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It's late January, and my almond tree is blooming.

What makes that so surprising is that I live in Minnesota.

I've long joked that I'm a Mediterranean trapped in the body of a Northern European. (The quip would actually read more accurately as “...having a perfectly fine time in the body of....”) Civilized people drink tea and wine and cook with olive oil. Barbarians drink coffee and beer and cook with (ugh) butter. Not that there's anything wrong with barbarism, understand. Some of my best friends.... And since I've certainly put away my share of brews down the years, I suppose that by my own definition that would make me semi-barbarous. Fine. See if I care.

Why in the world am I living in Minnesota, one might wonder? Short answer: love. But that's a story for another night. Right now it's late January and my almond tree is blooming. I just can't look at it enough.

In today's Fiery Tuesday post, the Pagan News Beagle brings you: victory for religious rights in Holt v. Hobbs (U.S. Supreme Court); first British gay Pagan marriage; Scotland leads in fossil free electricity; what are the free speech limits of mocking religion?; Heathens supporting #BlackLivesMatter.

The case of Holt v. Hobbs was decided yesterday in the Supreme Court. (See Justice Ginsburg's explanation here.) The decision was another victory for religious rights, even if the petitioner isn't a model plaintiff nor a member of a majority religion.

I was asked recently to develop a talk which could be delivered as a sermon, using ancient Egyptian sacred texts and ideas.  Here is Part 1 of that talk.

We open this morning with words from the sacred Egyptian text called the Book of Coming Forth By Day:

[rhythmic shaking of sistrum]

“Oh my heart, my mother! My heart, my mother! Do not rise up against me as a witness, do not speak against me in the presence of the great god, lord of the west. Dua, ibi, hail to you my heart! May you say what is good to the gods. I go forth, not dying in the west, but becoming a spirit in it.”

The crafting of a life is an epic journey, a story which has been told around the world for as long as we have memory. For the ancient Nile dwellers, survival was exquisitely poised on the banks of that great river where the mysterious flood arose each year, bringing new fertility to the whole land. But the Egyptians also carried the understanding of how this life is linked to the next one, the deep mysteries of life, death, rebirth and new, transformed life.

Recently, my friend SnowStar bestowed a major blessing on me, gifting me 67 divination  decks from her personal collection.

Her amazing generosity was only matched by the gift's synchronicity: I've collected decks over my 30 years as a professional card reader, then lost a substantial portion of my collection due to a bug infestation two years ago.

SnowStar asked me which decks she sent particularly struck me, so I pulled together some personal notes I'd made, and thought I'd share them here with you, too. And please tell me about a deck or decks you particularly love. I love to hear about experiences with tarot or Lenormand decks.

I'm always on the lookout for symbols, stringing them together like mystical pearls--or, perhaps, like magical mala beads inscribed with sacred prayers, spiritual insight and everyday wisdom--begging for me to decode and apply their particular meaning for my life. 

If you think about it, everything we tell ourselves is a story--including the way we decode symbols.

I  packed up a basket full of goodies last week that's now living in my car. It's a scarred and raggedy peck basket that's been used for fresh produce and hoodoo oddments for several years.

Now it is full of Brigid and Her shenanigans.

 Lesson 3: Getting Help When You Have a Bad Teacher