#light festivals

[awidevastdominion]

[pagansquare]

At the Darkest Time of the Year...

At long last we’ve entered into the dark time of the year, which marks both the end of an old year and the beginning of the new. This time is of special significant to many cultures and religions. Notably Christians celebrate the birth of their savior while many traditional religions mark the darkest night of the year—the Winter Solstice—as a special holy night just a few days earlier. Additionally, for many the New Year’s itself, as marked by the Gregorian calendar, is an incredibly important day in its own right.

We hope you have exited 2017 happier and healthier than you began it. Either way, we wish you a very merry 2018. As always, we’ve gathered some reading to keep you occupied ;-) . Happy holidays!

--Aryós Héngwis

Yuletide / Winter Solstice / Christmas Posts:

Jennifer Miller. “Being True to Myself at Yule”

Nimue Brown. “Celebrating the Mistletoe”

Catharine Clarenbach. “Celebrate Solstice with Me”

Mark Green. “Courage”

Francesca de Grandis. “Creating a Yule Morning Tradition for Children”

Rachel Patterson. “Frankincense & Myrrh”

Tasha Halpert. “The Gift of Giving”

Aquarian Tabernacle Church. “Happy Yule from the Holly King”

Tasha Halpert. “Holiday Goodies for Home or Potluck”

Rachel Patterson. “Holly & Ivy”

Erin Lale. “How Do I Celebrate Yule?”

Steven Posch. “In Search of the Tusked God”

Colleen DuVall. “A Liberal Dose of Yuletide Spirit”

Mark Green. “Love”

Tasha Halpert. “Love for Giving”

Rachel Patterson. “The Magic of Mistletoe & Pine”

Kate Delaney. “Outdoor Ideas & Eight Great Reads for Yule”

Sandra Kynes. “A Pagan Perspective on the Poinsettia”

Mark Green. “Stillness”

Steven Posch. “What Do You Call the Eve of Yule?”

Steven Posch. “What Do You Say When They Wish You Merry Christmas?”

Joanna van der Hoeven. “The Winter Solstice”

Molly. “A Winter Solstice Blessing”

We’Moon. “Winter Weavings”

The Cunning Wife. “Yuletide Household Lore & Traditions”

Shawn Sanford Beck. “Of Yule Trees and Straw Men”

New Year’s Posts:

Mark Green. “5 Favorite Posts of 2017″

Janet Boyer. “78 Tarot Tips for the New Year”

We’Moon. “2018 La Luna!”

Mark Green. “The Cauldron of Hope”

Robin Fennelly. “Here’s to a New Year of Empowerment”

Steven Posch. “The Horned One and His Ladee”

Eileen Troemel. “Letting Go”

Jennifer Miller. “Peas, Collards, and Prosperity Magic”

Candise. “Priestessing My Marriage”

Molly. “Special Year-End Meditation

Tim Titus. “The Top 10 Pagan Quotes of 2017″

Nicole Kapise-Perkins. “Unmoored”

Diotima. “A Very Persistent Illusion”

Karen Clark. “The Yes Magic of New Year’s Resolutions”

Birth Posts:

Steven Posch. “Born, Born Upon This Morn”

The Cunning Wife. “The Magic of Childbirth”

Sara Mastros. “Tethys Speaks”

Darkness Posts:

Steven Posch. “Dark Stranger”

Steven Posch. “A Good Year for Trolls.”

Bee Smith. “Hello, Darkness”

Jude Lally. “The Night Mare of the Winter Solstice” 

Steven Posch. “No Night Could Be Darker Than This Night”

Light Posts:

Judith Shaw. “The Cailleach, Dark Winter Goddess”

Catharine Clarenbach. “A Light Shines in the Darkness”

Bee Smith. “Lighting Winter Solstice Sympathetic Magic”

Steven Posch. “The Other Side of Night”

Genn John. “Yin/Yang Quartz Crystals”

Winter Posts:

Steven Posch. “Jack Pumpkinhead Must Die”

Erin Lale. “Slavic Pagan Holidays in Winter”

Diotima. “Still, Still, Still”

Dr. Mays. “Traditional Winter Storytelling”

Suzanne Tidewater. “What Place of Joy”

Steven Posch. “Winter Is Icumen In”

Kate Laity. “Winter Crone”

Danu Forest. “Winter Signs and Sainings”

Molly. “A Winter Woman”

Cool Stuff We Found:

3 Ingredient Happy Hour Wassail

22 Celtic Winter Solstice Customs & Traditions

Celebrating Kwanzaa

Full Moon Fatigue

Happy Winter Solstice

Have A Very Buddhist Christmas

A Holiday Reminder to Help Your Hosts with Domestic Labor

Goddess of the Sacred Feminine

The Medieval Origins of Christmas Traditions

More People Are Celebrating Christmas without Religion

New Year’s Animation

Ojalá: A Costa Rican Sense of Luck

Top Skywatching Events of 2018

Why Do We Really Light Candles on Hanukkah?

Yule Aesthetics

Top image by Robbie Shade

[dogtrotting]

Dog-friendly Drive-through Holiday Light Shows Across Canada

View On WordPress

[julianworker]

10 of the best Christmas light festivals in the UK From dancing lasers to magical gardens, imaginative light shows are being switched on throughout the land. We preview 10 Christmas spectaculars

[pagansquare]

Summer Is Here!

It’s Midsummer, also known as the Summer Solstice or Litha! Alternatively viewed as either the midpoint or the start of summer, Midsummer is the time when one hemisphere of the Earth (the Northern Hemisphere in this case) is at its maximum tilt towards the Sun, resulting in the longest day and an increase in temperature. Of course, for our southern kindred, it’s Midwinter.

Here at PaganSquare we’ve gathered a large number of posts both from our own website and others to celebrate this day. We hope you enjoy today’s festivities and have a wonderful summer (or winter if that’s where you are)!

-Aryós Héngwis

Midsummer / Litha Posts:

Byron Ballard. “Borrowed Time”

Steven Posch. “Fire In Water”

Danu Forest. “Honoring the Sun Goddess, a Gaelic Prayer for the Solstice”

Colleen Duvall. “Incan Summer Solstice Ceremony”

Steven Posch. “Kick-Ass Traditional Scandinavian Midsummer’s Recipe”

Steven Posch. “Magic Flower”

Aline “Macha” O’Brien. “Midsummer Behind a Cyclone Fence”

Deborah Blake. “Midsummer Ritual”

Steven Posch. “Milk of the Mother”

Steven Posch. “Night on Witches’ Hill”

Steven Posch. “Rhymes with Blithe”

We’Moon. “Solstice Blessings”

Winter Solstice Posts:

Lee Pike. “Leaving a Legacy: Winter Solstice”

Life Posts:

Lia Hunter. “Ley Lines of Life”

Summer Posts:

Erin Lale. “Harvesting in June”

Melusine Draco. “Hawthorn”

Melusine Draco. “Oak Magic”

Leslie J Linder. “Vegan Foods for the Picnic and Grill”

Sun Posts:

Steven Posch. “Daughter of Sun and Thunder”

Lizann Bassham. “Essential Desert Self”

Cool Stuff We Found:

180 Degrees of Separation

90-Year-Old Braves Blazing Sun To Appease Rain God

The Best and Worst Sunburn Remedies

Celebrate Midsummer

Chubby Cat

How To Get Solar Panels onto More Affordable Apartment Buildings

How Pagans Celebrate Litha, the Summer Solstice

King Arthur Fights “Pay to Pray” Move at Stonehenge

Lost in Time

Rare Summer Solstice Full Moon

Shinto’s Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice Oil

Summer Witch Aesthetic

Surf, Sun, and the California Sea

What It’s Like to Look Straight Into a Rainbow

Where To Go in South Korea for a Summer Vacation

Top image by Andrew Dunn

[lightprojectsltd-blog]

On the evening of December 9th I will be viewing the City of Lyon from the hilltop of Croix-Rousse. The city has layers upon layers of visible history from ancient to very modern. It will be a...