Marzenna

From 365 Goddess by Patricia Telesco:

Marzenna's themes are spring, weather, protection, winter, death, rebirth, cycles, change and growth. Her symbols are dolls (poppets) and water (including ice and snow). The Polish Goddess for whom this holiday is named represents an odd combination of winter, death and fruit field's growth and fertility. As such, She oversees the transitions we wish to make in our lives.

I walked into a used bookstore and saw Telesco's book. When I picked it up to check the Goddess of the date, I saw a paper marking today's date. It was the page for Marzenna. Since my heritage is Polish, I decided to check Her out.

This is a time of transitions, of changes in our world. That's especially true for each person individually as well as the community in total. Spring is about rebirth, changing the death time of Winter into the new greening of Spring that blossoms into the fullness of Summer. It's a time of transformation.

My life right now is about celebrating the changes, the transformations, that are happening within its boundaries. Around me are a variety of changes: deaths, graduations, surgeries, retirements, marriages. Some of them are directly related to me ~ some are even mine ~ but many belong to the people around me. These affect me deeply in a manner different from those that are directly tugging on my heartstrings.

Marzenna is the Goddess ~ and the celebration of that Goddess, or more precisely, the passing of that Goddess of Death, Rebirth and Change. In the celebrations a straw poppet of Marzenna is burned so that Newness can come into being. It's a passage and Marzenna is the Guardian of Change at the gate.

What Spring holiday or holy day resonates most for you? How do you celebrate the passages of time? What is transforming in your life in this moment? How will you support it?

300 Posts

ML Monroe ~ 2013

"You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however."

~ Richard Bach

Today I'm giving myself the opportunity and permission to celebrate. I had a dream that I would continue to write a blog for 30 days, or however many continued to bubble out of my moving fingers. Today's post is number 301. Even skipping an occasional day, I've written fairly continuously since March. That's an accomplishment worth celebrating!

I believe in celebrating every accomplishment we have ~~ every dream that comes true ~~ no matter whether it is a large colorful one or a small barely noticeable one or any in between. Celebrations can be, as this is, simple acknowledgements of having done the work to completion. Or taking oneself out to dinner. Or throwing a party. Or going to bed early. Whatever makes your heart sing when the task is over.

We human beings are better at putting ourselves down than at self-congratulations. I'm not saying to brag or boast, but to recognize that we have gone through some steps or trials or learning or whatever it takes in order to get there. I am always grateful for every encouraging word or smile; every person or thing that helped ease the way forward. I believe in recognizing, in the process, that others help us attain those goals too ~ we are part of a larger community that supports each other.

What have you accomplished today? How do you feel about your accomplishment? Have you expressed your self-congratulations? Have you expressed your gratitude? How have you done that?