Artemis

This was the northern quarter in our sacred circle of a summer solstice ceremony we did with our children. It reminds me of Artemis: Deer antlers represent her role as the Huntress and Goddess of the Crescent Moon; the Labyrinth which draws us to our center; the Turtle, symbol of fortitude; the Fairys of the forest remind me that Artemis is the protector of children; the yellow candle, color of our solar plexus, is symbolic of our inner strength, personal power and the light of the Bright Maiden; it's candle holder, in the green~of~the~earth reminds me that the earth is my Mother and she will always take care of me...Connected to Her, I rest for renewal and nurturing.

Artemis, Goddess of the Bright Crescent Moon and the Wild Forest, please remind me to connect to the Earth as a source of strength, love and hope! Please remind me to return to nature when I am stressed out and overwhelmed with the busy world around me!

I trust that I will remember everything I need to do at just the perfect moment in time!

The Goddess of Contradictions

Her many contradictions are one of the things that draw me to Artemis; this Goddess of the Moon and the Forest!

As above, so below.

As a young maiden of seventeen or eighteen, I found a piece of writing that I loved so much. At the time I didn't understand how relevant it would be to my life and to the work I do in the world but I knew it was important wisdom to always remember. And I did always remember this wisdom! It has sustained me a thousand times over. I do not know the author of it or where it came from. (Please let me know if you know!)

The tiger, beast made of fire and night, show's its teeth when it blazes with love; the lamb, orphan-wrapped in soft blanket of cloud, weeps to receive that same love. So we give and take, are strong and weak, guilty and innocent, wrong and right. So we are balanced, even when we seem to be in conflict.

In addition to Her wildness, Her refusal to conform to conventional or traditional ways in society, and Her fiercely independent nature, Artemis was also known to be one of the compassionate healing goddesses. Of all the Goddesses of the Greek pantheon, she was the most self-sufficient; she lived life on her own terms! She was at peace in solitude and she was the fearless leader of others. Though she was the Virgin Goddess ~ a woman unto herself and unburdened by the pangs of love, as they say, or child rearing, she was also the protector of children and women in childbirth.

Artemis is a Goddess who holds the energy of androgeny ~ a perfect balance of the divine masculine and the divine feminine energies within. She is the independent, self-sufficient, assertive one and the healing, nurturing one. 

Today, may you remember to embrace all the sides of you ~ even the ones that seem contradictory! That is true freedom.

Be free and know that you are a Goddess with many sides to you and you do not have to apologize for this!

What contradictions within yourself do you feel uncomfortable with?
What contradictions within you do you find yourself judging?