If this were a cinematic moment, there would be a scene where the wind blows the weathervane round to signify a huge change in direction. Do you feel it, too? Ever since February (well, for me Imbolc, but for some friends a bit later on) it feels as if the huge 'stuckness' of 2018 was unclogged.Whoosh! And that whoosh! is the wind shifting the weathervane round.
These times of paradigm shifts are very liminal. Partly, we are responding to the celestial energies of Uranus and other planets stationing on the critical degrees of 29 and 0. Endings and beginnings. We have had a very potent New Moon in Picses to inspire visions and dream new realities. But somehow, I sense there is more than just an astrological explanation. There is such a powerful pulse of interconnectedness that I am sensing in the air, even as sleet and hail, thunder and lightening visit the landscape I inhabit along with tulips and hellebores, badgers and birds of numeous species. In a time where there is much to worry a body and soul, I feel as if we have been through a great clearing of energy. Now we have more power to perform acts of kindness, love and wisdom in the world. We are the channels. And there is more space for us to fill.
Maybe you are tired of hearing nonsense emanating from Washington, DC or perhaps you have a bad boss. Either way, cuprite does more than just look pretty, it help fight the patriarchy! Here is a mineral crystal formed from copper ore. Cuprite can have needle-like crystals of a brilliant red, a true red, inside a nearly black crystal. Cuprite has a spectacular sparkle. It is found most frequently in France, Russia, North America, Germany, Britain, and Australia. In the same way that copper has wonderful health benefits, so does cuprite, helping with concerns in the heart, blood, skin, muscles, and bones. Cuprite stimulates the lower chakra. It is a handy stone to take along on air flights, as it can treat altitude sickness. It also furthers the functions of the bladder and kidneys.
I call to the wild The soft The brutal The power within.
I move with grace And strength My blade readied To pierce the veils Of the unjust.
I speak my words I create and I destroy Each an expression Of my true nature.
I run in the woods I fly in the stormy skies I dive into inescapable waters I stalk my prey in the stone Constructs of the civilized.
I am relentless I am beauty I am the reflection Of all that is of the light And all that coalesces in the darkness.
I am the Divine Feminine You cannot turn away You cannot hide from my Truth Because I am all that you Aspire to be.
I always feel renewed and empowered at this time of the year. I am a daughter of the cold and wintry world and this is when I come alive and awaken all of my senses to the world around me. This is also the time when I renew my commitment to the Divine Feminine and exploration of HER wild nature. This year, in particular has been difficult for many women given the political agendas and the fear of losing precious legal ground that has seen the sacrifice of many women’s privacy and power in gaining.
The words dark and shadow are not synonymous, in fact when they are used interchangeably all manners of unintentional shaming, oppression and labelling falls upon women, the Divine Feminine and all persons born with skin darker than lily white.
The Cailleach did not depart without a bit of drama in Ireland. I woke Imbolc eve to snowflakes. We had hail thjat fell like shrapnel. We had sleet. She lashed us and threw down steely stair rods of rain. The wind bayed. Your fingers froze. Friends speculated that our cloth Brat Bríd's would be ripped from the bushes and clothes lines and we would be bereft of the goddess blessing this spring. As nightfall descended the cloud cover was so thick the supermoon was as veiled as if she had still been eclipsed. But enter the Divine Feminine reborn...and repurposed.
The cloud parted and the Cailleach departed before sunrise. Over towards the coast, to the southwest the full moon hung bright and low to the horizon. My little black cat, Sparkle, was intent on going out to moon bathe. I opened the door and welcomed Bríd. And the brat was still intact, the clip still secure. I brought it in, sodden with rain, to dry.
I write this on March 8, International Women’s Day. In America today is a day of painful paradoxes.During last year’s electoral campaign women’s issues received greater attention than ever before, and for the first time ever, a major candidate for president was a woman.She also received millions more votes than her opponent. Were our system like other democratic nations she would have been our first woman president. However, a constitutional quirk gave the office to the most aggressively misogynistic president we have ever had.
Who bears the responsibility for training Pagan clergy? What happens when a Jewish woman tries to reintroduce the divine feminine into her culture? And how are death and darkness treated in Shinto vs. western Paganism? It's Watery Wednesday, our weekly segment on news and analysis from the Pagan community! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!
Anthony Gresham
It's taken me a while to finish writing this, but I accept your challenge to write a new myth of my own. Here goes:Narfi & NariI write of Narfi and N...
Thesseli
You should post on Substack too, where you won't have to worry about being deplatformed or kicked off the site for your views. (Also, I've archived th...
