Spiritual Guidance by Word, Card, and Star
Ali and I almost jogged right over a great black snake in the park this morning. Alison said: Black snake stretched, unwound across the path. We stopped to watch in the steam and sun-slant of morning as it melted back into the brush. It was … [Continue reading]
In the previous post of this series about the emergent / progressive Christian Wild Goose festival, I talked about the courage of Christians facing moral contradictions between church authority and Biblical doctrine on one hand, and the call of heart … [Continue reading]
At the emergent/progressive Christian Wild Goose festival this year, I was extremely fortunate to meet a new kind of Christian. I was raised with a sort of American Zen / New Age philosophy. But growing up in the American Southeast, I met a lot of … [Continue reading]
Ali and I just got back from the Wild Goose festival, a gathering of "emergent" Christians -- those who, broadly speaking, are seeking a way to reconcile Biblical authority and church teachings with issues of justice, technological and social change, … [Continue reading]
This trio of words — inspired by the Summer Solstice — are completely unrelated historically, but their phonosemantics are remarkably similar. Sun Sun derives from Proto Indo European swen or suwen, a slightly modified version of the base … [Continue reading]
I do love my cat. Gods, do I love my cat. Cu Gwyn is his name, meaning "White Dog" in Welsh; we chose it for him because he's a black cat, and that's the kind of sense of humor we have. Cu wanders the house at random, mostly sleeping or looking … [Continue reading]
The Proto Indo Europeans of the steppe near the Black Sea had no word for "ocean". They had mori or mari, meaning "lake" or "sea," but this most likely referred to the sparkling quality of its surface (cf PIE mer, "clear, sparkle") and did not carry … [Continue reading]
On Wednesday we visited the Angel Oak near Charleston, South Carolina. It is a vast thing, probably over a thousand years old, twisted and hoary and huge, like a cross between a live oak and an elephant. From a short distance away, it looks like a … [Continue reading]
This week we're in Charleston, South Carolina, visiting the Angel Oak. It's considerably sunnier and wetter here than it is back in Pittsburgh: the earth is sandier, the blue skies paler, and the waters warmer. In the morning we went out jogging … [Continue reading]
Some time ago I was meditating on relationship and boundary-setting -- specifically with a friend who threw a bit of a fit at me. She asked me to do her a big favor, trying to downplay the size of the favor in the asking. I refused (reasonably, I … [Continue reading]
It's been a cold, rainy spring here in southwestern Pennsylvania, and though there are lilies blooming in the garden and birds clamoring in the yard, I'm nevertheless wrapped under two blankets, the windows are shut tight and the rain and wind are … [Continue reading]
A puzzle: Do you exist? Descartes famously answered this one by saying cogito, ergo sum: I think, therefore I am. Is it true, though? Does "thinking" have to be attached to a "thinker"? And what is "thinking" (cogitare) anyway? For Christians, … [Continue reading]
My old blog, the Word of the Day, is defunct, and I’m getting ready to take it down. Before I do, though, I’m going to repost some of the best words here over the next few weeks. Enjoy! Temperance Ultimately, temperance comes from Latin … [Continue reading]
Scott Reimers over at Patheos wrote a fascinating post recently suggesting that 'Pagan' was an unfortunate name for our religion (or family of religions) and that we should change it. Why? Because, according to Reimers, it's not really a word for … [Continue reading]
My old blog, the Word of the Day, is defunct, and I’m getting ready to take it down. Before I do, though, I’m going to repost some of the best words here over the next few weeks. Enjoy! Sphere Sphere comes from the beautiful Greek word … [Continue reading]
Jeff Lilly is a Druid, linguist, and author. He writes about Druid things -- meditation, relationship with Spirit, soulful fulfillment in scholarship and art, reconnecting the ancient with the modern, creating beauty, and healing the world. He also dabbles in all kinds of fiction, from the speculative to the fantastic. He lives with his wife Ali and their cat Cu in Seattle, WA.
The Atheneum: a secluded school on a hidden island in the midst of the North Sea. There they teach forbidden knowledge -- the secret history of mankind, control of matter and energy, transcendence of time, space, and all mortal limitations... Every year, a select few students are chosen to attend. Some graduate, and join a shadowy worldwide society. And some are never heard from again. Two new students have arrived this year. One is an orphan who accidentally cast an unspeakable curse on her cousin; and the other is a farm girl with a secret power. But they might be too dangerous to be allowed to live. Click here to visit my Amazon author page.
Mere America
Mere America is an alternate history of a mirror-reversed America, in which the California redwoods march down the east coast, and the Pacific breakers pound Manhattan Island. From the original Viking incursion in British Columbia to the technocrats of the 20th-century Iroquois, from the victory of the Confederacy (built on slavery and gold) to President Martin Luther King of the Free States of America, "Mere America" follows the grand sweep of history through the lives of key characters such as Leif Erikson, Virginia Dare, Robert E. Lee, Bright Path (Jim Thorpe), and Ronald Reagan. Part One, "First Nations", concerns the first clashes between Europeans and the 'Namgis, the Cherokee, the Muwekma, and the Mohawk. Click here to visit my Amazon author page.
I’ve gathered together my best short fiction, along with an introduction on fiction writing, and postscripts describing how each story came to be written, and put them together into a single volume. Named after the final short story, Wild Enough and Free is an eclectic collection that contains science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, and general weirdness. Click here to visit my Amazon author page.
