Io Kore! Kore Evohe!
by Ruby Sara
(Yet another fresh face for Pagan Godspell, in honor of this new and freshly arrived spring! The Kore has come and the hyacinth awakens!)
Blessings of the new spring, beloveds! The morning opened today with thunder, and my heart was full of its rumbling, crusty laughter. Later the sun, minted all new by the rushing season, came burning into our house and washed it with golden light, and later into the darkening evening the clouds rolled in again and lightning and thunder appeared once more – perfect bookends to a delirious spring day. I plan to make blueberry cookies..and frankly, that’s hard to beat. The intrepid spouse and I, along with Johnny Rapture, went out to visit Mother Lake yesterday and witness the rising of the full moon. We didn’t see much, unfortunately, as it was a bit too overcast, but Sister Moon did peek her red and hooded eyes out at us over the Lake at least for a moment, and we were satisfied.
At one point, Johnny began wildly pointing at the corner of a small building in the park. After a few moments, we all saw what he was looking at:
Johnny named him Herbert.
Eventually, Herbert was joined by a family of 6 other raccoons, who lined up along the roof and waited for dusk. Maybe they too were waiting for moonrise in order to give praise. But regardless of our anthropomorphic projections, their mere appearance filled us with joy…the crafty business of the Mama’s children revealed on the cusp of spring.
It’s been not an easy winter, y’all. And nothing is over and the work goes on, but we pause in our doings to look out at the March grass and rejoice in the opening of flowers and the falling of rain, and we are filled with a new strength and the joy that comes with knowing that yes, again, the promise of spring has been and will be fulfilled. Ostara blessings, friends, for the Kore has indeed arrived, with hyacinths at her feet and the blooming of crocuses in her wake, and it is good. Io Kore! Kore Evohe! The People Say Hail!
We here at PG headquarters have been up to our eyeballs with projects. Johnny and I have been working hard on our ritual Kore Evohe: Rites for Spring that we’ll be presenting at Milwaukee’s Ostara 2011 this Sunday, as well as preparing workshops for the upcoming festival season (including PSG, which will be outside Chicago this year), and Terra Mysterium has been busy preparing and rehearsing for a number of projects, not the least of which being our performances at the upcoming Earth Traditions Oasis retreat in June. It is shaping up to be an exciting spring and summer!
My prevailing overwhelmed state in reaction to the world continues, and this combined with all the work above had made for a serious dearth of posts, I know. But hope springs eternal, pagani, and I am encouraged by the appearance of crocuses and dwarf irises where a few days before there was only dark earth. Signs and portents soothe my soul…while searching for a book during our recent monthly pagan potluck here at PG headquarters, I unearthed a favorite CD I had thought lost. The smell of bread and flowers and rain and smoke open doors in my heart. And I have made plans for the rearrangement of altars and the renewal of personal practice – lighting more candles, praying more prayers…and all this keeps me afloat. All this showing up.
So open wide your curtains! Enlarge the place of your tent! Make ready your hearts for Spring, friends! Io Kore!
And always, always…in the rain and in the sun, grok Earth. Grok Earth, and pray without ceasing!
The other raccoons’ names were Mabel, Iphigenia, Billy, Bob, and Thornton — FYI.
They told me so.
Yea to the signs and portents to soothe the soul as I sit here listening to Vivaldi’s Spring at your suggestion.