Last week we marked the turning of the Wheel of the year with a celebration of Michaelmas. For those who don't know what Michaelmas is all about, you can click here or here to learn a bit about it!
While in many circles, people celebrate the Feast of St. Michael with stories about how St. Michael slays the dragon, our family tends to take a different approach as dragons are not to be slayed (unless they are evil ones, of course!), but are benevolent and honored beings. Our view of dragons is more aligned with Old Celtic or Eastern thought - dragons are sacred - they protect, provide, guide, steward, etc. We read lots and lots of dragon and knight stories during this time of year, and while we do read stories where the dragon is slain, I try to seek out as many as I can where the dragon is honored and tamed or befriended. When we celebrate Michaelmas with our Children of the Boreal Homeschool Co-op, we base our Michaelmas play on the book "Dragon," written by Jodie Bergsma.
I like what the author has to say regarding dragons in the introduction:
...Celtic stories suggest that dragons existed in the Land of 'Faerie.' They were part of a larger family of earth elementals who symbolized energy, power and immortality. The clash between old and new beliefs resulted in the myth of St. George killing the dragon, which had come to represent the old nature religions...
This view resonates much more with our family beliefs and values, as we understand dragons as symbols of energy and power, and oftentimes major challenges. When out of balance, they can become dangerous and create obstacles, but when we wrap ourselves in capes of light and use our shields to protect and our swords of light to tame rather than destroy, then we are able to depend upon our dragons for courage, strength and guidance. Rather than being overpowered by our dragons, or having power over them, we learn Right control and can walk in power WITH our dragons, seeking Light and living in balance.
Some of our other favorite Dragon reads:
*The Song of the Dragon King*
*Dragon Baked Bread*
*Merlin and the Dragons*
*The Reluctant Dragon*
*St. George and the Dragon*
*The Book of Beasts*
*The Year of the Dragon*
*The Book of Dragons*
*Here There Be Dragons*
What are some of your favorite dragon books? Leave a comment and let us know!
Since Dove was unable to attend our Co-op gathering, we had our own little celebration at home the next day. A friend came to take Panther with her and her boys to pull carrots at a nearby farm, so Dove and I had a bit of much-sought-after-and-too-rarely-had time to ourselves!
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| early October's chalkboard drawing |
Each morning (well, to be honest, most mornings during the week, but not always - just trying to keep it real lest anyone think we actually have it together), we gather together before breakfast to connect in a sacred manner to begin our day: we light candles, recite our verses and sing our seasonal songs. We also memorize and recite a new poem each month (or more often if there is an upcoming festival that inspires a new poem) that reflects where we are in the Great Wheel of the Year or relates specifically to a Festival or Holy Day. Sometimes we will simply recite the poem each morning, other times we will work more deeply with the poem through written or other creative actvities.
Our poem for the month of October:
The Knight by Molly de Havas
(from "A Journey Through Time..." by Heather Thomas)
I ride on my horse with my sword in my hand,
I ride through the wooded and mountainous land.
I battle with dragons, with giants I fight.;
Defending the weak and upholding the right.
My sword is of steel and my helmet of gold,
I dare all adventures, my heart is so bold.
My armour is shining as bright as the light,
And I am a gallant and glorious Knight.
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| the friend |
We tidied up our Altar...
below is the "gnome knight" Panther made, and he is guarding the seeds the kids received during our Fall Equinox celebration. Also pictured is the dragon candle I made last year, which Panther will not allow me to light because he loves it so much. I keep telling him we can make a new one, maybe an even better one, but he just won't have it. Ya gotta choose your battles, so there it is, one year later...a little dusty, but none the worse for wear.
Each year we have wonderful dragon bread at our Co-op gathering, made by the Partridges, and silly me, I forgot to bring a piece home for Dove! What a thoughtless meanie I am!
So, she and I baked our own loaf of dragon bread:
There's nothing like a spoon dripping with cinammon-butter-sugar after days of being sick and your mom won't let you have sweet things in order to keep your immune system strong. Ach...the nerve of some mothers who care about immune systems. Pah and pooh!
I think our drgonbread turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself! (Thanks to Mama MeShell for sharing their recipe! - mine wasn't as blissfully wonderful, but it got eaten, so it couldn't have been that bad!)
It's a good thing I got the picture when I did...as soon as Panther got home and saw it, the kids decimated it (they definitely slayed that dragon!)
While the boy was gone, we got outside for some fresh air and some lingonberry harvesting!
Dove made a wonderfully tart lingonberry sauce for our friends to take home with them to add to their dinner. Good thing they were hoping to get our chicken pox...otherwise one might think twice before taking food prepared by a child with pox!
While we were all disappointed that Dove and BuffaloHeart had to stay home on Michaelmas this year, I am glad I had it together enough and grateful to my friend for taking Panther to make it special for Dove!
~love~
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