After I screwed up measuring the amount of dye needed for my first batch, I decided it was best to move towards measuring dye by volume. Now I know this is less accurate, but it should be close. My goal this time was to do 2 of the same yarn and see if I could be consistent and get the same color.
Two Yules ago, The Woolery had their annual 12 days of fiber toys sale, and a Greener Shades starter kit was on sale. I bought it and left it sit in a drawer for over a year. With this year's tax returns, I decided it was time to start using it. So, I found a source of undyed wool in Wool2Dye4. First a word on this company. They have beautiful yarns. I got fingering weight, 75/25 superwash merino/nylon and worsted weight merino.
Yesterday we saw another campaign promise fulfilled with the reversal of the Obama's rules for schools with regards to transgender children and their access to bathrooms. This was a sad day because of that, because we are removing protections for some of our most vulnerable children. I hope this is the end of this kind of executive action, but as long as there are members of the social reich in the White House and having the President's ear, we will continue to have this kind of action.
As this is being published, there is a new era of American politics that is starting. Let me start off by saying that I do not wish to see him fail. To wish the president to fail is wishing that we as a country fail. So, no, I don't wish him to fail. That does not mean I support his agenda, whatever it may be, or that I support the man. I respect and support the office. The man on the other hand is a completely different story, and it's well documented why he is not a man to celebrate.
Today, many of us have the day off to celebrate one of the civil rights movement largest figures, Martin Luther King Jr. In the years that he was alive, he helped bring the racism that was all around America, and specifically in the South, to the public's attention. We have come a long way from how things were in his lifetime. We are not done thought.
Next up in the COoR is the statement of purpose. While this may seem like something extra that could be skipped over or going through quickly, one should consider it a bit more.
At the most basic level, this is stating what the ritual is about and for. Granted, all those gathered should know this before showing up to the ritual, but some people just don't pay much attention, especially if it's not a high day. We also can have some differences depending on the culture are celebrating in. The overarching theme is likely similar, but details will be different.
No, I'm not talking about remembering to give my felines milk even though they all do thoroughly enjoy drinking it. I am talking about remembering the lessons we should have learned from Harvey Milk and the fight for LGBT rights in San Francisco that ultimately cost him his life.
Bardic inspiration is one of the more recent developments in ADF ritual. It is not a required part, but it has become rather common as I have seen it as part of rituals all across the country. What are we doing here besides calling on another being?
Every year, I do a personal, hearth/home Samhain remembering those I knew that I lost in the last year, and those that have been of major influence over the many years. These named ones that have been called the past several years are Ed Nissan (Slakker), Isaac Bonewitz, and George Lee (Raven Mann). This year was no different. Dinner was shared with all the dead through a dumb supper.
Honoring the Earth Mother is one of the parts of the ADF ritual format that makes it ADF as it being a discreet offset of ritual, and the treatment of her as a being, is not found in many places. The other thing that is interesting about this part is that there is little, if any, evidence of her in abstract being worshipped by Indo-European people. They would worship their local land and fertility beings, often female, but not an abstract idea of Earth Mother. We can say similar for her counterpart, the Sky Father.