Mabon, Harvest of Heroes

The Festival of Mabon is the second of three harvest festivals attributed to the neo-pagan and Western spiritual revivalist’s eight-fold Wheel of the Year. It is celebrated on or near September 21 and coincides with the autumn equinox. The festival has also been adopted by Revival Druidry as Alban Elfed; one of the four (read more)

Solo: A Star Wars Story Review

Solo: A Star Wars Story opened this month and everyone who has seen it has an opinion about it. Here is mine.

BEWARE: Here be minor spoilers!

I’ve heard multiple detractors say no one wanted this movie, that Han Solo is not a particularly popular character. It seems these critics consider The Clone Wars cartoon series as the standard by which they measure their appreciation for the Star Wars universe. (read more)

Lojah on the Musician’s Guild

Lojah was recently a guest on the Musician’s Guild, a great internet show run by Richard Dunlavy and Darryl Oehmsen in Pensacola, Florida where they discuss the local music scene and promote the various players and performers in it.

In this episode 5 of the series Lojah plays a few tunes and talks about his musical upbringing and how and why he came to use the moniker Lojah.

 

 

Lughnasadh: Harvest of Life

The Irish Celtic Festival of Lughnasadh is traditionally celebrated on August 1^st but extends throughout much of the month. It is the first genuine harvest festival of the year and it coincides directly with the Anglo-Saxon holiday of Lammas. (read more)

A Day at Seaworld San Antonio, Texas

I’ve taken the time to head out to Texas once again, visiting family and friends in the Austin-Round Rock area.  While we’re out here we decided to take the kids to San Antonio to spend the day at Seaworld. I’ve never been to Seaworld before and I tend to be reluctant about attending zoos, circuses and other animal shows, but I made an exception here because I’m not militant in this view and it was a big multi-generational family activity. (Read More)

 

 

The Medicine Wheel

The Medicine Wheel symbol is a central spiritual and philosophical device used by many Native American communities. It consists of an equal-armed cross placed inside a circle. This is also a universal symbol that can be found throughout the nations of the world from the ancient days to today. It has been called by many names; the medicine wheel, sacred hoop, solar disk and sun circle, just to name a few. This symbol is central to Muskogee philosophy and is the basis for the layout of traditional ceremonial dance grounds. (READ MORE)

Finnegan’s Wake, a Glance at Irish Mysticism through Lyrical Satire

Finnegan’s Wake is amongst my favorite traditional Irish songs and it has been a staple of the Irish balladeer’s repertoire since the middle of the 19^th century. Over the past several decades it has been covered by great and legendary Irish bands like The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, The Dubliners, the Pogues, and most recently the Massachusetts-based Dropkick Murphys.  However, like much of Irish lyrical tradition stretching back to the ancient bards “Finnegan’s Wake” is in reality a work of deep esoteric value cleverly disguised as a silly drinking song that only the initiated were likely to fully comprehend. (Read More)

Mento Music: Reggae’s Granddaddy

Mento music is a little known style of folk music and dance native to the island of Jamaica that saw its commercial peak in the 1950s. Sometimes called Jamaican Calypso, it is closely related to that Trinidadian musical form. (Read More)

Midsummer

Midsummer is a traditional holiday celebrated throughout many of the world’s cultures, with ancient origins.  It is the celebration of the summer solstice, a important astronomical date on the annual cycle.  It is celebrated on or near the 21^st of June. In many Celtic communities it is commonly celebrated on June 24^th. (Read More)

Wildflowers

They say “April showers bring May flowers,” and what an assortment of flowers they bring. I’ve always loved the springtime, and nothing impacts that love quite like wildflowers. Flowers are beautiful, even domesticated varieties, but wild flowers have a spirit all their own. They grow wherever they want without the need for the cultivated touch of (read more)