Simply Be

Simply Be...

I celebrate the Wheel of the Year and I purposely left my schedule free today to observe the
Winter Solstice / Yuletide Sabbat. A day of doing nothing in particular but choosing to do whatever I fancy. I slept in, lost in a myriad of dreams, it was blissful. I had my morning coffee, fed my precious dogs and took them out to play in the bright sunshine of a cool morning. I made a lovely pot of soup for lunch and then I sat down to read and contemplate the past year and to anticipate the coming year.
This year's Solstice has a lot of hype attached to it. The end of the Mayan Calendar etc...
The fear or maybe the wishful thinking of some that waking up today would be to a new paradigm.
Well, to my way of thinking we all wake up each day to a new paradigm. A new dawn, a new day - everyday. We can stay stuck in the old or we can leap into the new as intrepid adventurers. There is so much to discover why not start NOW.
The title of this piece is Simply Be, how does that fit with being a courageous human, about to embark on a new and exciting journey you may ask. Remember this, it all begins with a single thought, an intention. We have to define this new path before we can begin.
To do this - Simply Be. Go within, define our dreams, visualize our new life and the opportunities awaiting us. This is "the first day of the rest of our life". Let's make it count.
Let's do something that will make a difference to not only ourselves but also to others.

Namaste

Jai Mata Di

Blue Moon 2012

Pisces Full Moon 



Friday August 31, 2012  ~ 9:58 AM EDT

 

 

A Blue Moon is the second Full Moon in a month.

The Blue Moon of August 31, 2012 is the last blue moon we will view until August of 2015.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first reference to a blue moon comes from a proverb recorded in 1528:

If they say the moon is blue,
We must believe that it is true.

In the 19th century, the phrase about a 'Blue Moon' developed, meaning "never." The phrase today, 'once in a blue moon' has come to mean "every now and then" or "rarely".

The modern calendar, being an artificial construct from the Christian popes, does not really relate adequately to natural cycles, whereas the astrological position of the Moon is far more important in terms of moon cycles and in terms of the energy signature of each moon phase. Before this 12 month calendar, months were measured by periods between lunations, creating a Lunar Calendar of 13 months per year (the word "month" comes from the word "moon"). After a revolution by the patriarchy, where the ancient rule of the the Lunar Goddesses was replaced by the rule of the Solar Gods, the 12 month solar year was developed based on the seasons and connected to the 12 signs of the Zodiac.

 

 

The Pisces Moon is the Compassion Moon

This week, focus on building your sense of compassion and creating some down time for yourself.
It's easy to be compassionate towards others but so often we are too self-critical and find it difficult to be kind and compassionate to ourselves. Perhaps we view this as being selfish or we simply don't take the time to value our own worth. Let the Pisces waters help you wash away that which no longer serves you, and let them heal you.
You may find this to be a good time to reawaken your connections to spirit and find direction for your soul’s path. This Full Moon has everyone feeling more sensitive than usual, so be mindful of how you interact with loved ones. You may feel more vulnerable, confused and impressionable, and the desire to retreat will be strong. We could really feel the weight of the world with this Full Moon, drawing attention to our own short-comings, suffering, and illusions of life. It’s a good time to reflect on such themes, but be careful not to get lost in the deep end. Retreat is a good thing, but isolation can also heighten our painful feelings.

To harness the energy in positive ways, engage in activities that are restorative and healing, such as being in water, meditating, or listening to soothing music. If we look to ourselves and the world through the lens of Piscean compassion, we can release long-standing patterns of suffering, such as the victim-martyr conditioning in relationships. Use this moon to deepen your intuitive capabilities by focusing on dreams, visions, and other spiritual channels in order to find inspiration and emotional sustenance. Find the time to reconnect with the Divine and feel how you are a part of the cosmos.

The Cosmic Message of this Full Moon is to release whatever is holding us back, particularly that which prevents us from connecting with Source AND with each other.

WE ARE ALL ONE.

QuanYin is the Goddess of Compassion, Mercy and Healing

She waits for your prayer, and the prayers of all Her children, as She watches over the earth, floating gently above the sea, the light of the moon illuminating Her, most Holy Mother, Quan Yin.     Jai Mata Di

Beltane

Beltane is a fertility Sabbat that celebrates life above all, honoring the life-force energy that emerges as spring reaches its mid-point. The fertile earth is abundant with her gifts and our senses are awakened with the joy of being alive.

The name Beltane means "Bright Fire" or "Sacred Fire" and great "balefires" were lit on May Eve
in the countrysides. Driving the livestock between two lit balefires as the blazes waned was a ritual for moving the cattle from their winter pastures to feast on the new green growth in the spring fields. These great bonfires would also mark a time of purification and transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later in the year, and were accompanied with ritual acts to protect the people from any harm. Ashes from these Balefires were scattered over the fields to bless and protect them and infertile women would put some ashes in a bag and wear it around their necks.

Not only was Beltane observed in all of the Celtic Lands, but also in Europe, Scandinavia and even Russia. Beltane is celebrated on the first of May.

May is the month to celebrate womanhood, motherhood and the Goddesses. In Rome the followers of Flora, the Goddess of flowers focused heavily on the symbolic meaning of flowers. This knowledge spread across Europe and was nearly lost until it was revived by the Victorians who were very conscious of flower symbolism.

Flora

The Roman Goddess of spring and blossoming flowers whose name means flourishing one.

She rules over the flowering plants and fruits and protects vegetation from disease and rot.

She is considered to be a handmaiden to Ceres and also rules the blossoming of girls into womanhood. The Roman festival, Floralia, was a festival of theatric performances and games

to celebrate the return of spring.

Maia

Maia is the Greek Goddess of Spring. The Queen of the flowers. She embodies the forces of growth and brings the seasonal warming of the earth. She gave her name to the month of May.

She is the eldest of the Pleiades and the Mother of Hermes.

Happy Beltane to all!

Jai Mata Di

A weepy kind of day

Sunday morning blues

Happy tears and sad tears

Tears of what has been and tears of what is yet to be

Triumphs and injustices

The wonders of life and the frailties of life

A song that invokes a memory

A memory that paints a picture

A bird singing, the rays of the sun, a puffy cloud 

Each moment a precious gift

Yet we linger in the past

The future is uncertain

All we have for certain is NOW

This moment in time

On a weepy kind of day. 

                                                             

                                                 J. Ravenmoon

Om Kali Ma

The love between the Divine Mother and her human children is a unique relationship. Kali, the Dark Mother is one such deity with whom devotees have a very loving and intimate bond, in spite of her fearful appearance. In this relationship, the worshipper becomes a child and Kali assumes the form of the ever-caring mother.

O Kali, my mother full of bliss! Enchantress of the almighty Shiva!
In Thy delirious joy Thou dancest, clapping Thy hands together!
Thou art the Mover of all that move, and we are but Thy helpless toys.

-- Ramakrishna Paramahansa



Kali is one of the most well known and worshipped Hindu Goddesses. The name Kali is derived from the Hindu word that means "time", and that also means "black". Kali in Hinduism, is a manifestation of the Divine Mother, which represents the female principle. Frequently, those not comprehending her many roles in life call Kali the goddess of destruction. She destroys only to recreate, and what she destroys is sin, ignorance and decay. She is equated with the eternal night, is the transcendent power of time, and is the consort of the god Shiva. It is believed that its Shiva who destroys the world, and Kali is the power or energy with which Shiva acts. Therefore, Kali is Shiva's shakti, without which Shiva could not act. Kali receives her name because she devours kala (Time) and then resumes her own dark formlessness. This transformative effect can be metaphorically illustrated in the West as a black hole in space. Kali as such is pure and primary reality (the "enfolded order" in modern physics); formless void yet full of potential.

The Matsyapurana states that Kali began as a tribal Goddess of the high mountain region of Mount Kalanjara, which is in north-central India and east of the Indus Valley. However, because of the relatively recent origin of the Matsyapurana we cannot be certain when or where the worship of Kali actually began. We do know however, that she was mentioned in the Upanishads, which were written a thousand years before the Matsyapurana.

            

Mystic Hymn to the Goddess Kali

O Mother of this vast Universe,

all action is accomplished only

through Your unpredictable Will.

You take counsel with no one.

No one other than You knows why

You manifest every phenomenom,

every living being, every event.

Your manifestation, O Mother,

awakens, purifies, sanctifies,

and deifies the human soul.

You accomplish Your own Goals

through this inscrutable Play.

Men foolishly claim responsibility.

 

Jai Mata Di

A Shining Star

How lucky we were as children to have a grandmother who loved us unconditionally -
    who always had time
        for a hug
            to sing songs
                 to tell stories
                      to listen to our triumphs and our defeats
    who provided nourishment
          to our bodies
               to our minds
                    to our spirits
                         and gave us safe haven
She had wisdom and wit and a wonderful way of looking at life.
    She gave of herself totally
        never complaining
             always giving
                  and we who received her love are the fortunate ones.

She left us with beautiful memories and an everlasting love.

Today marks the anniversity of her birth, April 25, 1902.
110 years ago, the youngest child of 12.

She is now, as she was while living in this physical realm, a shining star.
Our shining star.
We just have to look up to the heavens and know she will always be shining down on us.

Happy Birthday Nany!
We Love you.

   
Jai Mata Di

Treasures

Today I went to a used furniture store to see about arranging a pickup for a desk I no longer need. Of course I had to do some browsing and of course I found myself in the back corner of the store where there were quite a few bookcases of books. It first appeared that the books they had were novels and the usual selection of cookbooks etc., but then I found the case with the books on religion, spirituality and self-help topics. In one of my earlier posts I wrote about my love of books, so it is no secret that I get a feeling of great satisfaction when I find some new ones to add to my collection. I feel like a hunter that has made a new conquest.

Today's treasures were four books: Ardath by Marie Corelli, Pagan Pride - Honoring the Craft and Culture of Earth and the Goddess by M. Macha NightMare, Great Swan - Meetings with Ramakrishna by Lex Hixon, and Sisters of the Earth a compilation of poetry and prose about nature written by ninety wonderful accomplished women writers.

I decided to choose a page at random from Sisters of the Earth and share it with you. I hope you like it as much as I do.

My Help is in the Mountain

by Nancy Wood

My help is in the mountain

Where I take myself to heal

The earthly wounds

That people give to me.

I find a rock with sun on it

And a stream where the water runs gentle

And the trees which one by one give me company.

So must I stay for a long time

Until I have grown from the rock

And the stream is running through me

And I cannot tell myself from one tall tree.

Then I know that nothing touches me

Nor makes me run away.

My help is in the mountain

That I take away with me.

Jai Mata Di