The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Rain

Falcon must have been the most annoying storm after Ondoy. It has been raining relentlessly for a week and I was getting sick of hearing the constant sound of rain falling on the roof. Eventually just after writing a post about Habagat I experienced everything I hate about the rainy season in one day. On Friday I had to sleep in a coffee shop and report to work at 4AM because I wasn't able to go home the previous night due to the flood and horrible traffic. Rain or shine, deluge or not, I was determined to go to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical revue I booked weeks ago. I wouldn't really want to miss it since I got front row seating at the CCP. (Front row in the upper box seats that is, which gives a really awkward view of the stage.)...

Read more »

Why I Do Not Celebrate Litha

"A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind." -- Tao Te Ching Because first of all, "Litha" is an Old English word meaning "navigable" - pertaining to the calmness of the winds in the European seas during this time of the year. Here in the eastern Pacific however, the seas sure are far from looking very "navigable" with winds occasionally running up to 250 km/h (and more). Of course it also has that less archaic-sounding name, Midsummer. But it's hardly the middle of summer here with we Pinoys declaring it the "end of summer" just as soon as the first tropical storm hits, which usually happens just around the end of May. Apolaki's altar Of all the years of doing the sabbats, the fact that Litha is the longest day of the year...

Read more »

A Mystical Beltane

"I unite the powers of the Sun and Moon within me. With my wand I father the Child, with my chalice I mother it. Within me lives the alchemy of this union of opposites. Let the magical child of my creative nature blossom and thrive in the inner and the outer worlds" -- Rite of Beltane, The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids My nemeton wears the festive colors of the occasion. Normally I would have my solo ceremony within a week after celebrating the Sabbat with friends. But this time typhoons happened and Hong Kong happened and then laziness and procrastination creeped in until I realized it's only a week away from summer solstice. I can't believe it took me five weeks and and a ritual-making seminar to pull my lazy ass into doing Beltane....

Read more »

The Art of Ritual Making

Lights of inspiration. Although  it was mostly geared towards beginners, it's nice to hear about ritual from a classroom perspective. As a practicing Pagan I'm used to doing rituals as catalyst for inner change, but it's interesting to learn from the other participants (comprising of a doctor, a mother, a teacher, a businesswoman, among others) on how necessary and helpful ritual is in their everyday lives. A pleasant surprise of the day is meeting a fellow member from the OBOD whom I have made contact with a few weeks ago. He has been in the Order for quite a number of years since he joined in the Netherlands. He's been asking around the officers for any other member of the Order from the Philippines and got my email address. We've been...

Read more »