Winter Solstice Poem

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“Mother of Air, Goddess of the limitless skies.
She is Owl Woman and will carry you through the long dark nights of winter dreaming.
The sun is reborn at winter solstice and days gradually lengthen.
A time of hope and anticipation.”
— Owl Woman artwork by Wendy Andrew

Winter Solstice Still

Still.
A slow breath, inhale.
Hold in the stillness of winter.
Even the Light becomes still in winter,
outer senses barely perceive it.
Embers of light smolder within our chest.
Our hearts, hollowed out,
make room for greater light.
A slow breath, exhale.
Flames leap to life.
Darkness is once again vanquished.

–Leslie Anneliese

From Darkness To Light

At the Solstice, the darkness of winter exerts its power and stakes its claim as the longest night of the year.

Yet, in the next breath, the darkness turns and starts a steady march to the shortest night of the year in summer.

Cycles of our lives. Our days. Our moments.

Hold on to the light. Spring is coming.

May your heart shine bright with peace and joy even in the darkness.

May your Winter Solstice be filled with expanding light, both within and without.

 

Autumn Colors

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The Colors Of Fall

Fall has its own set of colors that fill our senses along with the smell of cool air and the sight of falling leaves.

It is a season that inspires us to turn within ourselves as we prepare for the darkness of winter and the task of keeping the flame burning bright.  We tender the light so that we may make it through the dark, long nights and find our way back into the growing light of spring.

Color Therapy In Our Clothes

Colors of autumn tend to be red, yellow and gold, orange and brown. Warm colors that wrap around us and comfort us during the cooler days and nights.  I find the colors of fall begin to exert their influence on me as the temperatures fall.

When I lived in Germany, where cool temperatures in fall are prominent, I noticed my blue sweaters didn't feel right in October. I had an urge to wrap myself in the rich colors of the earth as I moved through grey days and cold nights. It was as if I needed to apply color therapy to my clothes, so I could settle into my autumnal surroundings.

When I lived in Northern California, I was impatient for the cooler temperatures of fall which come much later in the year than in Germany. It's not until mid-November that the trees start to show their reds and yellows and mornings have that familiar chill.

Color In Fashion

It used to be that fashion etiquette dictated when we could wear certain colors. For example, white was not to be worn before Easter or after Labor Day. Pastels were not appropriate for fall or winter.

Nowadays, those restrictions seem to have disappeared into archaic dictates of the past. But perhaps there was some deeper meaning? Or was it simply a fashion style?

“Designers want me to dress like Spring, in billowy things.
I don’t feel like Spring.
I feel like a warm, red Autumn.”
— Marilyn Monroe
 

Do you find you sometimes need to shift the colors you are wearing based on the season?

Holiday Colors

The holidays of fall have their own colors. Halloween emphasizes the colors orange and black and this is seen in the many pumpkins and gourds. 

Thanksgiving colors are rich with the red of cranberries, the orange of pumpkin pies, the brown finish on our rolls and turkey skins and the yellow of our butternut squash.

Traditional colors for Christmas are the ripe red of holly berries and the primary green of our Christmas trees. 

As we move through the seasons, take a moment to notice if the colors have an affect on you.

What Is Your Favorite Color?

I used to say I have a favorite color. Now, I've come to realize that my color preferences change throughout the year, depending on the season. 

Do you have favorite shades and hues that reflect the season you're in?

 

The Butterfly And The Fly

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A World Of Insects

“Change your thoughts, and you change your world.”
— Norman Vincent Peale
 

In a meditation group, Kate wrote:

“A butterfly landed on my hand today! It was beautiful. I mildly squealed and jumped up off the bench and it flew away. Not very zen. But I still feel really honored...””
 

Something To Consider

Wait, what? Would you be just as honored if a fly landed on you?

If not, why not? I asked this question in response to Kate's message.

House Flies Or Butterflies?

Isn't every expression of the divine dance beautiful?

With our human judgments of less and more, good and bad, we define the world's existence.

As if our existence could be defined.

It doesn't seem possible that God, the One Source, the Creator of All, whatever you call it, finds any created creature higher or lower than the other. Otherwise, it wouldn't be here.

One person commented back to my question:

“Because butterflies are butterflies, while flies are flies.”
 

Well, he has a point. Flies can be concerning if they spread disease, such as:

“* Shigellosis - bacillary dysentery and other diseases causing diarrhea
* Salmonellosis - food poisoning, typhoid, paratyphoid and enteritis. Although flies are capable of carrying these diseases, it is much less common than the shigellosis diseases.
* Bacteria causing conjunctivitis - this mainly occurs in Asia and Africa and the Pacific regions
* E. coli (Escherichia coli)
* Parasitic worms - especially tapeworms.”
— HubPages, Helen Murphy Howell
 

Yikes!

Still, they have a purpose here on this planet. Housefly larvae feed and develop in a wide range of decaying organic matter which is important for recycling of nutrients in nature.

Forensic scientists love them.

“Small House Flies are annoying because they are attracted to food and toilets, but their affinity for corpses makes they quite useful to Forensic Entomologists.”
 

The scientists use flies to help them gauge the amount of time a corpse has been decomposing.

A Day In The Life Of A Fly

“You will find house flies pretty much everywhere there are humans or animals. Flies love things like garbage, manure and anything else that left out in a warm environment (like food you left on your counter all day).

House flies don’t feed off of human flesh – they get their nutrients from spitting saliva on their food, which liquifies it so they can suck it up with their sponge-like mouths.”
— Kids World
 

We tend to think of flies as being dirty, but in fact, they, themselves, are very clean. A fly spends a lot of time cleaning itself.

Picture all those times you see a fly rubbing its antennae together. It uses its legs to clean dirt from every area of its body, then rubs its legs so the dirt falls off. Great for the fly, although that dirt is now dropped on your food or kitchen counter top.

Flies are also remarkable:

“Flies use their antennae to smell.
A fly can go 45 mph and beat its wings up to 200 times per second.
Houseflies existed 65 million years ago!”
— bugfacts.net
 

Miracles Of Creation

The miracle of life expresses in both the butterfly and the fly.

Ah, man, who deems that his judgment creates the world. 

Of course, I, too, would be more inclined to have a butterfly landing on me than a fly. Still, it's nice to learn about both of them with an expanded vision that can appreciate all of creation.

To be here at all, together, is an honor.

Another commenter added his thoughts:

“I would be more honored by a butterfly because butterflies seek nectar while flies have a tendency toward bad smells!

But there is a great video on Youtube called Mindfulness – The Fly. Perhaps your views are right after all...”
 

Video: The Samurai and The Fly

 

The Witch At Night She Comes

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The Witch

The witch, the witch,
At night she comes.
Shut out your light
Or she'll taste your thumb.

She'll smell it first,
She'll lick it next,
Then she'll decide
That you're the best.

She'll take you away
On her wicked broom,
She'll fly you around
The weird, weird moon.

She'll take you away
To her home,
And start fixin' – the chrome.

You'll try to stop her
But never win!
For she's got her mind
Set on you for din' ...


by Leslie Anneliese, age 10

Halloween And Witches

The Witch is a poem for Halloween written as a child from a long time ago.

Settling down in front of the black and white keyboard of our piano as a little girl, I would play spooky minor chords while chanting these “scary” words.

Everyone kindly feigned fright and due alarm at this story that predicted one’s demise by becoming a witch's dinner!

I wonder now how I learned that witches eat children for dinner. It's a theme also found in the Disney movie Hocus Pocus. I have a fun blog post about that movie entitled Hocus Pocus Halloween.

Apparently, there's an archetype in our society where witches are wicked and we worry about being consumed for dinner like in the story of Hansel and Gretel.

Even Shakespeare includes a cautionary tale about witches in Macbeth:

“Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.”
 
“We see the evil queen carrying her basket of poisoned apples to innocent Snow White.
We see the Wicked Witch of the West flying on her broomstick, with her winged monkeys, chasing Dorothy and her friends.
We see the squinty-eyed old woman of Hansel and Gretel heating up her black oven, preparing to eat the candy-fattened children.”
— Selene Grace Silver

Perhaps the notion that everything seems to be food for something else lurks beneath our awareness and is expressed in these stories.

Yet, stories of good witches are also to be found with the television show Bewitched and there is a good witch in The Wizard of Oz. The theatrical play Wicked also takes a look at our witches in the land of Oz from another perspective.

 

Hocus Pocus Halloween

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Magic And Halloween

Halloween draws near. It's time to bask in the spells of magic and make the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

Getting in the mood for Halloween demands a viewing of the movie Hocus Pocus. It has become a Halloween tradition. It’s time to curl up with warm drinks and popcorn in front of the wide screen to watch this classic movie.

Hocus Pocus

Disney's 1993 movie, Hocus Pocus, is a light-hearted show the whole family can enjoy. True to Disney style, there's just enough play on words to keep the adults entertained too.

Get ready for magic and time travel.

“Hocus Pocus revolves around the Sanderson Sisters, a trio of witches, played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, who are resurrected inadvertently, 300 years after their deaths, on the eve of Halloween in 1993.

Hanged as witches those many years past, they live up to their reputations and wreak havoc across Salem. Only a teenage boy (Omri Katz), his girlfriend (Vinessa Shaw), his little sister (Thora Birch) and a talking cat (Sean Murray) are able to stop them. ”

I Put A Spell On You

In Hocus Pocus the witches cast a magic spell over the entire town. 

However, apparently a magical spell was also cast so the movie wouldn't disappear into obscurity. The film has developed a loyal cult following.

“Critics tore apart the horror comedy, but it then went on to establish a cult audience thanks to its release on home video. ”

Who says magic's not real?

The Sanderson Sisters – Three Witches

“Bette Midler as Winifred “Winnie” Sanderson, the buck-toothed leader of the Sanderson sisters. She is the eldest and the wickedest of the sisters, as well as the most intelligent. She has a great knowledge of dark magic. Her robes are green.

Kathy Najimy as Mary Sanderson, the second witch sister. Often complimenting and comforting her domineering older sister Winnie, she likes to eat children. Her powers are smelling children. Her color is red.

Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson, the youngest and most beautiful witch sister; she also is ditzy and vague. Her powers are mesmerism (by singing a siren song), which she uses to lure children to feed upon their life force. Her somewhat revealing robes are purple.”
— Wikipedia

Wicked And Delightful

Listen to the resonant ring of Winifred's voice, "SISTAHS !!!" as she calls to her beloved sisters. They are bonded in a coven as sisters and witches, even if she does call them idiots at one point.

The three sister-witches are a goofy bunch (after all, it's a horror comedy) and while they’re pretty silly, their magic is certainly wicked enough. Sucking the life out of young children qualifies, don't you think?

Sarah's Enchanted Song

As the witches fly on their broomsticks, Winifred calls forth to Sarah:

“Use thy voice, Sarah,
Fill the sky!
Bring the little brats to die!
Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha...”

Sarah sings a melodious song as she weaves a thread of magic to lure the children of the town to the witches' lair. Perched on her flying broomstick, Sarah coos her lullaby into the night sky. Her dulcet tones melt onto the children, mesmerizing them into obedience.

“Come, Little Children, I’ll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment
Come, Little Children, the time’s come to play
Here in my garden of magic...”

Come Little Children

Sarah sings only one verse of the song, but its haunting melody enchanted people near and far.

Who is the author of the song's lyrics?

Some claim it was written by Edgar Allen Poe; that is simply not true. To add to the confusion, more verses were tacked on to create a longer version of the song.

It's our good fortune that author D. Melhoff launched an inquiry into the matter. Leaving no stone unturned, Melhoff's research on the topic provides the most satisfactory answers.

The first verse was written by Brock Walsh for the Disney movie Hocus Pocus and the music was composed by James Horner.

The origin of the added verses remains shrouded in mystery. Perhaps that's how it should be when you're dealing with a song that leads to the supernatural.

You can read all the circuitous details found by D. Melhoff in the post entitled: Who Really Wrote the Poem "Come Little Children"?

The singer, Erutan, also performs a full version of the song. She created a YouTube video with images from the movie Pan's Labyrinth as a cover.

Happy Halloween.

 

An Ode To My Chariot

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A Chariot Of Past Dreams

9 years.

Nine years to the exact month that I had my Volvo.

A 2007 Volvo, S40, 6 speed, T5 AWD. 

Turbo. Loved the turbo, first time for that.

The color was Barents Blue. Did I mention it had a spoiler? Pretty sexy.

Yep, I said it. My car was adorable. 

The Volvo was part of a program that let you build your own car and then pick it up in Europe. I took possession of it in Germany.

For over 4 years, I drove it in Europe, followed by another 4 1/2 years in California. It crossed the merry ocean by container ship to join me in the States. 

I zipped all over Europe in that Volvo: Italy, France, Belgium and Germany. We journeyed to the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany and four times to my Number-One-Favorite-French classes in Spa, Belgium.

I hit the road for the first time with a trusty GPS and it opened the world for me.

I laughed and cried in that car. Traveled alone and with others. I had a one-day Volvo safety driving course on a professional track. Took it to work and on vacations. I meditated in it at rest stops on long driving trips. 

Repairs To Break The Bank

I didn't plan to say goodbye. I wanted to keep my Volvo until 130K miles, at least... maybe longer if I could.

Fate, however, declared that we had to say goodbye at 80K. To be more precise, the engine repairs were going to cost more than the car was worth. My initial reaction was, "Fix it!" – then, reason stepped in.

I found myself thrust into a frantic, last minute, you need a car NOW, situation. 

So, off we rushed into a mad dash of researching and test driving new cars.

New cars? I hadn't looked at other cars for 9 years. I was very loyal to my Volvo.

1964 rambler classic, 3 speed on the column

From Manual To Automatic

Over the last 9 years, cars have made a lot of changes and technology has exploded. We now have blind spot assist on side mirrors and back up cameras.

During this time, Volvo stopped making the S-40 model that I was driving. While that was sad enough, an even bigger shock was when I discovered that many car makers don't offer the option for a manual transmission. Volvo doesn't bother to make them anymore.

They. Don't. Even. Make. It.

Face it, I'm a dinosaur. 

I started on a manual many moons ago. My first car was a used "3 on the tree" (3-speed on the column), blue 1964 Rambler Classic. Picture a glued-to-the-earth mini-tank. It's been out of U.S. production since 1969.

Loved that Rambler. The emergency brake was a pedal you stepped on. There was no power steering. AM radio was our one and only music option.

I graduated to a "4 on the floor" sporty, red 1974 Ford Mustang and that was a snazzy ride. I kept that car for many years. The next step up was a vehicle with a 5-speed.

After that, I had a 6-speed manual in my Volvo. I wasn't convinced that I needed a 6th gear, but I made good use of it on the German Autobahn.

photo by tage olsin

German Autobahn

“What began as a racing track grew into a sophisticated high-speed road system, linking to almost all the major cities in Germany. The Autobahn boasts super thick road beds, 4% or less grades, wide lanes, and utilizes sophisticated technology.”

I shall wax poetic about the German Autobahn for a moment. If you ever get a chance to drive on it, but all means do so. The old adage "fine German engineering" never rang so true as it does on this finely balanced concrete. 

In the early morning, as the fog lifted from the roads, but still hung low in the fields, you could find me swooping down the Autobahn on my way to France for a flea market. With the road to myself during those early hours, the Volvo and I skimmed the pavement at 100 to 110 mph. Even at 100 mph, it was not uncommon for a BMW or Porsche to pass me. Still, my Volvo clung to the road like a champ.

Lest you think I am entirely reckless, there are parts of the Autobahn that do not have speed limits. Your mission is to drive safely. The speed at which you do so is at your discretion. The roads are designed to handle high speeds.

I watched a program about the Autobahn before I left the States. I've included a link here. The wealth of information helped give me the confidence I needed once I started driving on the Autobahn. Even so, when I drove at high speeds, that's all I was doing: driving – focused – two hands on the steering wheel.

In southwest Germany where I lived, the Autobahn heading toward France opened up to higher speeds. The lines in this road sign mean the end of the 130 (kph) zone and a speed limit no longer applies.

Don't be fooled into thinking this "no speed limit" is good other places. When the speed limit is 50 kph in town, you'd best be going that speed because, if not, you will be flashed by a radar camera even if you're only going 52 kph. And there is no arguing. A ticket arrives in your mailbox with a photo of you in your car. Pay up and put your check in the mail. End of discussion.

Time To Buy A New Car

As I watched the sassy spoiler on the back end of my Volvo disappear behind the locked gate at CarMax, wistful strings tugged at my heart.

When CarMax handed me a check, tears filled my eyes as I realized my Volvo was gone forever and with it, an era of my life. All that remained was a colorful snapshot of the past, sweet and dear. 

Baby girl Volvo, you'll always have a place in my heart. 

On to a new chapter. Time to find a new car.

The moment has come to abandon my manual transmission and drive an automatic. It's now the way of cars in the U.S. and automatic transmissions display new dimensions.

Today's sophisticated automatics have three driving modes: economy, sport and manual. In manual mode, you shift with paddles next to the steering wheel and there is no clutch. 

A new learning curve.

As a winding road unfurls like a ribbon in front of me, I take a moment to pause and wonder: what adventures are calling?

Do you have a favorite car story of your own?

 
“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”
— Langston Hughes