July, 2017

July Events:

Note these events are listed for information purposes only. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me. All times MDT.

Jun 30-Jul 2:  Otafest 2017 at Telus Convention Centre. http://otafest.com

Jul 1: Canada Day. Happy 150^th for the Dominion; we’re sorry we’re not perfect.

Jul 7:  Calgary Stampede begins. You’ve been warned...

Jul 8:  Tinne/Holly Tree Month begins, according to Robert Graves.

Jul 8, 10:00 am:  Calgary New Age Craft Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.

Jul 8, 10:07 pm:  Full (Buck or Blessing) Moon.

Jul 12, 7:30 pm:  Institute of Shamanic Medicine Open House. RSVP to info (at) shamanicmedicine (dot) ca.

Jul 15, 10:00 am:  Hergest’s Magickal Mystery Garage Sale, Part II. Contact me for location.

Jul 15, 11:00 am:  Let’s Get Witchy!  Meet and Greet.  https://www.meetup.com/meetup-group-BWnukeJp/

Jul 22-23:  Vul-Con 2017 in Vulcan.  Info: http://www.vulcanconvention.com

Jul 23, 3:46 am:  New Moon. Tinne/Holly Lunar Month begins.

Jul 27-30:  Calgary Folk Music Festival.  http://www.calgaryfolkfest.com

Jul 28:  An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power opens in select locations; more next week.

Jul 29, 8:00 pm: Paranormal Investigation at Twin Cities Hotel, Longview, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.

Jul 29, 7:30 pm:  Covenant of Gaia Church of Alberta Lammas Ritual. http://www.cogcoa.ab.ca or Facebook.

Jul 30, 10:00 am:  Diagon Alley in Kensington.

Jul 31-Aug 1:  Traditional Lughnasadh, Freysblot, Lammas...

Aug 4-7:  Panfest 2017, south of Edmonton. http://www.panfest.ca

Writing the Book of Silence

No, this isn’t a book review, but to understand my context, it contains a long spoiler to Duncton Stone, the sixth and final book of William Horwood’s Duncton Wood series.  All books are highly recommended, though somewhat dark.  The first book is a standalone, and reading the remaining five (making two trilogies) is unnecessary.  The books are high fantasy in the tradition of Watership Down, about communities of moles living under the standing stones of Britain. There is somewhat of a pagan slant to them, although the third book, Duncton Found, contains a Jesus allegory.

In Duncton Stone, a female scholar and scribemole named Privet is seeking the lost seventh sacred book of moledom, The Book of Silence. Eventually she comes to realize that the book is “lost” because it has yet to be written, and that she has to be the one to write it. Going through a dark period personally and for moledom in general, she throws everything she has into the writing of the Book.  At one point, she is interrupted by her adoptive child Whillan, and lovingly allows him to inscribe his name on a page.  She continues her endeavour to write the definitive Book of Silence, driven to the point of insanity.  Finally, out of madness and frustration, she furiously crosses out everything she has written, but cannot bring herself to cross out the one remaining word, Whillan’s name written in his tentative paw.  And thus is the great work completed.
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END OF SPOILER.
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Facebook followers (feel free to do so; if you send me a nice message I may even Friend you) are aware of my now nine-year quest to end two lifetimes’ worth of hoarding, both from my mother-in-law who passed in March 2008, and of Margarian, who passed last August.  And you have probably been hearing my frustration over dealing with paper archives, whether personal, or Craft-, Mensa-, or Interfaith-related. The thing is, having had no real children, the papers will be the only thing to remain of me (and Mar) when I meet my scheduled appointment with the MAN IN BLACK.  And as an erstwhile and physical elder, I am in effect writing my own Book of Silence, deleting all the chaff of three lives plus Evergreen, COGCOA, and Calgary Inter-Faith that was, to determine what will survive.  I some cases these decisions have to be made quickly.  In others, I’m beginning to accumulate boxes of papers that require a second and even a third sorting, a process which may have to wait until I move to smaller space next year (perhaps? sooner).  As my organizer (big plug for Laurie of Simply Neat Ltd.; tell her I sent you) has taught me, I have to keep that which reflects who I am now: the stuff I love, the stuff that is beautiful, the stuff that is useful. To which I need to add (perhaps as a subset of “what is useful”), what I need to leave behind: my legacy, if any.  The recent deaths of Mar and my cousin, and my own recent health problems, have taught me that the MAN IN BLACK can come at any time.  The Christian subtext I grew up with, that "pie in the sky will come by and by", no longer applies; nor does my lifelong habit of procrastinating. I can’t wait until “later”.  Later is now.

June Events:

Note these events are listed for information purposes only. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me. All times MDT.

May 27, 7:00 pm:  Paranormal Investigation at East Coulee School Museum, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.

Jun 4, 10:00 am:  Calgary Lilac Festival on 4^th St SW. http://lilacfestival.net

Jun 4, 7:00 pm:  Paranormal Pub Night at James Joyce, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.

Jun 5-11:  Canadian Environment Week:  “Why climate action matters to you”.

Jun 6-8:  Mayor’s Environment Expo at City Hall.

Jun 9, 7:10 am:  Full (Strawberry or Strong Sun) Moon.

Jun 9-11:  Paranormal Investigation at Clarion Hotel, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.  Ticketed separately from:

Jun 10-11:  Calgary Horror Con at Clarion Hotel. http://horror-con.ca 

Jun 10:  Duir/Oak Tree Month begins, according to Robert Graves.

Jun 10, 10:00 am:  Calgary New Age Craft Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.

Jun 10, 3:00 pm:  Let’s Get Witchy!  Meet and Greet.  https://www.meetup.com/meetup-group-BWnukeJp/

Jun 17, 10:00 am:  Hergest’s Magical Mystery “Losing My Religion” Garage Sale.

Jun 17, 10:00 am:  Calgary Heathens Midsummer Community Ritual and Games. Info: Calgary Heathens on Facebook.

Jun 18:  Father’s Day.

Jun 18, 2:00 pm:  Dances with Witches. Info: Calgary Pagan Network on Facebook.

Jun 20, 10:24 pm:  Summer Solstice.

Jun 22-26:  FreezerBurn, Alberta Regional Burning Man Festival. http://www.freezerburn.org

Jun 23, 8:31 pm:  New Moon. Duir/Oak Lunar Month begins.

Quest for the Golden Hare, by Bamber Gascoigne (Cape, 1983)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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I recently unearthed this book while unboxing my collection, and had been hesitating to read it because I didn't want my own quest to end. It is, of course, the companion to Kit Williams' phenomenal Masquerade, the puzzle-book/treasure hunt that captivated Britain and the world from 1979 to 1981. While the titular golden hare, crafted by Williams, has long since been found, Masquerade still remains a combination children's story and art book, featuring anagrams, magic squares, and other hidden puzzles. (It was even used as a story-telling/meditation at a community Ostara circle in Calgary several years ago.)  One still can, at one's leisure, attempt to find where the jewel was buried, and even knowing the location and Williams' methodology, try to reconstruct it. To be honest, I skipped over the portion of the book dealing with the actual construction of the puzzle, and the "perfect solution", in order to do just that.
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Bamber Gascoigne is a British journalist who was present with Williams for the burying of the hare, and Quest for the Golden Hare documents the project from conception to execution, to the final discovery of the jewel under controversial (nay, disastrous) circumstances. It includes a number of profiles of the more avid hunters and their ingenious, but mostly misguided, attempts to make sense of the clues and red herrings Williams inserted into the book. It also includes the "perfect solution" submitted by two treasure-hunters coincidental with the finding of the jewel.
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I strongly doubt that treasure hunts like this could be done today, as the internet facilitates discussion and collusion much more efficiently than it was 35 years ago. The two-year hunt for the hare could be reduced to weeks, perhaps even days. But the puzzle, and the story, endures.

Sacred Trees of Alberta, Part 2

Last month, I began a list of “sacred” or iconic trees of Alberta, gleaned from Alberta Trees of Renown: An Honour Roll of Alberta Trees. (I just noticed this book came from my mentor, Kate’s collection.)   I’ve also been using Google Earth to locate some of the trees on Calgary’s "heritage" list, though many are just distinguished neighbourhood trees.  There may be an eventual Part 3, but for now, here’s Part 2:

 

8.     Lord’s Willow, a bay-leaf willow, planted about 1906 at the home of W.E. Lord, a Red Deer merchant.  The house has been replaced with the Willow Estates apartments (52°16'26.52"N, 113°48'18.89"W), but the tree is reportedly well-loved by locals.

9.     Spirit Island Trees:  Spirit Island on Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park http://ow.ly/hJyb30a3Axb is iconically Canadian, and the Engelmann Spruce and Lodgepole Pine trees on it seem to act as a focal point for the mountain vista beyond them. Additionally, a large lodgepole at the head of the island seems to be a “survival” tree, with the original trunk pushed over, and a newer, thicker tree arising from one of the branches.

10. Son-of-Tree-In-The-Road:  In 1947, back when National Parks meant something, the builders of the then-TransCanada Highway (now Bow Valley Parkway to Johnson’s Canyon) split the road to go around a large White Spruce.  The original tree was felled by a storm in 1984, but descendants of this tree carry on the role.  51°13'7.36"N, 115°46'25.44"W.

11.  Survival Tree, Cypress Hills:  A point of interest in Cypress Hills Provincial Park, this Lodgepole Pine fell over years ago, and the upper branches served as separate trunks off the former main stem. 49°36'48.61"N, 110° 4'44.71"W.

12.  Medicine Tree, Spruce Grove:  Another sprawling Manitoba Maple, Forestry indicated this was 29 meters long and 9.2 meters high in 1986.  Location is unclear; geocaching.ca mentions a “Medicine Tree” cache at 53° 38.936 N, 113° 51.660 W, but this may be a Diamond Willow.

13. The Sun Tree:  This 19-metre Balsam Poplar was the centre of the Indian Village at the Calgary Stampede between 1908 and 1975, just outside what is now the entrance of BMO Centre. When the site of the Indian Village was moved in 1975, the Samaritan Club of Calgary constructed Suntree Park as a Centennial project, adjacent to the now-Coca Cola Stage. Sadly, the tree is now gone, its site now a planter for other trees.

14.  High River Medicine Tree:  This iconic Black Cottonwood, featured on the town logo, was originally two trees located on a ranch just west of High River.  A branch of one tree merged with the trunk of an adjacent one about 10 feet above ground, forming an “H”.  Sacred to the Blackfoot, it fell during a windstorm in 1958. Residents salvaged part of the tree and housed it at George Lane Memorial Park, where they also built a statue commemorating the tree. 50°34'42.78"N, 113°52'35.52"W. Part of the tree is reportedly in the Museum of the Highwood.

May Events:

Note these events are listed for information purposes only. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me. All times MDT.

May 1:  Beltane.

May 1, 11:00 am: First Annual Lethbridge Pagan Cultural Festival, at Galt Gardens (Stafford Drive Exit on Hwy 3).  https://www.facebook.com/LethPaganCulturalFest/

May 3, 10:33 am:  Mercury Retrograde ends.

May 4th:  Talk-Like-A-Jedi Day.

May 4:  Cinco de Cuatro, for fans of  “Arrested Development”.

May 5:  Cinco de Mayo.

May 5-7: CRLC Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show at Vivo Centre, 11950 Country Village Link NE.  Info: http://www.crlc.ca

May 5-7:  Body, Soul, and Spirit Expo at Grey Eagle Event Centre. http://bodysoulspiritexpo.com

May 5-7, 12-14:  Servants Anonymous/Calgary Herald Book Sale at Crossroads Market.

May 6, 7:30 pm:  COGCOA Coffee Cauldron. http://www.cogcoa.ab.ca

May 7, 7:00 pm: Paranormal Pub Night at Kensington Pub, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.

May 10, 3:42 pm:  Full (Flower) Moon.

May 12-14:  CBC/Calgary Reads Book Sale at Calgary Curling Club.

May 13:  Uath/Hawthorn Tree Month begins, according to Robert Graves.

May 13: World Fair Trade Day. “Human Chains for Fair Trade and the Planet”. http://wfto.com
May 13, 10:00 am:  Calgary New Age Craft Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.

May 14:  Mother’s Day.

May 19-22:  Gaia Gathering, the Canadian National Pagan Conference, at Clarion Hotel and Conference Centre.  http://www.gaiagathering.com

May 20-21:  Paranormal Investigation at Twin Cities Hotel, Longview, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta.  Tickets through Eventbrite.

May 21, 2:00 pm:  Dances with Witches. Info: Calgary Pagan Network on Facebook.

May 22: Victoria Day.

May 25, 1:44 pm:  New Moon. Uath/Hawthorn Lunar Month begins.

May 27, 7:00 pm:  Heathen Meet and Greet. Info: Calgary Heathens on Facebook.

May 27, 7:00 pm:  Paranormal Investigation at East Coulee School Museum, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.