Autumn in the Air

Even here in Atlanta, I am starting to feel the pull of the seasons. I didn't intend to be away from this blog for so long, but there are just so many other things going on. We have been making a push to finish the Tumbleweed House so it is 100% inhabitable by next Spring.We are also getting ready for our trip to South Africa, which is feel is being looked after by a very different Goddess.  But I still can't deny the beauty of the Autumn Equinox as the time where Persephone descends once again into the Underworld to be with her husband. 

I thought, to honor the turning of the season I would provide a "Greatest Hits" of the past posts on this topic.

Like the song Meet Me on the Equinox by Death Cab for Cutie. Just pretend it isn't tied into the movie Twilight.


There is also the post I did last year on the Equinox.  I had woven a crude crown of orange flowers and placed them on Persephone to honor her return to the Underworld.

And I always do enjoy a good seasonal recipe from the Greek cookbook.

And, last year I also posted this photo I took of Persephone up at the land in Asheville.

And not to mention, the Autumn Equinox marks the two year anniversary of this blog. 

So, Praise Persephone and this changing season. Rejoice in her descent. I leave you with this poem, my favorite by John Keats; To Autumn.

TO AUTUMN.
                                            1.
    SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
        Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
    Conspiring with him how to load and bless
        With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
    To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
        And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
            To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
    With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
        And still more, later flowers for the bees,
        Until they think warm days will never cease,
            For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
                                            2.
    Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
        Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
    Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
        Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
    Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
        Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
            Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
    And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
        Steady thy laden head across a brook;
        Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
            Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
                                            3.
    Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
        Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
    While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
        And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue;
    Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
        Among the river sallows, borne aloft
            Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
    And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
        Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
        The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
           And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Seasonal Play List

I have said over and over again, the thing that pulls me toward Persephone is the sense of wonder I get with the turning of the seasons.  Today, in Atlanta, it will be 70 degrees in February. That isn't normal, but it is wonderful and I plan to be outside all day long.  I understand the science of the seasons, but that doesn't stop me from experiencing the beauty of them as they cycle through each year without fail.

I decided to put together a Seasonal Play List.  These are 4 songs for each season that aren't specifically about honoring Persephone but do honor the feelings that each season brings to me which in turn honors Persephone.

Since spring is just around the corner, I want to start there.

Spring

Southland in the Springtime by Indigo Girls
I've written about this before, so you can just click the link if you want to read why this song is so important to me.  When God made me born a Yankee, she was teasing.

Poets by The Tragically Hip
I wrote about the album that this song was on, but not about this song specifically.  There is something about it that just makes me feel alive with springtime energy. 

Beautiful Day by U2
This is not my favorite U2 song, but I can't deny it's spring flavor.

The heart is a bloom, shoots up through stony ground
But there's no room, no space to rent in this town
You're out of luck and the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck and you're not movin' anywhere
You thought you’d found a friend to take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand in return for grace

It's a beautiful day,
The sky falls and you feel like
It's a beautiful day,
Don’t let it get away

Celtic Spring by Van Morrison
I never thought I liked Van Morrison.  And I still don't like "Brown Eyed Girl".  But then I heard the song "Into the Mystic" and understood his genius.  His songs are often seasonal and spiritual.  Celtic Spring is no exception.

Wanna dance by you by the light of the moon
I wanna see you there on a bright afternoon
I wanna sing my song, won't you play me the tune
In the regions again

In the Celtic Spring
In the Celtic Spring
Won't you come and go

 Summer

June Hymn by The Decemberists
This is a band new song on the brand new album The King is Dead. I love it.  I love every note and every lyric.  It makes me want to lay back and feel the summer sweep over me. 


Summer's Cauldron by XTC
This band is one of my favorites.  I think they are underrated.  

Trees are dancing drunk with nectar, grass is waving underwater
Please don't pull me out, this is how I would want to go
Insect bomber Buddhist droning, copper chord of August's organ
Please don't heed my shout, I'm relaxing the undertow

Island in the Sun by Wheezer
You may notice a trend when it comes to my summer song choices. I like that lazy feeling of summer.  Sit back, relax, and just let the summer happen. Plus, the video has a kitten. You can never go wrong with a kitten.

Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers
But I can't help but think about how summer comes because of the ultimate sacrifice.  Persephone returns so we can enjoy the sunshine, but she leaves behind her husband and King.  This song is for Hades.

Autumn

Meet Me On The Equinox by Death Cab for Cutie
The only negative thing I can say about this song is that it comes from a movie about sparkly vampires.  

Meet me on the Equinox
Meet me half way
When the sun is perched at its highest peek
In the middle of the day

Let me give my love to you
Let me take your hand
As we walk in the dimming light
Or darling understand

Autumn Almanac by The Kinks

Friday evenings, people get together,
Hiding from the weather.
Tea and toasted, buttered currant buns
Can't compensate for lack of sun,
Because the summer's all gone. 

Moondance by Van Morrison
A little song for Samhain.

And all the leaves on the trees are fallin'
To the sound of the breezes that blow
An' I'm trying to please to the callin'
Of your heart strings that play soft and low

And all the nights magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?
Can I just make some more romance with you, my love?

September Morn by Neil Diamond
Is it a "Guilty Pleasure" when you post about it on the Internet?  Okay, I have a soft spot in m heart for Neil Diamond.  Once I get past the creepy old man feeling.  But this song is a lovely tribute to Autumn love, like when Hades and Persephone are reunited at the equinox. 

Winter

Hazy Shade of Winter by Simon and Garfunkel
I have to be a purist and say that the only version anyone should concern themselves with is the original, not the Bangles version from the 80s.  I think this song really brings that sense of seasonal transition.  The leaves are brown and fall has just passed us, the snow is just beginning to fall.  I don't know that it gets much better than Simon and Garfunkel.

Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division
This song isn't so much about winter as it is the feeling that winter gives me.  Hades and Persephone know that through this dark season they will once again be separated.  Even Hades makes a sacrifice for the good of all people. 

Winter by Tori Amos
This is probably my favorite song of all time.

When you gonna make up your mind?
When you gonna love you as much as I do?
When you gonna make up your mind?
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I always want you near
You say that things change, my dear

Winter Song by Crash Test Dummies
I know a lot of people hate Crash Test Dummies. I am not one of those people. I especially love their first album, The Ghosts that Haunt Me which is where this song comes from.  I like the nostalgic feeling I get when I listen to this song. 

And there you have it, my seasonal playlist.  Some songs for Persephone, some songs about Persephone and some songs that just make me feel the sense of wonder about each season as the wheel of the year keeps turning.

Your Holiday Song

My favorite holiday songs are ones where everyone is included.  I have written about "Christmas" by Blues Traveler before as well as Dar William's classic "The Christians and the Pagans".  I think this season should be about celebration, no matter what it is you want to celebrate.  Celebrate everything or just celebrate because it is a good time to do it.  That is my wish for everyone during the winter season.  In this dead world where Persephone is hidden beneath the earth and Demeter mourns covering the ground with her frozen tears, we need to love each other so that spring will return.  That is one of the many things I celebrate. 
Well, I just found another holiday song that I love.  The Indigo Girls released a holiday album this year, Holly Happy Days.  It features some originals including a great bluegrass Christmas song as well as many of the traditional carols we all grew up with.  There is also their version of "Happy Joyous Hanukkah". There is also an original song called "Your Holiday Song" that, like the Blues Traver's song feels very inclusive of the winter holidays.  The Unitarians will like it, I bet.

Gather round girls and boys,
It's time to make your joyful noise
Some feel it in the feast after the fast,
Or the oil lamps everlasting,
Or the Solstice in the wild,
or the birth of a baby child.

It's your holiday song
No one more true or right or wrong
When our faith calls our name
Someone else's does the same
Hallelujah! Thank you.

So gather round girls and boys
It's time to raise your holy noise
Some feel it in the drum, in the snare
or the silence of their prayer
or the church bells on the hill
or the harmony of goodwill

For every voice lifted in song
The sacred place we all belong
A chance to heal a broken world
with every voice in every song
of every boy and every girl!

You can listen to it and even download it for free here.

Stravinsky and Disney

When Disney Released Fantasia 2000 in Imax, I saw it several times at The Henry Ford. While it was out, I would take all my friends to see it every time they came ot visit. The production of The Firebird definitely speaks of Persephone to me. 



Enjoy!