The Rowdy Goddess

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

30 Apr 2008

Two of Swords


I’m just back from the Tarot School’s Readers’ Studio. What a fabulous wonderful time. I learned so much (more on that later) and met so many wild, funny, and fabulous people. The accomodations were great and things were just wonderful.

The Two of Swords came up a lot in my readings which surprised me a lot. I don’t get that card very often. Over the past few years as I teach Tarot more, I am stuck by the quality of stillness in the Two of Swords. The figure in the card has to stay so still to maintain that balance. And everything else around her is also so very still. It’s like the whole Universe is holding its breath as this woman maintains the balance of the two swords.
Traditional meanings include blocked feelings, closed off, being defensive, waiting for something, and keeping things at a distance. I think one of the reasons I got the card is that I’m wrestling a lot with competing priorities. Lots of good things are happening and there are lots of choices to make. One thing about myself, is that when there are lots of choices to be made, I shut down and refuse to make the choice. Then sometimes happen by default (not always a good idea) or I just go with what is flowing the strongest at the time (sometimes good, sometimes bad).
This is something I need to reflect on a little more. I came away from the Readers’ Studio inspired to go back to my writing. Where to find the time? I don’t want it to take away from the other cool things I do, either.
More to come….
May all your choices be happy ones today!!!
Posted in Tarot and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
14 Jan 2008

The Crone Zone

 

Last year at this time, I looked at the calendar and realized that Friday the 13th was smack dab on the dark moon. Lucky day, favorite moon sign. What else was I to do. I scheduled my croning for that day.

If you’ve read this blog from the beginning, you know that I have struggled a bit with the crone designation. I’ve realized, after all, that it doesn’t have to be all that’s left. The Crone offers out a richness and power that is not limited to that one single concept. It was something I wanted to explore.

The ritual was fabulous. Three priestesses, Sci, Phaezara, and Thia Moonstone embodied the Moirae. I had done a number of shamanic journeys, seeking the ancient mothers of the elements and asking their wisdom. In addition, a tarot reading at the Tarot School’s Readers’ Studio gave me a lot more insight into this crone initiation. Each portion of the ritual helped complete the journeys and give me more insight into the Crone.

And as I stepped over the threshold, I was greeted by the Crone herself who gave me a shell necklace in celebration of arriving at this strange new shore. It was a wonderful, personal ritual attended by dear friends and beloved witches. Oh yes, and we danced to “The Golden Years,” by David Bowie.

And so the journey begins. This month, I passed the thirteenth month without a period. The day fell, not surprisingly, on the Dark Moon.

And may the cycles of your life be blessed!!!

Posted in Goddess, Rowdy Goddess and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
15 Jun 2007
2 Comments

Secret (Unfeminist) Vices

pinup witchOne of my secret vices is girly pin-ups from the 1950s and 1960s. The ones that appeared in calendars and other advertising. Not the threatened and tied up women. I especially like the ones by Gil Elvgren

It makes me wonder what kind of feminist I can be? I think they are sweet, innocent, and adorable. The girls seem so unaware that their undewear is either missing or showing. It’s as if they suddenly realize,”Oh a wind came up and blew my skirt up and oh!! I’m not wearing any underwear.”
These pin-up pictures reflect a sweet sexuality based in pleasure, surprise, and discovery. I know all about the objectification of women posited to these pictures and similar materials. Yet, they don’t seem like objects…made only for the sexual pleasure of men. It seems that they are completely focused on themselves and their own pleasure. And it’s not selfish or self-centered. It’s just sort of fun. Maybe it’s best not to over-think it and just enjoy it. Kind of like the pin-up girls themselves.
Does it reveal some secret lesbian and bisexual leanings in me. I don’t know and so what if it did? These girls have a lot of fun and their clothes are great!
May all your surprises delight you!
Posted in Goddess, pin-up and tagged , ,
06 Apr 2007

Librarians, Cheerleaders, Mary Kay…Oh My!

The Association of College and Research Libraries Association conference was held in Baltimore and began on Thursday. It’s a lovely conference center. On Friday, a group of women arrived to hold their conference. They were all dressed in black skirts, black jackets, though some had red jackets, panty hose and black high heels with pointy toes. They all had black tote bags piped in pink. Yes, Mary Kay had arrived. So college librarians rubbed shoulders with perfectly coifed and made up (as in make up, not fictionized) women. Despite the stereotype, college librarians dress runs the gamut from jeans to business suits to Birkenstocks. More colorful than earlier in my career. Be sure to look at the Mary Kay link. It’s come a long way from the pink cadillac, pink suit days, though their corporate offices are pink.
Wait, it gets better!! The next day the cheerleaders arrived. Girls from aged five to fifteen or so, all dressed up in perfectly coifed hair, precisely tied ribbons. The girls were made up in heavy eyeliner, mascara and thick, glittery eyeshadow, shaded to match their cheerleading outfit. And they had a huge star stenciled next to their eye. The star was glittery and the color of their uniform. I was shocked to discover glitter abuse right before my very eyes. I was challenged to expand my limits and open my heart in compassion…..
It was surreal and fun to watch. The girls’ parents were all decked out in Cheerleader All-Stars gear; and were actively and enthusiastically speaking of their teams’ chance at winning. At one point I saw this tall parent with long, thick, wavy black hair wearing jeans and an All-Stars shirt. When the parent turned around, it was a dad with a thick moustache and coupla days worth of beard stubble lighting a cigarette. You could almost hear him rasp out, “I always wanted to cheer and now my daughter has a chance to be a winner!!” I thought it was strange that they were cheering for cheering sake, rather than for the team. It reminded me of one of those cheer movies I didn’t watch all the way through, quoting perkily, “This isn’t a democracy–it’s a cheer-ocracy.”
The hotel was overrun with very active girls and tired conference goers, sensible shoes or not. It was part circus, part Stepford and part just part of the bustle of a diverse world with all kinds of interests.
Cheers!!
Posted in Library goodness and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
06 Apr 2007
1 Comment

Journaling Our Lives and Our Souls

The last ten days of March were incredible. I made several different kind of journeys that I will talk about in many posts. First I went to Akasha Con in Poughkeepsie, NY. I roomed with my sister-friend, Phae, and went to many workshops that rocked my world.

Then I spent a few days with my family in Parsonsburg, MD on the beautiful Delmarva peninsula. And then my sister, also a librarian, and I went to Baltimore for the Association of College and Research Libraries Annual Conference. It was fun on several levels.

I was really impressed by my sister’s sustained journal activities. She carries it around with her and draws and doodles in it as part of the process. She writes in it daily and during the day. She carries a pack of colored pens to enhance her journal. Even though she’s not a particularly religious or organized religion type spiritual person, this is a practice that enhances her creativity and gives her comfort, solace, and a place for private reflection.

I’ve kept various journals over the year, but never as a practice. One of the lessons in my tradition is to keep a journal for a period of time and I did that in a similar way as described above. It was fun and very comforting on a soul level. For the past four years or so, I’ve been very “religious” in keeping a journal of my shamanic journeys, coven activities, and meditations. But not a journal of my life.

Since we were right in downtown, we walked over to Barnes and Noble in Harborplace and got a journal. The next day at the keynote, I took some notes and doodled in my journal. I pulled out a highlighter [essential purse content] and started decorating. Suddenly, my sister reached over and put out her hand. She wanted to use it too! Sisterly bonding through doodling.

I must say, my sister and I haven’t shared a room since I was in Junior High and she was in elementary school. She’s a much better room-mate nowadays.

I’ve carried this journal with me. I’ve brought out pens, colored pencils, rubber stamps and other cool things to decorate. I picked up a couple of pictures at ACRL and I cut them out and pasted them in. It’s been helpful, fun and full of joy. And some grrrrrrrs. What is up with snow in April!!!

Last summer there was a workshop at Womongathering that taught this very skill. I didn’t take it but Rauncie and some others of the Rowdy Goddesses did and showed me their results. I was impressed. It was very cool and it stuck in my mind. And then I saw someone doing it as a sustainable and do-able practice.

I have to try very hard not to judge my entries harshly. it’s a curious process to be an audience and witness to your own thoughts and life. When you put your thoughts down and then know you are the only person reading it; it’s a very curious feeling. I can’t quite describe it so I will live with it for awhile. Probably like a pool of water, when the ripples still, I will be able to see my reflections more clearly.

May the pool of your life bring reflections of beauty and joy.

Posted in writing and tagged ,
26 Feb 2007

Shedding, Shoveling, and Getting it Backwards

Questions to ask in Meditation and Shamanic Journeywork
It’s a cold Monday, with three more inches of new snow. The shovel I’m using is not a snow shovel and it’s rather short. So getting it to do something it wasn’t designed to do was part of the challenge. So, I’m breaking up the ice and shoveling the snow and I start to think about this season. We really are transitioning to spring, but we only feel it on the deepest levels. It hasn’t reached our conscious mind yet. And we long for it. We are getting ready to leave our underworld journey and move upward into the light. The way may still be blocked and we might have to shovel our way out. So what is it that we need to shovel out of the way in order to find the sunshine and light?
Then I trundle over to the car and climb inside. My coat is all bunched up and the seat protector is askew, so I bounce around and squirm until everything is workable. It is so dorky. When it gets to be this time of year, I really get annoyed at all the gloves, hats, scarves, bulky coats, layers of clothes, socks and boots that go into being warm and safe in the climate. I long to shed it all and go unfettered and free into the warmth. So what is it that I need to shed in order to move freely into our wishes for the springtime?
So then I get to work and sit down at my desk and I still feel all bunched up and uncomfortable. I check my clothing and find that my shirt is on backwards. Jeez. So I go into the bathroom and set it all right again. At least I brushed my teeth and combed my hair. So what do we have backwards or twisted around that needs to be set right?
Can you tell what I’ll be journeying on tonight?
May your clothes always be right side out, too!!! Good journey..
Posted in meditation, shamanism and tagged , , | Leave a comment
20 Feb 2007

Let the Rowdy Times Roll

Today is Mardi Gras.  Carnivale.  A time of celebration, joy, and fun before the Lenten season.  The perfect time to be rowdy.

Posted in Goddess | Leave a comment
19 Feb 2007

A Winter Gathering of the Rowdy Goddesses

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, but we’ve celebrated it already with “Let the Rowdy Times Roll!” It seems that once a year at Womongathering isn’t enough. So this year, our dear friend Phaezara opened her hearth and home to a gathering. Traveling from Philadelphia, Virginia, and from points across New York, rowdy women gathered to party. Included were women from Womongathering and also some of our friends who haven’t been able to make it to the summer gathering.

We went shopping at Seven Rays in Syracuse and then we went to tea at the White Dove Tea Room. A caravan of six cars is often hard to lead and to follow, but we all made it even after getting double parked in at the Church of the Assumption. Shows what assumptions will do for you…get you blocked in and unable to move forward.
It was wonderful, capped off by a ritual involving the beauty and wonder of our masks. Let’s face it, we have them. They are beautiful, our masks are barriers, and they are our aspirations. More to explore with masks……
May wonder and beauty be yours as you let your Rowdy times roll!!!!
Posted in masks, Rowdy Goddess, tea, witchcraft and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
19 Feb 2007

The Wild God: A Worth Consort for the Rowdy Goddess

 

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. It’s been busy. The coolest thing. My new book came out in June from Spilled Candy. The Wild God is off and running. I got an unexpected bouquet when Murv Sellars recommended the book as a “must have” to someone inquiring about a book on men and the craft. [2013 note, the book is currently out of print]
This was a wonderful book to write and hard to get published. Books on men in the Craft don’t sell, according to the publishers. At least don’t sell fast enough or hard enough for the big publishers to invest in it. It takes small publishers committed to serving the community. Such is Lorna Tedder and her staff at Spilled Candy. Many thanks to them.
If you are woman and you wish to find a God who loves you and serves you, He’s here. If you are a man and you wish to find a positive, authentic way to look at the sacred masculine. He’s here.
It’s a wild ride and time for the Wild God and the Rowdy Goddess to play.
May your journey bring you joy!
Posted in God of Wicca and tagged , | Leave a comment
05 Jun 2006
6 Comments

More on Manifesting Your Dreams: It Works

More on Manifesting Your Dreams: It Works!

On Saturday, I got back a self-addressed envelope in the mail from We’Moon. Mouse asked me what it was while I was ripping it open. I mumbled that it was probably a rejection letter since I submitted something. Out fluttered a check. As I read the letter, I was stunned. They had accepted my ‘charge of the goddess Athena’ poem. For the datebook and the wall calendar in 2007. Whoo hooo. Thank you Universe.
Mouse said, “You have a bad attitude. The Goddess is saying to you, ‘I bless you even though you have a bad attitude.’ Get a good attitude and she’ll bless you even more.’

Like I was saying.
And not doing.

Posted in Goddess, writing and tagged , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →