Creating From My Heart

Honoring Our Beloved Dead This Autumn

2009-11-06T09:58:00.005-05:00

Ancestor Altar honoring my Nana, Marion Williamson during these autumn weeks in which people all over the world celebrate their Ancestors and Beloved Dead with altars commemorating them, stories and memories shared about them, and Ancestor Feasts.
Photo taken November 4, 2009

Those who are dead are never gone:
they are there in the thickening shadow.
The dead are not under the earth:
they are in the tree that rustles,
they are in the wood that groans,
they are in the water that sleeps,
they are in the hut, they are in the crowd,
the dead are not dead.

by Birago Diop:

In Memory of Our Beloved Dead

My path has crossed those of many friends and teachers who no longer walk the earth plane with me but I will be forever thankful to them for the parts they played in the great drama of my life ~ however large or small it may have been. I also kneel with the deepest gratitude of my heart to my Ancestors, known and loved as well as forever unknown, who have made my life and the life of my child possible!

Would you like to honor your loved ones who have passed away?

Here are some ideas for you:

My favorite way to show this honor is to create an Ancestor altar. Your altar can be anywhere at all that feels right for you. If your dearly departed loved to cook, you might have it in the middle of the kitchen or on a windowsill above the sink. If they loved to garden, you could set up an outdoor shrine on a large stone or in the hollow of a backyard tree.

Wherever you place your altar, you might want to first lay down a piece of fabric that you find pleasing. If you have your Nana's apron, for example, you could use that as your altar cloth! If your Great-Aunt fancied wool from Ireland, you can lay your Irish knit sweater down as the base. Creating altars is so fun! Just follow your intuition...

Once you've got the location and altar cloth laid down, you can begin placing items on it that remind you of them; items that celebrate their lives.

These can be photographs of your Beloved Dead; personal items of theirs that were passed onto you; mementos of times shared with them during life; a bottle of their favorite perfume; Your altar will be a personal and unique creation of love.

Beside my Nana's photograph I place her thimble, some of her crystals and a ring of hers passed onto me by my Mother. Near my Grandfathers picture, I have put a piece of a hand-mirror from his country store in Wisconsin. A friend, last night, brought a hand-carved wooden cane that belonged to her father who passed away last month. She set his picture beside it. Another woman had a pocket watch; another a feather and ink for her father who worked at a newspaper.

Another tradition of the season is setting out an Ancestor Plate on your altar. This is like an offering plate for your deceased loved ones. Our offerings are symbolic ways we can say, "Thank you for all the gifts you've given us." In our family we gather with friends for an Ancestor Feast each year at this time. We cook the favorite foods of our Beloved Dead or something from a family recipe to show respect and honor for the gifts passed down to us through our family lines. A portion of this is shared with our loved ones on the Ancestor Plate. At the end of the night, we often put it outdoors. Will it be there when we awaken?

Everyone brings photos and mementos of their Beloved Dead for the Ancestor Altar and we gather in a circle to talk about the items we brought and to pass photos of our deceased loved ones around as we share stories and memories of them. We share our favorite autumn poems and sing songs of the season. Before you know it, the whole house begins to glow with happy stories, memories and laughter ~ not to mention the Spirits dancing about, and grateful to be remembered, I'm sure!

If you wish to have a quiet and peaceful visit with your deceased loved one, you could visit with them at their graveside or through your memory by going to a place in nature they loved during their life. If your loved one had an affinity with the ocean, you could sit by the seashore on a salty rock, close your eyes and remember them. You could also visit a museum, a restaurant, an old corner store or any place that reminds you of your loved one or special times you have shared with them.

An aunt of mine gathered flowers from my Nana's grave. She had them pressed into beads and strung as a piece of jewelry that will forever honor the memory, and hold the energy of, her Mother; a treasure that can be passed on through the generations.

During this time, it is said that the veils between the living and the dead are so thin that those who have gone on to the Other side can pass through to visit and bring messages of guidance to us, with ease!

Whenever I hear a Carole King song during this time of the year, I know it is my friend Rob who died thirteen years ago this November, speaking through the veils to me. He called me Gypsy, I called him The Breeze. I think of him whenever I smell cinnamon coffee. A stick of this autumn spice on my altar will honor him and the many mornings we drank coffee and talked around the red, 1950's, metal, kitchen table I had when I was 22 years old and swaying in glory to the "Tapestry" album as it spun on my record player was all that mattered.

So, listen to the whispers in the wind, watch for messages on Mack trucks, sweet nothings from the vanity plate of the car that cuts in front of you! Notice what songs pop on the radio, what books or memories jump out of your mind! Notice, too, what dreams you have in the night-time and pay particular attention to what the wee ones in your life say because it is true that children are very open to the Spirit realms and they often see and hear things we may miss at first!

However you choose to celebrate and commemorate your loved ones will be meaningful to you. Honoring them, also celebrates and honors you. It will remind you of your own life; with its' joys and sorrows, journeys and still points and the many thousands of individual moments and memories that have added up to create the story of your own, sweet life.

Light a candle.

I invite you all, now, to take a few moments to remember, honor and thank the loved ones who have passed into the Great Mystery.

Say a prayer.

A prayer that they may guide us and help us to live our lives to the fullest no matter how that fullest looks.

A prayer that they will help us learn from their mistakes and their successes.

A prayer that we be filled with a love that transcends all time and boundaries.

A prayer that we keep our hearts open to giving and receiving love.

A prayer that our personal gifts, our strengths and encouragement, be shared freely with those in need.

And a prayer that we may be the kind of loving presence in our childrens' lives that we will be worthy of having our own picture on the Ancestor altars of our descendants some wild and leaf-strewn magical autumn night one hundred years from now...

For....

We are the ones our children watch and learn from...

And some day, we will all be Ancestors!

May you be remembered well when your time comes!

And may fond memories, happy thoughts, deep laughter and full bellies be yours now and forever more!

Blessed Be,

Melissa

Seasonal Altars From Our Home

2009-11-06T09:37:00.005-05:00

New Moon in Cancer

2009-07-21T14:32:00.002-04:00

Tonight at 10:35 pm is the New Moon in Cancer. It is a very powerful moon! Being that I'm only an astrologer in training, I'll leave the details of it to the experts. I personally love mooncircles.com! I can say, however, that I'm excited to harness these energies so that I may use them to help me on my healing journey. The journey I have always been on and the one I plan on continuing!

During the New Moon, I set my intentions and desires for the coming month. Tonight I will think specifically of familiar patterns that no longer serve my highest good. I will then set an intention to release and re-set new and positive habits and choice-making abilities within my self and my life.

Cancer is also the sign of the Universal Mother. I call her Goddess and she has many names and many faces. She is a reflection of all of who I am ~ of all women in our varied and rich ways of being.

I read a beautiful message today from an astrologer named Pythia Peay. She shared that the message of the Cancer Moon is this...

Imagine that you are listening to one of the unconditionally-loving great mother archetypes ~ such as The Blessed Mother Mary or Quan Yin or Isis or Ceres speaking these words to you:

"Open up your heart center and feel, don't think, your way through life's problems. Find the honey in your heart, the sweetness that arises from loving your way through life."

May you find just the right symbolic New Moon seeds to plant this evening. May they really reflect your hearts desire. May you listen to what you know is the truth of what your deepest soul needs right now in your life.

I encourage you to visit www.mooncircles.com each day to read about what sign the moon is in and what phase the moon is in. It is such a beautiful journey to follow the cycles of the moon. I am continuously amazed at how much better my life is when I align myself and my activities (or lack of activities!) with the natural rhythm of the earth and moon.

Goddess Bless and Happy Summer!

Merry Meet and Happy Spring!

2009-04-03T11:39:00.004-04:00

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!"

Oh Grandmothers, Great Grandmothers, Enter the Circle and Dance with me!

2009-03-06T09:29:00.003-05:00

I want to thank Pallah Stimpson and her friends for the beautiful reminder that The Grandmothers - the ancient ones - are waiting for us to call on them for help, for their blessings, for guidance. I was just reading Plant Spirit Medicine and in it the author shared the message of the plant spirits that he has gotten which is just this - that they cannot help if we don't ask. I related to this deeply. I know that my guides just love for me to ask for help. I always visualize them sitting around me a the tops of the trees watching over me. I say "I know you are sitting around me in the tops of the trees. I ask you to come be with me today; to work through me, speak through me, hear through me, love through my heart and guide me today. I cannot do this without you! And I thank you." I reminded my 12 year old son about this - that they are there, our ancestors, guides, God/Goddess/All That Is - just waiting for him and all of us to ask them for help and they will come right away to our assistance with love for us!

The Mother Oven

2009-03-06T09:10:00.005-05:00

This picture above was sent to me by my friend Karen a long time ago. It's of a restaurant that is owned by one of her friends. I've had it so long that I no longer remember the story of it, but it is called, "The Mother Oven" and it reminds me of the nurturing love of our Mothers, of Our Mother Earth who gives endlessly to us and of our Ancient Grandmother Mother's who were so much more connected to the rythms of the earth and the hearth than many of us today remember that we can be. It is so cozy and homey and beautiful. It makes me want to knead dough, feel earth, drink honey.

The good news is that we can all, again, reclaim our connection to the things that nurture our spirit and soul and bodies. We can relearn the ways of old ~ reclaim the natural rythms that run through our blood. There are so many women and men dedicated to teaching the old ways to us. One of the things I dream of most of all is to know how to knit, crochet and weave. This dream is very attainable.

Every single thing I do to stay connected to the old ways ensures that the old ways will never die. I may feel pulled into the whirlwinds of technology but if I keep the roots of my self firmly planted I can keep my center and I can keep all of the parts of life I value ~ old fashioned or not!

"Take what you want and leave the rest" is my motto. I love being able to research and keep in touch with friends and family online. I love to write. But I also love to sit at my kitchen table with the stamps I've picked out at the Post Office and address my envelopes by hand! I love to cook my meals from scratch most of the time and I love the sound of the kettle whistling when we have tea.

Put the kettle on the stove! Let it's whistle stop you in your tracks and remind you to hold on to some of the old ways! (And maybe even to throw your microwave out the window!)

Blessed Be, Melissa

Happy Imbolc!

2009-02-07T22:40:00.004-05:00

Invocation & Prayer to Bridget

2009-01-28T20:23:00.000-05:00

Invocation & Prayer to Bridget

Beloved Bridget of the triple flame,
Daughter of the Dagda,Guardian of the sacred springs
Whose voice is the soul of the harp
We call on Thee.
Teach our hands to heal and our hearts to sing.
We entrust our life's progress to your care
And ask that you shape us,
Bending and turning our hearts on your bright anvil of flame
Till we are made perfect jewels
Fit to be set in the Eye of your timeless harp
To play for the Soul of the people in times of sorrow
And times of celebration.
We thank you for your gifts to us of Poetry and Music
Of laughter and tears,
And for the healing balm of your Wisdom.
May we always remember to meditate
On the gift of your sacred waters,
Which surround us at birth
And sail us to our destiny.
Our hearts are open to receive your blessings,
Midwife of our souls, rain on us,
Shower your inspiration in curtains of song
And sacred waterfalls in the realm where you dwell.
Come to us as Virgin with the soft smell of flowers.
Come to as Mother and feed us your fruits.
Come to us as the Wise Woman in the stark blasts of Winter.
Help us see your Mystery in all creation,
That we may know gratitude and reverence.
Our hearts sing to you with love.
Teach us to change like the revolving seasons.
Teach us to grow like the green corn that feeds the people.
Teach us to fashion beauty like the stillness of the forest pool
And the roar of the ocean wave.
Teach us to heal like the soothing gem which cools the eyes andrestores the limbs.
With humility and bright expectation
We invoke Thee this hour!

From A Druids Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year by Ellen Evert Hopman

Imbolc ~ In honor of the Goddess Bridget

2009-01-28T20:00:00.010-05:00

Altar to the Goddess, Bridget ~ Imbolc

Circle Flow

Draw up bold power from the Earth,

Becoming one with source entwined.

Your roots strive deep to enter Her

To the center — feel — come alive.

Pulsing energy rises — breathes;

Your spine a trunk of circle tree

With branches bent to sweep the Earth;

Circuit complete the sap will flow,

From crown to source an ancient dance.

Be with the wind — become the dawn;

Rising — bursting — weaving –returning.

Such is the birthing of Her song.
Feel Goddess life beneath your feet,

Breath in the scent of yearning earth.

Hear the spring birds, love returning,

Chirping guide to budding — blooming.

Know Brigit joins the stag of morning,

Passioned union of love enflamed.

Harvest be quickened once again.

(I do not know the author of this poem ~ if you do, please let me know so I can credit this poet!)

The Red Tent Temple at MotherRoots

2008-12-02T14:58:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T14:03:00.002-04:00

This morning I woke up very early. It was still dark outside so as I walked through my kitchen and dining room I was barely able to see. But I could feeeel. Oh, my favorite day of the year is here! It's Halloween!

As is our custom, we keep the lights very low, candles being the usual way we cast light during the morning hours in this house ~ and the sounds barely audible to keep the peacefulness of dawn for as long as possible. But today I got to create an even more magical ambiance than usual.

I plugged in the glowing jack-o-lantern that sits on top of my refrigerator with its tall, pointy, black, witch's hat. The orange pumpkin lights were next! Their light led me on to the purple and orange lights and finally I lit the candles on the ancestor altar and welcomed in the Spirits of the Ancestors in honor of the Celtic holy day of Samhain! Then, it was time to make the coffee!

Because nowadays I am forever charging up one battery or another ~ the cell phone, the MP3 player, the digital camera battery pack ~ I am also having to unplug things like my coffee pot on a regular basis. Yesterday, after I charged up the cell phone, I plugged the coffee pot back in.

The blinking red light on the front panel of the coffee maker reminded me to fix the clock as it will blink incessantly and not allow you to brew a new pot until you steady it by setting a time. I didn't want to deal with it at that moment so I simply tapped once on the minute button and that was sufficient to change the blinking red 12:00, it's default time, to a steady, glowing-red 12:01. And that was that...or so I thought....But everything happens for a reason...And had I not noticed the blinking light and had I not changed it that very moment, what happened this morning, would not have happened....Someone or something was behind that seemingly unimportant event!

I forgot all about the clock and you know, it doesn't matter what time the coffee pot says it is because all I have to do is turn to the left and I can see the stove clock! So although all day long I kept thinking it was some time other than it was, I didn't care! Because I had the stove after all!

Back to this morning! After I lit my Halloween lights, I walked over to the counter to make the coffee. It was 6:00 am by the stove clock but on the coffee pot clock....it was...10:31! In other words...October 31!

Happy Halloween Everybody! Keep your eyes open for these little but magical signs from the Beloved Dead as we dance our way through another magical Samhain day!

Blessed Be,

Melissa

Honoring Our Beloved Dead at Samhain

2008-10-29T08:45:00.008-04:00

Ancestor Altar

The Ancient Ones
by Patricia Reis

From the beginning
We have been with you
We are the ancient ones
And we remember

We remember the time when there was only love
The time when all breathing was one
We remember the seed of your being
Planted in the belly of the vast black night
We remember the red cave of deep slumber
The time of forgetting
The sound of your breath
The pulse of your heart
We remember the force
of your longing for life
The cries of your birth
bringing you forth

We are the ancient ones
And we have waited
and watched

You say that you cannot remember that time
That you have no memory of us
You say that you cannot hear our voices
That our touch no longer moves you
You say that there can be no return
That something has been lost
That there is only
silence

We say the time of waiting is over
We say the silence has been broken
We say that there can be no forgetting now
We say
listen

We are the bones of your grandmother's grandmothers
We have returned now
We say you cannot forget us now
We say we are with you
And you are us
Remember
Remember

When I was in my early twenties I began keeping a dream journal. Every morning upon awakening I would get my coffee and my dream journal and I would write my dreams down, decipher the symbols and figure out what the meanings and messages for me were. What was my intuitive self trying to tell me? Sometimes it was like a treasure hunt or a mystery solving adventure. Other times the meanings were as clear and crisp as a bright autumn morning.

One day I dreamed that I was at a family gathering but was alone in the living room while everyone else gathered in the kitchen. My Nana, Marion Francis and Grandfather, William came to me. I said, "Nana. You are dead. But you mustn't be." She handed me a wooden box. I opened it and inside was a beautiful round, flat polished and large purple amethyst stone with the image of a great tree with roots burned into it in black. It was a powerful and magical image and I knew it was a symbol of the love of my ancestors ~ the family tree. Secondly, there was a teardrop shaped amethyst crystal in the box. I was very aware that I was being given a gift by her.

That morning I woke up, gathered my journal and pens and went to the City Room Cafe on West Pearl Street in Nashua where I often went for coffee and breakfast in the mornings to write. I was sitting outside at the cafe tables when I suddenly saw a kitten run out the door of a small boutique next door to the City Room Cafe. I jumped up, grabbed the kitten, turned around, bent down and gently tossed it back in the door. As I stood up I noticed to my left that on a jewelry display beside me was an amethyst tear-drop crystal on a silver necklace! I called to Joe, the dark island man who owned the shop. "Joe! I just dreamed that my Nana gave me this very necklace! How much is it? I have to have it!" Well, Joe came from a culture that reverently honored their ancestral connections and assured me that this was a gift from my ancestor. The necklace was $45.00 but I only had $30.00 or something like that. He allowed me to purchase it for what I could because he was certain it was meant for me to have it. To this day I keep that necklace, now broken after all these years, on my altar. When I look at it, I often catch myself saying, "That's the necklace Nana gave me," and to me, it will always be this way.

Samhain

2008-10-28T11:47:00.010-04:00

The Ancestor Feast and Ritual

Samhain

Last night was a dark moon; a perfect moon to gather in my parlor for an ancestor ritual and feast with our women's spirituality group! I have the house decorated for Halloween. People say that my house always looks like it's decorated for Halloween but now it is truly so!

Purple lights and burgundy red drapes cover the parlor windows, a black cauldron was placed on the (covered television) altar for women to place their donations in. I shoved the shiny gold, velvet-lined donation basket beside the couch for the night! A magical black witch's hat with iridescent polka dots and a scary folk art jack-o-lantern are hung on the banister to the two-steps that lead to the dining room where the Ancestor feast was and will be this week.

My dining room table has been transformed into a beautiful and whimsical place fit to host whatever benevolent Spirits may want to visit this week! A black velvet table cloth with the tiniest of silver sparkles on it covers this altar. A witch I hope to look like some day watches over the feast for us.

There are colorful feathered masks; one of a crow that I made at Celebrate Samhain last year, forest-green gourds, a basket of the years final harvest items, an autumn-gold candle, silver holders with purple candles, a jack-o-lantern for the forks and spoons and other hidden objects to delight the lovers of magic and mystery. Shall we have a Dumb Supper?

During our Cakes & Ale, we set a plate for the Beloved Dead. On it we offered half an apple with its five-pointed seed star, a beehive chalice of apple cider and a soul cake. What fun we had last night divining our soul cakes! Mine contained a heart shaped skeleton key!

Glowing, orange pumpkin lights, purple fabric over purple and orange lights, glowing jack-o-lanterns, and the beginnings of a ghost collection from my aunt Raney, (a folk artist specializing in primitive Halloween folk art,) set the scene for a night of story-telling about our beloved Dead, an ancestor feast, and weaving a ritual web to honor the connections of the past to these loved ones and to the future generations to whom we will be "The Ancestors." I wrote a fun poem about it that I think I will call "They've Been Waiting."

Twelve sitting spots
in a circle waited
for the women who would
sit in them!

Within the circle,
was a circle;
An honoring place,
An altar of black.

Bone beads of skulls,
Found-bones from the shore,
Sweet sugar skulls
In the corners of four.

A crooked bare branch,
A black candle for light,
A picture of Cerridwen
With her cauldron of Night.

Ah! Came the women!
With bundles and food,
Offerings, photographs,
And witch hats and cloaks!

To the altar they went,
One by one they approached,
With old photographs, crystals,
A costume-jewelry brooch!

Enameled pan,
And silver spoon,
An onyx ring and books and poems,
Soul Cakes and look! Fried Spam! (who knew!)

Bundled offerings of gratitude,
Libations of feathers and herbs,
Family stories, laughter, tears,
Favorite memories and wisdom words.

Glowing circle of candle light,
Held close to our hearts,
To honor the web of connection,
That's been there from the start.

And Then! Entered our Beloved Dead!
And The altar came alive!
Their Spirits swirling round our heads!
Like bees near the hive!

And more than one
Four-legged one,
Was caught from the corner of eyes!
For they are always near to us
And that was no surprise!

In memory of the friends, relatives and beloved pets who have touched my life but who are now gone ~ Marion Williamson, Chris Mucci, Barbara Sokup, Patricia Mesita, John Hilske, Rob, Gina Masiello, Lenore, Chauncey Potter, Ruth MacKay and Hawk ~ I set an altar this week and next to honor the life you lived and the gifts and lessons you blessed me with. Because of some of you ~ Chauncey, my grandfather, William my Grandfather, Marion, My Nana, I am alive...others of you showed up in my life at important moments in mine to teach or inspire me, to play some part for me in the drama that is the evolution of my soul, to bring me love. I honor you for all you were in life and I feel the pain for all you never got to do...

I sit here today and in ritual last night and I will again gather on Friday evening to celebrate this ancient and holy day of Samhain ~ Halloween ~ The Day of The Dead ~ Dia de Los Muertos ~ All Saint's Day ~ to pay homage and pour libations to the thousands of grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles and cousins from my ancestral line whose lives have influenced mine in countless ways, in ways I will never understand. But their blood runs through my blood! My grandmothers lived in caves, gathered food from the living earth, scrubbed clothes in rivers, baked bread over fires..and so did yours...Ancient Mothers and Fathers infuse me with the wisdom and deep knowledge you hold! Help me to bring forth the visions you carried long ago! Guide me! Watch over me and those I love! In honor and gratitude, Melissa

Those who are dead are never gone:

They are there in the thickening shadow.

The dead are not under the earth:

They are in the tree that rustles,

They are in the wood that groans,

They are in the water that sleeps,

They are in the hut, they are in the crowd,

The dead are not dead.

~by Birago Diop

Becoming Persephone

2008-10-21T14:34:00.006-04:00

Greek Goddess Persephone with Pomegranate

I choose to eat the deep red seeds.

To taste and breathe them into me.

With trust and reverence

I enter thee;

Underworld of Persephone.

I am now Persephone,

Blessing all the ghosts in me.

~Melissa Potter

Altar to Celebrate Autumn Equinox

2008-10-01T08:50:00.011-04:00

The Magic of Childhood

Fall is my most favorite time of the year! I am excited to learn, to delve deep, to decorate for Halloween! I love Thanksgiving ~ both our American traditional Thanksgiving in November and the Witches Thanksgiving ~ Mabon ~ Autumn Equinox in September. I am filled with memories of childhood during this time of year.

When I see myself, it's from the perspective of looking down at my own feet as I walk through the brightly colored leaves on the city sidewalks. There are mounds of red, orange, yellow, fire- colored maple leaves in the gutters alongside the curb. I am making a path with my swooshing and have to be extra careful not to step on a crack, lest I break my mother's back; and to watch for the places where Mother Nature has pushed herself up through the concrete and made swells in the sidewalk where old beautiful tree roots burst through.

I can smell the magic and spookiness of Halloween. I can feel the cozy fabric of my new school clothes and see the castle walls of Prattville Park (the ones I loved to walk upon) covered with autumn leaves.

My thoughts revolved around what I wanted to be for Halloween. Should I be a witch (again) or a gypsy (again)? When I was a gypsy, I could treasure-hunt through my two, teen aged aunts jewelry boxes. They were filled to overflowing with 1970's wooden bead necklaces and bracelets and trinkle things in every color. I wore a bandanna around my head and an exotic mole on the left side of my chin. It was so exciting!

I vividly remember, in my body, walking up and down the streets of Prattville with my mother and sister. I only had one back then ~ I now have three! Did my father ever go trick-or-treating with us? I can't remember! There was nothing more exciting then the thrill of knocking on the doors of the houses that were decorated as haunted houses with scary music coming from the their windows! I can practically hear the cold October wind blowing, the leaves swirling and landing, the swish of our feet through the piles of them.

After trick-or-treating, we would go back to Jones Ave. the small, dead-end street where my Nana's house was. Into the front parlor we would dash with our pillow cases of candy! Onto the rug we would fall as quickly as possible to empty out, and count the candy bars. My favorite were the Sugar Daddy's! How I loved when my Mom or Nana asked for a piece of their favorite candy!

If I knew better back then I could have held a crystal ball with my child hands and seen the gypsy woman looking back at me. She would have said, "Look into my crystal ball Little Missie. You will grow up to be an adventuring woman after all. You will be very intuitive and magical. You will, in fact, get a crystal ball by default from an eccentric roommate you will have who will disappear without a trace one winter night from the haunted house you are renting with him in Nashua, NH...You will begin reading tarot cards and collect them all of your life! You will become the witch you always dress up to be at Halloween, but a good witch, a wise-woman witch with circles of other women witches around you....look into my crystal ball and see that all the things you love now as a child, you will become when you're a grownup, too!"

It's so funny that everything I always played as a child has come to pass in my life! I was forever playing teacher and school, writing poems and dreaming of keeping journals that would some day be published, dressing up as a witch and a gypsy (I've moved about fifty times in my life and Goddess knows I am a witch!) I always loved the Native Americans, called the "Indians" back then, in all the Western films and especially was heart broken by the commercial of the Native American man on the bank of a polluted waterway with a tear in his eyes. To this day I love Mother Nature (which is what they referred to her as in the Parkay margarine commercials!) (TV references fill my childhood memories!) and to this day I do whatever I can and whatever new things I learn about to help protect, honor and love my Mother Earth. It has all come to pass. The childhood seeds of the things I loved most in life are the blossoming flowers and trees of who I am and who I am becoming in my life today.

Feeling My Autumn Essence

When I was in my twenties, I began recording my dreams and the fall is when they became the most potent, magical and colorful. Beginning at the first harvest festival on the ancient wheel of the year on August 2 - called Lammas to the ancient Celtic peoples - my desire to write and journal and remember my dreams begins to fill my life with excitement. My connection to myself was always the deepest in the fall. I always say that fall is when I am in my "essence." Friends from all over and way back when suddenly call me in autumn because, "It's fall and I just thought of you, Missie," they say to me. I was conceived in the fall. I chose to enter the world during this most magical time. I always hope that when I die someday when I am very old and a grandmother and healthy in all ways except for the old-age part, it will be during the season of autumn. It would be the perfect time to release one's body, to offer it up to the blessed earth in time to transform, renew, and rebirth myself in the womb of some new mother in the springtime of the year.

Gratitude, Celebration and Deepening

This is a time of the beauty and abundance of the harvest season. It's a festive time of giving thanks, feasting, and gratitude for all we have ~ our family, our friends, the fullness of the earth around us, our dreams and our hopes. I hope that you all take the time you deserve to rest and evaluate what you have harvested this past year. Have a bonfire, a campfire, a wood stove or fireplace fire. If you can do none of these things, light an autumn colored candle and feel the warmth of the fire elemental in your heart of hearts.

Autumn Equinox celebrates the abundance of the harvest time, gratitude and the balance of light and dark. It is a traditional time to gather in community with others in gratitude for all we have received. In the spiritual sense, it's also a time to prepare for the coming dark & cold time of the year.

Autumn Equinox is the symbolic doorway that leads us into ourselves. In the fall we begin the journey down the double spiral pathway that leads to the inner realms. Deep inside our sacred self is the home we return to where, in autumn and in winter, we rest, renew and transform ourselves. We pull our energy deep down into our roots as the plants, animals and trees of our region have taught us to do.

It is also traditional in some cultures to have a Giveaway Ceremony. As the trees are releasing their beautiful, colored leaves and the ripe apples hang heavy on their boughs, we see all around us that Mother Earth is giving herself to us freely and fully. Look around your home and space. What is it time to let go of? This would be anything that comes from your heart, that you know you need to pass on, that you are ready to release. Wrap this gift up beautifully and gift it to a friend, gift it to a stranger, leave it on someones doorstep!

When I'm grateful for the blessings in my life, my heart is wide open with love, a feeling of joy, abundance, magic and well-being. Gratitude is the secret to living a life of true joy and meaning for me.

May you feel the love of the earth and spirit within your heart this day and always.

Blessed Be,

Melissa

Roots Deep, Branches Rising

2008-09-22T13:42:00.015-04:00

Offerings to Our Divine Mother

*************************************************************

We are sisters on a Journey

We are sisters on a journey,
Singing now as one,
Remembering the Ancient Ways,
The women and the wisdom,
The women and the wisdom.
We are sisters on a journey,
Singing in the sun,
Singing through the darkest night,
The healing has begun, begun;
The healing has begun.

I am so excited that this past Monday, September 15, I was blessed to begin a sacred circle, a seasonal group for women at my home. We are going to meet every other week on a Monday evening. Our first gathering was under the Pisces Full Moon, the Harvest Moon. One by one, women entered the sacred temple I created for this evening's meeting. I had only spoken with most of these women on the phone so it was very exciting to meet them in person! When I decided to finally create this group, I was amazed at how many women responded to the call for members. The Goddess is calling all women back to herself.

"She's been waiting.
She's been waiting so long.
She's been waiting for her children,
To remember to return..."

Autumn came yesterday and with it the sudden memory, (as if I don't speak about this all the time! The turning of the seasons!)...the sudden memory and realization that the waters will be too cold to swim in soon (and I like cold water) and the comfort and privacy of my back yard will disappear slowly but surely as the blanket covering of deciduous trees lose their leaves. Back to being fully dressed on the back porch in the morning where I sit with my coffee.

I began to think of all the things I didn't do that I wanted to do ~ how I didn't camp enough, sit around enough fires, never went to the mountains but once last weekend and haven't felt the hot sand of the shore on the back of my legs as many times as I was called to do.

I turned forty this year and I can hardly stop thinking about the fact that it is time to truly get rid of the layers of guilt I walk around with. The layers I torture myself with; the must's, should have's, I regret's, I am guilty of's, why did I ever's?

Yeah, autumn is the time to grieve, as Demeter did for her lost daughter Persephone, to grieve the loss of time, the loss of hopes we may have had that did not come to fruition in the garden of our lives. (Yet!)

There are deep layers within us. In the fall, I can't ignore, even if I wanted to, the calling of the soul. It beckons me deep into myself, tells me to grab the wash bucket and my favorite old-fashioned broom. It's time for cleaning, clearing, releasing, letting go of....

But it's also the time to be, as Persephone was, as Inanna was, as Ishtar of Babylonia was ~ the adventuring woman preparing for her rich and magical journey to the Underworld of herself.

Autumn is the time of beauty and a celebration of the abundant earth, the glory of the Mother Goddess and her gifts of the earth to us, Her much-loved children. To fully embrace the joy and happiness, the gratitude and the magical nature of life, I must be willing to dance with the darkness within when necessary; to meet with it, embrace it, stand beneath a glowing disco ball of sparkling love lights with it, and to dance with those wicked shadows of myself until they no longer make me run and hide, until I am familiar with how they move, how they operate, what their secrets are.

And the light will make everything all right.

My goal this year is to deepen the relationship I have with myself, to find the comfort I am longing for, in my own, strong arms.

I wish to be free from the harsh and seemingly unending pressure I put myself under to perform on the stage of my life perfectly, to do my best, be my best, to strive, to suffer through it, to persevere...

I am from the old school, always the old school ways. The way of the tough love, white fisted, hard-core, hard-knocks, back-breaking, toughen-up, brow-beating, eye-brow knitting, what now?, eye-glaring, warrior.

Can I blame it on the way I grew up forever?

This year may I go in silence, in reverence, with flower offerings and apple pie trust down the spiral path to the caves within me, calling on Bear for her strong medicine energy. May I gather, along the way, raw garnet and soft earth to ground me, healing roots for my pouch, songs to sing to myself when I cry.

We all have within us the archetype and energies of the Divinely Compassionate Mother. I commit and intend to reach my arms out to this ever-loving presence, to call upon my Spirit guides and ancestors, to sit at the beautiful altars I create and pray at them more often.

I want the words I use on myself to inspire me like a pumpkin patch in autumn, like the smell of an apple orchard at night does; like the wind in my favorite month of October, the scent of the sea in my August memories and the newly plowed earth in spring, does.

When I speak to myself, may I use the words of the Divine Mother within me! May I bless myself, encourage myself with words like:

You are inspiring!
Create from your beautiful heart!
Let love flow from your open-wide heart!
Give it away, give it away!
Love life fully.
Life loves you fully!
Don't apologize.
Be You, Sacred You.
Move peacefully; take your time.
All is well, everything is unfolding as it should!
You may nap and dream in the afternoons.
You don't have to suffer!
You may learn the easy way...
It's OK to not suffer.
I give you permission to live joyfully.
You are good enough...
You are enough...
You are perfect just the way you are! Just being you, you are perfect.
Your heart is golden pure.
You are innocent, white, Maiden ~ adventurous, risking, brave and free, a woman unto herself!
You are the life blood red of the earth, Earth Mother, nurturing, whole, creative and cared for!
You are wise woman within, Black magical night, Crone Mother, sage magic, blessing all you are!
You are all you need to love and all you need to be loved.
Take up the space,
Speak all your truth,
Sing to the glowing moon,
Let flow the magical musings pouring forth from your trusting heart!
Forgiving,
Healing,
Loving,
Releasing,
Opening,
Transforming,
Connecting,
Birthing,
Magical!

I wish this for all of us. That we take that pressure off of ourselves once and for all and love ourselves in a way that is supportive and soft-spoken and powerful and strong all together.

This came in from DailyOM.com recently. It was the medicine I needed. I truly want to print this out, put it on my altar and read it every, single, day.

September 8, 2008
Trying To Please Others
Living For Ourselves

Most of us come to a point in our lives when we question why we are doing what we are doing, and many of us come to realize that we may be living our lives in an effort to make our parents happy. This realization can dawn when we are in our 20s, our 40s, or even later, depending upon how tight a hold our family of origin has on our psyche. We may feel shocked or depressed by this information, but we can trust that it is coming to us at this time because we are ready to find out what it would mean to live our lives for ourselves, following the call of our own soul, and refusing any longer to be beholden to someone else’s expectations. One of the most common reasons we are so tied into making our parents, or others, happy, is that we were not properly mirrored when we were children. We were not honored as individuals in our own right, with a will and purpose of our own, to be determined by our own unfolding. As a result, we learned to look outside of ourselves for approval, support, and direction rather than look within. The good news is that the part of us that was not adequately nurtured is still there, inside us, like a seed that has not yet received the sunlight and moisture it needs to open and to allow its inner contents to unfurl. It is never too late to provide ourselves with what we need to awaken this inner being. There are many ways to create a safe container for ourselves so that we can turn within and shine the light of awareness there. We may join a support group, go to therapy, or start a practice of journaling every day for half an hour. This experience of becoming is well worth the difficult work that may be required of us to get there. In whatever process we choose, we may feel worse before we feel better, but we will ultimately find out how to live our lives for ourselves and how to make ourselves happy.

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The dreams I've been having are filled with enough messages that I can't deny there is a lot going on within me that needs healing. I am surrounded by all the support in the Universe any one of us could need. And so...are...you!

In the ancient myths, Persephone would be far into her journey through the Underworld right now. She has Hecate as her wise guide and I won't be alone down there in the dark, cold days of autumn and winter either.

I have always loved the dark, the deep, the magical, the witches, the wise women, the deep roots of the forest. And I call upon the ancient Root Women who live beneath the apple trees, who feed us up what we need to do next. Ancestors, the time of the thinning veils is coming. Prepare me, love me, hold me, guide me. So Mote It Be.

Like Persephone, may I care for the ghosts of myself so that they are nurtured, renewed and brought back to life again.

Stepping Into the Fullness of Summer and The Shining Sovereign Self

2008-07-13T10:05:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, June 29, I facilitated a fun and joyful workshop, ritual and celebration of the Summer Solstice!

The sun has just waxed to its fullest point on the Wheel of the Year. This is the perfect moment to call upon and harness the power and energies of this most abundant time of the year. The powerful summer sun is an inspiration and guide for you to be your fullest, brightest, most wonderful self ~ The Queen of Your Own Life!

Here are some lines from one of my favorite writings about the Goddess. It is called, "The Charge of The Goddess."

"I, who am the beauty of the green earth, and the white moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the heart, calls unto thy soul. Arise, and come unto Me. For I am the soul of nature, who gives life to the universe. From me all things proceed, and unto me they must return; and before my face, beloved of all humans, let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite. Let my worship be in the heart that rejoices; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. Therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you."

The loving message of the Divine Feminine Goddess is to celebrate yourself! The Goddess gives you permission to shine your light onto your life, onto your self and onto the people and things you love.

Sunday was a day of celebrating, creating beauty, standing in our power and joy, singing and creating sacred space & ritual together. We experienced the magic and inspiration of the Divine Feminine!

Together we created sacred space with a hundred flowers, candles, cloths of fire-colored magic, photographs of women in their power and joy, images of the Goddess, the Mother Queen's, crystals and statues of the Divine Feminine archetypes.

There was sacred music, healing chants, prayer flags of beauty and peace, sacred art making. Women shared their stories, their insights, their essence with each other and they participated in a beautiful Queening ceremony.

Stepping into our power, finding our voice, shining our light and wisdom; our highest, brightest selves out into the world, is one of the most challenging feats to accomplish. It is our birthright, our duty, dare I say, to do so ~ but it takes courage and it takes loving ourselves, over and over again, to walk the path that is lit by our own inner flame.

May you be blessed, may you bless yourself and may your blessings pour forth love and light onto those you love, your community and the bright green and healing waters of this earth.

The Goddess Athena visits us at the Northwood Transfer Station

2008-07-07T09:03:00.005-04:00

I was just talking with my partner about Susan Seddon Boulet. This amazing woman is the most talented artist I have ever been blessed to know of. I could wall paper my entire home with her paintings and never tire of the way they make me feel.

I decided it would be a good idea to put a link to her work on my web blog here since I am certain I'll use her artwork on this web log. I told her that I needed to find the one of the woman pregant with a raven in her womb. My son's middle name is Raven because I had been visited by many while I was pregnant.

After seeing the beautiful barred owl yesterday (see the full, magical story below) I have been reflecting on the first owl I had ever seen, which was when I was pregnant. A friend found a wonderful site for the Turning Point Gallery where prints of her artwork, as well as original pieces are sold. Her biography is included on these pages and it would be perfect to link curious readers to. Her artwork is the most magical, most spiritual, most beautiful I know.

As I browsed through the gallery, I saw one of our favorites of a woman with a snake on her head. Believe it or not, my friend, Karen just found this ~ and another framed print of Boulet's ~ at the Northwood town dump on Saturday! When I ever looked at the title of this painting I lost my breath. For I have never known what it was called.

Athena!

Athena who's totem is the owl. Wise Athena has come to visit us. What gift does she have for us? She has sent her owl messenger our way. On Saturday we prayed together over our scallops and haddock dinner that Goddess would bring us a spiritual sign, something that would remind us of the beauty and magic of summertime, of our lives. We had just come from the transfer station, the Boulet prints in the back seat brewing up their magic for us while we called out to the Goddess for synchronicities and magic! Little did we know!

Spirit of the Wind

2008-07-07T07:34:00.008-04:00

Spirit Of The Wind
by Brooke Medicine Eagle

Spirit of the Wind carry me
Spirit of the Wind carry me home
Spirit of the Wind carry me home to myself

Spirit of the Ocean, depth of emotion
Spirit of the Sea, set myself free
Spirit of the Wind carry me home to myself

Spirit of the Rain, wash away the pain
Spirit of the Storm, help me be reborn
Spirit of the Wind carry me home to myself

Spirit of the Sun, warm light healing me
Spirit of the Sky, spread my wings and fly
Spirit of the Wind carry me home to myself

Spirit of the Earth, help me with my birth
Spirit of the Land, hold me in your hand
Spirit of the Wind carry me home to myself

Spirit of the River, blessed forgiver
Spirit of the Shore, shows me more and more
Spirit of the Wind carry me home to myself

Yesterday, in the late afternoon, my partner and I stood in my driveway saying goodbye to our friend who had just dropped my son off after a weekend visit. I was in a rush to get packing for our camping trip this week and was anxious to get back to work so we could head back to our lake house for a swim. Suddenly, in the midst of our thank-you's and goodbye's, we heard a flutter of activity and the sounds of playing robins screeching above our heads.

I looked up to see a very large bird land in the branch of the pine tree in my yard. A barred owl! It perched on the big tree looking down at us. We called for the children to come to see! That wise messenger of magic and intuition stared at each of us with its dark, knowing eyes. What a blessing!

Along came the fun and playful robins and the barred owl flew across the street. We ran to follow it's path. My son, Seamus caught sight of it and after a few moments it swooped its majestic self back to the other side of my yard, higher up this time but in perfect view like a guardian of the dream time realm and in turn looked each of us in the eyes.

Besides a quick flash of flying wings on a back road here and there, I've only seen an owl once before. In the autumn of 1995, I was pregnant with my son. I was the Mother Goddess.

On my mid-day break I went to the back porch to rest. I worked in a beautiful, old farmhouse in Hollis, NH for a lovely couple named Toby & Richard. Overlooking the back yard was a giant tree and in it, an owl. The owl swooped down to catch a mouse. I was awe-struck and felt I had been given a great blessing to have finally seen my favorite bird in the world.

Now again, to have it visit my own home, to bring its energy of magic and mystery, I am truly grateful and graced by the Spirit of the Land and Goddess.

"What Goddess was known for having an owl by her side?" my friend Lez asked his son, Michael. Michael was not sure. Seamus, my son, answered, "Artemis." "It's Athena," said Lez. "The owl is the messenger of wisdom," he continued. I shared that I have always associated owl medicine with wisdom, too, as well as with intuition as the owl has the ability to see through the dark, through the night. It's deeply penetrating eyes can see straight into the soul of us to what is really going on within.

I told Michael about a book we have called, "Animal Speak" by Ted Andrews. We decided to take a look inside to see what messages it had for us.

In addition to wonderful information on various owls and it's association with wisdom and intuition, it said that owl is sometimes thought of as the reincarnation of the dead.

My son did lose his biological father last Wednesday, July 2. When I saw the owl almost 13 years ago, I was certain that it was my Ancestors and Spirit Guides speaking to me. I would dream of his Mic Mac grandmother and aunt ~ both long-ago-deceased ~ and other groups of Native Americans cooking and sharing food together. They were telling me they would watch over Seamus and I and that I should not worry.

Have they returned with this message of comfort and protection again? Looking over us through the deep eyes of the barred owl? Whether or not this is the case, I felt a strong presence of Spirit and of Love from All That Is when I saw that barred owl yesterday afternoon, in the stillness of almost-dusk.

"I wonder if it will come back," I said to my partner, this morning. "It will when you need it," she said, comfortingly.

Honoring the Maiden, the Mother & the Crone

2008-07-01T21:22:00.000-04:00

Goddess Prayer 2004 CE

by Glenys Livingstone

Mother – She within me who is deeply related
Virgin – She within me who is ever new
Crone – She within me who is creative return to All
Holy is my being

The Mystery pervades all…
May I understand my daily guidance and graciously receive the infinite daily abundance
May I forgive my insensitivities and lack of skill
and forgive others the same
May I respond to my divine passion
I am in awe
And give thanks to the light and dark within

Beginning Again

by Glenys Livingstone

The Mother within reweaves the fabric
The torn fabric
Torn in the weak spots
She sets to work with all her love and consciousness
Picking up the threads
Threads that go all the way back to the beginning
She uses these, yet makes new patterns

Mercifully, Erishkagal, Crone – her partner
Has destroyed old patterns
Erishkagel has washed away the debris
With her storm and tempest

Artemis, virgin, spiritual warrior
Fiercely guards and nurtures the new
She is faithful to the heart that seeks
Fullness, wholeness
She will constellate in the hearts night sky
And call forth right direction