Now I banish winter
Now I welcome spring
Say farewell to what is dead
And greet each living thing!
Springtime Greetings,
Winter is over! Farewell beautiful, snowy, restful winter.
March has marched on by. We made it 'round the Wheel of the Year once more from life to death to life again and spring is finally here! The crocus flowers are our sure sign. Soon the bright, yellow forsythia ~that remind me of my late friend Lenore~ and the tulips and the daffodils will come.
There is a beautiful, symbolic, flower-bedecked archway that leads from winter into spring and I feel ready to walk through it. This is a time for renewal and re-birthing when the earth comes back to life with color and newness, when the winds of the east are blowing, cleansing and clearing away the darkness of winter. I find myself hopeful and fully believing in the promise of the future.
Another Chance.
Another chance to live my life the way I want to live it.
Can you feel your spirit rising as the earth awakens?
The energy in Mother Earth's plants and trees is rising, rising, too. Spring is the time of the year that corresponds with the Maiden aspect of our Beloved Triple Goddess. It's a time for celebration, joy, self-expression, courage and new adventures!
Maiden Goddess teaches us to honor our unique needs, thoughts, opinions and desires.
She says, "I am me and you are you."
She is our core strength and the warrior within that is very good at setting the boundaries when necessary. She can inspire you to look about your home and space (and to look within yourself) for the things that no longer resonate with who you are today.
She says....
"Get rid of it all! Let it go. Make room for things that you really want. Release the situations, fears, belief systems, and attitudes that hold you down and hold you back!"
She's the part of us that just IS. She doesn't give her energy to worrying about what others think of her or about what she "should" be doing.
Love, wildness, freedom, risks, courage, adventure and enjoying the moment are her favorite words!
Holy Maiden Goddess come to us! Show us how to bring your energy into our lives!
If you could be any age right now, what would it be? And if you were this part of you, what would you do right now?
Listen to this wise voice and follow your intuition, your callings, your yearnings and desires no matter how far-fetched they may seem to your adult self!
"I give myself permission
To be all I can be
I give myself permission
To be passionate and free!"
~by ALisa Starkweather
Let the maiden in you laugh, dance, sing, go wild, and play for the sake of pure joy and happiness as we enter into the beautiful season of springtime and renewal.
In Her Name,
Melissa Potter
Woman
It's so exciting to know and believe that as a flower blossoms fully, as a tree reaches as deep and as high as it can, we, too are meant to fully blossom in our own, unique way.
Some flowers are gorgeous and showy. Some take over whole fields. But others are tiny and beautiful. Some make us feel like resting and staying a while and some are delicious to eat. An oak inspires strength but a willow makes me want to dance then cry then dance again.
So, Woman, even if you have felt as half-dead, as wilted, as lifeless, bent & broken as last years flower bed, life is, in fact, flowing through your veins. The flame of spirit and the spark of hope still lives in your heart. The seed of your truest self may be hidden below the moist, dark leaves...but it's Springtime now! And this is the perfect, rich soil to nourish and support your deepest soul-self rising, reaching, branching out, and blossoming completely!
What are you becoming?
It can be as simple an answer as..."I am becoming ME."
Like a tree, I stand,
reaching for the light,
gaining strength
from the darkness
at my roots.
My body is twisted
by the storms of life,
yet in my
uniqueness
I am beautiful!
~Author Unknown
So...Bless yourself for the unique woman that you are. Water yourself with permission and glory. Shine the sun of praise and love upon your sacred self and BE WHOMEVER YOU ARE because nothing is more beautiful than your own, unique essence.
Springtime Blessings to You & Yours,
Melissa Potter
March 9, 2009
The Invisible Blessings of March
By Melissa Potter
It is early March when I write this. This past weekend was warm enough to go coat-less. The hot sun called me to dance beneath it with hope. Deep snow melted. The moist air, the wetness, the puddles and sunshine sparkling within them made spring feel close enough to taste and smell.
“Soon the crocus flowers will burst through the cold earth! Soon the daffodils will spring up in that forest over there. I look for them every year,” I told my son this week.
But under those springtime yearnings was a deep pull from within. A call that said, “You aren’t ready for spring yet. Oh no, don’t get your hopes up too high because it’s only March and March is the true test of strength and endurance. Warrior month. You want to get strong, right? Come on, you can make it through another God-awful March and spring will be all the more sweeter once you do. There are things deep inside that still need tending and seeds that need to be planted in small, windowsill pots before they can be sown directly into the soil of your life.”
March is when all the leftover yucky un-dealt-with stuff that you didn’t want to heal in Scorpio time last fall comes up and you have to deal with it deeper than ever. It’s March and you have work to do!
And how on earth does a woman do the work she needs to do to prepare for the Awakening Time when she has so much of the mundane to attend to?
If there is any month of the year that I want to put up a “Do not disturb” sign, it is the month of March. I want to say, “March right on by my door and do not come in! It’s clean-up time!”
Today I woke to snowy whiteness all around and the gray clouds blanketed yesterday’s springtime dreams. It was all an illusion. Spring is no more here than summer is. “Where,” I thought, “is my Witch’s broom?”
The dreamtime of the year – the cold and dark days of fall and winter - are my favorite in many ways. I love the smell of woodstove smoke and curling leaves. Candlelit mornings journaling and the smell of coffee in a warm house can hardly be beat. I could stay in my inner cave surrounded by a healing circle of crystals and stones of deep earth till the end of my days if I didn’t love every other season as much as the next!
For where would I be without the hazy, lazy, nostalgia days of August, the abundance of summer and the Glory Be joy of springtime? I love digging in the Earth, walking on Her barefoot, swimming in Her waters, drumming ‘round Her fires and dancing with Her wild wind.
But March...
March has always been my least favorite month. March is the in-between time for me. It is the chaos time that precedes birth. To me, March is what they’re talking about when they say, “It’s always darkest before dawn.”
And those of us who dance upon the Wheel of the Year know that springtime is the dawn of the year – it is the Maiden inside women and the young fellow in a man. It is the New Moon time that spills forth possibility, daring and adventure. It is the season of rebirth and renewal and one of deep joy and happiness for many.
But that’s spring and around here it’s still March!
March is my personal Underworld time and as Persephone is on her way back to the Upperworld to reunite with her Abundant Earth Mother, Demeter, I fear I am without a guide down here.
I am neither here nor there. Neither dark nor light. I am too much at once. Can I make it alive until the snow melts forever and the sun stays strong and the sap rises in me like in the sweet maples I love to drink from?
Thank Goddess for Equinox and the balance it will bring.
In March I am under the influence of Pisces, my rising sign, and a lifetime worth of memories and experiences that occurred in this month of the year for me. I always say I will change the story because changing the story to one with a healing message (or at least a more positive slant to it) will change the emotions attached to the story or belief. I tell myself that it’s St. Patrick’s Day! It’s when the first day of spring comes! It’s the time of the Maiden and youth and adventure and more! But my body never believes me!
It’s kind of like my body is saying, “Say all the positive affirmations you want to but I am honoring the cycle. March is death time. It’s when death seems deader than usual. And without death, there can be no rebirth. Whether you like it or not, March is hard and deep and swelling. (Albeit with possibility.)
And my body never betrays me.
My body is of the earth and to be of the earth and connected to this Mother of mine means that I will feel her rhythms in my blood and bones. Not all of her songs are joyful songs. Some – like her March songs – are grieving songs.
March means that it’s almost time to come out of the silence and stillness of winter. It means leaving behind the closer connection to myself and the deep dreams of my heart for it means I have to hold open my hands in trust to let fly these fragile dreams of mine.
It means stepping forth to make all the things I have dreamed in the long winter come true. It means tending the seeds in the garden and no more excuses for staying cozy and warm and safe inside with these yet-unrealized stirring dreams…
For they are waiting to be born.
And I am the midwife of them.
And my mother would say, “Well then you bettah get crackin’ Sistah!”
And while I’m at it, I want to make another sign. I want to make a tee-shirt for myself. A Warning tee-shirt that says to people, “My inner life is pouring out of my mouth and my eyes and my body right now in an uncontrollable early springtime flood. The ice and snow within my heart is melting. Great rivers of emotions are rushing! Though there is much wisdom mixed within these muddy waters, you could drown in them unless you root yourself like an old tree while I pass you by. By May this river will calm herself, the path will be clear and determined and there will be a much better chance to sit near me, rest on the newly visible boulders of strength, reflect with me and into me, bathe in me, and splash around without fear of retribution or drowning. But until then, you must swim at your own risk!"