Goddess news: Artemis statue unearthed

 

Artemis sculptured unearthed - quote from the article:  "A marble sculpture head of Artemis from the fourth century BC has been uncovered in the ancient city of Alabanda as the archeological excavations there come to a close . . . This year also geophysical analysis was done in the area and another goddess’ temple was found." 

 

Click to Read Full Article

(photo copyright DHA)

Happy Full Moon!

In our part of the world, the native Tohono O'odham refer to this moon as "Eda Wa'ugath Mashath", or "Moon of the Backbone."  This signifies the time when the year is divided in half by the Sun.

Solstice wishes

New light brings new hope,

and the promise of rebirth and renewal.

Many Solstice Blessings!

(Painting by Caspar David Friedrich, 1818.)

Goddess Kuan Yin

Kuan Yin's name translates to:

"She Who Hears the Cries of the World."

 

Kuan Yin mantra:

"Namo Kuan Shi Yin Pusa."

"I hail to the Bodhisattva who listens with mercy to the sounds of the world."

 

Excerpt from the P'u Men Chapter of the Lotus Sutra:

 

"True Kuan Yin! Pure Kuan Yin!
Immeasurably wise Kuan Yin!
Merciful and filled with pity,
Ever longed-for and revered!

O' Radiance spotless and effulgent!
O' night-dispelling Sun of Wisdom!
O' Vanquisher of storm and flame!
Your glory fills the world!

 

Your pity is a shield from lightning,

Your compassion forms a wondrous cloud

Which, raining down the Dharma-nectar,

Extinguishes the flames of woe."

 

 

 

(photo by Jpatokal at Daien-in Temple, Japan)

Prayer to Nehalennia

 Greetings Goddess Nehalennia,
 Greetings protective Mother,
 Goddess Nehalennia, who gives us fruitfulness,
 Goddess Nehalennia, who give the land bountifulness,
 Goddess Nehalennia, who protects the land from water,
 Goddess Nehalennia, who protects people against water,
 Goddess Nehalennia, who protects sailors and merchants from water,
 Goddess Nehalennia, who protects trade from water,
 Goddess Nehalennia, who brings prosperity through water,
 Goddess Nehalennia, protecting Mother hear our prayers.
 Protect us today against all dangers and grant us prosperity!

 

(Early prayer to  Nehalennia)

(Photo by M. Mabel of  shrine of Nehalennia approx. 150-250 CE, Netherlands. Showing her holding loaves of bread, with a dog and a basket of apples on either side.)

More Devotions of the Goddess:  In Her Name

Full Moon in Gemini and Partial Eclipse

Blessings of the upcoming Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on November 28th at 6:43am (PST).  May all the changes it brings be gentle and beneficial to you!

Celebration of Loy Krathong

The word Loy means "to float", and Krathong are the creations of flowers, banana leaves, candles and incense pictured above.  Participants launch these vessels thanking the Goddess of the Waters and seeking forgiveness for any wrongs of the past year.  This celebration is held on the evening of the Full Moon of the 12th Thai lunar month.  (November 28th this year.)  You can read more about this Thai festival here:

Loy Krathong Article

(Photo copyright Autan)

Ancient rock sculptures discovered in Maharashtra, India

Quote from the news article:
"There are more than 60 big and small images of Mother Goddess, birds and animals, found in a single location of around 20,000 square feet, considered one of the biggest such concentration anywhere in the country. . .The most striking carving is of a 15-foot tall Mother Goddess with all the internationally known symbols indicating her status."

Read this article in full

(Photo copyright IANS news service)

Thanksgiving Prayer to the Earth

Iroquois Prayer of Thanks

 

We return thanks to our mother, the earth,

which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,

which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs,

which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squashes,

which give us life.
We return thanks to the bushes and trees,

which provide us with fruit.
We return thanks to the wind,
which, moving the air, has banished diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and the stars,
which have given us their light when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to our grandfather He-no,
that he has protected his grandchildren from witches and reptiles,
and has given us his rain.
We return thanks to the sun,
that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in whom is embodied all goodness,
and who directs all things for the good of all.

 

Traditional Iroquois

(photo of reconstructed Iroquois longhouse, by Crawford Lake Conservation)

Enrollment Reminder

 

To be included in our December 1st enrollment, please have your applications in by Sunday, November 25th.  This will be the last enrollment this year and will resume again on February 1st, 2013.  Thank you - we look forward to hearing from you!

 

Temple of Learning - Home Study Mystery School

Fuigo Matsuri (Bellows Festival)

 

Hettsui-No-Kami is the Japanese Goddess of the cookstove, also referred to as a kamado. Kamados (like the photo above) were used for cooking beginning in the Kofun period, around 250-538 C.E., and the name literally translates to "place for a cauldron."  They were made from the earth and fueled either by wood or charcoal. 

Hettsui-No-Kami's Shinto festival is held on November 8th.  Ask Her blessings on your hearth and home today!



You can find more Goddess festivals on our site:  In Her Name

Honoring the Ancestors

"Tapetes de arena" or tapestries of sand, are found in many Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations and also used in the funeral customs of Oaxaca.  Flower petals, sand, seeds and sawdust are all used to create these sand paintings.

Presiding over this time is La Muerte (Lady Death), the Aztec Goddess Mictecacihuatl.   Dia de los Muertos was originally in held in July to mid-August, to coincide of the time of the Aztec corn harvest, but was incorporated into All Soul's Day by the Spanish conquerors in the 1500's.   The original customs have prevailed however, and passed family members and friends are still honored with altars full of flowers, candles, sugar skulls, marigolds and food offerings.  All night candlelight vigils are held.

No matter which holiday you may celebrate, Dia de los Muertos, Samhain, Hallowmas, All Souls Day, etc., we join with you in remembering those who have gone before, and wish you and your ancestors many blessings.

(photo by S. Barberzat)

Full Moon in Taurus

Many blessings on this Full Moon.

May you explore and honor your ancestral roots

during this sacred time of year.

Happy Sharad Navratri!

The nine-day Hindu festival of Navratri is now going on through October 23rd.  Nine forms of Shakti/Devi are honored.  Each region in India celebrates this festival in their own tradition's manner, but in some areas three days each are dedicated to Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati.  On the tenth day, Vijayadashami is observed.  This holiday celebrates the harvest season and ongoing health of the soil.

Passed Down From White Buffalo Calf Woman

Lakota Instructions for Living

"Friend do it this way - that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.

And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.

When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.

If you do it that way - that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One - whatever you ask for,
that's the Way It's Going To Be."

(painting by RG Simpson)

Harvest Moon Blessings!

May all your harvests see you through the coming days
of Winter and inspire new seeds of creativity within.

(This photo is from our part of the world, the Sonoran Desert, and is by S. Seip.)

Equinox Blessings

May all your harvests be blessed this Equinox!

("An Autumn Idyll" by Francis Davis Millet, 1892)

Enrollment date reminder

A reminder about the next opportunity to be enrolled in our home-study program. Please have your applications in by this Sunday, September 23rd, for October 1st enrollment. Thank you! You can read more about our Temple of Learning here:

In Her Name ~ Home-Study Mystery School

Praise-song

“What greater praise can I give you than to call you green?

Green, rooted in light, shining like the sun

that pours riches on the wheeling earth;

incomprehensible green, divinely mysterious green,

comforting arms of divine green

protecting us in their powerful circle.

And yet, you are more than even the noblest green,

for you glow red as breaking dawn,

you shine white as the incandescent sun.

Splendid One,

none of our physical senses can explain

or comprehend you.”

Hildegarde of Bingen, "Item de Virginibus"

September 17th is the feast day of Hildegard of Bingen, also known as the "Sybil of the Rhine."
(Photo by M. Thyssen.)

Hymn to Persephone

TO PROSERPINE

"Illustrious, horned, of a bounteous mind,

Alone desired by those of mortal kind.

O, vernal queen, whom grassy plains delight,

Sweet to the smell, and pleasing to the sight:

Whose holy form in budding fruits we view,

Earth's vigorous offspring of a various hue:

Espoused in Autumn: life and death alone

To wretched mortals from thy power is known:

For thine the task according to thy will,

Life to produce, and all that lives to kill.

Hear, blessed Goddess, send a rich increase

Of various fruits from earth, with lovely Peace;

Send Health with gentle hand, and crown my life

With blest abundance, free from noisy strife;

Last in extreme old age the prey of Death,

Dismiss we willing to the realms beneath,

To thy fair palace, and the blissful plains

Where happy spirits dwell, and Pluto reigns."

("The Hymns of Orpheus", trans. T. Taylor, Painting of Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1874.)

Other Hymns and Devotions to be found on our website:  In Her Name

Blessings of the Blue Moon

Homeric Hymn to Selene

"And next, sweet voiced Muses, daughters of Zeus,

well-skilled in song, tell of the long-winged Moon.

From her immortal head a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth;

and great is the beauty that ariseth from her shining light.

The air, unlit before, glows with the light of her golden crown,

and her rays beam clear, whensoever bright Selene

having bathed her lovely body in the waters of Ocean,

and donned her far-gleaming, shining team,

drives on her long-maned horses at full speed,

at eventime in the mid-month:

then her great orbit is full and then her beams

shine brightest as she increases.

So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men."

(Homeric Hymn to Selene, photo by Dreamtime.)

Other Devotions to the Goddess found on our site:  In Her Name

Opening of the Mundus Cerialis

The Mundus Cerialis (the world of Ceres) is an underground vault in Rome that was sealed by a stone lid the majority of the year.  On August 24th, October 5th and November 8th, it was opened for offerings to be made to various Deities, including Ceres, and to allow the spirits to rise and wander in the world of the living for the day.  The rites held during the Mundus Cerialis acknowledged the Goddess Ceres as Her role as the fruitful earth, guardian of seed-corn and guardian of underworld portals.

(Photo by Lylum of the entrance to the Umbilicus Urbis (navel of the city).  This may have been part of the underground Mundus structure. It is the symbolic center of Rome.)

Other sites sacred to the Goddess may be found on our website:  In Her Name

Enrollment Reminder - Correspondence Courses

A reminder that our next enrollment date is September 1st, and student applications need to be in by August 24th. For more information on our home-study courses in the Goddess mysteries and Priestess training, please see this section of our site:

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

Perseids and Wohpe

In recognition of the annual Perseids meteor shower.  Wohpe is a Lakota Goddess whose name means Falling Star.  She is a Goddess of peace and in later stories, becomes White Buffalo Calf Woman.   Turquoise is her stone as it reflects the many shades of blue of the sky and the blue-green of the ocean.  Connect with her to bring harmony and awareness of the eternal cycles of time.

(photo by B. Inglory)



Full Moon Blessings!

In some Native American cultures the August Full Moon is known as the Green Corn Moon, so today we are honoring the Corn Mother and other Grain Goddesses:  Iyatiku, Selu, The Corn Maidens, Yellow Woman, Chicomecoatl, Demeter & Persephone, Zaramama, Ukemochi, Annona, Dewi Sri, Nidaba, and Ashnan.

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

Hymn to Zarpanit (Beltis)

Hymn to Zarpanit (Beltis)

She is mighty, she is divine, she is exalted among the goddesses;
Zarpanit, the brightest of the stars, dwelling in E-ud-ul;
The ... of the goddesses, clothed with light;
Who dost pass through the heavens, dost heap up the earth;
Zarpanit whose dwelling is exalted;
Shining Beltia, exalted and most high;
Among the goddesses there is none like her;
She accuses and intercedes.
She humbles the rich and vindicates the cause of the lowly;
She overthrows the enemy, he who does not revere her godhead;
She delivers the captive, and takes the hand of the fallen;
Bless the servant who honours thy name;
Fix the destiny of the king who fears thee;
Give life to the children of Babel, thy dependants;
Plead for them before Marduk, the king of the gods;
Let them tell of thy glory, let them exalt thy kingdom;
Let them speak of thy prowess, let them glorify thy name;
Have mercy on thy servant who blesses thee;
Take his hand in need and suffering;
In disease and distress give him life;
May he go ever in joy and delight;
May he tell thy prowess to the peoples of the whole world.

(Translation by S.H. Hooke.)

Read more Devotions on our website: In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

Enrollment Reminder ~ Correspondence Courses

Our home-study mystery school, the Temple of Learning, is currently open for enrollment.  The next deadline for applications is July 20th in order to be registered on August 1st.

If you would like to receive an enrollment guide, please visit the website link below for more information.  Thank you!

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

Fresco at Knossos

Beautiful Bronze-age fresco of the dolphins at Knossos, Crete.

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

Hymn to the Moon

"Hear, Goddess queen, diffusing silver light,

Bull-horned and wandering through the gloom of Night.

With stars surrounded, and with circuit wide

Night's torch extending, through the heavens you ride:

Female and Male with borrowed rays you shine,

And now full-orbed, now tending to decline.

Mother of ages, fruit-producing Moon,

Whose amber orb makes Night's reflected noon:

Lover of horses, splendid, queen of Night,

All-seeing power bedecked with starry light.

Lover of vigilance, the foe of strife,

In peace rejoicing, and a prudent life:

Fair lamp of Night, its ornament and friend,

Who givest to Nature's works their destined end.

Queen of the stars, all-wife Diana hail!

Decked with a graceful robe and shining veil;

Come, blessed Goddess, prudent, starry, bright,

Come moony-lamp with chaste and splendid light,

Shine on these sacred rites with prosperous rays,

And pleased accept thy suppliant's mystic praise."

(From "The Hymns of Orpheus", translated by Thomas Taylor)

More devotions found on our site:  In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

In the news: Turkish museum to feature Mother Goddess art

Quote from article: "Thousands of years ago, the world’s most famous scientists and artists created unforgettable works; sculptor Praxiteles’ world famous naked Aphrodite sculpture, astronomy scientist and mathematician Eudoxos’ sundial are some of them. We serve in the academy with our sculpture, ceramics and glass workshops. By organizing sculpture symposiums, we want to open Turkey’s first mother goddesses museum. . .”

Read Entire Article

(photo copyright Doğan News Agency)

The Goddess Ibu Pertiwi

Ibu Pertiwi means "Mother Earth" and is honored as the motherland of Indonesia.  She is highlighted in many of the country's poetry and songs, including in these lyrics, often sung by children:

1st verse:
I see Mother Pertiwi,
She is in sorrow.
Your tears is flowing
Remembering your lost gold and diamonds.
Jungles, mountains, paddy fields, and the seas
Storing the richness.
Now mother is sad,
Sighing and praying

2nd verse:
I see Mother Pertiwi,
We come to serve you.
Behold your sons and daughters
Will make mother happy.
Mother, we still love you
Your faithful ones,
guarding the heirloom
For homeland and nation.


(Photo of statue at the Jakarta National Monument, by Gunkarta. Composer of song unknown.)

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

Happy Summer Solstice!

In the ancient Baltic traditions, the Sun Goddess Saule ruled the heavens, riding across the sky in her golden and silver chariot, pulled by twin stallions. (sons of the Sky Father, Dievas)

"Saule, with her two gold horses,

Rides up the stone mountain

Never heated, never weary.

Never resting on the way."

Her festival was held on the Summer Solstice - bonfires were lit, blessings were asked, flower wreaths signifying the sun were made, and a special meal was shared.  Celebrants would stay up the entire night before so not to miss her rising.

"The Sun dances over the silver mountain

Silver shoes she hath on her feet. . ."

(Quotes from the "Encyclopaedia of Religion & Ethics", Ed. J. Hastings. Symbol of Saule on display in the National Lithuanian Museum.)

Home-study - Enrollment Deadline

 Just a reminder that our next enrollment date is July 1st, and applications need to be in by June 20th. We currently have openings for full student memberships and one partial scholarship. (There is a waiting list for our full scholarships right now.) For more information on our home-study courses in the Goddess mysteries and Priestess training, please see this section of our site:

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

Artio, the Bear Goddess

The Bear Goddess Artio.  This bronze statue was found in Bern, Switzerland and portrays her with a diadem, seated on a (missing) throne with a patera and fruit.  Artos means "bear" in the Gaulish language. 


(photo, Historical Museum of Bern)

More information on Goddesses and their corresponding animals may be found on our site:  In Her Name

Hymn to Venus

Hymn to Venus:

Heavenly, illustrious, laughter-loving queen,
Sea-born, night-loving, of an awful mien;

Crafty, from whom necessity first came,
Producing, nightly, all-connecting dame:
'Tis thine the world with harmony to join,
For all things spring from thee, O power divine.
The triple Fates are ruled by thy decree,
And all productions yield alike to thee:
Whatever the heavens, encircling all contain,
Earth fruit-producing, and the stormy main,
Thy sway confesses, and obeys thy nod,
Awful attendant of the brumal God:
Goddess of marriage, charming to the sight,
Mother of Loves, whom banquetings delight;
Source of persuasion, secret, favoring queen,
Illustrious born, apparent and unseen:
Spousal, lupercal, and to men inclined,
Prolific, most-desired, life-giving, kind:
Great sceptre-bearer of the Gods, 'tis thine,
Mortals in necessary bands to join;
And every tribe of savage monsters dire
In magic chains to bind, through mad desire.

Come, Cyprus-born, and to my prayer incline,
Whether exalted in the heavens you shine,
Or pleased in Syria's temple to preside,
Or over the Egyptian plains thy car to guide,
Fashioned of gold; and near its sacred flood,
Fertile and famed to fix thy blest abode;
Or if rejoicing in the azure shores,
Near where the sea with foaming billows roars,
The circling choirs of mortals, thy delight,
Or beauteous nymphs, with eyes cerulean bright,
Pleased by the dusty banks renowned of old,
To drive thy rapid, two-yoked car of gold;
Or if in Cyprus with thy mother fair,
Where married females praise thee every year,
And beauteous virgins in the chorus join,
Adonis pure to sing and thee divine;
Come, all-attractive to my prayer inclined,
For thee, I call, with holy, reverent mind.

(Orphic Hymn, translation by Thomas Taylor. Photo of Venus and the Seven Sisters, NASA.)

Read more Devotions to Venus here:  In Her Name

Blessings of the Lunar Eclipse

In the mythology of the indigenous Pomo people of Northern California, a Bear wanders along the Milky Way until he meets up with the Sun.  Neither wishing to give way to the other, a fight ensues, which the Bear wins, resulting in an eclipse of the Sun.  The Bear continues on his journey and soon his path crosses with the sister of the Sun, who is the Moon.  The bear argues with her as well, resulting in a Lunar eclipse.  And that is how the cycle repeats each time.

May we learn to give way to that which needs to be eclipsed in our own lives!

(Photo of lunar eclipse by NASA.)

Hymn to Juno

Hymn to Juno

'O Royal Juno of majestic mien,
Aerial-formed, divine, Jove's blessed queen,
Throned in the bosom of caerulean air,
The race of mortals is thy constant care.
The cooling gales thy power alone inspires,
Which nourish life, which every life desires.
Mother of clouds and winds, from thee alone
Producing all things, mortal life is known:
All natures share thy temperament divine,
And universal sway alone is thine.
With founding blasts of wind, the swelling sea
And rolling rivers roar, when shook by Thee.
Come, blessed Goddess, famed almighty queen,
With aspect kind, rejoicing and serene.

Orphic Hymn
Translation by Thomas Taylor

Read other devotions to the Goddess:  In Her Name

Featured article: Yakshis of India

Article and photos on the Yakshis of India:

Icons of Grace

(photo by V. Vedachalam)

The story of Akewa & the eclipse

There are many examples of Solar Goddesses throughout the world.  In the Gran Chaco region of Argentina, the Toba people honored the Sun Goddess Akewa.  Long ago, she and her radiant sisters illuminated the sky, but they were curious about Earth and the men who lived there (without women), so they climbed down a rope to visit them.  The men cut the rope, preventing the star-women from ever returning to the heavens, but only Akewa remained in the sky as she had not yet descended.  Each day she walks above the Earth from one side to the next, reminding all women that they are related to Her.  On occasion a giant jaguar tries to eat her, resulting in a solar eclipse, but Akewa always escapes, as she is too hot for the jaguar to completely consume. 

Blessings of the Solar eclipse - may you be transformed in brilliance!

Hymn to the All-Mother

Hymn to the All-Mother

Hail to our mother, who caused the yellow flowers to blossom,

who scattered the seeds of the maguey, as she came forth from Paradise.

Hail to our mother, who poured forth flowers in abundance,

who scattered the seeds of the maguey, as she came forth from Paradise.

Hail to our mother, who caused the yellow flowers to blossom,

she who scattered the seeds of the maguey, as she came forth from Paradise.

Hail to our mother, who poured forth white flowers in abundance,

who scattered the seeds of the maguey, as she came forth from Paradise.

Hail to the goddess who shines in the thorn bush like a bright butterfly.

She is our mother, goddess of the earth,

she supplies food in the desert to the wild beasts, and causes them to live.

Thus, thus, you see her to be an ever-fresh model of liberality toward all flesh.

And as you see the goddess of the earth do to the wild beasts,

so also does she toward the green herbs and the fishes.

(Photo of Toci/Teteoinnan from the British Museum.  Translation of traditional hymn by D. Brinton.)

Read more devotions on our website:  In Her Name

Home-study Enrollment Reminder

Our next enrollment is on June 1st, so please have your student applications in by May 20th.  If you have not yet requested an enrollment guide for our correspondence courses, see the website below.  Thank you!

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

(Athena with Her owl of Wisdom, circa 450 BCE.  Her left hand is holding a missing spear.)

Happy May Day!

(Village Scene with Dance Around the Maypole by Pieter Bruegel, 1634)

Goddess Stained-Glass Window: Wellesley College Chapel

From the article:

"Painstakingly assembled from more than 600 tiny pieces of hand-painted glass, “Veritas,’’ the newest stained-glass window at Wellesley College’s Houghton Memorial Chapel, shows the Goddess of Truth holding a glowing yellow lantern, her face serene and bright against the deep blues and reds that surround her. . . The window, a gift from a Wellesley alumna, was installed at the multi-faith chapel early this month. It is the first stained-glass window at Wellesley to represent a non-white figure and multiple religions, and is one of very few in the country. . ."

Read the entire article

Links to other articles may be found in our Sharing Section:  In Her Name

(Photo by E. Allen.)

Happy Earth Day!

Traditional Chinook Blessing Litany

We call upon the Earth, our planet home,
with its beautiful depths and soaring heights,
its vitality and abundance of life,
and together we ask that it:
Teach us, and show us the Way.

We call upon the mountains, the Cascades and the Olympics,
the high green valleys and meadows filled with wildflowers,
the snows that never melt, the summits of intense silence,
and we ask that they:
Teach us, and show us the Way.

We call upon the waters that rim the earth,
horizon to horizon, that flow in our rivers and streams,
that fall upon our gardens and fields
and we ask that they:
Teach us, and show us the Way.

We call upon the land which grows our food,
the nurturing soil, the fertile fields,
the abundant gardens and orchards,
and we ask that they:
Teach us, and show us the Way.

We call upon the forests,
the great trees reaching strongly to the sky
with earth in their roots and the heavens in their branches,
the fir and the pine and the cedar,
and we ask them to:
Teach us, and show us the Way.

We call upon the creatures of the fields and forests and the seas,
our brothers and sisters the wolves and deer,
the eagle and dove, the great whales and the dolphin,
the beautiful orca and salmon who share our Northwest home,
and we ask them to:
Teach us, and show us the Way.

We call upon all those who have lived on this Earth,
our ancestors and our friends,
who dreamed the best for future generations,
and upon whose lives our lives are build,
and with thanksgiving, we call upon them to:
Teach us, and show us the Way.

And lastly, we call upon all that we hold most sacred,
the presence and power of the Great Spirit of love and truth
which flows through all the Universe...
to be with us to:
Teach us, and show us the Way.

(photo by NASA)

Goddess Mazu

 

Mazu statue at her birthplace, Meizhou Island, Fujian. 

Mazu is a Chinese Goddess of the ocean and Her name means "Mother Ancestor."  She is traditionally honored on the twenty-third day of the third lunar month of the Chinese calendar.  (mid-April to early May: this year it fell on April 13th)

To view a slideshow of this year's celebrations, follow this link:  Mazu Festivals

The Cerealia

In mid-to-late April, the Roman festival of the Cerealia was held for one week, honoring the Goddess Ceres (Greek: Demeter).

To the Ceralian Mother

"Ceralian Queen, of celebrated name,
From whom both men, and Gods immortal came;
Who widely wandering once, oppressed with grief,
In Eleusina's valley found relief,
Discovering Proserpine thy daughter pure
In dread Avernus, dismal and obscure;
A sacred youth while through the world you stray
Bacchus, attending leader of the way;
The holy marriage of terrestrial Jove
Relating, while oppressed with grief you rove;
Come, much invoked, and to these rites inclined,
Thy mystic suppliant bless, with favoring mind."

The Fumigation from Aromatics
(Hymns of Orpheus, trans. Taylor)



(Painting of the Roman Cerealia entitled "Spring", 1894 by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema.)

Correspondence Courses - Enrollment Reminder

In order to be considered for our May 1st enrollment, please have your applications in by April 20th.  To read more about our correspondence programs and to request an enrollment guide, go to the link below.  Thank you.

Go to the Temple of Learning

(Seshat, Egyptian Goddess of Knowledge and Writing, Luxor)

Happy Pink Moon!

May this Full Moon reveal the hidden beauty within you!

Earth Mother

The earth is at the same time mother.
She is mother of all that is natural,
mother of all that is human.
She is the mother of all,
for contained in her are the seeds of all.
The earth of humankind contains
all moistness,
all verdancy,
all germinating power.

Hildegard of Bingen
(translation by Gabriele Uhlein)

"Earth Mother," painting by Edward Burne-Jones, 1882.



Chaitra Navratri

 In honor of the Navratri Festival, celebrating the Goddess Shakti/Devi in her various forms.

The Chaitra Navratri (or Vasant Navratri) began on March 23rd and continues for nine nights.

(photo of the nine Goddesses by Elishams)

Blessings of Spring!

Flora was the Roman Goddess of flowers and springtime.

(Painting of the Goddess Flora by Louise Abbéma, 1913)