The Summer of Gods - Eliciana Nascimento

The Summer of Gods - Trailer from Eliciana Nascimento on Vimeo.

About the film:

The Summer of Gods is a short film about a troubled girl named Lili who unites with her Afro-Brazilian religious ancestry on a summer visit with family to their ancestral village in rural Brazil. Soon after her arrival, she encounters Orishas (African gods) who join with her grandmother to help her find peace with a gift
that has previously vexed her. The film is set in the Northeast of Brazil where Afro-Brazilian religious traditions remain strong. Lili's Grandma is a well revered local priestess who honors the Orishas. Lili is blessed by the goddesses as well. To preserve tradition, they lead her on a mystical adventure through a nearby forest which symbolizes her initiation into the tradition.

About the Filmmaker:

Film director Eliciana Nascimento now holds an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Cinema from San Francisco State University. This was her MFA thesis film and her second narrative film.

Eliciana: “My interest in telling this story is to help preserve my ancestors’ traditions. Personal life experience informs its characters and theme as many elements of the film are pulled from my own childhood memories. As a native Brazilian living in a foreign country, I have developed an interest in Pan-African themes. I have noticed that the issues Afro-Brazilians face in Brazil are similar to those faced by African descendants here in the United States and in nations throughout the Americas. As a storyteller and social activist, my motivations around filmmaking are rooted in telling stories of people from the African Diaspora who have often been marginalized by societies and the mainstream film industry. My goal is to use cinema as a tool to reveal the beauty, culture and mythology of these people.

 Above text and images taken from The Summer of Gods website.

Here is a blurb that I found on Indiewire:

As the filmmaker herself describes her film which is...

...set in the Northeast of Brazil where Afro-Brazilian religious traditions remain strong. In the film, Lilli's grandmother is in charge of an annual celebration for the Orisha Yemanjá. In real life, the event is known in Brazil as Festa de Yemanja and it is the largest Orisha celebration in the country. In this event, devotees of African religious traditions dress in all white to take their offerings to the sea to thank Yemanja for helping them in their social and political struggles. In The Summer of Gods, this celebration is at risk of expiring because Lili’s great-grandmother is about to pass away. Grandma is a well revered local priestess who unites her community to honor the Orishas. Lili is blessed by the goddesses as well. To preserve tradition, they lead her on a mystical adventure through a nearby forest which symbolizes her initiation into the tradition.

This film looks so interesting!  I know very little about the Orishas, but I am very, very drawn to Yemaya/Yemanja.  I definitely want to see this film when it is released - too bad I wasn't still in The Bay Area where I could see it tomorrow in Oakland!

Casa Rinconada, Chaco Canyon

(Image from here)

To learn more about Chaco Canyon and this video,

click here for The Solstice Project.

Getting ready for Year of the Wood Horse

Karen Abler Carrasco ~ 2014 – The Year of the Yang Wood Horse

There might not be a bigger shift of energies in the entire 60 year wheel of Chinese astrology than this one coming up–the shift from two Water years of deep introspection to the fast-paced spurt of extroverted forward propulsion that the Wood Horse brings.  Hold on to your hats, folks, and realize that you won’t be able to, nor will you want to, slow your horses in the New Year ahead!

This will be a promethean year, the Beginning of all beginnings, arriving around January 31st to February 4th, 2014.  Full of uplift, optimism and compelling inspiration, we will be guided into purposeful action of the most elegantly simple and powerfully fruitful kind.  After two years of feeling every revelation of corruption in the dark as if it was scouring our subconscious insides and wringing us dry of watery emotion, we are READY for this change!  Light, hope and clarity of vision gallop in. Emerge from your cocoons, everybody, here we goooooo!

Because this will be such a big change of energetic experience for us, it will help to review here how the cycle of the sacred Five Elements, or Phases, have set us up for this shift.  In that cycle, Wood feeds Fire, Fire’s ash creates Earth, Earth’s compression reveals gems of Metal, and Metal collects and holds Water, which nourishes the Wood to start the cycle all over again. The natural laws of these five elements are actually working in multiple ways throughout Nature, our bodies, our psychologies and the energetic movements of all things here on this planet.  In these movements, there are cycles within cycles, one of which is the cycle of birth, growth, disintegration and death, or the void that comes after old life and before new life.

We have just been traveling through that void, in two Water years, which immersed us in a descending place of degeneration, dissolution and chaos, a time when our internal world of formless spirit and emotions held total sway over every attempt at external control or order.  For most of us, it was an unsettling time of letting go of many things, either voluntarily or forcefully, a time of deep soul searching, with gradual or sudden destabilization in many areas of family and livelihood.  There was a profound search for a return to a spiritual basis for daily living.  This all had the effect of highlighting an individual’s isolation and powerlessness within a seemingly random and careless society.  Not that outright rebellion and outcry didn’t happen, globally as well as internally.  The 2012 Yang Water Dragon year saw to that, with its critical promptings of social responsibility and heroism, and this Yin Water Snake year that followed delved even deeper into the most hidden caves of stagnant dysfunctionality and corruption on all levels.

The good and great news is that we have completed 5 years of the degenerative part of the cycles–that of the harvested, decomposing Earth, compressing and eliminative Metal, and dissolving, settling out, cleansing Water.  We now emerge into the generative cycles–powerful, bursting buds of Wood’s new growth fueling the joyful outreach and passions of Fire and the beginnings of Earth’s fruitful harvests.

So, that’s the Wood part of what’s coming.  Now to turn our gaze to the animal symbol of Horse. This sprouting upward rush of Wood energy will find its perfect release into the impulsive and passionate nature of the Yang Horse, whose native element is Fire.  The Horse energy inspires powerful INTUITION and an indomitable surge towards freedom in every aspect of life. This is a year to follow your inner voice like never before, for it will have a universal cosmic ch’i within it.  Higher guidance is with us every step of the way.  Reach for the sky, call up your vision, fuel your plans with vision boards and creativity, find a fresh path and pace yourself well.  This yang Horse year has the potential to channel the powerful new upthrust of Wood’s Ch’i through the Horse’s Heart energy of Fire and into every project we start, every desire we reach for.  It will keep our eager plans from being dominated by too much “head” and not enough “heart.”

It may be quite challenging to trust that we have this absolutely new, purified and hopeful energy to build on now.  Our hearts have had to endure a gauntlet of deconstruction through two Metal and two Water years, but the fiery Horse is about to change all of that.  Within the extroverted “Green Horse” year, we will not only branch out with new growth, but we will be able to stoke the Fire element of love in every area of life.  Follow your intuition fearlessly, as it is both the horse’s main attribute which preserves its freedom and powerful health and it is Wood’s primary talent for stretching into the unknown future.  Reach out with irrepressible faith to a new level of social communion and mutual support.  Trust every impulse to embrace a revitalized and renewed sensitivity for the pleasures this earthly dimension has to offer.

Step up and out of any old clutter, stored memories, should-have-dones or regrets.  The time to deal with that is over for now.  Untangle your thoughts quickly and get clear on what it is that you truly desire in this lifetime.  Your trusty steed is here, full of vibrant health and tremendous stamina.  It should be quite a fast ride, so grab a fistful of mane, hang on to the reins, cast your old cares to the wind and let out a whoop of delight–Yeeehaaw! Upward and onward we thrive!  May we all be blest abundantly as we hold each other closer in the circle of health and new life the Wood Horse year brings.

Article reblogged from here.

The Kolo - A Community of Healing

For some time, I have been interested in learning more about the Slavic part

of my lineage.  Every now and then, I run into something that

really touches me and this video is one of those things.

You can read more about The Kolo Collaboration here.

Cosmic News - M. Kelley Hunter

NEW YEAR NEW MOON M. Kelley Hunter

SEE BELOW for: New Year New Moon Cosmic Daily Weather 2014-coming to Amazon. 2 Astro-Specials: YOU in 2014 & Capricorn Astro-Special Winter Webinars via the Theosophical Society NEW YEAR NEW MOON Image: detail from Chihully glass exhibit in Montreal. NEW MOON at 11 CAPRICORN 6:14am EST, 3:14am PST, 11:14am GMT A New Moon on New Year's Eve ushers in an intensely globe-changing year. Such a rare New Year New Moon is a pretty clear indication that this is a year of new developments. We are in a major transformation, including both immense opportunity and chaos. We live in "interesting times," whether we like it or not. As current global systems show increasing dysfunction on so many levels, new scenarios are necessarily called for. We are each involved in the process of letting of what isn't working, to restructure and redesign our lives. This can be an exciting time, but also one of stress and pressure. We need to find our own way to "go with the flow," taking care of ourselves and each other along the way. Remember what they say on the airplanes: put your oxygen mask on first. Otherwise you are in no shape to be helpful. This is a year for people to gather together, creating mutually supportive communities, making big and small choices that have long-term consequences. This inaugural New Moon of 2014 is smack-dab in the throes of the ongoing and overarching Pluto-Uranus Square, accompanying major global change-ups in economic-political systems, public awareness and consciousness shifts, along with obvious geo-cosmic activity. With the New Moon closely conjunct Pluto and Mercury, the news will be full of major, possibly shocking revelations as well as power broker negotiations behind the scenes especially during the first week of 2014. New ways of thinking and of operating on daily level, new systems and technologies are sprouting up everywhere, along with increasing exposure of the underbelly of corporate control—and its dismantling. We get right down to the serious business carried on from the last few years as the wheel of life turns a big corner. It is obvious there is no going back to any "normal." Things are clearly not working the old way. Jupiter and now Mars add their expansive and energetic influences to this major pattern for the first half of the year, significantly raising the stakes another notch. Weigh your options and discuss them with others. A variety of viewpoints bring new insights. Differing opinions may incite arguments, yet help clarify where we stand. Finding the balance between caution, indecision and initiative may be tricky. Don't be too hasty to act, but don't hold back when you feel truly ready to move forward. There is no need for premature decisions. Decisions are not easily made, as we may not have all the information needed. Much is being decided behind closed doors in a shift of power. Various players push their agendas. Don't believe everything you hear. Follow the money. Look for the rewards. Stay tuned. See where you can offer help to others without compromising what feels right for you and what you need. Re-evaluate and rework your life plan with sincere New Year's resolutions that you intend to follow. There's an advertisement on U.S. TV with a young boy talking about making New Year's "revolutions"? He's got it right! Venus is retrograde all of January, the biggest planetary theme of the month. We will be constantly reevaluating plans and taking into account the continuing global economic-political restructuring. Many businesses are likely to close their doors or prepare to do so; others, tuning into the trends of the time, begin a successful run. Cooperative ventures seeking the mutual win-win are in order. In Capricorn along with Pluto, Venus seriously suggests that we conserve resources and carefully consider any necessary purchases, seeking long-term value. Watch any tendency to buy things as a reward, a habit that is not emotionally or economically rewarding. Shopaholics beware. Consumerism is clearly going out of fashion, being redefined by educated buyers who vote with their dollars for those businesses who address the global agenda rather than define success by the bottom line alone. This doesn't mean restricting your pleasure or being miserly. We want to keep the money flowing, but in a way that adds richness to our lives, not superficiality. There is a unique and interesting aspect to the Venus retrograde cycles I want to note. Venus has a highly aesthetic cycle, with five repeating retrograde periods every eight years. The five locations of these retrogrades trace a five-pointed star, a pentagram, around the Zodiac. This means that every eight years, Venus turns retrograde in these same places in our charts, encouraging a life-long improvement in certain areas of our lives. In reference to the current retrograde, look back to December-January 2005-6, 1998-9, 2000-2001, etc. to review what these preceding cycles have meant to you. Perhaps you may perceive repeating themes. Each of the five cycles begins on the same day as the previous time, minus two days and, therefore, minus two degrees in the Zodiac position. It takes 120 years for a particular Venus retrograde cycle to move through a sign of the Zodiac. This is the first one that has started retrograde in Capricorn for over a thousand years, I figure, giving us another highly qualitative factor to make this a NEW New Year. When retrograde, Venus brings up the question: How can you improve your life and how you feel about it all? This period also suggests emotional withdrawal and inner questioning, as we evaluate how we are feeling about our life situations. Several extended Void of Course Moon periods add more space to this process. This is not an easy time for relationships, as we each need to take stock of what is right for us without accommodating partners in a way that compromises self integrity, self esteem, effective action and growth of both partners. This fosters emotional maturity, yet with a potential edge of depression. Don't let it get you down. The lesson is that you are responsible for your own feelings, so work with that. Don't waste emotional energy on worrying. Recalibrate into a more uplifted feeling by appreciating the good things in life. Then you're in right alignment to take care of the business at hand. A New Moon on New Year augurs powerful new beginnings. As we reconsider the long-term potential in our situations, we see there is room for qualitative improvement in relation to the larger living Earth awakening in which we are participating. Let's be worthy of these times. Let's come together make 2014 a key year in this great Renaissance. Let's make our New Year's revolutions full of harmony, love, beauty, quality, sacredness, holiness......You add to this list! TO ALL COSMIC NEWS READERS: old and new friends and clients, some I've met and some not, cherished colleagues, and so many I do not know all around our world— I warmly wish you all the very best in this New Year rebirth time. **************** Click here for the entire article.

Santeria in the Woods?

Yesterday morning, around 8:35, Kylie and I were on our usual walk through the fields and into the woods.  Well, Kylie heads into the woods and I stand on the path to the woods.  I used to walk in with her, but since Sandy knocked down a large tree across the path, I just watch and wait for her.

Here is what the path looked like after Sandy and what it still looks like.  The fallen tree is still there - the Parks people have not cleared anything away.

Yesterday, on top of that fallen tree I saw three things:  an open bottle of red wine, with about a glass of it poured out; a basket filled with fruit and flowers - pineapple, oranges, apples and small yellow mums; a large black trash bag that was filled with "something."  These objects were not here the day before - I walk here at least twice a day and at 4 pm on Thursday, they were not there.

Being curious, I went closer and had the immediate feeling that the items were left as an offering of some sort - their placement seemed deliberate.  There are a couple of picnic tables, grills and a little "picnic house" which would have seemed like the places where forgotten items were left - but these objects were placed on the trunk on the fallen tree, as if the tree were an altar.

Santeria??  That was the first thing I thought.

I did peek into the bag to see what was in there and saw what looked like seasonal decorations and something that was wrapped and felt heavy.  Since I am averse to putting my hands into places that I do not know and since I felt like I would be interfering with something that did not include me, I left the objects undisturbed, other than placing some of the flowers that had blown out of the basket back into the basket.

I thought it was kind of strange that I would stumble upon this in this particular area - that I know of, there are no Santeria practitioners in our little town (I could be wrong, though!) and usually people come to this area only in Spring and Summer.  I do know of some Wiccan folks who use the area for their celebrations - and I have participated in them.

Yesterday afternoon, Kylie and I walked in the same area and, to my surprise, the objects were still there, in the same order.  Any doubts that the objects were left as an offering faded.  I only hoped that whatever the ritual, it was a peaceful one.  I know only a little about Santeria, but I kept getting the feeling that what I was seeing was part of that tradition.

Yes, I admit the stories of ritual goat or chicken sacrifices wandered into my mind - I think if I knew for sure what was in that big trash bag, I wouldn't have thought that - but that bag was just a tad too weird for me and my imagination went to those stories and movies that demonize Santeria, Voudou, Candomble and other "spooky" religions, along with the "if you see something, say something" crusade of fear that permeates the airwaves.  So, I did call our local police who have no jurisdiction over County Parks and the guy wasn't too interested in my story.  He did give me the phone number for the County Park sheriff; their voice mail was on and I decided not leave a message.

I did call a friend and left a long message on her voice mail because I usually want to talk about something that I can't figure out - talking helps me hear what I am thinking and helps me look at and examine those thoughts with some of the charge removed.  She returned my call this morning, waking me out of a deep sleep that had been filled with strange dreams, and suggested that I take my iPhone with me this morning to get pictures if the objects were still there.

And they were.

But not in the same place or condition that I originally saw them.  Here are some of the pictures that I took.  You can click on the images to enlarge them.

Seeing the candles was really interesting to me - I have heard of Oya, but never Orunmila.  Here's some information that I found about them.

Oya (also known as Yansa or Yansan) is a powerful female warrior orisha, one of Shango's wives, owner of the marketplace, owner of the cemetery and the ruler of winds. She, along with Orunmila, are the only two orishas who defeated Ikú, the force of death. She stole Shango's secret of fire and now throws lightning bolts just like him. She raises up the dead and commands them as her armies. She carries a machete and screams as she rides into battle on the tornado. 

Oya is often depicted as a muscular, dark, and seductive black woman, dressed in a skirt of 9 different colors, wielding a machete in one hand and a horse-tail fly-whisk in the other. Her shrine is a glazed ceramic pot, usually maroon or multicolored, filled with her mysteries and 18 loose cowries for diloggun, through which she speaks. The pot is topped with a copper crown from which hang 9 different tools. A large, dried seed pod from the red-flowered flamboyant tree (also known as the flame tree or royal poinciana) is used to speak with her by shaking it while praying at her shrine. There is only one road or avatar of Oya. Her ritual number is 9. Her beaded necklace usually features brown beads with white and black stripes, along with coral beads. Her garments are maroon with 9 different colors. Animal sacrifice is used to propitiate Oya within the African Traditional Religions. Sacrifices to Oya include: she-goat, hens, pigeons and guinea hens. She abhors ram, lamb, or mutton, and animal sacrifices of members of this species are strictly taboo for her. altar offerings for Oya include eggplant, chocolate, pomegranate, plums, and multi-colored flowers. 

In the syncretic practices of Cuban Santeria, in which African orishas are associated with Catholic Church saints, the representatives of Oya are Our Lady of Candelaria and Saint Theresa and her feast day is February 2. Hoodoo psychic readers, spirit workers, and root doctors who are adherents of the Yoruban and Yoruban-Diasporic Religions and who petition the orishas on behalf of clients may work with Oya when there are pending issues involving money and business, protection and warding off evil, steady work and personal power, mediumship and working with spiits of the dead, breaking jinxes and reversing curses, and spiritual revenge or curing an enemy,

Orunmila (also known as Orula, Orunla, or Ifa) is the orisha of divination. He is the "eleripin" -- the witness of destiny -- who knows everything that awaits us as part of our fate. He has a very close working relationship with Eleggua and together they intercede on behalf of humanity to alter people's destinies, ward off death and other misfortunes, and guide us to cultivate good character. His worship is primarily centered around the Ifá tradition, both in traditional African worship and in the African diaspora in the new world, where his initiated priests, called awos, babalawos, iyanifas or oluwos, act as diviners for the greater community. He is petitioned for help with making wise decisions, opening roads, healing, protection from evil. 

Orunmila is typically depicted as a wise, old, black man wearing robes with a diviner's pouch hanging from a long necklace around his neck. His ritual tools include 18 ikin (palm nuts), the okuelé (a chain of 8 shell husks used to divine), and the opón ifá (table of ifa) upon which he makes marks in a ritually prepared dust to determine a person's destiny, in a system similar to that of Geomancy. These methods speak using 256 odu (signs) to describe a person's energy and circumstances as well as how to overcome misfortunes. Orunmila's shrine is typically a small carved wooden vessel (like a covered bowl) containing his mysteries. There is only one avatar of Orunmila. His ritual number is 16. His beaded necklace consists of alternating yellow and green beads. His garments are green and yellow. Animal sacrifice is used to petition Orunmila within the African Traditional Religions. His sacrifices include: she-goats and hens. altar offerings to Orunmila are determined through divination. 

In the syncretic practices of Cuban Santeria, in which African orishas are associated with Catholic Church saints, the representative of Orunmila, the "witness of destiny," is Saint Francis, who, in a vision, witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Hoodoo pyschic readers, spirit workers and root doctors who are adherents of the Yoruban and Yoruban-Diasporic Religions who petition the orishas on behalf of clients may work with Orunmila when seeking guidance through divination regarding blessing, healing, protection from evil, cleansing, uncrossing, spirituality, psychic abilities, wisdom and success.

The texts above came from here and here.

I hesitate to try and interpret what the offerings mean for I believe that only the one who made them knows their reason.

May the petitioner find what she/he is looking for.  Ashé.

The Lost Female Figures of Christmas - Carolyn Emerick

The Lost Female Figures of Christmas

Part I

It may come as a surprise that there were a great many female figures associated with this time of year that have been obscured from much of our contemporary memory. Many of these figures are still popular in their home countries. But, America has a very different historical landscape when it comes to holiday practice, and it is the American brand of Christmas that has recently been exported to non-Western parts of the world.

Much has been said about Santa Claus being an amalgam of influences, and especially about his image being based on the Germanic god Odin. But, it is important to realize that there were many other holiday figures, both male and female, that did not find their way over to our modern American Christmas celebrations. German male figures such as Krampus and Knecht Ruprecht are coming up more and more in news and entertainment media. So I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the female side of Old Yule.

Mōdraniht - Mothers Night

A great place to start is the Germanic holiday of Mōdraniht. This holiday was part of the Yule festivities. Many people already know that the Twelve Days of Christmas comes from the fact that Yule was not just a one day celebration, but rather a festival that lasted for several days before and after the Winter Solstice.

Mōdraniht is literally translated as Mothers Night, or Night of the Mothers. We don't know a lot about this celebration because it would have been suppressed after conversion to Christianity. We do know that it was a time to celebrate motherhood and probably other female ancestors. This celebration of the feminine may be related to the age old correlation between the fertility of women with fertility of crops, and with rebirth of new life. The Winter Solstice, after all, celebrated the rebirth of the Sun and lengthening of days.

Just as it is in other indigenous religions, ancestor veneration was a very important aspect of Germanic spirituality. Both male and female ancestors were honored. But, it seems that female ancestors played an important role as guardians of the family line.

Hervor, a renowned shieldmaiden attested to in the Poetic Edda. She is shown here dying after a battle.

The Important Roles of Germanic Women

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that women were often the ones home guarding the homestead while men were off at war, raiding, or trading. We do know that like the Celts, Germanic women were often trained to wield a sword. Although women on the battle field was not as common as men, it was not uncommon either. There are accounts of female bravery in battle, and it is known that certain battle tactics were designed specifically for the shield maidens. So, it might be that the women who tended the homestead were seen as strong protectresses by their children. Indeed, many Germanic female names have elements of strength and battle in them. For example, the name Mathilde translates as "mighty battle maiden."

Whatever the case may be, we know that female ancestors remained a prominent element in Germanic heathen religion. They were celebrated not only during Mōdraniht, but they also enjoyed another holiday during the Autumnal Equinox - Dísablót. While Mōdraniht is attested in Anglo-Saxon sources, Dísablót is attested in the Norse. However, both cultures share a linguistic and cultural heritage.

Also, votive inscriptions along the Rhine demonstrate that a cult of "the Mothers" (also called Matres and Matrones) existed in southern Germany, Gaul, and Northern Italy. Half of the inscriptions are Germanic, while the other half are Celtic. This again demonstrates that the Old Religion placed a high emphasis on celebrating maternity and the feminine.

Mōdraniht was celebrated on the date that we now call Christmas Eve. So this year, raise a glass and toast to your own mother, grandmother, aunts, great-aunts, and all the women who have helped raise you and yours. This is surely an old custom that can be appreciated by people of any religion today!

The Norse Goddess Idunna. She guards the apples that give eternal life to the gods.

Obstacles in Getting to Our Roots

There are many aspects of folklore, tradition, and folk custom that have very deep roots. We must remember that some traditions have been immersed in Christian practice for many years, but their true origins exist in the dark crevices of old heathen custom.

The origin of such practices can be difficult to identify for a variety of reasons. The pre-Christian cultures in Northern Europe passed on their wisdom, histories, poetry, and myths orally. So in most cases, they didn't leave written records.

Another major obstacle is the way that the Catholic Church absorbed paganism, at the same time re-branding and replacing specific customs and figures. Gods became saints, pagan holidays became Christian ones. This comes as no shock to most readers. Most Christians are well aware that Christ was not born in December, that Easter is named for the pagan fertility festival in honor of the goddess Eostre, and so forth. It is commonly known that the Catholic cult of saints arose to turn people away from local deities.



You can read the rest of this fascinating article here.
Part II is here.

Carolyn Emerick's FB page is here.  Her website is still under construction and can be found here.

I found this article over at Feminism and Religion and loved it.  Am reblogging it here.

If you have never been over to Feminism and Religion, take a stroll over there for some fascinating and thought provoking articles by many women.  You will not be disappointed.

*********************

Winter Solstice – When Darkness Nurtures Light by Judith Shaw

BY JUDITH SHAW on DECEMBER 21, 2013 • ( 3 )

In the Northern Hemisphere Winter Solstice, usually December 21,  heralds both the time of deepest darkness and the beginning of the return to light.  It is a liminal day offering a transformation from darkness to light.

In the mid-latitudes in the ten days after the winter solstice the hours of sunlight increase by only a few seconds up to a minute or so.  The world slows down allowing a time to relish the quiet of long nights and the inspiration of winter dreams.

Our ancestors through out the world honored an aspect of the Dark Goddess at this time.  Inanna, ancient Sumerian Goddess, played many roles for Her people.  She was maiden, queen, gift giver, lover, and wife.  She became a Dark Goddess when she heard the call of the Underworld, which was ruled by Her sister, Erishkigal.  She passed through the seven gates and entered Her sister’s realm, naked and bowed low.  She  died and was reborn.  But She was transformed by Her experience of the darkness, gaining maturity, depth and clarity of vision. She was required to choose an alternative to take Her place, assuring the cyclical nature of transformation.  This was not an easy choice but She chose Her husband, Dumuzi. Out of all Her relations he was the only one who had not mourned Her death but instead had rejoiced in the resultant increase in his power.

One of the most well known stories about the transformative nature of this time of darkness is the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. Demeter, Earth Goddess of Grain had a daughter, Persephone.  Persephone lived in the golden glow of her Mother’s love and protection.

But like all youth she was compelled by curiosity and divine force to begin a journey of completion.  Persephone was walking in a meadow one day and she saw the beautiful narcissus flower – the flower of death. As she reached down to pick the flower, the earth split open, releasing Hades, the Lord of the Underworld. Hades then took Persephone, willingly or otherwise, in a Spiral Dance into the shadows of the underworld.

During this time Demeter was wild with grief.  She searched and searched for Persephone.  When She learned the truth of her abduction She caused all vegetation to die and wither on the vine.  Finally, with Zeus’s urging, Hades relented and released Persephone.  But before She reached the Land of Living she ate six pomegranite seeds thus sealing her fate of eventual return.

Like Inanna, she returned changed. She was filled with wisdom and knowledge of existence outside of her Mother’s realm. She had learned the power of transformation; from death to rebirth, from dark to light, lost to found, chaos to clarity, fear to transcendence.  And she was the one who must return to the Underworld for six months every year, recognizing the transformative power of darkness and the cyclical nature of transformation.

The ancient Celts also recognized a goddess at this time. The Cailleach (KAL-y-ach), which literally translates as the “Veiled One” is an ancient Dark Goddess whose origins are unknown.  When the Celts arrived in Ireland and Scotland She was there. She is the embodiment of winter, clothing the land with the whiteness of snow, ending the time of growth with the time of death and darkness.  As “The Veiled One”, in the quiet, dark of winter, She rules the hidden worlds, reigning over our dreams and inner realities.

In one of Her stories, The Cailleach, as an old hag, seeks love from the hero.  If he accepts Her, She then transforms into a beautiful young woman, symbolizing the transformation occurring in the depths of winter when the seeds lay dormant in the earth.  Yet alive within this dormancy is the promise of rebirth in the spring, when Brigid picks up the mantle of the Goddess.

The Cailleach is the guardian of the life force, finding and nourishing the seeds, commanding the power of life and death. She personifies death and the transformative power of darkness.  She leads us through death to rebirth.

The Winter Solstice is a perfect night to light a candle and meditate on the wisdom of these Goddesses. They invite us down the path toward our inner darkness, through the barren surface into the unconscious depths where healing and new life begins. They teach us that we must take charge of this journey of transformation fueled by our dreams, introspections and inspirations. They teach us that on the other side of every fear we find freedom; we must die to our old ways in order to be reborn.  This quiet, dark time allows us to arrive at deeper levels of understanding and perception. May your night be warm and filled with dreams of inspiration.

Judith Shaw, a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, has been interested in myth, culture and mystical studies all her life.  Not long after graduating from SFAI, while living in Greece, Judith began exploring the Goddess in her artwork.  She continues to be inspired by the Divine Feminine in all of Her manifestations. Originally from New Orleans, Judith now makes her home in New Mexico where she paints and teaches part-time.  She is currently hard at work on a deck of Celtic Goddess cards. Her work, which expresses her belief in the interconnectedness of all life, can be seen on her website at http://judithshawart.com

Virgin a Day, 2013 - Day 5 Our Lady of Perpetual Help

(Image from here)

I like to think of our Lady of Perpetual Help 

as helping all living beings

and not limiting Her love

to only humans...

Rebecca is hosting another yearly Virgin A Day over at her place - be sure to check out all of the offerings.

Virgin a Day, 2013 - Day 3 Isis and Theotokos

HYMN TO ISIS

For I am the first and the last

I am the venerated and the despised

I am the prostitute and the saint

I am the wife and the virgin

I am the mother and the daughter

I am the arms of my mother

I am barren and my children are many

I am the married woman and the spinster

I am the woman who gives birth and she who never procreated

I am the consolation for the pain of birth

I am the wife and the husband

And it was my man who created me

I am the mother of my father

I am the sister of my husband

And he is my rejected son

Always respect me

For I am the shameful and the magnificent one.

This passage was first discovered in Nag Hammadi in the third or fourth century BC and claims to be a hymn to the Egyptian goddess Isis.

*********************

Aniscia Mosholder "prayers to the Theotokos, asking for protection"

The Nativity of the Resurrection Child

On one side of Alexander Palace Papa stroked
his coiffed whiskers, pacing back and forth
in his simple study.

Ikons and photographs of family
Watched him all waiting in anticipation
for the news.

On the opposite side of the palace, Mama clenched
her dainty jaws, tears of joy and pain
streamed down her face.

Grigori led the Monks in chant, murmuring
prayers to the Theotokos, asking for protection
and health for the imp-child.

The imperial sheets matched the mauve room.
The resurrection child was born.

The news reached Papa thirty minutes later.
Disappointed in her grandiose arrival,
he delayed their first meeting.

The parade outside the palace
Dispersed, they too disappointed.

Rebecca is hosting another yearly Virgin A Day over at her place - be sure to check out all of the offerings.