We had my husband's daughter over for St Patrick's day, and I made a big feast of Irish food. Corned beef with cabbage and carrots, garlic mashed potatoes, cornbread and a Guinness gingerbread cake. We adults also had Guinness and pear cider. They humored me by watching Darby O'Gill and the Little People, an old Disney favorite in my childhood.
I actually didn't realize it was also the Liberalia until a couple days later. But I was feeling very festive that day. I've never had a problem with St Patrick's Day. I like many things about the Irish culture, and any holiday that celebrates drinking is fine by me...
I stayed up late that night, reading most of Terence McKenna's True Hallucinations (a synchronous selection that drew my hand to it at the library, not knowing what it was) while the wind blustered outside. I nodded off to strange dreams as the rains finally started.
The next day was a rare and beautiful day... the weather had dropped at least 20 degrees, and the sky seemed closer than ever -- an unusual, vibrant mix of huge white clouds, thunderheads and bright blue sky. More strangely, some parts of the city saw a good deal of hail, though I didn't see any myself.
AND our morning glory seeds had all sprouted, all 8 little pots of them!
I felt moved to give offerings and commune with Dionysos at my shrine. I poured out wine, lit incense, hung up the mask I had made on the Anthesteria, and said a few quiet things. Though before long, I simply walked outside in the rain and sought him there, putting a glass of wine out in the rain to gather rainwater, and feeling that inexplicable gratitude and wonder that comes from being truly present. I took a sip of the wine and rainwater, then poured it out in small increments into our ivy, cacti and morning glory plants.
I actually didn't realize it was also the Liberalia until a couple days later. But I was feeling very festive that day. I've never had a problem with St Patrick's Day. I like many things about the Irish culture, and any holiday that celebrates drinking is fine by me...
I stayed up late that night, reading most of Terence McKenna's True Hallucinations (a synchronous selection that drew my hand to it at the library, not knowing what it was) while the wind blustered outside. I nodded off to strange dreams as the rains finally started.
The next day was a rare and beautiful day... the weather had dropped at least 20 degrees, and the sky seemed closer than ever -- an unusual, vibrant mix of huge white clouds, thunderheads and bright blue sky. More strangely, some parts of the city saw a good deal of hail, though I didn't see any myself.
AND our morning glory seeds had all sprouted, all 8 little pots of them!
I felt moved to give offerings and commune with Dionysos at my shrine. I poured out wine, lit incense, hung up the mask I had made on the Anthesteria, and said a few quiet things. Though before long, I simply walked outside in the rain and sought him there, putting a glass of wine out in the rain to gather rainwater, and feeling that inexplicable gratitude and wonder that comes from being truly present. I took a sip of the wine and rainwater, then poured it out in small increments into our ivy, cacti and morning glory plants.
A mild, wet spring in the desert? A blessing indeed! May the rains keep coming...
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