A Bucket of Ashes, A Bucket of Wine

O Winebringer, bring us a bucket of wine,
For, it is morning and the dew is falling from the sky.
Friends, drink all the blood from this bucket…

Hafiz

In the pre-dawn light this morning, I carried a bucket of ashes out to the place where the new labyrinth garden will be. Snow is arriving here later this afternoon, and I wanted to spread wood ashes over the newly prepared beds to add nutrients to the soil. There is no wind today, so the ashes will stay until the snow covers them. Then as the snow melts, the water and ash will become part of the soil – nourishment for the plants that are not yet here…

This new garden is a gift to Hecate. An offering to a Goddess who watches over us during the times of our Underworld journeys, our Winters. She knows more than most about the richness of ashes. And then, She holds Her lantern aloft for us when we are ready to emerge…