Earth Mother Moon Journal Issue 19
Brigid's Day Edition 2008
Brigid's Day Edition 2008
Happy Nearly Half Winter:) Do you feel the hope of the returning sun? The quickening of the earth? This month we celebrate the Imbolc, or Candlemass. This is a holiday with the hopes of spring to come:) It is a special day in honor of the Goddess/Saint Brigid (Brigit). I'll share some information on her in this month's journal.
The past few weeks I've been doing a bit of thinking on body, mind, and spirit's connection. As a part of my weekly spiritual group, we have been studying meditation, and the vast importance of the body's care and health in the search of mental and spiritual health. They are all interconnected, and the healing of one helps the others, while the weakness of one also impacts the rest. This is something that seems to be a really important lesson for me again as it seems to be showing up everywhere! (I like to imagine most things in life as spirals, and as we are learning and coming back to something we've covered before it's now at a deeper or different level). So you'll see a bit about this in the journal as well. Along with a bit of study from yoga on yielding, and on nourishment.
I hope you enjoy the journal, and have a enjoyable rest of winter:)
Blessings, and Namaste,
Calesta Ana
The past few weeks I've been doing a bit of thinking on body, mind, and spirit's connection. As a part of my weekly spiritual group, we have been studying meditation, and the vast importance of the body's care and health in the search of mental and spiritual health. They are all interconnected, and the healing of one helps the others, while the weakness of one also impacts the rest. This is something that seems to be a really important lesson for me again as it seems to be showing up everywhere! (I like to imagine most things in life as spirals, and as we are learning and coming back to something we've covered before it's now at a deeper or different level). So you'll see a bit about this in the journal as well. Along with a bit of study from yoga on yielding, and on nourishment.
I hope you enjoy the journal, and have a enjoyable rest of winter:)
Blessings, and Namaste,
Calesta Ana
The Obsession with Material Wealth... and what our bodies have to do with it!
The following is quoted from : http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC26/Schmkler.htm, and article called "Why Are We Devouring The Earth" by Andrew Schmookler.
"If the pursuit of happiness through material wealth is like filling a sieve, where do we look for the holes in our being? What disabilities impede our fulfillment? I see two dimensions to the answer.
For one thing, we are insatiable not because we are so "materialistic" but, again paradoxically, because we are so poorly connected with our materiality, with the grounds of bodily pleasure. As Norman O. Brown showed in Life Against Death, the capitalist system was launched in those cultures that were most at war with the flesh, that saw the material world as the realm of the devil. Into the gulf created between matter and spirit, the experience of the body is emptied of its spiritual fullness. Perhaps this emptiness is related to an observation by Ashley Montagu about child-rearing in some of those same cultures: that few peoples give their babies as little tactile contact as do American and northern European (e.g. English and German) societies. People alienated from a primordial connection with their bodies may indeed be insatiable in their material yearnings.
The other part of the answer is that we seek in material possessions fulfillment that is to be found in wholly different realms - especially human relationships - where we aren't getting what we need and don't know how to get it."
Although there is I think a great deal more to this issue- what an incredible insight to look at this relationship with our bodies and our constant striving to do and have more. I myself have struggled for years with a desire to simplify, and yet having that 'middleclass' urge to keep up with all of those around me. Think about how good you feel when you have just made love, or had a great work out, or are sitting out under the sun on a warm beach... all of these very "in the body" moments... are you thinking about shopping? Or about buying the next best thing? I don't ever recall doing so! (By the way- to my decorating friends who do some thrift shopping and recycling shopping as an art form, I don't mean you! That is a creative process, quite different from the mall shopping and in debted continuing to buy cars and homes, etc. we can't afford)
After reading this, I thought about how this new take on an old problem might be able to help us solve it. I'm thinking if we ever get that urge to go out and shop like crazy or move on up... and spend money you don't have- well... here's a great way to deal with it: Find something that makes you present in the body/mind/spirit! Let your body feel good and enjoy some fresh air. Take a long walk. Go to a park and have a picnic. Spend some romantic time with your partner (or yourself!). Get a massage (one homeschool parent i know used to recommend foot baths and a foot massage for her children when they were very wound up). Take a hot bath, get together with friends with tea and sharing... you get the picture. I hope it helps, I'll definitely be trying this with my family this winter!
Brigid
This Goddess is so dear to my heart I can not express in words. She guided me to start this journal a couple of years ago... and now I have found this Irish past and dancing... she guides me to care for myself, because this is how I am best able to mother and be there for those around me. She is a Goddess of healing, mothers, home tending, and creativity. She inspires me with words (an entire book full last year!), with creative projects, with dance steps, with activities for my children and taking care of my home. Just this week I have just set up a new altar in my kitchen- the true hearth of my home, using an old cook stove (very fitting for this fire Goddess!).
According to "Cottage Witchery" by Ellan Dugan: "The triple Goddess Brigid is known by many name: Bride, Brigit, Brighid, and Brigitania. The Celtic pronunciation of her name is breed... The household fire was also sacred to Brigid, and she was often depicted as either holding flames within the palms of her hands or being surrounded by a fiery halo of light. Brigid is traditionally a goddess of smithcraft, poetry, and healing. And if you think about it for a moment, the traditional magickal aspects of this triple goddess are all related to the element of fire... To keep things interesting, Brigid is also associated with sacred wells and springs (Probably due in part to her association with healing.) Among the many qualities this goddess presides over are childbirth, fertility, arts and crafts education, and psychic abilities. However, her position as a deity of the hearth is in the forefront. Similar to Vesta, Brigid also had priestesses (some say nine, others insist nineteen) who tended her eternal flame in Kildare, Ireland."
To celebrate Brigid's Day (also known as Candlemass and Imbolc), celebrated on February 1 or 2, take an 'online pilgrimage to her sacred sites in Ireland. Follow this link there: http://www.solasbhride.ie/pilgrimage.htm
Honoring All of Ourselves
Well, once again body and mind, material and spirit cross my reading material this week. The following is quoted from a lovely book lent to me by a good friend (thank you!), "Green Witchcraft" by Ann Moura.
"For the human species, hatred for the material container of the spirit, the body, is suicidal. Much of society's wars and psychological problems can be traced to the separation of people from the joy of life through unity with the Goddess and the God."
I read something similar in a book by Edgar Cayce a few months back... on the importance of BOTH the physical and the spiritual. That we don't need to meditate to escape life... but that both parts are equally holy. This means, for me as a mother, it is just as sacred and important for me to care for my children, cook their meals and dry their tears, to dance with them- as it is for me to meditate, lead a ritual, teach, write, or heal. And on an even simpler level, I think most of all, it is the honoring of all three aspects (body, mind, spirit) of ourselves that is important. In daily life! There must be time for exercise, rest, good food, sunlight... for meditation, prayer, and friendship... for reading, writing, thought(positive) and growth. And there are some things that help to heal and grow the body mind and spirit at once- yoga, which I fell in love with because of it's simplicity of connecting these three pieces of ourself by using the breath. Doing these things to take care of all of ourselves, to honor all parts, is a day by day path, but it provides so much healing and growth and love that can then be shared with others.
Nourishment
Nourishment of the body and soul is so very important, as I was just saying above. If we eat unhealthy foods all the time, our body really feels that... and it is the same with the mind and spirit. Susun Weed, noted "wise woman" and herbalist (and currently a teacher of mine!) says the following in her book: Wise Woman Herbal: Healing Wise". Read it and think about what you need for optimal nourishment today.
"Nourishment is the keynote of the Wise Woman tradition. Nourishment comes from women. Breast milk is the archetype of nourishment. Now I eat you. Nourishment comes from the earth mother. She gives us abundant nourishment of sweet grains, green allies, and animal give-aways. Now you eat me. Health/wholeness/holiness is remembered through optimum nourishment... Optimum Nourishment, claims the Wise Woman tradition, is whole, holy, vital, wild, unique, local, common, simple, messy, fresh, abundant, accessible, seasonal, varied, and full of love...
... We notice the various qualities of nourishment available to us. Sitting in a circle is a nourishment. Practiced consistently, this creates a different state of health than always sitting in rows. Daydreaming is nourishment. And engaged in regularly, but not exclusively, this creates a different state of health than chronic logical thought does.... When we give up our rules and recognize our unique place in the hologram of all life with self-love and self-respect, the Wise Woman way, we find it easier and easier to choose the optimum nourishment for ourselves in any situation: shoulders to cry on, chickweed in the pavement cracks, a shooting star that takes away the breath. "
Yielding
The following is a look at how we cary the body body, shared from the text "Yoga Mind, Body, Spirit" by Donna Farhi
"Yielding happens when we allow the surfaces that are in contact with the earth to give their weight to the earth. At the same time we maintain enough integrity through our structure that we receive the rebound of gravity up through our bodies. If you have ever admired the graceful ease of tribal people as they stand and walk, you are seeing the result of this right relationship of the human being to the earth and sky. Similarly when you see a skilled dancer plie into the ground followed by a spectacular leap upward, you are seeing how the paradoxical giving of weight creates the conditions for levity.
The interesting thing about yielding is that it creates a 'push' back through the body. This pushing action is different from propping because there is an ongoing alternation between yielding and pushing that is in synchrony with the breath- yield becomes push becomes yield. This dynamic pattern allows for an unimpeded flow of fluid circulation in the body and underlies ease and effortless in breathing at all times."
To bring this in to practice as a beginner... lie down on the floor before bed or a relaxation. Take note of how you feel in your body. Then consciously allow your body to release into the earth- being completely supported and carried by Her. Note again how you feel. For me, I realize instantly how much tension I carry that is completely unnecessary! I don't have to hold myself up so much- the earth really is there to support me. This is the practice of yielding- pretty remarkable!
I wish you the best during this Moon Time:)
Feel free to email me using the contact form.
<< Previous Moon Journal Entry
The following is quoted from : http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC26/Schmkler.htm, and article called "Why Are We Devouring The Earth" by Andrew Schmookler.
"If the pursuit of happiness through material wealth is like filling a sieve, where do we look for the holes in our being? What disabilities impede our fulfillment? I see two dimensions to the answer.
For one thing, we are insatiable not because we are so "materialistic" but, again paradoxically, because we are so poorly connected with our materiality, with the grounds of bodily pleasure. As Norman O. Brown showed in Life Against Death, the capitalist system was launched in those cultures that were most at war with the flesh, that saw the material world as the realm of the devil. Into the gulf created between matter and spirit, the experience of the body is emptied of its spiritual fullness. Perhaps this emptiness is related to an observation by Ashley Montagu about child-rearing in some of those same cultures: that few peoples give their babies as little tactile contact as do American and northern European (e.g. English and German) societies. People alienated from a primordial connection with their bodies may indeed be insatiable in their material yearnings.
The other part of the answer is that we seek in material possessions fulfillment that is to be found in wholly different realms - especially human relationships - where we aren't getting what we need and don't know how to get it."
Although there is I think a great deal more to this issue- what an incredible insight to look at this relationship with our bodies and our constant striving to do and have more. I myself have struggled for years with a desire to simplify, and yet having that 'middleclass' urge to keep up with all of those around me. Think about how good you feel when you have just made love, or had a great work out, or are sitting out under the sun on a warm beach... all of these very "in the body" moments... are you thinking about shopping? Or about buying the next best thing? I don't ever recall doing so! (By the way- to my decorating friends who do some thrift shopping and recycling shopping as an art form, I don't mean you! That is a creative process, quite different from the mall shopping and in debted continuing to buy cars and homes, etc. we can't afford)
After reading this, I thought about how this new take on an old problem might be able to help us solve it. I'm thinking if we ever get that urge to go out and shop like crazy or move on up... and spend money you don't have- well... here's a great way to deal with it: Find something that makes you present in the body/mind/spirit! Let your body feel good and enjoy some fresh air. Take a long walk. Go to a park and have a picnic. Spend some romantic time with your partner (or yourself!). Get a massage (one homeschool parent i know used to recommend foot baths and a foot massage for her children when they were very wound up). Take a hot bath, get together with friends with tea and sharing... you get the picture. I hope it helps, I'll definitely be trying this with my family this winter!
Brigid
This Goddess is so dear to my heart I can not express in words. She guided me to start this journal a couple of years ago... and now I have found this Irish past and dancing... she guides me to care for myself, because this is how I am best able to mother and be there for those around me. She is a Goddess of healing, mothers, home tending, and creativity. She inspires me with words (an entire book full last year!), with creative projects, with dance steps, with activities for my children and taking care of my home. Just this week I have just set up a new altar in my kitchen- the true hearth of my home, using an old cook stove (very fitting for this fire Goddess!).
According to "Cottage Witchery" by Ellan Dugan: "The triple Goddess Brigid is known by many name: Bride, Brigit, Brighid, and Brigitania. The Celtic pronunciation of her name is breed... The household fire was also sacred to Brigid, and she was often depicted as either holding flames within the palms of her hands or being surrounded by a fiery halo of light. Brigid is traditionally a goddess of smithcraft, poetry, and healing. And if you think about it for a moment, the traditional magickal aspects of this triple goddess are all related to the element of fire... To keep things interesting, Brigid is also associated with sacred wells and springs (Probably due in part to her association with healing.) Among the many qualities this goddess presides over are childbirth, fertility, arts and crafts education, and psychic abilities. However, her position as a deity of the hearth is in the forefront. Similar to Vesta, Brigid also had priestesses (some say nine, others insist nineteen) who tended her eternal flame in Kildare, Ireland."
To celebrate Brigid's Day (also known as Candlemass and Imbolc), celebrated on February 1 or 2, take an 'online pilgrimage to her sacred sites in Ireland. Follow this link there: http://www.solasbhride.ie/pilgrimage.htm
Honoring All of Ourselves
Well, once again body and mind, material and spirit cross my reading material this week. The following is quoted from a lovely book lent to me by a good friend (thank you!), "Green Witchcraft" by Ann Moura.
"For the human species, hatred for the material container of the spirit, the body, is suicidal. Much of society's wars and psychological problems can be traced to the separation of people from the joy of life through unity with the Goddess and the God."
I read something similar in a book by Edgar Cayce a few months back... on the importance of BOTH the physical and the spiritual. That we don't need to meditate to escape life... but that both parts are equally holy. This means, for me as a mother, it is just as sacred and important for me to care for my children, cook their meals and dry their tears, to dance with them- as it is for me to meditate, lead a ritual, teach, write, or heal. And on an even simpler level, I think most of all, it is the honoring of all three aspects (body, mind, spirit) of ourselves that is important. In daily life! There must be time for exercise, rest, good food, sunlight... for meditation, prayer, and friendship... for reading, writing, thought(positive) and growth. And there are some things that help to heal and grow the body mind and spirit at once- yoga, which I fell in love with because of it's simplicity of connecting these three pieces of ourself by using the breath. Doing these things to take care of all of ourselves, to honor all parts, is a day by day path, but it provides so much healing and growth and love that can then be shared with others.
Nourishment
Nourishment of the body and soul is so very important, as I was just saying above. If we eat unhealthy foods all the time, our body really feels that... and it is the same with the mind and spirit. Susun Weed, noted "wise woman" and herbalist (and currently a teacher of mine!) says the following in her book: Wise Woman Herbal: Healing Wise". Read it and think about what you need for optimal nourishment today.
"Nourishment is the keynote of the Wise Woman tradition. Nourishment comes from women. Breast milk is the archetype of nourishment. Now I eat you. Nourishment comes from the earth mother. She gives us abundant nourishment of sweet grains, green allies, and animal give-aways. Now you eat me. Health/wholeness/holiness is remembered through optimum nourishment... Optimum Nourishment, claims the Wise Woman tradition, is whole, holy, vital, wild, unique, local, common, simple, messy, fresh, abundant, accessible, seasonal, varied, and full of love...
... We notice the various qualities of nourishment available to us. Sitting in a circle is a nourishment. Practiced consistently, this creates a different state of health than always sitting in rows. Daydreaming is nourishment. And engaged in regularly, but not exclusively, this creates a different state of health than chronic logical thought does.... When we give up our rules and recognize our unique place in the hologram of all life with self-love and self-respect, the Wise Woman way, we find it easier and easier to choose the optimum nourishment for ourselves in any situation: shoulders to cry on, chickweed in the pavement cracks, a shooting star that takes away the breath. "
Yielding
The following is a look at how we cary the body body, shared from the text "Yoga Mind, Body, Spirit" by Donna Farhi
"Yielding happens when we allow the surfaces that are in contact with the earth to give their weight to the earth. At the same time we maintain enough integrity through our structure that we receive the rebound of gravity up through our bodies. If you have ever admired the graceful ease of tribal people as they stand and walk, you are seeing the result of this right relationship of the human being to the earth and sky. Similarly when you see a skilled dancer plie into the ground followed by a spectacular leap upward, you are seeing how the paradoxical giving of weight creates the conditions for levity.
The interesting thing about yielding is that it creates a 'push' back through the body. This pushing action is different from propping because there is an ongoing alternation between yielding and pushing that is in synchrony with the breath- yield becomes push becomes yield. This dynamic pattern allows for an unimpeded flow of fluid circulation in the body and underlies ease and effortless in breathing at all times."
To bring this in to practice as a beginner... lie down on the floor before bed or a relaxation. Take note of how you feel in your body. Then consciously allow your body to release into the earth- being completely supported and carried by Her. Note again how you feel. For me, I realize instantly how much tension I carry that is completely unnecessary! I don't have to hold myself up so much- the earth really is there to support me. This is the practice of yielding- pretty remarkable!
I wish you the best during this Moon Time:)
Feel free to email me using the contact form.
<< Previous Moon Journal Entry