This isn’t going to be one of my usual posts.. I ran across this picture uploaded from a friend who lives in Fairbanks Alaska. This is an image of what she was blessed to see on her trip to work this morning. She stated that she felt like she was driving straight into fire. That got me to thinking.. There’s more than just fire in this photo. All of the Elements are represented here, and it really drove home the point of how much we really take for granted. These things are all around us, at all times. Even if they seem to have taken a minor vacation, they are there. This picture is a perfect representation of that very fact.. Air as sky. Fire as sun. Water as snow. Earth as the forest around you. While it’s true that manmade things such as cars and asphalt are also present, these are all things you can see, regardless of where you live.. the city, the desert. Some people feel they aren’t as connected to the Elements or to Nature itself if they don’t live IN that particular environment, that’s just not the case. As I’ve come to learn, Magick exists everywhere, if only we take the time to look.
0 Comments
While I was initially looking forward to Earth, as we near the transition back to Air, I can honestly say I’m GLAD it’s almost over. The grass is starting to come back, things are starting to bloom, it’s getting warmer out, and really, it’s just time. Winter months being what they are.. one long arduous pain in the ass, I embrace the return of Air with open arms. (No, not a Journey reference). Speaking of Journey, I have had this song in my head all day. Now, ya’ll know I love me some Journey. But for some reason, I can’t help but feel a particular draw to this song. Especially lately. Let’s look at some of the lyrics:
“Winter is here again oh lord, Haven’t been home in a year or more” Sure, its probably more metaphorical than literal. But as we come out of Earth into Air, it HAS been a year since I’ve been “home”. Air is where I started, as a Libra it is my element, and although I have really come to love what the other elements have to offer, Air is where I thrive. There are a few elemental references throughout the song, and despite whatever true meaning the song has, it isn’t hard to find the references to the different seasons/quarters of the year. “I’m stranded in the sleet and rain, Don’t think I’m ever gonna make it home again, the mornin’ sun is risin, it’s kissin the day” Sounds very much like someone waiting in the midst of the Earth quarter, in the dark of winter, for Air and morning, to return. So this is where I am. Everything is a journey, and it really is about living each year, or even each week or day, like you’re starting over. The more you hold onto the baggage of the past, the heavier they will get until you simply can’t keep going. Just so long as you keep your eyes in front of you rather than behind, breathe a little and we’ll get through it just fine. I haven’t managed to make a few of the changes in my life that I wanted to make, but overall I can’t complain, and I’m looking forward to what my 3rd year on this path will bring. Stay tuned! This should be an interesting year! **Edit: I just realized NONE of us posted during February. I hereby deem February did not exist. Thank you, that is all. XD
Today kicks off the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls right in line with the new moon. Being that I was born in the Year of the Dragon (1976), and my youngest son Dale was born in 2000, also a Dragon year, I felt it only fitting that something should be mentioned about it here. I’ve always been drawn to Chinese astrology, and I’ve never really been sure as to why.
The Dragon is a common symbol of leadership, bearer of good fortune; His motto is “I Reign”. I admittedly don’t know as much as I would like, and after the last hour of looking further into it, in hopes of coming up with a reasonably relevant post about it, I’ve come to the determination that it is considerably more complex a system than just saying “I was born in the year of the ___(fill in whatever chinese zodiac animal fits)___ and I’m awesome!” Because its not just about that. There are a multitude of elemental aspects in play when you begin looking at it. 1976 was a Fire year, this year is Water. What that means in its shortest terms is, we’re probably not going to mesh well, 2012 and I. Birth charts and such play in as well. The hour, minute, and location are a factor. While I was born in a Fire year, my ruling element is Metal. According to one source, Water protects Metal, unless the Fire is very strong. As I said, VERY complex system. So.. that being said, I’ve decided that, while I’m looking further into what all of it entails, I’m going to just be happy that the Dragon has returned, and this is MY year, and it’s going to be a great one! As I come across more information, I’ll throw it on here. Here you will find an explanation of Chinese New Year traditions and festivals: http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/NewYear.htm http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/ChineseNewYear/ChineseNewYear.htm
We’ve touched on this topic before, but I don’t think we have ever gone really in depth on it. Cootie shared this article last night via facebook, and I felt compelled to expand a little more than just what I’d commented on her post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arjuna-ardagh/goddess-worship_b_660896.html Now, you might be wondering what my motivation is. When I started out, Cootie sent me a pdf file that went over the elemental correspondences. In it, it states different things that relate to each quarter by its elemental association. Earth, in many different mythologies, is considered feminine, whether as Gaea/Gaia, Mother Earth, and so on. In another post, I made reference to this same fact. I recall a conversation Cootie and I had at one point, where I expressed that when I’d had my last child and had my tubes tied, I felt a tremendous loss, because the one thing I could contribute to this world was gone. She disagreed, I will never forget the visible bristling at my words, but I didn’t exactly choose my words the way I should have. A woman is not merely a walking womb, her soul purpose is not to pop out babies like a soda machine. Her purpose is to love, nurture, and tend to her “garden”, metaphorically speaking. How many of us, regardless of our pasts with our mothers, look to our mother when we have a problem and need advice? Consoling? That gentle pat on the back that says “You might be an epic fuck-up, but you’ll get through it”? And it doesn’t even need to be specifically your biological mother. Many of us have people in our lives that we look to for that exact same strength, and they don’t even need to be female. Men can just as easily fulfill this role, this need, in our lives, without being “whipped”, or whatever quasi-sissy phrase they’re using now. Its not un-manly to care about another person. I was once asked, “What is the Divine?” And to be perfectly honest, I rather stumbled through my response. Since that time, my opinion has gone through a few changes, minor, but changes nonetheless. I recall saying that I did not want to give It a name, as doing so would seem disrespectful. In the time since, I have Circled, I have witnessed aspecting, and in truth, seeing it and being a part of it is what changed it for me. Gone was the feeling of “hokiness” that I felt having called aspects of Gods and Goddesses on my own in private, and in its place was something true, something real, something almost beyond explanation. The conclusion, thus far, that I have reached is the Divine is what you make of it. It is what It needs to be at any given moment, forming and shaping itself in its eternal malleability until it fits the situation asked of It. The Divine itself is not male or female, but male and female are aspects OF the Divine. We embrace either, or both, at will, even in the smallest things we do. Whether you’re a man or a woman, think about this the next time you hug your child, the next time you water a plant. Doing things of that nature are not just empty actions, they are a visible representation of honoring the feminine within your world, and in so doing, embracing the Earth element in it. 2 Responses to “Earth and the Divine Feminine”
While a little belated, its not exactly the full moon, its always better late than never. Given the general atmosphere this month has brought with it, I feel it is actually more appropriate to welcome in the transition from Water to Earth with the New Moon. Its correlation to new beginnings, and a transition from the dark back to the light of the full moon “works”. I did no ritual, no private circle of my own for this transition, at least not yet, and I’m honestly not sure one is really necessary.
Water is suppose to be a time to nourish, a way to replenish and recover from the heat accompanying Fire. For me, I think that the floating candles we used at our last Circle was indicative of how that particular time would go for me. Simply floating along awaiting Earth to come back around. Relaxation in preparation for the stress, aggravation, frustration and general malaise that comes along with this time of year. |
MorganaI could start this out similar to an AA meeting “Hi I’m Laury/Morgana, and I am a geek”. But geek does not even begin to cover it. I’ve been forced over the past months to accept that I am, in fact, a nerd. And I’m ok with it, I’m embracing it. Its just one of the things that makes me “me”. I’ve traveled a long path to find where I belong in this world, “the meaning of it all”. Whether I’ll ever reach that point is a mystery. In the meantime, I play the following roles: mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, geek, nerd, gamer girl, over-thinker. There are reasons I am referred to as So-Crates and Padawan. While there are things I am knowledgeable about, there are things that I have yet to learn. In the end, that’s all life is about.. Archives
June 2014
Categories
All
|