she thought Chaos Magic was the answer, and soon discovered it was actually Wicca. She was blessed with a marvelous mentor, Lord Shadow, and started a Magical Discussion Group at local Metaphysical Shop Fly By Night. The group was later dubbed A Gathering of Paths. For a few years, this group met, discussed, did rituals, fellowship, and volunteering together, and even marched as a Pagan group with members of other groups at the local gay Pride Parade for eight years.

All the while, she continued studying with her mentor, and is still studying for Third Degree, making it to Second Degree thus far.

She is a gifted tarot reader, spellworker, teacher, and was even a resident Witch at a Westerville place dubbed The Parlor for a time.

Aside from her magical practice, she is a crocheter, beader, painter, and a good cook. She has been a clown and children’s entertainer, a Nursing Home Activities Professional, a Cavern Tour Guide, a Retail Cashier, and a reader in local shops. Her college degree is a BA in English Writing. She tried her hand at both singing and playing bagpipes, and…well…let’s just say her gifts lie elsewhere! She loves gardening, reading, antiques, time with friends and soul kin, and lots and lots of glorious color bedecking her small home!

On the encouragement of a loved one several years back, she searched for a publication to write for, and is right at home at PaganPagesOrg.

She is currently residing in Central Ohio with her husband, and furbabies.

Saoirse can be contacted at [email protected].