Montague Whitsel
@montaguewhitsel.bsky.social
Earthen Mystic--Poet--Thinker and Writer. I am interested in Nature, Music, Science, Aesthetics, Literature, Mythology, Naturalistic Mysticism and Spirituality.
My Blogspot: montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
My Blogspot: montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
Pinned
The Fires of Yule – An Imaginative Path Through the Winter Solstice Season (18 November 2023)
[An Ecumenical Pagan Approach] This old book of mine is narrated by three Neo-Pagan practitioners living together in an old Victorian hous...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
A Guide for pathing in stories, myths, and rituals through the Winter Solstice season. In this book, the reader is led by three Neo-Pagan practitioners through a calendar of 13 nights and days, from 13 - 25 December.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-...
Dated in late November, this poem was written in a dancing frolic (can you tell?)_ as I was entering into the aura of the Winter Solstice Season, imbibing the Spirit of Yule back in 2021. I sometimes get lit-up for the Yule in November. Do you?
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-fa...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-fa...
A Faery Wood Carol (27 November 2021)
Walkin’ in a Faery Wood With Christmas tide a’comin’_ We leapt for joy as all we could; Swirlin’ in the dance. With bells the Faeryfolk we...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
December 13, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Dated in late November, this poem was written in a dancing frolic (can you tell?)_ as I was entering into the aura of the Winter Solstice Season, imbibing the Spirit of Yule back in 2021. I sometimes get lit-up for the Yule in November. Do you?
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-fa...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-fa...
A few short lines to muse accompany the start of a Journey into the Yule
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
December 13, 2025 at 7:03 PM
A few short lines to muse accompany the start of a Journey into the Yule
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
"The beauty and strangeness of the world may fill the eyes with its cordial refreshment. Equally, it may offer the heart a dish of terror. On one side is radiance. On another is the abyss."
- Mary Oliver Upstream (2016)
- Mary Oliver Upstream (2016)
December 6, 2025 at 7:33 PM
"The beauty and strangeness of the world may fill the eyes with its cordial refreshment. Equally, it may offer the heart a dish of terror. On one side is radiance. On another is the abyss."
- Mary Oliver Upstream (2016)
- Mary Oliver Upstream (2016)
"It is sometimes helpful to let our imaginations roam, even if our ultimate goal is to come back down to Earth and explain what's going on in the kitchen." (6)
- Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time (2010)
- Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time (2010)
December 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
"It is sometimes helpful to let our imaginations roam, even if our ultimate goal is to come back down to Earth and explain what's going on in the kitchen." (6)
- Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time (2010)
- Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time (2010)
A Guide for pathing in stories, myths, and rituals through the Winter Solstice season. In this book, the reader is led by three Neo-Pagan practitioners through a calendar of 13 nights and days, from 13 - 25 December.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-...
The Fires of Yule – An Imaginative Path Through the Winter Solstice Season (18 November 2023)
[An Ecumenical Pagan Approach] This old book of mine is narrated by three Neo-Pagan practitioners living together in an old Victorian hous...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:31 PM
A Guide for pathing in stories, myths, and rituals through the Winter Solstice season. In this book, the reader is led by three Neo-Pagan practitioners through a calendar of 13 nights and days, from 13 - 25 December.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-...
A Wonderful Winter Solstice Season, however you do or don't observe and celebrate it. - Montague
December 6, 2025 at 7:27 PM
A Wonderful Winter Solstice Season, however you do or don't observe and celebrate it. - Montague
This poetic narrative concerns a visitation by Nicholas and the Elves, which is just as likely -- as in the olden dayes -- to happen on this date (6 December); as it is the traditional Feast of Nicholas--as on Christmas Eve.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-ch...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-ch...
Visitation (24 December; Mid-Night)
[A tale of Nicholas and the Elves] ...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:25 PM
This poetic narrative concerns a visitation by Nicholas and the Elves, which is just as likely -- as in the olden dayes -- to happen on this date (6 December); as it is the traditional Feast of Nicholas--as on Christmas Eve.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-ch...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-ch...
December 6, 2025 at 7:23 PM
December 6, 2025 at 7:23 PM
As I move into the Winter Solstice Season, I post this last blog of the series on the GardenTreeAlley motif in C. Bronte's last novel, Villette; bringing to an end a three month journey with the characters involved; i.e., Lucy Snowe and M Paul Emmanuel.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
Garden, Tree and Alley in Villette V
Chapter XXXI – “The Dryad,” continued “The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something and to tell what was see...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:13 PM
As I move into the Winter Solstice Season, I post this last blog of the series on the GardenTreeAlley motif in C. Bronte's last novel, Villette; bringing to an end a three month journey with the characters involved; i.e., Lucy Snowe and M Paul Emmanuel.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
Reposted by Montague Whitsel
Got out for a walk today. The sun feels so good. The winds from the last few days have fully stripped the trees. #Photography #nature #Pittsburgh
November 29, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Got out for a walk today. The sun feels so good. The winds from the last few days have fully stripped the trees. #Photography #nature #Pittsburgh
The fourth blog in this series focuses on relationships; between Lucy Snowe and M Paul Emmanuel contrasted with her relationship with John Graham Bretton. Conciliation and friendship become themes of Garden--Tree--Alley complex in Villette.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
Garden, Tree and Alley in Villette IV
C hapter XXXI – “The Dryad” “You could not discover the limits of soul, not even if you travelled down every road. Such is the depth of ...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:47 AM
The fourth blog in this series focuses on relationships; between Lucy Snowe and M Paul Emmanuel contrasted with her relationship with John Graham Bretton. Conciliation and friendship become themes of Garden--Tree--Alley complex in Villette.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
Reposted by Montague Whitsel
BREAKING #Pope Leo XIV Inaugurates New Free Health Clinic for the Poor at the #Vatican with Volunteer Health Professionals
www.catholicnewsworld.com/2025/11/brea...
www.catholicnewsworld.com/2025/11/brea...
BREAKING Pope Leo XIV Inaugurates New Free Health Clinic for the Poor at the Vatican with Volunteer Health Professionals
Catholic Church, Catholic News World, Vatican, Pope Francis, Breaking, Pope News, c na, Catholic Headlines,
www.catholicnewsworld.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
BREAKING #Pope Leo XIV Inaugurates New Free Health Clinic for the Poor at the #Vatican with Volunteer Health Professionals
www.catholicnewsworld.com/2025/11/brea...
www.catholicnewsworld.com/2025/11/brea...
The third blog in this series is focused on the emerging friendship between Lucy Snowe and M Paul Emmanuel, explored through encounters and conversations they have in the Alley near the Old Methuselah Tree in the Garden.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
Garden, Tree and Alley in Villette III
CHAPTER XV “The Long Vacation” “When I talk of friendship, I mean _true_ friendship,” he repeated emphatically; and I could hardly belie...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:33 PM
The third blog in this series is focused on the emerging friendship between Lucy Snowe and M Paul Emmanuel, explored through encounters and conversations they have in the Alley near the Old Methuselah Tree in the Garden.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
The night crept on apace, www.charlesdickensinfo.com/quotes/the-n...
The night crept on apace, | Charles Dickens Info
The night crept on apace, the moon went down, the stars grew pale and dim, and morning, cold as they, slowly approached. Then, from behind a distant hill, the noble sun rose up, driving the mists in p...
www.charlesdickensinfo.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:57 AM
The night crept on apace, www.charlesdickensinfo.com/quotes/the-n...
This second blog in the series deals a relationship that has faltered and an attempt by Lucy Snowe to distance herself from it and deal with her grief_ by a symbolic burial. Then_ she is confronted with an apparition.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
November 9, 2025 at 1:09 AM
This second blog in the series deals a relationship that has faltered and an attempt by Lucy Snowe to distance herself from it and deal with her grief_ by a symbolic burial. Then_ she is confronted with an apparition.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
Reposted by Montague Whitsel
Dashed out to Yew Tree Tarn this afternoon to capture the autumn display. I was about half an hour too late for the best light but was happy with these two snatched from the roadside with the treetops illuminated.
November 8, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Dashed out to Yew Tree Tarn this afternoon to capture the autumn display. I was about half an hour too late for the best light but was happy with these two snatched from the roadside with the treetops illuminated.
Reposted by Montague Whitsel
Here are some nice mushrooms
November 8, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Here are some nice mushrooms
Reposted by Montague Whitsel
This morning was an epic sunrise in the New Forest. Really nice to get out there with some gorgeous conditions. When there is a low lying mist my favourite place is an old train line which was closed 60 years ago. #EastCoastKin #Scape #Treescape #Horse #Photography #mist
November 8, 2025 at 7:52 PM
This morning was an epic sunrise in the New Forest. Really nice to get out there with some gorgeous conditions. When there is a low lying mist my favourite place is an old train line which was closed 60 years ago. #EastCoastKin #Scape #Treescape #Horse #Photography #mist
Hello everyone! I've been working on a series of blogs for 3 months, going deeper in Charlotte Bronte's last novel. This is the first in a series of five blogs on the role of the Garden, Tree and Forbidden Alley in Lucy Snowe's life at the pensionnat.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
Garden, Tree and Alley in Villette I
CHAPTER XII - “THE CASKET” “The truth about living in the universe is elusive, exciting, and mysterious, and it is in the pursuit of myste...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Hello everyone! I've been working on a series of blogs for 3 months, going deeper in Charlotte Bronte's last novel. This is the first in a series of five blogs on the role of the Garden, Tree and Forbidden Alley in Lucy Snowe's life at the pensionnat.
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/10/gard...
Finally got this blog finished and posted. Richard Harter Fogle's book on Hawthorne had an amazing impact on my emerging poetics in the early 80's. Here I explore and expand on some of the interesting text from Hawthorne's "The Custom House."
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/08/hawt...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/08/hawt...
September 14, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Finally got this blog finished and posted. Richard Harter Fogle's book on Hawthorne had an amazing impact on my emerging poetics in the early 80's. Here I explore and expand on some of the interesting text from Hawthorne's "The Custom House."
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/08/hawt...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/08/hawt...
"There is in all literature nothing that can be produced which shall represent the essential spirit of a man or a people so completely as a legend or a fairy tale.”
- Charles Dickens Household Words, “The School of the Fairies” (11, 1855, p. 546)
- Charles Dickens Household Words, “The School of the Fairies” (11, 1855, p. 546)
August 10, 2025 at 7:02 PM
"There is in all literature nothing that can be produced which shall represent the essential spirit of a man or a people so completely as a legend or a fairy tale.”
- Charles Dickens Household Words, “The School of the Fairies” (11, 1855, p. 546)
- Charles Dickens Household Words, “The School of the Fairies” (11, 1855, p. 546)
I've been working on understanding Lucy Snowe now for about 15 months, and I think I've come to terms at last with the end of Charlotte Bronte's Villete.
If you're familiar with the novel, I'd be curious to know what you think of my analysis?
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-...
If you're familiar with the novel, I'd be curious to know what you think of my analysis?
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-...
The End of Villette, Again (20 June 2025)
“At the deepest, most archaic level of Bront ë ’s fiction resides the vision of an idealized Romantic love. It controls her earliest work ...
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com
August 10, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I've been working on understanding Lucy Snowe now for about 15 months, and I think I've come to terms at last with the end of Charlotte Bronte's Villete.
If you're familiar with the novel, I'd be curious to know what you think of my analysis?
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-...
If you're familiar with the novel, I'd be curious to know what you think of my analysis?
montaguewhitsel.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-...
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."
- Thorin Oakenshield to Bilbo in chapter XVIII "The Return Journey" of The Hobbit or There and back Again
A wonderful rune of possibilities; don't you think?
- Thorin Oakenshield to Bilbo in chapter XVIII "The Return Journey" of The Hobbit or There and back Again
A wonderful rune of possibilities; don't you think?
July 9, 2025 at 1:51 AM
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."
- Thorin Oakenshield to Bilbo in chapter XVIII "The Return Journey" of The Hobbit or There and back Again
A wonderful rune of possibilities; don't you think?
- Thorin Oakenshield to Bilbo in chapter XVIII "The Return Journey" of The Hobbit or There and back Again
A wonderful rune of possibilities; don't you think?