My life is made of cloth woven by Grandmother Spider, its threads spun by the sisters who spin up the sun.  Every day I pause in the midst of work and walks and daily tasks, pull out the camera phone that lives in my pocket, and capture this sight or that one, all these moments of grace.

The second candle of the Advent Solstice Sunwheel, the candle of Fire and the South, is lit. Blessed be the fires of courage, of passion, of creativity, of magic. Blessed be our hearths and homes.
The second candle of the Advent Solstice Sunwheel, the candle of Fire and the South, is lit. Blessed be the fires of courage, of passion, of creativity, of magic. Blessed be our hearths and homes.

Blogging has changed a lot since I started back in 2003. We post so much on social media these days that used to warrant a blog post. I’m giving a lot of thought to how I approach social media. These days, Instagram is my favorite place to be. My posts on Instagram are becoming a little mini-blog. I cross-post most photos to Facebook, because it seems to be the social media platform of choice for most of the people I’m connected to. But all this posting on Instagram and Facebook means this blog sometimes feels sorely neglected. And so it feels good to me to begin a weekly recap of the photos and thoughts I’ve shared on Instagram.

Good Morning Salish Sea! (On the ferry, headed for town).
Good Morning Salish Sea! (On the ferry, headed for town).

These fragments, these gratitudes, these moments of grace and beauty, become the fabric we weave, the cape we wrap around us, to help us through the hard times. Fear, racism, hate-mongering, self-doubt, grief … it’s all around us, every day. I don’t deny the power of those things, but it is my practice to offer up grace and beauty, to counteract all the anguish we see around us.

Grateful for a neighborhood café that makes Brussels sprouts for my breakfast because I'm allergic to eggs! Gluten free toast and island-grown raspberry jam too. Heaven!
Grateful for a neighborhood café that makes brussels sprouts for my breakfast because I’m allergic to eggs! Gluten free toast and island-grown raspberry jam too. Heaven!

These are the days when we await the Return of the Sun at Winter Solstice. I am humbled and grateful for the community of people taking my “30 Days of Yule” course who are going so deep with the material I prepared for them.

Today I find stillness and quiet at my altar. Taking the time to breathe, to watch the dancing flame. Quiet. Yes. #30daysofyule
Today I find stillness and quiet at my altar. Taking the time to breathe, to watch the dancing flame. Quiet. Yes. #30daysofyule

And here’s a moment of grace I didn’t capture as a photo: I stepped outside before dawn this morning to a clear sky studded with glowing stars. Ursa Major / Big Dipper was directly overhead, and that bright star — the Star of Wonder? — in the southeast was Venus. (I checked a star map to be sure.)  I stood outside for quite awhile as the sky slowly lightened, becoming gray with clouds, and had a lovely chat with Aphrodite, Queen of Beauty, the Morning Star, as she set on this day of the New Moon. Blessed be.

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