Writing While Under the Influence of Faeries

2012-02-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

Brigid's Song

Brigid, A Flame for the Future

The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Lady of the Sea: The Goddess Who Births the New Age, and it has to do with Brigid’s role in the future. I have provided translations for the Gaelic words.
An interesting story concerning Brigid is found in the writings of 19th century writer Fiona Macleod (William Sharp). It comes from a little volume called Winged Destiny: Studies in the Spiritual History of the Gael. In this story the author encounters an elderly woman named Mary MacArthur who tells him of a dream encounter she’d had with St. Brigid many years before. Brigid was very precious and dear to the Celts; they regarded her as the foster mother of Christ, and this dream encounter touched Mary MacArthur deeply.

This was the dream that Mary MacArthur recounted to Fiona Macleod. A woman of great beauty came up to Mary as she was at the seashore gathering driftwood to kindle her fire. The woman threw the wood into the sea, saying she was throwing away Mary’s sorrows with the wood. She identified herself as Brigid, and Mary exclaimed aloud in wonder and praise, and went down on her knee. Brigid looked at her and said:

I am older than Brighid of the Mantle, Mary,
and it is you that should know that.
I put songs and music on the wind
before ever the bells of the chapels were rung in the West
or heard in the East.

I am Brighid-nam-Bratta (Brighid of the Mantle),
but I am also Brighid-Muirghin-na-tuinne (Brighid of the conception of the waves),
and Brighid-sluagh (Brighid of the immortal host),
Brighid-nan-sitheach seang (Brighid of the slim faery folk),
Brighid-Binne- Bheullbuchd-nan-trusganan-uaine (Brighid of sweet songs and melodious mouth),

and I am older than Aona (Friday)
and am as old as Luan (Monday).

And in Tir-na-h'oige (Land of the Ever Young)
my name is Suibhal-bheann (Mountain traveler);
in Tir-fo-thuinn (Country of the Waves)
it is Cù-gorm (Grey Hound);
and in Tir-nah'oise (Country of Ancient Years)
it is Sireadh-thall (Seek-beyond).

And I have been a breath in your heart.

And the day has its feet to it that will see me
coming into the hearts of men and women
like a flame upon dry grass,
like a flame of wind in a great wood.

For the time of change is at hand, Mairi nic Ruaridh Donn—
though not for you, old withered leaf on the dry branch,
though for you, too, when you come to us and see all things in the pools of life yonder.”

* * *

This interesting passage, wherein Brigid refers to a time of change close at hand, would seem to speak of the Aquarian Age which will soon arrive, as well as the major time of changes we are now experiencing and which are leading us into the new age.

Older than Friday—creation’s final day, when all living creatures came into being—and as old as Monday—the second day of creation, when God began the work of creation by separating the waters of above and below, thus creating sky and sea, Brigid is telling us she is older than earthly life and was there at the very beginning, much like the feminine figure of Wisdom in the Bible.

She is Lady of the faeries, the sea, and the songs in the wind. Brigid says that she has previously been like “a breath in your heart,” but that the time is coming when she will enter into people’s hearts like a flame upon dry grass and a flame of wind in a great wood.

Thus she identifies herself as a major player in the future; a powerful being who will help bring about, in the age to come, the very changes she foretells.

2012-01-31T15:31:00.000-08:00

The Genealogy of Brigid

The genealogy of the holy maiden Bride,
Radiant flame of gold, noble foster-mother of Christ,
Bride the daughter of Dugall the brown,
Son of Aodh, son of Art, son of Conn,
Son of Crearar, son of Cis, son of Carina, son of Carruin.

Every day and every night
That I say the genealogy of Bride,
I shall not be killed, I shall not be harried,
I shall not be put in cell, I shall not be, wounded,
Neither shall Christ leave me in forgetfulness.

No fire, no sun, no moon shall burn me,
No lake, no water, nor sea shall drown me,
No arrow of fairy nor dart of fay shall wound me,
And I under the protection of my Holy Mary,
And my gentle foster-mother is my beloved Bride.

*******

Here is a short video where a sweet young lady will teach you how to make a Brigid's Cross.

St Brigid's Cross

2012-01-30T23:06:00.000-08:00

Brigid's Well, Ireland

And here is a lovely song:

Brigid Upon the Highland

2012-01-29T19:05:00.000-08:00

And here is a lovely song to Brigid, sung in Gaelic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqN3XAqoFDg&feature=related

2012-01-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

Brigid:the Triple Goddess

Artwork by Miranda Gray

Celtic Festivals: Imbolc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMejkXk_mlI&feature=endscreen&NR=1

2012-01-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

Brigid's Feast Will Soon Be Here!

The hours of daylight are growing and we are rapidly approaching the festival of Brigid – Goddess and Saint. I have posted information about Brigid in the past:

*   http://margiemcarthur.blogspot.com/2011/02/la-fheile-bride-better-late-than-never.html
*   http://margiemcarthur.blogspot.com/2010/01/la-fheile-bride-it-is-once-again-feast.html
* http://margiemcarthur.blogspot.com/2008/01/oimelc-imbolc-and-feast-of-brigid-this.html
*   http://margiemcarthur.blogspot.com/2007/02/blessed-brigid-golden-sparkling-flame.html

But this year I’d like to share with you some lovely pictures, videos, and websites about Brigid that I’ve found.

Here is today’s offering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mpuu18cZpY&feature=related

There will be something new each day, so please return and check them all out!

Lá Fhéile Bríde!

Margie

2011-12-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

Three Things to Share This Holiday Season

I wrote these some years back, but they are worth posting again. 'Tis the season! And blessings of the season to you all!

http://margiemcarthur.blogspot.com/2010/12/it-all-comes-down-to-mother-and-her.html

http://margiemcarthur.blogspot.com/2010/12/midwinter-night-wheel-of-year-has.html

And here is a vision journey with which to tap in to this season wherein the Dark Mother births the Light.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Chapel in the Clearing and the Blessings of the Light

To begin: Place a candle in the center of your working space and light it in honor of the One Divine Source from which all life and being emanates.

Vision Journey —
Take a slow deep breath, then exhale, and relax. Be still for a moment, and feel your body as you sit upon the couch, chair or floor. Take another deep breath…and let it out. And another. And with each one, you feel yourself relaxing more and more.

As you gaze at the candle flame in the center of the room, you feel your own, inner flame, the spark of divinity within you, awaken in response. Close your eyes now and see the candle flame with your inner vision, and watch as it grows in size, strength, and brightness. Take another slow deep breath, and as you exhale you watch the flame growing...and feel your inner flame growing stronger and brighter as well, and your awareness increasing along with it.

With your inner vision, you watch as the candle flame increases in size till it becomes a wall of flame, a curtain of flame.

You step through the curtain of flame and find yourself to be in a very different kind of place. You are standing at the edge of a woods, looking into a clearing, in the midst of which sits a small stone building. It is a cold wintery night, and overhead the stars shine brightly in the deep blue sky. The tiny crescent of the waning moon is setting in the west, but the stars are bright and provide illumination.

You walk towards the stone building, and as you get closer you can see it is a chapel of some sort, with three wooden stairs that lead up to a porch and a wooden door. You spend a few moments looking at the carvings on the wooden door (pause), then climb the stairs, push the door open, and enter the chapel.

To your surprise, the chapel is roofless and the starlight gleams down, giving a dim illumination to the interior. You see a cobbled stone floor, a few wall decorations, some wooden benches, and at the front of the chapel, a stone altar. On the altar is a beautiful golden cup.

You walk up to the altar and go around it to the other side, so that you are facing the body of the chapel and the door through which you just entered. You feel pulled to place your hands down upon the stone altar and do so, allowing your awareness sink within the stone......

Suddenly you become aware that the chapel, which had looked empty and deserted, is actually full. You hear the rustle of a great crowd of beings. You cannot see them, but you can sense them. You sense animal spirits, plant spirits, tree spirits. You sense humans, faeries, elves. There is a sense of expectancy and subdued excitement in the room, and yet a feeling of reverence as well.

Then your eyes are drawn upward to the sky above the chapel. The great cobalt dome of sky sparkles with stars. But your attention is pulled behind the stars, to the vast sea of space itself, and within that great sea of space you sense a vast presence, and a consciousness almost beyond human comprehension. You feel tiny by comparison. Yet despite the vastness of this consciousness and your relative tinyness, you feel it’s attention and caring... as it gazes at you with its thousands of eyes.

You look now at the stars, and notice that two of them seem particularly bright...brighter than the rest, and that these two seem to be moving slowly and majestically across the sky to a place where their paths will intersect. You watch as this happens....and as they come into conjunction, their lights blend together, forming one huge bright light, one enormous star. Beams of light begin to pour forth from this huge star, streaming downward toward the earth, and as you watch this, you hear music — a kind of wordless singing of many voices, in beautiful harmony.......

On instinct you place your hands on the golden cup that is sitting in the center of the stone altar. As you sense all the unseen faces in the chapel turning skyward, you lift the golden cup to the sky. The beams of light pouring down from the large star flow into the cup, filling it with a light both silver and golden, a light that fills the cup to the brim, and then overflows. The beams of light from the sky flow onto your head and into your body, as well. They splash onto your shoulders, run down back and front, run down your arms and onto your hands. The light is infusing your body, and you know it is infusing all the other beings in the chapel, as well.

And everywhere on and in you this light reaches, you feel warmed, cleansed, blessed, and healed. You spend a few moments allowing yourself to fully experience and absorb this……

After a while, the outpouring of light from the huge star slows….and it’s brilliance returns to normal. You lower the cup down to the altar, and as you do so, you become aware of the presence of a great and powerful being just behind you. The being steps up and places its hands upon your shoulders, and as this happens you feel a great powerful blessing pour through you, and into the contents of the cup...... Lifting the cup, you take a sip, then extend your arms outward and offer the cup to the unseen beings in the chapel. You hear a great rustle of movement as they all come forward. And as each comes forward to drink from the cup, you find that you can see them as they take their sip. As they take their sip, each one looks at you, and you look upon them — faeries, elves, plant spirits, animal spirits, nature spirits, and even some human spirits — and you feel the bond of joyful kinship that unites you with these other creatures of the earth.

When this is done you place the cup down upon the altar. You stretch your arms out again, and feel the power of blessing flow forth from you, and out into the world….You sense that the spirits in the chapel, who have also partaken of the starry nectar, are doing likewise. You feel the power of blessing streaming out of you and out of the other beings, out of the chapel and into the world, to places and beings who are suffering — in pain of mind or body. The blessings — of peace, of comfort, of joy — stream forth for a long time…..... till finally, it feels complete, and you slowly lower your arms....

A moment of silence follows....and then you feel the great presence behind you slowly withdraw its energy from you...... After another moment, you again hear a rustle of movement, as the spirits arise and depart from the chapel.

Finally you are alone in the chapel....all is silent and still. You look at the cup, and see that, despite all who have drunk from its contents, it is still brimming and overflowing with silvery golden light. In fact, this light continues to spill over the top, flowing down onto the altar, and to the stone floor of the chapel. It soaks into the stones of both altar and floor, and it flows in tiny gleaming rivulets out the wooden door and down the wooden stairs, where it soaks into the earth. And you are aware that it is infusing with blessing, cleansing and healing all that it touches......

You feel now that it is time to leave this place. You walk around the altar, through the chapel, and step over the threshold, out into the night, closing the wooden door behind you. You walk down the wooden steps and out into the clearing. After a few more steps you pause, looking upward again at the sky, and feeling the vast consciousness there.... The bright star still gleams above you; the other stars twinkle brightly in the dark sky. As you gaze upon them, your vision shifts, and you see that the stars outline the form of a woman swaddled in a long hooded cloak. Her womb is glowing, and she holds a child in her arms..... As you perceive this image, you feel her presence and her motherly love......

Then your vision shifts again, and although you still feel her presence, you see only a starlit sky. You begin walking across the clearing, and just past tree line, you see a fire burning in the distance...You walk toward the fire, and find that each step you take brings you more and more into your normal waking awareness. You reach the fire, step through the flames, and find that you have come back to this time and this place, into a room where a candle flickers and glows, brightening the darkened room.....You are back….and when you feel ready you may open your eyes.

2011-06-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the incredibly beautiful St John's Wort plant

2011-06-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

Midsummer — A Time of Faeries and Flowers

It is Midsummer – the time of year when the growing light has reached its peak. A time of days outdoors, harvesting the garden’s early bounty; a time of bonfires at the beach, picnics at the park.A time of the delights and enchantments of summer. A time of faeries and flowers.

Aine – The Bright Spark
The Irish goddess Aine is associated with Midsummer. Aine was extremely popular in the southern Ireland area of Munster, where she was considered the Queen of the Faeries.

She is thought to be a regional version of Anu, in whose honor two local mountains were named. Quite likely, Anu is the same being as the great Celtic Mother Goddess Danu for whom several rivers in Europe are named, and who was known in Ireland as Dana. Aine’s lore links her with earth, air, fire and water. The two mountains were thought to be her breasts; she had a home in a special hill named Cnoc Aine (Aine’s Hill), and was thought to have created the enchanted lake known as Lough Gur, over which she sometimes appeared in the shape of a faery whirlwind. Aine is very much associated with the sun, and was known as the wife of the sea god Manannan MacLir, from whose bed she arose every morning.

She was worshiped at the Summer Solstice, at which time people lit torches of hay upon her hill of Cnoc Aine, carried them around the hill in a counterclockwise direction, and conveyed them home, bearing them aloft through their fields while waving the blessed fire over livestock and crops. Not surprisingly, Aine is also linked with the fertility of the land.

An Herb of Midsummer
There are many herbs associated with the Midsummer. In fact, most plants with bright yellow flowers that bloom around this time of year were associated with Midsummer. My favorite of these is the lovely St. John’s Wort, named for John the Baptist, whose June 25th feastday was the day when the summer solstice was observed in northern Europe.

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum; Hypericacea; Irish Gaelic: Luibh Eoin Bhaiste) is an herb of the sun, fire and light. It was thought to be very powerful, especially if pulled at noon on the Summer Solstice. A beneficial herb with several medicinal uses, it was used to break faery spells and to cure illness caused by faery darts. In the Highlands, it was thought to be protective against being taken by the faeries while asleep, especially if the herb was found rather than sought.

On the Isle of Man, however, the plant was sacred to faeries, and one must avoid stepping on it or else risk being pixy-led by the offended faeries. In Ireland, Scotland, and other of the Celtic countries, St John's Wort, the herb of Midsummer, was potent against spells and the power of faeries, evil spirits and the Devil.

St. John’s Wort blooms in mid June near the time of the Summer Solstice, June 21-22, the Christian equivalent of which is the feast of St. John the Baptist on June 24th, from which the plant derives its name. Its Irish Gaelic name, Luibh Eoin Bhaiste, means herb of John Baptist.

The use of St. John's Wort on Midsummer's Eve enabled one to see the faeries. St. John’s Wort was burned on the Midsummer bonfires, along with several other herbs (a simple and early form of smudging), for its protective influence in purifying the air of evil spirits. Modern magical uses include its use in protective incense blends.

It was also used for divination. On St. John's Eve (June 24), young, unmarried women picked it and hung it on their bedroom walls in order to bring dreams of their future husbands. It was also used as a protective amulet, hung in houses and barns, and worn around the neck to keep away ghosts, bad spirits and evil-doers in general.

It’s Latin Name, Hypericum, is from the Greek and means "over an apparition" or "holding power over spirits," a reference to the belief that this herb was distasteful to evil spirits and that a whiff of it would cause them to flee. In addition, the little black dots on the backs of the flowers and leaves contain a red dye known as Hypericine. This red dye, which readily releases when the plant is infused, may have been yet another reason that this plant was especially sacred, since red was considered the color of life, vitality, and potency.

(excerpts from Faery Healing: The Lore and the Legacy, pp 136 & 213)

2011-04-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

The World is for Loving

I live near the Pacific Ocean. As I drove home from doing some errands last month I took the route that goes along the seashore. As I gazed out at the placid Pacific, with waves rolling gently in under the brilliant blue skies, I tried to imagine what it had been like on the other side of the world just a few days back when this very same ocean, in the form of a tsunami, smashed into Japan after the 9.0 earthquake of March 11th.

Even though I knew it had truly occurred, it was hard to transpose that image onto what I was seeing as I drove the coast road. It was, even with my vivid imagination, impossible to turn those beautiful, gentle white waves into the dark, viscous roaring crashing wall of water I’d seen in the news reports. It was hard to imagine it rearing up 40-50 feet, and hurling itself furiously across the beach and inland, into the neighborhoods beyond the shore.

I love the ocean. I’ve spent many, many years living mere yards from it. During its most wild and tempestuously stormy moods, it would crash against the rocky cliffs nearby, sending puffs of seafoam into the streets. But it never approached anything tsunami-like. I’ve always known it could, however, as do most people who choose to live near an ocean. And this knowledge inspires respect. Those of us who choose to live near an ocean (as opposed to those who simply end up there) have a healthy respect as well as a love for the ocean. We know what she is capable of and know the risk we take when we choose to live in such close proximity.

As I drove along that day with these thoughts in my mind and the sea beside me, I began to think about how much I love, respect, and value the ocean. Mother Ocean....The ocean is the womb of life on the planet; our distant ancestors oozed out of its primordial slime. In a very real way, the ocean is our mother. She is a nurturing mother—providing us with food, beauty, and means of transport—and yet she can also be a destroying mother—as the tsunamis of the last decade and other sea accidents have shown us.

At this point in human history we humans are scientifically aware. We know the location of earthquake faults. We know the importance of the sea to the chain of planetary life. We know the power of the sea and the danger of tsunamis.

So why do we continue to risk the health of the seas by drilling in them for oil, thus risking the kind of catastrophic oil spill we lived through last year? Why did we ever think that dumping our toxic wastes into the sea was a good idea? Why do we risk the health of the sea, and indeed, the health of the entire chain of life on the planet, by placing our most dangerous sources of energy—nuclear power plants—on the shores of the sea? Are we, as a species, risk-takers to the point of suicide? How much abuse do we think our Mother Ocean can take without there being repercussions that effect ALL life on the planet?

Respect is what is called for. The oceans demand our respect. All life on the planet demands our respect. We humans do NOT have the right to pollute and destroy the world. We are one species out of many; an important and intelligent one, but still only one of many. No matter which religious creed one adheres to, respect for Life is usually one of the precepts. This respect must include all species of life and stretch even further, to the mother of life—our planet.

The world is for loving, respecting, living on and in. It is not for harming or destroying to satisfy our greedy, myopic, short term needs.

The need for safe, clean energy sources has never been greater. It has never been more strongly emphasized than at this time of the earthquake & tsunami-caused nuclear catastrophe in Japan.

Will we get the message this time?

2011-02-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

Lá Fhéile Bríde!
(better late than never?)

In honor of this month of Brigid, I'd like to share this exquisite Irish television program with you.

BRIGHID

Part One

Part Two

2010-12-24T20:38:00.001-08:00

It all comes down to the Mother and her Child

The story is told over and over around the world in various ways, but it always comes back to the Mother and her Child. Even in Christian mythos the reference is to "round yon virgin, mother and child."

Who is this Christ Child born of the Virgin Mother—Mary—at the winter solstice, the time of the year’s longest night? It is Child of Promise: Light born from the Darkness, Manifestation born from the Unmanifest, Life born from the Void—the Void which is not empty, but rather, full of potentialities. This child is the light of renewed life, who is born into the death and darkness of winter.

And who is the Mother who gives birth to the child? She is the Mare (pronounced: mah-ray, or mah-ree), Mari, the dark and vast bitter sea of space—the Virgin Mother Void from which all things are born. The correlate on earth is the ancient sea (from the Latin mare) from which all life came forth—life-forms as numerous as the stars in the sky or the grains of salt in the that same primordial sea.

Solstice Eve—the night before the Solstice (this year December 20th)—is Mother Night, so called in the old Germanic Traditions where the Goddess Holda was honored. This is the night we celebrate HER—First Mother, the Great Mother of all manifest life. This is the time of her confinement; the time when she labors to give birth to the Light, the light which will enable life. From the watery womb of darkness is born the fiery spark of light.

On this night we reconnect with the eternal truth of beginnings—of light emerging from darkness, of spirit taking on substance, of life birthed into being. And on this Solstice Eve night we honor First Mother, as we remember how she gave birth to light, and thus to the universe, and all that is.

Sometime on December 21nd (depending on your local time) will come the moment of solstice—of the sun seeming to stand still—that three day pause before movement seemingly begins again on Christmas Day, when the Child of Light and Promise has fully emerged and the cycle of life starts anew. And so we celebrate the fact that now is Horus is born from Isis, Adonis from Myrrha, Mithras from Anahita the Immaculate One, and Christ Jesus from the Virgin Mary.

In a way, each of us is this Child of Light, the Child of Promise—Jesus, Adonis, Mithras, Horus. Each of us is light born from our precious Dark Mother. The spark of life and light of mind and intelligence are our heritage—within each of us to use as we will—because we are all sparks from that first Divine Flame and therefore, we, too, are Divinity as it manifests on this plane of matter/mother, our Mother Earth.

When the Christmas carol says, Veiled in flesh the godhead see, hail the incarnate deity, it is really speaking not just of Jesus, the Christ Child, but of us all—the divine concealed in a robe of substance; spirit contracted down from its expanded and rarified state into a more dense, material one. Every winter solstice brings us a fresh realization of this truth, and a fresh opportunity to reconnect with our own divine source and self.

It came upon a midnight clear...... This time of the year relates to midnight because it is truly the darkest hour of the year. Darkness precedes and gives birth to the light.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given…... The wondrous gift of life birthed from First Mother begins in the silent darkness.

We hear the Christmas Angels, the great glad tidings tell…... As light emerges so does sound. And so the voice of the Divine speaks in the form of Angels—the beings traditionally said to be messengers of the Divine—as they proclaim this sacred, auspicious beginning, this holy birth.

The Mother Mary is the ma-re, the matrix, the bitter sea (known in the Qabala as Binah) from which all creation (matter) arises. Mary births the light.... Maria (the dark and bitter sea), births the Christos (the anointed one), who is Light Incarnate—spirit in substance.

I realize that this might sound like it’s all “past tense.” As if it may have happened years ago and is now complete. But please realize that it is an ongoing process, because creation is an ongoing process that expresses itself continuously through the cycles of conception, gestation, birth, growth, decay, death, and rebirth. And the circling Cycle of the Seasons reminds us of this, expressing this eternal truth, over and over as the earth makes its yearly journey around the sun.

The solstice-born Child of Light is the reborn sun that will increase and grow throughout the waxing part of the year. But this Child, whose birth is commemorated in story and song, also represents the Light—born of the Galactic Mother—as shone through the lens of the current Astrological Age, which is the sign of the zodiac in which the sun rises on the morning of the spring equinox.

Thus, for the last 2000 years, the Holy Solstice Child has been the Piscean Avatar, who promised to make his disciples "Fishers of Men."

We have heard over and over that we are living in the time of the changing of the Age from the sign of Pisces to that of Aquarius. These Ages are like months of the Great Year - the 26,000 year cycle of the precession of the equinoxes, so we are going from the 'month' of Pisces into the 'month' of Aquarius. Each of these months has different energies and themes, and these are then played out and made manifest in the ongoing creation and evolution of our planetary lifestream.

The time of transition between Ages is traditionally one of confusion and chaos, as old beliefs, ways of being, patterns, and structures break down from their own dead weight to make way for the "new" that is coming through. And yet, hints and whispers of the new are often heard and felt too, although these are still in embryonic form. These transition times can be very schizophrenic, as we struggle through them, wondering which 'reality' is the real one!

And this is where we are right now, at this point in time. We are at a point very similar to that of Midwinter Solstice: already part way through the cycle of breakdown and dissolution. We are at a point where the darkness is deepest, the dissolution most severe, and the wintery, cold, watery Tide of Cleansing is sweeping things away, often in a quite terrifying way. And yet, we are also at the point where the new energies, and hints of the new patterns can be sensed, can be felt...just enough to give us the hope to hang on.

We are truly living through hard times; time when one age is dissolving and the next one is not yet fully formed. But we must live in faith that it will be formed, that we will survive, and we must contribute our good will and efforts to its formation and eventual healthy birth.

But getting through that dark time! We are helped in this task by the fact that each year as the winter solstice comes around it brings us increasing infusions of the energies of the age to come, if we can but feel their tantalizing hints in the surrounding darkness.

This coming Change of the Ages is also marked in the Mayan calendar, whose end date of December 21, 2012 is rapidly approaching. The Mayan lore says the world ends on that day, meaning that one world (or Age) ends and the next begins. But really, this 'end of the world' day is more than just one 24 hour day. This end date is affixed to a celestial event that takes several years to complete, so this energy of transition (so similar to that of the human birth process, as every mother knows) will be with us for several years to come.

The celestial event to which the Mayan legends refer is the fact that the winter solstice sunrise of Dec 21, 2012, will be exactly aligned with the dark rift of the Milky Way. This rift points directly into the galactic center, and is linked in many cosmologies with the Great Mother Goddess who births the cosmos. Poetically speaking, the visual imagery suggests the dark rift to be the birth canal of the Great Mother, from which energies from the galactic center (her womb) periodically emerge, bearing the embryonic energies and new patterns of the era which is to come.

This alignment also conjuncts the Mayan stellar configuration of the Sacred Tree, which is the spot where the ecliptic crosses the Milky Way, So one might say that the Sacred Tree of Life will be reborn or regenerated by the new energies birthed by the Great Mother. What responsibility, yet what joy, to be living during these intense times!

And with this we are brought back again to the darkness that is Mother Night, as we await with joy, this Winter Solstice Eve, the birth of the Divine Child of Light—within our planetary cycle, and within our own hearts, minds, and souls.

So, indeed, the wondrous gift is given: the Divine Light, reborn of the Dark Mother.

Yes, it really all does all come down to the Mother and her Child....

© Margie McArthur, 2004; All rights reserved.

2010-12-19T12:59:00.000-08:00

Midwinter Night

The Wheel of the Year has turned once again and we find ourselves nearing the Midwinter Festival of Light, one which has been celebrated in many mythologies and under many names for eons.

At this time in the Northern Hemisphere, the light of the sun is reborn and the days begin to grow longer, waxing toward spring. Very frequently midwinter is celebrated as the birthday of the Sun God; always, it marks a time of renewal. It is a time of light in the midst of darkness, warmth of spirit and heart to counter the cold of the weather and a harsh world.

In actuality, the story of the birth of the Sun God, the Divine Child of Light, is illustrated in the stars of the winter sky. The hours of darkness have gradually increased since the Autumnal Equinox as the longest and darkest night of year, the Midwinter Solstice, approaches. The actual moment of Solstice marks the time when the Sun moves from the sign of Sagittarius into that of Capricorn. The Divine Child of Light is born in the dark cave of the vast sky’s darkest region at the darkest hour of the year.

At midnight on Midwinter Night, the constellation of Virgo, holding her sheaf of wheat, rises in the eastern sky. And so the Virgin gives birth to the Child of Light in the very depths of the darkness. His light, the newborn sun, will rise at dawn.

The newborn Light will bring growth and abundance—and therefore, life. So it’s not surprising to find that, in the Christian tradition, the Child is born from the House of Bread—Bethlehem’s literal meaning—who is the Virgin holding the grain. He is laid in a manger—the small glowing starry cloud of Praesaepe, or Manger/Crib, in the constellation of Cancer. He is surrounded by ox and ass—in the constellation of Taurus and the star group Aselli, the Asses, in the constellation of Cancer, one on each side of his Manger.

The three wise men—Magi, who were astrologers but are sometimes referred to as kings—come seeking him, this New Light whose birth they have seen in the stars. They have followed his star, they say, which rose in the east. The three stars that form the belt of Orion, which rises in the southeast on Midwinter Night, are called the Three Kings. Was it nearby Sirius, brightest of the stars and associated by the Egyptians with Isis, whose light they followed? Or perhaps the special planetary conjunction of bright Venus and giant Jupiter near Regulus in Leo (the planet of the King in the sign of the King) that lit up the night sky in the months just before midwinter?

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.” (Luke 2:8)

Angels sing to herald this birth, bending low to the earth from their homes in the high heavens. Angel means “messenger,” and stars were looked upon as messengers of the divine.

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:9-11)

The song of the starry angels streamed through the heavens, pouring forth to the shepherds the message of the new birth and its accompanying flow of spiritual energies that would usher in a new era of light, love, growth, and spiritual abundance, and “peace to men of goodwill.”

In Sagittarius, not far from the place of the birth, we find the constellation of Lyra the Lyre, or Harp; perhaps it was the “harp of gold” played by the angels as they sang. The constellation of Bootes, near Virgo, is known as the shepherd or herdsman; while the across the sky in the sign of Cancer, the constellation of Auriga the Charioteer, pictured as holding a goat over his shoulder, is sometimes known as the shepherd’s crook.

And so the sky tells the story of the birth of the Holy Child of Light. At Midwinter, this Light is born again, and will shine forth—bringing light, warmth, joy, and abundance to all the world.

This time of the year is a time of sharing, love, and good cheer. May you all experience these holiday delights of the spirit— gifts which far surpass any material ones you might receive.

© Margie McArthur, 2005-2010; All rights reserved.

2010-08-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Fairy Song

This is the “Fairy Song” from an early 20th century opera, “The Immortal Hour.” It is sung by the famous Australian soprano Yvonne Kenny.

Composer Rutland Boughton adapted the libretto from an 1899 play of the same name by Fiona Macleod, (pseudonym of Scottish writer William Sharp). The play was first staged on August 26, 1914, in Glastonbury.

If you click on the Rutland Boughton link above, you will be taken to a site dedicated to him, on which you can hear a few verses of this song as sung by Webster Booth.

2010-06-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

Midsummer!

We're just past the Summer Solstice and today is Fairy Day. In honor of this I share with you this lovely video -- full of beautiful faery art and with music by Gary Stadler and Wendy Rule.

The CD from which this music is taken is called "Deep Within a Faerie Forest" and is one of my very favorite CDs. It is available for purchase here:

http://www.amazon.com/Within-Faerie-Forest-Stadler-Wendy/dp/B0002SPPP0/ref=sr_1_4/104-6032253-9833545?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1177740052&sr=1-4

Blessed Summer to you all!

2010-01-31T16:36:00.000-08:00

Lá Fhéile Bríde!

It is once again the feast day of the great saint and goddess Brigid! In honor of this occasion I'd like to share an excerpt from my forthcoming book ---
Lady of the Sea: The Goddess of the Sea and Stars
(c) Margie McArthur, 2002-2009, All rights reserved

An interesting story concerning Brigid is found in the writings of 19th century writer Fiona Macleod. (1) In this story the author encounters an elderly woman named Mary MacArthur, who tells him of a dream encounter she’d had with St. Brigid many years earlier. Brigid was very precious and dear to the people of Scotland and Ireland. They regarded her as the foster mother of Christ, and this encounter touched Mary McArthur very deeply.

This is the dream that Mary MacArthur recounted to Fiona Macloed. A woman of great beauty came up to her as she was at the seashore gathering driftwood to kindle her fire. The woman took the wood and threw it into the sea, saying she was throwing away Mary’s sorrows with the wood. She identified herself as Brigid, and Mary exclaimed aloud in wonder and praise, and went down on her knee in respect. Brigid looked at her and said:

“I am older than Brighid of the Mantle, Mary, and it is you that should know that. I put songs and music on the wind before ever the bells of the chapels were rung in the West or heard in the East. I am Brighid-nam-Bratta (Brighid of the Mantle), but I am also Brighid-Muirghin-na-tuinne (Brighid of the conception of the waves), and Brighid-sluagh (Brighid of the immortal host), Brighid-nan-sitheach seang (Brighid of the slim faery folk), Brighid-Binne-Bheullbuchd-nan-trusganan-uaine (Brighid of sweet songs and melodious mouth), and I am older than Aona (Friday) and as old as Luan (Monday).

And in Tir-na-h'oige (Land of the Ever-Young) my name is Suibhal-bheann (mountain traveler); in Tir-fo-thuinn (Country of the Waves) it is Cù-gorm (grey hound); and in Tir-nah'oise (Country of Ancient Years) it is Sireadh-thall (seek-beyond). And I have been a breath in your heart.

And the day has its feet to it that will see me coming into the hearts of men and women like a flame upon dry grass, like a flame of wind in a great wood. For the time of change is at hand, Mairi nic Ruaridh Donn—though not for you, old withered leaf on the dry branch, though for you, too, when you come to us and see all things in the pools of life yonder.”

This interesting passage, in which Brigid refers to a time of change close at hand, would seem to speak of the Aquarian Age which will soon arrive, as well as the major time of changes we are now experiencing and which are leading us into the new age.

Older than Friday—creation’s final day, when all living creatures came into being—and as old as Monday—the second day of creation, when God began creation by separating the waters, creating sky and sea, Brigid is telling us she is older than all earthly life and was there at the very beginning of things.

She is Lady of the Faeries, the sea, and the songs in the wind. Brigid says that she has previously been like “a breath in your heart,” but that the time is coming when she will enter into people’s hearts like a flame upon dry grass and a flame of wind in a great wood.

Thus she identifies herself as a major player in the future; a powerful being who will help bring about the very changes she foretells.

(1) Macleod, Fiona; Winged Destiny: Studies in the Spiritual History of the Gael; pp 207-209

2009-12-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Winter Solstice!

I wrote this some years back, but it's worth posting again. 'Tis the season! And blessings of the season to you all!

http://brigidshearth.org/seasonal_hearth_winter_solstice.htm

2009-12-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

The Tomten

"It is the dead of night. The old farm lies fast asleep and everyone inside is sleeping too . .

Here is a lonely old farm where everyone is sleeping. All but one . . .

The Tomten is awake. He lives in a corner of the hayloft and comes out at night when human beings are asleep. He is an old, old Tomten who has seen the snow of many hundreds of winters. No one knows when he came to the farm. No one has ever seen him, but they know he is there. Sometimes when they wake up they see the prints of his feet in the snow. But no one has seen the Tomten."
So begins The Tomten, a lovely children's book by Astrid Lindgren. I discovered it when my children were small and it has been a favorite ever since. Recently I discovered that a short video, complete with Harald Wiberg's gentle but evocative artwork, has been made available on youtube.

In the spirit of this Midwinter season, I share it with you:

2009-10-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

A Thing of Beauty

I wanted to share this beautiful video with my readers. The artwork (by Amy Brown and others) and the music (by Celtic Woman) are sublime.

Faeries

2009-08-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

Ancestors - Part Three

Release Work for the Ancestors

As I mentioned in Part One, back in the mid-1990s my focus was very much on the ancestors. I had begun to have dreams and experiences concerning my own ancestors, but also “the ancestors,” in general. I was overwhelmed with the feeling of many sad, desolate, and somewhat hungry ghosts wandering around. I had a sense that many of the ancestors—my own included—were not properly at rest, or able to go on to their next step, because they had not had proper death rites done for them. They wanted recognition; they wanted appreciation; they wanted to be mourned; and they wanted death rites done for them. I journaled these dreams and realizations, and worked with them in my magical group and on my own during the season of Samhain.

A couple years later, my good friend Mariposa had a powerful dream wherein she was part of a ritual being done for the ancestors. As she described the dream to her husband, he knew immediately that this was more than a dream, it was something they were being told to do.

Mariposa set November 11th —Old Samhain—as the date for this ritual and invited me to participate along with several of her other friends. Although she had some basic ideas for the ritual, she felt that the participants should co-create it, so we each contributed our ideas and thoughts during the planning process.

The pieces that I brought to this particular ceremony were ones that came to me quite strongly as I thought about the ritual and remembered my recent dreams and experiences. I had a strong hit that the ancestors must be thanked for their lives, as well as acknowledgement given for all they had accomplished in their lives. I felt they needed to be appreciated as individuals, not just as ancestors. I had an equally strong hit that we must grieve for them—for all the sorrows, tragedies, and disappointments of their lives, and all their unfulfilled hopes and dreams. And this was to be done in a ceremonial way.

I also had a very strong sense that there were some ancestors who were still earthbound, to one extent or another, and that the way to solve this was—after the thanking and grieving parts of the ritual had been done—to ceremonially release them from the power of the Four Elements. The Elements, after all, are what constitutes our physicality. When someone passes away they pass out of the realm of the Elements and into the realm of Spirit. But if they were not at peace when they passed—due to, perhaps, unfinished business, strong emotions, or a host of other things—there’s a chance that these things might keep them tied to the earth, the physical realm, and the land of the living. This is not good. So when someone suggested we dance at the end of the ritual, I knew we could use this dance to release the elemental connections.

All of these pieces—the thanking, the grieving, the release of the elemental connection—were included in the final version of the ritual.

We began, some months before the ritual, by journeying inward to find ancestors and/or ancestral lines that wanted to be worked with in this way. We spent time trying to learn as much as we could about them—their lives, their cultures, their times—and we resurrected old family stories about these ancestors, or the lines, so that we could share within the context of the ritual.

On the appointed date, November 11th, we all gathered at Mariposa’s home. We began the ritual with a Feast for the Dead—a specially prepared meal eaten in silence at a table that had places set for the ancestors. After this we robed up and began the ritual itself. After calling in the Elemental and Directional powers, we invoked the goddesses of these particular ancestors, as well as power animals related to the culture or the particular ancestors. Then, one by one, we told their stories, which, to my surprise, proved unexpectedly emotionally wrenching. We thanked the ancestors, sent them our love and appreciation, and we keened for them. That too was very powerful; sound is a very potent way to move emotional energies. And we sang our Journey Songs for them, to guide them on their way to the Otherworld.

As the ritual drew to a close we began a circle dance, stopping in each direction to release any elemental bonds that might remain for them. This was an extraordinary experience for me. When we began the Feast for the Dead I felt like the ancestors were able to taste the food I was consuming, through me. I was very aware of them. And when we danced at the end I could literally feel the elemental bonds that held them—I could feel them within my body, as if I carried these bonds for them—and found myself consciously moving in a manner that shook those bonds loose, broke them, and let them slide off.

At the very end we did a bigger elemental release, one that dissolved the elements into one another and back into their primal source< The salt, representing the earth element, was poured into the water. The water was poured into a larger bowl of water which was eventually poured onto the earth outside. The sage representing the air element was burned, released into the air to disperse into the atmosphere; the fire element was released by extinguishing the candles.

When the ritual was done we went outdoors and jumped into Mariposa’s hot tub. It was a very cool, misty night. Above us, the waning moon peeked through the clouds. As I relaxed into the hot water I heard a strange, distant honking sound. I opened my eyes and looked upward, and saw, far above me, wild geese winging their way southward.

I was immediately reminded that it was Old Samhain, the time of the Wild Hunt, when the Lord (or Lady) of the Dead rides the night sky sweeping up the souls of the dead—who often take the form of wild geese or swans—gathering them up to take them to the other world.

I pointed upwards to the geese, noting this to the others. The ancestors were on their way home. It was a perfect ending to a perfect—and very powerfully magical night.

2009-07-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

Ancestors - Part Two

Ancestral Karma and Tasks

As individuals, we are a combination of our biological genetic ancestry, our personal spiritual ancestry, and our individual soul’s path of learning—shaped by the land on which we live and the times in which we live.

Because of our biological inheritance from our ancestors, we also carry what I’ve come to call “family karma.”

It may be that not every member of every family is working on family “karma.” And certainly not all that are doing so are conscious of doing so, which is a good thing, actually. But some of us do feel our own pieces of it—at certain times in our life more than at other times. In my own case, I feel strongly that some of the lines I carry simply had to make it to the west coast of the American continent. I am still not completely sure why and am working on figuring it out. But I know I am right where I am supposed to be—about as close to the Pacific Ocean as I can be without being in it!

When I met my Texas cousin I became very aware that certain of us had to stay on the sacred soil of Texas. The geomantic influences of the land we live on shape us. The spirit beings—nature spirits, plant and tree spirits, faeries, land dragons—of each of area have subtle differences, and affect us in subtly different ways. I think this is one of the ways in which our personal karma intersects with our ancestral karma.

Historically speaking, Texas represented a new start for several of my southern families after the Civil War. Moving from the war-torn south to a new land allowed these desperate and torn families to continue. The same may be said about the original journey from Europe to North America.

This is because families renew themselves, just as do individual humans. This renewal is physical and spiritual, and mental and emotional as well. Just as individuals may feel strongly that they must stay put and deepen where they reside, or, move on to greener pastures and new possibilities, so too do families. However, in the case of families, there are many individuals, so various scenarios may be played out simultaneously, for the good of the entire family blood-group.

I have no proof of this; it is just something I feel strongly. I feel the family as a blood-group is, in a sense, evolving, learning, and growing, even though its individual members may not be aware of it. Patterns are played out, things are learned, and information is transmitted—via some deep spiritual-biological mechanism of genetic communication of which I am only dimly aware from my own experiences with it.

About a year after meeting that distant cousin I found myself with an unexpected opportunity to attend a workshop in Georgia. At first my focus was preparing for the workshop itself. But then it slowly began to dawn on me that some of the ancestors (ones I shared with this woman) were from Georgia, and nearby Tennessee and North Carolina as well. These ancestors were both European and Native American. An eerie feeling crept over me as I realized I was being called back to the ancestral lands. I knew there was something there for me, and I knew I had to take a gift. Shortly before I left I happened upon a produce stand which sold Indian corn of various colors. I found they had jars of dried corn as well. I purchased a pound of so of this corn of many colors, and made a necklace of it to take along to gift to the land.

After the workshop I rented a car and took a whirlwind 3 day tour of my ancestral lands. At one point, while driving across the Great Smokey mountains, I felt compelled to pull off to the side of the road and get out. I followed this instinct, and soon was wandering deep into the woods by the road. I came upon a dip in the ground that contained a small pool; the pool turned out to be a tiny creek that flowed deeper into the woods. I stood by this pool and knew this was the spot. As I held the corn necklace and prepared to offer it to the land and the water, something rose up in me and I began to weep. Feelings and memories were flowing through me. But it was a curious feeling, because although they were flowing through me and I was reacting to them, I didn’t feel as personally connected to them as I had with past life memories I’d previously experienced. And yet there was a connection; this I could tell. In less time than it takes to read this I realized I was experiencing DNA memories. My blood and bones were crying out in both joy and sorrow with all the memories they carried about this land. That part of me was very glad to be there, and even happier when I finally dropped the necklace into the pool of water, with love and prayers. Gradually my tears subsided, and something within me felt complete, and ready to move on.

Later, as I continued my drive through the mountains, this experience led me to think of the land as “Mother,” and how it feels to move away from Mother and individuate. There is much wrapped up in this concept of Mother and Motherland. Our relationship with the land beings, and indeed, the Original Instructions given us long ago as tribal people about how to live life and relate to the land, are all tied up in this.

River of Blood, River of Tears

In ancestor work we often refer to the River of Blood and the River of Tears. The River of Blood is all the blood of all the life upon the earth; including, quite obviously, the blood we inherit from our ancestors—our DNA, and all that it carries.

The River of Tears is the river of all the tears shed in all the lives ever lived. These can be tears of joy, of relief, of fear, pain, or sorrow. The River of Tears is the emotional energy carried in DNA. We contribute to it when we cry and grieve for something, as well as when we cry tears of joy. We partake of it when we allow ourselves to be cleansed by the tears, since this River can be clearing and cleansing as well as a place of sadness.

The River of Blood and the River of Tears are both salty, as is the sea.

Salt is a crystal and its geometric structure is the very stable, four-sided cube shape. Because it is four-sided, it is magically representative of the element of Earth whose number is four; this “fourness” includes the four elements and directions. Because crystal holds and stores energy, one may speculate that the microscopic salt crystals in blood may act as a form of compact memory storage.

Our salty blood and salty tears show our connection to the earthy realm of the Underworld Goddess. Hers is the realm of life, death, and memory, and the Rivers of Blood and Tears flow through it.

Working with these Rivers can bring us the wisdom of our ancestors, but it is up to us to receive what is given and work with it, and “make it wisdom” for ourselves and our children. This may involve the cleansing and healing of old wounds, and the breaking down of old patterns and creation of healthy new ones, so that the outgrown damaging ones are no longer passed down through the family. This work is not easy, and not everyone is called to it. But it can have a powerful effect on future generations.

2009-07-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

Ancestors - Part One

For some unknown reason the ancestors have been very much on my mind lately. My ancestors, but also THE ancestors. I realize it’s the wrong end of the year to be talking about ancestors—Samhain is the usual time—but here they are, making me look at them again, showing me things, so what can I do?

I did quite a bit of ancestor work in the mid to late 1990s’ and have, in fact, a half-written book on the subject gathering dust on my hard drive. The ancestors were really talking to a lot of us back then. In the late 90s a friend had an important dream which inspired her to create a major ancestral working. It turned out to be a very powerful working for me and all concerned, and the ancestral line I worked with in that ritual was pretty quiet after that. But recently I’ve begun hearing from some of the other parts of my lineage so I’m thinking it’s probably time for some work on those lines.

At any rate, it’s what’s been occupying me the last several days, so I thought I’d post of a bit of what I wrote several years ago on the subject, in case it might be helpful to someone else.

* * * * * * * * *

Ancestors are those who have walked the earth before us. They are uncountable in number, and they stretch, in a chain, back to the very beginnings of humanity on this planet. In every generation of them the entire general spectrum of humanity—the wise, the foolish, the ordinary, the extraordinary—is made manifest.

We are born into families. From our forebearers we inherit everything from physical characteristics, such as the color of our hair and eyes, to personality traits and talents. We inherit tendencies toward certain physical gestures and facial expressions. We inherit propensity to certain disease or physical imbalance patterns. We inherit blood types. The good, the bad, and the ugly—we inherit it all, or at least a potential for it all.

Quite obviously, it if weren’t for our ancestors we wouldn’t be here at all, and we most certainly wouldn’t be who we are.

But we are more than just the sum of our ancestral parts. We are each a unique combination of the genes passed on from our thousands of grandmothers and grandfathers; this is what makes us unique individuals. It’s what we get in the luck of the genetic draw that makes each of us different from the next person, and even from our siblings.

Recognizing the importance of the ancestors, most cultures and societies of the past have had some way of recognizing and honoring them even if it was as simple as keeping track of the genealogical lines. Many tribes committed their genealogies to memory. In particular, noble or royal genealogies were often memorized by tribal “rememberers” of some sort.’ Those of us familiar with the Bible will recall the seemingly endless lists of the “begats.”

There is another level to this. Early on, many tribal people considered themselves descended from a primal mythic ancestor or god/dess. Thus, there are tribal ancestors as well as simply personal ones, and people would refer to themselves as the “children of” or “clan of” a particular deity.

As time went on and civilizations and religions developed, people began to claim a spiritual ancestry that harkened back to particular spiritual traditions and lines of spiritual power. These, too, became “the ancestors.” Examples of these are found in the East, where some of the spiritual traditions have roots going back to various holy people or gurus of the past, as well as in the Kohanim of Judaism, whose male ancestral line traces back to the Biblical Aaron, brother of Moses. This is also found in our western world in the Catholic tradition of the priesthood wherein a priest is ordained “according to the order of Melchisedek,” as well as in Mormonism where both the Aaronic and Melchisedek priesthoods are to be found.

The ties that connect us to our mythic-tribal and spiritual ancestors are not usually bonds of blood, but rather, bonds of specific energetic patterns related to the particular traditions and lines of spiritual power, although the Judaic Kohan tradition has been found to also have a genetic link.

The Family as a Being

Although we tend to see ourselves as individual selves, we are, in truth, members of families. I tend to see the family as a “Being,” an entity with many parts—physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, karmic, psychic—and an awareness of itself, including a type of memory. As a Being, a family shares DNA, and transmits information throughout its structure. Similar to other beings, the Family Being, perhaps, has “organs” and parts (sub-beings) which perform various functions for the Being. What comes to mind when I think of this is an image of how all life forms are composed of bodily parts and of other life forms—right on down to the bacterial level. Each has its part, its function, and contributes to the overall health, well-being and functionality of the entire being.

There are certain themes that come to prominence in families, and are worked on by various family members in differing places and circumstances, so that the Family Being may learn, grow, stay healthy, and balance itself. Toward this purpose there are certain gifts, strengths, and weaknesses both physical and psychological that are passed on and manifested differently by different individuals.

And since we are, each of us, from several different families, the situation gets quite complex. From my own experiences I suspect that certain family lines may come through us as ‘dominant ‘ in the same way that some particular genes are dominant, and it is these we are most concerned with in any given lifetime.

Otherworldly Beings tend to see us not always as individuals, but as part of a family, or bloodline. Therefore, if there is some spiritual or healing work to be done with a family, anyone suitable in the family, rather than one specific individual, can do the job.

On meeting a distant cousin a few years ago, I had the distinct sense of how my family, which had started (on this continent) in Virginia, had moved itself across the entire continent, somewhat like how trees or plants “walk” their way across the land—their seeds carried far by the wind or dropped in bird droppings, and growing new little trees or plants further on from where the parent tree stands. When I hugged this new-found cousin for the first time, I had a strong sense of being the part of the family that had “walked” across the continent to the far western shore to work out our karma in interaction with this bit of the continent, while she was the part who had stayed in the place we'd been in earlier, working our karmic tasks in that place, and with that land and its spirits.

I felt that there was something important about this movement as related to Life (i.e. living beings exhibit movement as one of their characteristics), and that even though we all pride ourselves on our individuality, individual lives and karma—which are quite important—another aspect of our being is tied up with our "Family Ties." I think each of us choose (or end up with) pieces of family stuff to work out and on, and that our individual karma plays a role in what we choose.

2009-07-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Fairy Congress

Here is a lovely and respectful short video about the recent Fairy and Human Relations Congress that is held annually in north central Washington. The video was written and produced by Colin Mulvaney and Kevin Graman of the Spokesman Review.

2009-05-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

Faery Healing Journey
For the Season of Beltaine

Here is an earth healing meditation that may be done for the Beltaine Season. Although the first of May has come and gone, (Hey! I was busy with my birthday! Okay?), the seasonal energy of summer has just begun, so this meditation is appropriate now and may be repeated weekly till the approach of Lughnasahd/Lammas.

Create a small altar and place a candle in the center, with matches nearby. This altar is your Faery Hearth, and the candle is your Faery Hearthfire; it represents the flame of being as it burns in the faery realm.

Settle yourself comfortably before your Faery Altar and light the Faery Hearth candle which is in the center of the altar.... As you gaze at this center flame, breathing slowly in and out, you find that you are becoming more relaxed, calm and serene with each breath. You focus your attention on the candle, then close your eyes, seeing the candle with your inner vision. As you do this, you feel yourself sinking down into the Earth, passing down through the surface layers of soil, sand and clay, and going down, deep, and deeper, ever deeper, into the Earth.

At length, you find that you have come to rest in a clearing surrounded by trees. In the Center of this Grove is an enormous tree.

From its base, a mass of gnarled roots sprawl thickly over and into the ground; its wide-spreading branches form a canopy high overhead. There is an opening in the trunk which leads inside the tree’s trunk. You walk into this opening, and find that you are in a small cave, which is suffused with green golden light. The light seems to radiate from the rough wooden walls of the tree-cave. As you observe this, the light seems to swirl towards you, and around you, and it begins to move you, whirling you, spiraling you downward into the ground, through the surface soil, and into the land itself. You pass easily through the many layers of soil and rock, moving downward with the green-golden light, which whirls you around and around as it carries you downward. At last you land upon what feels to be soft earth....

You open your eyes and look around. Directly before you burns a fire within a hearth. The hearth is a beautiful large bowl of burnished copper, which rests upon an emerald studded stand. The flame within it reaches upward as far as the eye can see. You gaze around and see the gently rounded walls which rise around you, sparkling with many-colored stones and crystals, which glow and gleam with light, now rosy, now ruby red, now shot with sparkles of emerald.

You realize that you are within the heart-shaped Glen of Precious Stones, which lies at the heart-center of the Faery Realm, standing before the fire of the Faery Hearth. From this Glen, four gateways—formed by the intertwined, arching growth of two slender trees—lead out into the Four Faery Convocations of Finias, Gorias, Murias and Falias. You turn to look at each of them briefly, and through each arched tree gateway you can see a different landscape ... You turn back to the Hearth and gaze into the flames.

You call now upon your Faery Allies, and ask that they be with you here, and assist you. Immediately, they come to you.....

Now you move to the Eastern Tree Gateway (or Southern, Western, Northern), and as you do so, you feel the presence of the Faery hosts of the Shining Ones, the Tuatha De Danaan, and the King, Queen and Sage of that Convocation, on the other side of the gate.

You stand at the Threshold of the Gateway, and ask them to come in. When you say this, they begin to march through it and into the Glen of Precious Stones, assembling themselves around the Faery Hearth.

When they have all gathered there, you speak to them, telling them what you want to do, and you ask for their assistance. They may have suggestions to offer you, so listen carefully to the answers you are receiving.

Now bring your attention to the Faery Hearth and the flame that burns within. Watch and feel as the flame expands outward, encompassing you and all the beings who stand with you at the hearth. You feel your own inner flame blend with this larger flame, and you feel the inner flame of the other beings do likewise, until you aware of One Flame, which burns in many colors. You feel this flame burning in your heart, and radiating out of you at the same time. Your awareness expands and you allow yourself to be aware of the Land around you and above you. As you do this, you feel the One Flame leap outward to encompass the Land. You envision all the features of the landscape, and notice how their inner flames are touched and enlivened by the One Flame. You realize that the One Flame carries the energy and imprint of the primal and pristine land of the Faery Convocation within it, and these energies are now being planted and impressed into the Land....

You sense when this is accomplished, and simultaneously, you become aware that the Faery hosts are moving back through the Gateway, returning to their own realm. The gates grow misty and seem to fade from view. You return your attention to the Fire that burns within the Faery Hearth, and as you gaze within it, you see the land above, below, and around you suffused with Spirit, and glowing with life and vitality. You find that the green gold light has begun to swirl around you again. It lifts you up, and swirls around and around, upward; you find yourself passing from the Glen of Precious Stones, and upward through layers of soil and pebbles, till finally you emerge once again upon the surface of the land, finding yourself in the place from which you had begun......

Take a deep breath, and allow yourself a few moments to return yourself to normal waking consciousness, and then you open your eyes. You are back.

2008-12-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

2008-11-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

Halloween Pictures From Previous Years

More graveyard views

2008-11-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

The Days of the Dead

It's been a long time since I've posted. Family and housing issues have taken center stage in my life since early this year. We're finally resettled but it's only temporary, so by the time the Year Wheel turns from Winter to Spring, I will, quite likely, be packing things up again and getting ready to launch into yet another housing adventure!

But thankfully we were able to take a breather and celebrate Halloween. Traditionally, we've always done a big Halloween thing---lots of decorations, a haunted graveyard, a witch's cottage, scary music, bats, ghosts, ghouls, skeletons -- the works.

This year, being very tired from all the moving, we decided to scale back---no wonderful witchy cottage, only a haunted graveyard and a few skeletons and ghosts dangling from the trees. But my oldest daughter did her usual spectacular job and our decorations still managed to bring in absolute hordes of trick-or-treaters, much to our delight.

The picture above is from last year; I will post some of this year's pictures as soon as I can.

And now that the mundane celebrations are over, I've lit candles for my ancestors, for All Saints, and All Souls. May they know that we remember them, love them, and honor them. May they share their wisdom and illuminate our hearts as they show us the greater cycle of our lives, and remind us that life never ends, but only changes form.

May this dark season be deep and enriching to us all.

Blessed Be,
Margie

2008-02-27T16:46:00.000-08:00

Soul and Spirit

The words soul and spirit are often used interchangeably, although they don’t really mean the same thing. They are, however, closely related.

Spirit is the all pervasive force of life and consciousness/awareness that flows through the universe and all things. Some have referred to it as the Great Mind; some as the Fire of Life. Soul is our individualized, personalized spark of this great spirit/mind.

The word spirit come from the Latin word spiritus, which means breath. Obviously, breath and life are intimately connected as most living things breathe or have respiration of some kind. So Spirit may also be looked as the Great Breath, as well as the Great Mind and the Fire of Life.

The Great Breath of Spirit breathes life into being, and Spirit manifests as substance, which possesses faculties of movement and animation. With life comes movement, and movement brings change; the cycle of life begins.

The word soul is derived from Old Germanic words which essentially mean quick moving in the sense of the movement of the wind. The dictionary defines soul as the vital, animating principle within human beings, possessing thought, action and emotion; an immaterial entity which enters the body when life begins and leaves at the point of death, going on to another life in the spirit realms. As such, it is seen as the central core of a person, from which one’s individuality derives.

The assignment of elements in the Western Mystery Tradition positions Air in the East, Fire in the South, Water in the West and Earth in the North. The Center of the circle is said to represent Spirit, but since Spirit permeates all, it is just as much the circumference and area of the circle as it is the center point.

In my book Wisdom of the Elements, I have assigned Soul to the Western Quarter of the Sacred Wheel of Life, while Spirit is represented at the Center, the place from which all that is manifest arises and to which it will return. For magical purposes, I choose to view the Center of the circle as representing Spirit Unmanifest, by which I mean the Great Mystery/Life Force (though perhaps it is more correct to say Spirit Manifesting, since this is an ongoing process), while looking at the rest of the circle as Spirit Manifest (the Life Force as manifested into form).

Spirit manifests itself into form through the agency of the Elements. Air gives us breath and mind; Earth gives us form and structure; we are formed within Water, which also gives us emotions, blood, lymph, and all within us that flows; and Fire infuses us with the power of spirit.

Our soul is our personal spark of that spirit, our personal piece of the Great Mind, whose Great Breath animates us and all life. The soul is also sometime referred to as the Inner Flame or Inner Fire.

It is through this personal spark of spirit, the soul, that we can access all other forms of life—animals, plants, trees, rocks, rivers, sea, land—since all have their own spark of spirit, and all these sparks are from that One Great Flame. It is with our soul (often called the spirit-body) that we are able to travel up and down the Great Tree of Life, communing soul-to-soul with other beings and other realms—from the stellar realm to the faery realm, to the ancestral realm. Our physical bodies and senses have their limits regarding where we can go and what we can do, but our soul, because it is a part of the Great Flame, the Great Mind, does not have these limits, and is capable of expanding into almost any place of which the imagination can conceive.

The human soul is an amazing thing, possessing, as it does, such a wide-ranging consciousness and capacity for depth and nuance of feeling and experience. It may be for these reasons that some schools of thought hold that humans possess more than one soul—as many as three, in fact. Other schools of thought hold that humans have but one soul, which possesses three modes of functionality that allow it to not only be aware and conscious in the normal day-to-day world, but in the invisible worlds of spirit as well.

In the Feri Tradition of paganism, the three souls are called the Fetch, the Talker and the Godself. This teaching was derived from Huna—a modernized version of the old Hawaiian esoteric lore, wherein the actual concept was one of the Three Selves—low self, middle self, and high self—that correlate to the well-known metaphysical concept of low, middle and higher selves, as well as to modern psychology’s categories of unconscious (subconscious), conscious, and super conscious.

These in their turn are related to parts of the human brain.

The subconscious is a function of the instinctual, reptilian, or primitive brain, which is regarded as oldest part of the brain, controlling a lot of bodily functions of which we are not aware, holding old forgotten memories, and having to do with our very survival by appropriate response to stimuli. When it feels threatened we become fearful, and take steps toward self-preservation.

The conscious is our normal everyday conscious awareness of the world immediately around us. The associated part of the brain is the mammalian brain (often called the limbic system), which has to do with emotions, feelings, and certain bodily functions—all having to do with our ability to navigate our way through daily life. It could be said that the subconscious is actually comprised of communications between the primitive and mammalian parts of the brains.

The super conscious is the transpersonal side of us, the part that can reach beyond the self into the bigger, more abstract picture. The associated part of the brain is the neo-cortex, the most evolved part of our brain, which governs thought, learning, problem solving, speech and creativity—allowing us to stretch beyond our instincts and basic emotions into transpersonal and abstract thought and decision making. This part of us functions best when we feel secure and unafraid.

All of these are part of us. All of these functions take place in our one brain, and to my way of thinking, are part of one, wonderfully complex, wide-ranging human soul. Of course, the brain and soul are not the same thing; the physical brain functions somewhat as a control panel for the functions of the soul—the mechanism which allows the soul to express itself in physicality.

All of this psychology talk may seem very far from Soul and Spirit, but in reality, it isn’t. We are Spirit in Substance—cells in the body of God; we are God experiencing Itself. As individuals, we partake of our divinity by the use of our wonderfully structured brain and body.

These parts of self are well known in the spiritual traditions, and have been given such names as spirit body, astral body, fetch, double, doppelganger, separable soul, and the like. All refer to our ability to send part of our consciousness to the other realms, the non-physical worlds.

There are times, however, when these parts of us become fragmented, and thus out of touch with the other parts of our self and the wholeness of self—so much so that they feel like separate beings, not part of us. Our job then is to reintegrate these parts of self, so we are whole again. Interestingly, this fragmentation can also occur in a wider sense, when we perceive ourselves as completely separate from either our natural environment or the other souls with whom we share the spark and breath of life.

While this reintegration process is often seen as the job of psychology, it is also, and perhaps primarily, the job of spirituality, particularly in the latter instance. The spiritual traditions by definition deal with the beings of the Otherworlds—Gods, Goddesses, ancestors, faeries, and the like—by means of ceremony, rituals, prayer, and offerings. When we become skillful in the application of these techniques, new links to the Otherworld are formed and nurtured, our fragmentation is rewoven into a healthy unity, and our soul begins to be healed.

It is with these different parts of our brain-soul system that we can access the states of consciousness that allow us to travel inward and find that sense of relatedness again.

I feel that the spiritual work of this moment in time is the work of Reunion with all our relations. It is to make those connections with the parts of self, but also, and especially, with the other beings of nature. I include the faeries in this category... but that’s another story for another day!

2008-02-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

Ella Young - Elfland's Ambassadress

In this season of Brigid I am reminded of something that happened years ago.

In the early 1990's I was assistant editor of an earth-mysteries magazine called Dragon’s Quest. One day a very interesting article was submitted for possible publication. It was about an author called Ella Young and was titled Carmel Magic. It was written by a man named John Thompson.

Several years prior, while doing some magical work out on the land, I’d experienced some very strong Celtic energies. I found this puzzling, since I live in central, coastal California, and one would expect that I would have picked up on energies of the native cultures of the area rather than those from thousands of miles of continent and ocean away! But nonetheless, there they were. In particular, the energies of the goddess Brigid were very strong.

John’s article solved the mystery for me. Although I knew who Ella Young was, and indeed, owned her Celtic Wonder Tales, I had no idea that she had, in the 1920s, moved to an area quite geographically close to my present location, and had passed on her legacy of Irish magic to her new friends there. I had no idea that she had gathered this group of people around her and taught them about the Old Gods—Brigid, Lugh, Dana, Manannan and the rest—and about the faery folk and the other spirits of the invisible realms. Mystic that she was, she had a strong awareness of presence of these invisible realms and the beings who inhabited them, and taught her new students that nature was sacred and must be protected, and that the plants, the trees, the land, and the ocean all contained unique spirits with whom humans could communicate and from whom they could learn. Thus, she was not only one of the earliest American pagans of the 20th century, she was an early environmentalist as well.

While in Ireland Ella had been part of a magical group called the Fellowship of the Four Jewels. The jewels referred to were the four sacred treasures of the Tuatha De Danaan of Ireland—the Sword of Light of Nuada, the Spear of Lugh, the Cauldron of the Dagda, and the Stone of Fal (also called the Stone of Destiny). These treasures, in actuality, represented the powers of the land of Ireland itself. When Ella came to the USA and connected with the sacred lands in California, she quite naturally modified her focus to the land of California, while still using the magical structures and Celtic deities with whom she had worked before. So the Fellowship of the Four Jewels became the Fellowship of Shasta, with Brigid as its main deity. Ella dearly loved Brigid, whom she looked upon as the Earth Goddess herself, and it was to Brigid that the rites of the four yearly festivals performed by the Fellowship were dedicated.

Whatever work the Fellowship had done through the years of its existence (from 1931 till Ella’s death in 1956, and from 1960 till the death of her successor Gavin Arthur in 1972), it had certainly left its energetic mark within the lands of the central coast of California!

Learning that Ella Young had lived and worked so close to my own area inspired me to search out her autobiography, Flowering Dusk. I also read other works that mentioned her. I was interested to learn that she felt the area around Point Lobos, not far south of where I live, was the center of psychic force for the entire Pacific coast of America. About Point Lobos Ella said, “There are other sacred mountains, other sacred places, but this is the most powerful. But Point Lobos is not ready to make friends with society yet. Mount Shasta is making friends; other great mountains are making friends; but not Point Lobos. That is why people should be careful when they go to Lobos.” She said that when Lobos was ready to make friends, when its force was finally released, great things would happen in America.

She felt the other power spots along the nearby central coast all emanated from the Lobos area, and she often sat beneath the gnarled cypresses of Lobos, teaching her students about the powers and spirits of the earth, including the faeries right there at Point Lobos, and the great deva with beautiful wings who guarded the place. (1)

* * * * * * *

Several months after all this some old friends from Southern California drove up to visit me. They arrived much later than I’d expected, and I asked them what had taken them so long. They said they’d decided to take the coastal route I instead of the freeway. Then they asked me if I knew about that HUGE earth energy power point on the coast north of Big Sur and a bit south of the city of Carmel. They said it felt to them like a powerful dragon was in the land there. It was so strong they felt a need to pull over, park the car, get out, and make it an offering. I knew immediately that this had to be the Point Lobos area, and told them what Ella had said about it.

Some time after that, my family and I were driving down the coast towards Big Sur for a Mother’s Day outing. My husband was driving; I had my nose in a book. Quite suddenly I became aware of a huge surge of power flowing into me. The word “dragon!” popped into my mind as my head automatically jerked around to see where the power was coming from. I found myself looking at some rolling hills quite close to the coast, and they looked for all the world like a dragon lying on its side, asleep. The energy was literally rolling out of those hills. I knew instantly that we must be in the Point Lobos area, and this was later confirmed when we passed a road sign.

Because Ella was an early environmentalist, when she moved to California and was introduced to redwood trees, she quickly formed relationships with them, and soon became very supportive of the Save the Redwoods League.

Ella Young died not long before Lughnasadh, 1956, in her home in Halcyon, CA, near San Luis Obispo. Her ashes were scattered in a redwood grove near St. Helena, in the Napa Valley. She had known her time of death was nigh, and died as she lived—a Druid Priestess.

Much of the proceeds from her literary estate were donated to the Save the Redwoods League.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading any of Ella Young’s book, start with her Celtic Wonder Tales, which may be found here.

The very first story, The Earthshapers (my favorite), tells of Brigid’s role in the shaping of the earth into a fair and beautiful place.

Enjoy!

Brigid’s Blessings to all!

(1) Rosalind Sharpe-Wall, A Wild Coast and Lonely, pp 187-188, Worldwide Publishing/Tetra, San Carlos, CA

2008-01-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

~Oimelc, Imbolc, and the Feast of Brigid~

This evening the Feast of Brigid begins, so I’d like to share a bit about this wonderful goddess.

Brigid, beloved Celtic goddess, was well-known throughout the British Isles as the three-aspected goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing. Occasionally the three aspects were portrayed as three sisters, all named Brigid—an example of the “triple” form so beloved of the Celts. She was sometimes said to be the daughter of the Dagda, the “All-Father” of the Tuatha De Danaan. In Ireland she was known as Brigid, in Scotland, as Brigid or Bride, and in Britain, she was known as Brigantia, goddess of the Brigantes of Northern England. Her name means Exalted One.

In spite of the fact that not many tales seem to have survived about her, she looms larger than life in the psyche of the Celts of the British Isles, and it is likely that her legends were juxtaposed onto those of the early Irish Christian saint of the same name, who, in Wales, was known as St. Ffraid.

Brigid’s feast day, which fell on February 1, was known as Oimelc or Imbolg. Cormac’s Glossary tells us that Oimelc means ewe’s milk and refers to the fact that this is the time lambs are born. Because of this, Brigid is associated with milk and the animals that give milk.

Imbolc is variously translated as “in the belly” (a time of quickening/birthing) or “washing up.” Taken together, these names inform us that this festival was one of lactation and cleansing. Interestingly, the word “February” comes from to the Roman “Februa” which was a festival of washing and purification.

Brigid was, and is, the goddess of poetry, smithcraft, and healing, and the Fire that is behind them all—

Poetry: The fire of the mind and mind’s inspiration that sparks and ignites the poet’s creativity, Smithcraft: The tempering fire of the forge and the skill of the craftsman/woman.
Healing: The fires of life and body that must burn properly so that life may continue, and healing occur.

Each of these show themselves to be fires of creation and transformation. Thus, she is the pre-eminent deity-saint of Celtic Healing.

The stories, but particularly the customs and lore about Brigid in either her Pagan or Christian guise, inform us that we are dealing with a very powerful Being, one of the Old Ones, deeply connected with the primal powers of Life itself —fire, water, air, earth, origination, creation, formation, and manifestation, fertility and abundance. (from Faery Healing, Chapter 1)

The legends of Brigid show her to be associated with that borderlands/liminality/ threshold state, which clearly links her to the Otherworlds, including faery. Her association with liminal states is shown in her St. Brigid legends by the fact that she was born at sunrise, and while her mother was straddling a threshold; it is shown in her Goddess legends by the fact that she was of the Tuatha De Danann, yet married to a Fomorian.

Brigid is associated with water as well as fire, and many healing wells are sacred to her throughout the British Isles, including a well near Glastonbury, and most well known, the well near Kildare in Ireland.

Places where water emerges from the earth are always considered thresholds between the worlds, the underworld and middleworld, in this case. As a goddess of healing associated with seership and liminal states of being, she is uniquely suited to be the especial matron goddess of Faery Healing. (from Faery Healing, Chapter 15)

Brigid is, above all, the goddess of the hearthfire, and this is a good time of year to ask for her blessings on your own home’s hearth-and heart-center. Light a candle to Brigid tonight, and ask for her blessings.

Blessings of the growing light to you,
Blessings of the pure white snowdrop to you,
Blessings of the newborn lambs to you.
And may Brigid’s blessings bring you
Inspiration and deep healing.

Blessings,
Margie

2007-12-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

The Faery Gazette

The first issue of the Faery Gazette is ready, and has been sent to subscribers. Anyone interested can subscribe by going to this page of my website

http://www.faeryhealing.com/faery_healing.htm

and emailing me by clicking the link that says "Receive the free quarterly Faery Gazette Newsletter."

The way my life seems to work, it probably won't be quarterly....

Happy December, everyone!

2007-08-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

Faerieworlds Report

How did a month go by already? Faerieworlds was an amazing experience, and I meant to blog about it sooner.

Now, I will admit I don't do well in the heat of summer, and was worried about that aspect of Faerieworlds. However, we went well prepared and that was a good thing because we needed it. Oregon natives would probably not have considered the weather particularly hot, but for me it was a challenge. I have lived in very hot climes, but never got used to it. Now I live by the sea and am in my element. There may be a genetic component here; that's my guess anyhow.

But despite my discomfort with the weather, I could not help but notice the wonderful "vibe" of the Faerieworlds Festival. Kelly & Emilio and the others involved have gone out of their way to make it very special, very evocative of an alternate and very magical reality, and have succeeded wonderfully.

It is a spectacular festival! The sights, the sounds, the smells -- everything contributed to the magic! The sight of so many people in fabulous costumes having fun, the sight of costumed children at play, and dancing, singing, jumping around, the beautiful decorations and wondrous goods for sale at every turn made it a feast for the eyes! The constant sound of happy conversation and laughter, as well as the sounds from the many talented musicians who performed, made it a feast for the ears! The lovely fragrances of yummy appetizing food, scented oils and incenses, as well as the fragrance of trees and flowers made it a feast for the nose!

I got to meet some great people -- those who showed up for my booksigning and other good folk -- authors Ari Berk and Jayel Gibson, artists Brian Froud, Lisa Steinke, and Neil Geddes-Ward, and Rhianne from Tribe -- as well.

All in all, Faerieworlds is/was a truly magical festival, and I highly recommend it!

2007-07-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

Faerieworlds!

I'm off to the Faerieworlds Festival in Oregon this weekend! I am SO looking forward to it!

My books will be for sale at the Faerieworlds Tent, and I'll be doing a book signing there at 5:45 pm Sunday afternoon.

If you happen to be going too, come to the FW tent and say hi to me!

Here's their website with all the festival details:
www.faerieworlds.com

See you!

2007-02-21T21:34:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday, Dad!

The day before yesterday was my dad's 100th birthday. I did not allow the fact that he's been dead for 38 years to get in the way of the birthday party I threw for him.

The idea for the party came to me about 5 weeks ago, just as a ‘wouldn’t it be fun’ type of thing. But as the date grew closer I began to realize that, for some reason, this was a very important thing and I HAD to do it.

It felt important that all my kids be at the party, and it was fortunate they all could make it. We decorated the house with Happy Birthday signs and banners, and I got out all the old pictures of him and put them all around, arranging one long row of them on the mantle that showed his life from babyhood through old age. Another row of them was on the piano, and showed a long ago trip from California to Texas with his extended family of grannies, aunts, uncles and countless cousins.

I also printed out some of his Texan sayings (most of them rather crude) and taped them on the walls in various rooms. The kids are familiar with most of these, but it was fun to go around reading them (and for me, remembering him saying them) and laughing.

We burned a CD with some of his favorite songs and some of the music that had come out the year he was born; we played it all evening. I talked to the family a bit about his life and times....since he'd passed on before any of them were born.

It was wild for me to think that when he was born Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States, the Wright Brothers had taken to the air only 3 years before, the US Postal Service had yet to issue the first postage stamps, Nickolodeons (the five-cent theaters) were the hottest form of popular entertainment, and possessing a car and/or a telephone was a rarity.

So we talked about him, his life and times. We played the CD and enjoyed the songs. Then we had dinner. Later we sang Happy Birthday to him and had cake and ice cream. My son-in-law made us all laugh when he said, "I've never before been to a birthday party for someone who wasn't there....I don’t quite know what to do…..Like…..who blows out the candles?" I decided we ALL did – since we were all his bloodline or beloveds of his bloodline. So we did…. And after that, something quite unexpected and unplanned popped out of my mouth: I told dad he was free to go on into his next life now, if that's what he wanted. Having this just pop out of me really surprised me, as I'd never given a thought to him NOT having moved forward......

As the evening wore on, I became increasingly aware that a ritual was being enacted – this was an ancestor ritual that had needed to be done. It was important -- not just to me, but FOR him, as well. And having done it up good and proper, I felt really happy, and satisfied that I’d done a good job.

Altogether, it was a very interesting evening.

Goodbye, Dad; we'll never forget you!

2007-02-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

Blessed Brigid - the Golden Sparkling Flame

Today is the feast of the Brigid, the Holy Woman, whose name means High One, or Exalted One. She was said to be a protector of women in childbirth, and was associated with the welfare of livestock. Her festival, February 1^st, is associated with the lambing season.

In the insular Celtic countries Spring began on this day, which was also referred to as Oimelc (ewe’s milk). The very next day, February 2^nd, was the Christian feast of Candlemas, which was really the church’s observance of the much older feast of Imbolc/ Oimelc/Brigid—a feast of fire and light at a time when the dark of winter is giving way to the light of spring. The baby lambs were born around this time. It was, therefore, a time of new light, new life, new milk, new nourishment. Interestingly, February 3^rd is the feast of a saint with the interesting name of “Blaise,” and is a day when candles are blessed for the liturgical year, and the congregation comes forward to have their throats blessed (for protection against choking) by a priest, who used two candles in an X shape—exactly the shape of Brigid’s Cross—to do this.

Brigid has been honored at this time of year for a very long time, first as Goddess and later as Saint. She was particularly honored by women, whose rituals at this time of year—recorded by folklorists—involved inviting Brigid back to the world to bring her light, warmth, fertility and prosperity. A special bed was prepared for her, and omens of future life and prosperity were taken from the evidence of whether or not she was seen to have arrived and slept in her bed.

There is much fire symbolism in the stories of St. Brigid, and many of these stories are thought to derive from the older, pagan stories of the Goddess Brigid, who was sometimes addressed as the golden, sparkling flame. According to legend, a perpetual fire burned in her precinct at a place later known as Kildare, the Church of the Oak. This fire was tended by 19 priestesses—similar to the Roman national hearth tended by the Vestal Virgins. Like many other holy fires of legend, it was said to burn without producing ash. The 19 priestesses cared for the fire for 19 nights, but it was thought that Brigid herself tended the flame on the 20^th night. When Christianity came to be the religion of the land, it was St. Brigid who was honored and Christian nuns who tended the flame.

Brigid was a triple goddess: she was sometimes said to have two sisters also named Brigid. They they were matron goddesses of healing, of poetry—with which seership was connected—and of crafts, particularly those associated with fire, such as metal-smithing and perhaps pottery. In addition, the legends show Brigid to be associated with that borderlands/ liminality/threshold state that clearly links her to the Otherworlds, including the world of Faery. Her association with these liminal states is shown in her St. Brigid legends by the fact that she was born at sunrise and while her mother was straddling a threshold. It is shown in her Goddess legends by the fact that she was of the Tuatha De Danann, yet married to a Fomorian. Perhaps it is also illustrated by the fact that her cult also straddled two religious traditions, and made an easy transition from Paganisn to Christianity.

Brigid is associated with water as well as fire, and many healing wells are sacred to her throughout the British Isles. Places where water emerges from the Earth are always considered thresholds between the worlds—the Underworld and Middleworld in this case. As a goddess of healing associated with seership and liminal states of being, she is uniquely suited to be the especial Matron Goddess of Faery Healing.

from
Faery Healing: The Lore and the Legacy, Chapter 15

2007-01-09T20:59:00.000-08:00

A Cause Very Worthy of Support -- The Lakota People's Law Project

This link
http://www.rvml.org/LakotaProject.pdf

will lead you to a fund-raising letter from the Lakota People’s Law Project. There are some very serious situations going on right now relevant to the rights of Native Americans, and some very terrible things going on in South Dakota regarding the rights of the Lakota people to care for their own children. This page outlines both these issues.

The LPLP is a project of the Romero Institute, which is headed up by Sara Nelson and Daniel Sheehan who also are involved with the New Paradigm Institute.
http://www.newparadigminstitute.org

This page says it all so much better than I can. Please read it and give thought to making a contribution. I know Sara & Danny; they are people of good heart and high integrity.

2007-01-05T22:57:00.000-08:00

On the 12th Day of Christmas, I Have Some Things to Say....

Christmas Day is past, but this is something that’s been on my mind for a while, and I wanted to address it before the end of the holiday season.

I’m sure you all remember the big flap the last few years about Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas. This was largely just more invented “persecution drama” from the Christian Right, and it’s a shame that many businesses seem to have cowtowed to it this year by ordering their employees to wish customers a Merry Christmas rather than Happy Holidays.

Last Christmas season I received an email espousing the “Say Merry Christmas!” thing from someone who, as an esoteric practitioner, should have known better. Of course I wrote back to her, educating on her on the pagan antecedents of Christmas and the lore of some of the sun gods (Dionysius, Mithras, and Horus, for starters) who’d preceded Jesus. Her response was to take me off her mailing list.

This Christmas season there was an article in our local newspaper that tried to assert that the dating of Christmas had nothing to do with the winter solstice. The article’s author, relying on the writings of a prolific Christian writer, offered up another theory. He said that Christmas had been assigned the date of December 25th by the early church because of an ancient Hebrew tradition (not found in the Bible) that held that a prophet always passed away on the anniversary of his conception date, so it would follow that his birth date would be nine months later.

Unstated, but implicit in this theory, is the assumption that the March 25th Catholic feast of the Annunciation actually marks the date of Jesus’s conception — a bit of self-serving circular logic, methinks.

It occurred to me that perhaps there was a need for more information on this topic, particularly at this time of year, so to that end, I offer the following—in the spirit of the season, of course!

The Reason for the Season

Our modern dating of Christmas to December 25th does indeed have a pagan origin. It is, of course, related to the winter solstice, and long before Christianity, the winter solstice was celebrated in various ways by various pagan cultures in the Old World.

Insofar as the December 25th nativity of Jesus being dated to a nine months previous conception date of March 25th, there is no date actually recorded in the Bible or in oral tradition for the visit of the Angel Gabriel which announced the conception of Jesus. But in ancient Rome the new year began in March, and the spring equinox time of March 22-21st was celebrated as the start of the new year by most of Europe until the calendar change of 1752.

It seems fitting that the beginning of the new year would be chosen by the church as the time of conception of the major (sun) god-form of the new era, especially since this time marks the beginning of an obvious increase in the sun’s powers of warmth and light, which result in obvious signs (i.e growth of vegetation, birth of baby animals) of a new cycle of life in progress.

Christian tradition records the Church became headquartered in Rome early in its history, perhaps beginning with St. Peter’s residence there in the middle of the first century. Rome celebrated the seven day pagan feast of Saturnalia approximately December 17th through the 23rd. One may assume that the early Roman Christians were not uninfluenced by the celebrations all around them, especially since they had previously been pagan themselves!

Saturnalia was held in honor of the Roman god Saturn—a god of agriculture—and his wife, Ops—a goddess of fertility and agriculture. Her very name means abundance, plenty, opulence. Saturnalia was a joyful celebration; a time to eat, drink, and be merry. Schools and courts were closed, and entertainment was paramount. Decorations were put up. Gifts were exchanged. It was a time when social roles were reversed, and the master served the slave. It was a time of offerings to Saturn and Ops, and great banquets were held to celebrate their gift of abundance. It was an observance of both the harvest and the winter solstice, and was considered a return to the mythic Golden Age, a time when humanity was thought to have lived in a utopian state.

Saturnalia began as a one day feast, but its popularity caused it to finally encompass seven days of celebration, although through the years various emperors made attempts to trim it back to size. In 46 AD the date for Saturnalia was officially set at December 25th. That year was most likely before St Peter even came to Rome, so when he did arrive, he would have found, already in place at the winter solstice, a joyful celebration of light and bounty.

Also influential on the dating of Christmas was the December 25th Persian feast of Sol Invictis—the unconquered sun—which marked the birthday of the god Mithras. This feast was brought to Rome by Roman soldiers who’d encountered it in Persia. Mithraism was an extremely popular religion in the Roman empire and very influential on the early shaping of emerging Christianity and its doctrines.

Actually, some of the significance and customs of Saturnalia may have derived from these earlier solstice observances in Persia, and also those from Egypt, where not only was the rebirth of the sun celebrated, but decorations of greenery were used to symbolize the return of light and life. In Egypt there was a 12 day celebration, in honor of the 12 divisions/months of the solar year. It was considered a time when the sun god Ra was recovering from illness–that the spirit of life was returning was shown by the increasing day length. Later, when Horus became known as the sun god, his birthday was observed on the winter solstice. Horus, like Mithras and Jesus, was born of a virgin, in this case Isis.

Christian revisionist histories notwithstanding, to say that the newly emerging Middle-East-birthed and Mediterranean-based religion of Christianity was unaffected by any of these previous beliefs and observances defies logic. Indeed, a much more sensible and realistic scenario would be that the church, when it finally decided—in the fourth century—to commemorate the birth of Jesus, chose the winter solstice in order to coincide with these pre-existing and popular feasts, casting Jesus in the old pagan role of the Sun God/Son of God in the hope that the worship offered to these old gods on that date would be transferred to him.

So! Let us immerse ourselves in the joyful celebration of the Light’s return at this time of year, whether we celebrate Mithras, son of Anahita; Horus, son of Isis; or that late-comer, Jesus, son of Mary!

Blessings of the Returning Light to You All!

2006-11-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

The Word of the Lord

I saw Jesus Camp last weekend. I’d seen the trailers and read discussions about it, but must admit I was still somewhat unprepared for the emotional impact of seeing young children being brainwashed to tears by adults using very precise techniques of emotional/mental manipulation.

I recommend this movie, disturbing as it is, because people really need to see what’s out there. People need to see how some fundamentalist Christians are trying to shape the next generation of American citizens, and prime them to move into political and religious leadership positions in order to “get the country back on track” – the very Christian track they imagine it is supposed to run on.

The movie’s official website is www.jesuscampthemovie.com Please click "Videos" to see the trailers. You Tube dot com also has a few of the trailers.

There is a scene in Jesus Camp where a 12 yr old boy, a wannabe preacher, spins to face the crowd and exclaims loudly, seriously, and dramatically, “Hear the Word of the Lord!!!”

When I saw this bit, it brought something up for me I’ve been thinking on for years. This is certainly not the first time I’ve heard the expression, “the Word of the Lord.” It’s used frequently in Christian ceremonies and references.

A few years ago I found myself hearing it quite a bit due to some dear Christian friends, who talked a lot about their faith to anyone who was too polite to tell them to shut up. Although it was irritating so be so inadvertently ‘preached at,’ for a while I just let it go in one ear and out the other; then I had one of those moments. You know the type. Something you’ve heard or seen a lot suddenly opens itself up and it’s as if you are seeing or hearing it for the first time, and then it reshapes itself into something much more clear and understandable.

So I asked myself..... presuming, for the moment, that I accept that there is a “Lord-God-Almighty-Creator-of-Heaven-and-Earth.” Now...what would such a being say, and how would he (or, dare I say, SHE) say it? What exactly ARE the Words of the Lord?

And as I said this I knew the answer for certain. Any being/consciousness/intelligence huge enough to give rise to something as vast and complex as the universe is so far beyond humanity that if it speaks a language, it’s not a human one. This being/consciousness/intelligence/god expresses itself alright, but not in English, Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, the KJV, or the Qu’ran.

This being, this consciousness, this “God” – speaks biology, chemistry, physics, geology. God does not speak in words, but in mountains and oceans, forests and animals, planets, stars and galaxies, photons and molecules. If there is a language spoken by God, it is the language of mathematics, as it is mathematics which allows us to see and know the amazing precision and order of the universe, a fact which bespeaks a creative or organizing intelligence – that which we refer to as God/dess.

So, all you folks out there who are looking to find the Word of the Lord, look around you at the good green earth. Take a walk in a forest. Pay attention to spider webs and anthills, and the petals of a flower. Smell the flowers and herbs. Have a look up into the sky, by both day and night, and admire the sun, the clouds, the colors, and the stars and moon by night. Sit and pet your kitty for a while; let your dog take you for a walk. Take a science class and learn the laws and wonders of nature. Ponder, wonder, exult in the fact that you are a conscious, sentient being.

By these means, you will REALLY know the Word of the Lord (and Lady....)

2006-11-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

It Gets Me Every Year......

The Reaper comes among us at this time of the year, swinging his black scythe—the harvest is upon us. The bounty of the summer season is stored in the granaries of the tribe to sustain us throughout the dark days ahead.

And as the Reaper passes, harvesting both the essence of the grain and the souls of the Lady’s people, he also rends the veil that separates the living from the dead, the Land of Home from Summerland.

At this time we are reunited with those who have passed into Summerland to learn again the lesson that life and death come equally to all and are separated by the merest of illusions.

That as they are, so we have been, and will be again; and that they shall be again as we are now; over and over as we spiral upward, dancing our way back to the presence of the Great Mother, even as the smoke and ash of the fires of autumn dance their way upward into the starlit sky.

(WiccaCraft for Families; Margie McAthur, Phoenix Publishing, 1994)

Every year when I read these profound words I become silent, and am filled with thoughts of my ancestors. My mind stretches far back into time—to their lifetimes—and far forward in time, to the lifetimes of my own progeny. I think of how I sit here, in the middle...and I muse upon the cycle of life and death.

These words were written by my friend JoAnn Aelfwine for a Samhain ritual we held for our children many a Samhain ago. These children now have children of their own. And so the cycle goes, and the wheel of life keeps turning.

A Blessed and Happy Samhain Season to All!
May you find strength and wisdom in your ancestors, and joy and comfort in your children!

2006-10-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

It’s Official!

A few nights ago I met with the representatives of New Brighton Books to sign the final papers. I am now the owner and supplier of Faery Healing. I will continue to work through distributors (as well as through my website and at Amazon), so the book should be easily available. But if anyone has trouble obtaining a copy, they should feel free to email me at faeryhealing@baymoon.com and I’ll expedite the matter.

2006-10-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

And Speaking of Schools...

You’d think they’d know the facts on copyright, plagiarism, and the like.

My son recently enrolled in one of California’s major universities. As part of his orientation there was a session on good writing skills, including correct use of copyrighted materials, how to cite sources, and what constitutes plagiarism. Since my son has heard my constants rants on this subject since my copyrights were violated seven years ago, he is familiar with this territory.

So he was a bit stunned to hear the professor state that if one quotes one’s own writing and does not cite it in the bibliography, one has just plagiarized oneself. He came to me with this tidbit of wisdom the other night, laughing, and wondering how that could possibly be true since the actual definition of plagiarism is about the use of someone else’s material.

Of course, he was right and the teacher was wrong. I quizzed him to be sure that the teacher had actually said that such use would be self plagiarization, as opposed to, say, the improper use of one’s own copyrighted materials—since publishers often have strict parameters about how much of an author’s published material the author him/herself can use in other writings.

But no...my son was definitely told, by a teacher at a state university, that to use one’s own previously written material without citing it in the credits was to be guilty of the crime of plagiarism.

Maybe it’s all those sily expensive textbooks......

2006-09-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

Grumpy Mom Rant #1 - Textbooks

“It’s here! It’s here! That shocking time of year... “ And I don’t mean May, as do the Camelot lyrics I’m quoting. I mean that wrath and insanity-inducing, checkbook-depleting, twice-yearly time when textbooks must be obtained for my college aged children.

As someone fairly well informed about how the publishing industry works, I feel I can state with some authority that the price of textbooks is unreasonably high. As someone who’s been purchasing textbooks for my kids for at least 14 years, I can also state that, even though book prices in general have risen over the years, the price of textbooks is disproportionately high. In fact, my recent research has shown that textbook prices have risen at twice the rate of inflation during the past two decades (GAO report, 2005)

Someone is making money here, and it’s probably not the authors.

Textbooks are, in fact, Big Money for the publishing industry, and getting bigger all the time.

Back in days of yore, when my first experiences of textbook buying began, I was stunned at the price of new textbooks. The used books offered by the college bookstore were a much better deal, so that’s what we went for. But within a couple years those prices were escalating too. I think my moment of truth came the day my oldest daughter brought home a ragged, dog-eared, 2 ½ inch thick English textbook, its paper cover nearly falling off, and told me it had cost her $40. And this was just one of several texts required by the class. My ire increased when, at semester’s end, she told me she’d only opened it a few times; there were only a few reading assignments from that book. My ire filled to overflowing when she sold it back to the bookstore and they gave her a mere $12 for it, but planned to resell it for $40.

Students are a vulnerable class of people—usually struggling to make ends meet and going into piles of debt to get their education so that they can carve out a future for themselves. To grow and prosper our society needs intelligent, educated, self-supporting citizens. To become such, people must go to school. To go to school one must acquire the requisite textbooks. The scamming of students by absurd and inflated textbook prices is shameful. Students are our future; taking advantage of them is dishonorable and inexcusable.

There are many ways in which students are scammed by the Textbook/Education industry. The constant need for the ‘New Edition’ is one of them. New editions of many textbooks come out every year or two, and of course, it’s usually the newest edition that’s required for the class. While in some cases the appropriateness of new editions is understandable—such as in subject areas where things change rapidly (technology and some of the sciences come to mind). But there are other subject areas where these frequent new editions are simply ridiculous. Basic math processes haven’t changed much over the years. English grammar rules are still pretty much the same as when I was in high school. Early European or American history haven’t changed much either. But I think you get the picture....

To be fair about this, and put the blame where it belongs, sometimes the professors have no choice. The publishing house, in its infinite wisdom/greed, will simply decide to print a new edition, and to “out-of-print” the old edition.

Often the new edition is new because a few words or essays or math problems have been added or subtracted. Sometimes it’s a ‘new edition’ because all the latest bells & whistles — in the form of CDs, InfoTracks—and the like have been added.

Publishers often say that this is done at the request of teachers, but that brings up another interesting question — Exactly who IS really writing these textbooks that we pay so much for?

A recent article by Betsy Anglert states that in many cases, “Authors and academicians whose names appear on the textbook cover do not pen what is within.” She went on to assert that many textbooks are ghostwritten, and the works of “dead authors” are often used. Even in cases where the authors whose names appear on the book’s spine actually *did* write the original text, ghostwriters, freelancers, and in-house-writers are often brought in to do the revisions, which then continue to be presented as work of the original authors. Sometimes the original authors get to review these revisions before publication, but often they do not. Authors cost money, you know.

The article contained many things that textbook ‘consumers’ will find of interest, so rather than droning on any longer, here is the link. Read it for yourself.

http://www.unbossed.com/index.php?itemid=954

Some professors have tried to sidestep some of the textbook issues by writing their own texts and selling them directly to their students. One of my daughters bought such a book for a math class some years ago; it was reasonably priced and had been copied off at Kinko's.

On the other hand, sometimes even professors get greedy. A few weeks ago one of my sons signed up for an online math class, for which no textbook was listed on the school bookstore site. A few days before the start of the semester he received a letter from the teacher. She stated the textbook for this class could be obtained only from her—at a cost of $90—and only at the class’s first in-person meeting, which was the following week. She stated that the textbook could not be purchased used, nor could it be resold at the end of the semester. Nor could it be returned if the shrinkwrap had been removed. All copies had to be purchased directly through her at all times, despite the fact that in another part of the letter she let it slip that the course of study was nearly identical to the one of the previous semester so the previous semester's book would have worked just fine.

Can you spell G-R-E-E-D?

2006-08-08T16:37:00.000-07:00

Life —
Where did July go? Can’t believe it’s August already. August is always busy for us - birthday of two of our kids and our wedding anniversary – 33 years! How did that happen? Guess we were having so much fun the time just flew by! :)

Book News —
As some may know, Wisdom of the Elements has been out of print for the last 3 yrs, but still available through my website's Faery Store. It is also available, as is my book, FaeryHealing, at Amazon, where my seller identity is "faeriewood-by-the-sea." In addition, it is now being carried by Phoenix Book Distributors, so will soon be available in stores again! Yay!

More Book News —
I am in the process of taking over ownership and management of my book, Faery Healing. If all goes according to plan, the book will still be available through several of its distributors – Baker & Taylor, Phoenix Distributing, and New Leaf. It is also available from my Faery Store.

Relevant Links ---
My Faeryhealing website
http://www.faeryhealing.com

My Faery Store
http://faeryhealing.com/faery_store_2.htm#FH

Phoenix Book Distributors
http://phoenixdistributors.biz

That's all for now!

Lughnasadh Blessings!
Margie

2006-06-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

Summer

Summer has come in its usual way;
Heat in the inlands, fog from the bay.
An overcast sky that’s between night and day.

And yet.......

The farmer’s market has many a treat;
Strawberries, peaches - all so sweet!
Even overcast sky allows in enough heat!

Summer!

2006-06-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

And so I begin this.

Blogging is new to me. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it in time. But for now it feels awkward, clunky, as if I were trying on a new pair of shoes that I wasn't sure I'd be able to walk in properly. How do they feel at the heel? Is there enough room around the toes? Is the heel too high for me? Will I twist my ankle when I walk? I've never been good with high heels.

I am a writer and a mother. My books are my children too. Just as with the children of my body, my books are conceived, gestated, nourished, birthed, and protected and cared for till they are able to go off on their own.

This blog will contain snips of my life both personal and professional - things about writing, things about family, about my books, my cat, my loved ones, my world view, my politics, my spirituality.

I am an opinionated Taurus....You have been warned!

:)