occasional posts by risa aratyr
thoughts, news, and items of writerly interest
The majority of Wiccans and Wicca-adjacent neo-Pagans celebrated Samhain – the Feast of the Dead, summer’s end and the beginning of winter, the Celtic New Year – on Halloween. A lesser number of us will celebrate it on the true cross-quarter day; the exact midpoint between autumn equinox and winter solstice. This year, here in … Read more Eve of Destruction
Saving the planet? Stopping the horrendous strife in the Middle East? Getting enough undecided voters in swing states to cast their ballots for Kamala? All worthy contenders for the title of this post, but no. In the last week or so, my existential-stress meter shot way past maximum, shattering my ability to compose coherent, moral/political … Read more The Impossible Task
One of the etymological tidbits I’ve gleaned from The History of English podcast is that the redundant nature of several common phrases (fair and equal, right and proper, null and void, chase after …) stems from folks in post-1066 England using both the French and the English word for a thing or concept or whatevs … Read more The Why and Wherefore
Those who know me, know I harbor a grudge against Thanksgiving. Whoa – hang on – ¡manténganse tranquilos! I do know what month it is. This isn’t an old blog from a bygone November I re-posted by accident (or on accident, as they say these days). I am here to talk about the autumnal equinox. … Read more The Heart of the Harvest Season
MAGAs and their minions have myriad ways to undermine one person, one vote. The results of their efforts are scary, ugly, and inherently undemocratic – but not irreparable. With a sane president in the White House and enough progressives in our state legislatures and Congress, we could address the inequities, restore voting rights, reopen polling … Read more DOUBLE JEOPARDY: Majority Rules