MUDRAS – YOGA IN YOUR HANDS BY GERTRUD HIRSCHI Personally, I love mudras; they are such a simple way to heal, both physically and emotionally. The mudra book that I currently own is in pieces, and so this one coming to me is doubly welcome. Part I explores the “concept” of mudra, which, simply put, is yoga for your hands. Ms. Herschi introduces the mudra, its’ possible origins and how and when to practice them. This includes how the hands themselves correspond to the chakras (energy centers in the body), Ayurveda (the Indian art of healing through food, acupressure, reflexology using the hands instead of the feet and meridians (energy…

Themis Statue of Themis at Chuo University (Photo Credit: Brittanica.com) The Goddess Themis – We see her everywhere as the personification of blind justice. Her image is used in courtrooms, attorney’s offices, anywhere justice is served. As one of the Titans, She was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus, and is the representation of the natural and moral order of everything, which was extremely important to the ancient Greeks. She was the second wife of Zeus, and as the Goddess of Wisdom, sat at his right hand as one of his councilors. Her name “Themis” means “divine law”, and it was She who instructed mankind in the laws of justice…

As I was considering what to write for this column this month, I thought there was so much to choose from: the @MeToo phenomonen, more political attacks against reproductive freedom and women’s agency, attacks on LGBTQ, attacks on our Mother Earth, and so much more……you get the picture, I am sure. But then I came across this, and it said in a few words what I probably would have written in two pages. This is short, sweet and simple, and yet gets the message across. *** About the Author: Susan Morgaine is a Daughter of the Goddess, Witch, Writer, Teacher, Healer, and Yogini. She is a monthly columnist with PaganPages.org Her writings can be found in The…

Book Review – Crystals for Beginners by Karen Frazier I love books and I adore crystals. If you know someone who feels the same way, then this book would be the perfect choice for them. While Ms. Frazier states that this book is for beginners, there is plenty of information here, as well as, for the more advanced among us. The author starts with the basics – what a crystal is and what it is not, how to shop for a crystal, feeling its’ energy, how to pair one crystal with another that it will work with particularly well. Of course, it is mandatory to talk about how to clear,…

White Buffalo Woman (Photo Credit: ancient-origins.net) The legend of White Buffalo Woman is an old one and centers around the spiritual practices of many Native American tribes of North American. It centers mostly around the Lakota Nations, but She is also central to other Tribes, including the Sioux and the Oglala. It is important to know that the buffalo are sacred, representing abundance and harmony. White Buffalo Woman, also known as Ptesan-Wi is a strong, powerful woman, bringing to the North American Native Americans some of their most sacred ceremonies. The myth, as it is told, tells of two warriors sent out from a Lakota camp, looking for food. Appearing…

(Photo Credit: Pinterest) The Nereids are Sea Goddesses/Nymphs and the daughters of Nereus and Doris, who was the daughter of Oceanus. Doris’ name means “bounty of the sea”, which is perfect for the Mother of the Nereids, who represent all that is beautiful about the sea. They are 50 in number, all of whom loved to dance and sing with their melodious voices. They dressed in the finest silks and their heads were crowned with red coral. All of them were oracles and had the gift of prophesy and divination. They could prophesy shipwrecks and storms, as they rode whales and dolphins throughout the ocean. They were the protectors of…

“All of the Darkness, while we are created by Light. “Minerva’s Owls” tells the story of where we came from and how we got to where we are now; of how we came from the Goddess, the world-wide worship of the Mother and matriarchal, women-affirming societies to a war-like God and technology driven societies. It tells the story of how the balance of the world, and our own individual balance was disrupted, while the Feminine was buried within, and by the Masculine. It is why the balance is disrupted still. Using her personal experience with yoga and what it has taught her, along with individual chapters on each chakra, Ms.…

In present day, there are now many different paths to feminism and there are those who believe that certain things, such as women working in the sex trade, pornography, etc. are being empowered by such work. I would put myself out there to say that I disagree, and that I know many other women who identify as feminists who are right there with me, to say nothing of the many women who have worked as prostitutes and in pornographic movies who have gone on to write about their experiences and how it was so NOT empowering, but humiliating, demeaning and degrading to them, not only as women, but as human…

Baba Yaga (Photo Credit – journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com) In Slavic and Russian folklore, Baba Yaga is the old woman of autumn. She was a fearsome witch-like woman with iron teeth, who rowed through the air in a mortar, using a pestle as an oar. As she travels, she sweeps away all traces of herself with a broom made of silver birch. She is the epitome of the fairy-tale witch, who lives in a hut deep in the forest, this hut having the legs of a chicken and would spin around and around. Its’ windows are its’ eyes. This hut is surrounded by a fence on which skulls are placed, with eyes a-blazing.…

KWAN YIN (Lovingly dedicated to Bridget)   In the past few weeks, it has become apparent that there is a large part of this country (US) that has completely opposite feelings than the rest of the country when it comes to race, culture, gender. There is a segment of the population that is now being open with their hatred for anyone different than they and they are encouraged from the highest office. In light of this, the Goddess that I have chosen for this month is Kwan Yin, She of Mercy and Compassion, which is how we should all deal with each other, even those with whom we may disagree.…