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In the clearing, the drums throb.

Suddenly he's here among us, the Green Man: stark naked, green all over, shockingly green. The green leaves of his crown, his wristlets, his anklets, rustle as he dances.

Then there's another, a second, dancing among us. The two Green Men meet, dance together, and spring apart again, laughing.

From the woods, more hooting laughter. A third Green Man leaps into our midst, then a Fourth, but this one's a Green Woman. Her green breasts bob as she dances.

The Green Ones join hands, circling the fire. Then they peel off outwards and suddenly we're all dancing, dancing with the Green.

What, after all, is life but a dance with the Green Man?

Our dance reaches its thunderous climax. Suddenly, they're gone. The drums crash to a halt.

From the woods, one final hooting peal of laughter, mocking, fades into the distance.

Prosperity and purification go hand in hand. One of the greatest tools for purification is sage. While every metaphysical store has it in quantity, I highly recommend gathering or growing sage yourself. Aromatic sage dries quickly and can be bound into thick “smudge sticks,” which you should keep at the ready in a fireproof clay dish. To make a smudge stick, take dried sage leaves and bind them with green and gold thread wound nine times around the bundles and knotted at each loop. Leave room for a handle at the base of the wand, where you wind and knot the green and gold threads thrice more. This will honor the three Fates who hold the thread of our destiny in their hands: Clotho spins the thread of life; Lachesis chooses its length and outcome; and Atropos cuts the thread.

 Use your smudge stick at any time purification is in order, especially if you’ve moved, started a new job, bought a new car, or purchased any second-hand clothing or furniture. This will help remove any energy that might be clinging from the previous owner. If have just performed a big decluttering in your home or office, you can further cleanse your personal space by smudging it with sage smoke.

It must be the oldest gay joke in the world.

Q: Is it possible for two men to have a baby together?

A: Theoretically no, but they sure do keep trying!

But for gods, now: well, that's another matter.

***

Earth's two Husbands, Sun and Thunder, have been together (so far as we know) nearly forever. You could say they're an unlikely couple. You could say they're well matched. Whichever it be, they're very different from one another.

Sun is hot and dry. He comes from the east, and he's always going west. Steady, predictable, he's all about the rational.

Thunder, now? Cool, wet, comes from the west, always going east. Volatile, unpredictable: with him, it's all about emotion.

Theirs is an explosive relationship: with all their differences, how could it not be? Oh, the fights. But, in the end, they always make it up.

They have a daughter together, born of their love: Rainbow, gentlest of goddesses. To see her is to love her, she's that beautiful.

In these latter days, they've named her the patron of same-sex love. Well, how could she not be?

After all, she has two fathers.

***

These days, Twin Cities Pride is a matter of corporate sponsorship and hundreds of thousands, but back then it was just a few hundred of us, marching down Hennepin Avenue.

Diane Don Carlos and I wrote this song for Merrymeet 1998, the year of the first-ever official male-male Great Rite at a pagan festival. It's set to the tune of Gula Gula, a hymn to the Earth Mother by Saami singer-songwriter Mari Boine Persen.

The chant explores the depths of the mysteries of the Mask, and, ultimately, the complex and layered nature of the Self.

The Mask Song

With these eyes, what are you seeing?

With these ears, what are you hearing?

With this heart, what are you feeling?

Who are you, the mask or me?

Who are you, the mask or me?

Cancer, First Half: June 21-July 4

Cancers are ruled by the Moon, so it is appropriate that moonstone is the precious soul stone for the individuals born in the first half of this sign. The most priceless of moonstones is adularia, named after the place it was first discovered—Adula, Switzerland. Moonstones have an opalescent sheen reminiscent of the Moon in the night sky. Adularia was special to early Europeans who believed it could improve the memory, help stop seizures, overcome a broken heart, and foretell the future. Wearing moonstone jewelry will put Cancers in tune with their lunar-influenced changeable natures, giving them strength and the wisdom of intuition.

If you could live in an all-pagan world, would you do it?

Of course you would. So would I. Any pagan would.

That's why I love pagan festivals so much. What they offer is the opportunity to live in that ideal pagan world, if only for a little while.

That summer, the festival was only 40 minutes out of town: an easy striking distance, one might think. Well, but I couldn't get the time off work.

I was waiting tables that year at a little jazz club cum restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. At the time, our cobblestone patio was the only outdoor dining venue in the area. We were packed every night. The work was grueling, relentless, nightmarish; only the money made it worthwhile.

Every night was all hands on deck. There was absolutely no way to take time off for a festival, because there was no one to cover for me.

So I decided to commute.

Every morning, I drove out to the festival and immersed myself in the nurturing waters of pagan culture. Then I'd drive back to town and deal with the teeming cowan masses.

“This is going to be the worst,” I thought.

But I was wrong.

There I was, every night, in an aureole of golden festival energy, my witch-fires stoked high. I was golden, I glowed: you could see the light from the next room. The cowans didn't know what hit them. Night after night, tips just rained down onto the tables. In my entire wait career, I'd never made so much money.

It should have been awful, but it wasn't. I danced my way through that week, elegant as hell and utterly unstoppable.