4th Waning Gibbous ♌️
And just like the sun going down over the western horizon, 2021 draws to a close. It barely even feels like five minutes and this year is almost spent!
Last year’s card spoke of The Goddess, The Land and Travel. Let’s see how that manifested in the past year:
The Goddess: I have certainly found myself questioning my relationship with The Divine this year. Instead of praying to outside forces of deity, I’ve been seeing the gods as people to which we aspire to be like. In other words, my view has shifted to instead of seeing them as ‘Ultimate Supernatural Beings’ to role-models in the way that each god we want to connect with is, in fact, representative of something we wish to awaken or aspire to within ourselves.
During one visualisation exercise, I found it hard to proceed to the next step until I was instructed by a being calling herself “She Who is Everywhere.” Chances are this was part of my own psyche, the calm part of myself, giving instruction…. And who knows? Maybe that’s exactly how deity acts with humankind in the first place?
The Land: This year has seen me connect with the rhythm and cycle of the seasons even more than I have done in the past. By continuing to note down my observations in the world around me, I have been inspired in my blogs and ceremonies by the natural world. I have become more enamoured with the solstices and equinoxes, seeing them as times of actual change: subtle at first, then gaining strength as the season continues its course.
As for the Celtic festivals, I must say I’m becoming less likely to use the Irish names for them. This is not out of any sense of nationalism or “Britishness”. It’s actually out of respect for the Irish and not wanting to steal their names or festivals. Here in Great Britain, we don’t have Imbolc or Lughnasadh, but we do have Candlemas and Lammas. This also comes from a place of thinking that perhaps we as modern Pagans and modern Druids are wrong to assume that just because something was true in a Celtic land such as Ireland, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this was true for Celtic Britain and Gaul (France) too.
This is an ongoing process I am undergoing and have been looking into more local celebrations instead. Nottingham has Light Night in early February, England has May Day around the 1st of May. Historically, England celebrated the kick off of the first harvest with “hloaf-mas” in the beginning of August and even though Ireland and Scotland began Halloween with Samhain and Samhuinn, in South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire we had ‘Soulin’ Night’ or ‘Cakin’ Night’. These were recorded in the 19th Century and involved children dressing up in backwards worn clothes and knocking their neighbours doors to ask for cake or coppers to buy the ingredients to make cakes…. On All Soul’s Night (2nd November). Plus Nottingham has The Goose Fair in mid October too!
Travel: The biggest focus this year has been on learning to drive. And it hasn’t been easy. It’s a completely alien skill that has only been making sense in the past few months. I’m very proud to say that I passed my theory test last week and passed first time! All I need to do now is the practical test. If that doesn’t count as travel, I don’t know what does!
2022: Muc– Sow: I drew the card after I had drawn everyone else’s during my online moot. With its focus being on generosity and allowing the generosity of the world around me into my life, it reads like a good card. I’m sure it won’t be plain sailing and there will be setbacks; but with all this in mind, I hope it will make me more thankful and appreciative in what I can learn from these setbacks and be less angry with myself when they occur. It also speaks of nourishment and discovery…..
The title of this blog is a play on words for a greeting from my native Sheffield. The actual greeting is “Nah then, thee!” Which means “Now then, you!” Which further translates as “Hello you!” When seeing someone you are familiar with, it wouldn’t be used with a stranger.
A Wise Fool 