Goddess Centered Practice
In the woods behind my house rest a collection of nine large flat rocks. Daily, I walk down to these “priestess rocks” for some sacred time alone to pray, meditate, consider, and be. Often, while in this space, I open my mouth and poetry comes out. I’ve come to see this experience as "theapoetics"—experiencing the Goddess through direct “revelation,” framed in language. As Stanley Hopper originally described in the 1970’s, it is possible to “…replace theology, the rationalistic interpretation of belief, with theopoetics, finding God[dess] through poetry and fiction, which neither wither before modern science nor conflict with the complexity of what we know now to be the self.” Theapoetics might also be described, “as a means of engaging language and perception in such a way that one enters into a radical relation with the divine, the other, and the creation in which all occurs.”
Blessing from the Harvest Queen (+ Roasted Autumn Vegetables Recipe)
Blessing from the Harvest Queen
May the sunset cloak of shorter days enfold you
May you dance with the patterns of crimson and gold leaves
May you sing with owl and coyote in crisp moonlight
May you savor the orangeness of pumpkin and yam
and feel the sweetness of honey on your tongue.
May you listen to the dreams of seed corn
May elderberry strengthen you with stored sunshine
May persimmon grant you a fleeting hello
May the poignant flare of an October rose
kiss you with hope.
May your rooms be wreathed with smiles.
And, may you remember the grace and wisdom
found in both gathering and releasing.
Yesterday was the final day of my 30 Days of Harvest course with Joanna Powell Colbert (creator of the most beautiful Gaian Tarot). This week, the first offering of my own Red Tent Initiation course also drew to a close. I did a Womanrunes reading to close out both experiences. I got the Two Circles (rune of merging), followed by the Dark Moon (rune of wisdom), and then the Wheel…rune of fate. “The wheel turns, life unfolds, your breath moves in and out...”
My family has been delighting in the orange vegetables of autumn lately with regular helpings of roasted fall vegetables. Here is our simple recipe. Enjoy!
- ½ stick butter (4 TB)
- ¼ c. honey (more or less according to taste)
- Sprinkle of salt
- 3 large peeled and chunked sweet potatoes
- 1 lbs baby carrots (one bag) or 4-5 large carrots peeled and sliced
- Optional: half of an acorn squash, peeled and chunked
While you are cutting the vegetables, preheat the oven to 350. Put the honey and butter into a cake pan and set it in the oven to melt (about 7 minutes). Toss the cut up vegetables in the melted honey and butter mixture and return to the oven for 45-60 minutes, stirring/tossing every 15 minutes. Vegetables are most delicious when they have some browned areas and are caramelized.
“Some October, when the leaves turn gold, ask me if I’ve done enough to deserve this life I’ve been given. A pile of sorrows, yes, but joy enough to unbalance the equation.”
–Barbara Crooker
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