We Are Stronger Together

As a spiritual group, the Clan has no position on current events except this:

In order for the governmental process to work, we must remember that we are all related. Life is precious. Be respectful of others, *especially* when you disagree with them. Work toward the future in which you wish to live.

For empaths and other citizens who are upset by the election results or the unrest in our nation, remember that you are not alone. It's ok to feel all the feelings right now. Be present, feel what you feel, and send it to the Earth for recycling. Stick together with those you love.

Join me tonight and every night this week at 9p EST for a distance meditation. My intent is to hold space for our nation in turmoil, to be together, and to offer this mantra to the world:

"Om lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu."

May all beings be blessed, may my life serve all.

In the highest good of all beings, we offer energy and intent for healing, for necessary change, and simple presence in the now, difficult and bewildering though it may be. See you tonight!

World Goddess Day 2015

Yesterday, we co-facilitated a World Goddess Day event with our good friends at Gaia's Circle and Triangle Area Pagan Alliance. The World Goddess Day concept was created last year by Claudiney Prieto of Brazil. The idea is to set aside an entire day to celebrate the Divine Feminine all around the world. Pictures and stories are rolling in about events in New Zealand, Brazil, the US and the UK, and many more. What a beautiful sight!

From the World Goddess Day website:

"THE WORLD GODDESS DAY PROJECT emerged to unite the Mother Goddess' worshipers world wide through their many expressions and manifestations. The purpose of the Project is grant to the Goddess one day of visibility to share Her many myths, stories and worship diversity, so everyone will remember or will know that the first religion of humanity was the Worship of the Goddess."

Last year, I hosted an event with South Wake Spiritual Community. We gathered at a local park to meditate and feast. It was a beautiful day. This year, we joined forces to make something even grander with our friends at the Eno River State Park. We had between 25-30 participants, with beautiful, loving energy.

We began by creating sacred space. We called in many names and faces of the Goddess. We sang. We danced, we drummed. We also did my healing meditation from last year. We heal ourselves that we may heal our loved ones, our community, our nation, and the Earth. And of course, we feasted!

The time we spent socializing after the ritual was lovely and important. It turns out that we hosted two

students from Brazil, one of whom had interviewed the creator of World Goddess Day, Claudiney Prieto. What an amazing thing! These lovely people told us that in Brazil, people are very interested in creating a worldwide Pagan community. I was thrilled to hear it - the concept of Pagan unity is near and dear to my heart.

This is the meat of this day, in my mind - coming together. So many people honor the Divine Feminine in so many ways. But so many of us are still forced to live in the shadows. Even those that don't *need* to hide still sometimes do, out of habit or preference. I personally believe that there is strength in numbers. Strong community enriches everyone's path - we can learn so much from each other, even if we hold different beliefs. Perhaps more important even than that is the support we can lend one another.

I told one of the Brazilian students that so many of our groups are small - between 3 and 12 people, usually. Groups that small can't do the things that a large church can do. But if Pagans choose to come together, we too could provide disaster relief, support during illness, counseling services, shared childcare and so much more.

Prayer for Pagan Unity

Dear Eternal Father,

there is so much unrest and disunity

in the world. Help us to embrace

each other and life in peace and

harmony in the Pagan way.

 

Dear Eternal Mother,

we realize there are many different

traditions and paths of faith. Help

us to see past the differences and

unite as one family in total harmony

and love.

So Mote It Be.

I am so grateful for my Pagan community, and for my many allies within it. Together, we can do anything. Next year, let's make our World Goddess Day even bigger and better. Who's in for a Goddess-themed Yoga practice?

Love, healing and peace be upon you and all beings. May the love of the Goddess be ever in your heart. Blessed be the Goddess!

Time

The Pagan Experience - Wk 2- May 11 – Time – How do you measure time? How do you make use of linear time in sacred space? How do you call forth the space of timelessness in your physical life? How do you integrate the two for your magickal/spiritual work?

"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." - Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

In this age of the smartphone, I no longer wear a watch. Even before the smartphone, I haven't always worn one. Oh, I remember having a swatch back in the day. And I have a bit of a fascination with diving timepieces. Though thinking back, I was most fascinated with the idea of knowing what time it was in the different areas dear to my heart. And of course, the phases of the moon. But really, my goal in life is to live in such a way that I don't have to know what time it is.

My happiest times are timeless. When I am lucky enough to have the time to go backpacking, my sense of time is in harmony with nature. I get up when it becomes light, I eat when I'm hungry, I rest  when I'm tired, and I make camp when there are two fists of sun left in the sky. When it gets dark, I make a fire. Sometimes I go to bed early, and other times, I stay up to watch the stars and spin out speculative ideas, dreams, plans and other such malarkey.

My real life at this point is quite scheduled. Each year, as I build my business, it becomes more and more regimented. The two weekdays that used to be my "free time" have even been encroached upon. In fact, this year, I'm working to reign my schedule back in. I need to spend my time on the most productive work activities and leave myself ample unstructured time. This unstructured time is rarely spent in idleness; mostly, it ends up being used for business administration, neglected housework, writing or artwork. 

Meditation and Yoga are what allow me to do the things that I do. The practice of meditation, especially, acts as a reset button for the nervous system. It breaks the stress cycle by giving us the experience of timelessness. I think it also works because we are withdrawing our senses from the outside world, but that's my own theory. 

This year, I'm also going to start turning off and putting away my phone. I've always been a believer in setting healthy boundaries. Keeping defined office hours has always been a goal of mine. The reality, though, is that I have gotten sucked in to our instant gratification, always on, instant response culture. I've been known to work all night, to stay up late and get up early to work. This has definitely been to my detriment. I've been battling fatigue and burnout for some time now, and I'm taking action to correct this situation. This weekend, for example, I have put a moratorium on work and social media. 

So timelessness in my daily life is meditation, keeping office hours, limiting screen time and spending plenty of time outdoors. 

In ritual…this is an interesting question. I've never given any thought to how I use time in ritual. Generally, I focus more on what needs to happen in sacred space, rather than how long it takes. My experience has been that it all works out. When I enter ritual headspace, things flow in the timeless time of the Gods. I don't think about it, or plan it. 

I do like to celebrate full moons and sabbats close to their astronomical time. I think there is a special magic in celebrating the moment AT the moment. That's one of my goals for my spiritual practice, actually. I want to arrange my life in such a way that I *can* celebrate celestial events at their actual times, up to and including the ones that happen at inconvenient times like dawn or in the middle of the night. 

Accomplishing this form of observance will entail:

• Advance planning - what will I observe, and when does it happen? (atlas or calendar, website, app)
• Take all Sabbat days off from work (I'd like to take full moons too, but…I do have to work at some point)
• Schedule a late morning after night observances

So here we have a high priestess who is most comfortable in the timelessness of nature, who paradoxically also is interested in observing the exact moments of celestial events. One foot in each world, so to speak. That actually does make sense for me.

I'm a half-breed in so many ways. A starry-eyed mystic with a logical, organized mind. An artist and poet who firmly believes in the scientific method. A lover of nature who thrives on endless unmeasured days who wants to study the movement of the heavens by night. Fitting.

That is my magic - I have one foot in each world. I can drop into the timeless mind of ritual consciousness, and I also have a day planner.

30 Days of Deity Devotion: Day 5 - World Goddess Day

Happy World Goddess Day!

From the World Goddess Day website:

"THE WORLD GODDESS DAY PROJECT emerged to unite the Mother Goddess' worshipers world wide through their many expressions and manifestations. The purpose of the Project is grant to the Goddess one day of visibility to share Her many myths, stories and worship diversity, so everyone will remember or will know that the first religion of humanity was the Worship of the Goddess."

I hosted a World Goddess Day event with my interfaith spiritual group at a local park. In the interest of being inclusionary, the event was a relaxed, non-denominational affair. We shared a potluck lunch, strolled through the lovely forest, napped, shared our experiences and meditated to heal the Earth.

It was so lovely. I sincerely wish we had planned an even longer event. I love to use my energy for a good purpose, and there aren't many that trump healing the planet. I also could not think of a more fitting topic for today's 30 Days of Deity Devotion post. What higher form of sacrifice is there than to give your time and energy to the Gods? To gather people together, connect with others around the globe and do magic for the good of all beings. For the good of our home. 

This, all human beings ought to be able to agree upon. We may disagree on everything else, but for this purpose, we must unite. We need to work together to find a way to heal the conflict between human beings, between nations, between religions, between genders, between races.

We need to find a way for the human race to live in harmony with the needs of the greater ecosystem. This is essential for our survival as a species on Earth, though most days I retain enough optimism to think that She will carry on even if we self-destruct. Her way is one of implacable victory and irrepressible adaptation.

At the end of our meditation, I taught the group a song, "The Earth is Our Mother" (see video at right). She is Mother to us all. From Her, all of creation has sprung. To her, we must all return. It does not matter what you call Her, or that you even think of this swirling ball of elements and energy as a Deity or as Goddess…our Earth is our Mother. We must take care of Her. She will take care of us.

I leave you with a lovely prayer, adapted and expanded from "Artemis" by Kat Brown
:

Mother of Life, hear our prayer


Light into dark, dark into life


Queen of the Earth, the sea and sky


Mother of all


Artemis, Artemis

We call to you, Mother

We honor you, Goddess of the Crescent Moon

We walk in beauty 

Each step a prayer

Upon your sacred Earth.

Love, healing and peace be upon you and all beings. May the love of the Goddess be ever in your heart. Blessed be! 

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day, one and all! Let's join together with our whole Earth family today and raise some powerful energy for CHANGE!

Tune in to this global meditation tonight at 9:30 PM EDT:

No Youtube? Tune in on the website here.

I'll be there, won't you join me?