December 2006

Mighty, majestic, and radiant,You shine brilliantly in the evening,You brighten the day at dawn,You stand in the heavens like the sun and the moon,Your wonders are known both above and below,To the greatness of the Holy Priestess of Heaven,To you, Inanna, I sing!– Sumerian hymn from “Inanna Queen of Heaven” translated by Wolkstein and Kramer. [...]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

My Mother is black, loveliest of all;Yes, she is as pure as the new made morn;Her song of glee is a clear rhythmic callTo these arms of love to which I was born. – Marcus Garvey In the world’s Creation tales, from science stories to the most ancient oral traditions, the darkness always comes before [...]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Darkness precedes light and she is mother.– inscription on the altar of the cathedral of Salerno, Italy Black Madonnas are found all over Europe, with the majority found in France, the most famous being at Chartres. She is the Queen of Heaven at some of the most holy shrines in Europe, including the famed Black [...]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Why should a Madonna be white not black;why framed in a cage of beliefs that are set – solid as stone?No. There is nothing but the celebration of her darknessand the gentle hardness of that face, even I can touch.– Jenny Hamlett The most sacred icons of the Catholic Church are the Black Madonna and [...]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

We welcome Winter, season of the Guardian of the North. Now we honor the Element of Earth, the physical world, our bodies, our homes. It is the realm of practical matters, work, and abundance. This is the energy of the dark, fertile womb of the Mother, the realm of plants, animals and the Wild. It [...]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Joy to the worldThe Light is bornPeace on Earth, Good will to all May our hearts be merry and brightBlessings of the Season,Love all ways,– Beth

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

The holly and the ivyNow both are full well grown,Of all the trees that are in the wood,The holly bears the crown.O the rising of the sunAnd the running of the deerThe shining of the winter starsAs the longer days draw near. – Hilda Marshall’s Pagan adaptation of the traditional carol. One of the ancient [...]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Join together beneath the mistletoe.By the holy oak whereon it grows.Seven Druids dance in seven time.Sing the song the bells call, loudly chiming.Ring out these bells.Ring out, ring Solstice bells.Ring Solstice bells. – Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull ©1977 Mistletoe is probably the most magical of the plants associated with Yuletide and has, from very ancient [...]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Welcome Winter! Halcyon days, now wars are ending.You shall find where-e’er you sailTritons all the while attendingWith a kind and gentle gale. – Halcyon Days by Thomas Shadwell (1642 – 1692) Once upon a time, Alcyone (also called Halcyon) was the daughter of Aeolus, King of the Winds, and the wife of Ceyx, King of [...]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }