Come My Child

”And the Great Mother said:

Come my child and give me all that you are.

I am not afraid of your strength and darkness, of your fear and pain.

Give me your tears. They will be my rushing rivers and roaring oceans.

Give me your rage. It will erupt into my molten volcanoes and rolling thunder.

Give me your tired spirit. I will lay it to rest in my soft meadows.

Give me your hopes and dreams. I will plant a field of sunflowers and arch rainbows in the sky.

You are not too much for me. My arms and heart welcome your true fullness.

There is room in my world for all of you, all that you are.

I will cradle you in the boughs of my ancient redwoods and the valleys of my gentle rolling hills.

My soft winds will sing you lullabies and soothe your burdened heart.

Release your deep pain. You are not alone and you have never been alone.”

~Linda Reuther

Image: Mother Goddess
by Nancy Lankston

Seeds Are Stirring


Imbolc is upon us. Celtic stories tell us that the Cailleach—the divine hag Goddess who rules over winter and death—gathers firewood for the rest of the winter on Imbolc. If the Goddess Cailleach wishes to make the winter last a lot longer, she will make sure that the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. But, if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over.

The Cailleach was worshipped by the Celts as the sacred Earth Mother in her bare winter form. And she is not just a dark and evil hag who arbitrarily decides how long winter will be. The Cailleach is also the Bone Mother who collects the bones of the animals that die in the winter. The Bone Mother is said to sing or pray or sleep over the bones all winter long. She does this out of love, so that the animals will cross over and can return as new life in the spring.

There is a magic to Imbolc and the early days of February. It is there, running just beneath the surface. Can you feel it? Mama Earth holds the seeds of spring safe for us all winter. As the cold wind blows and the snow piles up, she holds them safe in her soil.

#Imbolc
#Bone Collector
#Hag Goddess

Hope

“The Goddess gradually retreated into the depths of forests or onto mountaintops, where she remains to this day in beliefs and fairy stories. Human alienation from the vital roots of earthly life ensued, the results of which are clear in our contemporary society. 

But the cycles never stop turning, and now we find the Goddess reemerging from the forests and mountains, bringing us hope for the future, returning us to our most ancient human roots.”

~Marija Gimbutas

🌍❤️
#SacredFeminine
#Hope

Bathing in Moonlight

Sacred mother moon
Gently, tenderly
Illuminates
Her dark
Luscious lap
The soft yin 
Feminine
My body
So craves.

☾☽

This poem bubbled up after I bathed in moonlight on the spring equinox full moon. Mother moon gave me the soft, tender and nurturing feminine energies that I had craved without realizing it. Thank you mother moon. I am so grateful.

Practice: Moon bathing is a lot like sun bathing, only done in moonlight! Simply relax and expose your skin to moonlight. As you absorb her light, open to whatever wisdom mother moon chooses to offer you.

Try moon bathing at the full moon, dark moon, crescent moon… whatever phase of the moon calls to you.

Eclipse Power

“The magic of eclipse season is here: have you heard the call to adventure? New moons are already powerful starting points, but when they are eclipses, their effect is magnified. What transpires can feel destined. It’s like stepping into a fast moving stream and letting yourself be carried.

It can feel daunting: sink or swim. It can also feel like pressure: if I don’t jump in, will I miss my opportunity?

There are two very different energies at play in the current chart: one is fast and swift (fire signs) and the other far more considerate and considered (four planets in the sign of Capricorn).

The Capricorn new moon eclipse may have seeded some ideas for you and you may be feeling the urgency of the call to step up, ready or not. What do I want/need to see manifested in the world? How can I be a reliable and dependable leader for others? What are the answers or solutions that I can provide?

On the other hand, today Venus moves into the fire archetype of Sagittarius, the symbol of which is an arrow. Need I say more? Fire signs don’t wait around: they move. Nor do they pussy-foot around: they get to the point…”

~Astrologer Kate Rusko

A Blessing for the New Year

Let us bless the imagination of the Earth.

That knew early the patience to harness the mind of time,

Waited for the seas to warm, ready to welcome the emergence

Of things dreaming of voyaging among the stillness of land…

Let us thank the Earth that offers ground for home

And holds our feet firm to walk in space open to infinite galaxies.

Let us salute the silence and certainty of mountains:

Their sublime stillness, their dream-filled hearts.

The wonder of a garden trusting the first warmth of spring…

The humility of the Earth that transfigures all that has fallen of outlived growth.

The kindness of the Earth, opening to receive

our worn forms into the final stillness.

Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth

For all our sins against her:

for our violence and poisonings of her beauty.

Let us remember within us the ancient clay, holding the memory of seasons,

The passion of the wind, the fluency of water, the warmth of fire,

The quiver-touch of the sun and shadowed sureness of the moon.

That we may awaken to live to the full the dream of the Earth

Who chose us to emerge and incarnate its hidden night in mind, spirit and light.

~John O’Donohue