(This festival fell on the 23rd of September in 2009, in the Southern Hemisphere. For information on the Southern Wheel of the Year, click label at end of post.)
For Vernal Equinox this year I collected a few sprays of blooms from the local golden wattle and put them on display in my living room. I also painted some eggs green and put them with the wattle. Green and gold are the national colours of Australia.
That was it. I was not very well and held no ritual and attended no circle.
The Southern Wheel & the Wuruma Wheel
Vernal Equinox is not marked on the Wuruma Wheel.
The next festival on the Southern Wheel is Beltane which is on or about the 31st of October.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Wuruma Spring 2009
(I am pronouncing Wuruma as WUH-ruh-muh.)
Wuruma Spring falls on or around the 1st of August and is on the Wuruma Wheel of the Year.
The Wuruma Wheel applies to the seasons occurring on the NSW Central Coast. It is not on the Southern Wheel of the Year, which is the European-based Wheel as celebrated in Australia. (See Wheel links below or in the side-bar.)
In 2009 I celebrated Wuruma Spring in mid-August. There were few golden wattles in bloom locally on the 1st of August and the real start of spring comes when the wattles bloom.
The official national Wattle Day is on the 1st of September. So those celebrating the Wuruma Wheel or their local Wheel might celebrate on the 1st of September or just watch their local wattles and celebrate when they start to bloom.
I did not have the energy for a full festival and formal ritual seems out of place on the Wuruma Wheel anyway.
Instead, I cleared off the top of my bookcase and covered it with a green cloth. I put a big bunch of golden wattle in a vase. Wuruma Spring occurs during the Wuruma season (the windy season) so I marked that by collecting all the fallen feathers I could find from native birds. I scattered them around the vase, lit a candle at each end of the bookcase and left it at that.
So my first Wuruma Spring had no ritual at all, unless you count setting up the wattle and feathers. But it was good to have found a way to mark it.
The Southern Wheel & the Wuruma Wheel
Wuruma Spring is not marked on the Southern Wheel. The Southern Wheel is based on the European and other northern hemisphere Wheels.
The next festival on the Wuruma Wheel is Wuruma Ending on or around the 30th of September. Followed by Wuruma Beltane around the 15th of October.
Wuruma Wheel explanation & dates
About Wattles
Wattle Day
Wuruma Spring falls on or around the 1st of August and is on the Wuruma Wheel of the Year.
The Wuruma Wheel applies to the seasons occurring on the NSW Central Coast. It is not on the Southern Wheel of the Year, which is the European-based Wheel as celebrated in Australia. (See Wheel links below or in the side-bar.)
In 2009 I celebrated Wuruma Spring in mid-August. There were few golden wattles in bloom locally on the 1st of August and the real start of spring comes when the wattles bloom.
The official national Wattle Day is on the 1st of September. So those celebrating the Wuruma Wheel or their local Wheel might celebrate on the 1st of September or just watch their local wattles and celebrate when they start to bloom.
I did not have the energy for a full festival and formal ritual seems out of place on the Wuruma Wheel anyway.
Instead, I cleared off the top of my bookcase and covered it with a green cloth. I put a big bunch of golden wattle in a vase. Wuruma Spring occurs during the Wuruma season (the windy season) so I marked that by collecting all the fallen feathers I could find from native birds. I scattered them around the vase, lit a candle at each end of the bookcase and left it at that.
So my first Wuruma Spring had no ritual at all, unless you count setting up the wattle and feathers. But it was good to have found a way to mark it.
The Southern Wheel & the Wuruma Wheel
Wuruma Spring is not marked on the Southern Wheel. The Southern Wheel is based on the European and other northern hemisphere Wheels.
The next festival on the Wuruma Wheel is Wuruma Ending on or around the 30th of September. Followed by Wuruma Beltane around the 15th of October.
Wuruma Wheel explanation & dates
About Wattles
Wattle Day
Wuruma Season 2009
(I am pronouncing Wuruma as WUH-ruh-muh.)
The Wuruma Wheel applies to the seasons occurring on the NSW Central Coast.
It is not the same as the Southern Wheel. (For Southern Wheel click label at end of article.)
The Wuruma season, the windy season of two months, begins on or about the 1st of August. It is windy and dry and ends around the end of September.
In 2009 I celebrated it on the 21st of August. The winds had come just a few days earlier and on the next windy day (the 21st) I went out and had the ritual.
It was very informal ritual. Formal ritual seems out of place on the Wuruma Wheel.
I went down to a quiet spot beside the river and sat down under some Casuarina trees. In even the slightest breeze the Casuarinas make a soft sound like distant voices and it's said that to the Aborigines this is the sound of the spirits. It certainly seems like it to me.
It was a good spot but it was fairly public so I held onto my pelican feathers (representing Air) and cast a mental circle and spoke to the winds, thanking them for bringing rain to water the land and for sweeping away unwanted things.
I sat there with my eyes closed for quite a while, just letting the wind pick up my mind and blow it about like a leaf. It was very comforting though I can't say I know in what way.
After that, I uncast the circle and that was it. Very informal. Just the essentials.
During the night the wind got stronger and I could hear garbage bins and unlatched gates clattering and banging in other people's gardens. It gave me a feeling of peace.
The Southern Wheel & the Wuruma Wheel
Wuruma season is not marked on the Southern Wheel. The Southern Wheel is based on the European and other northern hemisphere Wheels.
The next festival on the Wuruma Wheel is Wuruma Spring. It comes around the same time as the Wuruma season begins.
Wuruma Wheel explanation & dates
The Wuruma Wheel applies to the seasons occurring on the NSW Central Coast.
It is not the same as the Southern Wheel. (For Southern Wheel click label at end of article.)
The Wuruma season, the windy season of two months, begins on or about the 1st of August. It is windy and dry and ends around the end of September.
In 2009 I celebrated it on the 21st of August. The winds had come just a few days earlier and on the next windy day (the 21st) I went out and had the ritual.
It was very informal ritual. Formal ritual seems out of place on the Wuruma Wheel.
I went down to a quiet spot beside the river and sat down under some Casuarina trees. In even the slightest breeze the Casuarinas make a soft sound like distant voices and it's said that to the Aborigines this is the sound of the spirits. It certainly seems like it to me.
It was a good spot but it was fairly public so I held onto my pelican feathers (representing Air) and cast a mental circle and spoke to the winds, thanking them for bringing rain to water the land and for sweeping away unwanted things.
I sat there with my eyes closed for quite a while, just letting the wind pick up my mind and blow it about like a leaf. It was very comforting though I can't say I know in what way.
After that, I uncast the circle and that was it. Very informal. Just the essentials.
During the night the wind got stronger and I could hear garbage bins and unlatched gates clattering and banging in other people's gardens. It gave me a feeling of peace.
The Southern Wheel & the Wuruma Wheel
Wuruma season is not marked on the Southern Wheel. The Southern Wheel is based on the European and other northern hemisphere Wheels.
The next festival on the Wuruma Wheel is Wuruma Spring. It comes around the same time as the Wuruma season begins.
Wuruma Wheel explanation & dates
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