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PaganSquare
PaganSquare is a community blog space where Pagans can discuss topics relevant to the life and spiritual practice of all Pagans.
When I was about nine, my grandfather took a welding torch and created for my church a tall stand on which to set the Advent wreath in the sanctuary. We had magnificent holly bushes in our yard, so my mother and I each year cut piles of dark, prickly leaves and red berries, then built the wreath ourselves. None of my friends seemed to have ever heard of Advent, so I thought it was just for Lutherans. The sermon each of the four weeks before Christmas kept our minds trained on the spiritual significance of the season, and a paper Advent calendar at home with little doors to open each day made me think maybe I should pay attention to it all.
Nowadays I ponder the iconic maternal images of Mary and Isis, seasonally superimposed one on the other. Each of them experienced difficult transitions to motherhood. Each struggled to hide her son away from those who would snuff out his life. Each had enough protective magic to earn them the titles Queen of Heaven and Mother of God.
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