Category: Rite Thinking

Rites, rituals, and traditions, holidays and special foods, the rhythms of the seasons and the days, illuminated.

Primitive Ground, Rite Thinking

Easter Spirits and Spirituality

Steven Quevedo

Spring Springs Early There’s the calendar on my workday desk which marks time passing with boxes and lines and numbers. Then there’s the calendar Nature keeps. Spring came a little early in March this year. The birds of the huerta began to sing, common swifts and Eurasian blackbirds and magpies and collared doves, monk parakeets and even house sparrows– just a little too loud! Like kids who been couped up in the car on a rainy road trip suddenly sing when their favorite song comes on. I was struck by the marvel of the world suddenly growing warmer, and brighter, … Continue reading Easter Spirits and Spirituality

Rite Thinking

Spirituality in Rites and Rituals: Day of the Dead Offerings

Steven Quevedo

Ofrenda Ritual Offerings to The Dead This column, Rite Thinking, will explore human spirituality in rites, rituals, holidays, and other spiritual practices. The question we’ll focus on is, what do these rites mean? What is their purpose and intention? I will explore, both here and in the column Primitive Ground, why this is the fundamental question. Without further ado, we’ll begin with the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) altars and offerings known as ofrenda. Spooky Spiritual Harvest Rituals Each year at harvest time, the ancients of the older cultures of the world say, the veil between the worlds … Continue reading Spirituality in Rites and Rituals: Day of the Dead Offerings