Lynn OBrien January, 2009

The snowstorm had settled down somewhat during the day, leaving a blanket of crunchy white snow draped over the countryside. The High Priestess stood at her kitchen window holding a warm mug of steaming hot tea in her weathered hands. Those hands had seen hard work and toils far beyond her young motherhood years.

As she stood in the dimness of her kitchen, the smell of beeswax and candle oils filled her senses and warmed her heart with joy. In just two days would be Imbolc, the festival of lights representing the increase in the light after the Winter Solstice. The candles that were drying from the racks in her back room would be used in not only the coven’s group ritual but also her personal one as well. Imbolc was also the time of the year when life was coming back to the natural world, with plants starting to peak their heads above ground and animals getting ready for the coming births of their young.

Herne and Sebastian were settled down in front of the fire, curled up into little balls of fluffy fur. Pine scent wafted through the house, carried on the breezes from the fireplace. The crackling in the fireplace occasionally made the cats stir, and the High Priestess settled in her chair with a warm blanket and her cup of tea. On the table beside her was her notepad, with the rough outline for the ritual written in her careful, flowing script.

A light rapping at her door stirred her from her thoughts….who would be out on a cold night such as this? Alighting from her chair, Herne and Sebastian quickly took their customary places beside her as she went to answer the door.

Flicking on the porch light, she peeked through the peephole to see a coven member, Bridget, with her two small children. She quickly opened the door and ushered them in, placing their jackets in the hall closet. Curiosity shone on her face, but she kept her greeting polite and general.

Bridget made quiet grievances for her late night visit, shifting her sleeping babe in her arms. She explained that the power had gone out at her house because of the snow, and she felt she had no one else to turn to. Bridget was a new coven member, unsure of where she stood in the circle of close knit friends…more like a family than any she had ever known.

The High Priestess led Bridget and her kids to her spare room, which doubled as her office. It had a homey feel to it, with dried flowers, candles and handmade bedding handed down through three generations of her family. Pictures lined the walls, some in modern frames, some in antique wooden one. It felt so comfortable here, so inviting. Lost in her own reverie, Bridget hadn’t noticed that the High Priestess had left the room and returned with a long, flannel nightshirt and some slippers. These little comforts were enough to send Bridget into tears. Never had someone been so nice to her or her children.

Bridget had been nervous about joining the small coven, afraid to let other people into her life for fear of getting hurt. The High Priestess told her to stay as long as she wanted, for she welcomed family no matter what the need.

After a long, restful night’s sleep, the High Priestess woke to the muted sounds of children laughing in her kitchen. Curious as to what was amiss, the High Priestess donned her robe and went into the main part of the house.

A breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and bacon greeted her senses and brought moisture to her lips at the thought of dining on a feast like this; she usually ate a quick bowl of cereal.

After they ate, the women and children piled into Bridget’s van and carefully made their way to her house to see what had happened with the power. Upon their arrival, Bridget was in tears. The ice had ripped the power lines from her house, causing the power to go out the previous night. But more astonishing was who was at her house without her knowledge.

The coven members had arrived en mass and had taken up places outside like they were supposed to be there. Looking over at the High Priestess in amazement, she noticed tears in the older woman’s eyes as well. Unknown to Bridget, the High Priestess had called two of the coven members who had called more of them.

“Families stick together.” was all the High Priestess said to Bridget.

While the adults worked to repair the damages from the ice storm, the kids played outside making snowmen and snow fairies. Afterward, everyone piled into the small home, and Bridget felt so thankful and warm with the pleasant turn their lives had taken.

Hot chocolate was passed around, and a loaf of  pumpkin bread was cut up and offered as thanks for all of the hard work and support they had provided her. Never could she payback all the kindness and generosity she had received the last couple of days.

As they took their mugs of hot chocolate, the High Priestess stepped forward with a lighter and lit a candle on Bridget’s mantle. She said an impromptu blessing to the Goddess Brigid for the house and her occupants, and for all of the coven members and their families. She thanked Brigid for all of her love and generosity that she had bestowed on the coven…and for keeping watch over her children.

The sun was shining like a bright, blazing ball of fire in the sky, warming the Earth below. As the friends stood inside finishing their drinks and planning the next day’s activities, the Earth was awakening outside with the coming signs of Spring.

Tags: goddess, imbolc

• Short stories

Mary DAlba January, 2009

Athena:  Master Communicator, Crafter and Civilization Progressor

If you are looking for a powerful goddess to connect with, Athena may be a great choice.  Let’s take a look at what Athena represents and her attributes.

Athena is the Greek Goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill.   She was the favorite child of Zeus.  She was born from Zeus’s head after Zeus swallowed Metis when she was pregnant with Athena.

Athena’s symbols are the Owl, signifying watchfulness and wisdom; the aegis (small shield) showing the snaky head of Medusa. She protects heroes and was known as the Goddess of Heroic endeavors.  She was a master negotiator and could create peace through negotiation.

So how can you connect with Athena in this way?   You can invoke Athena when you need to resolve a situation.  For example, say you are trying to bring family members back together or negotiate a raise.  Athena will help you find the right words and solutions to resolve the issue.  You can also pray for soldiers and those fighting in battle – she protects their heroic actions.

Athena is also known as the Goddess of

ChaosSun’s Crafts

. Athena is the patron of weavers, potters, goldsmiths, sculptors, musicians, and horsemen. She was also credited with the inventing the first sailing ship, the yoke and the bridle, as well as the flute and trumpet.

Invoke Athena when you need creativity or need help musically.  If you know a musician, talk to them about Athena.  If you are creating something, such as scrapbooking or sewing, she can help inspire you.

Athena is also associated with the city and urban lifestyle, during peacetime she oversaw the progress of civilization, including being the patrons of literature and the arts.

Are you looking to take pictures or find some art for your office or house?  Are you a writer, creator, artist?  Are you interested in helping your community?  All of these things could use Athena’s influence.

Here is an example of a prayer you can use with Athena:

My dearest Athena,

I ask for your help awakening my wisdom.

Right now, I have problems that I would like to work on.

I need help with negotiation in my job.

I ask for your guidance on these issues because I don’t know where to turn.

I admire you as a powerful and strong woman.

Please help me to step into my power.

I crave the right path - I need your help in finding it.

Please, wise Athena, help me find my way.

And so it is.

Athena is the modern day peace promoter and creator.  Her influences can carry far and wide in your life if you’re looking for strength, power and creativity.

Tags: athena, correspondences, goddess

• Articles

Anne Baird January, 2009

Yule, and other Solstice celebrations of light, is over, and winter is setting in. Though we celebrated the rebirth of the Sun King, and the turning toward the light in December, the reality is that spring can seem a long way off in the gloomy days of January!

Nights are still dark and long. Branches are black against a frozen sky. Snowflakes swirl on bitter winds, and snow crunches crisply beneath winter boots. Noses, fingers and toes are red with cold. There is beauty in this, but hardship too.

For those of us who don’t enjoy it, January is strong meat! It takes a sturdy character to love winter’s rigorous beauty and hidden potential. That is when Skadi becomes my inspiration.

The Viking goddess of winter, Skadi is the embodiment of strength, courage and endurance. She embraces this period of storm, darkness, and challenge, and is never happier than when hunting or skiing in the snowy mountains. During this month of transition from celebration to patience and quiet waiting, therefore, it’s worth examining the myths that surround her, to find clues for our own winter work of transformation. For January, with all its less popular features, is also a time of reflection and new beginnings. Of things resting quietly below the Earth and in our souls.

The daughter of the giant Thiazi, Skadi was born into the heroic, mythical world of Asgard, the heavenly home of the fierce Norse gods and of slain heroes. (Richard Wagner’s famous operatic Ring Cycle tells some of their stories.) Tall, beautiful, and a formidable warrior and hunter, the goddess was a force to be reckoned with.  Determined to avenge the death of her father, who had been murdered by the gods for abducting Idunn, the beautiful goddess of youth, she stormed their citadel to exact either revenge or compensation for her loss. Before this onslaught of a ferocious one-woman army, the gods backed down.

Rather than fight her, Odin, the one-eyed king of the gods, offered her gold for her pain and suffering. But Skadi was already rich from the pillaging and plundering spoils of her father and grandfather. Instead, she demanded a husband from among the gods, and a good laugh as well. (She hadn’t laughed once since the death of her father.)

Odin agreed to her terms. But he too set conditions. Since none of the gods volunteered to marry this daunting goddess, she would have to choose her own mate. But she would have to choose by looking only at their feet! A curtain would hide the rest of their bodies from her.

Secretly in love with Baldur, son of Odin, and the god of light and beauty, Skadi chose the most attractive set of feet, believing them to be his. Unfortunately, she guessed wrong. Instead of the handsome Baldur, she picked the homely sea god, Njord. Loki, the Trickster, provided her laugh at great personal expense. But the laugh was really on Skadi. She didn’t get her heart’s desire. Still, she kept her word, and stoically went through with the marriage. It was doomed from the start.

Njord liked to live beside the sea; Skadi was happy only in the mountains with her beloved wolves. The mismatched couple compromised by taking turns. They lived for nine days each, first beside the water, and then in the mountains. But they were miserable. At the end of eighteen days, they separated for good, and Skadi returned to her snowy heights in Thrymhein. Happily, there she met Ulle, god of winter, archery and skis. He was also the god of justice and dueling. The soul mates thrived on a life of proud independence in the wild mountains. Little else is known about their life together.

There is a dark side to Skadi, as there is in the winter weather that she loves.

She is stormy and unpredictable, relentless in her pursuit of what she perceives as justice. She will stop at nothing to achieve her objectives. But she has passion and integrity, and the determination to live life in all its fullness, regardless of the harshness of her circumstances, or of the feelings of others about her.

She knows how to survive in a tough climate, how to provide for herself and her loved ones. She loves winter because it calls forth the best in her. It demands her strength and courage, not her weakness. It calls on her patience, and her understanding that there is a cycle of seasons in life, and that winter is an essential part of that cycle.

Winter is a special time. It symbolizes the dark times that have been visited upon the human race since the beginning of creation. Times very like the days we are experiencing right now, with a worldwide global recession, rising prices and unemployment, and political upheaval.

At times like this, we need to remember the lessons of Skadi. Beneath the apparent bleakness, life goes on. Within the dark womb of the Earth, new life is germinating and waiting to return. Out of darkness will come light. Out of seeming barrenness, new growth. Out of death, life. Winter will not last forever.

So cuddle up. Light your fire, and stay warm. Rejoice in the people that Spirit has sent you. Remember Skadi.  Emulate her wild, untamed spirit, and try to enjoy January’s unique beauty.

And when you must be out in the cold, remember that spring will come. New beginnings have already begun.

Tags: goddess, skadi, winter

• Articles

Jackie Corcoran January, 2009

Start the new year right with a new crossword puzzle (click here)!  This month’s theme is the goddesses of the world - how many do you know?

Tags: crosswords, goddess, month, puzzle

• The Funnies

Mary DAlba December, 2008

Today, we look at Rhiannon, the Celtic goddess of Inspiration and of the Moon, hailing from Wales.  She is known as the “Divine Queen of the Fairies.”  Her story is one of triumph and tragedy and we can learn how to bear an injustice while still keeping our joy.  Here is Rhiannon’s story.

Rhiannon (her name is either “Maid of Annwn” or a variant of Rigatona, “Great Queen”), is a version of the horse-goddess Epona and of sovereignty.  One day, Pwyll saw her riding her horse – a beautiful woman wearing gold.  He sent his fastest horseman after her but she outruns them.  On the third day of this, she stops and tells Pwyll that he didn’t have to chase her; he could have won her by speaking to her.  She was promised to Gwawl, a much older man who she did not want to marry.  Pwyll and Rhiannon fell in love and agreed to meet a year and a day later.

Pwyll and Rhiannon were married but her people were not happy about it, because she should have married one of her own.  She went to live with Pwyll’s people and she was happy.

During the next few years, Rhiannon bore a son.  She had seven ladies-in-waiting to take care of him so Rhiannon could get some rest.  One evening, while Rhiannon rested, her ladies-in-waiting also went to sleep.  When they awoke, the crib was empty.  Rhiannon’s ladies did not want to take responsibility for losing the child so they killed a puppy and smeared its blood on her.  Rhiannon swore her innocence but no one came to her defense, including her husband Pwyll, who was in too much grief.  As punishment from the court, Rhiannon was to spend seven years under a heavy horse collar, telling her story to all that came to the court and offering to carry them on her back to the court doors.  Rhiannon took this punishment without complaint and word spread throughout the land of her courage and20quiet dignity of the punishment.

The thought was a suitor that Rhiannon had rejected kidnapped the child as revenue of Rhiannon.  This child was found by Teymon, who was helping a mare who lost her foal.  When looking for it, Teymon found the child and he and his wife adopted him.  Four years later, Teymon, his wife and the adopted child went to the court where he met Rhiannon.  She offered to carry them to the court.  The child handed her a cloth that she recognized as the infant’s clothing she knitted.  And when she looked in his eyes, she recognized Pwyll.  The child was returned to Rhiannon and Pwyll and Rhiannon was released from her sentence.

Rhiannon’s themes are movement, communication, rest, ghosts, fertility and leadership.  Her symbols are the color white, horses and the Moon.  She can also work with in situations with mothers, motherhood and lost children.

If you want to work with Rhiannon, you can ask her to help you with communicating with others, especially if you are trying to take on a leadership role or assert yourself.  This can apply to writing a report or presentation, filling out important papers (especially around a situation that deserves justice) or mediation.

Rhiannon also teaches us to find ways to survive, even with joy, after a si tuation seems to be bleak.  Rhiannon took her punishment without complaint and made the best of it.  We can work with her to help see the light in the dark moments.

Bringing Rhiannon in your life shows that you are looking to work with strong powerful feminine energy to get what you want and deal with what’s been presented to you.  Rhiannon will help you live your life with happiness and forgiveness, no matter what is your destiny.

Tags: goddess, Rhiannon

• Articles

Lynn OBrien December, 2008

Yule

The sun was setting over the hills, casting warm yellows and pinks across the early evening sky. The snow that had fallen lightly throughout the day shone like a lake of diamonds The trees down by the creek had caps of white, knit by the delicate snowflakes of winter.

The high priestess stood in the doorway of her cottage, Herne and Sebastian taking their positions on either side of her feet. She waved happily as the coven members cars pulled down her drive. As each disembarked from their cars, she could feel the energies rising all around. This Yule ritual was going to be truly a magical experience.

Everyone was dressed in their finest robes, and in their arms they carried scrumptious foods and beautifully wrapped surprises. The high priestess welcomed them into her home, Sebastian and Herne alighted onto the back of the couch to watch the festivities.

As everyone got settled inside the cottage,  the foods laid out on the buffet, a light snow began to fall outside. The woodland setting was quiet save for the sound of a distant owl hooting in the trees, and the crunch of snow from some deer walking in the fields.

Everyone inside grabbed plates, helping themselves to the fabulous feast set before them. The colorful foods smelled rich with nuts, berries, pumpkin, goose and more!! Colors and smells mingled on the table, creating a display that wasn’t only a feast for the stomach, but the senses as well.

This diverse family ate and talked about their own family traditions, past Yule memories, and day to day happenings. Conversations about upcoming community events and any new coven projects were peppered in here and there.

As the final vestiges of light sunk fully below the hills, and gave way to a brilliant full moon, anticipation was heavy in the air. The coven members made their ways outside to the stone circle garden just down from the house. A sanctuary and a place of magic, it was made with stones gathered from down by the creek.

Joining hands, young and old, they circled around the stone alter set up in the middle. The high priestess took her place in the center, calling to one of the elder male members to join her. Tonight he would represent the God and she the Goddess.

As the Yule rites began, a hawk called out from somewhere above in the night sky. The full moon, in all her wondrous glory, shone like a spotlight down on the worshippers below.

They gathered  here on this night to honor the God and Goddess, and the rise of the Sun again from it’s sleep. They came to celebrate the turning of the Wheel.

Soon the ritual drew to a close, the circle open but never broken. The members made their way back to the small and cozy cottage to warm up and enjoy each others’ company. Once inside steaming mugs of apple cider or mead were passed around, as a raucous game of charades started. Presents were passed around and almost as quickly as they were handed out, the floor was covered in a colorful confetti of wrapping paper.

If you had walked by that night, you would have seen smoke curling lazily from the chimney, a warm glow from the windows and the love of a family inside.

Tags: goddess, short story, yule

• Short stories

Blacksun December, 2008

Probably one of the most striking differences between modern Paganism and the more predominant western religions is the fact that we have multiple gods and goddesses.  More than any other, this difference is the most disturbing to the monotheistic / revealed religions espoused by millions in Western and Middle Eastern cultures.  It rankles and offends them in most cases and they find such ideas impossible to comprehend.  And, for many folks within the Pagan religious expressions, it is difficult to explain in any way other than to say, “Well, that’s what I believe.”  That’s hardly comforting to the monotheists and it usually doesn’t sit well even within our own minds.  The question of who are ‘the gods’ and exactly what sort of attributes we ascribe to them is not an easy subject to tackle.

For convenience, I’m going to not continually type ‘and goddesses’ every time I use ‘god,’ ‘the gods,’ or ‘god forms.’  Suffice it to say that I’ve given up trying to satisfy everybody in my writings.  Not only is it an impossible task, it’s a thankless one as well.  Whatever I use, it has no meaning concerning gender.  We speak of gender when discussing particular god forms, but even then it is less about gender than a similar discussion about flowers would be.  Our concept of ‘god’ or ‘goddess’ is based solely on a human condition that we are attempting to relate to.  I expect that ‘sex’ between deities is not dependent on any definition we might come up with concerning gender.

First of all, let me give you my take on who or what the gods are.  I settled into a Unitarian church after trying out a lot of churches in my city between the ages of 12 to 18.  One of the best things I heard in that Unitarian church was the ‘joke’ about when god made man in his own image, man returned the favor.  Cute, but it says volumes about how we think about deity.  For thousands of years, we’ve painted pictures of gods and goddesses, written long treatises about what they may be like, and generally made asses of ourselves trying to prove who was right or wrong.  Pagans don’t tend to get upset over what name or image of a god or goddess somebody else holds dear, but we also don’t (as a group) tend to think too hard about exactly what the nature of deity might be.  We kind of dance lightly around the subject and go back to other areas of our spirituality that might seem safer or less mentally taxing.  While that may be one of the reasons we don’t have any big arguments about the many different viewpoints we embrace, it also is a weakness in our understanding of what it means to worship any of these thousands of god forms.

My concept of deity is that it is a subject that’s way too big for any one human consciousness to grasp.  It’s a lot like the number we call infinity.  Even though we can play with it in mathematics, it still is beyond meaning in our minds because that is part of its definition.  Deity is not one, or two, or any other number we can count.  It is beyond that.  Deity contains all those numbers but is more than all of them combined.  What we can get our minds around is something far more pedestrian, much more like what we are used to.  Thus, Zeus becomes Mr. Big, the somewhat tyrannical figure who will often take advantage of the fact that he’s the boss but also has a more ‘human’ side to him that comes out even when his schemes seem to be abusive.  Hera, a goddess herself, is the long-suffering wife who has hissy fits over her husband’s affairs and who is hardly ever more than a wrong look away from attempting retribution or revenge.  We can relate, right?

Personally, I don’t know anyone who uses Zeus or Hera as the central figure on their altars (though I expect there are folks who do), but this is just an example.  These god forms are projections of our own lives and culture but in archetypical form.  They represent aspects of that bigger thing we call deity that we can’t quite get our minds around.  Some Pagans use the generic forms we call The Lady and The Lord, or God and Goddess.  Even these are projections of our understanding of the world as incarnated beings.  When questioned about our own favorite god forms, we invariably pick one out a mythology that resonates with us.  That’s our choice.  In spite of all the cosmic power we ascribe to our god forms, it seems none of them can force us to believe in or worship them without our consent.  How strange.  “We reserve the right to refuse worship to any who do not please us.”  It should be cross-stitched into our altar cloths.

Once, many years ago, my wife and I played at using Loony Tunes characters to portray many of the god forms that were popular among us and our Pagan friends.  Has it ever occurred to you that Bugs Bunny acts a lot like Loki or Coyote?  I don’t even want to get into who Taz reminded me of!  But can you see what I mean about our involvement in how the god forms are depicted?

At this point, it might look like I’m saying we invented the gods.  This would be blasphemous to those monotheists who insist they know who God is.  But, yes, in a way that is what I’m saying.  However, it goes beyond that… way beyond that.

One of the lines that anthropologists draw concerning what is human and what isn’t has to do with how we depict our world.  If we can draw graffiti on the walls, then we’re human.  If we can decorate our graves with trinkets, we’re human.  If we can carve fat-bellied naked women, we’re defiantly human.  It seems that we’ve had some idea of deity for just as long as any of these other abilities.  We may not have built big cathedrals back then (though most scholars agree that Stonehenge has some kind of spiritual significance), but we expressed our spiritual natures in a wide variety of ways even when we could hardly chip rocks.  It would seem being human means we have some instinct or desire for there being something beyond us, something that makes everything make a lot more sense than what we are able to understand.  In other words, humans have a sense of deity.

Our abilities to describe deity have produced a rich variety of images and concepts, but none of these productions come even close to what we would call the reality of deity.  So it shouldn’t be too surprising that there are so many differing descriptions out there.  In fact, it would be amazing if there weren’t.  When we say so-and-so is The God, we are bound to butt up against somebody else’s concept of The One True God.  The old argument of whose god is bigger extends back before recorded times.  The gods, as we perceive them, are how the archetypal forms combine with our sense/need/ instinct for deity.

One of the most interesting things about archetypes is the role they play in our minds.  They are specialized symbols that seem to be universal to all humans.  They are the foundation for what is termed the ‘collective unconscious,’ that body of information that is ubiquitous to us all.  In some instances, part of this collective is arbitrary but has become the agreed-upon ‘reality’ of our species.  The archetypes are huge, complex blocks of related information that appear to be formed at a surprisingly early age.  Some speculate that they begin before birth!  Almost without exception, certain archetypes appear before others, but usually by about the age of six, the human child has nearly all the archetypes formed in their unconscious and it takes extreme measures to modify or substitute them from that time on.  Some of these archetypes are so ingrained, they can never be changed.  We might add new tidbits of information to them as we grow, but they will remain pretty much as they are for the rest of our lives.

To say the archetypes are within us is only partly true.  As hard a concept as it may be, the other part that is true about archetypes is that we are within them!  We live our lives as part of the archetypes.  We order our perceptions to coincide with them, making them the compass of our existence.  Our understanding of deity must agree with these archetypes as well.  The resonance we feel when we choose our god forms is its agreement with our archetypical images and how we prioritize those archetypes.  Every iteration of deity, each god or goddess or spirit of any kind, is but a facet of that larger gem that we are driven to seek.

Worship is an expression of desire.  Our desire to find deity is so much a part of our being, so strong a force, we have killed and died for it.  Deity may always be beyond our understanding but it is never beyond our desire.  That we each might find a different aspect of deity that fits what we desire most is not surprising; even fast-food places offer more than one kind of hamburger.  Would you like to super-size that goddess?

Pagans tend to worship more than one aspect of deity; we have multiple god forms that reveal our deepest desires.  This shouldn’t be surprising because we don’t have just one desire or even simply one at a time.  We are complex beings and our choice of gods that resonate with complexity reflects that fact.  When I say we resonate with a god form, I mean that it is the chosen form that best expresses our desires at the time.  Many Pagans say that their discovery of whatever brand of Paganism they currently follow was like ‘coming home.’  Very likely this means they felt a greater comfort level with a spirituality that gave them more freedom to express their desires.  Multiple god forms allow for a life more deeply ingrained with spirit, more meaningful and connected with parts of deity.

Deity is not one thing, remember.  It is beyond and outside of any count.  The variety of god forms we use to express our participation within deity is strictly up to us.  No matter how hard we try, we won’t ever truly understand all of deity because that is part of its definition.  But if we don’t try, if we don’t find god forms that resonate with our deepest desires, then we will lead lives that are devoid of our own spirit and any outside form of worship we might display will be a hollow shell… as will we.

Now… would you like fries with that, too?

Tags: belief, deity, god, goddess, pantheon

• Articles

LynSusun October, 2008

The Goddess is Alive in Every Woman
The True Story of How She Came to Be, How She Disappeared, & How She Returned

In the beginning, everything began, as it always does, with birth. The Great Mother of All gave birth, and the Earth began to breathe. Again, and again, and again, the Great Mother gave birth. And the plants began to breathe and the animals began to breathe and the two-legged ones began to breathe. All forms of life began to breathe. To breathe, to live. In the air, on the land, in the water, and even in the fires of deep sulfurous vents where light never shines, all forms of life began to breathe. And they were all very hungry.
“What shall we eat?” they asked the Great Mother. “You eat me,” she said with a smile. And they did. They ate of Her body. The plants sent their roots down into the earth and they ate of Her flesh and Her bones. The plants drank Her clear blood. From her deep springs, from her flowing waters, the plants ate. And they grew strong. And they gave birth. The grasses multiplied and rippled in the wind. Roots grew fat and juicy. And everywhere there were amazingly-shaped leaves, and flowers of many colors, and fruits wondrous to behold.
The animals ate Her. They did not eat Her flesh and Her bones as the plants did. They could not send their roots into Her, for they had legs and they moved about on the face of the Earth. Some of the animals ate of the grasses that grew from the Mother. Some of the two-legged ones ate the seeds of the grasses and the roots of the plants and their leaves. They ate and they ate and they ate. They began to give birth, too. Soon there were many, many mouths eating the Mother. There were many, many feet stirring up the red dust of the Mother. There were many mouths to praise her abundance. And many mouths to feed.

“I am you and you are me. I am here for you to eat. Now eat me. Eat all of me.” she urged them. And some of the animals ate Her flesh and Her bones in the form of the other animals. And some of the two-legged ones ate Her flesh and Her bones in the form of the animals. And her clear blood became red. And this red blood flowed in the bodies of the animals and the bodies of the two-leggeds who ate of the animals who ate of the plants who ate of Her. And the Great Mother was well pleased.
Now this red blood flowed in the bodies of the two-legged ones. It flowed in their bodies and it sang to them. This red blood sang to them of the endless wisdom of the Great Mother, and the endless dance of the moon, and the endless spiral of birth and life and death. And the ones who were round and full like the Mother felt the blood stirring in their bellies. The good red blood moved in their bellies and they were full of wonder, and they said to the Mother: “What shall we do with the red blood that moves so strongly in our bellies, Mother?” And she replied: “Give it to me. Return this blood to me. Nourish me. Allow me to replenish myself from your blood.” And so they did.
Each month when the moon grew dark and disappeared, the blood began to flow from between the legs of some of the two-legged ones. From the wombs of the two-legged ones, the blood flowed: red and rich and nourishing.  The red blood flowed into Her and she said: “You are me and I am you. Your blood is my blood. And my blood is yours. Forever and forever, we will nourish each other. And if you will keep holy the days of your bleeding, I will teach you all the secrets of the plants and the animals. And if you will keep holy the days of your bleeding, I will teach you all the secrets of Heaven and Earth.” And so the women kept holy the days of their bleeding, and they grew wise in the ways of the plants, the ways of the animals, and the ways of Heaven and Earth.

And so it was for many, many turns of the Earth around the Sun. Until the change. No one really knows where it started. Like a small fire, at first it seemed harmless. The women were wise and they thought no harm could come to them. Were they not the very Earth herself? To harm a woman, was it not the same as harming the Mother? And who would be so foolish as to harm their own Mother? To harm the source of nourishment and comfort and strength?
Yet there were those who were so foolish. Deluded, they grew arrogant, and began to tell the story of creation in a strange way. They began to believe that a man gave birth to the Earth and to humans! They said that man was the source of all nourishment and wisdom. They said that man was the image of God, and that God was jealous, and angry, that God demanded pain and blood and despised the simple pleasures of the body, of the earth. They said that God lived above, not within the earth, that God lived in heaven and was above all life. They said that men were above all life, too. That man had dominion over all of life, over all of the Earth herself, to do with as he pleased.
Oh, how silly their stories were. Surely no one could believe such stories! Surely everyone could see clearly that woman was the source of life, and nourishment. Surely it was clear that the women’s blood was the life of the Earth and the life of the people. And that the pleasure of the body was holy, was sacred, was good. That the Earth was alive, was our true Mother, and must be respected. That we are part of Her, dependent on Her for our very breath.
But, like a small fire left alone when the wind is blowing, the strange stories of God, of man as creator, grew and multiplied. The small fire of deceit rapidly became a raging storm, a storm that threatened all life. For the men began to say that the blood of women was bad, that women’s moon time blood was dirty, unclean, even dangerous. They began to say that women themselves were dirty and dangerous. They began to say that the Earth was dirty and dangerous. They began to think of themselves as apart from the Earth, as separate from the Earth, as better than the Earth. They began to think of themselves as apart from women, as superior to women, as the master of women.
The women did their best to tend to the holy fires. The women did their best to keep the days of their bleeding sacred. The women did their best to teach their daughters how to learn from the plants and the animals and the Earth. And the women did their best to be true to the mysteries of the moon-time and the wisdom of the Great Mother.
But the men were lost. Without the wisdom of the women, alone and apart, the men forgot the ways of peace. They forgot that the Earth was their Mother. They forgot that all women were sacred. And they began to fight. At first they fought only among themselves. But soon the sickness spread and the men began to fight the women. They began to torture the women. They began to kill the women. They bound women’s feet for this pain gave men pleasure.
They burned women at the stake for how dare any woman pretend to know the healing ways of the plants. They stoned women to death for it frightened them to see even the smallest bit of her holy flesh. They cut out the pleasure parts from between her legs for here was a power that seemed uncontrollable. And they told her, again and again, until she began to believe it was true, that she was not sacred, that she was not made in the image of God.
The men told each other that women were inferior, that the animals were inferior, and that the plants were inferior. Soon, puffed up with false pride, the men began to devise ways to use the women and the animals and the plants without respect for their power, without respect for their sacredness. The men began to believe that their view of the world was the only view of the world.
From one side of the Earth to the other, they abused the women and the plants and the animals. They used them without regard and kept them locked away. They ignored the cries of pain. They came to believe that women and plants and animals actually enjoyed being hurt. They confused some women so terribly that these women began to believe that they actually were dirty and in need of punishment. They tortured so many women that the wisdom of the women seemed to be the lie, and the lies of the men took on the trappings of truth.
But the Great Mother lives in every woman. In every place and every time, the Great Mother shows herself in the form of every living woman. “Eat me.” she whispers in the dreams of the woman. And the woman throws off the bed covers and walks barefoot into the moonlit night. She is yearning. She feels a deep stirring in her belly. She looks at the moon and she fancies that she hears the moon speaking to her. “You are sacred. You are the beginning and the end of all existence. I am you and you are me. Keep sacred the days of your bleeding and I will share with you the wisdom of the plants and the animals and the very Earth.”
Can she believe it is true? Dare she believe the truth of the words she seems to hear? All her life she has been told that she is not pretty enough, not smart enough, not strong enough. Everything seems to tell her that she is too round, too emotional, too sensitive. And not sacred, in fact, the complete opposite of sacred. All the days of her life she has heard the stories of the wonders of man, the creator. She has heard it so often that it has the sound of truth: God is a man. God is all-powerful, so men are all-powerful (and women are weak). God is clean, so men are clean (and women are dirty). God is pure, so men are pure (and women are filth). God never bleeds from between his legs and men never bleed from between their legs  (so the flowing blood of women is a sickness, a curse, a punishment). How can she believe that her blood is sacred? How can she allow herself to feel pleasure, to name it good, to name it holy?  How can she dare to believe that she is the Goddess?
Yes, the Goddess! The Goddess who is alive in every woman, in every place, in every time. The Goddess who whispers in our dreams. The Goddess who smiles in our lives. The Goddess who stirs the blood in our bellies. The Goddess who knows that every woman is wise and powerful and sacred. The Goddess who calls to us: “Keep the days of your bleeding sacred. Remember that your blood is the blood of life, the blood of peace. Feed me your blood, your moon-time blood, oh my daughter, my lover. Feed me, for I hunger and I thirst for you.
“Return to me. Return to yourself. Remember yourself. Remember me. I am the Great Mother. I am the Goddess. I am the Wise Woman. Listen to my words. Listen to my song. I am in you, thus I can never be lost. My story is your story. And it is the true story of birth and life and death. Eat me. Feed me. You are woman and so am I. Through me, you exist; through you, I exist. We are the ones who create. We are the ones who nourish. We are the ones who open the gates between the worlds. We are the ones who must reclaim ourselves, who must reweave ourselves.
“Oh sister, dear sister, the threads are thin, the song is faint. Tell me it is not too late. Tell me that you hear me. Tell me that you believe me. Tell me that the Goddess has returned. Tell me you are listening to the plants and the animals and your own deep knowing. Tell me you are looking past the slick, simple lies and into the messy, complex truth. Tell me that you feel the red blood stirring in your belly.
“Tell me it is not too late. Tell me the sisters are awakening. Tell me the moonlodge is rebuilt. Tell me that the words of White Buffalo Calf Woman were not in vain. Tell me that Kwan Yin’s heart is not breaking. Tell me that Venus is safe. Tell me that Artemis roams free in the woods. Tell me that Lilith is welcome at your table. Tell me that you remember that pleasure is holy to me. Tell me that you refuse to believe that you delight in pain.
“Tell me that you feel me reaching out to you from the deep core of your being, from time out of mind. Tell me that you feel me waking up inside you, waking you up to your beauty and your power. Tell me that you are reclaiming your truth and turning a deaf ear to the lies. Tell me that you remember that you are the Goddess. Tell me that you remember that you and I are the same. Tell me you keep sacred the days of your bleeding. Tell me you honor your crones.
“I have been with you since the beginning, and I will be with you at the end. I am part of you and you are part of me. Allow me to love you. Allow me to honor you. Allow me to return.”

Tags: goddess

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Administrator August, 2006

Appreciation

Today I am sitting down at my computer from a long vacation. My husband and I went on an adventure to Nevada and California visiting my family… who happens to live smack in the middle of nowhere. Let me tell you about my vacation and then I will get to the point of this months article (I promise, they are related). I am going to leave the name of the town out, because I don’t want to bring a lot of attention to it; it is one of those places you must discover for yourself… not that you can really find it on a map.

My husband and I took a flight from Melbourne. We boarded the plane, packed ourselves in like sardines and then listened to the emergency instructions from the flight attendant. As she was pointing out the few exit doors I thought “what is the point, we are so packed in here no one will make it anyway”; and that is true. There really is very little point in showing passengers where the exit door is. Firstly, almost no one would make it out. Secondly, if the plane was blowing up or crashing, where are you gonna go; do you have a parachute? My most important point is that I think I was maybe one of 5 people actually paying attention to the poor flight attendant going through her humdrum spiel. Everyone else had headphones on, was reading a book, talking or whatever. So even if we could make it out, who would know where to go?

Now, I am not afraid to fly by any means. I actually like it as I can see that there is still nature and beauty in this country when flying over it. However, thinking about what I was thinking about, I began to have an appreciation for how fragile life is and how for granted most people seem to take it. So think about what I thought about. How amazing is it that we simply exist? How beautiful is it that two people can unify in an act of celebration and joy and create life with that energy? How truly amazing is it that I exist because somewhere billions of years ago the Universe decided to mass together space debris and create the Earth. I think that is pretty amazing. I also think it is sad that I (and most others) do not think about it more often. If we all reminded ourselves of this even just once a month, I bet the world would be a friendlier place.

Now, back to our flight. We were in the air and my thought was “finally, we are on vacation… now I hope that nothing goes wrong”. Normally, I am not a pessimist, but over the last 6 years my husband and I have tried to take vacations and they have had to be canceled every time, usually because of something beyond our control like someone dying or hurricanes taking the roof off of our house. Ya’ know; small annoying stuff like that. (In case you didn’t ‘hear’ my tone; that was sarcastic.)

Anyway, we made it to Atlanta, got off the plane and were bombarded with rude people trying to get to where they were going. I felt like I was in a war zone. We had 4 hours to make our connection, but I guess others didn’t because they were willing to push and gouge their way through to get where they were going. I thought “wow, I hope none of these people are on vacation, they must be having a miserable time!” I gained yet another appreciation… I could appreciate that I had the ability to actually try and enjoy myself rather than rush around everywhere trying to get from point A to point B, without really seeing what is in between.

We got on our new flight, and arrived in Reno about 10 PM; my sister was there to greet us. We went to a hotel and stayed the night, because her little town was not close to anything. It was not an hour away from Reno, not even two… it was SIX HOURS from Reno and about the same from Las Vegas. I was still in “city mode” at this point. I wanted my internet, which was not working, I wanted my phone, which was not working and then I thought “why do I want these things? This is stupid; I am on vacation, why am I so attached to being connected?” So I put my laptop and my phone away and really got an appreciation for where I was and what I was doing. It was really interesting and strange, but we are so connected, this was one of the most difficult things for me to do… but I did it and I recommend an occasional disconnect to everyone now and then.

The next morning we left the hotel and started the six hour drive to her little town. Once we got out of Reno and Carson City, everything was beautiful. There were mountains, hills, a beautiful blue sky… We took lots of pictures. I was surprised to look at a thermometer and see that the temperature was 90. In the dry air it felt like 80 does in Florida. It was so nice, so peaceful.

We approached the little town my sister lived in and she pointed out “town”, which consisted of a post office (which was a small trailer), a little restaurant, a couple of bars and a general store. The town is filled with mostly farmers and ranchers. As I was approaching, I was not expecting to like it much… I mean a farming town in the middle of nowhere, no movie theatre, no pagan meet ups, no dojo’s… what is there to do? My expectations were way off, I liked the place instantly, and so did my husband.

My sister drove us through town and down the 9 miles of mostly empty space to her house. The place was great… a couple of acres of land, her nice little house, her barns and stables and behind her land, desert scrub and mountains as far as you could see. When we were not speaking, everything was so quiet it just made you want to stay that way. We were instantly reminded, as we are every visit to nature, that in the country one does not need movies and meet ups to enjoy ones self.

When we stopped speaking and just stood there, unlike in the city, I could feel the energy of the stillness and of the quiet. I could hear the land speaking to me. I could hear the sky speaking to me. I could hear the wind in my ears and I could even hear my own heart beat for a short time. I suddenly had this burst of energy like Mother Nature said to me “hello, there you are, I have been missing you”.

During our trip there we saw many amazing things… some I had seen before and others I haven’t. I stood in snow on the near top of a mountain only a few days after the Summer Solstice. I collected wild sage from the desert. I collected water from a powerful lake that was so volcanically active, there were Co2 warnings posted everywhere (don’t worry, we were allowed there, we aren’t so stupid as to go into a cordoned off area). I left energy for the places I went. I felt leaving a physical gift would be littering and degrading the beauty of the place, so I gifted of my own energy instead.

At all times, I was always awe struck by the power of Nature. One night we sat outside my sister’s house and looked at the stars. There were so many it dumbfounded me and for the first time in over a decade, I saw the Milky Way. I had forgotten that it was even in the sky. It was so clear; we could see satellites in orbit as small moving specks of light. I saw multiple shooting stars, although I decided not to make any wishes. I regained my full appreciation of nature there… I didn’t want to leave.

When it was time to go home, I felt reluctant, although I missed my animal friends. I thought “I hate Florida, I want to move out now, Florida is a hole and no one is meant to live here, so much nature has been taken out of Florida, how can I ever connect”. We traveled back to Reno and I proceeded to win a small jackpot at the quarter slots. Woo hoo; other than the cost of the plane tickets, my trip was nearly free for us because of it! I got a new appreciation there for something else… how people so easily become “zombified” at machines.

We took our small bag of quarters and split them between us… that and 5 dollars in cash was what we decided to gamble. So we did. By the time I had won, I was pretty bored and was wondering how people did this all day. Even after I won, I didn’t want to do it any longer. I looked around and saw so many people blankly staring at the slots, rhythmically putting in the quarter and pushing the button over and over again. I could have marched to the beat. Some of them were pale, there eyes were blood shot. It was kinda scary actually. We went upstairs to sleep at about 11 PM. When my husband and I went downstairs to catch our plane at 4 AM, some of the same people were still there. I got an appreciation for how easily people are manipulated and addicted and I was very appreciative that I was not such a victim. I wondered what made my husband and me different from those people sitting at the slots… I still do.

We made our way home and I will tell you, the journey was fairly miserable. The airports back were worse than on the way there. The flights were worse. Or maybe it was just that we noticed it more because of where we had been. We got off the plane and it was hot and humid. It felt worse at night in Florida than the 110 degrees it got to be in Nevada. We both sighed and talked about how we were going to move out of Florida as soon as possible… “We hate it here”, we said.

We got home and our pets were a joy to see, so it made it better. We had another week at home. It was during this time that I learned my biggest lesson of this journey… appreciate what you don’t have, but more importantly, appreciate what you have. In other words… it is ok to want greener grass; as long as you appreciate that the grass you have now is also beautiful.

As I relaxed at home with my husband for this week, I realized that although I love it where my sister is and I would love to move there, I also have a lot here that I love. It is true that much of Florida has been industrialized and is quite ugly, but there is still beauty if you look. It is true that the weather is hot and miserable at times, but it can also be pleasant. In the small town I could have nature and beauty and one day I fully intend to have that; but for now, here, I have learned (once again) to appreciate what has been gifted to me.

So here is my lesson for this month… a Warrior Goddess appreciates what was, what is and what will be. She looks to the future and what she sees as better for herself, but while doing so, she also appreciates what she has at present and is truly thankful for it. This can sometimes be a major challenge, especially when times are rough, but it can be done. This is a relatively easy battle if you let it be.

I learned this lesson long ago and am often reminded of it during my life journey. This vacation was a good reminder of that lesson. I could appreciate my strengths and learn from my weaknesses. I could appreciate what the world had to offer in both the creations of Nature and the creations of human beings. I could appreciate what I had and what I didn’t have and keep them in balance. I guess the Spirit decided I needed a friendly kick in the ass. I guess this one was more of a friendly lift rather than a kick.

So here is what I challenge you to do on your journey as a Warrior Goddess. Figure out what you want for the future, really envision it and make a plan to achieve it. These things can be small or big, it does not matter. Now, with full appreciation of what you want and where you are going, look at where you are. What is there that you like? What can you truly be appreciative of? For me, my home, my family and my friends here, not to mention my activities, make it nice to be here, even if I happen to like another landscape better. My life is great and I am happy because I allow myself to be. I hope all of you can do the same.

***

author bio:

Athene

Athene@athenestemple.com

www.athenestemple.com

Athene comes from a family of Eclectics and has been practicing Paganism from a young age. Athene is an accomplished musician, swimmer, archer, artist, crafter and martial artist. She is active in teaching Pagan spirituality, magick and teaching and learning Judo and Jujitsu. She is also active in promoting equality and balance between genders and races, as well as environmentalism. Athene is well traveled and has been through much of the United States, as well as some traveling in Canada and France.

Athene has faced many challenges in her life, which fortunately she has over come. She tries to use these life experiences as examples to help others grow strong and sure of themselves. Athene’s current life goal is to help women become empowered through pagan spirituality; embracing themselves for who and what they are, overcoming social stigmas such as “thinner is more beautiful” and “women are victims”. She is willing to speak and teach at Pagan events and often will answer questions through email.

Tags: athene, goddess

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Administrator July, 2006

Positive Self Image

Before you can really learn anything about improving yourself, you have to truly believe that you can do it. Every time the words “I can’t” or “that’s impossible” enter into your vocabulary, you are setting yourself up for failure. Even worse, I have discovered, are the words “I’m trying”. It is ok to try in the original sense of the word… for instance, you can try food to see what it tastes like, but in the end there is either “I like it” or “I don’t like it”. In the sense of trying to do something, still, in the end, there is either “I did it” or “I didn’t do it”. Somehow I am reminded of Yoda here (thank you George Lucas)… there is either ‘do’ or ‘do not’; there is no ‘try’.

In the case of positive self image there really needs to be a quick change over from trying all the time to actually having one… because frankly, this is not a situation where you can try for a long time. If you are trying, you simply don’t have one. If you do not have a positive self image, if you do not believe you can do what you set out to do, then you will not accomplish all that you are capable of in life. If you want to be a Warrior Goddess, you must have confidence in yourself that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. You must also not let your self confidence fail when what you set your mind to do does not work out.

So what is the biggest challenge presented to us that works against a positive self image? I bet most of you reading this will have the thought of “beauty” or something similar come into your head. Did the word “weight” come in there? Well… you would be among the majority. Body image is a huge challenge for us. So many women do not feel desirable if they are not model thin or action movie star muscular; so many of us associate our beauty and desirability with weight. It is truly a challenge not to; since most of what we see on television (there’s that dirty word again) and in magazines tells us that this is what desirable and beautiful women look like. It is true that even sometimes our own mates tell us that we need to lose weight; many times because they are worried about our health and are under the mistaken impression that weight is equal to good health; but unfortunately, many times because they are shallow asses.

Let me give you an experience from my own life that will give you an example of how pressured women are by society at large to be thin so that they feel beautiful, desirable and/or successful. In high school I exercised all the time. I would walk 6 to 10 miles a day. I would play racquetball. I was in marching band which is no small feat in the hot Florida sun. I am 5’4” tall and I weighed, at the time, 170 pounds. I wanted to go into the Navy to play in the Navy band. I auditioned and made it into the band hands down… but they told me I had to lose weight before I graduated high school or I could not get in. This only confirmed to me what the students of the school had already been telling me… I was fat and therefore, I was ugly.

I had such a low self image in high school, despite the fact that I was first chair in band, playing in televised music broadcasts for Disney, playing with a college band while still in high school and one of the best musicians in the state… I thought I was a loser and good for nothing. Why? Because I was fat and therefore ugly. I could not get a date and when I did, they would not admit they dated me. I let myself be treated like dirt.

So I sought to lose weight. I started eating only one meal a day, maybe two, and I began to exercise more. I lost 5 pounds. When I went to the entrance exam area for the Navy, I was still considered over weight at 165 pounds, so they did a measure test and passed me just barely at 33% body fat. I was considered, by their measurements, obese. So now I went back and exercised more and ate only salads. I ran in sauna suits and did things that endangered my health. I graduated high school and then I went back to the testing area. I weighed 160 pounds, still considered over weight. So they measured me again. According to the measurements this time, I was 36% body fat! So I was not allowed in the Navy.

This made it so I was not allowed to do what I had been trying for a year to accomplish (and planned my future around) because I was fat. How do you think this made me feel? It didn’t help that I was still made fun of for being fat by my school mates. Even my own friends made me feel fat, mostly because they felt fat too and I saw them as beautiful (and if THEY were fat, gods, I must have been behemoth). Well, this took a nuke to my already shell shocked self confidence. I got very depressed. Fortunately, I managed to work myself out of it and develop a positive body image from there.

Now, think about my weight that I told you, and my height. Think about how many times I was told I was fat. Think about how heavy I was. With that in mind, listen to this… when I weighed 170 pounds, I was a size 12. When I weighed 160 pounds, I was a size 9. A size 9 is NOT fat. Neither is a size 12, but that is beside the point… It was only later, upon being educated, that I discovered that muscle weighs more than fat. It also makes it really difficult to wear tiny sized clothing since it doesn’t squish in like fat does. Oh yeah, and that body fat test… the measuring test has a margin of error so big I could have been up to 7% higher OR LOWER than they measured me… which explains how I lost 5 pounds and gained 3% body fat in their eyes.

The point of this story is… society is unfair towards people. We are expected to put ourselves into a box to feel successful and beautiful. It is not just in size and shape… it is in everything. We are subconsciously told things such as “body fat is ugly” or “you are not successful unless you make money” or “you are not likable unless you have lots of friends” or “you are not loved unless you have sex”. As pagans we need to break free from this box and start appreciating ourselves for our individuality. As Warrior Goddesses we need to fight this negative conditioning for both ourselves and other women of the world.

How do we do this? Well I will tell you, it isn’t easy. I believe I am beautiful, powerful and successful. I am loved, both by myself and by my friends and family. I know this. I am sure of it. However, I still have days where I feel bad. When do I feel this way? Well, when I am around others who feel this way and I am too tired to fight against it. When it is just me or my husband and me I feel fine. When I am around friends or family who feel fat, ugly, like a loser or otherwise unhappy, it is much more difficult to keep up the energy. However, it is something I keep trying to do. This is why I feel it is important not just to improve my own self image, but to help others improve theirs.

So here is what I challenge you to do on your journey to becoming a Warrior Goddess. Number one, throw out of your life anything you think is causing a negative self image. If you weigh yourself and think “I am so fat”, throw out your damn scale. If you have to weigh yourself for competition sports as I do, then only do it when you absolutely have to. Of course weigh yourself if you must for medications and such, but again don’t think of yourself as ugly because you are “over weight”. If you are in a relationship and your partner tells you that you are fat, ask them not to. If they are degrading to you, either seek counseling or dump them because anyone who degrades you does not deserve you. Do what you must to remove the negative image inducers from your life.

I am not saying dump anyone who is negative; just simply ask them not to be negative around you. Of course, if it were me, if I asked them to stop and they didn’t, I would limit my exposure until I was sure of myself. Remember, pulling yourself out of negative self image is like an oxygen mask on a damaged air plane… take care of you first and then the person who needs help. If you are dying from oxygen deprivation, how can you help the person next to you? It will end up that you both die.

Next step… positive image exercises. First, do what a lot of women dread doing… stand naked in front of a full length mirror. Look at yourself. See your body as it is. Find everything beautiful about it. If you have a low self image, it will take some time, but find something. The first thing I started with was my eyes. I thought my eyes were pretty. So I started there and then noticed that I liked my nose, and then my hands. The more days I spent staring and looking for things, the more I liked how I looked. You need to do the same thing in your emotional and spiritual life as well. Spend time looking at yourself internally and see your positive traits.

Now, if you find negative traits… and you will… do not harp on them. Just accept that you have them and decide if they are actually negative or not. If they are negative, make a plan to change them. Let me give you a hint… wrinkles, fat deposits and moles are not negative traits; neither is getting angry when someone wrongs you (it is how you deal with that anger that is positive or negative). Another rule that I think is an absolute must is that you must find TWO positive things for every negative thing you see about yourself. For instance, if when looking over your body you see your stomach and think it is ugly, then you can look and see that your are still well proportioned to your stomach and that your stomachs skin looks smooth and silky. Or if you think that you lose your temper too quickly you can realize that at least you care enough to get angry and that you are a friendly person most of the time. To be quite honest, if you cannot find two positive things about yourself on a regular basis, then you may want to consider professional counseling because most likely you are depressed.

Practicing for a positive self image is a constant process, but you can at least notice when you become confident enough where you can start fighting for others rather than just yourself. It feels really good to help others and it further boosts your own positive self image. Loving yourself, thinking of yourself as beautiful inside and out, is important for all goddesses. There is not one goddess in all of history who said “I am so ugly, everyone hates me or I can’t find a man because I am fat”. This is not the Goddess nature and since the Goddess is in all of us, it shouldn’t be yours.

***

author bio:

Athene

Athene@cfl.rr.com

www.athenestemple.com

Athene comes from a family of Eclectics and has been practicing Paganism from a young age. Athene is an accomplished musician, swimmer, archer, artist, crafter and martial artist. She is active in teaching Pagan spirituality, magick and teaching and learning Judo and Jujitsu. She is also active in promoting equality and balance between genders and races, as well as environmentalism. Athene is well traveled and has been through much of the United States, as well as some traveling in Canada and France.

Athene has faced many challenges in her life, which fortunately she has over come. She tries to use these life experiences as examples to help others grow strong and sure of themselves. Athene’s current life goal is to help women become empowered through pagan spirituality; embracing themselves for who and what they are, overcoming social stigmas such as “thinner is more beautiful” and “women are victims”. She is willing to speak and teach at Pagan events and often will answer questions through email.

Tags: athene, goddess, image, self, warrior

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