A Letter to Ayla of the Earth's Children By Elizabeth Phillips

A Letter to Ayla of the Earth's Children  By Elizabeth Phillips

In that dream I had, you ran to me, your five-year-old body parting crowds.  I knew your name and forgotten language before you ever said a word.  Then you leapt into my arms and spoke mine.  That night, we wove ourselves through eons and what we can make believe, face to face with each other's beginnings. 

In different ways, for different reasons, we once took another chance to live.  Mine began with a coma, a terrible dot that tore life into two unfinished clauses-- before and after the closing of eyes.  And for us both, it ended with a scream-- the kind uttered at first recognition of difference, still afraid to lose what we had no time to love.

At twelve, when I first heard your story, my blood still stung in the places where so many tried to cut me off from myself.  It was you who challenged me to start bleeding watercolors, spill tears without silence, as if, just by painting the desert in swirls of blue, I could stumble into the mist of belonging. 

Then, there were the twelve years since.  The acorn follows the oak tree, (the meaning of your name) the child mother to her, woman, the earthy light of old caves.  Was it you, or me, who brushed my voice across these shattered sands, slowly removing the brambles? So many obstacles to overturn, so many who deserted me. Was it me, or you, who learned to love the pathfinders (the wolf as their symbol)? I have adopted their language; they have become my second family.

It does not matter which of us came first.  That night when you perched on my horizon like a firefly, I whispered to you all I knew to make the world more beautiful. Perhaps it was you, or me, who dreamily pressed a face to the window as we drove home,
Glass reflecting back our smallness, a cool mirror and warm skin.

I still remember waking: how the sun poked its face through the blinds and how the dream felt, ebbing back into the marrow of my bones.  I wanted to speak soundlessly, moving my hands, my whole body, through those ancient signs you danced as a child.  I would say this to thank you.  I would say:

This woman wakes.  This woman has found her others.  She has sifted through the grains of sand, and has counted you in every one.

Dew Kissed and Beltane Blessed by Bendis

hawthorn gathered in the may atop a tree of birch gaily blowing in the wind rainbow ribbons spin dew kissed, we shall awake a blessing to the Earth and greet the sun on morning rise with laughter and sweet mirth queen of may, jack o'green bless the fields and land lively dancing kissing twirling ribbons in the hand

king making, goddess blessed sacred vows of ancient days wrapping ribbons round the pole dance the sacred ways spread the grass make a bed lay upon the land spill the seed bless the night lovers hand in hand come my love, walk with me we'll lay upon the grass our love to bless this night and watch the moonlight pass

Happy Beltane

Bendis

Feminine Intuition-Your Power To Know What's Really Going On by Gayle Goldwin

There was a time, back in days now lost in the fog of prehistory, when Woman didn't need oracles to predict her future or reveal what was going on behind her back. She didn't worry about what might happen, and she didn't fret about what to do. She didn't need to. She hadn't been taught to doubt her Self. She hadn't been taught to dismiss her Intuition. She hadn't been taught to disregard her own Knowing. Back then, women didn't need oracles because every Woman was an Oracle.

And she knew it.

Back then, it was obvious that Woman had a direct connection to Divinity. She was, after all, created in the image and likeness of the Great Goddess. She need only be still and ask, for every answer to be given her. That's just how it was. She was Feminine, and her Femininity made her Powerful. She had Woman's feelings, instincts, intuition and senses. She intuitively Knew everything she needed to know.

And everyone knew that she Knew.

Women today still have a direct link to Divinity. They still have access to all Knowing, and they still need only ask to receive the answer. Woman's inherent sensitivity and abilities remain as they have always been. Her intuitive link to all Knowing remains just as it was created within her. The only thing that has changed over the last six millennia is that Woman no longer knows that she Knows.

For six thousand long years, Woman has been told many tales about who and what she is. She's heard many myths about her supposed nature, needs and purpose, many lies about her capabilities and value, or purported lack thereof. But not a word has changed the truth of what Woman really is. Not a word has altered her innate powers in even the slightest way.

What has changed is Woman's perception of herself, of her abilities and value. Subordinated by the world's societies, subjugated by its laws, and denounced by its religions, Woman struggled to simply survive. She's been adrift in a world that attacked her body, limited her legal rights, denied her talents, ignored her intuition, dismissed her value, and scorned her femininity as "weak." No longer aware of what Womanhood is, she lost touch with her own inner Knowing. She lost touch with the Power of her Divine Femininity. She began to believe what they told her.

But it wasn't always that way, and it doesn't have to be that way now. Women are reclaiming their Power.  They're turning to many tools-oracles, angels, psychics, meditation, divinatory tools and teachers of all kinds-to guide them back to their Intuitive Knowing. But what's the source of that intuitive hit? Who or what sends it into our awareness?

Oracles, Angels, Spirit Guides-by whatever name we call them, we call upon them when we need Answers, when we need to know what they Know. But why are these Invisible Assistants there for us? What can we learn from them? And how do we know we can trust the counsel we get?

In turning to Spirit for guidance, you are, of course, accessing the highest part of your Self-your Spirit that is a part of All That Is. But until your conscious communion with Divinity is once again intact and the Knowing freely flowing, you will also be interacting with those devoted Beings who have agreed to advise and guide your soul through its bodily adventures in this life. You can call them by any name you like: angels, guardians, guides, God, Goddess, or even Samantha, if you wish. They don't care what you call Them, for They've evolved far beyond any attachment to a name. They work as a collective and have no ego to care.

Whatever you call Them (and we'll use "Guides" here only because it best describes Their role), They'll be your most steadfast supporters and wisest advisors, the best friends you'll ever have. If you call, They will answer. They'll be with you every moment of your life. They are there to guide you away from pain and toward your soul's delight.

Your Guides know you. They know your hopes and dreams, your fears and wounds, your present level of awareness and every aspect of your temperament. They'll select the clearest avenue possible to communicate with you. They may use oracles or tarot cards, books or music, sudden insights or bodily sensations, colors or sounds, the chance remark of a passing stranger or the lyrics of a song that keeps running through your head. They'll use Whatever Works.

The details They reveal about what lies ahead or what's going on behind your back are, of course, important in your daily decision-making, but equally important is understanding why They're giving you that information. So remember this: Your Guides are at your side to help you have the experiences you came to life to have.

But They will never tell you what to do, for that would insult your intelligence and violate your Free Will. There are no shoulds, musts or have-tos in Their realm, nor would any entity of the Light ever attempt to impose their will upon you. Your Guides will always honor the fact that the Choicemaker in your life is You. And choose you do, in every situation you encounter on the stage of your life. In every moment of your day, you make choices about whether to do this or that, to say "yes" or "no," to participate or withdraw, to speak or remain silent, to take this path or that one.

You came to this Theater of Life to make choices, and to see how those choices work out. There are no "right" or "wrong" choices. Your soul's satisfaction is the only goal, and you are the only one who decides if the results of your choices are "good" or "bad." Your Guides want you to have all the information you need to make informed choices.

So, with your soul's goals in mind, your Guides may offer a new perspective or suggest options you hadn't thought of. They'll remind you of your Purpose. And They'll definitely help you remember who you truly are, what you intended, and all that you can do. Your remembrance of this is your real Power, the only kind you need and the only kind you can never lose.

Receiving Their messages requires only your willingness and an avenue through which They can communicate with you. Oracles are one such avenue, and are rightly valued for their clarity, but know that your Guides will use any avenue that gets Their message through.

You need not fear Their judgment, for They have nothing but admiration for your courage in coming to this planet. They know that being in a body isn't easy. They know the world's dramas make it easy to forget who you are, to forget what you came for and all that you Know. They understand that life here is full of concrete needs and material concerns. And they know that the world's illusions are sometimes-maybe even often-frightening. They know how easy it is to forget that the Game of Life is just a game; that there is, indeed, really nothing to fear. They understand How It Is here. They understand how you feel. Most of all, They love you, and want you to find comfort in that Love.

So call upon Them by whatever name you please. Let Them show you how to open your inner Sight to discern the character and intentions of those around you. Ask Them to show you a Way Out of problems you've given up hope of ever resolving.

Most importantly, let Them show you capabilities and powers that you've forgotten you possess. Let Them guide you back to your True Femininity-the powerful femininity your soul knows, not the feeble image of it the world tries to limit you to. Let Them help you reclaim the Powers and Confidence that are your birthright as a Woman. And, above all, enjoy yourself while you create the life you came to have.

That's why They're at your side.

©2007 Gayle Goldwin. Excerpted from WomanSpirit Oracles: Wisdom of the Ancients, Solutions For Today, a modern-day divination tool of Feminine Empowerment revealing the 33 archetypes of Divine Femininity present in every Woman. Gayle Goldwin is on a mission to redefine contemporary images of "femininity" and help women become the powerful, confident goddesses they were born to be. When not channeling new Messages from the illumined Beings who direct her work, she works with women who want to get in touch with their own Guides so they can get the answers they need to create the lives of Love and Joy they deserve. Visit www.WomanSpiritOracles.com to get a Free Oracle Card Reading, read more Excerpts from WomanSpirit Oracles, download Free Tips to increase your Joy and Confidence, or read inspiring Channeled Messages from the illumined Beings Who guide this work.

Goddess in my Garden by Mut Danu

Neighbors ambling along the path behind the back fence stop to look twice at her abundantly curved, monumental form that resembles an ivy-covered Venus of Willendorf. At six feet tall, she stands on the summit of a hillock at the back of our suburban garden. Very clearly visible from the living room window, she beckons, "Come out and plant something."

When I tell my family or friends that I'm out in the garden focusing on "the whole," I know they are hearing  "the Hole," and thinking of the huge cistern we dug in our back yard, and not "the whole" as in … trees, wind, sunshine , dew… the whole! It's understandable, the Hole being the subject of quite a few conversations over the course of the past two years.

The twelve foot deep excavation was painfully dug out of clay and impressively took up about half the backyard. The bottom of the Hole was filled in with pipes snaking back and forth underground to bring either warmed or cooled air, depending on the season, into the house. This was then topped with a cistern the size of a small swimming pool designed to catch rainwater and that construction was topped with a patio. We continued on, adding a sun-filled room onto the back of the house, handy husband and I. The amblers now stopped to gape over the fence and shake their heads as though we were building the Ark. So it's no surprise really that people visualize me meditating on the Hole. Sometimes, at days end, I would look up, take off the heavy masons' gloves to wipe the concrete dust and sweat off my face and see the Green Goddess on her little hill, above the desolation of the garden that by now had been pounded to hardpan. With lush green ivy wrapped around wide chicken wire hips and twining among green breasts, her message was unmistakable, "Hold on."

By the end of summer we had used up the materials that had filled the backyard worksite and not a blade of grass was left standing. Now Goddess was whispering, "I'm still here, and over there, and look along the fence!" Nettles had grown up in the shade of the wooden pallets and cement blocks. A variety of moss with the tiniest leaves I'd ever seen began growing on any tiny trace of organic matter that drifted down to the concrete-like soil. Chamomile sprouted up in cracks in the clay. When fall came, I spaded soil that was packed too hard for worms to enter, turning in fallen leaves, and working carefully around those places where a few blessed weeds had somehow managed to grow. Throughout a long and dreary winter, we now began working in concert, she inspiring from her hilltop, and me poring over permaculture books and web sources of organic seeds. I went out once on a semi-dry winter day and raked some peat into the clay, then settled in for the long wait for Spring.

Spring was late this year and even though the calendar says we are definitively in April, the weather still changes its mind every ten minutes. As I write, huge snowflakes are falling for the first time this year. The Goddess in my garden beckons all the same. In Spring time her hill is covered with brilliant blue forget-me-nots and she watches over newly planted hazelnut bushes and dwarf apple trees, a benevolent Entwife of young things.

Today during a moment of sunshine that was quickly chased by ominous grey clouds and followed by snow, I went out to plant something. This year's early Spring gardening seems to have evolved into a ritual. First I fuss around, looking at the quickly spreading bits of green weeds that push up overnight even though it is still too cold for most vegetable seeds to germinate, then look at the temperature, then at brilliant blue sky that only a half an hour ago was banging sleet against the window, then gather tools and put them by the door and finally get enough momentum to burst outdoors and actually do something. As soon as my garden shoes touch the dirt, everything changes. The stiff wind becomes an invigorating breeze, and I thank Goddess for the raindrops that seem to bless us abundantly and often in this part of France.

To believe the multitude of gardening books and magazines out there, gardening is work, with a zillion tasks to accomplish and insects and fungi to worry about. Actually, it is surprising how little insects and fungi disturb things if you just leave everything well enough alone. For me, gardening often as not turns into a meditation of "the whole" and ends as a form of worship.

So now I'm on my knees with my fingers smoothing out rich, aromatic deep brown soil. Scattered on the ground are seeds for spinach and radishes, different lettuces and green onions. They aren't sown in rows. Instead they will grow to cover the soil and will resemble a tasty mille-fleur medieval tapestry of greens and reds. And then, just for the space of a transcendental moment, I don't see different shapes of the seeds, nor feel the weather around me. The incessant habit we all have of naming, processing and ordering everything around in our heads is hushed. There is only Connection; the dark earth, the seeds, the wind and me.

Then whoosh, time starts up again, the instant of bliss becomes an instant of recognition of bliss which is all the more frustrating because now it is over. I pat the seeds, connecting them firmly to the earth and sprinkling more earth on top, then pat them again with affection. The moment of bliss has passed, but I am happy, the feeling of connection is still strong. I imagine that the seeds and I both feel the simultaneous pull to grow upwards and to push down roots. I leave them tucked into their warm home and go into mine. Green Goddess is standing on her hill, forget-me-nots mirroring a tiny patch of blue sky that has suddenly opened up above and the ivy twines up around Her face, like a smile.

Mut Danu
Beltane, 2008

Mut Danu is a High Priestess of The Apple Branch, a Dianic Tradition and La Branche du Pommier, France.

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Good Fortune and How to Attract It ~ Book Review

Book Review by Dawn "Belladonna" Thomas
Good Fortune and How to Attract It
by Titania Hardie
ISBN: 978-1-84400-577-2

When I was asked to review this book I was very excited. The book is written using a more modern and updated form of I Ching. I have been intrigued with this form of divination for quite a while but could not connect with the traditional method. Included in the book are three coins - each with a sun on one side and a moon on the other.

There are 64 forecasts in the book but before you can throw the three coins readers need to do is determine their personal profile. In my example I happen to be WIND since I am a first daughter and since I am also a Mother I am also associated with EARTH. The next thing I did was find where my birthday fell. Since my birthday is in December I am Autumn Wind (for first daughter) and Autumn Earth (for Mother). Once my personal profile was complete I asked my first question. I was amazed with the accuracy of the answer.

I tried it several more times and was satisfied with the results. The information in the forecasts is well thought out and in depth. I like the way Ms. Hardie refers to the Elements and the Seasons in the personality profile and the forecasts. It makes the throws that much more personal. The graphics in the book are very pleasing and can be used to meditate on the forecast. The forecast pages are color coded with the Elements and Seasons. It makes it easier to determine the greater personal relevance of the forecast for the reader. This is determined if you have one or two aspects in a reading.

Although it is a small book it is full of a lot of good quality reading. I highly recommend it for anyone that would like to delve into the realm of I-Ching.

 

Herb of the Season: Hawthorn By Dawn "Belladonna" Thomas

 

Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) - Deciduous Folk Names: Bread and Cheese Tree, Gaxels, Hagthorn Halves, Haw, Hazels, Suath, Ladies' Meat, May, Mayblossom, May Bush, Mayflower, Quick, Thorn, Tree of Chastity Planet: Mars Element: Fire Visualization A hawthorn bristling with spikes and adorned with dark red berries stands blocking the middle of a traveler's path.

Botanical

The hawthorn is related to the rose and is usually found planted in hedgerows. The flowers are white with five-fold petals and the small green berries run dark red in the fall. The berries become a fleshy fruit known as 'haws' later in the year. Haw is believed to mean 'hedge'. The Hawthorn is a small tree seldom exceeding 15 feet in height. Although it grows well in most soils, the hawthorn prefers damp sandy earth for germination and is often a bird-sown tree.

It is usually cut back to form low, thick hedges, and is rarely seen as a full-grown tree. It is very distinctive, with its profusion of small, white flowers in May, which turn to bright red berries and darker, fleshy fruits, known as haws, later in the year. The leaves of the trees are on alternate sides of the prickly twisted stalks. They have deep divided lobes and have a similar appearance to small oak leaves. Its bark is grayish-brown, flecked with small scales, and covered with the very hard and sharp thorns that give the tree its name. Its long thorns provide protection against storm and grazing animals for larger trees like oak and ash that grow up beneath it and eventually supplant it. It also affords thorny shelter for birds and other wildlife that feast on its scarlet autumn berries.

When grown in the wild it can take on some very peculiar shapes. It may be this unusual characteristic that encouraged the belief that it had been planted by fairies. Despite its gnarled appearance and formidable thorns, the hawthorn in full bloom is a very attractive tree. The wood of the hawthorn is rarely used commercially since its branches are very knotted. It does not burn well either, and has long been the subject of superstition that says that it is unlucky to bring hawthorn into the house. It is often found growing on fairy hills, the Sidhe mounds described in the legends. It is commonly believed to have been placed there by the fairies as a warning to humans, in order to protect the mound, for no sensible person would ever disturb such a tree.

Bark:
The trunk of the hawthorn becomes gnarled with age and it bark is thick. The bark is dark grey-brown and splits into a pattern of random squares with age. The tree often appears to be old especially in winter. It is an orchard shaped tree and is dense with intertwining branches and shorn thorns or spines. These spines are actually stunted shoots.

Leaves:
In April the leaf buds open with little bundles of pale green leaves on each branch.  They become shiny on top and gray on the bottom. Some varieties of hawthorn leaves turn into a red in the fall but others do not.

Flowers:
The flower buds come out between the new leaves. The flowers grow in clusters of white or palest pink and exude a strong unusual scent. The hawthorn blossoms contain both male and female parts and are fertilized by insects crawling over them.

Fruit:
On the back of each hawthorn flower are five green sepals which make it look like a star. Below the stalk are seeds which will grow into small green berries. In the fall the berries turn a shiny dark red that birds love to eat. Their seeds are then propagated by birds.

Folklore and History
The hawthorn tree was associated with both female and sexuality and destruction. It is both a sign of abstinence and sexual abandon. Hawthorn blossoms were gathered each May Day, also known as Beltane, to place in a wreath around the Maypole. The true date for this festival was believed to be the first morning that the hawthorn blossoms opened. The wreath served as the female symbol and the pole was the male symbol. The gathering of the hawthorn blossoms for this was known as "going a Maying."  Chaucer wrote this about the hawthorn tree:

Mark the fair blooming of the Hawthorn Tree,
Who, finely clothed in a robe of white,
Fills full the wanton eye with May's delight.

It is one of the sacred three of British and Celtic antiquity: Oak and Ash and Thorn.  When these trees grow together it is said to be a favorite place for faeries. In present day Ireland, it is considered woeful to cut down a Fairy Tree. Hawthorns appear to have been found all over the British Isles in ancient times. One tree grew in the confines of Glastonbury Abby, called the Glastonbury Thorn, which was cut down by the Puritans most likely because of its pagan associations. Hawthorn was grown in hedgerows and created a barrier to keep people off the land. John Clare, a poet tells of the changes that he saw:

Ye injur'd fields, ye once were gay,
When Nature's hand displayed.
Long waving rows of willows gray
And clumps of hawthorns shade,
But now alas your hawthorn bowers
All desolate we see!
The spoilers' axe their shade devours,
And cuts down every tree.

The Goddess as death bringing Crone was connected with the hawthorn in the legend of Cu Chulainn. After pronouncing her death curse on the hero, in the form of a crow, she sat in a hawthorn on the plain of Muirthemne. That is why it is called 'the hawthorn of the Crow.'

Deities
There are several goddesses associated with the Hawthorn tree: Cardea or Maia, Olwen, Flora, and Blodeuwedd.

Cardea (Roman), cast spells with the Hawthorn, and was usually appeased in some form at marriages. This was especially true if the marriage occurred during the May month (month of the May tree or Hawthorn, not the calendar month of May), as this goddess opposed such unions. Cardea protected infants from night birds who snatched children from their cradles and sucked their blood. She was first thought to do this using a hawthorn at Alba Longa where people emigrated from the Peloponnese. Cardea was thought to be the mistress of Janus who was keeper of the doors. She is known as the guardian of hinges, she has the power to open what is closed away and conceal what is open. She looks both forward and backward in Time. She is the Benefactress of craftspeople and lives in a starry castle at the hinge of the universe behind the North Wind. She is also known as the Keeper of the Four Winds.

Maia: Known as the May tree, the hawthorn represents the White Goddess Maia. Maia was the mother of both Hermes and Buddha as separate versions of the Enlightened One. She was the Goddess of love and death, both the ever young Virgin giving birth to the god, and the Grandmother bringing him to the end of his season. Maia is the Greek goddess of spring, from whom we derive the name of the month of May. Her traditional day of celebration is Beltane, when joyous men and women, wearing vibrant green, dance around a maypole to welcome spring. In the Celtic tradition of Beltane, it was mostly a time of unashamed human sexuality and fertility, where customs such as archery tournaments, dances, feasting and music were conducted to celebrate the coming of spring. The Druids instituted May bonfires to assure successful planting and plentiful harvests

Olwen: In Celtic tradition the Hawthorn was sacred to Olwen and represents fertility. One of her titles was 'She of the White Track' because of the hawthorn's white blossoms. Her father's name, Yspadden Pencawr, literally means giant hawthorn. Olwen was described as having streaming yellow hair, anemone fingers, and rosy cheeks; from every footstep a white trefoil sprang up. The "white lady of the day," she was called, the flower-bringing "golden wheel" of summer

Flora is a goddess of the flower of youth and its pleasure. Her sacred month is April.  She was honored annually at the May Day festival called Floralia. This festival began in 238 BCE as a festival of unrestrained pleasure. The festival began on April 28th and lasted for six days. This is the anniversary of the founding of her temple to May 3rd. The female body was especially honored at the Floralia. It was not a frivolous party. This was to acknowledge Flora the queen of all plants. The origin of the maypole and the collecting of May baskets of lowers came form her festival. Since she was the goddess of flowering in nature, this included human nature. The blooming of flowers leads to fruit as intercourse lead to conception. It was thought to honor Flora was to pass medallions around, scatter beans and seeds, and make love to people going by.

It was noted that Flora was a "Lady of Pleasure" but she was prominent and important in Roman religion. Some said her name was the secret soul name of Rome itself and without her the city would die. St. Augustine and other fathers of the Christian church abominated Flora and her festival. They said it was an orgy of nude dancing and promiscuous behavior. In an ancient myth Flora was said to provide Juno with a special flower that allowed her to become pregnant without male assistance. Juno then gave birth to Mars. It was also told that Flora was the bride of the west wind and that her gentle breath called forth the flowers to bloom.

Blodeuwedd the maiden is also associated with this tree. She was conjured up from nine kinds of spring flowers. She traditionally represented the light part of the year which gave balance to the autumn, when the autumn god was made from nine kinds of fruit. It is Blodeuwedd who the May Queen represents when she is dressed in blossoms at the Mayday festivities.

Magical Uses
To carry a sprig of hawthorn was to have protection against storms at sea and lightning on shore.  In some regions hawthorn was taken into the home and placed in the rafters for protection against spirits, ghosts, and storms. This is a rhyme about the protection of the hawthorn:

Beware of an oak,
It draws the stroke,
Avoid an ash,
It courts a flash,
Creep under a thorn,
It will save you from harm.

As a faerie tree, the hawthorn works to guard the wells. If the wells have no water there will be no life. The young girls waited for the first hawthorn blossom. Whoever found the first one would partly break the branch but leave it hanging. That night she would dream of the man she would marry. The next day she would go back to the tree and picked up the broken branch and keep it until her husband appeared.

The flowers can be made into a decoction to heal facial blemishes. This is the poem relating to it:

The fair maid who the first of May,
Goes to the field as the break of day,
And washes in dew from the Hawthorn Tree,
Will ever handsome be.

Sources
Altman, Nathaniel. Sacred Trees. New York, NY. Sterling Publishing; 2000
Blamires, Steve. Celtic Tree Mysteries Practical Druid Magic and Divination. St. Paul. Llewellyn Publications; 1997
Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. St. Paul, MN. Llewellyn Publications. 2000
Glass-Koentop, Patalee. Year of Moons, Seasons of Trees. St. Paul, MN. Llewellyn Publications; 1991
Hopman, Ellen Evert. Tree Medicine Tree Magic. Blaine, WA. Phoenix Publishing, 1991
Hopman, Ellen Evert. A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Year. Rochester, VT. Destiny Books. 1995
Monaghan, Patricia. The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines. St. Paul, MN. Llewellyn Publications; 1981
Mountfort, Paul Rhys. Ogam The Celtic Oracle of the Trees. Rochester, VT. Destiny Books; 2001
Paterson, Jacqueline Memory; Tree Wisdom. San Francisco, CA Harper Collins; 1996
Pepper, Elizabeth. Celtic Tree Magic. Rhode Island: The Witches' Almanac, Ltd.; 1996
Thorsson, Edred. The Book of Ogham The Celtic Tree Oracle. St. Paul, MN. Llewellyn Publications; 1992
Walker, Barbara G. The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. New York, NY. Harper Collins; 1983

Life's Dance by Mary Lyons

The Maiden starts a timid dance,
Her Consort proud in youthful stance.
They follow the sun's warming light,
Continued in the arms of a moon bright.
 
The meadow is their wedding bower,
Their blanket is a field of flowers.
The trees over head shield their play,
Before them nectar drips in golden array.

Blessings on the Earth they have gained,
Fertility flows with the shimmering rain.
New life in abundance has begun,
Stretching ever upwards toward the Sun.
 
Now in a Mother's warm embrace,
Fed on the milk of this familiar place.
The cycle of life begins anew,
From Maiden, to Mother, to Wisdom's review.
 
We are her children, to Her we are led,
From Her we are nurtured and we were fed.
All life dances to Her sweet song of romance,
As Maiden once more She starts Her dance.
 
Mary Lyons
April '08

Moon, Planting and Harvesting Schedule by Dawn "Belladonna" Thomas

Moon Schedule from Lammas to Mabon

By Dawn "Belladonna" Thomas

 

(Times are Eastern Time)

 

2^nd Quarter - August 8^th 4:20 p.m.

Full Moon - August 16^th 5:16 p.m.

4^th Quarter - August 23^rd 7:49 p.m.

New Moon - August 30^th 3:58 p.m.

 

2^nd Quarter - September 7^th 10:04 p.m.

Full Moon - September 15^th 5:13 a.m.

 

Moon Void of Course Schedule

 

Date                                     Starts                                              Ends

 

August 2nd	2:59 p.m.	4:59 p.m.
August 4th	8:16 p.m.	10:28 p.m.
August 7th	5:01 a.m.	7:26 a.m.
August 9th	5:02 p.m.	7:10 p.m.
August 12th	5:04 a.m.	7:42 a.m.
August 14th	1:09 p.m.	6:56 p.m.
August 17th	1:14 a.m.	3:46 a.m.
August 19th	7:41 a.m.	10:10 a.m.
August 21st	12:53 p.m.	2:38 p.m.
August 23rd	5:19 a.m.	5:48 p.m.
August 25th	5:52 p.m.	8:18 p.m.
August 27th	8:13 p.m.	10:51 p.m.
August 29th	11:44 p.m.	August 30th 2:18 a.m.
September 1st	5:01 a.m.	7:44 a.m.
September 3rd	1:09 p.m.	4:02 p.m.
September 5th	11:45 a.m.	September 6th 3:11 a.m.
September 8th	12:43 p.m.	3:45 p.m.
September 10th	9:15 a.m.	September 11th 3:19 a.m.
September 13th	9:19 a.m.	12:04 p.m.
September 15th	3:03 p.m.	5:39 p.m.
September 17th	6:26 p.m.	8:56 p.m.
September 19th	6:51 p.m.	11:17 p.m.

 

Planting Days

August: 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, 17^th, 18^th, 22^nd, 31^st

September: 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 13^th, 14^th, 15^th, 18^th, 19^th

 

Harvesting Days

August: 2^nd, 19^th, 20^th, 21^st, 23^rd, 24^th, 25^th, 28^th, 29^th

September: 16^th, 17^th, 20^th, 21^st

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Remember By Anita Chapman

Hear the sea inhaling bubbles
Pulling sand from dampened shore
Exhaling a sigh
Waves rushing in high
She's scattering shells across the floor

An earth-child hears the mother's voice
A whisper now reminds her soul
The ocean reigns
Memory remains
Child once lay in a sea-filled bowl

I can hear her rush of breath
When silence fills my ears
She lives in me
The mother-sea
I taste her in my tears

 

Solitary Ritual for Beltaine by Karen Thoms

Materials needed:
flowers (seasonal to your region);
candle (white or yellow);
wine or juice;
fresh fruit, berries, or good chocolate;
scrying instrument if desired;
small dish of birdseed -or- container of wildlife flower seeds.

Although I give words and procedures, alter them to fit your own practice as needed.  For example, I start the circle in the North.  You may change to East and/or change the words. 
If you have a relationship with one of the particular goddesses invited, you may only use her.
Physical and medical limitations should always be considered.

Altar set-up is with the candle in the center;  wine and fruit to the left; seed to the right;
flowers in a pleasing arrangement above the center and overall. 

(facing North)
I call to that beneath my feet;
the bones and flesh of  Mother;
Earth-being I call you present.

(facing East)
I call to that within my breath;
the song and sigh of Mother;
Earth-voice I call you present.

(facing South)
I call to that within my heart;
the desire and will of Mother;
Earth-knowing I call you present.

(facing West)
I call to that within my veins;
the creativity and sustenance of Mother;
Earth-blood I call you present.

As it is through time and space,
as it is in this world and all others,
this circle is cast and complete.

(light candle)
I invite you, Freya, Aphrodite, and Astarte to join with me
in this celebration of love, fertility, and delight.
Bring your joy, your passion, your glorious abandon;
renew this place from a time of cold and bring new life.

**At this time scrying may be performed.  As Beltaine is
one of the times the veil between the worlds is thinnest, contact between
worlds is most clear.**

This next portion of the ritual is an invocation of happiness.  Hold the bowl of
seeds/birdseed in your hands and actively think about things that have made
you happy and brought you joy in the last week.  Even something as small as a
bird that sang outside your window.  Concentrate and focus on the happiness
felt at those times.  Charge the seed with happiness and repeat the following:

My blood, my womb is creation;
I am love; I am Goddess;
I am the tree and I am the flower;
I choose to embrace beauty and
I choose to embrace life.

Replace the bowl on the altar.  Drink the wine and eat the fruit while meditating
on finding pleasure in all things.  Save a bit as a libation and offering to be
scattered outside. 

Thank the Goddesses for their presence and release the elements each in turn. 
Unmake the circle.  Take the seed outside and scatter.  (Birdseed where the birds can
safely eat; flower seeds where they can grow naturally and undisturbed.)

Sapphire, 2008
HPS, Order of Avalon
Co-chair, HLC Witches
Co-director, Great Lakes Regional Open Circle

sapphire49221@gmail.com

Spring Fever By Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman

During the first part of spring, the vernal birth waters break. The skies open. It rains, it pours, it mists, it drips fertilizing fluids from the heavens, which fructify the fields. The air is damp like a baby's bottom. The land is soaked through, water logged. The mud, like mucous, like after-birth, is seething with the stuff of life.

The defrosting sodden soil is teeming, churning with every creepy crawly thing that ever slithered out of a swamp. Hordes of birds descend, drawn by the juicy feast. Animals awaken from their pregnant hibernations, skinny, starving and suckling their young. Birds and beasts, alike, set out on a concerted feeding frenzy, gorging themselves and their ravenous, insatiable, mouths-ever-open offspring.

By mid-spring, the tantrum storms, like the terrible two's of the early, chilly part of the season, have finally stilled. The winds and rains have gentled. There is a new calmness, a certain steadier confidence in the air. Nature has dug in Her roots and taken hold. Once-tentative buds have unfolded and flourished.

Flowers, food and forage are abundant and extravagantly fragrant. The leaves on trees and bushes are that particular fluorescent pea green shade that we see only once a year at this time. Earth and Her species are spread green with the surging effervescent, aphrodisiac substance of life. The sap, the shoot, the root, the bud, the bark, the branch, the trunk, the tree of life.

The second half of spring is the growing time when life seems to shoot up out of the ground and keep on going forever forward, reaching and grasping for growth. This is the energy that we used to call, "the wonder years." All the vernal new-borns, having outgrown generations of teeth, baby down, feathers, pelts and ridiculously expensive sneakers, are now frenetic with raging hormones. All-too-ready, set, to go and strike out on their own, determined to produce and reproduce.

The merry month of May marks the high-spirited puberty rite of passage into adolescence for the flora and fauna offspring of Mother Earth. The season, itself, is a bang-up celebration of exuberant youth in all its boundless energy, innocent ardor and potential creativity. And all the land is dressed up and decorated for the festivities.

On these glorious days of May, it feels as if the whole world is in the throes of a contagious spring fever. We are aswirl in a delirious dance of motion, emotion, an exhilarating carnival ride of heady smells and riotous color. Life all around is gaudy, giddy, giggly.

The mood is catchy and we get carried away in the enthusiastic spirit. Almost without giving it any thought, we are suddenly cheerful, hopeful and optimistic, as Nature, Herself. And we are ready to spring forward into life with renewed energy and verve.

 
*****************************************************
Donna Henes is an internationally renowned urban shaman,
eco-ceremonialist, award-winning author, popular speaker
and workshop leader whose joyful celebrations of celestial
events have introduced ancient traditional rituals and
contemporary ceremonies to millions of people in more than
100 cities since 1972. She has published four books, a CD,
an acclaimed quarterly journal and writes a column for UPI
(United Press International) Religion and Spirituality Forum.
Mama Donna, as she is affectionately called, maintains a
ceremonial center, spirit shop, ritual practice and consultancy
in Exotic Brooklyn, NY where she works with individuals, groups,
institutions, municipalities and corporations to create meaningful
ceremonies for every imaginable occasion.

For information about upcoming events and services contact:

Mama Donna's Tea Garden & Healing Haven
PO Box 380403
Exotic Brooklyn, New York, NY 11238-0403
Phone: 718/857-1343
Email: CityShaman@aol.com
www.DonnaHenes.net
www.MamaDonnasSpiritShop.com/
www.TheQueenofMySelf.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Henes

Read her blog at:
http://www.myspace.com/queenmamadonna
http://queenmamadonna.blogspot.com
http://mamadonnahenes.gaia.com/

 

The Computer Goddesses (Part 2) by Barbara Ardinger,Ph.D.

Note. The term Found Goddess was created by Morgan Grey and Julia Penelope for their wonderful book, Found Goddesses: Asphalta to Viscera (New Victoria Publishers, 1980). I started Finding goddesses-Nerdix, Compuquia, Hostilia, and Whizziwig-when I was working on a Y2K project for a major corporation. I Found the other goddesses described here when I was writing a book on the subject, Finding New Goddesses (ECW Press, 2003). The newest goddesses are Fubar-Ma and Linker Bell, who have just now appeared. Well, maybe they've been standing around and/or hovering; I just got them down on paper.

Those who have worked in offices during the past decade or two have become all too familiar with the Wyrd Sisters of Office Automation. Formuleria (rhymes with hysteria) is the Empress of Excel, far-reaching goddess of spreadsheets, workbooks, databases, and complification in all its varieties. The goddess of word processing is Typoreina (typo-raina), Mistress of both Word and WordPerfect, who has been clocked at 367 wpm. Typoreina can read anyone's sloppy handwriting, patiently makes endless revisions, knows what all the icons on the toolbar mean, can set tab stops in seconds, and talks to Herself in the bathroom. The third, and eldest, sister is Folder-holder-older-molder, goddess of file and labyrinth management. This multi-tentacled goddess and her sisters are the daughters of Sheela-na-Gig and C. Northcote Parkinson, formulator of Parkinson's Law, which states that "work expands to fill the time available for its completion."  I propose a corollary: work in an office expands as management invests in computers with sufficient memory to accommodate it. We may propitiate the Wyrd Sisters of Office Automation with donuts, crullers, and croissants and (depending on what time it is) either fancy coffee or Coca-Cola, but we can never please them.

We must also remember to give adequate attention to Crash, the sisters' mischievous little brother. He's at his most lively when Mercury is retrograde, during which time he practices juggling while whizzing around the room on his in-line skates. He tosses bits, bytes, and planets around with great audacity and has absolutely no care when he drops one.

Always seeking entertainment, this lad is famous for his pranks, best played when we're under-deadline and over-budget. All we can do is utter spells of protection against Crash. Try this one. First, using thick black chalk, draw a circle in the air around your whole computer system, including the printer. Burn a little frankincense in the room or wave some sage, and dance three times widdershins around your workstation or desk, chanting all the while:

 Crash, Crash,
 Go away.
 Don't come back
 On any day!

With all your heart and soul, and from the top of your head all the way down to your toenails, believe this. It might work.

Another computer goddess well known in offices is Hostilia. Like the frustrated fellow in the famous downloadable video, She Who Makes Things Go Wrong tempts us to pound on our monitors and keyboards, click-click-click our mice, and kick our CPU's. Hostilia is a bad goddess and requires special discipline. Reader, don't invoke Her. Take Prozac instead. And keep up the good work.

Taking orders from any idiot who can click up a print dialog box, Fontine, Goddess of the Printer, is probably the hardest working of the computer goddesses. She accepts all input, spools everything away, queues everything up, buffers everything into shape, and-when the proper time arrives-delivers page after page of Her perfect product, making our pathetic efforts come out as gorgeous documents.

But She's not as young as She looks, and She's gone through many changes of life. In the olden days, people scorned Her and called Her Dot. Back then She slaved for us at a ferocious rate, and when we ordered Her to produce in "letter quality," She had to do everything three times over to meet our exalted standards. Sometimes Fontine spits ink on paper, sometimes She mysteriously uses bubbles in Her work, sometimes She bursts into Technicolor radiance. We know Her best, however, in Her speediest Aspect, wherein She works Her mighty laser magic and puts out the best show in the world.

Reader, if you have any conscience at all, give thanks to Fontine every day for Her thankless hard work. And at the end of the day, when She's not hard at labor, allow Her to rest in peace. Let Fontine dream Her dreams of days gone by when She knew true love and didn't have to work so hard. Let Her rest, secure in Her knowledge that She is a veritable earth angel without Whose blessed touch we would remain unprinted, undocumented, and invisible. And remember-it is Fontine Who makes us look good on paper. Give Her praise with the following words:

Sweet Fontine, office goddess without attitude,
we give You big-time gratitude
for printers always on, never in desuetude.
Generous Fontine, bless us with your happy promptitude.

Barbara Ardinger, Ph.D. (www.barbaraardinger.com), is the author of Pagan Every Day: Finding the Extraordinary in Our Ordinary Lives (RedWheel/Weiser, 2006), a unique daybook of daily meditations, stories, and activities. Her earlier books are Finding New Goddesses, Quicksilver Moon, Goddess Meditations, and Practicing the Presence of the Goddess. Her day job is freelance editing for people who don't want to embarrass themselves in print. Barbara lives in southern California. To purchase a signed copy of Finding New Goddesses, just send Barbara an email at bawriting@earthlink.net.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Witch Hunt: How C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia Demonizes the Goddess by Courtney McLaughlin

On May 16, 2008, Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media will release Prince Caspian, the sequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). Over fifty years after it was conceived, the seven books that comprise The Chronicles of Narnia series continue to captivate audiences worldwide. The books, which are ripe with Christian symbolism, are very different than the movies, which showcase flashy computer animation and action. The popularity of the written stories endures precisely because Narnia can be enjoyed at face value or as a Christian allegory.   While author C.S. Lewis thinly-veiled his Christian beliefs in the books, he heavily cloaked his attack on the Divine Feminine.

Peeling away the layers of symbolism uncloaks the perspective of one of the most misunderstood figures in English children's literature - the White Witch. This fascinating feminist character has been burned on the proverbial stake of literature alongside other misunderstood heroines, such as the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz/ Wicked and Morgaine of the Arthurian legends/The Mists of Avalon. Just as those powerful women have been vindicated, the time has come for the White Witch's story to emerge. 

A Christian whose religion influenced and inspired the Narnia series, Lewis purposefully labeled his antagonist a witch: Jadis the White Witch and The Lady of the Green Kirtle who is Queen of the Underworld.  Witch is a loaded term, a label that might have landed strong-willed women on top of a flaming funeral pyre just four hundred years ago. Rosalind Miles, in Who Cooked the Last Supper? The Women's History of the World, wrote, "The persecution of the witch-hunts, arguably the first sustained use of terror as a political weapon, has been seen as the last convulsive throes of the dying Middle Ages, the final revenge of its grim, archaic form of patriarchy on anomalous or nonconformist women." 

C.S. Lewis polluted The Chronicles of Narnia with misunderstood Goddess symbolism-a labyrinth, a magic fruit tree, water/winter, and a serpent. Once these symbols are revealed, the "evil" White Witch transforms into a very green, very earthy, very demonized Goddess.

Labyrinth
In The Magician's Nephew, the story of the genesis of Narnia, characters Polly and Digory find their way through a labyrinth into a ruined palace, where they free the Great Queen Jadis from her petrified state. Then "the Queen led them out of the Hall of Images into a long corridor and then through a whole maze of halls and stairs and courtyards," wrote Lewis. Like the Minoan Palace of Knossos on Crete, Jadis' palace was located at the center of the labyrinth, which was a symbol for a powerful spiritual journey. "It was in the spiral, or labyrinth, that the way had to be danced or walked-in all the rites of the Mother throughout the ages, and the world, the way is always connected with a cave/womb, and with a maze-like spiraling entrance and exit," wrote author Monica Sjoo in The Great Cosmic Mother.

The otherworldly White Witch was not created in the Christian kingdom of Narnia but instead found her way out of a dying society through a labyrinth. She was attempting to survive, just as goddess-worshipping societies were forced to merge with monotheistic patriarchal religions or endure decimation.

Even in modern Christianity, the labyrinth remains an earthly path to the divine and a potent symbol for one's spiritual journey. It is not the only symbol that has been picked up and morphed by Christianity.

Tree
The tree of life stood proudly for tens of thousands of years as one of the most important Goddess symbols, before modern religious traditions borrowed the image and subverted its true meaning. True to his Christian faith, Lewis places an apple tree at the center of the Narnia creation myth. Like Eve, the Witch of this story cannot resist the temptation of the fruit of the tree and she indulges in its sweetness, gushing, "It is the apple of youth, the apple of life." Digory asks Aslan what will happen to the disobedient Witch. He responds, "She has won her heart's desire; she has unwearying strength and endless days like a goddess." 

Water/Winter
Trees weren't the only natural elements where goddess-worshippers connected with Her presence. Our goddess-worshipping ancestors also sought out special rivers, wells, and other bodies of water, Her sacred gifts to the earth. The Goddess was connected with water in all its forms: weather, rain, winter, snow, etc. When the White Witch is first introduced in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, she was accused of controlling the weather, making it always winter but never Christmas. But winter isn't a wasteland; it's the season that celebrates water's crystal form. Many goddess-worshipping people venerated this liquid of life as a divine gift from the Great Mother.

"Water, like fire, was anciently sacred, and specially related to the Moon Mother. Rainmaking and magic control of the weather were secret rites…she was believed to give all moisture, from the morning dew, natural springs, and rain to the great rivers and oceans," according to Monica Sjoo. Many goddess shrines were built over sacred wells.

Serpent
Goddess worship was an attractive faith, a celebration of life, growth, rebirth, and the harvest that especially appealed to women (mothers themselves) and peasants (who cultivated the land). Therefore, it was the main competition to the early patriarchal religions, who harvested the most important symbol in Goddess worship-the serpent of life-and morphed it into the ultimate symbol of evil, according to a number of feminist writers.

Why would the creators of this myth decide on the Goddess' snaking life spiral to be the sign of sin? Sjoo explains the "patriarch tries to destroy the world's original, most widespread, and enduring religion by branding it as 'evil.'" Lewis uses this symbol to reinforce the vile nature of the Witch.  In The Silver Chair, a villainous witch shape-shifts into a murderous serpent. Her names, the Lady of the Green Kirtle and the Queen of the Underland, connect her with goddess worship, since green symbolizes life/rebirth and the Goddess was not only associated with giving new life but taking it away as the death-crone. The Queen of the Underland's subterranean realm positions her as the anti-thesis of Narnia, just as Christians designate the heavenly skies as the location of divinity and the earth home to sin and serpents. To Lewis, the earth-dwelling serpent would have been the symbol for evil itself because of its Biblical appearances.  But for tens of thousands of years prior, the serpent was the ultimate symbol of cosmic life for goddess-worshipping peoples.

Am I reading too much into the stories? Perhaps, but either way the fact that these symbols are included in the stories is a testament to the depth of Mr. Lewis's genius as a thinker and as a writer. The fact that these symbols are in the stories isn't a reason to avoid reading these books, in fact quite the opposite. They're reasons to continue to appreciate such thought-provoking writing and enjoy their on-screen counterparts. On May 16, I'll be in the theater, enjoying Prince Caspian with my son, and when he's a little older we'll read the books together and share our own interpretations with one another. But a word to spring moviegoers: Peel back the layers of Christian themes, decipher the subverted symbolism of the Goddess, and pass on the story of the Goddess to your children.

A note about the irony of the name White Witch: When Lewis wrote Narnia, the term 'witch' was still very derogatory - there was no distinction between a good witch and a bad witch. Perhaps Oz's Glinda the Good Witch was the first to make that distinction?  Today, even mainstream society realizes that a White Witch is an herbalist or a healer, one who casts fortunes or has supernatural intuition. Today, such women proclaim their status as white witches proudly.

Courtney McLaughlin is a mother, writer, eco-feminist and environmental activist. A copywriter at Caslon Business Development in Philadelphia, she also collects original Goddess art.  She has worked in the Creative Services department at Alstin Advertising and for University Communications at The University of the Arts. Her curiosity is satiated only by reading, traveling, and gardening. Read her blog at http://movingvoice.blogspot.com.