New Thoughts on the New Moon -- On Gavin's Passing from October 2016 by Yvonne

      It seems unreal that Mabon and a rare black moon has passed and it has been nearly a month since Gavin passed away from diverticulitis and its complications. I think of Gavin’s passing as “graduation”, though not many can readily grasp this idea about death.

     Mabon, in conjunction with Rosh Hashanah and Hijra, Islamic New Year, has us thinking about new beginnings and the fall of the year as harvest time finishes up and the excitement grows as we approach the cowan holiday of Hallowe’en coupled with the upcoming Samhain. (We celebrate Samhain on November 14 this year.)

      I don’t know where I would be in this grieving process if it wasn’t for the tremendous support from our many friends, notably the Unitarian Fellowship (link) here in Beckley, WV, Lady Rae, Ron and Raven, Brushwood Folklore Center, Cucumber and Co, and the patience of our students, even though I have managed to get through the pile of mail from the last couple of months. I would ask for everyone to please be patient with me as it is VERY new to be single after nearly 50 years of companionship, even with our notable ups and downs. I am so grateful to our colleagues and friends, and to my daily meditation practice for helping me keep my thoughts in some kind of order.

      I also have to relearn all the details of the daily operating procedures of the Church and School of Wicca because I was content to let Gavin run things all these years. Bronwyn (Jo) and Cucumber and Co have been helpful in working with me to more fully automate the School’s correspondence, but it all takes time and seems overwhelming now. I can’t say enough what a blessing it is to live in these mountains of West Virginia with such wonderfully supportive people.

      Those mountain people managed to put together a great service to remember my partner. Here is the link to a video of the service since so many could not afford to come, with Bronwyn leading the service and the UU Squad helping out with snacks and support. I am so grateful Gavin and I moved here in 1993, because I do feel as if West Virginia is my spiritual home.

      And finally, in light of new beginnings, I really want to say that I find comfort in eating thoughtfully, following the recommendations of The China Study , self-directed aquaerobics at least twice a week, and my daily meditation practice. Where would we be without our comforting daily rituals? Blessed be to you all, and thank you for your kind words and thoughts.

Please note that this blog was originally published through www.wicca.org in October 2016 and has been moved over to Dancing Wiccans in January 2017.