Nancy Lankston
Women hold a vocabulary
For joy in their mouths like
A field of lavender and bee bellies
Buzzing a hum back into the earth.
~Liza Wolff-Francis
🐝
Look for Liza’s book,
Language of Crossing on Amazon
Image: Lavender Bee
Creative Commons
”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
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
“I am dreaming back my sisters
Whisper-worn footfalls on the Temple steps
Skywalkers
Storm dwellers
Heavy-breasted cauldron keepers
Songweavers
Snake sisters
Darkmoon dancers
Labyrinth builders
Star bridgers
Fiery-eyed dragon-ryders
Wind seekers
Shape shifters
Corn daughters
Wolf women
Earth stewards
Gentle-handed womb sounders
Dream spinners
Flame keepers
Moon birthers
Come home sisters, come home”
~Marie Elena Gaspari
She wants to meet the serpent
Have a chat with Eve in the garden
Before she was banished
For the sin
Of wise curiosity.
She longs to sit with Medusa,
Gazing into her eyes
While M recounts
The whole sordid tale
From her point of view.
She craves dinner with Lilith
And all her beasts
On a beach overlooking a sea of red.
They will talk until the full moon rises
Then dance with Cybele until dawn
She wishes to hear stories of HER
The Great Goddess
Stories that lie long buried
Beneath a pile of myths and legends
Told for millennia in a male voice.
She longs to learn more, so much more
About Her lineage
Her story
Her wisdom
From the she’s who came before.
And so she sits quietly waiting.
She senses every story of Her Is still here,
Hidden in ripples on still water
In bird song at dawn
And the flicker of flame in the night.
So she sits
She listens
She waits
Holding her longing
Close.
~Nancy Lankston
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.
“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…”