My Regular Pagan Holiday Post
Dear Friends,
The Hindu god Krishna, who was blue, worried that his love Radha, who was not blue, might not appreciate his color. His mother suggested that he ask Radha to paint his face any color she wanted. And, according to legend, that’s how the Hindu holiday Holi was born. At the spring equinox people gather to throw colored powders on each other, and lovers paint each other’s faces. The holiday is big in India and it’s also becoming popular in the U.S.
I love the idea of getting together with a big group to throw colors on each other. What fun! But then I started wondering about what is in that powder. And also thinking, as someone with lung issues, what might be the consequence of breathing it in. We all know that breathing dust and smoke is not good for us. There’s farmer’s lung and carpenter’s lung and smoker’s lung. Now there’s probably Holi lung!
So while I’m always looking for new and old ways to celebrate the turning of the seasons, Holi is not a spring equinox tradition I intend to adopt. Instead I’m sending colorful flowers to our household to remind us that the cold wet winter is over. Which right now in Santa Rosa is more of a hope than reality. It’s raining now and it’s not very warm by our standards. Two more atmospheric rivers are threatening in the next week. The whole state of California worries about where all the water from the Sierra snow melt will go.
We see some signs of spring. Plum, peach and pear trees are blooming and the magnolias are magnificent. Poppies are starting to bloom. Birds are frisky. Oaks are leafing out. Is it fair to say spring is here but winter is still hanging on?
My boots are muddy and the trails wet but, along with my hiking buddies, I go out every day that it’s not raining. Being outdoors is what has kept me sane through covid. Masks have kept us healthy. One or both of us usually gets sick sometime during the winter with a virus that lands in the chest and hangs on, but Holly and I have avoided air-borne diseases for three years now. Very often these days I’m the only one in a group wearing one, but I feel saved by the mask!
May you be well and (soon) warm!
tradeswomn musings 
Hi Molly,
A very wise decision. Sadly, I have often thought the same thing when watching the delightful custom of tossing all those colors on one another.
I was familiar with “baker’s lung” —”“Baker’s lung” refers to the high risk that bakers, grain millers, and similar professionals face of developing asthma due to regular exposure to certain workplace irritants. Baker’s lung is one of the most common forms of occupational asthma in the United States.”
And of course, miners get “black lung”. Potters get silicosis. And then I searched, and found this (all of them lung diseases):
Antigen
Source
Disease
Microbes
Alternaria species
Wood or wood pulp
Woodworker’s lung
Aspergillus clavatus
Moldy grains
Malt-worker’s lung
Aspergillus species
Tobacco mold
Tobacco-worker’s lung
Aspergillus species
Moldy malt
Malt-worker’s lung
Aspergillus versicolor
Animal bedding
Dog house disease
Aureobasidium pullulans
Moldy sequoia dust
Sequoiosis
Aureobasidium species
Contaminated water
Sauna-taker’s disease
Bacillus subtilis
Detergent enzymes
Detergent-worker’s lung
Botrytis cinerea
Grape mold
Winegrower’s lung or Späetlase lung
Candida albicans
Saxophone mouthpiece
Sax lung
Cephalosporium
Sewage
Sewage-worker’s lung
Cryptostroma corticale
Moldy maple bark
Maple bark–stripper’s lung
Merulius lacrymans
–
Dry rot lung
Mixed amoeba, fungi, and bacteria
Cold mist and other humidifiers, air conditioners
Nylon plant or office worker’s or air conditioner’s lung, ventilation pneumonitis
Mycobacterium avium
Contaminated water
Hot tub lung
Mycobacterium species, Gram negative bacilli
Metal-cutting fluid
Machine-worker’s lung
Mucor stolonifer
Paprika
Paprika-splitter’s lung
Penicillium casei
Cheese mold
Cheese-washer’s lung
Penicillium chrysogenum
Moldy wood dust
Woodworker’s lung
Penicillium frequentans
Moldy cork
Suberosis
Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula (micropolyspora faeni)
Moldy hay
Farmer’s lung
Thermoactinomyces vulgaris
Moldy hay, compost
Farmer’s lung, mushroom-worker’s lung, composter’s lung
Thermoactinomyces sacchari
Sugar cane residue
Bagassosis
Thermophilic actinomycetes
Moldy plant materials
Farmer’s lung
Trichosporon cutaneum
Mold in Japanese homes
Summer-type HP
Animals
Animal fur protein
Animal fur
Furrier’s lung
Avian proteins
Bird excreta, blood, or feather
Bird-breeder’s lung, bird-fancier’s lung, pigeon-breeder’s lung
Gerbil proteins
Gerbil
Gerbil-keeper’s lung
Fish
Fish meal dust
Fishmeal-worker’s lung
Mollusk shell protein
Mollusk shell dust
Oyster shell lung
Ox and pork protein
Pituitary snuff
Pituitary snuff–taker’s lung
Rat proteins
Rat urine or serum
Rodent-handler’s lung
Silk worm larvae proteins
Silk worm larvae
Sericulturist’s lung
Wheat weevil
Flour
Miller’s lung
Plants
Coffee
Coffee bean dust
Coffee-worker’s lung
Lycoperdon species
Puffballs
Lycoperdonosis
Soybean
Soybean hulls
Soybean-worker’s lung
Chemicals
Anhydrides
Plastics
Chemical-worker’s lung, plasticworker’s lung, epoxy-worker’s lung
Bordeaux mixture
Vineyard fungicide
Vineyard-sprayer’s lung
Isocyanates
Paints, plastics
Paint-refinisher’s lung
Pauli’s reagent
–
Pauli’s reagent lung
Pyrethrum
Insecticides
Insecticide lung
Metals
Cobalt
–
Hard metal lung disease
Beryllium
–
Berylliosis
https://clinicalmolecularallergy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12948-017-0062-7/tables/1 https://clinicalmolecularallergy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12948-017-0062-7/tables/1
After finding this, I am SURE that breathing in all that dust, even once a year, will negatively impact at least a few of the celebrants.
Quinn Montana
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Nice!
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Thank you Molly, for the color. There is another Sacred Circle Dance this week, but it sounds like you are not ready for public interactions yet. Oh well. Some year.
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I love your posts, Molly. You write beautifully and I feel my horizons widen with what you share with us. Thank you!
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Incredibly beautiful photos! Thanks.
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Thanks, as always Molly, for the beautiful photos and inspiring words. Love you! Ruth
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Thanks for your interesting missiles! Hope you have a happy Spring. It’s been a long winter!
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