The Path of the Hearth Fire

Many years ago, my mentor and friend Merlin Sythove wrote a wonderful article about the path of the Hearth Fire. When he wrote the article he was a stay-at-home dad and was looking after his 1 year old daughter. In it he explains how you can walk a spiritual path while still being able to spend most of your energy on the daily grind of life.

In many ways it was a prediction to what would be the work of his life – the Wiccan Rede magazine and the Silver Circle website and forum. He had already began publishing Wiccan Rede magazine many years earlier, but it was in the years to follow that he would be most prolific. He wrote many articles, developed his views on his moon calendar, moderated email lists and a forum and taught workshops for beginners and advanced students. In general inspired everybody who was active in the Pagan community in the Netherlands as well as abroad. If he had not chosen to walk his path of the Hearth Fire, he would not have made such a lasting impression on our community. I would not be the person I am today if I hadn't met him and his wife Morgana.

Sadly, Merlin passed away on the 3^rd of January 2012 after a short but hard struggle with cancer. Thanks to his path on the hearth fire, much of his inspiring work is still with us.

Staying in touch with our spiritual side is a problem that many of us encounter, and I am one of those people. I am a single mother of four children (between age 1 and 8) and I live in a country where I have no family to help me with the kids. My Brothers and Sisters in the Craft either live on the other side of the country or abroad. It isn't easy to find a connection with the Gods or the Land in between washing nappies and making the children do their homework. I have started this blog in an attempt to follow in my friend's footsteps: by writing, I hope deepen my connecting with my Craft, Gods and the Land.

I will be starting with a project. It is an homage to Merlin's work with the moon calendar. For each moon in the coming year, I intend write an entry with my thoughts on the moon, the different names and the connection with what is going on in Nature.

Years ago, I did a similar project by writing a pathworking (guided visualisation) for each moon of the year. When I did that project, I mostly did it on my own. This time I am lucky enough to be able to start my ambulation through the moon year with one of my dear coven members, and I am grateful for her company.

For those of you interested in reading the article by Merlin on his Path of the Hearth fire:

http://www.archive.silvercircle.org/1986_autumn_hearth_fire.htm

The way in which Merlin developed his moon calendar can be found here:

http://silvercircle.org/mk_history.htm