Equinox ponderings

The chief emblem of the Faery Faith is the Mound, embodied by both the Skull and the Cauldron. The Mound is at once the Witching Mountain (where all manner of night-dwellers come to Dance midst the Rose before the break of Dawn) and the Vessel—Womb/Tomb—of rebirth. The pale severed head is this vessel, the Charnel House. The rising body of the Land, shaped Artfully, is the terrible door to "god and the Dead". Our own English (a Germanic language) has at its root, hidden cleverly, the original understanding of the divine:

'god (n.)

Old English god "supreme being, deity; the Christian God; image of a god; godlike person," from Proto-Germanic *guthan (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch god, Old High German got, German Gott, Old Norse guð, Gothic guþ), from PIE *ghut- "that which is invoked" (cognates: Old Church Slavonic zovo "to call," Sanskrit huta- "invoked," an epithet of Indra), from root *gheu(e)- "to call, invoke."'

And here is the interesting part...

'But some trace it to PIE *ghu-to- "poured," from root *gheu- "to pour, pour a libation" (source of Greek khein "to pour," also in the phrase khute gaia "poured earth," REFERRING TO A BURIAL MOUND; see found (v.2)). "Given the Greek facts, the Germanic form may have referred in the first instance to the spirit immanent in a burial mound" [Watkins]. See also Zeus. In either case, not related to good.'

Gods and the Dead—the same family of beings. The great "goal" of the Faery Faith is apotheosis. It is only in death one can be reborn as a god, sired in Light and Wisdom. This Light is the gnostic flame, the Cunning Fire. The root of the word "found", from above, is relevant here, the shaping and casting of metal, for the Bearer/Giver of the Cunning Fire is said to be Tubal Qayin, the first Smith. The Shaper of the Soul upon the Anvil of Life. The Fallen Angels—those who sired the first witches and opened the road to Faery for humans—especially their leader, were said to teach the secrets of metallurgy. It is also no coincidence that the symbol of Cain is the skull.

It is only in Western thought that we put a wedge between the spirits. Meh. They are the same kinds of beings. Knowing this, there is every reason to give great reverence to the Dead. The gods wear their faces, and their faces are the divine.

It is at the crossroads of the Feast of Equinox that the whole world is renewed. "Day and Night are equal in our sight." The world balanced on the Edge of the Knife. The Green Gown is spread open as the Maiden clads the sky around her, dropping her dress to run amok. The Huntress and the Hunte(r/d). Chase Her and you may find yourself chased! Run wild! The Mound shall burst with the Most Ancient Dead, the Elves and Fae Ones, who carry the Greening with joy across the face of the world. Shake it open, Greenman! Your gaping maw spews forth as much as it swallows. Amen.