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Are you cyclically confused? In a ceremonial quandary? Completely clueless? Wonder no more. Ask Your Mama™ The What, When, Where, Why, How, and Who of Ceremony & Spirituality by ©Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman A Question of Explaining Death to a Child Dear Mama Donna, My daughter Sherry, who is nine, has just broken down four years after her aunt’s death, who was only 40 when she died without any warning. My daughter wants to know why God is so mean to take her aunt away and leave her two daughters struggling. Sherry is full of sadness because of her loss and she blames God. A part of me thanked…

POT GARDENS I spent the weekend replanting seventeen pots on my patio. It was time. My glorious crop of spring crocuses, grape hyacinth, daffodils and tulips had finished. Only the memory of their pastel beauty and a tangle of withered blossoms and dead, brown leaves remained. But before you plant new flowers in a pot, you must first clear out the old. Unless you do this, there will be no room for new growth. Every gardener knows that! Clearing is hard work. My bulbs were firmly entrenched. Their roots went deep. Worse, they were tangled with the roots of the palm I plant at the center of every pot. This…

Hera Temperatures rise & the days lengthen. June brings with it the scent of jasmine on a warm breeze. The month bears the name of the Roman goddess Juno. I, like the Greeks of old, know her by another name. Hera is the child of titans Cronus & Rhea.  From early on their relationship didn’t run smoothly.  Initially she refused his attempts until wily Zeus thought to transform himself into a cuckoo. When she held the shivering, miserable-looking bird to her breast he took his true form & ravished her. In her shame she had no choice but to marry him. Hera was venerated as a mighty goddess by her…

The Lovers (6) “This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is sort of a Divine accident.” ~ Horace Walpole Image Description: The Rider-Waite deck portrays a man and woman standing nude beneath a great winged figure hovering above them. Behind the man is the Tree of Life bearing twelve leaves. Behind the woman is the Tree of Knowledge, which enables one to distinguish between Good and Evil; the serpent is entwined around the tree’s trunk. Symbols: Man and Woman: Masculine and feminine, metaphor for opposites Nudity: Honesty, openness…

A delicate balance Hangs on a thread By the sea By the moon A strand in the web Journey after journey Fragile and small A Knot and a Shoe Through time On a little blue ball A connection We finally see Too late though it may be For a Knot and a Shoe Break the synchronicity You can blot A flower till it fades You can take An endless take Payment will be made On this little blue ball All life can’t you see? Hangs on a thread A beautiful, glistening web Of synchronicity

June 1 Festival of the Oak Nymph. This Pagan celebration honors all hamadryads (female nature spirits who are believed to inhabit oak trees). Decorate a Pagan altar with acorns and war some oak leaves in your hair. Kiss an oak tree or place a small offering of some kind before it, and the tree nymphs who dwell within it will surely bestow a blessing upon you. June 2 Shapatu of Ishtar. A Pagan festival dedicated to the goddess Ishtar is celebrated every year on this date. She is the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian deity who presides over love and fertility as well as war. The birth of the god Apollo…

Purpose Rededication to the Lord and Lady, beginning of the harvest, honoring the Sun God, honoring the pregnant Godddess Dynamics/Meaning Crowning of the Sun God, death of the Oak King, assumption of the Holly King, end the ordeal of the Green Man Tools, Symbols & Decorations The sun, oak, birch & fir branches, sun flowers, lilies, red/maize/yellow or gold flower, love amulets, seashells, summer fruits & flowers, feather/flower door wreath, sun wheel, fire, circles of stone, sun dials and swords/blades, bird feathers, Witches’ ladder. Colors Blue, green, gold, yellow and red. Customs Bonfires, processions, all night vigil, singing, feasting, celebrating with others, cutting divining rods, dowsing rods & wands, herb…

Sunflower Sunflower (Helianthus Annus) is also known as Corona Solis, Marigold of Peru and Solo Indianus.    Sunflowers are very common as happy gifts and there are in many gardens but Sunflowers have some wonderful magickal uses.  The Sunflower energy can be used by anyone who is trying to channel the energy of the Sun and to get in touch with any fire or sun deities. Sunflower was sacred to the Aztecs.  They considered it a religious herb and to honor the Sun God, they would carry and adorn themselves with sunflowers.  In Peru, the temples were decorated and honored with sunflowers. Some of the lore around sunflowers is interesting.  If…

Debunking Paranormal TV Shows Flip on your TV on any given day or time and there’s bound to be a paranormal reality show on.  They’re more common these days than the “evidence” they present.  The list of current shows include SyFy’s Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Hunters Academy, and Destination Truth; ABC Family’s Scariest Places on Earth (seriously? ABC FAMILY?  *ahem…); Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures; A&E’s Paranormal State; Discovery Channel’s Most Haunted, A Haunting, and Ghost Lab just to name a few!  So, really, how authentic are they?  TV is TV.  If it doesn’t get ratings it goes in the bin. Television has a long history of playing in…

Celebrating the Transformation of Maiden to Mother I wanted to share a celebration that I think is steeped in ancient sentiment that has been sorely missing in our culture for many years now.  It centers on Woman’s Mysteries and empowers a milestone that can sometimes be glossed over or denigrated in our busy culture today. Blessingways have caught on in North America recently as an alternative to the “traditional” baby shower.  Becoming a mother is a deeply spiritual step for a woman.  The transition from maiden to mother (when it is literal) is often made more about the baby than about the mother to be.  You open gifts for your…