12/31/2015

New Year's Blessings

 
May your aim be true in the manifestation
of all your wishes and dreams in 2016!


(Artemis, copyright K. Yutaka)

12/30/2015

News article: Yemaya celebration in Brazil


From the article:
"During the Festival of Yemanja, people honor the goddess by wearing her colors — white, silver, and blue — and bringing flowers and other offerings to the beach for her. Some even carry a statue of her to place near the water. Finally, people send their prayers and desires out on little boats, asking Yemanja to help make them a reality in the New Year."

 
(photo copyright Getty Images)

12/24/2015

Full Moon Blessings


May the December Full Moon be a beacon of hope
for you into the New Year!



(Lighthouse moon by A. Lee.)

12/21/2015

Yuletide Blessings

 
Blessings of the Winter Solstice to you!




(Winter Spirit, painting by Josephine Wall)

12/17/2015

News article: Phaistos Disk Mystery

 
From the article:
"The goddess of love, the Minoan Astarte, is the key figure that unlocks the mystery of the Phaistos Disk, according to linguist, archaeologist and coordinator of the program Erasmus of Crete Technological Institute .. . . The archaeologist said he believes, moreover, that one side of the Phaistos Disk is dedicated to the pregnant mother goddess and the other to Minoan goddess Astarte."
 
(offsite link)
 
 
 
(photo copyright Greekreporter.com)

12/12/2015

Virgen de Guadalupe

 
This is the Feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom many believe evolved from the much earlier Goddess Tonantzin, (Mother Earth) of the Nahuan.

"I will demonstrate, I will exhibit,
I will give all my love, my compassion,
my help and my protection to the people.
I am your merciful mother,
the merciful mother of all of you
who live united in this land,
and of all mankind, of all those who love me ,
of those who cry to me, of those who seek me,
of those who have confidence in me.
Here I will hear their weeping,
their sorrow and will remedy and alleviate
all their multiple sufferings, necessities and misfortunes."
 
 
 
("Virgen de Guadalupe" painting by Coopercat, quote from the Nican Mopohua)

12/03/2015

Teach us, and show us the Way

 
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.
 
 

11/25/2015

Happy Full Moon!

 
Blessings of the Frost/Beaver Moon in Gemini!
May your ideas be full of wisdom and meaning.

11/20/2015

Eirene - Goddess of Peace



"How far peace outweighs war in benefits to man; Eirene /Peace, the chief friend and cherisher of the Mousai/Muses. Eirene /Peace, the enemy of revenge, lover of families and children, patroness of wealth."



(painting of Peace/Eirene by Ludwig Knaus, quote from The Suppliants, by Euripides)

11/13/2015

Blessings of Kwan Yin

 
May She who hears the cries of the world bring you comfort and peace.
 
Excerpt from 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)

11/03/2015

Enrollment reminder

 
The next deadline for applications for our home-study school will be on November 22. This will be the last enrollment period for 2015.  If you are interested in learning more or receiving an enrollment guide, please visit our webpage:
 


10/30/2015

Dia de los Muertos


Many blessings on this Dia de los Muertos.
May you walk with the wisdom of your ancestors.



(Marigold Catrina by Sylvia Ji, copyright reserved)

10/26/2015

October Full Moon

 
Many Blessings of the October Full Moon!
We give thanks for the final harvest of the year.
 
 
 
(photo copyright M. Moreno)

10/12/2015

News: Navratri

 
"Navratri -- which commences on 13 October -- is celebrated to honour Goddess Durga and her nine forms. The celebrations begin on the first day of the month of Ashvin according to the Hindu calendar."
 
 

 
(photos of Garba dance and Aarti ritual, copyright Reuters)

10/07/2015

News article: Yoruba Festival



"Held every year in a sacred forest on the outskirts of the southern Nigerian city of Osogbo, the Osun-Osogbo Festival is a two-week-long celebration of the Yoruba river goddess Oshun. The festival, which begins with a traditional cleansing of the town (Iwopopo) and ends in a procession of the people to the Osun-Osogbo sacred grove, attracts attendees from all over the globe."




(photo copyright Ife Martins)

10/06/2015

Roman Priestess

 
Ivy-crowned Priestess offering incense over altar flames.
Roman diptych, circa 400ce.

9/30/2015

News article: Artists prepare for Durga puja


"Artisans say they bring the earth, the essential element to form the goddess’s image, from the Karnaphuli river."

 
 
 
(photo copyright the Daily Star)

9/27/2015

Full Moon Eclipse


Blessings of the Super Moon and Lunar eclipse in Aries.
May any secrets in hiding be revealed for you,
and may you transform any fiery discord into radiant good works!




(NASA eclipse photo.)




9/22/2015

News Article: Olympic flame Priestess passes

 
Last surviving priestess from the first Olympic flame lighting ceremony passes away.

 
 
(photo copyright Getty images)

9/21/2015

Happy Equinox!


Blessings of the Autumn season. 
May your path be filled with beauty and the promise of hope.

9/10/2015

Sacred Corn

 
Before sending it into the cooking pot,
Aztec women talked to and blew their breath on the corn,
so it wouldn't be afraid of the heat.
 
 
(Illustration from a late 16th-century Florentine Aztec codex. )

9/04/2015

News Article: Divination Site Findings


From the article:
"At the archaeological site of Kerameikos archaeologists from the German Archaeological Institute brought to light a well probably used for hydromancy rituals. The well was revealed when archaeologists overturned a marble stone and it bore an inscription on the walls addressed to Apollo, the ancient Greek god of phrophecy and was probably used for divination in early Roman times, as the lettering suggests.
 
"The finding is exceptionally significant as it identifies the spot as the first and unique Apollo divination site in Athens, confirming the worshipping of the ancient god along with his sister Artemis and restoring the accurate interpretation of the site as a shrine rendered by K. Mylonas in the late 19th century to a third goddess, Hecate."

8/29/2015

Full Moon Blessings

 
Blessings of the Full Moon in Pisces.
May your dreams and visions lead you to peace.
 
 
 
(artwork copyright X. Electra.)

8/20/2015

Hymn to Ayopechcatl

 
Hymn to Ayopechcatl, Goddess of Childbirth
 
Truly in whatever house there is a lying-in,
Ayopechcatl takes charge of the child.
 
Truly in whatever house there is a lying-in,
Ayopechcatl takes charge of the child,
there where it is weeping in the house.
 
Come along and cry out, cry out, cry out,
you newcomer,
come along and cry out.
 
Come along and cry out, cry out, cry out,
you little jewel,
cry out.
 
 
(Hymn from the Rig Veda Americanus, photo of carving of Aztec cradleboard, copyright J. Weinstein)


8/17/2015

Enrollment Reminder


We are currently accepting applications to our home-study Goddess mystery school. If you are interested in learning more, or receiving an enrollment guide to become one of our correspondence students, please visit our webpage:

8/13/2015

News: Symbols of Ishtar found on Tablet in Turkey


Amid excavations at four different ancient sites in the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat, a cuneiform tablet has been unearthed in the Uşaklı Mound at the Büyük Taşlık village.

Thought to date back to around 2,000 B.C., the cuneiform tablet in the Sorgun district of Yozgat shows symbols of Ishtar, known as the Hittite goddess of love, war, fertility and sexuality, more clearly than those on any other unearthed tablets.

8/12/2015

Triple Hekate

 
"Asteria of happy name, whom Perses once led to his great house to be called his dear wife. And she conceived and bare Hekate whom Zeus the son of Kronos honoured above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the Earth and the unfruitful Sea. She received honour also in starry Heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods. For to this day, whenever any one of men on earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to custom, he calls upon Hekate. Great honour comes full easily to him whose prayers the goddess receives favourably, and she bestows wealth upon him; for the power surely is with her. For as many as were born of Gaia and Ouranos amongst all these she has her due portion. The son of Kronos did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in Earth, and in Heaven, and in Sea. Also, because she is an only child, the Goddess receives not less honour, but much more still, for Zeus honours her."
 
Hesiod, Theogony
 
 
(Triple Hekate relief, NG Prague, Kinsky Palace.)

8/07/2015

Hymn to Sarasvati

 
"May the Goddess of Speech enable us
to attain all possible eloquence;
She who wears on her locks a young moon,
who shines with exquisite luster,
who sits reclined on a white lotus,
and from the crimson cusp of whose hands
pour radiance on the implements of writing,
and books produced by her favor."
(From the Sarada Tilaka)

7/30/2015

Blue Moon Blessings


Blessings of the Full Blue Moon in Aquarius!




(art copyright Fada 5/Casa Osiris)

7/21/2015

Clytie

 
The Oceanid Clytie, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. 
 
 
 
(painting by Evelyn De Morgan, 1887)
 

7/14/2015

Kogi Prayer

 
"Our Mother of the growing fields,
'O our Mother of the streams, will have pity upon us.
For whom do we belong?
Whose seeds are we?
To our Mother alone do we belong."
 
 
 
 
(Traditional Kogi Prayer, translation by Reichel-Dolmatoff.  Photo of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Columbia.)

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

7/01/2015

Full Moon Blessings

 
May the Full Thunder Moon bring
awakening and inspiration!

6/29/2015

Goddess News: Ancient Sculptures Found in Perga


Links to two articles may be found below:

"Archaeological excavations, which have continued for the last three years in the ancient city of Perge, located in the southern province of Antalya, have revealed 13 rare sculptures. Among the recently discovered sculptures were the Roman emperor Caracalla and a number of Greek gods and goddesses, including moon goddess Selene and fortune goddess Tykhe, as well as a detailed horse sculpture."



"Archaeologists have unearthed 13 unique sculptures, including sculptures of Roman Emperor Caracalla, the goddesses Selene, Nemesis, Tykhe as well as a horse, in the ancient city of Perga in Antalya during excavations that have been ongoing for three years."

(AA photo from first article)

6/21/2015

Happy Summer Solstice!

 
May you always hold the warmth and light of the season in your hearts.
 

6/15/2015

Nang Talani


Thai-Lao Earth Goddess, Nang Talinee
 
 
 
(relief from a fountain at Wat Ong Teu, Vientiane, Laos.)

6/10/2015

Goddess News: 3800 year-old statuettes discovered

From the Article:

Three statuettes created Peru's ancient Caral civilisation have been discovered by archaeologists, depicting political leaders and a priestess. . . .The terracotta figurines, measuring no more than 80cm, were unearthed in the district of Vegueta, in the Lima province of Huaura and have been dated to 3,800 years ago. . . Researchers say the statuettes were of deep symbolic significance – they were found in a basket of reeds tied with cotton, with another basket placed inside. The figures had been arranged to be looking at one another.

 
(photo copyright Peru's Ministry of Culture)

6/09/2015

Freya Painting

 
"So may the Holy Ones help thee,
Frigg and Freyja and favoring Gods,
As thou hast saved me, from sorrow now."
 
 
 
(Painting of Freya by J. Doyle Penrose; Quote from the Elder Edda, Stanza 8, the Oddrunargratr.)

6/01/2015

Full Moon Blessings


 
"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", trans. T. Taylor)

5/27/2015

News article: National Museum Bangkok Exhibition


From the article:

"To celebrate the 60th birthday of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Fine Arts Department is hosting a special exhibition, "Feminine Deities: Buddhism, Hinduism And Indigenous Cults In Thailand"at the National Museum Bangkok. The objective is to disseminate knowledge about faith and beliefs relating to women in Thailand through the ages via religious sculptures.

The exhibition is divided into four parts — Goddesses: Traditional Beliefs From The Past; Goddesses In Brahmanism-Hinduism: The Supreme Power Of Females; Female Deities In Buddhism: The Power Of Intellect; and Goddesses In Traditional Beliefs: The Power Of Nature."


(photo Post Publishing PCL. All rights reserved.)

5/21/2015

Goddess Atargatis


The Goddess Atargatis, Nabatean temple at Khirbet Tannur.



(photo copyright M. Gunther)

5/20/2015

News article: Petroglyphs in Ratnagiri and Rajapur districts



From the Article:
"He added that a drawing of Lajja Gauri, the fertility goddess who is a symbol of matriarchal society, was also found in the region."

(offsite link)
 

(photos, petroglyph sites in Salegaon, Upale and Devache Gothane, copyright punemirror.in)

5/16/2015

5/07/2015

To the Graces

 
"Hear me, illustrious Graces, mighty named,
From Jove descended and Eunomia famed;
Thalia, and Aglaia fair and bright,
And blest Euphrosyne whom joys delight:
Mothers of mirth, all lovely to the view,
Pleasure abundant pure belongs to you:
Various, forever flourishing and fair,
Desired by mortals, much invoked in prayer:
Circling, dark-eyed, delightful to mankind,
Come, and your mystics bless with bounteous mind."
 
 
 
("Hymns of Orpheus", trans. Taylor; painting of section of "Primavera" by Sandro Botticelli)
 
 

5/03/2015

Happy Full Moon!

 
May the Full Flower Moon of May bring
enlightenment through Beauty.
 
 
 
(artwork copyright Rebecca Ronesi)

4/16/2015

Earth Prayer

 
The mountains, I become part of it.
The herbs, the fir tree, I become part of it.
The morning mists, the clouds, the gathering waters,
I become part of it.
The wilderness, the dew drops, the pollen,
I become part of it.
 
Navajo Chant

4/11/2015

In the News: Expo - Acroliti Morgantina


 
From the article: "The senses will reveal to visitors the visual beauty - through the exhibition's location showcasing the Acroliti of Morgantina representing the Greek divinities of Demetra and Kore (about 530 BC) from the museum of Aidone (Enna), ready to be taken to Expo in Milan.. . With their solemn look, supernatural and mysterious, fascinating and charming, human and natural, the two goddesses will represent Sicily. Behind their strongly enigmatic smile there is a society that has produced it and one that has inherited today its territories and history, culture and knowledge. Sicily will thus have the face of the goddesses."

 
 
(photo, copyright ANSA - All rights reserved)

4/07/2015

Invocation to Lalita

 
Homage to the one who
Shines like a thousand rising suns,
Endowed with four arms,
Wielding a noose of love
And flashing goad of anger,
A sugarcane bow of mind
And five arrows of the five subtle elements,
Flooding the universe with her dawn-red splendor,
With campaka, asoka and punnaga flowers
Adorning her fragrant, shining tresses,
Whose crown is glorious with rubies
Who is enchanting, her ears adorned
With clusters of kadamba blossoms.
 
 
(text from Sri Lalita Sahasranama, trans. Shaw)

4/03/2015

Happy Pink Moon

 
Blessings of the Full Moon in Libra;
May the eclipse reveal that which you have hidden from yourself.



(artwork, copyright Anniga, Deviantart)

3/28/2015

Hymn to the Fates


"Daughters of darkling Nyx, much named, draw near, infinite Moirai, and listen to my prayer; who in the heavenly lake, where waters white burst from a fountain hid in depths of night, and through a dark and stony cavern glide, a cave profound, invisible abide; from whence, wide coursing round the boundless earth, your power extends to those of mortal birth; To these acceding, in a purple veil to sense impervious, you yourselves conceal, when in the plain of Moira you joyful ride in one great car, with glory for your guide; till all-complete, your heaven appointed round, at justice, hope, and care's concluding bound, the terms absolved, prescribed by ancient law, of power immense, and just without a flaw. For Moira alone with vision unconfined surveys the conduct of the mortal kind. . . Come, gentle powers, well born, benignant, famed, Atropos, Lachesis and Clotho named; unchanged, aerial, wandering in the night, untamed, invisible to mortal sight; Moirai all-producing, all-destroying, hear, regard the incense and the holy prayer; propitious listen to these rites inclined, and far avert distress, with placid mind."


(The Fates painting by Alfred Agache, circa 1885. Hymn to the Moirai, Fumigation from Aromatics, Orphic Hymn, trans. Taylor)

3/20/2015

Happy Spring Equinox

 
May all the beauty of Spring surround you!
 
 
 
(painting copyright Helena Nelson Reed)