Brigid

Brigid is a threefold Celtic Goddess of Poetry, Healing and Smithcraft. She is an ancient Goddess with origins in Europe and was revered long before the Romans invaded Britain and before the birth of Christ. February 2 is Imbolc, her Feast Day, and when the church canonized her, because her following was so strong, they kept the date and renamed the Feast Day "St. Brigid's Day". 

The rite of Imbolc is a women's ceremony, where the coming of spring is celebrated with Brigid's Feast (Maiden aspect of Goddess), and the waning of Cailleach's winter power is acknowledged (Crone aspect of Goddess). Early February marks the time when the daylight
is increasing and the power of winter is waning. Imbolc was a festival of a herding culture, celebrating the time when lambs are born and ewe's are in milk. The milk provided cheese, butter and whey after a long cold winter, when food stocks were low.

Brigid means "The Bright One" or "Fiery Arrow" and has many variations - 
Brigid (pronounced Breed) of the Irish Celts, Brigantia to the English, Bride to the Scots and Brigandu in Celtic France.                          
She is the Muse to poets, The keeper of the holy wells and rivers of healing and rebirth, and she is the keeper of the Sacred Flame of creativity. Brigid is the Mother of inventions and the craftsmanship of metalworking.

Brigid has a way with animals, and she can call birds to sit on her hand. A hunted boar once found its way to her courtyard and was granted santuary from its pursuers. Cattle, milkmaids and milk are all sacred to Brigid and the cow is her favorite companion. She also is associated with a white snake and sometimes fish magically appear in her healing wells.

On the eve of Imbolc, women hung a piece of pure white wool cloth on a tree.Traditionally, Brigid imbues any piece of cloth that is left out at Imbolc with Her healing power by blessing it as She passes by. This piece of cloth is then known as Brigid's Mantle. Each subsequent Imbolc blessing the cloth receives, adds to its healing power year after year. This cloth was beleived to absorb the energy of the Goddess and sanctified in this way would become a special talisman. It would be wrapped around any part of the body that needed healing and used by Irish midwives to ensure a safe birthing for expectant mothers. It was also used as protection during birthing of animals. Brigid is invoked to guard the cradle of the new born infant while a woman hangs a rowan cross over the cradle.
This cloth blessed by the Goddess Brigid could also be used for an altar cloth.

A Bhrigid, scar os mo chionn
Do bhrat fionn dom anacal

Oh Brigid spread Above my Head
Your mantle bright To guard me.

Anyone desiring fertility, healing or creativity should invoke Brigid's blessings, as the ancients did.

Brigit awaits . . .

Brigit awaits, Her spirit is softly calling to us,
in the trees, in the grasses, in the hills and fields,
alive in many realms, present in all Nature's places.

Brigit awaits, present in the world around us,
Her mighty gifts of vision, insight, healing and craft
grow stronger when we acknowledge their power

Brigit awaits, dancing in the candle flame and hearth fire
forging truth, justice, healing, and beauty on Her sacred anvil
our dreams flow and nourish us, like Her sacred waters

                                       
                                         
                                  Brigit awaits each of us, in our own heart.

~ author unknown      

            Jai Mata Di                      

Imbolc

The Wheel of the Year is the natural progression of the Sun's cycle and its connection to the Earth's seasons. It consists of eight Sacred Festivals, spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. These festivals are referred to as Sabbats.

These festivals are understood by some to be the Bronze Age religious festivals of Europe. As with all cultures' use of festivals and traditions, these festivals have been utilized by European cultures in both the pre- and post-Christian eras as traditional times for the community to celebrate the planting and harvest seasons. The Wheel of the Year has been important to many people both ancient and modern, from various religious as well as cultural and secular viewpoints.

The Quarter Days are observed on or near the solstices and the equinoxes and the Cross-Quarter Days are observed roughly halfway between the Quarter Days. In the ancient times however, festivals were occasioned not by the passage of days marked on a calendar, but by events that took place in the everyday lives of the celebrants.

Something that helps sometimes, in working with the concept of the Wheel and its eight festivals, is to imagine that one is part of a primitive society, without all our modern scientific knowledge and records and calendars and almanacs. When all one has with which to measure the passage of time is the passage of the days and the turning of the seasons, one begins to place great significance in events previously considered to be of minor importance. Look at each of the feasts in the Wheel, and think about what is happening in the world around the celebrants as the time for the feast draws near, and you will draw new insights into the meaning of, and the reason for the feast.

Imbolc ~ February 2

Imbolc, also known as Candlemas or Brigid's Day is one of the Cross-quarter, Fire Festivals in the Wheel of the Year. It celebrates the passing of winter and the return of the agricultural part of the year, and the changing of the three-fold Goddess from Crone to Maiden. At Imbolc we can see the promise of Yule made manifest. The days are markedly longer, the sun a little warmer. In the sheltered garden, a lone crocus pushes boldly through the late snows. Overhead, somewhere in the scudding clouds of February, we hear the calling of the wild geese. Now is the time for new growth, as the tiny bobbing heads of Snowdrops and the uplifted faces of Crocuses appear. The Goddess is now renewed and welcomed back. Sacred fires were traditionally lit on hilltops to attract the new Sun, and in warmer climates the first Ewe's milk was available after the Winter. In some areas a celebratory drink called "Lambswool" was drunk - made from cider and water mixed with the flesh of roasted / baked apple - the frothy white mixture somewhat resembling Lambs' wool.

It is a time for shaking off the winter doldrums, for sweeping the dead leaves of winter out of our lives. What baggage, emotional or physical, is it you no longer need to carry into the new year? A ritual house-cleansing might be in order to rid your home of all the negative energies that accumulate during the closed-in months of winter. Try making a loose incense of sage, cedar, bay, rosemary, and frankincense to banish negativity and bless your home.
It is customary to light white candles to welcome back the Sun and to honor the return of the Maiden Goddess. It's a good time to tidy up your altar, refresh it with a white altar cloth, light some white candles and display a picture of the Goddess Brigid.


An evening feast is in order, since Imbolc represents a return to liveliness and all the bounties of Nature. Americans might best grasp the concept of Imbolc by thinking of it as a Thanksgiving celebration for what is about to happen. Celebrants can be happy feasting, knowing that winter is passing and that food will once again be growing and plentiful. The feast begins with a short prayer, or toast:

Blessed be the earth, and all who dwell upon it.
We give thanks for the season now departing from us,
For the blessings it has bestowed upon us,
And upon those with whom we share this world.

Blessed be the new season.
We pray that it will be a time filled with peace,
With abundance, with prosperity,
With wisdom,
With love.

Blessed be all who share this feast.
Let us now prepare for the time ahead
By opening our hearts, and our minds, and our spirits.

Blessed be.

Next: The Goddess Brigid

Jai Mata Di

More Celtic Lore

The Druids were the Celtic Priesthood with an Arch Druid at their head. In the beginning, the Celts had similar organizations of women. The Arch Druid's counterpart was the High Priestess of the Grove. These Druids and Priestesses were the healers, judges, astronomers, teachers, oracles and religious leaders of the clans. The Druids had three divisions within their order: the Bards (poets), the Ovates (prophets, philosophers) and the Druid priests. The older Priestesses were highly revered. Priestesses sang the dying to sleep, did enchantments, prophesies, charms, birthing and healing. They knew the power of words, stones and herbs. A magick cauldron, bowl or pool was one of the central features of their Groves. It was considered the Cauldron of Regeneration, and represented reincarnation within the womb of the Goddess. Nature itself was their house of worship, certain hills, lakes, caves, springs, wells, monoliths, clearings within groves and ancient stone circles were their Sacred Places. The Druids preferred oak groves and forests.

The Celts understood that all existence has a cyclic nature, and that there is a direct continuity between the material world and the otherworld. Druidic teachings that have come down to us from the Welsh tradition recognised that there is an unseen world that interpenetrates the visible world. Things are just not what they seem. Everything exists on simultaneous levels. Seership was a highly developed and an important function of the Druids.



Most celebrations were held at night as the Celtic day began at midnight and their calendar based on the moon cycle had 13 months. Religious holidays centered on the Solstices, Equinoxes, and Moon phases. During the waxing moon, they did positive magick, during the waning moon, dark magick. They also observed Imbolc in February, Beltane in May, Lughnassadh in August and Samhain at the end of October. Oak and mistletoe were sacred, as were wrens, which were considered prophetic.

More to come...

Jai Mata Di

Celtic Lore

Celtic Tree of Life

 

l love the Celtic folklore and Myths.
The Arthurian Tales, The Mabinogion, the Pagan and Druidic Customs and Rites and of course The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
It has always been one of my favorite escapes - reading about those long ago times. The next few days of posts will be about this culture and the various Goddesses that were revered.
The fact that their society was matriarchal certainly is appealing to me. Children took their mother's name and daughters inherited her possessions. A mother gave her child a secret name with the first breast milk; the secret name was carefully guarded so it could not be used in spells and curses. Virginity was not prized; twice the dowry was given for  a women with children. Abortion and choice or change of mate were a women's right.


The Celts were religious or what we would call spiritual today. They believed in reincarnation and transmigration of the soul. They honored Nature and their rites and rituals revolved around the Wheel of the Year. Their pantheon held a great number of female deities of primary importance - Mother Goddesses, Warrior Goddesses, Guardian Goddesses. They also had the concept of the triple Goddess, three aspects of a single deity, such as Maiden, Mother and Crone. These aspects were represented by the Irish Celts by Anu or Danu as the Maiden, Badb as the Mother, and Macha as the Crone. To the Celts of Wales the Maiden was Blodeuwedd, Arianrhod the Mother, and Cerridwen the Crone. There were other triplicities of the Goddess in other times.


The Celts first appeared in history in about the ninth century BC. They came from the east spreading across what is now Asia Minor and Europe and eventually settling in are we now call The British Isles. They excelled as craftsman in metal work,  as builders of roads, as experts in agriculture and animal husbandry. They were first and foremost warriors, often hiring themselves out as mercenaries to anyone who could afford their price. Among the Celts women warriors were held in high regard and were as good warriors as the men. One of the Celts most famous Women Warriors was Boudicca, who was a Queen, a mother and a wife who led an army against the Roman Occupiers.


More Tomorrow...




Jai Mata Di

Happiness is...

The purpose of life is the expansion of happiness. (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi)

Happiness is determined by one's state of mind. When we stop to take notice of the simple joys
of life we are happy. Think about some moments in time that you can remember that inner joy - a lighter heart. Happiness is a condition we all possess at birth and through our human journey we manage to see only glimpses of because the external events of our lives take over and we become distracted from seeking our true purpose.


 "Stop to smell the roses" means slowing down and seeing life in all it's glory. Seeing the good in others, recognising we are all one and the same and developing compassion and kindness all lead to happiness.


The Dalai Lama says, "Human nature is essentially compassionate, gentle. Anger, violence and aggression may certainly arise, on a secondary or more superficial level. In a sense they arise when we are frustrated in our efforts to achieve love and affection. Within all things is a seed of perfection, however, compassion is required in order to activate that seed which is inherent in our hearts and minds".


I've been really noticing the little things that bring me happiness: The dogs running and playing, a butterfly feeding on a flower, the sunbeams shining through the clouds just to name a few.
Helping others is another way to achieve happiness: do a good deed, help a neighbor, volunteer.


I'm going to begin a Happiness Journal and each day note the things that I see and do that make me happy.


Namaste
Jai Mata Di

What is Life?

The Passage from Mother Earth to the Spirit World

What is Life?

It is in the flash of a firefly in the night.

It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.

It is the little shadow which runs across the grass

And loses itself in the Sunset.

~ Crowfoot, as he prepared for his journey to the spirit world, 1890 ~

Jai Mata Di

Mid-January

Half the month of January has already gone by. The holiday decorations are put away and the quiet after all the hubbub seems strange.
Some of us began the year making resolutions that will improve our lives and others just hoping for a year that will be kind to us.

The winter is a time for introspection and reflection on our potential, our aspirations, our future.
In ancient times the winter was all about surviving the cold, the ice and snow. It was a time when stories were told around the hearth, families huddled together awaiting the spring.

The winter is associated with the Earth element and the North. It's the time of the year for recovering, of silence, harmony, balance, home, mystery, birth and death. And although the cold earth appears dormant, the cycle of life has begun beneath the surface, the seeds have been planted and with them the gifts we envision. The hours and minutes of darkness are lessening with each day.

Winter is the time of the Crone. She is the Wise Woman, the teacher, the guide. From her vast experience and knowledge obtained through her infinite life experiences she is the counselor.
She is the Keeper of Time and the All and the Nothing.

Here a few of the Goddesses associated with Winter:

Skadi is the Goddess of Winter and Mountains in Scandinavia. She is the Spirit of the North Wind,and is equated with the darkness and cold of winter, the shadow time during the state of hibernation. Her name is said to mean shadow or shade. She is a huntress, a magician. She is said to have given the gift of the bow and arrow to the hunters.

The goddess for whom Scandinavia was named dwelled high in the snow-covered mountains; her favorite occupations were skiing and snowshoeing through her domain. But when the gods caused the death of her father Thjassi, Skadi armed herself and traveled to their home at Asgard, intent on vengeance. Even alone, she was more than a match for the gods, and they were forced to make peace with her.
Skadi was offered to choose a husband among the gods for compensation for her father's death.
All the gods lined up, and Skadi's eyes were masked. She intended to select her mate simply by examining his legs from the knees down. When she'd found the strongest-thinking them the beautiful Balder's legs-she flung off her mask and found she'd picked the sea god Njord. So she went off to live in the god's ocean home.
She was miserable there. "I couldn't sleep a wink," Skadi said in a famous eddic poem, "on the bed of the sea, for the calling of gulls and mews." The couple moved to Thrymheim, Skadi's mountain palace, but the water god was as unhappy there as Skadi had been in the water. Thereupon they agreed on an equitable dissolution, and Skadi took a new mate, more suitable to her lifestyle: Ullr, the god of skis.
Hers is the power of perception, of going within and facing our true nature.

Cailleach Bheur, Celtic Goddess of Winter is also known as Beira, Queen of Winter. She is credited with making numerous mountains and large hills, which are said to have been formed when she was striding across the land and accidentally dropped rocks from her apron. In other cases she is said to have built the mountains intentionally, to serve as her stepping stones. She carries a hammer for shaping the hills and valleys, and is said to be the mother of all the goddesses and gods.
She appears at the end of October, born anew as an old women, bringing the winter storms.
The Cailleach displays several traits befitting the personification of Winter: she herds deer, she fights Spring, and her staff freezes the ground with every tap. In some stories, she appears to a hero as a hideous old woman, and when he is kind to her, she turns into a lovely young woman who rewards him for his good deeds.  She is guardian to animals throughout the winter such as the deer and wolf.
Cailleach rules the dark half of the year, from Samhain to Beltane, while her young and fresh counterpart, Bridgid or Brede, is the queen of the summer months.
It is said that on Imbolc, February 2, as the Wheel of the Year turns and power of Bridgid increases the light, Cailleach throws her staff behind a Holly bush. Then on Beltane, May1, she turns into stone until her rebirth the following October.


Jai Mata Di

Judgements

"Judge not a man unless you walk a mile in his shoes"

We've all heard this quote before. I have been making an effort to be less judgemental.
I would have liked to say non-judgemental instead of less judgemental but I am not there yet. It is a lofty goal. I do find myself being more aware of the judgements I have and I am  consciously working on eradicating  them as they occur.

Stop to think about all the judgements we make, big and small each day. Snap judgements,
judgements based on appearance, on actions, on anything outside of our comfort zone
just to name a few.

These judgements of ours can include everything from; feeling superior to someone else, to feeling vulnerable or even from fear of stepping out of our self-limiting boxes.

Wayne W. Dyer says, "Judgements prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances."

I know I have a long way to go but being more aware is the first step in this process. I find myself cringing when I hear someone else's judgements of others. Remember that our judgements of others defines us or as Carl Gustav Jung said, "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." Now THAT"S something to ponder!

While I dance .

I cannot judge,

I cannot hate,

I cannot separate myself from life.

I can only be joyful and whole.

That is why I dance.

Hans Bos

Jai Mata Di

Books wonderful books...

Yesterday I bought another book. I can't help myself, when I pick up a book that talks to me, I have to have it. While driving home I was thinking about my love of books and remembered my grandmother telling me, "Books are your friends, always cherish them". She was so right. They are always there for me patiently waiting for the day when I will pick one of them off the shelf to give me the enjoyment, information or the inspiration I need.  


I certainly don't have all the books I ever bought or that were given to me. Some were lost, loaned out and not returned, or given away gladly to someone who needed a particular book to get through a difficult time or sometimes given simply to share a book that inspired me.


There are books in every room of my house. On shelves, stacked on tables and always there are a few by my side in my sanctuary. I even have a kindle, which is very handy for traveling. I often carry it in my purse just so I'm not without a book. There is nothing, however, that compares to holding a book in my hands, turning the pages and savoring the written word.

Last night I picked up one of the books I read daily, "Goddesses for Every Day" by Julie Loar, and the Goddess for today, January 13, is the Egyptian Goddess Seshat.

Ah, sweet syncronicity! How appropriate... Seshat is the scribe.

The Ancient Egyptian Goddess of writing, the guardian of books.

She rules the written word in all it's forms. She was known as the Mistress of the House of Books as she was the Deity whose priests oversaw the library in which the scrolls of the most important knowledge were assembled and spells were preserved. She is the record keeper of the Gods, the Goddess of History, and the creator of hieroglyphics and mathmatics. Seshat is the Goddess of architecture, astronomy, astrology, building and surveying. And she assisted the Pharoah in the "stretching the cord" ritual which was the precise surveying and measurement related to laying out the temples and other important structures to determine and assure their sacred alignment with the stars when their foundations were laid. 

She was believed to assist the pharaoh in important royal duties and it was she who kept a record of his life. She  recorded the time allotted to him by the gods for his stay on earth. It was stated by Pharoah Tuthmosis III (1475-1425 BCE) that "Seshat opens the door of heaven for you".

Later, when the cult of the moon deity, Thoth, became prominent and he became identified as a god of wisdom, the role of Seshat changed in the Egyptian Pantheon when counterparts were created for most older deities. The lower ranks of her priestesses were displaced by the priests of Thoth. First, she was identified as his daughter, and later as his wife. However, as late as the eighteenth dynasty, in a temple constructed during the reign of Hatshepsut, there is an image of the pharaoh directing Thoth to obtain answers to important questions from Seshat.

Seshat is one of the most important Deities in the Egyptian Pantheon, what made future rulers deny her rightful place? Another deception in history, where the patriarchy changed the facts to boost their egos. How many more of these will we discover?

Here's a contemplation from the book Goddesses For Every Day,

As I lay the foundation for what I desire to build, I set my sights on the stars.

Jai Mata Di

Let's Dance

Working today

No time to write

Thought you'd like something

Funny and light

Danny O'Dare

by Shel Silverstein                                      

Danny O'Dare, the dancin' bear,
Ran away from the County Fair,
Ran right up to my back stair
And thought he'd do some dancin' there.
He started jumpin' and skippin' and kickin',
He did a dance called the Funky Chicken,
He did the Polka, he did the Twist,
He bent himself into a pretzel like this.
He did the Dog and the Jitterbug,
He did the Jerk and the Bunny Hug.
He did the Waltz and the Boogaloo,
He did the Hokey-Pokey too.
He did the Bop and the Mashed Potata,
He did the Split and the See Ya Later.
And now he's down upon one knee,
Bowin' oh so charmingly,
And winkin' and smilin'--it's easy to see
Danny O'Dare wants to dance with me.

Our Sacred Identity

Yesterday's  passage in Mark Nepo's book "The Book of Awakening" began with this:


When Akiba was on his deathbed, he bemoaned to his Rabbi that he felt he was a failure. His Rabbi moved closed and asked why, and Akiba confessed that he had not lived a life like Moses. The poor man began to cry, admitting he feared God's judgement. At this his rabbi leaned into his ear and whispered gently, "God will not judge Akiba for not being Moses, God will judge Akiba for not being Akiba."


Mark explains, "We are born with only one obligation - to be completely who we are. Yet how much time is spent comparing ourselves to others? A flower in it's excellence does not yearn to be a fish, and a fish in it's unmanaged excellence does not long to be a tiger. But we humans find ourselves always falling into the dream of another life. Being human we are often  troubled and  blocked by insecurity that makes us feel unworthy. So we puff ourselves up to be larger so we have a better chance of being loved.
History is the humbling story of our misbegotton inflations, and truth is the corrective story of how we return to exactly who we are. And compassion, sweet compassion, is the never-ending story of how we embrace each other and forgive ourselves for not accepting our beautifully particular place in the fabric of all that is.
The Universe reveals its abundance most clearly when we can be who we are."


This article impressed upon me just how little time we spend reflecting on our true selves.
And how little we actually know about who we really are, our true essence. We live our entire lives living up to the expectations of others and allowing ourselves to be influenced in all manner of ways, and in the process we lose sight of our own Sacred Identity.
By Sacred Identity I mean the spark that we are, the Godliness within. 

We can't blame others for us losing our way, we are born with free will, we make the choices and we live with the consequences. But all that is in the past, if we make a conscious effort we can learn to reclaim what is ours, our true essence, and by this act we will achieve greatness. Greatness of Spirit.

When I was a young girl my father quoted a line from Shakespeare to me, he said never forget this, "To thine own self be true". I really didn't understand what he meant until much later. But now I understand what he was saying to me, and now I strive to be true to myself.

As Mark said above, "If we forgive ourselves and have compassion for ourselves we will return to exactly who we are".

I have a mirror above the altar in my sanctuary. And a long time ago on this mirror I placed this prayer. I recite this prayer as I look at myself in the mirror and recognise the Goddess within, my Sacred Identity.

I come to the altar

Where burns the fire Divine

And there stands my Goddess

With arms outstretched to mine

"O come to me my dear one,

And we'll together shine,

For you are mine forever,

And I'm forever thine."

                                                  author unknown

Jai Mata Di

Growth

Growth is our progressive development, our evolution. It is improving and expanding ourselves, never stagnating. When we spread our branches like the tree reaching for the light we expand our awareness. This whole lifetime of ours is all about the attainment of higher consciousness through our spiritual development. And to accomplish this we must see beyond our self-imposed limitations.

"Mind is consciousness which has put on limitations. You are originally unlimited and perfect. Later you take on limitations and become the mind." ~ Sri Ramana Mararshi
                                        
When we think life used to be meaningful and fun, it's time to re-revaluate and see the bigger picture. Get out of the chattering mind, go within, re-discover our authentic self and reach for the stars.

Through growth we flower.  


Jai Mata Di

Archangel Gabriel

Archangel Gabriel

I have always thought of the Archangel Gabriel as a feminine angelic presence.

It is said that angels are neither male nor female but can appear however is needed.

It is also said that Michael sits on the right hand of God and that Gabriel sits on the left hand of God.
So since god created both man and woman why, after creating duality would he choose to have two males at his side.
Michael's planet is Mercury and his element is fire. Masculine attributes.
Gabriel's planet is the Moon and her element is water. Feminine attributes.

Meaning - "Strength of God"; "The Divine is my strength"; "God is my strength"

The only Archangel depicted as female in art and literature, Gabriel is known as the "messenger" Angel and is one of the four Archangels named in Hebrew tradition and is considered one of the two highest-ranking Angels in Judeo-Christian and Islamic religious lore. Apart from Michael, she is the only Angel mentioned by name in the Old Testament. She is a powerful and strong Archangel, and those who call upon her will find themselves pushed into action that leads to beneficial results.

Gabriel can bring messages to you just as she did to Elizabeth and Mary of the impending births of their sons, John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth. If you are considering starting a family, Gabriel helps hopeful parents with conception or through the process of adopting a child.

Contact Gabriel if your third eye is closed and your spiritual vision is therefore blocked. If you wish to receive visions of Angelic guidance regarding the direction you are going in. If you wish to receive prophecies of the changes ahead. If you need help in interpreting your dreams and vision.

Gabriel helps anyone whose life purpose involves the arts or communication. She acts as a coach, inspiring and motivating artists, journalist and communicators and helping them to overcome fdoubts and fears and gives you self-esteem and increased confidence.

Gabriel also helps us to find our true calling. Ask for Gabriel's guidance if you have strayed from your soul's pathway, if you wish to understand your life plan and purpose. She can also help if you can find no reason for being or if changes are ahead and you need guidance. If you are contemplating a house move, major purchase or thinking of changing careers.

Call Gabriel if your body is full of toxins and needs purifying and if your thoughts are impure or negative and need clearing and cleansing. Gabriel is also very helpful for women who have been raped or sexually assaulted and feel dirty as well as being under psychic attack or if you feel that you have absorbed someone else's problems.
The day of the week that is assigned to Gabriel is Monday, also the entire month of January is dedicated to Gabriel.

So, at this time during the January full moon, on a Monday - What better time to ask Archangel Gabriel for her Blessings.

"Gabriel, Bless me and guide me on this path I have chosen.

Give me the strength and confidence to overcome all obstacles

And keep me safe from harm"

"Angels transcend every religion, every philosophy, every creed.

In fact angels have no religion as we know it ...

their existence precedes every religious system

that has ever existed on earth."

St. Thomas Aquinas

Jai Mata Di

"

Full Moon Night

Tonight is the January Full Moon. It is called the Winter Moon or Wolf Moon because in ancient times the wolves could be heard at the edge of the villages, cold and hungry, their howling echoing in the cold still air. Last night the coyotes here were howling so I may as well call this The Coyote Moon. I'll be doing my ritual outside tonight so I'll see if the Coyotes participate.

The Moon was the first Universal measurer of time. it's 28 1/2 day cycle symbolizes time, fate, spinning, wheels weaving, cauldrons and of course The Divine Feminine or Great Mother.

I love the Moon rituals, I guess it's the Goddess connection. Many Years ago we had a group that got together every full moon for a drumming circle and every New Moon to state our intentions.
Now I perform my rituals alone and I can say that they are even more meaningful. Also, they are more personal and because you may change the ceremony to your own creative needs.

The Full Moon is a time for action, for giving thanks, for harvesting the fruits of our labors, for manifesting that which we began at the beginning of the last cycle, for releasing things that are no longer serve our highest good.

Here's something new I just discovered and will incorporate into my own ceremony tonight...

Choose a night of the Full Moon and light a silver or white candle at Gabriel's hour (9pm). Sit where you can observe the Moon and begin to breathe quietly and deeply, inhaling the mystic light of Her silvery rays in your imagination so that, as you breathe out, you exhale a beautiful outpouring of white magical radiance. See yourself and your surroundings as suffused with this light. Say to the Moon:

Moon-Goddess, Enchantress and Mistress of the night, I pray that I might be blessed with the grace and the strength of your majesty and beauty and enchantment of your magnetism. I experience the bliss of your peace, tranquility and power. I hail you as Queen of Wisdom and the Receptive Soul. All my life I shall walk in the charmed circle of your wisdom, beauty, power, serenity and mystery. I am filled with the heavenly peace of your motherly love, which enfolds me tenderly within the great white wings of Isis, whose radiant presence is with me in every life situation.

Sit for a few minutes contemplating the Moon's mysteries, then bow to Her and blow out your candle.

Jai Mata Di

Buddhist Heart Sutra

Gate, Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha

                                                           The Heart Sutra

Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, meditating deeply on Perfection of Wisdom, saw clearly that the five aspects of human existence are empty*, and so released himself from suffering. Answering the monk Sariputra, he said this:

Body is nothing more than emptiness,
emptiness is nothing more than body.
The body is exactly empty,
and emptiness is exactly body. The other four aspects of human existence --
feeling, thought, will, and consciousness --
are likewise nothing more than emptiness,
and emptiness nothing more than they.
All things are empty:
Nothing is born, nothing dies,
nothing is pure, nothing is stained,
nothing increases and nothing decreases.
So, in emptiness, there is no body,
no feeling, no thought,
no will, no consciousness.
There are no eyes, no ears,
no nose, no tongue,
no body, no mind.
There is no seeing, no hearing,
no smelling, no tasting,
no touching, no imagining.
There is nothing seen, nor heard,
nor smelled, nor tasted,
nor touched, nor imagined.
There is no ignorance,
and no end to ignorance.
There is no old age and death,
and no end to old age and death.
There is no suffering, no cause of suffering,
no end to suffering, no path to follow.
There is no attainment of wisdom,
and no wisdom to attain.
The Bodhisattvas rely on the Perfection of Wisdom,
and so with no delusions,
they feel no fear,
and have Nirvana here and now.
All the Buddhas,
past, present, and future,
rely on the Perfection of Wisdom,
and live in full enlightenment.
The Perfection of Wisdom is the greatest mantra.
It is the clearest mantra,
the highest mantra,
the mantra that removes all suffering.
This is truth that cannot be doubted.
Say it so:

Gaté,
gaté,
paragaté,
parasamgaté.
Bodhi!
Svaha!

Which means...

Gone,
gone,
gone over,
gone fully over.
Awakened!
So be it!

"The one who has gone over" means: the enlightened one, who has done away with views, ideas and perceptions and looks upon reality without any obstructions of mind.

---

Nany's Kitchen

My Grandmothers kitchen, where magic happened...


Warmth and Security
Unbounded love
Comfort and encouragement
Open arms and hugs

Sanctuary and safety
Laughter, fun and games
Nourishment for both the body and soul
Welcoming the strays

This was the place that everyone wanted to be
A place of Love and cheer
Her heart was as big as gold
So no one was ever turned away

It's the heart of the home
Of a woman filled with giving
Her advise and her council
Taught us the art of living

Oh, to see her smiling face
To hear her words of wisdom
Her stories told over and over again
as we sat around the table.

These meager words cannot express
my love, admiration and appreciation
To a woman who has shaped my life.
I Love you Nany!

Themis

Since Yesterday's post was titled balance, I thought I would write about the Goddess Themis.
Themis is an ancient pre-Hellenic Titan Goddess, daughter of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Heaven).
She is the Goddess of Justice, Order and Law and and a seer of future events. She personifies law in both spirit and deed, regulates karmic order and presides over matters of moral judgement.

Themis is depicted most often, holding a set of scales with her left hand, upon which she measures the strengths of a case's support and opposition. The blindfold reflects objectivity and impartiality.
The double-edged sword in her right hand symbolizes the Power of Reason and Justice, which may be wielded for or against any party.


She is the original Goddess of prophesy and was the "Divine Voice" who founded the Oracle at Delphi. 
She is the patroness of oracles and intuitives, specifically those who seek to use their gifts to uphold and teach divine laws.


She brings Balance and order into our lives and when we need her she is here to help. Call upon her, she is a sound counselor and offers Balanced perspectives in times of difficult decisions.

Balance

It's amazing to me just how today's post evolved. Goddess works in wonderous ways!
I was reading an article about Gobekli Tepe, an archaeological site in southeastern Turkey. It was a fascinating find, a sacred temple site, created 11,600 years ago - thousands of years before the ancient civilizations of Sumer, Egypt and Stonehenge.
It contains massive carved stones, carved before the discovery of metal tools, using stone and flint tools.


These T-shaped  monuments of stone (perhaps stylized human figures) are arranged in great stone rings. The carvings on these monuments are of animals - not domesticated animals but exotic animals such as lions, scorpions, vultures and more.
Were these totems?
The animals depicted here were, in later civilizations given divine attributes. These animals were sacred to those that carved them.


For example:                     
The Vulture, the high-flying carrion bird, as shown carved into the stone in this photo, is long believed by many cultures to transport the flesh of the dead up to the heavens. It represents the cycle of death and rebirth and of purification. The vulture also represents a form of the divine power which would dispose of what could possibly
be dangerous to life and health.Their role as scavengers serves an extremely valuable and necessary function.
Ewww! You say?
Think of how often you see the vultures soaring above us on the thermal winds and how they are serving us by keeping the environment clean and in Balance.

So, back to the article I was reading about Gobekli Tepe...

In this article various archaeolgists were disagreeing about whether or not this site was

built by hunter-gatherers who, in their opinions lacked the ability to construct such a complex temple or on the other hand, did the hunter gatherers organized themselves as a stationary workforce that eventually led to the need of a stable food supply that led to the advent of agriculture. Some believed that "religion" only appeared after agricultural societies produced hierarchial social systems.

In addition to these disagreements were others, that this was the site of a Goddess Fertility cult, the site of the Garden of Eden, that this Neolothic revolution was a curse on our existence, on and on and on.

As I read further it occurred to me that this article was mostly about all sorts of theories and the assumptions of alot of egos. Left Brained dominance!

The left brain values logical, linear, sequential thinking.  Its other abilities include the manipulation of numbers, the interpretation and performing of languages, the creation of boundaries and the understanding of the body's position in space. Our left brain therefore helps us to negotiate the external world and to create within that world. It is the masculine. It also is responsible for the "chatter" that prevents us from calming our minds. This torrent of thoughts that fuels our egos.

The right brain perceives through the senses, thinks visually. It can assess moods and the emotional content of language based on what we've been socialized to learn about speech-related behaviors such as vocal intonations. It sees the big picture or the "context" in which events occur. It acts as the witness or observer of events, and experiences emotions such as peace and gratitude. It is the Feminine. It is where the "quiet" resides. This is the intuitive side - the spiritual side.

This harmonization of left and right brain activity leads to a balanced human perspective which upholds the needs of both individual and group.

THIS is the point of this whole topic. The humans that built Gobekli Tepe had the vision for a place to honor their beliefs, whatever those beliefs were. It was visualized and the location was chosen, both right brain functions and then it was created, in all it's glory, a left brain function. They had it right. Most modern humans live in a left-brained world of chaos and stimulation. We need to Balance the left and right sides of the brain to

become peaceful, productive citizens of this planet. The Divine Feminine is HERE NOW to help us before we destroy ourselves. She is our Mother and she Loves us.

I found this Prayer to the Goddess a while ago, it's author is unknown.

Gracious Goddess who art Maiden, Mother and Crone

Celebrated be thy Name.

Help me to live in peace upon your earth,

And grant me safety in your arms.

Guide me along my chosen path,

And show me your great eternal Love

As I strive to be kind to those who do not

Understand your ways.

Lead me safely to your womb of rebirth,

For it's your spirit that lives within me

And protects me.

Forever and ever.

So Mote it Be!

Until Tomorrow

Jai Mata Di

Stillness

Over a month ago I watched Oprah's "Soul Sunday" show. She had as her guest Mark Nepo, the author of "The Book of Awakening". I was instantly drawn in by their conversation and by his life story and the passages that were read and discussed. AmazingIy, I have seen the book, time and time again and never once picked it up to look at it. But now I just had to go and get it, to read and contemplate the messages within it.
I began reading it the very day I brought it home, Dec. 3, 2011. The book has a thoughtful and beautiful message for each day of the calender year. You may read the message for today's date or just open the book at random to get your inspiration. So each day since, the first thing I do in the morning is to sit quietly with a cup of coffee and read the day's message. I underline things that are particularly meaningful to me and even go back and
re-read past day's messages.

Today's message was titled ~ "Unlearning Back to God"  (Goddess to me, of course)
It said, "Each person is born with an unencumbered spot - free of expectation and regret, free of ambition and embarrassment, free of fear and worry - an umbilical spot of grace where we were each first touched by God. It is this spot of grace that issues peace.
To know this spot of Inwardness is to know who we are, not by surface markers of identity, not by where we work or what we wear or how we like to be addressed, but by feeling our place in relation to the Infinite and by inhabiting it."

This place is the place of STILLNESS. It is that breathtakingly beautiful moment of connecting to the Divine. It is Inner Peace, the connecting on a soul level for a moment in time. Imagine feeling at One with Spirit, our true essence. As Teilhard de Chardin said,
"We are not human beings having a spiritual eperience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience." As I stated on the January 1st post, we have been gifted the
experience of being here in human form and we should cherish every moment of life here on earth but we cannot forget our true Nature. We are Divine Spirit.

Think of a moment in time that you were truly in a place of peace, a place of unconditional love and joy transpiring. When we do remember we can actually return there and recapture the essence of the experience.

The place of Stillness is our innermost sense of self  

Who we truly are, without name and form

In Stillness we find our way.

Until tomorrow,
Namaste
Jai Mata Di

Nature loves courage

"Nature loves COURAGE. You make the commitment and Nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it's a featherbed." ~ Terence McKenna


COURAGE is to live without fear and to me the opposite of fear is LOVE so...
to have Courage is to Love completely, to have a heart that is open to all possibilities and to embrace the magic that is our birthright.

We are the creators of our individual worlds and just like Nature we are created from the energy generated from the stars. The sediments of the earth make up our cells and the waters of the primordial seas flow through our veins and tissues. We are born of Mother Nature by the marriage of Heaven and Earth.

We possess the ability to manifest by just believing. It is within us to create positive outcomes to our quests. We must simply open our hearts to the magic and the obstacles will be removed.

So why is it that we cannot fathom our own power to manifest? Who took took this magic from us? It was those who wanted to enslave us, to use our power and to prevent us from being who we really are.

We can take this power back by believing in ourselves, by remembering and declaring our sovereignty. This is a very simple and gentle process.

Begin each day with this declaration:

"I have the courage to Love completely,

the knowledge of my sacredness,

the ability to believe and create,

                                     

  and the ambition to accomplish this goal.

  

I will prevail!"

Until tomorrow in Love and Light,

Jai Mata Di ~ Glory to the Mother