The Rowdy Goddess

An Ecstatic Vision of the Goddess, dancing in harmony with the Universe.

Archive for the month “February, 2013”

26 Feb 2013
2 Comments

I Guess We Don’t Have To Do That Again

Einstein-on-insanityI’ve been talking to several people in different parts of my life about this statement:  “I guess we won’t have to do that again.”  It’s from my mother and it is considered another “Gailism.”  It is one of my mother’s classic phrases.   I first remember her using it when we went to this sub shop that we had heard about for years.  The food was supposed to be fabulous and wonderful.  It was some distance from our house and when we finally got to go there to eat, it was clear they were getting ready to close permanently.

It was a weird atmosphere and the food was lackluster and tasteless.  At the end of our meal, my mother said deadpan:  I guess we don’t have to do that again.”  Such dry humor, layered irony, and ruefulness.  We didn’t get to eat out much so a special treat really fell flat.  In so many ways.

And, of course, there is great wisdom in that statement.  We do not have to repeat bad experiences, we can move on, and we can live through disappointment.  And in my family, we move through disappointment into laughter as quickly as possible.  The statement is reminiscent of the definition of insanity attributed to Albert Einstein:  Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  As human beings, we do that so often.  We choose the same path, the same type of significant other, the same diet and so forth.  Then we wonder why there’s not better or different results.

In our wisdom, we do learn from our errors, our wrong choices, or even choices that were right at the time but wrong now.  Hooray for us!  We can move on to make new mistakes and new choices and to expereience more neSix of Wandsw [insert rude adjective] growth opportunities.  It’s our ability to learn from the past and embrace new choices that make us stronger and wiser.

Sometimes those old issues and errors fool us.  As one friend puts it, the mistakes get dressed up in new party clothes and seduce us again.  If we are smart and if we are lucky, we recognize the old thing in the new duds and catch ourselves before we fall.  Sometimes we learn that there are issues that repeat for us and we need to go deeper to learn the meaning of that for us.  The human experience is rich in texture and scars.

When we triumph over our old errors, the phrase “I guess I don’t have to do that again,” becomes an anthem of victory and accomplishment.  We can move from the irony of that statement into a celebration of the richness of our own experiential lives.

The Six of Wands in the Tarot is a victory card.  It depicts the celebration and triumph of a fight well fought and fairly won.  The funny thing is, the figure in the card is looking to the future and for more things to overcome.  But in this moment, he is taking the time to dress up and celebrate his scars and his resilience.

Posted in quotations, Tarot and tagged , , , ,
25 Feb 2013
1 Comment

February is Full Snow Moon: A Meditation and Tarot Spread

The heaviest times for snow are during February.  Sometimes the harsh weather conditions led native peoples to call this the Full Hunger Moon since hunting was very difficult.  Our hearts and souls often hunger for warmth and comfort during this time.               

Snow is water made solid.  We work with water when we do soul work and emotional healing.  Water washes over us and cleanses us and sometimes we drown in the profundity of it all.  In its solid form we can feel remote and cut off from our emotional and soul selves and at the same time its solid form is a reminder that our emotions and souls can be manifested in the material world.  The beauty and uniqueness of a snowflake reminds us of our matchless selves, unique in our joy and our suffering.

Take three long cleansing breaths. Close your eyes and breathe again, letting go of any anxieties or concerns.  Continue to breathe deeply and connect with Mother Earth, slumbering soundly beneath the surface.  Your breathing matches hers as you breathe in peace and quiet.  You find yourself outdoors at night.  The sky is full of stars and the full moon glows brightly, illuminating the snow covered ground around you.  As you stand there in the quiet, deep in snow, flakes gently begin to fall.  You are not afraid, cold, or concerned but filled with the wonder and beauty of this snowfall.  The flakes remind you of the many blessings in your life as you watch the beauty fall from the night sky.  The illuminating rays of the moon cause some snowflakes to stand out and capture attention.  As you focus on individual snowflakes, what do they remind you of?  What is in your life that is evoked by the beautiful snowflake?  Is it a reminder of love, or grief?  Is it a memory or habit you can’t seem to shake?  Keep watching the snowflakes until you feel that you have learned enough.  Thank them for their wisdom.  With a long deep breath, you are back in the here and now.  With a second deep breath, you open your eyes. With a third deep breath, you reconnect with your centeredness and reconnect with Mother Earth.  As you return to your everyday place and time, record your journey in your journal and draw the snowflakes that you saw and what the snowflake evoked in you.   

Each One Unique Spread

Use this spread to ask a question about your situation when you are confused or certain things are not as they appear.  It’s a good way to help you keep on the path to reach your goal(s).

 

February Tarot Spread (Full Moon)   

Card One:       What is nearest and dearest to your heart in this matter?

Card Two:      What does your intuition tell you about the situation?

Card Three:    What does your imagination tell you about the situation?

Card Four:     What is hidden beneath the surface?

Card Five:      What is out of reach at this time?

Card Six:        What does logic say about this situation?

Card Seven:    What is the possible outcome?

 

Posted in Guided Meditation, Tarot, Tarot spreads and tagged , , , ,
22 Feb 2013
1 Comment

Finding Warmth in the Cold Times

Tiptoe through the snowflakes

We are closing in on the end of February, and we can look forward to the month that “comes in like a lion.”  It’s still cold in Central New York and there’s snow on the ground.  The forecast predicts unpleasant weather for the weekend.  That is unless you are a snow bunny, snow sports person or some similar aficionado.  Last night, a whole bunch of snowmobilers came through our area around midnight disturbing my cold-driven sleep.  It was cranky-making after a day of sneezing and muzzy headedness.

For some of us, winter makes us cranky, depressed, and out of sorts.  Normally, I ‘make do’ and find things to do–quilting with bright colors, reading lighthearted books, and watching British murder mysteries on DVD or television.  Because I’ve had the first cold in years, I’m a little more cantankerous.

I do believe there is a release in giving voice to your cranky side.  Just as I believe that in difficult times, it is important to give voice and respect your anger, grief, sorrow, and despair.  It’s also important not to dwell there.  Living in a pool of rage is exhausting and more than a little icky.  The ick clings to you and repels others who might comfort you; and will also make you dismiss the kindness of friends and strangers.  It’s difficult find gratitude in these times.  I advocate giving yourself enough mileage so you can have some hindsight.  In hindsight, you may be grateful for the losses, the setbacks, and the tribulations because it has made you stronger and better.  In the middle of it, you just need to muddle through, work it out, and find new purchase as you climb this new cliff.

It’s a balancing act between honesty and healing, I believe.  You can’t heal dishonestly.  It just doesn’t work.  Mostly dishonest healing is about stuffing the emotions down without working through them.  That stuffing compacts upon itself and somehow continues to expand and intrude in your life.  It will come out in weird ways and eventually, you will need to clean up the mess.

There’s a health issue in my family now.  I am not grateful for this situation.  I am grateful for the past, the strength, the joy and the beauty.  I am working through sorrow, regret, guilt, anxiety, and depression.  I must live through this situation and already I can see many points of beauty and gratitude.  It’s just not the time to feel it.  There’s joy and delight in other situations and that’s my comfort and I’m very grateful for that.

I didn’t intend to talk about this even if it is somewhat vague so the picture doesn’t quite fit.  Except that I think it’s funny and delightful.  What happy women, dancing and playing in the snow.

Posted in Family and tagged , , , ,
14 Feb 2013
4 Comments

Getting to Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is the pinnacle venue for a performing artists:  to play at Carnegie Hall is to know that you have “arrived.”   The first time I heard that joke was probably from my father who said it in Brooklyn accents, a man asks a taxi driver how to get to carnegie hallCarnegie Hall?  And the taxi driver said, “Practice, practice, practice.”  My father liked to exaggerate when he told a joke, he was a good storyteller and joker.

How many of us took an instrument or learned a skill and found out that to get really good at it, you had to do it over and over again.  Practice.  It could be piano, drawing, violin, or even mowing the lawn.  To get it right and to get so whatever it is expresses what you want, you have to practice the basics again and again.  To reach the pinnacle of achievement (to arrive, so to speak), you have many hours, months, and years of practice and learning.

A few years ago at work, a group of us met with some architects to discuss building design.  Each group of architects talked about their practice of architecture and what it meant for their business and their creativity.  And that is the other part of practice, it’s the underpinning of your creative expression; this expression of who you are.  I can talk to you about the practice of my profession, librarianship, in lofty terms, and how it fulfills the ideals of a democratic society and how it is about getting to the heart of a question.  It is a practice.

That practice is a myriad of skills, basic and advanced, along with knowledge that spans both breadth and depth.  How I got here was to practice those skills and apply that knowledge every minute of each day I was working.  And a lot of time outside of my job too.  I am a librarian in my heart as well as something I do to earn my paycheck.

It is also true of spiritual practices, the real point of this post.  The only difference is, I think that the pinnacle (“to arrive) is not the point.  It’s all about the practice.  It is in the practice that we find our inner wisdom and our gnosis, our knowing.   At a recent work retreat, we had a philosophy professor come and talk to us about stress and stress reduction.  He explained to us that philosophy asks the questions:  How shall we live?  Why is there something and not nothing?  Why is there beauty?  And philosophy asks ethical questions as well:  How shall we live?  How do we make meaning?  what is a good life?

He spoke of well-being not in terms of health but in the tersm so fthe Greek idea of a balanced life.  To be well in our Be-ing.  To seek the middle way.  It sounds a lot like a Pagan spirituality, doesn’t it.  I suspect that underneath the layers of misunderstanding, most religions seek that kind of balance as well.

He went on to speak of practice; that by following a daily practice every day you find that well being.  He defined the daily practice as a set of mundane habits that you follow every day.  He spoke of conscious belly breathing and Qi Gong as the way to follow a practice.  I would add mindfulness to the daily habits.  For instance, each morning as I go about my morning wake up and shower, I stand before my altar located outside the bathroom and say a short devotion.  And then I take my vitamins.  The vitamins are part of the devotion and are in a basket on my altar which is devoted to self-care and well Be-ing.  Short, simple, and incorporated, mindfully, into my routine habits.

On my needlework blog I talked today about Tom Cowan’s statement in his book, Shamanism as a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life, that a daily spiritual practice of shamanism gives rise to an art practice.  I think mindful practice births other practices, allowing us to expresss ourselves and our wisdom in myriad ways.  I have a professional practice, a spiritual practice, and a creative one (or two, or more).  What is creative to me might be drudgery to you, and the reverse will be true as well.  So together, our practices create diversity and shows us the infinite ways the Universe expresses life, beauty, and wisdom.

May you find the heart of your daily practice and the well BE-ing of your soul.

Posted in shamanism, spiritual practice, Wicca and tagged , , ,
13 Feb 2013
4 Comments

Using My Powers For Good….and not for Evil!

As I’ve mentioned before, I have some expressions that my Source of image: http://annetaintor.com/ friends have dubbed Gailisms.  For the most part, most of these expressions have a story behind it or it is really an expression used by my family.  I love stories.  I love to tell them and I love to hear them.  A good portion of my family are storyteller — telling stories about each other and on each other.  To me, geneology is boring a sort of family organizational chart.  What I love are the pictures and stories.  In my family, when we show each other a photo or a drawing made by one of us, we know a story is going to be told.  This habit and method of communication extends to my family of choice as well.  In this way, we create community or tribe.

Many years ago, my youngest brother was telling me about three incidents that involved his thinking bad thoughts and having them come true.  I don’t remember the incidents exactly anymore but it involved things like, “you’re going to get hurt doing that,” and then the other person gets hurt.  He was talking to me on the phone about these situations and I quipped, “You should use your powers for good and not for evil.”  From that point on, if he was nervous about something, he’d email me or say, “Use your powers,” or “I’m using my powers.”  Then my sister picked it up and it became a family expression.

The use of this expression has extended to my work.  We are holding a raffle fundraiser for our social committee in celebration of Valentine’s day.  The prize is a basket of wine and chocoloate.  When a young coworker came in to buy his tickets, he said he’d better win.

I said, “Too late, I’m using my powers.”

And he said, “Are you using your powers against me?”

“No I’m using my powers for MY good.”

Obviously the application of this statement has infinite variety and opportunity for cleverness (at least in my mind).

This was around the time I went from a solitary to a Pagan active in a community and this quip took on new power.  As Wiccans and Pagans, we believe we do have the ability to create change by bending our thoughts and will to the change we want or need.  We also try to use our abilities (powers) in harmony with the Universe.  When our actions follow the trail of our mind and the Universe, we create magical change.  Then, for me, the quip, “using my powers for good and not for evil,” took on a more textured meaning.  It acknowledges that we, as humans, do have the power to effect our lives and the world around us, and that we need to act responsibly and  with gratitude and compassion.

I’ve also quipped that you can tell when it’s going to be a bad movie if the characters over-pronounce certain words:  Goddess becomes gawDESS and evil becomes eeeeeeevvvvvvilllllllllle (long, very long e).

So when using your powers, know that it is prounounced EEEEEEVILLLLLLLLE.

Posted in Family, Magic, Wicca and tagged , , , ,
10 Feb 2013
3 Comments

Pagan Fundamentalism

Pagan Fundamentalism

I have a cold and my brain functions not.  Luckily for all of us, there are wise and wonderful people out there posting thoughtful essays on the Pagan world.  This dovetails with what I talk about in light of the Pagan community’s sometimes fundamentalist view of sacred feminism:  maiden, mother, crone.  Only she says is way smarter.

 

From the Wild Hunt:  Pagan Fundamentalism by Sabina Magliocco.

 

Posted in Goddess and tagged ,
05 Feb 2013

The Wheel Turns and We Begin to Awaken

The Wheel turned to Imbolc this first week in February.  It is frigid, snowy, and still where I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York.  As I’ve been leaving for work, it is dark and still, so much so that even the outside lights don’t light up my path.  Yesterday, both Mouse and I noticed that in the east we could see the pinks and lavender of the dawn.  It was very heartening.  It is one thing to know, because the weatherman tells us, that we are gaining more light each day, it is another things to witness and experience it.

At Imbolc, Mother Earth begins to stir and awaken.  Still snuggled warm in her earthy bed, her dreams turn to spring and growth rather than the deep sleep of wisdom and meditation.  There is a deep quickening beneath the soil.  Seeds and bulbs feel the change and begin to stir inside their skins and shells.  The Earth hasn’t yawned and stretched and gotten fully awake, but we know it’s soon.

As humans, we begin to stir and awaken, moving from our hibernating state to awakening.  We feel our creativity comes back and ideas, fresh and new, begin to excite us.  We start by preparing ourselves and our spaces.  One of the customs for this time of year, in honor of Brigid, is to clean our hearth.  We can look at our hearth as our home, our workspace, our hearts, our souls or whatever is full of cobwebs and dust.  Go widdershins around your  spaces and sweep out the stale and outdated so you can welcome in the fresh new life.

Over the years, our circle has done different rituals to celebrate Imbolc.  One of my favorite is to light different colored candles for our wishes and then raise energy for the success of the wishes.  The glow of the candles remind us of the sunlight’s return and the warmth of the fire melts the cold surrounding our hearts.  Another favorite ritual is to tie different colored ribbons to a tree branch, raising energy for their success.  I keep the branch indoors in a sunlit window until Ostara when Mouse and I plant it outside in our garden.  There the weather and the birds take the ribbons as gifts.  At Lammas, the Sabbat opposite Imbolc, we burn the branch and the ribbons, raising energy in thanksgiving for the harvest of our souls.

And on a light-hearted aside, I’m kind of a musical comedy Witch so the holidays often bring to mind a song from a musical.  My favorite for Imbolc is “Hurry, It’s Lovely Up Here,” from On a Clear Day.  Since everything is on the internet, you can find a video from the movie sung by Barbra Streisand ; and the lyrics are below because you can’t help but sing along.

May your awakening be exuberant, rowdy, happy, and creative.

 Hurry, It’s Lovely Up Here :

Hey buds below … up is where to grow
Up with which below can’t compare with.
Hurry – it’s lovely up here …
Life down a hole takes an awful toll,
What with not a soul there to share with
Hurry – it’s lovely up here!
Wake up, bestir yourself,
it’s time that you disinter yourself
You’ve got a spot to fill – a pot to fill
And what a gift package of showers, sun and love
You’ll be met above everywhere with,
Fondled and sniffed by millions who drift by,
Life here is rosy – if you’re a posy
Hurry it’s lovely here!
Climb up geranium, it can’t be fun subterran-ium
On the exterior, it’s cheerier
RSVP peonies, pollinate the breeze,
Make the queen of bees hot as brandy
Come give at least a preview of Easter
Come up and see the good we’re giving
Come up and see the grounds for living
Come poke your head out,
Open up and spread out,
Hurry it’s lovely here!
Posted in Wheel of the Year and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
04 Feb 2013

Fire of the Hearth, Fire of the Forge, Fire in the Head

This is the time of Brigid, the Celtic Goddess of many aspects.  She is the guardian of the hearth, smiths, warriors, and poets.  Brigit was born at sunrise, just before dawn, and a tower of fire burst from her crown and leapt to the heavens, making the house look like it was on fire.   She is the daughter of the Dagda and one of the Tuatha De’ Danaan.  Variations of her worship was found throughout the ancient Celtic lands and she had many names.  She was deeply revered.  When the Romans invaded the Celtic world, they called her Minerva and when Catholicism spread, they made her into St. Brigit.  Thus is the extent of her power and influence.

Her name has many meanings including “power,” “fiery arrow” and “she who exalts herself.”  She has responsibility and power over much of life.  She is the patroness of poetry and inspiration, patroness of hearth and home, patroness of the forge.  Through that triple responsibility, she rules  fertility, healing, creativity, the crafts, spinning and weaving, goldsmith and smithcraft, poetry, and bardic lore.  Her power was imbued in the countryside, so that the highlands,  hills, wells, streams and rivers were her body.  Her symbols speak of her power:  fire, wells, cauldrons, the forge. mistletoe, and the Rowan tree.  She is associated with animals emblematic of the bounty of the world, the ewe, boar, and cow.  Snakes are also sacred to her as a symbol of transformation and change.  She invented whistling so she could bring friends to her side in time of need; and she invented keening to express sorrow too great to be held inside.

Her magic is born of mystery.  She is a triple goddess, but not in the Maiden-Mother-Crone aspect revered by modern pagans.  Her triplicity is expressed in her most potent symbol, fire.  She is the Muse, the Fire of Inspiration, of poetry and lore.  She is the Fire of the Hearth, the patroness of childbirth, fertility, home-crafts, and of healing.  She is the Fire of the Forge, patroness of smithcraft and the art of war.  She is protection, creativity, procreation of all sorts, healing, transformation and renewal.  Her triplicity has been expressed as “Fire of the Hearth, Fire of the Forge, Fire in the Head,” with the fire in the head denoting the fiery power of poetry and eloquence.  And so we get fired up by her and her inspiration.

 The Charge of the Goddess Brigit

I call to you my children, my sisters and brothers to hear my charge

I, who am Brigit, Brid, Brigantia, Braga, Branganca, Fraid and many other names,

Do charge you to find the fires of life within your soul

And forge yourself to be strong, sharp and powerful.

Pull the elements of the earth into your being;

Breathe the inspiration of poetry, song, and art into your soul;

Be heated by the flames of the fire and ember;

Be tempered and soothed by the cool waters from my sacred well;

And be shaped and fused into magic at my hearth

 

Come to my wells for healing and wishes

Be nourished and soothed by the waters

Tie your wishes to the branches of my trees

And know that wishes spoken

Become the magic of the world

Become your wishes, the magic at my well.

Sing the inspiration of the mystery with your voice

Inspire yourself with joy and love

Delight in the blessings of creation

Become the Art you were meant to be.

 

Posted in Goddess, Rowdy Goddess, Wheel of the Year and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
01 Feb 2013
5 Comments

Not for Sissies

Growing old I love this picture.  It’s from a photography book published in the eighties or people of the older generation.  I have this as a poster in my downstairs bathroom and the caption reads, Growing Old is Not for Sissies.”  It’s in the bathroom because the room is decorated with all kinds of mermaids.  She is one.  Old, fit, pensive, and dripping wet.  I love to swim.  She is a mermaid in all her aged mystery, energy, and power.

“Growing old is not for sissies is a quote from the inimitable actress Bette Davis.  If you are not familiar with her work, she played strong women with great flair.  I’ve learned as I grow older, that I have to explain my allusions and references.  When I was younger, I could assume that almost anyone would know who Bette Davis was.  Now, I’m not so sure.  It was a weird and lonely realization that I am talking to generations who do not share my past, my cultural references, or what I used to think was common knowledge.  No matter, I’m not afraid to explain.  One of the other realizations I’ve had is that I’ve become like those oldsters when I was a kid,  telling long, boring stories with no particular point.  I’m not afraid to bore you with them because I’m enjoying my own stories.  Apparently talking to me and being my friend or acquaintance is not for sissies, either.

There are a lot of things in life not for sissies.  We need courage to be our authentic selves and to engage in life.  Wicca is not for sissies.  You probably judge me as wrong because Wicca has an underserved reputation as all love and light, being dubbed “fluffy-bunny.”  To be sure, there are people determined, in the name of Wicca, to turn a blind eye to the dark and negative, people who are afraid to confront their own stuff.  However, there are many more who are bravely engaged in the magic of change.

Many people believe Wicca is unrealistic and fluffy because of the ethical statement, As it harm none, do what you will.  On the surface it may seem to be an unrealistic “law.”  It’s not possible to harm none.  I think of the Rede as a guideline or a standard, but more than that, it is a call to be responsible for our actions, decisions, and indecision.  The gods that call us to their service demand much of us.  We must be courageous to walk this path of “making your own religion” because we have no set of commandments to tell us what to do.  We endure the consequences of our bad decisions and reap the bounty of our good ones.  It’s all part of the flow of universal life energy.

Think about all the things you pursue that you don’t want to or you think it’s too hard.  Either you have to or you want to with a passion, so you put on your big girl/boy clothes and get on with it.  You have moved out of your comfort zone and into the realm of accomplishment, bravery, and wisdom.  You are in a sissie-free zone.

My favorite Bette Davis movie is All About Eve where she says, “Fasten your Seatbelt, it’s going to be a bumpy night!”  She’s a Rowdy Goddess for sure.

 

Posted in Rowdy Goddess, Uncategorized, Wicca and tagged , , , , , , ,

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