Dissonance.....

Like a lot of Heathens, I Feel dissonance between The Wheel of the Year and historical/traditional Rites. The Ancestors did have seasonal Rites and some even "map" onto the Wheel...though some poorly. Over the last 23 yrs I've Worked BOTH, the modern Heathen WotY and just the historical/traditional ones. Still, I Feel left WANTING.
This yr I've decided to do something different. I'm doing both SEPARATELY. That is, I will "do" Historical Rites and NOT try to "map" them to the Wheel(unless they do, like Yule and Ostara). I will also "do" the seasonal Wheel AS a seasonal Wheel. One of the many Blessings of living here on/in "The Dangly Bits"(below the Bible Belt) is that our actual seasons "map" perfectly to those on the Wheel, unlike folks in other part of the States or World, GENERALLY(like this yr Winter didn't Feel like WInter, like most of the East Coast;>)our Springs are Spring, our Winters are Winter, etc.
Personally, I think I've missed the Ritual/Spiritual connection to seasonality since I left Wicca and CR. The Heathen "Wheel" always felt like someone tried to put the wrong glass slipper on the wrong stepsister;>.
We'll see how this works after a full cycle. At least it'll keep my from "slacking off" religiously ;>!
Cheers,
Pat