The Useful Thinker

      It has been two years since my awakening, and this is the first year where I have really paid attention to astrology, the equinoxes and solstices, and the path of the sun. It's a little difficult for a neophyte because I know very little of the traditions of these days or how they should be celebrated. What's more, the winter solstice will take place on a Wednesday this year, and I will be working hard that day as usual, so whatever celebration I can do will be muted. Is there anyone else out there who is new to all this? Are you feeling this way too?     Well, I thought I would look into what the Winter Solstice is and how it can be celebrated this year. Apparently, Yule comes from the Norse word Hweol. The Norse apparently believed that the sun was a wheel of fire that spun away from the earth, and then back toward it, and that the Yule was the day that it began to return to earth again. So it is the celebration of the returning of the wheel, a time...

     November 11 marks the anniversary of the end of the first world war. In the United States, this was originally celebrated as Armistice Day, but sometime after the second world war, it became known as Veterans Day to honour everyone who wore the uniform in service to this nation.      Other nations celebrate this day as a memorial day, honoring those who died fighting for their country, but the US already celebrates this day in May. I personally have always been very patriotic toward my country, so I have previously celebrated these days with great pride in my nations and the individuals who have served in uniform to preserve the American way of life.      Now after awakening spiritually, there have been many choices before me, unfolding like paths in a mountain forest, winding along before me in trails that, once taken, will not intersect with the others. One such trail is pacifism, which seems diametrically opposed to wars, ...