Dancing Hands by Holly Cross

Magic from afar

starts with magic close at hand.

Sister Hecate sways

as she grinds the herbs beneath the pestle.

Her long, slender fingers of white

work quickly, gliding

through the steps of the spell.

With one drop of rain, herbs of the earth

and salt from the sea, she pours herself

into the bowl, impregnating the preparation
with power.

She spins to face the distance

and sees the destination in her mind:

a man on a horse, dressed in armor.

She scoops the compound into her palms

drinks in the wind

and blows the words across her dancing hands.

The soldier sees a comet coming for him

and then he falls to the cleansing earth.

The horse bolts, leaving her master behind.

His message of war will never arrive.

His cold heart was stopped by the dart of a Queen.

Finding Love by Gayle Goldwin

The following was channeled from the Golden Circle of Ascended Feminine Masters, a group of illumined Beings dedicated to helping today's Woman reclaim True Feminine Power:    

Our Beloved Daughters, 

We know many of you long for love. We watch you searching for love and changing yourselves into all manner of things trying to please someone who might, you hope, be that one-and-only-true-love your fairy tales speak of. Yet for all your looking, it fades as quickly as you find it. Our precious ones, do not despair. True Love is real and you deserve it. You're just, to paraphrase one of your old songs, looking for it in all the wrong places.  

So let us here again remind you of where Love lives, and where you can, indeed, find True Love. You have heard Us, and many other Teachers down through the ages, tell you that Love is what you Are. Yet this is difficult for many to comprehend because your society tells you otherwise.     

You think you have to look for love because you have been taught that it is something that exists only outside yourself, that it is something that only another can give you. We tell you here again that all the Love you have ever experienced has arisen from within YOU. Even while in the throes of Love's highest ecstasies, what you experience does not come from the other, but from deep within the well of Love that you are.    

The most that another can ever provide is a trigger—something that makes you decide to stop suppressing the flow of Love that is ever upwelling within you and finally let it out in all its Joy.  You already possess the Love you seek. What restricts your awareness of this Love—and your enjoyment of it in every moment—is your belief that it can only be experienced under certain conditions.     

This is because of how your society defines "love" and the many conditions associated with extending and receiving it. In your world, it is granted it as a reward when one is approved of and withheld as punishment for incurring another's displeasure.    

"Need" more accurately describes "love" in your world. Need substitutes for love because of the way your societies have set things up. It is difficult for women to truly love because you have been taught to be so dependent upon others. You seek, at the very least, their approval, and, in some corners of your world, a woman's very survival still depends upon having a man who "loves" her enough to feed, shelter and protect her. No real love can be shared under these conditions. What is felt is, at best, gratitude if your needs are met and relentless anxiety if they are not.    

It is equally difficult for men to truly love because most have been taught that feeling love—indeed, showing any emotion save anger—makes them "weak" in the eyes of other men. But they do want sex, and so long ago learned that if they could set things up to make women need them—their approval, support or protection—then they could easily get the sex they wanted. Your societies have taught men to glorify competition despite the easily observable fact that it only results in ever more insecurity and feelings of "weakness." Men in your world have thus learned to crave admiration, status and respect to compensate for all this weakness. And, if they receive what need, they call it "love."   

All of you—women and men alike—need to free yourselves from this trap of wanting love from outside yourself, for there is precious little Real Love in your world. If you are to have Real Love in your life, you must do two things.     

First, allow the Love within you to flow freely through you and out into the world. You can do this by returning to it in meditation and then bringing it back with you into your outer world. Or, and most will find this easier, you can fill your life with the things you love—with the pursuits, places, pets, friends, family and activities that feed your soul and bring a soft smile to your face.    

Do the things you love to do and surround yourself with people who encourage you to do the things you love. Then, and only then, will Love fill your life. Until your society changes its beliefs, you must look here for Love because it is not going to be found in Need.     

Second, love yourself. Give to yourself the love that you thought had to be earned by pleasing another. Many of your religions and institutions have taught you to seek from others the love you're supposedly unworthy of giving yourself. Instead, when you find yourself longing for someone's love, ask yourself: What is it that I want from their love? What do I think I need from them? And why do I think I need it?  

Whatever it is you think you need, Give It To Your Self. If you're longing for Understanding, start taking the time to really look at your hopes, dreams, thoughts and motives? Give yourself the Understanding you need. If you're hoping for Attention or someone to take care of you, start paying attention to your feelings, notice your desires and take action to meet your needs. Give yourself the Attention and the tender Care you want.   

Whatever it is you think you think you need from their love, give to yourself. Believe Us when We say: You already possess that which you seek. All you need do is give it to yourself.    

This belief that you must get something from another instead of giving it to yourself is the root of how women are controlled in this world. It is how you are led to believe that your own life is less important than the lives of those you serve. Know this: all lives are important, including yours. You are beautiful, magnificent beings. We love you deeply and you deserve that Love.    

Sharing the Love you are with your beloved is one of the most joyful experiences to be had while in body. Yet only when you come to your beloved overflowing with the Love you've found Within and filled your life with, only when you need nothing but to express your Joy, will you experience the Love you deserve. Only this Love will last. And this Love is always found Within.    

Copyright 2007 Gayle Goldwin. All rights reserved. Channeled Messages From The High Mother are channeled from the group of Ascended Feminine Masters Who guided the creation of WomanSpirit Oracles: Wisdom of the Ancients, Solutions for Today, a modern divinatory tool of Feminine Empowerment. The set includes its own keepsake storage case containing 33 oracle cards of Divine Femininity and a 198-page book with clear delineations, guided Meditations, empowering Mantras and triumphal stories of history's most compelling women. FREE online Oracle Card reading, send or read other channeled Messages at WomanSpiritOracles.com 

Found Goddesses (Part 3) 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.  

The Computer Goddesses   

       The Found Goddess of the Internet and the World Wide Web is Whizziwig (pronounced WYSIWYG). She is the true Great Cosmic Mother, and Her domain is the High AltaVista, where She tends the Great Green Fields of Baud, planting and tending Her vast crops of kilobytes and gigabytes and coaxing each golden url and pixel to bloom. She cultivates Her ever-flowering dotcom dotedu, and dotorg gardens, and in the proper season broadcasts Her ripe applet seeds across the ethernet. Whizziwig ties the knots in the warp and woof that support the Net and the Web, and it is She who spins every cyberworld into being. Every spring, when the newbies are born, She midwives them and provides instruction in music, geometry, grammar, and courtesy.    

      Whizziwig’s Consort is the Silicon Man, the Beneficent One Whose image is carved upon the gateways of all the Temples of the Web. We recognize Him by the vegetative energy flowing from His mouth:         1010101010101010101010101010. . . . It is the Silicon Man’s ever-ready energy that makes the netscape grow and enables us poor, foolish mortals to safely explore the mists and mysteries of the World Wide Web.    

      Whizziwig also has twenty-seven fierce Daughters, the Flaming Amazon.coms, who gallop forth on their winged steeds from the High AltaVista to do battle against the Rapacious Billygates and tame the Swift Yahoos.   

      Here is an invocation to Whizziwig to pronounce before you go on-line:    

Whizziwig, Great WebMother, I prithee,

Touch my moving pointer, connect me. 

Scan for each virus, banish all spam. 

Your Child of the Network—I Am What I Am.    

      Whizziwig’s Three Eldest Daughters live in an airy castle on a cliff and rule the boundless realm of electronic mail. It is these Three Sisters under Whose aegis we are able to communicate with far-off friends and people we’ll probably never meet in person. The First is Bright Prolixity (pronounced pro-LIX-ity), She Who Is Effusive. Devotees of Prolixity type very fast and maintain correspondences with the multitudes. Second is Rotund Celerity (sell-AIR-ity), She Who Moves With Great Speed. Oddly enough, Heisenberg’s Law seems not to apply to Celerity: we do know both how fast and where She is going. Third is the Dark One, Mendacity (men-DASS-ity), She Who Lies. We’ve all encountered the thugs who worship this dark Goddess—dirty old men who pretend to be virtuous housewives. And vice versa.   

Prolixity, Celerity, Mendacity— 

I’m new at this, please pity me. 

Celerity, Mendacity, Prolixity— 

Watch me surf, I’m fancy free! 

Mendacity, Prolixity, Celerity— 

A villain lurks, take care of me. 

Prolixity, Celerity, Mendacity—

I’m having fun now, play with me.  

       When our friends (and their friends and friends of their friends) become tired of thinking for themselves, they follow that devilish ol’ path of least resistance and forward stuff to everyone in their address book. This is how we worship Annoya, goddess of jokes, rants, urban legends passed on as gospel truths, homely personal philosophies, appeals to political action, and assorted games people play.    

      All hail Annoya, Whose words are our daily substitute for creative thought, Whose appeals for our signatures go around and around and around and (hopefully, eventually) aground. Hail, Annoya, faster than a speeding DSL, stronger than a mighty modem, able to leap good sense with a single icon on the toolbar. All hail unstoppable Annoya, Who is the true goddess of recycling.   

      Is your bundle fraying? Does your DSL keep having dial-up hallucinations? When you try to log on, does your ISP send you billets-doux filled with Crowleyistical strings of numbers and letters? (These messages surely mean something, but we are already aware that the Words of the Gods and the Sibyls tend to be delivered as antic hocus-pocus.) Are you feeling disconnected and unplugged?   

      If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then it’s time to prostrate yourself before Fubar1-Ma, She Who Connects, the Mothah of All Internet Service Providers. It’s necessary to speak with her priests, the Sons of Fubar. If you can get logged on, go to Fubar’s web site and find the names of her priests, the Veriest Sons of Fubar. Send them vociferous e-mails. Put the Name of the Mother in the subject line. Someone will respond. Someone may even translate the billets-doux. You can also try what they call “live-chat,” but be very persistent. (You may feel like Henry II of England crawling to Canterbury in the winter in his underwear. On stoned highways. Excuse me: on stony highways.) When you finally get to someone who writes or speaks idiomatic English, ask to speak to the Priestly Supervisors; the minor servers who stand at the portals of the Temple of Fubar are mere anti-Girl Scouts—they’ll just try to take away your cookies. If you have to phone the Veriest Sons of Fubar, be sure to take careful notes in your Book of Shadows, as they are speaking through glossological veils and you are a mere catechumen and their arcane knowledge must be stepped down upon you—sorry, for you.    

      Great and Mighty Fubar, please recognize me. Wonderful Mother of the Inbox and the Search, please don’t suddenly tell me I’m “working off-line.” Of course I want to connect! That’s why I’m repeating Your Mantra—Logon, Logon, Logon. Magnificent and Pansophical Fubar, please remember my password. So mote it be.   

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.  

1 Alert readers will recognize the name of this Goddess as a military acronym that probably goes back to the armies of Thutmose III. The civilian version is Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition; the military version is slightly more colorful. 

From the Branch - Book Review by Sapphire

From the Branch ~ A Primer in Dianic Witchcraft

by Deanne Quarrie 

ISBN: 978-0-6151-9985-6 

http://applebranchpress.com 

Book Review by Sapphire

Sometimes a book comes along and leaves you with as many questions as answers.  And a new desire to search out the answers to those new questions!  

From the Branch is just that sort of text.  With a heavy emphasis on personal journey, self-discovery, and individual gnosis, this is not a book for a person looking to have the answers provided in one tidy package.   The author challenges the reader to engage in a vigorous course of study, meditation, and self-analysis.    

The author, Deanne Quarrie, is a seasoned High Priestess.  One of only a few women ordained by Z Budapest in Feminist Dianic Craft, Deanne has led global ministries as well as worked within local circles.  A festival organizer, volunteer, workshop presenter, and ritual leader, there can be no argument that Deanne has both academic knowledge and Pagan "street creed."  The Apple Branch is the tradition she has founded.  It incorporates elements not only of Dianic witchcraft, but also Faerie, Eastern philosophy, shamanic pathworking, and ecstatic discovery.   

The practicality inherent to the book is a testament to someone accustomed to having had to sometimes "make do" and helping others do so as well.  There are many useful and very well laid out charts and tables for correspondences, colors, herbs, and goddesses.  These charts are so well done that they would prove invaluable for anyone.   Suggestions for creating your own spells and rituals are provided in place of off-the-shelf varieties.  At each step, women are encouraged to develop their own relationships and discover their own connections.  The author writes:  

"I encourage you to experiment.  You will find all kinds of information of how to do this, and some will tell you, "this is the correct way."  Please keep in mind that there are as many ways as there are women casting Circles.  Each way is unique and perfect.  Know what you want within your sacred space and then create it!  Play.  Allow your inner child to explore. Find new ways to mark your Circle's edge. Investigate methods of clearing negativity and sacred ways to honor the divine.  Search your heart. You have all the answers." (page 39, From the Branch)    

A comprehensive method of learning the Ogham will further make From the Branch a must-have.  Broken-down into individual sections, the method involves relating many different ideas and elements with each part of the Ogham.  From the Branch should be on your shelf for this reason if no other. The Ogham has a reputation as one of the hardest magical alphabets to master.  This book is one of the best I have seen for learning (and teaching) this system.  

From the Branch is as much for absolute beginners as for those who have been practicing for decades.  Although Dianic in tone and presentation, women of any path will find that this book speaks to a place of love, discovery, and joy that are common to us all.  Reading as part teaching text, part biography, and part personal letter to the reader, From the Branch is engaging, affirming, and empowering.    

My own impression was of sitting with the author, asking her why we are here and where we are going.  Leaning over close, she whispers, "Here, have some flowers.  Now, let's dance."   

Sapphire is a formal practitioner since 1986 in both traditional and ecstatic witchcraft.  Sapphire is High Priestess of The Order of Avalon, Co-director of The Great Lakes Regional Open Circle, Co-chair of HLC Witches, and an unashamed user of Fatboy Slim  music in ritual. 

Great Blue by Deanne Quarrie

Great Blue

a gift
one single feather
left behind as you flew from my sight

great blue, with your heavy graceful wings
lifting up to fly
leaving the grace of your wisdom with me

you stand alone as do I
strong and grounded in two realms
of Sky and Land

we explore and do many things together you and I
dreaming into reality
all that can be

we depend on no one
the gifts of earth and water
provide for our needs

the fire of our majestic spirit
takes us aloft as we seek sustenance
our mighty wings lifting us onward

your gift on my altar
one single feather
a reminder of who we are - together

                           

Bendis, born as Deanne Quarrie, is the author of From The Branch ~ A Primer in Dianic Witchcraft. She is a High Priestess of The Goddess, ordained by Z Budapest. Deanne lives today in the Atlanta area where she is working towards creating a permanent Goddess Temple worship and community center.

From the Branch - A Primer in Dianic Witchcraft is available from Deanne at http://www.applebranchpress.com. Stores may purchase through her distributor, New Leaf Distributing Company.

Pictures from The Bird Guide: Herons

Herb of the Season Midsummer by Dawn "Belladonna" Thomas

Elderflower (Sambucus Nigra) 

Parts Used: Leaf, flower, and berry  

Botanical: The elder is found in abundance on wasteland, woods, hedgerows and gardens. It is so common that it is often ignored or considered a nuisance. Although the elder likes moist soil it grows everywhere if sheltered from the wind. The trunk is unusual, for as a sapling it sprouts several stems and each of these grows upward and finally drops over with the weight of its own foliage. Given its own room and light, the elder tree can grow to thirty feet in height. 

Bark: The bark is light brown, thick, and covered in deep ridges and grooves. The branches are less rough and the smoother twigs are green and are marked with spots or brownish warts. These are caused by pores that the tree uses to breathe. The elder bark is diuretic and as a strong purgative its use dates back beyond Hippocrates. In ancient days it was used to treat the stomach and system in cases of food poisoning. The inner bark should be collected from young trees in autumn. In order to do this, the outer bark must be scraped off to reveal the green bark below. The green bark is removed in strips and then is dried in the sun. 

Leaves: The leaves are broadly oval-shaped and are usually in groups of five to seven. The leaves are set opposite each other on the twig or branch. Because the buds are not protected by a weatherproof bud case, another smaller bud is produced beneath each main bud. These second buds only open if the main buds do not. They can remain dormant on the tree for a couple of years until needed. In this way there is no loss of leaves if the seasonal climate suddenly changes. The leaves are used in both their fresh and dried forms. They are gathered around midsummer when they are fresh with morning dew by stripping them off the stalks. If the leaves are going to be stored, they should be dried thoroughly in the sun. The leaves gathered from the elder on May eve were thought best to heal wounds. 

Flowers: Flower buds form shortly after the appearance of the leaves the. By June they have opened and the tree is full of millions of individual flowers. The small creamy white flowers with green sepals behind them and have five petals that look like a star. In between the petals are five yellow stamens and in the center there is a cream colored ovary with a three lobed stigma. The stamens and stigmas mature at the same time allowing for cross fertilization to occur easily since insects are attracted to it because of its strong sweet scent. The flower clusters are built up from five very thin branches arising from the end of the main stalk.  Each branch then divides into five smaller branches and may branch again before reaching the flowers. The flowers are all at the same level facing the sky. From below they appear to be umbrellas. 

Berries: Elderberry wine was also once a commonly fermented beverage, though the tree itself was never taken down without reason. By late summer the flowers have developed into berries. The berries are green and hard at first but as the summer moves towards autumn they ripen. They turn into juice filled deep purple black fruit. They hang in heavy bunches called drupes and provide nourishment for birds. Birds will swoop to strip a tree of its berries. This is necessary for the birds will void the seeds and ensure further propagation. 

Herbal Uses: Carpenters favor the close-grained wood finds. The berries provide a deep purple dye as well as culinary treats and the renowned elderberry wine. The berries and the leaves can be used in wine and jam. Both are rich in vitamin C. A tea made from the flowers is a good treatment of coughs and irritating throat conditions. A simple infusion of the fresh leaf is made to be used as an insect repellant. It can also be poured down mouse and mole holes. The berries are used for jam, wine, pies, and syrups. A shampoo made from the boiled berries has the effect of darkening the hair, as well as cleaning it. Various parts of the tree can be used to obtain different colored dyes. The bark provides a deep black dye; the leaves a rich green, and the flowers a blue or lilac dye. The stems have a soft center that can be hollowed out to make whistles. 

Homeopathic Uses: Homeopaths use elder for conditions that accompany by heavy perspiration and coughs that are worse around midnight. It offers healing for a variety of ailments. Medicinally, they help coughs, colic, diarrhea, sore throats, asthma and flu. A pinch of cinnamon makes the tea more warming. The leaves are added to salves for skin conditions. The flowers are infused for fevers, eruptive skin conditions such as measles, and severe bronchial and lung problems. A classic flu remedy is a mixture of elderflower, yarrow, and peppermint teas. Keep the patient well covered, as the flowers promote sweating. Use two teaspoons of the herbs per cup of water, steep for twenty minutes, and take up to three cups a day. A distillation made from the flowers is a good skin cleanser, a cure for headaches and the common cold, and an excellent tonic for the blood. The bark of the smaller and newer twigs can be dried and administered as a laxative. 

Magical Uses: Panpipes are made of elder stems. A dryad “elder Mother” is said to live in the tree; she will haunt anyone who cuts down her wood. Stand or sleep under an elder on Midsummer Eve to see the King of the Faeries and his retinue pass by. The flowers are used in wish-fulfillment spells. The leaves, flowers and berries are strewn on a person, place, or thing to bless it. An elder shoot when tied in three or four knots was carried as a charm of protection against rheumatism. Elder twigs, when tied into crosses with red yarn, were hung over the doors for protection. In Ireland necklaces were made of a twig cut into nine pieces or nine sprigs of green elderberries. These necklaces were worn by those needing a cure for epilepsy. Such necklaces were also worn by infants as an amulet during teething and elder was used in the blessings of babies. Toothaches were supposed to disappear completely when an elder twig was placed in the mouth. Elder flowers that are dried during the waxing moon can make a potent love charm. The berries gathered at summer solstice afford protection from all unexpected dangers, including accidents and lightning strikes. The red color from the berries was used cosmetically to simulate a blushing effect on the cheeks. 

Folklore and Legends: Reverence for the Elder Mother challenged the early Christian church fathers and soon missionary priests redefined the tree goddess as a wicked witch more to be feared than adored. Folklore passed down reflects these ambivalent attitudes, for elder is more often considered evil than good. In Denmark the Elder Mother retained her sacred nature. Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of the Elder Mother who becomes a beautiful maiden named Memory captures the spirit of the most ancient lore. In later times she became a mere hideous hag, as is so often the fate of ancient goddesses under patriarchal religion. 

Goddesses: The elder is under the protection of the Old Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess, who guards the door to the Underworld, to death, and to the dark inner mysteries. Elder is especially associated with goddesses of the waning moon. The Elder Mother, the crone aspect of the Triple Goddess, was believed to dwell within the tree. Scandinavian legends tell of the Elder Mother who watches for any injury to the tree. In Scandinavian and Danish mythology she is called Elle or Hyldemoer. The Germans knew her as Frau Ellen and to the English, she was Lady Ellhorn. She worked a strong earth magic by avenging all who harmed her host tree and punishing those who used any of its parts with selfish intent. In some regions, including Bavaria, the goddess of the elder was revered as Perchta or Bertha, a name derived from the Indo-European Bher “Shining White”.  

Sources: 

Altman, Nathaniel; Sacred Trees. New York, NY. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.; 2000 

Blamires, Steve; Celtic Tree Mysteries. St. Paul, MN. Llewellyn Publishing; 1997 

Glass-Koentop, Pattalee; Year of Moons, Season of Trees. St. Paul, MN. Llewellyn Publishing; 1991 

Gifford, Jane; The Wisdom of Trees. New York, NY. Sterling Publishing; 2000 

Hageneder, Fred: The Meaning of Trees. San Francisco, CA. Chronicle Books; 2005 

Hopman, Ellen Evert. A Druid’s Herbal for the Sacred Year. Rochester, VT. Destiny Books, 1995 

LaCour, Suzanne and Dean Montalbano; The Ogham and The Universal Truth of the Trees. Orlando, FL. Leaping Lizards Publishing Company; 2005 

Mountfort, Paul Rhys; Ogam The Celtic oracle of the Trees. Rochester, VT. Destiny Books; 2001 

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 Publishing; 1992 

Memories of Malia by Anique Radiant Heart

The Grandmothers Whispered in my Heart     

When I was in Crete in 2004, I was 56 at the time and newly a Grandmother, and as I was walking the ancient sacred ruins of Malia, I heard the Grandmothers whisper in my heart. They said: 

We are here

We are whole 

We are you 

We are Goddess    

That night in my hotel room, I wrote a chant to the Grandmothers, and sang to them as I visited many sacred places in Crete. It’s now a full song on my latest CD "LIVING THE GODDESS". I sang to them of Her mysteries in the deep caves, they sang back to me on the wind in the quietude the yoni-like gorges, they quenched my thirst for connectedness at sacred wells, and manifested as living shadows in the amazing tombs. The temple sites and the land itself, resonant with feminine power, healed and transformed me, and for ever changed how I feel about myself and women.    

They often manifested as real Grandmothers, who happened to come across my path at the most unexpected moments. One afternoon as I wandered around a tiny village with the most fabulous bougainvillea I have ever seen - the colors were unbelievable; I passed an ancient Grandmother sitting quietly in her garden. Something made me stop, and as I smiled at her I bowed slightly. Something about her peaceful face and elegant simple way of sitting quietly stopped me in my tracks. She waved me over and I entered the tiny yard filled to the brim with flowers and vegetable, all interspersed in a wild expression of joy. She offered me a glass of water, and I sat down with a broad smile. For 3 hours, in the ancient way of women, with no common language except a few words I had accumulated and my dictionary, a lot of gestures and facial expressions, and some deeply satisfying silences in between, we shared as women have since time out of mind. I found out she had a daughter and 2 grandsons - she showed me their pictures. I found out she was a herbalist and a witch - she was very proud of that She also told me of her grandmother who was a Priestess of the Bee, and held the secrets of using honey for medicinal and contraceptive purposes. And much, much, more.   

Archeological and historical testimony confirms a human presence on Crete for at least 8000 years. For at least 6 thousand of those years, the people of Crete worshipped the Great Mother, a Goddess they made many figurines of, which have been found not only in Crete but throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. One of the first places I visited when I arrived in Herakleion, which is the largest town in Crete and is the main point of entry by sea or by air, was the museum. I ended up spending 3 days there. The building which is quite large is full to the brim with artifacts from the Goddess period in Crete - the Minoan period. I cannot begin to tell you how it felt to stand before the glass case containing the Snake Goddess - the small sculpture of a woman in Priestess garb holding up her arms with a snake writhing in each hand. This sculpture had been one of the first icons of the Goddess that I had been exposed to 30 years ago. Her proud stance and bared breasts thrilled me when I first saw her. Here was a woman of power, beauty and authority - and she was 7000 years old!! Surely that meant that women were exactly like that in those days and were revered for it. Back then in my thirties, at the beginning of my journey with feminism and the Goddess, it was heady stuff!    

In another chamber I found an exquisite libation vessel made of crystal - lots of beautiful quartz crystal pieces had been fused together to create a vessel with a pointed bottom and a large handle. These vessels were created especially for carrying by Priestesses of the Goddess as they processed to Her altar to pour libations of milk, honey and sacred olive oil. As I looked at this gorgeous work of art that has survived thousands of years, I was transported back to the Temple at Zakros, where it had been found, and I was one of the Priestesses walking in deep trance and reverence to the Shrine of the Mother to pour my gratitude at her feet. My heart expanded and the Grandmothers whispered in my heart again "We are whole, we are here, we are you, we are Goddess". I closed my eyes and held my hands in front of me as if I were holding the vessel and sang quietly back. When I opened my eyes a few curious tourists had formed a small circle around me and smiled at me in appreciation. The Grandmothers knew what they were doing…………   

Visiting the sites was thrilling. At the Palace of Knossos - in my opinion wrongly named as a palace as it is so obviously a temple site with all the accompanying buildings that serves a temple - I was astounded at the sheer size and magnitude of the architecture. Complex plumbing and many layered floors of rooms and chambers told of a grand complex built to honor a female "queen" or Goddess. Try as the male historians/archeologists may, they cannot change the fact that the first palace/ temple was originally built 2000 years ago, over even older Neolithic ruins. The original artwork found in the "throne room" of the Queen (now in the museum) clearly shows lines of young worshippers in procession towards a queen or Priestess. The "throne" is flanked by a griffin on either side. This symbolism can be found in many Goddess loving cultures as a sign that the deity being honored is a Goddess.    

But it was at Malia that the Goddess and the Grandmothers connected with me most powerfully. Malia is a huge temple complex and town. Seen from the air, it looks like a small country town in Australia where perhaps 15,000 people live. The complex, which is a well preserved ruin, with clearly delineated streets, buildings, rooms within buildings etc……was one of the most culturally advance cities that flourished in the second millennium BC along with Knossos, Phaestos, Zakros and Gournia as well as others. At Malia, more than anywhere else, the city planning organization of a Minoan city-temple complex can be studied. Malia was so large that it was actually divided into several centers, what we may call suburbs today. At the area defined as Chrysolakkos,which is in the north, were the tombs or cemeteries. The main building, built with hewn ironstones, is divided into many small tombs, which could be reached only from above and were covered with slabs of stone. As I walked these ancient ruins I was reminded of the Neolithic long barrows in SW England and once again marveled at the similar customs observed by Goddess loving peoples all over this planet. It was here that libation vessels in the shape of the Goddess were found, also a round altar and much gold jewelry which would have been worn by Priestesses. The most important was the discovery of the gold necklace and amulet in the form of two bees storing a drop of honey in a comb. In many Goddess loving cultures, the bee was a symbol for the Goddess. Her priestesses knew the ancient healing properties of honey and also how to brew the honey into a birth control potion. The real life Grandmother I met in a little village not far from Malia told me of her grandmother who had been a Priestess of the Bee Goddess.    

Everywhere, the double axe, long a symbol of feminine power and adopted by lesbians the world over as a symbol of identity, is found in artwork, as sculpture and also in jewelry shops. Gold axes in all shapes and sizes can be bought all over Crete. The Snake Goddess as well as the Bee Goddess also comes as pendants, earrings and rings - always in gold. I found a beautiful Bee Goddess and bought her with the birthday money I had been saving until I found something I really wanted. Now, I only have to put her on and I am transported back to Crete in my heart. 

Crete is a place where the Goddess is alive and well! Abundance is manifest everywhere. I ate carob pods straight from the trees and savored the sweet chocolaty taste. I picked olives from the trees, black and bitter and washed them down with good Cretan beer. At the tavernas and eateries, food is cheap and abundant. And a friendly smile and light conversation will bring unheard of generosity in the form of home made wine ("Just for you!!") freshly caught fish that day (You lika to eat, so I cooka for you!!) and an impromptu song or two will buy you a whole meal. I had a wonderful experience one day when I began a conversation with a small family eating in a taverna. They saw I was on my own and invited me to share their table. I agreed, and when they asked me what I did for a living, I told them I was a sacred singer. Of course they did not believe me and wanted me to prove it. So I sang a verse of "SHE CHANGES EVERYTHING SHE TOUCHES" - my version of course. They listened seriously and clapped somberly. I was confused; usually my singing is met with wild appreciation. Then I understood, they wanted something they knew. So I launched into a rousing English version of "NEVER ON SUNDAY". The faces creased into broad smiles, hands clapped and men danced as I sang on and on encouraged by their pleasure. Then I launched into "LA VIE EN ROSE" and then "JE NE REGRETTE RIEN". But they wanted more of "NEVER ON SUNDAY" so off we went again!! The whole taverna was rocking by the time I finished. When it was almost dark, I rose to leave and pay my bill, but the taverna owner, a Grandmother herself, refused payment - not only for me but for the whole family!!! And we had had quite a feast of food and drink I can assure you. She gave me a huge hug and told me in Cretan "You have brightened my whole year!!"    

Anique Radiant Heart 

Herwill Creations 

5 Unicomb Close 

Rutherford 2

www.invokingthegoddess.com320

http://www.herwill.net/modules/wfchannel/ 

http://www.herwill.net/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=11 

61 2 4932 4616 

Moon Schedule from to Litha to Lammas By Dawn “Belladonna” Thomas

 (Times are Eastern Time) 

4^th Quarter – June 26^th 8:10 a.m. 

New Moon – July 2^nd 10:18 p.m. 

2^nd Quarter – July 10^th 12:35 a.m. 

Full Moon – July 18^th 3:59 a.m. 

4^th Quarter – July 25^th 2:41 p.m.   

Moon Void of Course Schedule    

       Date                                                                  Starts                                                                 Ends 

Planting Days 

June 24^th, 25^th

July 2^nd, 3^rd, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, 11^th, 12^th, 21^st, 22^nd, 25^th  

Harvesting Days 

June 21^st, 22^nd, 23^rd, 26^th, 27^th, 30^th 

July 1^st, 18^th, 19^th, 20^th, 23^rd, 24^th, 27^th, 28^th, 29^th 

Peace by Bohemian Wytche

Description of Peace 

(Artwork by Bohemian Wytche)

This depiction is of an oil painting that is part of a series of 7 and is original art by me. It is for a show I'm doing in July. The name of the series is New Beginnings. It is about starting out stuck, going within, discovering ones self, seeing the Divine Mother Goddess within ones self, and coming out the other side empowered. It is kind of a self portrait (this particular painting and the series), but everyone goes through this process in some way during some time of their life, so I think most people can relate. This is a link to see the rest of the series. Feel free to leave a comment:  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26065713@N06/sets/72157604758456130/ 

Solitary Ritual By Dawn “Belladonna” Thomas

Preparation and Altar Needs: 

Cut flowers to create a circle   

A red candle to represent the Mother    

Chalice with beverage of your choice    

(Prior to the ritual decide on the type of creative work that you want to do during the ritual. Have the necessary items for the work you choose.)    

Casting the Circle:   

Hail to the Element of the East, Ancient Spirit of Air. Warm me with your warm summer breezes. I ask you to please join me tonight.    

Hail to the Element of the South, Ancient Spirit of Fire. The warmth of the summer sun is creating an abundance of new life to grow. I ask you to please join me tonight.    

Hail to the Element of the West, Ancient Spirit of Water. Wash me clean with your gentle rains and dew filled mornings. I ask you to please join me tonight.    

Hail to the Element of the North, Ancient Spirit of Earth. The fragrant flowers are blooming around me with a wonderful essence. I ask you to please join me tonight.    

Mother Goddess, your great love and nurturing sustains my life. I honor you and ask you to join me tonight.  

The Work:   

During this time of year, we are honoring the mother goddesses and the season of growth. We also reflect on what is manifesting in our lives. Spend a few moments thinking about this. What are you manifesting? How are you manifesting this? Are there things that you feel strongly about that would help you fuel this creative fire?    

Light the red candle as a symbol of the creative fire inside of you. Gaze into the flame and see these thoughts manifesting.    

This is a time to be creative – To release creative forces. Make, build or create something in honor of the Mother Goddess. This can be something you make with your hands or something you write. It can also be something using your voice or a movement or dance.  

Once you are finished, offer a blessing to the Mother Goddess and drink from your chalice. You may also choose to include blessings for women in your life or in your community.    

Closing the Circle   

Mother Goddess, I feel your loving arms around me. I honor you and thank you for joining me tonight. Hail and Farewell.    

Element of the North, Spirit of Earth, the scent of your fragrant flowers will remain with me. Thank you for joining me tonight. Hail and Farewell.   

Element of the West, Spirit of Water, I feel cleansed from your waters. Thank you for joining me tonight. Hail and Farewell.    

Element of the South, Spirit of Fire, from your creative fire I have begun to manifest things in my life. Thank you for joining me tonight. Hail and Farewell.    

Element of the East, Spirit of Air, the gentle breeze has warmed me. Thank you for joining me tonight. Hail and Farewell.    

The Circle is open but unbroken.    

Blessed Be!

Spirit Herbs - Book Review - Dawn Thomas

The book is divided into different sections: Using herbs, Buying, preparing and storing herbs, Fire lessons (which I found particularly helpful), Burning herbs, strewing herbs (I didn’t even know about such a thing). At the end of the book Amy has included information on all the herbs that she mentions in the book. She also includes a resources section with very helpful suggestions for finding other information.    

Before I read this book I was only aware of incense and smudging. Amy included chapters on not only “burning” but also many things you can do once the herbs have been lit. It was especially informative to have information for individuals with breathing disorders.    

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in working with herbs. It is written in a style that is appealing to many different levels of experience.   

Amy’s book can be purchased at her website: http://www.moonlady.com/media/spiritherbs.html    

Amy Martin is a leader of Earth-centered spirituality in North Texas, with over 15 years of experience leading ceremonies and rituals, including the phenomenally successful SolstiCelebrations, some with audiences of over 2500 people. She is known as the Moonlady for her web site, www.Moonlady.com/, and the popular eclectic/holistic/spiritual listserv called Moonlady News. Amy is the founder and executive director of Earth Rhythms, www.EarthRhythms.org/, which presents experiential events, preserves natural places, and provides help to those in need in North Texas. A writer by trade, she enjoyed two decades in local and national magazine and newspaper journalism before moving on to write books. 

Summer Solstice Group Ritual by Bendis

In the Dianic tradition, on Summer Solstice we celebrate Goddess as Mother/Maker and the diverse ways we create in our lives. Through movement, trance and ritual enactment, we work the power of Fire: Fire as the power of  Will, Fire as Healing, Fire as Spirit that weaves and inspires all of Creation.

The Priestess stands at the center and says:
      Drawing a spiral above three times,  "The sky above us"
      Drawing a circle around us, "The sea surrounds us"
      Touching and grounding in the earth,  "The earth beneath us"
      Thus these Realms make sacred our circle.

      She lights the three candles representing the three realms.  

     The fire of inspiration infuses the realms and links all beings to the inner fire of divinity.

      Hear us, O Opener of the Bright Well
      Lady of the Five Salmon, holy fish of knowledge
      Lady of the Nine Hazels
      Whose purple nuts drop into your waters
      Your sacrifice sends forth the five streams of our mortal senses
      And unlocks the power of the seer and the poet
      We invoke thee for thy gifts
      Come from the source of life below
      and bless our circle with your knowledge
      Be welcome in our midst.

      Please all say with me ...
      We stand outside of time, in a place not of earth, as the Old Ones did before us, we join together in Her name.
      Blessed Be.

      Hear me, O Ancestors
      Parents of all that live
      Ancestors of my body and path
      We invoke thee for thy gifts
      Come from the land of eternal youth
      to witness and aid in our rites
      Be welcome in our midst

Please all say with me ..       

Be welcome in our midst.

      Hear me, O Spirits of the Land
      Foundation of growth and life
      Spirits of rock and tree and earth
      We invoke thee for thy gifts
      Come from the body of the land which surrounds us to witness and aid in our rites
      Be welcome in our midst.

      Please all say with me ..        Be welcome in our midst.
      Blessed Be

"All acts of love and passion are my rituals..."

This ritual is about coming into fullness. The time on the wheel represents blossoming, the stage of the mother. Flowers are full bloom. The element associated here is fire, and passion and ecstasy are part of this ritual.  This is the fullness of summer, the reign of the Mother Goddess. Tonight all wants are fulfilled, all wishes come true, and love reaches full passion.  People everywhere are gathered together to invoke the Old Ones. Our many voices embrace this land.

Listen to her words:
I have slept for ten thousand years.
Now I stretch and waken.

They are calling, calling me,
and my heart leaps to greet them.

My forests - my hair, the grasses - my heavy eyelashes. They call me, and I waken.
My body bedecked with a million flowers,
And these many breasts of mine, the mountains joyfully rear their tips.
I long to suckle my young. They are calling.
They will know me!

I want to embrace all the sad and lost.
All the wrongs that have been done,
to me and to my children,
My hands shall turn them, and make them right
I am the defender of every mother,
as I am the defender of my holy self.

Earth Mother am I, the only one;
life springs from me.
I carry the seed of creation.  And I awake!
Z. Budapest

Tonight the work of this ritual is to bring Global Goddess into the fullness
we desire.  We will begin with a color and fullness meditation.

BREATHE!

Feel the movement and heartbeat of the earth at Solstice, feel the rich black earth.  Draw black into your body, through your feet, legs, abdomen, heart, chest, throat, and head.  Feel it feel it enter through your feet, travel through your body; feel its vastness and depth, let it exit through the crown. Feel the richness of the Mother Earth.  Feel the color shift to red, see the pulsing of your blood, the movements of energy and passionate life. Feel your strength, the length of your muscles, the marrow and hardness of your bones. 

Now let the color lighten to a bright warm orange. Feel yourself bathed in energy and power. Feel your body rise in passion, in yearning, in ecstatic union with all that is.

Now let the color brighten more to an active, vibrant yellow. This is the color of knowledge and power, of oomph, the bright understanding of things happening, and making them happen. Know yourself to be the cause, the agent
of changes. Wash in yellow! 

Now let your mind's eye cool a bit and let the green grow and spread out from your heart. This is the color of sympathy and emotion, of growing and helping things to grow. Green is the color of healing. Feel the fertile green, where love takes root.  Green shifts cooler now, to blue. Blue is the color of the sky, the water.   It is the color of will, and peace, and the natural order. Let your will be in harmony, let your throat be filled with songs, and the words you need to say. Know that yours is the power to make real that which you imagine. 

Feel the color purple now, the color of psychic knowing. Let the winds whisper, the fire burn within, the waters of intuition flow, and the secrets be known to you. Know what you know, and be unafraid.  Let all the colors swirl faster and faster about you and through you until they make a swirling white light, around you and in you. These are the colors of the Goddess. You are part of Her for She is all that is. Feel the patterns moving, the wheel is turning, turning, see the light of it.

Look into the candles.  Swirl those colors around, spinning with the fire. See the colors, all the colors of the rainbow, spinning with the fire.  Move the color swirling it counter-clockwise through the flames, banishing all those things standing in the way of positive growth of Global Goddess.  Now,  turn the colors - move them clockwise, spinning in the flames manifesting the energy, the enthusiasm, and the collective cooperation needed to give our organization what it needs to flourish and prosper.  

Come now back into our Circle and take my hands.

Let us now give thanks and share our cakes and ale.

      Bless the food and share it together..
      We bless this bread. We bless this ale.
      We bless the Land that nurtured it and the Sun that gave it power.
      We bless all hands, seen and unseen, that have brought it to this place.
      May it nurture all here, seen and unseen.

Conversation and good cheer!

      Spirits of the Land, Foundation of growth and life
      Thank you for witnessing our rites
      May there be abundance for all, now and always.     

      Ancestors, Parents of all that lives
      Thank you for witnessing our rites
      May there be abundance for all, now and always.
      Lady of the Nine Hazels
      Thank you for witnessing our rites
      May there be abundance for all, now and always.

Drawing a spiral above three times, "The sky above us"
Drawing a circle around us, "The sea surrounds us"
Touching and grounding in the earth, "The earth beneath us"

       Thus the Realms make sacred our lives.
      Let the circle be open but unbroken.
      The fire of inspiration infuses the realms
      and links all beings to the inner fire of divinity.
      We hold this flame in our hearts as we depart from this place.

Summer Solstice Oil by Stephanie Rose Bird

      One of my absolute favorite oils is this silky combination of flower blossoms and essential oils of a specially formulated green-witchy massage oil. I want to share this with the rainbow of Goddess-loving global women in celebration of Litha.  This oil is called Summer Solstice Oil and it is designed with various elements of our sacred holiday in mind.  First of all, there is the color—a golden yellow which reflects the attention to the sun central to Litha.  Then there are the following ingredients selected to be nourishing and magickal at once. 

Peach kernel oil 

     This oil ties in well with the tantric sensuality implicit in Summer Solstice.  This delightful oil heightens the sensation of touch, transmits energy well, making it a great therapeutic massage oil.  The slightly yellow oil is easily absorbed by the skin. 

Sunflower oil 

      The symbolism in this oil is obvious.  Sunflower oil lends an additional reminder of the sun as the oil is pressed from the seeds of the heliotropic sunflower.  This is a gentle, non-greasy, nutritive-rich botanical oil. Whereas peach kernel oil is quite expensive, sunflower oil is easy on the purse, making it a sustainable extender in this massage oil.