Easter/Ostara/Pesach 2017

At this time, Christians celebrate Easter. Jews celebrate Pesach, or Passover. Pagans celebrate Ostara. Muslims observe Al Isra' wal Miraj, Mohammed's Ascension to Heaven.  All these holy days have common elements.

Egypt celebrates Sham el Nessim. In India, the celebration is Baisakhi, the Punjabi New Year. Cultural groups throughout the Northern Hemisphere celebrate Spring, coming Summer, blossoming and rebirth.

Underlying each celebration of Spring is an acknowledgement of renewal, of rebirth, of resurrection. We watch each Fall as around us all of nature fades and either passes into the season of hibernation or lays down its living self to become part of the mulch. Winter brings with it the strong time of hibernation and struggle for survival.

When Spring comes and the greenery breaks through, we rejoice. When our domesticated animals begin their season of reproduction, we rejoice. In the midst of the new work of planting and birthing and coaxing growth, we set aside time to rejoice.

The greatest element in this time of year is resurrection. Everywhere we look there is new life. Even though our minds recognize that it is the usual cycle of the seasons, our spirits are moved by that internal cognizance of nature's rebirth.

Each and every culture celebrates the renewal of life. This is one thing we share, no matter what language, culture, religion, gender, ethnicity. This is a time of rejoicing ~ and we would do well to acknowledge it and participate in the joy.

How do you celebrate the renewal brought by Spring? How has your family historically celebrated? What is different about your celebration from your family's? How do your neighbors celebrate? your friends? your co-workers or classmates? What are the similarities between the celebrations? What are the differences? What brings you the most joy in this time of resurrection, rebirth and renewal?

Chaos and Conflict

Wisdom of the Oracle by Colette Barron-Reid

From the guide book:

The value of chaos before order.

The Oracle's message: Opposing forces come together to create a turbulent atmosphere. But consider the value of chaos that serves you well, as you become unmoored by it. Scattered to the winds, you leave behind the parts of yourself you no longer need and disperse seeds to reinvent yourself anew. Although the conflict appears to exist externally, its essence is also internal, projected outward and causing disarray. You may find yourself at cross-purposes with someone else, facing a storm you feel you can't control. Yet every storm passes, and chaos leads to a reordering of things. Conflict provides a way to see more than one side of a situation. Look upon this as just a moment in time when you may need to take shelter and step away from the fray. Don't be too eager to fight. This is a time to understand rather than to be understood.



Change seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere, deepening into the Darkness of Fall and Winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, birthing into the Light of Spring and Summer. Both places of chaos and conflict. Fall and Spring bring strong, visible changes ~ mostly in the colors bursting forth. Times to face elemental chaos and conflict.

These elemental changes show up internally for each of us as well. The recent Full Moon blossoms with change ~ opportunities we can choose to either hunker down or battle. Either way, change, chaos and conflict will arrive. We feel the movement, the gusts and gales within us.

If change is to come, chaos necessarily precedes it. Consider the struggle of birthing. Or the controlled burn preparation of the ground for planting. Or the messiness of a kitchen when preparing a meal. Observing each of these, we see chaos ~ within which lies a plan we may or may not understand at the time. Yet out of those chaotic moments comes something wonderful.

This card, arriving as it has for me personally, is perfect. I am in a change place in my life. Time often feels chaotic as though I should be doing something which is not in my momentum to do. My life appears in slow motion disarray like waving a lantern in a storm, in and out of focus. I chuckle deep within ~ quietly recognizing the storm for what it is: the bringer of newness. I am grateful.

What is changing in your life? Is the change only external? How do you face the internal chaos when it shows up? What do you do with conflict? How does the storminess of life affect you?

Beltaine 2016

I love this image I found online because it is a Beltaine gathering and dance. My favorite part of it is the Beltaine fire ~ in the shape of a phoenix.

Beltaine is about the fertility of the land. An acknowledgement of the coming lushness. Gratitude for the cyclical blessing from the union of Mother Earth and Father Sky.

It's also about rebirth and resurrection. In Christian traditions, Easter is near to this time. Even closer in Orthodox traditions. In Judaism, it is near Passover, another celebration of release. A rebirth, renewal.

Every Spring, when Beltaine nears, I feel the pull of Oya's dance of renewal. I find myself tugged in the direction of the sea. Mama Ocean calls to me. A bonfire on the shore is a wonderful celebration of this call and this time.

This year in particular, I feel the surge of the Earth and Ocean. I feel the tug of the warming weather and Sun. As Beltaine approached, I found myself nearly tripping over a squirrel, sitting peacefully on the pavement in front of me. As I approached, unaware in my rush, it did not move until I was less than a foot away. Then only as far as under the bush beside the walk. Sitting, watching me, as though to say, Slow down and notice. Good thing I noticed. As I approached my car, a crow was sitting on the ground beside it. I slowed down as it turned its head from side to side, noticing me too. It remained next to my car until I was less than three feet from it. Then it hopped a few feet farther away, turned to watch me and chatter. I spoke back to it ~ of my gratitude for its presence and my honoring of our mutual awareness of each other. It bowed to me as I opened my car door and got in. Then it hopped on a rock and watched me depart. That noticing, that slowing down to breathe, is the expression of celebrating Beltaine for me.

How do you celebrate the coming of the next step of Spring? What do you feel as the weather warms and everything turns brighter green and colorful? How do you acknowledge the gifts of Earth and Sky?

Tender Collapse

The recent sunshine and warmth juxtaposes with and accents the process of grief and letting go. It is not simply the passing of winter or the season of Easter, it is the encounter with death and loss that continues through it all.

Spring is about re-birth and new growth, life reasserting itself after winter's passing. Although that sounds wonderful, it is also a time of great challenge and change.

Have you watched a plant breaking through the ground? It creates a chasm all on its own. Under the surface, it's broken through the covering of the seed or bulb. Then it pushes its way through the dirt separating it from the air and sunshine. As it splits the surface, it creates a miniature mound of earth as well as the breach through which it will poke its strong yet fragile head.

We are like that when we grieve. We push toward the Light, toward the Breath. Each movement is natural yet a phenomenal struggle. We continue to act as though everything is normal and ordinary. Within us moves the same struggle, unseen, edging forward, up and out. Occasionally, in order to break through into the light, into healing, we feel the seism along the fault line within us. We have no control over it. Eventually, something small, quiet, dark bursts forth through the surface and we wail with its appearance.

When we are most fortunate, most blessed, love also appears ~ often in the guise of family and friends ~ and witnesses our tender collapse without attempting to pat the dirt back into place or dig out a larger hole. Simply witnessing. Then when we feel more whole, or not, perhaps we will be able to stand in witness of the unique tender collapse of another.

What is breaking through in you? What grief are you holding? releasing? How are you standing in witness to others' break-throughs? What else is growing in your life this Spring?

Rich Transformation

The Nahualli Animal Oracle

From the guide:
"In the sacred Aztec calendar the day-sign Vulture represents old age and riches. Because it is known as an eater of carrion, it is a symbol of the underworld as well. ... Vulture is also associated with the traditional definition of hidden wealth, discovered only if one is willing to do some digging. Vulture takes something that seemingly has no value - a dead animal - and breaks it down so that its elements can be reabsorbed into the earth, providing fuel for new life. Vulture's lesson is that true wealth is all around us, just under the surface, waiting to be discovered. ...
A rich, long life may lie ahead of you. At the very least you can expect abundance around whatever your issue or question addresses. .... Vulture consumes those life-sapping remnants of negativity while helping you find hidden pockets of gold and precious stones in the everyday world that you've lived in since you were born."

My question as I shuffled the deck of cards: What strength is needed for the coming week? What an incredible response! Vulture transforms by aiding the process of degeneration. Any habit that needs to be changed will find a willing accomplice in Vulture. This is an especially powerful time to make those changes ~ it's Spring. Time for deep cleaning, planting, eating fresh and local food. Anything that was put aside during the Winter months. Since it is nearly the New Moon, it is also time to put a plan together for letting go of what no longer serves and calling in what will replace it.

Vulture as a symbol of old age and the Underworld fits in with my current internal spiritual and emotional work. As I work with the Ancestors, I walk in a deeper awareness of the meaning of old age and elderhood. The darkness, pull and power of the Underworld has recently been present in my life which makes drawing this particular card ironic as well.

What does Vulture symbolize for you? What habit of yours has Vulture come to transform? What do you want to see blossom in its place? What is the treasure hidden in your Underworld that is rising to the surface? How will you support it as it rises?

Full Moon in Scorpio

Sunday brings with it the May Full Moon ~ in Scorpio. Amazing that in the month filled with blossoms and revelations of the Spring to Summer months, the Full Moon shows Herself in Scorpio, the sign dealing with everything we prefer to keep hidden.

It's time to uncover the path and the pieces for the next segment of our journey. These may be parts we don't want to notice much less acknowledge. For the sake of our own creativity and growth, we need to allow that cool lunar glow to illuminate the way for us, no matter how dark and ugly things may look.

The capacity to continue ~ and blossom ~ in our creativity depends on on our willingness to let the shadow ~ our personal shadow/daemon, what we've supressed, denied or disowned ~ out into the light. Embrace our wholeness! Bask in becoming integrated! Commit to the process of growth, of becoming. Walk through worldly chaos to that quiet spot in our core. To do all this requires us to step outside our comfort zone with open hearts as well as guided and guarded psyches.

As you prepare to encounter and embrace the Scorpio Full Moon, consider where you have lost your power, your vitality, your passion. Where are you playing it safe, hiding in the shadows, not playing your edge? What can you discard in order to create what you truly want?

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?

Ash Wednesday 2015

Growing up in the Roman Catholic Church, I heard these words every Ash Wednesday. When I arrived at my public school with the cross of ashes on my forehead, many of my non-RC, yet Christian, friends chided me about the Church's perceived preoccupation with guilt. I never heard it that way. For me it was a reminder that we are all made from the same 'stuff' and that we will all return to that very basic nature when we die.

It's been years since I considered myself only Catholic, yet I continue to find that Ash Wednesday begins my favorite season of the year. It's about self-reflection: not on my wrong actions, but on what can be my better actions.Looking at the deepest recesses of my mind and soul and acknowledging the difference shining Light can make.

Ash Wednesday often, perhaps even always, brought with it a shimmering sense of renewal. I found within its humbling reminder, hope. Hope that Spring would come. Hope that days would get lighter and longer. Hope that tomorrow would shine.

From today's reading (Isaiah 58):
"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house: when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly....."

It is also about how I appear in the world, who I truly see, what I value. This day, Ash Wednesday, is a moment in time to recommit my heart to service. In my reflection, I find the oily ash cross marks more than my forehead; it marks me in time. It reminds me that I am here, present this day, alive.

Where does Ash Wednesday find you? What are you committed to do or to be? How can you renew that commitment?

The Rose of Hope

Photo by Warren Nistad

The Rose
by Amanda McBroom

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.









After some recent days of feeling like a failure, I woke this morning with this refrain echoing behind my eyes. The Phoenix was about rising from that devastating sense of self ~ and of recognition of my own part in the process. The Rose is about hope.

When I focus on the negativity happening in my life or around me, I spiral into despair and paranoia. I find myself digging a hole deeper and deeper. If I shift my focus, if I look up, I see the sun, the sky, the clouds, the stars, the moon ~ anything besides the deep, dark, despairing hole.

I know that some flowers, other plants as well, need the cold of winter to let them know that it's time to rest ~ and then to awaken with the spring. This is Spring. This is the season of renewal. I look around at the flowers and trees that are so marvelously in bloom and I feel a buoyancy in the very air around them. It's a season of awakening and hope. A time of opening and birth. I'm awake and aware and ready to fully experience this time of hope!

What shows up in your life when you feel despair? Is there music that returns you to a place of hope? Are there other venues that lift your spirits?

Eostre ~ Goddess of Change

How Eostre Became the Goddess of Spring

©2014 by Mary-Lynne Monroe

http://www.skylightpublishing.com/gullylir/artha-about.jpg

Many, many moons ago ~ more full moons past than have ever been counted ~ the gods and goddesses quarreled over who should be honored at the turning of the seasons. Clearly, there were fewer turnings than deities.

As another turning approached, tempers flared ~ the arguments brightening the sun, melting the snow, warming the earth. Grass grew taller and greener. Flowers poked their colorful heads out through their leaves. Rivers burbled faster. Yet the arguing gods and goddesses barely noticed, so entirely wrapped in their arguments were they.

Zeus electrified the air with his lightning bolt. Thor's hammer thundered a retort. Kali spewed roiling lava over the land. Yemaya's surf pounded a tattoo in response. Every god and every goddess vied for acknowledgement, position and power. Their dueling responses signaled the coming season: Spring, when everything is grander and more colorfully explosive than any other season.

Weaving through the gathered crowd of immortals was Eostre, a goddess new to the Divine City, inexperienced with the ways of the gods and goddesses as they quarreled. Hair shimmering like spun silver, she listened attentively and quietly to the noise and chatter around her. In the midst of the other dazzling divine, her appearance though beautiful was unremarkable. Absorbing the view of the marketplace with its stalls of fruit, bread and other wares overflowing their baskets and tables, she found the abundance nearly overwhelming.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Eostre_.jpg

In the midst of the hubbub, she moved unnoticed. She herself, however, saw everything. Small creatures darted in and out among the feet and legs on the path. Her deep violet eyes missed not a one. Anyone watching as she passed the final table and crossed the threshold out of the City and into the surrounding woodland would have seen Eostre begin to shrink. Soon she was the size of a rabbit doe ~ then she was the shape of the doe, as she made her way deeper into the woods.

Once Eostre was deep within the woods, she stopped to rest in some underbrush beneath a tree at the edge of a small clearing. Recognizing the holy difference of Eostre even in the form of a doe, other rabbits hopped over to be near her. Birds flew to branches over her. Flowers and leaves turned in her direction as if seeking out the sun. Deer, badgers, squirrels and other denizens of the forest slowly filled the clearing near her.

Unknown to Eostre, the Moon goddess Artemis had followed her. Thinking she was alone with her woodland friends, Eostre shifted her form back to human. No animal ran. No bird flew away. No leaf turned away. All remained quietly in the clearing, focusing on the Goddess of Change. Artemis, watching this shift and aware of the honor bestowed on Eostre, stepped forward herself into the clearing. Instantly, every creature startled and fled.

Eostre herself startled at the sight of the Goddess of the Hunt. She too wanted to flee, but knew there was nowhere to go where Artemis could not follow.

"Why have you followed me?" she asked.

"Your youth and beauty attracted me. You appear as my Maidens do: strong, self-aware, mindful. If I hadn't watched you shape-shift, I would have lost you."

"That was my purpose: to be lost."

"Why?"

"All the anger and fighting wear me down. This is the season of joy, creativity, love, birth and growth. How can all that negativity call forth an honoree for a season of beauty and positivity?"

Artemis paused, leaning on her long huntress bow, and smiled.

"Will you return to the City with me?" she asked. "I believe we have found our Spring honoree."

"I will spend tonight in this wood, Artemis," Eostre responded. "You have frightened the creatures of the wood with your huntress ways. I will see them calm before I return."

"As you wish," Artemis responded. "As tonight is the Full Moon, it is my place to be in the night sky. I will be in the City again in the morning. Will you meet me at the gate by which you left?"

"Yes," she promised. "I will be there shortly after dawn."

As Artemis in her form of the Full Moon moved through the night sky, she looked down on the glade to see all the creatures again gathered around Eostre. The nocturnal creatures were awake; the diurnal creatures were asleep. All were at peace.

The next morning, Eostre entered the gate to the Divine City with Artemis at her side. As they moved through the streets of the City, arguments and conversations stopped. All heads turned toward the two goddesses.

When they arrived at the central square, Artemis took Eostre by the hand and led her to the fountain. The two goddesses stood side by side as all the gods and goddesses gathered. In the quiet, birds twittered in the nearby trees, frogs croaked in the fountain, dogs and cats walked through the legs of those gathered and laid down around the fountain. The movement and sound of these creatures did not escape the notice of the gathering deities.

Artemis raised her voice and said, "My sisters and brothers, yesterday as the Huntress I followed this radiant goddess into the woods, expecting to find her alone. But I did not find her so. She was in a clearing surrounded by every woodland creature ~ walkers, creepers, crawlers, fliers, jumpers, all of them. Even the flowers and plants were aware of her presence. Their devotion was keen."

She turned toward Eostre. "She spoke of the joy and beauty of this Spring season. From my place in the sky as the Full Moon, I saw her. Throughout the night, the fauna and flora of the forest continued to honor her. I believe she is our Goddess of Spring."

As one, the gods and goddesses raised their voices in approval. The dogs howled, the cats purred, the frogs sang, the insects buzzed. Every living thing agreed.

That is how Eostre became the Goddess of the Spring turning ~ and on the Full Moon!