The Roots of Easter

Elaine Bayley

As we hold Easter egg hunts and gift those we love with bunny shaped candies this weekend, we are actually tapping into European rites of spring from pre-Christian times. The ancient Germanic Goddess Eostre (aka Ostara) embodied spring, the season of  rebirth, renewal and new growth. Eostre’s symbology included fertile rabbits as well as the egg.

The sacred moon Goddess Ix Chel holds a similar place of honor in the Mayan culture. Like Eostre, Ix Chel is also associated with rabbits. She is shown below with her beloved consort rabbit.

Ix Chel has been worshipped throughout Mexico and many parts of Central and South America for thousands of years.  It is said that Ix Chel is responsible for nourishing the crops by overturning her sacred womb jar so that the waters will flow through the world, nourishing new life. 

“Goddess Ix Chel, known as the Maya[n] Goddess of the Moon, Water, Weaving and Childbirth… all having to do with cycles, tides, creating and bringing new life.

Her Rabbit consort/ child/sister/brother/mother/father/friend is the personification of new life and cleaving to bringing the young along, the gentle spirit, the shy, and yet the enduringly fertile/creative.

She is called the pale one…and is co-existant and interchangable with the moon and the moon’s cycles… she is a miracle maker, a healer, a teacher, a keeper of stories… and as she is also the moon also going dark for three days… Ix Chel suffering torment but comes ever back to full radiant reflective light again.

There are so many Ix Chels in the world, and so many Auroras and so many Jesu’s and so many Attis’ and so many of the great One who was taken down and then came back to life in triumph.

~Clarissa Pinkola Estes

It is amazing to me that people all over this Earth created similar stories and myths of rebirth and renewal to honor spring. We are truly one Tribe.

🐰

Goddess Nu Kua

Chinese legends tell us that when the heavens and earth were separated, the Goddess Nu Kua made the first humans out of clay made from mud from the Yellow River. Her breath and Yin became the first women; Her breath and Yang became the first men.

She is said to have the upper body of a woman, and the lower body of a serpent or dragon. (Similar to the Mesopotamian Goddess Tiamat).

Creatrix Nu Kua re-established order on the earth after a terrible rebellion. She melted stones to rebuild the sky, used tortoise toes to mark the four directions, and reeds to hold back overflowing rivers. Once this was done, the earth returned to its former beauty.

Nu Kua plays her sacred flute, spreading good fortune and opportunity, and creating order from chaos.

“There is a Way
and I am that Way
the Way of Nature that moves in all things
In the beginning
I created the universal pattern
the Way things are
the Way things flow
the Way things need to be

Then
I sequenced the seasons
harmonized the hillsides
organized the oceans
till all was auspiciously arranged
I am the natural order of things
I am the Way.”

♾️

#NuKua
#CreationGoddess
#sacredfeminine
#herstorymatters

♾️

Source: The Goddess Oracle by
Amy Sophia Marashinsky
and Wikipedia
art by Hrana Janto

Wild Divination on the Gemini New Moon

King of Arrows – Kingfisher

This little bird with rainbow feathers, whether male or female, is always able to maintain balance in the air and on the water. With its remarkable ability to dive deep into the water to catch fish, the Kingfisher has become a symbol of ancient wisdom and education for centuries.

You need to practice your judgmental abilities, skills, and willpower. The King has always been very righteous and he will help you understand: what is something you don’t need to stick to. Use your strength, freeing yourself from the burden that is on you.

As someone in your life: Communicate clearly and fairly, this is a virtuous leader who is upholding standards. Impartiality and justice are the hallmarks of this person. His research and understanding are profound and well-known. He has a principled insight, which helps him see into the nature of all matters. He will present you with many potential prospects. He is someone who can properly identify and evaluate a situation.

As an aspect or process: Finding a path through the chaos with calm insight. Be very careful. Need reasonable consultation. Distinguish two sides of a situation. Find a clear stance. Become fair/biased. An urge to resist old practices.

As an event / situation: Advice/guidance. A trial or argument requires arbitration. Verified information. Disciplined approach. A harsh, ruthless situation

Question: What is it that you should explicitly focus on? Who gives you the right advice? What wise words will help resolve the situation? What is your social responsibility?

5 of Bows – Empowerment

Individuals believe they are not completely helpless anymore. Ultimately, individuals will be able to influence the outcome of every event and change perceptions. The control of any skill, along with the discipline, will energize the process of thinking more decisively and clearly. From there, the arrows of one’s desires and wishes will be shot at fate under a positive impact.

The time to create authority by taking initiative has come. By navigating positive, abundant, and important energies, the individual will help the mind become assertive, certain, and then utilize it to develop and change more effectively. This is not only true for an individual but also for society as a whole

.…Self-generating energy is the key to fulfill our destiny and a feeling of fullness in our hearts through an active and positive attitude towards life.

3 The Seer

Representing the inner world, The Seer is located in the center of The Wheel of The Year, opposite to The Shaman. She is not only a guide for the soul but also an inspiration for creative and artworks. Though ideas could arise on their own in a fanciful kingdom of delights and dreams, The Seer was the one who silently created great literary works, music, or dances. She makes emotional connections in books or pieces of music to life. She brings tears to each person’s eyelashes when a touching movie ends or laughter when a funny story is told.

With the innate ability to balance emotions and the power of will and source of knowledge, The Seer encourages us to change the ordinary material world. She uses all of The Wildwood’s natural resources skillfully. She nurtures positive changes in people’s minds, expresses through emotions and commitment to life. Her magic is one of the purest and most revered things on earth. 

This is the time to focus on your personal strength and let it flow through you. Emotional dreams and creative desires are ready to come true. Relieve the desire that is suppressing and healing your relationships. Now, if you apply your spiritual insight into the real world, you will receive great rewards because that’s the way we grow up. Besides, The Seer also brings creative stimulation in art, craft skills, mechanics, intelligence, and joy.

Cards drawn from
The Wildwood Tarot Deck

Fierce Feminine

“i found god in myself
and i loved her
i loved her fiercely” 
~Ntozake Shange

“The dakini is a messenger of emptiness and also appears in dreams to guide the meditator, and she might appear in real life as a woman with certain wisdom qualities. The dakini is a force of truth: wherever we cling, she cuts; whatever we think we can hide, she reveals.” ~Sapchu Rinpoche

“Another important aspect of the dakini’s feminine energy is how they cut through notions of pure and impure, clean and unclean, what you should do and shouldn’t do. They break open the shell of those conventional structures into an embrace of life in which all experience is seen as sacred.” ~Lama Tsultrim Allione

#wild
#wisdom
#sacredfeminine
#dakini

Art: Dancing Dakini, Nepal, 14th century; LACMA

Prayer for the New Year

🕸

Gossamer threads of life hold me,
Perched between Earth and Sky,
Weaving the web, dreaming the dream,
Through the two worlds I will fly.
With you as my muse, Mother,
I create the substance of dreams,
Allowing the artist within me
To fashion my life with esteem.
I mold the clay of experiences
Into a sacred Medicine Bowl,
Capturing the essence of living
As it sings deep in my soul.
Your secrets of creation, Mother,
Have taught me when to destroy
The chains that have bound me,
Limiting the expression of my joy.
You have taught me how to labor,
Giving birth to the visions within,
Setting them free like silver arrows,
Kindling the fire of Creation again.

Jamie Sams,
The 13 Original Clan Mothers

🕸

Photos by Nancy L

Libra New Moon – Creating Balance

New moon in airy Libra, the queen of justice and fair, balanced, egalitarian relationships.

A Libra new moon is the perfect time to sit quietly and contemplate if there are places in your life that are out of balance.

Look at your life like a loving gardener; even the most perfect, beautiful gardens require tending to stay balanced and beautiful.

What needs to be tended to in your life? What needs love and feeding? What needs to be cut back? What needs to be removed?

What is missing from your garden? What do you want (or need) to add to make your heart sing? How can you create a little space for the things you truly love and desire?

🌙

#selfcare
#balance
#innergarden
#tending

Shakti

“Shakti is the primal energy of the Universe. She is the embodiment of power and strength coursing through creation, animating and enlivening all that is.

All forms are manifestations of Shakti. She is the Great Mother. She is the source from which all the other goddesses spring. She is also the fiery solvent that sometimes, either spontaneously or in response to certain spiritual practices, flows into the soul and dissolves the boundaries of the separate self, restoring our essential unity with the Supreme Being..”

~Mirabai Starr, Wild Mercy

🌙

#RootEnergy
#PrimalForce
#SacredFeminine

Dancing Shakti Image by Tatiana Konstaninov