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Happy Thoughts About the Gender and Identity of God

3/3/2015

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Recently there was a post on social media about a priest who died for a few minutes and experienced God as a loving female presence. It reminded me that most non-traditional spiritual seekers I know, try to let go of the gender issue when approaching the Supreme Being or Source Energy or Love/Intelligence or Great Spirit or Author of the Universe. All these descriptors indicate the potential problem…if we have trouble naming the All Originating Principle of the Universe, how can we get close and intimate with… ah… It?
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Enter Gods, Goddesses, and Archetypes

I think the ancient pantheons had it right. If you have a deity in charge of some specific area of earthly life, a seeker can contact that one in charge of their issue, and have some certainty that they are working with a specialist. I see all the gods and goddesses of antiquity as remembrances of the ultimate, sacred One, with a pathway into Infinity and, also, a pathway into my heart. They are easier for me to work with than trying to connect with the Ultimate Unformed Substance and I like to use the personal pronouns, he, she, him, and her so much better than It.


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Divine Help in the Garden or Elsewhere

At this time of year, my roses are just beginning to send up their beautiful, shiny, infant red leaves. It is the perfect time to invite the great god Pan into my garden to bless the new growth. I also invite Demeter to add her loving energy to the growth and health of all my flowers and shrubs. This year I am having a Garden Wake-up Party. We will sing the garden awake and honor the gods and goddesses of the plant kingdom. The result will be breathtaking, as it is each year. You too can invite any deity or archetype to assist you with any endeavor. Seekers have done it for thousands of years, so there must be something to it.


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Inviting a Deity to Inhabit You

With some practice you can actually ask a god or goddess to inhabit you and live through you. There is a story of a trial in ancient Greece in which a priestess of Aphrodite was accused of impersonating the goddess, a very serious offense. The lawyer, Hyperides, knew that logic could not win the case for himself and his client. In an unconventional defense, he asked his client to disrobe in the witness box; the strategy worked. The jurors became absolutely entranced and declared that the true presence of Aphrodite was the only possible explanation for such beauty. So, how about you? Could you use Athena, for example, in creating a business plan which benefited everyone? Would the skill of Hera heal a rift in your marriage? Could Poseidon help in a sailing expedition, or in teaching a child to swim? Or would your love life improve with Aphrodite expressing through you? All the gods and goddesses of ancient pantheons brought their followers to great depth and faith. They are here for us, too.

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Mab, My Familiar

22/4/2014

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A witch's familiar is an animal with a deep, loving, and useful connection to a person of the craft. In times of old, as well as in the neo-pagan community, a familiar looks like a pet, often a cat or a bird. However, the true familiar is more than a companion; it helps with healing and magical efforts. I am told that a familiar usually "finds" the person to whom it is bound in service.

When I was in Cornwall in 1999, I met Cassandra Latham-Jones, Village Wise Woman, and her familiar, a gray cat named Mab. Back at home the following winter, a black infant kitten found its way to my front door and I knew "my Mab" had found me. Yes, I named her after the witch's familiar. She is now the matron of my home and watches over three other cats and three adult women. We understand that all six of us are her kittens.
 

Her portrait in the spring garden, on this page, was taken by Amanda Kreglow, one of her charges. In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mab is the queen of the fairies, so I especially love this photo with the fairy paying her homage.

Mab runs the household and does not tolerate misbehavior. She is always present when any of the two or four-leggeds is in distress and simply remains near them, exuding peace and well being. Recently, another of my cats had an operation and was confined for a week. Mab was just on the other side of the door for most of the week, certainly through each night. We have also noticed that Mab stays up and watchful  at night until all of her two-legged kittens are home and in bed. 

The archetype of the familiar is found in a long line of powerful animal healing spirits, spanning the ages from the animal gods of the Egyptian pantheon all the way through to seeing eye dogs and hospital angel dogs today. Why  not give your four legged or winged one more responsibility in your family or work and see what happens? 






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The Easter Snake

11/4/2014

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As I was creating my spring altar at home, a large stuffed snake declared that she wanted to be the centerpiece of my sacred altar for Ostara. When I was finished, my entire dining room was exploding with decorative eggs, flowers, bunnies, and three snakes. I posted the photo on the left to facebook and entitled it "The Easter Snake." I was surprised when several people wanted to know the story.

I had no story. I began to think about spring holidays and spring symbols and St. Patrick came into my awareness - then I knew the story of the Easter Snake and why this lovely animal is important at this time of year. St. Patrick forcefully Christianized Ireland in the 4th century AD and part of the story of this aggressive, although much loved, priest was that he drove the snakes out of Ireland. That aspect of the story has been taken to mean that the native Celtic and Druid culture was violently suppressed. Spiritual suppression is a common story in the history of religion; all religions are an amalgamation of the beliefs of the invaders and the native population. Ireland still has much of its pagan roots very much in evidence.

So, why not encourage that earthy side of Celtic spirituality and celebrate "All Snakes Day" sometime in spring? It is the time of year that the little and big crawlers slither out of their dens and bask on a warm rock in the spring sunshine. "All Snakes Day" is actually the idea of Archdruid Isaac Bonewits, and I, for one, support it. Let's bring back the love for one of the divine goddess's familiars: the snake that is at home above and in the earth. Let your own out grown skin fall away this spring and transform with the celebration of "All Snakes Day!"















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April is the Month of "Opening"

4/4/2014

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The name of this month, April, comes from the early French and means "to open." How appropriate! It is in this month that so many flowers open; the trees leaf out in most places in the Northern Hemisphere, and we have the experience that spring has surely arrived. It feels like life is opening to a new beginning from the rebirth that was the Winter Solstice.

It is in April that birds nests and eggs appear. What an amazing blessing for our ancestors, who had endured a cold winter and had eaten all or most of their stored food, to find these delicious little packages of protein. No wonder that Ostara's hare was inspired to decorate eggs for his beautiful goddess. After all, the world was already ablaze with colored flowers, so a bouquet would not stand out as a special gift. The little hare carefully decorated eggs for Ostara, and that is how bunnies and eggs got all mixed up with the resurrection.

Isn't it all about opening at this time of year? Opening to fresh breezes. Opening to beauty. Opening to love. Opening to new beginnings. Even the eggs open with the little pecks from the chicks on the inside, if not found and eaten or painted.


I am opening to new expressions and new possibilities, myself. This website and blog are my new expressions this spring and I hope you like both.
I encourage you to do the same. Perhaps you already have an idea of what wants to happen through you this spring season. All it takes is a "Yes, Life! I am willing to open!" And you will; I promise. Use the energy of the rising sap and the opening flowers to begin something new.

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