PaganSquare


PaganSquare is a community blog space where Pagans can discuss topics relevant to the life and spiritual practice of all Pagans.

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
  • Bloggers
    Bloggers Search for your favorite blogger from this site.
  • Login
    Login Login form
Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in Earth Mother

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
The Minoan Mother Goddesses

The Triple Goddess is a major component of modern Paganism, but the popular Maiden-Mother-Crone triplicity doesn't appear in ancient Crete. It's the modern creation of Robert Graves. And while it's a perfectly legitimate way to view the divine feminine, it's not historic, so we don't use it in Ariadne's Tribe.

The closest we can come to that kind of "life phases" division in the Minoan pantheon is a Younger and Elder Goddess, exemplified by, for instance, Rhea (the Great Mother) and Ariadne (the Daughter). This mother-daughter duo are the focus of the mythic cycle of the Mysteries, the probable Minoan precursor to the Eleusinian Mysteries.

...
Last modified on

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
What is the Symbol of Earth?

In Baltic lore, each of the Old Gods has his or her own sign.

For the Sun, it's the Sun Wheel. For the Moon, the Crescent.

Fire is the Fire Cross, the swastika, Thunder, the Thunder Cross, or compound swastika.

The Winds, since there are four of them, have the Cross, Heaven the Mountain. (How else would you draw a picture of the sky?)

But what about Earth?

My teacher, Tony Kelly, of the Pagan Movement in Britain and Ireland, used to say, “If we know anything at all about Earth, we know that she's Mother.”

At the time, as a good, doctrinaire second wave feminist, I found this statement reductionist and objectionable.

Since then, I've changed my mind.

Last modified on
Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    I'm no historian of feminism and certainly can't speak for second wave feminism generally, but (in effect) yes. The feeling was th
  • Taffy Dugan
    Taffy Dugan says #
    Why would thinking of the Earth as a Mother be reductionist and objectionable? Was the 2nd wave of feminism putting down mothers?
A Midsummer Invocation to Earth and Her Two Husbands

(Horn)

Let us lift up our hands.

 

On this Midsummer's Day

I call to Earth, mighty mother of us all,

and I ask that through the summer to come

our gardens may bear abundantly,

Last modified on
Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    Does the Catholic chaplain use wine at mass? How is that different?
  • Aline "Macha" O'Brien
    Aline "Macha" O'Brien says #
    I wish I'd had this before I went to San Quentin on Saturday. Of course, we can have neither horn nor libation; we could use wate

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Travel the Earth

For Earth Day this year, I suggest keeping it simple. Pack a handful of your nearest and dearest in a roomy auto and go road-tripping. It could even be more fun if you have no particular destination in mind. You can call on the directions to help guide you to a beneficial place for all. There really are only a few prerequisites to make for the optimum road experience: gas, tunes, and snacks.

To be fair, why not have each rider pitch in with a playlist of road-worthy songs and take turns playing them? Speaking of pitching in, if you're not the driver, don't forget to offer some cash for fuel. The other kind of fuel you require is of course, munchies. You should cover sweet, salty, crunchy, protein-rich, and throw in something healthy if you can. Veggie Straws, celery and carrots, apples, grapes, cheese, hummus, trail mix, and fair trade dark chocolate all make my list. These don't really require a cooler, either. The other thing you don't want to be without is beverages. Water, iced tea or coffee drinks, and juice are all good bets.

Try to get rolling by high-noon so that you still have plenty of daylight to get out and go for a hike, if you choose. Crank the windows down, sing along, and let the good times roll. There is a lot of gorgeous green earth still out there. Get out and enjoy her while you can.

    COLLEEN'S CRAZY TRAIL MIX
    A perfect blend of salty, sweet and spicy.
    organic dark chocolate-covered cranberries
    organic Dried Turkish Figs
    sesame sticks (Cajun)
    brown rice miso crackers
    roasted, salted Peanuts
    organic raw pumpkin seeds
    Greek yogurt-covered pretzels
    wasabi peas
    All of these items should be available in your friendly neighborhood bulk foods section. You can use equal parts of each, or go heavy on your favorites to create your own mix!
    (Recipe concocted by Colleen DuVall, due to the tree-nut heavy trail-mixes already out there)

    BEET HUMMUS
    Start to finish: 20 minutes
    Servings: 5
    This hummus is a vibrant bright pink thanks to the addition of steamed beets.
            1 beet (small, trimmed and peeled, cut into chunks)
            1 1⁄2 cups cooked chickpeas
            1 clove garlic (coarsely chopped)
            3 tablespoons tahini
    3 tablespoons lemon juice
    1⁄4 cup water (plus up to a 1/4 cup more if needed)
    1 1⁄2 teaspoons cumin
    1⁄2 teaspoons salt
    Place the beet in a steamer basket above simmering water and steam, covered, until tender, up to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the beet pieces.
    Place the garlic and chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the tahini, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of water, cumin, salt, and cooked beets, and process until smooth and creamy, adding more water, a couple tablespoons at a time, to reach the desired consistency.
    (Recipe adapted from www.dailyburn.com by Willy Street Co-op in Madison)

Photo by ponsulak at http://www.freedigitalphotos.net



Last modified on

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Birth-Cave

It will come as no surprise to anyone likely to be reading this that Christendom's two most sacred shrines, those marking the supposed sites of Jesus' birth, death and burial, are both located on the sites of old pagan holy places.

In a spasm of triumphalist destruction, the emperor Constantine (of cursed memory) tore down Roman Jerusalem's major temple, the Temple of Venus, to build the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on its site. (According to Israeli novelist Meir Shalev, the original builders of the church simply paved over a mosaic of Venus in one corner; ever since, that section of the floor always feels hot to the touch.)

Same deal with Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. In a letter dating from 395, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (later known as “saint” Jerome), translator of the Vulgate (Latin) Bible, who had himself lived in Bethlehem for a number of years, writes: “Bethlehem...belonging now to us...was overshadowed by a grove of Tammuz, that is to say, Adonis, and in the cave where the infant Christ cried, the lover of Venus was lamented” (Taylor 96).

Tammuz' sacred grove, of course, is long since gone, but the birth-cave that still underlies the Church of the Nativity was mentioned by Christian writers as early as the second century. Jerome, in the late 4th century, is the first to mention the cave's previous divine tenant, admittedly a late attestation; but he seems unlikely simply to have invented a pagan origin for the site.

Even conservative Biblical critic Jesuit Raymond Brown readily admits in his magisterial study of the gospel birth-narratives that their historical value is virtually nil. (We don't even know for sure that Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem.) But by the late third century, Christian tourists were already coming to Bethlehem, asking to see where Jesus was born, and naturally the local tourist industry provided a venue. Where else but at the local holy place? (You know gods: they always hang out together.) That will be two sesterces, please.

Last modified on
Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    Doesn't sound like a very lively party.
  • Anthony Gresham
    Anthony Gresham says #
    (You know gods: they always hang out together.) That brought to mind the Avengers and The Justice League, which in turn brought to

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Goddess Earth

It all begins with Earth.

Recently, at the Summerland Spirit gathering, I spent a day in walking meditation, fasting, naked, covered with ash. I'd suspected beforehand that I might be bored. Nothing could have been further from the truth. That day was the busiest I've spent in a long time. They say that the naked ascetic sitting beneath the tree has fought and won more battles than the bravest warrior.

So there I was, sitting under a white oak in the mid-afternoon heat, reeling with the concept: Goddess Earth.

Last modified on
From Gaia and Dionysus to Jesus and Mary Magdalene

"How would you like to be interviewed for a book that questions the historical existence of Jesus?" asked Minas, a journalist, editor, and old-time friend of mine. "I'd love it if you would like to point out the similarities between Jesus and Dionysus." It was an offer I couldn't resist. The interview turned out to me more than 5000 words long, opening a host of fascinating topics. It is included in the book Jesus Mythicism: An Introduction, whose English translation recently came out. It is written by Minas Papageorgiou and also includes interviews by well-known scholars, such as Maria Dzielska, Payam Nabarz, and Joseph Atwill.

I'm delighted to share a part of my interview with you, with permission from the book's author.

...
Last modified on

Additional information