Frau Holle/Hold/Hulde (Photo Credit: www.udagen.de) Frau Holle is a Germanic/Scandinavian Goddess, who is celebrated at the Winter Solstice. The wonderful Maria Gimbutas believes that Frau Holle pre-dates most of the Scandinavian pantheocon. It is said that Holle lives in a cave nestled in the mountains or at the bottom of a deep well. She is Maiden. She is Mother. She is Crone. As an Earth Goddess, she represents fertility and growth, as well as being the feminine spirit of the woods and plants. Her special plants are in the evergreen family, such as mistletoe and holly. Her tree is the Elder, which is called “the medicine of the common people”,…

The 6th Chakra As I mentioned in the previous columns, when doing any chakra work, it is imperative to keep yourself grounded. While you can use any grounding exercise that you prefer, I have always used this one in my chakra classes: **Stand up, grip toes to the ground, long deep breathing, visualize your roots going deep into Mother Earth, keeping you grounded and centered. Inhale and bring the earth energy up to the base of your spine; exhale and let the energy return to the Earth. With each inhale, receive healing energy from the Earth; with each exhale, release all negativity. This will not hurt Mother Earth, as long…

The 5th Chakra As I mentioned in the previous columns, when doing any chakra work, it is imperative to keep yourself grounded. While you can use any grounding exercise that you prefer, I have always used this one in my chakra classes: **Stand up, grip toes to the ground, long deep breathing, visualize your roots going deep into Mother Earth, keeping you grounded and centered. Inhale and bring the earth energy up to the base of your spine; exhale and let the energy return to the Earth. With each inhale, receive healing energy from the Earth; with each exhale, release all negativity. This will not hurt Mother Earth, as long…

Summoning the Fates By Z Budapest I have just finished “Summoning The Fates, A Generational Woman’s Guide to Destiny and Sacred Transformation” by the wonderful Z Budapest***** If you have ever asked “why me?” or “why do bad things happen?”, then this is the book for you. This book was a joy to read.  I felt as if I were sitting at the feet of one of my teachers, listening to her stories, learning from her wisdom.    Almost immediately,  her love for her mother leaps off the beginning pages, which was so touching.   We are most  familiar with the Greek Fates of Clotho (the Spinner) who spins our life…

Goddesses of Giving Thanks and the Harvest Festivals of thanks and the harvest have been, and are, celebrated the world over, and have been for hundreds of years. The harvest has always been associated with the Goddess of Earth and Fertility. She is and always will be the Source of all Creation. Chicomecoatl The Aztec Goddess of Maize (corn), she is dressed in flowers, carrying ripened ears of corn and a shield in the form of the sun. She is sometimes shown with a corncob engraved with the words, “forgiving strength”. She is the Goddess representing the mother aspect of the corn, while Xilonen is the Goddess representing the maiden…

Hecate/Hekate Hecate IS the magickal power of the Word. She was worshipped in Ancient Egypt, the Black Sea, Africa, Greece. She is said to be the mother of the Heka, the Egyptian word for magic, and for those who perform magic. Heka was also the name for an ancient Egyptian god of magic and healing. She is known by many names: Queen of the Night Queen of Death Goddess of Witches Goddess of Witchcraft Mistress of the Night Dark Goddess The Crone of the Triple Moon Goddess Guardian of the Crossroads She is all of this and more. She is the keeper of ancient knowledge. She is the sacred cauldron…

The 4th Chakra As I mentioned in the previous columns, when doing any chakra work, it is imperative to keep yourself grounded. While you can use any grounding exercise that you prefer, I have always used this one in my chakra classes: **Stand up, grip toes to the ground, long deep breathing, visualize your roots going deep into Mother Earth, keeping you grounded and centered. Inhale and bring the earth energy up to the base of your spine; exhale and let the energy return to the Earth. With each inhale, receive healing energy from the Earth; with each exhale, release all negativity. This will not hurt Mother Earth, as long…

FOR HER DIAMOND BIRTHDAY, Z BUDAPEST IS A REAL JEWEL!! INTERVIEW WITH Z BUDAPEST – APRIL 23, 2015 Recently, I had the privilege and honor to interview Z Budapest. For me, like so many of us, Z Budapest was my first introduction to a women-based spirituality that so filled a need, a hunger for a deity that belonged to me, to us , after lifetimes of being told we were worthless in the patriarchal religions of our birth. For those of us who were/are also feminists, Dianic Witchcraft brought our spirituality and our feminism together in a way that had been lacking. To most of us, the fight for women’s…

Tara Tara is the Great Goddess in Celtic lore, where her name is the root of *Tor*, a hillock of earth with a spiritual connection to other planes. The name “Tara” is also connected to “Terra”, our Mother Earth. However, the origins of the Tara most known today are in Hinduism, where she was seen as a manifestation of both Kali and Parvati. Her name means *star* and she was thought to have been a Boddhisattava, and a Goddess of Mystery and Mysticism. Tara was adopted into Buddhism and became one of the most popular Goddesses in their pantheon. To them, her name comes from the root “tri”, which means…

The 3rd Chakra As I mentioned previously, when doing any chakra work, it is imperative to keep yourself grounded. While you can use any grounding exercise that you prefer, I have always used this one in my chakra classes: **Stand up, grip toes to the ground, long deep breathing, visualize your roots going deep into Mother Earth, keeping you grounded and centered. Inhale and bring the earth energy up to the base of your spine; exhale and let the energy return to the Earth. With each inhale, receive healing energy from the Earth; with each exhale, release all negativity. This will not hurt Mother Earth, as long as it is…