Tag: holidays and festivals

Posts about holidays, festivals, and religious celebrations

Goblin Days

Goblins Days is a week long event starting July 25 and running to August 3rd. It’s part of my personal calendar. It’s a secular festival I hold specifically for goblins, mostly to stave off any truly damaging mischief these beings decide to cause.

First, what am I talking about when I speak of goblins?

It’s probably best to start explaining that I don’t tend to differentiate between spirits, demons, local deities, and fae unless the being tells me to do so. I simply don’t care what they are. It doesn’t matter to me if the spirit is a kitsune or an polecat spirit – I treat them as they ask and I don’t bother to ask the details. If they want me to know they’re a kitsune, they will damn well tell me. This often saves from conversations that make me sound silly, knowledgeable, and foolish. It also saves me from assuming I understand them – I can’t possibly do that as I’m not like them. The only assumption I make is that they’re likely to backstab me at any given time and to not fully trust them. This belief has served me very well over the years.

Now, about the goblins. Mostly because “goblin” for me isn’t a specific being but a general term for small, mischievous spirits that causes damage. Every single year they destroy glassware. They never take out anything important – as that would truly anger me – but everyday drinking glasses or jars will find themselves flying off shelves and counters for no good reason at all. Things will go missing and end up in stupid places like the shower or inside a pair of shoes. They find it fun to play such games but sometimes they get out of hand and can cause real damage. They’re often seen as “evil” but I tend to find them just amusing. I’m fond of them. They are always the first to show up and the last to leave. Most typically imps and gremlins, I call them goblins and they don’t seem to mind it. Because I coat the word in fondness and don’t consider goblins evil, they even seem pleased to be called by this “pet” name. They can consist of any number of beings. I might call a being a goblin even if that being is definitely NOT a goblin by traditional definitions. It is their actions I’m more concerned with. They might be unruly, crude, mischievous, slightly cruel, greedy, always hungry, always drinking, and love shiny things. Consider them the frat boys of the spirit world.

During Goblin Days, I give these being their own little party. It’s pre-gaming, so to speak. They get mini-offerings (at random, because if they expect them and don’t get them all hell would break loose) and they don’t take out expensive items as a response. Sometimes they get a little too out of hand and I have to remind them they’re not only guest but I’m pretty fucking badass and can dropkick the whole lot of them out of the house before they could spit. I literally remind them that I’m not some random human for them to walk all over. I’m me and they know exactly what will happen if they go too far.

It’s a fun time and gets me in the mood to deal with the bigger, more powerful, and stronger spirits that roll around for the other festivals. Annnnd, yup, that’s all I’m willing to reveal at the moment.

Personal Festival Calendar

These are my festivals. Think of them like themed parties than holidays or holy days.

1/1 – 1/7 – First Days / New Year’s Day

1/6 – Logic Day / Sherlock Holmes’ birthday

2/21 – 2/23 – Silence Days

3/4 – 3/16 – The Awakening

3/18 – 3/26 – Rain Festival

3/30 – 4/3 – The Fool

4/4 – 4/7 – Cemetery Cleaning Days

4/13-4/14 – Seer’s Vigil at the Corpse Road Crossroad

4/30 – 5/1 – Reckless Day / Walpurgisnacht

4/30 – 5/2 – May Day Festival

5/4 – Girl Underground Day

5/31 – River Song Day (Complicated. Of course.)

6/1 – 6/8 – Mermaid Week

6/6 – Birthday

6/19 – 6/23 – Summer Festival / Midsummer

7/8 – 7/13 – Fire, Blood, and Love Festival

7/24 – Maternal Memorial Day

7/25 – 8/3 – Goblin Days (pre-game/ part of the Demon Festivals

7/29 – This Crooked Crown’s Witchery & Curiosities anniversary

8/1 – Demon Festivals Opening Feast (part of the Demon Festivals)

8/1- 8/24 – Dying Days of Summer Festival (part of the Demon Festivals)

8/1 – 11/13 – Demon Festivals

8/13 – 8/15 – Mourning Days (part of the Demon Festivals)

8/15 – 8/31 – Ghost Festival (part of the Demon Festivals)

8/28 – 9/13 – Storytelling Festival (part of the Demon Festivals)

8/30 – 9/1 – Demon Days (part of the Demon Festivals)

8/31 – 9/1 – Twilight (part of the Demon Festivals)

9/8 – 9/15 – Scholar Festival (part of the Demon Festivals)

9/12 – 9/28 – Tengu Festival (part of the Demon Festivals)

9/18 – 9/21 – Exploration Days (part of the Demon Festivals)

9/23 – 10/8 – Harvest Festival (part of the Demon Festivals)

10/1 – Blood Day (part of the Demon Festivals)

10/3 – 10/6 – Bonfire Days (part of the Demon Festivals)

10/10 – 10/13 – Necromancy Days (part of the Demon Festivals)

10/15 – 10/25 – Water Festival (part of the Demon Festivals)

10/28 – 10/30 – Cat Days (part of the Demon Festivals)

10/30 – Mischief Night (part of the Demon Festivals)

10/31 – 11/2 – Souls Days / Halloween / Samhain / All Souls’ Day (part of the Demon Festival)

11/3 – 11-10 – Court (part of the Demon Festivals)

11/11 – Demon Festivals Closing Feast (part of the Demon Festivals)

11/11 – 11/13 – The Leaving (post/ part of the Demon Festivals)

11/25 – 11/30 – The Feasting / Thanksgiving

11/30 – 3/3 – The Hibernation (less a festival, more of a mode of living or a phase)

12/1 – 12/12 – Snow Festival

12/7 – This Crooked Crown tumblr anniversary!

12/20 – 12/30 – Winter Festival / Yule

12/31 – Day of Regrets / New Year’s Eve

Again, think of them like parties. Reasons to sit and think or do something different on that day. Or a reason to have a little feast and lift a glass that day. Since these aren’t religious (as I don’t belong to a religion) and are more spiritual in nature, there’s no punishment if I say “hm, nope, not feeling it this year. Fuck it.”

The Oncoming Storm – Preparations for the Dying Summer Festivals

The last few days I’ve blogged over on tumblr about some weird events. Tugging on my dress, hearing voices that simply are not there, moving of a mirror, etc. Now, my house isn’t haunted but being between two crossroads (and down the road from several more) puts us smack down in Grand Central. Sometimes literally.

But what I haven’t blogged about is the ridiculous amount of glass breaking. No less than four glass items have been broken in the last 72 hours. Four. At different times, in different ways, but broken all the same. To the point where tossing away glass in the rubbish bin ended with the sound of glass breaking on more glass.

This tells me the goblins have arrived.

The goblins appear always before the rest of the spirits that show up for the Dying Summer Festivals. These Festivals are personal for me and start the first of August and run to mid November. Offerings and general mischief is par for the course. Spirits and fae have the run of the place and I attend to them.

This is pretty cloaked in mystery for others, so let it be known now that I’m not telling anyone everything. Always hold something back. It’s more like hold everything back and reveal only a little bit.

Anyway, the next month or so is go-time for prep work. Not only do I have the shop’s first anniversary to worry about directly before the festivals begin, but I have alcohols to lay in. Tucking away glass objects and doubling up basic protections and “do not pass” zones are necessary.  Incense needs to be made and this year I’m going to attempt coil incense. The well needs to be cleaned up and I’m thinking of planting lemongrass near it to ward off bugs for my workings. Plants also need to be wildcrafted and harvested from the local area and there’s a period where everything blooms at once it seems. As is, I have to go out and collect poisons for curses.

The busy season is about to begin. I can’t wait.